Axis Powers [ Mando'ade, First Order, Sith Ascendancy ]

[Malok]

J U P I T U S​

O'reen Orbit, Unknown Regions​

Monastery had taught a valuable lesson.

High above the quiet world laid the Jupitus, a warship of extraordinary size and might. Long ago, when the Sith was still young, it had been crafted by ambitious hands. Yet, above all else, it had been crafted by a union of nations: an accord between Confederates and Sith. To the man who now stood upon its Bridge, the Jupitus was a symbol of the power that could be achieved when nations stood together. When nations fought together. Thus had Darth Metus appointed the seat of his Clan's power to act as a meeting ground.

Above the world where the Republic began to crumble.

There was symbolism in everything about the day, from the ship to the very location. O'reen was where the Galactic Republic's crusade came to a swift end. They had become zealous. They had become intoxicated with power and strove to destroy Darkness wherever it laid. Yet, their attempts to push about smaller nations led them to fight with the Fringe Confederation. They were defeated. Their Crusade came to an end. The Zealous Light fell.

So too would their enemies fall.

"Have the preparations been completed? asked the Sith to the Bridge in general.

"Aye sir. The escorts are waiting to receive our guests in the Hangar and they will be brought to Conference Room 03-01."

"Excellent." he replied before turning the ship over to his subordinate. Metus himself departed straightaway, boarding the nearest left that would ferry him to the appropriate floor. As he moved, he recounted the instructions that he provided to his potential allies: to bring only vital personnel to the talks. To him, the only vital personnel of the Mando'ade was the Mand'alor himself...but today, Metus would handle this alone. Monastery had shaken his faith ever so slightly.

And if you wanted something done right, you did it your damn self.

Upon arriving at the Conference room, Metus did not take his seat. However, he did stand before his appointed place at the table. The room was larger than the other conference rooms aboard, providing plenty of elbow room for personal guards that might come along. Refreshments had been laid out, as well as a Droid who would take any requests. Frankly, it was professional. It was standard. And what mattered more than the snacks were the words they would eventually speak.

And the alliance that they would form.

[member="Tirdarius"], [member="Darth Carnifex"], [member="Rolf Amsel"], [member="Natasi Fortan"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

The Unknown Regions
O'reen

Such symbolism was not lost on him.

He'd fought at O'reen, and aided the Fringe Confederacy in driving the Republic back to the Core. It was a satisfying victory, his first since the fall of the Old Empire several months prior. Resentment had burned in his heart like coal for many weeks, festering and brewing until his whole being seemed ready to combust. His Empire had fallen because of bad faith and broken oaths, for in the crucial eleventh hour the Empire had been betrayed from within. Those he had sent to secure its heartland had lapsed in courage and pride, leaving Dromund Kaas to be ravaged by the Mandalorians and its people utterly annihilated by cosmic destruction.

Many things have changed since that humiliation twenty years ago, and the Sith were on the cusp of greatness once again. But such greatness did not come easily, no, nothing ever did. The Sith had to throw themselves back into the crucible and emerge stronger than before, weakness had to be burnt away within their own ranks. The Sith Ascendancy was poised to rise to the challenge, but as much as many within its Circle would believe themselves above receiving aid from others, a true warrior knew when to extend a hand towards others.

A single Upsilon-class Command Shuttle burst into reality above O'reen, its incredibly long wings cutting through the inky void like knives. Ahead was the massive behemoth Jupitus, and the shuttle turned towards it with shields retracted and guns cooled. The Dark Lord knew who had called them to this remote location, and he instilled within him a trust not afforded by many others in the galaxy. It was one between father and son, brother to brother, comrade to comrade. He knew that it would not be broken.

Carnifex sat stoic in the shuttle's hold, meditating on the Dark Side of the Force. Across from him was Lord [member="Tirdarius"], his fellow Sith Lord and confidant, and one of the only men he could trust on such a delicate mission. "Exciting, is it not? The unwritten pages of history bare themselves before us, and we alone hold the quill." Around them were several scribes and historians, all of them unarmed save their cybernetic enhancements that allowed them to record every minute detail of what was about to transpire. It would serve as a record of what the Sith Lord considered to be a monumental event in the history of the galaxy.

[member="Darth Metus"] | [member="Rolf Amsel"] | [member="Natasi Fortan"]​

 

[Natasi Fortan]

A Deliberate-class Diplomatic Shuttle reverted into realspace near O'reen. Natasi Fortan stood in the bridge, rather than in the conference room, because she wanted to greet her old friend [member="Darth Metus"] apart from the rest of the delegation -- in this case, only Clémence Wallace, her private secretary, and the Minister of Security, [member="Dante Calgar"] -- if she had the opportunity. "Open a channel to the Jupitus," Natasi instructed the communications officer. A moment later the channel was connected and the Grand Moff was personally requesting boarding clearance. When they had received their instructions, Natasi turned and exited the bridge, finding her way back to the conference room.

"We'll be landing shortly," she informed them. "Do feel free to speak your minds during this conference. The reason you're here is because I and the Supreme Leader trust your judgment." At this, she cut her eyes to Calgar briefly; the statement was half-true for him. "We cannot afford to alienate potential allies, so I only ask that you remain cordial at all times and avoid offending anyone's delicate sensibilities."

The war was raging, and the Galactic Alliance -- as well as their little friends in the Outer Rim Coalition and the Silver Jedi -- were mounting a significant offensive strategy. The First Order's isolationist policies had meant that as far as allies went, they had not cultivated many relationships of that nature. Not yet. This meeting could provide an opportunity to do just that and Natasi had no intention of wasting it. She examined herself in the mirrored finish of the conference room door before straightening her rank badge and tucking a chestnut tendril back behind her ear. "Shall we?" she asked, gesturing towards the doorway.

[member="Darth Metus"] | [member="Darth Carnifex"] | [member="Tirdarius"] | [member="Dante Calgar"]

 

[Teynara Jeralyr]

The Crestfallen
En-route to O'reen, Unknown Regions

Eyes closed in serene repose in the dim light of the passenger cabin, Tirdarius reflected (and not for the first time) that it was a shockingly vulnerable thing, to be sat aboard a small shuttle heading towards a meeting with persons unknown, absent the formal military escort usually provided to members of the Ascendant Circle. No Star Destroyer, no escort frigates, not even a flanking pair of starfighters. We do not want to send a message of hostility to those that extend the hand of friendship. Such had been the reasoning put before the Circle, but now, as they surged towards a world outside Ascendancy space, the Sith Lord could not help but wonder if such a display might have been more prudent.

[member="Darth Carnifex"] had been the one to talk him into this unusual conference: he had been the one to received the message beamed to his ship in orbit above Bastion, and the one to present the message contained therein to the Circle. The offer of alliance, or at least the discussion of one. That alone had proven sufficiently intriguing to get their attention, but the other details had been interesting: to come with a small party to a set of co-ordinates that Intelligence had pinpointed as being in the O'reen system, a place Tirdarius had not even heard of prior to that. But I trust Krest and Carnifex not to lead us astray in this. If the Warmaster was content with the arrangements, that was enough for him.

Silence had existed between them for much of the voyage, each focused on their own thoughts, gathering their energies and enjoying a moment of rare peace away from the hustle and bustle that came with their duties: to be given time to do little other than think and rest was a priceless commodity. Kaine had never been the type to be particularly effusive in conversation anyway: he was an excellent verbal sparring partner, but he tended towards the more laconic, in a way that the more verbose Sith Lord could appreciate. That the other had broken that silence spoke volumes about his state of mind.

"History has a way of making decisions by itself sometimes," he remarked wryly, opening his eyes and giving them a moment to adjust to the soft light of the cabin, observing the imposing Sith Lord sat across from him. "The presence of others frequently muddies the waters, and there will be much to do before we'll find any semblance of clarity, I imagine."

Despite his cynicism, it was hard not to be caught up in Kaine's enthusiasm: things had progressed well of late, and there was no reason to imagine that the next few days would herald a change in their fortunes. But that's frequently when the Galaxy likes to spit on you, and challenge you to deal with another roadblock. Whether they'd experience such here...well, it remained to be seen.

"We should be coming out of hyperspace soon," Tirdarius added, stormy-grey eyes glancing to the chronometer set into the bulkhead that separated the cockpit from the passenger area. The pilots knew better than to disturb them with regular updates: disturbing a Sith's meditations tended to get a negative response. Soon there would be no choice, however. "Then we shall see what the Force has in store for us."

| [member="Darth Metus"] | [member="Darth Carnifex"] | [member="Natasi Fortan"] | [member="Rolf Amsel"] | [member="Dante Calgar"] |​

 

[Progflaw99]

It was the third time such an undertaking had been attempted - the alliance of governments, though the second since Dante had taken his position as Minister of Security. Much had happened in the few short weeks before and after his appointment, most notably the stalled offensive at Skor. Thoughts of the days following caused an involuntary twitch at the corner of the man's lips. A flash of anger creased the Moff's features for a fraction of a second before being replaced with a suspiciously warm smile. Those days were past - and if nothing else, the message had been sent. Sent and received. No doubt the man's actions on the very Capitol Square had resounded throughout the armed forces of the First Order - if they hadn't known who their Security Minister was before, they did now.

As the Grand Moff shot him a sideways glance it was met with a silent nod. They'd hardly had time to truly know each other, though whether that was due to his own classified history or the sheer amount of rumor surrounding the man with lack of actual documentation. Even so, this would be their second official meeting - interesting that the two hadn't had their typical brief yet, but he supposed that couldn't be helped. The galaxy at large moved fast, and didn't always align how a person thought it should, the timeline ever changing.

As was his custom, his uniform fit tightly, accentuating his trim figure. He may have retired from the First Order's military forces but he maintained his physique almost ritualistically. With a wide grin, he clasped his hands behind himself and strode forward.

" I believe we shall..."​

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[member="Tirdarius"] | [member="Natasi Fortan"] | [member="Darth Metus"] | [member="Darth Carnifex"]​