Private Just When I Thought I Was Out, They Pull Me Back In

[Darth Carnifex]

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Oversector I
Bastion, Imperial Capital of the Tenth Sith Empire

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Night had descended on the Imperial Ruling City, more informally referred to as Ravelin by the natives, and the blinding pillars of light that burst forth periodically from the city's continent-spanning sprawl illuminated the sharp angular silhouettes of star destroyers lurking in low atmosphere. Though a common fixture of the capital's firmament, more destroyers had been arriving slowly in the fallout of the Eleventh Sith Congregation at the Ascendant Circle Hall, which marked the beginning of the Empire's current civil conflict. High above them was the ghostly visage of the gas giant Sarti, the nearest planet in the solar system to the Imperial Capital. Faint glimmers of light from around its gaseous body were the only indications of the multitude of orbital fortifications, dockyards, and other emplacements that littered the system. ​

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But down on the Imperial Capital, those who looked to the sky first looked to the towering edifice of the Emperor's Palace. A massive construct of brilliant white ferrocrete and shimmering gold metal, it symbolized the Emperor's totality as sovereign of the thirty trillion souls which constituted the Empire. None were allowed within a kilometer of the structure, not without proper access clearance that was, and the no man's land between the palace and the rest of the city was a flat expanse of gradually intensifying fortified barriers, trench networks, repeater nests, and droid fighter launch bays. It was even rumored that the Emperor maintained a complex lift system to ferry up the most horrid of exotic beasts and artificial sithspawn from some dark subterranean menagerie. Not even the air around the Palace was traversed, with the flow of the city's air traffic giving the entire area an exceptionally wide berth. ​

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Inside, the Sith Emperor sat on his throne as he contemplated the latest events. Leading up to the Emperor's personage was a massive stair, which forked off into two branches at the same elevation as the throne's dais. Normally the audience chamber at the base of the stair would be filled with dozens, if not hundreds, of the Emperor's court; those aristocrats, plutarchs, Lords of the Sith, and foreign dignitaries which often met in the Palace to petition the Emperor for some favor. Tonight, the hall was emptied out, devoid of all life save for the Emperor and his silent implacable bodyguards, the Crownguard. They stood silent and still, appearing as unliving as marble statues, in their resplendent segmented crimson armor. In the silence and isolation, the eyes of the monolithic statues which lined the hall's walls, chiseled to resemble the faces of ancient Dark Lords of the Sith, seemed to be drawn to the Emperor's lone form as his clutched both hands under his chin in deep thought.​

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None could pierce the Emperor's mind to catch even the barest glimpse of his thoughts, the privilege of being an Epicanthix. His thoughts were his and his alone, lest he deigned to share them with another. For now, he set aside his inner reflection and pressed one of the buttons built into the armrest of his throne. A small panel in the floor slid away to reveal a sophisticated holoprojector, which churned to life as an encrypted connection was established between Bastion and the distant world of Genesia.​

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Much like the person he was contacting, the Emperor's sitting form would be relayed across countless light-years to appear before them in brilliant detail. "Lady Raaf, I apologize for any inconvenience. I believe you and I have some things to discuss, concerning certain... Unsavory elements in our Empire."​

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Fiolette Raaf ​

 

[Fiolette Fortan]

Initially, Fiolette had assumed the meeting was for her wife. Taeli Raaf was busy in a call in the other room, the azure hues of the island sky lingered behind the former Lord Admiral. She on her part at least grabbed a button-up shirt to wear on such short notice. Carefully she pushed her rather alcoholic drink out of the frame and worked on her hair before accepting the call. It was so odd to be referred to as Lady Raaf, normally that was her wife and she was, she was Admiral Raaf. Although, she supposed what with being retired and all it was only natural. "I see," she acknowledged the Emperor plainly. "Yes, I have heard of these unsavory elements, and a rather unhappy state of the military - or at least a few of its more famed leaders."​

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She sat on the balcony of her home to keep whatever conversation that Taeli was in, private. Genesia had always been the home away from home and the more time she spent there, the less she wanted to go back to Bastion. Although talk of selling Stormvale hadn't come up, perhaps in due time it would. Her wife being closer to the Empire certainly helped matters, and at this point Fio while sometimes thought on a return to active duty. Kept it out of her mind, being out - was just that. Out of service, out of the Empire where she wouldn't dare hang about. Instead, here on the tropical island home away from the worries of Apostates and Loyalists. Still, if the Emperor had reached out - there was something amidst. "Although, I must say I am, humbled by your personal call my liege."​

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Darth Carnifex ​

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Only a smattering of military leaders have broken their oaths, and many of them were slaughtered in the purge. Those that remain are the most committed to the Empire, the most experienced, the highest minds we possess. Scipio Alta has returned to put down these upstarts, and I would hope that you would return as well." Scipio was one of, if not the best, General that the Sith Empire had ever seen in its decade-long history. A farmer from Oorn Tchis, he had risen through the ranks due to his brutal tactics and unyielding disposition. He held a fervent disdain for the Jedi, his record rife with the trophies he had taken from the corpses of Jedi slain in battles where he commanded. ​

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Specifically their scalps.​

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"We have strengthened security within the Empire, but we imagine that these rebels will find fertile soil in the broken and wayward Imperials that were once part of the Core Imperial Confederation. Without High Chancellor Tanomas Graf's guiding hand, those that survived Grayson's purges are little more than street thugs. We've managed to destroy or recruit some of them, but many more are either too elusive or rebuffed our offers. I imagine they will now flock to the rebel's banner, and therefore finally drawing them out of hiding." ​

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He grasped both of his hands together, visibly wringing them in malicious thought. "If things go as planned, we will destroy both the rebels and those remnants simultaneously. I would be more at ease if you were there to aid in this endeavor."​

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Fiolette Raaf ​

 

[Fiolette Fortan]

Quietly Fiolette listened to the Emperor, quietly she mulled over what he had to say. She felt remorseful her eyes glazed with a distant thought, a memory of the days that had past. Her mind wandered to her wife Taeli Raaf and as she shifted her gaze. Fiolette opened her mouth to answer but nothing came forward, she gathered her conviction and laid it out for the Emperor. "I'm tired, I've two daughters to raise and three others to watch, I've lost two sons. One never saw the chance at life, it was snuffed from him - and the other... the other simply never came home."​

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"My wife might be strong enough to continue the fight, but I am not. I am tired, I understand your plight and the plight of the Empire. I know the type of men of which you speak, they once infected the First Order." She continued to speak, "and look at how long they lasted, I would encourage you and yours to remain strong and committed. As always you have access to my wares, my technology, and even my personnel, but I cannot grant you, me." ​

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"You may offer all the trappings that the Galaxy has to offer me, but they could not compare to what is most precious to me. I sincerely hope you can understand why I must, at this time, tell you no, Emperor Carnifex." There was a small part of Fiolette that wanted to jump back into the fight, but why? What was there to gain from jumping into the fray once more? Risking her life, risking her children? No. She was tired. "Perhaps, one day, when my children no longer have need of me. When I am not so tired of the in-fighting, the petty squabbles of which order is purer than the other. When I no longer have to gamble with the lives of other people's children, I might consider it." ​

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"Thank you for your words, and your time, Darth Carnifex ."​

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