Private Obumbrata Mysteriis

[Taeli Raaf]

The Black Citadel
Jutrand
877 ABY

She had spent some time before arriving at the palace of the new Emperor of their Order to gauge the populace and listening to the stories and rumors that were circulating. She had been out of touch with many of the goings-on within the Sith Order as it grew out on the Outer Rim, engaged in her personal research and her persona as a Senator in the Galactic Alliance. What she had been hearing, especially on the worlds under official quarantine, intrigued her, but also reminded her that a steady hand was needed when the Sith experimented. There had been a reason in the old Empire that she restricted such experiments and research after Asation.

Hooded and cloaked in dark robes and shimmersilk dress and waiting patiently to be allowed entrance to the throne room or wherever the new Emperor wanted to meet with her at, she considered recent events and where she stood. Neutrality in the three-way struggle had been all well and good, but she had been feeling a desire to influence events and the direction of the rising new Empire.

Darth Empyrean had been an ally under his name of Maliphant, business though it had been and nowhere as long as her alliance with the Zambranos had been, but an alliance, nonetheless. Today, she was looking to broaden that alliance and see how she might be of service to the new Emperor.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

The Citadel was abuzz with activity, from the courtyards and connections to neighboring headquarters, the rising campaigns and reconstitution of the Empire made for a vast and monumental task to overcome. Sith seemed to blast by Taeli with minimal acknowledgement of her presence. Other construction crews kept finishing the details of this massive structure, though it was functional as it stood.​

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Eventually, as soon as was possible, an agent was sent to retrieve Raaf. It was a large Sith with a mask, sigils lining much of the surface area of his armor. She would recognize him as one of the Sepulchral's Praetorians - specially trained warrior Sith who had forsaken their place in the hiaerchy of the Order in favor of ensuring those required for its sustaining to be protected. They were devilishly powerful agents, and a few of them could match any of the powerful Sith Lords in the galaxy - it was lucky that they were often isolated, and neutral in their efforts.​

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Wordlessly, this Sith moved to room off the side of the Throne Room. A council chamber, missing some of its art and furnishings, but magnificent none the less. At the head of the holo table, which held a massive unlit projector in the center Taeli knew was designed as an extremely highly detailed map of the Galaxy, sat Darth Empyrean. In a chair of obsidian lined with glowing runes, the Dread Emperor, Dead God, and Master of Gathering Darkness sat with a placid expression, motioning her to sit.​

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"I would rise to greet you, as fits your reputation...", he said as he adjusted, though there was an obvious pain to it.​

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"But this seat keeps me calm. I welcome you to the Imperium, Darth Arcanix. I hope you are well.", he said.​

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Taeli Raaf​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

She did not have long to wait before the masked and rune covered armored Sith approached to escort her deeper into the citadel. The time had allowed her to watch the frenzy of activity as Sith and officials of this new empire hurried about their business or oversaw the phase of construction the citadel was currently in. They appeared to be paying her no heed, which suited her just fine.

She kept her expression neutral as the Praetorian motioned for her to follow, its presence likely contributing to the increased fervor of activity. The anonymous warrior Sith, stripped of identity and ambition to better serve the Sith and the Sepulchral, reeked of dark side sorcery and power. The sorceress and academic in her couldn't help but think about how the warriors designed by the ancient priests could be improved. That part of her was also always interested in showing up the Sepulchral, one reason she had thus far not taken along an attendant from them.

Following in equal silence, she was shown into a council chamber off the throne room where Empyrean was waiting for her. She offered a respectful bow of her head and a smile as the Dead God greeted her. Purple eyes, hooded by her bow, quickly swept over the runes on his obsidian chair and recognized stasis runes in the ancient language of the Sith.

"I would not ask that of you, Darth Empyrean," she replied, taking the offered seat. "I am well, and I believe congratulations are in order. Emperor of the new Sith Imperium."

Darth Empyrean

 

[Darth Empyrean]

He raised his hand slightly, motioning for her to cease in a gentle way.​

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"Please. Congratulations are in order when there is some semblance of unity. That means bringing the Kainite to heel, and perhaps in time - the Maw. Darth Carnifex I have designs on, should we find the Malsheem, but the Maw I have none. Yet. Their momentum has stifled and their leadership is more fractured than ever from the reports I've gotten - another push from the Jedi, and I can imagine them collapsing under their own weight."​

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He adjusted in his seat;​

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"But I doubt you've come to hear me prattle on about galactic politics. What do you require of me, Darth Arcanix?"​

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Taeli Raaf​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Her lips quirked further up as he waved away her congratulations. He understood his task to unite the Sith under his rule was still not complete.

"I do not mind discussing galactic politics, otherwise I would still not be continuing my masquerade as a Senator in the Alliance," she replied, resting her hands on the arms of the chair, crossing her legs. "The Alliance indeed has designs to sever the Maw Corridor into the Deep Core, and as for Kaine and his followers, I would not make the mistake in thinking the Malsheem is his only redoubt."

She knew of the others, but she had no reason to speak of them.

"Regardless, I sought this audience after hearing of some rather... disconcerting rumors. Planets under quarantine within Sith controlled space, madness and breaches into the Nether. It's all rather intriguing, but I would say some have been reckless in their experiments."

Darth Empyrean

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Empyrean nodded along to her understanding of the Kainite threat, but his expression glowered as it turned to the Nether Issue. His lips curled ever so slightly into a snarl, twitching at the apex of Empyrean's allowance. The topic was not a welcome one, not for the mistakes of the veil breaking - but his participation in its foundation. Just another thing for the Sepulchral to hound him about.​

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"Yes... That.", he said, that slight drip of venom deep in the latter word.​

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"The veil is weak - in some places more than others. It makes for a galaxy rich with Force energies, but makes it dangerous too. The Sepulchral predicts it is a result of the nigh constant wars of the last hundred years - culminating with Tython's ritual. The strains on reality grow, and my own experiments have confirmed as much.", he said, glancing down to his yet remaining hand.​

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"... And, known to only the Triumvirate members, it is my own, their own, and a select few other's existence that encourages it. To enact my will upon a world could see it the predation of a Nether Beast none have killed. To compensate, wards have been built by the Sepulchral to strengthen it on the planets where it is weakest - but for those that it has broken, they are kept isolated from the Sith. Any amount of force users on them is a risk, they'd shatter it once more."​

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"It is less a matter of experiments, Darth Arcanix, but a weakening of reality. Something we can hardly fix without stagnation and death."​

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Taeli Raaf​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"Even a thin veil requires a force to puncture it," she remarked once he had finished. "And I'm sure it took those in the Sepulchral such a long time to come up with that theory when anyone that knows the old stories could tell that chaos and war weaken the fabric of reality. She was never fully destroyed, and I think we both know that She feeds on chaos to grow stronger."

If Empyrean was as knowledgeable as she assumed, he would know who she was talking about.

"But I'm not criticizing what has happened on Elrood or Pergitor, quite the opposite in fact. I want to study these worlds and others that have experienced bleed over from the Nether to see what could be harnessed or learned from more... controlled research. One of many avenues of research I wish to pursue here within this burgeoning Imperium."

She had placed some claim within the founding days on some worlds in the Grumani Sector, but she was essentially offering her and her power base's services on a more direct basis to the Imperium and Empyrean.

Darth Empyrean

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"Indeed.", Empyrean offered in response. Even speaking her name was an ill omen - and while he was no superstisious in his great and magnificent power, he was smart enough to know a creature like that could hear his powerful beckon. He would not tempt her, nor fate, for the sake of pride.​

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"I can... consider such.", he said, adjusting once more. He used the force on a distant orb remote, igniting the unfinished holoprojector before them, zooming into the localized worlds and constructs that held the quarantines. They were lambasted with warnings of such, but this projector bypassed this to study them closer.​

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"My rule is not absolute, will not be absolute until some semblance of unity is achieved. We would do well to research these worlds, the wards the Sepulchral makes, and perhaps what they are not telling us about these oddities. My own suspicions doubt their truth, I think they know more than they say - but what is new with the corpse priests."​

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"I am forming a Dark Council. Of course those like Darth Ophidia will be present, though perhaps not by my choice. The Chancellor and Inquisition leaders will also be present. However, while they have permanent seats, I reserve the right to the formation of new organizations and seats as I decree. I could create a position for science and research, empower you to research these matters with my full authority..."​

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"But I require something else in return, Darth Arcanix."​

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Taeli Raaf​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Her lips curled slowly as Empyrean considered her offer or request, bringing up the holoprojector in the room to show the aforementioned worlds under quarantine. Empyrean mentioning his rule wasn't absolute until some sort of unity could be forged, and his caution of the priests of the Sepulchral, were indicative of the vigilance she had observed many times before.

To once again be granted a seat on a new Dark Council, at its formation this time, was certainly a tempting prize. Unlike with the previous Empire, where she had been ensconced with the Jedi for years before making her allegiances public and only gained her seat on the council after the Alliance fell, she could theoretically dictate the Imperium's research and development. Of course, that would all depend on the portfolio granted to any such seat. She knew Empyrean was far more the artificer than she was, and his controlled interests had developed some of the most widely utilized and renowned technologies in the current era of the galaxy. It would require a renewed and close collaboration.

And there was the transactional nature of Empyrean, and of Sith of their caliber, appearing.

"And what might you require for such a position and authority to be created, Darth Empyrean?" she asked, leaning back in her seat to regard the Dead God. Besides the slight curve of her lips, she gave away nothing in both her expression and her presence within the Force. She had been at this game long enough.

Darth Empyrean

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"You can guess - you are no fool.", he said simply.​

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Motioning to the distant orb, the remote activated and the map shifted back to their worlds - igniting a few markers, across the planet of Jutrand, then spready across the Sith Imperium. Certain worlds lit up like fire works, so littered with markers it was hard to say what their terrain consisted of, while others were minor by comparison. Empyrean motioned to it with his blackening finger;​

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"These are known sleeper agents. Emphasis on those known. These are plants from both Carnifex and Ophidia, as they seek to undermine my position. If I am to entrust in you the authority of the Dark Council, I must have your gurantee you will work hand in hand with me against these forces. Until at which a time someone can supplant me without destroying our still fragile Empire."​

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"When that day comes, you will be free of this burden of loyalty. Until then, you work with me, and the Eternals, to hold this together. How you go about this is open to discussion, but it is the conditions for my agreement."​

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Taeli Raaf​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

No, she wasn't a fool, and neither was the Dead God. He knew her reputation, along with the alliance that had helped create such a reputation. She understood the shadowy world of infiltration and espionage; had shown a master class in the art by masquerading as a Jedi Master for ten years while quietly subverting that rendition of the New Jedi Order. She had even attained the rank of Grand Marshal, which had been the final act that doomed the first Alliance.

She remained silent as Empyrean activated the holoprojector again, displaying the entire breadth of the Imperium currently and the problem that Empyrean faced. She wasn't surprised by the concentrations of agents on certain worlds as all factions of the Triumvirate had claimed different worlds for their spheres of influence. The invisible webs spun by Kaine and Ophidia had expanded beyond those worlds in the shadowy struggle, and with recent events, Empyrean needed those webs severed to have any chance of securing his rule.

Alliance though she had with the Zambranos, her first thought in seeing the known sleeper agents and postulating on the unknown was that she had some ideas in how they could ferret out hidden agents. Briefly during the last Empire, she had taken on the role of overseeing the Saaraishash before taking the seat on the Dark Council that Empyrean was even now once again offering her. In that time, she had sketched out a few ideas that she had never implemented. The civil war and collapse had seen to that, but now...

"Loyalty to the collective instead of the individual hmm?" she replied quietly. Purple eyes darted across the map. She had always been a woman that appreciated stability over chaos. "You have my guarantee that I will assist in wiping this map and the hidden agents it doesn't reveal away."

Darth Empyrean

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"Of that, I have no doubt. You are capable...", he said, letting the map zoom back out to the galactic scale.​

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"... and perhaps when you have gained my trust, I will show you more of what I require. This will do, for now - but know that as you align yourself with the Imperium, with the Throne, you carry the weight of my authority."​

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He looked directly towards her then, eyes of metal and black death, inhumanely staring.​

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"Do not squander it, do not make me regret it. If I fail, the Sith fail, and now is not the time for politics and machinations. Great things approach, things the Sepulchral have entrusted with me - and I would have you stand by my side through them all. I would have all the Sith, were I able, but a few shall suffice for now."​

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He sighed and leaned back in his seat, letting his eyes close and his shoulders slump slightly.​

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"What will you need of me to create this Sphere of Research and Science?"​

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Taeli Raaf​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

There it was. The ever so slight carrot at the end of the string to entice her curiosity even further, secrets and plots that Empyrean would conceal until such a time that she had proved herself trustworthy. Well, as trustworthy as a Sith could be. Purple eyes met black unflinchingly, unblinking for a long moment.

"I would see a stable Empire rather than the fragmented chaos that could occur," she replied, leaning back in her own seat as he asked what she might require for this new Sphere. Due to the nature of her power base, and philosophy in general, many of her followers were already devoted to research and development across the mundane world and that of the Force. She didn't need to co-opt manpower, although she would always be willing to accept more into the sphere. The more minds at work, the more ideas that could be explored for the betterment of the Sith and knowledge in general. That said, she could think of a few things.

"State funds for personnel, materials, research funding, etc., but that is just an assumed thing," she said, tapping her fingers in thought. "Flexibility in where research centers and production facilities are established and what projects are being pursued, but also deferring to your choice for certain projects that you require fast tracked of course. I prefer a dispersed approach to facilities rather than grouping together on the capitol world, as we've seen how that has served us in the past."

Whereas others that had consolidated too much of their power within the territory controlled by the Sith, her own power base had emerged from the previous collapses relatively intact, if not strengthened. A further thought came to her.

"And control over the Blair Cluster asteroid field."

Darth Empyrean

 

[Darth Empyrean]

The Dread Emperor's eyes opened suspiciously at the specific mention of the Blair Cluster, brow furrowing as he centered his attention back upon her.​

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"Why the Blair Cluster?", he asked simply.​

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"As for the rest, I'll see it done. You shall have exclusive rights to quarantined worlds, but you may struggle against the Inquisition should Ophidia take issue. Private military can help dissuade their intervention, however.", he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. The Order of Her Shadow was a powerful entity in the Imperium, but it could be held back... in part.​

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Taeli Raaf​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

She smiled at the suspicion towards her request for the Blair Cluster, and at the agreement that her requests would be met. That would make establishing operations in the Imperium faster and would accelerate their advancements. She could sense the galaxy was about to experience an age of significant change.

"I want the Blair Cluster because I've found that asteroid fields as large as that provide vast resources for starship production," she explained. "And they also make it incredibly hard for others to detect, attack, or infiltrate said shipyards if your defenses and detections are set up correctly."

The shipyards she had in mind for the cluster would be for the Imperium of course, but they would be run through Aurora Industries.

"As for Ophidia and the Inquisition, I think I can handle such situations that might come up with them," she added. Ophidia might have power in the Imperium, but she was not without her own forces and power... and given her proclivities, she wasn't as susceptible to infiltration as others were. Which circled her back around to the stipulation she had been given for this position.

"There was an old project I had planned to implement in the old Empire but was never able to finish before the civil war erupted and the Empire collapsed. I think now, with your directive, is an excellent opportunity to revive it."

Darth Empyrean

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"Explain your project, and we will see it funded and completed.", he offered back simply, letting the information and responses about Ophidia and the asteroid system fall off him like water.​

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Taeli Raaf​

 

[Taeli Raaf]

She didn't respond in so much words as her expression as she smiled. He appeared to disregard her statements beyond the project, but she would know better. His silence on their topics would be tacit.

"May I?" she asked, gesturing at the holographic display of the table. Once permission was granted to access it, she would bring out her own datapad and send the file on the project for the Emperor's viewing. The display on the table would show the prototype subject, for lack of a better term for a bound and corrupted spirit, along with its desired capabilities once it was completed.

"Project Scrying, as I said, was designed to create something that could root out treachery within the hearts and minds of the citizens of the Empire. Something that could move about, and people would forget about soon after, but something that could pry out the deepest thoughts and memories of most any being it encountered."

She leaned back in her chair.

"We have the basic creation process figured out, along with the binding and linking rituals to connect them with trusted assets, but the problem is a supply of the right kind of spirits to create them. That will be what we require assistance with the creation of the Thought Hunters."

Darth Empyrean

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Empyrean made no issue with her taking control of the hologram, leaning back with a slight wince of pain before settling. He let her speak before he responded, careful not to interrupt his newest Dark Council member.​

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"I had a similar intention - the Sepulchral intends to reward the most zealous of our people with a semblence of Force Sensitivity. Specifically telepathy, so that they might move through their communities as examples of what we are capable of, while also able to draw out the dark thoughts of any rebel poorly trained enough to keep them on the surface. Then more specialized ones specifically for investigations and torture.", he said idly.​

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"Your spirits, however, can be forgotten - and more of these are not a trouble. You say you lack spirits for them, however. What sort of spirits do you require for these?"​

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Taeli Raaf​