Location: Krayiss II, Library-Temple
Allies: [member="Tirdarius"] (The Sith Empire)
Enemies: [member="Darth Kentarch"] (Dominion)
The journey down from The Rakosta to the planet itself passed by unnoticed by Darth Lykos. That was not to say that it was quick, no where close to meaning that it was instantaneous, as the Sygium-Cloaked ships dropped, nose first, into the atmosphere of Krayiss II - making the change from the emptiness of space to the comparable heavy pressure of high altitude with a hard, jarring shudder.
Around the Phasma, as it danced and weaved under the skilled hands of Tiae'khta - also known as Darth Gvibr and a woman that was such a wonderful find the Iridonian Sith Lord had made, similarly cloaked ships employed by the Sith Assassins fell in a steep dive. The goal of all pilots was simple - get themselves and their passengers before the combat heating up on their tales would consume them and to try and beat the majority of the Empire's ships planet side. For, in the end, those under the employ of Darth Lykos were not going for Templestone proper, but the Library-Temple some distance away. And so, in tight formation, the ships wove their way through the atmosphere. But, Lykos noticed none of it.
Beyond the material world existed the Force and it was there that Lykos' mind resided, ignorant to all that was happening around apart from the barest twinges of warning granted unto him by Precognition. His metaphysical sight was locked upon the intricately woven strands of Dark as they pierced their way through the seas of the Force. The planet below him was so steeped in Dark History that he was able to watch the melodic rise and fall of the Dark Side of the Force, glimpse whispers of the crescendos of the lives of those Sith who's spirits still roamed the planet. The heavy bass and piecing harmony: it was beautiful and so gloriously illusive. Hidden away within the dance was the song, the knowledge, that he sought, and so he aimed to pry apart the mystery that so beautifully taunted him.
For so long he had been studying the Force, the Dark in particular. Seeking to ascend and evolve beyond what he was and into what he could be through the Dark. But, to do that, he needed to see what was hidden. He needed to pry apart the vaults contained within the melody of the Dark. For the knowledge was there for him to take and take it he would. Krayiss II was but the first step on his new path.
His thoughts were broken by a touch upon his shoulder, the shoulder of his physical self, and so he awoke back into the binding world of the material, amber gaze flickering open. What greeted him was the planet of Krayiss II stretched before the viewport before him and the sound of his Shadow disappearing out of the cockpit of the now landed Phasma. Humming to himself in slight annoyance of the fact that he had allowed himself to drift so much, Lykos pushed himself to his bare feet and followed after Gvibr on silent footsteps - his movement accompanied by the billowing scent of the outside planet and the hiss of hydraulics as the ramp of the Interceptor lowered, creating the bridge that deposited the Lord of Oblivion and his Apprentice onto the ground.
Staring out over the gathered masses of troops for but a few moment, taking note of those that wore a mark designating them as an Assassin with subtle grace - enough subtle grace that it was only the fact that he knew what to seek that he could see the marks. However, his focus only stayed upon the troops that had followed him for but a moment, his gaze sweeping instead to the billowing plumes of smoke and the smoldering skeletons of what were once ships and the transport roaring away over head.
A cold, purely feral smirk pulled at his lips, even as the rest of his features settled into a hard mask and his eye began to glow a sickly light fanned by his rage. "It would seem," his voice cut through the air even as quietly as he had spoken, silencing any mummers that the troops behind him may have been making, "that we have, within our midst, a thief who would do away with what is ours." A matt-black metal arm would raise from the depths of his cloak and point towards the gleaming white ants scurrying around the outside of the Library. "But, it would also seem that an ally has already made inroads into teaching our thief a painful lesson." A tense silence washed over the gathered beings, broken only by the shuffling of feet as the heaviness of Lykos' quiet weighed upon the soldiers that had never served under him before.
"Yrel, take half your men and assist the troops ensuring our intruder cannot flee with ease. Your second in command is to take the other half and set up any heavy weapons you have. Train them on the sky, ensure that no other transportation outside of the Empire's forces is allowed to land." The sound of armour impacting against armour rang out as two salutes met the Iridonian's orders and the white-clad soldiers set about their assigned duties. In the end, it was only the Assassins that Lykos had chose to bring with him and Gvibr that remained. "Ulket!" One of the robed figures stepped forwards with a slight shuffle and bow of his head. "Set up a line of Cruel Whispers, I want anyone who's not Empire that leaves the Temple on the ground, their bodies cooling and their hearts no longer beating. Understood?" A quick nod would be the only reply the Lykos would recieve before Ulket would glide away, the other cloaked beings falling in behind him.
Turning to Gvibr, Lykos cocked a brow beneath the shadows of his hood. A nod of the porcelain mask that Gvibr wore was the only warning Lykos had before his Apprentices Presence within the Force reduced from barely there to not there at all over the nxt minuet. As the Shadow to a Horseman of the Sith Assassin, Gvibr had been trained extensively in techniques that would aid her when it came to occluding her presence physically and Presence within the Force. Only the latter was a technique that required the Force over body language and action, and, as such, Gvibr was more than capable of occluding her Presence within the Force since they would be entering an unknown situation with the intent of stealth - just as she had been taught.
"You've been practicing." The droll remake gained no response from Gvibr as she stood patiently.
With his Presence already occluded behind Force Stealth, Quey'tek and Art of the Small (Lykos was not so skilled at manipulating the world around him through the Art but he was more than capable of reducing his aura to a pinprick), as was his habit and routine as was his duty as the Lord of Oblivion and the White Assassin, so they only preparation that Lykos preformed was to reach out and lay his hands upon Gvibr - bending light and sound as he settled a cloak of the Force around their shoulders, rendering them as nothing more than the shadows they were.
His hand on the human's shoulder to guide her, the Master and Apprentice pair set off towards to Library, making sure that it was their natural speed that carried them forth and not any technique through the Force that would expose them. Indeed, the only flicker that reached out from them was a single brush of mental contact against the mind of whatever ally Lykos had, revealing himself to them and them alone while also allowing him to recognise who it was that he would be fighting along side - Tirdarius, a master of Lore; it was more than fitting that he would be at the Library.
