Faction The Dawning (TSE)

[Elena Lowe]

THE DAWNING

For weeks, Grand Moff Madelyn Lowe, of The Sith Empire, had been held prisoner by the New Imperial Order.
For weeks, the Sith had tracked her tirelessly, attempting to locate her whereabouts.
Finally, they got a lead, and it was time to bring Madelyn home.

​

THE AGENT, Octavia Yves
SERENNO,
EMPTY OFFICE BLOCK,
0450 HOURS.

It was early, and the woman's eyes were gummy with sleep. Her body resisted being up at this hour, it protested rising before daylight. Her eyelids were heavy, her movements slow and dulled. Her mind, however, was wakeful. As she dressed she thought about the task ahead, the things she would have to say and do. The cogs in her brain worked through her various tasks, sorting them, planning out her early morning. The woman breezed through the empty reception of the inexpensive hotel and stepped out onto the street. There was nobody out save a few speeders passing by overhead. She was wearing a charcoal suit with a neatly ironed white shirt, a communicator in her ear.

A black speeder rounded the corner and pulled up beside her, silent as a ghost. The woman nodded to the driver, a blank-faced man with a thick neck, and climbed inside. She stifled a yawn as she settled into the seat, but the ride was too short for her to get truly comfortable. A few minutes later, they stopped outside a run-down office complex devoid of signs. The man grunted, and the woman stepped out. It was cold. She walked quickly into the complex, passing through an outer courtyard with peeling paint on the walls and a few struggling weeds poking through the pavement. At a door ahead of her, a man in a military uniform- a Legionnaire - put out a hand to halt her.

She flashed her ID, and the man gave a small nod, stepping aside and allowing her to step through a sliding door into a dingy office building with moist, ugly carpet. Artificial white lights fought vainly against the dim, flickering down the recesses of the hallway. The woman smoothed her suit, a hand checking the pistol strapped to her waist before she proceeded down the hall. She arrived at a room, this one brightly lit, with the smell of cheap caf wafting out from a machine in the corner. A circle of chairs surrounded a holoprojector, and a few people in plain clothes milled about. A couple of them cast her nervous glances, until one man, older with steely hair, raised her hand in greeting.

"Agent Yves." the man said, waving. Yves nodded curtly back.

A few minutes later, the room was fuller, and a dull chatter filled the space. Yves stood at the front of the room, by the projector, flicking through documents on a datapad, the blue light illuminating her sharp features from below. It struck 0500 and her datapad beeped. She lowered it and turned her attention to those assembled in the room, waiting for some quiet before beginning.

"I will begin this briefing by bringing you all up to speed on our investigation so far." Yves said, her cold, low voice cutting through the remaining chatter. "And I would ask that, before you add to the discussion, you introduce yourself to the others in this room. Do not worry, this location is highly secure."

Yves looked over the group, her face a mask, her lips pressed tightly together. After a moment, she continued.

"As you know, Military Intelligence has been working on establishing the Grand Moff's location since the loss of Prefsbelt." Yves suppressed a small sigh. "The appearance of Lowe at the Battle of Bastion not only confirmed that she was alive and in New Imperial custody, but it also provided us with an opportunity to trace her whereabouts."

Glancing down at her datapad, Yves clicked a button, and the projector came to life, displaying the image of a ship, slowly turning in a circle, with numerous notes written in aurabesh surrounding it, most of it far too small to read. She peered at it over her shoulder a moment, before turning back to face the group.

“This is a TXS RIST-01A 60, also known as a Phantom Stealth Transport. As far as we know, this vessel departed the NIV The Sentinel during the Battle of Bastion. One of our embedded SIFIA operatives verified its number when it docked for refuelling on Prefsbelt some time later."

She clicked another button. This time, the projection displayed a holographic diagram of various hyperlanes extending through New Imperial territory. Several of them were highlighted in different colours.

"We lost track of the vessel following its departure from Prefsbelt, but using analysis of known New Imperial prison sights as well as the most-travelled military hyperspace routes, our intelligence has narrowed the Grand Moff's possible holding sites to just a few locations."

Several lights blinked to life on the projection: Niruan, Orinackra, Diab. Yves let them look for awhile, and, after a time, addressed the room again.

"We will present the rest of the information shortly, but right now, we wish to consult you on how to approach this. Breaking the Grand Moff out of a high-security complex in enemy space is a tall order, and Mil-Int thought it prudent to involve the team in the planning process as early as possible." Her mouth twitched slightly, then was still.

"Please." Said Yves, gesturing for the assembled to speak.

Ellie Mors | Quinn Varanin | Eldaah Aderyn | Nan'eth'illa | Ruek Tast | ​

 

[Ellie Mors]

Madelyn Lowe sat at the center of the Shi'ido's mind.

Even before he had been pulled aside and informed of the intelligence that they'd received regarding her whereabouts, during Bastion's siege, the Sith Lord had replaced Aerarii Tithe with the captured Grand Moff as his choice for the head of state for the new beginning of the Sith Empire. A loyalist, surely even to a fault, Miss Lowe had proven to be an asset to the Sith even in the moments leading up to her abduction and the period of time following. It was better this way, perhaps - Tithe was a free man, he had the luxury of choice to not work with the Shi'ido, if Vesta had been so inclined to track the man down to convince him to return; Madelyn, however, was of the sort of dignified principles that would lend her ear to the voice of her liberators.

That was why he found himself watching their pretty intelligence slideshow, after all, his eyes kept with rapt attention on the face of Octavia Yves as she spoke, his hand lingering over the back of Quinn Varanin 's while they sat together during the briefing. His thumb glided gently over her knuckles while he let his lips curl into a smile - the agent had just came to the concerns over security, something the Shi'ido was a bit of an expert in exploiting. He shifted even as she came to her closing request, from his male guise to something considerably less masculine. "The New Imperial Order retain a barebones order of force sensitives, they've alienated their former allies in the rogue Sith gallery they had at their disposal before, and their over-reliance on compensating for splitting from us with an overwhelming force of arms will not help them catch someone they cannot see, or do not realize is not who they believe them to be." Vesta said, moving her hand from Quinn's to gesture to herself.

​

"Surely we can't bank all of our infiltration on myself, alone, but slipping through the cracks, unseen or unopposed, should not be much of an issue. My apprentice, Quinn Varanin , is a budding juggernaut of the mind, as well, and certainly Eldaah Aderyn can lend some help in that matter so that anyone not moving in directly by my side can pass through, at the very least, unseen."

"As far as getting Miss Lowe out of the facility, assuming we reach her.. well I can arrange a getaway for two, if I end up being the one to get to her. It would be best if we come up with an exit strategy for everyone else not in my company, as I can't guarantee their mutual escape in the same manner."

Nan'eth'illa Ruek Tast

 

[Tsyok]

​

There was one who stood, half concealed by shadow, near the periphery of the room as the briefing was given. Their body was a motley assemblage of tattered fabric and aged leather wrapped tightly around a near emaciated frame, the only indication of life hiding within coming from the gap in the wrapping which concealed their features. From that gap peered two glowing eyes, each wreathed in the glow of unearthly corpse-light, which stared straight ahead at Agent Yves and the presentation she had brought to the group.​

​

It spoke no words, and it offered no conjecture.​

​

It merely watched, silent and unmoving.​

​

But in its mind it was thinking, always thinking. It, like many in attendance, was eager to see Madelyn Lowe returned to the Sith Empire by any means necessary. She was an integral key to the Empire's latest stage of evolution, and he would do everything in his power to aid those around him in bringing her back into the fold. For the first time since it had arrived, it moved to gently caress the enchanted runestone which hung from its narrow neck by a thin chain of rune-inscribed metal links.​

​

It would be the key to their success.​

​

Octavia Yves | Ellie Mors | Quinn Varanin | Eldaah Aderyn | Nan'eth'illa | Ruek Tast ​

 

[Eldaah Aderyn]

Octavia Yves Ellie Mors Tsyok Quinn Varanin Nan'eth'illa Ruek Tast

The mission, one of vital importance with the fall of Bastion, to reclaim Madelyn Lowe from the grips of captivity from the New-Imperial Order. The woman would provide a source of stability as the Empire adapted, as the Sith always would do, into a new state. At least, that was according to her ever watching Master.

As high value as Madelyn was, a powerful Grand Moff, it was unlikely the enemy would transport her to Nirauan for imprisonment and possible interrogation. It was their capital, and detaining prisoners of certain stature would bring unnecessary attention to the world. No, it was more likely either Diab with a revitalized Prism prison within the electrical storms to reduce sensor efficiency to 0 or Orinackra with its wastelands and stone mazes were the places chosen to hold Lowe and others.

"The infiltration should be staggered," she said, joining into the conversation. "Split into smaller teams, one or two operatives, with different entrance and exfil points." She glanced over at the wrapped figure lurking in the shadows. "Someone posing as a bounty hunter with another prisoner, another taking the spots of guards or other staff a prison requires to operate. And so on. Exfil could be handled by stealth ships, stealing an enemy transport or two or three for possible decoys. Or other more... esoteric methods."

She looked over at the data again, especially the lack of Force users in comparison. Their purge had thinned out a great deal of their strongest Force users.

"It is doubtful the few Imperial Knights they have will be present at any prisons, but it is possible their Inquisition members, those left anyway, would be more prevalent. It would not be difficult to assume the guise of one of them as they have skewed their aesthetic to the old Inquisitors from Palpatine's era. Mind tricks and illusions will serve us well regardless."