Into Darkness (Firemane)

[Laira Darkhold]

Doctor Geva smiled at the Cathar as she stood, directing Laira to the terminal she'd been browsing. "I'd like to get a full copy of the drive with me to look over when we get back." The falleen's reptilian-like features curled into a bit of amusement, "You wouldn't mind, would you dear. I'm not much of a techie myself." It was pretty clear she enjoyed being the important one of them, the one with the useful skill and necessary input about the mission. So far of the scientists she'd been the only one to provide Firemane with any useful information, and with any luck her input might land her a donation from Firemane to continue her research in a more lavish style. "I think I've earned a foot rub and a nice cup of tea when we get back."

Laira groaned, but sat down and jabbed a data spike into the terminal. The sound of code and dial up noises escaped it as the spike copied the information on the terminals data storage system. "Enthusiasm?" Laira said questioningly attempting to sound innocent, failing to hide her wry grin. "I'm not sure what you're implying Miss Leonia, but I always approach every task with a very enthusiastic attitude. Elpsis can vouch for me there." She was struggling not to giggle at her own joke, at least Geva was there to laugh at it. "Don't worry Colonel, I can behave."

Outside the squad of Death Troopers finished walking off the perimeter, scanning the exterior of the complex for any signs of life or infiltration. "Lieutenant, come take a look at this." One of them called, holding up their auspex.

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure. Some kinda symbol, might mean something." Stalgis approached the trooper, taking the Auspex from his hands to look at it only to realize the trooper had been intending him to see a pecular symbol painted in a corner of the rock. From first glance it appeared crude and tribal, as though drawn by a primitive culture, little more than geometric shapes and lines.

"Snap a picture for the Science team and then let's circle back to the shuttle. Should be wrapping up soon."

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]
[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"] [member="Laira Darkhold"]

“I don’t see any harm in giving you access. Our techs will ensure there is nothing sensitive there, though I doubt there would be,” Leonina told the Doctor.

She glanced back at Laira. “That is Colonel to you,” she said firmly, clearly not in the mood for any games.
“I hope you can. This guest of ours is our best hope of finding out information. I need to know you can behave and not ruin our chances of finding out this information. However, you and Elpsis will be allowed to interview her under supervision.”

She looked around. “One squad will remain here to do a final check and dispose of the dead. Alcori, bring our new guest along. Darkhold, you can get your squad ready to depart. These looks like the only inhabitants here.”

Meanwhile, back on the ship Tegaea entered the projection circle. She wore civilian dress still.
“Greetings, Master Jedi,” she said politely. “I am Countess Tegaea Alcori commanding the FMS Scarlet Destiny. My corporation – Firemane – has been scanning and visiting the outer rim for sites to setup corporate interests on or rediscover lost planets. It seems as though we have found you, so my hope is that we might discuss matters. Much has changed in the galaxy since the Plague, but whilst it is still troubled by war, it has greatly recovered.”

“I regret the death of your pilots and soldiers, but they fired first and refused to parley, so we defended ourselves. We do not seek your destruction, not at all, we wish to help you. We have the means to bring you out of isolation, increase your technology and help your people. We ask little in return, merely the ability to setup corporate interests and be a primary supplier of new items for the integration period.”

After the sales pitch though her smile dipped slightly. “I do hope to avoid further bloodshed, and we will not start it. Rest assured though we will defend ourselves if attacked.”

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"], [member="Laira Darkhold"]


And so Elpsis finally rejoined the group. "Hi everyone. This is...Mara. Mara Technician," she gave the trio a look that said 'yeah, that's the name. Don't ask or tease her'. "Mara, this is...uh, Colonel Leonina Varkathras, my boss, Laira Darkhold and Geva."

"Uh, hello," the Tephriki said nervously, looking more than a little skittish.

"Don't be afraid. They don't bite," Elpsis said reassuringly, then realised this might not have been the best phrase. Anyhow, she gave her superior a curt nod. "Yes, ma'am. C'mon, Mara, got a nice cabin for you on our ship." For all her bubbly attitude and occasional derpiness, the empath could focus when on the job.


xxx


The Paragon of the Light considered the outsider's words. This was undoubtedly a dark woman who come to corrupt their earthly paradise. "Our valiant soldiers did their duty defending Tephrike," Airla declared airily, "but your desire for peace is laudable. They are one with the Force now. As for your request, I will pass it on to the High Council. Remain in space until our deliberations are complete. We wish to avoid...misunderstandings."

 

[Laira Darkhold]

Oh no, another one was all Laira could think. First Captain Ul, now Colonel Leonia, when would it end! The redhead smiled however, and nodded. "Nothing to worry about, Colonel, I'm sure its nothing Elpsis and I can't handle." It was just making someone feel comfortable and happy to be a part of Firemane instead of this ominous Dominion of Light, shouldn't be too hard.

When Elpsis made her way out of the room with the girl in tow, Laira smiled and nodded at her. For now she had other responsibilities to see to before she could go about interviewing the girl and making her feel comfortable in the company of the Firemane crew. That would have to wait until she was at least a little more at home aboard the Scarlet Destiny.

Geva offered a wave to the young girl, and a smirk at something someone had said that was decidedly not true in a manner of speaking, but was more or less disinterested in being her friend. The Falleen was much more intrigued by the notion of studying her and her kinsmen's culture than she was in babysitting. Still, she was more than capable of putting on a nice face.

"Roger that, we'll buzz out and meet you back aboard the ship." Laira said as she was ordered to make ready to depart, turning to follow Geva who was already on her way out of the complex, muttering to herself about needing to find someone to give her a foot rub while she went over the files they had copied from the data terminals. Once outside they linked back up with the Death Troopers who were already gathered near the Shuttle, Laira's co-pilot running start up diagnostics and getting ready to take off.

~

Aboard the Scarlet Destiny, another one of the Science Team's members sat watching his slugs floating in amniotic fluid. The Iyra was little more than a mass of eyestalks and tentacles sitting on a floating disk, looking over his studies, each eyestalk viewing a different screen of data. "Captain, will DNA samples be made available of the native inhabitants? I would like to look over them in order to discover any genetic variances between them and baseline homo sapiens."

"I don't know Doctor, I'll have to ask Firemane." The captain wasn't paying much attention to the Iyra who had been pestering her about wanting to dissect and perform autopsies since he had heard there were deceased inhabitants. "I'm sure they can spare a body, but they may decide to honor funeral rites of the deceased."

"What greater honor could their be than one's life being sacrificed to further scientific studies?"

An exasperated sigh escaped Kira's throat. "I said I'll check for you, but I'm not making any promises. Probabat Shun, is there anything you need while I'm at it?" She called as she left the Iyra's make-shift laboratory.

The exoskeleton of the givin didn't flinch. "I will make you aware of any necessities without needing to be asked." The three eyed givin sat quietly facing a viewport, only his third eye open and peering out into the vastness of space. He sat like that most of the time, only taking breaks to eat, sleep, or drink. Firemane hadn't requested his assistance in maneuvering or navigating through hyperspace and so he had simply sat back and watched the ripples in Hyperspace.

"Well, alright then." She typed up a quick message to send up the chain and await responses. Personally, she was more interested in using the moon as a listening post, just tap into global communications and study the planet from afar than she was of all the scientific research the Science Team wanted to do, but for now Firemane had the reigns and her orders from RESINT were to supply the scientists with as much information as she could.

<RESINT requests DNA samples if available of all captured or deceased Natives for Study. Doctor Ur'dax is also willing to preform autopsies of all deceased Natives unless other arrangements are being made for their remains.>

She sent the short message and returned to her own office. So far the RESINT team seemed to be operating alright, a month of inactivity had made them all a little short fused and anxious to have someone to square off against.

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]
[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"] [member="Laira Darkhold"]

Tegaea’s jaw tightened slightly. Thankfully the ancient technology of the Dominion did not have the clarity to pick this up.
“We wish to avoid misunderstandings too,” Tegaea replied firmly. “Contact us when your deliberations are complete.”
She cut the link and left the comms room.
Captain Vyron had been watching on the monitors and approached.
“Their reactions are unexpected. Usually in cases like this we expect a mixture of fear or relief.”
Tegaea nodded. “It is unsettling. Religious fanaticism has a role for sure, but there are other things at work here. Do we have any of those stealth drones?”
“Not many, ma’am, the cloaking fields are hard to replicate.”
“Dispatch them to the surface, see if this Dominion is in charge of the whole planet and intensify orbital scans. I believe I have some bodies of their noble defenders to view.”

XXX

Leonina was rather more growl than bite when it came to such cases. She filed away Laira’s snarky reply for later and turned to the rescued Tephrikite. She gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile.
“Pleased to meet you, Mara. Please, join us, you will come to no harm.”
And so the party departed from the moon, arriving soon after aboard the Destiny. Doubtless it’d be a shocking experience for Mara.

XXX

Tegaea was on the way down to the science labs when she received the message. After consideration, she replied, sending an order to her team.
<DNA samples of deceased will be provided. The Doctor’s assistance with the autopsy would be appreciated, I will instruct one body be provided.>

“Ma’am, the Colonel has returned with their ‘guest’ and Ms Alcori,” an aide said
“Good. See that she is given a comfortable guest room and kept under guard. We have a lot to learn.”

As Tegaea entered the medical labs she saw immediately and instantly something which made her pause. The protective suits and ‘armour’ of the fallen had been removed and they lay on cold steel tables with sheets covering their torsos.

“You see immediately, ma’am,” Doctor Winters said, approaching. He was the ship’s chief medical officer.
“I do. It both complicates and explains matters.”
Six dead defenders lay on the benches. Aside from minor personal variations in hair, body weight and of course injury they were identical. They were clones.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"], [member="Laira Darkhold"]


The link was cut. Master Airla took a breath, composing herself. There is no emotion, there is peace. It was her aide, a Quarren Jedi Knight, who broke the silence. "Master, this woman is a temptress. A tainted and stained servant of the Dark Side. This might be a Vaderite trick," her apprentice spoke zealously.

Airla shook her head. "The Vaderites do not have the technology or brain matter for such trickery. They are crude barbarians," she stated.

"You spoke true, Master. But all outside of Tephrike were consumed were darkness. Why would this Firemane come here, if not to destroy our paradise? They seek to seduce our people to evil. They will make common cause with the Vaderites."

"Your zeal is commendable, but you still have much to learn. Darksiders seldom make alliances. They war amongst each other. Doubtless this Alcori and her ilk are tainted. But if we give in to haste, your concerns will come true for sure. So we shall be prudent. Not all battles are fought with a sword."

"Yes, Master," the Quarren did not seem convinced, but it was not his duty to question higherups. "What of the Grandmaster?"

There was a pause. "He is deep in communion with the Force. Doubtless he has seen this moment come in his visions. His burdens are many. The Council will convene and decide upon a response. For now, it will be your duty to ensure that no word of this...occurence leaks out."


xxx


Being blind Elpsis did not see the nod. However, she sensed Laira's presence. The redhead felt a bit bad about not talking to her earlier and wanted to rectify that. They did have a few things to talk about. But for now she still had her duties to attend to. So as Laira boarded the dropship that had brought her and the Death Troopers to the moon, Elpsis and Mara headed for the Firemane transport.


Mara gave the heavily armoured Firemane soldiers wary looks. Feeling rather intimidated, she clung to Elpsis. The empath tried to broadcast reassuring vibes. It was probably for the best, she supposed, that they were on an airless moon. She doubted that Mara would take the sight of Nyssa well. After all, she was a Sith Pureblood.


Speak of the devil...


"There you are. I see you made a friend."

"That's what I do. I got a charming personality, y'know. Anything fun happened?"

"If you consider tedious guard duty entertaining, assuredly."

"That's Nyssa. Don't mind her. She's an eternal grump. Not bad when you get to know her."

"Uh, hello. I am Mara Technician."

"Yes, whatever, let's skip the girl talk. Come on." It did not escape her attention that Mara remained close to Elpsis as they boarded the shuttle. Sweet on the deluded Jedi lackey? she broadcast into Elpsis' mind as the shuttle took off. She's no Jedi or a lackey.

Just a girl whose entire world got turned upside down. Be decent to her, Elpsis responded with some unnatural sharpness. The transport took off into the stars.

Sure, and she is not just playing nice and being all doe-eyed because we mowed down everyone else in the base.

You know, many people thought me foolish when I decided to befriend a certain Sith Pureblood. They said she was just playing nice and would stab me in the back the moment I turned around. I'd say giving her a chance worked like a charm, Elpsis responded.

"By the Light...is...that your ship?!" Mara exclaimed, looking shocked when she beheld the enormous Destiny.

"Oh, Force, it's not even that big, girl," Nyssa grunted.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

As the U-Wing landed and the away team disembarked, Laira sauntered across the landing bay towards where the Firemane ship would be touching down shortly, wanting to wait for Elpsis and Mara so she could meet them as they arrived. The seven Death Troopers stalked off the ship, removing helmets as they did, most of them moving off towards the crew quarters left for them. Lieutenant Stalgis muttered some orders about free time for clean up. "Captain will expect debriefing in two hours. Darkhold, yours is due when you are next available. Oh, ask the girl what this means when you get the chance." He handed her a holo-picture of the symbol they had taken on the moon and left to attend his duties with the squad.

Geva went off on her own, seeking out two crewmembers who struck her current fancy to convince them they should accompany her back to her private quarters, that they really wanted to pamper her rather than attend to whatever menial labor they were responsible for. Obviously she was far from a model member of the crew, but she was useful. Stalgis was already making arrangements for some of his people who had stayed aboard to fill in for whoever she happened to lure away from their duties with her sultry attitude and powerful pheromones.

Laira wore a comfortable smile, just waiting for her girlfriend, a title that she had been quite pleased to receive from Elpsis, and their guest. She had been so pleased by the title, that even though their relationship was relatively open, she felt a little guilty that she had a favorite amongst her peers. She felt the desire to get Elpsis to approve, even though she wouldn't ask that of the other redhead. In fact she'd much rather not know about all of Elpsis's partners, so maybe she'd introduce her to Leo later, if she even bothered to pursue anything.

The redhead was used to some not-so subtle flirting with those around her to put them at ease, or to make them nervous and want to impress her, but perhaps she should stick to something a little more mature. This girl was new to this world and might not respond well right off the bat.

~

Captain Ul sat at her desk with her head down, resting quietly with her eyes closed. She hadn't intended to fall asleep when she had come in looking for a respite from the Iyra biologist, but exhaustion had over taken her as the quiet had set in. Sleep didn't come often enough and she had spent the last two days running off stims as she had become restless and unable to quiet her mind when she had laid down, thoughts continuously buzzing through her mind and memories from her life creeping in.

A knock came at the door and she jerked up suddenly, blinking sleep from her eyes. "Enter," she said, stifling a yawn.

Lieutenant Stalgis entered after a second, still in his black armor. "Nothing too eventful. Firemane had it mopped up before we arrived, grabbed a potential informant and a few captives. Laira didn't pull the trigger on getting us a subject for interrogation."

"For the best I suppose, Firemane knows they have access to professionals. If they want your assistance they'll ask. Besides, they also have mind-readers." She stretched her arms and stood, "They've made DNA samples and a body available to Doctor Ur'dax, so that'll probably bear fruit. How'd she do otherwise."

"Nothing much happened. Not the best test I'm afraid."

"There will be more, I'm sure. I'd just like to get her field tested and ready before having to rely on her. I don't know her, and so I don't trust her. At least I don't trust in her abilities. She'd take a bullet for any of you lot, but I don't know if she has an ounce of tactical acumen in her body. She's a good kid with a good heart, if a little slutty. "

"That's a good part of her appeal." Stalgis said with a laugh, earning him a deep glare from the captain. "No, I understand what you mean. She's got some demons and some secrets, and we don't know how she acts in combat. We'll get the chance to see, if not this trip the next one."

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]
[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"] [member="Laira Darkhold"]

Tegaea could not be in two places at once, so she decided to spend this time with the living than with the dead. The autopsies would take a few hours in any case. It wasn’t that she was squeamish, but medical procedures were just a little unsettling to her. Brought back bad memories.

An otherwise normal looking room had been set aside for Mara, Laira and Elpsis for their discussion. What the Tephrikite would not know is that everything which occurred was broadcast to where Tegaea and her staff were watching. She had also provided a near invisible earpiece for Elpsis to wear so she could pass questions to her adoptive daughter easily.

Whilst she waited for the interview to begin reports started to come back from the surface.
“Shield generators?”
“Looks like it, ma’am. Between the deserts and this jungle is a fortress of some form. The shields looks like old tech, but could be quite powerful. They also seem to have one which can project over their main city too.”
“Any sign of surface to space weaponry?”
“None we detect, ma’am.”
“Keep looking, I don’t want to blunder into a hidden ion cannon. What about the rest?”
“There’s an area of desert devastated by fallout of some form, and another by some unknown disaster. The pre-Plague records we have record their capital was in this area, but is now ruined.”
“Poor fools probably fought among themselves and wrecked the planet.”
“Looks like it, ma’am. We’re also getting some very high readouts of lifeforms and technology coming from one of the northern oceans. We will need to deploy a submersible probe to properly investigate.”
“Do so, but we won’t be able to use the stealth ones. Use something which won’t be easily detected. I want to know all this planet’s secrets as much as possible before they reply.”

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Laira Darkhold"], [member="Tegaea Alcori"]


It did not take long for the transport to land in the Destiny's vast hangar. Mara looked equal parts amazed and intimidated as she beheld the flotilla of starfighters and dropships, along with the myriad beings that were going about their business. Nyssa was, needless to say, not in the mood for 'girl talk'.

"Right, that was one hour full of tedium," the Sith muttered. The people here have been ruled by zealots for Force knows how long. We're the evil other to them, don't forget that, she broadcast to Elpsis. "I'm going to find someone who's got the stones to spar with me - and then get laid. You ladies have fun," and with that she was off, making her way through the throng of aliens and humans that filled the hangar. Meanwhile, two Firemane minions had, for some reason, followed Geva to her quarters. Pheromones were a wonderful thing.


Elpsis sighed slightly. "Come on, sweetie. Laira and I will show you a nice room. Give you some food, drinks, bad movies. It'll be fun!" she declared enthusiastically.


"I am sure it will be," Mara said a little awkwardly as she looked around. "This Laira is your friend?"


"Yeah, very good friend. We're close and stuff." Now was not the moment to explain the specifics of her somewhat chaotic love life, or go into Elpsis' issues with some of Laira's comrades. Little did she know that having a love life was a cardinal sin in the austere Dominion of Light, no matter whether it was a monogamous or a polyandrous one.


Mara nodded. The expression on her face showed caution. These outsiders had not harmed her, but she was only alive because they wanted her to be. "I am grateful that you spared my life and are showing me your...world, though it is very strange." Anyhow, they would be linking up with Laira. Once she had spotted her fellow redhead, Elpsis would give her a wave to come over. Presumably a Firemane private escorted them to the room that had been prepared for civilised questioning.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Hiya again." Laira said with a smile and a wave. She had decided not to start laying it on too thick, that might shock the girl. Better to be friendly and polite, but not too flirty or distracting. "Hey Elpsis," There was a little more honey in her voice when she spoke to her fellow redhead, but that couldn't be helped. The Firemane private began leading the trio towards the room prepared for the Tephrikite girl. "So a room has been made up for you, but Elpsis and I are going to spend some time with you for a while, help you acclimate a little. I'm sure we can find some clean clothes if you wanted to get showered and redressed before we hang out." She had the benefit of not having just been in a firefight. All she had done was shoot down a few ancient Z-95's and flown a shuttle, so she didn't have the adrenaline sweat, dust, or blood that the other two might have on them from having been near a firefight. Also Laira was happy to lounge around in anything, sometimes when she flew alone she would go a day or two without a shower.

Firemane Security had been sure not to give the technician a view of everything important, ensuring that the route to her quarters didn't pass anything important. To give an unknown factor easy access to vital systems or information would have been foolish, no matter how much trust they placed in Elpsis and Laira. Instead they went through simple bland utilitarian corridor after bland utilitarian corridor until they arrived at the room. The room itself was only a little nicer than a dormitory, a small antechamber with a holoscreen and sofa, a bedroom with a single bed and open floor plan meaning the rooms appeared to be the same except for a pair of jousts to either side, and a refresher. Somewhere there was a closet with a few Firemane fatigues roughly Mara's size thrown in. "Here we are, home sweet home."

~

Doctor Ur'dax was the Iyra xenobiologist, a diligent and brilliant, if eccentric scientist. He had a pension for treating other species as childish and uneducated, which by comparison most people were. He had gotten along with Probabat Shun however, both of them having a healthy respect for their expertise in their respective fields. Shun was delighted the Iyra was able to provide the formal quadratic greetings and converse about calculus to some degree, and Ur'dax enjoyed the Force Sensitive's insight to biologicals. He had apparently made a suggestion that he was the only person on board capable of properly classifying the natives, thus he would have the right to name their species if enough genetic variance was discovered between them and baseline galactic humans.

Because he didn't share a certain fellowship with his subjects, autopsies were easy for the Iyra, four eyestalks observing the body on the operating table with four of his tentacles carefully examining the being. Other stalks and tentacles worked with a nearby machine running a series of DNA tests from the various samples he'd been provided. Having a holographic memory and multiple independent eyes allowed him to work on numerous operations at once, one of the reasons his species were known for their advancements in science. There was a certain glee that could be observed from the Iyra while he worked, not sinister or joyful someone had died, but because he was getting to work.

In the corner of his laboratory a pair of the slugs gathered from another planet floated in amniotic fluid, or they had been those slugs some time ago. The scientist had been working on gene-splicing them since they had been discovered, hoping to advance their evolution significantly so that they might develop sentience within a few generations.

"Very interesting." The voice sounded like a gurgle, the cephalopod's vocal cords only barely managing to replicate human speech. "Not exactly clones, there is some genetic variances in them. All the basic human parts, though due to controlled birth no post-Gulag adaptations. I wonder how they would respond to post-Gulag diseases since their immune systems haven't been introduced to new strains of the cold or influenza." One tentacle jotted down some notes as he worked. <Release Rhinovirus into living tissue.>

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]
[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"] [member="Laira Darkhold"]

Mara would be offered clean clothes and a chance to shower without being watched. When she returned she would look noticeably tense, her hands clenched together, her breathing quick.

In the observation room, Tegaea observed quietly. Finally she leaned to the microphone leading to Elpsis’ earpiece.
“See if you can gently settle her down. Then start asking some basic questions, offer information to her, then gently ask her to return in kind. Encourage Laira to do the same.”
Simple investigation techniques. Be personable, offer as much information as you asked, make the other person feel like they had a connection with you. It was skills which Elpsis had in abundance.

Meanwhile, an aide entered behind Tegaea and offered her a new datapad. Closing the mic, Tegaea raised an eyebrow.
“Underwater city?”
“Yes, ma’am. Bears similarities to Gungan cities on Naboo. Unfortunately the probe got too close and was detected. We attempted to backtrack, but it was soon caught. The picture went out, but we did get some last images.”
Tegaea observed a couple of antiquated bongo ships approaching, firing a net, and disabling the probe. There were Gungans, but other aquatic creatures too.
“Most curious. The Jester is out of the bag, but they probably knew anyway, unless they’re enemies of the Dominion. Can’t tell from this. There was nothing useful for them on the probe?”
“No, ma’am, cheap underwater X-41 model. It should have wiped the data and memory on loss of control.”
“Good. Carry on.”

In the lab Doctor Ur’dax injected the disease into the tissue. The result was quite profound. The antibodies were woefully out of date and strangely inefficient. They had best immunise dear Mara or else she might end up very sick.
More than that though it meant that first contact might lead to a pandemic unless steps were taken….

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"], [member="Laira Darkhold"]


There was a time when the grandiose Palace of the Grandmaster would have impressed Mahtara. Undoubtedly it still had that effect on many common citizens and Jedi Padawans who beheld it. Even by the standards of Nexus City, the building was monumental. Huge in size, the palace was almost completely self-sufficient. There were armouries, gardens, vegetable farms and, of course, accommodations for the servants, guards and the Grandmaster.


A veritable army was at the Supreme Leader's beck and call. Such was their devotion that they would fulfil his wishes without even asking...even those that a lesser mind would see as standing in contradiction to the Code. The perceptive, of course, realised that as the embodiment of the Light, the Grandmaster was immune to the temptation of the Light. His every desire would be fulfilled.


Except to leave the palace and take the reins of power.


This place is a prison, Mahtara thought to herself as she was led into the audience chamber, past the portraits of previous Grandmasters. She knew a good number of them, had served under and fought alongside them. And in quite a few cases unmade them. The small, green alien leaned on a cane as she walked. She was of the same species as the venerable Master Yoda. Jedi Guards clad in resplendent armour and armed with Force imbued halberds stepped aside to open the massive door to the audience chamber.


Inside, the Grandmaster sat upon an enormous gilded throne. Light shun upon his forehead, giving the impression of a halo. Several stairs led up to the throne, which elevated him above any visitors. Anyone who wished to make eye contact would have to look up, but it was considered bad form to look him in the eye. But does it elevate him above us? Or place him so high that he cannot see what is going on beneath him, Mahtara mused cynically as she stepped forward. He took the required steps, then made obeisance.

"The Battlemaster of the Dominion of Light, Jedi Master Mahtara," a young lackey who performed the duties of herald announced in an appropriately dramatic voice.

"Grandmaster, your humble servant prostrates himself before you and begs your indulgence for a moment of your time," Mahtara spoke the old platitudes in a smooth voice that hid his tiredness. It was all a game. Courteous, formal words with no meaning. "I bring word from the frontlines."


"Speak, Battlemaster. I have been waiting eagerly for word of the progress of our valiant forces. Have they smote the fiends?"


"Our Clone Troopers have delivered a crushing blow to the enemy, Grandmaster. Darth Tod was slain at Susa. His undead hordes were destroyed by the power of the Light. I bring you his mask," at that the Yodaling made a gesture and a minion stepped forward, producing a Sith mask. It was taken by a guard, who then brought it to the Grandmastrer.


The Grandmaster spent some time examining it. There was a fanatical glint in his eyes. "All is as I have foreseen. I offered him the chance to repent of his evil ways, but he refused the hand that would have lifted him from the abyss. Now he has paid the price for his lack of vision."


"For true, Grandmaster. Our Clone Commanders applied the bold strategy you had communicated to them. Inspired by your example, they struck a blow that will make Tephrike a safer place." The lies came easy. To lie to a Grandmaster was a cardinal sin. But then a true Lord of Light would have recognised the lie? We have not had a true one for decades, if not longer.


"And then we shall have...peace. You have once more proven yourself a loyal servant of the Light, my friend," the Grandmaster declared. There was a pause. "We will have need of brave paladins. My dreams have become more vivid over the past moons. The Force is warning me of coming evil."

"What do these visions tell you, Grandmaster?"

"I have seen vile abominations, spawned by the abyss itself, converging upon our holy land. I have seen a city in flames, consumed by a holy fire. The signs are clear. The stronger we grow, the more desperate and wicked the forces of evil become. They are amassing their legions to eclipse the light."

Outwardly, Mahtara's expression remained unchanged. Her interior self was another matter. Has the time come to retire him? Retirement, such a gentle word. To spill the blood of a Grandmaster was a sin, but there were other ways. Among other things, it had become common practice to persuade troublesome Grandmasters to retire from worldly affairs, renounce all titles and spend the remainder of their years in deep seclusion, communing with the Living Force. "These are grave news, Grandmaster. Rest assured, that the Council and I will destroy any foe who dares to threaten our survival. As we speak, the best minds of the Dominion are working on weapons that will deliver us final victory. But for now...we must share the word of our victory with the people. Your words will inspire the Dominion to greater deeds of heroism."

xxx


"Heya, come over here, dear," Elpsis said reassuringly, seeing how tense Mara was. Calming energies radiated from the empath, causing the Tephrikite to be a little less tense. She gazed across the room, taking it all in.
It was just a dormitory, but she was probably not used to anything more luxurious. Probably less so. Her eyes fell on the holoscreen, then wandered to Elpsis and Laira.

"Am I a prisoner?" she asked bluntly.

"No," Elpsis said a bit too quickly, then regretted her mistake. "Well, there are some areas on the ship you can't visit. Security and all that. But we won't hold you against your will."

"If I wanted to go back, you'd let me?"

"Do you want to?" Elpsis pressed, feeling a bit bold.

Mara's expression conveyed uncertainty, mixed with a degree of fear. "I...do not know. All I know is the Dominion, what the Masters taught me. But...there is life outside of it," she sighed. "If I were to return, I would be punished. It is a crime to leave the Dominion. It feels like I am betraying my people."

"No one will hurt you, promise, and we won't ask you to harm your country. We want to help your people," Elpsis said emphatically. That seemed to mollify the girl a bit. "Why don't we talk about something other than punishment and all that? We can play a game. You tell us a bit about your life. What you like, the people you grew with from your pod. And we tell you a bit about us. We can have some food and drinks while we chat. Maybe watch some telly." She glanced over to Laira for a moment.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Alright Doctor, that's something alright." Captain Ul and Lieutenant Stalgis nodded at Ur'dax's holographic image, as he relayed information he had gathered about the clones gathered from the dusty moon. They were clones, which already had immunity problems if they weren't inoculated early in life, only compounded by Tephrike's isolation from the Four Hundred Year Darkness. That was both bad and good for the Firemane explorers.

"Disease distribution would be less risky to the crew than orbital strikes. Wouldn't have to pull the ship in range of any orbital cannons they might be hiding. Sure Jedi healers would be able to treat it, but their hospitals would be packed for months. Would bog them down and keep them from being able to put up a proper defense." Stalgis started, he was always tactical and strategical with his thinking. How might this information help if a fight broke out was always where his mind went to first. "I think we might consider any people we send down to carry a virus grenade with something simple for if the dominion turns hostile."

"Absolutely not. I'll message Miss Alcori with your ideas Lieutenant, but I don't think she's going to advocate for taking potentially lethal diseases to the planet's surface just in case." Captain Ul was a traditionalist, she didn't like the idea of genocide, but time had hardened her. She no longer saw everything as a line that couldn't be crossed. If it did come to a fight, he made valid points. A heavily indoctrinated regime could inspire or force the entire populace to surge up in battle and some harsh realities might need to be faced. But that populace would be less likely to fight if half of them were sick and clogging up hospitals before the battle even started.

<Miss Alcori,
Doctor Ur'dax's results provide us with a great deal of information. We lack understanding of their defensive capabilities and possible offensive weapons. If worst comes to worst, orbital strikes may prove ineffective if required. A more potent weapon may be unleashing a strain of Influenza on the population.

I've had Doctor Ur'dax mark the most virulent, most contagious strain in his notes for possible use.

I would advise it be used as an absolute last resort, only in place of orbital bombardment if such a tactic proves necessary for the survival of the exploratory fleet.

On a lighter note, we should do screenings of anyone going planetside for contagions. Even carriers of simple diseases could spark a serious issue for the inhabitants that we don't want to cause on accident.

I would send Dr. Ur'dax to inoculate Mara Technician, but I fear he may frighten her with his appearance. It would be better to have Elpsis handle that situation.>

Because the Dominion of Light used clones, they wouldn't be able to adapt over a few generations to immunize themselves. They might be able to develop a vaccine, but in all likelihood such a weapon would last for several decades and claim millions of the populace. A very grim possibility, but this Dominion had already proven itself fairly hostile.

~

"Think of it like a mission. You took the initiative to meet with an unknown civilization if you want." Laira said with a happy tone. Maybe the Dominion would be kinder to one of its technicians taking the initiative and gaining information about their visitors from the inside and quietly than they would a deserter. Might make the girl feel better about sitting around with the two redheads and talking. "A game sounds nice. Maybe snack on some crisps and some sodas while we chat." She tapped a few buttons on her wrist-com so that someone would know to bring them a few refreshments in a moment.

"Alright." The girl muttered, looking a little sheepish. Geva had said to butter her up and make her feel like Firemane were more accommodating than the Dominion had been.

"Here, I'll start. I was born on Bothawui," she was dropping her alias's history, that's what pretty much everyone but Elpsis and Tegaea knew anyway. "Near the capital. Because my parents had been with the local government I was able to attend a bothan university there for a little while. I even took a bothan to his senior dance once. Um, let see, I worked as a Ranger, think of a policewoman but more awesome and with better clothes, travelling from planet to planet catching criminals for trial." She had no idea if the girl knew what a bothan was, but they had been pretty important to the galaxy for a long time as a species, so maybe she would. That part had been true enough. Everyone knew about law enforcement though, maybe she could play up that aspect if she responded well to it.

"What are parents?"

Laira's eyes opened wide at the question. She hadn't even thought about such a simple question coming from her explanation. It just seemed so mundane to have parents. "Oh, um. Well. Your mother is the female that gives birth to you when you are born naturally. And um, I guess your Father is the male that provides the other half of the genetic material needed to make a baby. Um... then they raise the children most of the time. Mine did at least, though I did spend some time at a boarding school and a university where I didn't sleep at home with them."

"Okay... um I'm a technician. I fix and operate the comlinks. My pod was created from birthing pod thirteen with nineteen others." She was a little surprised by Laira's admissions, she didn't have anything in her life that was easily comparable to chasing interplanetary criminals or dancing. Especially not dancing with an alien like Bothans. "Why did you go dancing with a Bothan?"

Laira was at first going to deflect the question and reiterated that wasn't how the game was played, but then decided to just answer. "Bahj'la was a friend I spent a lot of time with growing up. He didn't have anyone else to go with, so I asked him if he wanted to take me. It was either that or go alone and I didn't want him to be embarrassed going alone. That's what you do for friends. Besides, it was fun, I was the only human there."

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]
[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"] [member="Laira Darkhold"]

Tegaea watched the interview with half an eye. Laira and Elpsis were clearly the most charismatic people she had aboard, so they would do fine.

She received the message from Captain Ul, read it, paused, then read it again. Her eyes narrowed and her jaw clenched. She started to type, paused, deleted what she’s written, then with a clearer head recomposed herself and the message.

<Captain Ul,
Your message is understood. I will have Elpsis administer the vaccine. It is something we will need to be careful of, probably using filter masks for all landing parties.

As for the subject of virus weapons, I am adamantly opposed to the use of such a biological weapon. We are here to discover and aid, not to exterminate.

Thank you,
Tegaea Alcori>

The message sent, she paused and then sent a second message, this time to Leonina Varkathras.

<Colonel,
I have concerns about our ‘guests’ potentially misusing our facilities. See to it that all data and output is monitored by yourself. Be inconspicuous about it. Alert me of any issues.
Alcori>

She paused after the message. Had she overreacted? Possibly, but she had a visceral revulsion to the very idea of virus weapons. The Gulag Plague had devastated the galaxy, and growing up in its aftermath had shaped her, but she was determined never to let something like that happen again.

She looked back to the interview to see what she was missing.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Laira Darkhold"], [member="Tegaea Alcori"]


"Do you have a...family as well?" Mara asked. The word 'family' did not roll easily off the tongue. It sounded like something alien. Wrong.

"Uh, yeah, I'm Tegs' daughter. She's in charge of this expedition," Elpsis said a little awkwardly.

"Who is your father?"

"There is no father," Elpsis said a bit too hastily, then felt bad. Geez, now she'll think Mum got knocked up by the Force or some rot. "Let's talk about something else. What was it like growing up? What do you believe in? I grew up on the streets. Didn't get things hanged to me with a golden spoon. I had to fight to get where I am. You could say I am a...paladin now. Protecting innocent and all that."

"So you are a bit like a Jedi Guardian? Is there still a Jedi Order in this Galaxy?"

"Not really a Jedi...but similar, I suppose. And there's a couple Jedi Orders. They split a lot and get little done."

"That is sad, but not surprising. They must lack a strong Grandmaster who can keep their ranks pure. The forces of darkness must have a strong hold over the Galaxy."

"They're still around, but people with actual guts are fighting them. Anyway, let's get back to you. You're way more interesting." A little bit of flattery never hurt.

"Well, I was raised communally with the others in my pod. The Dominion gave us everything we needed. We were taught to follow the Light, to stay away from evil and honour our superiors. When I was old enough I was put to work fixing and operating comms. I guess I was good, so I was assigned to the moon base. It's a rare honour." Something told Elpsis that Mara was not enthusted about it though.


xxx


Truth be told, Nyssa had never been too fond of aliens. Well, there were degrees. She could respect those that had a martial spirit. Cathar and Trandoshans looked like ugly, but they had a good fighting spirit and were tough in a fight. Twi'leks and Zeltrons spent most of their lives on their back with their legs spread. Weaklings.


She already pegged this particular Twi'lek Fire Acolyte as annoying. At least her sparring partner did not give up and beg in the first round. "You are weak and pathetic. Not even worth licking my boots clean," Nyssa snarled. Words could not hurt, but the weak got unbalanced by them. They let taunts get to them.


Her powerful attacks gave the girl no reprieve as she bore down upon her. Their lightsabres sang a song as they clashed. She could feel the Twi'lek was getting angry. She blocked a blow with such force it almost caused the girl to stumble. "Where I come from, you'd have been assigned a place more approriate to your skills," she smirked cruelly. "On your knees, begging to be used."


Something snapped in the Twi'lek. "Sith queen," she hissed angrily. Summoning her anger, she let it flow through her. She met Nyssa's attack with the blade of her lightsabre, their blades crackling. Now the fight quickly became savage. Now it was the Acolyte attacking, with such aggression that she put Nyssa on the defensive. Her blade carved a line across the Sith's forearm.


Fortunately, the lightsabres were in training mode. Still Nyssa felt the strong zap and relished it. "A bit better...but not enough," she chided the girl. Feeling cornered as Nyssa hammered her with blows, the Twi'lek pulled the Force into her muscles and jumped, somersaulting over her. Nyssa's blade struck her leg. Kids these days were so fond of impractically leaping about because it looked 'cool'.


To her credit, the Twi'lek did something useful after this manoeuvre. Landing behind Nyssa, she thrust back hard. Her blade caught Nyssa in the side as the Sith spun around with preternatural speed. Nyssa responded with a slash that would have cut the alien's hand at the wrist if this were real. "Don't jump about like an idiot. And always watch your hands." Breathing heavily, the Acolyte took a step back.


The next clash came soon. Their blades locked and as they put pressure on one another, Nyssa's left hand left her blade hilt and she grabbed one of the girl's headtails. The grapple caused pain to surge through the girl. She cried out in pain and dropped her blade. Nyssa gave her a kick to drop her. Stepping forward, she pointed the end of her blade at her throat. "Do you yield?" she demanded in her deep voice.


"No!" the girl shrieked. With a fast, powerful kick, she knocked the blade out of Nyssa's grasp. A telekinetic blow unbalanced the Sith and allowed the Twi'lek to launch herself at her. Both hit the ground. Wrestling, each of them struggled for dominance. But the Twi'lek girl was tiring. Sensing weakness, Nyssa felt the energy dwindling inside the girl. She fed on it, putting her greater strength to use. Finally it ended with Nyssa pinning the girl down, forcing her into a chokehold. "You will go unconscious in a matter of seconds. Do you yield now?"


She applied some more pressure. "Y-yes," the girl stammered.


Nyssa got up. The girl nursed her bruised throat. "You know how to use your anger. But it's sloppy. Unfocused," the Sith commented.


"I am no slave or a toy. I will never be one. Not again."


"Yes, you are. A slave to your feelings and fears. You hate being a toy, girl. You want to be your own person. Good. But if you cannot focus that anger, all you will do is run against walls. Drink from that delicious cocktail of anger inside you. Focus it into a spear you thrust at the enemy in the right moment. Get cleaned up. Same time tomorrow. Don't be late." In this moment Nyssa's commlink beeped.

 

[Laira Darkhold]

At least Mara seemed to be leaning towards trusting them and enjoying herself, though it still felt very much like an impromptu interview or debriefing than it felt like getting her comfortable. Laira supposed that was inevitable, if they were too nice she might close up all the same. "I'll bet." Laira mentioned at the talk about the technicians assignment. "You must be pretty good at it to get assigned there. Its kinda the same for me, when I do well at my job, I get to pick where I want to go next or what duty I'd like to do. Do you like what you do?"

Mara took a moment, looking to the floor shyly as she thought of how to answer the other redhead. She hadn't quite connected with Laira like she had Elpsis. "Um, I guess its okay. Its better than some people's responsibilities." Her voice was only a little more than a mumbled whisper.

"Well, when we were there my team found something I wanted you to explain to us. Our science officer, you saw her, couldn't make heads nor tails of it." Laira produced the little holoprojector and activated it, a two dimensional, full color image shimmering into place above her hand. It was an odd tribal piece painted haphazardly on the exterior wall of the building. There was some weathering as if it was aged, but the image was clearly a face of some sort.

Mara took about a second to look at the image before covering her eyes with her own hand and shrieking with shock. It was clear she didn't want to be looking at the image, and so Laira quickly shut it off and put away the projector. She noted the reaction though, a mixture of fear and disdain for the image emanated from the girl. "Calm down, its gone. It's alright. What was it?"

"It was one of their symbols." Mara whimpered, practically sneering at the mention of the anonymous them. "They aren't supposed to be able to reach the moon base. Corruption starts through the eyes, what you see can corrupt you and make you need re-education." More tyrannical theocracy propaganda from the Dominion. It was entirely possible that anyone who didn't fall in line with their ideals exactly, was considered tainted by the Dark Side.

~

Captain Ul breathed a slight sigh of relief at the elder Alcori's response. As much as she was no longer her old self of high moral standing, virus bombing wasn't something she wanted to add to the list of evils she had committed in the name of freedom. Kira wasn't old enough to want to add 'Architect of Genocide' to a list of titles or monikers she had accumulated. She was rational enough to recognize the value in it over orbital bombardment if it came to picking between the two, but orbital strikes just seemed so much cleaner.

Lieutenant Stalgis didn't mean anything by it, afterall. He wasn't accustomed to the same level of morality that the rest of the galaxy had experienced. The Empire spent a great deal of time expunge the human sense of right and wrong from him, leaving him with a sense of 'Them' and 'Us' where anything necessary to defend 'Us' was fine. Ul was just lucky that the Empire had been so mismanaged that even highly indoctrinated Death Troopers couldn't understand what it stood for or what its leadership wanted. That squad had suffered enough losses and political flip-flopping that they had decided 'Them' was who they had been working for and over a couple months of working for her had adopted her into their clique. Same with Laira, they had taken to her quicker than anyone else they had met.

The door pinged and she waved a hand at it, allowing the figure to enter. "Probabat Shun?" Not who she had expected, the three eyed givin flowing into the room quietly. He had resigned himself to quiet meditation for most of the journey and had yet to move outside taking meals. He had almost not spoken the entire journey. "How may I help you?"

"I would like to accompany the next away team." He spoke sourly. "There is something I would like to investigate."

"Of course. As soon as the area can be made secure-" He cut her off, bending the air in front of her mouth to distort the sound waves she was producing. It was his not so subtle way of silencing someone without having to ask.

"I will accompany the next away team. I assure you I can manage if combat is required on my part." She nodded in response, not bothering to speak or disagree with the givin. Without another word, he turned and flowed back out of the room, the door sliding shut as he left. Damn self-entitled alien, Kira's face contorting into a snarl. It took her a moment to realize he could have been using a Mind Trick on her, though his superiors had said he was skilled in the manipulation of Gravity, it didn't mean he couldn't manipulate someone. She squinted suspiciously.

[member="Tegaea Alcori"]
[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"] [member="Laira Darkhold"]

Tegaea sent a brief text message to Nyssa. The Sith was taciturn and grumpy, but her cynical nature and hard-bitten reality sense could not be ignored.
<Nyssa,
I wish to see you regarding your visit to the moonbase. Specifically things you may have noticed not in the official logs and reports.
Tegaea.>
She tagged her location so the Sith would know where to go. To her bodyguard she gave instructions about letting the Sith in.

“Elpsis, message from medical. You’ll be wanting to give her a vaccine jab soon so she doesn’t catch anything from the crew she’s not able to handle. Bring it up at an opportune moment,” she said into the earpiece.

That opportune moment was not now as the most extraordinary reaction had occurred. Tegaea pulled up the image Laira had shown, frowned.
“Vader mask?” she asked.
“Looks like it, ma’am.”
“Clearly enemies judging by their reaction. Possibly the ones in the mountains or underground. I’ve heard about embracing your past, but this is just absurd….”

Meanwhile, the circling ships had come back with confirmation; this Dominion had no further orbital assets, but a couple of bases on the ground had been sighted as possibly possessing Starfighters. They were marked in case it was necessary to…remove…their threat.

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Tegaea Alcori"], [member="Laira Darkhold"]


Nyssa read the message, then switched the device off. The Twi'lek acolyte whimpered, nursing her bruised lekku. The Sith Pureblood sighed. "Oh, cut the drama, will you? Woman up a bit. I could have used my robotic hand on it. If you can't handle someone grabbing the overgrown worms coming out of your head, there's the door." With that she left the training room.


xxx

Uh, ok. I'll bring up the needle thing, Elpsis thought. Needles unnerved her a bit. Still, vaccinations were important. Hopefully the Dominion were notAnyhow, it seemed Mara was in some distress. So the empath put a calming hand on her shoulder. "It's alright. You're safe here," she said softly. "Uh, so who are these guys you're talking about?" It was not nice to be left out because you could not see someone else's scrawls.


"They are evil, blasphemous men. Sith. The Disciples of the Vader. They take slaves, eat human flesh and practice the dark arts. One of the members of my pod was stationed in a village that was invaded by them. Everyone who was not taken as a slave was crucified. We found the bodies," she angrily brushed the tears away that swelled in her ears.


"There, there, let it out. Sith are savage monsters that need to be wiped out," Elpsis said fervently. This was not rhetoric or her playing to Mara, she honestly believed in. "I've fought plenty of them back where I come from. They're evil scum. And if your guys are a bunch of Vader fanboys that's just pathetic."

"You fight Sith? Does that mean you can help us destroy them?" Mara asked hopefully.

"Maybe - that depends on your leaders," Elpsis replied a bit evasively. Not her call to make. They were not here to fight someone else's war. The Dominion seemed ghastly to her, but she could not discount the possibility that their enemies might be just as bad or worse.


xxx

"There is one last thing, Battlemaster. Earlier I sensed a disturbance in the Force. Violence. Darkness. It came from the void of space. Would you care to elaborate on what transpired?" the Grandmaster asked - or rather demanded.

The Battlemaster grit his teeth. "A minor matter, Grandmaster. A pilot was possessed by one of the dark spirits that dwell in the void. One of the creatures of the abyss. It drove him to madness. His craft was pursued and destroyed. I understand he was able to wrest control from the spirit in his final moments. Alas, service in the glorious starfighter corps is a great trial."

"I see," the Grandmaster hissed, "and why was I not informed of this?"

"I did not wish to disrupt your meditation, Grandmaster. As you yourself say, it is of vital importance that you commune with the Force."

"It is your duty to inform me of anything that transpires in my realm. Who else can I rule?"

"I assure, Grandmaster, that I will inform you of any occurence that is deemed crucial for the security of the Dominion. You have many burdens on your shoulder. Burdens heavier than a mountain. It is the duty of the Council to lighten them."

 

[Laira Darkhold]

"Gosh, I'm sorry boo. Sometimes I forget you're blind." Elpsis was a very functional blind woman, and Laira wasn't used to having to describe images very often, normally Elpsis could either make out shapes with her Force-Sight or feel things, but artwork or written letters she couldn't. The redhead felt a little ashamed she couldn't remember simple details about her friend, and tried to make a note to remember it, not that it would be a foolproof method. She took something for granted Elpsis simply couldn't appreciate.

As Mara described the Disciples of the Vader, Laira couldn't help but doubt her testimony. She was certain Mara believed every word that was spoken, but doubted that the Dominion of Light had been entirely truthful about what had transpired. They were already known to control the media and distribution of information within their little empire, and had a fanatical mindset in regard to outsiders. It was possible the Disciples weren't as evil as Mara believed them to be. On Alderaan there were some who viewed Darth Vader as the ultimate symbol of redemption, that his story was a lesson that no matter how far someone had fallen they could be brought back from the brink, albeit a very small minority of Vader-lovers that existed.

It just happened to be a belief Laira shared with them, as her own father had suffered similarly. Somewhere out there she had a Half-Sister who had been corrupted and subsequently disappeared. Draco had lost everything and turned from his dark mindset to the path of the Sith in an effort to let go of the things that had made him weak. He had participated in the enslavement and subsequent mass genocide of the Amaran species, and was still able to return from the pit of the Dark Side. if he could, why not others? Why couldn't the Dominion be the bad guys in the grand scheme of things on this forgotten world?

"It would certainly help things if we knew where these Disciples were." Laira said quietly, letting Elpsis handle the comforting and consoling of the girl. "But let's not worry about them too much. I'd rather know more about you hun. You're leaders and ours can hash out the details, we're just getting to know each other." The redhead smiled warmly. She wanted to inspect these Disciples of the Vader herself before she even thought about picking sides.

~

Probabat Shun passed through another bulkhead, his third eye closed, only a simple seam in his exoskeleton as the only marker of his mutation. Most people, even most givin found the third eye disconcerting and so when possible he kept it closed. It was not as if it had any benefit or special vision his other eyes could not see. Captain Ul had been wary of his request, but nonetheless he had gotten his way. Not that she had the authority to stop him, if she would not have accommodated his request surely Firemane would have.

There was something he wanted to see in person on the planet, a faint flicker in space that reminded him of the sensation he had felt on Endor years ago, similar to one he felt on Hosnia as well and it was his duty to the Guild to catalog it as accurately as possible.

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]
[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"] [member="Laira Darkhold"]

In the observation room Tegaea’s eyes narrowed. Sith. Disciples of Vader. This planet seemed trapped in the past, and here was another clear example. Perhaps this explained the reactionary, extreme nature of the Dominion. If they were engaged in war with Sith they might have been forced to compromise in order to battle them, much as the Old Republic had been forced to do. It did not excuse their behaviour, but it did explain it slightly.

She tapped into her headset again. “Elpsis, definitely confirm the location of these Sith. I am sending both you and Laira intel pics of a mountain and an underwater base which seem not to be part of the Dominion. See if we can lock down the destination of these Sith.”

Sith were the common enemies of most right-thinking beings, so perhaps if the Dominion thought they would aid them against the Sith, it might be a point of leverage. Something to consider.

At that moment a Sith entered the room…but a racial Sith rather than Vader fanboys. Ironic that Sith had become a name branching out more than their species to encompass something which was now 99% not red-skinned-Sith.

Tegaea nodded. “Nyssa, take a seat. Seems this planet has a problem with ‘Sith’ of the human variety, Disciples of Vader. Anyway, did you notice anything of interest on the moon from our ‘allies’ the Death Troopers? I want to ensure that the actions they take benefit us as well as them. I want you to work with Colonel Varkathras in ensuring that I am informed as to what they are doing. You will be assigned to work with them, be as unobtrusive as you can with your observations. They are our allies and they have been useful, but in situations like this it’s always wise to have an eye on all angles.”