Home Sweet Home

[Grima Volitu]

Dux Zarrah, former Sith Lord and now current Magi of the Phoenix Order, stood on the frigate's bridge staring into the emptiness of cold space; her hands clasped behind her. She had closed her eyes and allowed her mind to wander through the void, letting the Force speak to her mind's eye, to show her the visions she was seeking. Her knowledge of Sith Magick opened up new abilities to her but none served her faithfully as scrying; the art of divining knowledge through the corruption of the Dark Side. She never spoke to others what had been shown to her or passed along the knowledge granted to her except to her former Apprentices if they proved worthy enough. Only one of her former pupils ever proved worthy enough.

Trusting others was something she could not openly embrace; and the Sith Order she grew to love was dying by a disease with only one cure. Culling. Old habits were hard to kill but she had developed a bond with her former Apprentice and his former Apprentice. In time, she would trust them as she trusted her twin hilts that dangled at her sides. In time, she would trust them as she trusted her own prowess in the Dark Side of the Force.

Slowly Dux Zarrah's eyes began to open. She had found what she sought; a home-world for the new Order. After months and months of wandering the galaxy in their Frigate, the Order of the Phoenix were finally going home. "Notify the Council to meet me inside the Council Chamber," Dux Zarrah ordered without turning around. As the Communication Officer began to notify the members of the Phoenix Council, she continued to stare out the front view port for a few moments longer. Turning on her heels and pulling her cloak around her, she walked through the bridge nearly invisible as the various officers and workers quickly adverted their eyes as she glided across the metal walkaway like a phantom. She may have left the Sith Order behind but the Dark Side was strong with her and with that came the presence of fear she brought into the hearts of those that did not understand her. She did not care if they feared her as long as they understood their place in the galaxy.

After the short trip down the turbolift Dux Zarrah arrived at the Council Chamber, entered, and took her seat at the head of the table. Her eyes slowly passed over each of the members of the Council then she said, "I have found a potential planet that can be suitable for our needs. However...before we set a course to this planet we need to discuss a recon mission. First...we need to discover what inhabits the planet both predator and prey alike. We need to seek out any native species and see what we can learn from them and what they can learn from us. Through this act of planet bonding....we can assure each other of everlasting survival. Second...we need to map the planet's geography and from this we can discover the best option to build our academy, factories, and cities."

Dux Zarrah falls silent for a moment as her eyes once again pass over the members. "Any suggestions...concerns...or input Council," she says leaning back into the chair.

[member="Dux Pontus"], [member="Dux Kotass"], [member="Daichi"]

 

[Darth Veles]

One of the founding members of the Order of the Phoenix, Dux Pontus, sat in a comfy seat inside his quarters, his body relaxed and resting after an exercise that kept him fit, yet his large amber eyes hungrily reading through words written in a book he held in his webbed hand. Palpatine's masterpiece, The Paths to Power; a political text written by the master of manipulation himself. As a lover of good literature, the Mon Calamari could not resist the book and devoted much of his time and thoughts to its content. After all, the written word was one of the very few things to survive the hateful Republic's attempt to destroy all Sidious' creations. Clawed fingers lovingly stroked the paper as Avreet turned to another page, ready to enlighten himself more, when a message coming through his datapad informed him of [member="Dux Zarrah"] calling a meeting of the Council. With a soft sigh, the amphibian offered the current page one last look to glance at the number at the bottom before closing the book and setting it on a table beside him. Getting up and smoothing out his new cloak, the former Sith Lord flicked his wrist and opened the door leading out of the small room. As he left, Avreet pondered about Grima's reason to call a Council meeting. Still, he trusted the Togruta's judgement more than anything, so whatever it was to cause her to discuss something with other members of the Council, it had to be very important.

Dux Pontus silently strode through the frigate that served as his home now, offering a friendly nod to those who greeted him and paying no attention to the rest. After leaving the One Sith, the amphibian had nowhere to go. As such, he felt a bit guilty about his decision; not because he had left the One Sith, he would never regret that, but because his friends followed him, sacrificing their careers for the sake of friendship and principles. This truly moved Avreet, his decision that he believed to be his alone essentially resulted in two more Sith Lords leaving the One Sith. All of them have made the right choice though; the One Sith lost its ways, succumbing to madness and insanity and did not deserve to be called Sith any longer. As tragic as it was, it gave birth to a new group dedicated to fighting the One Sith war machine. Led by Grand Magi Zarrah, Avreet's former Master, it would undoubtedly prosper once they found themselves a new place to call home, free of idiocy that plagued more and more Sith. The Mon Cal was all too happy for the other founding members of the Phoenix Order to be good friends of hisand he sincerely loved both women.

After making his way to the room that served as their Council chamber, the Mon Cal entered and seated himself by Grima's right. He was her Hand, after all! Offering her a friendly smile and seeing the meeting had yet to officially start, he immediately offered a compliment. "Greetings, Grand Magi! The dark suit nicely contrasts with your skin color and brings out your trim figure, you look beautiful!" Avreet said politely and kindly. The former Sith Lord then fell silent, thinking about some passages from his book until another woman entered the chambers; Sabrina Kotass. Giving her a nod accompanied by a roguish wink, the amphibian spoke again. "[member="Dux Kotass"], how are you? You look great! Are those clothes new? Everything looks as good as new on you."

After the pleasantries ended and Zarrah explained the purpose of this meeting, Avreet's eyes sparked with interest. The Grand Magi had found a home for them! The Order of the Phoenix would finally settle and build themselves a worthy place to live in. Completely agreeing with all the wise Togruta said, the Mon Cal found himself with only one question. "Where is the planet located, Grand Magi? The location will greatly influence our economy and number of new recruits to join our Order. What factions inhabit its close space?" asked the former student of Grima Volitu and turned his piercing gaze towards the Togruta, "We will also need to know the exact nature of the planet's atmosphere so we can outfit our recon team accordingly. I take it is inhabitable, but even the most beautiful of planets with breathable air can have acidic rains or ion storms that destroy all ships and equipment. I suggest we send a probe first and observe the planet for a few weeks to detect possible anomalies that could endanger our scouts."

[member="Daichi"]

 

[Darth Banshee]

She had been summoned, to make shift council chamber on the ship she stole from the one sith. The ship itself was expensive masterpiece, it was called cheetah class despite it being unique. She did hope to make more of them over time, though each one would have to been brought individually. Though for now most of the crew were droids, as they had shorted of trusted manpower. Though from their conception, they have managed to pick up a few new members to the order.

As she entered Dux pontus complimented her clothes, she just smiled back and said Thank you. The grand magi dux zarrah, spoke about a planet she had discovered, as possible base of operations perhaps. Grand magi, may I be so bold to suggest we summon the whole order, to discuss this. As more minds we have on the task, the better the solution would be. She stood waited for her reply, they had few people in the order. They all need to be part of this, she learned this from the sith. The closer they felt to center of power the loyaler they were.

Spoiler

[member="sabrina"] [member="Malachite Avachei"] [member="Daichi"] [member="Javik Quar-Kai"] [member="Dux Zarrah"] [member="Dux Pontus"] [member="Hyoun Palebrew"] [member="Snow"] [member="Zaria"]

 

[Edward Vyperion]

There were footsteps heard over in the corridors of the chambers, that of a youthful "Ruffie" force user. The footsteps got closer and closer each and every minute... inch by inch... step by step...

 

[Zaria]

Zaria walked through a poorly lit corridor in the lower level of the ship feeling the various vibrations radiating off it through the Force. She had found some measure of peace in this and it had become a daily routine for her. She had left the Sith behind in pursuit of something greater, something to better herself. She had witnessed the horrors brought on by their need for power and when they had finally achieved what they had, they had gone drunk with madness. The Dark Side coursed through her veins and this was something she did not wish to sever but she knew that in order for her to be complete, she had to understand the Light Side as well. Her Master, [member="Dux Pontus"], was going to set her down the proper path of enlightenment. She would grow strong. She would grow wise. She would be grow complete.

Rounding the corner nearly lost in what was becoming some sort of meditation trance, she saw two of the ship's engineers struggling with connecting the newly acquired hyper-drive system. When the haze of the trance had completely vanished, she knew what their problem was. They were not properly equipped to both hold and install the massive machinery. "Perhaps you two need some assistance," she said slowly waking over to them. The two men exchanged a quick glance then turned back to her and nodded 'yes'. "Perhaps I can use my gifts to hold the drive up while you two fasten it to the ship, yes?"

Again they only nodded and she began to sense their fear. She was just about to speak when one of the men pointed a finger at her and said something about her being Sith. "Once I was called that. But now as you can see I am not," she replied dismissing the man's remark with a simple hand gesture. "How is it that you know what I once was," she asked with a strong tone of curiosity in her voice. The man explained to her how he was a former Imperial engineer but had fled from them when he had heard about the deaths of some innocent protesters outside a building on Coruscant. Zaria nodded in understanding for she was there and she too saw what occurred. "I am ashamed that I did nothing but stand by and watch it happen. The innocent should be protected, not slaughtered like bantha. But believe me when I tell you this. Both of you. I am not the same person then and you have nothing to fear from me now. I only seek to make amends for my past aggression. So, do you still seek my help?"

The two men once more exchanged glances and nodded to each other. With a smile on the former Imperial's face, he gestured toward the machine. Extending her right hand out before her, she began to raise the hyper-drive machine into place. She began to smile inwardly as she watched the two engineers go to work.

 

[Darth Banshee]

Dux Kotass put out a hail, to all senior members on the ship. The message went All senior personnel please report to the council chamber, as soon as possible. The faction was not on the ship, somewhere training elsewhere. She knew though the more people who helped in the discussion the better the answer would be.

She then asked [member="Dux Zarrah"], what have you found, grand magi? Her tone was polite and respectful, as she was chosen to lead them due to her wisdom. She waited for her to impart her knowledge.

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

It had been hours since Tugoro had last been on land. After discovering [member="Dux Zarrah"] within an abandoned temple on Korriban, the young boy had traveled with her in hopes of learning more about the Sith. Of course, those of the Phoenix around him were not fully fledged Sith anymore, for they fled their past in order to broaden their mind and skill set. It was something that the young Jedi also wished to do, even though he was still quite nervous about being around dark siders, let alone tapping into the dark power they possessed. The small quarters he had procured did Tugoro well for the brief trip, seeing as he had dozed off to regain his strength. Tugoro had managed to use up a lot of his stamina, during his fight with the Togruta's possessed minions. Unfortunately for the boy, a hail would ring out through the speakers, waking him from his slumber.

Rubbing his eyes in a lazy manner, the youth would ponder what he had heard, not sure as to whether or not he was a senior personnel. He had been invited by the faction's leader, but then again he was only sixteen. There was no way he could be considered senior. Figuring that it would be smart to get out of bed either way, the Padawan would roll off of the cushion, before jumping to his feet and walking over to his wardrobe. The boy still had his original, dirty set of clothes, though luckily there were several uniforms that looked somewhat imperial-esque. Pulling the suit from it's hanger, Tugoro would look over it a few times, before quickly throwing it onto his body. It was a sleek, slim black jumpsuit, one that was embroidered with the Phoenix's symbol. Neat. Slipping on his new pair of black boots, the Jedi would leave his room, his light sided aura most likely standing out from the rest present.

Tugoro would look down both of the hallway's directions, still unsure as to where he was going, and what he was doing. Closing his eyes for a brief moment, the youth would allow his force energy to seep out into the surrounding source, his sensing abilities allowing him to feel all others that were aboard the frigate. Making a left from his room, Tugoro would begin to walk down the dimly lit corridors, his hands fooling around with his hair, before he spotted [member='Zaria']. After briefly examining the pretty female, the Jedi would avert his attention to the large hyper-drive, for it was being lifted into the air. It continued to hover as the engineers worked, being held up by the Dark Temptress no doubt. Of course, Tugoro did not see her as such, for he listened to her words and approached slowly, a smile upon his face. She seemed rather nice, and so the boy had no problem coming to a halt right beside her, still looking at the engineers. Rather calmly and casually, the youth would lean a bit closer to the Ex-Sith, before offering generously, "Need any help?"

He was eager to get to know the others within the faction, especially if they were students as he was. There was so much that he could learn, even from the simplest of interactions.

 

[Darth Ferus]

A small form sat on a corner of the room, just listening and watching. Daichi was always interested in new orders, and this happened to be a rather interesting on for her. They seemed to be like the Grey, a group she new all to well. Yet, they chose to follow the Dark more, instead of perfect balance. Well, at least that's what she saw so far. There were many once Sith here, [member="Dux Kotass"] , one who she new in a past life. Once an apprentice, she stood at the height of this. Impressive developmemt, that was for sure. The other two she had no idea about. [member="Dux Pontus"] seemed to be an underling, at least with how he carried himself. And constantly complimented the two woman. The Fish Man was somewhat familiar at least, perhaps from an order way back when? Who knows.

But it was [member="Dux Zarrah"] who stood out the most to her, at least as an unknown. She was called the Grand Magi, interesting. Leader of the whole organization, yet Daichi had no idea how truly powerful she was. The small girl leaned forward onto a hand, resting her elbow upon her knee as she watched the Grand Magi. She looked young, which was odd for a Sith. The Dark corrupts, making people look older then normal. Yet here she was, young as can be. Perhaps the magic she used? Or was she truly that young? Who knows, really.

And then the child came. [member="Tugoro Taidarious"] was a new presence, but she could fully well feel him. Interesting was the only world to pop into her head. A Jedi here? And a padawan from the feel of it? She fully doubted a Jedi would be allowed here, unless they were sent by the council. And yet, here he was. Perhaps he was a rouge, hiding? More questions without an answer for the moment. [member="Zaria"] was a known. An apprentice of.. One of these.. Duxes. Dux? The small girl shook her head as she tried to think of a plural. She'll have to ask soon enough. Amongst other questions. But for now she would wait for teh Grand Magi to speak, impatient to continue this meeting.

 

[Grima Volitu]

Dux Zarrah could only smile at the charming words of her former Apprentice. [member="Dux Pontus"] had survived her teachings where others had not. He had survived the countless battles and situations they found themselves in trying to dominate the galaxy for the Sith Order. Most importantly, he had survived the failings of the One Sith. As he took his seat next to her, she felt the tingle of accomplishment flow through her. She had saw her own death in a vision and as much as her former pupil fought and killed all those that opposed her, she knew the sadness he would feel at failing her when his absence at the time of her death. But she had taught him that her teachings is what needs to survive, not her. She turned her eyes from him with a dark smile.

Not wanting to take up their precious time, especially with so much needed to be done, she began to answer them. "The location of the planet and all the readings conducted by our ship's engineers have been uploaded to your data pads. It seems we have been fated with a world in the darkest corner of the galaxy but this should please us. We do not wish to attract attention to until we are ready to strike out and defend our territories. That's right...I said territories. Once we have settled this planet and have grown strong we should extend to any other planets in the star system. We are not conquerors but liberators. We are builders not destroyers. The species of this planet and future planets should be influenced by our teachings and culture, not through fear. Unlike the Sith we will not shun away non-human species touched by the Force or make those non-human force users work twice as hard as our human counterpart to achieve what we all here have achieved. If we do this....then we are no better than Dark Jedi or Sith or my former Master who sought to dominate me because of my species. We will welcome all."

Turning her gaze to Dux Pontus, she adds, "A probe would be a wise choice but we should not put so much faith in such technology. Probes can be stolen, hacked, and filled with misinformation. I believe that we send this probe and two days later send one of you along with a attachment of soldiers." She leans back into her chair with her left index finger tapping her lower lip as she falls silent for a moment to think. Stopping the gesture she says, "Dux Pontus...you will go and your Apprentice shall accompany you on this trip. Observe for now and when you feel the time is upon you....begin preparations to explore the planet and form the opening foundations of diplomatic ties with the natives. After explored the planet and ensured the safety of the Order, send us an encrypted message and we will begin moving toward the planet."

Dux Zarrah swings her head toward toward [member="Daichi"] and [member="Dux Kotass"]. "Your task when we arrive is to seek to strengthen diplomacy with the natives. Open up trade agreements for resources...seek out those gifted with the Force and put an arrangement in place with the locals so we can claim them for our Order. [member="Daichi"], your knowledge of Alchemy is impressive and your scientific prowess is unmatched by none. Once the these tasks are completed you should begin to construct experiments and see what properties we can learn from the flora...both healing and deadly applications. One more thing, you may want to include in your research the pros and cons of the fauna that inhabit this planet. You and I know we can create or enhance the species through Sith Alchemy and it may serve us well."

Her brow perks up as she feels the familiar presence of the young Jedi she met on Korriban. So he had finally arrived. "There is a young Jedi boy on the ship. He will accompany me in overseeing the construction of the Academy. Any suggestions?"

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Darth Veles]

Dux Pontus simply nodded to show his agreement with Sabrina's words. Truly, hearing input of more members of the Order of the Phoenix offered more opinions and more suggestions coming the Grand Magi's way. As the brown haired Dux called the members of the Order into the room thatheld this meeting, Avreet's left eye swiveled towards Grima, watching her montrals and observing every curve of those, measuring their length and slowly admiring the beautiful colorization. Togrutas, so graceful and elegant. Especially the one sitting to his left... a wonderful woman, perfect in every way! As the curious orb admired the woman's features, the other eye noted the attendance was nowhere near as perfect. In a way, he understood it though; none have expected to be invited to the meeting with the Council, therefore not many could find the time in their busy schedule. Quite unfortunate, but hopefully more joined once they settled on the planet Grima had witnessed in her vision.

Both eyes looked at [member="Dux Zarrah"] once she started speaking, explaining and answering. Briefly shifting his gaze towards his hip, the amphibian decently took out his datapad and checked the data, seeing the engineers have truly sent him the information. The datapad remained in his webbed hands as the former Sith Lord took notes of what the Grand Magi said. Clawed fingers swiftly tapped on the screen, eyes occasionally shifting towards the woman to let her know he paid attention. The plan of expansion seemed bold, yet rewarding. One did not build an empire by sitting around. The One Sith and their Republic counterpart, the various criminal organisations, even the Dark Jedi who inhabited the Dark Lord's homeworld; all served as a proof that those who wished to be strong had to expand their influence. It would not be a hard task, actually. While the Jedi did nothing and let chaos grow unchecked, criminality plaguing their space, and the Sith were way too extreme in their methods, resorting to killing their loyal subjects just to keep the others in line, groups such as the Phoenix Order quickly gained much popularity due to being somewhere in the middle.

Continuing to listen what his former Master said, he found himself surprised by some of her words. He remembered her saying something about the Sith being not builders, but conquerors. Then again, that was such a long time ago... and the woman's opinion about the Sith may have easily changed, just like his had. In fact, they were not Sith anymore, so after realizing this, smile crossed his lips. After being a member of the Sith Order for so long, he still thought of himself and his beloved Grima as Sith from time to time. A small mistake, just a matter of habit, but he made a mental note to be careful about it in the future. Darth Veles existed no more, replaced by Dux Pontus. Still, the Mon Cal agreed with everything the Sith Witch... former Sith Witch, now Grand Magi of the Phoenix said. Most of his opinions mirrored her own, proving the years of training to be well-spent.

Feeling her gaze in the Force, Avreet lifted his gaze from the datapad, only for his gaze to meet with the Togruta's. Allowing himself to get lost in her eyes, he nods to acknowledge the Grand Magi's suggestion concerning his idea of sending the probe. Once the line of sight was broken, the amphibian made a few quick taps on the screen to notify the technicians prepare a probe and run tests on it to ensure its functionality. The Togruta adresses him once again, and just as before Avreet hears her words, this time speaking up after she explains her plan. "Of course," is all that leaves the former Sith Lord's mouth before his attention falls upon the other beings in the room, yet his mind thinking of his Apprentice. [member="Zaria"] was in need of learning some diplomacy, and this presented a perfect opportunity to give her a lesson of dealing with different cultures. The girl had to learn words were just as powerful as weapons if used right. That, and he wanted to show her that while killing solved all problems, it was far from an ideal solution. The act of exploring the planet would also strengthen the bond between him and the student, something he very much wanted, as he found it very important for training. Without a strong bond, the student did not look up to the teacher and the teacher did not pay enough attention to the student.

"Nothing more from me, Grand Magi," Avreet said politely and leaned back in the seat, closing the datapad and hiding it underneath his cloak. Offering a glance to [member="Dux Kotass"], Dux Pontus considered the idea of telling her of his secret plan, the reason he's been observing the Togruta more than usual.

@Daichi [member="Tugoro Taidarious"]