Private Prelude to Formos: The Witching Hour

[Arcane Syn NPCs]

Darth Strosius Revna Kasir Dorran
​

It began within hours of the events that occurred at the wedding reception of Sarlow and Lina Zambrano, for orders had been issued immediately for operations against the Inquisition. Formos would be the target, but for the Lady of Secrets and her forces, intelligence would be required first along with operations to weaken any potential resistance to what would be coming. Foremost was to learn the disposition of forces at Formos, or that could be called to the world, and attempting to learn if the children were being held there or in another location. While Darth Arcanix assumed they would be ensconced elsewhere, the problem would be discovering where exactly. Her agents would be charged with such endeavors.

---

Formos City and its spaceport would be the first point of infiltration. An innocuous transport would touchdown at Formos Spaceport within a day of orders being sent out, its manifest declaring it was carrying water and goods from Saleucami and was making a stopover on Formos for a few days so the crew could rest before continuing the last leg of their trip to Kesh. The crew, a mix of six individuals, would spend most of their next day or so in the spaceport and the surrounding areas just talking with the locals.

However, all was not as it seemed with them.

The captain of the transport, a female 'Mikkian' named Visara, had mentioned to spaceport security a pet project of hers, as she styled herself as an amateur entomologist, had gotten loose when they landed. She assured them the creatures were nothing to worry about, just a few beetles and spiders, but she wanted to inform the authorities they could be classified as an invasive species if they cared about such things on Formos.

Another two members of her crew, a female human named Cecilid and a male Feeorin named Tymil, had made sure to hit each of the local cantinas to swap stories and drinks with the patrons. They were particularly keen on learning about the group that oversaw Formos, the Order of Wonosa, and were happy to part with credits and pay for drinks to anyone that would answer their innocent questions as it was their first time out this far into the Rim. The pair, each a Malaise Adept of the Order of Arcane Syn, were preparing a brew of sickness that could soon be spread around the city.

The final members of the crew, a male Epicanthix and a pair of Togruta twins, spent most of their time as they whiled away their free time, exploring the city. One of the twins would occasionally stop as though listening to a conversation only they could hear, a behavior explained away by their sibling as a touch of they got as children. In reality, they were listening into the few Thought Hunters they had unleashed and spread around the city to eavesdrop on conversations while they scouted the city defenses.

---

On the outskirts of the planet, a squadron of four Vyraal-class Stealth Transports had slipped onto the world and landed in the scrapyards. Each one carried a team of Ravenscar Adepts and Geist Infiltrators, along with their assorted equipment. Their mission: intelligence gathering and identifying of priority targets for either assassination when their Mistress launched her attack or needed to be captured for information or strategic value, along with identifying the key positions of the Inquisition and the Order of Wonosa on the world. If the invitation was accepted, their efforts would be led by a new agent of the Sith Lady as a personal favor along with a sizable paycheck to the bank account of Allyson Locke .

 

[Darth Strosius]

Formos City was bustling with far more activity than it had seen in quite a long time. So little of said activity involved an increased number of traders or visitors however, in fact civilian traffic in general was somewhat reduced. Rather it would be the movements of the security and military forces that would account for the surge in activity. Kerstas Legionnaires and their Auxiliary counterparts would patrol the streets alongside their new Tuk'ata droids or from the safety of K'lor Walkers and Mailoc Speeders.

The patrols themselves were nothing new of course, as any local would freely tell those curious enough to ask, but the sheer volume of them had noticeably increased these past few days. Freighters and cargo shuttles had also increased in frequency, moving to and from the industrial sector of the city to deliver materials and extract armaments and vehicles with a logistical speed that was fairly impressive given how varied the ships themselves were. And that was without even mentioning the stream of vessels carrying both personnel and equipment leaving the militarized section of the spaceport.

For those of more enlightened and wise disposition it would seem that Formos City was on the eve of war. The increase in patrols and other logistical activity were far from the only signs of course, any keen eyes would be able to spot checkpoints and existing defenses being strengthened. The canyon walls that held the majority of the city were clearly being armed with additional anti-air defenses and even landing pads for the Starfighter Corps. to make use of.

But Formos City wasn't the only area of interest and increased activity on the world, similar scenes would be found all across the major settlements and towns as well as key junctures and transport routes between them. The defensive networks were wide and far from impregnable but no less full of eager defenders and threatening war machines. All of which were fueled by an almost frantic increase in harvesting from the scrapyards around the world.

Arcane Syn NPCs

 

[Kasir Dorran]

Tags: Darth Strosius Revna Arcane Syn NPCs

The moments he spent here were often short, but they were long enough to still make it feel like home; Formos City was a blend of chaos and beauty to the Sith. During the breaks between missions, he often found solace and familiarity in the streets and growing markets of the city. Compared to Jutrand, this place was more tranquil, and his lodge near the spaceport provided everything he desired. It served his minimalist way of living.

After being gone for only a few weeks, he couldn't help but feel that much had changed in his absence. The increase of security measures, a tense atmosphere, it all spoke volumes. For Kasir, who had spent the majority of his life fighting, the thought of it happening on home soil was unthinkable. The notion of it all increased his anger, an array of emotions threatening to flood his mind even after having meditated on the matter. The dark side of the Force whispered secrets in his ear, hinting at unrest within the city.

It was a cold reminder that nothing was ever truly safe.

As he ventured deeper into the city, it seemed as if the canyon's expanse went far beyond his eyesight, with its walls towering on all sides of him. Having resided in this area for years now, he had witnessed the decrease in crime, a direct result from the Order of Wonosa's dominance. With each step he scanned over diverse groups that filled the streets– graceful Zygerrians, Twi’leks with their different colored lekku tails, and also the familiar humans going about their activity. There seemed to be a different energy to each of them; while some may have appeared reassured by the city's security, he could also sense fear in others.

Those on patrol were impossible to miss; he soon looked up to a passing K’lor walker. Regardless, business carried on. Different aromas from street food wafted through the air. It lured him like a moth to a flame. He approached one of the merchants, seeing a large Artiodac flip skewers of grilled womp rat. It was as though an exotic cuisine lay before him, especially given how far away the native world of the creature was from here. Removing a few credits from his pocket, Kasir purchased one along with a bowl of stew before settling into a small chair nearby with a group of strangers.

 

[Revna]

She had been told that the Sith thrived on conflict.

And now she knew one was certainly about to unfold.

The magnitude of internal fights between Sith was unknown to the young apprentice. She had seen bickerings and stand-offs but now she had a grim feeling in the pit of her stomach that whatever was going to come next was going to be devastating.

So many emotions coiled within Revna as she set the coordinates to Formos; she’d been away for too long as it was - and now with a possible fight looming ahead, she wanted to be back home, to see familiar faces and hope and pray to Bogan that it was still there. Her own Master may not think Darth Arcanix capable of doing what she said she would do - but Revna was not so dismissive. And now that Strosius had the woman’s own flesh and blood? She knew the woman would stop at nothing to get them back, and she would destroy everything if given the chance.

If Revna knew where the grandchildren were, she just might have snatched them and returned them under her Master’s nose - if only to preserve everything she had come to hold dear. But she did not know where the Sith Lord kept them prisoner, and so all she could do was prepare for the inevitable.

She felt sick to her stomach as all her fears and anxieties roared to life within her. The thing that frightened her the most? The uncertainty of it all. Things were set in motion that would have a ripple effect now, and she knew it wouldn’t just be Darth Strosius who paid for all of this.

It would be all of them.

From the very youngest newborn, to the eldest and most frail.

Taking a deep breath, Revna left the port on Alvaria and left the planet’s atmosphere. As soon as she hit the blackness of space, she made the jump and sat back in her seat to watch the swirling colors around her. It gave her a moment to reflect, to think. To plan.

But…what plan could she devise? While she was almost certain a fight was about to occur, she didn’t know if it would indeed take place. Her Master could decide to return Taeli’s grandchildren to her, and tempers would simmer back down. But, knowing him, he would refuse to do such a thing. Truthfully, all she could really do was be available to the Sith Lord, to go where he sent her and do what he told her to do. And that was her plan - to do just that.

And to stand with him and fight back, should the need arise for it. To fight for those she cared for, that she looked out for. Her Brothers and Sisters of Wonosa, the many people who fell under their protection, their guidance.

Upon arriving back to Formos and a fly over major areas of the planet, the Disciple was quick to notice the heightened security and activity; it indeed appeared that Darth Strosius was preparing everyone he could for a coming conflict. She settled her sleek black, remodeled yacht claimed from her dead slave-master into the port just outside the Dresuoti settlement before stepping foot into the settlement proper. The atmosphere was thick with tension, with uncertainty, with fear as she made her way towards the Formos Cathedral. There, she would connect with the Dark side and prepare herself. She wanted to be strengthened and empowered for whenever her Master called upon her for her service.

Arcane Syn NPCs // Darth Strosius // Kasir Dorran ​

 

[Allyson Locke]

//: Arcane Syn NPCs //: Darth Strosius //: Revna //: Kasir Dorran //:
Thank you for waiting on me, will keep up going forward

[Credits deposited]

Allyson stared at her device, seeing the number refresh and the change in her account. One of the perks of working with the Empire was that she got paid well. Was it blood money? Was she okay with herself? Allyson stared at the numbers, wondering how far she had fallen. The device closed, and a smile curled at the end of her lips; she remembered her time in the Alliance prison and knew what she was doing was right. At least here, someone was in her corner and not willing to shove a bomb in her head for silence.

Allyson stood and patted herself down. Even in the dark, the Corellian's pride shined blood red as she exited the transport. She was here at Taeli Raaf's request. The woman who not only helped start this chaotic road but one that, despite the betrayal, Allyson trusted more than she trusted anyone in the Alliance.

No one, not even old friends, held that amount of trust from the Shadow. They all turned their back on her and she would stop turning a blind eye to it. "Everyone knows what they're supposed to do?" She asked as she adjusted the rugged leather over her missing eye. As much as her trust was with Raaf, the soldiers she was with now, she would watch her back. Even though she had given her loyalty to her fellow Corellian, Taeli was still a Sith Lord.

Allyson knew her mission, and she began to head out into the scrapyards, fully prepared to encounter whatever they would find.

 

[Arcane Syn NPCs]

Darth Strosius Revna Kasir Dorran
​

As Visara signed off from the communications with her Master, bounced and encrypted as they were, her team had yet to find any sort of technology within the city that would indicate eavesdropping capabilities. Much of it seemed like exactly the rugged Outer Rim city that was only a few catastrophes away from collapsing into anarchy and being abandoned, and she could easily extrapolate that out to other outlying settlements on the world.

One of her twin Togruta squad members, the one not utilizing the Thought Hunters they had deployed to listen into the minds and thoughts of citizens and soldiers alike, was taking readings on the forces they had encountered so far. The walkers, identified as K'lor Walkers, were the same as those seen by their Master and Lady Tremiru on Faldos and their capabilities were already known due to Strosius' presentation. Their numbers would be noted regardless and whether or not any identifiable modifications had been made to them. The combat speeders seen were being marked with possible specifications, based on visual observations, but judging by the numbers deployed and the lack of more sophisticated industries in the capital, they were more quantity over quality. The same observation would be made about the starfighters being put into position on the canyon walls, although they would need a closer look to determine full specs and how they measured against their own fighter forces. The Epicanthix member of her team, their mechu-deru user, was feeling out the droids with the local soldiers and getting a feel of their capabilities.

All of this data would be sent back to their freighter for eventual transmission back to their superiors along with the other tactical positions, fighter pads, and defenses being put into place. Including the first reports of illness already starting from the efforts from the two Malaise Adepts. All the cases, if any of the officials under Strosius noticed, would be located on the local cantinas and symptoms were presenting as coughing and gradual skin color change, including the darkening of veins to a dark blue color, before worsening to bloody coughs and the breakdown of the resipratory system. Several of the patrons were already critical and worry would likely grow as people started presenting with the symptoms that had not been at a local cantina that day, although no deaths had been declared yet.

It was not the only issue starting to develop in the next few hours. A few reports would start to trickle out as people were found in out of the way areas with horrific necrosis and puncture wounds consistent with stingers if examine close enough. A few subjects would have traces of webbing and burns on their bodies where the webbing had been or still lingered, with examination showing an acid was secreted by the webbing. The Contagions were starting to breed and spread through the city and into the wild as one report would even come from the next closest settlement to Formos City.

Complaints from local power plant workers of increased insect activity would also start to appear for any party interested in such things, with requests for more repellants and that small swarms of the pests were clustering around the power cores. The local soldiers would also find a beetle or two or a few lurking around their weapon power cells or even near the power sources for their defenses. One Tuk'ata droid had disappeared from its patrol and had been found out of power.

​

---

A shuttle would drop out of hyperspace, transmitting clearance codes originating from Jutrand to land at the Formos City spaceport as a diplomatic vessel, holding course for permission to proceed. Within the shuttle a young Sith Knight sat and hoped that his mission could achieve all of his dreams. The events of what occurred at the Zambrano wedding reception had rapidly spread through the Sith Empire, and the Knight saw opportunity. If he could broker an agreement with the Lord Inquisitor and Lady Arcanix, to somehow bring the two together and return her grandchildren to her, the Knight saw a chance to ingratiate himself with the Dark Councilor and he had quickly roused his pilot to take him to Formos immediately to try and find a last-minute diplomatic solution.

The pilot knew better.

The pilot, a male human that had been replaced some months ago by a Dyson Technobeast, was observing the make-up of Formos' fleet. The five ships from the reception had already been accounted for, but the Lady of Secrets and her command staff needed further intelligence on what sort of starships Strosius could field in an engagement. The pilot wasn't worried about the foolish Knight it was flying, especially since the codes would have identified him, erroneously, as a member of Darth Arcanix's power base. If the shuttle was shot down, the pilot could survive in space and rendezvous with the other infiltrators.

---

Allyson Locke
​

As the Vyrall-class transports landed in the designated LZ, the Geist Infiltrators and Ravenscar Adepts that had been assigned to Allyson's command were going through their pre-mission checks. They were consummate professional in covert operations, even if they were fully trained Sith Knights, and the question from the Corellian former Jedi would be met with nods as helmets were put on and weapons were equipped. The Ravenscars would activate the energy strings of their bows, recognizable to the Corellian as similar to one Tael had gifted her.

"Lady Arcanix put you in charge of this mission, Lady Locke, and we will respect that and any orders you give," the lead Geist would say, a female Umbaran, would say as she handed Allyson a crystalized earpiece and a small case with a contact lens in it. "Neahtid earpiece, lets you send orders telepathically in case they have traditional EWAR capabilities. And a new prototype tech that Lady Arcanix wanted you to have. AR HUD support and integration with our own systems unless you want one of our spare helmets in case you want your identity concealed. Your choice, Lady Locke."

Not, the Umbaran thought, they might have those in the scrapyards, but reports had suggested the main compound for the Wonosa was somewhere out there and it was their mission to find it and gather intelligence for the main assault.

'Deploying IBIS drones,' the thought would pass through the crystal network as several of the small recon drones would be sent out as advance scouts and connect to their HUDs. And the teams of Geists and Adepts would fan out and follow the former Shadow.