Letters from Rudrig: Darkness Descends

[Dissero]

OOC - This thread is set two weeks after the first of the Letters series. It is a past thread that takes place during the Clockwork Rebellion.


Though things on Rudrig had progressed quickly in much the fashion intended, Dissero could not help but feel muddled with a multitude of mixed emotions. The new Archives and Vaults for the Empire were well underway now after landing a solid deal on materials and labor costs. The cataloguing of the current Vaults on Dromund Kaas was well underway, and with the help of Lord Tirdarius the project that had promised to be a monumental undertaking was now something he felt was perfectly under control. All the while his position as Governor of Rudrig was finding little challenge by way of the people or the scholars. Turns out his own profession in the field of study made him perfectly relatable to the majority of the Council. The young Sith Knight had a lot on his plate, but he was feeling quite capable of these things.

It wasn't the work load that weighed on him.


"Production's going to be stalled for a while. All the usual trade routes are shut down. Omni's bugs have a death grip at all the big ports and trade worlds."

"Coruscant is on lockdown. We won't be able to ship out the items you requested."

Dissero narrowed his eyes. It wasn't out of anger, but out of thought. Here in the heart of Imperial territory they had felt little of Omni's presence. They were capable of getting the resources needed from other planets within the Empire, but it wasn't until they delved into the Inner Rim and Core Worlds that it became all too obvious just how wide spread and devastating Omni's reign had become.

"Perhaps we can re-route the freighters to Kuat to wait it out," the Dread Lord offered with a quick glance to the holoprojection of the galaxy map at his right, "they can refuel there and-"

"That will not be possible, my Lord," said the projection of one of his business associates.

"What? Why..."

"Kuat was the stage for the latest attack by Omni,"

"What do you mean? I spoke with the Queen just yesterday. They were expecting ships in from the Alliance-"

"My Lord-"

Dissero's eyes flashed, this time in anger. If there was one thing he did not tolerate, it was being interrupted.

"-have you seen the latest GNN reports?"

The Governor took a stilling breath, lips drawing thin as his eyes lingered over each of his associates in turn. Each of them held a grave expression. "No..." The man turned to his left then to face a bare wall across his office. With a quick depression of keys a holoscreen flickered to life, presenting the Galactic News Network and all it's subsidiary stations. He scrolled through several minor screens until he found one covering a story on Kuat, and after listening for only a few moments he felt the pit of his stomach drop.

"Gentlemen...." his throat felt tight and his already rassp voice broke at the latest wave of emotion overcoming him: dread. "...we'll resume this at a later date."



Minutes later he was standing outside of Verie's room, feeling a swell of apprehension. The man set his jaw and mustered every ounce of will he had. All those years of learning to control this inner turmoil had to be good for something.

He knocked, rolling his other hand into a fist as though he might grasp the strength to remain the steadfast, unfaltering rock he had been honed into, "Verie ... I need to speak to you. I have to ... Vi it's important."

 

[Dissero]

Verie Lacroix:

The portable music system was not exactly being used for its proper purpose. Instead of the latest pop album, or (more likely for Verie) a classic concerto, the only sound emanating from the speakers was the regular, dull thumping of what sounded like a worn cane against a polished wooden floor. Incidentally, it was a recording of a worn cane being thumped against a polished wooden floor. It had been taken at the academy, and had proved most useful to the aspiring ballerina in providing a familiar setting in which to practice.

And practice she did. She was finishing up her second drill of the afternoon when there was a knock at the door. Verie's concentration snapped; at the same moment, the recording skipped. Verie glanced at it in irritation. "Just a moment," she called, taking a deep breath. She hadn't expected him so soon, and had counted on the chance to finish her routine and then shower before he returned, so she could keep up the charade of her being a prima ballerina who never, ever broke a sweat. She opened the player and righted the disc (how it had come off the spinning rotator was beyond her), then shut it off and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. She was pleased to realize that she had not yet begun to perspire.

Perhaps there was a god.

"Merovign?" she asked, opening the door to peer out at her host. He looked different, somehow, but Verie couldn't place it. "Are you all right? Was my routine too loud? I'm so sorry, I didn't think it was so loud. I'll shut it off."

 

[Dissero]

The Governor's brow knitted upwards as she appeared and all too quickly flashes of fear, of pain and despire filled his mind. He frowned and with mastered control slowly reached a hand out to Verie's shoulder.

"No," he smiled but his heart simply wasn't in it, "no it wasn't too loud. I -" Dissero paused.

He could keep her in the dark. Blissfully ignorant of the terrible things happening on her home planet. It would be difficult, of course, to keep it under wraps forever. But mind tricks and mental blocks were something he was well practiced in. For a moment this all seemed rather viable and he felt a well of confidence in his skill and power to do it. To keep Verie happy. For a longer moment he actually considered going through with it. The last thing he wanted was to see her hurt in any way.

The odd smile faded slowly as he stared at her, feeling lost for the first time in a long time.

I can't do this...

I can't tell her.

But then he thought of Amorella. Pure, sweet girl that she was. His younger sister, a pristine gem living amongst a gallery of granite. How beautifully she glowed and how terribly she would shatter when the truth of all the things kept secret and hidden from her came to clarity. It pained him to think about it - saving her from a lifetime of upset was only setting the girl up for failure. She would never be as strong as he is, and would never be able to protect herself from those who meant her harm. He couldn't do the same to Verie. Verie might have a good soul, but she was strong and resolute. He'd seen that fight in her. She wouldn't be here if she couldn't handle it.

He gave her shoulder a firm squeeze, "I need you to come with me."

He was scared. Terrified even to bring about mental and emotional suffering of what she was about to learn. Yet despite this as he motioned for her to follow him into the hallway his hand remained steady. The world swimming around him he lead her to his office of which he'd only ever invited her into once before and motioned to the holoscreen. Dissero reached for a key at his desk and turned on the coverage of the devastation at Kuat.

Pulling his hands to his sides, the Sith Knight assumed his stance at her side, ready to be the steadfast rock, mouth dry and heart hammering in his chest.

 

[Dissero]

Verie Lacroix:

At first, Verie wasn't sure what she was seeing. There was a lot of dark, billowing smoke, lots of fire, and the occasional explosion. It was unsettling, but it wasn't personal, not until a patch of smoke cleared and Verie could make out the exact shape of a distinctly-shaped park near her home in Kuat City. When the camera angles shifted to a ground-level, she saw the spires of her home city -- or more accurately, what was left of the spires. Clouds of debris and dirt were still billowing down the streets from where some had collapsed in on themselves, and one, while Verie watched, buckled and fell sideways into the building next to it, which in turn buckled and shuddered, but held.

Her hand went to her mouth and her eyes widened at the sight of it all. Kuat had fallen, and Verie knew her mother was there, somewhere, in the thick of it all. Maybe alive. Maybe not.

The view switched to a view of the orbital cameras, where large portions of the shipyard ring had torn loose and were strewing debris, unfinished ships and workers into the vacuum. If Avadreia wasn't on the planet, she would be on that shipyard. Verie shook her head and took a breath. "How can this be?" she asked Dissero quietly. "It's Kuat... your mother's defenses..." She fell silent, accepting her inability to effectively communicate her shock and horror at what she was seeing.

 

[Dissero]

Blue eyes watched the scene unfold with a growing mixture of anxiety. Not the same scene that Verie watched, but Verie herself. As her own distress grew evident he could feel his defenses slowly break down and by the time she spoke she was standing beside a man, not a Sith. Just a man who was also experiencing that same dread. A man who wanted to pull her close and hold her tight, but he wasn't sure if it was more for her sake or his own.

Merovign reached a quavering hand to her shoulder and let it's weight settle there. He swallowed.

"I don't know, Verie," his rasp voice nearly broke but he cleared his throat and pressed on. Pull yourself together. "The reports of the incident don't add up. Don't make any sense. I-" he took a breath, lifting his other hand to his head and passing it through his hair to rub at his scalp and the dull throb that was forming there, "I expect the Media is compromised. Under Omni's influence. All the main channels are touting his regime ... I'll have to do some searching, see if I can find any underground channels that can offer any insight."

 

[Verie Lacroix]

Verie covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes darkening with the realization of what she was watching. "We have to..." she began, but she fell silent. Of course there was no 'we' in this situation, and besides, what use could a 95 pound ballerina be in a situation that involved an entire planet being in flames. The young woman felt her knees tremble beneath her and she sat down on the edge of the couch, reaching up to take Dissero's hand from where it had been on her shoulder.

"What are we going to do about this?" she asked, leaning forward to study the images before her more closely, as if she could expect to find someone that she recognized from the aerial coverage. "What can we do about it?" Verie asked, sounding rather hopeless and dejected as she turned to look at Dissero, unshed tears welling in her eyes.

 

[Dissero]

"Nothing, nothing at all. Omni's forces are too great ... too powerful. We must wait here." the words left a sour taste in his mouth. It was admitting defeat for any being calling themselves a Sith, but Merovign had been raised smart, not fool-hardy. The man's jaw set forward as a bulwark against the emotions boiling within. Rage was in there somewhere, simmering spitefully. He looked down to his hand now held between the delicate fingers of his companion and felt his heart drop.

The present was so far away from how he had envisioned things to go between Verie and himself. How her faith in him must be crumbling, and how her resentment for her decision to come out here must be rising. It was wrong - terribly wrong. He wished for all the world he was more powerful, more knowledgable, more anything that could help. How much worse he might've felt, Dissero realized upon glancing back to the holocaust scene of the KDY, if Verie was not there with him, safe under his watch.

Merovign dropped to stoop before her, taking her hands within his own and pulling them to his face. With a heavy sigh he closed his eyes and attempted to clear his thoughts.

"Ve," holding her hands at his lips the man breathed in her scent, it was now or never, "I will do everything it takes to keep you safe, I promise you that. I want you to come with me to the Archives," he opened his eyes again, turned the intense blue irises up to her and planted a kiss on her knuckles, "it's time for you to know."