Private The Lost World of Kytrand

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

Heading towards: Kytrand

Aboard: Bacta-Works Cruiser (Windu's Hand)

Nathan looked at the Galactic Map since Tython had fallen. A big ugly splotch of territory in the heart of the Core was now owned by the Sith.

And dangerously close to Kytrand.

Their control was not absolute... however they had managed to reach the core, they were still surrounded on all sides.

Nathan had no choice but to start ferrying as many Clones out of the Kytrand System as possible, and depositing their forces in other, navigable parts of the Deep Core, prepping for a massive, full throated attack as the Kytrand Army begin establishing stations to operate from. It had to be done carefully. Secretively.

The Alliance surrounded the Dark Empire. They barely controlled three hexes worth of territory. But they had to be driven back quickly, smashed before they could truly dig in.

Kytrand could still be used in either case, but they would have to be a ton more secretive about it no matter what they did going forward.

Nathan waited aboard Windu's Hand, it's orbit above Coruscant pre-arranged to pick up Elias Edo and whoever else he trusted on the trip.

Aboard this ship were nothing but Bacta-Works employees. He was already ordering skirmish attacks all along the Dark Empire's foothold in Alliance Deep Core space. He was probably the only one doing so at the moment.

Nathan awaited in the hangar of the ancient cruiser, waiting for whatever ship Elias would bring to dock. He was wearing his normal, frayed robes.

He was apprehensive. He knew Edo's trust in him was heavily strained. He had gotten a lot of Jedi out of the temple on Dagobah, lots of vital info out, but revealing he had revived a gigantic Clone Army had pushed that trust to the limit, and only by how Nathan had gone out of his way to save Dagobah Jedi and delay and drive back a massive Droid Assault from the temple using the Clones he had awakened, as well as using the Clones to help evac civilians at Yumfla had counterbalanced it. Barely.

Nathan, however, was determined to prove to maybe his one actual work friend beyond Kinea Lewellyn that he wasn't the Jedi Order's enemy.

So, he had made this arrangement. He would take Edo to Kytrand, and whoever he brought along with him.

In the interest of maybe salving what he could describe on a basic level as a conscience, he had also extended an invite to Valery Noble and Kahlil Noble to take them along for the fun also. (He hadn't described it as anything beyond "Super Secret Lost Fun Hidden Jedi Planet" in a message left for them in the temple, due to both the stress of recent events, long nights and his own sarcasm making what should have been a confession more of an invite)

He was tired. Exhausted. The months and months of running around as a Padawan between Various enclaves as a courier--

(Cutaway of various enemies in New Vegas being blown away by firearms)

--and making sure quality was maintained in his corporation had finally gotten to him. The war against the Sith, the Personal War trying to find The Cult and stamp out their activity.

It had finally begun to get to him, wear him down. His own personal morale raised only by a recent marriage.

Nathan waited, wanting to see who would take him up.



(Special invit to Efret Farr )

 

[Efret Farr]

Location: with Elias Edo , approaching Nathan Bloodscrawl 's meeting point

Since Efret had been troubled over the morality of the creation of luggabeast, it was a foregone conclusion that her feelings regarding cloning were just as dubious. <Clone-person army?> she signed, her brow deeply furrowed. <When this, 21 #BBY?> The history buff in her was showing. It was hard for it not to act reflexively judgmental, though of course she hoped that the long-since past was not going to in one way or another repeat itself.

In time she would develop another reservation as well, once she learned about the extensive bacta operations on the Kytrand's surface, for she had an allergy to the gel. The last thing she wanted to was fall ill on the eve of war. That'd make her even more worthless than if she hadn't returned to Coruscant from the Mid Rim.

Then she uncrinkled her face. <But I glad you ask-me come with.> She smiled at him despite her only realized reservation. Regardless of that one and the one she had yet to come to know, Elias' logic about this place that he had shared with her after the all-Jedi meeting was sound. If they all played their cards right, settling some of the Jedi interested in going into hiding here would be a win-win, even if it was still close to what was now Dark Empire space. Should there ever be a time to test the wisdom of that saying that went "hiding in plain sight", now might be it. <I trust you. Only nervous.>

Outfit + equipment; lapel translation clip (currently switched off); lightsaber (green blade color)

 

[Elias Edo]

​

Tags: Efret Farr | Nathan Bloodscrawl
Location: CORUSCANT

A “colorful range of emotions” couldn’t begin to describe what Elias was feeling as he prepped the Calypso for departure. It was more like the whole damn visible spectrum, and then some; disbelief at the existence of an army of Force-sensitive clones, anger that Nathan Bloodscrawl had awakened them, alone, distrust by the secrecy, and a certain unplaced mixture of guilt and justification, all at once. The same thoughts that hit him on Dagobah flooded his mind now. They’d come so far from those tunnels on Sullust, how could Nathan still be such an enigma? Why did he have to hide? What did he have to hide?

Elias was deep in thought on the whole thing as he loaded crate after crate onto his freighter, stopping every so often to check in with Efret Farr before returning to work. On his last trip up the loading ramp, he looked to her to ask if she was ready.

<Clone-person army? When this, 21 #BBY?>

Elias snorted. He wasn’t sure if she meant to be sarcastic or not, but he took it as a quip and let the humor lighten his mood. <Roger, roger> he answered with a grin, wishing he knew a bit more GBSL - and that his poor impression of a B1 battle droid was as funny to her as he thought it was.

<Glad you come with me,> he attempted with a kind smile. <Ship become… alone?> Elias laughed nervously, rubbing his neck. “Damn, this is harder than I remember.” He gave the crate next to him a triumphant pat.

<Last one. Ready to go?>

The Calypso was stocked with a week’s worth of water, foodstuffs, and all the standard equipment he usually brought with him on expeditions. Even with the few crates of Jedi salvage he rescued from Dagobah still aboard and destined for Bogano, there was ample room for anything of note they might find on Kytrand. All his ship was missing was them.

Spoiler: Calypso Deck Plan

 

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

While Elias Edo and Efret Farr prepared for arrival, Nathan again felt a deepening pit of anxiety at his situation.

So much had changed. He had changed.

Yet he had never seemed farther from his initial goal then now...

He sensed something as he waited for their arrival. Something familiar, yet... foreign...

He blinked and was in a white void.

"You vex me, Father."

Nathan turned, spotted his daughter, Laertia Io , in a white version of biker leathers with gold spikes on the jacket. These days, known by her Cultist name of The Parliament.

"What do you want?"

"I am so curious as to why you believe you can convince them to stay quiet about your massive Clone Army..."

"You've been keeping tabs."

"Of course." she replied.

"I am going to destroy the Cult, and you along with it. Nothing you say will avert this desire in me..." he snapped.

"Time and again The Cult has beaten you. Humiliated you. What makes you think this time will be any different?" she asked.

"Because this time I don't intend to stop until your false goddess is a greasy smear on my fist..." Nathan replied icily. (Let the universe howl in despair, for I have returned: 10,000 XP)

The Parliament looked at him crossly.

"You leave me in an awkward position, Father. Would it truly be too much to let it all stay in the past?"

Nathan looked at her in open horror at her seeming inability to comprehend.

"Do you even understand the depth of your treason?" he asked in a pained hiss. "Your Mother was murdered by that thing. That thing murdered me next. And after all that, of having to feel Lysandra being completely obliterated spiritually, what do you go and do when you grow up? You betray and butcher your fellow Jedi, and then you date the reincarnation of the monster that killed your Mother. Then you marry the beast that murdered my parents."

"Okay, okay, the first two parts of that complaint, I get. I do, honest!" The Parliament chirped. "But that last part...even you can't deny that was a self-own, making sure Elaine would get ambushed. Sure, you couldn't have known, but that doesn't excuse you. Abandon this madness! Without me, what will you have? I'm your only flesh and blood left! The Jedi won't treat you even a tenth as well as I could. What's the Light Side given you that the Darkness can't? The Darkness even raised you from the dead!"

She got in his face.

"You will be a slave to a bunch of dusty old fools in bathrobes. All that you have gained, they shall dash aside and tear asunder. Is that what you truly want? Kissing their ass forever and never doing your own will?"

"I live with Lysandra's pain as she died every single day." Nathan snapped. "You have no idea how awful that is. The sacrifices I would make to be rid of it. To silence it. She loved you and wanted the best for you. And so did I..." he said, fighting back tears. "But for the sheer disloyalty you show her in particular...I shall not relent."

The Parliament's eye twitched.

"Just like a Jedi. Stuck in the past. Only remembering the wrongs done, not seeing the opportunity...it's the same thing I hated about men like Coren Starchaser . " she sneered.

"Your cult murders younglings regularly. Don't you get sanctimonious with me." he replied with cold fury.

"And the Jedi don't? Constantly taking in youth for training, pumping them up with propaganda, and then sending them into some backwater to die in the latest war? Like you would have happily preferred for me? At least my Cult gets to the point quicker." she scoffed.

Nathan eyed her.

"What the hell happened to you to make you so bitter towards them? It can't just be the Bryn'adul. This was building up for a long time, wasn't it? The Bryn'adul was just the final straw."

"What happened to me..." The Parliament snarled. "Is the same thing that will happen to you, if you keep trying to work with the Jedi."

"What is it, Julia? What's the real reason you can't let this feud with the Jedi go?" Nathan pressed. "Is it really conviction? Or just simple wounded pride at this point?"

"I could ask the same of you and your feud with the Cult." she hissed.

"Not an answer." he responded.

"Oh sure, Father, it's easy for you to commit to destroying an evil Cult after they killed your wife! But who punishes your side when all is said and done? Hmm? Who punishes them? No one. No one ever punishes them when they get it wrong. Not really. It's too convenient not to. I'm sick of that." she hissed.

"I used to think my master, The Amalgam, was evil. And then I watched them, really watched as they selfishly threw away a chance to possibly save trillions. If you only heard the pathetic bleatings of Jedi students protesting the idea of team ups, screaming and crying their pathetic little hearts out about how a team up would invalidate their suffering. What's the point in being good? Righteous? If you have to share a space alongside that level of selfishness, just to be called a good person, then I'm glad I've murdered so many of them. They're evil. That's their secret. They're as evil as the Sith are, it's just that they're better at public relations, at saying things fools want to hear. Because it's better than dealing with the ugly truth."

She grabbed him by the collar, and he saw the hate filled madness on her face for Jedi.

"I must bring them low! They must be punished! And if that means helping to destroy this bloated Alliance that they prop up, so they can know what it's like to be a fugitive, so they can finally experience all the destruction they hoped to avoid passing it off to the less fortunate, the ruin they inflicted on the whole Galaxy, shamelessly touting it to be the will of the Force when it was nothing but their own ego telling them what they wanted to hear...then destroy it I shall. Maybe then the lesson will be learned.

"You're sick and delusional." Nathan replied, having heard a rant from her similar to this, albeit with slightly more details and reasoning. But she didn't seem to be lying.

It was the Cult's programming, he realized, fixating her on the reason she rebelled...and yet not triggering her cognitive dissonance. Her hot blooded emotions did the rest.

"Doesn't mean I'm wrong about them..." she retorted.

Nathan blinked and he was back in the hangar, just in time to see the Arrival of the Calypso...

He was badly shaken.

 

[Efret Farr]

Probably much to Elias' relief, Efret laughed aloud. <Funny,> she signed twice, further communicating her amusement at the impression. <#OK, let's-go.>

---

At some point during the short flight from Coruscant's star system to Kytrand's, Efret switched on her translation unit. She assumed that Nathan didn't sign but also that Elias might appreciate the verbal interpretation as well. Communication was a two-way street. If he was willing to engage in her preferred mode every so often, she'd do the same for him.

When the Calypso had received clearance to land, Efret made into way into the cockpit, intending to assist with the procedures. She relied on her astromech droid to navigate her starfighter because her ability to see in space even with Nirrah's help was poor. Still, she knew her way around a navicomputer or a switchboard.

If there was anything to do, and after completing the task, she stood and approached the solarscreen. Against the backdrop of a hanger bay now, it was much easier for her to see. The figure that stood waiting for them would not have caught her attention had she not also felt disturbance trickling out of its energetic field as if beginning to breach a dam. "Is that Nathan?" Efret turned to ask Elias. "Is he alright?" It came out as a question, but it wasn't really one. They both were empathetic—surely Elias was feeling what she was.

Elias Edo Nathan Bloodscrawl​

 

[Elias Edo]

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Tags: Efret Farr | Nathan Bloodscrawl
Location: KYTRAND

‘It’s probably guilt,’ Elias thought bitterly, but he reined in his personal feelings and answered with a more sincere idea.

“This isn’t easy for him,” Elias said with a sigh. It was obvious that the situation wasn’t ideal for him, either. Master Edo was struggling in his own right with Nathan’s predicament. There was so much more at stake than his personal feelings, but with the way things had played out, Elias struggled not to feel jaded. He gave Efret a reassuring smile, even adding sign to prove his genuineness. <Nathan needs friends> he said both aloud and with his hands.

The Calypso’s boarding ramp lowered to reveal the hangar bay of Nathan’s ship. It only took one look at his friend for Elias to see how bad things were. Nathan Bloodscrawl was practically made of durasteel; he’s the one who navigated rockrender tunnels alone, explored a Jedi necropolis solo, didn’t blink an eye at a Drengir infestation on Kenari, and had slaughtered more slavers on Kazarak than most of the League Defense Force combined… to see him visibly shaken? That was hard.

“Nathan…” Elias said, almost asking, unsure of what to say next. He settled on gratitude. “Thank you for sharing the coordinates with me- with us,” he corrected, gesturing to Efret Farr as she approached.

He knew that Nathan wasn’t a touchy-feely person, and comforting words would do little to help his cause; down to business was his usual way. “Tell us,” Elias said, eyeing the man carefully, “how can we help? What do you need us to do?”

​

 

[Nathan Bloodscrawl]

"Nature made me a freak. Man made me a weapon. And God made it last too long."

-- Logan





Nathan, still badly shaken, and for once unable to fully hide it, had his mood brighten only slightly as he saw Elias Edo step off the Calypso along with Efret Farr , someone he wasn't familiar with.

"It's good to see you, Master Edo..." Nathan said, grim faced as they both stepped aboard.

"Welcome aboard Windu's Hand..."

"As for how you can help...it'll be a relatively short trip...if you want to help out on this old hospital ship I'm sure they'd be happy to let you..."

Nathan stepped forward. What he had said to Elias at Dagobah rang out more true than ever. His walk was not the walk of a Padawan, but a weary veteran, who had waded through an ocean of corpses long before he had met Elias.

Yet Elias only knew a small fraction of a fraction of the story. All he knew was that Nathan had been a Jedi Knight--once-- and that he had found this planet and woke up the army. He had no context for how and only some of the why.

"But for the most part it will be a mostly short trip. This Vessel is stealth equipped, so we should be able to reach Kytrand in secret. But let's not stay in this hangar, it's far too drafty for my liking."

Nathan turned and began leading them both through the ancient ship. It was clearly refurbished. Old panels and screws hinted at it's true age. They first made a stop at one of the medbays. Some of the Jedi who were rescued from Dagobah were still in Bacta Tanks, doctors working round the clock to treat them. Others, having lost limbs or gotten burned, were receiving skin grafts of tissue cloned from them, or were receiving cyber prosthetics.

Some of the ten surviving Clone Defense Troopers could be seen in tanks as well, receiving treatment for radiation poisoning they had incurred fighting in the swamps surrounding the temple. It had been a truly terrible battle in that territory. The Clones had been completely outnumbered, yet they had driven back a truly massive droid army armed with radioactive napalm weapons which had killed almost all of them to a man. Ten had survived out of the entire defense teams assigned there.

They had done this with completely outdated equipment, proving once and for all that it wasn't the weapon, it was the wielder that made the difference, and when the wielder wasa Fett Clone, the weapon was just that much more effective than it should have been otherwise.

"Most of them will be cleared for release in another three weeks..." Nathan said, handing Elias a Datapad containing the number of and types of injuries being treated, along with a full headcount of everyone rescued from Dagobah...and a total accounting of the deaths incurred in the swamp, and the severe destruction that had been wrought in the process of the Clones defending the temple to buy time for evacuation.

"That's about everything I can give from my side in terms of final results on Dagobah. The radiation damage the enemy droids inflicted was severe. We cleared out of the temple just before the cloud hit us..." Nathan explained, the pressure he was under making his movements seem stiffer than usual.

"Just try and relax, otherwise. We'll be there soon. I'll be able to explain everything much more thoroughly there..." he said to them both.

One hour later...

The ship had not dared to exit too close to the system, coming out of hyperspace some distance before proceeding towards it in full cloak. Nathan had invited Edo and Farr to the bridge for the moment. He was silent, stoic as ever as he beheld the massive secret he had spent months keeping safe and settling.

Eventually, Kytrand could be seen in the viewports, a blue marble where certain warships could be seen close to orbit as it finally decloaked. Even from here the presence of the light side could be felt...strongly from the planet.

"Don't worry, the warships you see there are friendly..." he said to them quickly. "As to how there are warships..."

He turned to them both. The crew was bound by NDA's so he felt free to say what he said next.

"This ship, as well as some of the ones you see out there, are controlled by Bacta-Works of Epica , who I have a deep association with. The others are controlled by Clan Li-Ves of Atrisia...who I have a deeper association with..."

He looked back the planet.

"The planet is jointly controlled and overseen by these two entities...but the planet itself was discovered, settled, and eventually abandoned by the Bloodscrawl Medical Corporation..."

He blinked. It seemed even saying that last name out loud was enough to get a wince out of him. "This planet...is my family's gift to the Order. It was meant to be, anyway..." he added.

"C'mon, we'll take a shuttle to the surface..."

Nathan headed for the hangar again, still thinking about his telepathic encounter with Laertia...

The Lambda Class Shuttle that waited for them was painted a solid black as he led them aboard, with the energy of a man focused solely on the objective rather than his own emotions. He was silent most of the trip down.

"Brace yourself...the Nexus has a powerful influence on this planet." he told them, once they were settled in and he lifted off.

The powerful planet wide Nexus of Light pressed on all of them as they crossed the threshold into the upper atmosphere to the surface, revealing a lush, temperate world, still largely untouched, with scatted, small settlements in certain areas. He put the shuttle down on an ancient landing site in wide open grasslands, where a pair of Clone Force Commanders waited in their red and white Coruscant Guard-like armor, hands folded behind their backs as Nathan was the first off. He stared at the clones as they saluted him on sight. He saluted back.

(Narrator suffers intense Nosebleeds from the sudden MGS: Peace Walker flashbacks all hitting at once.)

Nathan turned to his guests.

"I swear to you both, I never knew about the Clones before I sought this place out. When I came here, started making arrangements, the planet was meant to be nothing more than a hiding spot and resource for Jedi... that's all it was supposed to be." he insisted.

"They weren't even on the planet. BMC had stored them in stasis aboard old colony ships with their equipment, setting them up to orbit a safe distance from Kytrand's sun." he explained. "It was a scout who found the first of the stations, and a whole bunch of custom Acclamator vessels...

Nathan walked up to one of the Clones.

"Soldier, your designation?"

"FC-791." 791 answered. "Honored to serve as your detail, Mister Bloodscrawl."

"Honored to have you as detail, 791." Nathan replied. "Masters Edo and Farr are accompanying us today."

"We'll guard 'em with our lives, Sir." 791 assured. "A landspeeder is on the way. And, um, Sir? Four-Alarm is gonna be in it."

Nathan's eye twitched, like Inspector Dreyfuss in the Pink Panther films.

"Thank you, 791." he said calmly. "Where do you think a good spot to go to would be?"

"We just brought in a sample of this world's lightsaber crystals created from the local mollusks...nearby settlement specializes in examining them."

"Is that an acceptable first choice for visit to you two?" Nathan asked Edo and Farr.

 

[Efret Farr]

Nathan needs friends.

I think #Nathan need specific friend, Efret thought as she followed Elias down the docking ramp. It was just intuition, but it was also intuition she best keep that thought to herself. Trust wasn't so easily restored. If that's all it took, the galaxy would be a very different place.

"Master Farr," she introduced herself after Nathan greeted Elias. Other than saying that, she only listened to the two of them for the next while. She did have all the context that Elias surely had, but she did her best to follow along with the conversation. Whatever had happened on Dagobah, she didn't want to think about it, so was happy when they left the medbay behind them.

She did, however, put a hand gently on Elias' forearm and offered him a, hopefully, comforting smile.

---

Once they had gotten to the surface of Kytrand, Efret watched on as Nathan interacted with FC-791. She sighed and set her lips into one of her thoughtful expressions. Maybe her assumption about clones coming into this meeting was misguided. Maybe there were special considerations given the situation. If Nathan had really not known...

Their conversation suddenly shifted to include the Jedi masters. "I'm sorry. Did you say mollusks?" She wasn't really asking to clarify; she rarely read lips incorrectly. Instead, she was stuck by disbelief. How did that work? By virtue of her job, she almost needed to find out. She glanced at Elias, unable to hide the small smile on her face. "Yes, I'd like to see that."

Elias Edo Nathan Bloodscrawl​