The King, The Lady and The Shadow

[Virak Ip]

Commenor. A place where he had witnessed the strength of the incoming incursion of Droid forces, saw the whispers of a looming fight between organics and non-organics; let alone the other locations that had been targeted of which he was hearing only untrustworthy rumours. In both of the events that he had been present for, the aims of this force had not been subtle in their plans; even boldly announcing it on Commenor as the Droid who had been called Knight-Commander Ruby had attempted to extend the hand of an alliance. An apparent cleansing of the Galaxy of beings that they saw as being unworthy: any organic that was not bound to them or had sworn their allegiance to them.

All of this was of great concern to the Iridonian and it was what had lead to him sealing himself away from any contact for the past seventy or so Galactic Standard Hours; enclosed within his workshop on Iridonia as he threw himself into his work without any care for sleep. He had read through report after report. he had sat in meditation as he re-expeiranced memory after memory, manipulating them so as to stop and focus on different details every time. Delved deeper into the dancing strands of the Force, deeper than he had ever dared to go before at the looming risk of robbing himself of his sight permanently (the coalition between sight failing and the more he sought to stare into the Force not lose upon him), as he fought against the flow of time to stare into the possibilities of the future and the solid bedrock of the past in the attempt to learn hidden secrets. Watch on a constant repeat the video that had been sent to Lady Kay after the incursion on Commenor, desperately seeking to understand what, exactly, had been done to the young Padawan that had been taken.

However, for all of his work, for all of his devotion, he had found nothing. Lines of thought and hidden Truth would weave themselves before his gaze, twisting deeper and deeper into that which had been buried under the sight of all beings in the galaxy for however long - mayhaps to before the Four-Hundred Years of Darkness considering the chemical makeup of the chassis that belong to the Droids destroyed on Commenor. The long hidden whispers of a conspiracy of data-formed minds, completely free and unshackled AI and, if his assumptions as to the lack of technology present in the Droids on Commenor were correct, Shards finally being brought to light. But, for every obscured Truth he uncovered within those Shadows, the more lost he felt.

If he believed the rumours of what had occured within other Incursions - the Whispers his Shadows and Eyes had heard and reported - then a station had been hijacked and assaults had been made across the galaxy. From the Force, he had felt the whispers of crystals to be stolen, although the whispers were obscured enough that he could not tell as to when they originated from. But, even it he did doubt them, what he did not doubt were the stories emerging from Rishi. The fact that that had been their first point of assualt, the first time that the signal he had heard about had been used, meant that that world had recieved a lot of his attention when it was not focused on the files and data he had gathered.

Something was coming. Something big. But, more importantly, Something that had links to an event in the Galaxies history that he had never experienced, but an event he had been able to research: OMNI's assault upon the Galaxy. Whether or not the Something that loomed ever closer was a rebirth of OMNI was not clear, even if he did doubt it, but whatever it was it certainly was related to OMNI. Especially the reports he had read on how the AI had been able to turn people into servants through nanotechnology, something that sounded hauntingly similar to a scene he had witnessed many times in the video forwarded to him by Lady Kay. However, the key detail of the whole thing was that, no matter what rumours he believe, no matter what information he dove after and no matter how much he researched the past the full Truth remained hidden; clouded in shadow with only the faintest secrets being released every now and then.

And that scared him. Not the fact that the full truth was hidden from him and the rest of the unaware Galaxy, but that Truths were being revealed. Whatever this Something was it was planned, the care taken in the incursions across the Galaxy proving this, and old if the analysis of the Droid chassis were to be believed. So, why was it being lax now? Why was it revealed aspects of its plans now? It wouldn't be, shouldn't be if it had existed in secrecy for so long. Unless, it was ready to act.

The fear that curled within his belly, that was what drove him to dive into his research, forgoing sleep. It was also what had finally managed to pull him away from that very same research and usher him to the planet of Sev Tok. He had dropped the mask of Virak on Commenor, letting the King see what only his Wife had, exposing the Darkness that lurked beneath. And so, he sat and awaited for the King and Queen of Commenor to arrive. Sat in the sparsely decorated given to him in his as the Senator of Sev Tok. It containing nothing more than a large desk set before a window spanning the length of the room; a table and chairs set off to one side for the purpose of meetings, a holocommunicator set into the floor opposite the desk and a screen set halfway up the wall next to the holocommunicator that showed ever changing news and statistics.

Stood behind his desk, arms clasped behind his back as he stared out of the window to the city below, the Zabrak was dressed smartly in a waiscoat, jacket and crisp shirt that was tucked into a set of charcoal trousers; his entire attire being comprised of black and grey and no other colours. His ashen grey hair was pulled back into its common style of dreadlocks and left to flow freely down his back; his Orat horns peaking through the sea of ash a top his head. The bandages that he sometimes wore around his head were gone, revealing the empty void that had once been his right eye socket and the deformity of the right side of his skull.

"Sir, the King and Queen have just arrived. They're being shown to your office as we speak."

The voice from the commsytems embedded within his desk served to break the Zabrak from his thoughts. Huffing slightly in annoyance at that fact, but accepting that it would have had to happen at some point, he turned and lowered himself into the leather seat behind his desk - waving his left hand as he did so to summon two chairs from the side of the room that settled themselves across from him. Knowing that he had given orders for the King and Queen to be shown directly in, he simply chose to sit there, waiting, shuffling through the papers scattered across his desk with one hand while his right hand - a hand comprised of matt black metal - tapped an unsteady beat against the wood of the desk.

Virak Ip, Senator of Sev Tok was ready for this meeting. But, then, so was the Wolf that prowled beneath the mask.



[member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Veiere Arenais"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

The Wolf. That was one of the names that she knew [member="Virak Ip"] by. The two had known eachother for years, her hiring him on multiple missions to rescue slaves and beat the Jackals in Hutt Cartel space. There's was an odd pairing, a sort of business relationship between a Senator and a Sith. And now it had grown to that of a friendship, each guiding the other, while at the same time still maintaining the aspect of professionalism. There was no efforts of swaying one another to either side of the Force. They respected eachother's chosen paths, which led to no conflicts between them.

Their arrival to Sev Tok came with little fanfare. The visit by [member="Veiere Arenais"] and Kay wasn't for any good reason. On the contrary, it was bad tidings and unanswered questions that they brought with them.

The Free Lady touched down on the landing pad. As expected an escort was provided for them. Kay followed, having not been to this particular building before, so of course she took notice of the architecture. In better times she'd of studied it further, but today wasn't one of those days. The sharp angles did present the harshness of the world that was brought on by it's environment.

When brought into his office, Kay bowed her head to Virak. "I hope that we're not too late, Senator. Things always tend to come up whenever I leave Commenor. I don't believe that you've been formally introduced to my husband, Veiere. Veiere, this is...Senator Virak Ip." In truth she didn't know what name he'd like to go by.

 

[WolfMortum]

Veiere Arenais had remained quiet much of the way, their voyage upon the Free Lady spent in contemplation of the few things they knew following the recent attack on the Force Praxeum of Commenor; fortunate for the students that there were so many Jedi there and yet had not avoided the demise of [member="Calder Icehammer"] as well as several of his former students whom he had taught lessons to before returning some sense of tradition to the Jedi Order. Darkness had crept to the four corners of the galactic map and while the Jedi had been too focused on in-fighting between themselves and the government bodies they had rallied alongside, the Darkside of the Force had become ever stronger and now seemed to reclaim dominion. The Sith Empire had arisen to power once again, they had recently attacked Yutan in the absence of the Systems Alliance's fleet. Now these Iron Knights had come claiming the might of some unknown contingency and again the Jedi found themselves fighting an uphill battle knowing not where they stood within themselves.

His Robes differed from Kay's more political and fashionable attire. Adorning the Jedi Master Robes he had been given as a gift by his old Vong friend Aarshlût Muyel, Veiere walked by his wife's side as they left the privacy of their vessel seeking to meet with this [member="Virak Ip"]; a man that like so many others had been lost within the numerous and endless number of people Veiere seemed to be getting involved with these days. It wasn't personal of course, the times of late were horribly busied and he found it difficult to find the moment to actually relate with any one person before being forced to move off elsewhere, caught between his duties to the Jedi Order and those of Commenor itself.

"Greetings Senator" Veiere bowed as they met, offering greeting ever the Jedi way in form. He had little to do with Kay's Senate, despite having been the one to suggest that diplomacy take precedence over their formerly Monarchistic leadership; though it appeared to be giving Kay more trouble than she'd had to contend with in prior times. "It's a pleasure you meet you" he extended courtesy, extending a hand to shake the Zabrak's; then soon placing them behind his back and giving leave for the two to speak. He was the quiet type in such times, more inclined to listen and learn rather than shed light on political subjects in the presence of others. As a Jedi he'd take no part in the affairs of politics, yet as a husband in the privacy of their own company, he would advise his beloved wife, especially were there to be something he deemed out of place or concerning to him.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Virak Ip]

"You need not concern yourself, my Lady, this meeting does not and did not require a certain time for it to occur. So, no, you are not late. Please do take a seat." As he spoke, he returned the gesture within Veiere's offered hand, leaning forwards across his desk to clasp the man's hand with his own flesh and blood one before reclining back into his seat as the Jedi Master clasped his hands behind his back.

Common curtesy so some, but meaningless small talk to the Iridonian. It was one thing to debate and discuss important topics or to utter words meant to twist and manipulate truth and minds both, but another to waste breath upon that which wasn't important, that held no purpose beyond ensuring the other party that manner were being observed. He, personally much preferred to direct focus towards the point of the conversation immediately. Wasting time on empty words wasted time, effort and served, ultimately, to soothe and stroke egos. But, none the less, he followed along with such practices, would continue to follow said practices also, as he had a reputation and personality to present: True Thought was for the privacy of the mind and was never to be revealed to another. Still, he would admit that he missed his time on Iridonia where such meaningless drivel was frowned upon.

​Abruptly the tapping of his cybernetic fingers would halt with a sharp sound of meta meeting wood as his palm would slam down upon the table. At that precise moment, the pair before him would be able to feel a whisper echo out through the Force, an insidious muttering of non-words that would reached outwards, dripping with the intent to silence and obscure from sight. An expansive Force Cloak originating from the point where the cybernetic hand had impacted the desk. And, as soon as that Cloak had reached out far enough to encompass the three of them, the Zabrak abruptly jerked forwards gaze intent upon Lady Kay. When he spoke, gone was any emotion. All that remained was a stoic emotionless.

"Do you have it." What 'it' was wasn't specified in his words, but, what he refered to would already be known to Kay due to the message that he had left her soon after he had uttered his request for the meeting to Veiere back on Commenor. One of the crystals from the Droids' lightsaber.

Without waiting for a response, the Iridonian's eyes would snap towards Veiere suddenly, a dark gleam that had only been present before the Jedi Master back on Commenor shining within his amber gaze. "Forgive me, prehaps I should introduce myself properly, no? To do otherwise would be the height of disrespect, no?" Emotion had returned to his voice, but, this time it was tinted with a false-edge, a sense of insincerity echoing within it, a mocking jovialness. One that the pair were being permitted to identify as false.


[member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Veiere Arenais"]
[Part 1/2. Will be continuing on other character soon as I shall be switching account immediately after posting this.]

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

At his words, the Iridonian's cybernetic hand would lift away from the desk to reveal the twisting and pulsating lines of the Sith Runic Array that he had marked upon the desk. Running his hand across his hair, careful of his orat (horns) as he did so, he pulled his hair, from where it had been tucked away behind his back, forwards slightly, so that it fell more naturally around his shoulders. What this revealed was that his hair wasn't the dark colouring of Virak Ip, but, instead, was the ashen-grey locks that were his natural hair colour; a fact his eyebrows would have revealed should he not have been a Zabrak and, as such, absent of them.

A slow, darkly amused, smirk spread across permanently wind-dried and sand-marked lips, the affects of suffering too many sandstorms will only the bare minimum needed amount of protection, twisting the deep set scars that lines his features. A dark gleam that had been carefully removed from the features of Virak Ip through control and skilled acting.

"Your wife first knew me as Xavka Duquo, a former slave and then simple assassin who chose to assist her in liberation of those sold to chains and the prevention of many a raid. Now, I am more than that, ascended beyond that. I am Darth Lykos, The Wolf and Lord of Oblivion within the Sith Empire. A pleasure to meet you, Grandmaster."

For a few seconds, Lykos allowed his quietly spoke words to linger, but, soon broke the silence. "But, do not misunderstand my purpose in this meeting, Grandmaster. I have no wish to fight you, nor do I really have any wish to reveal myself to you. But, the threat of these Droids, this Incursion, is really and known to us both. I wish to speak of alliances and agreements, to prevent utter defeat at their cold hands." His gaze slowly turned back towards Kay once more, impatience tainting his normally cold and expressionless gaze. "Now, did you bring it?"


[member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Veiere Arenais"]
[Part 2/2. Please do feel free to tag me as either character, by the way. I've got both following this thread, after all, so, I'll see the notification either way.]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay nodded and sat down on one of the chairs that [member="Virak Ip"] had suggested. She didn't lean back however, instead sitting forward with her feet crossed at the ankles and tucked under her chair. She was glad that they weren't late. Being punctual was something that she was determined to always be. Tardiness was a sign of disrespect afterall.

The moment that he slammed his fist on the desk, she jumped in her chair. It was the noise that startled her more than anything. The whispers seemed to surround them as the Force Cloak was shaped. Kay couldn't quite see it, but she felt it. The air in the enclosure seemed to thin and sound had an almost unnatural quality to it. A slow nod was her answer to him as he asked her if she had brought something for him. Kay reached into the pocket of her coat and placed the crystal upon the desk. It was bundled up in some fabric so that she didn't touch it at all with her bare skin. That was more cautionary than anything.

She looked over her shoulder to her husband, wondering what he had thought about who she had worked with in the past, and who she had in her Senate. But it wasn't as though [member="Veiere Arenais"] had not had Sith friends of his own, so he couldn't really chastize her for it. But that didn't mean that he wouldn't.

Kay turned her attention back to [member="Darth Lykos"] , glad that he had felt in the same way that she did in regards to that fateful visit. "The Incursion is a threat to all of us. And the best possible way to stop them is to work together. I just hope that if they infect more Force users with...whatever that stuff was, that it doesn't make them more powerful."

 

[WolfMortum]

With the simple exchange of hands in greeting, the Force pooled around them and in the back of his mind whispered of hidden intentions. It wasn't a specific cry out to any given threat or any particular concern but merely the general fact that something was amiss in this meeting from the beginning, Veiere's head lifting in a half nod, his smile failing some as he offered [member="Darth Lykos"] acknowledgement before seating himself down beside his wife, [member="Lady Kay"].

When asked if she had 'it', Veiere's gaze turned to glance to his wife. He had seen the recording following the attack on Commenor, he had been busy trying to stabilize the damage and the emotional trauma to the untrained students and those who had witnessed the loss of their good friends, brothers and sisters within the Force as Veiere himself had lost with Calder Icehammers abrupt and unexpected slaughter. Those moments remained burned in his mind like many past moments of significant violence in battle; times of which he greatly detested and yet were otherwise sadly unavoidable. To what was being asked of Kay here however, he wasn't completely certain as his duties had forced him to prioritize between the Government and the Jedi Order's recent relations within and outside of their own people.

Soon would follow the revelation of whom Virak Ip really was. The title of Darth given to those of the Sith who had ascended through the heights and trials of their training overcoming friend and foe alike to reach that seat of power, Veiere was intimately experienced with dealing with the Sith both against and standing beside at odd times across the galaxies more recent wars. As was always the case within the Senate, Veiere had remained distant for good reason, he trusted politics none because of it's tenacity in drawing in those whom would seek to gain and abuse such power; his suspicion among there own was something always present yet not something he could rightly discuss without any evidence or true notion of ill intent towards the Systems Alliance. Unlike the recent departure of the former representative of Yutan, Veiere had heard nothing of this Virak that justified any questioning over until now.

"Most curious..." He responded, though his tone fell quiet once more, studying Darth Lykos uncertainly. As was usually the case, this one was shrouded within darkness and difficult to read, well trained to hone the force to their will as opposed to the Jedi view of honoring the will of the Force, his ability to cloak his mind and hide away any sign of intentions was no doubt above par and thus would've been ill advised were Veiere to probe him for any clues for the immediate future. His bringing up the subject of the Iron Knights however and their proposed contingency did alleviate some questions.

Turning again to look to his wife, he nodded. He needed not say anything further for the moment, she would understand that given his consent he understood the situation for what it was and otherwise meant to say he was willing to forgo any given disagreements for the sake of the threat they were facing.

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

The uttered words and inquisitive gaze of Veiere would go ignored for, as soon as it had been placed upon the desk before him, Lykos' gaze had been riveted to crystal that was currently wrapped up within layers of cloth. The threat of the oncoming Incursion was looming and this simple item, the small bundle set before him, was enough to give the aching Iridonian a sense of grim hope that, perhaps, some information and knowledge could be uncovered before the threat finally broke upon them. The crystal itself, perhaps, might not contain the knowledge that would be reveal everything - at most it might reveal the location from which it came from - but, what he hoped was that there was something, some secret, wrapped around it that was whispered constantly into the Force; the secrets of its past.

With slow, cautious movements, he reached out towards the wrapped bundle and carefully drew it closer to him - something similar to a darker set sense of awe present within him - before unwrapping it, careful not to brush against it with his flesh and blood hand. He knew that his sight was waning, that the ever growing haze that seemed to have been enveloping his eye was not purely aesthetic and was instead the sign of an ever looming problem born from the depths he had delved into the Dark - one that was constantly worsening. As a result of this, he had turned to gazing with his inner eye, seeing through the Force, and that was why he was displaying caution; if he brushed against it, it was likely that his recently opened and sharped inner eye would accidentally focus upon it.

A slowly growing, darkly tinted smirk pulled at his lips, revealing the pointed and sharpened teeth behind them, as he set his remaining sight upon the crystal that sat before him so innocently. 'Perfect.'

Turning his gaze away from the crystal and back towards the pair sat before before him, the smirk upon his lips faded back into nothingness as he leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled beneath his chin. "You are quite correct, Kay. Both in the fact that this oncoming incursion is a threat and that we would be best served working together - especially since it has only been their arrogance that has even allowed us to be aware of them so soon before they launch their attacks." Letting the silence reign once more as his brief statement came to a close, Lykos' eye drifted closed in thought as his fingers began to beat a steady pattern against themselves.

With a suddenness, his eye would snap open and lock upon Veiere. "You are of the Light, so, the decision of this will depend on your words. I am a man of the Shadows, and there are followers of such a similar headed by myself and others. I am willing to see about dispatching one of these followers to assist you and those that would follow you to assist in any actions you or your wife may choose to take upon the onslaught of the incursion. But, are you willing to accept this? If one of my little killers are willing to pursue this?"


[member="Veiere Arenais"] | [member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Veiere Arenais"] had given his consent. It probably wasn't exactly approval. But given the threat that the Galaxy faced, they couldn't be picky. He had fought alongside the Sith before, when the cause was just. He had lost a brother to that cause, saving innocent people from destruction by forces that were supposed to be on the side of the Light, yet weren't. This was a similar circumstance in her view, though the threat expanded everywhere in the Galaxy, and not just in one sector.

She nodded to him, letting him know that she understood and then looked to [member="Darth Lykos"] while he studied the crystal that she had brought him. He seemed to like what he saw, perhaps believing that he'd gain some insight of the lightsaber's creator. Kay agreed with the arrogence that [member="Ruby"] and the other Iron Knights had displayed. But they were careful too, careful in revealing only so much. Her thoughts went to the video of the Padawan. It was a taunt, clearly, trying to bait her into action, to take a particular course. It was a game and they needed to see the bigger picture so that they weren't being steered into the wrong direction, or into a trap.

Kay raised a brow as Lykos asked her husband for permission to have his shadows help them. It was strange, given that he was being asked and she wasn't. But Veiere was the King. His position granted him plenty of rights. All decisions couldn't be entirely hers to make. She looked to him and waited for his response, not entirely sure of what he'd choose.

 

[WolfMortum]

[member="Lady Kay"] knew of Veiere's history and distrust of the Sith better than most, though she too would recall times where Veiere had stood fighting alongside some whom considered themselves Sith on the world of Atrisia against the Galactic Alliance's own persecution of indifferences. Times were complicated and his bond to Cyril Grayson marred the line between the typical relationships between those of the Light and the Dark. The man had been his brother and too one who found inner turmoil in traversing between either sides of the Force in his hope to find eventual peace; Veiere often counselling him on this error of choice though he himself struggling with his own demons. The One Sith Empire was at fault for murdering the Enclave of Svivren so many years ago, killing all that Veiere had known and grown up in for over three decades, it was the pinnacle turn that threw him into exile before being reawaken to a Galaxy in Chaos. In trying to restore light and hope to the balance of all things he had sort to work with the Jedi of the Galactic Republic and only become more involved with the dissent between all Jedi and the differences of believes in what being a Jedi meant, that kept them apart...

Commenor had been a positive way out, a beacon to escape the collapse of the government of the Republic and the failing ideals of the Jedi there. It had become his home, Lady Kay had become his wife and together they had built a true hope for peace within their little pocket of the galactic map; still the Force beckoned to him and he had answered the call, seeking to re-establish the Jedi Order in the ways taught and honored by the old Grandmaster of legend, Luke Skywalker. This search to bring back the light in the Jedi, the pacifism and the peace keeping of the Galaxy had pulled him from Commenor, pulled him back into the turmoil of self doubt and constant conflict within the Galaxy. It was a whole other side of politics that he despised so much and yet couldn't escape if he wished to ensure his Order's place in the Galaxy to be long term and successful of the vision he had been given.

"Common among Jedi today is the belief that in order to obtain peace in the Galaxy, Darkness must be eliminated..." He began to speak, his words fading for a moment as he looked beyond that of [member="Darth Lykos"], his focus upon older times and learnings he had picked up through personal failings and times of great inner strife. Today was not one such time, it was a moment in which all things were clear no matter how controversial. "I do not share this belief, as a Jedi I do not condone violence, I hope to deter it and though you might expect me to see working with someone such as yourself as a negative thing, it gives me hope that perhaps our people are capable of being on the same level" this of course was no small thing, this hope closer to a dream that would never see the light of day in a galaxy where so many were so self-righteous. "This said, I'm not amiss of the ways of the Sith and I know your affinity for conflict and ways I'd neither condone nor respect. If we are to work together, I would need assurances that during such a time others won't be endangered. If I come to see such a side of you, I will be forced to intervene" he sought to make himself clear, the offer of this alliance of sorts needing to come with some ground rules as he could not stand beside a man whom he expected would kill in cold blood and believe Veiere someone to not seek to do something about it.