Operation: Empire Ascendant (TSA Dominion of the Muunilinst Hex)

[Poe]

Location: Dantooine (Farming Settlement)
Objective: Recruit Farmer Union
Allies: ​[member="Krest"] l [member="Darth Raxis"] l [member="Serenity Loveheart"]
​Enemies: ​[member="Jaig Vizsla"]
​Posts: 9.20



​With the incoming shots coming in quickly, and whip still retracting, I quickly dodged first to my left then my right, timing the incoming attacks perfectly. Growling angrily, I ignited the other end of my blade, once the tendrils were now home, and brought out the lightsaber blade. I positioned myself for another offensive when I felt the presence of my Master in the Force. Lord Krest busted onto the scene, putting a halt to the festivities I created; even stopping the flames from harming the soldiers.

​"You are no longer my Master and I no longer serve the Sith Ascendancy," ​I said giving a slight, quick wink from my left eye; unnoticeable to the Mando. ​"You continuously hold me back, filling my mind with lies!" ​Acknowledging the soldiers, I yelled, "And you all have betrayed my direct orders!" ​The ploy had been set, now it was up to my Master to do his part.

 

[Lark]

Location: Jedi Temple
Allies Nearby: [member="Serenity Loveheart"] @Bjorg The Traitor
Objective: Kill the Kinrath
Post: 5/20

Loveheart feebly held up her wrist, which was brutally bent in a manner bones were not meant to bend, and bloodied beyond belief. She drifted once more into unconsciousness, her mouth still covered in a slight layer of mud-colored vomit. But the puke was a natural reaction, and Lark was not a bit disturbed. In fact, it might have aided in clearing the poison out of her system. He gingerly lifted her wrist with a pale hand as soft as silk, it was well that she'd be unconscious for what would happen next. Her bone was not broken, but dislocated. He could pop it back into place, but it wouldn't be comfortable if she was awake as it happened. He correctly re-positioned the bone into it's natural spot, it might be sore, but it would be fit for use. Lark then wiped the blood off the confused girl, making sure to prevent infection. He wrapped the serrated clawmark with a bundle of nearby bandages, and sat back, content with his work.

While the young Sith Knight recovered, Lark received an urgent call from Bjorg, he must have gotten caught up fighting the kinrath and gotten trapped in their hive. For a normal man this would spell certain doom, but Lark had learnt not to doubt the man. He was stronger than others gave him credit for. "Harvest as many sweat glands as you're able," he instructed a nearby soldier. "Be quick. Soon, we will launch our own incursion on these beasts." The soldier nodded, and gathered a few others to assist him. Lark turned on his communicator, he wasn't sure if Bjorg was alive, or if his com was even functional, but a reassuring message could serve to help inspire the man to survive. "Worry not Bjorg, for we are on our way."

I will smother these pests for good.

 

[Natalie LaForte]

[6/20]
Dantooine

Spoiler

In an effort to secure our agricultural stability, Dantooine will be taken by a small Sith/NFU strikeforce, with particular attention taken to the former Jedi Temple on the planet: this to be destroyed, the foundations levelled for a new Sith Temple to be constructed on the surface.

Objective: Clear out the remains of the temple
Allies: [member="Darth Abyss"], [member="Krest"], [member="Satia"], [member="Bjorg the Traitor], [member="Darth Raxis"], [member="LARK"]
Enemies: Resistance
Equipment:

Spoiler

Dreamcrusher 2.0
Dreamcatcher
Lightsaber

Waking up again and looking down, there was some blood, obviously, it was a serious injury, but it was fixed. She could move her arm once again. It still hurt, but, usable. To a degree. In pain, she did the natural thing and began flexing hands, opening and closing them to make sure she wasn't paralyzed. Good.

As the soldiers left, one of the bugs jumped out of the shadows, once again, trying to strike Serenity. No. She moved the once incapacitated hand and put her energy behind it, the bug was frozen, well, not frozen. Frozen in time, yes. Its body appeared lifeless. With a pained look and sweat coming down from her forehead, reaching down she grabbed the grav-pistol and looked to the ground for spare rock pieces, anything to reload the unusual form of ammunition.

Finally, she released it, and it kept its trajectory, about to land straight onto her face with a claw. The weapon was raised and a stream of rocks and spare chunks of metal completely pierced its natural armour, with the force sending it back into the wall.

"Melody." She was not speaking to her communicator this time, but now, to the weapon. "Yes?" a female robotic voice spoke, a light flickering and the screen turned on to show a basic "M" logo. "Do you have the.. prototypes, ready?" "Well, they've been waiting in the drop ships, actually, funny you called for me. Just finished configuring them to my central computer, given you made the terrible design choice of having them depend on a central hub... but I digress."

"Do you need them? I doubt that they're going to fit in there, what with their size.."

"They'll fit. Trust me. Send them in and have them start shooting the Kinrath-.."

"SYSTEM:// UPDATING: // UPDATE LOG FILE: // KINRATH"

Outside of the temple, twenty hulking droids, Z1-MCDs began a slow but methodical walk to the temple, if anyone were to stop them, they would be immediately obliterated with the rotary cannon blaster.

"You never told me your name.." Looking to Lark again, although her face was slightly blushed.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

OPERATION: EMPIRE ASCENDANT​

In orbit above Mygeeto

A great blossom of flame bellowed forth as another of the Force Hunter's Krells buckled under the combined firepower of the Warmaster's ships. It was strange, they made no effort to retreat and regroup, they only pushed forward to directly engage his Star Destroyers at point-blank range. Concentrated barrages were no longer viable, they'd risk firing on their own ships now that the Force Hunters had wedged themselves between the gaps.

Still, it was a strange tactic. He wondered what these Mandalorians hoped to achieve.

The realization came shortly after.

Something massive hit the underside of the Ascendant, causing the Star Destroyer to lurch up violently out of position. Where once there was nothing but open space there was now a Urakto-type Ramship butting up against the Star Destroyer's belly. The bridge crew were baffled as to how such a ship could sneak up on a Star Destroyer undetected, but the Warmaster had an idea. Undoubtedly these Mandalorian Force Hunters were smarter than anyone gave them credit and had rigged several of these ramships with stygium crystals to mask their approach.

A clever stratagem. But it would take much more to overcome the Butcher King, but they were not done yet.

Shortly after the initial impact the Urakto would fire crude, makeshift, harpoons that would anchor themselves in the underside of the Ascendant and pull the ramship up so it was directly touching the ship's hull. Several smaller ships broke off from the ramship to imbed themselves in the Star Destroyer's hull, digging deep to pierce through to a hall or galley to allow several Mandalorians to disembark and board the warship.

The Warmaster had already left the bridge.

He now descended the decks flanked by four of his Crownguard, each of them armed and ready to dislodge these vermin from their ship.

 

[Lief]

[Post 11/20]
[Muunilinst]
[Muunilinst Medical Facility]
[ [member='Ignus'] ]

Maelasi...

The former mercenary stirred, blinking through the haze of near-unconsciousness as the glare of fluorescent lights pierced her eyes. She looked left, then right, and aside from one patient slowly shuffling from the refresher back to his ward it was surprisingly empty. Hairs prickled on the back of her neck, and a haunting sensation washed over her.

Had she imagined it? Someone reaching out, calling for her... Was her mind playing tricks on her?

She tried to settle back down in the seat but something was gnawing at her. She lifted a hand and gingerly pressed it against the wound in her shoulder, using it as an anchor to keep her in the present, to keep her mind from straying.

But it didn't go away.

Mae, find me and wake me.

It was him. Leos. She could practically taste him on the words. The Force invigorated her for a moment, giving her strength enough to rise despite the tightness of her muscles and the aching of her limbs.

"L-Leos..." she mumbled, her first few steps stumbled and uneven.

I beg of you.

"I... Where are you?"

Her pace picked up once her footing was even, once the sleep was forced from her body. Down the hall, past the operating theater he had been taken to earlier, he wasn't there anymore... She could feel him. He wasn't there.

Hurry.

That was the only order she needed. Her movements picked up pace until she was all but sprinting down the hall, past ward and operating theater, past a nurses station which had several members of staff rising up in surprise.

And then she felt him, closer... Nearby. She could practically hear his heartbeat.

Her head turned to the right, to a closed off room. Of course he wouldn't be on a ward. She wasted no time in opening the door and slipping inside, even as she heard the disgruntled voices of the night staff from down the hall. Mae even went so far as to lock the door so that they couldn't enter after her.

And then she approached the bed.

"L-Leos..." she whispered, staring down at him. He was hooked up to so many machines, an IV, a respirator, the monitors were beeping quietly, and she watched the screens for a moment in grim fascination. But only for a second. Her gaze dropped again to his face. She didn't want to cause any damage, she couldn't cause any damage, but he's practically begged her, he'd given a command.

How could she defy him?

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

Muunilinst, Medical Facility

Everything had started to close in on him. The darkness that held him in place was inching its way upward. He'd lose sight of his legs at this point. It was as if he were only a torso, handing in the air through the will of some unknown entity. He'd never experienced the horror of near death as he was this. It climbed higher and higher, and as it did, he could feel less of himself being there. Each moment it felt as if another part of him was simply gone. Vanished. Nothing had taken it from him, but then nothing was there, either. The black was nothing. Yet, it was eating him as if he were the only meal it would have in years, savoring every moment.

There was no response to his calls. He didn't even know if she'd heard him but he'd had to try. He knew, now, what this was. It wasn't a dream he couldn't escape from. It was death. Death was beckoning him. The darkness wasn't a void of nothingness, it was the Force, and it was drawing him in piece by piece, taking him away from everything he'd been working for, taking him away from the people he loved and cared about. It was destroying what he was trying to do, and it didn't care. The Force was malevolence.

In the real world, with Maelasi now locked in the room with him, the monitors were keeping track of his vitals, the respirator was keeping him breathing. She'd locked everyone out but herself, even as some of the staff banged on the door to try and get in. Of course they didn't know her from anyone else, she could have been out to kill him. None of them had been present when he was brought in, so they wouldn't have seen her moving along beside him, holding his hand and refusing to let go until she was literally forced to do so as they needed to take him in for surgery. They didn't know that she was his lifeline.

Nor did the machines, which suddenly began beeping as his heart monitor began jumping all over the place before it flat lined. Now the urgency would make sense to her. Now she had no choice.

Wake him, or he would die.

[member="Maelasi Eramar"]

[Post 12/20]

 

[Lief]

[Post 12/20]
[Muunilinst]
[Muunilinst Medical Facility]
[ [member='Ignus'] ]

She could feel it slipping from him, the very life she had sought to preserve. The machines showed that he was physically stable, and yet... Something else was wrong. He wasn't responding, his presence was dwindling. But why? She picked up his charts, they showed the success of the surgery, the expectations of a swift recovery.

But something wasn't right. Something else entirely...

"Wake up... Leos, please..."

She lowered a hand to his chest, the other to his cheek, and shook her head. What had she done? How had she allowed him to face the full force of that attack? It should have been her. That was her duty, that was her place. Not his.

"I'm so sorry..."

Then the beeping started. Machines one by one blaring their warnings, the heart monitor flat lining. He was dying. But how? It didn't make any sense...

"I'm not letting you die in this... This white cell..."

Gingerly, despite her panic, she removed the IV, the cables, the tubes, everything that hooked him up to the machines. Their whining intensified, but she ignored it as best she could. By now the night staff were pounding on the door, screaming at her.

Pulling the Force into herself, she used it to help her lift him into her arms. Her shoulder throbbed with discomfort, but she grit her teeth and pressed on. Each step she took she brought the mystical energy through herself, into him, using it to strengthen them both in unison. It felt taxing, tiring, and without the monitors she had no clue whether it was working.

But he could not remain here.

"You'll be okay... You hear me? Listen for my voice, Leos... Follow it from the pit."

 

[Zef Halo]

DANTOOINE
FARMING SETTLEMENT

The short flight took him over the Sith and he landed ten yards away from her. A few blinks and the HUD responded to the commands. The shoulder mounted shatter beam was activated and immediately pointed at the Sith.

A powerful streaming beam erupted from its muzzle heading straight to the Sith and following her movements. Simultaneously, the wrist slugthrower launched another volley of rounds at the woman. The multi-spectral target assessor within his helmet gave Jaig a boost in accuracy and so did the short range between them.

What interested the Vizsla more was not the Sith woman but the mysterious cloaked figure who had just appeared. Who was it and what would he do?

Whatever interaction the two had, Jaig had either not heard it or completely ignored it.

[member="Satia"] [member="Krest"]​

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

Muunilinst, Slowly Waking

Somehow he felt the sensation of warmth. It wasn't coming from the Force, but at the same time it was. Just, not the Force inside of his mind that was holding him down. It was coming from someone outside of him. And he heard the voice again, recognizing it as Mae. She was there and she was trying to draw him away from the trap that the Force had set for him. The malevolent Force. Evil, is what it was. It cared not for what one did, it simply wanted to eat him because it could. No, he wouldn't be the next meal it devoured. Whether it wanted to eat him or not, he wasn't about to let it have its way. He wasn't done yet. He still had work to do.

"You are not the master of me, I am the master of you."

And just like that, he managed to pull an arm free of the blackness holding it down. No. He wasn't going. He commanded the Force to his will, not the other way around. Everything he did was because of what he wanted, his purpose in life, not because the Force told him to do it. So no, he wasn't going to allow it to steal him before he was ready to go. He heaved and pulled his other arm free as well, wriggling it out of the gunk.

Outside of his mind, Mae would likely feel the twitch of a hand, hear a soft murmur. He wasn't gone yet, he was still fighting, but he needed her continued help to win the fight. Inside of his mind, he pulled himself upward, heaving with all of his might to escape the inky murk that weighed him down. Eventually, he pulled himself free, but it was still there, reaching up after him, and he was still trapped inside of his mind. He looked about him, feeling so close to being free. Somewhere in the distance he could steal hear her voice, so he turned and ran towards it, hoping that she would continue and that she'd draw him free of his torment.

Draw him out of death.

[member="Maelasi Eramar"]

[Post 13/20]

 

[Darth Prazutis]

Jygat City, Mygeeto
​Hunting the Force Hunters...

​[member="Darth Carnifex"] wasted no time as soon as the request was made he put his skills from his intelligence days to use. The Mandalorian Force Hunters while a formidable force knew they were no match in a frontal assault against the Blackblade Guard. If they were normal Ascendancy troopers being brought to bear against the mandalorians they might've been more aggressive. Instead the Force Hunters resorted to daring guerilla attacks all along the ranks of the guard, carefully coordinated bombings to block streets, any way to hold the encroaching legion back. But anyone with as much knowledge as Darth Prazutis knew their true targets in this fight.

​They wanted him, his nephew, and the guards who possessed the force dead. The mandalorians knew they were outnumbered, outgunned by the Sith Ascendancy. But the fanatics were prepared to die if they could take House Zambrano with them. Darth Prazutis stood in the war torn ruins of a police station the site of a former strong point by the enemy. The Muun police who held domain here had been killed and dragged into the holding cells by these force hunters, just another reason why they needed to die. The Blackblade Guard could've blown the building to smithereens when their armored formations engaged but for better or worse they didn't, the station was personally cleared by the Dark Lord and his Crownguard.

​The King stood in the epicenter of the headquarters where a front desk once stood, screams of prisoners taken in the assault echoed through the air as his shadow, ​the monstrous terentatek laid waste to the remaining soldiers. While these men weren't force sensitive and an ill test to its abilities, it was best to blood it early. "Your majesty, the God-King has transmitted the Force Hunters battle plans to us, we've found them." ​A crownsguard clad in crimson armor said respectfully. "Excellent. Send the plans to the Highlord and prepare our guard to move." ​Prazutis said, opening up a channel with the Highlord. "Highlord Osbasid. I am transmitting the enemy's battle plans to you. Send them to every single one of your commanders. Hunt them down let none escape." ​Darth Prazutis turned his eyes fixed on the sea of black armored soldiers passing on the roads outside of the station, observing as orders changed from occupation to eradication, like packs of wolves they moved.

​It wouldn't be long now.

 

[Darth Ferus]

Location: Jedi Temple on Dantooine
Objective: Clear out Jedi influence.
Allies: TSA [member="Satia"] , [member="Darth Abyss"] [member="Bjorg The Traitor"] [member="Darth Raxis"] [member="Lark"] [member="Serenity Loveheart"] [member="Jaig Vizsla"]
Enemies: Any remaining Jedi/Tomb raiders.
Post: 7/20

After protecting the troopers Krest stayed back. He wasn't here to defend his apprentice, nor to assist the Mandalorian. He was only here to protect the Ascendancy's interests. That being the farmers behind him. Any stray attack from the two duelists he was there to intercept, and he turned his attention to the squad leader of the troopers behind him. "Get the farmers to a safe place. You did well to ignore her orders."

There was a swift nod from the man before he turned to his troops, barking orders over the sound of gunfire and laser whips. Begrudgingly the farmers were moved from the immediate combat area, with the Lord staying to the back of the ground to continue to block any stray fire should there be some. [member="Jaig Vizsla"] and [member="Satia"] would have their fight, but not at the expense of the farmers lives.

Soon enough they would be away from the combat, and with the threat of death gone the farmers spoke their concerns.

"She said she was going to kill us! And now you've rounded us up like pigs to a slaughter. You going to finish the job, huh Sith?" The mention of Sith was meant to be an insult from one of the elderly that was put up for death by Krest's apprentice. A frown settled on his lips as he looked over the crowd. Why did she have to go and make this so difficult? Her actions only made the mission of the Ascendancy harder to achieve, and she would have to be punished later.

Krest pulled off the red tattered cloak and laid it over a nearby fence post. Underneath was his usual attire of blue and red, leather and cloth. Then, much to the Farmers surprise, he bowed his head. "Forgive me. Had I known of her plans I would not have sent her." The man who had spoken prior fumbled over his next words. He had expected swift punishment or pain from speaking. He expected everyone here now to be slaughtered.

"I do hope, however, that we can make a prosperous agreement for both sides. The Ascendancy and her people, troopers and civilians, need food. Here on Dantooine you have the ability to provide a mast majority of it. We will buy your crops at a fair price, and we will provide the latest technology for you to use. If you use this, we ask that you give us only twenty percent of what you make as payment for the technology, but only for the next five years. A rent to own. Everything else we shall buy at a price that is fair to you, and to us."

 

[Lark]

Location: Jedi Temple, nearing the Kinrath Hive
Objective: Kill the Kinrath
Allies Nearby: [member="Serenity Loveheart"], @Bjorg The Traitor
Post: 6/20

The dark blood of the kinrath and the crimson blood of Sith soldiers fused together to form a murky concentration of gore that smeared across the gloomy, ill-lit cavern that led to the hive. Mangled corpses littered the battlefield, and neither side gained any ground on the other. One of the arachnids lunged it's beastly neck forward, and instead of decapitating it like he had been prior to this encounter, Lark tried something new, something he hadn't attempted before. Using the Force, he caught the neck as it drew closer, attempting to bite him in half. The kinrath was frozen, immobilized, struggling to break free of Lark's ghostly grasp. He slowly broke it's neck, collapsing it's rough skin onto itself. He let it flop to the ground, dying and choking on it's own blood. It feebly attempted to regain it's footing, but it would never walk or feast again. A few moments more it would suffer, before shutting it's eyes for good. As would they all, once Lark was through with them. This hive was not the first place he would make completely devoid of life.

Lark turned to Loveheart after she asked for his name, paying little mind to the carnage surrounding them. "It's Lark," he answered, with a smile as warm as the sun.

He heard the metallic steps of the droids that the young Knight ordered, towering machines that rivaled the size of the fiends they were programmed to fight. "Behind the shields," Lark ordered. In this corridor the droids would take the brunt of the conflict, and would enter the hive relatively unscathed. They'd beat back the kinrath with little effort, but once inside the more spacious hive the bloodbath would resume. Most soldiers obeyed Lark's command, leading had always felt natural to him, just like breathing.

Behind the safety of the droids, Lark sheathed his weapon. The droids efficiently cut down all kinrath who stood in their path, and the soldiers provided supporting fire. They retreated deep into the heart of their home, preparing for their final stand. Lark unhurriedly sauntered into the crepuscular subterranean cave, gazing with dispassionate eyes as soldiers slaughtered beast after beast and crushed egg after egg.

The kinrath would soon come to an end.

 

[Eldaah Aderyn]

Location: Dantooine
Objective: BYOO (Collect Laigrek specimens for experimentation)
Allies: None
Enemies: Creep crawlies with red eyes

Post: 3

"Fifteen life signs ahead, three targets have profile indicative of desired specimens," came the voice of a Wight over Eldaah's helmet. "Festerer strains have encircled and isolated the group from a large possible nest further in the tunnel network. Squad two has reported incursion into tunnel network and retrieved two isolated live specimens and three corpses for study."

Ah excellent, she thought, igniting her lightsaber. Her Master wanted a decent pool of subjects, considering there was going to be some trial and error in the experiments. So the fact her second squad had already retrieved some creatures was promising to reaching their quota. Thermal imaging showed as a large group of laigreks surrounded by Festerers ahead, the smaller ones grouping around three larger individuals. The sound of charging weapons sounded from behind Eldaah, stun rifles coming up to the ready.

Eldaah commanded the Festerers to keep their perimeter and the Wights moved into position, firing stun blasts and nets at the laigreks encircled.

 

[Lief]

[Post 13/20]
[Muunilinst]
[Muunilinst Medical Facility]
[ [member='Ignus'] ]

Nothing stirred to begin with though she knew that he was in there. Straining to carry him, she decided then and there that they were leaving this facility. It was suffocating, and if it felt that way to her then what must it be like for him? He was well, he was just trapped. She realized that now, though how she knew she could not say.

"We'll get you out of here..."

Glancing around the room, she saw two options. One, open the door to the angered night staff. Or two, break through the window. Both risky. She did not want to risk harming any of the Muun, however, so she turned to the window and narrowed her eyes. A slight splintering sound made itself known, before the thing exploded outward in a shower of glass onto the rooftop below.

The Force was already flowing through her. When she jumped from the window she redirected it slightly to cushion her descent. Another jump and they found themselves at ground level. She managed just a few more steps before fatigue washed over her. Setting him down on the closest bench, she pulled out her comms and spoke into them.

"Captain, this is Maelasi. I need a shuttle sent to our location ASAP, and an update on the Council."

Kneeling down at Leos' side, she made note of how he seemed to finally stir. It felt like a century had passed, but finally his fingers twitched and his eyes fluttered. He was coming to. And just in time.

"Shuttle inbound to bring you to the Council Tower for a full report."

That had to be a good sign, right? The Muun had to be more agreeable since the attack, the Guard had saved the Muun after all... And she doubted they'd be invited back to talk if things had since turned sour.

"Roger that. Shuttle sighted, see you shortly."

Her gaze dropped to Leos, and she once again lifted him up once their shuttle arrived. She could hear the disgruntled staff in the distance, having finally made it out of the building, but paid them no mind. She carried him onboard, and they pulled away before anyone could stop them.

"You're okay, Leos..." she said, brushing a hand against his brow. He felt clammy, but not as warm as she had expected. "You'll be okay."

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

Muunilinst, Shuttle

She brought him into the shuttle, leaving the Muun hospital staff in their wake, seemingly rather frustrated with having a patient suddenly stolen from them. Not that they had any choice in the matter. There was work to be done, and even when he was injured he had no choice but to take care of business. Maelasi had at least had the good sense to realize that this was the case. Now he wouldn't have to tell her to do things.

That said, inside his mind he ran towards the sound of her voice, piercing through the veil of darkness and suddenly finding himself more or less blinded. His hand twitched more, as Mae would notice, before it lifted up to his face and rubbed at his eyes. He kept them closed for several moments as the shuttle carried them to their destination, unwilling to open his eyes and see himself utterly blinded by everything around him.

Eventually, however, he really had no choice in the matter. His hand reached for hers as she brushed his forehead, and stopped it gently before he opened his eyes.

"I suggest not dying. The Force is evil beyond compare," he said as he released her hand

A small groan escaped him as he recognized the remaining presence of the wound upon his torso. Fingers touched beneath his clothing at the Bata patch, which itched something fierce, and then he turned his head to look around at the others. Several guard and Maelasi. He looked out the viewport and he was certain they were going back which was good. They had further business to attend to. Like the imbecile who had accepted the terror of the Force Hunters.

"I'm going to need you to kill someone for me, Mae. Up for it?"

[member="Maelasi Eramar"]
[Post 14/20]

 

[Darth Ferus]

Location: Farmer's Union
Objective: Make a deal.
Allies: TSA [member="Satia"] , [member="Darth Abyss"] [member="Bjorg The Traitor"] [member="Darth Raxis"] [member="Lark"] [member="Serenity Loveheart"] [member="Jaig Vizsla"]
Enemies: Politics
Post: 8/20

Most of the farmers kept silent as they thought over the deal, often glancing between one another as they waited for someone to speak up. Regardless of how sincere Krest had been, they were still before a Sith Lord and his armed soldiers, and many were all too aware that their lives could easily be snuffed out. Finally the man who had spoken before spoke up to voice his concerns, now a bit more respectfully.

"Look, uh.."

A smile formed on the Zabrak's lips. "Just call me Krest."

There was a swift nod from the farmer. "Right, Krest. We're simple people. We farm to support our community, trading our goods with outsiders for any small amounts of technology we might need as we go. We're not looking to become a factory, we enjoy our lives as they are."

"I'm not asking you to give up your way of life, or become a factory. The technology we offer is yours to choose from as you want to. There is no minimum amount of the gear you have to take, though twenty percent of your crops just because you wanted a fancy new hose would be a bit much, no?" He laughed. Some of the farmers laughed. "We'll offer the technology, and we'll set up a percentage for however many years that fits what you get. We hope that by providing what we will however your production will double. If you're able to grow twice as many crops, twenty percent would really only be ten of what you're doing now, and all the excess the Ascendancy would be more than willing to buy. We have many mouths to keep fed, and that might only grow as we try to bring more planets to peace."

"Sith supporting peace? I.. Forgive me, but that doesn't seem right."

"Well, no two people are the same, right? Not all Twi'leks are dancers for example. The Ascendancy is about bringing a lasting peace to her people, and doing everything necessary to keep them safe."

There were some nods from the group behind the elder man, but still no one else voiced their opinions. They were hesitant to trust a Sith, and rightfully so. "We don't expect an immediate answer. Take your time. We will still come to buy your excess crops and there will be a garrison for our troopers away from your farms that you can ask help from should you need it. We will protect you like Ascendancy civilians, and you all can choose to become officially citizens at your own convenience. So please, think on this."

 

[Natalie LaForte]

[7/20]
Dantooine

Spoiler

In an effort to secure our agricultural stability, Dantooine will be taken by a small Sith/NFU strikeforce, with particular attention taken to the former Jedi Temple on the planet: this to be destroyed, the foundations levelled for a new Sith Temple to be constructed on the surface.

Objective: Clear out the remains of the temple
Allies: [member="Darth Abyss"], [member="Krest"], [member="Satia"], [member="Bjorg the Traitor], [member="Darth Raxis"], [member="LARK"]
Enemies: Resistance
Equipment:

Spoiler

20 Z1-MCDs
Dreamcrusher 2.0
Dreamcatcher
Lightsaber

Finally, as the beasts began their descent to the underground hives, the creatures were being slaughtered by the dozen.

"Nice to meet you.. Lark?" Not bothering to shoot and allowing the droids to do take out whatever was left of the bugs. Although, it appeared they were not the only ones who had made an excursion down here, rotten skeletons of possibly former Jedi were scattered here, now being desecrated with the blood of the torrential amount of insects desperately trying to hit pure metal to save their homes. Quite pathetic. They evolved to not deal with this sort of threat.

"SERENITY." A voice came from her communicator link. "The droids can't go any further. I've manually stopped them for now, I'll attempt to re-wire them to the command ship in the atmosphere." A few of the droids most far ahead stopped dead in their tracks, "Ugh.. you.." "Sorry, but running them on this hunk of junk that is struggling to keep this link open is not something I would wish for you to keep doing. When I reboot them, they're going to freeze up for a bit before coming back."

And they did. They stopped firing, the shields were retracted before this happened, obviously an automatic system response. Although it wasn't too worrying, god knows how long until the machines would power up again. Significantly, the firepower of the advancing troops decayed until it was just coming from regular blasters.

"Make that two minutes."

 

[Lief]

[Post 14/20]
[Muunilinst]
[Shuttle Inbound to the Council Tower]
[ [member='Ignus'] ]

The journey took longer than she had anticipated. In the rush which had taken place following the assault, Maelasi hadn't really taken note of where they were going, focusing more on his injuries and her own shock. Now, though, time seemed to drag. Thankfully they made headway in other respects, as Leos' hand first twitched and then his eyes began to flutter. After what felt like an age they opened, and she smiled down at him in relief.

Leaving the medical facility hadn't been a mistake, then?

She set her hand back to his side, seeing as he'd stopped her movements, and exhaled a slightly shaky breath. "You just relax, Sir. Everything's being taken care of." Of course nothing she said would ultimately stop him from doing as he wished. She had no authority over him.

The next words out of his mouth gave her slight pause. Only a moment. And then she nodded.

"Of course. I answer only to you." If he wanted her to kill someone then so be it. She didn't care if it broke the law, she didn't care if it was against the Force. Another time she might have. But his commands were hers to follow. "Just tell me who, and it will be done."

 

[Kamon Vondiranach]

Muunilinst, Council Tower

He nodded at her response. Knowing she would do it wasn't the same as asking. That's why he'd asked. Of course he could have commanded her to do it, but he felt no need to issue such commands to her any longer. Requests were enough to get her attention these days, and he didn't need more. That said, he was glad she was with him. She'd make more of a statement than he could make given his condition, and it would be a better statement than one made if he had the Guard do the deed. No, he needed it to be her hand that carried this one out for him.

When they landed, he allowed her to help him out, his feet a bit shaky for a moment. Slowly, he stabilized himself with the Force until he could walk without the need for intervention. Together, they maneuvered towards the tower, and entered it once again. Flashbacks to what had happened hit him as soon as he entered, but mostly so he could analyze what he'd done wrong. Which, in this case, was that he'd approached the entire combat situation with Maelasi and the Mandalorian. If he'd remained clear of it, Mae probably could have defeated her and he wouldn't have been in such a sorry state. Next time he'd remember that she was trained to fight her own battles.

He waited for the Guard to move ahead of them and open the Council doors. When they did, the din of noise inside quieted to a hush as he strode in with Mae beside him and his eyes lurked over each of the Muun seated there. None of them spoke, they just stared, amazed he was even alive, let alone standing there.

"You pompous cretins. You dared to align yourselves with a Mandalorian sect bent on crushing anyone who can touch the Force? They'd even kill your own people that could do such! Did you not think they would be stopped by our greater power?"

Orange eyes searched over them.

"One of you is responsible for this. One of you will pay for what you've done."

One of them, second from the right, was fidgeting more than the others, who were all looking among themselves to try and discuss this situation. That particular one, never looked away from him until orange eyes locked eyes with his. Yes, this was the one that was responsible for the alliance with the Force Hunters, and this one was the one that would pay the price. Not the others. They'd just been duped into it, threatened with their lives, most likely. Only the one responsible would pay. He lifted a hand and pointed at the one in question.

"That one, Mae. Make it slow and brutal."

[member="Maelasi Eramar"]
[Post 15/20]

 

[Kenrath]

Location: Muunilinst Council Tower Exterior
Objective: Poke around, maybe find some trouble
Allies: [member="Ignus"] [member="Maelasi Eramar"] [member="Antherion"]
Equipment: Black robes, Obsidian Knight saber, Tactical Fighting Blade
Post: 1/20


A largely small and nondescript freighter made it's way towards the Muunilinst Council Tower. The Sith Lord in robes thought in only polite to announce his arrival only the planet to those in charge. Of course that is assuming that the change in power was still yet incomplete. Landing outside the building in the courtyard he calmly strode down the ramp and towards the entrance of the building. As he made he way through the door he saw remnants of battle and an impromptu one at that. It reminded him of the operation on Glee Anselm when him and one other Sith had posed as a delegation and then killed the Council. He wondered if a similar thing had happened here. It was after all a good way to secure a transfer of power second only to marrying a member of the royal family and then killing the entire wedding party. That was kind of fun too.


A quick trip later Vengeance arrived at the Council chambers themselves placing as or the two Sith in the room before glancing back at the surviving council members.

"Looks like a missed the party."