Claim the Beast [OS Dominion of Onderon]

[Quietus]

NEGOTIATIONS 4

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]I have no love for the Republic,[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px] [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]the Beastia begins, [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]but I am tolerant.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]I will not lament their eradication from this place, but there is a certain balance to be maintained. I would see it maintained.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]~[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]If there were an armrest to drum her fingers on, Vrag would do exactly that. In the absence of such, she settles for draping an arm over the back of the chair.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"How?"[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]~[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]The wilds are to be left untouched. They are my domain. In return I will forget about my moral obligations to stop your people from wiping the presence of the Republic off this planet.[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px] [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Beastia's tone is level, unthreatening, but shared with an air of knowing something that Vrag does not. To think that the One Sith would quiver at the prospect of the Beast Riders was foolish, and she would not pretend to think they stood a chance against their full Empire, but there was something to be gained here if Vrag played her cards right. [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]The economy of Iziz is tantamount to the continued prosperity and usefulness of Onderon. Leave the city intact. Topple the Monarchy if you must.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]The machinations of this planet have been under my control for a very long time...[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px] [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]she continues after a pause to allow Vrag time to absorb, to consider,[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px] [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Its power, its strength, its secrets are all mine to provide to the One Sith, of which I will do freely if my sovereignty remains uncontested.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]~[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]A curious thought occurs to the Sith even while the Beastia speaks. She waits calmly until the last word rings out in her head before constructing the question.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]How much of my thoughts can you hear?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]She had no reassurance that the woman would reply sincerely, of course, and she'd never have come as far as she had if she went around trusting people just because.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Their situation, however, was... different.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Lives and resources hinged on what they said, and so words were chosen with care, and more patience than usual was given. More patience, and a certain degree of trust.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]And bluntness.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"You can keep the wilds, and your rule over them."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]~[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]The Beastia offers no solid response to the internalized question, but a slight shift in her poise - a rounding of broad shoulders, a subtle straightening of the back, a careful tilt of the head, a curve of poignant intensity in those darkly rimmed eyes. It all suggested that she was quite capable of hearing more than Vrag was comfortable knowing.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Whether or not she chose to remained a mystery.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Dxun is also mine[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px],[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px] she said then,[/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px] [/SIZE][SIZE=14.666666666666666px]and I will not tolerate any amount of Sithspawn or Vong. Their very presence corrupts and destroys the balance of this realm. In return I will provide warriors, beasts and their products.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]~[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]A wry smile curls her lips as she tilts her chin, regarding the other woman through lidded eyes. The power in the room is nearly tangible, and the tension could be cut with a blunt knife.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]It occurs to Vrag that the price of a world and its people becomes somewhat devalued once you've razed a few dozen.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"Dxun is an inhospitable jungle, as is much of Onderon. We'd waste more resources claiming it than what we could ever reap from it. The Vong won't be a concern, and the same goes for Sithspawn."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"You will provide your Beast Riders?"[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Yes.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]They are historied with many great victories alongside the Sith.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"And you won't disturb Imperial activity in Iziz?"[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]Not unless it disturbs the economy that feeds the wilds.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"And what kind of economy have you established to that purpose?"[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]...have you a datapad.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"No."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]The Beastia nods and expresses a strained breath, eyes closing momentarily in thought.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]At this, Vrag coaxes one of the chitin pouches between the plates of Ygdris open.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=14.666666666666666px]"I have this."[/SIZE]

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Chevu Visz"]

Jacen was disappointed. Chevu had explained at length the series of events that ran up to her being stripped of her title. It had been an error of judgment, betraying a naivety in the young Knight that required the New Jedi Order’s support, not scorn.

Slowly she had been regaining that trust. Gabriel's story had not yet been successfully challenged, and in Voidstalker so view she genuinely seemed to love the man. Only time could reveal that, as childish as he found her clear need for affection following her one night with the Wrath of the Dark Lord.

Yet here she was again, running off from the relief effort to do her own thing.

Jacen was disappointed.

He watched.

Garden in civilian clothing himself, it had taken all his investigator trailing to follow the green-skinned Knight. Now she had rushed to engage a sith alone. She was trying to do the right thing, he reflected. That was all he tried to do, and it didn't always work out, he supposed. So for now, he watched.

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

Post 2/20
Objective: Stop the killing of civilians
Location: Iziz
Others in proximity: [member="Lucas Gravois"] | [member="Chevu Visz"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

The death screams that pervaded through the Force felt intense, closely threaded together in a manner that suggested that they might have been inflicted within the space of the same heartbeat. But why do I feel that here, where murder is not on the cards? It was a strange realisation, and one that moved him to fall back, to seek out the source rather than proceed to the Palace. The troopers can handle that - it does not need the supervision of one such as myself. He was not here for the purposes of the invasion, anyway: such a thing could be handled by someone who cared to see the subjugation of another world under Sith rule. He was not among that number, in truth.

Worlds come and go: governments rise and fall, Sith aspire and fall short. It is the way of all great powers, ultimately, to fail. He knew this instrinsically: he'd seen too many Emperors, too many attempts to dominate a Galaxy that resisted it at every turn. And why does it do this? Simple: for we see ourselves as conquerors instead of liberators. The deaths he had sensed through the Force were proof enough of this: a thing that should not have occurred, inflicted on those who had no reason to die but that because someone here had wanted it.

He scowled, brows furrowing in anger. So very wasteful, that show of force with consequence that cannot be reversed. That was something that needed to be stopped, at least until [member="Vrag"] contacted the others and informed them that there was no treaty to be gained, and that Onderon would thus suffer the full wrath of the Sith. We're not there yet.

Honing in carefully upon his target, he could sense boiling emotions surfacing, projected in waves across the city. Fear, yes, anger at our presence, the dark joy of one releasing feelings pent up so far. It was the latter that he focused upon: the emotions of a Sith unleashing themselves from careful restraint, doing now as they saw fit. Such a foolish thing to do, here of all places.

The whine of a blaster pistol, a bolt fired at speed with, perhaps, lethal intent. He saw this, a blue flash of light answered by the crimson blood-red activation of a bar of energy sprouting forth from the hand of the one that shot had been aimed at. Angry words of challenge exchanged there, the taunt of a Sith intending to belittle an opponent. But that one was not the one responsible for the deaths, he noticed, grey eyes focusing momentarily on the green-skinned girl with the blaster. No, it is a brother that had caused this.

"Were our orders unclear to you, boy?", he asked darkly, advancing now upon the two of them, his own lightsaber clearing his belt, resting unactivated in his hand, a cylinder of dark metal contrasted against the pale skin. "To harm the citizens of this world make us no better than animals, and we have come to rule, not to destroy. If we had wanted the people of this world dead, we would have blasted their city from orbit, a true lesson in destruction." The Sith Lord scowled, anger clear and evident in his expression, deadly intent suggested by the predatory manner in which he advanced on the younger Sith. "Cease your attack now, or it is I that you will face for the murder of beings you had no permission to harm. Their lives were not yours to take. Persist, and yours will by mine."

 

[Chevu Visz]

Objective: Stop the killing of civilians
Location: Iziz
Allies: [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] [member="Tirdarius"]
Enemies: [member="Lucas Gravois"]
2/20

The fether was fast, faster than most of the Final Order acolytes she’d fought, and his precognition was beyond impressive. Before the bolt landed, the dirty-blonde Sith had ignited his saber and batted it away like a mosquito. Next she felt him reaching for her in the force, a sensation that made her stomach do a slow somersault. Locking his dead eyes on hers, he spoke to her, calling her kind useless.

“That’s funny,” Visz spat. “Clearly you thought your opinion of me mattered.”

The Knight rose from her kneeling position and shoved her blaster in her holster, switching it with her blue blade which came to life with a hum. Baring her teeth, she took on the opening stance of Soresu, pointing the lead foot at him, turning her body slightly, and aligning her back foot's side toward the heel of the other lead. She raise her off-hand to counter-balance, green palm perpendicular to the ground.

The other Sith Lord was a surprise. The man stalked out from the shadows surrounded by a miasma of the dark side so strong it almost made Chevu feel nauseous. As he spoke, it became clear that the pale imposing man was not joining the side of the other Sith in this fight. He was threatening him.

Chevu's eyes widened at the turn of events. She had no idea that Master Voidstalker was watching from afar.

 

[Vrag]

NEGOTIATIONS: 5

Jade eyes open again to inspect the element with obvious curiosity.

She offers in the palm of her hand a Qahsa.

Leaning forward slightly to take a closer look, the Beastia's brow furrows, lips draw thin. It's clear her knowledge of Vong is limited. She withdraws an arm from the backrest and reaches into a leather pouch on her right thigh, withdrawing a datachip. Can it access this? She offers the chip pinched between fore and thumb.

~​

It never ceases to amuse the firrerreo how people are always so apprehensive about Vong technology, but she knows better than to show it.

Instead of answering, the Sith pilfers the chip with a quick gesture and offers it up to the Dhaladii, which happily contorts around the data chip. A marriage between traditional technology and that of the Vong, the helmet is something of a bridge between worlds.

~​

The chip contains a brief history of Onderon concerning the formation of Irontown and the treaty crafted between the Wilds and Iziz.

~​

"That is acceptable. I see you established a town of criminals, however. That is... interesting."

"Would you be amenable to founding more?"

Yes.

Vrag cocks her head to the side and lets a small smile slip.

"Under what conditions?"

I will choose the locations. These towns reside in the Wilds and therefore are also under my rule.

"Since the prisoners will be ours... jurisdiction can be shared."

In what way.

"We're all aware of what happens there. You want to manage the daily things, feel free. Major decisions and problems are approached by us both."

~​

The Beastia tilts her head in consideration, eyes drifting over the figure of the woman sitting across from her. Strangely enough she begins to smile, which eventually turns into a grin to bare some very lethal fangs. Fine.

 

[Sinistra]

Objective: Steal Republic Records
Location: Iziz
Allies: One Sith
Enemies: Firewalls
1/20

Dawson was bored.

This trip was supposed to be worth his while and so far, every bit of Republic network property he hit was either only an image or it was useless. He was doubtful that Lord Sinistra would get anything worthwhile from the files he was copying. One screen was monitoring those downloads, the other screen was diving through layers of Republic security for files on servers that no longer mattered. Most everything had been shut down and pulled off the system when the Republic abandoned the world.

A silly move on their part.

The Sith Lord was attired for her appearance on the planet, her masked helmet covering her features, and her armor camoflaging herself from recognition. She looked fairly nondescript from the legions of other unknown Sith and darksiders who answered the siren call of the One Sith. It was ironic actually. The only time she felt free to be herself was masked and cloaked in armor.

She allowed the darkside to flow freely through her now, her sinister presence wrapped around her in the cold embrace of power. The negotiations were not her problem. She had landed with the ones who were going to bring down the Republic buildings, and see if there was anything she could salvage from their files. Dawson was having no luck with the assets that were still on but there would be plenty left behind in the mess. She was escorting a moving crew through the Republic embassy, floor by floor, pointing out everything she wanted taken back to One Sith HQ. It would take a while to disseminate the information, but they had time.

The Republic did not.

 

[Corey's OOC]

3
[member="Chevu Visz"] [member="Tirdarius"]

There was a whole lot of not caring here. Lucas was focused on the light sider. He wasn’t sure what they were doing here. Didn’t the Sith chase them from this world? He looked around, people were starting to realize what was going on, and they were scattering.

Pity.

Turning his attention to his plaything for the day, the one that was more than one being, a dark grin crossed over his face. He was staring at the green being, the one with the blue blade. He stepped closer, over the steps he had come to where he murdered the officer. Apparently his job hadn’t been done to completion with one of the citizens, and his boot found their throat, and Lucas placed his weight on the windpipe.

“You’re not here long enough for my opinion to matter.”

The interesting thing was that this woman was of breed stock. Interesting… A slim one like her being throwing her life away like that. He shook his head. Sure, there was a Sith coming to him, but the amount of respect Lucas had for anyone in this chickenshit outfit was very slim.

They were Republic citizens, the only thing more disdainful than the One Sith. “Yeah, they’re gone, they fled.” Cowards. “Won’t happen again, Oh gracious Lord of the Sith.” Lucas was not turning to the Sith, focusing his efforts on the other voices in the light-sider.

Very interesting.

 

[Reverance]

Objective: I do what I want
Location: Iziz
Allies: [member="Lucas Gravois"] | [member="Tirdarius"]
Enemies: [member="Chevu Visz"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]
Post 1/20

The force was a beaten thing, kowtowing to the wrath of the one who gripped the whip most fiercely. Laying pitiful and broken across wooden slats, the creak of his weight reminded it of his power and will. Force fed and caged, and starved again when not performing, it was a thing of burden. A burden to discipline in such ways but, in all earnest, if he didn't like it, he wouldn't do it. He liked the drip drop of blood, he liked when it flowed like rivers across smoothed stone, and he liked everything in between. [member="Vrag"] would command that the Wrath not kill civilians, not slaughter them whole sale for the butcher later. But he wasn't one for the idea of listening, nor was he one for diplomacy. Unhinged, he fluttered against the wind and clapped against the siding violently. And that clap came in the form of his hands, stepping out from the shadows just in time to hear the words of one sith to another.

Smiling, he looked towards a young sith and a woman, street clothes, green and somewhat aggravated. But he couldn't hear their taunts and jibes anymore, not over the sound of gloves smacking against voxyn hand. Hair tied back in loose top knot, he looked towards Tirdarius, paying no special mind to those around. Helmetless Vonduun Skerr Ygdris armor, the recovered Reebas laying in wait with a Chom-Huun against his back, and the blackened voxyn al'do black arm. He scratched the prevalent scar over his eye and continued to smile, walking slowly forward.

"And what about me, my Lord?" He spoke sardonically. "Will you deny me this blood as well?" He looked towards Lucas with a glare, teeth bared in a smile. "Let the whelp work. I'm interested to see what he can do." He inspected the green woman with a hungry eye. Not particularly hungry for her, just consuming with a power that ran a planet along a spindle. At any time, it could tilt whichever way he chose. "We are animals. The only ones worth fearing."

 

[Quietus]

NEGOTIATIONS 6

[SIZE=14.6667px]On instinct, Vrag allows her smile to peel back as well, mirroring the wolfish grin of her host. Rows of sharp teeth glint in the low light of the dusty room, and the Hand feels distinctly like there's another current of communication going on between them that she doesn't quite follow.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]~[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=14.6667px]I have a location already plotted. It will take a large effort to clear the beasts and the land. Your peons may enjoy a change of scenery...[/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px] the grin fades into a coy smirk, the Beastia hunkers forward, head dipping between her shoulders, eyes keen on Vrag, [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]something more interesting than unarmed civilian slaughter.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]~[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=14.6667px]Oh, there most assuredly is something else going on here. Vrag is now acutely aware why the Beastia has 'beast' in it, and she can't quite decide how she feels about that realization.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]The grin on her face probably says enough.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]"My... [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]peons[/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px] rarely slaughter civilians," [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]she corrects easily, icy eyes trained on the other woman. They might have been smiling, but they were just as likely to tear at each other's throats at a moment's notice.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]"But fresh air might do them good, I agree."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]~[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=14.6667px]Refreshing.[/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px] came a short reply.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]The air or the fact that her peons did not slaughter civilians? Anyone's guess.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]My[/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px] peons would like nothing better than to help dismantle that hideous Republic Academy pimple in our lands.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]Vrag quirks an eyebrow.[/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px] "Republic Academy?"[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]The Beastia leans up again, her own hands gripping the back of the chair. A strange black stain spreads from beneath her fingers... the chair back is slowly turning to black sand and falling to the floor.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]Yes[/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px].[/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px] A source of great bitterness for her, apparently.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]The Galactic Republic University...seven towers of ignominious ignorance just outside the western entrance of Iziz.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]~[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=14.6667px]It takes some effort not to gawk at the ashes that used to be the chair, but Vrag schools her features into submission.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]"Ah. Encroaching upon your territory, then?"[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]Encroached.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]Senator DeMici did not deign to discuss these decisions with me. My moral compass is perhaps [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]too[/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px] tolerant.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]Her smile widens.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]"Are you asking me to raze it to the ground, Beastia?"[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]I would help you do it.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]This time, the firrerreo doesn't bother with control as she bites her lip. The idea is... enticing.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]"Well. It [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]is[/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px] a Republic structure. Does it hold anything of worth?"[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]The Beastia blows a raspberry with her lips, [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]Whatever worth you place on Republic information. I guarantee nothing of worth and I would not hold my breath.[/SIZE]

~~~~~~
NEW OBJECTIVES

1. 
   [SIZE=14.6667px]Capture the Onderon royalty (Princess, Queen). Seize the palace and take everything that isn’t nailed down.[/SIZE]
   
2. 
   [SIZE=14.6667px]Collect data and information from the Galactic Republic University of Onderon, then raze it to the ground.[/SIZE]
   

 

[Darth Carnifex]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSVqclCr4fI​

Oh, but how quickly the winds changed.

He hadn't been personally keeping track of the negotiations between the Hand and whomever considered themselves leader of that ragtag war band that called themselves the Beast Riders. No, he had a scribe for that task whom waddled alongside the grim-faced procession, his face bathed in the light of his datapad as he scanned through new information as it was funneled through the standard channels. From what he could discern the talks were going swimmingly, and an opportunity had arisen to garner favor with the Beast Riders and their mysterious mistress. The Galactic Republic University, a shining beacon of their decadence had been built on land that the Beast Riders considered theirs.

Now the command was given, and the hounds would be unleashed...

The scribe quickly relayed the new set of orders to Darth Vornskr, whose smile broadened significantly as the prospect of destruction.

His favored past time.

He raised his lightsaber up in the air, activating it's crimson blade to signal the procession. "Soldiers of the Empire, knights of the Sith, minions of the darkness: obey the call of Darth Vornskr." The column of Blackblades and anointed Sith ground to a halt, each one of them standing still as stone as they craned to hear their Lord's prophetic words. Many of them knelt before Vornskr, their heads bowed in devotion and they shivered as the Dark Side cascaded off of him like a frigid chill. He cast his gaze upon those that knelt, his smile only widening further to make his scars bled anew.

"RISE!" he bellowed, his voice carrying over several city blocks.

"The skies turn red with the blood of those that have fallen before us! The Dark Lord watches over us, minions! We march on the Republic University! A center of learning befouled by Jedi heresies, it must be brought to ruin!" The soldiers let loose a cheer, their minds already filling with visions of grisly slaughter, their numbers swarming through the halls as they cut down student and staff alike, their weapons belching death. He pointed his lightsaber towards the city gates in the distance, and his Force-enhanced sight could make out the silhouette of the University, it's seven towers of white stone outlined against the distant sky like some obscene edifice.

Such idolatry must be torn down. "Leave only ashes and misery in your destructive wake!"

They needed no more encouragement.

[ 2 / 20 ]​

 

[Caulder Dune]

Objective: Seize the Palace
Posts: [01/20]

Usually looting was something of an extra curricular activity for Adekos. Now, however, he was being explicitly ordered to do it to one of the most important formerly-Republic landmarks around. Iziz was home to decadent nobility and a ruling dynasty. Decadent nobility and the ruling dynasty tended to have all manner of valuables stored in their estates. Paintings, sculptures, gold, jewelry, tapestries... Everything! Darth Adekos had no explicit need for any of these things. It was more like a game to him, and the more money he acquired, the more valuables he accumulated, the higher his score. The heavy doors to the Iziz Royal Palace were blasted open by the Umbaran Sithling himself. Several squadrons of refurbished Sentinel Droids loomed behind him.

The Palace Guard had been waiting for him and angled their weapons at Adekos and company.

"Gentlemen, you're not really going to lay down your lives for that rug you're standing on, are you?"

They hesitated, but only because his influence was already clouding their minds. The pall of the Dark Side that followed Adekos weakened their resolve and saddened their hearts. These guardsmen were more focused on defending the queen and princess, obviously, but those two were more of an afterthought as far as Adekos was concerned. Where were they going to go? They weren't getting past the blockade even if they did manage to smuggle themselves outside of the palace. Then they'd be caught in the city. Or in the event that they left the city, they'd be mauled by wild beasts or whatever other mindless, tribal drivel was sulking around outside those walls.

Adekos had all the time in the world. "Now, let's put those weapons down and go home for the day..."

 

[cheshire_kitty]

Objective: 2 - Collect data and information from the Galactic Republic University of Onderon, then raze it to the ground.
Location: The Galactic Republic University of Onderon.
Allies: The One Sith
Enemies: Everyone else
Post: [3/20]

The Galactic Republic University of Onderon, an institution where pretentious Republic brats attended to be brainwashed by falsehoods masked as ‘education’. However, that so called educational institution will cease to exist after today.

Konrad had received new orders from above to collect data from the University, and then raze it to the ground. Konrad did not care much about the data that was housed in the building; it would have brought him more joy to destroy the building data and all. To Konrad, the Republic was like decaying branches of a healthy tree, it was important for the tree’s growth that these branches were cut off.

Konrad and his company marched on the campus of the Republic University and surrounded the Great Tower. Two at a time, the soldiers entered the building holding any students and staff unfortunate enough to be there at gun point. The soldiers pushed through the building, securing each room methodically. Any staff or student were unfortunate enough to be inside were rounded up into the auditorium, surrounded by soldiers ready to fire at the slightest movement.

The only room that was left for Konrad and his men to secure was the Office of the university’s president on the building’s top floor. This was a room Konrad wanted to secure personally. A couple of the soldiers broke down the heavy wooden doors that separated Konrad from the president. Once the doors were open, Konrad and a couple of his men stormed into the room.

The cowardly middle aged man with salt and pepper hair and a receding hairline trembled when he saw that members of the One Sith military had breached the doors. Frozen like a deer in the headlights, the president did not have much time to react before he was dragged out of his cushy office.

“I-I’m just a scholar, I-” the president pleaded.

“No, you are just a piece of scum who is the president of this pretentious institution that teaches students how to stick their head as far up their ass as possible. Heck, they probably wear their ass as a hat instead of an academic cap at their graduation considering how full of crap your students are.” Konrad smirked.

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

Post 3/20
Objective: Stop the killing of civilians
Location: Iziz
Others in proximity: [member="Lucas Gravois"] | [member="Chevu Visz"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] | [member="Reverance"]

Animals, are we? True enough for some among the Sith, those who had fallen into bloodlust and malevolence, their lives corrupted and leaving them little more than empty shells that thirsted only for the moment of pleasure that came when they painfully extinguished sentient life. These were the ones that the Sith used as enforcers, as threats against those civilised beings who might resist their will. What better way to subdue a population than by the threat of unleashing such horrors upon them?

Tirdarius could not help but agree with that assessment – but the Sith were monsters only for allowing the existence of such beings, harnessing their sadistic cruelty, their will to dominate, their need to destroy. There is no restraint in these two, no civility or merciful will. Oh, certainly the Sith needed ruthlessness at their disposal: how else could they rule, to govern vast systems across the Galaxy without occasional recourse to merciless violence? This was not their purpose here today, though: to rule, yes, but not to destroy or harm those who had no reason to die. Other than to slake the thirsts of those who lack discipline

And so, here it was: a complication to be dealt with. Not only the two bloodthirsty Sith, seeking after the death that they revelled in. One to prove themselves, the other to simply revel in the chaos. On the other side, a Jedi, her presence highlighted by the blue blade that had ignited in her hand, the shots fired against the younger Sith, as if his death at her hands might stem the tide of the Sith force flooding the empty streets. You’re outmatched here, girl, he thought silently to himself, staring momentarily at her. Your only business here will be to die before your time. There was no need for it, but knowing Jedi, she would stand her ground even if an army came upon her.

“Do you understand so little of rule, boy?”, he asked, directing his words back towards the violent Acolyte. ”To rule a population, you cannot simply exterminate them, hoping that they will fall into line. You kill them, and the survivors will remember it. You turn your back for a moment, and they will have little reason not to slide a blade between your ribs,” he continued, offering a sigh of exasperation. ”Grant them their lives, focus solely on your orders, and they will learn to see you as someone they want to follow. Then, one day, they may perhaps even willingly throw their lives down to obey your will.”

Such reasoning was not his true inclination: in truth, he felt that the murder of such beings was a weakness rather than a show of strength. What difficulty comes from slaughtering those that can offer you no resistance? What does the boy hope to prove with his foolish sadism? This was a child let off the leash, given license to release all that pent up anger, rage, inadequacy that another had allowed to build, venting it now upon those who could do nothing to resist. Such a thing, I cannot allow.

”Our orders are clear, my Lord,” Tirdarius noted coldly, turning now to his fellow Sith Lord, the one that would release the boy to his deadly passions. ”We are not here to declare war on beings that can better serve the Sith. Here we have beings that might willingly join our cause, and otherwise exist as citizens of our Empire. Unless they declare themselves our enemies, I will not see them harmed, he said forcefully, his voice snapping with all the force of a whip lash. The excesses of the sadistic must be curbed if the Sith are ever to truly rule. ”The boy will learn his place, or his body can join that of his victims. No hot-blooded fool will compromise what we do here.”

If the two of them chose to take issue with his decree, he knew he might well have a true fight on his hands. The boy would be little true challenge: too inexperienced in the Force and lacking the discipline to be an effective opponent to a Sith of his experience, but his fellow Sith Lord was by far the more dangerous, and Tirdarius could not guarantee success if push came to shove. As the Force wills it, he mused.

“As for you, Jedi…be gone from this place,” he remarked in a soft voice, his grey eyes flickering in the direction of the green-skinned woman. ”Your fight is elsewhere, not here, where your death might make little true difference to the outcome. The Sith will rule Onderon: go back and tell your brethren what you have seen here. They still have time to make the right choice.”

 

[Darth Timoris]

[Post=2/20]​

Objective: Getting back in the saddle…
Location: In space
Allies: None
Enemies: None

A great boom sounded through the ship. Alarms wailed.

Melori glanced at her droid, that let out a series of bleeps and whistles.

"We had a collision. Really? Get me status on the damage," she said, and reached out with the Force, to ascertain the what and the where.

She headed to the large, jagged, smoking hole the pirate ship had torn in her hull. Loose hoses and electrical lines dangled from the edges of the opening, leaking gases and shooting sparks into space. A portion of her ship's wing had survived the impact and was lodged in the bulkhead. The rest had been vaporised on impact.

She pulled herself through the destruction until she stood in the remains of a depressurised corridor. Chunks of metal and electronics littered the torn deck, the whole of it smoking from the heat of impact. Small fighters buzzed around, visible through the hole in the bulkhead.

In her comms ear-piece she heard an assessment from her droid. It told her what the Force had already said. There are dozens of hijackers aboard the other ship.

"Not for much longer…” she said under her breath, her eyes now a deep shade of yellow, her pupils ringed crimson.

The ship's automatic safeties had sealed off the corridor with a blast door, but she knew how to override them. She strode through the ruin and a snap-hiss indicated her saber was going to be her key. The change in pressure made the huge door slide open, and pressurised air from the hall beyond poured out with a hiss.

A hatch on the far side of the hall slid open to reveal a purple-skinned Twi'lek man in makeshift armor. Seeing her, the Twi'lek's head-tails twitched, his eyes widened in surprise, and he grabbed for the blaster at his belt. By the time the Twi'lek had the blaster drawn and the trigger pulled, she had her lightsaber in hand again and ignited. She deflected the blaster shot into the wall, raised her off hand, and with it reached out with the Force. She made a pincer motion with two fingers, using the Force to squeeze closed the Twi'lek's trachea.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Tirdarius"]
[member="Chevu Visz"]
[member="Lucas Gravois"]
[member="Reverance"]

"Oh fething hell Chevu," he growled as he watched the scene unfolding beneath him. As best he could tell there were now three Sith down there. He turned from his vantage point and hurried down a flight of stairs. It irked him to put Chevu out of his sight for a time, but it couldn't be helped. "Stupid girl," he muttered to himself.

He stepped out into an adjoining street, searching out for what he needed. "Hey you! Excuse me?" he called to a pair of Sith troopers waving civilians back into their abodes.

"Get back in your...oof," the first started. Jacen's first kick knocked the wind out of him and his rifle slid across the floor. The second kick dropped him. He slid underneath the rifle of the second, coming up behind him and wrapping his arm back and under the soldier's helmet. There was a brief struggle, but Jacen held firm as the man clawed at his grip. When he sensed consciousness leave him, Jacen careful laid him to the floor. No need to use the Force and draw attention to himself.

"Top knots are so last year anyway," he mumbled to himself as he performed a perfunctory check on the soldier's rifle before slipping a sidearm into his belt. Finding an entrance to a house that overlooked the stand off, he found the nearest doorway. Using the butt of his new rifle he hollowed out a small hole in the plaster.

Very carefully he laid a grenade for the rifle's underslung launcher. The tips of his fingers pressed against its surface, committing the feel of it to his mind and making the connection that bit stronger.

Jacen bounded up the stairs and found a window, looking down on the scene below once more. "G7, get that shuttle prepped," he whispered.

 

[Caulder Dune]

Objective: Seize the Palace
Posts: [02/20]

The only sign that the royal guard had ever been present in the Royal Palace were their weapons, which had been hastily dropped and left on the floor. Adekos ordered that the weapons be collected. Twenty five guards, twenty five abandoned blaster rifles. The average blaster rifle cost about five hundred credits. Considering these were likely of higher quality, bought with Republic credits to arm an "elite" bodyguard unit, they were probably worth more. Perhaps some would consider it miserly, but Darth Adekos hardly considered himself the sort of person to leave just over twelve thousand credits laying about on the floor. Ignoring the tidy sum he would get from selling them on the black market, it would have also been messy. Someone else could destroy the palace if they wanted to, but Adekos was only here for the innards.

Come to think of it, he could have property deeds drawn up for the palace in his name and then sell the palace too. Adekos found the idea of selling Iziz's most important structure to a preternaturally wealthy Neimoidian pornography mogul marginally more amusing than just destroying the place outright. It is always important to go the extra mile in humiliating your enemies. Otherwise, where's the fun?

"Spread out, we'll take it room-by-room." The Umbaran instructed, the Sentinel Droids splitting off into neat squads of five. "Everything is to be sorted. Artwork and sculptures to the first freighter. Any jewelry and other items are to be sorted by value and material and stored appropriately on the second freighter. Oh, and detain anyone you find. Servants, tourists, royalty, I don't care. Bring them in here for processing. And if there's still guards running about, go ahead and shoot them. I can't be bothered to sit down and talk to everybody."

The looting began in programmed earnest.

 

[Chevu Visz]

Objective: Survive, make a Sith throw up
Location: Iziz
Allies: [member="Jacen Voidstalker"] [member="Tirdarius"]
Enemies: [member="Lucas Gravois"] [member="Reverance"]
3/20

The cruelty in the gaze of the young blonde Sith as he put his boot down on the officer’s windpipe and crushed, writhed in her gut like a worm. Despite an urge to turn away from the death, her eyes remained locked on the young man’s. Chevu felt a wily tendril of the dark side reach out to her like cilia, veering straight for her abdomen. Her eyes widened in shock as he grinned darkly. He knew, the blonde bastard.

She had to stop him. Now. She made no sudden move towards her with her blue blade, but instead hit him with the power of Malacia, designed to induce in him a powerful dizziness and nausea by turning his own equilibrium against him.

Parting the sea of panicked citizens was another figure, this one terribly more familiar to Chevu, the Wrath of the Dark Lord with his whorl of an injured eye and Yuuzhan Vong armor. It was disorienting to see the spitting image of a man she cared so deeply about lumbering into the fray with madness glinting in his one good eye. A look in her direction, like the inspection of a piece of meat, caused an uncontrollable trembling in her hands. The Mirialan gripped her blue blade tighter, her breathing slowing to a crawl. Questions flooded her brain, ones he would not hear, nor would care to answer.

Why did you let your brother live? You could have killed him so easily. Are you planning to give him a taste of freedom only to wrench it away from him as a cruel joke?

Deep brown eyes flashed to the pale, dismissive Sith Lord who seemed was staunchly opposed to the killing of innocents. Was it a trick? She couldn’t help but feel it was, yet the Sith mentioned orders. It was curious development, but was it something she could exploit to her advantage?

“I will not leave until this bloodshed is stopped,” she announced to Sith Lord, but even as she said it, her posture spoke of backing off. This was an extremely dangerous situation for her unborn child, or children as she’d come to suspect. If something happened to them, the cost would be too great to her personally. If she couldn't disable the young one, these citizens might have to find another savior.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"And how did he die, this Master Voidstalker? Was it sacrificing his life to stem the tide of the sith, saving countless lives?

"He was chasing after a fool of a girl who ran out and challenged three Sith Lords.

"Oh, was it a good death?

"No he was shot in the back as he tried to run before being gang-banged to death by Sith

"Oh. So...did he heroically save the girl or did she die?

"She didn't die, she was pretty so of course she's now one of those sensual sith seductresses you hear so much about!

"This story is dreadful.

"I agree, let us never mention Master Voidstalker and his pitiful death again."

Jacen stopped murmuring to himself and admired his handiwork. The baffler before the gas chamber had been carefully removed from the rifle. It was a vital safety feature for long-term use, but Jacen had no intention of using this rifle for a long time. He'd get a few good shots in at best. He had been talking to himself to keep his mind from what he was going to do. Placing a Force User in your sights, imagining the shot...these were good ways for alert them to danger through the Force. No, he had to put those thoughts aside, think of just observing. Shooting would be a last resort. If the time came he would have to make the shots quick and clean.

"Come on you foolhardy girl, run,"

[member="Chevu Visz"]

 

[Isamu Baelor]

Objective: A (Capture the Onderon royalty: [member="Thalia Rist"] )
Allies: [member="Darth Adekos"]
Enemies: Royal Guards.
Post: 1/20

“Beautiful…” Isamu stood in awe of the hallowed grounds of his greatest enemy. This mighty city had once stood as a shining beacon of hope in the galaxy. A symbol of defiance against the tyranny of the One Sith Empire. It inspired its people to bear arms against the monstrous Sith, and risk their lives in the pursuit of freedom.

It once embodied all this, but no more. The tendrils of the Sith reached out, and took grasp of the planet. Its corrupting influence washed over Onderon. A symbol of hope, warped into a symbol of hopelessness. It now stood as a monument to the mighty power of the Sith. A message to all those who dared resist the empire.

The Sith’s reputation was not one of restraint. It was one of brutality. Their ways were messy. They were as a wave of death and destruction, washing over planet-after-planet. In their wake was naught but pain and suffering. This made Onderon a curiosity. Its assimilation was handled with a far softer, but no less deadly, touch.

The hangman’s noose had slipped around the neck of the Onderon government. A battalion of Sith forces encircled the royal palace, and forced it into a state of lockdown. No-one entered, and no-one left. The noose was tightly secured, and the life of the Onderon government was at the whims of the Sith.

Isamu stood in wait, bathed in the warm light of the sun. Until the order was given, they were to stand guard, and nothing more. In truth, the boredom was quiet pleasant to the stalwart soldier. It’s doubtful his soldiers felt the same way, but the quiet was better than the roar of gunfire. Unfortunately, the boredom would soon be broken, as the negotiations concluded.

The rabid dogs of the Sith were unleashed. The city awoke, and screamed in agony. The Sith began tearing it apart. They ravaged the former-republic buildings, and sacked their centres of learning. It was a massacre. The noose tightened on the palace, and the Sith swarmed. Adekos led the charge, and breached the main entrance. Isamu’s forced split off, and made for their objective.

The Sith ascended the palace, clearing floor-after-floor with astounding efficiency. The royal guards posed little threat, and were quickly neutralized, while the unarmed citizens were binded. The Sith flooded the palace, and soon a majority of the it was under their control. Small pockets of resistance continued to hold out, but it would be only temporarily.

The Sith reached the quarters of the royal family. A number of soldiers split off from the main group, and headed towards the princess's quarters. Isamu, and his escorts, approached the queen's’ quarters. They breached the door, and entered the room.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BADYEWolbao​

​

The marching throng of soldiers finally reached the outer perimeter of the university, but between them and the inner workings of the complex was a wall built primarily to keep the beasties of the nearby wilderness from mauling the students safely tucked within. Perhaps they had never imagined that the walls would be assaulted by men and women armed with weapons specifically designed to knock down such fortifications, but you know what they say.

Hindsight is 20/20.

A vanguard of shock troopers took up position at the head of the column while two squads of demolition engineers rushed forward to the base of the wall, planting remote detonators all along it's surface for a good fifty meters in either direction. Once such explosives were in place they were pulled back behind the vanguard, and after a moment or two they detonated their payloads. First came something of a pop followed shortly by what sounded like a great intake of air, and then an explosion so loud and violent it could be heard for miles around. Explosions blossomed along the base of the wall, knocking out the foundation and support while rocket troopers leveled portable missile launches at the rest of the wall and let loose screeching projectiles that smacked into the white stone wall, breaking the upper ramparts to fully bring down a good section of the wall.

Truthfully they could've taken the actual entrance, but either by simple oversight or the desire to be overly theatrical and dramatic they deigned to break through the wall itself. Perhaps it was symbolic to the students that no matter what the Republic had built to protect them, it could easily be knocked down by the military might of the Empire.

Sure, let's go with that one.

Soon enough the dust had settled and from the smoky haze came forth the rank and file soldiers of the Blackblade Guard, their blasters aimed forward as they fired several warning shots to scatter any students that had lingered on the campus grounds far beyond their welcome. Whatever security came to intercept the dark-plated hooligans were cut down before they could even pop off a shot, their boiling blood splattered on the grass and stone while their bodies smoldered in the light of the oppressive Onderon sun. Darth Vornskr bounded over the crumbled wall in a single leap, landing far beyond where his soldiers had already tread and spooking a group of fleeing students.

He regarded them with a wry smile, "Go along now, children" he cooed; "School's out." However; by pure fright they found that their legs would not obey the firing of their brain's synapses, and they merely looked at him with wide eyes and dumbfounded expressions. He scowled now, already agitated by their reluctance to flee from his terror. So, instead he activated the crimson blade of his lightsaber, and the glow of his manic weapon finally seemed to dislodge them from their petrification and they scattered away like spooked animals eliciting another smile from the Sith Lord. He looked up at the seven towers of the University and his momentary smile turned into a withering snarl, his eyes burning with hate for this sparkling edifice of false ideals.

"It's all going to burn." he reassured himself.

[ 3 / 20 ]​