Pride and Preju-Sith [One Sith Trial, OS Only]

[Jairus Starvald]

Carach stood with his brethren and sisters, awaiting for the trial to finally commence, yet while his expression was hidden underneath a featureless mask; his mind was slowly but steadily churning out calculations. [member="Reverance"] was one of the few Sith that he could truly respect, a fierce warrior tempered by rationality. There was [member="Matsu Xiangu"] his old apprentice who had grown so much these past few years, if the Sith had been a sentimental sort he might have shed one single prideful tear. [member="Vrag"]... well that was a complicated affair, but she too was respected by her capabilities, which ones were more appreciated was the posed question.

Then there was [member="Silara"]. He wasn’t sure what to make of her, they were allies of sorts, and yet these days she had fallen out of favor during the aftermath of Kashyyyk. Had it been incompetence that caused her to be defeated by the likes of the ‘Jedi Lord’? Or was it selfishness that had finally turned devoutness into a mockery, an attempt to get closer towards the Dark Lord, damned all the consequences and the cause that united them all? Perhaps a better question would be which one was worse in the grand scheme of things.

With all those musing churning slowly in his mind the Voice of the Dark Lord simply watched the events unfold and waited for something relevant to come up. Just as Xiangu he hoped this would turn interesting before the day was over.

[member="Darth Adekos"] | [member="Darth Hauntruss"] | [member="Darth Isolda"] | [member="Darth Vornskr"] | [member="Alric Kuhn"] | [member="Darth Venefica"] | [member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"] ​

 

[Via Dolorosa]

Her black and red flecked eyes narrowed when she saw [member="Darth Arcanix"] step forth adding substance to this trial. The Sith Lady's words were like a brush painting the bright colours upon the canvas of this trial as she spoke of some master plan to capture the white-haired traitor. Still, Darth Venefica was unsure why her fellow Lady needed to go through greats lengths to deceive her mark. If the information she claimed was so vital, then why not act immediately instead of formulating a plot to gain her trust; only to bring her here now. Politics.​

​

After the Wrath of the Dark Lord spoke, allowing the woman to enter her plea, she turned her cold gaze to the accused. Well, well, well. Not guilty. This was not to be expected. Faced with death the traitor no doubt would stall for time. But did she believe she could deceive everyone here? However, Darth Venefica would not pass silent judgment until she heard the woman address the accusations against her. Though the woman's silence after her plea did not look good in the eyes of the Sith Lady.​

 

[Khallesh]

Khallesh watched the event unfold with a growing sense of bewilderment. The Master Shaper Jun Paarth held some very strange views. Chief among them being that one should hold a deep understanding of one’s enemies in order to defeat them. Khallesh had argued, well recited, the traditional views of her Domain that to gain a great level of understanding was to become tainted by infidel views.

Jun Paarth had laughed. She had retorted that sticking rigidly to their ways and failing to adapt was why the Galaxy did not yet belong to the Yuuzhan Vong. They had been slow of thought and shown unworthy to the pantheon. Khallesh had struggled to form a coherent argument against that, and had spent many hours considering it in private. Was this a test to weed out heretics? Followed the shaper’s advice had gone well for her so far. She was now a full commander, despite her age. Many tattoos and scars earned in battle adorned her flesh already.

And so she had been encouraged to explore the wider Galaxy. She had gone to several worlds hidden by an ooglith masquer and met with several Yuuzhan Vong spies and been introduced to various elements of the native species’ cultures.

Today was an extension of that. In Yuuzhan Vong society if you had done wrong, you simply handed your coufee to your commander and awaited death. You would either be spared or die. Simple. And to be captured…well… a long slow death drawn out over years of torture would be preferable to such a shameful act.

What was this nonsense of “pleading” and “evidence”? Perhaps observing this strange behaviour would reveal a weakness inherent in the infidel species’ way of thinking. Or perhaps the Master Shaper was hoping she would learn from them. Right now, she was struggling to imagine what that could be.

 

[Darth Hauntruss]

It was only natural that the dark warmaster of the Inquisition was present for the trails of a one [member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"]. Darth Hauntruss was reclined in her seat her finger clasped together in a contemplative manner. Seated near the other Sith Lords she only watched and observed. Strange occurrences indeed. A Sith Trial for treason is a strange affair- it either went two ways. The trial was a farce and more of a public warning. Or the trail is designed to test the link to the darkside that empowers us all. If this Alexandra was indeed indebted to the darkside she would fold back to the dark flock. Unless the other Sith Lords had created this trail to just flaunt their power and law over those who dare betray them.

The darkside is indeed a powerful cult to follow, but the greatest rule is once you join it- either you remain or you are destroyed. There is no in between. Those who dare flaunt that they "control both" are delusional. They are lightsiders with the penchant to think out of the Order's jurisdiction. There is no in between. Hauntruss returned her thoughts to the accused. Dark and brooding golden eyes caressed every corner of her form. The darkside swelled and boiled around her. The accusations were serious, very serious. Peering around Huantruss watched the proceedings.

If this Alexandra was indeed connected to a hidden insurgency to come, perhaps it better to use her than to abjectly punish her. "[member="Reverance"], if I may..." Hauntruss hissed in a "Since she has stated her plea...I would like to question the accused, once her defence has been stated...of course." Hauntruss returned her gaze to the accused and a dark smile stretched across her blackened lips.

[member="Darth Adekos"] [member="Darth Isolda"] | [member="Darth Vornskr"] | [member="Alric Kuhn"] | [member="Darth Venefica"] | [member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"]

 

[Reverance]

"Careful wording..." He smiled, as he listened to the accused speak her plea, specifically denoting her innocence in reference to the prakith. How odd, he thought, that she wouldn't claim innocence entirely. Nevertheless, he turned to match the gaze of the recently surging presence of the one Sith Lord, Darth Hauntrass. "Of course..." He said with the a tilt of his head, brandishing a mandalorian orange. Slowly, he began to peel the fruit, as he turned towards Alexandra.

"You will be afforded the opportunity to defend your plea of innocence." He gesticulated with the fruit, half-peeled, obviously nonchalant towards the whole proceeding. After all, it wasn't his life that was currently hanging in the balance. "After which, the One Sith will provide it's own evidence, testimony, and examination of the accused." He continued, pacing, as he eyed the accused with a sort of coldness that indicated his leaning. She was merely an object now, to withstand the brunt of the One Sith judiciary system, crumble or hold - it mattered not to him. Some would most likely view this setting as one of a sham, and they would be viewing it correctly. Gabriel was hardly the sort to let one of the hook, for treachery or failure, and bad deeds always seemed to catch up with the neglectful and distracted. Either way, everyone got their due, the Dark Lord constantly watching and vigilant.

"After which, the judge panel will swiftly determine your sentence..." He lifted his hand, palm upwards, and grinned. "Assuming you are found guilty, of course." He had found himself far enough from the Grey Jedi to find a seat, pulling his leg across one knee, as he he continued to peel and toss away the skin. His presence was one of a titan, nothing withheld, as the nexus of the temple around them transformed a hurricane into something more cosmic. He pointed to the podium, cracking his neck in deference towards this process, despite his callousness towards the defendant. "Well...state your case...and make it count." She had one shot for this, it better be worth the time of those currently assembled. For her sake.

As she moved, the rifles of the Blackblades and the eyes of the attendees would follow her with a certain pinpoint accuracy. Now wasn't the time to act up, if there ever was a time for it at all.

[member="Darth Carach"] | [member="Darth Adekos"] | [member="Silara"] | [member="Darth Hauntruss"] | [member="Matsu Xiangu"] | [member="Vrag"] | [member="Darth Isolda"] | [member="Darth Vornskr"] | [member="Alric Kuhn"] | [member="Darth Venefica"] | [member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

Alexandra opened her eyes and let them rest on the wrath as she bowed in one knee and began to speak to him. “Wrath of the Dark Lord, Voices, Eye, and all those assembled. I will not refute that i fought against those of Darth Valtryx and Darth Adekos, but i will refute that my fight with them was of my choosing nor my wanting. I had shown up on Prakith that day in order to watch the Republic fail once more, first from my stealth ship then from the ground itself as i landed upon it, and started walking. I had planned to stand at Darth Praelior’s side to watch them fall with the aid of two men as my protection, the fate of the Jedi with me i cared not for and had hoped to show how the light lost once more to Praelior.” She waved to Balaya herself as she sought out the woman with the force and continued to speak.

“Myself and Darth Praelior had fought numerous times, not as enemies though but as allies, we fought to strengthen ourselves and my plan had been to watch the Sith humiliate the Republic and its Jedi once more. Then i would challenge Darth Praelior to the duel we partake in every two months, in fact our newest duel had been just two weeks ago because of the interruption of my plans on Prakith. You see it had never been my intent to engage and tear away attention from the Sith, it had actually never been my intention to harm anyone there. But my hand was forced when Darth Adekos, Warok the Defiler, and Darth Valtryx attacked me and my disposable protection.” She spoke with apathy and to the personal data devices as well as to a small screen would appear the video from the very onset of the fight. Alexandra hid nothing as she looked among those assembled here. “I stayed out of the moronic fight that my protection had gotten into with the lower class weakling that was that ewok, in fact now that i think of it i craved some ewok jerky after this headache. But that is not the point, no if you watch and listen the video and Audio you will hear in this that it is Valtryx who is fighting with murderous intent, my actions are defensive my words to stop the fight. I had no reason to fight the dark lord’s forces because i did not want to.” She paused to wait for the blast that would send minna flying into the wall. “Even now i defend myself to the vong… sadly they did not aim to attack with mercy so i was forced to dispose of them but Valtryx is a valuable asset to the Dark Lord. Someone that would be able to kill and take out many more Jedi than i have attempted to especially considering the success rate of the one that turned her.”

She paused to take a breath and let the video progress past the dispatching of the Vong, aiming for the part in which the final confrontation with Minna starts. “Here is where Valtryx attempts to get me to kill her or die myself, but as i said she would be a waste of an asset to kill and as such would be a massive waste of time and resources on the part of my former Ally Darth Arcanix. Now, onwards with this i attempt to stop the fight between my moronic protection and our good companion Darth Adekos, my actions meant to separate him and speak with him before deciding that both I and he had much better things to handle. And mentioning that letting Warok dispose of the two morons would probably make for a valuable lesson on how not to fight something like him… the problem was that as you will see now Adekos decides to initiate an attack on me through an illusion. This of course causes me to defend myself once more as he forces my hand into fighting due to his rash and slightly annoying need to attack me for whatever reason he had. The rest of the fight is me and him engaged and if you so wish i will remain silent for you to watch the entirety of it before i go on with my defense. Valtryx can attest to these being valid and holding no alterations in the events if you so wish as well as i have several more angles from other cameras in the hanger that will also support this timeline. Which effectively is where i have proven the lies that you have been told Wrath.”

She would wait for them to answer or not and then wait for them to finish the fight but only then speak once they got to a very important part. “Now, if you pay attention to the end of this fight in which i am horribly disfigured… thank you by the way Adekos, that took months to fix. As i was saying though, as you see i say one very clear thing and it is that i wished to heal the wounds of this Sith Lord that was downed by the blades of my protection as she had tried to drain my essence. I wished to heal her wounds as this fight was beyond stupidity at this point, having wasted the time of four sith and gotten them wounded and wasted my time and enjoyment in watching the Jedi and their Republic humiliated… only to be made worse as a new arrival forces me to leave before i can heal this woman. Thus once more stopping me from aiding the Dark Lord’s servants. This concludes my involvement in Prakith, one that was sadly a waste of resources and people and we were lucky that the republic was not more competent in getting to the spaceport. Should any of this be put into question of its Validity, i will gladly show you the events through the method of flow-walking Wrath of the Dark Lord, it is an ability i have spent a great deal of time understanding thanks to the aid of two Aing-Tii and my own research into the technique.” She reached up, hands still bound and rubbed her eyes quick before lowering her hands and signalling for the next piece of evidence to be brought up and that was her financial records and personal communications.

“These are all financial records for the last seven years since my re-joining the Sith rightfully so till now. As you will see i have made sure my personal AI Eve, which is the one broadcasting this one way to all of you, took the entirety of my records and with the exception of these purchases from the group Sasori, due to the need for basic robes. All items, services, and otherwise were bought and acquired through my spending to Krayt Industries, and if you watch i purposefully gain no capital from buying products from the company that… up until now i suspect because of the capture at the hands of Darth Arcanix. All funds were then put into research and development on new weapons of war against the enemies of the one Sith. Furthermore if you take into a substantial look at the records in my training sessions you will see a lot of them that do not include the members of the Grey, are training sessions with that of Sith Origin.” She started mini pacing where she stood as she continued.

“Furthermore, as i had left the Sith space to start my home away from war, as i had grown tired of the constant amount of death and wanted to strengthen my connection to the force itself, i left with the notice that i would still support and train those of the One Sith. Infact i am hurt so few with the exception of choice individuals took me up on my offer when i was looking forward to seeing what the next generation of Sith Lords would look like.” She stopped and looked over at the Judges. “But i digress. Infact i would like to expose yet another true traitor to the Sith and that would be the likes of one Darth Veles who if i understand returned to try and save his skin. One who holds more information inside him and it was my luck that the moron of a protector on Prakith was able to reach and sate him long enough for me to learn of his deceit and that he was a liability. I am surprised he retreated and tried to find amnesty but know that this man was prepared to attack the Sith and due to the wonderful use of manipulating that moron i was able to have the records of such sent to me.” She smiled as those would then be sent to each person in the room, one by one she would expose true traitors until it was obvious who should be on trial.

She breathed in as she looked down at the ground and continued, having finished with Veles. Arcanix who was beside her knew how hard it was to offer what she was about to do so. “In addition to Veles’ betrayal of the dark lord, i can promise the capture of many more traitors, or the ringleader of the one that is gathering these traitors. My… fiance is the man Vulpesen Torrevaso.” She paused and stared hard at the ground as she forced out the words, trying not to let her sorrow in what she was doing show as she hated herself for offering this but she would not play the traitor that they wanted her to be. “I offer up information on the movements as well as my ability to influence the movements of the people that Vulpesen leads… as well as his capture if you order me to set it in motion.” She fell silent for a few moments, eyes shut tight as she spoke the last bit in a strong tone, though she would not look up after what she just said. It hurt enough saying those words, and the pain was too much to think on.

“Lastly i will speak of my usefulness to the Sith and to the dark lord if you allow me too. I am a unique weapon to wield and shield to use. Dark healing sadly does not repair wounds unless you sustain the energy output were using me as your personal healer, with no chance of sabotage by a Jedi counterpart would be my first of many uses. Furthermore i retain a vast knowledge of Sith, Neutral, and Lightside techniques that could be both learned and studied to learn their flaws more closely than in battle. This also means i can be used against the Jedi and their corrupted look on the force, able to move about them with much more relative ease than one of those in this room because i am known for my neutrality and the details of my capture are after all only known to those here which Arcanix made sure of. In addition to my knowledge of the force is my willingness to train the Sith students as i have always done, thus removing me from the equation would mean removing an asset, weapon, and someone who understands the weaknesses of the lightside.” With that she was done, her voice silenced and waiting for the specific questions if there were to be any.

@Reverance [member="Darth Hauntruss"] @Khallesh [member="Darth Venefica"] [member="Darth Carach"] [member="Silara"] [member="Darth Arcanix"] [member="Darth Praelior"] [member="Darth Adekos"] [member="Hijinks"] [member="Darth Vivaldi"] [member="Vrag"]

 

[Reverance]

His hand found itself a pedestal for which his face was propped, lazily watching the presentation with a sort of indifference. She lost him at the first phrase, where she failed to refute the actual charge of treason and openly admitted to fighting against personnel of the One Sith. Not only this, but she openly admitted to killing Vong, who were personal members of Gabriel's encampment and as close to a species, as any, that he would consider family. Their path towards pain mirrored his own. And finally, it was unfortunate Alexandra hadn't paid more attention to the videos of Prakith more closely, or she would have realized that Gabriel was the one in charge of the defense of the spaceport - personally insulting his endeavors wasn't the way to go about this process.

With the jovial attitude of her presentation, along with the deflection of the charges away from her to others of blame, as well as the assumption that the One Sith needed her in any regard - well, she had not favored as well as she might have expected, with the Wrath. Especially with the provided assumption that he was so easily led astray by the plaintiffs. In the end, betrayal was a matter of black and white - in for a penny, in for a pound.

Picking a quadrant of the fruit from the core, he chewed into it while he allowed the deafening silence to overcome the crowd, giving them a moment to absorb the information. Like drinking water from the hose, he smiled. "You must have been quite busy, between here and Utapau, to build such a defense when captured unknowingly by Darth Arcanix..." He squinted his eye. "I trust you understand that breaking into One Sith archives, tampering with data in any way, is a treasonous offense by itself?" The likes of which would have not only been backed up, but also alerted during viewing. Logs were a matter of archaic design and the One Sith were progressive, when it came specifically to technology. Point in fact, Titan industries. More importantly, he had taken the opportunity to review the battle from Prakith before hand. He found it curious, that the identity of Darth Adekos and Warok had been divined by the defendant. Curious indeed. Nevertheless, his question regarding the integrity of the archives was a rhetorical one, the expanse of the Dark Lord far more reaching and unwavering than those amounting the defense would have apparently suspected. A potentially grievous error on their part, for while the identities of those involved could not be ascertained, one could easily jump to conclusions and land upon proper footing. It was a warning in the truest sense, one of which she couldn't be sure was a bluff or accurate portrayal of One Sith capability.

"We live in a prosperous age, would you not agree? Tampering with files, video or sound, is really quite easy, especially for someone who has an artificial intelligence at her disposal. Not that you have done that, of course, but it draws question to the veracity of the information..." He stood from his seat and tossed the rest of the peel away. "The One Sith request witness testimony of the prestigious [member="Darth Adekos"], and his recollection of the event on Prakith and his analysis of the mounted defense. This will be a non rebuttal format, followed by additional testimony, evidence, and questioning." Did he think Adekos was prestigious? Truth be told, he didn't know the man. But it painted the picture he wished to portray.

[member="Darth Carach"] | [member="Darth Adekos"] | [member="Silara"] | [member="Darth Hauntruss"] | [member="Matsu Xiangu"] | [member="Vrag"] | [member="Darth Isolda"] | [member="Darth Vornskr"] | [member="Alric Kuhn"] | [member="Darth Venefica"] | [member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"]

 

[Caulder Dune]

[member="Darth Carach"] | @Reverance | [member="Silara"] | [member="Darth Hauntruss"] | [member="Matsu Xiangu"] | [member="Vrag"] | [member="Darth Isolda"] | [member="Darth Vornskr"] | [member="Alric Kuhn"] | [member="Darth Venefica"] | [member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"]

Showtime.

Darth Adekos, vain creature that he was, tugged sharply at the edges of his hood and ensured his mask was on straight before taking the floor as requested. He smoothed out his robes just a bit, coughed lightly into his hand to clear his throat as he strode on up. Adekos had suspected he would be called to speak on this matter and so dressed for the occasion. Which was to say he wore his best featureless black Sith robe out of his many, many featureless black Sith robes. Such was the way of the Sith.

"Good morning, Wrath," Adekos nodded his head and raised his palms congenially towards Wrath of the Dark Lord before doing the same to the assorted judges, "Your honors."

This token bit of formality done, he felt he could get down to business more comfortably. Risky business coming up before a large group of Sith to prosecute someone who had bested him in combat. Perhaps if Adekos could not have his victory through violence, he would get it through what passed as a judicial system among the One Sith.

"The court will plainly view the defendant, who now stands before you, caught red-handed in a brazen act of betrayal against the One Sith, who both denies her status as a traitor while providing you with video footage illustrating her as such. The defendant has naturally attempted to obfuscate the full depth of her treachery by misleading the court, and so I will now bring her long, rambling defense back into perspective with the presentation of two facts."

The Umbaran held up a single finger, sweeping his gaze over the court room for dramatic effect. He was Tyrin Ardik. How was it even remotely possible for him to resist the urge to be theatrical being called up here?

"Darth Praelior was not at all present at the spaceport. In fact, our after action reports place her at the citadel, where she was instrumental in its defense. If it were the intent of the defendant to find and engage Darth Praelior in a friendly-" Adekos inserted air quotes here "-Duel, it seems rather ridiculous that the defendant would go to the spaceport instead. Further, a friendly duel would imply a one on one affair, which begs the question of why the defendant would be traveling with two Jedi. Which of course brings me to the second fact."

Two fingers this time, and now Adekos was lazily pacing the floor. "Upon arriving at the spaceport, in the company of two Jedi, the defendant and the Jedi were engaged by Warok and I- as well as a third who joined us later. Since the defendant proclaims herself to be a loyal member of the One Sith and has referred to the Jedi she accompanied as disposable, one would expect that she would readily aid us in the destruction of the Jedi. She instead opted to engage Valtryx and, and later on me, rather than make any attempt to explain herself. I need not remind the court that it is not intentions that are on trial here. It is irrelevant what the defendant had intended to do- only what she did. And what she did was aid Jedi in fighting against agents of the One Sith."

"Unless the defense is unfamiliar with the definition of treason, there is no little for further explanation." Adekos concluded, clasping his hands behind his back. "Aiding Jedi in direct action against the One Sith is betrayal. The court will note the defendant's attempt to deflect the focus of this trial by bringing irrelevant accusations against Darth Veles."

During this time he only looked directly at the defendant once, just long enough to flash a brief sneer, and that had been when he mentioned the irrelevance of her intentions. There was nothing but contempt in his heart for this woman- especially after she devoted the last portion of her defense to list off reasons why she shouldn't be hung by her entrails and have her corpse paraded about the city. In the next few moments, Darth Adekos explained precisely why. He circled away from the defendant and the rest of the court to address the appointed judges and the Wrath of the Dark Lord directly. They were responsible for the sentencing here, so he would issue his closing statement to them.

"It is my personal observation that the defendant is perhaps too willing to sacrifice her colleagues for the mere opportunity to save her own life. Such general disloyalty, the clearly inflated sense of self-worth, and this repugnant attempt to justify her crimes, as we've seen here, are hardly indicative of any redeeming traits." He half turned, and now he was staring directly at her. "It rather reflects behavior no better than the most common of low-lifes; behavior more befitting a parasite or feral beast than a member of the One Sith."

That little spiel concluded, his full attention was once again brought back to the judges.

"If this woman is willing to secure the death of her fiancé and others she has closely colluded with in the past for a pardon, it is no stretch of the imagination that she will betray us again if given the opportunity. I advise an immediate execution."

 

[Via Dolorosa]

Her eyes glazed over with pure hatred when the accused dared to implicate [member="Darth Veles"] into the ring of traitors. She had known the Mon Calamari since she was an Acolyte and though they at times butted heads over politics and views, she considered him a close ally. Slowly she rose from her seat and began to remove her lightsaber that dangled at her side. ​

​

"How dare you try to defend your guilt by pointing an accusatory finger at Darth Veles," her words dripping with venom as she spoke. "Forgive me Lord Wrath and fellow Lords and Ladies...but how many more lies do we need to listen to before removing her head."​

​

Her left thumb hovered over the activation stud. The traitor had chosen her words unwisely, offending the Sith Lady in the process. Then an idea took shape in her mind. She knew some, in fact, questioned the loyalty of Darth Veles and he had expressed to her once before how he wished to set the record straight that he was loyal to the Sith. And now he should have his chance.​

​

"Lord Wrath...perhaps we should call forth Lord Veles and allow him to prove is loyalty," she suggested locking her eyes on the traitor, flashing her a sinister smile.​

​

​

[member="Darth Carach"] ... [member="Silara"] ... [member="Darth Hauntruss"] ... [member="Matsu Xiangu"] ... [member="Vrag"] ... [member="Darth Isolda"] ... [member="Darth Vornskr"] ... [member="Alric Kuhn"] ... [member="Alexandra"] Lianne Feanor ... [member="Darth Adekos"] ... [member="Reverance"]​

 

[Reverance]

The call by both Darth Adekos and Darth Venefica, for the death of Alexandra - well it wasn't surprising. Despite the position that Gabriel had taken as defacto moderator, he hoped it wouldn't imply that he desired full control over the proceedings that were currently taking place. Nevertheless, the temperament of the two speakers likely mirrored the feelings of most of the congregation, with a select few exceptions.

Darth Adekos, well spoken and while lengthy, the points were well made. In truth, the Wrath felt that the accused had shot herself in the foot by trying to drag the names of prosperous, and contributing, members of the One Sith through the mud - something the Umbaran had more than successfully pointed out. And the fact that Alexandra was willing to so quickly betray her fiance, that dug nails into skin - and not in the good way. Betrayal was a sickness of the spirit, one that would need cleansing, and if her idea was to bargain for her life through additional betrayal - well then it had seemed she missed the entirety of the point of this procession. Sin begetting sin - point missed completely.

"The One Sith thanks you for your testimony, Darth Adekos. You may find your seat once more." Perking an eyebrow towards Darth Venefica, he felt that she was headed in the right direction. While he had mind towards calling Darth Hauntruss back to the floor, the defense of ones character should come first, if the desire manifested itself. "If [member="Darth Veles"] wishes to defend himself, that is fine. He's not currently on trial but I appreciate the sentiment. Afterwards, I would ask Darth Hauntruss back to the floor - so that she may examine the defendant."

A moderator to the end. In earnest, he wasn't sure he was of an attitude to cross-examine the witnesses or the defendant. The tone of the court, the presentation so far, and the anger of the Sith in regards to certain proclamations - it seemed as one attempted to defend themselves, they merely succeeded in preparing their own grave. Mentally shrugging, giving the floor to the next speaker, he ate another quadrant, boring down on Alexandra with a calculating gaze. Half an orange down and the trial had barely even begun.

[member="Darth Carach"] | [member="Darth Adekos"] | [member="Silara"] | [member="Darth Hauntruss"] | [member="Matsu Xiangu"] | [member="Vrag"] | [member="Darth Isolda"] | [member="Darth Vornskr"] | [member="Alric Kuhn"] | [member="Darth Venefica"] | [member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"]

 

[Darth Ferus]

The sheer amount of hatred of the one known as Alex was quite literally palatable to the red man. Even those who did not know her, or why she was here wanted her head. All of this brought a hint of a smile on Ferus's face. A very twisted idea began to form within his own head, and moving from his section on the stands he would make his way to none other than [member="Reverance"] , the Wrath of the Dark Lord. Once reaching him, if he was not stopped by any other, the Assassin would incline his head out of respect to the one who unleashes judgement of all of their masters. His voice would talk low, so only those in the immediate vicinity could hear what he had to offer.

"I understand the trial is still going, but I have a suggestion for her. She offers us Vulspeen, the one once known as Darth Talos, or something like that, who is trying to create an order that will attack us, and those under us. This trial is nothing more than a play for the public to believe in, no? If Vulspeen attacks, he will kill innocents. If we kill him before he can attack, we will be protecting those 'innocents' and solidifying that we do protect our own. Let us use her."

His blue gaze would shift from the Vong King to the accused, a faint smile on his face. "This will be a perfect opportunity to truly test the Assassins. And for her to live with the guilt of killing the father of her children." Once more his eyes would return to Wrath, offering another faint bow of his head. "This is just a suggestion, and I am sure you will do what is just for all Sith."

[member="Darth Carach"] | [member="[/FONT]Darth Adekos"] | [member="Silara"] | [member="Darth Hauntruss"] | [member="Matsu Xiangu"] | [member="Vrag"] | [member="Darth Isolda"] | [member="Darth Vornskr"] | [member="Alric Kuhn"] | [member="Darth Venefica"] | [member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"]

 

[Vrag]

As minutes dragged on by, Vrag grew more and more bored, her emotion — or, rather, complete lack thereof — bleeding into her expression as well. Those in the audience who were more… ceremonially inclined would have surely been offended had they seen her face, but luckily for both, the Knight hadn't been so dumb as to leave her visor transparent. In times like these the option to darken the transparisteel was truly a blessing, for the trial was nothing short of pointless.

I swear, the woman suppressed the urge to groan as the accused babbled on, her speech quickly blurring into a torrent of words that went in through one ear and out the other. Unlike the presiding Judges — Force have mercy on their souls — the firrerreo was under no obligation to listen to the excuses pouring out of the echani's mouth, let alone ponder on them. Her mind drifted instead, thinking back to her own experience on Prakith, where the Republic had once again let her down, failing on nearly every front; not that it was particularly surprising, considering that the genius behind that plan had decided to attack none other than the most fortified world under Sith control, but Vrag had hoped to engage at least one enemy. Pity.

The change in tone and voice brought her back to the present, and her blue eyes focused on the masked man who now took to the stage. While she'd met him only once — and even then very briefly — the Knight had heard a number of stories about [member="Darth Adekos"]. Not that it mattered, really; Vrag cared little for gossip or rumor, judging people by their deeds instead. If his words were anything to go by, the masked Sith followed much the same principles, and knowing that at least one of those implicated was sane — well, sane enough — calmed her some.

Then again, they were the One Sith, and as the Republic liked to say, they knew neither mercy nor fairness. Why not live up to that reputation, for once?


[member="Reverance"] | [member="Darth Carach"] | [member="Matsu Xiangu"] | [member="Darth Ferus"] | [member="Darth Venefica"] | [member="Darth Veles"] | [member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"] | [member="Darth Arcanix"] | [member="Alric Kuhn"] | [member="Darth Isolda"] | [member="Warok the Defiler"] | [member="Hion the Herglic"] | [member="Darth Hauntruss"] | [member="Darth Praelior"] | [member="Darth Vivaldi"] | [member="Khallesh"] | [member="Silara"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

Alric found himself falling asleep. His eyes closed and he thought about what kind of cake he would like to have at his wedding.

Chocolate?

Chocolate was a classic but it wasn't everyones thing.

Vanilla?

No vanilla was far too simple.

Perhaps red velvet.

He liked red velvet. He would have to consult Silara after this farce was over. She could decide everything else, he just wanted his cake.

 

[Darth Hauntruss]

Hauntruss watched the testimonies of [member="Alexandra Lianne Feanor"] and [member="Darth Adekos"]. She found it...lacklustre at best. Her interested grin had disintegrated into a curled frown. Tap, tap, tap her fingers smacked against the stone arm rests of her chair. This was dangerous. Too dangerous. The defendant's actions pale in comparison to the potential treachery and division this trial could induce if mishandled. Hauntruss needed more, deeper information. What of these Jedi? Why protect them? Perhaps this Alex considered them an essential part of her dark schemes and this Darth Adekos and his comrades unaware of her plans ruined it. Or perhaps it was to be a more secrective meeting between her and Jedi to observe the Prakith fight and not engge - but Adekos forced her hand. Whatever the case, as Warmaster of the Jedi Purging Inquisition, this did not look good for the defendant. Hauntruss wanted to dive a little deeper.

It seems the head of the trial, [member="Reverance"] had been considering the matter as well. Nodding to Hauntruss and gesturing her turn, Hauntruss politely mirrored his gaze and rose up. "Ah brave testimony by both accused and called." Hauntruss began with a lecturing tone, "However, after a lengthy speech or two we are only met with pointing fingers and empty bargains." Hauntruss' fingers rose from her black cloak and pointed to Alexandra. "What have you done to explain yourself? Nothing. You deflect your charges onto others and explain that it was their treachery that ruined your truly loyal schemes? And to prove your ultimate loyalty you are willing to sacrifice your loved." Hauntruss cracka cynical grin and her tone became a taunting moan, "How...valiant of you Lady Feanor. How tragic."

But slowly Hauntruss face grew more visible angered and her tone darkened into almost demonic growl, "But it is you, YOU, who are here the most treacherous. It is you who are the ruined. Not because you consorted with Jedi, not because you attacked Darth Adekos, not because you have meddled in factions outside of the Sith Order." Hauntruss opened her arms and laughed. "It is because YOU dare defy the order of this Empire. You dare drag others into the consequences of YOUR INCOMPETENCE. YOUR FOOLISHNESS." Hauntruss barked down at the defendant. "Dark Lord knows what in your obscene schemes did you let slip any of our most sacred information to these 'disposable guards' and your filth of a fiancée. YOU Lady Feanor are not guilty as a traitor but guilty as incompetent and unreliable mess. You should be punished purely for your ruinous and feeble attempts to do what you have no skill for!"

Hauntruss' mode then cooled into a sinister calm, "But it is not too late." Hauntruss' eyes probed the room and then met Reverance's, "If you recant your actions and confess for your heresies, I can see to it that you are....re-educated under my special...tutelage. Then and only then will you have redeemed yourself." Hauntruss turned her head back to Alexandra with a mocking scoff. "Afterall you said yourself how...'useful' you are to the Dark Lord."

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

Alexandra took a moment to raises a brow and slowly stood straight and stared at Adekos as she fixed the sleeves of her robes that were closed tight around her wrists by the bonds that rest on lower arms. She was amused, amused that the Sith truly did have an interesting way to look at things and it was ever more interesting and amusing at the sheer stupidity or behind the scenes working that must be going on where Alexandra could not see. First apparently a prisoner was able to alter video brought directly from the archives and soon her ears switched to the testimony of Adekos again and she only barely held back her amusement at the hurt and defeat in this man. There was another man that stuck out to her as she looked around her and focused in on Ferus, turning her head and wondering what was going on in his mind to actually support her and oppose the decisions of Adekos and Reverence.

He was a funny individual and soon one after another spoke until finally [member="Darth Hauntruss"] spoke and she rose he brow once more before tilting her head to the side. 'A logical one, i had been losing hope for those serving the dark lord... hopefully the eye saw things for the truth and was not susceptible to these moronics.' With that she turned her eyes to where she suspected Darth Isolda was before turning her eyes back to the Sith Lady Hauntruss. "I see... indeed, she is guilty of incompetence on many occasions, if she wasn't Adekos would be dead on Prakith and Praelior would have lost out continuous duels time after time my lady." Really she didn't even know if she could trick Gherron like she could indefinitely trick Vulpesen... but it would be interesting to try. She almost wanted the Sith to continue though with their bias, and then to be given the chance to see just what she could do finally back with them. When she had left it was to get stronger and now that she had a few new tricks it had been a matter of time before she returned to fight for them once more and it seemed that would happen or she would... well die. "Oh, and my lady, please stop calling me by that name. Such a disgusting name Alexandra's."

 

[Darth Carnifex]

A singular shimmer of air watched the proceedings from the very corner of the courtroom, not necessarily at all interested in the fate of the damned, but rather how his fellow colleagues would handle the horribly inapt judiciary system the Republic favored so much. He would very much agree that this whole thing was a sham, a con put forth by the Wrath to showcase that, yes, even people like the Sith could work in the realm of law and order like the Republic.

Bah.

He much preferred swifter, and more to the point, methods of justice. Not these long-winded affairs of trying to prove who is right and who is wrong, who gets the axe and who goes free. During the Republic's era this whole affair was mostly beneficial for the lawyers used to represent either side, and the accused or defendant was merely an afterthought. In his realm he gave swift judgement to all, either they died, or they were sent to harsh labor camps to carry out their sentences. It was a much better system, his friends would agree, but the ignorant masses would see it as barbaric or tyrannical.

Fools.

Oh well, let them be blinded by the sham, it was no skin off Vornskr's bones... If he had skin... or bones...

Being a ghost was weird.

 

[Gorba the Hutt]

It wasn't that he found law disinteresting. He just knew this was all a farce. Necessary for the populace to see benevolence, but ultimately words in this arena were wasted breath.

Orcus was nodding off, eyes blinking slowly closed, chin dipping. He still stood, but those near him who were not enraptured with the trial glanced anxiously at the napping cetacean. Eight hundred pounds of upright, sleeping blubber could easily become eight hundred pounds of falling whale. Nobody wanted that.

"Someone wake him up."

"Nudge him."

"You first."

Meanwhile, the cetacean dreamed of floating beneath the ocean's waves, flippers conducting schools of fish, organizing them into capitalist modes of production. Joyful fishy faces and the wealth of the galaxy flowed past him, a stream of silver and gold. Orcus sighed euphorically.

 

[Minna]

Valtryx remained at the back of the gathered crowd of spectators, her arms crossed whilst donning a look of great distaste. She had hoped to not have been mentioned, yet it seemed she had been. It was not a great trouble, since her appearance had obviously changed drastically since Prakith, but her name now floated around a standing trial. Luckily, it had not been further pressed, and hopefully she would be seen as a Sith trying to kill a traitor. That was what was her intention at the time, to kill the friend who she thought had betrayed her. However, her mind had been clouded by the anger and rage she had not learned to control. Mistakes were made, and she could either wish them to secrecy, or atone for them.

But was it a Sith's job to atone?

The red-head moved through the crowd slightly, aiming for a better view of her former Grey master. Her gaze finally found Alexandra, who seemed to be acting different from the kind, caring teacher Valtryx was knew. A struggle brewed inside the Sith; on one hand her greatest friend stood the chance of execution, yet on the other she was sworn to serve the people prosecuting her. She tried to suppress the internal feelings, but they were so great they managed to leak through her aura. Valtryx's hand came up to her mouth, allowing her to bite at her nails to try and ease her mind. Her eyes never left Alex's. She was uneasy, despite the fact the Echani would not recognise her by looks now, and surely she was too preoccupied to sense the same presence that once inhabited her Yodaling friend now inside this human body?

It'll be alright. Alex will be executed, and there will be nothing to worry about then. Her thoughts tried to calm her, yet she couldn't help but worry.
Truly this trial was breaking her...

 

[Isar]

Petty fools, they still think me illiterate in their ways. They know not how I spent these past six rotations of the heavens. Ha, I shall toy with their ignorance. Many moons has it been since I have seen any sort of feat of words such as this. It is as I thought, Adekos is a peerless paladin of oration.

Warok stood off to the side, near [member="Vrag"]. He listened to the speeches intently, restlessly. Blood was pounding through his little body as the words came like razors, cutting one side to pieces and then being returned tenfold. Warok's tar pit eyes stood wide and full of fire. He wanted to jeer, wave his paws, shout, because this was incredible. He shuffled from one foot to the other like a boxer, or an Ewok waiting in line for the toilet.

He was amped.

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Darth Valtryx"]

Hel smiled to herself as she assumed complete control of the body, it felt so good to be back and then she felt something that was intoxicating... worry, doubt, it tasted great and with a slow turn of her head she stared right at Valtryx and said nothing as the eyes that were once Silver, shifted into their corrupted orange color that peered directly in Valtryx's direction. The aura that had been around Alex was gone too, no hint of light coming from her as she soaked in the hate around her, she loved it and she couldn't wait to let Alexandra's own pain take hold once more as she made sure the woman was seeing everything Hel said and did. It was going to be a glorious day torturing her parent personality like this.