Private Echoes of Power

[Marlon Sularen]

E C H O E S_O F_P O W E R

DARK EMPIRE
MORLANA ONE, OUTER RIM TERRITORIES

Morlana One. Located within the Free Trade Sector, it had once served as the home of the Preox-Morlana Corporation, one of many Imperial Corporations active during the Reign of Palpatine's Galactic Empire before it's inevitable nationalization after an ambush on Ferrix. In recent decades, the planet had stood untouched by the numerous galactic conflicts that had ravaged the galaxy since the end of the Gulag Plague Era, leaving it as prime real estate for any seeking to leave their mark on the untouched planet. Now in the present day, Marlon Sularen had set his sights on the planet, seeing it as a key location for his future ambitions within the Dark Empire. It would be here that the ambitious Imperial Grand Admiral would begin launching the first step of his grand plan within the Empire, that would see him finally complete his rise to power and secure his place in the galaxy.

When Sularen had first joined the Dark Empire, he had done so with the determination to ensure that it would see success throughout it's upcoming war with the Galactic Alliance and prevent the same mistakes that had been made during the Second Great Hyperspace War from being repeated. In the time between the destruction of Exegol and the formation of the Dark Empire, the Grand Admiral had taken alot of time to reflect on the failures of the Brotherhood of the Maw and the Empire as well as taking some time to examine what had allowed the Galactic Alliance to triumph over both the Maw and the Empire, all in the hopes of developing the right strategies and tactics that would guide the Dark Empire to victory. However even in the early days of the Empire, problems had already begun to manifest with the Trade Federation's growing influence within the Dark Empire and elements of the New Sith Order interfering with the Empire's political process.

In order to address these problems, the Grand Admiral first needed to begin gathering allies both new and old in order to gain the necessary clout and resources to consolidate his own power within the Dark Empire before making his move. Among these allies was Onrai. A Mawite Warlord and Self-proclaimed Godess whom Sularen had associated himself with during the later stages of the Second Great Hyperspace War in the hopes of somehow gathering enough resources and allies in a last-ditch effort to save the Brotherhood of the Maw before it's inevitable collapse. While their plans had never come to fruition with the Alliance striking against Exegol before they could fully gather any force, they had remained in contact all the way until Solipsis's resurrection and the emergence of his Dark Empire. Now that another war had begun, it was imperative that they resumed their plans with haste in order to make sure that they would not fail again.

Thus, onboard the NIV Predator which itself was currently parked in orbit of Morlana One, the Grand Admiral patiently waited for the arrival his long-time ally ready to reinforce their partnership, resume their plans to secure the future and ensure the Empire's victory in the upcoming war, through any means necessary.

[Tags] | Onrai ​

 

[Onrai]

Marlon Sularen

What greeted the Grand Admiral was not a warship emerged from hyperspace, veteran of decades of galactic conflict, but the sudden tear in the fabric of reality, the breaking of a border between the material world and something infinitely strange and bizarre which Sularen had been exposed to many years ago. From the tear emerged the enigmatic platinum-plated cube, a kilometers-squared simulacra of the one he had seen dead and defeated on the surface of the anathematic world his ally called 'home' and 'fortress.' From between the scales of the creature emerged a shuttle, standard and nondescript, which began to follow docking procedures with the Predator in question. Onrai had admittedly grown to prefer the use of the replicated form of Ooradryl, regardless as to what cultic implications yet could come from such.

In the hangar bay, the shuttle would land, and from it would emerge the near-human form of the black-robed blonde, the 'face' of the woman in question. It was the last vestige of her mortal identity, and out of a desire to maintain a sense of individual personability outside of the ever perpetual need to attend to supplications, it was what she had begun using when intimidation was unneeded, after all.

"It's certainly been a long time since you called." She said, eyes set on the Grand Admiral in question. The navy was unquestionably the most powerful piece of the Dark Empire's military apparatus, and she was fortunate to have him as such an ally. While she regretted not having more, at least she possessed great leverage in question.

 

[Marlon Sularen]

E C H O E S_O F_P O W E R

DARK EMPIRE
MORLANA ONE, OUTER RIM TERRITORIES

As Sularen sat in his office examining a holographic map of the Free Trade Sector, Onrai would soon join him manifesting within his office as the Grand Admiral turned off his map and adjusted his pose, leaning forward and clasping his hands on the desk as Onrai would greet him. Indeed it had been a while since they had managed to find some time to discuss, especially considering Onrai stood as one of the few close allies Sularen still had within the Dark Empire's upper hierarchy. "Well, i've been busy as of late. Managing the Imperial Navy is quite a demanding task." Sularen answered.

Despite having been a long ally of his, Sularen had noticed that Onrai's position within the Empire wasn't secured, with her status mostly being reliant on the leverage she possessed thanks to her alliance with the Imperial Grand Admiral which was something that could be exploited by potential rivals within the upper hierarchy of the Empire. As such if Sularen was to be able to count on Onrai's support in the near-future it was imperative that they began working on helping her establish a proper powerbase within the Empire beyond her armies and fleets so that her position could not be compromised by those who could question her usefulness.

"So how have things been developing from your end. I'm quite curious to know what kind of projects you have been working on since we last met" Sularen said, referring to last time both of them had sat in the same room during a session of the Tribunal. Beyond their encounters within the chambers of the Tribunal, the Grand Admiral was interested in knowing what Onrai had been doing since the foundation of the Empire, as it could help him with his future plans regarding their alliance and enable them to accomplish far more.

[Tags] | Onrai ​

 

[Onrai]

"You possess the most valuable portion of the Imperial war machine. This strategically speaking puts you in a particularly secure position. The victory at Tython can also at least in part be attributed to the strike of the navy against the Alliance, and the foolish Protectors who still serve them." Onrai still had an acrid taste in her mouth, to put it kindly, regarding the fact that she had offered the Protectors literally everything they had ever wanted in exchange for refusing the yoke of the Galactic Alliance, and they had refused - something that gnawed at even her immortal form. She had asked nothing burdensome that the Dark Empire would not gain eventually - when the Alliance was no more, the Mandalorians would have no leverage. She would reapproach them again and once more give them the offer.

Of course, Onrai had been building relationships. She had remained quiet about her past meeting with Darth Vinaze at the end of the Maw, as well as the transfigurative terror that was her trip with Sinestra through the Infernal Gate at the bottom of the Abyss of Ruh. Her focus was on expanding the reach of the dark domain of Otherspace with that of Imperial space to allow for rapid ease of transit. Her brief entry to the Charnel Worlds had more than verified the terrors of the abyss were yet useful tools were she able to get her hands on them.

"Aside from having expanded further into Otherspace, there are a few things. I've been examining my warship designs, seeing what may be worth upgrading and bringing into the new Imperial fleet proper. I've issued new armor for both my Darktroopers and the broader Stormtrooper corps - the most advanced suit of armor I've yet created. I am also working on the reconstruction of the Prime Gate of Tython. Detritus may be enough of a fool to believe that "rituals" and "magic" will not be beneficial to us, but the arcane technological precepts of such gateways are a valuable science that will serve us well in maintaining the edge over the otherwise unaware enemies we yet face." She paused for a moment. "I have also yet communed with the restless spirits of the Zhell, and the Rozzum - those hideous constructs, amorphous, sentient, and more willing to serve. I can additionally offer you the service of Space Grazers as well - and have been pondering whether or not it might perhaps be worth engaging in a... revivification of sorts of the monstrosities you saw on the surface of the world."

That would be an interesting one - though perhaps having multiple such constructs would be a better approach.

Marlon Sularen

 

[Marlon Sularen]

E C H O E S_O F_P O W E R

DARK EMPIRE
MORLANA ONE, OUTER RIM TERRITORIES

"You possess the most valuable portion of the Imperial war machine. This strategically speaking puts you in a particularly secure position. The victory at Tython can also at least in part be attributed to the strike of the navy against the Alliance, and the foolish Protectors who still serve them."

Sularen raised his eyebrows as Onrai mentioned the Protectors, slightly intrigued by her initial statement. He hadn't forgotten about Onrai's proposal to negotiate with the Mandalorian Protectors to ensure either their support for the Dark Empire or their neutrality in the Empire's growing conflict with the Galactic Alliance. "I take it negotiations with the Protectors have failed then?" Sularen inquired, judging by her expression, it would appear that negotiations hadn't developed to her favor, which meant that the Empire would have to face the prospect of fighting the Protectors in addition to the Alliance in the future.

Even though thy already had the Empire of the Lost to their West and the Sith Order to their north to face, if want Onrai said was true then there was no guarantee that the Protectors woudn't join the Alliance in their war against the Empire. If the Mandalorian Protectors were to emerge as a threat to the Empire, then Sularen would most likely have to reach out to his long time allies within the Death's Hand and seek out other Mandalorian Groups that might be opposed to the Protectors in order to ensure that the Mandalorians wouldn't be able to undermine the true might of the Empire.

"Aside from having expanded further into Otherspace, there are a few things. I've been examining my warship designs, seeing what may be worth upgrading and bringing into the new Imperial fleet proper. I've issued new armor for both my Darktroopers and the broader Stormtrooper corps - the most advanced suit of armor I've yet created. I am also working on the reconstruction of the Prime Gate of Tython. Detritus may be enough of a fool to believe that "rituals" and "magic" will not be beneficial to us, but the arcane technological precepts of such gateways are a valuable science that will serve us well in maintaining the edge over the otherwise unaware enemies we yet face." She paused for a moment. "I have also yet communed with the restless spirits of the Zhell, and the Rozzum - those hideous constructs, amorphous, sentient, and more willing to serve. I can additionally offer you the service of Space Grazers as well - and have been pondering whether or not it might perhaps be worth engaging in a... revivification of sorts of the monstrosities you saw on the surface of the world."

As Onrai went over what she had been up to throughout these past few days, one particular matter caught Sularen's interest that being Onrai's mention of the reconstruction of the Prime Gate on Tython, going as far as calling Detritus a fool for dismissing her idea to make full use of the Prime Gate. While it was true that the Prime Gate could be extremely beneficial for the Imperial Military, the concerns of Detritus were also valid in the sense while potentially beneficial for the Imperial Military, the technology of the Prime Gates was far too ancient and advanced to be properly understood, to the point that any regular soldier would simply associate such piece of technology with mysticism and the paranormal. However for the sake of their alliance, Sularen decided to keep quiet about the issue of the Prime Gate, instead decided to shift the topic to Onrai's new armor.

"I've seen this new armor of yours, the Imperial Infantry Exoskeleton. Quite impressive although i can't say that it is a complete improvement compared to the previous armors worn by my soldiers and that used by the Old Empire." Sularen said, giving Onrai his take on the armor. Although even though the Grand Admiral did not find her design quite useful, it was still a first step towards modernizing the Imperial Military which in it's current state was already powerful enough to stand it's ground against the Galactic Alliance's own military force. Once the Imperial Military had been fully modernized, it would be a force beyond reckoning that would soon carve a path of destruction against those who stood against it whether they were Alliance and the Protectors.

[Tags] | Onrai ​

 

[Onrai]

"I gave them an offer they could not refuse. Everything they needed to return Mandalore back to a functioning world. Construction crews. Food. Water. Raw materials. It would've been a repeat of Ool or Kinoss. All I asked was for them to stop serving the Alliance. And yet they chose to cleave to their webbed trappings even though the Senate can and will abandon them in their petty squabbles." Onrai's distaste for the Alliance senate was palpable given its inherent corruption and bureaucracy. In the Empire, things were done far more simply, without the endless circuits of red tape.

"It is." She spoke. "Barring having every state-of-the-art feature, it combines the radiation protection of radtrooper armor with what is, quite frankly, the most able function at all: the ability to emulate the use of the Force. Anyone who wears the armor can push and pull objects or fry someone with arcing blasts of electricity. No ysalamiri, no ixetal cilona, nothing to stop them. And the armor's mobile enough that a wearer can handle a lightsaber while wearing it." It was, after all, going to be worn by all parties in her sphere now - everything but droids.

"I also intend to take the world of Ord Mantell as my own and do with it as I did to Kinoss and Ool. It will become a productive world within the Dark Empire, and perhaps a place to begin fortifying as necessary."

Marlon Sularen

 

[Marlon Sularen]

E C H O E S_O F_P O W E R

DARK EMPIRE
MORLANA ONE, OUTER RIM TERRITORIES

Sularen went on to listen as Onrai spoke about how stubborn the Mandalorians were, refusing her offer to help them rebuild Mandalore in favor a continued relationship with the Alliance, mentioning at how the Senate would discard them in the light of any small dispute. The Grand Admiral wasn't surprised that the Mandalorians had rejected Onrai for he understood their nature, unlike Onrai who assumed that a few promises and assurances would be enough to overlook all the wrongdoings the Sith had done to the Mandalorians under Carnifex.

"I did warn you that the Mandalorians would be a problem, especially in the long-term" Sularen said, mentioning at how he has spoken about the potential threat of the Mandalorian Protectors during a previous summit of the Imperial Tribunal. "You approached the Protectors with reason, yet you failed to properly understand their nature." the Grand Admiral continued. "The Mandalorians have bad blood with the Sith, ever since Carnifex betrayed them and laid waste to their homeworld, they've fought against Carnifex's Sith Empire, the Brotherhood of the Maw and this new Sith Order not to mention that they were once aligned with the Galactic Alliance during the Second Great Hyperspace War." he explained. "Getting the Mandalorians to overlook such history is an impossible task in itself as Mandalorians never forget nor do they forgive. Quite an admirable trait, if i must say." Sularen added. "Then, there is the issue of the offer you made to the Protectors"

"You merely offered, construction crews, food, water and raw materials, all things that the Galactic Alliance could provide in greater quantity regardless of how much resources you pour into the reconstruction of Mandalore, so really such an offer would be of little benefit to them." While Sularen felt that he was being somewhat condescending, it was important that Onrai understood how her attempts to negotiate with the Mandalorians were doomed from the start and were a waste of time in the first place. The Protectors would simply not stand idly as an Sith-controlled Imperial power rose to power to their west, especially they already had to deal with the Sith to their north and other Imperials to the east. Nevertheless, this Mandalorian problem could be easily dealt with, once Sularen would establish contact with the Death's Hand after this little meeting between him and Onrai.

[Tags] | Onrai ​

 

[Onrai]

"They won't be." Onrai said, as assured now as she was beforehand. "I know as well if not better than you the sort of relationship that the Mandalorians have with the Sith, or anyone tangentially associated with them. I did work with the Mandalorians back when Yasha Mantis was allied with the Empire - and before then, when Kaine took the shattered revenant of a past Mandalore and pushed him as a puppet. The goal here was to offer them something they could not sensibly refuse - and to induce doubt." This was, to say the least, a vague way to put her goals with such, but it was an appropriate one.

"The question remains, 'if the Alliance can offer them all of these in greater quantity, why haven't they?' The answer is the Alliance wants to keep the Protectors leashed to their whims, like a kath hound bound to the dais of a Hutt. They will never offer to rebuild Mandalore for the Protectors specifically because to do so would mean the Mandalorians would rely on them for nothing anymore. They would be free, liberated to choose their own path, for better or for worse - and that is what I offered them. Remember, 'our chains are broken, the Force shall free me', after all. Per information gleaned from intelligence, the Senate's reaction to Ijaat's meeting with them was, to say the least, an embarrassment that vindicated everything I expected would happen. Now, we wait as the tension builds and our pressure on the Alliance further forces them to pull back on even their present meager restitution. Stretch the band more and more, and eventually, it snaps. Mandalore will fall into the fold once more - it will only require patience and pruning."

Onrai had chosen to approach the Protectors initially due to their position as Mandalorians outside the fold of the Empire. She gained nothing by making an offer like this to the Death's Hand, who were already loyal to the Imperial cause, but speculation had begun to build and she was considering whether or not perhaps their leader would prove more amenable to this. After Coruscant, things would be changing significantly, and her steps would yet be made again, another mark on the Imperial sphere.

Marlon Sularen