Faction [EOTL] In the Shadows of the Empire Part I

[Aculia Voland]

In the Shadows of the Empire
New Imperial Inquisition Headquarters, Ossus.

​

Aculia meditated in her extensive tower gardens on Ossus, simply feeling the flow of the Force as the carefully planned sustainable ecosystem composed of flora and fauna present gave birth, lived, and died. It would continue to do so indefinitely unless significantly acted upon by outside forces now or until the stars burned out at the end of the universe, whichever came first, and if it did become out of balance, it would seek to return to it. In many ways, it was a metaphor for the Force itself, always trying to return to its mean where both sides were in equal measure, which it inevitably, inexorably would, the so-called "will" of the Force.

But it does not care how many lives are ruined and trampled to achieve that balance, how many must suffer and die across the march of time at the end of the day so that the cycle can continue anew. Only a few of us can act against this, and even then, we must use it to impose our will, temporarily, upon it. We have sparse details on the teachings of Darth Traya, only snippets recounted by her student to refute them from thousands of years ago, but it seems she was on to something. And even then, in the end, she could not defeat it. Thus, the best we can do are temporary victories, before the inevitable reversion takes away all our hopes in dreams so that this "balance" can be restored. Truly, perhaps some of the galactic religions are right, that we live in a fallen universe.

She opened her eyes and sighed, tired, a lot more these days, and precious little of that was because of aging, the balance of the light and the dark within her slowing that down. It was just the great effort required to accomplish anything it seemed, and the even larger amount required to sustain it. The Empire had been forged as a place of safety by sweat and blood out of the anarchy following the Great Collapse, restoring order where they had been none, and now it found it surrounded on all sides by potential enemies, none of which it had asked for, dealing with the legacy and "vision" of the madman who had seized control of it from her. It stood, as it were, but the foundations were showing cracks, led now by an Empress who was barely more than a child and a Moff council with shifting loyalties and an unhealthy acquiescence to the whims of Teckla and the Crusaders.

It was time to shore up those foundations, and time for the Inquisition, and by extension her family, to begin making moves. And for that she needed to begin building their power base and proving their usefulness to the Empire. She would never again make the mistake of being replaceable. That all began with the beginnings of a plan, one that would give them the leverage necessary to both enforce their will upon the Empire and on the very Force itself, at least for as long as possible.

She stood from her meditative pose, walking over to her dark oak desk and taking a seat. She was wearing her official Imperial Inquisitor dress uniform today, a simple, formal gray jacket with crossed lightsaber golden pins, gray pants, and black boots, her black focusing staff with a blue crystal laying against the table, always near her hand. One could not be too careful these days with the reports coming across the galaxy of Force wielders who could simply teleport anywhere at will, something she had seen herself long ago. Perhaps that problem could be rectified, at least here on Ossus, if what she planned succeeded.

And now for those who will be assisting Tella…

She glanced at the files on her datapad. Promising inquisitors, driven by ambition, a lust for power, a belief in the Empire, a desire for a comfortable life, or all of the above. People who would be willing to get the jobs, even the dirty ones, done. Today she would be assembling them, and tasking them with the beginnings of a grand plan. Agents from the NISB, although not attuned to the Force, skilled in the arts of intelligence and recovery, and whose deafness to the mysterious energy field could be an asset at time, and who could be potentially subverted to serve the NII's goals.

Opening up a comm channel to her guards, she spoke.

"Let them in, we have much to discuss."

T'zarna Khab and others who are interested in a bit of an overall storyline for the Inquisition.

 

[Genesis Draykin]

​

Location: New Imperial Inquisition Headquarters, Ossus
Theme: Losing my Religion
Tags: Open

Ossus, Gen had never been here before, but her mother had spoken off it as one of the birth worlds of the Jedi and its traditions. Gen's mother had once been a Jedi once upon a time, well Gen's mother had been a lot of things but never a really good mother. In truth Gen only knew little bit about her mother's past as a Jedi that she had been a Jedi shadow and upon a Jedi Council. Same with she knew very little bit about her mother's time as a Sith. She had been taught to reject both. Instead, she was taught to put her faith into the God's of Dathomir and the rebel code of her great grandfather.

So, the sacredness of this world was a little lost to her as she stepped foot on it. It was just another world like any other. Granted as a Daughter of Allya (Dathomiri) there was some connection to the Jedi though that connection had been long lost. As she made her way to Inquisition Headquarters, she made sure all her measures were in place to hide what she really was. Here she would really have to keep up her guard, her abilities where her own not for someone else to exploit and use for their benefit. It was how she interpreted her mothers' words of rejecting force ideologies and her grandfathers rebel code.

One does not bend the knee; you are your own master and a slave to no one. ~Darth Lucid​

Gen wore her long green coat with a hood, underneath the coat she wore jeans and a long grey shirt that covered her skin suit armor. Strapped to her back was her rifle and on her hip was her sidearm. The pockets of her coat of which there were many hide other various tools and gadgets for her trade. The way she carried herself was more like a scoundrel then regimented soldier, there was a swagger to her step.

She and the others she was with were led into the headquarters. The awe of the structure could impress but Gen kept a straight face as they were led to a meeting with the high Inquisitor. She had to wonder what this might about, though she figured it was just a vetting process. Why not march your new agents..erm junior agents still a swore spot with Gen, in front of the boogieman of the Inquisition the masters of secrets.