Un-Common Knowledge

[Kay-Larr]

Kay sat at her desk in her office, watching and rewatching different video feeds. She had been sent security images of two events, the first being the attack on the Senate Hall and the other on her friend [member="Krest"] and a few others apprehending a 'criminal'. What was important was not Krest himself, but who was with him. One individual was in both of those feeds. [member="Vengeance"] . For the attack on the Senate, he seemed to be the ringleader, whereas with Krest, he was just playing the supportive role.

Krest was her friend and ally, or so she had thought. Despite him being a Sith Lord he had done no harm to her people. But was that all a ruse to provide a false sense of security? She needed to know. If there was some group or foreign government wanting to destroy what she had built, she wanted to know.

So she did what any normal person would do. She sent him a message.

~Good day my Lord Krest,

I hope this finds you well. I am writing to request some information. When you were here last and had taken a criminal into custody, you had a few individuals with you. One of them had been here recently, and had attacked my Senate building. Some innocent people died and the building damaged. I need to know who this man is and whether or not you knew anything about his plans.

Please get back to me as soon as you can.

Lady Kay Arenais
Queen of Commenor.
Chancellor of Commenor Systems Alliance.~

 

[Darth Ferus]

Krest had not responded immediately to the message. Instead he had done digging of his own, specifically through the footage. [member="Vengeance"] hadnt been in Empire space for some time, amdd ultimately the elder Lord wasnt sure where the man was.

But Krest did understand that it could not go unpunished. To this end his reply after a day of sielnce was a simple message.

"My dear Lady,

It is unfortunate that one who had so recently worked alongside me to bring in a traitor had become one himself. To this end I have contacted those within the Empire tasked with the capture and or elimination of these sort of individuals. [member="Darth Abyss"] and another young soul looking to prove themselves. They will work with you to bring the traitor to justice."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay furrowed her brows as she had read over [member="Krest"] 's message. So it seemed as though he knew nothing about the individual in question. Perhaps he was just some hired merc or something. It was hard to say.

But others would be coming. Possibly. She wasn't entirely sure. In the grand scheme of things, when it came to the who's who of the Galaxy, both herself and Commenor were near the bottom. Only military powerhouses that asserted themselves over other powerhouses gained any type of favour with anybody. But maybe it was a good thing to be so easily overlooked and forgotten. It saved them from further attacks.

At least for this first attack, she only had herself to blame. A certain Senator liked to remind her of that almost every chance he got, all those deaths falling on her shoulders. The investigation wasn't bringing in any good leads, so she had nothing positive to report. There was no information at all.

But at least with possible help, there could be a chance that she'd do something right.

Kay penned out a quick response and sent it.

~My Lord Krest,

Thank you. I hope to hear from them soon.

Lady Kay Arenais
Queen of Commenor.
Chancellor of Commenor Systems Alliance.~

 

[Darth Abyss]

The Queen of Commenor had proven an ally to the Free Cities, so Abyss had willingly offered the rest of the council his service to act as their voice and dagger in the dark to bring in a sith Lord who was both a traitor, and an enemy of Kay's Kingdom. It had been a while since the Black Assassin rose from below the depths of the black sea, but since then his hunger had grown, a hunger that would only be stilled once he devoured someone of great power.

Not to long after [member="Krest"]'s message would pop up, [member="Lady Kay"] would receive another transmission. Heavily scattered and encrypted, the message's only content was a set of deep space coordinates near enough Commenor to comfortably and quickly reach them, yet far enough away to mask any trace of Abyss presence in the system. As someone who almost exclusively dealt within the shadows he had acquired a tendency for absolut secrecy whenever possible, even when meeting with an ally inside their space. Eyes and ears could hide anywhere, a piece of wisdom the Prophet of Malachor knew was true due to it being almost the entire base of his wealth and influence.

The "liberated" pirate ship drifted through the black emptiness, no signal and no sign of live going out from within the slightly damaged hull. In a quickly set up meeting room the eldritch husk rested silently, his hollow shell dormant as the twisted spirit within contemplated his task. [member="Vengeance"] was more a name to him than a person, and while he knew the stories he had never meet the man in person. That was both an advantage and a drawback. The lack of a shared relationship and history would allow Abyss to act completely objective, yet it also meant that he was unaware of any weaknesses and quirks he could use to hunt and kill his prey besides what little he learned from the dossier given to him by the channels of the Empire.

 

[Kay-Larr]

No sooner had she sent off Krest's message that one from [member="Darth Abyss"] had arrived. But it was strange. She wasn't a slicer by any means so the encryption was a little too much for her. The mere fact that it was just a set of co-ordinates instead of words didn't help either. Did she get it right? A look on the charts indicated that it was empty space. Hmm. It was worth checking out anyways.

**************************************


A few hours later, Kay's ship The Free Lady was approaching the co-ordinates that were given. She sat in the co-pilot's chair, her eyes glued to the viewport at the ship floating just ahead of them. There were no lights, no nothing. It was as though it was just some floating debris from a long ago battle.

"You sure this is the place, Your Grace?"

"I think so. Try to hail them anyways. See if anything happens. Our shields should hold well enough if they open fire." Or at least she hoped. If anything bad were to happen, she'd never hear the end of it. It wasn't a wise move for her to go virtually alone. Hopefully it wasn't a mistake.

Her pilot opened up a channel to the floating ship. ~Unknown vessel, this is The Free Lady from Commenor. Please respond.~

Both looked at eachother briefly before keeping their eyes on the ghostly pirate ship.

 

[Darth Abyss]

The moment the transmission went out, the wreck came to live. First the signal lights on the outside, then the airlock that would allow the Free Lady to dock to the ship. Then an simple electronic "all clear" signal was send back as answer, followed by an actual message right after. It wasn't the distorted echo in which Abyss conversed with lesser beings, but the friendly, professional voice of a woman. Abyss A.I. Glory was the one speaking, and the one controlling the ship entirely on her own, as task in which the abilities of the Mindeater had no use at all.

"Welcome Free Lady. Everything is ready for your arrival. Lord Abyss is awaiting you."

From the airlock a path would be marked by the bright hue of a myriad of small red emergency lights, leading right towards the makeshift meeting room. The scenery was slightly more erry than ir had to be, but when living with no eyes things like light quickly became a rather unimportant issue.

In the room itself the husk rested on a simple chair, the mind inside moving the strange armor into a position that somewhat mirrored that of a human sitting comfortably, just to keep the full degree of his otherness masked during the conversation that would follow. On a screen nearby the avatar of his A.I. popped up, a black haired woman with pale skin and tribal face paint. Upon entering Kay would be meet by Abyss voice, the echo still as otherworldly as when they last meet.

"Your Highness, despite the circumstances it is a pleasure to meet again. Please take a seat."

With a slight lift of his left a chair at the opposite end of the table in the center of the room moved a few inches, just enough for her to sit.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Again the two looked at eachother as the lights came on. So it wasn't just debris. Almost in unison, Kay and her pilot turned their heads to the viewport again, the latter hailing the vessel once again. ~Understood. Proceeding to dock now.~ He pushed the throttle to bring the Free Lady on it's approach.

Once docked, Kay tucked her datapad under her arm. "Alright. Open the hatch. I don't expect to be long."

"Shouldn't I be going with you, Your Grace?"

"No, I need you here. I should be okay."

"Are you sure?"

"I think so. But if not, I won't blame you for it." She left the cockpit before her pilot could protest any further.

As Kay exited her ship and entered the vessel, she took a moment to let her eyes adjust as well as they could in the dark. She couldn't see fully well, but enough to tell where she was going. It was eerie with all of the silence, no sign of a crew, nothing. Just just followed the red lights.

It wasn't long before she came to the meeting room and spotted [member="Darth Abyss"] sitting there. He spoke in that strange other-wordly voice of his, which made the overall setting even creepier. She gave him a small smile, glancing to the image of the A.I. on the screen before she sat herself down on the chair that was pulled out for her.

"Thank you for seeing me, My Lord." She placed her datapad in front of her on the table and turned it on, speaking as she searched for the correct file. "There was an attack at my Senate Hall. I need help finding who's responsible. I have security footage of it all, if you'd like to see it."

 

[Darth Abyss]

"Show me."

Abyss had been informed of the rough outlines of what had transpired on Commenor, but he couldn't start a hunt without knowing his prey. While he assumed that [member="Lady Kay"] and her staff had already spend quite the time on analysing the security feeds, it still wouldn't be new to him to see something that anybody else missed. From the table he reached for a small cord to link with the datapad, so his A.I. could scan through the video as well. He waited for a moment for Kay to play the file, while Glory began to boot any analysis tools at her disposal.

The images of the attack on the Senate building began to flash buy. At first Abyss focus stayed on the chaos, violence and mayhem, trying to get a good look at Vengeance's tactics and skills. Yet, in a corner of the video he caught something unexpected, a strange twist in the light falling into the building.

"Glory, do you see it too? Go back a few seconds, and enhance the upper right corner."

The video turned back just a bit, revealing a closer on look what had to be a person hidden under some kind of cloak, either by the force or technical means. Unasked Glory marked the position of the masked individual, tracing the figure throughout the following scenes.

It was hard to make out in the ongoing battle, but for a short amount of time the cloak was lifted. Below it was a small, elegant woman with long, white hair, her movements more akin to a dancer then to a warrior as she quickly erased a guard from existence. Abyss didn't had to look twice to recognize her. While she had changed her name by now, the books always called her the Songstress, an ancient spirit that took refuge inside the fragile body of a human girl. Her presence could make things far more complicated, or far easier, depending on how the Queen decided to play this out.

"I have nothing new to tell you about the man that lead the attack, but her I do know. She has assisted me during the siege of Malachor, and I am quite disappointed that she decided to join Vengeance in his foolish endeavour. Through her we should be able to contact or even localize whoever was involved in the attack."

OOC: I just assume Kay playing the video, because I doubt that we need another post of talking about playing a video lol.

 

[Kay-Larr]

This was just what the investigation needed. A new set of eyes and a fresh focus. Although she was certain that some might have a problem with who she reached out to for help, Kay couldn't be picky. A lead was a lead, regardless of where it came from. And the same went for help as well. Besides, Commenor had helped them during their siege, providing the Free Cities with humanitarian aid. Regardless of who's side they were on, the citizens were often stuck in the middle and tended to suffer the most.

Kay squinted her eyes as the once cloaked individual was revealed for a short time, studying the face. "I've seen her before. Once on Bakura, I think. I was camping on my own and she just appeared. We had a long chat on philosophy and of some of the events going on in the Galaxy at the time. Though I didn't expect that I'd come across her again. Do you know where we might find her?"

She studied [member="Darth Abyss"] as he sat there, still wrapping her mind around what she understood what he was. The history of him was still a mystery to her, but some mysteries were better left alone. Kay had to focus on the matter at hand.

 

[Darth Abyss]

"No but I have a way to contact her. She believes me to be an ally, allowing us to set up a meeting wherever we see fit. Say when and where, and it shall be done."

The way he had to communicate with then songstress was a quite obscure one. Not a simple electronic message, no holoprojector, not even a shared contact to pass on messages. Instead she had been gifted a ring forged by sith magic and alchemy, designed to allow for direct, long distance mind to mind communication that couldn't be traced. Calling her across the galaxy would require a power source, but due to his knowledge into the manipulation of ichor he should be able to generate enough energy to make it possible.

"That reminds me, I have brought you a gift. Something that could be crucial for what is to follow."

A metal claw moved into the ragged robe of the husk, reaching for three rings similar to the one he had given to the assassin. One was black, and engraved with the insignia of the Tainted Chorus. The other two were golden, and both were marked by the symbol of Commenor.

"The Black one will allow you to directly contact me without leaving any trace. They were designed so that even without the gift can use them. The other two are meant for you and a person of your choice, a sign of my gratitude for your aid in Malachor's efforts to rebuild."

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

She could say when or where and it'll be done? That was beneficial. But just as she was about to make a suggestion, [member="Darth Abyss"] pulled out the rings. Kay looked at them, listening to his descriptions of what they were and how they worked. Apparently they were so strong that even those without the ability to use the Force could use them.

That posed a bit of a problem for her.

Kay glanced down to her own wedding rings that she wore on her finger, kniwing full well that they were forged in nearly the same way, with the same ability. But none were aware of it. Just as most weren't aware of her abilities.

She didn't move to take the rings just yet, as she was unsure if she should. Instead Kay cleared her throat a bit before speaking. "Your gift is very generous, My Lord. And I have heard of those types of rings before. They use a form of telepathy, do they not? And how much information can pass through them? As you can imagine, with being both a Head of State to a world, as well as to an alliance of other worlds, there is a lot of sensative information that cannot be shared with just anyone."

She had to be cautious as she had no idea how Darth Abyss would react, nor if all of this was some kind of ruse to fill a darker purpose.

 

[Darth Abyss]

"They are based in a form of telepathy, but the only way to intercept their communication would be to listen directly to the mind of a wearer. I assume that for someone born without the gift it will require a bit of experience to control what thoughts are transmitted through them."

Obviously he had shared [member="Lady Kay"]'s concerns when he was creating the rings, which was why they had been designed to be secure in any possible way. Of course he didn't had to fear anyone listing to his thoughts, as those that entered his mind would rather get lost within the void instead of finding anything of worth. Actually he also believed that the Queen didn't had to fear as well, a woman of her position probably possessed various items that kept her mind shielded from outside influence. He hadn't tested that theory, despite the fact that lurking within the corners of other minds was second nature to him. It took all his control to not simply allow his endless, dark tendrils to rip into Kay's mind, knowing that the petty satisfaction of devouring a Queen paled compared to ther worth of their alliance.

"I trust that you are guarded from mental influence in some way. Besides your own resolve of course, which I assume to be quite strong considering how much time you get to spend with politicians."

The husk preformed his version of a chuckle, sharp metal teeth grinding over each other in a dissonant screeching.

 

[Kay-Larr]

To tell [member="Darth Abyss"] about her Force sensitivity? Or to let him figure it out himself later on if some hint of it presenyed itself? That was the question, and for the answer, Kay chose the latter. It was probably the better course of action to take. Already she was thinking of what to do with the rings, of whom to give them to. It wasn't as though she had to wear them all the time. Only when needed. That provided her a bit of a safety net. So she reached over and picked them up, placing them securely in one of her pockets. "Thank you, My Lord, I will treat them with great respect." She smirked as he added in the part about her being around politicians most of the time and how she always had to be on guard. It was true, all of it. "Words are deadlier than swords in the political arena, and they command armies. I do what I can to protect myself, lest I get swallowed up whole."

There were far more important matters at hand than some force imbued rings. She had people to find, answers to why her hall was attacked, her people killed and of course for justice to be served. "Now you said that I had to pick a time and place? How about Kwenn Station? It's just south of Commenori space and just outside of the old Hutt Cartel territory. Commenor owns half of it, yet one wouldn't really think so with all the gambling and riff-raff that still frequent the place. We can be there in two standard days, then lead her into a trap." He might have other methods though. Kay could only guess as to what those might be.

 

[Darth Abyss]

For a few moments Abyss said nothing, thinking if he had anything better at his disposal at such short notice. Finally coming to the conclusion that Kwenn Station would do the job he once more raised his strange voice to reveal the plan he had come up with.

"Glory, how many operatives of the Chorus currently reside on Kwenn Station?"

The display used for the avatar of the A.I. switched its contents, quickly showing two men and a rapid stream of data. One of them was a low ranking member running errant's, unknowing who he even served. The other was a man originating from Malachor, standing somewhere in the middle of the Chorus strictures, knowing just enough to do what Abyss needed him to.

"Two, one of the Enlightened."

"Perfect. I want him to set up a private space without any trace of Commenor's presence. Tell him I will arrive in two days."

With the initial set up of the plan done, the husk turned to [member="Lady Kay"]. There was something he had to say before inviting the songstress to receive her punishment.

"Your Highness, it would be best if you allow and my men to handle this. Her action were foolish, but she is not. The slightest sign of your involvement will prompt her to run and hide, and then even I will be unable to find her. Yet there is another thing: I agree that she deserves to be punishment for her crimes, but she also proved to be an asset to me and the Free Cities. As one of the few to assist me during Malachor's siege I would request you to leave her sentence to me, once she revealed all information we need of course."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay looked to the screen, observing the faces displayed. She didn't know either of them, which wasn't surprising given that she had only been there once or twice. It was easy to lose oneself in a place like that.

Her attention turned to [member="Darth Abyss"] as he spoke to her about his plan. It was understandable that he didn't want her there or her people, but still. She wanted to be sure that the woman was caught. And even then, it didn't seem as though Ari would pay for what she had done. Kay had to be sure to get something out of this, besides just the information required. "My Lord, with all due respect, my people would want something tangible, something that shows that the woman isn't getting away with what she did. Perhaps...if she was to pay the families of those that she murdered, with her apologies, recorded or otherwise, that could suffice. It might not stifle their grief and anger, but it would help ease the financial burden on them while they mourn."

 

[Darth Abyss]

"I agree, your people need to know that justice was brought upon her. Yet I assume that your people will be satisfied in knowing that part of her sentence is carried out by an allied nation feeling responsible for the foolish actions of one of its citizens."

Again metal teeth produced a jarring noise, despite the odd sound a sign of actual amusement. Abyss was no politician in any more traditional sense, but that didn't meant that he didn't possessed the skills of one. Years of being a obscure mix of cult leader, crime lord and sith forged many of abilities, including the talent to throw words with the same precession as daggers.

"Now [member="Lady Kay"], it would be best if you brace yourself."

The claw of his right danced over the ring on his left, slowly sliding over the cold metal. In theory he could use it to call [member="Ariealla Vareldi"] everywhere, but the further the distance the more power it would need. While it was quite possible that his own would be enough to reach her, it was best to take precautions before wasting a large chunk of reserves for nothing.

The right claw suddenly extended, talons jumping out of his fingertips. With it the sith began to engrave a set of six runes into the table in front of him, a perfect hexagon. Then he reached into the inside of his robe, collecting a small bottle filled with blood. Slowly he began to drop just a bit of the red liquid onto the runes, while incomprehensible whispers began to fill the air as the runes began to glow in a dim crimson light.

Kay woukd feel it, even those without the gift weren't able to ignore the wretched heresy that was about to happen. The veil that departed the dead from the living was torn apart just an inch, a rift to small to traverse through framed by agony and unease, allowing him summon something from beyond. Green smoke began to fill ther room, Abyss left dancing through it, bending to ichor into thin spiral slowly falling down on the ring on his left, the arcane metal glowing in a odd yellow once the crimson of the sith magic bound with the arts of the Nightsisters.

"Songstress. I have localized a collection of long thought lost artifacts near the Commenor system, and I require your skills to bring them back into worthy hands. Meet me on Kween Station as soon as possible."

 

[Ariealla Vareldi]

Timing couldn't have been more perfect for [member="Darth Abyss"], as the Songstress was growing bored with her 'studies'. How time seemed to drag on, as she spent her days training with the Maelridae she had taken, or meditating on the Force to regain her connection. It was here she found herself day after day, waiting for something to give her a proper task to do. So she couldn't hide her delight when an ally, even if it was one she was somewhat wary of, contacted her through the ring she chose to wear upon her finger. She almost purred in delight, lost knowledge? Perhaps it was something she had neglected in her time in life to study... she couldn't hide the shiver of excitement that ran through her.

She pressed the ringed hand against her cheek, responding to him in kind. "Oh Abyss, you just how to set a lady's heart aflutter. It's such a shame you left the world of flesh, I might've made an exception for you." She chuckled and stood, moving to get her supplies, her regalia, her cape, her weapons, things she would never hope to leave without. She always had to look her best, after all though she knew it not she was walking into the hands of a Queen, [member="Lady Kay"]. She took a small shoulder bag along with, that held her goblet and a bottle of wine, specially made, and a bottle of her medicine. She wore this under the cape, hardly noticeable, and moved to leave Sith space for now. She had quite a trip to Kwenn... after all...

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay gave [member="Darth Abyss"] a short nod, showing her agreement with his decision on punishment for [member="Ariealla Vareldi"] . "Alright. As she is one of yours, I won't usurp your authority to deal with your own people. I'd expect the same if our roles were reversed." Hopefully that would never happen.

As he began the ritual of sorts, Kay wanted to leave. Her hands gripped the table, still palming the rings. Sith sorcery was something that she came across only twice in her lifetime. And both times it wasn't good. So of course it made her highly uncomfortable. Her body stiffened during the entire process, though she really wanted to leave. So instead she just drew interself, building up walls to block herself from the feelings that it was giving her, much in the same way that she retreated from the torture she endured during her abduction. It would take some prodding to get her out of that state, to make her realize that it was safe to do so.

 

[Darth Abyss]

[member="Lady Kay"]'s reaction was not what he had expected. Fear was a common one, as was awe and pretty much everything in between. Being witness to reality shattering might of magic was uncomfortable at first, but more likely to make a shiver run down your spine, then to force someone into an almost catatonic state. There was probably a story behind this, but Abyss had little interest in straining the relationship between them by further amplifying her reaction by reminding her of whatever trauma she had suffered.

"Your Highness, relax."

His voice echoed through the room, oddly calm and soft compared to its normal state, with a hint of the inhuman, cold emptiness of his being vibrating within it. He made no attempt to truly influence her mind, instead shifting his aura to project said calm in his presence.

"We should move quickly. I would request that I travel upon your ship, as neither this nor the Eldritch will do a very good job at keeping a low profile. I am well aware that my presence can be unsettling, so be assured that you will barely notice me. I do not need much space, a cargo or storage area should be enough."

It would be best to not call unnecessary attention on their actions, even if Kay controlled parts of the station. A ship like the Eldritch was a sight to behold, and also the topic of many tales and legends told by smugglers and drunks all across the galaxy. It was also out of character for Abyss to act so openly, something [member="Ariealla Vareldi"] would certainly notice.

 

[Kay-Larr]

The soft tone of his voice, followed by the calmness that [member="Darth Abyss"] projected reached her, though not straight away. It took more than a few moments for the life to return to her eyes, the colour to return to her skin and for her body to relax. Kay blinked a few times, her eyes cast downward to the carvings on the table. "Sorry I...don't quite know what came over me." That was a partial lie, though he more than likely knew that already.

She cleared her throat and got to her feet as he spoke of needing to leave on her ship. Thankfully it was just a small freighter that looked no different than anything a smuggler or businessman would have. It was hardly a sleek and fancy diplomatic vessel, but it did the trick. "My Lord, you are my guest. I'll not cram you into some cargo hold. You'll have your own quarters for the duration of the trip." She waited for him to lead her back to where the Free Lady was docked. She didn't know his ship as well as he did. It'd be easy for her to get lost.

Once inside the Free Lady, her pilot would disengage them from the Eldritch and set a course for Kwenn Station. Kay led Abyss to the guest quarters. "Did you want me to stay inside the Free Lady and wait for you to finish your business on Kwenn Station? Or did you want me to just drop you off and depart?" She wasn't sure if he'd have a ride back to his own ship or not.

[member="Ariealla Vareldi"]