Tython: Raid on the Jedi Archives

[Ashin Varanin]

The Dark Lord's vessel was not, strictly speaking, a stealth ship. Just a normal Jedi supply ship running Ilum crystals and new Padawans to Tython. The Padawans were sedated and tied up, the crystals were irrelevant, and the ship was under new management. All proper clearance codes, stripped from the unconscious pilot's mind, put the Dark Lord on final approach. To pull this off had required large amounts of time and money, and offered no guarantee of success.

As the Jedi transport, right on time, curved its course around a mountain to line up with the landing pad. When behind the mountaintop, an Aleph-class starfighter with a droid at the controls, and a jury-rigged stygium cloak (courtesy of his own personal efforts to take Aeten Two), dropped out of the cargo bay and descended to a nice, quiet, safe spot. He'd definitely need a way outta here, and the Aleph was the fastest fighter ever devised. It just might be alright.

The Jedi supply ship landed, and a Whiphid emerged, wearing Jedi robes. He was manifestly not the same Whiphid who had been a visible part of the Dark Council. Bulkier, for one; one century old, rather than two. 'Master An'raqq' had been a Jedi, oh, sixty years ago, in the Rishi Maze. People were always coming in from the middle of nowhere to rejoin the Order, which had only existed, as such, for less than a decade.

False Light Side signature firmly in place, the happy old 'Jedi Master' disembarked to head for the archives.

@[member="Ben Watts"]

 

[Gorba the Hutt]

"The tales of Xedron the Peaceful? Hauum, no, no.... Perhaps Audolon's Window to Machinations.... Hauum."

In a small corner of the Archives, a befuddled Hion sat in front of a console, perusing the contents of a number of works. Stacks of flimsi surrounded him, but unfortunately his anatomical construction did not lend itself well to writing. He picked up a flimsi sheet gingerly with his flipper and scanned it briefly before setting it down.

It turned out that being a senator held a lot of responsibility and Hion felt he was not entirely up to the task. He did not know enough about politics to compete against the silver-tongued diplomats from other worlds who sought to do the galaxy wrong for their own gain. So, he came to the archives. Perhaps here he could touch upon the wisdom of thousands of years of history and find something to help him.

Opening his mouth, Hion let out a yawn.

 

[Ben Watts]

Ben sat casually as he awaited the arrival of the Supreme Chancellor. For a few weeks now Ben had invited her to the temple on Tython for a little time for the two of them to stay on the same page. While he normally liked to stay out of the politics of the Republic he felt it important to discuss matters of both the Republic and the Jedi. Both of them being important figureheads to the Republic, he did not want them to be out of each others loops, and while she did her own thing and Ben his own he wanted her to know what was going on with the Jedi just as much as he wanted to know what was going on within the Republic. He did not try and influence her decisions, and she did not try to influence his, it was just a simple time for them to both relax and understand where each of them were going.

Crossing his legs, he sat patiently awaiting her arrival, always looking forward to speaking with her. He had grown fond of their friendship and he hoped that it would continue for as long as they both lived. He believed in her, and though he sensed she sometimes questioned herself, he always wanted to be there to remind her that she was doing an excellent job and to not let the bureaucracy bother her. Emitting a nice and comfortable aura, he closed his eyes, and he began to meditate and let the peacefulness of Tython consume him.

@[member="Aleidis Ijet"]

 

[Ven Balterius]

Ven Balterius had only come to Tython a day ago. It was such a grand experience for him, to be among so many other Jedi aside from those he'd known from the Temple on Courascant. For all the time he'd been touring around the place, he'd never actually taken the time to relax; mainly it was because he was still excited as ever to be here. Still, he remembered what his former Master Padok would always say, how he needed to always take time to meditate if he wanted to better train himself.

Ven finally found a decent place outside to mediate to himself. It was a clear area with a few large rocks nearby. Perfect enough for him. He found a nice seat on top of one of the rocks, since it's top was smooth enough, and crossed his legs and closed his eyes. As he felt the power of the force all around Ven could detect the presence of another greater Jedi doing the same. He suspected it might have been the grandmaster himself, given how strong the feel was.

That intimidated Ven a little, making him remember that he was still just a Padawan.

 

[Aleidis Zrgaat]

@[member="Ben Watts"]

"Good morning, Grandmaster Watts." Aleidis chirped as she let herself into Benjamin Watt's quarters. As much as her detractors insisted that she was a puppet of the Jedi, these regular meetings (although, they were in pretty much every sense social calls) were dangerous for her approval polls. Which was why Aleidis wasn't there, technically. A standing illusion kept her place on Coruscant while she'd snuck away. After all, being the heir of one of the greatest illusionists of legend was of little use if one didn't put her skills to practice. "...I've brought you some strawberries." The Ghostling promised, explaining the small basket clasped in her hands.

Since she - at least in her own mind - was here as a young friend of the Jedi and not as the Supreme Chancellor, Aleidis had conveniently left her veda cloth at home. Out of royal trappings, the teenager was... well, like any other off-duty girl around the Jedi temple, in beige trousers and a white shirt. That such clothing helped her to blend in was simply a happy coincidence that she'd entirely relied on to simply walk into the temple and not be noticed. That, and some creative Force Cloaking.

"Last time I was here, you posed an interesting ethical question. I've thought about it a great deal, and I think I've found an answer." The teenager explained proudly, setting the basket of strawberries (from her own garden, of course) between herself and Ben as she sat down with him. "Well, I mean, in that I think there is no proper answer. It's a darned-if-you-do, danged-if-you-don't question, right?" Aleidis asked with a hopeful grin, black eyes shining.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

He had...not a great deal of time. The ship was quiet, nobody would think to go aboard for half an hour or so. At which point they'd find sedated, bound Padawans, snoring gently. In fact, he'd flow-walked forward to get some kind of a guess, and half an hour seemed to be about right. But the Force worked in mysterious ways.

A touch of hassat-durr crossed with technometry adjusted the access panel to the archives. The false Light Side aura would cover minor Force uses, no more. He stepped in and scanned the place visually. @[member="Hion the Herglic"] sat at a terminal in the corner.

As if bored, he plodded toward the deeper vaults, tossing an amiable nod at Hion. A well-secured door walled him off from the real prizes, and he rested his hand against it as if putting in a keycode. Instead, a touch of mechu-deru bent the panel's programming to his will.

 

[Gorba the Hutt]

Hion acknowledged the Whiphid's nod with a smile. He didn't recognize the Jedi, but then, Hion had not been with the Order all that long. With that, Hion returned to his reading.

Perhaps if Hion had been more powerful in the Force... perhaps if he had been more attuned to the ripples in that great ocean... perhaps the tragedy to follow could have been prevented.

Perhaps.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Hion the Herglic"]

Whiphids, like Herglics, had trouble properly conveying happiness. Smiles wound up looking..intimidating. So the smile Velok returned to Hion was as genuine as he could make it, but also pure tooth. He turned away and finished the incantation subvocally, and the high-security portions of the archives opened to him. He stepped in, closed the door quite properly behind him, and locked it.

Nobody else was in here. He set about finding the biggest, best holocron in the place. But not just a holocron, oh no.

The fragments of the Darkstaff, claimed by the martyr Asha Seren at Cularin, bound in class-three nullification resin. Mechu-deru opened the compartment, and resin began to melt away.

 

[Gorba the Hutt]

@[member="Velok"] @[member="Ben Watts"] @Ven Balterius

As the resin melted away, the taint of the Darkstaff's aura began to flow through the Force, a reverberating fog of corruption.

It was the nausea which first alerted Hion. Something polluted the clean, clear waters of the Force and turned his stomach inside out. He raised his head slowly, eyes widening. The Dark Side was here, but where? Dark Siders? No, it didn't feel like a presence, so much as a nexus of pure energy. Hion glanced backward. It was coming from over there, in one of the secure vaults.... the same way that Whiphid had gone earlier. The Whiphid. Click.

A righteous rage began to brew within Hion as he rose swiftly, toppling stacks of flimsi and sending them scattering across the floor. Hion sent out a wave of alarm in the Force, while also opening his maw and unleashing an unworldly cry which reverberated throughout the entire structure and could be heard for miles around.

"HAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM!"

Then he withdrew his greatsaber and moved toward the vaults.

 

[Josh Dragovalor]

Josh walked out of a room in the Jedi Temple on Tython during a rare visit to the planet, yelling playfully "Hey! Save some for me, don't want you taking all the drinks!" to a Jedi in the room he had just walked out of, a grin on his face.

Check. One visit taken care of. Next, he had some Padawans of his to check up on and take care of... Afterword, he could head back to Coruscant. If he was lucky, he'd be back by mid-day and could make his son, Kobe DragonsFlame, lunch as a surprise for the 4 year old.

Josh gave a bright smile to @[member="Aleidis Ijet"] as she walked by on her way to the Grandmaster's chambers, but didn't speak as he knew she was likely on serious business.

A while passed, and Josh walked out of the Padawan's chambers after giving a few lessons and advice and catching up.

"Whew, time to head home..." the Councillor muttered to himself.

And then a great scream was heard throughout the building... The hair on his skin prickled as his eyes widened. What in the hell was that?

 

[Ven Balterius]

Ven's concentration broke the moment he heard the great roar from somewhere. He quickly stood, looking around to where the source was, figuring it must've been from the Archives, since it was the closest building and it wasn't coming from anywhere in the distance. He quickly rushed off as fast as he could, not stopping for anyone or anything.

@Velok @Hion the Herglic

 

[Ashin Varanin]

Velok smiled. It was not a nice smile.

The largest pieces of the darkstaff floated to his hands, alongside more than a few precious holocrons that wound up in his pockets. Insofar as he had a specialty, energy manipulation -- tutaminis, Force Drain, that sort of thing -- was his stock in trade. Pieces of the Darkstaff slipped through his belt. Others...others, he drained dry of their faded portion of the power that had once caused an entire star system to travel in time.

He used the stolen energy in, perhaps, not the wisest of ways, but certainly the most ironic. His Force Bellow couldn't match Hion's, not remotely, but he had used it to kill some very, very powerful people.

"OMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM."

That security door? Gone, along with the wall and the shelves nearest to it. He stalked through the resulting cloud of permacrete dust, one precious holocron in his left hand, lightning dancing around his right. The false Light Side aura vanished utterly, revealing a Force presence that could only be described in one way.

Fething hungry.

 

[Leina Snowfire]

"HAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM!"

Leina looked up from the field as she heard it and her eyes went wide.. Oh that was so cool. She wanted to do it and slowly took a breathe. Force mimicry was a semi useless skill to many but for talking with creatures and everything it was awesome. Her voice came out amplified with the force copying the sound but not the effects of the bellow much like Obi-wan did the Krayt dragon on Tattooine.

"HAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM!"

 

[Syn]

Syn wasn't near the temple... but he could hear Hion. He was a few miles away meditation in the forests with his Fallanassi teacher when it came. A large bellow and ithen he felt a stick smack him in the back of the head. "FOCUS" The jedi master perked up before someone hit him on the head and didn't speak. He felt the ripple of her before giving a nod of his head. He was under review and waiting notice to return so his personal training was where he was. He heard a second sound and remained still letting the force radiate off him. If he was needed they could contact him on the comlink in his robes. His padawan Iella E`ron he had brought out here to meditate on her own skills he had been teaching her. Plenty of peace.

 

[Valik]

The Force did indeed work in mysterious ways, Valik's presence on Tython was not one of those mysterious ways, as @[member="Velok"] had requested he join the whiphid in his path for knowledge, promising something that 'Would keep his attention for months'. Next to nothing did that anymore, as Valik could easily figure out most puzzles, but Velok was an old and experienced soul, so he trusted the man to have an idea of what he promised. They came seperately, as Valik knew the way to the Jedi planet Tython through Ashin Varanin, as she escorted him to the Chimaera's hiding location. Through a careful application of Sith Alchemy, specifically Mask, he had altered his appearance to that of an Kel Dor, and through Sith alchemy he also created a Force Disperser, effectively hiding his Force Signature. Under his robes were a gift, the Contempt, recieved from V. or the Ori'vod, albeit refitted for the Alchemist's frame. Valik might have been crazy, but he wasn't stupid. He wasn't going to come to the homeworld of the Jedi unprepared.

So he ran over to the scene, albeit slowly as he was weighed down by 20 kilos of armor, and upon arriving to the scene of @[member="Velok"] and @[member="Hion the Herglic"] deactivated the Force Disperser, allowing others to feel his dark, powerful, but unrecognizable presence under the Taozin soaked armor.

"You always were a bold one old Whipid." He greeted the living holocron. "Don't tell me you plan on keeping all those treasures for yourself."

OOC:
@[member="Leina Snowfire"]: I thought you were next to Hion, sorry. Edited.

 

[Gorba the Hutt]

KRAKA-DOOM

The world shattered around Hion as things once solid simply evaporated behind a wall of pure concussive force. Blinding pain ripped through him as a great many somethings smashed into him. Hion could do nothing but close his eyes as he was engulfed in a torrent of destruction. He felt agony and the world spun wildly. Then... blackness.

Large, black eyes blinked open. His vision was hazy and his head rung with the force of a thousand hammers. He tried to move, but everything hurt. The dust of pulverized permacrete hung in the air and got in his eyes, making them water. Rubble a large security door, the same door which had abruptly slammed into him with enough force to send the eight hundred pound Herglic flying like a rag doll, lay on top of him. Slowly, Hion began to regain feelings in his extremities as he wiggled underneath the pile of debris. That blast should have broken every bone in his body, but the same heavy layer of blubber which made him incredibly awkward indoors also served to absorb much of the impact. Still, it couldn't offset everything. Blood trickled down cuts in his face and from the lack of feeling in his left arm he guessed it was broken.

Hion immersed himself in the cleansing waves of the Force and felt the serenity around him. The pain dimmed. With a deep rumble, Hion shoved the door off of him with his unbroken arm. The Herglic then rose to his feet. Incredibly, his great saber lay nearby. Hion bent over, stopped to wince, then picked it up off the rubble strewn ground.

Angry black eyes like the ocean's deep abyss stared around. He had no idea how long he had been out for, but it did not take long to locate the cause of the disturbance and his pain. Standing nearby was @[member="Velok"], the Whiphid, wielding knowledge in one hand and death in the other. Hion activated his lightsaber and a giant bar of blue sprang to life. The weary whale held it out before him to guard against a lightning attack.

"Surrender, intruder," Hion's sonorous voice filled the room, "you cannot escape."

Of course, no sooner had he said this than another powerful Dark Sider entered the Archives. @[member="Valik"]

 

[Leina Snowfire]

"HAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM!"

Leina looked up from the field as she heard it and her eyes went wide.. Oh that was so cool. She wanted to do it and slowly took a breathe. Force mimicry was a semi useless skill to many but for talking with creatures and everything it was awesome. Her voice came out amplified with the force copying the sound but not the effects of the bellow much like Obi-wan did the Krayt dragon on Tattooine.

"HAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM!"

@[member="Valik"]

Leina was still in the field no where near the archives to be choked. She kept walking through the field towards the temple with a look on her face as she could feel the darkside.

 

[Darth Hauntruss]

As the focus was pressed upon the whipid master and his schemes. A separate vessel entered the jungles around Tython, a small transport that departed from an orbiting ship. From the metallic bowels of this ship, a dark figure emerged. It seemed dark deeds attracted dark beings. But, then again, since the beginning of their first meeting, Val'Ryss and Velok held a special...admiration for each other's work. Stepping out of the hatch walk plank, Val'Ryss drifted from the jungle. Her dark aura mixed with the air around her, it poisoned it with venomous purpose. She was less skilled than Velok in cloaking her aura, then again her aura was impervious to such measures. Taint that old, cannot be masked no matter how hard one tried. Under her breathe, dark words began to whisper in the force. A phrase she constantly began to repeat. Each word held a powerful curse upon its pronunciation. To give time for the sorcery she was building, Val'Ryss' approach was slow. Each word uttered hissed into life and the magic that was bound to its incantation activated. A putrid poison began to permeate through the temple. Val'Ryss was sending her curse in advance.

"Odjinya Je'daii. Odjinya Je'daii." the black speech dripped from her lips like a toxic waste expelled by a black-hole. The whisper lingered in the force and spread like a serpent stalking its prey. "Odjinya Je'daii. Odjinya Je'daii. Odjinya Je'daii. Odjinya Je'daii." No doubt the more powerful jedi would notice such a spell being cast. As she approached one of the great halls that lead to the temple's core, she could sense Velok's place. His position. The ancient Shadowlord draped in rotting black cloak wandered about the temple, until she was confronted by a group of Jedi. They had been alarmed by Velok's work and had been searching the area for dark-siders. The snap and hiss of their lightsabers echoed in symphonic response to her presence. Val'Ryss' eyes watched them and she kept her chanting. "Odjinya Je'daii. Odjinya Je'daii. Odjinya Je'daii. Odjinya Je'daii." the curse burst from her fingers and burned the jedi, poisoning them with her force taint. They struggled to repel it, some did. It seemed the spell would need further conjuring. Val'Ryss moved for her light whip. As she cracked it into life she cut down those who managed to avoid her dark-web of posion.

"I shall have to double my efforts." Val'Ryss hissed with glee. Through the force she projected her words to Velok, "What sort of trickery are we up to now...old friend." As she continued along her path the black speech of her spell continued to be muttered, now in a louder tone. "Odjinya Je'daii. Odjinya Je'daii. Odjinya Je'daii. Odjinya Je'daii. Odjinya Je'daii. Odjinya Je'daii."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

ARCHIVES
@[member="Hion the Herglic"] @[member="Valik"] @Ven Balterius

Velok's yellow eyes went wide, just slightly, as Hion ignited his weapon. Tossing the holocron to Valik for safekeeping, the Dark Lord ceased to conjure lightning and raised his own lightsabre. He'd lost his weapon when he died fighting Emberli Garett, Tracyn Ordo and Mia Monroe; this was a new one, one with an added layer of usefulness. It was green. Not some evil, acidic green, not flickers of green around a vibrant yellow-orange core, but a mellow green, pure Jedi. And for a long moment he was An'rakk again, training as a Jedi under a false identity, nearly a century gone -- on Dagobah, during the last phase of the Darkness.

Eight foot six inches tall, three hundred and fifty pounds, the Dark Lord took a long look at the immense Herglic and knew he was in for a fight before he could get out of here. Speed was paramount, Padawans were already starting to arrive, but Hion was...immovable. Time to be the unstoppable force again.

"That remains to be seen." He settled into a powerful Djem So stance, the only Form he knew to any degree of high proficiency, a Form that took advantage of triceps the size of DragonsFlame and pecs the size of Syn. His blade flicked out, deceptively casual, a light strike for Hion's left leg; it bounced back almost at once, then hammered forward again at the level of Hion's hands, with the full might of a Whiphid Djem So master.

 

[Valik]

@[member="Velok"] @[member="Hion the Herglic"]

Valik caught the holocron and put it in a small pack on his belt with a laugh. "You were always such a good sport Velok. I'd make you a nice sword, but you probably wouldn't use it anyways." He said as held his hand in front of him before ripping it back to side while clenching his fist, warranting a swift force pull at the Herglic's shins, in an attempt to trip the whalous being. If it worked perfectly he'd trip and land on his face, but he was pulling a lot of mass and the Herglic was a Jedi, both factors of course reduced the effectiveness of his action.