Private Domination and Secrets

[Darth Carnifex]

R E M N I C O R E​

Shadows wreath the barren desiccated world, the shadows of distant star destroyers meandering through the upper orbit crisscross the wasted plains. Remnicore is a world like no other, forgotten and abandoned by the galaxy following the ancient wars between the Jedi and the Sith. Its valleys were littered with the discarded debris of a dozen battlefields, the sun-bleached skeletons of long-dead combatants locked forever in violence's embrace. Fortresses, once grand and mighty, were little more than wind-swept hollows with crumbling walls and broken towers. ​

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It was a monument to the fragility of the Sith and the eternal cycle of their conflict with the Jedi.​

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Down in one of these gutted redoubts stood the Dark Lord of the Sith, his grim countenance masked in shadow as the hooded servants moved around him. In their hands were tools and pieces of technology, their calloused fingers working deftly to assemble the machinery that would finally give meaning to these silent ruins. Their eyes, glazed over with white film, were unblinkingly fixated on their chosen tasks, mouths sewn shut with red wire briefly contorting in exertion whenever they hauled a heavy piece of machinery into place.​

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"Your Darkness," breathed another hooded servant at the Dark Lord's side, this one gifted the privilege of speaking, "She has arrived."​

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He stood silent for a moment, his face unchanging as his head subtly tilted to one side as if straining to listen to some distant sound. Then he straightened and answered, "Bring her to me."​

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In the distant sky, the vessel of the Lady of Secrets could be seen breaking through the thick overcast. Two Sith starfighters escorted the ship into the lower atmosphere, breaking off as the Lady's transport came within sight of the Emperor's ruined sanctum. A landing spot had been created by leveling off part of the nearby cliff wall, seared down into a flat expanse large enough for the majority of shuttles and freighters employed by the Sith Empire to land and take off comfortably. It was ringed by red-robed guards, each one carrying an electro-pole in their gloved fists. They made no move to confront the Lady of Secrets as she departed, but she would undoubtedly feel their silent gaze on her back as she traveled into the fortress keep.​

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There she would find the Dark Lord of the Sith, his muscular form draped in elegant Sith finery with the emblem of his house, a crimson eye wreathed in black flames, emblazoned across a cloth tabard which clung tightly to his broad torso. He did not move to face her as she approached and instead looked out over the work being conducted within the fortress.​

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"Lady Raaf," intoned his flat gravely voice, "A pleasure."​

​

Taeli Raaf ​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Darth Carnifex

A non-descript ship emerged from hyperspace, carrying no identifying markings that could associate it with the Sith or Taeli for that matter. It was the same shuttle she used when she went to Corellia to visit her family's memorial, the ship she used when anonymity were needed. A voyage to Remnicore, a lost world of power, dictated such secrecy as well. The Emperor had requested her presence on the ruined world, and one did not dismiss such a summons out of hand, even with the Emperor's current disappearance from the public eye.

Taeli knew the real reason.

As her ship touched down at the designated site near the dilapidated fortress, her thoughts were heavy from her recent confrontation with Spencer Varanin on Borosk. It had been an intense and visceral fight across their mindscapes, and resulted in her claiming a prize that even now she felt the urge to study for a multitude of reasons. The holocron was hidden away on Amaltanna for now, but Taeli was considering taking it even further into isolation to Horizon as even Prazutis had yet to find the station in deep space.

Shaking the thoughts away, she walked down the lowered boarding ramp and joined the escort of red-robed guards that would guide her to the Emperor. Hooded and robed as she was in blacks and dark purples, she looked every inch the elegant Sith sorceress that she was. Black gloves reached up to lower her hood once she had reached the Emperor, bowing at the man.

"My Emperor," she said, straightening. Ears noted the flat tone of his voice. Interesting. "You summoned for me, my Lord."

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Indeed, I did."​

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The Dark Lord of the Sith towered over the younger woman, Taeli's head just coming up to his midsection as they stood face-to-face. He had always retained a great admiration and respect for the Lady of Secrets and had kept her as one of his close confidants throughout the years, sharing with her information that the rest of the Dark Council and Imperial leadership were completely unaware of. She was one of the few who knew the full scope of why the Emperor had withdrawn from the public eye in recent weeks, and where he had been throughout the galaxy and beyond.​

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"The work continues without delay, the insurrection has had no impact on my efforts here on Remnicore and Lothal." The Emperor had spent the majority of his reprieve on Lothal to study the ancient mysteries of the Jedi temple buried there, and to one day find a means to enter the Netherworld of Unbeing.​

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But so far, that means had escaped him.​

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He gestured for her to follow him through the fortress as they talked, passing by more servants setting up various machinery and soldiers moving on designated patrol patterns through the empty windless halls. "The Vergence Scatter still eludes me, old friend, but I can feel that we are getting closer with each passing day. The Despoiler is continuing the work in Forn, it appears to be going well by what he shows me." They approached a room once inhabited by piled debris, which had since been cleared and cleaned and outfitted with various machinery. "And not long ago I gifted the Valkyrie Vaylin with immortality, she has become another of my Hands..."​

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The Emperor paused for a moment, mulling over another thought which came into his mind at the mention of Vaylin. "How has our infiltrator been acclimating herself to her new identity? It is my understanding that she has become entangled with the new Lord Inquisitor." Another thought, one more amusing, "I saw how you dispatched the old Lord Inquisitor and appointed Adriana Fortemps to the role, it was artfully done."​

Taeli Raaf ​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Darth Carnifex

"Understanding the work being done here would be beyond Tavlar and his associates," Taeli remarked, following the Emperor into the fortress. "They see everything in terms of material. Worlds. Men. Supplies. Their Imperial Knights are much the same, worried about aiding their soldiers on the battlefield and fighting in the dirt than in the ethereal."

That did not mean that Voyance and her little cabal of Sith defectors that were trying to lurk in the shadows would not realize the importance of the work being done on Lothal and Remnicore. If they knew about it... they would be rushing to try and stop the Emperor from succeeding in his goals. As for Forn, an entire satellite galaxy that would be both a fallback point for the Emperor and those who followed him closest and a place to build strength was an interesting project but one she was only paying attention to the periphery at the moment.

The World Between Worlds was infinitely more important, but they could discuss more mundane topics until then.

"I recognize the machinery," she said, eyeing the pieces, "Vitiate's designs. I'm sure you made Vaylin understand what she would be giving up and gaining in the process before you put her through it." That would be all she would say about Vaylin becoming a Hand. She was sure the Emperor had not fully explained the "gift" he offered her before she accepted.

"As for our infiltrator..." at this, her lips quirked up in amusement, "I believe her path has been set before her to willingly join the darkness, especially after the actions on Borosk. Allyson Locke will soon fully embrace the path of the Sith, whether it be through her adoration of our new Lord Inquisitor or through her shattered psyche. Her actions have left her with very few friends on the side of the light I believe. It won't be long. I told you my approach would be better, and at the end of it, Jorryn will have learnt an important lesson as well."

It had been a difference in opinion on how to turn someone that had led to a small wager between the Emperor and Taeli. The Emperor believed in a more forceful approach to breaking someone's will, to inflict pain and plant hatred for himself, the galaxy, those who had shunned, and so on within their hearts. Taeli was much more about subtlety, about quietly guiding someone down the path, understanding their minds and their weak points. All it took, sometimes, was a little appreciation, a little piece of advice that seemed innocuous at the time, and it could cause a land slide of the soul.

"Have any of the symbols been found within this fortress?"

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Vaylin only needed to know what was being offered, not what came from it."​

​

Would the Valkyrie have accepted the Emperor's gift even if she had known the full immensity of what she was agreeing to? Perhaps, but the Emperor was not one to leave things to mere chance. She needed to be convinced of the benefits rather than being warned of the consequences. The fact that her love life was in disarray from the attraction Adriana Fortemps was developing towards Allyson Locke further pushed her into the Emperor's clutches created an opportunity that could not be ignored nor disregarded.​

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"In time she will come to bear the power as I have, and she will serve us well."​

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The Dark Lord walked over to a nearby table, a bygone relic from an ancient age that had been reinforced with strips of turadium and decorated with a thin layer of hardened amber for smoothness. On it were several charts and illustrations weight down by small pucks of silver metal, a single glowlamp illuminating the etchings and scribbled notes. Nearby was also an assortment of stone carvings that had been meticulously excavated from other sites across Remnicore and Lothal. Each one bore striking similarities with each other.​

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"Take a look, Taeli." He gently grasped one and passed it to the Lady of Secrets. "The same markings are found across Remnicore and Lothal, though there has been some slight evolution in their script. They all make mention of Mortis... and the Mortis Gods." The Dark Lord and Taeli had traveled to Mortis on what was assumed was a stroke of luck, the Force drawing them there for some reason that neither could fully divine. It had been speculated that it was impossible to travel there of their own volition, they had to be invited in.​

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Unless... They could bridge a path to Mortis on their own and travel there as they wished.​

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"I believe with more knowledge we could open a gate to Mortis, and from there we could discover the secret of the World Between Worlds."​

Taeli Raaf ​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Taeli reserved her judgment on the immortality the Emperor had given to Vaylin, that he had gained himself. The method was outdated in her opinion, too flawed. It might obtain results, but... the costs were too high. Following the Emperor over to the table, she did smile as she looked upon the artwork and scrolls faithfully recreated and brought here for the Emperor's study.

The Mortis Gods, in all their glory and power, were the pinnacle of beings that could wield the Force. The Father, the Son, and the Daughter... each holding allegiance to one facet of the cosmic power. The one not pictured, the being that represented uncontrolled chaos and destruction... the Servant then the Mother then finally known as Abeloth.

"Opening a gateway to Mortis at our command would not be easy," she muttered, accepting the etching from Kaine. It was a flowing script that one would say would be impossible to decipher. An image of a Loth-wolf gazed up at her from beneath the images of the Ones. The canines were rumored to be connected to the World Between Worlds in some way. Guardians or perhaps guides created by the Ones to navigate time and space, to protect it from total imbalance. It would not surprise her if the Throne of Balance was also guarded by the beings.

"I suspect we might invite retaliation, perhaps immediate, from the guardians," she said, pointing at the wolf. "Forcing it open without fully understanding the puzzle might invite calamity."

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Like at Asation?"​

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During the Sith Empire's punitive campaign against the Gree Enclave for harboring elements of the Rebel Alliance, the Emperor, Prazutis, and Taeli had traveled to Asation to experiment on the Gree hypergate located there. While under assault from Rebel forces, they had accelerated their experiments on the gate and forced open a dimensional rift. The resulting fallout forced the Empire to quarantine Asation to this very day, as interdimensional creatures flooded out to cover the world and devour all organic material.​

​

The Emperor thought that even though they had not achieved their goals, it had been a fruitful excursion. He was well aware that Taeli thought differently, but they had long since made peace with their differences in that experiment.​

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"I agree, we will have to move with the utmost caution. We cannot afford to let haste force our hands this time, fortunately our efforts will be masked in seclusion while all eyes are drawn towards the war front. I suppose we owe Tavlar some order of thanks for his insurgency."​

Taeli Raaf ​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Darth Carnifex

"Caution would be advisable, yes," she replied, eyes focusing onto the image of the wolf again. Her eyes shifted to another image, one of a wolf blowing its head before figures that were simple in appearance. Not the Ones, but early Force users perhaps? But why bow its head?

"Even flush with his treason, Tavlar still serves our interests in the end," she agreed. Brow furrowed, she reached for another scroll and rolled it out to look at the art on it. "Dubrillion is seeing heavy fighting. It is possible that Tavlar and his forces make a mad rush to Bastion before their supply lines close from our assault on Borosk."

Fingers lightly traced the patterns on the scroll in front of her, stopping at something the foot of the wolf. Some sort of stone... why did that sound familiar to her...

"What do you make of this, my Lord?" she asked, handing him the ancient pictograph.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Let the war dogs gnash their teeth, it makes little difference to me what territory they accrue. Their dead will serve us in the end." When this conflict had been in its infancy, the Dark Lord had summoned a council of his closest confidants and allies on Bastion to discuss their next course of action. One of those decisions had been for Voracitos to prepare the Netherworld for the influx of so many fresh souls when the killing began, and he had done so with devilish glee. Every soul that was killed on the battlefields of Muunilinst, Mygeeto, Jaemus, Dubrillion, Borosk, and Troska were fed directly into the maw that was Voracitos. The Nether-God swelled with every new death inflicted on either side, his gullet swelling with Imperials and Sith alike.​

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The Emperor then took the scroll and unfurled it, eyes sweeping over the art which had been painstakingly replicated for their study. ​

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"Interesting, the wolves show deference to these simple creatures. Quite the curious juxtaposition." He ran a thumb over the simple beings, "Perhaps they had earned the Guardian's favor, or perhaps they had learned how to harness the power to control them." He returned the scroll back to Taeli, "This will be of priority to learn, if we can replicate whatever it was they had used to subdue the Guardians then our task will be that much easier. Perhaps it has something to do with tablet set at the Guardian's feet..." The Emperor rubbed his chin in thought, his mind buzzing with all of the disparate riddles that seemed to compound on one another the more and more they delved into this mystery. Understanding one aspect seemed to spawn a multitude of others that were even more complex.​

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"We will need more data..." A thought then crept into his mind, something that he had been informed of by his spies across the galaxy. "My agents tell me that Coren Starchaser is moving around the galaxy, whispers that he's following the Skywalker legacy from place to place. Perhaps what he has discovered will fill in these missing pieces."​

Taeli Raaf ​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Darth Carnifex

"If there is any Jedi that would not know what he is looking for or found, it would be Coren," Taeli scoffed. "Great warrior he might be, he's rather lost when it comes to more... indirect mysteries. You could probably call it stubbornness."

She recalled telling him, before Operation Eclipse occurred, that he needed to train his Sentinels to fight a new type of war against the Sith. He hadn't listened then, and the result had been the utter devastation and collapse of everything he had held close. The Alliance, the New Jedi Order, his home... he had lost everything because he could not adapt to what the real war was going to be.

"But... there may be another opportunity," she continued, tapping her fingers in thought on the table. "Capturing him, quietly, could mean we could use his access to the Jedi Academy Network to plunder for the knowledge we seek. Or..." an idea formed, "we subtly steer Miss Locke to do it. Her SIS file indicated a prodigious ability with mechu deru, a true savant that was wasted by the Jedi. Never allowed to let her talents flourish. Such a pity."

Another gentle nudge, a kind word or two, and most importantly of all, teaching the spy that she needed to give herself permission to use her extraordinary gifts. Regardless, looking at the pictograph, Taeli was certain that the figures shown hadn't subdued the Guardian. They had earned their favor or thanks, for whatever the wolves were leaving behind had to be a gift of some sort. A key to greater mysteries, to the Cosmic Force itself perhaps. It would be one explanation for how some races, such as the Zeffo or Rakata, became so powerful and why their artifacts still held such potency even to this day.

"Speaking of guardians, however, how do you find your new one?" she asked, referring to the Titjir she had grown for the Emperor. A colossus of a Sithspawn, one to prove particularly troublesome to those that might disturb the work here.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"I would call it ignorance."​

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Though the Dark Lord of the Sith had some measure of respect for Coren Starchaser, he ultimately thought very little of the Jedi as anything other than an obstacle that was to be overcome to achieve his goals. It would work in the Sith's favor if the Jedi Master remained unaware of the true importance of what he had uncovered, and better yet if he did not become cognizant of what the Dark Lord and his companions were doing on Remnicore. Thusly, the Dark Lord agreed with Taeli that they needed to move about this operation quietly if they wanted to remain undetected.​

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" Allyson Locke may yet prove useful to us in this endeavor, but she is headstrong and willful. You are right in that we must steer her subtly, perhaps we can use the Lord Inquisitor to move two pieces at once. I will entreat Ophidia to lend some of her assassins to our aid as well, they will prove invaluable." ​

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Even as they spoke, the gargantuan silhouette of the Titjir iw ri Tutzari could be seen lumbering in the distance, eternally vigilant for the enemies of the Dark Side. "The beast is of superior craftsmanship, Taeli, though I imagine you knew that." The Emperor often lauded praise on the Lady of Secrets for her exceptional mastery of Alchemy, her creations have never failed him in the past nor did he imagine that they would in the future. A brief silence dragged on as the pair looked off towards the distance at the giant Sithspawn moving about the rugged terrain, the Emperor's mind slowly being drawn down to what had been recently unearthed beneath their feet a few days prior.​

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He then turned his gaze back towards Taeli, "There is something I must show you, we uncovered a subterranean chamber beneath the fortress during excavation." He turned and beckoned for her to follow him as he led her deeper into the fortress, eventually reaching a recent dig site that terminated in a sinkhole near the site's basin. Levitating down with the Force, the Emperor led Taeli through a steep channel carved into the rock that led to a broken stone door. "The entrance was damaged during digging, but the interior chamber has been perfectly preserved." Leading her inside, he gestured to the dozens of relief carvings that encompassed the entirety of every surface; even the walls and ceiling. They told the story of the world that they now tread upon, and how it came to an end thousands of years ago.​

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"The translations are still incomplete, though several words repeat in sequence across this grand tapestry." He pointed several of them out as he led Taeli around the chamber, "The Sith, the Zeffo, the Mortis Gods..." Then he gestured to the sarcophagus elevated on a large stone platform at the chamber's center, "And a Dark Lord of the Sith that they called Tor Valum. This is his tomb."​

Taeli Raaf ​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Darth Carnifex

The Titjir in the distance remained ever vigilant for its Master in his dark fortress, one of her more impressive works and its life tied to the very foundations of the fortress. As long as the Emperor maintained this place, it would endure for centuries to come. Curious at what the Emperor and his minions had uncovered, she followed him deeper into the sanctum, to a dig site that disappeared down into darkness.

Two Masters of the dark side levitated themselves down the hole, and Taeli allowed the Emperor his grand reveal... and what a reveal it was. Her eyes traveled across the reliefs, noting the images of the Zeffo, of ancient Sith, of the Mortis Gods. She was not familiar with the name of Tor Valum, but the images on the tomb would likely tell his story.

"Fascinating," she murmured, moving to examine the tapestry. "His name does not appear among the records recovered from Korriban and the rest of Sith space. Exiled perhaps?" Her eyes traveled to images she found familiar from her own studies. "Sorzus Syn, Karness Murr, Ajunta Pall... it would appear he was among the original exiles, thousands of years ago. I wonder what prompted him to leave Sith space for this world?"

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"We believe that Tor Valum was born on Remnicore, more degraded mural samples show fragments of his early life." He brought up a holographic scan of those samples now, which had been digitally enhanced and cleaned up to offer a more coherent narrative. "It is unknown if these were carved at Valum's command or if they were made by a third party, so the veracity of what we are studying is dubious. But from what we can gather, Tor Valum was a child prodigy who's potential in the Force drew the attention of the Exiles several years after they had already landed on Korriban. They elevated him as one of their own, quite a privilege."​

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More scans were brought up for Taeli, "The rest chronicle his rise to power as the leader of his people, and how he fully intertwined Remnicore with the Dark Side of the Force." He gestured to several pictographs which revealed saber-wielding warriors fighting other saber-wielding warriors, with various inscriptions that have been partially translated. "If our hypothesis is correct, Tor Valum lived through the Great Hyperspace War. He fought Jedi on Remnicore, but he was overwhelmed." Another picture slide into view, this time of a great hungering shadow descending over Remnicore and swallowing the pictures of the Jedi.​

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Leaving only a picture of Tor Valum himself remaining on a dead world.​

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"We believe he killed this entire world to destroy the Jedi, leaving him as the last survivor. There is nothing else left to discern, nothing that we have found at least." The picture files would be transferred to Taeli's personal comlink for her own viewing, the Emperor moving to lay a single hand on the dust-coated sarcophagus at the center of the room. "Oh, what secrets we could glean from the remains of Tor Valum..."​

Taeli Raaf ​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Darth Carnifex

"Interesting," she said, examining the holograms the Emperor had displayed for her and looking forward to studying the images he had transferred to her own system. She placed the comlink and datapad away in her robes, thinking she really needed to get that prototype device up and running. Carrying two things was always more cumbersome than one.

Gently, Taeli ran a hand along the sarcophagus as well, her fingers gliding over the indentation on the side.

"Obtaining actual Zeffo DNA would unlock many mysteries of the species," she agreed. "But it would appear we need one of the astriums the species created to unlock the tomb itself."

It would make sense that, even being the last survivor on the world, the ancient Zeffo Sith would want to protect his deepest and strongest secrets behind something impenetrable without the key. There were warnings carved into the side around the keyhole that said a Sith curse would activate if they tried to force the lid open.

"Have we dispatched teams to Bogano, Zeffo itself, or Ontotho to search for one?" she asked.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"We have, of course, but there's been no contact with the teams in the past twenty-four standard hours."​

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The moment the Zeffo connection had been made by the xenoarcheologists, the Emperor had demanded that research and retrieval teams be dispatched to worlds that were noted to have a significant presence of Zeffo artifacts and structures. There had been a constant stream of communication and information dispatched between the expeditions and their handlers within the Empire, but one by one they went silent without explanation. Attempts to restore the connection had been met with failure, while new expeditions had yet to be dispatched because of caution in causing a compounding crisis and the loss of more trained professionals and equipment. ​

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"Those worlds pose challenges to even the most veteran of agents, they are untamed and wild. There sit several request forms in my quarters requestion the formation of new expeditions, but I have let them sit unsigned. Only for the reason that I have an idea I would like to pose to you, and you alone." He drew closer now, the nearness between them the matter of a few scant inches rather than the meters that had separated them as they toured the mausoleum.​

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"It is known that Kashyyyk was once touched by the Zeffo culture, it is possible that the answer to our problem lies there. At the heart of the Silver Jedi." Ever since the Silver Jedi reorganized their government and moved secular authority to Commenor, Kashyyyk had remained the spiritual heart of their new Concord. The risk would be mighty, but perhaps not as impossible as once prophesized.​

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"I would lead such an incursion myself, it does not sit well with me to allow others to muddle our work with inadequacies."​

Taeli Raaf ​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Darth Carnifex

"Perhaps my Adepts could be of assistance with the expeditions?" she suggested. Her Order of Shadows were used to working in such conditions and under such anonymity as the work needed to be. It had allowed her research and experimentation to go unnoticed for over a decade, even while she been among the Jedi, and she had skilled teams that could augment the efforts to understand the ruins.

But the point seemed somewhat moot as the Emperor proposed his idea to her. A raid on Kashyyyk to find an astrium, and it was true that Zeffo ruins and culture lurked within the Shadowlands of the Wookiee homeworld. Much like the Rakata, there was something about the natives and the world itself that drew Force sensitives to it. It was one reason, she suspected, the Silver Jedi had established their main temple there after they evacuated from Voss and what was now Sith-controlled territory.

"Forgive me, my Emperor, but such a mission might require a more... subtle approach," she said, amusement crossing her features. She was aware of his past as an Imperial Agent, it was a holodrama in Sith space created by ORDIS and the propaganda division, but it had been many years since then and Kaine was a black hole within the Force. "Up to date on your skills, I assume you are, but you are not as unnoticeable as you were then. Care would need to be taken for such an excursion as the Jedi would need to be kept unaware of our true intentions..."

A thought came to her mind.

"But perhaps... we hide our search within another operation, something more distracting and urgent... something that would allow a small team to insert themselves inside and get out, cover their tracks..." She tapped her chin in thought. "The world is too deep in their space for a large raid to attack, but perhaps we make use of a different force. Trandoshan slavers operating on the Rim, the old enmity revived again."

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Hrm," grunted the Dark Lord.​

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Taeli had a point, it had been decades since the last time he had donned the guise of an Imperial Agent and he had grown more considerably powerful in those interim years. At any length, he did not envision any stealth mission led by his personage would possess a high chance of success. His own thoughts quickly mirrored hers as she spoke of launching a diversionary strike against the Silver Jedi to lure them away from Kashyyyk and allow a secondary team to fulfill the mission in his stead.​

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Using the Trandoshans was a good idea as well, but the Emperor had something... grander in mind.​

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"Trandoshans will serve us well, their enmity against the Silver Jedi and their Wookiee allies is legendary. It will be a simple matter to twist them to our will, but we cannot rely on them alone." He clutched his right fist for emphasis, "We will direct the Trandoshans to strike against under-defending worlds, and then when they dispatch Jedi to bring an end to the threat we will make an example of them. I will draw the Jedi out from Kashyyyk, they will not be able to resist the allure of the Dark Lord's presence on one of their worlds."​

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A dark gleam glinted in his baleful eyes, "And then that is when your adepts will acquire the astrium."​

Taeli Raaf ​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Darth Carnifex

Kaine acting as the distraction in a large scale assault on Silver worlds with the Trandoshans? That would do rather nicely. The Jedi would rush to attempt to capture or kill the Dark Lord and to put an end to marauding slavers in their territory. The new administration on Commenor would take time to dispatch military forces to put an end to the Trandoshans, and everyone would believe it was another Sith raid to acquire resources and bodies for their war machine. The Core Worlds knew the Zambrano reputation for such raids, including the Commenori.

"I'll be meticulous in choosing the team," Taeli replied. "Position assets early. We developed some new artifacts that would assist in the task of slipping into the temple. Once inside, it should be a matter of accessing their archives and locating their vault for recovered antiques."

Soraya's masks would see an expanded role then. She would be rather enthused, Taeli was sure, but then the former actress that was her Paradox Adept for espionage was a master at her craft and liked to be appreciated. A few select Sith and other individuals would need to be chosen, and Taeli was already planning how the raid could be used for other goals.

"We near the final steps, Kaine," she said, dropping the honorifics.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"I would expect nothing less from you, Taeli. You have never disappointed me."​

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The dropping of their respective honorifics might have been startling for some, but it was not as uncommon as one might suspect. Kaine and Taeli had been working together closely for over a decade by this point, having got to know one another intimately as they strove to further their agenda against the Jedi and the Galaxy. Taeli was the closest thing that the Emperor could consider a friend, though it was unlikely that he could even comprehend the full scope of friendship. She was among a privileged few who were allowed to glimpse the Emperor in his solitude, to know his feelings, and to share in his most secretive desires. ​

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"Project Dark Vergence will come to pass, at long last. All of our tribulations will have been vindicated, all of the sacrifices we have made in the name of this purpose. We will seize what is rightfully ours with both hands, and our grip will be unbreakable." He clenched his fist in the air and looked directly into her eyes, "And then we will right the many wrongs inflicted upon us, upon you especially. All will be made as it should be." His grip on the air slackened as his arm slowly fell back to his side, brief cracklings of electricity marking its passage as the air grew heavy with the stench of raw power.​

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"But first we must acquire that astrium, I will leave it to you to plan the retrieval. I will handle the diversion."​

Taeli Raaf ​