The Cult of the Insidious Force [Avidonian Dominion]

[Yoru Shakou]

Slender fingers ran over the datapad, while golden-yellow hues fell upon the words, the being taking in the information that was present to her. A small smirk began to cross her lips as she set the pad back down before standing up. Sighing softly she brought her arms behind her back before moving around the large and rather comfortable chair in the office. Taking a step towards the window, she peered out towards the large garden that the window opened out upon. ​

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Golden-yellow hues slowly moved over the flowers before she closed her eyes. Turning back towards the desk she lift up the datapad, sighing again before opening her eyes once more. Glancing over the small report, she couldn't help but find some amusement within the information. Slowly dancing a finger across the screen, she scrolled down the page, eyes slowly traveling over each word that came before her sight. ​

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"A quaint little idea."​

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The Duchess spoke to herself as she read the information on a small cult that had begun to rise in the system. So far they were too few to make any large difference or even draw attention to the system. The last thing she truly wanted was attention pouring into the Avidon system. There was enough of it as it was with the reformation into the Avidonian Dominion, though a cult could draw more. For now her roots, and the hidden Sith Temple in the system were still secure. There was something though that she herself saw in the teachings that she glanced over. ​

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It was difficult to come out of the recent events without having been changed. While she was in secret a Sith, she still understood that there were more problems in the Galaxy caused by that order and their age old enemies the Jedi. Pulling herself back from her thoughts, she returned to the datapad before setting it back down again. Slipping back into her chair, her hand was met by the ever present Nisal, the large nexu purring as it sat by its mistress' side. ​

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Her slender fingers slipped under the datapad before pulling it up once more. The Duchess found herself unable to pull away from what she was being told. The Cult, small and growing steadily wanted balance, and the Duchess could respect that. She had even called for such actions during her coronation and to step away from those demands would show just how much her words or even convictions meant. ​

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Nodding to herself, she glanced over the datapad once more, reading slowly as her lips began to trace over each word. Softly uttering them to herself before she sighed. Her attention pulled to the Nexu before she smiled, running her hand along its head slowly. ​

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"There is some truth in these words. Though we must be careful." ​

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The Duchess could see the validity of the thoughts, though she was also knowledgeable to understand that such teachings would bring about conflict and enemies. The Duchess set the datapad down, her eyes running over the paperwork before her as she sighed. There was much to be done, though this cult did merit its own attention. ​

 

[Jaster Awaud]

[member="Duchess Magrath"]

Another mission from dear old dad, she sighed. She was to meet some duchess in her house, without notice. Literally the best security available was at her finger tips and she was to slice I to it all and break into a house of a women she truly didn't know. Her day wasn't goin great. The easiest part was decrypting the droid patrols to delay by 0.35 second, to most people that was impossible. She was amazed she could do that at all, the rest of the houses security was pretty much a fortress, ither she had something to hide or she was important.

She finally did it, breached the last panel before being able to get into the last room. The doors opened and there was a women sitting at her office table with a Nexu right next to her. 'Well kark.'

The creature growled as she entered the room. "Hello Duchess, I was sent to assit you with your cult problem?"

Shakk was literally informed with little infermation, told if the duchess agreed, she would tell her.

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Duchess Magrath"]

A Nova-One class frigate entered the system quietly, remaining out of the way of any patrol craft and out of range of any sensors that might pick up their approach to the planet for now. The Expeditionary Fleet had a less than stellar reputation in the more civilized areas of society after their little encounter with the Jedi Order-or as one Venris Helion liked to call them: the bath robe brigade. As a result of this he wanted to check the network and make sure he didn't have some bounty for his arrest on this world like the last few.

"Check complete sir," An officer, meaning one of the few actual professional members aboard the Renegade Knight said as he turned towards Venris, who sat in the Captain's chair. "The bounty hunter's guild has no record of a bounty on any members of the Fleet in this system."

"Good work commander." Venris stood up and stepped towards the doors at the back of the bridge. "We can stop playing hide & seek in that case. Set a course for the planet, and prepare to assume position in high orbit. I'll take the shuttle down for this one."

Venris had been dispatched to the Avidon system specifically to pursue leads on what had been deemed a cult of force users, a small but noticeable group that had made the Rogue Circle concerned enough to send one of their top members to investigate. While he would have prefered to stay at Tortuga and stay as far away from anything concerning cults after his visit to Dathomir, Venris was not one to disobey orders.

"Vassara and Tyranus just love to give me all the interesting assignments now, don't they?" He mused while setting himself down in the Renegade Knight's single shuttle and running a quick systems check to pass the time until the small frigate was in position to deploy him.

 

[Leilani Paaie]

Spies were always in need of work they held allegiances to those who could pay the highest and when the job was done they moved on to the next assignment. Leilani was not sure where her allegiance ran right now yes she had connections in the galaxy and she was using them quite well to further her agenda. This new assignment was quite interesting.

She had little to no information in regards to the cult. What exactly was a cult by nature and definition? Veneration and devotion of a group to an object or person. Depending on the group and their intention a cult can do much harm, or much good. Leilana looked at the datapad again, swiping a finger across the page. This bit of information about a group growing in Avidon had caughter her eye. A small price was paid for the information from a messenger within the Avidon system. Leilana was using this information to enter the Avion system and hopefully make some credits.

The tall long legged zeltron sat back in her chair thinking, her fingers drummed on the arm as she thought. She would find them see what secrets they might have to share and then, well then would be up for decision wouldn't it. The jet black iris surrounded the dark pupil giving her eyes a deep onyx hue that only up close could you see the separation.

She looked down and with a single finger swept the screen revealing the next bit of information for her to digest. The leader within the Avidon System Duchess Magrath she had attended a party that she had given that seemed like a lifetime ago. She gently shook her head and smiled it was still good memory.

Leilana was not the average zeltron. While she indulged in the pleasure of the senses, and could eat and drink her fill. She did not wear the vibrant colors others of her species did she wore items that were more acceptable to the human eye even though they were in the minority within the galaxy. Human's it seemed controlled quite a bit of the information and commerce of the galaxy. She wanted them to see a sophisticated zeltron not the party zeltrons.

Leilana continued to read to now more about where she was headed and what dangers could wait ahead of her.

 

[Yoru Shakou]

"Is it courage, or was it stupidity?"​

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The Duchess sat quietly, her eyes still focused upon the work she had at hand. She did not even have a need to look upon the intruder, the security around the Duchess was that much. Golden-yellow hues remained upon the datapads and sheets of paper spread across the desk before a single hand came up. The large Nexu remained on guard, though there was a familiar noise, that of blaster rifles being lowered. In her haste to enter the room it could have easily been overlooked, a simple tactical error for many, that the room was larger than it need be. At least four of the book shelves that lined the room had swung open, revealing four Fenrir Guardsmen that had stepped from the small guard rooms. ​

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With a simple nod, each pulled the shelves back, taking their seats once more as the Duchess kept her eyes upon her work. Nisal remained vigilant, the Nexu moving slowly around the desk as it moved back and forth. Eyes remaining upon what it thought as prey and needed only a command from its mistress before it would pounce. Still composed, the Duchess slowly brought her attention upon the woman that now stood within the room. A slender finger running along her desk as she pressed a button. The door quickly locking and securing itself behind the woman before the Duchess stood up. ​

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Motioning with her hand towards the chair, the situation quickly turned more into a scene of a child being sent to the head master of a school. The Duchess once more lifted up the datapad with information upon it, her slender fingers running across it. Her eyes flipped along the few words and the images that had been brought. She had not seen the cult as a problem, rather she was intrigued by it and wanted to know more about them. The leader had caught her eye, and a being that was capable of pulling that many together, even in such a small number, was one that she wanted to watch closely. ​

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"Sit."​

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The Duchess spoke, her attention remaining on the datapad as she slowly moved back and forth, her steps seemingly giving the woman the appearance as if she were gliding over the floor. The heavy gown didn't seem to bother or weight her down as she returned to her large chair. Slipping back into comfort as she set the datapad down before looking upon the rather rudely uninvited guest. ​

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"If you were caught this easily, how can I trust that you'll be able to succeed in ensure the completion of my own plans?"​

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It was a simple enough question, and the Duchess knew that there were plenty of people whom would be just as willing to take on the small and rather simple task that she had in mind. She was even sure that there were a few already nearby that had a similar idea in mind. The cult was one of interest with an idea that was taken from the ages, and nearly forgotten. ​

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[member="Shakk Awaud"]​

[member="Venris Helion"]​

[member="Leilani Paaie"]​

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Duchess Magrath"]

Where others might sneak in, Venris would use a more...direct approached. One hint he had learned in his years on his own was that there was always a time for espionage...and sometimes a time for diplomacy. He announced his arrival to the traffic control tower as he made his way down to the planet's surface, identifying himself as a representative of the Expeditionary Fleet before landing. He went through the standard security checks, and upon presenting his lightsaber he noted how the security team tensed.

To avoid a long and arduous process of convincing them that he was not some republic spy, Venris chose the easy route.

He waved one hand and said, "I am a diplomatic envoy."

The three guards seemed to slouch a bit while the leader standing closest to Venris repeated the phrase.

"Move along." Venris said, and was given his lightsaber back before being ushered away so the guards could resume their work. "...works every time."

With the easy part out of the way he could get to work in his investigation, mainly by asking around discreetly and making sure nobody else got a chance to see his lightsaber. The moment they saw that they would think he was sent from the Order, and that would invite all manner of trouble that he didn't need and no small amount of attention to go with it. Nobody knew of the Rogue's Circle unless they had kept tabs on the Expeditionary Fleet, so until such a time that the improvised Jedi Council of the Fleet became more public he couldn't count on a good reputation to get him by.

He would have to ask a person while influencing their mind to make them forget what he'd asked, and he couldn't do it in the open or he would risk being spotted. A more passive search of others' minds only gave him a jumble of conflicting thoughts, fears and images. But a few had heard the whispers of this cult he sought...and it quickly became obvious that he would have to go much higher on the chain of command to find out anything meaningful. The leading class of this world might know a lot more about this cult, keeping an eye on possible threats or issues being something that anybody in power would do.

So that left one option...go to the top, in this case being the estate of the esteemed Duchess Magrath. That meant somehow sneaking into a highly guarded palace...or talking his way in.

Either way seemed easier said than done.

 

[Jaster Awaud]

[member="Duchess Magrath"]

The guards were a surprise, their patience a to sit in a small room was amazing to her. She wasn't a pro, she just had skills her father used to father influence and keep secrets, and she did it cuz he was family and he never needed to ask, she would always volunteer. The guns, the beast, and the scary lady, sounded like a bad movie, yet she was scared she would die right then and there. Her dark clothing and the belt of slicer components were in plane view, so she was in trouble either way.

When they left and was told to sit, what else could she do, the only weapon she had was a vibro-dagger and a small pee shooter of a blaster. She sat as commanded, and as the Dutchess spoke she would not dare interupt, and when she finished, Shakk could only respond as her useral way. To be honest she was ither going to die here now or on the mission later, what did she really have to loose. Call it the Awaud family attitude, but fear was not in their personality when faced with danger.

"I'm gana be honest with you Dutchess," Shakk sat in her assumed set as ordered, but looked at the women in her deep yellow eyes, "I was sent here by my father to help you with whatever you needed, he wants brownie points to work in the Dominions territory and he thinks your the best bet," she pulled hour her data pad and opened the plans for her breach into the secure mansion, showing where and how she entered the building.

"I'm not a pro, granted, but I got through most of your security and guards where most pros would have a problem, only to be caught by the person I intended to speak to, I don't know if you saw me coming and didn't set the alarms off, but either you want me here, or you just found out I arrived, plus, how did you train those guards to sit in those small rooms for so long, I gata know?"

Joking was also another family trait she was bound to get in trouble for.

 

[Leilani Paaie]

"This sector is under the control of the Duchess McGrath it would be wise to speak with her before moving further into the system Leilani. WE would not want to end up crispy before we've even had the opportunity to gather any information"

She once again began to drum her finges on the arm of the chair, it helped her to think. If they did not pay the customary visit to ask permission then there could be repercussions, if they did stop perhaps they could glean additional information. "Very well then send a message ahead to the Duchess asking for permission to land and extend our greetings, and seek permission to research in this part of the system" She knew that you had to pay the right homage to one in charge it was protocol at the very least.

A message was sent ahead,

Greetings and felicitations to Duchess McGrath. It is the humble wish of Ms. Leilani Paeii to seek audience with her ladyship. Is there a fittng time this would be possible?

The message sent and now they would proceed ahead, if the audience was granted then they would be that much closer, if it was not they'd be that much further along.

Leilani got up and moved about she felt a big caged today walking over to a view port she looked out into the expanse of space. How many worlds had she been to? And what lay ahead? She sighed softly and waited.

[member="Shakk Awaud"] [member="Venris Helion"] [member="Duchess Magrath"]