I Said I'd Be Back [Lords of the Fringe Dominion of Eriadu]

[Allyson Locke]

I held my forehead, there was a throbbing pain surging through my skull. I've never felt something like this before, but I continued to try and protect myself from those around me. Paranoia, no - it was better this way. To remain quiet within the Force mentally. Looking towards [member="Ashin Varanin"], I straightened myself and sighed softly. "Where's Ibaris?"

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Vrag"] [member="Darth Venefica"] [member="Nui Akona"]

The Bando Gora positions weren't, strictly speaking, positions. Reavers didn't take positions; they took vectors. The current vector had taken them right through a defensive emplacement and a nearby housing complex, along with a few dozen law enforcement officers. Now that vector was taking them straight for the One Sith troops, and the Darksiders who either led them or tagged along for observation duties. Seren kept his swoop on the left flank, scanning the countryside for errant reavers. It was more than a little invigorating, hunting something that didn't fear him. A younger man might have tossed in some bravado about making them fear him, but this was refreshing, and after eighty-plus years of life he treasured the new.

He tapped his earbud comm. "Nui. Small Reaver knot at ten o'clock."

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Ibaris Varanin-Jacobs"]

A sad smile could almost be felt radiating from that which wasn't here, one should not tally with the median for too long though, it was the way of things that even those who thought themselves unlimited often found new limits the moment they attempted to break through conventions. It was no different for the Lord of the Fringe, it was sheer force of will that allowed him to sustain this for the duration it was running now.

'Quite so, my dear.' the Sith Lord finally answered. 'How is my little conqueror?'

Time was running short, but he refused to skip such familiarities, because whatever Ovmar would like to say, he had missed his niece.

 

[Allyson Locke]

[member="Seren Ordavo"]

Bando Gora. They were weird and it seemed they were the target today. Coughing Sam remained otherwise quiet and focused. Her swoop trailed behind, she was only here because today she'd probably get to kill something. That hunger that resided inside of her needed to be fed. There was no loyalty to the Fringe beyond the fact that they allowed her to do what she wanted and get what she needed to get done. Also, it kept her from having to see Anaya Fen.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Spencer Jacobs"]

"She's..." Ashin frowned. "I can't sense her, but that's hardly unusual right now. Last I knew, she was in the meditation chamber, well, meditating..."

That had been a good ten minutes ago. She'd never known Ibaris to meditate for that long. Kicking herself, Ashin grimaced and rose from the command throne.

"I'm no good with Sense at the best of times, and this is hardly the best of times. Is something wrong?"

 

[Dr. Alset Niest]

Assist with Mediation...

"No no no! Be careful!"

He was at the point of screaming as he ran over to the technicians, slapping one right across the face. "This took me two years to concoct and you nearly just dropped a crate. If you can't do the job right, then don't do it at all!" His guffaw was nearly palpable as he tasted bile at the very notion of the mead being dropped to the floor. 4000 bottles and they would be gone, like they have never been there in the first place. Of course, the technician would have dropped 20 at most, but that is still quite a bit of mead and honestly, spark bee honey wasn't easy to come by. "Now..." He straightened his lab coat and pulled the clipboard from his inner coat.

"We have moved..." He began ticking with a pen, old school style and all. "2500 bottles. Begin transport down to the planet immediately. I want mediation coaxed with a bottle, everyone must taste the refinement. I will not have a single glass empty!" He was getting mad again, the technician was just soaking up the drastic melancholy. Alset waved his hand to move the technician along. "Go on, get to moving, these crates wont transport themselves."

And with that, transport ships began to plummet towards the planet, an elongated assembly line, with nothing but mead. Such treasured cargo, thought the doctor, as he continued to compile data towards their physical characteristics.

 

[Caulder Dune]

Objective: Negotiate with Reasonable Reavers and Pleasant Pirates via Concentrated Turbolaser Fire

"They're heading for the asteroid field."

"Trying to hide among the rocks? Hah!" Adekos gave a short, barked laugh. The kind a villain usually gave when cornering an enemy and about to be trumped. "Finish this, captain."

At that, the enemy ship exploded in a violent burst of flames and debris. Warped durasteel was launched every which way, the ship breaking up in chunks as its engines flickered and faded. Darth Adekos waited for that usual feeling after destroying an enemy vessel- the sensation of hundreds or dozens of lives being extinguished in a near-instant. But it never came. How very peculiar. The ship was obviously piloted, but by who? Droids? Why would pirates have a droid commanded vessel fleetingly engage his ship and then attempt to flee for the asteroid belt?

Unless it was a trap.

"...Oh."

Suddenly, bursting from the rocks like a swarm of angry insects, they came. Boarding craft, at least three dozen of them, all swarming for the Darzu. This had all been to easy. It was supposed to be easy, and now the Darzu was going to be boarded for his lack of perception. Adekos snarled in rage. Leave it to him to be outsmarted by a lowly band of looters and scum. They wanted to take his ship, they'd have to kill him first. Well, probably not. He'd leave if things got too hairy.

"Sir-"
"I know, fool, I see it. Bring on the point defenses, tell the marines we have on board to get ready."

 

[Vrag]

[member="Nui Akona"] | [member="Darth Adekos"] | [member="Seren Ordavo"] | [member="Darth Venefica"]


It soon became apparent that they could dish out far more damage if they split up into smaller squads, which is exactly what the Sith did. Instead of one slow, if intimidating platoon, a handful of groups were combing the plains now, still better equipped than the reavers they were gunning at. Their enemies were no match for the concentrated fire of the veteran troops brought by Vrag, and while the Knight herself wasn't much of a shot, a spray of bullets was bound to hit a few targets.

Soon enough, the woman and her complement of soldiers got entangled in a close-quarters fight with the Bando Gora, and she gleefully switched out her blaster for her lightsaber. The surprise and horror on their faces was quite worth the time she'd have to spend cleaning her armor later; for now, she was more than happy to enjoy the cacophony of screams that her blade elicited from the throats of the enemy.

 

[Lucianus Adair]

Meanwhile on Annaj...

While others were out securing worlds against the resurgent threat of Reavers, one Fringean High Councilor was 'holding down the fort', as it were, the political face of the Fringe that he was. The strategizer. Reports came in that their delightful neighbours had found new life in the midst of this confusing, foggy galactic landscape and that made the Sith Lord pensive.

Not furious, but pensive. Perhaps when the time came again, there would be a worthy rival to eviscerate once again. It was still too early to tell. He sat in the deepest recesses of central command, amongst the chatter of relayed messages and commands, and considered the future, whatever that would look like, whatever may come.

Force or no Force. The Fringe Confederacy would continue to weather any storm.

 

[Darth Metus]

Change.

It came in many forms and often blindsided those whose lives it impacted. For Josiah Denko, this force had almost ironically seen him enter hyperspace bound for the Unknown Regions. In times past, the Jedi Master marched against the Fringe Confederation on O'reen...and had subsequently gotten sick of the Republic during the invasion. It was one thing to invade the Sith, but one that had done no offense?

As his sibling would say, "Nah. Just Nah."

As such, in the present, Josiah found himself aligning with the nation partially guided by his cousin. From the depths of hyperspace, his Templar-class Light Freighter emerged before moving carefully forward in the orbit of Eriadu. Fireworks were starting, of this there was no doubt, and it was high time that Josiah earned his keep. Hailing the Obsidian Fleet's lead vessel, the Jedi decided to ask the only friendly face he knew here for direction.

"This is Josiah. Where am I needed?"

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

 

[The Spark]

Man - this was the life.

Here she was again, killing these Monsters for the Fringe - again.

It was a beautiful thing, a quick slash and a spray of some liquid that could only be compared to blood. Ever since [member="Nui Akona"] had brought her into the fold of the Fringe - she learned that truly it was where she belonged and desired to be. Perhaps it wasn't so much the killing as much as it was the thrill of hunting? If that made any sense. [member="Seren Ordavo"] had mentioned to her some point about how the Reavers worked and taught her a thing or two about killing them - she had taken the advice well because it became easier with each cut and easier with each slash to take them down.

It was simply - how fast can she kill them to secure her objective.

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Vrag"] [member="Nui Akona"]

The Sith formations shifted through well-trained maneuvers, and Seren found himself right where he wanted to be: the sovereign state of Extraneous. His swoop bike accelerated to a significant fraction of its full speed as he closed in on that leftmost knot of Bando Gora reavers. Targeting wasn't hard; they were doing their level best to close in on him.

He leaped off the swoop, lightsabre flaring to life and lanvarok spitting durasteel razordiscs, and sank his beskar-clad heels into the gut of a mutilated Bando Gora.

 

[Allyson Locke]

[member="Ashin Varanin"]

My mind drifted again, I caught the tail end of Ashin's comment and blinked quickly. "She's meditating? That's a surprise." I avoided her question a bit longer, a hand brushed aside my bangs as I felt my skin starting to sweat a little. I was coming down with a fever again. "I'm okay. There's just something off about everything right now." I closed my eyes inhaling for a moment. I could sense her quckly - but I knew it would throw my stomach through a loop again. Deciding that my daughter's where bouts were more important I quickly used Sense to find her through the mysterious fibers that connected us through time and space. "She's safe - for now I think." I closed my lips tightly. Yeah, there was the stomach turns.

 

[Ibaris Varanin]

[member="Jared Ovmar"]

A tear trickled down her face. It was real. So real it hurt, and boy her mouth and throat felt dry.

'Uncle Jared... I...'

What was she to say? There were so many things. So many. The galaxy was in a riotous haze, she feared for her family, nothing worked. What was she to say?

'I miss you... I...'

And then her face was in her hands, tears dripping through to rain down on the back of the 'pad in her lap.

 

[Caulder Dune]

Objective: Negotiate with Reasonable Reavers and Pleasant Pirates via Concentrated Turbolaser Fire

"Shoot them! Shoot them!" Adekos shouted, as if the act of doing so would somehow increase the accuracy of the Darzu's point defense cannons and quad-laser batteries.

By appearances, it seemed to help, anyway. A few of the boarding craft exploded as they attempted to latch onto his ship. This wasn't going as intended. Warning klaxons started going off around the bridge as multiple hull breaches were detected. There was no stopping this coming storm. Nervousness started to build across the bridge, as if they forgot a Dark Jedi of great power were among them to defend their lives. Well, mediocre power, at any rate. There were better Dark Jedi to have at one's side during such an event. It also could have been worse- he could have been Romeo Sin.

Adekos called his lightsaber into his waiting palm, the curved hilt fitting there snugly. It was designed to do so, after all. The crimson blade ignited, and Adekos exited the bridge. He'd confront these boarders himself.

 

[Allyson Locke]

[member="Seren Ordavo"]

So there's going to be theatrics, fun. Sam followed the man in suit and jumped off the swoop bike. But instead of going forward, the girl jumped behind the swoop. A grin spread across her face as she used her affinity with enhance body to boost herself. A swift kick to the swoop sent it spiraling towards a group of reavers. As her feet landed, a blaster appeared and she fired several quick shots towards the bike's engine - causing it to well do what engines do when shot.

Kaboom <3

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Spencer Jacobs"]

"Good to know, but...well, careful with that. The Force is unpredictable now. I've paralyzed myself twice doing things I used to be able to do without thinking. Ibby asked the other day if the Force was always going to be like this, and how we'd live, who we'd be. I didn't even think of what the long-term effects on you might be, and I really should have."

Ashin grunted. "Yeah. She's been gone too long. I don't like to think that the Force wouldn't convey itself accurately to your senses -- how do I even phrase that? -- but let's see if we can't go find her and find out for sure."

 

[Vrag]

[member="Nui Akona"] | [member="Seren Ordavo"]

There would be no mercy for the cultists. Not from the Fringers, and certainly not from their allies, the fabled oppressors of the Galaxy. Fire burned in her heart as she swung her blade, continual slashes borne of momentum and skill. Each turn of her wrist had men and women falling down left and right, their cries of agony silenced by the troops that came after. The Sith would crawl over the enemy like a swarm of black, their unrelenting assault not unlike the one that could be observed in the microcosmos. Ants, those disgusting little creatures that found strength both in numbers and individually, respected and shunned by most. Hard working and unyielding when it came to reaching a goal.

Another strike, another life silenced. Vrag was beginning to enjoy herself far more than it was healthy. Then again, she was one of those beasts. Black, heartless.

Deadly.

 

[Dr. Alset Niest]

Assist with Mediations...

"Alright...I think...that's it..."

He had spared a single bottle for himself and the vong shaper. The technicians dollied out the rest of the supply, metal carts on rubber wheels rolling through the Immortal like some conveyor belt. The ships were moving back and forth between the ship and the planet. It seemed all was going according to plan as the doctor pulled out two wine glasses and pulled the cork from the glass bottle. The fixtures were clear and filled with delicate and golden fluid. As he titled them back, it poured forward and with deft hands, he moved along the glasses. After emptying the mini growler, he placed it down upon the table and lifted the wine glass to inspect clarity.

"You see, not a single ounce of particulate within the group. Quite beautiful, if I do say so myself."
"Like Grutchin?" The vong shaper smiled as she pulled the glass to herself, mimicing the doctor in inspection practice. He ground his teeth and almost growled, cupping a pipe in his free hand.

"No, not like grutchin..."

Tilting the glass back, he took a solid sip from the fluid and smiled. "You can taste the alcohol but it's sweet, not dry. That's the beauty of slow addition." The vong shaper proceeded to down the entire glass in a gulp and Alset couldn't fight it, he backhanded her. "That's not how you drink it!" He waved to the exit as she recoiled from the smack. "Go tend to your duties and ensure the complete transport!" With that, she was off, and he was left to finish the drink by himself.

 

[Malok]

Why was the Sith present in Fringe space?

Well, his mentor and friend valued this nation quite a bit. Although Rave never went on about it much, the fact that the vast majority of her holdings and work occurred with the Fringe's borders spoke volumes. As such, when one was afforded "free time", it should be spent paying homage to those who had made the present possible. To this end, Darth Metus' personal vessel slid out of hyperspace without minimal fanfare. The IFF would be, as per his employment, easily recognizable as a member of AEI.

And what did this man do?

He turned on the cloaking device of his vessel, pinged the Obsidian Fleet to let them know he was here, and then lowered himself to the floor of his vessel. Darth Metus was there to help, and he would do so just how Gregor Gideon taught him.