Populate The Death of His Imperial Majesty | EOTL Populate Thread of Gala/Gromos

[Darth Rasnuhl]

Objective 2
Line Unbroken​

Tags: Maldor Mecetti | Teckla Tane | Karl Von Strauss | Orion_Knight | Darth Malum of House Marr | Zonn Geist | Marcus Bastion | Rex Valhoun | Kanni Ugaiya Kilran

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"I believe however we have come close to a consensus on the need for the Moff Council to be an advisory bored for the young empress. I believe this to be a wise decision for whatever my opinion is worth and such a council would have my full support. And that of my fleets. As of course would the Empress."

What he spoke was true, at least taken into the column of Moff council power Marcus Bastion "Do you have a port to take care of your fleet? or are in need of such?"

"Empress, esteemed councilors, Moffs, and exalted ones, I am Rex Valhoun, former and present King of The Elysium Empire. I am here today as an ally to The Empire of The Lost, now found. I understand that many of you do not know me, and I do not know you. I also understand that from the outside, The Elysium Empire may not appear to be a piece on the board of galactic politics. But I assure you we are quickly rebuilding and reforming, and if the past is any indication, we will once again become a bastion of Imperial values, and freedom. I am not here to pick sides in the internal politics of your Empire, only to offer my complete support in any capacity that I can, and hopefully to build an alliance that is more than a mere treaty, but a legitimate friendship between myself, my people, and The Empire of The Lost."

"Thank you Rex Valhoun indeed talks should be had sometime." It was intriguing prospect, but their ideology would be the final say in whether or not the two governments and people could get along.

"My, my, Darth Rasnuhl, you were uninformed? Perhaps I can take solace than that this blatant hostility held towards the Sith, has its subtle expressions as well,"

"Yes Darth Malum of House Marr I was uninformed. It at least gives me solace that you were invited, and not an interloper." Truth told he was still a problem being head of the enemy intelligence branch.

Grandmaster Tane asks for terms of peace

”The daughter of Velran Kilran Velran Kilran has indeed been elevated to his former title. And she will be at the front of the Empire. However this is a time of great mourning for Her Excellency. Therefore we ask Darth Malum, that negotiations be handled within this group, or delayed until such time that a group satisfactory to both sides be assembled,”

"...As you wish, as representative of Darth Empyrean, Emperor of the Sith, and ruler of their Empire, the terms which we lay are as follows, in exchange for peace to be declared between the Sith Empire and the Empire of the Lost, the Empire of the Lost accepts the annexation of the Tion, Ferrix, Morlana One, and Felucia into the Sith Empire, the Empire of the Lost agrees to halt any further expansion northwards, the Empire of the Lost shall accept Darth Malum as a permanent advisor and ambassador at Lianna, and pay financial compensation to his office, to be sent to the Sith Empire for an indefinite period. In exchange, the Tsis'Kaar, of which serve Darth Malum shall be offered to aid the Empire of the Lost in the defeat of the Tingel Arm Coalition, and the Sith Empire shall open its borders to the Empire of the Lost for trade of which the Empire of the Lost currently lacks."

Darth Malum Lays out the terms of peace taking the systems that were EoTL by current right. It is true some Tion families were the founding ones within the Sith Order, but they are a tiny fraction compared to the rest of the Tion people who still live within the Empire of The Lost.

"...If an agreement is made, I would be ready to offer all which I know of the Tingel Arm Coalition," Beneath the mask, his eyes flashed dangerously, "...Indeed, I have already concocted the strategy to defeat them in a singular move."

And he talks a big game.

Moff Mecetti spoke next, and he was right. The Sith Order was busy with the Galactic Alliance on the far side of the galaxy. Maldor stood to lose territory that was his zone for good instead of momentarily. That also gave the healing herb back into Sith Orders hands for good, one the Darth Rasnuhl had immense interest in.

"You've offered us three things that benefit you more than they benefit us. And of course, you've asked us to pay you a salary to boot... once we install you and your intelligence apparatus into a position where you can thoroughly undermine us in the future."

"I hope this is merely the first offer. The one we are meant to reject out of hand.

And I hope your second offer is better."

He was feeling the same thing "I believe Moff Mecetti has hit the nail on the head. It feels more like a give us a slice of the pie and take the rest. When the pie was ours to start with." A brief pause "Sure we have a new enemy at our gates, but the attacked us on their terms... not the other way around."

"It is always in the best interest of an Empire to keep things close to the vest. I am glad you think we are so weak and place much on us losing Emperor Kilran. The Empire was founded without a real head, even though I am a later edition having a head of state or not does not diminish us." In this case more so, Velran had his clone army and ships. But the TAC incursion had destroyed much of that. His daughter needed time to learn the skills to be valuable since Velran sheer experience gave. Also their needed a little bit of time to rebuild ships for her along with repair those few that could be.

"I believe, Moff Mecetti, you misunderstand the reasoning of my terms, the Malsheem and the Mors Mon have no doubts that they could hold Tion, should any foolishness occur, but it is the way of peace, that we remove any points of friction, it would after all, hardly a trustworthy peace if we are claiming each other's systems by the time the ink has dried,"

The funny thing is sure they can commit the massive ships to their enclave, but it deprives them from their main front with the GA. Something that Darth Malum is aware of, something Darth Rasnuhl has been prepping to tackle in his reclusive corner of the Empire for a while.

"I have to be honest Darth Malum, these terms of yours, while founded, are barely worth their salt. Firstly, why would you deny us northward expansion? Why inadvertently hurt yourself? While the Caldera is your vassal state and is not currently in battle with the Galactic Alliance, that is because you have three buffers before they'd reach your precious holy worlds."

Something Darth Rasnuhl values about Karl Von Strauss is his analytical view on topics. Then usually followed by his masterful engineering skills.

<<Peace is a lie my friends, he has said it himself in this very meeting. Whatever terms are agreed to here they are temporary. Either until they don’t meet their needs, or ours. One way or another this alliance will end in blood. Don’t think in absolutes…>>

The words echo in Darth Rasnuhls mind. And he replies to Teckla <<Of course they are, if we want temporary peace fine. But we aren't compromising our security by giving his intelligence a free reign of the Empire. Also I have new tech that levels the field.>>

 

[Maldor Mecetti]

Objective 2: Line Unbroken
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There was a moment of silent terror as the name 'Trigonus' rang in his mind. It was the most potent card this enemy might play against him, as far as Maldor was concerned. Hearing it, Velran would have shouted, made accusations of disloyalty, and summoned assassins secreted in shadowy alcoves.

But here the name might be carried away in winds of indifference.

This was already a different Empire than the one which had stood days before.

In fact, it was definitively improved by the prevailing cooler heads.

This notion was reinforced when Maldor found that his sentiments were supported, if not always his specific positions. Malum strode in and demanded all the treasures of the Kingdom. Too much was being surrendered to the altar of peace. It wasn't just Maldor's selfish desires that said so. The Empire was declaring its strengths in these talks. The limits of its forbearance.

The Sith would never respect anyone who surrendered too much to buy an end to war.

Such a nation, too craven to resist, was merely a sheep to be sheared.

New thoughts filled Maldor's mind, carried to him through the force. At least this time was less disconcerting. The voice that spoke to him through the force was an ally. Teckla wanted this peace. That much was clear. But Maldor knew it could not come at too high a price, or it would cost them everything.

Maldor gathered himself to speak again, believing that his position held support among his peers.

"You can not claim everything your eyes light upon, Darth Malum, and call it a bargain for us. You are not only drawing a line at your borders, but attempting to draw far beyond it. You cannot have your cake, eat it, and then start carving up ours. Not if you are being serious, here.

Jaminere, Rudrig, and Cholganna will not be yours. They are strategically important to us, and are closer to our territory than to yours. It makes no sense whatsoever for you to leapfrog your adjacent sectors in an attempt to claim these also. "

He drew quickly on a datapad and wirelessly cast the resulting image to the chamber's holoprojector.

"This is the line which I propose to demarcate our respective zones of expansion on the 'North East' rimward side. You expand through the 'North' of this line and we expand through the 'South' of it. This will secure our strategic interests and allow you plenty of breathing room.

Agree to this, and we may yet have peace.

Attempt to constrain us further by drawing your line past this, and we will treat your line like a garrot, and respond to it accordingly."

So Malum, Maldor challenged with his eyes, Did you come here to give as well as to take, or is this peace talk as much a lie as peace itself is within the Sith philosophy?



Maldor Mecetti Orion_Knight Karl Von Strauss Zonn Geist Marcus Bastion Rex Valhoun Darth Rasnuhl Teckla Tane Aculia Voland Kanni Ugaiya Kilran Vilissa Pormenn Darth Malum of House Marr

 

[Zonn Geist]

Objective II: Line Unbroken​

Current Outfit
Lightsaber
SE-44 Blaster Pistol


Zonn continued to observe the peace talks, his jaw shut and dark brown eyes observing Darth Malum of House Marr was making absurd demands out of the Empire. It was interesting that the Sith Lord saw the Empire as a rotting corpse and he as the Crow to pick the bones clean. Thankfully, the Moffs had displayed some backbone. Velran Kilran for all of his delusions of grandeur had chosen his council well, these people were hardly sycophants willing to satiate Velran's ego. But even these negotiations, what was lost was that the Tingle Arm Coalition despite losing the battle were still out there licking their wounds while the Sith and the Empire were busy arguing rather than forming an alliance of their own.

The Warlord wasn't the biggest fan of the Sith given that he spent most of his life fighting them killing many of their Lords in Lightsaber duels. But unlike Velran, Zonn didn't feel like picking away at old wounds. An Empire that was quickly forged in war and blood was threatened to be torn asunder by a faction located not so far from the Tion Cluster.

"If I may intervene for a moment?" Zonn said. "As Teckla Tane mentioned, I was not active in the Empire of the Lost's rapid ascension. I was in the Unknown regions bringing..... Imperial culture to the unwashed masses. I came back when I realized that my friend: Velran Kilran had given his life to save the Empire that he built with nothing than a vision of utter dominance."

Zonn quickly moved towards the middle of the floor, his hands clasped behind his back. "This bickering over who gets what territory is pointless," Zonn said. "Right now what matters is the Tingle Arm Coalition, they are not mere rebels who rely on guerilla tactics like the Rebel Alliance during Emperor Palpatine's reign, this a well-oiled, well-disciplined faction bent on annihilating anyone who gets in their way."

His gaze shifted towards Malum. "That includes the Sith Empire," Zonn continued. "If the Empire of the Lost were to fall, the Coalition will then move onto you. We gather here not only to..... mourn the Emperor but also unite to crush these vermin who threaten our balance of power in the Tion Cluster."

Zonn took a deep breath. "I propose we set aside choosing the planets for now," he said. "And focus on crushing the Tingle Arm Coalition. We may have our differences, but if there's one thing we both despise, are people defy our power."

Maldor Mecetti , Karl Von Strauss , Marcus Bastion , Darth Rasnuhl , Aculia Voland , Orion_Knight , Kanni Ugaiya Kilran

 

[Marcus Bastion]

"I pledge myself to Empress Velran" Bastion bowed and got on one knee.

Privately he was a little frustrated she upstaged him as she entered the scene just after he had taken his turn to speak. Bastion had felt it would be poor taste and desperate to reshuffle the conversation to his points. It would have made him look like a petulant child being ignored by the adults while discussing his new favourite holofilm.

What he spoke was true, at least taken into the column of Moff council power Marcus Bastion Marcus Bastion "Do you have a port to take care of your fleet? or are in need of such?"

"My Fleet is currently without a port to call home. After todays business and the mourning of the Emperor is concluded. It will be a priority of mine to find a suitable basis of operation."

The conversations natural course turned towards declaring loyalties to the Empress and then the Sith made his move. It was a bold move. Trying to assert territories over Tion not to mention a significant extant of space the Sith Empire bordered with. All of which was strongly opposed by just about every member of the burgeoning Imperial Council.

The main point of contention once the initial ridiculous offers had been made and rejected. Was the territory of Tion and of course the Tingel Arm Coalition. Rebel Scum. Or little better than them. Bastion had made his career stamping out Rebels. These new to the scene forces reeked of them.

Bastion knew better then to trust the Sith and was glad to see most of the other members of this council had similar sense. The Sith would propose peace terms just long enough to gather there strength and launch a new offensive. Darth Malum seemed determined to gaining as much territory as he could claiming every swath of territory surrounding Sith Space as he could.

Bastion was of a mind to give them nothing.

"The Sith want power and only power for powers sake."

"Even their support against the Tingel Arm Coalition is suspect. Darth Malum of House Marr would have our focus turn towards the Coalition while having us believe our borders are secure. No doubt to lure us into a false sense of security biding their time to strike."

"As for the Tingel Arm Coalition themselves. They may be a nuisance that should be dealt with but not at the expense of our own security against other nations. The Sith have the greater power and therefore the greater threat. To pretend otherwise would make us weak. These proposals would make us little more than Vassals of their state."

"I made my career in the New Imperial Order stamping out Rebel Scum and the Tingel Arm Coalition smells of them albeit a more organised version of them. They should not be dismissed lightly, but accepting help from a friend you expect will stab you in the back seems a poor decision to me."

"If we must concede a non aggression pact I believe Maldor Mecetti proposal makes the most sense. Until such a time as the Sith confirm their nature. Their lust for the dark side compels and drives them to do nothing less."

Bastion knew that taking a hardline against the Sith was risky. It could impact future negotiations in the future, as well as limit his own role within those negotiations. Right now however Bastion was more interested in shoring up his support in the Empire than he was in currying favor with the Sith. If he demonstrated a hardline policy against an enroaching power than perhaps he would be more readily accepted into the Empire's fold. Besides it helped that he believed everything he was saying.

Orion_Knight Karl Von Strauss Zonn Geist Rex Valhoun Darth Rasnuhl Teckla Tane Aculia Voland Kanni Ugaiya Kilran Vilissa Pormenn

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

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Four different voices spoke up, all of different modes and makes, all of them frustrating in their own ways. If they were so certain of their strength after losing, what was the point of this? The distance between Korriban to Tion was the same distance between Tion to Lianna, their capital lay within striking range, and what were they doing pumping their chests, proud as peacocks. They had lost Tion, Ferrix, Felucia, and Morlana One, they had made no attempt to retake them, and now they were speaking as if such matter was of debate?

He could only curse whatever forces had made it so that they were sitting around negotiating, when clearly one last battle was needed to convince these Imperials of their inferiority. Yet, he knew his role, far be it from him to blow up negotiations over perfidy, when he still had some cards left to play.

He turned towards the traitorous Sith, "An interesting metaphor, might I counter with one of my own? You held the pie, a whole pie, and then your Emperor grew too greedy at Felucia, and so we stole a slice of your dessert at Tion, and all up to this moment, you have had full opportunity to attempt to retake it, if you are so certain you could, why have you not done so?" The words were as unemotional as they were frosty, waving off the rest of his words as that of a jingoist without sense, "Be glad as you want, I will not waste my time engaging in a debate on the effect losing an Emperor has on an Empire."

He turned towards the other traitorous Sith, yet the one who hid who he was, "You misunderstand my purpose, such borders we do not seek to secure for ourselves, only to have enough buffer to make certain our security for all time, yet, I understand your case, as a sign of good will, I recognise you have already begun the process of integrating certain systems, such that I will draw a new map, akin to your own." Malum found himself by the same map as before, as he made his work, presenting it to the congregation.

Spoiler

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"I would say it is much similar to your proposal, only updated to consider your full interests, and provide you a fuller image of possibility. We have no intention to expand beyond our current space, yet, the areas demarcated by red would be considered a zone in which the Empire of the Lost agrees to not cross, is that acceptable for this... garrot, you speak of?" Malum countered, through the mask rubies meeting oceanic depths with as much challenge.

It was then his turn to turn up on the Warlord, "Lord Geist, as far as I am aware you do not sit upon this Moff Council nor hold authority in these talks, if such is the case then I cannot take your proposal in any seriousness, however, if I am mistaken, then all I shall say in response is, any ability for cooperation stems from peace, peace is determined by if we can reach consensus here, the Tingel Arm Coalition has not yet struck us, and its full focus is upon your Empire, they are not our concern, especially if you all," His masked eyes turned upon all in the room, "Have already rejected my personal aid on the matter." If that was not annoying enough, it was even more so with the fact that as it stood the only enemy the Coalition held was in this room, whatever antipathy they held towards the Sith, until an attack came, aiding the Empire of the Lost, only aided the Empire of the Lost.

Better a potential enemy in the future, than aiding a current enemy presently.

Then the largest annoyance of them all, turning his head towards another non-sitting member of the Moff Council, "Moff Bastion, I am disappointed, I stood as moderator during the Imperial Peace Conference and yet you still paint myself, and all my people under some Jedistic brush. You do not sit upon the Moff Council as far as I am aware, thus, I would ask if you truly mean to add anything of value to a peace process. It is only by the rules of hospitality that I do not remove my glove and throw it upon the floor," The room suddenly grew very cold, "After all, there is only one price that would satisfy an insult upon my people's honour."

He allowed the comment to stand in the air a moment, before he turned towards all those assembled, his patience had long since run out.

"I had come here wishing for peace between our Empires, between our nations, yes, we were at war, yes, borders have moved southwards, yet with no more fighting, we might have focused on efforts far more worthwhile," His gaze rested on each and every single one of those in the room, those jingoists, those pragmatists, those quiet and listening, "Yet, all I have found is an Empire that seems still much willing for conflict, despite having come out of the worst of the fighting thus far, such is your right, such is your willingness, yet, then it would seem to me, that a peace process has little chance of working."

He drew out both of his hands, opening them, and raising them in front of him for all to see, "Gentleman, I hold in here in my hands two choices; peace or war. Which shall you choose?"

Maldor Mecetti Orion_Knight Karl Von Strauss Zonn Geist Marcus Bastion Rex Valhoun Darth Rasnuhl Teckla Tane Aculia Voland Kanni Ugaiya Kilran Vilissa Pormenn

 

[Aculia Voland]

Aculia had remained silent during the "negotiations", cool blue eyes watching both the Moffs and the Sith, this Darth Malum, more interested in the former than the latter as she was more than well aware of how the Sith generally thought and acted and Malum appeared little different from that in how he played his cards. The former influential Moff of Lianna and one of the founders of the Empire had wanted to hear both sides and see where people had stood before making her move, just as she had done with the matter of the succession to Velran. She coughed loudly in the silence, both to bring the center of attention to her and to knock some of the air out of the Sith's grand pronouncement which would more than likely irritate him.

"Always with the absolutes," she replied, chuckling softly to herself at "but at the end of the day, Darth, true diplomacy is something takes much trial and error, much give and take, and it is ultimately like making a meal. It can be messy, and sometimes not taste well to begin with, and indeed there may be many false starts and frustrations, but at the end of the day, one gets it done to sate their hunger, one way or another. In terms of this 'pie' being spoken of…"

Glancing at the assembled crowd for a moment, she brought up the larger star map of the galaxy, and began to gesture at it, eventually pointing to the giant blob at its center.

"It is a rather big pie at the end of the day, is it not? But neither the Empire nor the Sith hold the largest portion of it, and the glutton at the center continues to expand ever so rapidly, its growth checked from time to time, but continuing ever so surely towards both our Empire and the Sith holy worlds. Indeed, even this Tingle Arm Coalition, from what I have seen, may simply just be another thinly veiled attempt at expansion by them, given that from what the NISB has on their upper leadership and funding, it seems the Jedi Order and significant backers of it hail from the Alliance, do they not? And what would benefit them more than infighting between our Empires?"

She refocused the map on the Mandalorian Neocrusaders.

"And there is a new player on the board whose intentions are unknown-for now it seems they prefer to pick fights with the Alliance, but they could easily turn their fangs towards Imperial or Sith territory, and the Mandalorians are anything but predictable. They could continue to be a thorn in the Alliance's side, could turn against us, or simply implode due to unstable internal dyamics, and in two of those scenarios, that leaves the Alliance with a dagger at our hearts."

Zooming outwards once more, she simply let the map, with the gigantic blue blob of the Alliance dead in its center, its tendrils now not far from Imperial space, do the speaking for her for a few moments, looking more at the Moffs than the Sith.

"For now, as I see it, putting aside the past to secure the future is the best play, indeed, it is what I and the other founders of the Empire did, and indeed what Velran did, to restore order, security, and Imperial rule. What we have lost in our…disagreements…with the Sith in the past can be more then recouped with the destruction of the Coalition, and any who have suffered territorial or economic losses can be compensated with the new territories we gain from them."

She paused, taking a drink of water, before continuing.

"An agreement, even if it begins with a non-aggression pact rather than an alliance since it will take time for us to get reacquainted and build trust with one another, with the Sith allows us to bring the full might of our Empire down upon the Rebels to enact vengeance for the Emperor and snuff out any hint of Alliance influence out in the Rim without any distractions. It also takes a foe off the board, allowing us to be ready in the event the Mandalorians fall apart or turn their attention to us as well. Of course, such an agreement would be in the interests of the Sith, allowing them to have their holy worlds in peace, and focus on grinding down the Alliance in the Galactic South…"

Glancing at the Moffs, and then at Malum, she nodded.

"An alliance is not yet feasible, given the long history between the Imperials and the Sith in general, and in particular our two empires. It takes time to rebuild a bridge that has been burned down. But a non-aggression and perhaps trade pact, one that which each day allows more trust to be built, could see us begin to build the foundations of something much stronger, and would serve to strengthen the both of us."

That was as much as she think that she could push the Moffs and the Sith, given their present antipathy, but perhaps if they agreed to her suggestion, more trust could be built over time. After all, stranger things had happened in Galactic history, and at the end of the day, she cared little about anything more than the survival of the Empire in which she and her children could live freely, and a potential three front-war with the Sith, TAC, and the Mandalorians would do little to assist with that.

She turned to look at Malum's map suggestion, thinking internally it was more of a wish than a firm proposal. She knew the Sith, for all their words, likely would not wish for a two-front war either.

"Perhaps this could work as a general framework, for now, to negotiated on as the strategic situation changes, especially regarding Mandalorian expansion, already they are making moves on Vjun which is not far from your proposed border of Vaal and they could easily continue expanding Rimwards, and would it not be better to share borders with us who you would have a treaty with than an unknown and unstable entity?"

Turning to the Moffs, she bowed respectfully.

"Of course, this is merely what I think is the best for the Empire. It will, I think both strengthen us and allow us to focus our full attention on crushing those who murdered Velran rather than potentially fighting a power who, for now, seems content with their holdings. And, who knows, perhaps with time and with proving that they can be trusted they could be an ally against those who would seek to threaten the Empire."

It was a gamble, but she was hoping some of the more reasonable Moffs, like Mercetti, would back her.

Glancing up from her bow, her cold blue eyes met Malum's with a piercing gaze, a warning not to say anything. He had already ruffled the feathers of the Moffs by being a typical pompous Sith who could not help but return insults and inflame tensions-if he truly wanted peace he would shut up and let the proposal be mulled over.

Maldor Mecetti Orion_Knight Darth Malum of House Marr Karl Von Strauss Zonn Geist Marcus Bastion Rex Valhoun Darth Rasnuhl Teckla Tane Kanni Ugaiya Kilran Vilissa Pormenn