Private Going to California

[Darth Empyrean]

The great Mors Mon trailed ever closer to his planned war path against the Mandalorians, parsing this hyperlane and that before ambushing entire convoys. Some days it hid in nebulas of its own make, letting its battlecruiser entourage spread their weapons far and wide. It had become the norm of his operation in the Outer Rim, his war waged from a single great ship in the sky. There was a reason the Mors Mon had begun to take on the name of Death's Chariot, The Mountain in the Sky. It was a harbinger of death - as it deserved to be.​

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He could almost here it speak, even through the throne he now sat on.​

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Yet today was not a matter of issue regarding war, but a single influential being. His spies had seen her in the Order, at gatherings and events of note, but unlike what he had expected - she was not in disguise. She had come as herself, and despite all he had demanded, his spies had given him little. All he knew was that it was related to Darth Carnifex . So he would send her word, courier, a Sepulchral Priest with a message from the Emperor himself.​

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"You are called to his throne in the Mors Mon.", they had said, aged and disgusting as they were.​

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And so she had come. There was no denying the Emperor's summons.​

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" Allyson Locke .", the great Corpse said from his throne. He leaned forward, almost crunching like a starched blanket.​

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"What are you doing in my Empire?", cold and calculated from a man who had lived beyond his means.​

 

[Allyson Locke]

//: Darth Empyrean //:

The summons came later than she had expected. Upon entering the Empire, Allyson figured she could cause a stir with its civilians. Many knew who she was, even if they didn't know her face - they knew what she was. The Empire felt familiar, and a part of her felt at home. For reasons only Allyson knew, places were nostalgic. When the courier found her, she had been standing outside an office. A part of her had hoped she'd see a head of snow white hair pacing back and forth as its owner mulled over the daily duties. Thinking about the Echani woman, pulled a small smile at the Jedi's lips.

Allyson would never discover what happened to Jorryn, but the hint of guilt hung heavy on the Corellian's heart. Like many times before, her mission put her paramour in harm's way. The message from the Emperor, though, forced Allyson to put away her nostalgia and focus on the present.

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He loomed forward, the figure of the Emperor was imposing. The power difference between them was not just palpable, it was suffocating. But Allyson's confidence remained unshaken. Her eyes darted around the room, her mind calculating escape routes in case this was a trap. She had caused chaos in his Empire and had stolen secrets. If this wasn't a trap to capture her and force her to pay for what she had done, the woman would be surprised.

Empyrean's voice echoed, her name sounding like he had said it several times before. Something that Allyson found herself almost proud of.

"Why am I in your Empire?" she repeated the question back to him, her voice laced with defiance. Her smug little smirk was a clear challenge, "Just visiting some old friends, it's only been a handful of years since I visited your Empire." Allyson shrugged, "Why do you ask?" She knew she was going to potentially throw herself headfirst into trouble with her next statement, but the Shadow couldn't help herself. "You scared? Wouldn't be the first time I've been here and caused a little chaos for you and your ilk." Her words hung in the air, a reminder of their history.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

The Emperor did not play into her hand, did not sneer or show anger at her provocation. His face betrayed nothing but the cold embrace of death in perpetuity, a man who had long since been no longer a man. He watched her in that silence, thick as it was, and then eventually leaned back. They both knew she was no threat to him unprepared.​

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"When I find trash in my yard, I do not fear the trash. I wonder why the refuse wasn't put in the garbage, Locke.", he said flatly, without joy or coyness. It was a fact plain and simple.​

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"Cut your teeth on my Order however you'd like - they need the practice, and there is nothing you can do to stop my inexorable will. The secrets you know pale in comparison to what you do not.", he continued.​

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"So tell me again why you are in my Empire without your usual vestments and disguises. A spy doesn't spy very well when I can see their face. More over, you were seen at events a Jedi would never be welcome - all the more reason I am curious to your arrival. Are you here to kill a Sith? Has your faith been shaken? Were you enslaved?", he asked, a bit more emphasis on the last question, an almost imperceptible narrowing of his gaze.​

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Allyson Locke​

 

[Allyson Locke]

//: Darth Empyrean //:

Allyson's smile faded. This was no ordinary Sith she was facing. The Emperor, a figure distinct from Carnifex and Taeli Raaf, didn't seem to view her as they did. They saw potential, while he saw only a threat. Her senses sharpened, and she was instantly on guard. Yet, the insult of being called 'trash' still rankled her.

"I wouldn't quite call my presence trash, Emperor." Allyson frowned.

How was she supposed to explain her presence? She could be honest and explain that she had lost a bet with Carnifex. That bet planted her in the Empire on her own free will for the most part. Was she a prisoner who had a bit more free reign, or was she actually curious about the Empire?

"I don't know." Her words proved her shaken faith. The Alliance focused on certain things and did anything possible to annihilate them. The Jedi bred radicals that were no better than the Sith. Their faith as their armor, their belief that they were good, and all of this gave reason to their "righteous" slaughter. All of it didn't make sense. She remembered how it began with the last wave of new Alliance Jedi. There had been hope that the radical thoughts would die and the Jedi would return to trying to protect peace.

Her thoughts on peace may be outdated. "Maybe I was just curious. Carnifex and Raaf seem interested enough in me, so maybe I came over to check things out." The Corellian shrugged, "So, the answer is all of the above."

She avoided the last bit. She didn't want to admit that Carnifex or Raaf might be in charge of her. Allyson needed to be in control.

"Now, you've made me curious about what you're hiding." She grinned. "It's always fun to try and figure out your secrets, Emperor; you won't be made if I poke around a bit while I'm here, will you?"

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"I wouldn't quite call my presence trash, Emperor.", she frowned.​

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Empyrean would've rolled his eyes if it had made a difference, let alone were he even capable. The muscles in his eyes had withered from lack of use, and there was no need to turn the pupiless metal orbs that now served as his ocular organs. Instead his lip twitched in a sneer, quick and annoyed by the trash left in his lawn.​

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"For a spy, you don't listen very well. I already gave you permission, Locke. Don't make me repeat myself again.", he warned.​

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After a second he stood from his throne, his infamous staff forming in his palm to support him as he hunched. His corpse form failed him by the day, and he seemed to shake as he walked. He had grown more accustomed to allowing others to see him like this, in his new normal. The smart knew it meant nothing for his true strength, while the rest were dead. With the Force, Allyson would feel a nudge to follow him - but in the wisps of the ethereal, she could feel that it wasn't a choice.​

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"There is something more to this, even if you aren't willing to admit it to me.", he said as he walked through a doorway into the hallways. She would no doubt have to slow her pace to not overtake him.​

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"Darth Carnifex and Darth Arcanix having their attention on you is notable, but not impressive. They find interest in every passing fancy that walks with two legs and smiles a bit creepier than the rest.", he scoffed.​

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"Something has upset you, and if you are to stay in my Empire I would know what it is."​

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Allyson Locke​

 

[Allyson Locke]

//: Darth Empyrean //:

Allyson's demeanor changed. His question rattled in her mind, almost making her question her own presence being there. She so readily accepted her defeat and entered the Empire. Feeling drawn to follow, she moved. Allyson began to slow her steps as she thought about his words. Everything that she had done up to this point didn't make sense. Her mission always pertained to the Sith, despite higher-ups suggesting she move to another target. Constantly, she beat her head against the Empire and all its interactions.

Was it just killing Kaine Zambrano?

"It wasn't the Empire that had me upset." The Corellian's brow furrowed; hearing the words out loud only solidified her train of thought. "It's the Alliance." Allyson kept pace with the Emperor. "They aren't what they're supposed to be, what they used to be." Was she still clinging to the Alliance's former glory before Taeli Raaf had burned everything they had worked hard for to the ground?

"The new generation…" she started, remembering the Padawans she had experienced, one being a padawan assigned to her. "They don't know why they're fighting and want to be a Jedi." Obviously, the words coming out of her mouth confused her and were a concern. She knew there was more than that, but it was the last straw for her. Throwing children into war, one they didn't fully understand, quickly reminded her of her own fights. Allyson sighed, slowly remembering the choice she made when she was picked up by the Alliance Law Enforcement.

"We have enough children fighting in the wars, and I know it's inevitable, but they at least need to know why they're fighting, for what they're fighting for, and the consequences of the war. They're weak and only going to get each other killed." Anger rose, gathering in her stomach as her voice lowered.

"They sell them the lie of a Utopia and heroism…then turn on you when you don't succeed and make them look bad." At least that didn't change; they always sold the idea of being a hero.

Allyson knew it best because it was the same lie she had been sold.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

The Emperor did not interrupt her, he wouldn't suffer interrupting her train of thought. When he was done, admitting to her feelings of betrayal and shame in what the Alliance had become, Empyrean offer here a glance. Sympathy was not something one could attach to the Emperor, but it was an acknowledgement at the very least. A quiet understanding before he turned away.​

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"The Jedi have never know what they fight for.", he said flatly.​

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Hallways were lined with statues, faces of Sith she knew and Sith she would not. Deep lore carved into stone who's unseeing eyes watched their opposite ad infinium. Empyrean moved with a slow gate, a stutter as he forced his expired body to continue on. Through the pain of existence, the pain of dying eternally, to the rot that ever tried to seep into his bones. He marched onwards, slow and careful.​

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"I was saved once, as a boy, by a Jedi. Did you know this?", he asked as he they moved to some unseen destination.​

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"Though she was not a Jedi as the Order is - but one who fought for good without their conditions and politics. Her name was Joza Perl . She was the only one for many years who fought to keep me free of the chains of slavery, and I would thank her even today would I see her again."​

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Were she to even want to see what he had become.​

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"We did not discuss philosophy, but we shared in our reason for fighting at the time. To destroy the institution of slavery in all forms. I don't know where she fights now, or if she fights still, but my journey has grown beyond her scope. You are not ready to know in what way I fight now, but I will let you understand that I know what I fight for - and you should know what you fight for too."​

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A door opened, and they were suddenly amidst a great library, lined with books who's age could not have been within the last century. Covers worn to nothing, dust lining pages, and all the while in the corners Sepulchral priests worked in tireless duty to rebind and rebuild old books. Infuse them with new sigils, new wards, to protect them for a millenia to come.​

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"If you must see your enemy, to feel justified in your fight against them, you may stay in my Empire. I would not rob you of that journey, in spite of my callous nature, but I will demand of you one thing.", he said as he found a new seat on a carved obsidian seat. As he rested in it, his body seemed to grow more fluid, less rigid and cold. It took his pain away, even with a momentary touch.​

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"You will discuss with me your thoughts, your reasons, and you will return should I demand it. To your home. Until then, I would educate you in what it is you think you are fighting against, so you can understand the hopelessness and irony of sending children to fight demons."​

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Allyson Locke​

 

[Allyson Locke]

//: Darth Empyrean //:

She listened, her walls slowly falling and allowing the Emperor in. In essence, talking to him was different. He wasn't like Carnifex; he was a far cry from Taeli, and his words humanized briefly who he was. Allyson nodded, "I know one of Joza's children. He was my apprentice." Her brow furrowed, remembering the boy and the path he had chosen. "The dark side destroyed him; I couldn't save him, but at times, I don't think I was meant to; I pushed him away and fought him, thinking that was the only way to pull him from the darkness that came naturally to him." She sighed, defeated by the turmoil. Could she have handled it better? Probably, but the way the Jedi wanted it handled wasn't the answer.

Allyson looked towards the statues, faces that she had studied and learned. Before she became an infiltrator, the Jedi had retrieved artifacts for study. Most of the faces she had seen in holocrons and datacrons were interesting, especially how the Sith honored those before them. From her knowledge, the Sith respected power, and these figures only proved that. Allyson wanted to pause and watch the figures in the grand library. They meticulously preserved the knowledge of the galaxy, hopefully in truth. He spoke again, and Allyson's attention returned to the man as he sat down again.

His demeanor changed; it was almost as if the chair brought a sense of calm or peace to his inner turmoil. Allyson remained quiet as she let herself observe everything once again. She was allowed to truly study the Sith, but did she still see them as enemies?

"I appreciate the offer." she started as her attention returned to the Emperor. "A part of me stopped seeing the Empire as an enemy long ago." Her words were something she never thought she'd admit, but now felt like the right time. "A part of me can't justify the teachings of good and evil regarding the Alliance and the Empire…Jedi and Sith, none of it makes sense anymore to me."

Allyson Locke was a liar, but she was honest about her feelings and doubts for once. "What if I like it here?" Her voice cracked, hovering barely over a whisper - but loud enough that the Corpse King could hear. "What if this is where I'm supposed to be…?" These were questions that weighed heavy on her chest. Hearing them finally vocalized made the Corellian realize how much she feared the truth, a truth that only the Empire could answer.

"I look forward to your teachings, Emperor."

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"The Dark Side destroys because it was meant to. None of us make it through it's trials without scars.", he said, seeming to hesitate for a moment as he answered. If there were any in the galaxy who truly bore the scars of the Dark Side, it was Empyrean - that which lived, yet did not. A man more scar than anything else, and a far cry from the young beauty he once was.​

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"Evil has always been perspective, Locke.", he said as he settled deeper into the soothing nature of the chair, that which stole from him one of his only constants - pain.​

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"I've read about the Jedi teachings. I understand they see the Force as a great unifier, the energy of all beings coalesced into a singular entity that binds all things to one another. The Jedi see this, see the stability of eternity in maintaining its balance, and hope that by holding the status quo ad infinum that perhaps they can solve the Galaxy's problems.", he said idly, llifting a finger to drag books from around the Library, stacking them before her. Their titles were numerous, ranging from Jedi and Sith philosophizing on the Force back to names many millennia old, some far before even the High Republic.​

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"And yet... The Jedi held the Galaxy in perpetual struggle for over a thousand years while Darth Bane built his Rule of Two. Do you imagine this is a failing of the Republic, the Jedi, or something else?", he mused.​

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"If they could not achieve peace then, why do they still blame the Sith for the Galaxy's strife? Denial. Refusal to see the failings in their own teachings... or more directly, the antagonisms and contradictions of their intention and their results. Have you thought about this before, Allyson Locke ?"​