Dominion The Last Bastion | SO Dominion of Qi-Ko & Torrential

[Arcturus Dinn]

"It's not so much the blood, as the time it takes to draw upon it when you're so fresh faced" he explained, "The more you do it, the easier it will come to you... But practicing with your own blood is dangerous, if you give too much. You need time between training sessions, or you'll end up woozy."​

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As she led the way he fell silent, watching with great intrigue as the blood trail guided her through the crystals on a clear path toward what it was she was looking for. A crystal meant for her. He released her wrist while they walked, giving her the ability to go at her own speed - whatever that might prove to be.​

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Soon they were stopped before an area that was unreachable. She didn't let that stop her though, and soon the Force was called upon anew as the crystal was yanked from its cluster and called forth into her gasp.​

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Arcturus glanced over the green crystal once her hand unfurled, and smiled victoriously. "It matches your eyes" he remarked, "Do you intend to let it remain that way?" It was easy to corrupt a crystal when you were already belonging to the Darkside, but with some effort she might hold a real chance at keeping it emerald.​

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There were far more pressing things to tend to though.​

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"I do not" he informed her, as he guided her down to a seated position on the floor. "Head between your knees, lift your hand up." It would keep the blood flowing to her woozy head while giving him access to the cut. It hadn't initially been large, but they'd definitely expanded it since its conception. He took her by the wrist once more, and focused as his eyes flashed amber anew.​

​

This time he zoned in specifically on the platelets; where before he was hoping for them not to clot and stem the bleeding, now he was expediting the process. The Force flowed between them, through her vitae, and a short while passed in silence. He didn't release his hold of her wrist until the cut had scabbed over sufficiently.​

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He could've gone further,, worked to mend the cut entirely, but he was no healer. Blood he knew, but the rest of it? Not so much.​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“I like the color on this one, so I’ll leave it alone,” she said with a nod. “That, and since my blood rooted it out, so I guess it's got some natural loyalty to me. The other one’s got no color and no loyalty, so I’ll give it some.”

She obediently sat on the floor and assumed the position. “I can do healing, you know,” she murmured. “Just not when I’m feeling like this. After you left me, I was going to try and become a—an unaffiliated, traveling healer. I got pretty good at it, but then Tython happened…” She expelled her breath in a hiss, the sting in her hand increasing as he sped up the scabbing over of her wound, and fell silent for the rest of the time.

Only after he had released her did she speak again. “How do I bleed a crystal?” she asked.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Objective III​

Tag: Raphael Gallustrade // Darth Strosius // Darth Malum of House Marr // Darth Ophidia​

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The Dead God walked into a most holy place. It shuddered with his every step, like a blade run across the skin. It could sense him, it feared him for what he was, and he revelled in it. That fear was the fear of a God unseen, that which held onto the Force and its will by strands. He was the noose ever tightening, ever constricting.​

​

Such a beautiful place. It was dangerous as it stood, however, peaceful and tranquil - as though all eternity lost its self in the graceful dance of the nexus. It was harmony manifest, but it spread across the world. Here would make a fine place for its death. The dangers of corrupting it and the consequences to the planet, however, would be dire.​

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He quietly mused this fact as he let the Acerbitas know that ritual fuel would be needed in the form of souls. Innocents for the slaughter, hand picked for their sensitivies. It was a cruel thing to do, he didn't enjoy it, but it was necessary to break the ancient tranquility of this world. Slow, steady... Carefully, as to not break the world and her people.​

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Empyrean turned the glave and entered an opening that would fair well - a good pick. He smiled gently, a foreign expression on the Dark Lord's face, as he saw Malum and Alisteri. Their matriarch would be here soon, of that he had no doubt. By then, he hoped to convince them he was on their side. Always helped if they agreed first.​

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"Sith of the Order.", he declared with great confidence. His staff found purchase and helped him lower himself down to the confines of the opening, glancing about it for a few moments before settling still. He looked almost decrepit, his back hunched and his features showing the death they carried. Like a hermit, broken as they were, but there was no mistaking he was the powerful they had come to fear.​

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"I've come to make a bargain. I would like one of you to take this world as yours, with my backing."​

 

[Lady Venge]

Objective 3: Corrupting the Force Nexus

Victory hadn't even been assured yet, and already the petty political squabbling over the planet had begun.
Venge couldn't help but smirk and shake her head bemusedly, at the proclamation of governorship of the planet with the backing of the walking corpse, whomever he was. She'd seen this sort of power play before, where one Sith would enthusiastically throw his or her backing behind another, whose interests somewhat aligned with their own, and then when the first opportunity arose, betray them. There was so much Venge could say, but she held her tongue, wondering whether the younger Sith would take the bait or not.

Darth Malum of House Marr
Darth Ophidia
Darth Strosius
Darth Empyrean

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

The way in which she spoke of the crystals made him smirk in amusement. "No colour or loyalty, hm?" He shook his head, setting his hands on his waist as he waited for her to sit as she'd been bid. "Well we simply can't have that, can we?"​

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As he worked to stitch together the broken flesh with a naturally formed scab, he listened to what she said regarding healing. A very brief look of impressiveness crossed his expression before he cast it aside and hummed in thought. "Healing is a useful skill to know," he agreed, holding her hand firmly in place even as she hissed and winced. "Tell me about Tython."​

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It was no secret that he had not been present for its near-destruction. Deep down he was honestly glad that they'd failed, such a world was sacred even in his eyes. Sith or not. It was the origin of their people, all of their people, in many ways. Destroying it seemed... Wrong.​

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With the wound suitably sealed he released her wrist and waited until she felt able to lift her head again. "Slowly does it, Rhiannon. We don't need you fainting."​

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What she said next could not be met with anything less than a little laughter. "Oh, you weren't joking when you said you intended for it to bleed too..." With a soft shake of his head, he knelt down before her. "Corrupt its very core, Rhiannon, and you will see it bleed internally... Forever."​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

What was there to tell about Tython? “Mm, it was beautiful. So alive with the Force. I went there to plunder the tomb of a Je’daii. I took an artifact from the ruins, a spindle that can create thread from whatever is in your heart… When the Sith and the Jedi came, all hell broke loose. The balance was thrown off, leading to hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes…”

She fell silent for a little while, inevitably growing introspective as she reminisced upon her first death. “ Kal was there. We agreed to a truce. We were both fighting the Mawites, after all. Then a bomb or a grenade went off, and I was thrown through the air. The ground split open, and it swallowed me up…”

Her wound sealed shut. Rhi slowly raised her head, looking at the crystals. She held up the clear, colorless one, picking at the blood which had dried along the edges of it with her thumbnail. “Bleed internally,” she echoed faintly, her lips forming the words though hardly any sound passed them.

“‘I have a strange feeling with regard to you,’” she said, quoting from a book she had once read. It was unclear whether she was reciting it to Arc, the gemstone, or merely to herself. “‘As if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs, tightly knotted to a similar string in you. And if you were to leave I'm afraid that cord of communion would snap. And I have a notion that I'd take to bleeding inwardly. As for you, you'd forget me…’”

She focused on the crystal, pouring years of longing, suffering, and self-loathing into it. The stone grew hot to the touch, so much so that she was afraid it might burn her, but she never broke her concentration. Her fist trembled with the strain of her tight grip. Pulsing in the Force, the crystal darkened and then ebbed red, a mirror of her grief and pain.

Relaxing her grip, Rhi held out her open palm, the bled gem lying at the center of it. “Did I do it right, master?”

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Arcturus was only half listening as she spoke about the events on Tython. He heard what she said of course, but it wasn't a conversation he was seeking to have just a distraction for her. By talking about it she wasn't thinking about the blood she'd shed, or the wound on her palm. Still as her story drifted to a close he couldn't help but shake his head. "Some people refuse to listen to history" he mumbled, "Force Storms and unbalance should come as no surprise, Tython is a strange world indeed."​

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She and Kal called a truce, and the ground swallowed her up? He'd need more information on all of that to be sure, but since he'd finished with her hand he didn't immediately press that subject. Instead he rose back up to his full height and took a slight step back, giving her space to work her corruptive influence on the crystal.​

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Muttering words he was unfamiliar with, she pooled all of her grief and misery into the scornful crystal and Arcturus felt the Force shift around them. Darken, deepen, it tore at him in ways he'd never experienced before. While he couldn't directly see what was spurring her on, he felt it on some level. Understood where it arose from. Guilt gnawed at him though he didn't let it show, wouldn't. If this was a counter source for Rhiannon to focus on then who was he to strip it from her?​

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Not everything could be built on love. The Darkside would always seek more than just that.​

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She held it aloft, and Arcturus inspected it from his position. "I'd say it's been suitably bled," he retorted with a soft nod. "Are you satisfied?"​

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Provided she was, he'd bid her to rise.​

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"Leviathan has a room filled with, quite frankly, junk. Amidst it are various components needed for the creation of a lightsaber... Your next task is to find the necessary pieces, there are varying options depending on the sort of blade you're hoping to have in the end, as well as different aesthetics. You're welcome to anything in that room. Once you have your pieces chosen, we'll move on to finishing it."​

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Arcturus turned, intent on leading the way back through the caves. Unless, of course she had other plans.​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

"Are you satisfied?"

Rhi made a face as if to say I thought it was your job to tell me whether it's satisfactory, but then she peered at the crystal herself. The dark ruddy color was quite pretty, like a ruby pendant or a vial of blood.

“Yes,” she said, nodding her head. “I’m satisfied.”

She rose as he bid, and followed him out of the caves, a spring in her step. There was no sign of the agony which she had poured into the crystal; indeed, the bleeding process seemed to have purged her of those emotions to a degree, leaving her in lighter spirits.

“Did you collect the lightsaber parts, or did they come with the ship?” she asked. It would be a little unusual if the latter was the case, but then Leviathan had many strange treasures in its holds.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Satisfactory and satisfied were not necessarily synonymous, not when it came to the creation of something so personal. What he saw as befitting her might not have been what she was looking for, and thus the strange look she gave him was just met with a silent shake of his head. Thankfully she questioned for herself whether or not it would do.​

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"Good, then you have done well. Keep it safe until it can be housed."​

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Leading her back through the caves was a simple enough feat, the ring upon his finger permitting him to see through what otherwise might have been a darkened tunnel. There were fights happening around them, but Arcturus stuck to the shadows and kept Rhiannon close. He had no desire to join in the butchering of Jedi or the desecration of such a useful place. Sure, if someone stepped in his way... But his fellow Sith seemed to have everything else in order. Why mess with what was already working?​

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He waited until they were back amidst daylight to respond to her query.​

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"I scavenged them" he offered with a shrug, "Same as I scavenged Leviathan. She was a wreck when I found her. Still... Waste not, want not." Components weren't often cheap, especially not for the higher quality pieces. While many may have thought the son of Empyrean would have been spoiled, wanted for nothing, he never asked for a credit, and avoided the allure of nepotism in general.​

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He was his Father long before he was the Dead God, or the head of the IGBC.​

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"There's more junk in there than lightsaber parts, though. It might take you a while to find the right pieces. Consider it a lesson in patience and observance..." The latter statement was said with a mirth-filled smirk. "Come, let us get you a lightsaber sorted and then maybe there'll still be fighting ongoing out here for you to test it out in."​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

As he led the way back out of the caverns, Arc made a point of not only avoiding any confrontations with Jedi, but sidestepped joining the Sith in battle altogether. Rhi couldn’t help but take notice of this, though she stayed quiet at the time. It was something to ask him about later, why he seemed so reluctant to fight.

Once they were free of danger, he answered her question:

"I scavenged them" he offered with a shrug, "Same as I scavenged Leviathan. She was a wreck when I found her. Still... Waste not, want not."

“You sure do love that expression,” she remarked with a soft giggle. So far he’d used it to refer to anything from scavenged gear to the flesh of his prey.

Ah, so they would be fighting after all? But with her lightsaber. Oh, joy. She hadn’t used a lightsaber in nearly a decade. What could possibly go wrong?

Upon boarding the Leviathan, she nonetheless took to the task with enthusiasm. “I have patience in spades, and I’m very observant,” she assured him as she waded into the junk pile. It was like a sea of random crap, most of it scattered about without rhyme nor reason. She closed her eyes to avoid getting overwhelmed, and concentrated on finding the parts she needed.

She remembered all the parts that made up a lightsaber, at least. There was a hilt casing with an activation stud still attached. An emitter, a focusing lens, a power source… she gathered them up and brought them to Arc, picking her way through the refuse to reach him again. “I respect the recycling hustle, master, but you really need to clean this place up. Pretty sure there was a dead mynock back there.”

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Darth Ophidia]

Darth Malum of House Marr Darth Strosius Darth Empyrean Lady Venge Raphael Gallustrade​

"Certainly not from the goodness of your heart, Empyrean?"

The voice of the Dark Lady cut into the conversation like one of her assassins' infamous shikkars as her silken form came gliding into the dark congregation at the heart of the planet's light. Her eyes were set on Empyrean, unblinking as ever. She saw through his faux humility. She knew the sound of two tongues talking.

"No doubt you come with terms and conditions for my apprentices to accept."

While her voice and demeanour was not directly confrontational, it was clear she was shearing away the pleasantries like a knife through spun webs. He may be a noose, but nooses could be cut.

In her hands, she carried something. A shroud of red velvet covered it, but there was no denying the pulse of dark power within it. Only a few knew of this artefact's origin and existence, just as only a few knew of the origin of the walking dead on Mirial.

All the more powerful would its employment be.

 

[Lady Venge]

Objective 3: Corrupting the Force Nexus

Venge felt the dark power emanating from the shrouded object Darth Ophidia was carrying, and her curiosity as a sorceress and alchemist was piqued. The smirk on her face broke into a wide grin as she heard the Dark Lady's blunt retort to Empyrean's attempt to curry favor with her apprentices. She speaks with authority, Venge thought to herself. I would gladly pledge my allegiance to her sect, if she will accept it.

Darth Malum of House Marr
Darth Ophidia
Darth Strosius
Darth Empyrean

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"It's a cornerstone for me, really," he said of the expression, loosely shrugging his shoulders. He'd lived in abject poverty, known first hand how much went to waste that could be made use of, and what it was to have nothing. To make do with the scraps others tossed out. There was enough trash left to rot or degrade in the Galaxy without him adding to it by purchasing factory fresh pieces.​

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He waited for her to find her pieces, sitting in the ship's lounge. It was intoxicating to be so close to so many bleeding, Force-dense individuals. The gutbeast longed to take control, to rush down from the ramp and see him sink his teeth into the flesh of some random Jedi, but he could not relent to such. Even if it was intolerably difficult at present. So tempting...​

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Inhaling a breath, he pinched his right hand and kept himself grounded and in charge. By the time Rhiannon returned the impulses had mostly died down.​

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He gestured toward the table, rising to approach it for himself.​

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"You can modify it again later if you find something you'd prefer" he told her, as she set down the pieces and no doubt the crystals too. "You can sit here and put it together piece by piece, by hand, or... You can trust in the Force and assemble it telekinetically. I find the latter more beneficial, it helps in the fine tuning process. But... However you'd prefer."​

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Then he found a seat, and set about explaining the process to her. Unlike the Jedi, the Sith didn't have some fancy poem to recite as they put it together. That was something of a shame in truth, it was always nice to have something ritualistic and symbolic to accompany such an act.​

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When she spoke of dead mynocks though his expression crumpled. "So that's where Maul ended up..." It was hard to tell if he was joking or not.​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

While she was wading around in enough junk to reach to her knees (curse of being petite), she did detect something of Arc’s feelings through their old bond. The barely-restrained hunger gave her pause. They had yet to go on that hunt on Naboo they had plotted…

She entered the lounge to find him sitting down, his posture tense. Upon seeing her he stirred and rose to his feet, approaching the table. As instructed, she spread out the lightsaber parts, then knelt on the floor before the table.

Before she began assembling the hilt, she turned to him in confusion. “You were keeping a mynock as a pet?” she asked. Oh, of course he was. This was Arcturus, after all. “And you named it Maul?”

Well, poor Maul was dead. Should she hug him? Was that appropriate? She laid a sympathetic hand on his shoulder and rubbed his back a bit, then focused on telekinetically assembling her first lightsaber.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Her question and sympathy caught him off guard, and his expression left his brows furrowed.​

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"What?" he asked, before his brain caught up with him and he recalled the lame joke he'd just made. "Oh, no, I didn't have a mynock named Maul. Is there really a dead mynock in there..?" Must've hopped onboard at some point and got lost amidst the trash. "Though now that you mention it..."​

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Why not get a mynock and name it Maul? He could maybe get a second, to give to Melydia Gold ... Maul and... Well, he'd think of another name. Or let Mel name it... Yeah that made more sense didn't it?​

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Watching her form the lightsaber, he fell silent in anticipation. It had been so very long since he'd last borne witness to such. Tamiko had found hers down in the ruins of Tash-Taral, and Arcturus had held the same curved hilt for as long as he could recall. Made under Darth Empyrean 's watch as a child. It was fascinating, really. Made him wish he was going through the process too.​

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"Make sure you test it, and work on adjusting the dials 'til you're satisfied" he instructed her, "You can use the training room." He nodded his head toward a door which was off the lounge, he'd never purposely kept her out of there but nor had he drawn that much attention to it. It was just a utilitarian space, in truth... Some might argue spartan in its sparsity.​

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"When it's sorted, we'll head back out into the fray."​

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That made his gutbeast unbelievably happy to hear...​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Darth Strosius]

Objective: Corrupt the Nexus
Equipment: Lightsaber, Dagger, Armor
Tags: Raphael Gallustrade / Darth Ophidia / Darth Malum of House Marr / Darth Empyrean / Lady Venge

"If you want it that badly then draw your blade, we can settle the governorship later." With such a valuable resource as Kyber, Alisteri had no doubt that the bickering and bartering over the planet would be intense and long. But first they had to take the planet for it to be bickered over at all. Despite his tense nature he didn't lash out when someone strode to meet them, another Sith evidently. And not the one setting off his fight or flight response.

"Lady Venge?" Before he could question where or with who her loyalties lay with though, another Sith came to greet them. Darth Empyrean himself, the source of his nerves for the moment. The masked man wasted no time in stepping forward between his master and the Eternal leader, his lightsaber gripped tightly as he adopted a defensive posture.

Just as the stories that he had heard about the heir to the Worm Emperor told, the man looked ragged and pathetic at first glance. Were it not for the power he could sense he would have thought the Triumvir to be some diseased fool lost in the caves due to whatever illness was infecting his body. His offer brought no relief or comfort to the Knight but instead confirmed what he had already assumed. Darth Empyrean had come to claim his piece of the prize it seemed, and he had no desire to cut a deal with the corpse.

If it had been up to him he would have told the Eternalist to crawl back to his ship and leave them be, but this was not a world he sought to claim nor was he the senior of this mission. So instead he merely stood between the two Triumvirs as an unwelcome but ultimately unimportant barrier.

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“Oh, my fething—Seriously, Arc?” She shook her head in disgust, though she was grinning at his stupid joke. “You got me. You really got me… Yes, there’s a dead mynock in there. And I’m not cleaning it up.”

She quelled the urge to laugh long enough to finish assembling the lightsaber. Plucking it from midair, she fiddled with the dials and activated the vibrant green blade, cackling with delight.

Just in time for him to tell her to use the training room. “Oh.” She quickly turned the lightsaber off. “Sorry.”

Heading to the training room, she asked, “Does this mean you and I are sparring?”

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Raphael Gallustrade]

OBJECTIVE 3
He could feel them long before they even arrived where the light of the Nexus shown, where its focal point was. The first was a ripple of the dark, a small drop in the pool. It was followed by two waves, stronger, perhaps, but nothing to the point that he was overly concerned. They were strong, leagues more than himself, but that wasn't that important. He could find a way to circumvent or escape. Then came the maelstrom. The first being arrived and the candle of the light flickered. He coughed as it hit him. Then came the second, and he couldn't help but vomit a bit onto the ground in front of him, and then he looked up.

The sound of a gong rang out behind him.

"N--No... I can't just leave you here." There was a loud gong sound that rang out from behind him, causing him to slowly turn. "...I don't care! They're going to corrupt you... kill you!" There was a long gong again. "...but... Why, though? I don't understand..." Another loud sound. "...but... You mean..." He reaches down and plucks something from the ground, a yellow crystal in his hands. "...a piece? Take..." He placed his hand gently into the light and could feel it. Then he turned to the sith beginning to gather and held his hand out, as a sphere of light erupted outwards.

From this would be a single word, one commanding and yet gentle: "Leave."
Darth Empyrean
Lady Venge
Darth Strosius
Darth Malum of House Marr
Darth Ophidia

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Try as he might, Arcturus couldn't keep the laughter from pooling out. "Chaos, Rhi, your face..." He wasn't the type to make jokes and pull pranks, so the fact that it had worked only bolstered him and he couldn't keep a grin from forming. "Might have to get one now, just to make it all worth it. What do you think? Maybe we can use it to better understand Soresu..." ​

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As for who would clean it up... "Oh you aren't, are you?" He raised a brow in challenge. Arcturus knew he could pull a few cards and make it so, if nothing else he could just say it had something to do with a lesson. But he wasn't that sort of person, so he shook his head. "Don't worry, I've got it. Might have some useful parts at any rate."​

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There he was again, Mister Reduce-Reuse-Recycle over here.​

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Soon enough the saber was finished, and she took it from where it was hovering and immediately activated it. Luckily for her she didn't slash anything in doing so, no burnt ship interior or priceless artifact fell to the green glow. She was quick to extinguish it, and seemed a little sheepish for having rushed on ahead like that.​

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"Well, I had meant for you to do your adjustments in there, you know, away from all of this..." He waved his hands around loosely, gesturing to everything in the lounge, "Do you want to spar? Or would you rather get out there..?" Arcturus could feel the disappointment of his gutbeast gnawing at his stomach, but he ignored it. This wasn't about him or his compulsions.​

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Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

“No!” She was adamantly against the idea of getting a pet mynock. “Arc, if you bring one on board this ship, I swear…”

"Oh you aren't, are you?"

She shot a suspicious yet intrigued glance his way, but ultimately he decided not to make any deals with her. Just as well. If she could’ve gotten something really good out of it, she might’ve taken him up on the offer. "Bone knives and mynock leather, hm?"

The choice he gave her (and the accompanying spike of primal hunger she sensed from him) prompted her to stop in the hallway, turning around to face Arc. Her gaze flicked down toward his stomach, then back up to his face, down again, up again, before she said, “I don’t think we’ve ever sparred together. Not even at the Academy. On the other hand, I haven’t seen you in action in a while either…”

She pursed her lips, weighing her options. “Mmm… Let’s go kill some Jedi. I learn better by experience anyway. Then maybe we can come back and do some sparring later.” Something about her manner suggested that “sparring” was not at all what she had in mind.

“Shall we?”

Arcturus Dinn​