Faction Total Exziostion

[Lucien Dooku]

Auteme | The Prosperity

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---

"A month, hmm?" He smiled to himself. He expected a couple of weeks at best, and he wouldn't have asked for more if that was the case. She'd gone Knighted to the NJO's Shield in what felt like no time at all. Her duties to thee Senate would remain a constant as well. He knew that bit from experience, considering he too was technically busy with politics as well.

In reality he was far more inclined to slack off whenever the opportunity would arise. Internal conflicts within the Order had been brought to a minimum after the war against the Sith resumed, redirecting the squabbling faction's energy towards the shared threat to their existence.

It worked, but Luc had grown tired of the fighting. Their was a monotony to war in spite of the excitement and energy that naturally followed. The war seemed to always press on, no matter how hard the New Imperials fought the Sith. There was nothing else that he wanted more than to just get away from all the chaos, even if just for a while. Just him and Auteme, taking to the stars until the Sith had finally been destroyed. As long as it was the two of them together, he was fine with a simple existence away from the chaos of the galaxy at large.

"...Your anchor, huh.? Good." He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this close to someone else. Not in the same way that she treated him, at least. "You're my sail, if that's the case. I see you in my future-- I can't say I've said the same for pretty much anyone else in my life. Whether we're just living out in the middle of nowhere, or stuck in this chaotic existence that we live in now. As long as you're there, I'll be fine." ​

​

 

[Auteme]

Lucien Dooku
​

"I guess we make a pretty great ship." A goofy grin was plastered on her face. She wasn't that funny. "Though, maybe not, without a hull, and all that."

She stared at the screen for a while. As fantastical as it was she found she was far more content imagining herself right there. Or, perhaps, on a nice vacation with Lucien. The grin didn't fade; she felt a little giddy just at the thought.

"You're really sweet, you know. I... well, I feel the same way about you. I never feel alone around you- I know that's kind of, like, weird, but there were times when I did, I guess. Like I didn't matter, or I was invisible; and it wasn't really anyone else's fault, I just felt that way." She slowed down a bit. Her smile softened. "So when you're happy to see me, I'm happy to see you, too.

"I know that sounds a little selfish but I'm trying to say is- well, I love you." It felt nice to say out loud. She felt mature, all of a sudden.

 

[Lucien Dooku]

Auteme | The Prosperity

---

---

She'd pulled off a authentic dad joke without even realizing it. He still laughed at her joke, even if it was more goofy than it was funny. His gaze returned back to the movie after seeing her smile and feeling her mood perk up a bit. Though he still listened as she continued to speak, and eventually resettled his eyes back in her direction.

A few choices words were said that he thought he'd never hear. Well- he was a pretty smooth guy, but it was different when he actually reciprocated the feelings in some capacity. For a moment he just stared at her, letting the silence fill the void where potentially he should've repeated those words back to her. It wasn't as if he didn't feel the same, it was just fresh on his mind. The words, the feelings that came with hearing them for the first time, and the realization of just what the two of them were becoming.

It was a good feeling, if not surreal. He held onto her tighter in the aftermath of getting lost in his thoughts, letting the ambience of the movie fill the void. "I'm not afraid to admit that I can be selfish, y'know... Or that I feel envious sometimes of the life you have here on Coruscant. Or that I feel not just anger, but rage burning inside when I see you hurt and in pain. You've been my light, balancing out a darkness that had no control, and i'm not ashamed to admit that my emotions give me strength, when it comes to you. If that makes me a disgrace to the Jedi, then so be it."

He followed up with a kiss, then let the silence envelop them once more. He was being truthful for once. That is, his feelings were being expressed without the usual filter that suppressed the fire that burned within his soul. "I'll betray the galaxy, if that's what it takes to be your anchor. I love you. No matter the cost, I'll protect you." ​

​

 

[Auteme]

Lucien Dooku
​

They were so close she was sure he could hear her heart threatening to beat out of her chest.

Her mind was a flurry of worries, as ever. She didn't want him to be angry. She didn't want him to betray the galaxy for her. She didn't want him to pay any cost. She just wanted him to be happy.

And he was. And she was. And her heart was filled with love and joy so strong she could almost taste it. No filters, no beating around the bush; just two people, caring, supporting, loving each other. So, for a little while, nothing else mattered.

Neither of them looked at the screen for the rest of the night, and both of them took the liberty of breaking the Jedi Code a bit.

 

[Asmundr Varobalder]

THE_WARDEN
PROSPERITY’S PROTECTOR | THERE IS NO CHAOS, THERE IS HARMONY
PROSPERITY | ROOM OF A THOUSAND FOUNTAINS | MEDITATION GARDEN
Takui

​

Crouched, staring at nothing, Asmundr's hand covered his face. His eyes had been closed for hours –– but he never stopped seeing. Memories overlapping with one another, agonizing realities blending into one another and crossing over boundaries and barriers that weren't strong enough to withstand. All those youths..all those kids down there going through everything. Learning the hard way. Trial by flames that scorched and burned in degrees deeper than they might have been prepared for.

Ziost had been dark..darker than Korriban. That meant so many things. This campaign...this future. He saw victory somewhere, at the end, like a small, inglorious star scattered amidst a night's sky of possibilities. They just had to navigate correctly, at that star's brilliance would grow brighter the closer they drew. A new dawn was approaching, but for now, it was darkest.

Flurried footsteps purposed for him were coming down the halls. By the time the Miralian arrived in the chamber, Asmundr had already risen to stand and was moving to meet the messenger.

"Master Asmundr!" She exhaled in greeting. "Padawan Takui –– he ––"

"I know." He interrupted forlornly, resting a hand on the girl's shoulder in passing as he moved past her to where the unmistakable impression of Takui thrummed. Xashe trailed behind at a respectable distance, moved with concern for her companion.

With long, measured strides, it didn't take him long to reach the crumpled form of the Padawan. Once again, Takui had been a benefactor of his assurances. But Asmundr's scope was metaphysical only, able to interpret the reverberations of the boy, not fully experience the entirety of the nascent empath's reality. Maybe it had been too much.

Maybe he'd asked too much. Maybe he'd given too much.

"Padawan Mihzu," The giant boomed, his voice echoing the concern his countenance didn't display. In an instant, he was on a knee, an arm draped around the youth's shoulders. He wasn't a healer, but his touch permeated a soothing sort of sensation. A peaceful sort of blanket that would at least hope to stem the tides of his uneasy stomach. "I'm glad to see you. You've burdened much, and you've made it home again.

Tell me where you want to begin, what you need first."

 

[Takui]

The Light from Asmundr had called him back from beyond the brink. It was the only reason he still drew breath, and that he had not caved to the nihilistic gluttony for annihilation that staked its claim to his soul. When he put eyes on the man, there was an ease that fell over him; but it was only enough to still his shaking body.

His spirit still reeled. When Asmundr called out his name, Taku began to breathe again. He started to count backwards from one hundred in his mind, focusing on every number as he counted in increments of four. Something about the pattern and how abstract it was gave him enough time to collect himself and let the scattered thoughts settle.

The emotions however, needed a great deal more work. He felt the embrace of a father figure, something that he could find solace in, and though he was ashamed to accept it, he no longer hated the Galaxy in a way that made him reject it. There were lies everywhere, perhaps even in the words Asmundr offered: but Takui would rather grasp a beautiful lie firmly than succumb to the horrific truth he had seen ever again.

Darkness screamed, peeling away from his insides as the mere presence of the giant Jedi began to encompass it. The warmth pooled in his stomach and began to tear out the corruption that festered there. He finally looked up to give the man the eye contact that he truly deserved.

At least one of them deserved to be here.

"I... I screwed up," he whispered hoarsely. He could still see that shadow inside his mind, the creature he became on Ziost. The admission took its power away in theory, but in practice, Takui was still very afraid. His greatest fear actualized in that room. He'd given in to evil.

"I should have known," he shook his head. "I should have realized something was calling out to me. I felt it calling out to me, and I thought I could help. I thought I was doing the right thing. I... I..."

Taku reached up to clutch his mangled arm, crossing his chest defensively. "I wasn't ready, I'm not ready," he shivered violently. His eyes screwed shut from the pain that lanced behind his eyes. He was dehydrated, and the headache had forced its way in. "I shouldn't be fighting, I'm a liability," he sobbed.

"I'm not even a Jedi."

Asmundr Varobalder

 

[Bayaz]

GA OCCUPIED SITH SPACE | NACHE WAYPOST STATION
FOLLOWING THE INVASION OF ZIOST...
Sol Stazi Teica Giraan Suri Vullen

​

The blood was roiling in him now, uninhibited by drink. A vein pulsated faintly on his temple and he just knew that this would be it. This would be the day he got court-martialed. He felt his fingers wrap around the body of the mug he had been drinking out of. As she kept talking, dropping truth bomb after truth bomb his fingers gripped tighter on his mug, his strength denting the cheap metal that they used on this pisshole of a station.

"Burn atmo you fuckin-" And then the Captain came to the bar followed by another mudslinger, a Duros that he recognized by name only. He was one second from swinging before one of the other marines caught his forearm, sensing what was coming and shook his head and mouthed 'commander'. Technically, even though they had the same ranks, the Marines fell under the Navy. That didn't mean a no-good Army officer who'd probably never even seen a battlefield in their life outside of the holos, especially not during this war. Either way that did it and Marcus wrenched the mug from the other marine's grip and downed the whole mug, slamming it back down to the counter.

"No ma'am," he snarled, shoving his way past the army girl, digging his shoulder into hers as he passed.

 

[Asmundr Varobalder]

THE_WARDEN
PROSPERITY’S PROTECTOR | THERE IS NO CHAOS, THERE IS HARMONY
PROSPERITY
Takui

​

"I... I screwed up,"

"I should have known. I should have realized something was calling out to me. I felt it calling out to me, and I thought I could help. I thought I was doing the right thing. I... I..."

A great silence fell over the giant. The only thing he offered the boy was his active listening. Bobbing his head once-twice in rhythm with the outpouring of the youth. Maybe once or twice he made a non-committal sound at the back of his throat. He had to respect the Padawan for his honesty, vulnerability and willingness to communicate.

There was a deep, resounding pain that pulled within the youth. It was as tangible as his body. The Warden acknowledged it, and it acknowledged the warden. Patterns and lattices, shared and intersecting. Part of Takui's pattern was broken. Not entirely shattered, but certainly crumpled and turned in on itself. It was weakening, something like a dead space that retreated from his ethereal outreach.

He couldn't allow it to grow and fester, it would eat the boy up from the inside and Takui would destroy himself. No war was worth that. In reaction to his own mortal considerations, he tightened his hold on the boy; gripping his shoulder firmly to steady him while Takui's emotions became slippery and sad.

"I wasn't ready, I'm not ready," "I shouldn't be fighting, I'm a liability,"
"I'm not even a Jedi."

Asmundr's throat tightened with emotion, the edges of his eyes pulling and he closed them. Sipping in a deep breath he held it long enough to be certain he wouldn't immediately correct the boy.

"If you know of a Jedi who's ready to meet their darkest selves the first time, I'd like to meet them." Asmundr's attempts at good-natured, reassuring humour were awkward but genuine, and he smiled weakly.

The cognitive jump from being unprepared to being undeserving was large, but Takui's thoughts grew powerful legs that catapulted him over that canyon. It was upsetting to hear, but he didn't admonish.

"What do you think a Jedi is, Takui? To you, who are they supposed to be?"

 

[Teica Giraan]

[Location: Nache Waypoint Station - Nache to Meet You]
[Focus: Captain Teica Giraan]
[This may concern: Sol Stazi ]

"No. There's not," A voice cut through the relative silence of the cantina.

Teica turned around to get a look at the speaker, a Duros with several cybernetics., seated calmly in a corner.

"Just a few comrades letting off some steam. Isn't that right?" The man continued.

"It'd better be right," She glared at the seated servicemen until the marine walked off.

Thaaaaaank you.

The captain let out a long exhale, briefly closing her eyes to purge the anger from her system. What a wonderful shore leave. Already, the Defense Force was tearing itself apart. Never would she have allowed something like this to happen aboard the Peacemaker. Nor would she permit such disputes aboard any starship she was assigned to.

She turned around to face the Duros, moving her right hand from her face to her side. A brief chuckle of relief exited the depths of her mind and escaped through her mouth, as she made eye contact.

"And to whom do I owe the pleasure?" Teica almost sounded impressed.

"Major Stazi. 76th Regiment. Infiltration and force recon. This is Vullen."

"Captain Teica Giraan, Second Expeditionary Fleet, former commander of the Peacemaker," She held out a hand, "I guess we're all on edge, eh?"

 

[Sol Stazi]

NACHE WAYPOST STATION
GA OCCUPIED SITH SPACE
​

Major Stazi stared at Teica's outstretched hand for a few moments. He did not seem angered or offended. Instead the duros behaved almost as if the gesture was completely alien to him. Hesitantly he clasped his metal fingers around the captain's in an awkward shake. Sol could already tell they had very different command styles. Before she calmly stormed in he'd been ready to sit back relax and watch Suri Vullen trounce a marine lieutenant. It was good combat training.

"I guess we're all on edge, eh?"

"Something like that," Stazi grunted, "Marines and rangers just don't mix. Neither of us like trusting each other, but sometimes you need a ranger to find the path and a marine to blaze the trail. You said your ship was called the Peacemaker?"

He chuckled grimly at Teica Giraan .

"So much for peace then," it was typical frontline gallows' humor, "Buy you a drink, captain? Stonefist was our first major operation in this theater. You can regale me with tales of your Stygian Crusade."

Sol was already heading for the cantina bar. He did not bother to glance back and check if Captain Giraan would follow him. Their ranks were not exactly equivalent but neither one had command authority over the other so in a way she was something of a comrade. For a sailor anyway.

 

[Teica Giraan]

[Location: Nache Waypoint Station - Nache to Meet You]
[Focus: Captain Teica Giraan]
[This may concern: Sol Stazi ]

Teica almost chuckled at the huge cultural barrier standing between Major Stazi and herself. Almost. Her face suppressed the urge to reveal anything.

"Something like that," Stazi grunted, "Marines and rangers just don't mix. Neither of us like trusting each other, but sometimes you need a ranger to find the path and a marine to blaze the trail. You said your ship was called the Peacemaker?"

The ends of her mouth sank downward with the flow of the sentence.

"Yeah, she was," The captain cleared her throat, "Negotiator-class Light cruiser."

"So much for peace then," The Duros continued.

"It's the thought that counts," She put on a weak but warm smile.

"Buy you a drink, captain? Stonefist was our first major operation in this theater. You can regale me with tales of your Stygian Crusade."

"Just a water. I can't handle alcohol," Teica let out a nervous chuckle, "As for my Amazing Adventures, I've been across Alliance space and back, you're in for a treat."

She followed the major to a few empty barstools. Taking a seat, she let out a long sigh, and rested her forehead in the palm of her right hand. Carefully, she searched her mind for old combat memories. After a few long seconds, she let a light grin emerge.

"How many boarding parties have you repelled, if ever?"

 

[Sol Stazi]

NACHE WAYPOST STATION
GA OCCUPIED SITH SPACE​

"Suit yourself," Major Stazi's voice was like gravel soaked in whiskey, "A glass of water and two Ports in the Storm in case the captain changes her mind."

Sol allowed the ghost of a smile to cross his stone expression. If Teica Giraan was a veteran then they were two of a kind. Each of his scars held a memory. Each memory a distant battlefield. Some more painful than others. The duros had lost count of how many worlds. How many alien suns. Most of it was still classified. Some of it no one would ever believe.

"How many boarding parties have you repelled, if ever?"

She was obviously leading somewhere but he actually paused to consider it.

"Repelled?" he echoed thoughtfully, "Only once. Metrobig Salvagestuff Platform over Skor II. Lead? Mentina Station. I threw a rathtar out an airlock."

It hadn't exactly gone down that way but a little bluster was time honored military tradition. Stazi made quick work of his fortified pamarthen wine in a silent toast to the troopers he'd lost both days.

"Something tells me you've got a story of your own."

 

[Teica Giraan]

[Location: Nache Waypoint Station - Nache to Meet You]
[Focus: Captain Teica Giraan]
[This may concern: Sol Stazi ]

"Repelled?" The major had replied, "Only once. Metrobig Salvagestuff Platform over Skor II. Lead? Mentina Station. I threw a rathtar out an airlock."

Huh. Teica tried to imagine the scene, even though she had only heard about rathtars in stories. Red tentacle monster with a giant mouth....flying out an airlock. She couldn't take the idea seriously.

"Rathtars, eh? Never encountered one, maybe someday."

Not looking, she reached her hand out, curling her fingers around a glass.

"Something tells me you've got a story of your own," Sol continued, right as the captain had picked up the drink.

She put on a smile and set the drink down.

"When I was a young lieutenant, I was serving aboard the ANS Hyperion, Oswaft corvette. Working as the comms officer," She began to search her memory, "So, I'm walking around main engineering, checking on everybody, and suddenly, the lights switch to emergency power and the doors shut."

Teica readjusted her posture, momentarily tugging at the collar of her uniform.

"Turns out, we encountering some stray buzz droids. I turn around, see a panel being nudged from its sockets, so I pick up a wrench, start running over and I stand over the entrance. Suddenly, there's a flash of light, and after some furious whacking, I've bludgeoned seven buzz droids with a little wrench."

"Aaaaaaand then, one of them plasma-torches my leg," She gritted her teeth, "Fun experience."

Still facing the major, Teica reached her hand toward a glass, slowly picking it up, and getting through a sixth of the contents, before frowning at the odd taste. Definitely not water. She looked at the drink in her hands, swallowing a lump as she examined the coloring. From only a few centimeters above the counter, the glass fell. The captain moved her left thumb and index fingers to close around her face.

"Port in the Storm...you called it?" She felt the effects of the alcohol slowing reaching her brain.

 

[Sol Stazi]

NACHE WAYPOST STATION
GA OCCUPIED SITH SPACE​

"Sounds like it," Major Stazi chuckled, "Could be worse."

The duros glanced down at his own legs such as they were.

"Imperial walker hit my AT-TE," he explained as if Teica Giraan had come right out and asked the question already, "Most of the crew made it out. Guess I was just a little too slow that time."

Sol dwelled on the unpleasant memory for a while and did not immediately notice the captain's struggles handling her liquor. Their shared combat experience reminded him of the old days. He was a considerably more experienced drinker but Teica was catching up on an evening of downtime and revelry already well in progress. It dulled his normally abrasive edge.

"Port in the Storm...you called it?"

"Yeah, from Pamarthe. Outer Rim sure knows their high octane wine."

Before she could object he ordered them both two more.

 

[Teica Giraan]

[Location: Nache Waypost Station - Nache to Meet You]
[Focus: Captain Teica Giraan]
[This may concern Sol Stazi ]

"Yeah, from Pamarthe. Outer Rim sure knows their high octane wine," The major confirmed Teica's fears.

"Mother of Kwath..."

The captain felt her stomach churning and growling as the effects of the wine infested her system. A headache shattered her concentration as she held back the urge to break down. Her right fist weakly slammed on the table as she turned her head to just barely face the Duros. She held up her left finger for a few seconds, signaling him to hold any thoughts, before speaking.

"Before I faint...errmm...." Her eyes danced around the room as her nausea grew worse, "Well...ermm..."

She abruptly turned back to the counter top, grabbing the sides of her nose, only for her hand to collapse, then followed by her head crashing into the table.

"I think you're a fine occifer...O-officer...And...I respect your...errm...loyalty to the Alliance. I..I just have nothing but respect for you..." Her hand came down on the Major's shoulder, "But I hate your...drinking pref...preferences...with a passion."

Her hand then slumped to the surface of the counter accompanied by a loud sigh. She wanted to scream, she wanted to... She wanted to be lying sound asleep in her quarters aboard the Peacemaker.

The captain brought her right hand down on the table, a few seconds after the bartender had delivered two more Port in the Storms.

"You know...I could be comfortable seated in my..uhh...command chair...Watching the Peacemaker's viewscreen as I...she....we...cruised on through a beautiful b-black sea," She let out a few nervous chuckles with tears mixed in, "But I just had to play the role of a...a...aaaaaa valiant starship captain. I just had to...I just had to..."

She closed her eyes tight, barely letting her next words emerge from her mouth.

"I just had to run head first into a blazing storm of turbolaser fire..."

Tears began to run down her face en masse, forming tiny puddles on the counter before seeping into cracks. Suddenly, the headache felt worse, and her throat felt parched. Too consumed by the awakening of suppressed emotions, she reached for another Port in the Storm and took a sip.

I'm stronger than this. I'm stronger than this. I'm stronger than this... She repeated to herself.