A Land Called Home [Eternal Empire Story] (Ask to Join!)

[Athin Vekarr]

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OOC Note:
This is to be one of many chapters that will lead up to the creation of a new faction, The Eternal Empire (you'll probably know it from ToR). This is an introduction to the faction as well as the beginning of its story arc, as I plan on making it a very story heavy faction. If you read through and decide you'd like to have your characters interact with this story then by all means shoot me a message! ​

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man can have anything if he is willing to sacrifice. Athin had his revenge, but only too late did he realize that his revenge demanded much more. His sacrafice was not enough to appease the debt of vengeance. No...vengeance demanded so much more. It thirsts for blood and calls for suffering and once it has started it never stops. One vendetta rides in on the tail of another, one betrayal leads to the slaughter of millions. Now, looking back at it all, Athin found that he owed so much more than he had ever gained.

"What do you mean there isn't enough room? Make room!" The datapad jumped from Athin's hand and hit the loadmaster square in the chest, falling to the deck of the freighter and landing in a pillow of caked over dust.

No sooner had the dust settled then when the loadmaster leapt his own height in distance across the room, landing square in front of Athin. The loadmaster was a Trandoshan, a freakishly large Trandoshan that towered several feet over the modest six-foot Athin.

"Look here, smooth skin" the lizard's breath folded around Athin's head, the stench of raw meat slithering into his nose as the Loadmaster's tongue flicked about the air, "You need us, we don't need you. We'll leave the lot of you here, take your money and call for the Sith to pick you up instead. I saw quite a few lightsabers dangling about."

The alien couldn't grin as a human could, but the fang filled curl of his lips was far more telling, "Right now you save us from having to deal with those check bouncing scum, but you are starting to sound like more trouble than you are worth."

"We paid you to take us all to Zakuul-

"You paid us to take all of those who could fit in one trip. We aren't coming back and if they can't fit on the ships you already have, that is your problem. So, if you want to keep our ships in this little flea fleet of yours, I'd suggest going back to sit on your daddy's knee and leaving me alone."

Atin laid a hand on his blaster, unsnapping the saftey strap when he felt a tug on his elbow. He spun his head around to see an elderly face, aged and dyed tan from years of laboring amongst the people; only a silver beard to help disguise the wrinkles.

"Come along, son. We need these men's ships and no amount of fighting will change the facts. We will find a way." wise, steely eyes glared at Athin before turning to the Trandoshan with a humble smile, "please forgive my son, I'll ensure you get extra payment for the trouble he has caused you."

"Good. Keep your brat away from me from now on, old man." The alien's words stung deep and Athin was about to strike back when he felt an invisible hand crank his jaw closed,

"You have my word." Athin's father said before pushing the twenty-eight year old out of the cargo hold of the ship, using the help of a gust of force energy to throw him along.

His father drug him far out of earshot, away from the mulling crowds of refugees the two had lead far from the worlds of the Jedi and Sith to this heap of barely standing shanties and burning garbage on Nar Shadaa.

Athin tried to protest along the way, but the invisble hand was still locked firmly around his jaw. Once they were safely away from most of the crowd, Athin found himself flying toward the ground; tumbling across the grime and left-over oil before coming to a stop on his back.

"What do you think you were doing? You are endangering these people's lives!" His father's voice was deep and amplified by the force, so much that every word seemed to push Athin further into the muck. Again he tried to speak but the hand was still tight at his mouth "You are acting like a six year old who hasn't gotten his way! Has the military taught you nothing? Did your betrayal teach you nothing!"

Athin threw his hands up, mumbling curses at his father and kicking the streams of black liquid running down the street at his father's feet. His father sighed, flicking his wrist. Athin felt the invisible hand disappear and he immediatly jumped to his feet, grime flying from his black jacket as he flew to a stand. "I'm trying to save these people! What are we supposed to do now? These Trandoshans are the only smugglers willing to take us that far and now they are telling us that they don't have the room? What am I to do, leave half of our survivors to fend for themselves here?"

There was silence from his father who looked upon his son with sad eyes, but there was a warm smile on his lips as he reached our and put two hands on his son's shoulders. "I know you meant well, son. Violence is not always the answer, however. A light touch is needed, thinking. Planning. Deception if necessary. I do not like working with criminals anymore than you, Force knows I was forced to work among many even within the Jedi. We need their help, son and so we must find another way. My friends bring more and more refugees to us by the hour, word has already spread throughout the underground. Imperial and Republic alike will be coming soon enough, with how many countless others displaced by war.

"We will find someone with the ship capacity we need. We won't be leaving anyone behind. Not a soul. But I need you and they need you to be a leader now. If they see you letting the anger get hold of you, they will not follow."

Athin felt the warm of his father's hand as it settled on his neck, a reassuring grip easing his tension. "Go, mingle amongst the crowds and search about the city more. We are bound to find more who will aid our cause, with the promise of credits or not. Destiny is on our side."

Athin's shoulders drop and with them, his gaze. This was why things were as they were now. He let his anger get the best of him and he never learned from his father's patient hand. A heat built in his gut and he wanted to throw himself into the under city. With a great feeling of self-loathing, Athin peeled away from his father's grip and looked back into his eyes. "Yes father, I won't let you down this time."

Again his father smiled and put a hand on his shoulder, "You won't let any of us down."

The words brought a bit of reassurance to Athin, who nodded and began his long walk back into the crowds of refugees and those seeking a life away from the wars. Maybe his father was right. Maybe, somewhere among the sea of faces he was expected to lead, there were those who were destined to build the brighter future he and his father invisioned....

 

[Commander Lusk]

[member="Athin Vekarr"]

"You got him?" Spot said as Lusk's sniper's scope fixed on the Trandoshan loadmaster's chest.

"I got him." Lusk whispered softly.

Lusk and a few clones had hijacked some shipments of spice disposing of them then hiding in their place, they had been tracking a few of the suppliers of a drug trade coming out of Kessel and these guys were contract runners doing a little extra work on the side. Plan was to capture them and make them talk to see who exactly they were working for. So up on the rafters of the hanger Lusk and his sister waited.

Ever since the Mand'alor had taken over and declared war on the Republic the clones had performed an Exodus of mass levels. Most of them settled outside of both Republic and Mandalorian space within the outer rim, leaving the fighting and destruction of innocents to those who would follow the orders of the Sole Ruler.

But at the end of the day the millions of scattered clones were still soldiers, some of them took mercenary jobs, and others like Lusk simply decided to make up for a life time of necessary evils by doing a little good here and there, and that meant putting down some criminal scum.

"Looks like the sick bastards are trafficking people, maybe sell them into slavery." Spot said as they adjusted their range finder.

"Spot." Lusk said calmly.

"Yeah, Lusk?" she answered back.

"Please be quiet." Lusk would then fix the crosshairs on the Trandoshan's leg and pull the trigger.

The soundless verpine sprung forward from their concealed position and struck the man bellow the knee forcing him to yell out in pain and agony. Just the way Lusk intended.

"That's it scales, scream for me." Spot said with a smile.

Upon hearing their comrades scream's a few other criminal types would run up to investigate with blasters in hand.

"Team one, set?" Lusk asked on his comm link.

"Set." An identical voice answered back.

"Team two, set?" he asked again on his comms.

"Set." another female voice chimed in.

"Initiate smash and grab." Lusk ordered.

And just like that the man fired off another three shots and downed the Trandoshan's rescuers before putting a projectile in the lizard's head. Coming out of various spice crates the clones had civilians hit the decks as they came out of the woodwork to put down and capture any criminals aboard the freighter.