Private Small Talk

[Cara Dorniarn]

Location: Asteroid belt within Sith space. Coordinates redacted.

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The gas giant that could once rein in the crowded lanes of rock had long dissipated leaving its orphans to float in the void. Here, sensors and normal comm systems were rendered useless by the vast scanner-blocking field, aided by a myriad of fastidiously placed durinium clad asteroids and signal scramblers. It was a mere field of barren rocks unless you knew someone was waiting there, and unless you were personally invited to visit.

Irveric Tavlar had the invitation extended to him by way of a private channel and an obscured face. His recent outburst had garnered much negative attention, so much so that he was now labeled an exile and a hero fallen from grace. But his bold declaration in the face of the Sith caught the ear of a far more agreeable mind. Cara anticipated the Enigma's arrival within the hour.

Of course she felt a climb of tension as the minutes ticked away. The former general risked a trap; the engineer risked exposure. Both were taking their own leaps of faith that their common goals superseded notions of betrayal.

Cara stood near the loading bay, datapad in hand as she finalized the details of what Tavlar may get to see of the facility. This all rode on the hope that they came to a mutual understanding. The other tab of the datapad bore a long list of contingency plans-- just in case it didn't go so smoothly. There was a small hubbub as a small stealth flyer landed in the bay, a cluster of people nearing the wing as the pilot appeared.

A stick of information was passed from the pilot's cybernetic hand and into the quick grasp of an analyst. With quick steps the analyst arrived at Cara's side, the datastick plugged into a jack in his augmented head.

"Long range scans confirm activity at the arrival point..."

Cara slipped the datapad under her arm and motioned for the analyst to follow her, "Continue."

They walked down one of the many corridors that stretched across the crevice of the asteroid, "It is confirmed to be Irveric Tavlar, Doctor. The fleet converges on our location."

Their clipped pace ceased as Cara slowed to a pensive plod. Head down she eventually stopped, turning on a deliberate heel as her eyes moved up to study the analyst's face.

"...the what?"

At the main hangar Cara waited for her guest (or guests) alone. Only odd-shaped beings dotted the hangar performing miscellaneous duties. Long, slithering mechanical arms and waists too slim for an organic humanoid gave away their altered origins. They didn't seem aware of anyone's intended arrival, focused on their tasks like the autonomous tools they were.

Cara adjusted the collar of her jacket, the gunmetal gray of both her neck and hands starkly contrasting the short lab coat. She had begun to clasp her hands behind her before pulling them away at the last moment, attempting some balance between poise and confidence.

 

[Irveric Tavlar]

He was far past the time of evading caution now, all the same he was far past refusing an audience with anyone at all either. His two decades of service of the Sith had now been snuffed in the face of his bitter treason of the crown. Revelry and respect melted into outright bloodlust. The only part worthwhile from Irveric to the Sith Empire would be his head on a spike. With the near entirety of his command at his back, the request of an audience wasn't something he was fearful of. Embarking on the task with a patrol group of star-destroyers convened around the Epitaph he boarded a shuttle, a negligible flight to ferry him to the hangar bay.

Admittedly, he knew little of Dorniarn. He'd heard of her exploits on Kintan and Mandalore, only embarked on different fronts than his own but seemed to be a competent commander well enough. More than could be said for many of the other Sith he'd embarked with who relied solely on might alone to will their objectives into fruition, disregarding any tact or forethought. Cara had her mettle tested, many Sith had seen and experience battle but very few thought to take lessons from it in victory or defeat.

Stepping from the loading ramp of the shuttle he was met immediately with the uneasy appearance of her cyborg automatons. Perhaps when he was a younger, more naive man he might've reviled these creatures. He'd long accepted that those who'd risen to any level of prominence within the Sith Empire manufactured monsters beneath -- Tavlar would not be excluded from this himself even if his evils had been delivered with distant brutality rather than close experimentation ; though he wasn't afraid to use the fruits of such in draining the force from his mortal form, making him all but null in that realm. Though he hardly held the rank any longer, even if he'd yet to be officially discharged or exiled he equipped himself in the pale white fitting of his station of Lord General as it was now.

"Dorniarn...this doesn't strike me as any Sith-Imperial facility but regardless-- you reached out to speak. If my escort was alarming, I apologize but given recent circumstances you should understand well enough. Even so, you risked accusations of treason to communicate with me so I'd not wish to waste your time." Irveric stated flatly, speaking in characteristic cold stoicness and pragmatism. Referring to Sith-Imperial by its full title when he might've simply regarded it as Imperial in earlier days.

---

Cara Dorniarn

 

[Cara Dorniarn]

With a short bow she welcomed the general, "To imply we were expecting an army would be a lie," She gave a courteous smile, "But it is more than understandable. As for the facility it is neither Sith nor Imperial, though it serves the latter with most of its designs." She stepped to the side, gesturing for him to walk toward the main corridor if he chose, "Welcome to the Ineditorum, General Tavlar."

Individuals buzzed up and down the halls wearing modified Imperial symbols, marking the presence of engineers, technicians, architects, and other disciplines. In many areas construction was seen, the most arduous work done by heavily altered cybernetic beings accompanied by organic overseers. The completed halls still held the faint smell of metal varnish. It was an obvious work-in-progress, yet already there were multiple levels of laboratories, vaults, and living compartments spanning the interior of the asteroid. The stone shell was large, giving room for aggressive expansion.

Cara felt comfortable enough to place both hands behind her, "Though I am still affiliated with those who brand you a traitor please realize," Her voice was calm and earnest, "Your words at the meeting were true. It's wrong that they were tossed along with the anti-Imperial rhetoric of the Apostates."

She glanced at the console of a security door and it hissed open. It lead to a metal balcony overlooking a large cavern where dozens of enclosed transparent labs were bustling with work.

Her metal palms clinked against the safety rail, "Those who bleed for the Empire deserve all that it may provide. The men and women below us are all brilliant minds who wish to further their research and aid the Empire. Yet they tire of the restrictions of rank and title."

She glanced to Tavlar, "Not a single Force user among them. Only their gifted intelligence and stubborn will bring their work to fruition-- along with my resources. What do you think of this, General?"

Irveric Tavlar

 

[Irveric Tavlar]

The station was...a fascinating enclave to say the least. An epicenter of innovating talent and curious minds ripped free from the bonds of restriction to pursue their ambitions. A curious foundry, though Irveric did his best to avoid seeing how the sausage was made in relation to the instruments of death he ordered and utilized from the Sith Imperial corps of engineers and third party corporations throughout his tenure in command. All necessary evils to tangle with.

"An admirable pursuit, yet you hide it. You show this to me, a traitor yet you hide it from the government you owe your loyalty to. Why? Do you fear retribution for something within the depths of this facility?" He inquires, arching the brow over his lone organic eye before he casts an inquisitive gaze over the facility around him once more.

"Thing is...it isn't you that is afraid so much as it is them. Do you think if they thought what I told them didn't make sense they'd act the way they have? If they were not fearful of Imperials unshackled would have to conceal all of this? Regardless, you are a Sith and yet here you are...hiding this in the shadows of the Empire. Why?" Irveric inquired. Dorniarn had immediately proven to be a curious character a Sith who'd remained loyal to the Sith Empire only to keep secrets from it and invite a man who'd committed blatant treason into this domicile of esoteric study.

---

Cara Dorniarn

 

[Cara Dorniarn]

She allowed herself a smile and nodded at his questions. The facility sparked an excitement in Cara that she found unusually hard to conceal, taking her back to days when she had been a fresh graduate with big ideas. She turned away from the labs, leaning against the rail as she crossed her arms over her chest. She shook her head, "I am older than I look, General, old enough to know the mindset of powerful people. Moffs, Lords, little difference, and I owe them nothing. I choose who receives my fidelity."

A door at the end of the balcony hissed open. The heavy boots of legionnaire armor echoed against the grates as a helmet-less soldier stopped a few meters from Tavlar and Cara. Helmet on his hip, the soldier gave a quick nod to both. He was a younger man, Chiss, and holding a datapad.

"Excuse me, ma'am. This has just come in," he raised the datapad.

"Excellent Frist, thank you." She stepped past the general to take the pad then gave the Chiss a slight bow. The soldier gave a familiar nod, a minute but warm smile on his face as he turned and slipped the helmet on his head. The door hissed closed as he left.

Cara's eyes flitted over the scrawling text as she continued, "Pardon the interruption-- one of my "men." I tried sending them back, honestly." Her tone implied some humored sarcasm, herself knowing full well only Sith Lords were allowed military accompaniment. She continued, using the datapad to gesture to the labs below, "This galaxy needs a power that will focus on bringing progress but also ward off stagnation. If a machine ceases movement it erodes, eventually becoming nothing but wasted parts. This Empire, both its Imperial and Sith facets, have lost their focus. Moffs seek to become like royalty, fat and rich with power. Sith seek the same, though with many variances. I grant not all are this way but, well, too many are. They would use what this facility creates for their own benefit, not those they serve."

She placed the datapad in her coat's pocket, "Everything that is created within this facility only betters life. Protects it. It focuses on efficiency in all things. The Empire is ideal. Those who govern it are not." After a quick glance to the door it opened and she stepped near it, standing to the side to wait for the general.

"The soldier that was just here. The people down below and throughout this facility. They and those like them have my loyalty. And I believe they may have yours as well even if you are... disillusioned. But your disappointment lies with the current authority, yes?"

Irveric Tavlar

 

[Irveric Tavlar]

Though he agreed with the lion's share of her sentiment he listened intently, thinking carefully before he chose his next words. Characteristic, even in her one time seeing him he seemed to drink up the room in silence for several minutes before making his thoughts known.

"That it does..." He says, speaking in his inherit placid stoicness for a moment as he contemplates his next words. Though he'd already outed himself a traitor and showed his hand far before she summoned him to this place and even still he sought to speak carefully.

"I've sacrificed everything for this regime, for this Empire, Cara. I never styled myself a military man but even so, I was conscripted and here I am. The Dark Council was on Kintan and we walked away empty handed, leaving rubble and mass graves in our wake. Mandalore...we fought and won, and they now decimate the people I was commanded to defend in the first place...and then I was witness to that assembly. Thousands upon thousands of legionnaires die never baring the fruits of their labor, the glory of the Empire as it is all siphoned the way of the ruling Sith and crooked glad hands. I can not, in good conscience ,send my armies to die for this. This Empire is a horrid amalgam of decadence, corruption and terror that unmakes all that is conscious. I will see to it that the Sith Empire is undone a new order take its place. I am ready to die, I will not let fear paralyze my convinctions." Irveric Tavlar says flatly, forthright in his beliefs.

"I can not all the same, ask you to join me in this, in reforging this Empire into something far greater but I will vow that what you have created here be preserved and no retribution done unto you should the coming war reach this space." Tavlar states bluntly.

---

Cara Dorniarn

 

[Cara Dorniarn]

Cara found the use of her first name informal but it did accent Tavlar's conviction. She would have placed a hand on his shoulder had her decades-forged sense of formality not forbade it. Instead she gave a deep nod almost almost as reverent as a bow.

"I do not blame you for the stance you've taken, General. Kintan was a loss that disappointed many including myself, not to mention it was an insult to our forces. The Empire's men all fought well it..." With brow furrowed, it was evident she still couldn't decipher just why they had lost. Details were muddied, granted she'd gone through the bulk of the operation fighting underground, "...was a conflict where nothing went as expected, though war is rarely predictable. As for Moridinae, relations were thin. The invasion broke the last thread holding back the wrath of the ruling class. Not that I condone them wiping out the newly created workforce; they were on track to becoming of use to the galaxy."

And that's all she spoke of Mandalore, the personal disdain she held for Mandalorian culture remaining hidden from their conversation.

Her tone was somber, "You deserve to fight for something then see it flourish, to witness progress made possible by Imperial blood. The term "ruling class" doesn't fit well within the structure of sacrifice-- they don't experience the impact of loss like those they think below them," She turned to get a glimpse of the labs.

"You have the respect of every mind in this facility, and I am especially grateful. You'd make a good leader yourself, General. It takes one willing to die for his people to serve them efficiently. I do hope you find-- or build-- what you're looking for."

A blue seeker droid whirled past the door only to come back a moment later. It chirped a happy then inquisitive tone. Removing a hand from her back Cara shooed it away, "We'll be leaving shortly. Go on." With a small shiver of glee the droid snapped its clamps and floated out of view.

A hint of amusement tugged at her mouth. She then shook her head, looking back to Tavlar, "Well, General, it would be in bad taste to ask where you are headed from here," she extended a hand to shake, "But please allow a parting gift. Your men have a hard battle ahead of them, so medical supplies are going to be in demand, no?"

Irveric Tavlar

 

[Irveric Tavlar]

Cara's rhetoric was respectable, agreeable. More than he could say for a vast majority of the Sith peers ; and certainly for any who already hadn't hefted their sabers against the Sith Empire. Matter of fact, it was perplexing that she was even remaining loyal to begin with but in the same vein even Irveric couldn't expect anyone to risk everything the same as he had. At least not now, with an air of crushing uncertainty enveloping the entirety of The Sith Empire and its traitorous legions.

"I appreciate your kind words, Dorniarn. They're spare among the Sith. Good to know that even those who are not so willing to join my cause immediately are at the very least, sympathetic." Tavlar iterates, glancing to the droid as it interrupts their conversation for the slightest of moments. Though in truth, Tavlar had many Sith allies at his back. The Sith lusted for power at their core and having the entirety of the Empire's power base consolidated among a spare few certainly drew the ambitions of the Dark Creed's adherents.

"You should know well by now that if my insurrection is successful and this Empire toppled or at the very least -- a chunk of it chipped away in which true Imperials may find sovereignty that you will be welcomed with open arms into the New Order." Tavlar explains to her, offering out a long breath before he moves to shake her hand -- two cybernetics clasping against one another in a firm shake before he draws the metallic hand back.

"I don't have any particular destination as I do a particular ambition. Wherever I have to set off to next to see to it that my duty be done, I will go." Tavlar iterated to her.

"They certainly will -- I'd not want to implicate you or this facility into any of our actions however I can't turn down the assistance with the deck stacked so unevenly as it is." Tavlar says, offering a nod of acceptance to her offer.

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Cara Dorniarn