Campaign The Hunt for a Slave

[Darth Empyrean]

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The alarms, the monitoring systems in place on Harper’s Retreat all broke loose in tandem - someone had entered the residence and departed in short order. An old acquaintance of Maliphant’s, Thesh, had come for unknown reasons - and it was the Inquisitors jobs to find out why.​

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Had Maliphant sent his old apprentice home to retrieve something he had forgotten? Had Maliphant simply returned in disguise, or was the child now grown into a man looking for something else? It was hard to say without more intricate investigations; and so the Inquisitors of the Sith Empire were cast out - sent to find what the ex-Governor of Bastion had left behind, of what secrets the others failed to find.​

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The air was dry, as it often was on Bastion - and the wind scarred canyon of Maliphant’s dwelling was no different. All that was to make up for it, was the fact shade reached out from the cliff’s edge over much of the complex, drenching it in a drastic temperature difference that at least made walking across the bridge tolerable.​

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Whatever ship the Inquisitors had chosen to ride to Harper’s Retreat was quickly logged away, stored by the automatic docking system the home was equipped with, and droids came forward to meet their every need. The first and foremost of them was an HRE designed by Aegis Systems. Her blonde hair and blue eyes accented beautiful features that graced them with a smile -​

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“Welcome to Harper’s Retreat, Inquisitors. Darth Maliphant has not returned since your previous visit - is there something else I can do for you today?”​

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Her tone was synthetic, a forced happy that would never cease; as per her programming instructions. However, she was loyal to the Sith Empire - and they had full access to her, and the systems of the complex. All they had to do was ask...​

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Djorn Bline │ Vella Forte​

 

[Vella Forte]

By the grace of Vahl, the inquisitor's mission didn't require leaving Bastion's atmosphere. A robust land vehicle served well enough as transport, and Vella was all too relieved to not be in the vacuum of space for a mission. The driver had remained silent through their travels, and stayed with the ship while automated servants greeted band of searchers.

Their hostess arrived and informed them there was a previous visit, and Maliphant hadn't returned since that time. With a quick assessing look, it would be easy to surmise that while the home was well maintained, it had been uninhabited save for electronic dwellers for quite some time.

They'd been dispatched here to seek out if there were any leads to the whereabouts of the infamous Darth Empyrean . A Sith Lord who, in his prime, was a vessel poured to the brim with ancient knowledge. If he was a live, it would be a great asset to the advancement of The Empire. Knights, such as herself, could do well to crave such a wealth of information.

"There was something that set the alarms off here the other day." Vella began, by way of explanation for their presence to the HRE. "Who was it, and why was it here?

We'd like access to the security recordings of the premises."

Djorn Bline / Zachary Ludwig

 

[Darth Empyrean]

“Certainly, follow me.”, the HRE said with a smile; though forced as it was.​

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Turning on her heel with a surprising amount of elegance, she began to walk back to the complex. Her hands danced across a hologram that appeared in front of her, and doors began to open in the distance. She spoke, though she did not look at the group that followed -​

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“The visitor was a man named Thesh, though young as he is. An old apprentice given to Maliphant after being rescued from slavery by the Empire.”, the HRE offered them as they entered the home.​

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It was extravagant, and while it certainly did not have life to it in a conventional sense - the minimalist white stylings were more than enough to show that Maliphant, during his tenure, was a very powerful and rich Sith in the Empire. Their dossier would have said as much, once the Governor of Bastion and the singular reason the Imperial Sith library was as well endowed with knowledge as it was.​

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“He was a child saved from Ession after the invasion - Maliphant helped turn him into a Sith; though he disappeared sometime before Maliphant.”, she said as he walked them into the depths of the facility.​

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Slowly, the architecture changed from minimalism to something far more sith designed - and the ever growing sensation of darkness from the bellows of home were obvious to those with an ounce of force sensitivity. The droid however, didn’t go to the source - only to Maliphant’s personal bedroom. She stopped, motioned to a chest and spoke once more;​

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“He investigated this room, then disappeared outside of the security systems range. Returned, then left. All footage of the event can be found on that terminal.”, the HRE said with a motion to the nearby computer.​

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Vella Forte │ Djorn Bline │ Zachary Ludwig​

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[Djorn Bline]

Perhaps the most strangest and high profile case that came to his desk was the former governor of Bastion, one with a complicated past. Was it him or were all the Sith in the Empire just unusual with their past that continued into their present lives. These were his overlords, and normal people such as himself must suffer their reign. What would it take to have someone like himself be their Emperor without a weary past?

But now he must complete this task without presenting failure. Something about the rogue governor that his superiors commanded him to bring back alive.

“Did he say anything to you? Any converse you had with him I’m interested in knowing. Knowing everything.”

No stone would be left unturned. He wouldn’t even mind knowing the former governor’s favorite color for a change of pace. Any information was worth more than gold to him.

Vella Forte | Darth Empyrean

 

[Darth Empyrean]

“No, Inquisitor.”, the droid said with a placid, apathetic expression.​

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The digitized nature of it was good, but every few moments there seemed to be a hiccup in its processing - just enough to stop it from being an outright convincing human replicant. The reason for this was unknown, as it was certainly possible for Maliphant to afford more traditional HRD’s. The droid seemed to process something before snapping to attention -​

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“Thesh ignored any approaches we had, and eventually left on a private ship. Tracking data is scrambled, and Bastion has no reliable telemetry of where the ship went.”​

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For a moment, she seemed to glance to the computer, then back at the Inquisitor -​

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“Might I recommend searching the camera footage, Inquisitor? My own operating limits restrict access to the region of Harper’s Respite that the Acolyte went.”​

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Djorn Bline │ Vella Forte​

 

[Vella Forte]

Their heels clicked against the floor as they walked through the vacant home. It was easy for the calm, abandoned silence to be filled with any sort of conversation. The change in décor was welcomed, the waves of darkness beckoning. It was sensational, but not part of their route. She followed the motions of the droid, glancing briefly at the chest, then to the monitor of the computer.

It was a shame the droid was so dry of information. She had an inclination to continue interacting with it. It was a marvellous manufacturing feat, and Vella found herself entranced by its subtle machinations. The intricacy of human behaviour that would have to be studied to influence the conscious of the droid was beyond the Vahl's grasp, but in the interim she could appreciate.

While Djorn Bline sought further information on interactions, Vella seated herself down at the computer and gave the screen a frustrated stare. It was requesting an access code to view the logs. This was expected, given they seemed to be in the personal quarters of the former Bastion nobleman. The droid was speaking about looking at the logs, and while the femme replica did so, Vella was reaching into her personnel pack to produce a data pad. It was a basic scrambling program she plugged in to interface with the computer. Within a handful of moments, the only sound of whirring to fill the silence, the screen's obstructive messaging was replaced with a panel of four different quadrants with live recordings. Quickly, ruby-red gaze traced the scan lines for an area to access the history.

"We prefer you stay in the room during this process." Vella turned back to look at the droid, wheeling her chair back enough if her companion(s) wanted to look at the screen as well.

She stopped the rewind to the shadow of a person entering the very room they occupied now.

Darth Empyrean / Djorn Bline / Zachary Ludwig

 

[Darth Empyrean]

“Understood, Inquisitor.”, the droid said with a high bow -​

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“Should you need anything, I shall remain here.”​

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After, the droid remained still - seemingly staring at nothing at all, though it was more obvious that they were doing calculations, ordering commands, managing the household’s automated systems. With a straight posture, she remained still, idle, and while Vella might have looked upon her she never moved from that position. Waiting another command, attention quickly moved to the video they offered -​

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While Thesh had entered the room, he had only stayed for a moment. Perhaps Vella and Zachary would notice the reason more than Djorn, but as the Apprentice looked around, they seemed to focus on a chest with a marking on it - ancient Sith sigil that held some form of magic, waiting for his presence. It was dead now, but the etching remained - though the recording gave no clue as to why Thesh remained still, only to turn and wander back into the hallway.​

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The other cameras caught more of the mysterious journey, his walk through the facility somewhere deeper within; and once he was at the base of a stairwell, the cameras seemed to catch him disappear into a wall - no doubt a secret entrance to something Maliphant intended to hide. After a few minutes, Thesh appeared once more and exited the Home with a quickened pace before departing -​

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And that was it. The recording held no further information, and they were now left to find the room in question.​

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Vella Forte │ Djorn Bline │ Zachary Ludwig​

 

[Vella Forte]

That shadow meandered and dipped - hunting through the room just as they were. It had an intent and seemed to navigate with purpose. The first thing Vella consumed was the brevity of the visit. Thresh knew what he was coming in for.

She hit the playback, and started at the beginning, watching once more. This time, she leaned in, as if seeking the trajectory of the apprentice's gaze. She paused it where his head turned, and looked to where he would have been standing in real life, and the object of his desire. There was a nigh undetectable shift in the metaphysical, a small blip that could have easily gone undetected if someone wasn't looking for it. The source of this malcontent was a little container, with some ancient rune etching on it.

Noting this, she continued to play the video once more. Right to the end where Thesh disappeared at a quickened pace.

Rising from her seat, the inquisitor moved to the first object of interest. Her hand hovering above the chest as she crouched to inspect the sigil.

"Do you know what these carvings represent? It looks like an older rune." The world of magic was unfortunately something she needed to up her knowledge on, but perhaps the droid could be useful. Or, if surprise was on their side, the non-Force sensitive, Djorn could have some insight. "Maybe it's directions? He seemed to not bother too long with the contents in here, but instead whatever is deeper in this home.

What's downstairs? Do you know?" Now she was looking at the droid, who, she just realized she didn't know the name of.

Darth Empyrean / Djorn Bline

 

[Darth Empyrean]

“I’m unsure, Inquisitor.”, the droid offered with a moderate frown.​

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“Darth Maliphant never offered me information on Sith Teachings…”​

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The droid glanced between those collected before considering the final question;​

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“Downstairs, there is Darth Maliphant’s work space; though I can not enter it. A restraining bolt stops me - additionally, I understand it is hidden. Only minor reports of it exist in the home’s blue prints.”​

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“Is there anything else I can help with?”​

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Vella Forte​