Public Forest of the Heart | Tales From the Symiretsuo Nebula

[Auteme]

A galaxy filled with stars and wars both, and yet the latter was all anyone could talk about. ​

The Symiretsuo Nebula; one of many hidden away in the Deep Core by the seas of black holes and other celestial anomalies. Even with most of the galaxy explored, pockets such as the Symiretsuo still lay largely untouched by the sentients of the galaxy. Most had grown content to war over what was. A few still searched for what could be.

Every thousand years the way to the nebula was cleared for a few months -- the orbit of the various celestial bodies cleared a single pathway inside. The last expedition had been completed during the Old Republic and spoke of wonders beyond counting. Mountains higher than Coruscant's skyscrapers, alien ruins beyond counting, structures beyond comprehension; worlds brimming with life, planets so close they were almost touching. Though they were long gone, the work of those researchers survived and this time the expedition was better prepared.

They weren't the only ones headed in, of course. Worlds hidden in the Deep Core potentially brimming with new resources? Opportunists of all types rushed into the nebula in search of what treasures could be found.

ASV Hyperion | Open​

Auteme stood on the observation deck, watching the blue-green speck grow and grow. Their destination, designated SN-1009-3482-1212, was a world as lush any agriworld. At least, looking down. The jungle canopy was thicker than Kashyyyk's and the initial geologic surveys suggested that the root systems were as dense as duracrete.

Yet, there was little science that could describe what she felt. Each inch closer was as if she were hearing her own heartbeat through the Force. A world so full of life, and yet devoid of creatures like them; creatures with technology and lust for resources. She wondered what she might find there.

The other Jedi aboard the Hyperion could feel it too. Though they were few -- most of the New Jedi Order was still preparing for war elsewhere -- she'd managed to secure their passage aboard the expedition as more mystical guides. A curious balance between the hard science and testing against the Jedi's intuition.

In time, the teams of scientists and others were sent towards the surface in their few shuttles. Each ship's hold was filled with equipment for samples and data-taking. Auteme, though, meditated. The heart beat louder; the Force filled her mind with a serenity unlike anything in the galaxy. Their ship soon set down on the jungle 'floor', in a clearing in the shadow of a tree a dozen times wider than their starship.

Auteme stood. The ramp lowered; the air a million times as rich as the ship's. The smell of plant and earth assailed the senses, only to calm. It turned to a warm comfort that hung above the tree's great roots.

"Shall we?" She smiled, making her first step onto the new world.

Spoiler

Hey you. Yeah, you. Come here and go absolutely bonkers with your descriptions. This is going to be a series of sandbox exploration threads; this one set on an over-sized forest world. You can be doing whatever you want here, whether Jedi, scientist, spacer, whatever; have a few short interactions with people, describe something cool. I'll be adding stuff throughout. Toss in cool art for each of your posts and don't forget to have fun. Writing is cool.

 

[M-XIII]

The Symiretsuo Nebula

Tales, stories, and rumors began to quickly circulate through the exploration communities that several high-end corporations where financing teams to the Symiretsuo Nebula; each corporation seeking to capitalize on the untapped resources. It didn't take long for the hyperlanes to become flooded and overwhelmed with all manners of ships; big and medium, medium and small. These ships housed all manners of individuals, from the honest hard worker to the greediest; all with one common denominator, to get paid. Credits, for some, where hard to come by with the ravages of war infecting the souls of so many innocent planets and their citizens. But for some, war was profitable. Profitable in ways such as finding valuable salvage or scrapping and stripping down the machines of war; transforming these invaluable treasures into paydays.

For the cyborg known only as Myzery XIII, whose loyalties belonged to the Darkwire, she is a salvager and scrapper first and foremost. If not for her heavily detailed memory banks, she would have lost count on how many explorations, successful and unsuccessful, she had the privilege to attend. Her resume read like a "How To" manual on the craft of exploration life, a book she wished had existed for those lost and never found. Exploration was a dangerous game, lifestyle, and career choice. Exploring was in itself not very profitable for the simple crewperson, but for mercs and people of the salvaging community; the trade off between credits and the associated dangers was undoubtedly worth the risks. And she had signed on with an amateur crew not because the funding corporation was literally coughing up more than enough credits to hire her based on reputation and results alone, but she needed to be around fresh minds; and with fresh minds came fresh ideas and techniques. Even old veterans could learn new tricks.

Upon the ship's landing gear making contact with the planet's surface, the real adventures where about to begin. Space flight, for the exception of the eager minds, is usually boring unless one encounters pirates or unsavory individuals, so after the rear cargo bay doors parted allowing the extending ramp to reach out to make contact with the jungle floor, Myzery XIII happily exited first. Her visual receptors, partial living tissue and partial droid components, quickly scanned the surrounding area. Mainly she was looking for impending dangers. Those exploration teams that found doom usually did so in the first few hours of arriving. The rule was to survive the first night, do that and the successful percentage was high. And each day one was above ground, or not in the belly of some vicious predator, added confidence and bravery.

It was a personal rule of hers to pack properly for exploring. Most temperatures had no direct affect on her cyborg body, so she didn't need warm, bulky clothes for the cold nor thin, loose fitting outfits for the heat. Weapons, always. And of course naturally the mission dictated the proper tools of the trade; however in this instance, it was more about claiming resource sites than actual junk seeking. Still, the credits transferred into her private account offset the loss of salvage and scrap.

"Eyes open," her synthesized voiced reverberated, "No telling what's out there."


Auteme​

 

[Marlon Sularen]

Location | In orbit of SN-1009-3482-1212
Objective | Explore , Expand , Exploit
Tag | Auteme | Myzery XIII

The Deep Core , perhaps one of the most Mysterious yet dangerous Regions in the Galaxy. The Region had always been hotbed for the discovery of new worlds , with Sularen moving forth to establish a presence on the various newly discovered worlds such as Ernx Minora in which was a suitable world for his Secret Projects , having been untouched by the Galactic Alliance. The Main reason for why Sularen moved into the Deep Core and became the Lord-Imperator of Byss was to capitalize on such opportunities and advantages seeing it as the best way to expand his Corporate and Political Power.

While Byss was still recovering from an Eternal Imperial Attack , news of recent expeditions into the Symiretsuo Nebula had caught Sularen's Attention and against the advice of his Older Cousin , Senator Denzul Vosh-Sularen the ever ambitious Lord-Imperator set out for the World known as SN-1009-3482-1212 at the head of a small Corporate Flotilla leaving his Cousin to oversee the Reconstruction efforts on Byss in order to launch an expedition himself.

While Denzul argued it would be safer to remain on Byss and have either Dorian Sevenar or Ivan Stadd lead the expedition , Sularen had enough of hiding in the Shadows and at least wanted to spend sometime outside of Byss not as a Lord-Imperator and as a Businessman. His Plans on Byss had grown Stagnant and it was atleast time to find something else to do while awaiting the completion of his Top-Secret Infrastructural Projects on his Throne World.

Thus he headed to SN-1009-3482-1212 with the Predator and 5 Claymore Heavy Cruisers built from the Secret Half-completed Ring-Shaped Relus Drive Yards. While this was somewhat of a large force to bring for an Expedition , Sularen was also the type of person who never left his initial base of operations without a considerable and sometimes exaggerated security force to protect him. After all he was the Lord-Imperator of Byss with a VERY Complicated History.

As Sularen's Flotilla Arrived in orbit of SN-1009 , 2 Chi-Class Heavy Dropships left the Predator followed by Sularen's T-4b Imperial Shuttle with the Three vessels heading towards the surface of the Planet. Onboard each Dropship were 1 HCVw A9 Turbotank utilized primarily to transport personnel along with 1 Imperial Combat Assault Transport utilized to transport large amount of equipment that were to be utilized for the further exploration of the Planet. As the Three vessels arrived into the Planet's Atmosphere , Sularen entered the cockpit of his Personal Shuttle and watched in amazement as the Trio of Ships flew above the Planet's Dense Jungles somewhat fascinated by the Planet's Landscape.

Soon enough the Trio of Ships found a suitable spot for landing arriving at a clearing located in close proximity to a large river with the Trio of Vessels soon landing within the Clearing and unloading their cargo as the Juggernauts soon moved out and arranged themselves into a single file , while Sularen's T-4b Shuttle soon landed with Sularen himself exiting the Shuttle with his escort of Personal Bodyguards and Corporate Officials accompanying him in this journey. Soon enough this Large Expedition would set out to discover what lays hidden in the unknown reaches of this newly discovered Planet.

Spoiler: Sularen's Expeditionary Task Force

• Expeditionary Fleet [Orbit]
  • Predator
  • Claymore-Class Heavy Cruisers [x5]
• Expeditionary Task Force [Surface]
  • Personel
    • 125 Special Security Troopers
    • 60 Scientists
    • 45 Corporate Employees
    • 20 Politorate Agents
  • Vehicles
    • 2 HCVw9 A9 Turbo Tanks
    • 2 Imperial Combat Assault Transports
  • Important NPCs
    • Patrick Roundili | COO of the Mining Collective
    • Kitrep Drayson | Chief of SularenCo's Advanced Research Operations
    • Bonne Leoet | Field Officer at Tantamount Interstellar

 

[Cyran Vaas]

Location: SN-1009-3482-1212
Objective: Checking things out, maybe think of some lyrics
Tags: Marlon Sularen Myzery XIII Auteme​

There's always some fun to be had during a good old planet rush. New environments, new creatures, maybe some new valuable recourses as well, who knows. But some things were always pretty certain, competition was always high during times like these. What made Cyran personally instead in this little adventure was the fact it was in the deep core. Such a dense yet under explored region of the galaxy it seemed. It was a nice seemingly temperate forest planet so nothing too extreme hopefully.

Also what could be more worthy of a folk song than partaking in an adventure like this? If something not worthy happens that is. He could make quite a decent song out of this. He always liked writing out songs, that's part of why he took on the dangerous occupation of a bounty hunter. There already some pretty good tunes he's made out of all he's experienced already.

He didn't really follow the main convoy down, but he wanted to be close enough that if things when horribly wrong he had people to run to and make their problem as well. A weird sense in strength in numbers. Cyran landed his old pink camo starfighter down on a small clearing on the surface and exited the vehicle into the fresh air. He was wearing his old, cheap and ineffective replica Mandalorian armor. He was invested just enough for that, but not for his proper power suit. Also that just wasn't a very practical for hiking around in the woods.

Putting on a simple backpack and having his protection on his strapped onto his thighs he closed up his starfighter and headed out into the great beyond looking to possible intercept others who came down around the same time...

 

[Sidra Ater]

Sidra didn’t really know why she was here.

But there was an emptiness inside that she hoped to fill — to find something precious she’d lost. As her amber eyes took in the lush evergreens and tall mountains, she wondered just what she would actually find here. Did this place hold any answers for her?

She supposed there was only one way to find out.

Dressed in a pair of black trousers, a long jacket, belted at the waist, and a pair of rugged boots, she looked fairly unassuming. The rucksack on her back might hint that she was a hiker or camper, and that would suit her just fine. Beneath the fabric of her jacket, however, was a lightsaber and blaster. And as for an alignment in the force, she had none to speak of — she couldn’t even feel the force around her now.

So, perhaps she really was just a traveler today. She’d traveled here by ship—not her own—using some of the wages she’d managed to scrape up working as a mechanic. It was rather unrewarding work, compared to the feats she used to accomplish as a Jedi. But it was somewhat honest work. This world, Sidra had heard, was only accessible on occasion. And she had to admit that the enigmatic call was tempting.

Of course, she knew that there would be others making pilgrimages here—some probably more wholesome than others. But if she kept to herself, she hoped to have a relatively smooth journey to her destination: the mountain top.

Cyran Vaas | Marlon Sularen | Myzery XIII | Auteme​

 

[H3xle]

'Why am I here, why am I here, why am I here?' Went the mental scroll of Taryc's thoughts as she stood on the soil of an ancient world no one had set foot on since the time of the Old Republic. If she were to be honest with herself, the scroll of that question had been going through her mind since returning to this side of the galactic boundary. She'd left without a word who knows how many galactic standard years ago, tracing the path her family had taken through the Primeval. She had wanted to find something that told of a better history than being high priests and priestesses to some all consuming elder god or inquisitors for a regime bent on making the universe kneel before them.

She wanted something more than what she had been raised to be.

Nevermind that she was, now, something far more than she had been raised to be. Nevermind that she no longer served the Three and The One as their top inquisitor. Nevermind that she had finally been able to tip the balance, in her mind, towards having done more good than evil in the galaxy.

No, she needed answers. The inquisitor in her could never rest when a question didn't have answers.

How could she, though, answer the question of her family and where they came from?

She'd pulled on the thread, leaving a woman she'd loved and the galaxy she'd known. She'd followed it beyond the boundaries of this galaxy, she'd found one piece of the origins of the Primeval. She'd found threads for the Ap'Irae family and followed them for however long she'd been gone.

And that thread had brought her here. Back into the galaxy she'd both helped to almost bring down, and helped to heal. To the Deep Core, to a system that wasn't easily accessed except for certain periods centuries apart.

Was this the home of her family? Would she find anything redeeming about them aside from her very own existence.

She shook her head to clear the thoughts. She focused on the Light, feeling it suffuse her, and opened her eyes.

She wore her armor, as she nearly always did. She was armed, as she always was. And she was in an unfamiliar place with practically no one around who she knew she could count on.

Which meant everything was normal as she stepped down the ramp of the transport, and took in the surroundings of a planet where she might find the answers she needs.

Cyran Vaas | Marlon Sularen | Myzery XIII | Auteme | Sidra Ater​

 

[M-XIII]

The Symiretsuo Nebula

Hired crewmen worked diligent over the course of an hour to unload the equipment, categorizing them by specific type. Once the main bulk of the cargo hold had been emptied, Myzery XIII led the Captain of the ship and the lead Science Officer on an expedition to find a suitable camping site. A camping site needed to pass her three requirements before the grounds could be officially settled.

Her first requirement was a suitable water source. Water was the lifeblood of most species, and the lack of water led to dehydration. She had never witnessed first hand how a mass plague of dehydration came to ruin expeditions, either by forcing the groups to abandon their project or simply wiped out entirely; she only knew of stories from other explorers. Food, some would argue, was equally as important as water. There was some truth to the idea, but most planets housed sources of food if supply stores ran empty. One only needed to be patient and hunt, or fish. When your belly began to rumble and starvation was setting in, there was no time to be picky about what was available to eat. So be it a river, stream, pond, or lake; access to a water source was priority requirement number one.

Next was the defensibility of the campgrounds. Most, if not all, expedition camping sites were sprawled out over a large area; making it vulnerable to attacks either by raiders, hostile locals, or predatory animals. Even the occasional docile wild creature could cause havoc and destruction, if they were large enough. Setting up laser trip wires, small powerful laser turrets, and sentries often was successful; but utilizing the natural surroundings was crucial. Ditches, hills, massive embanks, cluster of trees, and even thickets of bushes were helpful.

Finally was accessibility to both the ship and the points of interest locations. The former was easier to obtain, and important in the event of a quick evacuation. Preferably no obstacles in the way, but that was debatable if it interfered with requirement number two. The latter made this requirement difficult. In most cases, most locations assigned for exploration rested in less than desirable situations; places nobody was comfortable sleeping at night. At the same time, traversing over long distances with findings was both tedious and annoying. And open for attack if the caravan was not manned properly in the terms of defense. In this instance, they had no clear locations to explore; only old and possibly outdated maps at their disposal.

Two hours had passed since the trio set-out looking to establish a reasonable encampment. After a brief discussion, the Captain and the Science Officer both deferred to the cyborg's advice and knowledge of a proper camp. Myzery XIII picked the most suitable quarters for the expedition team, all her requirements met with her satisfaction. All that was left, transporting all the equipment to the spot and set-up a base camp. Luckily, there was enough daylight to finish erecting their sleeping quarters.​

Auteme / Marlon Sularen / Cyran Vaas / Sidra Ater / H3xle

 

[Violet Horne]

H3xle | Sidra Ater | Cyran Vaas | Marlon Sularen | Myzery XIII

She followed the others down the ramp towards the surface of the world.

The strangest thing?

Once Violet's feet touched the ground she felt peaceful. Almost at home here. Which was odd, because she had been born amidst trees of iron and forests of steel. She had grown up on ships and the streets of urban sprawl. Forests... had always filled her with a sense of unease. Too much life around them, skin crawling by thousands of ants just on the surface.

Now however? Total ease.

it reminds me of home. The quite voice murmured and that is where it clicked for Violet. It was its sense of peace that she was feeling, not her own, which made her concerned. At least a little bit.

"Does the New Jedi Order often explore new worlds like these?" Violet asked Auteme with some curiosity. She was starting to get to know the various Jedi Orders around the Galaxy. Piece by piece. They all seemed so different, which had shocked her internal companion. For some reason it had only expected a singular Order.

The fracture of a thousand groups, all different, all focused on different things?

Unexpected... and Violet thought she had sensed horror from the creature. No amount of prodding or questioning would make it explain however and so Violet let it be.

"It's... beautiful." She had wanted to say something different. Eyes lifted up, following the track of a flying creature. It looked like a mix between a bird... and... a tree? It seemed to blend and melt into the cacophony of leafs and branches. Shifting between them, settling down and disappearing out of view, before it flew up again. Nature's camouflage. "I don't think I have ever seen something like this before."

 

[Auteme]

Violet Horne | H3xle Sidra Ater Myzery XIII Cyran Vaas Marlon Sularen ​

"Oh, I really wish we did," she said. Her frustrations about her Order were many, but she'd come to accept them -- the people around her did good work. Everyone had their own way of helping. If this was what Violet was looking to do, there'd always be space for it. Lots of space in the galaxy. Just enough among the Jedi of the New Jedi Order.

"We're more of a militant order," she said, half-cringing at the thought. "Most of the Jedi in the New Jedi Order came together as the threat of the Draelvasier and the Sith intensified, so most spend their time dealing with those problems. I try to help, but... I'm not exactly a fighter.

"There aren't that many of us. Resource allocation, that kind of thing -- exploration's fallen a bit to the wayside, I suppose." She shrugged. Her eyes went up, following flying creature as it disappeared back into the giant leaves.

"But there's nothing quite like a new place."

The scientists and crew unloaded their equipment from the Hyperion and began their studies. Auteme, as fascinated as she was by the data and study, also wanted to explore (and she wasn't officially part of the crew and didn't know the exact methodology of all the studies). Instead she got to run around and do whatever she wanted. Perks of being a Jedi, maybe. She beckoned Violet. "Let's take a look around."

It was quickly apparent just how small they were on this world. As Auteme walked away from the ship she realized that they'd landed on the enormous root of the tree that seemed to blot the sun above. The wood seemed as hard as duracrete under her feet. In the distance she saw other roots and trees, interwoven in a sort of natural lattice that reminded her of the great tree-cities of the Wookiees on Kashyyyk. Only, those cities were far above the ground-

Auteme walked closer to the edge of the giant root, peeking over to look at what was below. She expected to see the ground, and she did -- far, far below where she'd expected to be. Underneath the 'roots' of the already enormous trees, the trunks continued down and down and down. Where they stood was almost a second canopy to a great underground cavern. From the distance she couldn't quite tell what was at the bottom, but her guess was water; a perfect underground lake that fed the giant trees.

"How do you think we can get down there?" She glanced to the other Jedi.

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

SN-1009-3482-1212

Every thousand years or so, a passage opened to the worlds of the Symiretsuo Nebula. One explorer, thirty-five centuries back, had left a record in a holocron that crossed Ashin's desk during her time as Sith Empress. She'd kept this opportunity in the back of her head ever since - a lifetime. And when the opportunity arrived, the timing couldn't be better.

Darth Maceron was the name - he'd visited this world for a month or two and gleaned enough power to overthrow a rival. Here among the huge trees, Ashin understood: this world was rich in the Force, and someone with the right skills, will, and strength could draw on this web of life to do serious things.

She'd approached Spencer Varanin 's potential resurrection in a dozen ways, all either ongoing or failed. This planet's bounty was just another possibility, another chance.

Deep in the forest, she set her rifle against the trunk of a beautiful, unique, iridescent tree. She placed her hands against the bark and closed her eyes. And it began to die.

Auteme Myzery XIII H3xle Sidra Ater Cyran Vaas Marlon Sularen

 

[Violet Horne]

H3xle | Sidra Ater | Cyran Vaas | Marlon Sularen | Myzery XIII | Ashin Cardé Varanin

A militant order.

Something inside of her approved entirely.

Her companion, her passenger, she received flashes and shreds of sentiment there. Those it belonged to believed in this structure.

Peace without justice is a lie.

Something was wrong about that. Not in essence. It just reminded her of something... but every time her mind wandered towards the wrongness it was deflected away. For some reason every time she tried other things became more interesting, so for now Violet left it alone. There was a whole planet around them that was fascinating and not scary in any way.

"A militant order..." Violet repeated in a murmur. "You don't seem to approve of it?" Not a fighter, true, but for some reason Violet thought it wasn't just that.

Something more behind it.

But maybe that was just her mind being eager to make connections where there were none. She followed Auteme and the others through to the edge of the ... tree trunk. That idea was just wild to her. They were standing on a literal tree, but one that was just several orders larger than anything she had ever seen before. Kashyyyk was just a story to her. Something out of a HoloNet show and books read. Now she was actually standing on something that was so similar to those stories.

"Never thought I'd be here..."

Auteme's question caught her off-guard.

She hesitatingly looked to the others, before scratching her head. respond, be at the center of attention, prove yourself worthy of it. Which kinda sucked, because Violet really hated being at the center of anything.

"Maybe um. We could use shuttles? I am not sure... we have long enough rope for... this." She glanced over the edge and gulped. That was a really long way down. "We could climb, I guess, but that is a LONG way down and I don't think we will make that." Well, maybe some would, those that were very proficient in using the Force to enhance their strength and stamina.

That wouldn't be the case for all of them, maybe not even the majority however.

In the distance a sound drew Violet's attention.

She tried to look up, blinking owlishly, seeing something new. An animal? It looked like a cross between a wolf (a very large one) and a squirrel. The tail was utterly ridiculous on it.

But... it seemed to have a really easy way of finding its way around the gargantuan trunks of the tree.

 

[Darth Themis]

Wearing: Serpentskin

Armed with: Lightning Rod (Pink, Single Bladed Lightsaber)

Arrived in: Smiling Cobra

Accompanied by: Serpents of Ashla (14 Knights), Vera Mina (Command Form, See Bio)

Objective: Harvest Force Crystals to aid in ritual to pass through Nebula at will

007 hours prior

Darth Themis, Bright Lord of The Sith mourned recent events.

Laertia Io, her 'Grand Daughter', and whom Themis was secretly allied to, had fought at Dantooine, and in so doing helped cause a Jedi Schism. All because she refused to support a flawed strategy. Themis had tried searching to see whether their strategy was truly that flawed but the future was in a state of such flux that anything could happen now.

Worse still, the one who had murdered Laertia's parents, Darth Phyre, now known in this era somehow as Syd Celsius , had ended up becoming Laertia's Lover.

Themis viewed her own failure as complete and utter on the matter, worst still, because if she said anything, did anything, directly or indirectly, to reveal who Syd was, Laertia would go completely insane.

Themis didn't know what to do. At least their secret collaborations had born fruit.

Themis had found Jedi Converts. Those who tired of the Jedi's views on the Light and how it was to be best applied. Tired of how trying to apply it in such a brutal situation had only caused the Bryn'adul to gain more ground. Others, had secretly experimented in small ways with how to twist the Light itself, regardless of the war with the Sith. To her immense lack of surprise, Alkahest Users were very susceptible to her message.

The way the Jedi used the Light Side was too narrow and confining. Laertia was slowly but surely starting to accept this fact the more Jedi resisted her call to align with their rivals to stop the mass murder without limit policy of The Bryn'adul. Themis was finding more converts. And for those Sith that would not renounce The Dark Side, well...

That was what fethed up Light Side Sith rituals were for.

Themis and her twelve recent, willing Jedi Converts stared down at the last two, soon to be Converts. The first daughter of the Knight Obsidian Weapons Developer, Nine Lives , a particularly dangerous and murderous Android, had captured two Sith for the purposes of Themis demonstrating the power of twisting The Light Side of the Force. The Biot, clad in a metallic white Catsuit that was actually a potent bio armor watched with fascination as Themis finished writing the wards on the deck plating around the two captured Sith, heavily drugged into submission and restrained with neural disruptors. Vera smirked as she smelled their fear and hate, keeping a slugthrower assault rifle and shotgun trained on them next to the other converts, who wore tengu masks and black robes, but no other identifying marks, all carrying single bladed blue Lightsabers. As they twisted The Light around them more, the only way they would stay hidden from a Jedi's senses was by not engaging in combat. Vera bore no such weakness.

Themis and the converts circled the two in the cleared out storage bay where the fabricators were housed.

Themis began to chant aboard the picket ship her daughter was letting her barrow. The other converts chanted over the two captured Sith with her in an unnatural language. She wore the armor of her station a skintight purple catsuit with long black gloves and boots, a cowl concealing her features, but not her mutated bronze and green eyes.

Her black Saber-Spear, its green blade active, channeled the twisted powers of the Light in the form of dark green electricity that flowed from the tip of the blade.

The bound and gagged Sith Screamed as it hit them, the wards lighting up as the Dark Side was forcibly purged from their minds and bodies, both of which soon warped and mutated from her Alkahest Ritual. She felt the light twist and bend through her, felt the enforcement of order upon these two slaves of Darkness, and for a moment remembered she was the leader of one of the few, truly organized faction of Light Side Sith, and she had a higher calling.

Namely, by starting to act as a gadfly for the NJO and NIO. Laertia didn't want them interfering in her attempts to fight the Bryn'adul, so the name of the game was to harrass and cause as much trouble for both as she could, forcing them to waste resources on fighting her group. She was also to find some way to harrass and sabotage the Sith Empire if it tried to stab any of Laertia's effort in the back. Themis was already beginning deep cover infiltration efforts but those would not be ready for quite some time.

Vera smiled as she listened to the screams. Personally, some of Laertia's allies revolted Themis. Vera had a blood lust that could put a Sith Marauder to shame. Laertia had never forgiven Vera for the way she had mockingly and cruelly withheld her insight into The Amalgam's obsession with her and usually didn't want to be in the same room with her, though she had not yet admitted this to Vera, who nonetheless could tell Laertia hated Vera. This perplexed the Biot, who didn't understand why Laertia hated her when the only thing that really separated them was motive and biology. Vera could only guess at the reasons. Perhaps it was their very similarity and capacity for creating bloodshed that made Laertia remember she was a Killing Machine just like Vera. Vera accepted it. Laertia never quite had even though on some level she had to know there was very little difference between them. But as much as Laertia hated her, she couldn't deny Vera had her uses. Hence why she had asked Nine to dispatch Vera as extra muscle, especially for this operation. Themis herself distrusted it, knew it ultimately answered to Nine, but she could foresee its involvement was necessary so she agreed to it.

The screams of the converted Sith at last finished and their bindings were undone. They bent one knee to Themis, their eyes bearing the same mutated bronze and green color eyes that Themis had. Dark green veins were visible beneath pale skin.

"We thank you, Lady Themis, for showing us the truth..." one of the Converted Sith said, mind warped and twisted by her sorcery.

"I can't believe I kidnapped these two with balloon traps..." Vera sneered.

"Shush..." Themis spoke tersely. The Biot seemed to be a mix of both malicious and naive in her trolling. It aggravated and annoyed Themis.

"You have seen the truth..." Themis spoke. "I have shown you it, scouring the evil from your hearts with electric fire...now you will bring the gift I have brought to other Sith...the gift of Light...and if they will not accept, than you must strike them down...or convert them as I have converted you..."

"It will be done, my Lord..." the converted Sith spoke.

Themis nodded and bid them to rise from the ward circle.

"Today, we strike out for 'our' future! Our goals!" Themis spoke to those gathered. "A rare opening in a Nebula has occured. We shall journey to a planet I have witnessed in my visions. It shall be dangerous, crawling with Jedi, but we shall not be deterred, for we are the spearpoint of a new order!"

"Oooo, saucy pep talk after a good reprogramming..." Vera teased maliciously in the back.

This prompted Themis to flip the Android off, eliciting a chuckle from the Artificial Vampire...

Present

The High Tech Corvette, which had only Light Side signatures aboard, had joined in the rush to explore the systems within the Nebula. Its Pseudo Stealth Suite enabled it to escape the notice of most ships it passed by.

Themis had ordered a suitable landing area be found at once once the uncharted planet had been scanned. A large unobstructed patch, somewhat far from the prying eyes of Jedi but not too far unfortunately, from the likes of Auteme and Violet Horne . About a kilometer away.

Themis whistled as her viewscreen displayed the giant trees, some felled. In her visions, the entrance to the cave with the type of crystals she needed was here. They just needed to sweep the area for it, because she couldn't get an exact pinpoint despite trying. As long as no fighting occured, the Jedi wouldn't sense their actual nature. They would just think they were some odd lightsiders.

All her knights stepped out, their red tengu masks with long noses concealing their mutated eyes, as they were joined by her personal batch of Fett Clone Troopers in Black Clone Trooper armor with blue visors, all armed with Electrostaves and batons to combat Lightsabers, as well as sonic pistols and rifles, as Themis wasn't stupid. If you have to fight, never fight fair...

The Bright Lord of The Sith, as she watched the scanning equipment get brought off the ship, was joined by Vera, holding her shotgun and assault rifle upward.

"Shall I scout?" Vera asked.

"Yes...provide a distraction for the Jedi if they start getting curious. No deaths."

Vera gave a mock pout, putting her guns aside and filching an electro staff.

"Party pooper..." she joked, heading off to the woods to scout and intercept potential Jedi threats without resorting to lethal measures...

Themis began to search the Force for a more accurate location to help try and lessen the search time...

Marlon Sularen

Sidra Ater

H3xle

Cyran Vaas

Ashin Cardé Varanin

Myzery XIII

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

It really was a shame. This tree had intrinsic value apart from its beauty and the titanic life energy that Ashin was currently stealing. It was unique, at least in her experience. She'd pinpointed it from orbit with a custom sensor mode and hadn't found another like it. Perhaps the Force on this planet had created a vergence around the tree naturally. Darth Maceron, circa 2600BBY, had written of cutting down a similar tree in a different region. She'd found the trunk of that tree, completely lifeless, in a blighted little clearing on the other side of the planet. Maybe this tree, the one she was killing, was the planet's rebirth of what it had lost to Maceron's visit.

It really was a shame.

Force Drain sizzled from her hands in a reddish web that embraced the iridescent tree. The lights of its weeping branches began to fade. She sank her teeth into the tree's web of Force bonds, and her awareness of the forest increased a thousandfold in dizzying ways. She drew a shaky breath and leaned into the experience, resting her forehead against the bark. The outer layers cracked dully, sapped of life, but the heartwood and its deep connections would take a good deal longer. This awareness of the forest's web of life, a species at a time - different sorts of trees, vines, grasses, insects, fungi, flying creatures, burrowers, climbers - was much, much more than she'd bargained for.

There was something else, not all that far away: a wrongness, a twisted, insane amalgam of light and dark. And she felt it searching...

Darth Themis

 

[M-XIII]

The Symiretsuo Nebula

Night had fallen, the majority of the camp was asleep whilst the sentries conducted their routine patrols. Previous to the changing of the guard, day to night, the cyborg and her handpicked exploration team went over the final itinerary for the first marked site. The site was nearly obtainable without the requirement of zip lines and land tied harnesses to ease them into the maw of the cave. After much speculation, the team hoped they would find not just something of worth in the cave, but an alternate exit. Leaving the way they entered would be painstaking enough, harder if they needed to transport samples back.

Whilst her team slept, M-XIII conducted a thorough inspection of the equipment her team would be hauling into that unknown cave. The loss of life was sometimes unavoidable when engaging within a career whose parameters were hard to define; a risk all explorers and hard-nosed salvagers and scrappers understood and accepted. But worse than losing a comrade, was to reach the pivotal point of a break through only to have everything unraveled cause of faulty equipment; though no amount of equipment inspections could foresee the breakdown of these precious instruments through variables such as unfriendly temperatures or over zealous condensation.


The Next Day


"Be extremely careful entering the cave," she said to the others, via a com link device, waiting their turn to slip into the cave, "The entrance is slippery, jagged, and hosts a rather unpleasant decline." As the first to enter, it fell on her shoulders to activate the first set of illumination probes for the arrival of the others. M-XIII didn't require a light source to see in the dark, those who created her sought to gift her with cybernetic eyes that allowed her to see clearly in the dark. One by one, the team members entered the cave and quickly began setting up the mobile equipment.

"We do this like we discussed," she said, gesturing for the armed mercs to lead the others slowly down the treacherous slope. M-XIII knew, as her entire outfit did, this descent was going to be a slow process. Fortunately, they had prepared for the off chance they might have to spend a few nights here; packing enough perishables and some camping equipment. As for their communication devices to the outside world, they suspected some interference would take place; they didn't expect the devices to completely shut down. They were, for a lack of a better description, cut-off from the outside camp site; and were truly alone.

Or so they thought....​

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

The luminescent tree continued to die. No, that was too cowardly a construction: Ashin continued to murder it. It wasn't sapient, but it still had profound and powerful life and connectedness. She consumed it all, greedily. Force Drain could be immensely addictive, and she'd struggled with that addiction more than once over the years. These days she was letting her hunger have rein as a means to an end. The only end that mattered.

The earth groaned as deep roots began a death rattle.

***

M-XIII Auteme Sidra Ater H3xle

A shiver ran through the walls of the huge cave and rippled the sunken lake. The Dark Side was behind the tremor; any Jedi could sense that if they tried.

 

[Darth Themis]

Themis had been in deep meditation, searching for the entrance to the caves when she felt it. A Darkness in the blaze of life on this planet, devouring something long lived and powerful. Themis felt it as a hideous shudder of life being torn asunder. A Sith. Had to be.

Close by too. This was patently unacceptable. She didn't want some pesky Dark Adept fowling her operation up. If they witnessed anything it would give them an insight into the magical system Themis relied on..

But fighting herself would expose her to the Jedi in the area. Time to put that murderous Android to use.

Themis got out her comlink. "Vera..." Themis called into it.

"Yes, oh Lord of The Diet Sith?" Vera called back mockingly.

"Feth you, you fething machine..." Themis grumbled. "There's a Sith nearby. A powerful one."

"Couldn't you have sensed that 'before' making me toss my fancy weapons aside?" The Android sighed on the other end.

"Kill it immediately..." Themis spoke, her precognitive ability giving her some idea of the threat she faced. "Take the coordinates I'm forwarding..."

"Slow and and agonizing, or quick and painless?" Vera asked.

"Quick, but Painful..." Themis replied back. Combating her personally would alert every Jedi on the planet as to her real presence in the Force. They couldn't afford that. Vera was supposed to be the finest Biotech money could buy, and apparently had a means of fighting adepts. Time to put it to use...

Themis would only fight Ashin Cardé Varanin if left with no choice. It was ironically a strangely Jedi stance to take.

Themis meditated more, trying to see how the battle would go...

Fifteen minutes later...

The moment Vera Mina located Ashin draining the tree long range with her telescopic vision, she knew she had her work cut out for her. Not just because this old woman was skilled in the Force, but because she was a Sarah Connor expy, and a Terminator Expy like Vera cannot resist trying to kill a Sarah Connor Expy.

She activated her Pheremone cloaking system as she approached the site from 007-ty (Seventy) meters away, capable of convincing even very strong adepts there was no one there, trying to sneak up on Ashin as she drained the tree of life...she had the strength of a Wookiee in this form fitting white armor, though it offered little safety from conventional attacks.

It could however, generate near pitch black levels of light in a large radius around her.

She activated that feature as she got closer before breaking into a near silent sprint for the elderly woman, preparing to ram her suddenly active electrostaff through her back. Would Ashin dodge in time?

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

Let me tell you a story; I think you'll appreciate it.

Once upon a time, about thirty years ago, there was a Sith Empress who didn't trust her Dark Council. This proved both sensible and insufficiently cautious, as they turned a battlecruiser's guns on her during a duel with the Jedi Grandmaster - but I digress. One key member of the Dark Council, and a conspirator in the ultimate coup, and an important figure in this Empress's life, was the legendary Sirella Valkner. Sirella Valkner was a Sylphe and had zero problem using powerful pheromones on all and sundry. But while this particular Sith Empress had no taste for pheromone manipulation, she had the resources and experience to be quite a decent alchemist, and so she made a solution: an alchemical treatment that she'd made sure to renew each time she took a new body. The treatment modified her body to metabolize a wide range of pheromones...with a telltale side effect.

Cut to today.

A familiar and unnatural warmth blossomed in Ashin's chest as the body modification alerted her that it was currently chowing down on serious pheromones. She'd expected something to come protect the tree, so she turned away from the trunk.

What she'd expected was some kind of forest guardian, or maybe a visiting Jedi. What she got was a sprinting armored visually-cloaked woman with no obvious Force presence and an electrostaff, coming at her shockingly (heh) fast. Effectively, footprints and broken twigs and rushing air. It reminded her deeply of fighting self-proclaimed and actual masters of Force Stealth. Good times.

Ashin had only a couple of heartbeats to react, but lifetimes to prepare. Jentaral cleared its sheath, shoved the strike away, and devoured the nasty electric discharge. The impact still slammed Ashin back against the trunk of the dying tree. She looked Vera Mina in the face at close range.

"Feth off."

 

[Auteme]

Violet Horne Ashin Cardé Varanin Vera Mina | H3xle M-XIII Sidra Ater ​

The problem about how to get down seemed to solve itself. The tree shuddered, an ominous boom floated up from the cavern below, and Auteme lost her footing. She lurched forwards over the rift between the branches. Her instincts kicked in and she surrendered herself to the Force. Suerton probability manipulation demanded she detached herself from the result of what was to happen next, but this time it didn’t work.

As she fell the theories flooded her mind. She had a long time to fall, after all. Did the Force want her down there? Was it related to that rumble? The planet seemed to beat faster and faster, as if it were in danger. There was no turning back now, given how far she’d already fallen. Auteme turned to face the fast-approaching ground.

It seemed she’d been right; the cavern floor was covered by a still sea of sparkling teal-blue water, though she found it difficult to see, the wind ripping at her hair and face forcing her to squint. She took a deep breath and held it, gathering the Force around her. On this world it was so abundant; the air so fresh and crisp, the Force so easy to find. Yet it was wild and beyond her too. No, she did not command it -- she asked for its help. Her eyes closed. A sign of trust.

She felt her fall slow. Her eyes opened. She stopped inches above the water; her toe reached down and just barely touched the surface, disturbing the peace for only a moment. It was cool. From so close she could almost see the minerals sparkling in the water, the teal was so rich it was a surprise the whole planet wasn’t the same color. Then the Force carried her to the great base of the tree she’d stood on.

The trunk was even wider here, its roots diving into the water, great veins drinking the water in vast quantities. Just above the water’s surface grew a multitude of different mosses and small plants, coating the wood. Each glowed in the dim light of the cavern to form a rainbow across the side of the tree. It climbed nearly halfway up to the next level. She landed on the blue moss; it squished under her shoes, and she was quick to take off her flats and socks to feel the world under her own bare feet.

Life was abundant here. To touch it herself brought her closer to the world, the galaxy, even -- she drank it in, an almost overwhelming peace overtaking her, if peace could be such a thing. Yet the heart of the forest throbbed again. Tiny creatures, frogs and insects and lizards, seemed to flee from the tree.

She walked around the trunk. The moss soon grew sparse and then dark, the light having drained from them. The roots became gnarled and twisted as if they were fighting off some infection or cancer. One was as pale as the moon, as if it’d been cut from the tree and dried in the sun for weeks and weeks.

In the distance she could see the glow of a much smaller tree, but even at a glance she could see its strength and energy. The heart of the forest, fighting to live even as its light dimmed. The grove around it still had some life left. Most obvious were the two figures clashing at the base of the tree.

Auteme placed her hand on the great trunk and reached through the Force. Violet, she thought, Find an airspeeder and come down, I may need your help. Tell the others that they may need to leave soon. She didn’t know what was going on, but if the tree at the center was damaged or drained, the Hyperion’s crew might be in danger. The entire planet could be.

She closed her eyes and asked again for the Force’s help. A moment later she leapt off the tree and headed towards the heart tree, surrounded by a corona of blinding Light.

 

[Vera Mina]

Vera only smirked cruelly as Ashin Cardé Varanin told her to go away.

"Awww, but I think I already heard a rib pop!" The Chiss-Appearing Android said with a grin, gray metallic fangs sliding into place.

She had blocked the strike, but she had still been flung backward. Vera began X-Raying her bones looking for weakpoints in the skeleton. This old bag of bones had to have a few by this point.

"What an irony. Someone out for a snack runs into someone out for a snack..." The Android said, deciding to go for the most practical attack, striking repeatedly and brutally for the woman's neck with a full power electrostaff, her strikes were scientifically calculated to be delivered at positions it would be awkward for the defender to try and block or parry, though simply rolling out of the way and counterattacking wasn't out of the question. She kept the near darkness her suit generated up...there was a certain benefit to psychologically processing a white glimmer dominated by red eyes attacking you with flashes of lightning. She'd probably had seen worse, being a level Sixty with what was apparently full perks in Necromancy and Block, but still, the more heat and aggression Vera kept up, the more it might throw her off from feeding on the weird tree. Her X-Ray scans could tell the tree was deeply connected to the earth beneath her. Whatever the Witch had been doing was affecting the ecosystem.

This affected the Android in a strange way as she attempted to kill Ashin...

She realized she was the only thing standing between this witch and an entire ecosystem.

A new and untapped planet full of life, and...potential futures...

(Empathy increased by 0.07 percent)

Her hearing sensors detected Auteme approaching. She might not have to fight Jedi at all...she retracted her fangs. No need for the Jedi to see them. Besides. As far as they knew, she was the "heroic" Android attempting to stop the evil Sith from fething the whole planet up...

This was extremely amusing, playing hero...

Meanwhile...

Darth Themis felt the effects of Varanin's drain affecting the ecosystem.

The Knights and clones had found the cave, but felt the roots dying connected to it. They had recovered small samples of crystals, carefully extracted to avoid damaging the flow of the Force within. But the ritual could not continue until this issue was dealt with.

Themis examined the Viridian Crystals extracted. These would do for the ritual. It was an old Dathomir Light Spell she had learned...

The ecosystem needed a boost. At the very least, slow the rate at which it weakened drastically until a better solution was possible.

She told the Clones and Knights to cease operations and maintain a defensive perimeter around their large ship, while Themis took select stones of her choice and placed them in a circle, sitting and meditating as she chanted unnatural things, twisting the Light in her.

It began to rain as her flesh shuddered horrifically everywhere, water altered Molecularly by the Light, hitting the earth, sinking into its roots, starting to slow, bit by bit, the rate at which the ecosystem worsened. Trying to heal it outright would be foolhardy...Themis wasn't familiar with this place, and any attempt to outright heal it could do more harm than good. But it would definitely start to soften the blow, buy time...

If it also didn't bring down any curious Jedi investigating a Light Side use they were not familiar with...

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

Whatever this shade was, it offered as little to Ashin's Force senses as to her eyes. She caught only flickers of steel teeth and red eyes. With the deft, understated excellence of almost forty years as a top-tier blademaster, she met the awkwardly placed strikes and held her ground. Vera Mina would recognize classic Shii-Cho honed to a razor edge. But each blow jarred Ashin, threatened her balance. At a purely physical level, this enemy could wear her down.

On contact, Jentaral drank deep from the electric weapon over and over-

-and released a significant portion of that stored electricity at the flick of a thought. A web of lightning burst out of the unique sword at point blank range. Ashin let loose exactly as much energy as she desired: a hundred and fifty milliamps, right in the middle of the range that would kill an unprotected humanoid on the spot.

How it affected this being would tell her a great deal about her odds of sticking around to finish the job. She had the sneaking suspicion that a heartbeat from now her attacker would not, in fact, be dead.