Fresia: Temple of Pain

[Ashin Varanin]

Anonymity, today, meant an old Fringe stealth transport -- still head and shoulders above most ships in the same role. It meant camouflaging her engine signature and ingress vector and face and Force presence and even her fething wardrobe. Especially her wardrobe. Lady Ajira Cardei of Theed was absolutely not here, just a masked woman in a black robe, appearing out of nowhere. Her feet hit the ground in front of the Temple of Pain. Tall narrow doors looked down at her, set in a cliffside and flanked by gargoyled crags. Her operative had come through this area a couple of months back, and interrogated the spirits of sacrifices and failed students. The resulting map was far from perfect, but good enough for her purposes. She folded the square of flimsiplast between gloved fingers and tucked it into a pocket of her robes, then climbed the steps. Without apparent effort, she opened the door and slipped inside the nastiest, most notorious temple in One Sith territory.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

As the starship-sized doors closed behind her, the robed visitor pulled out the handwritten map again. She stood in the cavernous Hall of Sorrow, its roof held up by gargoyles as tall as command walkers. Dead ahead, though far down the hall, was a much-used sacrificial altar beneath a demonic statue. Off to the left would be the Dark Forge, to the right were the laboratories. Beyond the altar and statue would be the Eternal Library and the Room of Dreams, as well as fortified access to a courtyard. And somewhere around here was a hidden door to the underground catacombs.

Ajira put the map away again and strode down the long hall. She kept her Force presence modulated. A fraction of her power put her at strong Knight level -- strong enough to avoid, but weak enough to be ubiquitous. That took care of the quantitative side of things. Qualitatively, she kept her presence disguised in terms of identity. She'd once made armour that scrambled her signature, made it unrecognizable; that was a good two decades back. Now she did it without conscious effort.

She continued walking more or less toward the altar, with purpose.

[member="Spencer Varanin"]

 

[Raziel]

Well this was certainly a change of pace as far as covert operations were concerned. For his part, Raziel preferred less flashy modes of transport to arrive unannounced. The right ident cards simply vanished under the noise of the millions of individuals that moved in and out of Sith space on a daily basis.

Footsteps echoed out quietly as he fell into step not far behind [member="Ajira Cardei"]. They did so because he decided they should do so. He could move without making the faintest hint of sound when he desired. A curious place to stride into, bold as brass. Steeped in the darkside it was almost difficult to stretch out with his senses to map out the interior.

The spymaster had a relatively weak grasp of the Force when it came to affecting the physical world, given his strength and experience. Instead he was remarkably sensitive to every subtle fluctuation of the Force, whilst leaving little trace of his own presence.

 

[Velon Ielor]

[member="Ajira Cardei"] [member="Raziel"] [member="Darth Rapax"] [member="Briga Tiin"] [member="Tymon"] [member="Gorteko Graye"] [member="Darth Ferus"] [member="Darth Vornskr"] [member="Reinhard Baelor"] [member="Steel"] [member="First Daughter"] [member="Isamu Baelor"] [member="Gunther Creed"] [member="Darth Ophidia"] [member="Darth Pyrrhus"]

Fresia, a world that was deep inside One Sith space. The Anzat-Miraluka hybrid knew the world, and often visited it due to its reputation for its cruel nature; he had heard stories of people being tortured, acolytes being murdered, among other things. It reminded Velon of the time when he had been part of a Dark Jedi Faction he lead. How times have changed the Sith Lord thought, remembering brief glimpses of the military campaigns he had lead. Times had truly changed, and the times in which Velon had lived were now gone forever.

Unlike his fellow masters, Velon did not keep his signature hidden. Could he? Yes. Then again, Velon didn't really need to do that. This world was used by many Sith Acolytes, Knights, and Lords, and like all the Sith temples that had been built by the One Sith, this one was a dark-side nexus. The dark-side nexus clouded even his force signature, and that of the other Sith Lords. Compared to the overall amount of dark side energy, his force signature was a spec in the dust, effectively making only those that were highly specialized in sensory force techniques to be the only ones that could he able to sense him, and even then, the Sith Lord wore dark side artificats that made sure that he was using force stealth without having to waste his combat ready force reserves; the dark sided things he wore also went with the energy of the dark side nexus, making it even harder for those who were powerful with sensory force techniques to sense the Sith Lord.

Like any building, security cameras(which were protected by socket guards) were in numerous places throughout the temple, including the famous Hall Sorrow. The former Dark Jedi Master so two individuals arrive; based on his experience in the temple, they didn't really seem to wear the normal Sith clothing that was attributed with those that wear the temple; additionally speaking, one of them didn't seem to wear a hood. He looked at one One Sith individual(who has in the room with him), and ordered him to send encrypted comms to the nearest One Sith worlds, as well as to the farthest of them as well. Only one message would be heard:

Enemies have arrived ​

​

Velon then prepared himself to fight, possibly against two powerhouses in their own right. Let us see what the dark side of the force has planned for me.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Velon Ielor"] [member="Raziel"] [member="Spencer Varanin"]

As yet unopposed, Ajira reached the altar at the end of the entry hall. She placed a hand on the poorly cleaned stone, which reeked of old and new blood. Amateurs and perhaps a couple of true practitioners had performed all manner of sacrifice-based rituals here. Seren had talked with their shades. The altar ranked among the strongest focal points of the temple nexus. Ajira closed her eyes and opened a certain door that lay deep within her mind, shut and bolted. Hunger silenced and chilled the Force around her. In moments, she consumed and dissipated the power of the altar.

A door lay to her left, the library entrance. She stepped through and gestured upward. The massive statue of the demonic alchemist trembled above the altar. As shouts rose behind her, Ajira made a fist. The statue collapsed outside the library door, obstructing pursuit and more or less confining her to the library.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Remaining quiet and carefully a few steps behind the woman in front of her, Spencer kept her sense about her trying to pick up any form of danger that would lurk around them. It had been some time since everything had happened and Spencer had been slowly settling into their circumstances as they were since Lujo. Biting her lower lip, she continued to move following towards the library. She slipped it right when the massive doors shut.

The blonde woman frowned slightly as she let her senses move through the room getting a handle of where they were and how large it was. She could feel the shift in the Force here and she was positive Ajira could feel it too. A crash echoed and Spencer looked over her shoulder towards the door. They were sealed inside and whatever was possibly coming for them was sealed outside. Interesting, it was all she thought as she looked towards the other woman. A sharp whisper escaped the blonde, Was that necessary?

An answer probably wouldn’t come out of it, but Spencer knew how Ajira worked so in the end, she knew it was necessary. Sighing softly, she began to look about the library examining things and trying to find anything that stuck out at her. Glancing over her shoulder, she kept a close eye on the woman from Theed. [member="Ajira Cardei"] [member="Velon Ielor"] [member="Raziel"]

 

[Velon Ielor]

For a temple that was based on training future Sith Alchemists, there were numerous focal points for a dark side nexus; the altar was certainly among the strongest, but combined with other multiple points that were focal points in their own right, as well as something else, something much more powerful, absorbing the power of the altar would only increase the power of his opponents to sense Velon marginally, an increase that meant that there was practically no way to sense him in such a high point, and even then, there were other Sith Lords here. Why get mad over a singular force signature when there were others that weer tainted by the power of the dark-side.

Velon then pressed the alarm, and the alert system of the temple went up. It stated that their were enemies in the library. The One Sith Army unit that was here, thousands strong deployed themselves, all exit points being patrolled, having weapons like the E-Web Heavy Repeating Blaster. Chainguns were also set up as well, which like a verpine shatter gun, launched projectiles with electromagnetic force.

Meanwhile, three Sith Lords flanked Velon, as they went to the statues. All of them trained in various force organizations, including the Zeison Sha which had some of the best telekinesis users in the galaxy, they were able to move the statue with little ease, not even using a fraction of their force reserves. The Sith Lords(whose force signature would still be protected from usage) went with Velon to the library, each of them including the Anzat having enormous raw power due to their rituals; the Anzat having gained this while he had conducted a ritual to return himself from the world of Chaos. The Sith Lord then smirked, and moved in-his natural usage of force sight not affecting his force reserves whatsoever.

Meanwhile....

"Communicate with other One Sith ships, and tell them of our situation; ask them to activate our new experimental interdictor stations, and have the interdictor stations notify anyone of any attack. I want our corvettes to be vigilant, and inform me when an enemy fleet is arriving" the leader of the fleet stated ."Also conduct a sensor scan immediately. I also want the people manning our sensors to tell me if any fleet is going to come out of hyperspace. Give me a status update of all the ships' systems that are part of this fleet, as well as their captains. I also want all frequencies, and comm channels to be monitored. Make sure that they can't hack ours as well. Also keep me informed on what is happening in the Temple of Pain, and constantly communicate with our troops on the ground." he ordered. The new interdictor stations had been created by Malos Kas, and were an experimental design. They featured a bunch of things, including having armaments, shield systems, sensor sytems(such as a HSI), the PED-21 Distress beacon, among other things. It certainly was a good design, and they were many, many of them in One Sith space that worked to protect One Sith space. Either way, what mattered here on Fresia could only be exemplified in one statement:

The battle had begun.

[member="Spencer Varanin"] [member=Raziel] [member="Ajira Cardei"]​

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Velon Ielor"] [member="Spencer Varanin"] [member="Raziel"]

OOC/ Velon, the ship in question is a Sekairo-class transport - stygium cloak, thrust trace dampers, gravitic modulator. Even focused scans from a Shadow-class almost certainly won't find it, so you're gonna need to edit the space side of your post.

IC/
"You know what to do, love," Ajira murmured to Spencer with half a smile, and turned back toward the door. The Force warped as what felt like multiple Masters shifted the statue's rubble away. The door opened, revealing four figures. Ajira wasn't much for Force senses in general, but at this range, she could tell that three were strong, and the one in the middle had his Force presence blanked by qey'tek meditation or something comparable. With a mental shrug, Ajira let her own Force signature loose. Absorbing a minor, recent nexus could boost her strength, to be sure, but the cold, furious presence that rolled out from her had its own profundity. The arch patron of this temple, its creator and strongest master, had been the student of the student of the student of Ajira's greatest protegee. There were masters and then there were masters.

But many a Dark Lord had failed by trusting strength instead of wit, and Ajira had no intention of being among them. Under another name and another face, she'd done that once and reaped the rewards.

The black robe slipped from her shoulders, leaving her in loose canvas pants, a featureless durasteel mask, and a sleeveless shirt over a breast band. She wore tough, flexible shoes and carried no weapons, no technology, no gear of any kind. Scarred hands clenched until the knuckles popped.

The library had a curiously cramped design. Ajira found it relatively easy to take a position that forced the four new arrivals to concentrate on her. Ideally, she could buy Spencer considerable time. She walked toward them, though she hadn't gone far from the door, and stopped perhaps five paces from them. Her hands went loose by her sides, and she kept her weight on the balls of her feet.

Focus without tension. Fluidity without lassitude. Awareness without distraction.

"Well?"

 

[Raziel]

Spoiler

Leaviathan Bracers
Quickfire 2 Holdout
Smart Grenade/Mine Launcher
Cryoban Grenades
Ion Grenades
Sonic Grenades
Thermal Grenades
Splinter Pistol
Lightsabers
Nightshrike Modular Stealth Armour
Back: Probe Droid
Wrist 1: Splinter Knives
Wrist 2: Wrist Blaster
Belt: Personal Cloaking Device

How rude, he thought to himself as Ajira sealed herself off in the library with him still in the hallway. It didn't matter really; Raziel was heading for the laboratories. With a wave of his hand the doors parted before him. Raziel was perfectly content to let the others draw the attention. His fingers did a little dance at his sides, fanning out and then snapping shut. His very earliest lessons in life had been at the card table in the bar he'd grown up in. A old sabacc master had noticed those keen, emerald eyes watching the game within the game. Dextrous hands were not as important as the lessons in misdirection and manipulation.

"Who are..." one of the two acolytes on guard called out. The final word choked in his throat. It hadn't seemed as if Raziel had moved and yet now he stood with both hands open before him. Splinter knioves have buried deep in each of the guards and neurotoxins did they job in the space of one heartbeat.

The assassin continued on his journey. He wasn't the spymaster. Not today. His smart mine launcher unfolded and he fired a cryo round above the doorway that led deeper into the catacombs. Nothing down there interested him.

The probe droid detached from his back and rounded to face him.

"Find it," he snapped.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

Ooc/ sorry [member="Velon Ielor"], gotta move on. I know you're pretty busy IRL right now.

[member="Spencer Varanin"] [member="Raziel"]

IC/
As Spencer applied her unique sensing talents to the library stacks, Ajira faced a rush of genuinely irked Sith knights and acolytes. At a guess, their irritation stemmed from two factors. For one, someone was happily destroying their home piece by piece in recompense for an unknown crime. But for another thing, someone in a position of authority had hoped to use them as cannon fodder. Clearly, the goal was to wear down the masked woman through attrition, while saving the Master-level opposition for later. That goal turned out to be as impractical as the weapons involved.

Because every one of these knights and apprentices had to be special. Bulky Sith swords met deft redirects and brisk disengages. Lightstaffs were summarily bisected or turned against their owners. Lightwhips wrapped around Ajira's sabre and were torn away, or fell victim to trakata disengages and the kind of brutal short-range assault they couldn't hope to counter.

In short order, smoking bodies and half-molten weapons surrounded Ajira. In her hand was the sabre of a random acolyte. No special cutting power or unique modes or legendary crystals: just a blade.

 

[Matreya]

Having a precog skill under ones belt was always useful. Especially when one wishes to keep eyes on a task set before another. Hence when he finally received visions of Ajira raiding the temple, Damien rushed to equip himself, then move to assist. Lucky for him, he had been nearby for a few days already.

A burst of pressure signaled his arrival in the Halls of the massive temple. He had been here, sought to teach, but in the end felt it useless, nothing more than waste of the resources being used to do so. Now, he was an attacker. Now, he would be the truest of teachers: fend for yourself, or die.

Activating his silver hued lightsaber, Damien brought the blade upward, deflecting a blow the moment he appeared - someone else was a precog, and guessed where he would show. But still he ducked under the blow, flipping the hilt of his weapon as it deactivated for a moment, reactivating to protude the blade through his attackers skull. Clad in his sharpest weaponry, he knew little could damage him here. He wore a Warden Cloak and Cater Coat to protect him from certain aspects of battle, while his Beskar'gam did the same toward the many more styled protections. Above the armor, but below the Coat sat his Gun belt, loaded to the brim with explosives, munitions, and a trinity of Betty Blasters.

Lymmahtun hung at his waist, while Tantibus from his back.

Catching the loosed saber of his attacker, he spun to face a horde as they launched his way. Both hilts deactivated simultaneously, while he lowered arms to his sides. Like another being, one he was unable to observe, he too used Trakata. It was his go to for saber play, combining with the aggressive power strikes of Ataru.

All the while, to fill reserves lost in his grand entrance, Damien began funneling energy from the surrounding area. The Nexus' were powerful here.

 

[Matreya]

Turning toward the nearest wall, Damien turned his back toward it, as he realized he heard approach from both direction of the hall now. Activating duel wielded blades, he inhaled slowly... then lurched into action. Blocking a blow that came his way with the saber in his right, the left swept through the mans body from across his own. The momentum of which carried it directly into a parry of another's. Deactivating the blade in his right again, he lashed out and jammed the hilt into the attacking Zabrakian's nasal passage.

Carrying through with that angled movement, he rotated around the beings side, ending that confrontation with an armored elbow to the skull. Next he kicked out, landing a dense blow to a lithe woman's sternum, incapacitating her quickly. To be sure though, he swooped the Knight upward and made haste at releasing his proboscis- they were inside her brain like lightning, having absorbed the Soup within nearly just as quickly.

The power of the fallen knight having bolstered his confidence though, he spun to swing each blade at separate opponents, only to be swept from his feet in a tackle. Slamming onto his back, he gasped against the force of a wookiee that was angry at its attackers.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Do what she did best? There were several things that Spencer could do rather well, but in this case none of what she thought of would fit the situation. So instead, she did what she did best in this situation and that was to open her senses and connection to the force to find any and all things within it. Taking a deep breath, she focused wholeheartedly on searching the nooks and crannies of the library. From what she gathered from her first once over was that there were several items that were tainted or forged within the darkside.

There was an odd taint to them and she didn’t know how she full felt about gathering them especially in her unbalanced state. Still, she searched and ran her fingers over tombs and other data storages feeling for the ones that had the most potential. Stopping, she pressed her finger onto one of the storages and pulled them out. A hand dug into her bag and she plugged the tablet into a small external drive. There she quickly downloaded the information and continued on. She repeated the process with a few others and then moved towards the datacrons and unmarked holocrons.

Instead of downloading those, Spencer quickly tucked the ones that had the heaviest darkside influence into her pouch and then looked towards Ashin. “Almost done, Love anything in particular I should be looking out for? I know you usually have a plan when you do things like this.” [member="Ajira Cardei"] [member="Raziel"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Spencer Varanin"] [member="Raziel"]

Ajira came to a halt. Around her, bodies in various states of disrepair choked the library's entry hall. The Sith Lord had withdrawn, and his compatriots were currently engrossed in making the floor tacky. She drew a shuddering breath and let it out, then hefted the plain, unimpressive lightsabre she'd taken up. "Whatever you feel is significant, Spence. More if you like." She dragged the blade through a nearby bearing wall, then again, a Paparak cross-cut. The Emperor's Hands were said to have used that sabotage technique. More recently, she'd looked through the rubble of her citadel on Dromund Kaas, and seen the signs of the Paparak cross-cut in Ember Rekali's handwriting.

The wall shuddered. This was pretty far into the cavernous, but not labyrinthine, Temple of Pain. Through the wreckage of the library door, she saw the rubble they'd cleared away -- the statue pillar she'd brought down. Other pillars held up a monstrous roof. She gestured, and half a dozen fallen lightsabres rose from the floor around her. They shot toward those pillars, head-high and low-visibility, and activated at the last moment. More stone creaked, raining bits of rubble down on oncoming security droids and personnel and Sith and Sithspawn, all across the hall.

"Though I wouldn't advise taking too long."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Spencer Varanin"] [member="Raziel"]

Some time later, opposition having evaporated, Ajira watched from the hatch of a departing stealth transport as the Temple of Pain collapsed in on itself. It wasn't satisfying. Even the holocrons and datatapes they'd secured were nothing but a drop in the bucket.

Still, she foresaw plenty of drops. At minimum, one for every drop of blood the One Sith had drained out of her wife.

She eyed the pile of rubble that had been one of the galaxy's most impressive and powerful edifices, then turned her attention to bacta patches and a commpad. Meanwhile, the Fringe stealth transport departed Fresia for good.

[member="Fos Misao"]

As contracted: the Fresia Temple of Pain, razed to the ground.

Your business is appreciated. Thank you for choosing Ke'dem.


EXEUNT