Faction Follow the Black Brick Road

[R'ayne Asara]

follow the black brick road

​

weapon: Draconic Scourge
outfit:X™
tag(s): Shade | Augustus Tassar | Zavik Maltheris

Zigoola is a barren, rocky wasteland once cherished by the Sith, who held the planet in such regard that they raised a temple upon its desolate surface, only for that monument to fall into ruin by heroic hands and lie forgotten for centuries.

Yet it is not the temple’s shattered remains that have drawn the interest of the Mahporeem Imperial Remnant, but the powerful vergence of the Dark Side that flows unchecked through the world, for somewhere beneath its lifeless landscape lies a dark side nexus, its exact location presumed lost when the Sith Temple was brought to ruin.

All records of its whereabouts may have been destroyed, but the Dark Side stirs nonetheless, its presence felt across the barren world like something ancient awakening beneath the stone.

I walked the corridors of the Mahporeem Imperial Science Station with my hands clasped behind my back, the measured cadence of my boots swallowed by the sterile hum of machinery and the distant tremor of engines. The Mahporeem Imperial Remnant sought to expand its growing empire, yet ambition was a hungry thing, and our resources were not infinite.

We could not scatter scouts across every nearby world, nor would I command the Mahporeem Imperial Science Division to abandon its work upon the planets already beneath our influence.

Thus, the task had fallen to me.

Zigoola had not appeared upon our initial radar, and by every ordinary measure, the old Sith world was a barren, useless stone; a dead place of rock and dust, abandoned to the cold indifference of the galaxy. But the Force does not abandon its wounds so easily.

Somewhere beneath that desolation lay a nexus steeped in the Dark Side, a place where its power flowed unchecked, hidden from the careless eyes of those who had long since forgotten it. The Mahporeem Imperial Remnant now stood in a position to decide its fate, and I had no intention of allowing that decision to be made by ignorance.

Three others had volunteered to accompany me on this crusade, and I found the thought of their company preferable to the usual parade of officers who mistook obedience for understanding.

We agreed to meet at the old ruined Sith Temple, the only logical direction in which to begin our search. Every great adventure required a starting point, and I had always found that the Sith possessed a particular talent for leaving their beginnings in ruins.

I entered the transport shuttle, and the doors sealed behind me with a dull hiss as the engines stirred to life. The journey to Zigoola passed beneath the cold blackness of space, until the planet emerged before me, a barren sphere of ancient stone and forgotten purpose.

When I stepped onto its surface, the wind came at once, dragging dust across the landing field and whispering through the jagged landscape like something that had been waiting a very long time to speak.

Before me stood the Sith Temple, its broken spires and crumbling walls rising from the wasteland in all their glorious ruination.

I regarded it in silence.

It was not the nexus itself that had drawn us here, but the temple was where the search would begin, and I suspected that whatever darkness had survived beneath Zigoola had not survived by accident.

 

[Shade]

Zigoola was not the sort of world Shade ordinarily volunteered to visit, which had admittedly been part of the appeal. Her work had taken her through ruined cities, abandoned installations, battlefields, criminal enclaves, and enough unpleasant corners of the galaxy that she'd stopped keeping a meaningful count years ago. Most of those places shared one useful quality: whatever had happened there could eventually be reduced to something tangible if she looked long enough. Records survived, people lied, equipment failed, and even carefully concealed operations usually left something behind. An ancient Dark Side nexus buried somewhere beneath a barren world was considerably farther outside her usual professional experience, but finding something that didn't want to be found was not. The ruined Sith Temple wasn't believed to be the nexus itself, only the best place they had to begin looking, and Shade was perfectly content to leave the mysteries of the Force to those better qualified while she concentrated on investigation and whatever might object to their presence.

Her ship settled some distance from the ruins, landing gear meeting the rocky surface beneath a wash of displaced dust. Shade emerged shortly afterward in her dark armor, equipped for investigation as readily as combat. Compact scanners and investigative tools were secured within the armor's integrated storage alongside spare power packs and the weapons she carried as a matter of course. The wind caught her almost immediately, tugging at her long black and silver braid and carrying fine grit against the armor while crimson eyes narrowed against the dust. She studied the temple rising from the desolation ahead, taking in broken walls, collapsed sections, changes in elevation, and anything suggesting the visible structure might conceal something older beneath it. "Cheerful." A faint smile accompanied the observation before she started toward the ruins. If the temple had ever possessed a connection to whatever lay beneath Zigoola, someone had once known how to reach it. People had moved through corridors, protected important areas, concealed entrances, and left evidence of those decisions behind. Even Sith required infrastructure.

R'ayne had already arrived by the time Shade reached the temple, and Shade altered her path toward the Twi'lek rather than beginning her own examination alone. They were here to work together, and there was little advantage in scattering before any of them understood what they were walking into. "R'ayne." Shade drew alongside her, gaze traveling upward across the ruins before a small smile touched her lips. "I was going to say I've worked in worse places, but I'm beginning to think that would sound like a challenge." She studied the entrance again, her attention lingering on the physical structure rather than whatever might be felt beyond it. "I'll leave the mystical impressions of impending doom to those of you better qualified to interpret them. I'll concentrate on the ordinary impending doom." Investigation, concealed threats, and keeping the people beside her alive were considerably more familiar territory.

Shade remained beside R'ayne as she considered the ruins, making no move to press ahead while they waited for Augustus and Zavik. "If this place had any relationship with what we're looking for, someone once knew about it. They may not have left directions, but they had to move through here somehow. We might find something useful if we pay attention to where the architecture doesn't quite make sense." Her gaze shifted toward one of the darker openings in the ruined structure before returning to R'ayne. It was a suggestion offered to an equal, not an attempt to dictate how the others searched. "I'd also rather we stay reasonably close until we know what survived in there. Ancient Sith ruins have a remarkably poor reputation for containing nothing dangerous." The faint smile returned. "Probably unfair. I'm sure some of them are perfectly safe." Shade didn't sound remotely convinced.

R'ayne Asara Augustus Tassar Zavik Maltheris

 

[Augustus Tassar]

// ZIGOOLA+MAHPOREEMIMPERIALSCIENCEDIVISION+EXPLORATION+SUPPORTDEPLOYMENT // SITHTEMPLE+DECONSECRATION+CONTAINMENT+NIHILUSDIRECTIVE

Zigoola | Sith Temple
Arrival
R'ayne Asara | Shade | Zavik Maltheris

The TIE Reaper set down in a smooth, but swift landing, demonstrating a more combat oriented pilot was working their magic. The vessel though differed from the usual imperial designs, it was larger and its hull completely black with golden accents. The codes it transmitted were clearly that of the Mahporeem Imperial Army, but one would probably not find the vessel anywhere in its arsenal if one looked. Above the world loomed a similarly styled warship, waiting.

From the still lowering ramp stepped Augustus Tassar, the Lion's Talon in his hand, the mighty blade held high occasionally cracking as dust was whipped against it. The breeze found purchase in his heavy red cloak as well, flowing in the wind as he approached the two waiting figures, towering above them in his shiny golden plate. The blue lenses of his helmet were shining coldly as they stared at the ruins ahead.

"Minister Asara." Tassar's attention turned to the two, offering a deep nod to the Twi'lek before looking towards the Chiss. His time spent on Vandemar had made him quite fond of their species, reminding him of traits that his own kin shared. They were highly valued for their intellect and culture and he had no reason to assume anything else for this one. "We have not had the honour yet. I am Augustus Tassar, Grand Marshal of the Imperial Army and Lord Imperatant of the Indomitus Legion."

While his voice was genuine, almost a tad too youthful, it was dry and somehow lacking much emotion. But what might be more disturbing, was the state of his being. He was Force Dead, a numb void that he carried with himself wherever he went.

"Did you have chance to approach and inspect the ruins yet or was either of your arrivals recent as well?"