The Imperial Downfall~CIS Dominion of Kamino

[Caid Centurion]

Objective: 1
Tags: [member="AR-G002"] | [member="Eternal Avarice"] | [member="Fiolette Yvarro"] | [member="Darth Tacitus"]
Location: Daisya Infiltrator Nightstalker
Post: 3

"We're in position, Your Highness."

Caid's gaze hadn't left the forward view port since they began drifting lazily just underneath the Imperial formation. With a learned ease, the two Endelaanian Warriors had managed to navigate all manner of debris, maneuvering spacecraft, and the occasional errant weapons-fire. Sensor readouts indicated that the Confederate Fleet had recently joined the battle in earnest, explaining the definitive uptick in super-heated laser and projectile fire ripping through the void of space.

"Begin analyzing their attack patterns." While the two pilots interfaced with the on board sensor suite to identify the pattern of fire presently being employed, Caid allowed his presence to momentarily swell. The action was necessary to fully immerse himself into the Force enough to begin the next phase of his plan. Fortunately, the talent of Art of the Small was one that he'd been forced to study extensively during his time as a Knight of Ren. It was easily his most enjoyed of neutral abilities.

Within the next fifteen seconds, the Sith Lord's presence began to shrink rapidly. Drawing in on himself, Caid could practically feel the overpowering effect of the cells in his body beginning to merge into the constantly-evolving current of the Force. It wasn't death obviously, but it would reduce his presence to the point of it nearly seeming as though he had just...vanished. Once his presence and manipulation of the Force had shrunk to the molecular level, he began influencing his will on the life-binding energy.

While Caid tended to his own preparations, the two pilots managed to complete an analysis of the firing sequence. There was no telling how long that attack sequence would continue to be employed, so they seized the opportunity the moment it arised. Anticipating the next volley of fire to originate from the area of the flagship directly in front of them, the warriors were able to surge the cloaked vessel past the flagship's shield when it was lowered for the purpose of engagements.

Despite their normal composure and battle experience, both Endelaanian Warriors exchanged a brief glance and a slow exhale as the vessel drifted ever closer to its objective.

 

[Crocell]

​

Objective: Obtain Cloning Data

Location: Abandoned Cloning Facility, Kamino (alongside Rylan Kordel)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ivory pocketed the rest of the glowsticks without a care, adjusting the pack on her back with a shrug; the air within the abandoned facility seemed to grow colder the deeper they traveled, and the still-sterile nature of the place seemed alien. The raven-haired woman appreciated the cautious nature of her companion, but she still wasn't entirely sure there was anything to be cautious of. "We're going down one more level... this seems seems to be the Administrative Wing." The rooms they'd most recently passed had seemed like offices; many of them rather small, but all of them dark.

The next stairwell brought them to a long hallway with one large door at the end; a turbolift, with the hallway at its' top-most level. Ivory clicked on the flashlight she'd been considering using, spilling a floodlight of cool white light down the hallway, illuminating the doors at the far end. Ivory stepped to one end of the hallway, choosing the side opposite Rylan, and the two of them approached the turbolift with caution.

"Is it just me... or does it seem quieter to you?"

Ivory took a knee, fishing the Decoder from her pack and inspecting the panel. Power still appeared to be running to the lift, but it was locked; standard practice, one might think. She popped a small access plate off, connected the device, and allowed it to work its' magic... Her face was illuminated in the dim light by the screen, giving her features an ethereal, spiritual quality. She selected an option, drawing power from the integrated systems within the facility and rerouting power to the lift. The dim lights of the hallway darkened somewhat as power was transferred to the lift.

Ivory cracked an Illum-Stick and rolled it down the hallway where they'd come, toward the stairwell. "Let's get this done... I don't like being down here alone." She said, and Rylan could hear the nervousness in her voice.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The turbolift ran slowly than it should have, but delivered them to their destination all the same.

The doors opened out into a larger room; a common-area, with a number of hallways branching off from the central location. There were a number of seating areas and tables, along with old planters which were empty; the fauna which had grown in them long-dead. The lights in this area seemed to be drawing more power than the ones above, and the area was relatively well-lit. Ivory indicated a hallway to their left, "The data storage centers are through there..." and she began walking.

If one listened very carefully, they might have been able to pick up on the hum of power coursing through the walls. The facility's reactor was only another level below, but the air seemed fresher on this level. Ivory almost thought she could taste the spray of the sea.

 

[Caid Centurion]

Objective: 1
Tags: [member="AR-G002"] | [member="Eternal Avarice"] | [member="Fiolette Yvarro"] | [member="Darth Tacitus"]
Location: Daisya Infiltrator Nightstalker
Post: 4

Managing to clear the arc of weapons fire that only occasionally erupted from the Imperial flagship nestled deep behind the Imperial picket line, the pilots of the Nightstalker steadily approached the far side of one of the vessels auxiliary hangar bays. Given the current engagement status of the fleet, all hangars were in full operation, but attempting to infiltrate from the main hangar bay posed a number of logistical space considerations that Caid could ill-afford.

For his part, the Sith Lord prepared to expand his manipulation of art of the small outward.

"Fifteen seconds, Your Highness."

Opening his eyes, Caid confirmed activity to be minimal though hardly non-existent. "Set down near those supply containers." The position was just inside the magnetic shield and far enough away from the entrance into the hangar bay from the adjoining corridor to be undisturbed.

The Endelaan Warriors didn't exactly rush through the landing cycle as that would have required large uses of thrust and power that would make the whole effort of cloaking the vessel fairly useless. Still, less than five seconds after passing through the magnetic shield, the near-silent Infiltrator nestled onto the polished black deck.

No sooner had the engines shut down completely than Caid was on his feet and moving swiftly towards the vessel's rear exit. A cloaked vessel was not super deceptive when stationary against a certain type of background. Fortunately the black floors of the Imperial hangar and the Nightstalkers positioning near the exit of said hangar kept it pretty close to the void of space. A rear hatch opened and Caid dropped down to the ground. Walking behind the stack of containers behind the cloaked vessel, Caid made his way towards the exit into the hallway. There was at least eight hundred meters of mostly-empty deck space between where his presence would become visible at the end of the stack of containers to the aforementioned exit.

Hiding in plain sight would undoubtedly work fine while he was in this area of the flagship. In Caid's experience, most did not prefer to directly argue with large, cloaked figures that moved with purpose around Imperial warships. In fact, it was the potential presence of other force users onboard that posed the largest unknown and potential threat. Fortunately, Caid had initiated his manipulation of Art of the Small well in advance of stepping off his vessel.

 

[Srina Talon]

Location: Kamino [Timira City - Research Facility Landing Platform]​

Wearing: Envirosuit [Oracle]​

Tag: [member="Aryn Teth"] | [member="Daxton Bane"] | [member="Kyle Raymus"]| [member="Xenro"] | [member="Anesia Jy'Vun"]​

---

​

---

The fight was hollow. Stormtroopers were well trained with an extensive repertoire of threats, stares, and general weapon utilization. The team of Knights Obsidian and Magnaguard, plus one Minister of Science, moved through the opposition without much difficulty. There were so many Confederate teams assaulting the facilities at all angles that they were spread much too thinly. By the time they made it to the laboratory in question, it seemed that they were already too late.

Someone had been here previously. They had either taken the sample of the virus or it had been destroyed. Srina swept through the shattered glass that littered the floor soundlessly. The envirosuit that protected her wouldn’t be harmed by something like that. “Integrate and analyze Oracle. Halt all progress in the system and collect all data on the bio-weapon for the Minister of Science. We don’t know if Trench still has the means to act.”

<<Yes, Srina. Update Pending…>>

The AI had cost an obscene amount of credits was then linked to Kamino’s servers through a still functioning terminal. She would cut through protocols and firewalls just as efficiently as a hot knife through butter. Anything outbound or incoming would stop. All work on Kamino, no matter how small, would grind to a halt. “Find Vette.”

The Knights Obsidian spread through the room while the Minister lamented the loss of his prize. They secured the area, ensuring that all the novatroopers were well and truly deceased, before they prepared to extract and save what they could. Just because the sample was gone didn’t mean that the data wasn’t backed up. Or, there could be more.

It was the remnants of an Imperial Empire. There was always more.

Her scanners ran over the novatroopers and she tried to assess the damage. Mostly physical blows. That didn’t mean there wasn’t something else to it. There was a particular flavor of skill versus simple lucky happenstance. Had they been used as a distraction for someone else to infiltrate? Someone who might not have known their plans but took their breach as a potential for their own gains. “This body is still warm. Whatever happened here took place not look ago. Fan out. Find the culprit.”

The Knights did just that. Oracle sealed the exits and began to review surveillance. They would find Trench, even if they didn’t find the virus, and the Imperial dog would die.

<<Trench located, however, not alone. Coordinates transmitting. Possible sample detected. I am not alone in the system. Encountering resistance. Multiple downloads, temporarily halted.>>

“We’ve got Vette. Let’s move.”

Srina let the group and anyone else that chose to follow out of the lab and through the chaos. Oracle unlocked the doors and gave them entrance just in time to see a woman, identity shrouded by poor lighting, using the Force to choke the target. “Whoever you are—I don’t care what you do with Nolan Vette in the end. Kill him. Keep him. The Confederacy is only here for the virus. We need to make sure it hasn’t been deployed. Targets were multiple civilian locations on a variety of worlds. It’s highly aggressive and the rate of transmission is unchecked.”

“The Marshall cannot die until we are certain all deployments have been halted.”

There were only so many ways to stop an unknown from using the Force to choke the life out of someone. The room would soon become flooded with Knights and Magnaguard. Escape would be difficult. Still, with the power of her Master rolling through her veins, she didn’t know what sort of opponent she would be dealing with. Emotion aside; in this she had none. The thief could acquiesce to her words or they would fight.

They couldn’t let anyone leave with the Red Shadow Virus or it would be Mirial and Melida/Daan all over again. They couldn’t let that happen.

 

[Anesia Jy'Vun]

Location: Research Facility | Marshal Nolan Vette​

Mention: [member="Srina Talon"] | [member="Xenro"]​

Post: 2​

​

The Darkside of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be…unnatural - Darth Sidious​

​

There was balance- of the light and of the dark- and a time for both. The gray area, however, was an ever constant factor that tipped the scales. It was unpredictable and wanton. It was rogue. The adroit fingers still lingered in their current position at her side and the Marshall had wrapped his own hands around his throat in attempt to stave off the ghostly grip. This was to no avail and his very cerulean eyes cast that in his foreign state of terror. She released and applied pressure at her own pleasure.


The very life of the Imperial...


The communication system opened and the Master's head canted slightly in light of a voice feeding through. It matched with the real-time security footage retrieved and faint violets took that moment to consider Vette's loyalist guards and the small army of speculated Confederates on the other side. She also weighed the area and the rest of her team. "This is not up for debate," the Sith replied with little ire.

...and the lives of millions​

Within three paces the suited figure invaded the subject's space and began to even implore his mind. "For the glory of the Empire," she mouthed, eyes lighting up. The Marshall responded only with two fingers pointing and motioning to the door- this alerting the guards to stand down from the current threat and cover the exits. It appeared Nolan Vette's hate for The Confederacy and loyalty to his Empire exceeded his will to live. Interesting. It was then that her boot pivoted and Ferrius' frame was revealed in full through breaks of the fizzling power of the emergency system failure.

Imperial doctrine was radical, relinquishing nothing of importance to enemies.

The sirens screamed, their red swirling lights stark against the bright white walls. After awhile, it was static...ergo background noise. Emergency evacuations had been in full effect since the breach, preparatory threat measures… it was all down to time. The Marshal attempted to speak and the sound of chopped words and saliva filtered through her com, cracking over the speakers.

...Hung in the balance...​

​

​

Anesia utilized that moment or seized it; siphoning the Imperial's thoughts first. The power of the Darkside emanated from her archaic existence as if she were made of just that -naturally- and the Nabooian fed off the steady stream of fear and pain the Research Facility was serving.



Download complete.

 

[Fiolette Fortan]

Kamino​

---

---

---

​

---

VSS Revanche​

Victorian 4th Fleet​

[member="AR-G002"] | [member="Caid Centurion"] | [member="Eternal Avarice"]​

​

​

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1pf6s8MGrs[/media]

​

With the Confederacy fleet now in play, the Victorian Imperial forces now merged beneath the fight. They dispatched their transports to the surface while the escorts worked to play the part. Quietly they pulled what they knew, what Fiolette had known with regards to old Tanomas Graf's tactics. Commodore Walzer had experience on his side as well having seen the Galactic Empire in action over Kaeshana. Still he moved the bulk of his forces to run anti-starfighter tactics. "Engage the Raskovas, let's send out the Talons just as well. Have the Sondheimers engage when ready."

The large cruisers began to fire on the Galactic Empire's Remnants, all the while the Seawolves and Daggers pushed forward with the Talons not too far behind, Raskovas and Muhktiars. Stayed close by the Revanche, all the while the Commodore tracked the transport group. His emotion did not show, and he did not waver. "bring us around let us remind the Galactic Empire of their failures." Which started with the shoddy GE Engineering as far as he was concerned. "There, target the exposed area of their vessels here and here. We'll need to line it up, let us use the Confederacy for cover." Once more the Victorian paramilitary forces would hope that no one had noticed their presence, or rather assumed it was some other Imperial Remnant come to help for whatever reason.

Meanwhile.

Major Otrera landed with her forces on the ground. "We're good to go, there's enough chaos here that we may go about unnoticed. Stay close." She informed the transports as the small force of Victorian Imperial Marines landed. "We're after datahubs on the left there and the right here. We can split and meet up in the central data hub there. When we're done, we scuttle the ship and head for home."

The troops acknowledged her orders and then they were off.

From a far they looked rather odd, clearly these marines did not belong to the former Galactic Empire, nor were they First Order or Sith-Imperial. Rather their uniforms hailed to an older era surely, but the updated equipment made them as modern as any force. Supressed weapons and quiet footing made their mission, these particular group of marines are trained to be as quiet as possible without the direct aid of stealth technology. If all else fails they could just shoot their way into an area but for now all seemed to good.

 

[Caid Centurion]

Objective: 1
Tags: [member="AR-G002"] | [member="Eternal Avarice"] | [member="Fiolette Yvarro"] | [member="Darth Tacitus"]
Location: Grand Admiral Yahla's Flagship
Post: 4

The design and feel of the Imperial warship was familiar to Caid; very familiar. For a moment, he allowed his mind to drift back to his time with the First Order, but he quickly pushed that aside. Managing to make it all the way into the corridor adjacent to the auxiliary hangar bay, the Sith Lord adopted a measured, determined pace. From beneath the hood of his crimson-lined, black cloak, bright, eerie eyes focused straight ahead.

As the vessel was presently involved in a combat situation, the corridors were not exactly full of people casually going about their business. The crew of the imposing starship were all set to task, carrying out specific actions and orders to keep the ship intact and aid the fleet in attempting to destroy the Confederacy. Stepping onto a turbolift that could take him up to the command deck level, Caid clasped his hands behind his back. The lift traveled roughly three fourths of the way before an Imperial Security Bureau officer stepped on to the lift. For several levels, the officer was silent. Then came the inevitable.

"Excuse me, sir, but I thought you had all traveled to the surface with Lord Nuada?"

Caid exhaled slowly. "What is your name, Captain?" The Sith was fortunate to still remember the Imperial ranking structure, having seen the Captain's rank plaque and code cylinders.

The Captain was a touch less bold when he responded. "Forgive me. Captain Veloso, sir."

Slowly, Caid turned his head to regard the man. "I applaud your initiative, Captain."

The Captain managed a shallow incline of his head, smile threatening to tug at the corners of his lips out of relief. "Thank you, sir."

Turning his head back to face forward, Caid simply intoned, "Use your impressive initiative to get off this lift immediately...before it becomes your tomb." All Caid saw was a hand reaching forward to depress the button for the very next level. In a matter of moments, Caid was alone again. A few more after that, he was stepping off the lift, making his way towards the bridge.

 

[Ursula Vizla]

When she got back from the data vault, Ursula kept the datacards with herself inside the armor for safe keeping, they faced no real trouble except for service droids that she shot down. The only real problem was hacking the main computer and deleting all footage of them being there, which resulted in the elevator being shut down as well. They walked through the stairs, coming back to the main hall, still intact from her little adventure in the facility.

As the three mandalorian woman walked, they hard loud steps coming from another hall and watched as seven armed soldiers rushed in their direction. Guns blazing, the soldiers started to shoot at them, and before Ursula knew, she was shooting back with her disruptor, hitting the first one in the unprotected head, watching as his body turned to nothing as he screamed a curse.

Her two girls shoot back, taking down two others, as they started to walk towards the doors, Ursula called in her com inside the helmet in a loud voice. She should have done it so ten minutes ago, but she forgot to call back the droids from the patrols in the sky.
“Come pick us up, you stupid muts.”, she said to the basilisk droids that growled in response and started to make their way to the hangar. She want it to get out this stormy world, and fast.

Pissed off and tired, Ursula shot again, this time hitting the ‘captain’ in the armored shoulder, watching as the disruptor eat the metal and made him scream. When he turned to face her, Ursula shot again, this time in his mouth. Laughing as she did it, her friends killed the others when they tried to make a run back from where they came. With all of them dead, Bhia stood up and said out loud.
“That was fun. Where to next?”, grinning her teeth, Ursula took off her helmet, allowing the long and thick red hair to fall in her shoulders.

“I’m tired of this game.”, the other two kept looking at her, still don’t following it. “Mandalorian Empire, Sith Empire, Rebels, Silver Jedi, CIS, Outer Rim… Their money is good. But doesn’t seem enough.”, lifting the helmet, Ursula touched her forehead in the visor, slowly closing her eyes for a moment. This was her father’s armor, and his father before him, and it belonged to her great grandfather, and her daddy told her when she was little, long ago it belonged to Shae Vizla, or Mandalore the Avenger. “I want to make a fortune. We have small change while fighting for this goverments, but what else? We are guns to them, nothing more. We have no morals, no principles, we want more than pennies, we want a fortune. We shall take it. With iron and blood.”, slowly taking the helmet away from her forehead and close to her mouth, Ursula said. Almost with a malicious tone in her voice, but she choose a stern one instead.

“Commander Zero to Pride. Pride this is Commander Zero.”, her Centurion-class Destroyer bought with all her money from the jobs she had done it, her most prized toy. “Pick us in orbit and set our next course…”, thinking for one moment what to say, Ursula smiled and almost whispered, “To the Unknown Regions.”

“As you say, Commander.”, the voice said, with Ursula putting her helmet back, walking to her metal pets and mounting in her basilisk droid, caressing him in the back for a moment before taking off, with the cards, the droids, her girls. They were alive, they were greedy, after all, why not? It was about time she made a fortune. And what best place to start if not by stealing and blowing pirates in the Unknown Regions? She had no idea. The future belonged to the gods, if they existed, or to the damn force users with that telepathy thing, not to her. For her, it was iron and sweat, nothing else.

 

[Fiolette Fortan]

Kamino​

---

---

---

​

---

VSS Revanche​

Victorian 4th Fleet​

[member="AR-G002"] | [member="Caid Centurion"] | [member="Eternal Avarice"]​

​

​

[media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1pf6s8MGrs[/media]

Marines set forth on their objective, and much to their surprise there was quite a number of soldiers from the remnant still posted. Small scuttles took place but nothing of significance they could scarcely afford the attention. Major Otrera took advantage of creating a distraction activating a small guise, outwardly they would now appear as First Order Stormtroopers and as they began to hack into the system. It would be seen as such, of course they were using older codes that by now the FOSB would have gotten rid of. It would be of no consequence to them however. By the time someone figured out just who had been here, Kamino would rest in the hands of the Confederacy. The two teams worked tirelessly one part would provide cover while the other worked to download the necessary information.

Once it was done with they would apply a sticky charge filled with just enough thermal to clear the room.

Above the marines were their transports, haphazardly put together from leftover parts at the hangars on Wrea no doubt. They looked awkwardly between half Imperial designs and half Mandalorian and a painted on confederacy symbol that looked like child's work. The hope was that no one would look up to notice, two noticable booms from Kamino's surface told them the teams had completed the first objective and were now heading for the second.

Meanwhile, Walzer continued to play the part only now the ships began to withdraw. "We'll move to the other end of the system, behind the remnant - change our transponder codes." Now when scanned they would read off as new First Order vessels, an expeditionary force poking into old Tanomas Graf's systems for one reason or another. Of course the only problem now was the exposed logo of the crown and prominent V for their company. This only provided a problem if one looked out the viewport, and cared to do so. Otherwise they would leave the remnant to the Confederacy's overwhelming fleet numbers.

 

[Srina Talon]

Location: Kamino [Timira City - Research Facility]​

Wearing: Envirosuit [Oracle]​

Tag: [member="Aryn Teth"] | [member="Daxton Bane"] | [member="Kyle Raymus"]| [member="Xenro"] | [member="Anesia Jy'Vun"]​

---

​

---

The Exarch of the Confederacy stared openly at the dark lit woman that didn’t seem altogether there. For all of the tenseness in the atmosphere, for the war going on outside the lab, and in some areas within she seemed not to notice it at all. Confederate Knights eventually poured into the room like a swarm of locusts to deal with the remains of Marshal Nolan Vette’s forces. It was pathetic if she was being truthful. The Imperials could not hope to withstand the sheer numbers that they’d brought.

It was only a matter of time.

The Knights engaged the Troopers dutifully—Leaving Srina to deal with the woman and Vette. Did they think that a door, belonging to a system that they now fully controlled, would keep them away? That it would buy time for whatever scheme had gone awry? Corrupted eyes flickered with fierce golden light. It was the only sign of her irritation, her sudden rage, that boiled beneath the surface of her skin. Did this woman know the game she was playing? Did she realize the millions of lives that she gambled with?

With a faint sneer, the Exarch realized that she probably did. She was choking the life out of Vette from afar. Sith. That meant she knew and likely didn’t care. He was dead long before she could intervene. Her teeth ground together. Plan B.

“Oracle—Begin searching the system for deployments. Tag every piece of cargo, no matter how small, and every person that had access to it. Prepare for possible containment measures.”, the flaxen-haired woman spoke firmly, trusting, the AI to follow up and do exactly as requested. That was the beauty of droids. Of AI. They obeyed. Srina never had to ask Oracle to do anything twice.

<<Understood.>>

“Master, hear me…”, Srina breathed quietly, gently—knowing that [member="Darth Metus"] would always heed her call. He was her mentor, her friend, and family. Blood without blood. Through the Force, he would hear her, feel her, from across the galaxy. “It is too late. Vette is dead. An unknown element has the virus. We must engage.”

She knew that the Imperial was dead the moment she neared. The entire Research Facility was filled with a particular stench that reeked of the dearly departed. It was sickly sweet, cloying, and nauseating. This was no different. Hawkish, topaz eyes, swept over the darksider ([member="Anesia Jy'Vun"]) with a certain level of apathy. Srina was no more than a few feet away but knew to be wary. She’d killed Vette without touching him at all. She also had no idea that the woman had basically downloaded Vette’s secrets into her own mind.

The application of Oracle had completely locked out the systems of the Research Facility. The entrances, the exits, the data, the servers, surveillance, and even the ventilation would now be under Confederate control. It was the reason the AI had been created. To aid in the seizing of enemy camps. To cripple them where it hurt the most, to take their tech, and make it useless.

“…You can’t get through all of us. Some, perhaps, but not all. Every second that passes means more CIS troops on the ground. More droids, more ships, more fighters. This is a war you needn’t be on the wrong side of. Give me what you stole. Give me the Shadow Virus, the data, anything you've acquired, and you can still walk away.”, Srina spoke firmly. Imperial doctrine was radical, insane, and beyond her comprehension. She believed in doing what needed to be done. But this? It was madness. She had no idea who this woman was, who had sent her, why she was here, or if she even had any method to her foolishness. Could she be bought? Her mind swirled with possibility. Fighting was the last thing she wanted to do, considering, the samples of the Red Shadow virus were missing. If it got released on Kamino a good chunk of the Confederacy would likely become infected… “You’re placing my people in danger. Millions of people. I do not wish to fight you, but if I must, I will.”

She had yet to go for her weapons. The Knights had already dealt with the troopers and were awaiting her command.

Your move.

 

[Caid Centurion]

Objective: 1
Tags: [member="AR-G002"] | [member="Eternal Avarice"] | [member="Fiolette Yvarro"] | [member="Darth Tacitus"]
Location: Grand Admiral Yahla's Flagship
Post: 5

"Halt. Access card, sir."

Silver-green eyes gazed at the two stormtroopers that were standing sentry outside the entrance to the bridge. It was not a typical post when a vessel was at general quarters. Caid had always regarded it as a waste of manpower, however. From beneath the hood of his cloak, Caid heaved a heavy exhale prior to responding. "Ciardha Ren. Move." It was an alias that held meaning in an organization allied with the Empire before it was absorbed and splintered. The memory and continued existence was enough to keep the stormtroopers from electing to make issue of the situation.

Stepping onto the expansive bridge, Caid was very easily able to identify Yahla and silver-streaked, red hair. Quietly, Caid made his way towards the Grand Admiral and the collection of officers that stood beside her, arrayed around a holographic projection of the engagement. The Sith Lord offered no words. In an instant, he withdrew the matte black hilt of his lightsaber, the deep red hue of the beam activating silently. One, smooth stroke and he had severed Yahla's head from her body.

Shock was the principal reaction all those in the area had.

"Who is in charge?"

The Captain of the vessel did not hesitate. "I am."

Commendable. Caid twisted his free hand into a fist. The resultant crush of the man's spinal chord preceded the sound of limbs and clothing crumbling to the polished deck. Silver-green eyes lifted from the corpse to regard the rest of the people on the bridge. "Who... Is in charge?"

It was the vessel's Executive Officer that eventually responded, albeit much slower than the Captain. "What are your orders, Lord Ren?"

A thin smile touched Caid's lips as he deactivated his weapon and place it back on his belt. This was why you did not empower shadow organizations to act with relative impunity and without question in a straight-edged autocracy. "Good. Continue the engagement, Commander."

The Commander didn't...really know what to say. "As you command, Mi'lord."

With that, the Sith Lord turned and departed the bridge. There was no reason for him to take control of the engagement from the Imperial side. The Confederacy had arrived more than prepared for the Remnant Fleet. His objective was Yahla. No more, no less. As he walked back towards the lift, the Viceroy dispatched a simple message across the generic CIS encrypted frequency.

Yahla is done.

 

[Rylan Kordel]

Objective: Obtain Cloning Data

Location: Abandoned Cloning Facility, Kamino (alongside [member="Ivory Stroud"])


In the turbolift, Rylan checked over his gear once more and nodded, mostly to himself as he did a mental inventory and rolled his shoulders, eyes travelling to Ivory and scanning over from head to toe, a slightly smile travelling over his face for a moment, before the lift stopped and his look went back to being passive as they moved back out into the next hallway. At her words, he moved down towards the center, when they got there, he slung the rifle back for a moment, pulling a small device and slapping it onto the lock, then pushed a couple of buttons on it.

The device made some noise, then let loose an electrical charge that forced the door open, then with a triumphant smirk, he placed the object back in his pocket and gripped the rifle again.

Turning to Ivory, he nodded towards the door "You're up, hope you find what you need."

 

[Daxton Bane]

Ever had an itch you were just dying to scratch? Funny how those urges seemed to come from the most unusual of places, and often at the most unfortunate times. Take for example right now, Daxton should have been reinforced by now, considering how much progress has been made, but a quick glance around him showed no friendlies in sight.

Not that he really needed to rely on others, after all he was a wrecking ball all on his own, but even the best weapons needed to rest once in awhile least they lose their edge. Leaning against a nearly column for cover, he ejected the spent clip and reach for the replacement from his belt. From touch alone, he knew he was down to his last clip, once that was gone he would have to either get resupplied or get creative to retain their offense.

Life was never easy in the Confederacy, but this was just another day at the office. Flicking the safety off, he began to scan for more hostiles on the way to his next target.

 

[Anesia Jy'Vun]

Location: Research Facility​

Post 3​

Mentions: [member="Srina Talon"] | [member="Xenro"]​

​

​

A fire flickered in her ethereal, hidden pools. Interesting. Until this moment, Ferrius had merely tapped into the ether of the Force. She found it both unnecessary and wasteful to spend the time and energy on resources already ripe for the picking. Already deployed. Why diminish her own power when she could use theirs? Gloved fingers twitched and the Sith drew in a collective breath from within the helm. The Imperials were no small feat and with the knowledge of the eons, she knew them to be a formidable foe even in small numbers. Their unwavering dedication was a power all on it's own and unless a rat was in their wake, they would not go quietly into the night.​

They had that in common.

The feed to the security footage fizzled in and out before hissing into the technological static abyss and the action merely propelled Anesia into a more..natural state of perception. Her sight became more vivid and complex as the bodies within the room became nothing more than the blood coursing their veins and the hearts beating within their cages, the air broke down in to their molecular state as Anesia effectively saw what the Force saw, uncaring of the alliance between light and dark. That made no matter, they would all burn the same.

But first, Ferrius replied, "Are you willing to stake their lives on that assumption?"

The monster shifted in the confines of her suit and a silent command was spoken to those that accompanied her, Tribus.

Were there visibility of her visage it would only reveal a very calm exterior. The same could be said for within. More than mere years had honed the body and the mind of the Sith Master, but even she had tasted failure. Really tasted it for the tool of discipline it was. Giving one's own life for a cause was easy... endearing even. Sacrificing others proved to be more difficult to most... What could be the difference of the thousands of lives lost at war? Did it really matter if they'd signed up for it? Either way, it could all be considered fodder, with or without choice. Was it more wicked to willingly send those to their demise though?

What would you sacrifice? There was always a price. Freedom, as it were, was never free.

Anesia fed then, drinking down the negative emotion, only to fuel the molecules nearest to her hand and the area just between the Knights and the female figure scant feet away. Fire began to blossom in small flickers at first, but before long it stretched and created a thick wall of flames, searing aid with a wash of white hot heat.

 

[Malok]

[member="Srina Talon"] | [member="Anesia Jy’Vun"]​

Srina Talon was never alone.

It had not always been this way. When first they met, she was but a lost young woman. The skies above weeped for her, making each step of her journey agonizing. She was cold. She was hunted. She had nowhere to turn. Yet there was a design beyond her understanding. A silent Will which tugged at the strings of her life with glorious intent. By this unseen guide did she trek the streets of Coruscant - ultimately finding refuge. Her reprieve from the storms of life was not a physical structure, mind. It was not some scaffolding or building that could shrug off the rain. Rather, it was a man who once lived for himself.

And so this Will stitched their very souls together. In but an instant, the man who lived for himself could not bear to see the lost one suffer. In but a moment, the lost woman knew what direction to take. Between them, a bond as vast as the Kaminoan seas had formed. One of emotion. One of thought. One of the Force. With each passing day, their union grew in strength. The lost woman could feel her Master’s power. She could take from the ocean of his might. But above all...she could call.

With but the utterance of simple truths, damnation befell [member="Anesia Jy’vun"].

Darth Metus heard the chime of his Apprentice’s voice. Her presence - even a Galaxy away - echoed just as soundly as if she were standing by his side. Yet, her words carried more than an explanation. Her “report” ferried sight and sound. The Sith could feel every step that the alabaster woman took up until now. Every thought. Every emotion. Nothing was ever hidden between the two - especially not when the unknown stood before them. And though he sat upon the command throne of his personal vessel, countless systems’ away…He would stand by her side.

T W I L I G H T​

As the final warning escaped the Apprentice’s lips, His power cascaded through their union. A tapestry of midnight erupted into being upon the woman’s chest: darkness, billowing forth as the Obstacle raised her flame. From these dark depths did a twilit hand reach. Growing. Moving. Momentum propelled the Wraith forward until its mammoth form hovered in place before Srina Talon. Yet this...never came without a price. When it was the Master employing this art, his strength eroded from his bones in an instant. So, too, did the fortitude of the alabaster woman wane. Descent would grip her form, for limbs no longer bore the strength to keep her standing tall.

But Darth Metus would never let her fall. She would never dash her foot upon the stone. The twilit hands broke her descent. Though ice to the touch, they cradled her as would a knight his princess. Movement gripped the beast’s form: a trio of starlit eyes bore down upon the flames manifested by the Obstacle. Darth Metus spoke no words to the woman, for the warning of his Apprentice had been more than enough. The Obstacle would see the truth standing before her eyes - power absolute was her adversary. To stand before the Demon of the Confederacy would mean certain doom. For the woman might be able to fell a scientist. She might be able to rend through droids or Knight alike. But how can she best one who devours Death itself?

A Testament to his power was the stretching of wings. Onyx appendages opened to their full length upon his spine, obscuring the view of the front for those who stood behind. Force unrelenting gathered within them, before exploding forth as a massive wingbeat. A wall of telekinetic fury shrieked across the expanse, bearing more than enough strength to unseat an airspeeder at rest. What hope did mere flames stand against such fury?

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

Post 2
*******************

"I could ask you the same thing..." he said as Gerwald walked over to the dead alien and pulled his knife out from the body. Ger wiped the blood off on the fabric of the dead alien's clothing and placed it back into its sheath.

Alwine wanted into the archives. That was an odd request for someone who, up until the Confederacy had come in, had not seen a lick of modern technology before a day in her life. Truly they were far behind the rest of galaxy because of the system of living Stewjon had adopted. That was why Gerwald shrugged.

"I can try, but just because I've been gone doesn't mean I'm good with this stuff. What am I looking for... dear one."

The name was said with a bit of caution. Was she still angry with him? Gerwald didn't always know where or when to walk lightly, but with Alwine it seemed always was his default for now.

[member="Alwine Lechner"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Objective 2
Location: Research Facility
Tags: [member="Aryn Teth"] | [member="Daxton Bane"] | [member="Xenro"] | [member="Anesia Jy'Vun"] | [member="Darth Metus"]
Post 6

Silence.

It was the single word that characterized Aiden more often than not. The long-haired Sith had arrived, well, not with the larger contingent that had been poised to secure the Red Shadow Virus. Casually, Aiden followed the scent of purpose, low grade conflict, and dissent that trailed in the wake of the larger group. No, he could not hear their conversations at the moment, but he certainly knew enough about the nature of the Force to discern much from the way it ebbed and flowed around his body and through his immediate surroundings. It was not some sort of higher mysticism or predilection for Sorcery. Aide merely listened.

Long, fluid strides rapidly carried him towards the rest of the group's location without being purposefully expedited. As his own presence drifted closer to that of his associates, another, more familiar presence filtered through his mind. Though Aiden had been exposed to many over the years, there were certainly those with whom he was more than nebulously familiar. No more than five more steps were taken before the shroud of the mystery fell away completely.

Entering the room containing Srina and her party, Aiden's silver-green eyes scanned the scene. There was a large, raging fire that seemed to block the pocket-sized woman's path. Just to the opposite side of the red-orange barrier was the presence that Aiden had sensed. Releasing his restraint over the capacity of his own presence, Aiden pressed the collection of emotions and experiences that represented his presence within the Force forward. Inhaling steadily, he offered a single line of communication. Anesia... What are you do---

Bright eyes immediately snapped to the diminutive woman with hair nearly the color of snow. He'd only seen a similar appearance on a handful of individuals. The acquaintance had been made during a brief time spent on Eshan. Naturally, hair color did not mean this woman was Echani. However, the appearance of the woman he vaguely recognized as some sort of authority in the Confederacy was most certainly...not the reason she had drawn his attention. It was what eventually came next.

Aiden had sensed the swell of a presence that did match the woman. A matter of mere moments before it had fully manifested, Aiden detected a foreign presence inside the woman's body. After all, he'd spent his first four decades of life learning from and training with individuals that had been intently possessed by the soul of another at length.

The First Son did not know who the demon of anything was, but he certainly could recognize the manifestation of raw dark side power easily enough. Arching a curious brow, he wondered as to whom was so careless, arrogant, bored, insecure, or combination of all four as to need to present such a display through a vessel. A brief glance around the room confirmed that the puppeteer was not among the individuals presently in the room.

Slowly, Aiden's attention returned to the immense inferno before them. Heat from the flames quickly began to raise the temperature to the point where Aiden's exposed upper torso began to perspire. A brief glance was spared to the Force Wraith that manifested from the female mini-human's form. If Aiden had the capability to care about such a display, he might have rolled his eyes with amusement. Instead, his mind was busy focusing on the actual objective at hand. It did not take a genius to discern that Anesia had, shocker, placed herself in such a position as to be an impediment to success in this operation.

Aiden rather doubted she had done this maliciously. Surely, throwing a hulking mass of dark side energy at her was not likely to make her amicable to reason, however.

Stepping forward, Aiden motioned with his own hand. The molecules that Anesia had forced into combustion before them gradually began to slow. It was but a few moments before the flames began to dissipate. The moment they had lowered enough to reveal part of Anesia's form, Aiden allowed his deep voice to reach across the expanse.

"I think we can all dispense with the theatrics." Another brief glance to the diminutive-woman-turned-puppet was the only indication that he was referring to both sides of the proverbial flame of conflict.

"Anesia...do you have this virus? If so, it would be great if you could hand it over." A pause as a mischievous expression spread across his lips. A faked expression, but it would serve its purpose in the present situation. "I'm hungry and all of this is wasting my time."

Aiden was no stranger to Anesia's, occasionally, meddlesome scheming. She played enough games with him on Roon over the years for a certain level of transparency to her activities to exist like a veneer over Aiden's silver-green eyes.

 

[Aszräl]

Spoiler

[member="Anesia Jy'Vun"] [member="Darth Metus"] [member="Aiden"]
Primary Equipment: Anilarr-Class Combat Armor; Drachlann; CZ-835 Machine Pistol; Cloak
Post 1

Memories Forgotten, Power Incarnate. . . .​

​

When a woman as well-connected as Anesia collects a shadow raid with unknown figures, there are often facets of that operation that lie dormant until the right moment. Waiting in the background, unknown to the battleground until necessary. Like a contextual time bomb, these individuals have a really awful tendency to appear when they're most needed. When the plot requires it. When things need to be made more... interesting.

Since his return, Rhoujen had been keeping a relatively low profile. Minding his manners. He no longer truly knew where he belonged in this universe, but he knew where he stood in the food chain. He knew the titles he once held. Granted - that was Sigma - but he was still there. He still knew. Still, when Anesia came to call, one of his greatest allies in the old days, and asked to stage another of her 'famous' soirees who was he to decline the lady? Insofar, he had no reason to pop in. Things handled themselves well enough, and he found the tempestuous ocean paradoxically calming. He drifted into his thoughts and listened to the crashing of waves sing with the clamor above. It was in this drifting between awareness that the senses shot through his cells like a disruptor round.

It was a strange sensation, and one from far off. It tickled at him as it drew nearer, and he found himself looking skyward, through the pod-like structure he was under, and he traced the flow of power. It led to... well, something quite tragic. It seemed like dear Anesia might just have bit off more than she could chew. Treiades came to his feet and brushed off his cloak. Time for work.

In a more efficient snap than he would have practiced as the more stage-worthy Sigma would have, Rhou outstretched his hand to the paneling above him and a simple telekinetic wave bore a hole through the metal and into the halls above him where Anesia fought. He rebounded the energy he expended into his legs and leapt up through the hole to a position behind the lady and her recently arrived companion and snapped his fingers in the direction of this Forceborne mirage. His cloak billowed around his robes and armor and settled into place, his golden hair barely protruding from beyond an otherwise obscuring hood.

In that snap, a bolt of crimson lightning shot forth past the duo and affixed itself to the anomaly that lurched forth from the small female's frame. He twisted his hand as though reeling the energy in like floss around his fingers and the draining properties of his lost art reborn kneaded themselves inexorably into action. The intent itself was simple: destroy the Wraith. If he leached a little more energy than necessary, however, well... it was all the better. What ever this Force Bond was, it was a dangerous thing and easily exploited. Useless displays of power usually were. He could feel it the moment his dark lightning embedded itself. Should this manifestation be left intact for too long, with a ravenous parasite such as Sigma feeding off that bond, it would be extremely... tiring... to say the very least.

His striking blue eyes peered out from the edge of his hood and flicked between Jy'Vun and this man he was unfamiliar with, waiting for them do to something. All the while his fingers twirled, now at his side, playing with the life-strings of that Force Wraith and drinking in all that detailed showmanship.

"So... leaving already?" he tilted his head to the side. He'd just got here, after all.

 

[Alwine Daye]

Objective: 4 - researching through the archives of one of the safe facilities
Location: Inside the facilty
Wearing: Standard KO armor
Wielding: Standard Vibrosword
Tags: [member="Gerwald Lechner"]
Post: 4

He spoke as he broke the embrace, drawing a roll of the eyes from Alwine. Still, her chocolate eyes curiously followed his movements like a cub after a fly, watching him with satisfaction as he pulled the knife, cleaned it (though he could’ve done a better cleaning job), and put it back where it belonged.

It was true that she had not had a lick of modern technology until recently. Stewjon, the backwater planet the Lechner siblings hailed from, considered even flushing toilets to be somewhat of a luxury. The underneath of her nails had been forced to know that time and time again.

Yet after she had healed, and after they had landed, and after Gerwald had housed both her and Varick upon his ship, she saw no reason to delay. Her entire life, she had wanted to leave Stewjon behind. Leave their fear of the different, their old superstitions, their unfair treatment of the caste system, all of it. And although it could have been done in a better fashion, it now was done, and there was no reason to sit on her behind and do nothing with this chance she had been given at a new life. For sure, not all of it was great. There were still unresolved issues among the siblings, and these unresolved issues, many of them in the shape of a certain auflaque, threatened to taint the joy of being reunited again.

Alwine knew her stand on the auflaque would not waver. But there were more than enough things that they could heal and fix, as long as the three Lechners were willing to fight for it. And Alwine never put her sword or her ears down.

A wolfish grin appeared on her delicate features as Gerwald called her dear one. Had she been in her wolf form, she would have nuzzled him.

“The easiest thing to start with would be the word ‘Lupine’, no?” she offered as she walked to him, looking at the monitors that offered her nothing that she could understand, “they do more than cloning on this planet. I doubt that anyone had actually cloned our species, but if but a single one of us was here for an examination…” she let the words hang in the air. No, she did not truly believe that there were Lupine clones. But… “if the word is not mentioned, I thought the next step would be to look for Lupine characteristics. Shapeshifting, the word ‘wolf’, enhanced sense of smell, fur… There could be many things and many creatures that were dissected here, their information stored safely. I want that information. I want to see if I can find a lead from this place. The word of both mother and the filth have been broken, more than once. There is no reason to assume that we are the last two Lupine families. Not without actually searching and checking rather than listen to repeated lies believed to be truths. Our involvement with the Confederacy and the Knights Obsidian should give us at least some resources to start checking.”

Alwine leaned her head against Gerwald’s arm. Perhaps he would know how to work this machinery. Truly though, if he could just use it to get the doors to open, perhaps there were printed or hand written archives they could search through. They were both slow readers, and Alwine was even slower than Gerwald, needing to follow with her finger and sometimes say words out loud to know what he eyes were seeing, but four pairs of eyes were better than two.

Of course, she had no notion of an actual index or how to make use of one. Her intent had been simple to check of the word “Lupine” and the other offers she had made appeared as titles somewhere. It wasn’t as though she had ever stepped foot in a library before, other than to swiftly clean it.

 

[Anesia Jy'Vun]

Location: Research Facility​

Post 4​

[member="Aiden"] | [member="Treiades Rhoujen"] | [member="Darth Metus"] |​

​

​

Damnation had befell Ferrius a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.​

Faint, mingling ribbons of cerulean and alabaster heat swayed in the wake of power consuming the laboratory. It was gentle at first, much akin to the calm before any storm... and in the crippling moments following dialogue, manifested a great beast of immense dark energy-- birthed from a mere wisp upon the chest of a much more diminutive creature. It had effectively halted any sort of...grievance towards the Confederate female or agreement that might have taken place betwixt the two. In this instance also, exemplified personified-habitual weakness. Perhaps, Anesia considered wildly as she watched the scene unfold, it was the apprentice that was the master.

In the wake of the current situation, not one familiar was then felt, but two. Games, it is always games, Aiden. Mere heartbeats away, even as the massive-winged phenomenon carried the now frail Exarch. Wasted energy. Wasted power. Still, her hand held that same flame and made no move to consume the opponent so keen on the care of another.

Anesia Jy'Vun did enjoy a challenge after-all. She was patience. She was possession.

And then, there were three.

Hidden violets watched with a quiet fervor from behind the helm- it had been quite a time since she bore witness to what was Sigma. A monster in his own right and another of a past triumvirate. Lightening swam in her vision before she could begin to repulse the wave of kinetic energy. Near-casual, the abyssal creature made footing to the right and seemingly around the same time the fire diminished from her hand. It had effectively been snuffed and in the wake of the flames, smoke curled in their place.

A voice rang and Anesia could only answer with a slight lift of her brow, mouth at ease. It made no matter, as current garb dictated concealment. It had only been through her presence that he had know who she was. Do I have it? Seems a moot point...

Either way, her hand twisted just slightly, metaphorically dripping with the inky dark. There was no sudden flash, only a melding of powers with Omega's right hand for as long as it took to close the already near proximity to the Centurion. The intent of gathering their collective power through bond was nothing more than an experiment this time; Anesia only having held to direct a small portion of the energy attempting to be siphoned.

Should it have worked, the sheer dark energies of the Force Wraith would then be sent asunder to the great sea monsters of Kamino's oceans, albeit in a less controlled sense of alter. It was no matter if it should fail, the darksider's gaze finally having crept up the length of the first son, it was all just an experiment.

Sigma knew this matter did not require them both. It never had and her response to his question was the softest of dark laughter.