Lothal Intent - TSE Dom of Lothal

[Darth Carnifex]

"Yes, the temple awaits."

As the Emperor's followers went about rooting out the remaining Jedi opposition from around the ruins, executing any and all they found; regardless if they surrendered or not, Carnifex and Taeli would approach a large excavated area near the ruins. The vestiges of First Order digging equipment littered the area, destroyed by the Jedi to prevent the First Order from continuing in their uprooting of the Jedi Temple. The Sith Emperor would not need such crude devices, not for this.

During Operation: Eclipse, the Sith had recovered multiple documents from the depths of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, some of which detailed historical accounts of the Lothal Jedi Temple and its mechanisms. Despite their alliance with the First Order, the Sith did not divulge the information found in these documents. Partly that they didn't fully trust Sieger Ren, and partly that they ultimately wanted whatever lied beneath Lothal for themselves.

Now the First Order was collapsing, Sieger was missing. There was no better time now.

"It will take both of us." The Emperor reached out with both hands, expanding his consciousness down deep into the earth until he felt the contours of the temple's buried exterior. Seizing it with his will, he commanded that it rise upward from the ground to breach open air. The ground shuddered violently as the long-buried temple was wrenched upward, displacing thousands of tons of earth and stone as portions of the surrounding ruins bowed up like waves on a lake's surface.

[member="Saijo Taal-Zambrano"] | [member="Khali Strahd"] | [member="Kao Xusros"]​

[member="Ahani Zambrano"] | [member="Adrian Vandiir"] | [member="Darth Ayesh"]​

[member="Krayn Ren"] | [member="Taeli Raaf"] | [member="Kyrel Ren"]​

 

[Redmond Geller]

Objective: IV, BYOO / Hunter-Killer
​Location Small Settlement, Several Kilometers Away From the Temple
___________________________________________________________________


Of course the Blackblade had gotten the temple, when the Emperor himself showed, there was no contest, no debate, at least not from those in his squad who hailed from the Sith Empire. Redmond was used to it, regardless of what you were in the legion, you did not argue with Blackblades. He could've been on, records showed one of his brothers had been one not that either of those two meant anything to him considering they'd been gone from his life since he was barely more than a toddler, but he'd opted against it. Redmond was no champion of individuality, but he didn't much like the total erasure of self that came with being one of the Dark Lord's legion.

Besides, he was only half Epicanthix, so he didn't feel as obligated.

Regardless, while he and the other from the Sith Legion had not dared question it, a brawl had nearly broken out between them and those from the Confederation who weren't keen on being sidelined by a self-proclaimed God King and his personal army. They might've held Redmond in the others in contempt for siding against them, but the clones were spared something much worse than contempt thanks to his actions. Now they were here, away from the temple, black boots digging into the ground as they stepped away from their dropship, weapons at the ready.

The civilian population had fled into their huts already when the action started far from here, and those who'd been bold enough to remain outside bolted when their dropship set down. The Sith and Ren and Blackblades had the temple, but Tango Squad had their own objective. Somewhere in this quaint little village, a Jedi was hiding, an older-ish one. This particular Jedi went by the name Caid Keller, and he'd been a member of the Order when the Republic had still stood.

He'd been a Padawan when the One Sith destroyed the temple on Coruscant, and had dedicated his life to disrupting Imperial activities across the galaxy. His reputation made him out as fairly dangerous fighter, but what made him notable was his skill as a slicer, the leaks he'd been responsible for had led to thousands of deaths, and millions of credits lost. He was marked for death, and he knew that, that's why he stayed out here.

"Draw him out." The order was simple, the tactics far more extreme. Moments later Redmond was rushing into a hut in a haze of smoke, having just blown down its locked door, blaster rifle at the ready. A shot whizzed past his shoulder, the low power blaster doing little other than leave a scorchmark on the wall it impacted. In a blur he snapped to the source, a middle aged Twi'lek man with his family huddled behind him as he stood defiantly against them.

Redmond blew three holes in his chest with a squeeze of the trigger. Before the patriarch of the house could even hit the ground his family began to scream in agony. He squeezed off another shot as the mother moved towards the corpse and she to fell lifeless. She might've simply been trying to hold his body in a vain attempt to will him back to life, or she could've been going to the gun, he wasn't going to take the chance. Redmond closed the gap between himself and the children, armored fist catching the adolescent son across the jaw as he dove towards the blaster.

He should've shot him there and then, but for Jedi one always had to resort to theatrics. Instead he hit the teenager again, flooring him long enough for Redmond to bind his hands as the two troopers to his back did with the younger two. Then, he wordlessly yanked the boy to his feet. Furious the young Twi'lek spat at him, blood from his busted lip spattering against the dark armor plating. Redmond smirked, the boy was a fighter, the Sith would find a use for him when this was all over if Keller didn't play hard to get.

Wordlessly the trooper headbutted the teen, leaving him dazed and with a broken nose before dragging him into the dusty street and forcing him to his knees alongside his siblings. He muttered something, but Redmond didn't hear, and he didn't care, he had prey to catch. The singular street in the remote village was now lined with kneeling denizens, at the mercy of the black armored troopers. In terms of hunting Jedi, this was the oldest play in the book.

Looking down to the very end of the street, he gave a thumbs up to the trooper behind the last family. Young kid, a clone fresh out of training, happened to score incredibly high on most metrics, so Oscar Six Six thought he might be a good fit. They'd thought right, because he didn't hesitate, and three shots spat from his blaster, the family of Kel Dor collapsing to the ground in a heap.

This would repeat every thirty seconds until Keller revealed himself, which he would.

They just couldn't help themselves.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Objective II - Trip Down Memory Lane
[member="Darth Carnifex"] [member="Adrian Vandiir"] [member="Darth Ayesh"] [member="Ahani Zambrano"] [member="Saijo Taal-Zambrano"] [member="Kyrel Ren"] [member="Krayn"] Ren [member="Kao Xusros"] [member="Khali Strahd"]

The Emperor strode forward, gathering his dark power. The Temple was of a unique design, something she and her sister had insisted stay the same when it was refurbished following the collapse of the Republic. Corvus had loved the idea that it would always take two, a Master and an Apprentice, to raise the temple's entrance. A symbol of trust between teacher and student, or partners and colleagues, was needed to raise the structure from the depths of the planet.

Raising her own hands, she drew upon her own dark powers and lent her strength to the effort of raising the temple. Across the surface of the planet at their feet, a red glow emerged among the silvery shapes that spun out of the temple in an intricate pattern. The gathered Sith would be bathed in a bloody glow, the ground shaking. She had known that using the dark side to lift the temple was going to be tougher than using the light. Not impossible, but certainly tougher to do as the temple wanted to resist.

Suppressing a snarl, she forced her will to the task at hand, and slowly... oh so slowly, the temple began to rise as she and the Emperor lifted it. Once it was above ground however, they would have only concluded the first test of the temple. There would be another within, to test those that came seeking the deepest secrets protected by the Jedi.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Out of the ground the temple emerged, spinning round and round in the corkscrew motion until the entrance was at least revealed. By raising the temple up by force and with it working against their every motion, the ground around the structure was ragged and torn with their struggle. Fissures had been torn open around, sending large sections of the surrounding field into darkness along with anyone, Jedi or Sith, unfortunate enough to find the ground opening up beneath them.

A worthy sacrifice, for the temple laid bare before the Emperor and the Lady of Secrets.

Snarling in triumph, the Emperor was the first to cross the threshold into the temple depths. He didn't even draw his saber to protect himself against any guardians the temple might raise to protect itself, the Dark Side surged around his physical form in manifested tendrils of electricity that atomized the stone that it came into contact with. Anyone or anything foolish enough to stand in his way would be obliterated by the Emperor's power, their atoms torn apart in a violent and opulent display of raw power; no finesse or technique required.

"Scour the temple, destroy all you come across. Bring me its secrets!"

[member="Saijo Taal-Zambrano"] | [member="Khali Strahd"] | [member="Kao Xusros"]​

[member="Ahani Zambrano"] | [member="Adrian Vandiir"] | [member="Darth Ayesh"]​

[member="Krayn"] | [member="Taeli Raaf"] | [member="Kyrel Ren"]​

 

[Redmond Geller]

Objective: IV, BYOO / Hunter-Killer
​Location Small Settlement, Several Kilometers Away From the Temple
___________________________________________________________________

The next trooper leveled his blaster, pressing the barrel against the skin of the matriarch of a small human family's head. The woman did not cry out in fear, she simply whispered to her frightened children, trying to keep them calm in the face of death. It was brave, he'd give her that, but it wouldn't save her. He watched with indifference as another thirty seconds had passed, and the clock on lives of the small family ran out.

"Butchers!"

Geller's gaze snapped to the robed figure who emerged from seemingly nowhere, an outstretched hand propelling Redmond's subordinate through the cheaply made wall of the small family's home just before the man could squeeze the trigger. Right on schedule more or less. In an instant blaster fire rained down on the robed man, who in turn flourished a pale blue blade, expertly redirecting multiple blasts at blinding speed. A more untrained or reckless Jedi might've accidentally sent one of the blasts into the hostages by mistake, but not this one.

Keller was better than the reports had suggested.

Underneath the grim helmet, Redmond smirked, he did enjoy a challenge. Dipping into the breached doorway of the home he'd just cleared, he leaned out and squeezed off a burst of ionized tibana. The blasts streaked through the air and were met with quick flourish, expertly sending them into the helmet of one of his men. He dropped instantly. For all his speed though, Redmond knew he couldn't keep this up, the Jedi and really any other force sensitive either had to be very focused or very angry in order to tap into their supernatural abilities.

And despite it being far easier to stay angry in the long run, the Jedi refused to rely on anything other than focus and 'inner peace'. So the plan was to wear him down, keep him busy while two of his troopers flanked him and the sniper took up her position with IL-25. Then they'd put him down and wrap this up before anyone else got killed in Keller's attempts at heroics. Two of the men go to close, and the Jedi cut them down.

He didn't share the Empire's disdain for the Jedi and their code, it didn't make sense to him sure, but it didn't offend him as it seemed to do to his Sith overlords. Dogma, patriotism, whatever else either side in the conflict used to justify their actions were all meaningless. He didn't fight for the Sith because he believed in them, despite the years of attempted indoctrination, he fought for them because he just happened to be born in their nation and he appreciated the structure. He killed for them because he was good at it, and because they let him do it without repercussion. He could've cared less about anything else.

Redmond watched carefully, the Jedi sank back into the alley from which he'd emerged, perhaps catching onto their ruse. Redmond leveled his weapon again, and let it rip on full automatic. The bolts cut through hostage after hostage, burning through whatever bit of skin they touched. The Jedi reemerged like a trained pet, and this time set his sights on Geller.

"Ah sithspit." He grumbled. The Jedi shot towards him like a rocket, weaving through incoming fire with the elegance of a dancer, blade humming angrily. Redmond had to think quickly. Grabbing the Twi'lek adolescent from before and hoisting him up by his headtails, Geller threw the boy into the charging Jedi's path and snapped up the weapon. Another old play, make them choose. How badly did they want to kill you versus how much did they want so save the innocent. It was a gamble, it depended on the Jedi, if you'd really pissed them off they'd probably go for you, he'd seen it happen, but most times they did the noble thing.

Caid Keller did the noble thing.

He halted, and grabbed the adolescent, pulling him in close as his stance shifted. He'd just killed himself and he knew it. Keller batted away a couple blaster bolts, but when one of the clones fired on him with the acid launcher, it was over. Keller stretched out his arm, halting the bile mid air before the corrosive liquid could bathe him and the boy with it. He spared them the painful death, at least.

Geller fired, a torrent of blaster bolts ripped through the Jedi and teenager alike and killed them in seconds. Like that, it was over. Now Keller was 'one with the force' or whatever it was they believed. It was silent for a moment, none of the villagers could muster up anything more than a defeated whimper. Their life was in ruins now, those who didn't lose anyone still were going to have to deal with the fallout, and those who did were now orphans, widows, and widowers. They'd have to pick up the pieces, and fall in line with the Sith's rule.

A good half of them that weren't children would probably be dead in months when they took up arms to seek revenge, that was usually how it went.

It was a tough deal he supposed, but empathy wasn't something he'd really comprehended for a long time. Now all Redmond wanted has to get off this rock and take a shower. Their losses were unfortunate, three dead, a couple wounded, good soldiers. He'd miss them in his own, strange way, but for unit cohesion purposes he'd make a point of putting on a front.

"Now you all see the folly of the Jedi. They are weak, and they infect you with their weakness! Now you are under our domain, and you will be made strong. Rejoice!" Redmond's eyes rolled so hard they nearly fell from his head, Ageqa. Of course the Inquisitor had to show up and make a show of things. Lowering his rifle the sergeant looked to the armored Sith strolling down the street, arms spread wide as he brought his 'good news' to the villagers.

If his theatrics took any longer than five minutes, Geller was going to shoot him himself.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Objective I: The Siege of Lothal City
Gear: Sith-Imperial Cadet Uniform | Lightsaber | Sword of Omens
Flagship: Vengeance | SI-TIE/d Droid Starfighters

[ darkside ]​

​

​

​

The dark, foreboding form of the command shuttle descended into smoke.

Beneath him, around him, the boy could feel it. The anger, abject misery... but most of all, fear. The terror ran deep, spreading further afield than the flames that now sparked panic among the populace that had once so smugly regarded their own safety as willing participants to the farce that was the Alliance-in-Exile. Clinging to some sad belief that their allies in the Coalition would somehow save the day.

Which, if they were going to, now would seem to be the hour of Lothal's greatest need.

Instead, as the orange furred kitten descended from out of the shuttle, the boy's cats-eye peered up onto the sky, imagining that was where the people of Lothal would look for their Alliance or Coalition saviors.

Weather report for Lothal: Chance of heroes... zero.

The Sith came, not as the hero that this planet wanted, but as the villains it deserved.

The child's short cape fluttered in the air, as his tail flicked behind him. As the stormtroopers moved through the streets, putting down resistance and dragging people from out of their homes, the young Cathar casually strolled through the smoldering wreckage, stepping over smoldering bodies left in the streets until he arrived at the blackened entrance to an otherwise colorfully adorned confectionery.

To the victor went the spoils. And, for his part, this Sith conqueror intended to help himself to sweet, sweet war prizes! The storeroom of a candy store ought to fill his quarters for at least half a year with...

"Black liquorice!?"

Blinking. The kitten was presented with the fact that reality was not, at all, matching how he'd imagined this moment in his head. Throwing his arms over his head, the boy demanded, "What the Hutt am I supposed to do with thirty-six cases of black liquorice!?"

The cat-like ears atop his head drooped, before folding back against his head as he turned to menacingly regard the shop owner. The Duros was sporting a black eye and several bruises, surrounded on either side by stormtroopers. Jumping up on top one of the cases of liquorice, the boy's hand reached out to grab the man by the collar of his shirt. "Is this some sort of cruel joke?"

Blinking, the boy paused a moment as he considered the broader implications of that statement. Leaning closer, the youngling demanded, "Is it a trap? Did you know we were coming? Where are you getting your intelligence from?"

Stammering, the proprietor managed to say, "It's... our number one best seller!"

Incredulous, the kitten's ears went back at the same time as his tail straightened out. Then, the tail flicked. "You are part of the rebel alliance and a terrible businessman!" the boy declared, releasing his hold on the man's collar as his hands gesticulated wildly. "It's a candy store! What kid do you know likes black liquorice!?" Finally, the boy looked up at the stormtroopers and pointed to the door as he ordered, "Take him away!"

As the white armored soldiers dragged the sputtering Duros away from his sight, the Cathar child hopped down from the box. Regarding the display before the cash register, the boy looked down and saw some awesome sour jawbreakers. Reaching out with one hand, the kitten swiped a box for himself.

At least the day wouldn't be a total loss.

As the boy was popping a jawbreaker into his mouth, another stormtrooper was running into the storm. Stopping short and saluting the future Sith Cat Overlord, the trooper reported, "Sir, our scouts are returned from the bakery. Initial assessment is that it's a pâtisserie, sir"

The boy's ears perked up, his eyes alight as a smile briefly softened his face. "Well, at least that worked out," the boy uttered, tucking the jawbreaker against one side of his mouth as he spoke. Pausing to look around the candy store, the boy picked up a second box of jawbreakers, which he stuck into the pocket of the shorts that he wore and said, "Gather all the black liquorice into the middle of the store and then tell the flametroopers to do their thing."

Casually strolling back out of the store, the boy was stopped as the stormtrooper spoke again to ask, "Sir, the candy store employees?"

The child's tail flicked, a mischievous Cheshire Cat grin spreading across his face as he shrugged and said, "Hey, it's their number one seller," the boy recalled aloud, before adding, "Lock them in the store with it."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Objective II - Secrets Uncovered
[member="Darth Carnifex"] [member="Adrian Vandiir"] [member="Ahani Zambrano"] [member="Kyrel Ren"] [member="Krayn"] [member="Darth Ayesh"] [member="Saijo Taal-Zambrano"] [member="Kao Xusros"] [member="Khali Strahd"]

Always so... overt, she thought as she followed the Emperor into the temple. Throwing out such dark energies might feel satisfying, but such displays of power were not how the temple would challenge them. Force Lightning would not divulge the path to the secrets they desired to find. The Jedi would have known this, counting on the fact that a Sith would not be able to pass the temple's tests, and that was why they had attempted to stop them outside.

In here, while the Jedi had clearly made themselves at home in the first chamber, but that appeared to be it. The door beyond...

"Impressive, but not needed, my Lord," she said. "The Temple is not going to send such a direct challenge against us. It was designed to test Master and Apprentice in a different way, to see if they can walk the path to true enlightenment."

As much as it pained her to say the next thing.

"I shall remain here, my Lord and you need to pass through that door," she said, gesturing at the far side of the chamber. "I do not know what you will see, but if the test is passed, the temple will reveal its greatest secret to us."

With that said, she sat down at the center of the room as best as she could with her rotund stomach. She knew the temple would test her too, and she already had a feeling she would know what form that test would take. She knew who she would see soon enough.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"A precaution in the event the Jedi had entrenched themselves within." The electricity around his body subsided to a low crackling, still present but much less intensified. "I have read the old writings about this temple, that the Jedi would journey here to test the attachments between them. The Master would remain in this chamber, deep in meditation, while the Apprentice would venture beyond to experience a strong Force vision known as the Ordeal."

A soft smirk broke the placidity of his features, "Does this mean that I am the Apprentice, and you are the Master?" Regardless of the implications, the Emperor unhooked both of his lightsabers from his side and gently handed them over to Taeli. "I presume that I will not need these." Not that he needed them, he was as powerful with the Dark Side of the Force as he was with a lightsaber. Reaching out towards the nearby gateway, the doors receded back into the larger wall to allow the Emperor, and only the Emperor, passage into the temple's inner depths. The doors closed behind him, effectively sealing himself inside with no visible way of returning back to the chamber.

From here on out, the Emperor would have to travel on alone.

As he traveled through the depths, the presence of the temple would begin to close in on him. Already reality began to shift before his eyes, an unusual sensation for an Epicanthix such as him. At first he saw a vision of all of his works, all of his struggles, everything he had worked for over a decade to build torn down and burnt to ash by every person he had ever scorned or slighted. There were Jedi, long deposed magnates, and even members of his own family; lesser sons and daughters that had keenly felt the bite of abandonment. He could feel despair welling up inside of him, the faintest echo of tears welling up at the corners of his eyes.

But then the scene shifted into something new, an inversion of what he had been shown. With prophetic eye he saw what was possible, himself risen above all others as a God in the most literal sense of the word. At his fingertips laid the power to manipulate reality, bend it to him and reshape it in his exact image. With such power flowing through him he felt himself removed from everything he once held dear and cherished, casting off the mantle of Sith he had strived to uphold his entire life.

Fear rippled through the Emperor, the very thought that he himself would forsake his identity for unbridled god-like power resonated in him with a trepidation that he hadn't expected or truly experienced before. For the first time in recent member, the Dark Lord of the Sith tasted terror on his lips, and he found the taste utterly bitter and rebolting.

Colors cascaded through the vision, shifting to something new but equally frightening. In this he saw himself not as he was now, but as he could be should he again forsake the mantle of the Sith; yet not for power beyond comprehension, but for atonement and redemption. He saw himself draped in the vestments of the Jedi, the Dark Side utterly purged from every fiber of his being. His skin was a healthy pallor, his eyes a brilliant emerald, and a warm smile cresting from ear to ear upon the soft features of his face.

Recoiling, the Emperor rejected these images. With all the will he could muster he denounced them, tearing them apart if he could within the confines of his mind, but remained they did. These images seared into the soft graymatter of his brain, dire warnings of what could happen should his faith in the Dark Side ever waver. And he despised them, each and every one of them. Rage boiled inside him, darkness writhing across his form, and he knew that he must never hesitate in his life, never stray from the path he had set himself on all those years ago.

He vowed never to let himself be consumed by such weakness.

Clawing at his metaphysical being, the Emperor cast out more of his humanity and any lingering doubts he might've harbored over the past couple of years. Destroying them utterly, he turned away from the visions; tall and proud, and found the way back to Taeli open once more. Striding out from the temple, he stood before the meditating Lady of Secrets.

"I now know what we must do. We cannot doubt our purpose, we cannot hesitate when we are called to do what must be done. If the galaxy must burn for it to persist, then we must be the ones to wield the torch. Gather your things, my old friend. We marshal for war."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

"In this case, my Emperor, yes," she replied to his quip. In a way, she really was the Master in this regard as she understood this place far more than the Emperor did, and she understood the Jedi ways better than most any Sith living. He removed his weapons, leaving them with her as he disappeared through the door, sealing behind him. Closing her eyes, Taeli settled herself in to wait for the Emperor. She was curious how he would face the tests and the conclusions he might reach after he overcame them. She was not concerned about Kaine failing, but she was interested in what he might see.

"Back again?"

A very soft smile graced Taeli's lips as she heard the voice she had been expecting to hear since stepping foot inside. The Temple knew the best way to test her.

"The pursuit of knowledge," she answered, not opening her eyes. She knew Corvus wasn't really there, that she was just an illusion, but even still just hearing her voice brought a sudden stab of heartache. It had been years since she vanished and still she missed her and Melori. "But already knew that."

"Why?"

It was a simple word, but loaded with meaning. Why had she gone through with her plan to destroy the Alliance? Why had she done her best to tear down everything her sister had stood for? Why had she come here to assist the darkest being in the galaxy try to find the deepest secrets of the Jedi? Why was she sitting in the chamber? Why... why... why...

"You once promised me you would never leave me, that no matter what we would be family and we would love each other," Taeli whispered. "When you and Mel vanished... I couldn't help but feel abandoned again. I was alone, grieving, and the Jedi... did nothing!"

The last word escaped as a hiss of anger.

"A passing mention at a council meeting and they continued along their way. No service, no period of mourning for the Grandmaster, nothing! I was content to watch and study, to pass along bits of information, but after that... the New Jedi Order," she spat out the name, "and the Alliance deserved to die, to shatter. I wasn't going to rest until they were wiped from the face of the galaxy for not honoring your memory."

"You never did learn the most important lesson of the Jedi: let go of what you fear to lose."

"Master Yoda, before the fall of the Republic," Taeli laughed, and she could hear the quiet chuckle of her sister. "I'm surprised you didn't quote Kenobi at me, illusion or not. But yes, I couldn't let go of my attachments... you were always the best Jedi, the model they should have followed. And you were my sister, the one of only two family members I had."

"Not anymore."

"No, not anymore," Taeli said. "She will be named Nerralyn. I would have liked for you to have known her, a niece to dote upon."

"And she will be Sith."

"She will be Sith," Taeli confirmed. "The cycle will continue, the balance perpetual."

"You always had the balance in mind."

"For more reasons than one," was her response. She didn't receive another statement, and opening her eyes, she was still alone in the chamber. She was not sure how much time had passed. A tear slid along her cheek, another threatening to fall before she wiped it away and suppressed the emotion to be harnessed later. The door beyond began to open and the Emperor emerged, a fierce determination rolling off of him. So it was to be war then. She would not ask about his experiences yet.

"I will be along shortly, my Lord. There is something here I need to find."