The Reclamation of Helska [Sith Empire Dominion of Helska]

[Onrai]

"On the surface. Please, feel free to join me."

The attractive plant-woman gave a soft smile as the next set of water tanks were lowered to the surface. Soon, they too would be connected to the water pumps, getting filled up with the fresh and pure ocean water locked away underneath the ice. This planet was going to be drained dry. She guaranteed it.

@[member="Vilox Pazela"]

 

[Darth Vazela]

@[member="Circe Savan"]

Darth Vazela lowered his palm and the mind link he made with the woman below. Lifting his eyes, he lulled his head around first to the exit before turning his body fully, making his towards the flight of stairs that led down to the walkway. When he reached the durasteel platform that connected the lift at the end and the plinth, which allowed one to utilize a ladder to enter the operations area, he made his way towards the lift.

When the door opened, compressed air leaked over the threshold and then dispersed along the sleek, metallic surface. Inside the chute, the doors closed and the lift began to descend. Vazela watched several decks as he went down through the transparisteel windows around him. When he reached the hangar bay, the doors opened. His boots dispersed the compressed air further than it normally would have, as he made his way to the Bantha.

Lifting a hand from his robe, he pressed his index finger on the various buttons on the key pad, typing in the code '6781'. When he finished typing, he stepped back and allowed the hydraulics to lower the ramp to his feet and for the doors to retract to the left and right. Vazela climbed up the ramp, lowering his cowl as he entered it's confines.

Lowering himself into the pilots seat, he strapped himself and lifted the chrono on his wrist to his eyes. Using his free hand, he typed and relayed a message to Malus Bligh. He waited for several minutes as the message was relayed to the Sith Commander's chrono and consequentially, the old man who ran the Obscurity complied with his orders, for the shield came to over the threshold of the hangar bays exit and the blast doors retracted for him to fly through.

When they were finished retracting, Darth Vazela flew his Sith Infiltrator out of the Star Destroyer and into space. As he neared Helska IV's planetary surface, he saw that the world was changing, ever so slowly. He knew the world to be a frozen, inhospitable tundra, but as he neared, he thought he saw large, barren spots that must have taken ten, to twenty percent of the planets surface at a time. Curiosity perked the mans interested as he began to break through the atmosphere. As the Bantha dived in a directory that wouldn't allow itself to burn up in the immense heat, Vazela send another message from his mouth to Circe's mind.

"Show me where you are."

 

[Djonas Vile]

Jonas quickly returned the nod to his master. Jonas deactivated his saber and followed close behind him. Each step Jonas took, the snow crunched under his dark durasteel boots. "You and me both, my master." Jonas said with a slight shiver. "But, I am sure it will be gettin' pretty hot, pretty soon." Jonas laughed.
@[member="Krag"]

 

[Onrai]

Circe motioned towards a nearby droid, who aimed a flare launcher in the air, firing it and sending the glistening projectile skywards. Vazela would see it... and if he didn't, the corvette-sized cargo containers would give him a pretty good hint.

"Down here, Lord Vazela."

@[member="Vilox Pazela"]

 

[Darth Vazela]

@[member="Circe Savan"]

Darth Vazela's gaze followed the trail of the red light as it smoked up into the air, through the transparisteel canopy of the Bantha. Scanning the region in which the Sith Knight was stood upon, the Sith Infiltrator identified an area that the shuttle could land upon. Activating the controls, the Sith lowered the landing clamps onto the ice and settled the ship upon the frozen tundra. He waited for the impulse engines to die down, then he removed the straps that kept had kept him secured during the ships descent through Helska IV's atmosphere and stratospheres and lifted himself up to his feet, headed back the back of the ship.

Placing his left palm on the button to the side of the doors, he activated the hydraulics and the doors retracted to the left and right of him. Darth Vazela walked down the ramp as it lowered itself down into the snow, and by the time the tip of the durasteel had touched upon it's surface, the Sith Lord was already upon it, striding across the landscape towards the woman he sought.

His yellow predatory eyes found Circe Savan's as he walked across the area. Whilst he walked, his robes hung off him like black liquid, so fluent they were in the harsh, cold wind. But the Sith Lord did not feel the cold against his chalk, white face as he came to a stop before his ally. He had long mastered the ability to utilize the Force to sustain him in cold environments, such as Helska IV.

Inclining his head momentarily, all that Vazela said in greeting was, "Report?" to the woman before him. He noticed something was different and found his eyes moving about as he scanned Circe.

 

[Olom Grihk]

Olom began feeding telemetry and geographic data to every droid on the planet with an open comm-link. more landing forces on the planet meant more felxible responses. Most of the pirate problem had been addressed, but there were still stragglers. He opened a channel to Jonas and Krag, smirking. "Apprentice Vile, Knight Krag, please save one of the comm-links from the pitiful worms attacking you, if at all possible. We need to find their nest, so we can burn it to the ground," he mused dryly as he added more data, extrapolating positions. His next transmission ws aimed at several comm-links simultaneously. "Attention, planet-side forces. By my algorithmic extrapolation, there are two primary pirate bases remaining operational. I am currently working on finding them. If you have any reports, submit them to substation B, and i will relay the information accordingly," he said calmly. It wasn't a command or a request, neither humble nor cocky. He was simply doing his job. After all, flourished.
@[member="Vilox Pazela"]@[member="Circe Savan"]@[member="Jonas Vile"]@[member="Krag"]

 

[Hawke]

Piles of weapons, spice and other assorted exotics, valuables and illegal items piled higher and higher. The room they originally found the dwellers of this station in was used for the purpose of storing, sorting and recording. It was a slightly laborious duty for the crew to perform. Most likely the change of pace was welcomed, a treasure hunt was fun after all. Plus there was the possibility of the Prize Law being in effect. Though this was not a ship but a station, and they were not in a time of war or under a letter of marque. A chance stood they may still be able to bring it before a Prize Court. Slim perhaps, but Grand Admiral @[member="Aken Bosch"] seemed to be in some sort of a good mood. Which reminded her that those reinforcements would be arriving soon. Best she round up the troops and loot and have them take over this hulk. The prisoners; she'd also hand over. A quick word with the Captain of which she'd hand command to would keep them safe enough. Things were running so smoothly.

Another man carrying a haul of clutter entered the room. "Sir. I found something I believe will be of interest". If Hawke recalled right his name was Lirik, maintenance crew. A big bearded man who turned wrenches with the best of them. The best being her crew; and yes, beards were allowed. This was the navy and a tradition on her ship for those who wish to grow one while on deployments. They'd have to shave when they came in to port; if you were going to have to leave the ship. (Ahh the navy). Lirik held out a metal box after dropping everything else into a pile. Obviously it was the prize inside which was of interest, not the envelope. Hawke lifted the lid, it had a fair bit of heft just by itself. Whatever metal it was made of was dense. The contents were now to full purview of her. "Crystals sir. Of the lightsaber kind. And a blade, rather made it obvious". Hawke's eyebrows raised and that gut feeling felt a little more tingly now. "I'm inclined to agree" was all she could spill out from the surprise. Now how these near two dozen crystals and a lightsaber came to be in the possession of whomever needed to be answered. Hawke resealed the contents without taking further action to disturb them. "This is quite the find. And such finds come with rewards! But not now" Hawke dashed in that last bit. "You'll get those latter. Right now set that on the table. I now have to contact our Sith in commander and inform him of this". Hawke pulled up her comm and radioed one of her boarding squad commanders to come to her. She told him to follow Lirik to that room in which he found this treasure and secure it for the time being. Also informed not to touch anything. "Mr. Freedolf, continue the efforts of the crew. I must return to the ship and contact @[member="Gregor Gideon"]. Let no one touch that box, at all". Her first mate nodded. She also informed her personal guards to keep watch as well. Blackwell was entirely secure and more troops would be filing on any moment. No need for guards.

Hawke marched back to The Paladin. Intent on relaying the find, she was to be delayed though. Delayed by two of the most insubordinate (Albeit hilarious) among her crew. Privates Pierce and McIntyre. They'd as apparent, been assigned to guard duty of the ramp. Now as for the delay, Pierce was wearing a hot pink shirt over his armor that said, Hot for Zeltrons. Party, Party, Party. And McIntyre had on a green shirt with a Jawa hanging off a branch. Now where they got these shirts she wanted to know, but hadn't the time to ask. She was busy at the moment, and would ask latter. Because in truth she loved the idiots. It took a long while for them to grow on her, but she retrained from shooting them, or tossing them out an airlock, or transferring them to another ship that would; for when it mattered they were competent and they were good for moral. All she needed to do was keep them away from other officers, commanders and... ok, everyone but her crew. And things would be alright. Hawke activated her comm. "Mr Freedolf, cleanup of Pierce and McIntyre. Boarding ramp, ASAP please". Hawke just passed by them now. They'd be dealt with before anyone important saw them.

"She didn't laugh. I told you to wear the blue one". Pierce flipped his free hand in the air.

McIntyre simply stared at him through the helmet visor. The retort was swift. "The blue one was dumb. Thats why I didn't wear it and will continue to not wear things you buy because said explanation. Pinky".

 

[Onrai]

"Everything's proceeding relatively well. The shield generator we've come up with gets the job done, but your reactor reserves would be entirely exhausted after a minute of use. It's far too inefficient for usage right now... but work is still proceeding. We're scouring the black market now for any Republic craft that may have fallen onto it, for use in our successful duplication of their ships." She paused, then realized how terribly rude she'd been.

"Would you like a drink?"

@[member="Vilox Pazela"]

 

[Lief]

That was two extra, large ships for the Sith Fleet. Turning on her heels she left the ship in favour of her own, and transmitted back to the Head of the Sith Fleet. "Two ships at your disposal, sir, enough crew left onboard to be of use. They won't give you any trouble" And sure enough when Kara and her two bodyguards left the ship in favour of her own the crew of the former pirate ship began firing at the other pirate ships. "Let us join those on the ground" she finally asserted; down there would be more pirates, but they would be of no use to her or the Sith - they were little more than coffin fodder, and she could let loose her two prized possessions on them, give them a little extra training in land battle when outnumbered - which they would be. Down through the orbital atmosphere the ship broke, further and further until it landed upon the icy planes of Helska. "Try not to melt the planet too badly, Ashborn" she said, to her Apprentice, before gesturing with her hand for he and Skydd to follow her. It was time to unleash the beast, and sure enough there were pirates scattered across the planes before them. "I don't have use for these ones; remove the resistance, for the Empire!"

@[member='Thyrian Ashborn']

 

[Darth Vazela]

@[member="Olom Grihk"] @[member="Circe Savan"]

Darth Vazela lifted a hand up in gesture to Circe's question and replied, "No." As his hand returned back to his sleeves, he continued, "As I said on Almania, the generator will not powered by the Obscurity, but rather supplied by Coruscant itself. I have an operative on world performing reconnaissance of the Jedi Temple, the Works and the security net. We'll use the information, so that we know how big the shield will need to be to encompass the ship, building and the surrounding area, to protect the hub or access point to the Works, which will be powering Shield X."

Turning his gaze away from the woman, he muttered, "You've changed since our meeting in the Mem'kabarr." His eyes averted away from the rapidly descending ocean back to Circe as Olom's report came in. Turning his eyes back to the water, he said, "Continue your report. What is the situation here on Helska?"

 

[Marcus Faust]

@[member="Brash Toulcan"]

Faust sat idly in the bay of a S90 MAAT which was ferrying both himself, his newfound apprentice, and his saber guard to the icy surface of Helska, ready to cut down the hordes of pirates which dared oppose the empire. Looking around the cabin his eyes came to rest on his apprentice, Brash was juggernaut, a tank of a man, he'd do great in this type of situation. "My apprentice, you will be at the head of our formation once we land, am I clear?" He questioned, standing up as they began their final descent to the planet. The saber guards were silent, each simply stood at attention, motionless and silent, waiting to be issued their orders from Marcus. Turning to the five Marcus finally addressed them, "Stay close to us, kill all those who stand against us."

 

[Onrai]

"I understand your rationale... but you most likely are gonna have the shield active while you slip past the Republic fleet. I want to maximize the time you have to survive hits before getting into position, until the shield's connected to the Works. Well, unless you want me to make the shield as inefficient as possible to where it drains whatever power the planet has available. Could disable their defenses, but then a power fluctuation could shut the shield down. I'll keep working on it."

"As for the situation regarding the goings-on here - We've drilled water wells across the entire planet to help tap the ocean water beneath the icy crust. These water wells have been equipped with pumps that're currently loading water into our enormous water tanks. The water will then be sent to desert planets, in order to assist with terraforming. As well, each Imperial fleet will now have at least 1 water tanker and 1 food transport, in order for them to last longer in the field with higher-quality rations."

@[member="Vilox Pazela"]

 

[Darth Vazela]

@[member="Circe Savan"]

"Just so long as Korriban is the only desert world you didn't intend to terraform, then I am inclined to render my assistance to this dominion. In regards to how I intend to bypass Coruscant's security net... Well, I have something in mind and technology would only serve a small part of the intended trespass."

Lowering his hand to his wrist, he activated the chrono on it to send a message to the Obscurity in orbit. Afterwards, he lulled his head around, almost in a bored way. Vazela locked his yellow eyes on Circe's, his posture and facial expression oozing arrogance, like it would catch onto the intelligent fiend that was stood before him. Placing his left hand under her chin, he gripped it gently but firmly to lift her gaze to his own. He said, "How goes your apprenticeship with Lord Zambrano?"

 

[Onrai]

"Korriban is a rocky planet, not a desert. Even if I did apply water to the surface, the terrain would take hundreds of thousand of years before it crumbled into dirt suitable for growing plant life. So no, of course not. Your assistance would of course net you some of the planet's water for your own use."

Then he placed a hand under her chin, raising her view to his own. She raised an eyebrow, lifting her chin up so he was no longer helping to support it. "Kaine has taught me little, but given me much. I have nothing else to say about the endeavour."

@[member="Vilox Pazela"]

 

[Other Space Kaiden]

@[member="Jonas Vile"]


Krag grinned, his apprentice's humor was not far off from that of a Graug's. With little more than a nudge, Krag growled to his apprentice "There are many rats in this cave, they shall all be exterminated"

 

[Darth Vazela]

@[member="Circe Savan"]

"How awfully cryptic of you."

Vazela lowered his fingers away from her chin and walked to the edge of the ice. Down below, was a very steep drop that meant certain death for those unfortunate enough to be pushed over it. Beyond the canyon, were the ocean. The Sith Lord's yellow eyes continued to gaze upon it's surface, it slightly reflecting in the Helska star shining above.

As he stared out upon the ocean, he said out loud, "I am searching for an apprentice to take my side."

 

[Tales of the Rule of Two]

The bridge was eerily silent, save for the odd coughs from it's crew or the small, insignificant bleeping sounds in the background from a computer terminal or two that an officer was sat in front of, following the read outs given throughout the ship. One particular bleep, followed by a vibration, brought Malus out of his stupor. Leaning up from the arm rest he had been using to rest his below and head in his hand, he lifted the wrist that held the chrono on it to his eyes. Using his other hand, he accepted the message relayed from Helska IV and read it for himself.

"Prepare all of our transports and have them sent down at this location."

Brief, but to the point, as it normally was with Lord Vazela. Turning the chrono back to stand by, the message now read and saved in it's memory banks, the old man lifted his gaze to his executive officer and said, "What is the status of our shuttles?"

 

[James Kerval]

Shuttles flew in the broadside view of the transparisteel screen, positioned just before the helm. James Kerval followed one begin it's descent through Helska IV's atmosphere. He lifted his arm to check his chrono. The time read that he had another six hours, thirty four minutes and forty three, forty two, forty one... Seconds remaining until his shift ended. He longed to return to his quarters, to dream. He had a good dream about Ellice, before he had been awakened by the alarm and brought back from his stupor to work. That had been eight hours, twenty minutes, fifty eight, fifty seven, fifty six... Seconds ago and he could still remember her touch, her voice, the feeling of her lips against his own...

"What is the status of our shuttles?"

Malus Bligh's voice forced James Kerval to return from his day dream. Clearing his throat, the Lieutenant Colonel turned away from the helm and came to a stop beside his Commander. He replied, "All are ready for deployment, sir."

 

[Onrai]

"Why not hunt down Kara? I would assume she's still with the Sith, and willing to reunite with you. Kaine may not teach me much, but he does fortuitously have a lot of resources I can utilize. Some of his darling women, for example..." Circe stroked her chin, looking up for a brief moment as she was reminded of the gorgeous Epicanthix she had enraptured in her bliss the last time she was at Thule. If being your apprentice will not interfere with my having quarters there, I accept."

She sighed, eying the Sith Lord over. "If it does, though... I'm willing to assist you with your goals. But leaving Thule would risk putting in peril some of my own plans."

@[member="Vilox Pazela"]

 

[Darth Vazela]

@[member="Circe Savan"]

"The girl is under the apprenticeship of the Emperor now... and forfeited her place at my side when she favored the carry of others. I have no use for such insolence."

Back still turned to her, he pressed on, "Your presence on Thule is most advantageous to me. Having a pair of eyes and ears in the headquarters of Kaine Zambrano is a great benefit to me, provided you would provide them." Pausing for a moment, he said, "What is it you learn from Zambrano? What experiments?"