Diplomacy Eye of the Storm | BOTM Annex of GA Held Xa Fel

[Faith Organa]

Partisian Politics​

Enroute

Tags: Xasha Callisto | Grassias Dala | Seto Du Couteau | Arlo Renard | Althous Corvane | Zachariel Steelblood | Toloth Threepwood

Faith sat with her hands folded and there it was what she suspected all along, the removal of Alliance forces from Alderaan Sector to stay off the attacks from the Brotherhood. It was all too convenient it seemed fortunately she had an ace in the hole to defend Alderaan. She would talk to Draco Vereen and Andien Gale in a bit to let them know their new situation.

She looked across the table to Aerarii Tithe he had done exactly she warned he would, and all in the name of the Alliance. She was slightly surprised by Auteme but perhaps she saw something that no one else did.

It was time to cultivate an old relationship.

She had nothing to lose now she would concur with her colleagues, "Very convenient that the forces are being aligned to worlds supporting SILK don't think Chancellor?" She smiled there were times to be quiet, and times to speak, today was a time to speak.

Faith's private ship followed along in case she needed to depart from Empress Teta quickly.

Before a response could be added there was a scream and all eyes turned.

 

[Kier Grey]

"Kyli"
Empress Teta, Cinnagar Palace.
Writing With: Seto Du Couteau

Both heels perched on the edge of a fine marble table and reclined into a great throne that stood at the head of the long dining table. Kyli's pearly teeth bit into a red apple, and she chewed on the fruit thoughtfully. Her blue denim jeans were stained with splotches of mud, and her wool-lined beige leather jacket was damp. Kyli wasn't one for the luxury of a palace, and she wasn't about to get dressed up on such short notice having a few days prior been on the front line. Feeling the droning din of tinnitus in her ears, stressed, she purses both eyelids together and then opens them to see a man who she recognised as one of her late Father's political coterie, Seto Du Couteau.

"I thought it might be you." Kyli began wearily wrinkles visibly pressed into the fair skin of her face; she slid her feet off the edge of the table and set them upon the fine Nabooian carpet beneath the sturdy marble dining table. "I haven't been able to relax for a while." Straightening in her chair, the crest of Kyli's head rose above the throne; she is a massive woman nigh two-metres tall, and though a decade passed, she didn't appear to have aged a day. "Especially not when I'm being escorted by Alliance Marshals." Kyli's brown-hair covered head flicks to the left and right, gesturing to the two armed men at her flanks. "The last time I saw their like was in court, on trumped-up charges."

Even though Kyli had beaten the Marshals handily, she was still embittered by their attempt to put her away forever for no other conceivable reason in her mind than who her late Father had been; venom was heard in her voice, if not shown on an expressionless face. "You haven't changed." Kyli mused, and she gestured with open palms to the marble table, linen drapes and stained glass windows that lined the room. "Surrounded by luxury while the people of Coruscant were slaughtered, and the Federal Government didn't even bat an eye." Kyli's elbows perched on the table; she leans inward and glares toward Seto intensely before a sigh flows from her bow-shaped lips Kyli eased back into the cushioned throne.

"That was unworthy of me. It's not your responsibility what happened." It wasn't a genuine apology. Kyli wasn't one to apologise when it wasn't sincere or heartfelt. For her, an apology for the sake of social propriety is meaningless. It should surprise nobody; Kyli was raised to be a soldier by the First Order. She was conscripted as an Orphan child and had been fighting somebody else's war for most of her life. Until she joined the Coruscant Security Force and changed Kyli's life forever. "I was never involved in Government, so you can't be hoping I can help you politically." Kyli mused aloud. "So I'm going to conclude that you need something or someone taken off the board given my skill set."

 

[Nayeïr Orega]

​

EYE OF THE STORM
DISCUSSING | REDISTRIBUTION OF THE GADF CONTINGENTS
PINGS | Aerarii Tithe Grassias Dala Xasha Callisto ​

BEING A SENATOR: THE LIMPING DEVIL -- PART. II
— 874 ABY

The Senator of Anaxes -- Nayeïr Orega, member of the Corporatist Block and heir of one of the greatest Anaxsi families -- was following the briefing discussion led by Chancellor Tithe. As he heard the name of « Anaxes », said by him, he calmly nodded to the leader of the Senate, prepared for this eventuality. Even if he hadn’t known before this moment that he would have to welcome divisions of soldiers on his planet, he prepared it to keep any GADF garrison in a safe place until the end of the current war, whether the Alliance would win it or not.

He put his gaze on Tithe, then he gave a look to his counterparts who took the lead of the discussion. He knew that Tithe came on this topic in order to trigger something in the minds of those senators. The evacuation from Xa Fel and this declaration about the future GADF’s moves in the Alliance Space had exactly the effect he wanted to.

As the discussion was becoming tense, Orega spoke, first to the Chancellor: « Thank you, Chancellor, for allowing Anaxes to participate in the war effort as a headquarters of the GADF, » he slowly turned his gaze to the other senators who expressed their thoughts and added, « But I cannot say I don’t understand Senators Grassias Dala and Xasha Callisto. They’re right: Anaxes is not on Maw’s path leading to the core of our worlds. We should keep in mind that we’re all engaged in this war, and putting forces on worlds that aren’t in real danger could sound the death knell of our defeat. »

His gaze came again to Tithe: « I won’t go against what you’ve planned, sir, but be sure that you’ll take the good decision to make. »

Then, a scream tore the atmosphere.​

​

 

[Liedran Kathause]

[Xa Fel Shipyards - A While Ago]
[Colonel Nosha'oteli]
[On Detachment from the 3rd Expeditionary Carrier Line - ANV Muse]

[Objective - Deny the Shipyards]
Valery Noble

---

She remembered Csilla well, scampering across, feeling the crackling of the ground as a layer of frost broke beneath her feet. In frigid subterranean tunnels, icicles hung from the ceiling, tapering downward, catching the distant light of the Csillan settlements themselves. Nosha used to take pot-shots at them, scraping up loose pebbles from the tunnels to use as ammunition. She'd watch the ice shatter, fragments bursting out from the icicles and dancing in the frigid air as they fell... and disappeared into the surrounding frost, but not before kicking off clouds of particles into the air.

A thick cloud of metal had begun to form around the shattered hull plating of the shipyard. Unlike loose fragments of frost, the dust-like debris refused to disappear from sight.

The tears had stopped flowing from her eyes, replaced by a look of petrified shock and regret as another compartment vented its contents into space.

The X-wing had cut through five compartments now, drilling deep into the heart of a massive metal pillar. It couldn't be very long before a torpedo volley would have a direct entrance to ignite the section's reactor core.

She let go of the firing trigger. A dot had popped up on sensors, and a line had opened up from it.

"This is Master Noble — apologies for the late arrival, but I'm here to assist,"

Nosha drew a heavy breath, trying to calm the sadness in her voice before she responded to the jedi.

"[This is Colonel Nosha'oteli: Ms. Noble, I recommend you keep your distance from the shipyards,]" Nosha paused slightly, then raised her voice slightly to indicate she was addressing the other pilots, "[The same goes for the rest of you. Shunt power to forward deflectors. Y-Wings are to fire proton torpedoes at the designated targets-- on my mark.]" The colonel's X-wing rumbled slightly as the forward thrusters fired and guided it far from the burning yards of Xa Fel. Her finger glanced the dashboard, flicking at a round switch. "[Three. Two,]" the Chiss grimaced, catching a final glance of the shipyard before averting her eyes in mourning, "[One.]"

The fires of torpedoes left the bellies of the Y-wings, scrambling for the exposed entry points in the shipyard's hull. Nosha pressed herself silently into her seat, letting yet another tear form in the base of her eye.

In seconds, she felt a weak glancing blow to her X-wing's shields, and knew that the job was done.

"[Ping High Command. Confirm mission success. Proceed to the designated refueling point.]"

"[That is all.]"

 

[Vesta]

GOOD FOR HER​

It didn't matter the number and time had become inconsequential, that much was clear by the desperate acts taken by their enemy. It was like watching an empire fall - another one, this time with her on the side to see its collapse from the outside rather than within - and it was all the more satisfying with that in mind. Every piece was revealing itself now with their places on the board made painfully clear to even the blind and feeble, all except her own. She stepped away from the viewport, turning towards Darth Solipsis as her state of immateriality became far more corporeal, even if the lines between the two were blurred. He was the face of the Maw's endeavor, the linchpin that held everything together like the strings at the back of a corset.

"They won't need to trace anything." She said, her words like static in the still air confined within the Fatalis. "They already know they are at an end, this defiance is just a play at delaying the inevitable - die fighting the good fight and all of that nonsense." Mori explained. She clenched a shadowy hand into a fist that held every fine detail that one that was tangible ought to, a sign that she was gaining the better of her tedious state. Her eyes lingered, for a moment, on Tu'teggacha before her gaze turned back towards the Sith'ari expectantly.

 

[Seto Du Couteau]

Seto Du Couteau, Senator of Empress Teta
Location: Empress Teta, Cinnagar Palace
Attire

​

​

Seto offered his usual brilliant smile, his eyes centered on Kyli before eyeing both of the Marshals in the room. The young Du Couteau heir bowed as he walked further into the room, his cerulean eyes targeting each Marshal. He channeled the Force, his voice filled with honey “Pardon me my fine gentlemen, but you can leave us for the time being.” He wanted little trouble with the Alliance Marshals, and for a drastically different reason, Seto also felt unease with the Marshals. Once the two of them were alone, Seto dropped his smile and his lips formed a somber straight line.​

​

“No, you’re correct, I could have done more to protect Coruscant.” He spoke regretfully, the notion of the Core being subject to attacks or invasions was laughable at the time. And yet they did. ​

​

“If anything, I should be the one to apologize.” Seto offered, he had not made many attempts to reconnect with anyone after the ‘fall’, nor included many in his deals with the Alliance when he had joined. “-But yes, I do have an ask. Not as simple as removing pieces off a board, but it does require your specialized skill-set.” Seto began, his hand tapped on his data-slate, opening several data-files on the device. ​

​

“The Maw have sent practically everything in their invasion of Alliance space; they want to burn the core to ashes.” Seto briefly explained. “-If their trajectory holds, it appears Teta will soon be a target.” Seto added. His lip twitched downwards as if attempting to sneer angrily but he maintained his neutral expression after his slip up.​

​

Seto turned his head and held the data-slate for Kyli to take and see for herself the reason for their meeting. “-Their Zealots have raved about their Avatar of War, and I believe it is time to introduce to the Alliance they too have an Avatar of War.” Seto had feared where these Machines of War and Destruction would end up and spent considerable resources to locate and secure them. ​

​

“My ask for you; Will you help the Alliance defend against their enemies? Will you do so as a Pilot?” Seto attempted to hide the desperation in his voice, but it was clear as day the depths of which the Maw had pushed him towards. For him to reveal he had in possession of such Machines, he worried of the potential backlash back in the Senate, But optics be damned. ​

​

“All I can offer you in exchange for your service is an attempt to have the Chancellor pardon and clear you of any investigations or crimes.”​

​

|| Kier Grey ||​

 

[Zachariel Steelblood]

WARNING, THIS DEPICTS SOME TORTURE! AVOID IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THAT
It's not much, but I'm playing it safe. You've been warned! Dun dun duuuuh
TL : DR
With the attention on Zachariel, he continues his gruesome torture of Althous Corvane. He also mocks them and tells them the same fate awaits the senate.
​

Objective: Horrify a senate in real time
Tags: Althous Corvane | Aerarii Tithe | Xasha Callisto | Auteme | Grassias Dala | Nayeïr Orega | Faith Organa | And anyone else in the call
Links: Weapons

Spoiler

Having entered the cell, Zachariel's eyes roved across the form of Althous. He took in the damage already done, the clothes ripped, and the blood spilt. Then, as he ripped the holo projector to himself, he breathed deep of the mans fear. He hid it well, physically, but the Force showed him the true side of the man, the fearful side. It was a delicious taste, for this was a man who rarely feared, much less feared for his life. The true terror of an individual in such a position was unique, to be savored.

Giving his declaration, even as he manhandled the senator, he saw that the others present were ignorant of the goings. It brought a sneer to his face, even as he raised his ornate and sacrificial cutting knife. Their ignorance, willful or not, would be broken. Bringing it down, he cut into Corvane's back, skinning the mans back alive, all while being careful not to kill the man just yet. In that, he had much, much practice. The various trophies across his armored frame proved this.

To those in the senate meeting however, Althous Corvane's piercing scream of pain was a wake up call. Zachariel sensed their sudden focus on him and his subject, and smiled. They were given a very clear picture of the long cuts along Althous' spine, one on each side, with cuts made to flay the flesh towards the side. Continuing his work, the warlord chuckled before looking up towards the holo projector and his audience. Despite the helmet and armor he wore, any who saw him could easily tell he was enjoying himself far too much. Then, he spoke, voice a low growl as he stopped his torture for the moment.

"I see I finally have your attention, good." Moving slightly, Zachariel now stands behind the operating table and the form of Althous. The picturesque pose of an angel guarding a fallen warrior, only he was no angel, but a demon made manifest. The glowing, dark red glare of his lenses simply further that, as he stares the senators down. "Do you see now, dear senators? This!" Another cut, more blood. "This is your fate! For too long you have avoided this truth, avoided the so called horrors of war. You can't avoid this, so remember it well. Remember the pain of one of your own, remember the fate of his world and that of so many others. And know this fate awaits all of you and yours!"

Another cut followed that, smoothly pulling along Althous' back. By now, Zachariel's hands and much of his forearms were covered in blood, but it was clear Althous wasn't dying. This was because of Zachariels manipulation of the Force, along with other medical equipment. The senator was alive, forced to be so, but he would feel every last second of this torture, of this hell. And Zachariel would revel in his pain, continuing to cut and sense the reactions of the senate. Reaching out to sense their feelings and reactions, the possibility also remained that they too would be affected by the enhanced fear and pain Althous was feeling. But it mattered little, nothing would change. Worlds would be conquered and burned, and the bloodshed would never stop.

WARNING, THIS DEPICTS SOME TORTURE! AVOID IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THAT
TL : DR
With the attention on Zachariel, he continues his gruesome torture of Althous Corvane. He also mocks them and tells them the same fate awaits the senate.​

 

[Kier Grey]

"Kyli"
Empress Teta, Cinnagar Palace.
Writing With: Seto Du Couteau

The pair of Alliance Marshals looked to each other and then to Kyli for a moment; she met the Senior Marshal's eyes with an icy gaze. Calmly, Kyli raised both hands from the perch of her knees and displayed both palms outwardly. Kyli's lips were pursed together, her face unwrinkled and relaxed, but there could be no mistake; Kyli was mocking them. "Don't worry, Marshal, I'm a law-abiding citizen."

Kyli listened to Seto Du Couteau. Seto handed Kyli a datapad which she receives with only a grunt and studies, continuing to listen to her old acquaintance speak about the Maw's advance. Her hazelish spheres stabbed at his fine jacket, glistening clean skin and the fibres of his finely groomed hair, contrasting to the rugged and creased leather hugging Kyli's robust frame and droplets rainwater still yet running from her moist black crown. Seto queried if she was prepared to defend the alliance; she swallowed her anger, steadying herself. "I've been protecting the Alliance, the same alliance that tried to imprison me for two years now."

Kyli chuckled; instead of merely glancing toward Seto, her eyes locked onto him. A fury smouldered in Kyli's eyes that could be seen if not heard in her voice; Kyli's chuckle sounded like wet gravel curdling at a construction site. "I was acquitted on all of those charges, Seto. Perhaps you didn't know, I was conscripted and psycho-conditioned as a child to be a soldier for the First Order." Looking back to the datapad clasped firmly in her hands, Kyli's gaze slides through the images of the colossal siege platform. "I'm not interested in some legalistic concept of redemption." Kyli began; she leisurely slid out of the throne, standing to her full height; she utterly dwarfed Seto Du Couteau.

"The Maw will scour the galaxy from the skies of Coruscant to the Galactic Rim." Kyli's head cranes down to meet Seto's gaze; she wrinkled her nose. "Even if it should take the last ounce of my strength, I would see the galaxy free of this chaos." Kyli's voice was tremored with barely controlled anger. The woman's heart thumped very slowly, though, with such might, it cast a baseline into the still air between them. The pupils at the centre of her muddy dual-coloured iris widen like a shark gazing on its' prey.

Curling her left hand into a fighting fist, Kyli's simmering orbs trail back down to the datapad and observe the holostills of the Maledictum. "And even if I cannot save it from their violence Seto." Kyli hardened, took a few steps toward a window, and stared out over the manicured gardens wrapped around Cinnagar Palace. "I'll see to it that the ranks of their armies burn". Kyli's voice dragged the final consonant like the bellow of a forge, the Death Trooper's shoulders roll down with a sigh, composed and calm. Kyli's righteous anger dissipates beneath a wall of soldierly discipline.

"Find me a crew for the Maledictum." That would be the hard part. Kyli couldn't pilot the warship-sized walking artillery platform alone. "Piloting the machine itself could kill me, though, Seto." Kyli steadily turns to face the man. "I would have my family compensated generously by the Alliance should I be maimed or killed." Another pause. "That is the summary of my conditions."

 

[Asmundr Varobalder]

THE WARDEN
THE NEW JEDI ORDER | PROSPERITY | MEDITATION GARDEN
THE WATCHMEN OF TYTHON: Henna Ashina | Bernard of Arca

​

Sometimes it was several days like this. Meditating and listening. That’s all he did. Deep inhales, and deep exhales. There was no need for sustenance, no intake or output of anything but The Force. These were the days where The Warden felt most at peace — where his existence was entirely unmade. No longer a collection of flesh, blood and bones, but instead a thin mist of atoms, midichlorians, and cells. Infinite as a landscape to be remade however the galactic connector sought fit.

And once he was submerged, that which kept them all linked did not obstruct him from its depths.

The Force recognized The Warden. It saw him. It did not welcome him. It did not reject him. It only saw, acknowledged, and continued with its search. It’s reaching. Reaching, reaching, reaching, infathomably quick increments per galactic second flashed and snapped, connected and shattered, all at once, isolated and independent.

He knew of its reaching. Such knowledge brought benefits and understanding — enough for him to appreciate the patterns in the independence. The networking lattice of space and time with nodes that spanned his existence, back to The Force’s earliest memories and ahead to thousands of alternative futures.

Time was the greatest contribution to his pattern, lattices, networks, depths and conundrums that offered perspective beyond his own. He was used to this — seeing through the eyes of others. It did not disturb him.

He hadn’t felt a disturbance so rattling since Csilla, and in that, there was comfort. It was something he’d been conquered by, felt, and learned from. It was something he knew. Loss. He knew loss.

And through all losses, the greatest was that which came from knowledge, and from the deep recognition that he could never un-know what he knew. So many things he wished he’d never learned, never saw, never felt. He had aged with the great weight of this knowledge. It was heavy, carving deep lines in his face, burdensome on his broad shoulders and affecting the very posture he emulated now in his meditative state.

Knowledge brought benefits too of course. Perspective, a framework in which to fit the events of life as they kne wit now–– that is, a lattice of space and time coordinates spanning his existence. A framework of depths, and conundrums, and interstices, through which Asmundr could peer at any new event in his life with perspective. A lattice of shadows and corners, rolling back into the vanishing point on the horizon of his mind. And all these shadow boxes that leant such perspective to things...well..this lattice gave his life a certain darkness. A darkness that didn’t hold much substance of course –– only shading to give depth to his understanding, where before it had been thing without dimension.

But nothing had added as much dimension as Csilla — the depth of its darkness, its weight on the network of his views, was still immeasurable — So many souls, voices, lives calling out with a final shout of desperation. He'd felt their burns as if he were on the planet as it ripped apart, the excruciating agony that prologued forever nothingness. All their faces turned into nothing, photons streaming off skeletons that glowed light and dark. It was as if he were observing a beautiful, chaotic painting from across a room –– and the closer they got to death, without warning, only the brushstrokes made it up. Life was nowhere in it.

He’d heard the individuals, all those souls, cry out in unison. Asmundr had felt that those on the planet sensed the pressure waves going out from their throats into a scream swallowed by eternity.

A horrible, gripping sensation blotted out several previously glowing lines of the future. Like the breath drawn right before a gasp, or a scream. Hitched, suspended, thick with anticipation. . The pressure building in hundreds of vocal cords, but choked.

Something dark and sudden moved through the atoms he’d joined toward him. Them. All those voices held, unable to cry out.

The glowing rhythms of existence thrummed and swelled, shifting into a mottled shape of blue, then emerald, then amber, then crimson. Connections turned into fault lines, fissuring along themselves and splintering into innumerable outcomes with urgent despair.

Not bound to mortal limitations, not having to choose which to follow, Asmundr followed them all. Wild, sporadic, disconnected, some plunged into shadowy depths hidden from his sight, others snapped out into a blinding luminescence, but those that he travelled along and joined in union converged at the base of a holy structure, snowy, bloody.

And he wasn’t alone.

Versions of themselves, Master Sarratt, Knight of Arca, lingered as brief silhouettes in the nexus that bound the trellis that belonged to the future. And then dissipated, as if they'd never been. As inconclusive an existence as dust.

 

[Althous Corvane]

ONE WAY TRIP

Aerarii Tithe Xasha Callisto Zachariel Steelblood Auteme Grassias Dala Faith Organa Nayeïr Orega

///Sad vibes cont.///​

The pain was tectonic, constant, never-ending; like listening to a deafening, unending explosion at point-blank range, ears bleeding profusely, yet being denied the reprieve of an eternal silence. Cut after cut the surrounding talks had melted into a meaningless blur of noise and bass in the mind of the captured senator of Xa Fel, who had remained on his home planet instead of fleeing and having to live with the burden of allowing his already downtrodden people to suffer endless indignities under the zeal of the Maw. His father would be proud. This was the right thing to do. In the present, however, his mind couldn't have been farther from these initial, noble thoughts.

Teeth and gums inflamed by overexertion, the rope gagging Althous Corvane was finally severed due to his tortured biting. Perhaps as a parting gift from the Force, perhaps due to the sustaining medication administered to him, he burst out in a final, futile display of shocking reality. – YOU ALREADY LEFT US!!! – His gurgling, pathetic voice spewed saliva onto the operating table after each labored syllable. In stories and legends, people bid farewell to loved ones with words of wisdom or courage. But the truth is more often gruesome… and unflattering. The excruciating agony broke him, and the man wanted nothing but the release of death. The stoic senator was no more. Choking on both tears and blood, Althous shouted into the beyond. – CUT THE F*CKING LINE LET ME DIE!

 

[Iella Sunscream]

Empress Teta - Active Contract - Target Faith Organa

Kit: New Imperial Order COMPNOR identification badge, Shore Leave BDU/Officer Uniform, IL-25 Rifle (Concealed in briefcase), Vibroknuckler (Pocket),

Perhaps the woman should have counted herself lucky it was Iella that had taken the contract. The wording was clear enough, attempt, not kill. She could make it look good without laying this poor lady out. Though another mercenary? Well, some of them were a little less lenient. As such Iella had gone on a little tour of the galaxy so to speak, gathering the requested items to earn the credits she was looking for. Unfortunately, ever since she had gotten officially cut off from her parent's money, she was a lot less 'rich' these days. Oddly, this also did wonders for loosening her usually self-righteous attitude. Plus, wasn't like she was gonna' kill the lady. Hopefully...

Her mods were used to great epithet today, as Iella very much didn't look look like Iella. Instead, quite literally reconstructed the picture of the individual on the aforementioned identification card, a young woman like her, around the relatively same height and weight.

'Sorry, mam we don't see any scheduled appointments with who you're looking for.'

Iella canted her head

"You're kidding, I just flew across half the galaxy for this appointment. Now you're telling me you guys canceled it?"

The man behind the counter shook his head in frustration.

'Mam, no we... We never called you in for an appointment.'

He turned to his computer again, clicking rapidly, brows furrowed as he tried to find the information Iella was fabricating. Helping her of course by typing the information in the computer in the first place.

'Mam, I'm sorry no. Ms Cleaton we don't have you slotted with anyone. Are you sure this is the right office you're looking for? Uhh, I think the senate is gathering across the street, are you sure you're not supposed to be over there? COMP-NOR, I think that's the building you're looking for.'

He said, helping her with the next thing, being reading the fake name off of the badge. Committing it to memory. Of course, he would after how his day was about to go.

"Chad isn't here... You're chittin me.."

He was started to get frustrated now, and inhaled before loosing a bit more information.

'A Chad has never worked here, Ms. Cleaton. The only people in the office are myself, Malcolm, and the janitor.'

She rocked on the balls of her feet back and forth once before nodding in understanding.

"That's perfect actually"

She said, sliding the knuckler out of her pocket and trying to hit him as light as possible, though she knew as soon as she touched his jaw that she had broken it. She grimaced, glancing behind her, and locking eyes with the camera in the ceiling before walking around the desk in a calm fashion. In sequence she would find and neutralize the other officer workers in similar fashion, moving to the necessary window and beginning to set up a firing position that on the applicable floor. So far no one was dead, but the tough part was still coming up.

She had no intel on where the woman would be, and would rely heavily on her optical implants to locate her in the end, finally getting the rifle out and making two halfs one whole. Once done she decided to stand up and take the shot, the weapons weight and recoil were laughable to her. What was important was that she didn't... You know, kill the actual Senator of Alderaan. Hell even if she didn't kill her, if she got caught for this they would treat her like she had.
​

Faith sat with her hands folded and there it was what she suspected all along, the removal of Alliance forces from Alderaan Sector to stay off the attacks from the Brotherhood. It was all too convenient it seemed fortunately she had an ace in the hole to defend Alderaan. She would talk to​

Iella recoiled from he scope, using her naked eye to access all of the applicable electronical systems in her own building. She found what she was looking for. Window controls, and with a sudden influx of wind that caused a huge gust of wind to sweep through the office, there was that much less resistance between her and the woman. Though inadvertently, also caused a plethora of papers to fly around the officer, some of them even flying out the window and beginning their slow, lofty fall to the city streets below.

She refocused. Wind blowing her pony-tail around a bit, but she stood stout, and unmoving. Focusing on the woman's actions and movements. They were in there pretty tight, but she could hit her... And so, she used the scope, remotely splicing again, but this time focusing on a simple protocol droid in the room. It sparked from its neck, then turned to the window paneling as if it had seen something interesting...

All the while, she hadn't taken her eyes off of Faith.

"Now all of you just get the hell outta the way..."

She mumbled, other figures floating in and out of the scope briefly, but ultimately her shot was true, she just didn't want to risk this side profile shot. If only the woman turned to her, and offered up that left arm, she could take a chunk out of it. The droid was still staring at the window in curiosity, and then something happened. She had no idea what, but everyone in the room turned to look at it, and in that moment, he droid pressed the button to open the window, and Iella released the shot, meant to brush the Senator's shoulder. Shouldn't have killed her, but it would hurt good if it connected.

As soon as she fired it, she placed the rifle down on the table gently, pulling the knuckler out of her pocket as she walked back out, dropping it next to the Janitor. Right at this moment, she cut her current buildings camera feeds, then leaned down in front of the man she initially spoke too. He was still alive, good. She wrapped the COMP whatever badge up in his hand, making it look like he had grabbed it off of whoever attacked him. And with that she stood, sliding out of the clothing she needed to plant, simply leaving it there. She had to admit, seemed a little... TOO convenient, but the gear was all official.

With that, she deactivated her Body Plates briefly showing her relatively true and cyborg looking visage, before reactivating it, and looking like regular old Iella. It was very much time to get the Feth out of here. With that she got in the Elevator, and would unless disturbed calmly leave the building, disappearing into the crowded streets of Empress Teta.

(This post was originally meant to be a one and done, though if anyone is feeling particularly vengeful. Let's go then haha)








​

 

[Mercy]

Target: Seto Du Couteau
Collateral: Kier Grey
Objective: Assassination?

It was not often that Mercy was hired to not kill someone.

Yes, not kill someone.

But she supposed this was the way of 'politics' and intrigue. Mercy couldn't say she liked it very much. The money was good, but it made her feel somewhat... dirty. Like she was some sort of pawn in a greater game. It wasn't exactly something the young Sith enjoyed. Her target was a young noble... or maybe a merchant... someone of important to Empress Teta. Mercy only skimmed the details. Important enough they were living in a cushy palace that was decked out in security meisures.

And for all that Mercy wasn't allowed to kill him.

No, no, he had to be alive and thriving by the end of this. On top of that Mercy was supposed to leave clues of who tried to kill him. It was all very peculiar to her.

The NIO hadn't been exactly quiet about their desire to clobber the Alliance. Why Seto needed to believe it was the Imperial nation-state that was coming for his life? Mercy wasn't sure. But her employer was quite forceful about it. Otherwise he wouldn't have supplied a stealth-suit and other equipment sourced straight from the NIO barracks.

It was the only reason Mercy managed to get over the walls undetected.

She wasn't much about this 'stealth' bantha chit. But the suit reduced her to a blur and muzzled her foot steps suitably. It was quite impressive really, because Mercy was a gorram moving mountain slide.

"Dis better be worth it..." Mercy hissed to herself.

"What?"

A guard reared their head away from the guardpost into the general direction Mercy was crouching in. Oh, kark. Great job Mercy. Not even a step into the palace structure and already raising suspicions.

Mercy remained frozen. It minimized the blur.

"Something wrong?" His colleague didn't look away from their assignment. "Yeah, I thought I heard something..."

The second guard laughed. "Well, you see anything?"

"...no..."

Mercy's nose was starting to itch. Damn this helmet, damn this assignment.

"Well, then get your eyes back on your job. No sense in chasing ghosts, when we have a wall to protect."

Once they shuffled off Mercy sighed in relief. She also promised herself to be quieter. Not likely. And finally crept forward, aiming to enter the palace from one of the windows. Then the next order of business was to actually find this princeling or whoever Seto was supposed to be. A Senator, right? It had to be a corrupt Senator.

Considering these digs.

 

[Kole Eckttor]

Selvaris Orbit
Deliver Supplies, Survive The Maw
Koda Fett | Zori Kapshan (Contractor) | GA folk on Selvaris

​

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this”

The Maw blockade was ever-present on the planet of Selvaris. It was shown as soon as the disguised YT-1300 dropped out of Hyperspace. The stock model had been “Maw-dified“ for this mission to hopefully provide the veteran spacer with some sort of ticket in. Well, him and his Beskar-wearing associate.

“Hey Mando, you better hold on back there, things might get bumpy up ‘ere.”

Gliding alongside the Maw war fleet, the YT-1300 seemed to be fitting the part. But he knew that at any second the ship could be blown out of the sky by these creatures. But hey, people needed supplies, and supplies were worth credits, and needless to say credits are hot commodity in today’s galaxy.

Before the descent toward the planet began, a comm light on the control panel began to blink. One of the war vessels was trying to hail them. This wasn’t good.

“Unidentified ship, you have ten seconds to state your business before you will be ravaged into scrap.”

This was the old man’s first interaction with the Maw. Looks like he would have to pull something out of his ass to make it through. But hey, it has worked in the past.

“Uh, this is the vessel Screaming Corpses carrying a troop supply for the ongoin’ pillage down on the dirt. Y’all good if us blood-thirsty warriors join in on that fun?”

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the Maw vessel hailed back.

“Ship Screaming Corpses is cleared for passage to the surface. May your hunt be plentiful.”

Letting out a sigh of relief the man guided the ship downward towards the planet. See, things always do work out. But now it was time to find these soldiers in need of supplies. Plus, the Mando on the back of his ship needed dropping off too.

“Mando, where you wantin’ me to touch this old bird down at?”

 

[Koda Fett]

SELVARIS ORBIT
Kole Eckttor

From the more vacant area of the old YT-1300, the Mandalorian turned towards the voice at the helm. His booted feet had carried him closer to the controls, the various switches and dials activated as the old man made mention of their new Maw-ified name. Suited, and the hint of a smirk crossed the corner of his mouth as the bid to move on had succeeded. Not that Kole was to ever know, the emotionless stare of the T-visor looked out into the void itself.

"I need some of their hardware," he trusted him to take him this far, a little further was achievable. "Maw, Alliance... Take me to an old battlefield, or a current one." Fett said as much with indifference, a carelessness to the tone of his voice.

"You can do that." It was not an ask, rather a tell, as he turned down to face him.

 

[Faith Organa]

Location: Empress Teta
Tags: Iella Sunscream Althous Corvane Aerarii Tithe Xasha Callisto Zachariel Steelblood Auteme Grassias Dala Nayeïr Orega

It was horrific the scene the sound she put her hands up to cover her ears hoping to drown out the sound. How much could a body take before it gave out? Her insides were twisting. "We have to do something. Do we know where this is coming from?" They were all caught up in what was displayed before them. What kind of twisted mind could think of this?

Then she had the oddest of sensations that intuition that tickled that back of her mind then screamed MOVE! But why? She was safe wasn't she? She turned her head to look as if she could see what was coming but before she could full turn there were all these other sounds that made no sense but then there was the burn in her shoulder.

Stunned she looked down she could see a darkness spreading slowly across her shirt, she laughed in her own mind Draco is going to kill me for this...oh..and the others....there was no time to really think about the others. Faith felt faint.

"I think I need a Dr." a slow breath, it hurt more than most but not as much as child birth. Child birth. genetics, Faith had a rare blood disorder her blood did not clot, she tried to take a breath.

"Becca..." Becca wasn't here...she looked around, the pain was spreading, Faith fell forward slightly trying to hold back the yell that was building at the back of her throat. "Draco"

She reached up to her shoulder. This could be a major problem.

Draco Vereen

 

[Aerarii Tithe]

PARTISIAN POLITICS
ALLIANCE ONE // EN ROUTE TO EMPRESS TETA

Grassias Dala | Xasha Callisto | Auteme | Seto Du Couteau | Toloth Threepwood Kai Bamarri | Nayeïr Orega | Faith Organa
rip Althous Corvane

Betrayal.

Just as Tithe’s briefing notes had not prepared him for Auteme to side with him, neither had they prepared him for Nayeïr Orega , a card-carrying member of the Corporatist Party, to turn on him. While the Senator for Anaxes said he would follow Tithe’s decision, by opening questioning the Chancellor the damage was already done. Tithe sat in stunned silence, trying to process exactly what was happening. He’d expected the Free Alliance Coalition senators to challenge him, but a member of his own party? Were the Corporatists turning on him? Was there anyone he could trust?

By a macabre token of good luck, most eyes in the room were drawn to the dismemberment of Senator for Xa Fel, which was being broadcast above the conference table. Tithe could hear two technicians and a droid arguing as they tried to stop the transmission. That the Brotherhood was able to hack Alliance One, the most secure cruiser in the Alliance fleet, was highly disturbing.

Tithe took the opportunity to read a message on his datapad from Seto Du Couteau . That returned a smile to the Chancellor’s face - at least some members of the Corporatist Party were still on message. “Very good,” he replied, before adding an Aargauun proverb. “May your coffers overflow and the auditors never show.”

“You wound me Your Highness,” Tithe replied to Faith Organa , feinting insult and shock. “To accuse me of partisan politics at a time like this? Why, the political alignment of this worlds is pure, pure coincidence.” There was an argument that Corporatist aligned worlds were more likely to host heavy industry and manufacturing which were vital to the war effort, but it wasn’t a strong case if you looked into the numbers.

Tithe leaned forward to study Faith’s holo; she seemed to be having trouble sitting upright. “I must say, are you quite alright Your Magesty?”

 

[Seto Du Couteau]

Seto Du Couteau, Senator of Empress Teta
Location: Empress Teta, Cinnagar Palace
Attire

The comments took Seto slightly aback, and if he had been more comfortable with the situation he might have sheepishly apologized. He kept himself in check as he listened instead, the situation at the moment with the core was getting worse. Seto needed allies, ones he did not need the use of Force mind tricks to persuade, ones that were above pettiness of ploys of power he had been a part of for the past few years. Looking up to Kyli he saw someone that had the shoulders to carry the weight of responsibility few in the galaxy could ever dream of carrying.

“The crew awaits their Pilot.” Seto commentated, he had taken great care to keep both the Princeps project secret and maintained. “-and your family will want for nothing.” Seto agreed to her conditions.

He had never fully grasped how intensive the connection between the Pilot and the Machine was, and from the bits and pieces that the Engineers explained Seto knew this wasn’t some starfighter cockpit or anything. Risking everything, everything. Seto outstretched his hand, not that they needed something like a handshake to formalize this deal, but that Seto accepted the responsibility.

“I pray that such a fate never happens.” Seto turned his attention back to the data-slate for a moment. “-The Maledictum is stationed down below, we can head there now and make sure the crew I have on Teta is acceptable. If you have someone in mind I’ll get them here post haste.” Seto added as he gestured for Kyli to follow him out of the room. This was going to be a busy few weeks ahead.
​

|| Kier Grey | Mercy ||​

 

[Faith Organa]

Faith took a breath rising from her chair she nodded to everyone around her, she needed help. She would not be able to witness the torture or if there was a solution to help him.

Rising to her feet as best she could she moved slowly to the door which opened at her approach and closing just behind her, "Becca. Jax Thio are you here" Faith slid to the floor, she needed she looked to her shoulder normally nothing bad a scar, the automatic cauterizing of the wound from the blaster.

Becca came from around the corner having heard Faith call, "FAITH!"

The kit that she carried came out immediately she applied the sealant. "Did you take your medication today?"

Faith nodded, "yes" Her face was losing color, "But I don't feel well."

Becca's thoughts were filled with worry, concern and anger.

"Jax, Ikenna Tahj ..........Lieutenant Anders" The Alderaan Knight came from somewhere immediately picking Faith up and racing to the ship.

How had this happened?