On the Devil's Back

[Caulder Dune]

PRIMEVAL SYSTEM
ANTECEDENT

[member="Luminous Sun Everlasting"]

Tyrin had always had it in his mind to acquire a vast collection of holocrons and other Sith artifacts. Previously, he hadn't had the time, but now with his inconspicuous securing of the Darth Krayt holocron, it was time to get serious about it. Fortified and mobile though the Lucrehulk was, it was a rather conspicuous target. To rectify this, Darth Janus purchased himself a Pathfinder-Class Long Term Exploration Craft, dubbing it The Devil's Back. With it and a small crew of Z6 droids, he set out for the uncharted regions behind Confederate space. The Confederacy was far too busy with its internal strife to bother exploring that region, and since the Druckenwell Event, most explorers did not want to travel through it.

Which made it perfect, really. Janus would not have to worry too much over the prospects of someone finding his stash and looting it.

However, when his ship lurched out of Hyperspace just before the sprawling city planet of Antecedent, that was the last thing on his mind. He supposed he should have expected it. There were thousands, if not millions of planets out here. One of them was bound to be inhabited... But an urban sprawl planet? That had been pretty unlikely. But here he was, staring at one.

"Are you quite certain our charts list this sector as unexplored?"
"Affirmative."
"And they're up to date?"
"Affirmative."

Janus stroked his chin in contemplation, gazing out the viewport towards the planet as he did so. "How peculiar."

 

[Luminous Sun Everlasting]

PRIMEVAL SYSTEM
ANTECEDENT
CENTRAL

The Architect stood in his study, encompassed by a galactic map. One that had been outdated for millennium countless. New found planets remained uncharted, Empires and Republics had come to rise and fall. All to the ignorance of the Architect and his people. The last foreign contact they had received was nigh four hundred years ago, and with it brought a devastating plague. One of which had threatened to wipe their very existence from the galaxy. A red star burst to life on the holographic display, causing the Architect to turn his head and gaze upon the icon. A satellite had caught and catalogued a hyperspace re-entry from a foreign entity. The Architect rose his hands and widened, expanding his view as the hologram stretched further across the room.

A transport ship, and one he was not easy to trust. He very well knew what had come last time, he couldn't allow it to happen again. But he was not privy to simply terminate the ship without first requesting a transmission from its occupants. Segregation from the galactic community had put a strain on Antecedent, and it was time to rejoin them. He spoke, and his voice boomed throughout the study. It was being transmitted on a direct route to the foreign vessel. "Your continued presence will result in most unpleasant countermeasures. I must insist that you change course and return to a minimum safe distance of one-hundred-million kilometres."

The Architect motioned with his hand, the galactic map vanished in replacement with an array of military compounds located across the planet, each one began to turn from a light cyan to a dark orange. The Architect spoke, "This has served as your one and final warning. I have activated defensive systems, and you now have thirty seconds to return to the minimum safe distance. From there, we shall speak of why you have come here."

@[member="Darth Janus"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

@[member='Luminous Sun Everlasting']

They were threatening him. Predictable. Isolated societies tended to be hostile towards interlopers. Good for them that they had the common courtesy and civility to at least ask him to return to the "minimum safe distance" instead of opening fire on him immediately. The voice of the entity hailing them continued to filter through the speakers of The Devil's Back. Defenses, first and final warnings, promises of dialogue, the usual. Nothing terribly out of the ordinary. All good signs. It indicated that it was a civilized place.

"Take us to the safe distance, then. Full speed. Oh, and log this location."

If Tyrin were attacked, he intended to come back in full force. But that was only a worse-case scenario that he did not anticipate to be very likely.

"Yes, captain."

Wordlessly, the Pathfinder-class turned about and began to beat a trail to the minimum safe distance. It continued a little further past the minimum point, as Janus wished to be cautious and avoid mistakenly crossing back over. For all he knew, the defenses could have been automated to simply fire on anything that crossed a certain point. With this in mind, Tyrin ordered the crew to re-open the signal and establish contact with the entity that had just gotten done threatening them.

"This is Gerion Ardik of the Hyporian League." Tyrin spoke, deciding it better to provide his Confederate identity than anything else. "To whom am I speaking?"

 

[Luminous Sun Everlasting]

The Architect had become overwhelmed with curiosity and concern. He received the signal as he began to systematically disable defensive measures. He answered, "I am The Architect, leader of the Antecedent and ruler of the Primeval System." He began reorganising various staff, coordinating personnel to quickly attend the spaceport. They had been gracious enough to return to the minimal safe distance, he could trust them. A second plague was one they all feared, but unlikely. He had done the mathematics. The Architect informed [member=""Darth Janus", "Ignore prior warnings, and please continue. I have disabled defensive systems to allow your approach, but you must arrive at the designated landing center."

The Architect began to muse to himself, all the while the transmission continued to be sent, "I am experiencing such a mixture of anticipation and dread. We have been away far too long." He realised the errors of his ways, and with the wave of his left hand the transmission ceased to transmit. The Architect began to walk from the podium of which he stood. The metal began to cascade into the surface of the floor, leaving no evidence there had once been a circular rostrum. The immense holographic display vanished, leaving not a speck in sight. The Architect turned down a corridor. The wall at the end of the hallway was perfectly smooth, not an outline in sight. Yet when he approached, the wall shifted to allow the Architect passage into Central.

The first time in months he would be seen outside his study. A time for change, perhaps. The Architect swept his gaze across the scene. Men and women in utility suits rushed towards the spaceport. None of their faces were revealed, hidden behind the cold exterior of plasteel helmets. Such was the life of the elite of this world. Though the Architect did not wear his utility suit for reasons of mere fashion or dress code, he wore his for protection and its wide array of uses. He could levitate objects and achieve personal flight. There was much he could do, but also much he couldn't. He moved towards the spaceport.

 

[Caulder Dune]

@[member='Luminous Sun Everlasting']

ANTECEDENT
PRIMARY SPACEPORT

Antecedent? Primeval system? Well, at least Janus didn't have to name the place. Most explorers had to trouble themselves doing that much. Usually their names for things were meaningless to other people. Imagine if he had called this place Tyrinia. How completely queer. The being that had hailed them identified himself as the Architect, which was a great name in of itself. Meant a whole lot to people. The Architect assured him that the defensive systems were disable, and so Janus gave the go ahead to resume approach to the planet.

Once they got within certain range, Janus abandoned the bridge so that he could approach the planet via shuttle. Normally those who approached foreign worlds they had not visited before ought to be given vaccines to prevent sickness. The Force, however, was a universal vaccine. He would be fine. He and a duo of bodyguards boarded the shuttle, and before long they were on approach to the planet's surface. They broke atmosphere, eventually settling down at the landing zone they had designated.

The shuttle sat still for a few moments. Then the boarding ramp descended and the doors opened up. Ominous fog billowed out, but not in a large enough quantity to obscure vision. Janus could never tell if that was an intended feature or if it just happened every time a Sith Lord disembarked from something. Whatever the case, he descended from the ramp, flanked on either side by a pair of IG-100 MagnaGuards on either side. A Taozin amulet was draped around his neck. A precaution in the event these people had knowledge of the Sith, the means to detect them, and particularly loathed them.

He assumed someone would be approaching him.

 

[Luminous Sun Everlasting]

Central, the seat of power for the Architect and the political figures of Antecedent, a geniocracy. The complex is situated on a manmade plateau, for which the governmental buildings are located. Achieving access to Central is through an invitation to utilise Centrals personal spaceport, or civilian access at one of twenty gates. Central is heavily patrolled and guarded by the Architects Sworn, an elite bodyguard designated with the protection of Central. The life of the Architect is second to the protection of Central, but had been named in honour of those that lead their society. Central is a key seat of power due to the housing of major intellectual minds in Antecedent society, and thus a vital location in terms of protection. Central can be identified by its cylindrical shaped buildings. In comparison to the largely skyscraper-populated world, Central is small. With buildings averaging from five to twenty stories high, the buildings focus on width rather than height. The main seat of power spans six hundred meters in diameter.

A crowd of flight officers and security personnel flagged around the spaceport, crowding its entries and exits. The Architect moved past them like an eerie banshee. There was silence. Politicians and staff alike quickly moved aside to make way for him. As the ramp descended and a fog emerged, the entire watching population gasped in horror. There was a deep-seated fear that ran in the bloods of these people, but the Architect was more curious than afraid. Droids flanked a singular man that had materialised out of the mist. A type of droid he had not seen before, but it did not surprise him. It would soon come to this mans realisation that Antecedent had as many droids, if not more, than organics. The Architect and the engineers of this planet had knowledge of droids that couldn't be competed with, but their lack of modern technology placed them far behind in galactic standards, some four thousand years. The Architect could be identified as Force-Sensitive, and much of the crowd of Central, but the Architect most of all. It emanated from him, a pulsating light of hope and despair intertwined. "Greetings," he began, "I am the Architect."

[member="Darth Janus"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

@[member='Luminous Sun Everlasting']

Helmets. They all were wearing helmets that utterly concealed their faces. They were all crowded together in a ring around his ship. Janus could only imagine that they were staring with their mouths agape. It was strange they were all decked out entirely in what looked like engineering suits, but he decided not to dwell on it. He could gauge their feelings through the Force anyway. Anticipation, mostly. Janus supposed any planet that had been out of contact with the rest of the galaxy, as he assumed this one had been, would have that kind of response to him. Looking around, however, this was not some backwater world. Technology seemed to be up to par in most aspects, as far as he could tell from the exterior of the surrounding buildings. This was an urban planet, after all.

Janus continued to survey the crowd until one of them finally stepped forward. This one had the distinct aura of a Force User, faint and untrained though it was. He introduced himself as the Architect; the same person that had communicated with him on The Devil's Back. There were no honorifics, no bowing, not even an extension of a handshake. Just a simple introduction. Janus greatly preferred this planet to many others already. He inclined his head briefly and respectfully before continuing.

"Yes, I do believe we spoke before." He replied. "I am Gerion Ardik, Viceroy of the Hyporian League, though I presently represent only myself."

His gaze flickered to the crowd and then back to the masked visage of the Architect. "Am I to assume you lead this planet?"

 

[Luminous Sun Everlasting]

"As I had previously stated, yes," The Architect answered, motioning a path through the denizens towards the largest of the cylindrical buildings. It was a perfectly smooth metallic silver that shone under the sunlight. There seemed to be no doors or windows visible. The Architect began to walk, "Let us find more private quarters to discuss your reason for being here." His utility suit appeared to be a single sheet of metal, incapable of movement. Yet each movement of the legs was as fluid as any nude creature. It held no hinderance to the Architect, as though each piece was delicately placed into an intricate system of interlocking pieces. The Architect spoke, "The Hyporian League? I have not heard of such a thing in the records, but they're vastly outdated." He motioned with his hand in emphasis as he spoke, a true linguist in both language of the tongue and body, "Has it anything to do with Hypori?" He craned his neck to make eye-contact, yet the foreigner would not see past his faceplate, "A planet of similar name."

There was no denying the intelligence of The Architect. A being chosen to lead by pure intellect and force sensitivity. The midichlorian count of the people of Antecedent was low, with the leaders often having the count of failed Jedi Initiates, something that far exceeded the population average. The Architect continued conversation, "You will find our culture is different to that commonly found in the Galaxy. Segregation has led to a unique history. Even our names I would assume are alien and strange upon your ears. I was born Luminous Sun Everlasting, but I am now The Architect, and will be unto my death." He walked with sheer elegance in each footstep. There was no hunch in his back, and his chin was held high with significance. The elite of this society had clearly been taught an etiquette to life they must adhere. The Architect was about to walk into the wall when the wall itself began to form into a door and open for them. They were welcomed to the site of a corridor leading further into the bowels of the strange architecture.

[member="Darth Janus"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Luminous Sun Everlasting"]

For an isolated society, they seemed to know about the outlying planets. But as the Architect further elaborated, their records were out of date. They would be oblivious to recent history. It was all a very stressful affair, and so Janus envied them on that level. He followed after the Architect as he led him towards what appeared to be a completely featureless wall. Janus colored himself impressed when the wall itself appeared to shift and give way for a door to open. When envisioning life on planets that had been cut off from the galaxy at large for centuries, this was not the image he got.

And when he imagined their leaders, sophisticated Force Sensitives who walked with more certainty than most people Janus knew was also not something that came up. Janus' MagnaGuards followed him into the newly formed corridor. There were a few other droids on his ship in case anyone decided to get snoopy, though he doubted that would be an issue.

"The Hyporian League is the current government of the planet, yes." Janus elaborated. "It has been since the end of the Gulag Plague."

 

[Luminous Sun Everlasting]

The Architect paused in a large room. He motioned with his hand and the room seemed to explode with bright lights. As the dazzling effects began to wear off, the room was suddenly filled with the entire galactic map, but it was outdated and ancient. It showed factions long since vanished from the galaxy. Borders that had dissipated with time and war. It was a map that had been present during the Great Galactic War. The Great Galactic War dragged on for decades. Thousands of Jedi and Sith were slain. Countless star systems were ravaged. The Architect looked to [member="Darth Janus"], "Why have you come here?" There was more to it, there was an underlying desire the Architect wanted, and that was knowledge. To know what the map now looked like. He was eager to harvest the information from Janus' vessel and its navigational systems, but he would not allow it. As much as he wanted it, he would not do it.

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Luminous Sun Everlasting"]

The Architect said nothing in immediate response. He simply continued on, guiding Janus to a large seemingly vacant. A quick gesture saw the room explode into light, a map of the galaxy erupting before him. Janus blinked a few times, only then realizing this map was horribly outdated. In fact, there were some regions that Janus knew of that weren't even listed as being explored. Governments that had long since dissipated, none of which Janus had ever heard of, were also listed. For all he knew, the Architect could have just made this map up, but somehow Janus figured it was less a fabrication and just an outdated piece of astral cartography.

The Architect then asked for his purpose being out here. A little honesty probably would not hurt.

"I am in possession of several rare, invaluable artifacts. I was looking for a remote planet suitable to construct a small vault on, for safekeeping."

 

[Luminous Sun Everlasting]

"Artefacts?" The Architect mused. He utilised both his hands and began to spread them wide. The hologram began to enhance on Antecedent until it hovered above Central, showing the massive complex. The Architect offered, "I can provide you safe storage in Central. The safest place on this planet. At a price." The Architect waved his hand and the galaxy appeared once more, "I have no doubt in my mind that my information is vastly outdated, I need to know what is happening out there." He motioned with his hand as he spoke, "Who are the superpowers, were the Sith pushed back? Do they reign? Have the Jedi all but come extinct? Who rules Coruscant." Coruscant held such a significance to the people of this planet. Thousands of years ago they had fled their home planet, and now they squatted here, on the edge of civilisation. "I will question not the Hyporian League, your integrity nor what artefacts you wish to store. Such artefacts mean little to the power of knowledge that you could provide me," he turned. "I think it a fair price. No questions asked, and you allow me the knowledge that is commonplace to all other occupants of this galaxy. I protect your artefact with my life, and those of the Architects Sworn, and the Antecedent. No harm shall come to it, and no one but you will have access."

[member="Darth Janus"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Luminous Sun Everlasting"]

Janus blinked. While he certainly appreciated the gesture, he had no intention of storing anything where another soul knew where to find it. Besides, he could hardly trust these people. He knew nothing of them- not even the barest minimum, considering he had just rediscovered them for the galaxy at large.

"That won't be necessary." The Umbaran said, perhaps a little too quickly. "I will be happy to provide any information you need to smooth out your planet's rejoining of the galactic community."

A lot had changed since these people went into their presumably self-imposed exile. Janus was no historian, he couldn't even outline the broadest strokes of what had happened in the centuries leading up to and after the Gulag Plague. At best he could describe some brief events, mostly those current ones. He could answer the Architect's questions, at any rate.

"The Sith hold sway over Coruscant, but their other holdings are remarkably few. The Galactic Republic remain in control of the vast majority of the galaxy and the core worlds. The Jedi Order are still very much alive and well, albeit several splinter factions calling themselves Jedi have also risen up."

 

[Luminous Sun Everlasting]

The Architect was slightly taken aback at the quickness of his refusal. It felt like an insult to the integrity of his being. He was not used to such, but he could theorise that this was due to his lack of communication with others, and those he had were from Antecedent who adhered to a unique social etiquette. His mind began to soak in the information, nodding to the answers delivered to him. He mused over this new-found knowledge for some time. It was a burden of sorrow upon his heart to hear that Coruscant was still under the continuous rule of the Sith. Though he knew not why he was upset, for it was his forefathers that lost a homeworld and not he. More concerning were the splinter groups of Jedi, and The Architect truly knew not what to make of this. He looked to [member="Darth Janus"], "I am in a moment of turmoil. I had awaited my entire life for a moment like this, but it seems the galaxy is still where my people had left it; at war." He could only assume the Jedi and Sith were still fighting, it was so like them.

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Luminous Sun Everlasting"]

Janus exhaled softly, bemused by the Architect's response.

"The Galaxy has always been in a state of war. One way or another." He stated. "I don't see why you would be surprised."

The galaxy would never know peace on such a scale. It simply was not possible. Given how vast it was, how many cultures and civilizations with spaceworthy vessels and ambitions of conquest... No, there would always at least be one destructive conflict being waged. These conflicts would effect some systems more than others, to be sure. That did not make them any less ruinous or counter-productive.

"If you should like, I can have as many historic texts copied and sent to you as I am capable of securing. That should provide a broader picture."