Private Fools on Thule

[Darth Strosius]

Thule.

An old Sith world, one that maintained a strong Sith presence throughout the many centuries. Even to this day, safe in the arms of the ne modern Sith Empire. Given its long history with the Dark Side, there were many caches, temples, and other little storages that the ancient Sith left behind for future use. Of course, given the times of struggle, many of these have since been pried open to use whatever they may contain against enemies new and old.

However, the Sith notoriously do not take kindly to anyone digging in their private stashes. Especially non-Sith.

"The other entrances are being secured as we speak, this is the last one we need to check over." The masked Acolyte spoke with some semblance of authority, a projected hologram of the area around the shuttle in front of him as he gave orders to the other occupants of the transport. "These smugglers and would-be treasure hunters dare try to plunder a scared Sith repository, like the fools they are. I expect all of you to not hesitate when we kill them."

The Legionnaires in the transport gave little reaction. They were soldiers, they knew what was expected of them. Thankfully this would be far from a battle in any traditional sense, more of an extermination really. Just a little cleanup of some scavengers seeking to make a quick credit or two trying to find some Sith relics.

The temple in question had been buried for many centuries now, but excavations had begun not too long ago. Unfortunately the wars had pulled away most of the funding for the dig sites, leaving them open for these smugglers to try and break in. The response to meet these intruders had come fairly quickly, but at least one of the groups of smugglers had made it inside before the Legionnaires and Sith had arrived.

It was up to them to go inside and eliminate what few trespassers there were. And thankfully for them, the soldiers of the Sith would not be alone in this endeavor either. Always seeking to improve relations, as well as needing the extra pair of hands, the higher ups had invited a member of the Eternal Empire to participate in this hunt. Aura Vexx .

"Myself and our guest will take point, keep an eye on our rears and everything will go smoothly. Understood?" The Legionnaires all spoke an 'Understood Sir.' in response right as the transport touched down in front of the temple entrance.

The hunt had begun.

 

[Aura Vexx]

Aura was new to the ways of the Sith. His people knew of them, as they knew of the Jedi. The Echani-Vexx had spent nearly one thousand years travelling the galaxy before settling down, and in that time they had encountered many adherents of both sides of the Force. When he had destroyed his own people, he had committed himself to a concept he had only been peripherally aware of, but had since come cherish. The ways of the Dark Side were, paradoxically, enlightening. They opened paths for him to follow he never would have been able to go down before, and showed him truths long kept in the shadows.

He had joined with the Eternal Empire to further his own goals and understanding of the Dark Side, and when the offer came to help their allies in the Sith Empire, he had accepted. Standing in the transport with the other elements of the landing party, Aura could not help but enjoy the contrast in color and design. From what he had seen so far of the Sith Empire, the colors black and red took a high place in their pallets. His own freshly polished and carefully engraved durasteel glimmer in the feint light as he walked forward, nodding to Darth Strosius as he spoke and explained the mission.

"Yes, we shall take point, but what will be left for our friends here to do. Suppose they can bring mops..." The words were spoken quietly, with a brief look over his shoulder at the legionaries before shrugging. Reaching down to his side, he grabbed the black coated lightsaber and slowly tightened his gloved hand around, still growing used to the strange weapon.

 

[Darth Strosius]

Of his time spent in the Sith Empire, Alisteri had only had the pleasure of interacting with the Eternal Empire twice until now. Fighting alongside someone from said faction was a first for him. He had no problems with that of course, any chance to work with a fellow Sith was a welcome one in his mind. And a Sith from another place offered new insights of course.

All of that was merely semantics and potential future topics though, right now they had a temple to tackle.

"I wouldn't discount them so quickly, I've seen a Legionnaire pin a Jedi in the knee from blocks away." He noted with a small bit of humor, speaking in a low tone as well as he deactivated the display. "Mostly they're here to ensure that no one slips by us. Taking them too deep into the temple isn't preferable, so they'll just be guarding the entrance." Sith places were always dangerous, especially in a situation like this where their defenses and guardians were entirely unknown. Better to play it safe and let those blessed with the Force handle whatever lay within.

The transport's door soon opened, revealing the arid surface around them with the Legionnaires soon filing out ahead of the two Sith. The temple entrance wasn't far away, remnants of the now-abandoned dig site still evident even with the entrance revealed. "Ever been in a place like this? An old Sith tomb or whatever else?" He could tell just by watching Aura Vexx that the other Sith was fairly new to the life and ways of the Sith. It was understandable of course, he was still relatively new himself after all.

War had been a heck of an introduction to the Sith, but one that had made him stronger all the same.

 

[Aura Vexx]

Aura cast the legionaries a last look over his shoulder before shrugging. He was Echani-Vexx, others were just naturally inferior to him. It was what he had been taught his entire life, and it would be a difficult habit to break. The tactics suggested made sense, melee fighters such as Darth Strosius and himself would have the advantage in the close confines of the temple, while the ranged weapons of the legionaries and their likely enemies would be hampered. It would be a rather straightforward task to hunt them down and deal with the threat. It would be a good test to see what the Sith of the galaxy could do.

Shaking his head at his compatriots question, he stared directly ahead waiting for the ramp to lower. "Never been to a temple of any kind, I grew up in the Unknown Regions. Other than a few outliers, there is a startling lack of Sith relics out that way. I have been meaning to, but I guess this will serve as good a time as any." He had done what research he could on the subject during their journey to Thune, but he still felt he was lacking in understanding for this department.

"Do we have any indication of how many smugglers there are inside, or the equipment they may be using?"

 

[Darth Strosius]

"Ah right, well you are in for a learning experience then." The Unknown Regions, given how many people lived there today he was admittedly unsure how well that name fit anymore. Probably still in place due to some pretentious cartographer in the Core, if he had to guess. "Make sure to watch your back then, these old Sith places like to play tricks on you. Tricks that can wind up with a lost limb at best and a lost mind somewhere near the worst." The Acolyte didn't take too long to step out of the transport after all of the Legionnaires had already left, eager to get this little hunt properly underway.

Those smugglers had no idea what they were in for. "Based purely on the other groups that they've managed to stop already, should be around seven or eight of them. No more than ten for sure. Equipment is nothing to be too concerned with, standard blasters and whatnot. Maybe one or two proper military models at best."

He paused his stride towards the temple and gestured to the open hole where a door most likely used to be. "My concern is that they blew their way in. No telling what sort of demolition supplies or equipment they may still have with them, so I would be keeping an eye out for anything that looks like it may be a bomb." Alisteri glanced back Aura Vexx and shrugged. "Ultimately, it's not the smugglers inside that are going to be the main problem though,"

"It's whatever kept the other ones out that I'm concerned about."

 

[Aura Vexx]

"To fall prey to he machinations of those who came before has a certain...honor to it, I think. But I shall take your advice to mind for this occasion. As for the foes we face, such a small number will be of little concern." Aura spoke without sparing the conversation over much in the way of consideration, his mind turned fully to the task at hand. What could possibly be held within a temple that could prove such a lethal threat, especially something that could have been alive for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

Whatever it was, it must be powerful. Aura had to know.

"Explosives are useful tools in most situations, but I would hope they had the foresight not to use them inside. Enclosed spaces rarely prove to be an ideal location for demolition warfare, especially in such an ancient location." Aura walked in stride with Darth Strosius as they approached the temple, Igniting his lightsaber, he held the crimson blade out before him, looking into the depths of the temple.

"Lets go find ourselves a monster...and the smugglers I suppose."

 

[Darth Strosius]

"That is...well it is certainly a way of looking at it I suppose." It wasn't a view that he held himself, but he could understand and sympathize with it. He'd much rather spend his life against an enemy rather than against the defenses of an ancient Sith temple, but to each their own of course. Alisteri did pause his stride for just a moment to glance at the Legionnaires as the fanned out to check the area around the entrance of the temple. "You all know the drill, secure the area, if we aren't back in two hours then don't come looking, and if anyone or anything other than us tries to leave then put it down."

Hopefully those latter two orders wouldn't be necessary, but one could never be too careful.

The masked man let out a small, almost cynical laugh at Aura Vexx 's last remark and nodded. "With any luck it will be a monster. Something that bleeds and is killed easy." It wasn't a sarcastic statement at all, although there was a bit of humor behind it. He didn't hesitated to pull his own sabre from his belt and ignite the blade, his gaze sweeping over the dark entrance. The usual sense of dread with hints of the coolness that the Dark Side exuded was there, nothing out of the usual thus far.

He doubted it would stay that way for very long though. "Into the breach then, let's hope the smugglers left a little trail for us to follow." With that he wasted no more time as he strode forward, idly twirling the hilt of his weapon in his hand as he approached the blown open doors to the temple. It was dark, and not in the usual sense. Something was keeping it dark, that much was obvious when he stepped inside of the building and his eyes couldn't see in the dark as well as they should've. I guess Sangnir eyes don't help much against Sith sorcery...