Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by SmokeMare »

Aletheia

Ossu watched forlornly as Iara slipped into the bowels of the ship. She was totally out of her comfort zone again, her sheltered upbringing, both as a slave on Naa Shadar and as Ansari's apprentice hadn't prepared her for situations like this. Part of her desperately wished she'd not met Arice and she'd remained at the temple, sitting class, taking notes, sparring with training sabres... Hoping that one day when she was more ready - a Knight might take her on...

But then that was silly, a Knight HAD taken her on, only seemingly he'd proceeded to go and get himself killed... Or worse... Or something... She had a feeling an instinct deep inside that somehow Arice Quinn was not dead - he was one of those people who seemed more or less indestructable - she was sure their paths would meet again.

And here she was in outer space with a group of people she blatantly didn't know, the one she felt most comfortable with - a fellow Lethan had seemingly vanished, suggesting she 'help' Rach with a twinkle in her eye... She couldn't fly a ship... But somehow she didn't think Iara was really implying Rach needed her help... Though perhaps he needed some company?

Thinking for a moment she darted into the galley, Lekku chains jangling as she moved. Once there she brewed two Caf's and dug out some Bofa Treats from the supply cupboard. Then she sauntered nervously into the cockpit and took the co-pilot's seat. She placed the plate of Bofa Treats and the second Caf nervously onto the console in what appeared to be a safe place and muttered nervously, "Um, hi, um, I thought you could use a drink and some erm... Food." As she finished the sentence she immediately started supping her drink and averting her eyes, staring nervously out of the cockpit window.
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Halomek »

“Going to Arcanix alone would be a mistake,” Kalja said to Ashin. “To my knowledge, no one who has ever tried to infiltrate the Cult of Shadow has done so successfully. They’ve all been irrevocably affected by it in one way or another, as you should well know.”

“More importantly though is I’m sure Sivter is returning to Arcanix as we speak. The only person in the galaxy who knows him better than me is my father, and I can tell you that after the losses Sivter suffered here today, he’s going to go back and lick his wounds and remain in hiding until he’s confident in attacking once more.” She looked at Ashin. “If you go back to Arcanix now, what are the odds that you think you can escape his notice, especially when consider that you attracted his interest during the battle?”

Kalja shook her head. “Besides, you won’t stand a chance by yourself. No one can take on Sivter and his cult alone at the same time and win. The only way we can finally beat them is by everyone working together, and I mean everyone: Republic, Empire, Jedi, Sith, what have you. Instead of going at it scattershot, we should be pooling our resources to find and stop him. Both of you could be an invaluable help in making that happen.”

Kalja looked at Garrett. “Garrett, you’re the best slicer I’ve ever seen. What you did here today should be proof enough that we need you. There’s some data that was brought back from Sivter’s ship that I know you would be invaluable in decoding.”

She looked back at Ashin. “And Ashin, this is a rare chance to turn your curse into a blessing. Speak to Velok and see if you can’t get him and his forces to work more closely with us. Right now I can sense that he’s avoiding me, which I suppose is understandable, but the Jedi and the Sith have a much greater concern than ideological differences to worry about now.”

“Mark my words, Sivter will only consider this defeat a setback at best. He’s suffered his plans falling into ruination in the past and he always comes back more dangerous than he was before.”
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Balsa »

Impossible. It wasn't that Shyd found it impossible that Garret had been the one behind the Charon defeat, or that he had essentially sent Asemir and her on a suicide mission, but she found it impossible that the mad scientist had died in that final conflagration. She played the vid recording of Garrett's final transmission one more time. The words were the same, the tone was the same, everything was the same, but she knew he hadn't died. There was no way.

Asemir stirred and she turned towards the medic. +Well?+

Hart shivered, unaccustomed to Shyd's manner of speaking. "He's stabilized, or as stabilized as I can get him. He should be transferred to the hospital."

+No,+ Forgotten said with a shake of her head. +An extraction team will be here in an hour. Monitor him, keep him stable, and we'll be gone soon.+

Hart sighed.

Shyd looked over Asemir's form, noting that his life aura glowed faintly, but it was steady. It was not nearly as strong as it normally was, but it was certainly not as dim as it could be. He would recover, she was sure of it. Satisfied that he was stable, she turned her attention back towards finding any signs of Granth.

As she poured over various data transmissions, intercepted audio clips, and encrypted files, something niggled its way through her mind. Something Garrett had said once, something about hating some high-ranking official and wanting to rob him blind. It had been an off-hand comment, a comment that Shyd had brushed away as unimportant, but for whatever reason, she was remembering it now. Greyson. A Moff Greyson.

She changed her search query. Shyd didn't know why she did so, but it was a gut instinct, something she trusted for almost everything: hacking, robotic repairs, warfare, everything. She dived into the extranet searching for all things Moff Greyson and immediately found something of note: the maintenance records to his personal yacht. And guided by her gut instinct again, she slipped past the various firewalls and anti-viral software, and found herself within the yacht's travel logs.

The ship had left its hanger not too long ago, which felt odd. Hadn't Garrett mentioned something about Greyson's death? Shyd wasn't sure, but she had a hunch that the yacht was not supposed to have taken flight. And she had a pretty good idea who might have been responsible.

She composed a short message: Axunari sends you his regards, Doctor Freeman. After a moment of thought and the hint of a smile she appended the coordinates of the Narglatch Cantina. Asemir had told her the story of how he had met the doctor. Hopefully, he'd remember too.
Last edited by Balsa on Sat Dec 24, 2011 5:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Halomek »

From out of hyperspace a single Star Destroyer appeared; an Imperial Mark II, it identified itself as the Azure Defender. On the bridge, clad in a black non-descript officer’s uniform, stood Reng Kasr, former Grand Admiral of the Galactic Empire and current leader of the secretive organization known as Oremin. He took a moment to take in the wreckage and aftermath of the battle. Oremin’s agents had already relayed the pertinent details to him, but seeing it with his own eyes always helped to keep things in perspective.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Admiral Alaan Ank shake his head sadly. “I saw worse at Alsakan - more lives were lost - but this is somehow more unsettling.”

“That’s because this victory was achieved through a fluke and nothing more,” Kasr explained. “What you see are the combined forces from numerous galactic superpowers defeated even after victory. At Alsakan we didn’t know what to expect, but at Mon Calamari they were ready for him and it still wasn’t enough. This would have undeniably been a loss if not for Granth’s actions and everyone knows it.”

“You almost sound like you admire him.”

Kasr glanced over at Ank with his piercing ice blue eyes. “I respect Granth for his abilities, but he’s clearly one of the most dangerous men in the galaxy.”

Ank nodded, suitably chastised and eager to change the topic. “Shall we get started then?”

Kasr nodded back. “Yes, send out a general frequency message and invite the faction leaders to the Azure Defender. Let them know that if they’re interested in crushing Sivter and the Cult of Shadow once and for all, they should take us up on our offer.”
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Pryde »

Isis suddenly felt weak in the knees. Mogon a Sith Lord? It was almost too much for her to take. "H--how?" She managed to stammer our.

Clara shook her head. "I don't know how it happened but he went over the deep end after his wife and child died."

Isis fell against the Final Shot's landing strut, her breathing quickening. Mogon and she had been close once, very close. Then she left the academy and her life behind and they just fell out of touch. To hear that he was now working for Sivter... She didn't even want to think about what that would mean. "I... I need some time."

"Sis," Clara started to say but Isis interrupted her.

"I'm fine, Clara," she said, standing up straighter and putting as much strength into her voice as she could muster, "If Mogon is with the enemy now then he is no better than they are. If it comes right down to it I'll handle him myself."

Then she turned and started to walk away. "I have to go debrief the men, we'll talk later."
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by xfiend1013 »

Garrett was fumbling around in the console to his right. His one arm was searching for something. A cigarra.

"Well now that the whole physical degradation has been so graciously removed, Ashin, I'll take you up on that harem audition." He said with a vicious smirk. He could not find a cigarra or a lighter, but the post-healing bliss he was feeling seemed to demand it.

"Frack. Right. I get the message, ladies. The keys to Sivter's treasures. Well, all his *old*ones, anyway. Just... take me to who needs 'em. Only if we go in front of Reng Kasr, you two go with me. I might need the help. Now, Thrawn I can deal with. And Organa, well... that's a funny story. Okay, it's not that funny. Maybe if you've got a weird sense of humor."

He was checking his messages.

Shyd.

He texted her back.

"I'm sorry about what happened. It was always a possibility that Sivter had changed the codes. I'm sorry Asemir had to die."

"He's not dead."

Garrett took a brief pause. He'd need to find the Forgotten. Get himself into a position where he'd have something on Kasr, the Imperials, and the New Republic.

Well, other than having saved the galaxy. A guy like him needed a few more chits than all of them.
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Beorht »

Ashin tapped a cracked fingernail on her lips. As with most Sith and most people, she hated being wrong or feeling the fool, and she'd gotten ahead of herself. Perhaps it was because her gut told her she'd return there, and fight there. "If Velok is avoiding you, I can only think of one reason. Last year he absorbed the spirit of Darth Kren, founder of the modern Sith Empire. He's heard that you can perform exorcisms, and he treasures Kren's knowledge enough that he'd consider it wise to avoid you. It's certainly not a matter of principle; he works with many Jedi. Velok wants to take Arcanix almost more than I do. He wants knowledge and a challenging hunt, and Arcanix is brimming with opportunities for both. I'll contact him, but I know his other associates and have some influence with them. In my capacity within the Sith Empire, I have influence with many, many more. Darth Sarastro, Dark Lord of the Sith'ari Centrality, is a close ally and sometimes my teacher. Sarastro brought his fleet here, and many of his Sith. I cannot hope to influence him," she lied, "but I don't think he needs influencing." That part was true enough. "He'll want to be involved, rest assured. He'll want the Cult's secrets for our alchemists."

She'd just spilled far more nuances of the inner workings of the Centrality than Velok would have liked. She'd even intimated the existence of None Whatsoever, and the last time she'd done that, his reaction had not been pleasant. "That's my sole concern, Master Leidias. It's feasible for us all to work together, but the aftermath will be complex. Everyone will want what remains, to destroy or to study. Obviously, if this works and we bring down the Cult, Lord Sarastro will send me and others to recruit from the survivors. I've given him nearly everything I learned during my time with the Cult - everything that wasn't covered by the mind twist, anyways. His fever dream is to cut off the head and win the loyalty of someone like Okdoro or Arksis Nan. It's not a course I entirely agree with, but my point is that after we bring down the Cult, everyone will want something. To say nothing of the power vacuum.

"But I'm getting ahead of myself. Master Leidias, I can draw upon certain relationships within Velok's circle, and get you several powerful Sith. But as a member of the Dark Council, I can assure you that Lord Sarastro, supported by key Council members, will send ships and Force users in significant numbers. The citadel on Arcanix is huge, and Sivter's recruitment drives have brought in Vahla, Genoharadan, Fire-born, Sable Dawn aristos, dark Zeison Sha, even a couple of Rhandites. Sivter can field a truly ridiculous number of Forcers. I can't pretend the Centrality can do the same - we have the numbers, but we have more new students. As best as I could determine, the Cult has perhaps twelve or fifteen Dark Lords, some of them stronger than others. If Darth Sarastro gives the order, the Centrality can provide as many as six or seven - again, some of them stronger than others. The Dark Lord might even make a personal appearance, as he's doing here.

"I obviously can't reveal Arcanix myself without dying, but if Arcanix is discovered by others and other means, I can guarantee that the Centrality will continue the fight, if given the opportunity."

She glanced over at Garrett, who was fumbling with the console one-handed. At the harem comment, Ashin grinned, a mocking expression aimed at herself just as well as him.

"I'll warn you, my interviewing style is unconventional. Reng Kasr...now there's a name to be whispered in the dark. Always wanted to meet him. Seems now I'll get my chance."
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Halomek »

Kalja smiled a bit in genuine amusement. “Reng isn’t so bad. I met him on Nexus Station while I was helping to hammer out a truce between the Empire and the Jedi. He’s certainly not someone to take lightly, but I suspect he isn’t as cold as he would like everyone to believe. In other words, I’d be happy to accompany you to his ship, Garrett.”

She looked back at Ashin. “As you’ve no doubt realized by now, I’m not exactly as conventional a Jedi as my reputation would imply. Tell Velok and the other Sith that there may come a time when I have no choice but to stop them, but right now I consider them allies. As long as they help to take down Sivter and the Cult of Shadow, they have nothing to fear from me.”

She held up her index finger. “But I do have one thing I wanted to ask you before I forget. What was that technique you were using at the start of the battle that I integrated into the Battle Meditation? It didn’t strike me as something coming from either Jedi or Sith teachings. I’d be interested in learning more about it.”
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Red Dragon »

Archer and Selena stood on the bridge of the Vestra, the transfer of officers and material went well and everyone was surprised at how similar everything was. The Vestra was for sure a larger more powerful ship with advance systems, but its designers made it all so familiar, from the consoles to the bridge layout. Archer was told its like that through out the ship, which made the transition from the Reinforce all that much easier. Earlier Selena and Archer took the time to meet the bridge crew, getting to know them a little and let them get a feel for Archer and Selena. First impressions were always important. Now came the orders.

Archer switched on a signal for his task force, waited a moment to be sure to have everyone's attention then began. "I am Lt. Commander Archer and I have been given the task to pursue Sivter with the allied forces, or if they don't then to go on with out them. Some of you have all been through the worst of what he is capable of, most of you have only seen it. With the Charon wiped out he no longer has an inexhaustible army or navy. We will hunt him down and reduce him to ash, the souls of our fallen will not rest until this is so. Steel your nerves and lets finish this!"

Moral was a hell of a thing, and despite the losses they have suffered those around Archer showed they were ready to fight to the end with everything they had. The same could be heard from the cheers from the other ships that would be joining them. "Sir there is a general transmission from a newly arrived star destroyer." Archer turned to the comm officer and nodded,"Bring it up." When the transmission ended Archer had a dangerous smirk on him. He didn't know for sure if the allied forces would go after Sivter and if he had to go out on his own, the only lead he had was maybe Clara, the women he meet briefly on Sivter's ship. But luck would have it another way.

"Selena, would you please continue with our build up? Looks like i have a meeting to attend." She must have been thinking the same thing Archer was because she had nearly the same smile he did. "Keep in contact, and take a Huntress with you, just in case." Archer let out a chuckle, "Yeah I will. See if you can get a Nighten Druid or two. I'd like to have someone with us that may be able to counter Sivter's storm should he try and conjure one up again." Selena nodded slowly knowing full well that such a request was nearly impossible. But she would try none the less, if push comes to shove Selena her self may need to use her Psyonic abilities to foul up Sivter should he attempt such a thing again. "I'll do what I can."

Archer left the bridge making his way to the shuttle bay. He contacted a Anari Huntress who would meet him there, and also ordered a Freedom shuttle to be ready for departure. When he got down into the bay the shuttle was waiting with the Huntress at the bottom of the loading ramp. "Ma'am... I mean SIR!" She saluted. "New in the SA?" Archer asked as he returned her salut. "Yes m... Sir. Still getting use to the command structure and new phrases." Archer nodded knowingly. "You'll get use to it soon enough, your not the first Anari under my command." She nodded, Archer reassurance seemed to relax her a little. She was older then Selena, not by much but enough so that she had obviously seen more combat in the Imperium. She was professional and likely highly deadly. "Lets be on our way then."

The trip was short, Archer brought the shuttle in toward the Star Destroyer. The size of these ships still boggled the mind, but he wasn't in awe or impressed by the ship. Like many in the Systems Alliance he saw it as just a big slow moving target. He didn't doubt the fire power it had or its other capabilities, it was just... a big target. The Vestra, while large its self for a SA war ship, is just over half the size of a Star Destroyer, but had a great deal more fire power. Archer pushed those thoughts away for now and commed the ship. "This is Lt. Commander Archer Sol in command of the Systems Alliance strike force that is charged with chasing Sivter. I'm responding to your invitation and request landing permission.
"This is the captain. We have a little problem with our entry sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and then... explode."
--Serenity
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by xfiend1013 »

"Not... Not as... Not as bad as he seems? The man put a bounty on my head you could have bought a space station with!He put tracking idents on all my credits, got Oremin...ian fingers all up in my financial pies, stuck tracking devices on the Tzohar that were probably still there until the ship became so much vapor! So 'not as bad as he seems' is a really rather low bar."

He put them back on course. "I've got to go and check on the Xedadel commandos. They were my original plan for saving all our arses. The idea was to use Sivters' encryption codes to execute his last-ditch safety against the Charon - sending them back into Otherspace and stranding them there. But it didn't work, so.... Well, you saw what happened. I thought Sivter had killed them, but at least two of them are still alive and I owe them a visit."

"AHA!" He shouted. He pulled up a cigarra from the console. "Just what I was looking for. I hear the kind of cancer they give you is entirely more treatable than the kind you get from high dosage radiation."

"Oh and I'm not entirely sure if either of you are welcome onboard the Ark of Woe. Might want to consider getting back to where you're needed most."
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Balsa »

OOC:
Beorht, Xfiend, this will give you both free reign to board The Ark of Woe. Feel free to RP arrival. Asemir is probably still in the med bay, so you'll likely initially meet with Lord Inquisitor Rav'nor and Shyd.

IC:
The Ark of Woe

"Lady Shyd," Rav'nor said with what he felt was a gracious smile. "I understand your squad has gone through terrible strain, so we appreciate your meeting with us so quickly."

Shyd returned his smile, and after a slight pause, accepted the glass of wine a servant offered her. +My duty to the Empire supersedes my own personal desires, Lord Inquisitor.+

"Excellent," the Lord Inquisitor responded. He took a sip from his own glass. "Admiral Vir'kar and I would appreciate if you could explain to us the results of your mission."

Admiral Vir'kar nodded encouragingly. "Major Sto'po has already provided his recollections, but they are limited to his actions securing the hanger bays. He reported losing contact with your Null squads soon after materializing in the Edict."

+Upon the successful teleport, Null Alpha proceeded immediately to our objective. We faced heavy resistance but were not slowed in any way.+ Shyd smirked as she remembered how easy that journey had been compared to the fight on the bridge. +At the same time, Null Beta reported that they were moving to engineering with the intent of disabling the Edict's reactors and propulsion systems. Null Beta reported positive progress until approximately seventeen minutes into the engagement. At that point Commander Trun'lok reported contact with a Sith Lord. All contact was lost with Null Beta soon after. I discovered later that a series of heavy explosions occurred in engineering at nearly the same time we lost contact, so I assume Beta managed one last act of defiance.+

"Their sacrifice will be remembered," Rav'nor said.

+Thank you.+ Shyd peeled off a glove and stuck a finger on the holoprojector's input slot. The nanomachines quickly formed into a properly interfacing plug. A holographic image of the fight on the bridge flickered to life. +As you can see, Null Alpha breeched the bridge soon after. We were greeted by Sivter himself and two of his bodyguards.+ Shyd tagged the two women. +Asemir identified this one as Raii, while the other woman was not identified. We positioned ourselves while Asemir verbally sparred with Sivter.

+Approximately four minutes after breaching the bridge, we engaged the Sith Lords.+ The hologram reflected the fight as Shyd narrated. Rav'nor and Vir'kar leaned into watch. +Untai engaged the unidentified bodyguard while Lycis engaged Raii. Asemir escorted me to the data terminal.+

"Sivter did not fight?" Vir'kar asked, some surprise in her voice.

+Not initially, no.+ Shyd sighed. +He toyed with us, giving us a chance to try Garrett's code. When it failed, he attacked. Asemir moved to engage while I tried in vain to find some other way to hack the system. Asemir managed to hold his own against the Dark Lord, at least for a period of time, before Sivter compromised his armor's AI and ordered it to feed.+

"Forgive me for interrupting, Lady Shyd, but what do you mean by "feed"?" The admiral frowned and pointed at the nanomachine-glove plugged into the holoprojector. "I am not familiar with your armor."

"The standard kit of Forgotten includes an armor composed of nanomachines," Inquisitor Rav'nor explained. "It regenerates its energy stores by digesting organic matter. I've only seen it consume dead tissue. I can't imagine its use on a living being."

Shyd nodded. +It is as the Lord Inquisitor says. At this point, Asemir fell prey to his armor, and Sivter stepped forward to offer me a choice of joining the Cult or to die. It is also at this point that both Lycis and Untai perished in their respective duels. Fortunately, the allied forces had by now arrived on the bridge, allowing us a much-needed distraction. Also, coincidentally, near this moment, Garrett succeeded in destroying the Charon fleet.+ Shyd smiled grimly. +Coincidences abound and Fortune smiled on us. Deciding that our mission was now irrelevant, I used the ensuing chaos to disable Asemir's armor and retrieve Untai and Lycis' equipment, and retreated from the Edict. I was unable to recover their bodies.+

Vir'kar gently patted Shyd's hand. "I am sorry for your loss."

+Death is not unknown to our kind, but thank you, Admiral.+ The Forgotten shrugged. +That concludes my report.+

"Thank you, Lady Shyd. This certainly gives us a better understanding of the events that transpired." Rav'nor nodded sagely. "Do you know how Doctor Granth managed to destroy the Charon fleet?"

Shyd shook her head. +I do not, Lord Inquisitor, but you will have the opportunity to ask him in person. I made contact with the doctor soon after evacuating the Edict and he will join us here. I passed to him the proper coordinates.+

"Oh?" Rav'nor said, arching an eyebrow. "Unexpected, but nonetheless splendid." He paused as the intercom beeped.

"Lord Inquisitor, Admiral, we have an unidentified shuttle approaching the Fleet. The pilot requests and audience with an 'Asemir'. He identifies himself as Velok and also possesses some outdated but valid codes."

Rav'nor watched Shyd warily. "Do you know this Velok?"

She shook her head. +Neg, I do not, but Asemir spoke quite positively of him. I suggest you grant him passage.+

"Very well," Rav'nor said while standing. "Bridge, prepare a room for Velok and Doctor Granth, whenever he shows up." He turned to Shyd. "You better get some rest while you can, Lady Shyd. With this Velok and Grant, I suspect we'll see action very soon."

+Thank you,+ Shyd said. She bowed to the admiral and Lord Inquisitor before leaving the briefing room.
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Pryde »

After Kalja had left Caitlyn glanced at Akain. She opened her mouth to say something but then snapped it back shut again. "What's wrong," Akain asked, a look of concern in his eyes.

Caitlyn shifted uneasily from one foot to the other. "I'm sorry," she said finally, "If I hadn't pushed you away none of this would have happened."

"Caitlyn," Akain tried to say but she interrupted him.

"No, listen to me," she said, "from now on I'm not going to push you away anymore. I'm going totell you everything, no more secrets."
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by xfiend1013 »

"The Ark of Woe" Garrett said, with a half-sweep of his one arm. They were standing in front of the forward observation windows, huge transparisteel slabs that were about four meters high.

He felt a little exposed, but the Moff's ship had some decent shielding and he kept having to remind himself that transparisteel was even stronger than some of the stuff the hull was made out of.

"It looks like it belongs in a museum." Garrett said after a moment. He remembered what the others had told him about it.

"It kinda is a museum."

***

About an hour later he was sitting there, frazzled and wanting to sleep and sucking down the heavily caffeinated 'yerb' beverage that was the Xedadel equivalent of caf, if you'd made caf with grass clippings and sticks.

"No, no, no. Look. I *told* you. I don't have the data. The data was onboard my ship. There was a backup copy, sort of, but it was onboard the Nullpoint Station that the Mon Cal built to stabilize the Dac system, and it got wiped out by a solar flare."

"Why then do you think that Sivter anticipated your actions?" Rav'nor asked. Garrett had heard him referred to as 'Lord Inquisitor' which didn't really do much for the flavor of the meeting.

"Frack if I know. Maybe he just changed the codes on a schedule. Maybe he put one and one and one and one together and somehow spotted me and knew what I was up to."

"Our reports indicate that you began your attempt to manipulate the black hole before you had any indication that our agents had failed." Vir'kar said. He'd been trying to smooth out the situation but was under the distinct disadvantage of being an Admiral and used to having things go his way.

"Yeah, well, I had to get all those pieces in place before the Cult took over the system." Garrett said. "Plus, I had the Red Viper hissing down my neck to try and stop them, so I made some busy-work to keep him satisfied."

"Do your 'make-work' activities normally result in the destruction of multi-trillion-credit astro-engineering projects?" Vir'kar could apparently not help himself.

Garrett shrugged, an unbalanced move with one arm. "You'd be surprised."

"And why did you not simply go forward with this plan rather than risk the lives of everyone in the galaxy waiting on our teams? Many of whom perished onboard that ship?"

"There was a chance I could win without murdering millions of Charon, and there was a chance that simply doing what I did would cause everything in the Dac system to die in a gamma ray burst." Garrett said.

Rav'nor held up his hand to change the subject.

"And what about this code?" Rav'nor asked. He'd been interested in that one for sure.

"Codes. They unlock a lot of shavvit." Garrett said. "I'm distributing copies discreetly. You've got one already through Asemir. The New Republic is being given a set via Isis and Clara Sinclair. The Jedi Order is being given a set via Kalja Leidas. Veloks' organization will be given a set momentarily. And my life-long nemeses in the Galactic Empire are being given a set via Delth Ardin, who possesses a valuable data stick that, hopefully, wasn't fried in space. Now, what's funny here is that I didn't give everyone all the codes, and some of the are wrong. Bait. Some are redundant. Some are missing. Some are flagged."

"Why?" Vir'kar asked, standing suddenly. Rav'nor the spy-master only smiled. "Do you think you're going to get further co-operation out of us like this? We've got everyone of import in the galaxy out there, chomping at the bit!"

"Work together?" Garrett started to laugh. "Ah frack no. Learn a bit of spycraft, Admiral. I'm doing this so that we can identify our little intelligence leaks. I'll know who's handing it over to the Cult within a week."

"The engineers want to speak with him before Velok arrives, Admiral." Rav'nor said. The two stood and exchanged some sort of military salute-acknowledgement-of-rank ritual.

"This is gonna be fun." Garrett sighed.

***
[Hours Later]

"Alright so, now, after that refresher, you're all familiar with spaces that contain realspace and hyperspatial dimensions? And how that applies to high-energy particle decay?" Garrett asked, chugging down more of the yerb and enjoying a glass of wine that someone who'd read his files had provided.

The engineers and physicists, some of the more brilliant men in that technologically-advanced section of the galaxy, sighed and nodded.

"Simply construct the same system in an N+1 matrix. Okay, by 'simple' I mean 'fiendishly difficult' and oh yeah, before that, apply the transformative factor for Otherspace transition that we discussed in the first hour. You can see, then, that by making the physical constraints of the dimensional manifold be made out of Otherspatial materials and having the primary physical dimensions be located here in realspace, a repulsive field occurs in a heretofore unrealized N-space. This connecting spatial dimension will exist for all objects that have these properties."

"So all the Otherdrives had, at their core, a space that was shared amongst them all?" One of the less-tired particle physicsist asked. The metamaterials guys were too busy worrying about who was going to win Galactic Institute Prizes for the materials science that had been pouring out of the small samples of Otherspace material.

"Yeah. Generated by the unique interactions of these three spaces - hyperspace, otherspace, realspace. A repulsive scalar field... Ah, we already covered that, right, sorry." Garrett said at a particularly miffed mathematician.

"So the solar flare?"

"Ah yes, the solar flare. Focused originally by the Nullpoint station shield system, then sent through a hyperspace tunnel. I needed a way to accelerate it, focus it farther, and then inject it into this otherspace matrix with enough energy to overcome the substantial repulsive field it generates."

"According to your... rather colorful outline, the rapid accumulation of solar mass around the rotating core of the black hole generated a frame-shift in which the ejecta was accelerated at a speed close to c." A particularly attractive Ingr'nysk female remarked, looking at her datapad.

Garrett leaned towards her on his arm. "Why yes. Yes it was. A.. delightful little touch. It's what I'm best at, those delightful little touches."

She coughed, and he leaned back. "From there, the only matter at hand was rerouting the hyperspace gate so that, rather than allowing access to Hyperspace, it allowed access to the shared dimensional matrix of the Otherdrives. The superheated blazar matter goes flying in, the EM generator on my ship extended our shields out to allow a momentary funnel and send a significant quantity of superaccelerated plasma into the gate, and then it obliterated every single Otherdrive in the galaxy."

"Except for Sivters, according to our intel." The woman said.

"Well, minus one." Garrett admitted. "Likely, Sivter set his Otherdrive to a different control matrix, or disengaged it at the last moment. Crafty little bastard."

An official came to the door. "Doctor Granth, looks like we're going to have to cut this a little short. Other people want to see you."
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by VagueDurin »

They grounded in the middle of a park, or what was left of a park. The trees and statues and fountains had all been reduced to rubble by the fighting. It was secure, though, and that was what mattered. Republic soldiers and technicians sprinted forwards to greet and resupply the Final Shot.

In the bustle that followed the Final Shot's landing, it wasn't difficult at all for Nova and Tsivoin to slip out of the ship unnoticed and move carefully away from the prying eyes of the Republic Forces gathered in the safe zone. Nova was fatigued, and severely at that, but she managed to help Tsivoin move across the rubble covered terrain until they found a resting spot amidst the ruins of a once great statue. Nova settled into a meditative stance next to Tsiv's supine form and began to walk him through instructions for force healing... They both needed plenty.
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Pryde »

Force healing was never Nova's strong suit but nevertheless she tried it anyway if only to see the extent of Tsivoin's injuries. Truth be told the crystal inside his chest had her worried and if half of what Sivter had said was true then whatever happened to him was her responsibility. She cracked open her eyes a bit, just enough to see out of the corner of her vision.

I'm so sorry, Tsiv, she thought to herself. She had never meant for anyone else to get hurt for the sake of her own personal vendetta, least of all Tsiv. They had meditated for a short while until Nova was convinced she could do no more. She carefully got to get feet and helped Tsivoin do the same.

"We should get you to a medical droid," she told him, "there isn't anything more I can do for you here."
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by corsos »

Am I dead?

Delth wondered as his mind raced through all the days of his life, from the most mundane to the most dramatic. From his joys to his greatest pains, he saw and felt everything he had experienced. It wasn't boring, if nothing else. He watched as the ship that was once known as the Cleansing crashed into the surface of Chil'a'Chin. and then his battle with GAIT within the force itself.

Before long he was on Chandrila fighting Vok, and protecting Kalja as she reclaimed her connection to the force. Moments later he was witnessing the massacre at Alsakan, and then Corellia where the Charon continued their rampage. But for some reason, it didn't stop there, even as it slowed.

He was at Arcanix, with Kalja as they fought through Sivter minions, dispatching his followers by the dozen, an army of their comrades behind them. Death was everywhere, and while he felt nothing... for Kalja it was different, she wasn't used to such savage violence and death. He could almost feel it poisoning her soul, making it darker.

More like mine.

In a flash of light they were before Sivter, battling the Dark Lord of the Sith. They fought together, as one, sending their enemy reeling across the room. Words were being spoken but Delth couldn't hear them, muddled by an uncertain future. As every moment passed the room became darker, caked in shadow and seeing anything became difficult.

That was when he saw so many things happen at once.

He was at the funeral of his wife and two children, unborn, and taken away from him. No one was there but him, a war torn and decimated planet all around.

Kalja stood across from him, holding a magenta lightsaber, her once beautiful face manged by scars and machines... nothing but hate in her eyes for the man she once loved.

He looked down at his two young children in a crib, crying for their mother, who lay slain on the floor. By who's hand, it was not clear.

He felt pain as a lightsaber pierced his chest and he looked up, only to see Kalja, in all her beauty, looking down at him with sad eyes.

The scene of Imperial Center... a view only possible from the Emperor's former home. Delth turned to find the familiar red cloaked royal guards flanking him.

And finally... he was holding the hand of Kalja as she screamed in pain, bringing into this world their two beautiful children... and it was beautiful.

Delth... Delth...

He opened his eyes, and immediately felt the immediate sensation of being suspended in bacta. Outside the tank stood Admiral Gregory Dreskul.

"You should be fine, Delth. Docs say radiation levels are normal, and your wounds are healed. And with no time to waste. Reng Kasr has invited the leaders from every faction to his flagship. It's about Sivter's base. We leave in fifteen. Meet me in the hangar."

* * *

As Delth got dressed and made his way to the hangar, he played through what he saw in his head. He had seen the future, of that there was no doubt. Jedi and Sith were known to be able to see into the future and glimpse past fate's curtain, but it was nothing he was ever able to do.

Except when the force was with me when I fought GAIT.

It made him feel uncomfortable. His life had always been simple. Locate the enemy, and destroy him... but if his visions were to be believed, even if they destroyed Sivter it didn't mean everything would be fine. The things he saw, many of them were simply unfathomable. How could he possibly try to prevent something that he didn't even believe was plausible? The only thing to do was to never leave Kalja's side while they fought Sivter... it was the only way.

When he got the hangar, Dreskul was waiting for him. THey quickly boarded the shuttle, where Grand Admiral Thrawn was waiting for them. They sat across from him as the shuttle's ramp closed and it took off.

"I understand, from the Admiral's report, that you had a hand in destroying the Charon?" Thrawn asked.

"Granth did the heavy work. I just made sure he stayed alive long enough to pull it off."

"All indications are he did not survive." Thrawn said.

Delth smiled. "Trust me. He survived. Granth isn't the go out in a selfless blaze of glory type."

"Good work Commander." Thrawn said.

"It wouldn't have happened without Admiral Dreskul's help."

"His contribution has been noted." Thrawn said, giving away nothing.

Delth asked. "The fleet?"

"Serious losses, but nothing the Galactic Empire cannot survive."

"You've come here with no guards?" Delth said.

"No." Came a familiar voice, as Deuce, Sik and Omar stepped out of the shadows at the front of the shuttle.

"You made it." Delth smiled.

"Not all of us." Sik pointed out.

"I'm sorry." Delth said. "He was a good soldier."

"He was." Deuce agreed. "But because of him we got away with this." He held up a small datacard. "We think it has something to do with Arcanix."

"We're arriving." The pilot's voice came over the intercom.

Delth looked outside as the familiar white wings of a Ghost Squadron TIE Defender flew off of escort formation. No one made him feel safer when he was in deep space.

ooc you can consider this the Imperial faction arriving Hal...
"The goal of war is not to die for your country, it's to make the other bastard die for his." General George S. Patton

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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Beorht »

OOC/ Sorry all...busy busy busy busy busy busy...wrote half of this a while back...yeah.

IC/ Ashin nodded to Kalja. "I'll tell Velok's people and the Dark Council. Some of them will be flattered. Others will be less impressed, but nearly all will go along with it, and I'll take care of the exceptions." Moth wouldn't go along with it. Maybe not even Feak. She'd defeated the former, but the latter was a Croke, and if you value your continued existence you don't screw with a Croke. "You should know, however, that the Centrality is unlikely to pose a problem as far as the Jedi are concerned. If you ever have to fight against Centrality forces, it will be because we all owe allegiance to the Sith Empire as a whole, and Empress Sirena. She's far from an absolute ruler, but if the entirety of the Sith Empire does something, the Centrality must go along with it and find an angle to benefit from it. Either that, or our worlds - possibly the most just and peaceful in the Sith Empire - go to her, or people like Rolf Valkner, Darius Malakai and Darth Kabal.

"The technique..." Ashin found herself smiling. "After I ran from the Cult, I hid on a planet called Trevel'ka in the Unknown Regions. It has something like twenty billion people and about half of them live in abject poverty. I'd lived there before, trying to help and so forth. Plenty of room for a Jedi, but when I came back, I only had the Dark Side. I sensed something, and tracked down the source. There's an obscure alien sect called the Jukre, the star-sailors. They're fairly inscrutable, but they travel on these solar sails and follow what they call Jukreshna, the Music. They're fervent pacifists, often persecuted. One of their oldest sages lives in the slums of Trevel'ka, and he can do more than just sense the underlying patterns and harmonies of the universe: he can tune them, bring them into greater harmony according to some external idea of What Should Be. It makes everything come together in a harmonic way, which varies by circumstance. You need to be careful - Sivter's victory would have been harmonic in its way, and could have been pulled out of the dissonance we felt today. In a sense, then, it's like what the Nightsisters call Heartshadow. The harmonies told me that supporting instrumentation was called for somewhere, and I went to find it - that's how I found Granth and the Tzohar. It has parallels in the Jedi skillset, but it lends itself better to megalomania." She smirked. "Makes you feel like an orchestra conductor sometimes. The rest of the time you're just along for the ride. I can teach you, or I can tell you where to find Hagron. He'd be honoured. He's the one who first told me that being a Darksider and being myself weren't mutually exclusive, that I could still harmonize as a Darksider...he's the one who harmonized me.

"Xedael commandos, eh? Not something I know much about...I've met very few Xedael. Rach Kol-Rekali told me a little about the Forgotten. He didn't know much either.

"But I suspect you're right, Granth. In any case..." She tapped her ear, referencing either the Force or the tiny implanted comm. "I'm getting orders from Lord Sarastro to go to Kasr's ship, to help represent the Sith Empire. I'm also getting something from Velok's people. He'll be heading to the Ark of Woe."


Aletheia

Rach turned around and smiled as Ossu came thruogh. "Thanks for this," he said, snacking with one hand and drinking with the other. "I felt kinda dehydrated, and actually I think I needed this to calm my nerves. The more I think about it, the weirder it is.

"How're you doing? We're on our way back to Ossus - do you really think this is a good idea as far as finding your Master goes? Will he come back? And who was that that took him, exactly?" He blinked at the look on her face. "Sorry - I forget you don't have all that much information either. I think Iara owes us a few explanations."




Several hours later, Ashin - rested, healed, wearing her lacquered blue-and-red armour - brought a small Sith Empire courier in towards Reng Kasr's flagship. Sarastro hadn't bothered with words of encouragement. The secretive, self-proclaimed (and largely fraudulent) Dark Lord of the Sith had deputized her to act on his behalf: a member of the Dark Council in her own right, a Sith Lord by title and a soldier by training. So why didn't she feel ready for this?

It was a relief when she passed into the ysalamir bubble. The bubbles amplified each other, creating a larger Force-null zone, and that meant she wouldn't have to worry about other Forcers reading her emotions. She wasn't bad at controlling her face, but then again, based on the little she knew about Kasr's people, she suspected 'not bad' wouldn't quite cut it. And yet it couldn't be helped.

She handed her lightsabre to a Force Trooper as requested. Simple for what it was, the sabre was the one she'd built as a Jedi Knight, not the blocky red-bladed monstrosity she'd carried while pretending to be Darth Ashera. She liked her true sabre and saw no real need to change it in the immediate future.

"Ashin Varanin, Sith Lord, member of the Dark Council of the Sith'ari Centrality; representing that faction of the Sith Empire."



Meanwhile, Velok was already onboard the Ark of Woe...a place of endless wonders and delights. Half mausoleum, half museum, it made every curious fibre of his soul resonate. He stared at everything, assured that his ability to walk back through his own memory would allow him to examine the Ark at his leisure.

He did not, of course, get to see anything important. That would be entirely too perfect. But Inquisitor Rav'nor and company were so very accommodating that he didn't feel slighted in the least.

Right.

Restraining a growl of frustration, the Dark Lord of the Sith walked where he was supposed to walk. He'd caught a few hours' sleep on the way across the system, and now he felt slightly less like the floor of a bantha birthing pen. One of these days he'd have to walk back through his memories and count the Charon he'd killed aboard the Nightfury. Obscurely, he felt a twinge of shame at showing off for Akain Karna. He'd sent out some pretty significant pyrotechnics; not his best work, nor his most arcane and devastating abilities, but close.

And now the living archive wanted to learn something more. Specifically, about the Forgotten. Inquisitor Rav'nor was, not to put too fine a point on it, boring, and the room they'd procured for him was more boring still. Asemir Lor'kora, former Forgotten, former Cultist of Shadow, former employee of None Whatsoever, was unavailable. Some trivia about shaking off the aftermath of a duel with Sivter.

+And so you are Velok+

The voice in his head produced a marked effect on the old Whiphid as Shyd came through the door. His ears perked up, ruffling his dreadlocks; a wide tusked grin split his face. At last. Someone interesting.

"I have that honour. Pleased to meet you, madame...?"

+Shyd. Lady Shyd, technically. Asemir sends his regards+

"Or would, if he were conscious. Tell me - my sources were fuzzy. Did he really go up against Sivter, personally?"

The Forgotten filled him in on what was certainly a sanitized, family-friendly version of a fight that had involved things way outside Velok's level of clearance. She did so uniformly through telepathy, which didn't jive with his limited information on the Forgotten. Perhaps she was simply extraordinary.

Then again, she was clearly that, in several ways. Middle-aged but fighting fit, with a frankly intimidating mind, the lovely Ingr'Nysk engaged the transplanted sensibilities of Darth Kren, who'd been considerably more humanoid than Velok and died at a significantly younger age. The old Whiphid found himself attracted to her in a distant, rather amusing way. He filed that away for future consideration and steadfastly ignored the phenomenon.

+And your purpose in coming here, Lord Velok? Forgive me for taking so long to get to the point+

"Mainly curiosity. About the Xedael, about Granth - who's probably reeducating physicists right now while mainlining ryll kor - and about the secrets locked in the head of Asemir Lor'kora, or Axunari as he called himself while in my employ. I have certain theories and intuitions about your friend Asemir, Lady Shyd. Some of them are rather outlandish. Others, if possible, might provide some manner of loophole in the Cult's hold on his mind. Not to put too fine a point on it, I want Arcanix. I want to go there and kill what needs killing and take the knowledge I can find. I want to fight Sivter toe to toe, or get his Dark Lords to turn on him, or steal his holocrons while Reng Kasr and company turn the planet to glass around me. Asemir is one of my potential vectors for the location of Arcanix, and I want to speak with him as soon as possible."
Last edited by Beorht on Fri Dec 30, 2011 12:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Mir »

OOC: Making a small NR executive decision for this one.

IC:
Pryde2000 wrote:After Kalja had left Caitlyn glanced at Akain. She opened her mouth to say something but then snapped it back shut again. "What's wrong," Akain asked, a look of concern in his eyes.

Caitlyn shifted uneasily from one foot to the other. "I'm sorry," she said finally, "If I hadn't pushed you away none of this would have happened."

"Caitlyn," Akain tried to say but she interrupted him.

"No, listen to me," she said, "from now on I'm not going to push you away anymore. I'm going totell you everything, no more secrets."
Akain smiled then. "Whatever you need to tell me then, I'll all ears." He said. "I've waited a number of years to hear this." He added, with a small frown. "I don't know if I even need to, anymore."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, I mean, I've learned patience and-"

"You already had that." Caitlyn interjected and when he looked at her he saw that she was smiling a little. Her eyes flicked over to Salvatore who had shifted, yawned and had gone back to sleep.

"Yeah, you could say that. I guess what I'm trying to say is that one of the big reasons that I ran because I wasn't ready to be in a proper relationship with someone as complex and multi faceted as you." Akain said. "You're a beautiful woman and I pushed you away because I couldn't deal with the fact that trust takes a long period of time to build and while we'd known each other for a while and had been thrown into a number of...interesting situations, with even more interesting outcomes," he said, reaching up and scratching Sal under the chin, "you weren't ready to tell me everything, no matter how much I wanted you to." Akain said, finishing. "You were right and I was wrong."

"No, I was wrong and you were right." She said.

"I didn't lose my stubbornness." Akain replied with a smirk. "But I will concede that we were both wrong and we were both right." He said. His vision shifted for a few moments, and he felt the connection between them pulse a little. It had always been there, for so long and when he'd returned and when he'd seen her for the first time, it had almost given a shout of joy if it could have been done something like that. Now, as they spoke, he saw it between them as an arc of interconnecting gold beams, forming an oval, with each of them as the two opposite ends. The beams were building in strength and complexity, far more numerous and far sturdier than they had before he left all those, at least to him, years ago. They faded but he knew that they were there, and he knew that she saw them too. "So, what do you need to tell me?" He asked.


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

His sight had returned.

As the last vestiges of the Charon were exterminated, Renato Farani had gained back his sight, at least the sight that he had through the Force. He had maintained his connection to his fiance and so he knew that she had survived the battle. Sona too was alright and the two of them were currently in one of the many field hospitals that made up what was being called Deadman’s Row. Most of the population that hadn’t been evacuated had concentrated in one area and the fighting had been fiercest in this area, for obvious reasons. The Charon had been rampant and the Jedi and the New Republic forces under the command of Isis Sinclair had fought tooth and nail to push them back. Now, everyone was working on the rehabilitation. Sona was taking cues from Tone and was working on healing the injured and wounded. Renato was using his Force Sight to help rescue workers throughout the city to find those trapped by fallen debris.

Something told him that it was going to be a while before Mon Calamari was able to return to it’s pre battle level of prosperity. Damage was widespread, particularly in the capital city. Luckily the New Republic had stopped a lot of the damage from hitting the Senate building itself, which had been converted into the largest refugee location on the planet. As he looked out over the city, Renato kept reminding himself that it could have been worse.


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The Cave was an interesting place.

NRI had had it constructed some time ago in case of something just like what had just taken place in the Dac system. Simply put, it was a place that could be utilized as a proper and secure strategy area for fighting against an enemy of an indeterminate size. It had been built into one of of the cities, far underground. There were a number of different things that had been put into the place in order to make it a staging ground for guerilla warfare. Since it was beneath the waves of Mon Calamari, massive hydroponics systems had been put into. Tidal patterns were harnessed for energy. Storage had been set aside for enough armor and blasters to outfit a decent sized fighting force, and living arrangements had been set up for them as well. Suffice to say, when Korr Treniun had had the place built, he had wished to make sure that everything was thought of. There was currently a meeting of the minds as it were for various members of New Republic Intelligence. The Cave had been locked down since the beginning of the fight with the Charon.

Only Kato and Organa Solo had known what was going on there. That was how it worked. Only the Minister of State and the Chief of State knew of the place, outside of those within the NRI who had a need to know. Outside of the meeting, a man stood, a bit nervous about what was going on. All he knew was that he was waiting for confirmation on whether or not something was going to happen, something that was going to change his life forever.

The doors opened, and a large alien stepped out, a hulking Twi’lek that didn’t look as though he fit the stereotype of someone who worked in intelligence. The two of them looked at each other and then the Twi’lek nodded. “It’s a go.” He said witha small smile.

“It’s a go?” The man asked, in reply.

“Indeed. Do what needs to be done. Go.”


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Mollari was busy with the New Republic space situation. Because of that, and also because he would have been there anyway, Minister of State Roman Kato was headed to the flagship of Reng Kasr. No doubt Treniun was highly interested in the fact that the top intelligence analyst of the Galactic Empire and the top intelligence analyst of the New Republic were in the same system, and so close to each other. If Kato could have gotten good ole Tej Muir to come over, the three men could have plotted the downfall of the entire galaxy. Probably with better efficiency than any Dark Lord of the Sith or whatever the next crackpot would call themselves. That would have been a conversation he would have loved to see. But as it was, Tej's Jedi cousin Derek would have to step in, though Kato doubted that Derek enjoyed the intelligence game as much as Tej did.

With his guards on board the shuttle close by, Kato landed on Kasr's flagship.
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Halomek »

Kasr supervised the arrival of the delegates personally. It wasn’t that his people weren’t competent, but this meeting would likely determine the fate the galaxy. He was taking no chances on anything going wrong. Force Troopers were on standby, each with a ysalamiri nutrient pack strapped to their back. Further protection was provided by Type IV Dark Troopers. Each droid stood three meters tall, outfitted with armor that was able to resist lightsabers and weapons that could level small buildings if necessary. The Type IV’s also had ysalamiri, but unlike the Force Troopers, theirs were housed within the droid itself, protected by its armored shell.

Each delegate was scanned for weapons and Force-sensitivity before being escorted to a debriefing room. All Force-users were also assigned a Force Trooper to stand guard over them for the entire time that they were on his ship. They could protest all they like about the treatment, but he wouldn’t allow anyone to cause trouble. Alliances between enemies were notoriously fickle and there was no telling if someone might try and take advantage of there being so many leaders gathered in one place.

An aide walked up to Kasr after he saw Thrawn and his retinue through. “Sir, we’re receiving a hail from a ship demanding to be included in the meeting even though they don’t represent any faction.”

Kasr grabbed a datapad that the aide handed to him and recognized immediately the distinctive shape of the Final Shot. “I assume the person making demands is Clara Molariou?”

The aide nodded. “Yes, sir. She used to be part of the New Republic Special Forces, but now she’s-”

“I’m familiar with her record,” Kasr interrupted the man. “Allow her and her party to land and attend the meeting. Make sure to emphasize the fact that permission is being given at my discretion and will be revoked at the first sign of either her or her friends causing trouble.”

The aide nodded before walking off. “Of course, sir.”

Although he wasn’t prone to making exceptions, Kasr had to grant that Clara Molariou and those who were traveling with her were a special case. For one reason or another, she and the crew of the Final Shot had been present or involved in almost every major event involving the Cult of Shadow in recent memory. It was possible that they had some information or insight about Sivter and the cult that he lacked.

He also had to admit a certain respect for Clara. By all accounts she wasn’t Force-sensitive, but had been routinely going up against Forcers and surviving. It was such a shame that a person like her would never join Oremin…

***

Kalja could sense the effect of the ysalamiri as soon as she landed her ship. She had sent a message to Akain and Caitlyn to let them know where she was going. While she regretted not being able to pick them up, it seemed clear that this meeting was one that shouldn’t be delayed.

She inhaled sharply as she passed within the influence of the ysalamiri, but otherwise tried to not let it affect her even if it did bring back painful memories. For her, being within range of a ysalamiri felt like she was slowly suffocating, but she was willing to endure anything if Kasr was able to fulfill his promise of bringing an end to Sivter and the Cult of Shadow.

“Is all this really necessary, Reng?” Kalja asked Kasr after handing her lightsaber to a Force Trooper. “Everyone here has already proved their loyalty during the battle. Why so much mistrust?”

If Kasr was annoyed at being addressed by his first name, he didn’t show it. “I don’t take chances with the fate of the galaxy at stake, Master Leidias. The fact that you would makes me wonder once again at the reputed wisdom of the Jedi Order.”

“Perhaps I simply see things in a different light than you do.”

“Without question,” Kasr agreed. “Once the root of the galaxy’s problems stop being linked to Forcers, I might decide to be a little more trusting. Until then, get moving to the debriefing room. We have a lot to cover and little time to do it.”
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Balsa »

As Eisen Rav'nor surrendered his personal firearms to the Force Trooper, he smiled to himself. The strength was seeping from his body, as if he had a slow leak from which his sar'kera slowly escaped. The feeling was familiar, reminding him of the rare, Force-leeching creatures found within Xedael space. The Inquisition maintained a steady stock of these beasts to assist them in their duties hunting renegade Forgotten.

"I am Lord Inquisitor Eisen Rav'nor," he said to the trooper after the security scan was complete. "I am the delegate from the Xedael Empire."

The trooper nodded and beckoned the Xedael representatives to follow. "Welcome aboard, Lord Inquisitor. If you and your guards would follow me this way, the briefing will begin soon."

+++

He awoke with a start. A moment of panic seized him before he realized that the utter blackness he saw was not because he was blind, but because of the heavy bandages covering his face. He tried to reach up to remove the bandages but cringed as his arms and back protested painfully. Every centimeter of skin felt as if it had been pan seared, and his muscles ached terribly. He gritted his teeth, pulled the bandages from his face, and grimaced at the harsh lights.

Blinking several times, Asemir sat up, suppressed a groan, and tugged away the intravenous lines embedded in his arms. He was hungry, his throat was parched, and his head throbbed. It took him a moment to realize where he was, to recognize the sterile scent of The Ark of Woe's medical ward, and it took him a moment more to remember just how he had arrived here. His last memories were of lying crippled on the Edict's bridge, Sivter's cackle echoing in his mind. A glanced at the bedside table confirmed his memories.

He picked up the small holographic sliver. He and Shyd, sitting at a table, both smiling. Asemir sighed and set the photo down. Where was she? he wondered.

The Forgotten reached out with the Force, sensing those around him. The ship crew, the soldiers, even the other inquisitors and Forgotten. He found Shyd's unique signature, some decks below him, sitting beside the Force aura of a certain Whiphid he knew from his time aboard the Concordat. Feth, that had been ages ago, he thought. What is he doing here?

Asemir got up from the bed, forcing his body to comply and burying the pain, aches, and hurts. He took a deep breath, using the Force to bring strength and refreshment to his limbs, before grabbing a spare jumpsuit from the supply locker.

It didn't take him long to reach Velok's guest quarters. Asemir knocked lightly, and the hatch slid open with a muted hiss. Shyd stood immediately, surprise written clearly on her face. +Asemir! Why are you here? You shouldn't be awake!+ Concern uncharacteristically underscored her words.

He gave her a brave smile. "I'm fine." He winced as he embraced her in a hug, a wince born from both pain and the unfamiliarity of such an action. Asemir nodded a greeting towards the Whiphid. "It has been a long time, Velok. What brings you to The Ark of Woe?
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Halomek »

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Once everyone was seated in the debriefing room, Kasr walked in and stood in front of everyone. “I won’t waste time on introductions or pleasantries. Those of you who don’t know who I am may refer to me as Kasr. All you really need to know about me and my organization is that we know more about you than you’d like. However, we want the same thing you do: the elimination of Sivter and his Cult of Shadow.”

“That means finding the location of the reputed headquarters of the Cult of Shadow; the planet known to them as Arcanix. Sivter has gone to great lengths to keep it hidden from non-cult members because he knows that as long as it remains hidden, the Cult of Shadow can never truly be destroyed.” Kasr grinned coldly. “Well, his secret is out. Oremin has found Arcanix and now that the Charon have been removed as a threat, the time to strike is now. I believe Sivter has retreated back to Arcanix to regroup, meaning that if we strike fast and smart, we can put an end to him and his war for good.”
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by corsos »

Delth was not pleased he was given the same treatment as the New Republic, Jedi and the rest of Oremin's foes. He only have up his lightsaber reluctantly, and after giving Kasr a look that was unmistakable. Never the less, he appreciated Kasr's caution, something that was no doubt the reason his organization was able to remain hidden for so long.

He sat next to Thrawn and Dreskul, making the sure with another look that the force trooper should keep his distance. Unlike the other Jedi there, he could handle himself just fine without access to the force. He watched as Kalja walked in and both shared a brief smile before Kasr got down to business.

"We know where it is." Dreskul said. "But do we know what will be waiting for us there? A layout of his fortress, defense fleet, anything?"

"One of our teams downloaded data from the Edict." Delth added. "We submitted it to your slicers upon arrival. Perhaps it contains something useful?"
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Beorht »

Stunned, Ashin leaned back in her chair. She could go to Arcanix...and not alone.

And because they already had the Cult's most significant secret...

"I was forcibly recruited by the Cult some time ago. Sivter's mind twist prevents me from divulging the location of Arcanix and certain other secrets, but since you have much of that information already, it will be my pleasure to give you the general idea of what to expect, who to watch out for, and so forth. I can have a brief report ready inside half an hour."
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Halomek »

“Perhaps I can shorten your prep time by divulging what we already know,” Kasr suggested as he brought up a holographic display of a solar system. “This is system DV-3, scouted out by the Republic Survey Corps around 4,000 years ago when the Galactic Republic began a serious push to explore the galaxy. Like millions of other systems, DV-3 was deemed worthless – classified as having no habitable planets, no appreciable resources to speak of, and no strategic importance – which was why it was given a generic identification number and likely immediately forgotten about once the survey was done. Only the most detailed starcharts even bother to list it and others like it these days.”

“As you’ve all no doubt guessed, this is where Arcanix is located.” Kasr manipulated some controls to zoom into a planet shrouded by orange and reddish clouds. “Specifically it’s the the third planet in the system, known to us as DV36822. According to the Republic scouting report, it’s a highly volcanic planet; so much so that the light from the system’s sun never pierces the cloud cover. The atmosphere is also apparently toxic to most species.”

Kasr zoomed the image back out until he settled on a view that showed a sector map. “Interestingly, DV-3 is located in the Tharin Sector. The fact that the Defel homeworld, Af’El, is located in the Periphery, right near the border of the Tharin Sector, is too much of a coincidence to be an accident. No doubt this is another example of Sivter’s penchant for long-term planning; probably having heard about DV-3 long ago while still living on his homeworld, after which he filed the information away until he could put it to good use.”

Kasr changed the view back to Arcanix. “Whatever he’s done to make Arcanix habitable for his minions, he’s chosen his fortress world well. Aside from the hazards of the planet itself, DV-3 is choked with nebulous gases and the roving remains of proto-planets, making navigation extremely difficult. Furthermore, the stealth probes that Oremin has sent to confirm our source have identified that several of the rocky debris in the system have been modified in some way. Details are scare since the probes are only using passive scanners to avoid detection, but it doesn’t take a great leap in deduction to assume that they are either monitoring devices or traps… or both.”

Kasr placed his hands behind his back. “In short, our arrival at DV-3 won’t go unnoticed and the longer it takes the fleet to get through the system, the longer he has to prepare his defenses or simply flee.” He looked over at Delth. “It’s possible that the data the Empire recovered from the Edict could prove beneficial in bypassing those traps, but time is of the essence. The time to strike is now, while he’s still recovering. If that data can’t be decoded quickly, we may have to worry about it after the mission. Top priority is killing Sivter while we still have a reasonable idea of where he’s hiding. Simply destroying the Cult of Shadow headquarters won’t be enough to stop his war. Sivter is the key to everything.”
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Mir »

Roman spoke then. "I would think between the Empire and the New Republic alone, we'd be able to put together a sizable fleet of interdiction vessels that would allow us to halt all hyperspace travel within the system. Wouldn't that be a wise way to stop him from fleeing? It would take some planning to have them cover all hyperspace vectors, I agree, but it seems that if this is the final strike or what we're planning on being the final strike, that we should attempt to cover a great deal."
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Beorht »

Admiral Dejaa Dite, of the Jade Empire, leaned forward. "What about his Otherdrive? Can that be interdicted, or must we rely on speed?"
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by SmokeMare »

Aletheia

Ossu raised an eyebrow, "The Trandoshan? Hmmph! She's some sort of Sith, but used to be his friend... She claims to be an apprentice of a being whom I can only describe as a darkside god from her descriptions. She says 'The Master' can force-throw planets, time-travel, commit genocide with a thought, destroy stars just by thinking about it, travel to other dimensions... It all sounded rather far fetched..."

Ossu pondered for a moment, trying recall some details about it, then spoke, "Iara seemed to believe her... It all sounded so off-wall I was hardly taking it in... I mean force-throw a planet?! Could it really be possible? The truth is Rach, I think Arice was dead - I don't know if he'll come back, if he does will he be some wierd cyborg? Turned to the Darkside? I don't know.... I hope he comes back... I was starting to like him."
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Red Dragon »

Archer and the Anari Huntress were left unarmed like everyone else, but that ould have never left them fully defenseless. The Anari Huntress's psychic abilities were not of the force in nature, while many of the JEDI and Sith now on the ship were left with out their powers, she would have full use of her own. Also the fact that the long lived Anari had hundreds of years of combat training and experience, she was likely the strongest person on the ship with the force being suppressed. Though this would go unnoticed and hopefully unnecessary as the meeting was to destroy a common enemy and not each other.

Archer remained quite for the most part, hearing what every one had to say and the ideas they were coming up with to deal with assaulting the hostile world and preventing escape. He knew about gravity well generators that prevented hyper space travel, the Systems Alliance had no such technology though the application of it wasn't lost to them. The problem with that idea though was did they really know where all the escape vectors were for the system? Not only that but with roaming proto planets wouldn't those vectors change as they moved?

A few ideas popped up in his mind though. Clasped his hands together on the table in front of him, he waited for a chance to speak. "We may have a way to clear a path for any assault into the system fairly quickly with little to no danger to our ships. Seeing how the system is deemed useless and the fact that he would see us coming the moment we came into the system, it may be one of the best course of actions we could make. A Colony Laser rigged with external power sources can clear debris and screen for traps in a single blast, clearing a path at least a few hundred kilometers." He waited a moment then added, "Also going on the fact that we want not only to destroy the cult's base and kill Sivter with little more loss to our collective forces, why make a direct assault on a useless planet and just shatter it? What would it take to slam one of those roaming Proto planets into DV36822 'Arcanix'? Surly the combined might and technological prowess of our respected factions could pull it off."

What Archer was suggesting was what the Systems Alliance called a "Colony Drop", but with something much larger then even the massive Colonies they make use of as habitats and super weapons. Sivter may have picked a good place to set up shop, but it only worked if the invading forces used conventional tactics to take the planet. But what use is sending ships and troops to their death fighting to destroy a dangerous faction on a useless planet that would only be soon forgotten when the objective was completed. It be a totally different matter if the planet had been like Dac. But it wasn't, its a useless system with useless planets.

"Think about it, not a one of use are going to want to hold or maintain that planet, let alone the system when this is done. Why allow him to kill more of our people and destroy more of our ships? We used one astrological event to send him home with his tail between his legs, might as well use one to finish him off."
"This is the captain. We have a little problem with our entry sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and then... explode."
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Balsa »

"While glassing the planet is certainly an attractive option," Inquisitor Rav'nor said in response to the Systems Alliance representative, "I believe Kasr, along with everyone here, would rest easier if we knew for sure that Sivter was killed. For that, we need a body, and so any offensive action would have to be personal."
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Halomek »

“I'll give two reasons,” Kasr added. “The first, as already mentioned, is we need to confirm Sivter’s death. He’s proven to be slippery enough in the past that I don’t think it’s unreasonable to make it a condition that unless we see his body, we can’t consider him dead. If we destroy the planet and he manages to find a way to escape, he’ll have the perfect cover to lay low while he forms a new plan and then start this all over again.”

“The second is almost as important: the Cult of Shadow has operations spread throughout the galaxy. While Arcanix is the headquarters, there may be other worlds where the cult has a major presence that we don’t know about. Before we destroy anything, we should see if there’s some kind of database on the planet that contains this information. That way we can quickly locate and exterminate the remnants.”

Kasr’s ice blue gaze bored right through Archer. “Normally I would be for your plan, but Sivter is not your typical opponent. Lives mean nothing to him; even those that have sworn their loyalty. He willingly unleashed the Charon on the galaxy. By the same token, he didn’t try to do anything to prevent Dr. Granth from destroying them. He’ll let Arcanix and everyone there be destroyed if he feels it has become a liability.”

“Reng is right,” Kalja spoke up quietly. “Simply destroying Arcanix won’t stop him. We need to make sure he’s killed. Sivter doesn’t quit. He learns and adapts, always coming back stronger and more dangerous than before.” She looked around the table, making sure she had everyone’s attention. “He doesn’t forget anything. If he gets away from this attack, the next time he shows up, it will probably be to get revenge against those that thwarted him. My family was murdered and my homeworld attacked because we dared to stand against him once. He’s targeted me numerous times since then. Trillions have died in this war of his… It could be years or even decades, but don’t think for an instant that any of you are safe from his retaliation if he survives.”

Kasr nodded somberly. “I’ve learned the hard way not to underestimate Sivter. Make no mistake, in his own way he’s as dangerous as GAIT was. Unfortunately I don’t see a way we can feasibly interdict an entire system to keep him from running, especially since we only know the bare minimum about DV-3. Furthermore, we know even less about the otherdrive on the Edict. All of our knowledge is based off the ones taken from downed Charon vessels. Since the Edict wasn’t destroyed by Dr. Granth’s actions, it’s possible that it’s equipped with a different kind of otherdrive – which may not share the limitations of the ones used by the Charon.”

Kasr was thoughtful for a moment before he looked at Ashin and her fellow Sith. “Perhaps what we need is some kind of advance team to keep Sivter occupied until our fleet can arrive and blockade the planet. Surely there are others in the cult that would seek to supplant him. If we can spark some kind of unrest that he’s forced to deal with, it could be just what we need to make this work.”
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Balsa »

"A smaller advanced strike team would work quite well," Rav'nor agreed. "Out of curiosity," and he glanced at Ashin, "how many Cult defectors do we have on our side?"
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Red Dragon »

Archer could understand the "need to know that Sivter was dead" aspect of it all, but he didn't think even a shield tied to a planets core could hold up to several world ending sized asteroids or even a small proto planet. The effects of such large heavenly bodies being forced into Arcanix's orbit alone may be enough to cause the highly volcanic world to destroy everything on the surface by seismic events and violent eruptions. But still a body must be had to be sure.

The talk about an advance team made sense. They would be able to cause unrest, discover more about the facilities on and around the planet/system, and shut down the early warning systems as well as the planetary shields. They may even be able to plant charges to destroy key areas, like any hangers or star ports and weapon emplacements. The armada could enclose the planet with out anyone knowing. "Who would we send to as an advance force? Should we all make an effort to land strike teams with specific missions or hope that only one, mix forces or not, can do it?"
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Halomek »

“Regular teams wouldn’t last long enough by themselves on Arcanix to make a difference, not even my Force Troopers,” Kasr said. “They’d be spotted instantly and either be killed or tortured for information - either scenario would tip Sivter off that we know where he’s hiding and undo just about the only advantage we have. No, Inquisitor Rav’nor is on the right track. For the advance team to have a chance, they should be comprised of former cult members.”

“There are only four that we have available to send: Asemir Lor’kora, Tsivoin Ulderis, Elena Connor – alias ‘Nova’ – and,” Kasr nodded towards Ashin, “Ashin Varanin. All four have proven that they hold no loyalty to Sivter.”

“Four against a planet ain’t very good odds, even if most of it is uninhabited,” Clara spoke up as she looked over to Ashin. “Assuming everyone mentioned agrees to do this at all, what do you think the chances are of the four of you creating a big enough ruckus to keep ol’ Shiver occupied? It seems like he’s got a pretty tight control over his organization.”
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Balsa »

Rav'nor suppressed a grin of pride. "Single handily, Asemir Lor'kora has been able to demolish planetary governments. Our Forgotten are trained specifically to cause widespread chaos and destruction while operating in small units. I have no doubts that he and the others would be able to distract Sivter." The Inquisitor thought for a moment. "I would also like to include Shyd in the advanced team. She is Asemir's partner and her superior computer and mechanical talents may prove of use."
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Beorht »

Rach flinched. "My mother was a cyborg," he said. "Before I was born, she was in a space battle that didn't go so well. The only way they could save her was by changing her, but they changed her body, not her spirit. A spirit can't be changed against its will. Whatever strange things these Sith employ to save Arice, they can't corrupt him without an act of his agency."

*** *** ***

Ashin looked back at Clara. She'd never met the ginger, but any Cultist worth her salt knew the name Final Shot. "The Cult is unified by fear of Sivter, among other things, and there are a few - a very few - who don't need to fear him quite as much as the rest of us did. The key is a man named Teshran Lor, also known as Darth Phasmis. He's a Pau'an, maybe a hundred years old. Former Imperial Inquisition, former Sith Empire, full Sith Master. Apart from Sivter, he's the most powerful member of the Cult of Shadow, but he's not a member of the Inner Circle because Sivter distrusts his self-obsession. He could be persuaded to attempt a coup or some other kind of overt move, with the proper backing." She smiled with an awful lot of tooth. "Asemir Lor'kora and I together would be a start. Neither of us ever got past Dark Knight in the Cult's ranking system, but I'd bet on Lor'kora against most of the Cult's Dark Lords, and I've...improved...since then. Phasmis respects power, and I can also offer him the good will of the Sith Empire, as well as access to certain holocrons. Of course he'll assume I'll double-cross him, but he'll act on the opportunity. Especially because Sivter may be weakened now from generating that storm." She smirked. "A schism in the Cult should be the sort of distraction we need. And it gets better. Your average Cult member spends all his time training and surviving his fellow Cultists. The lure of greater power, honour and responsibility will pull more than just Teshran Lor. Once we all bring the hammer down, I may be able to weaken resistance by making this look like a recruiting trip, which would split the Cult further.

"I also have a message from Velok's organization, a small cluster of powerful Sith separate from the Sith Empire, of which I'm a peripheral member. They're willing to commit to any significant strike against the Cult, and commit in force. Velok is very interested in raiding Arcanix, and is trying to find a way there right now, if I'm not mistaken. If we give him the location of Arcanix at the proper time, he'll certainly join us. Their numbers are low, but they're competent, and their stock in trade is hunting their fellow Darksiders. Velok's audacious enough and thinks he's powerful enough to make an attempt on the Cult's secrets. He believes Sivter has access to at least one holocron, and he'll probably aim for Sivter's inner sanctum in an effort to capture it. He's enough to keep a Dark Lord busy. I doubt he could match Sivter, but he could be another layer of distraction.

"I don't know this Shyd. I'd rather keep the first incursion to former Cultists, people who know the terrain, but if she's Lor'kora's equal then I'm not overly worried."
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by SmokeMare »

Ossu shrugged, "We're both pretty much in the dark Rach... I have no idea what to expect... I have a gut feeling we'll see him again, in some form or other - somehow, I don't know - just a feeling..." She gazed out of the cockpit window and sighed deeply, "Where are we headed now? Back to Ossus?"
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Beorht »

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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Beorht »

Velok sat up a little straighter as Asemir Lor'kora - battered, obviously the worse for wear, but just as obviously functional - rolled his unique Force presence through the door. "Asemir. Or Axunari, as it were. Good to see you on a day when I'm wearing clothing."

"Pardon?" said Shyd.

"When we first met, I was impersonating my own cousin, a rather more average Whiphid. The grunting played havoc with my singing voice, but there you are." His eyes narrowed. "Down to business. I'm interested in pressing our advantage over the Cult. I want Sivter's holocrons, if he has them. I wouldn't mind a crack at Sivter myself. And I think you're the man to ask.

"I've analyzed Rach Kol-Rekali's mind, his memories of your time together. I've walked through them and noticed things he didn't, whether in the physical world or the spiritual. Tiny ebbs and flows he didn't have the education to notice for what they were. I believe, and believe strongly, that you have some kind of double-mind. Whether an actual spirit or an alternate personality or something else entirely, there's more than one person in there. And that means there's a chance your second person, whoever that is, is immune to the mind twist, or able to slither past it with the proper help.

"I want the coordinates of Arcanix, and I believe you can provide them."
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by corsos »

Delth glanced at Kalja before redirecting his attention to Kasr. There was only one thing that mattered, and it was the same thing that mattered when they hunted GAIT - finding him and destroying him. Like GAIT, Sivter would find other ways to disrupt the galaxy. He was far too dangerous to be left alive. And for that, they needed one thing and one thing alone - to give him and Kalja a chance to fight him.

His premonition still plagued his mind, but he felt that once he was there with Kalja that he would know what to do. They would win... and all of this would finally be over. He knew it. But this plan of an insurrection, something didn't sit right.

"A moment." Delth said. "I've seen even the lowest level of cult members tortured for information... but whatever Sivter's conditioning is, they cannot betray him. They die. With that sort of control and power, how can we expect to turn a substantial number of his servants to the point of open rebellion?"
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Re: Mon Calamari: Tidal Wave

Post by Balsa »

"From what Asemir Lor'kora has reported," Rav'nor said, "Cult members only die if they betray the location of Arcanix." The Ingr'Nysk nodded towards Ashin. "I suspect that is the case because simply by being here, Lady Varanin is technically betraying Sivter, yet she is alive and well."
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