Faction Death, Be Not Proud [SO]

[Kalzok]

O DEATH, BE NOT (SO) PROUD

Revelation, Part 5
Location: In the heart of the Red Dragon
Tags: Tithon Antilles
Tsis'Kal: Dvasia Darth Ophidia Darth Strosius

​

Antilles finished his autopilot encryption, and then took his seat only a moment before Kalzok arrived. When the Sith appeared, he would see the Admiral proud but withered by war. No words were shared between them - Antilles gave a simple nod, and took a seat.His eyes would close for the last time before the air was sliced by lightning and knives - impaling him and forcing a final breath to leave him like a sigh. Head wilting, life fading, the Admiral offered nothing but honor to his dying moment.

Kalzok watched as iron and lightning struck true: The Admiral of the Fleet, Tithon Antilles, died in under the span of a breath, a clean kill. The Admiral died with stoic honour, his body broken and destroyed. There was no coming back for him. Efficient, in death as he was in life.

Then the alarms sounded -"Self Destruct sequence iniated. Protocal: Eclipse in effect. Life support shutting down, escape craft disabled and purged of fuel. Glory be upon Typhojem, Glory be upon the Emperor.", the AI voice called out with such a human fervor it seemed like he himself was a zealot in their ranks.The ship was set on its course, and the death of all those who remained would be swift.

The Thaumaturge cussed aloud, the first sign in a long time that he was still very much mortal, with mortal concerns. He looked to the control consoles: one of the damage control panels was still lit for several seconds before it too shut down. But it gave sufficient crucial information about the ship's decks.

Kalzok turned and sped out the bridge, almost flying through the air like a bullet. The final image of the ship's deck status burnt into his mind, Kalzok flew through the ship, speeding past panicking crew members or those resigned to their fate. As the ship fell apart from the damage, headed directly towards the Malsheem, Kalzok made his way to one specific deck on the ship: a small shuttle craft storage compartment. Nestled deep in the heart of the ship, and yet far away from the reactor, Kalzok stepped into it. Rows of shuttles and fighters clamped into place and tucked into the hull. The protocol would help Kalzok here: the ships were purged of fuel, which would lower the chance of a chain explosion. But the command codes were disabled and the crafts shut down.

No matter. All Kalzok needed was the craft's physical body.

Kalzok ripped open the ramp of one of the sealed, inactivated shuttles, before squeezing through, choosing the sturdiest and hardiest model. He could feel precious time tick away as he reached an access panel in the shuttle's plasma coils.

Won't be needing this anyway...

While the fuel was purged, the internal plasma and capacitors were still filled. Useless for propulsion without command codes and fuel, but Kalzok was not using that. No, he ripped the plasma coil open and pointed it at the gap he had torn in the shuttle. He levitated the ripped panel onto the gap he had torn. Reaching out with the Force, he manually "squeezed the heart of the shuttle", almost like squeezing the recently ripped heart of a corpse. Much as the blood would spurt through its ripped arteries, superheated coolant, residual plasma, and even some backwash blaster gas burst forth from the coil, a superheated jet of energy and power that sprayed over and onto the tear in the shuttle door and the piece of durasteel placed over it. Withtin a few seconds the coil's contents emptied, pitiful squirts of superheated gas gurgling through, but it was done. The panel was welded primitvely over the hole in the shuttle door.

With that settled, Kalzok sat on the floor of the shuttle and concentrated, extended his senses, reaching out with tendrils of energy, touching and seeing the precise physical state of the bulkheads, blast doors and hull nearest to him. He wrapped the Force around the storage deck of the Red Dragon. Even as explosion rocked the ship, he pulled hard, wrenching the strings of fate so hard some broke. Reality and physics bent to his will, albeit on a localised scale, a bubble of protective reality where the impact and nuclear explosion of the Red Dragon would be dampened, allowing this part of the ship to not be vaporised once the Dragon smashed into the Malsheem. The impact would be enough to rip open the deck, however, allowing the shuttle to freefall through the void and hopefully onto an intact portion of the Malsheem. At worst, Kalzok would wait in the void of space for the victory of the Tsis'Kal.

Antilles' lifeless corpse had a front row seat, watching the Red Dragon head closer and closer to the Malsheem, the ship accelerating as its reactors boiled over. In under a minute, it would detonate if it smashed into the Kainite flagship beyond full speed. His grinning skull, flesh partially melted off, smiled one last time as the Red Dragon roared its final charge.

Darth Ophidia Darth Carnifex Darth Empyrean Darth Prazutis Dvasia Darth Strosius Alina Tremiru UX-0626

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Demiurge's mouth curved down into a frustrated grimace, watching as the facsimile of Ophidia split beneath his blade and dissolved into black sand. His eyes quickly moved from the spilled sand to the real Ophidia, who had just keyed the activation switch leading to the Inner Sanctum. The doors open, mist billowing out as the temperature within the sanctum was many degrees colder than the antechamber. Inside was a complex network of machinery, all leading to a massive sarcophagus elevated at the center of the sanctum. Though primarily built of hard, alien metal, the front of the sarcophagus was made of reinforced glass frosted over by the frigid chill.

Demiurge took a step forward, lightsaber angled down and to the side. "You trifle with powers you cannot begin to comprehend, Ophidia." He deactivated his lightsaber, but still kept it in his hand. "I would implore you to think rationally, what do you hope to accomplish with this gesture? We had known that the Worm-Slayer would be especially covetous of our power, but we had never thought that you would be as equally covetous. Perhaps that is our failing, for inviting the serpent into our midst, and allowing them a seat at our table."

A dark power emanated from within the sarcophagus at Ophidia's back, itself radiating a chill entirely separate from the controlled temperature of the sanctum. Within the sarcophagus was the body of Kaine Zambrano, not the flesh-avatars He'd inhabited for the past several decades, but His true original birth-body. It was extremely desiccated, more than half of it missing entirely. Paper-thin flesh clung stubbornly to atrophied muscle and withered bone. The head was virtually skull-like, most of the jaw missing, and both sockets completely devoid of eyes. Still, Ophidia could sense that it was not entirely dead, the spark of life yet flickered deep within the body.

At the base of the sarcophagus was an urn, large enough that it'd have to be carried in both hands. Upon its glossy obsidian surface were golden geometric carvings, the leylines of magic woven directly into the ceramic craftsmanship. It vibrated with a power all its own, equally as dark as that found within the sarcophagus.

"The moment you cross that threshold, we can never go back."

By miracle of chance, the Red Dragon slipped past the spasming shield cover of Malsheem. Flak cannons and turbolasers turned up and began to fire, but only sporadically. Together, it was not enough to destroy the Red Dragon, only slow its descent as pieces were carved away by the combined fire. When the moment of impact came, it was bright and vibrant. The prow of the doomed vessel slammed into Malsheem's surface, tearing through several layers of deck before hitting an ammunition pocket and exploding. This, coupled with the overloaded reactors, sparked a massive combustion that was visible from the warring fleets just outside the faltering shield wall.

Fire swept through several levels before being quarantined by hermetically sealed bulkheads. Droids, designed to combat such hazards, popped out of their charging stations in the immediate area. AQUILA, the commanding artificial intelligence of Malsheem, quickly cordoned several corridors off and began venting the afflicted sections into the vacuum of space. Whatever survivors there might have been quickly perished in the cold embrace of the void, their lifeless bodies shunted out from the burning inferno.

Though not life-threatening to the station's wellbeing, the Red Dragon's demise was enough of a crisis to cause greater distress to Malsheem alongside the ongoing betrayal.

Darth Ophidia | Kalzok ​

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Darth Carnifex Darth Empyrean Darth Prazutis
Darth Strosius Kalzok Dvasia​

Frigid mist welled out toward her and broke against her legs like the sea dashing itself upon the rocky shore. She stood steadfast, like a pillar of darkness cutting the dim light of the shrine ahead of her. Demiurge's words were not without effect, for she had thought long and hard about her allegiances before her decision was made. Even so, the Pale Assassin had made up her mind. They would rue this day, but the moment was needed for the Sith to return.

"Your only failure was to never see me for what I am."

She turned her back on him to gaze at the machine tomb of Kaine Zambrano. The sabre in her hand inactive just as Demiurge's; it was just him, her and their words now. Perhaps for the first time in decades, for the first time since that dead planet when she thrust a needle in her arm at the command of her master, did her eyes again shimmer with a sheen of tears.

"I am your equal."

She crossed the threshold and her form vanished into the mists that welled up around her dark form. Her presence both extended and melted away, echoing across the battlefield like a ghost with a terrible portend to tell. She closed the distance to the tomb at great speed. Her blade remained inactive as she did not want to telegraph her exact position to Demiurge and give him a chance to stop her, but her left hand touched the glass sarcophagus as her mind formed into a dagger and a bubble of shimmering force encased her.

For the Order.

Malsheem shuddered under the impact of the Red Dragon, and the Tsis'kaar comms received their next warning. The final phase was enacted. The ghostly echoes of Darth Ophidia's form coalesced as an image on the Bridge of the Eternal Rule, the battleground of the wishful Lords of the Sith.

"CEASE!" "Your childish bickering is shredding the remnants of our order and handing the future of the Sith to the Maw. Failure is your legacy." "So cease, or I will see you face utter ruin."

 

[Darth Strosius]

Location: Acerbitas
Objective: Force the Ceasefire
Equipment: Lightsaber, Dagger, Armor, Sith Scroll
Tags: Darth Ophidia / Dvasia / Venn Kolis / Kalzok
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The last few hallways between the Knight and the bridge proved to be a challenge. By now the automated defenses and droids aboard the ship had joined in the fray, most of them of course being in control of the Eternals. The handful of droids that had been hacked and turned against the loyal crew were useful but were quickly cut down by the ship's defenses. The casualties amongst the hidden agents was rising, far too much to sustain the confusion that would serve as their best weapon.

Alisteri slammed himself against a pillar, cursing as a couple turrets kept him pinned in his cover. Bodies of friend and foe alike littered this part of the hall, and he was not content to join them. With a sigh he cleared his mind and focused, extinguishing his blade and clipping it back to his belt as his other hand fished something from his pocket.

He had intended on making it to the bridge before he unleashed the scroll, mostly due to his own concern about it not functioning properly otherwise, but he was out of time. The insurgents were dying and he wasn't where he needed to be just yet, he had to do it now. He unfurled the Sith Scroll gifted to him by his master and began reciting the words inscribed upon it, the atmosphere aboard the chaotic ship seeming to shift as the words flowed from his mouth and filled the hall that he now took cover in.

The results of the spell would soon become very apparent, as the bodies of the recently slain and deceased would begin to twitch and rise. Many of them were pulled up, looking much like puppets yanked to their feet rather than people standing up, and set about their work. Returning to their stations, manning the terminals and gun batteries that they had been cut down near, but now their weapons were not solely aimed at the Kainite fleet or their prized Malsheem. The Acerbitas gradually started opening fire on the ships around it, individual guns turning to the side and letting loose their deadly force on the Eternalist ships that guarded the flagship.

And of course, the internal guns were similarly affected. The heavy suppressive barrage tearing into his cover ceased as one of the turrets turned on the other and shot it to pieces, allowing the Knight to move on. He rolled the scroll back up and stuffed it into his robes quickly before pulling out his lightsaber again as he rushed through the newly opened doors and past friendly defenses. Soon enough he had stepped onto the bridge, the confused crew that were still fighting off insurgents, and now their own dead comrades, were quickly put down by the Sith and a group of droids that barged into the bridge right after him. Alisteri paused and took stock of the situation, his gaze sweeping the bodies that littered the bridge as they slowly began to twitch and rise to resume their duties once more. He had done it. A wide grin spread across his face underneath his mask as he resisted the urge to laugh in triumph.

Even if only for the moment, he was sitting in control of a flagship. Of course there was still plenty of fighting going on aboard the vessel, but with full command of the internal security and defenses he had little doubt that anyone would be able to rush the bridge for awhile at least. "Hold fire on all weapons and ready a transmission to the Eternal's fleet. I want everyone to hear this." The almost robotic way the risen crew complied was unnerving, but he chose not to focus on it. As disturbing as such the spell was, it was necessary for the Sith. Necessary for victory. He rolled his shoulders and stood before the commanding position that the Eternal's new leader had taken before the battle began, the transmission displaying a mere Knight standing in the place of a god soon lighting up most screens across the battle.

:"To all that hear this, you are ordered to hold your fire. Stop the battle and cease all hostilities with the Kainite fleet at once. I am Darth Strosius, Knight of the Sith and servant of the Pale Assassin. You may not know me, you may not heed my words, but you will obey. I have taken command of the flagship Acerbitas and already some of you have felt the fury of its guns. Cease and comply, or be reduced to ash.":

 

[Darth Empyrean]

The illusion was rampant and total - but more than an illusion, it was truth. Admist the darkness were a thousand Sith Lords fighting from the position of strength Empyrean had allowed of them; striking with the totality of their skills, holding only the barest minimum back, just enough for Empyrean to recollect them upon their deaths. The arrival of another Sith spurned in him nothing but hatred - more so at her declaration.​

​

"And who are you to command me, Darth Ophidia?", the corpse of Maliphant said with disgust.​

​

"You who has died and not ascended, you who threaten my victory with destruction. Do you think I am incapable of destroying these two, that I can not end you? I would rebuild the Sith from ashes as prophecy demands, and your bones will form my throne if I demand it."​

​

Darth Ophidia // Darth Prazutis // Darth Carnifex​

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Darth Carnifex Darth Empyrean Darth Prazutis​

Darth Ophidia laughed at his accusations while her visage stretched unnaturally, like a serpent shedding its skin.

"You are blind, Empyrean. I died, I ascended, I returned, and you saw nothing."

Black eyes with irises of molten iron leaned closer to Empyrean.

"You will fail, because you have already failed." "You may kill these two, but it will cost your life." "Your followers may ravage the Malsheem but they will starve within its useless corpse."

"If you proceed, then you will be a master of nothing."

This time she addressed both Empyrean and Carnifex, as her illusory visage split and twisted to face them both at once.

"The time will come when one will stand above the rest, the first among equals, but this is not the hour of ascension." "This is the hour of death and pride."

"So stand down, or I will show you how this battle ends."

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Ah, He saw now the trap.

Three bound in struggle, daggers thrust towards each other's throat. Should one push forward to release the crimson deluge, then all would suffer a shared fate. He had believed His own trap so clever, pinning the Eternalist fleet against the anvil of Malsheem while the Blackblades served as the crushing hammer. But He had blinded Himself to the true treachery from within, that of an ally long fermenting her own ascension to power. Through His link with Demiurge He understood what had transpired, and internally His black heart burned in the fires of His hatred.

"Very clever, Pale Lady. A trap within a trap, wheels within wheels. The ultimatum is given, do we risk mutual annihilation or do we swallow our pride and sheath our swords?" The Dark Lord looked from Prazutis to Empyrean, His baleful eyes giving away nothing of His intentions. Letting His blade dip towards the ground, Carnifex allowed the weapon to pass away into shadow and disappear from His hand. "I am not yet so consumed by madness to welcome oblivion, what do you want, Ophidia?"

All over the battlefield, the soldiers and vessels of the Kainate began to back away from their engagements. Some were destroyed doing so, while others took serious damage, but all would obey the unheard call of the Dark Father.

And so began negotiations.

Darth Ophidia | Darth Empyrean | Darth Prazutis ​

 

[Venn Kolis]

The Sith Order
Darth Strosius Darth Empyrean Darth Ophidia

DEATH, BE NOT PROUD
Askaj System: Sith Eternal flagship, the Acerbitas
​

"Ohhhhh, Darth Strosius!"

Venn stalked onto the bridge, his steps cumbered by the burden he dragged with him: the guard who'd opened the bridge door for Alisteri. The man slid on his back, grasping fruitlessly at the gloved hand that gripped his neck. Despite pulling a traitor behind him by the throat, Venn's tone was lighthearted as he laughed, "Please m'lord, forgive my impropriety. I had no idea I stood in the presence of a Darth."

And as if to emphasize that final word, he crushed the windpipe in his hand like it was a dry stalk of grass. "I'm appalled that I missed your knighting ceremony. Pray, allow this humble apprentice to offer your Imperial Darkness my sincerest congratulation!!!"

Screaming now, one hand tore the broken longsword at his side out of its scabbard. The black edge shone red-hot, and then in a burst of fire, Venn was flying across the room, that sword raised above his head, determined to cleave Darth Strosius straight in half.

 

[Darth Strosius]

Location: Acerbitas
Objective: Force the Ceasefire
Equipment: Lightsaber, Dagger, Armor
Tags: Venn Kolis
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At the sound of a very familiar voice, Alisteri turned to face his friend and his gaze narrowed at the sight and mocking tone. He should have known that Venn would not take the ultimatum so easily, after all he doubted that he would have if the positions were reversed. His gaze dipped to the struggling guard and he winced at the sight but otherwise didn't look too perturbed by the death. Just another body for the day.

"Well, Knight Strosius doesn't carry the same weight with these high and mighty types Venn." The Knight's tone was measured and calm. Almost like he didn't believe this would devolve into a duel. Of course, he didn't hold out the hope for that.

With a growl his lightsaber flew back into his grasp and ignited as the other Sith flew towards him, raising his blade to block the incoming overhead strike right as it came at him. "Damnit Venn! We are on the verge of a grand victory here, do not let your judgement be clouded!" His free hand opened wide and with it unleashed a little wave of the Force to try and push his friend back.

"The Sith are almost free!"

 

[Venn Kolis]

The Sith Order
Darth Strosius Darth Empyrean Darth Ophidia

DEATH, BE NOT PROUD
Askaj System: Sith Eternal flagship, the Acerbitas
​

The satisfying jarr of Venn's blade against Ali's filled the apprentice with satisfaction. Before he could redouble his attack, Alisteri was striking back. The repulse knocked Venn away, across the bridge, his boots squealing for purchase in a half-controlled slide. Leaning forward, he managed to steady himself, coming to a halt. Chuckling, flames beginning to gather in his left hand.

"Ah! Haha, of course! I see now, old friend! You're only freeing us! Soon, the Kainite will be free to once again plot heresy and treachery, while posing as our friends! And the Eternals will be free to be betrayed once again! And then your master, the slick-scaled harridan, will be free to manipulate both sides in yet another bid for greater power! Everywhere, weak-willed cowards free to fight another day!!!"

And Venn flung his left hand towards Alisteri. A dozen tiny motes of fire sparked across the room in swirling arcs. Each little light that reached Alisteri went off like a small thermal detonator. "Our fleet outside, free to be torn to pieces by the Kainite's Blackblade Guard! These fine crewmen of the Sith Eternal, free to dance about as your putrid puppets! THANK YOU, ALISTERI. THANK YOU FOR FREEING US."

​

 

[Darth Strosius]

Location: Acerbitas
Objective: Force the Ceasefire
Equipment: Lightsaber, Dagger, Armor
Tags: Venn Kolis
---------------------------------------

While Alisteri was hesitant to do any lasting damage to his friend, mostly due to the fact that Venn couldn't heal like he could, he could tell that such a hesitation wasn't in the mind of his fellow Sith. If the hand full of flames was any indication anyway. "Come now Venn, use your head! There is no Kainite without Carnifex or the Zambrano dynasty, they're just a bunch of brainwashed soldiers! They'll fall in line or else-"

His eyes widened as the arcs of fire soon lit up with an explosive fury, barely managing to dodge to the side far enough to escape the detonations. "Oh don't you get all high and mighty with me about this crew!" After a quick patting of his cape to put out the bit of fire that had been able to hit him, the Knight was back on the offensive. "The Eternal's 'all powerful emperor' hid like the coward he was when the Jedi came to Odavessa! Letting all of us 'lesser' Sith fight and die in his place. And his successor would rather waste time and lives on his own pride instead of rebuilding what little we have left!"

Alisteri bounded across the room to his opponent and leapt at him with his lightsaber at the ready to slice the other Sith in half. "I am but an executioner Venn! A blade for the Sith! Carnifex and that fething Worm decided to place all these heads on the chopping block!" Meanwhile his free hand crackled with lightning as poison seeped into his own tone.