Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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Purified by the Crucible

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Dromund Kalakar
Sith-Imperial Shipyards

Nestled deep in the heart of Sith-Imperial space laid the gas giant Dromund Kalakar, the second planet of the Dromund System and home to a massive series of shipyards used to produce Imperial warships in bulk for use by the Imperial Armada. Located above the moon of Kalakar Six was a series of ore-rich asteroids and planetoids that the Empire was using to produce the raw materials necessitated in the construction of Mark Three Harrower Star Destroyers. The primary hub of the collection facility was built into the side of the largest asteroid, with several Harrowers being built in cage-like drydocks around it.

Moored just outside of the asteroid field was the Emperor's infamous flagship, the Behemoth, flanked by eight Marr-class Star Destroyers in a defensive formation. But the Emperor was not onboard his dreadnought. He had traveled to the dockyard station and stood tall and proud in its primary boardroom, patiently waiting for his guest to arrive.

You see, while the Empire approached the topic of slavery with a mixed policy (primarily by relegating any owned slave to the position of domestic servant), it still required a massive amount of manual labor in order to dredge up the raw materials needed to keep the Imperial War Machine moving at max efficiency. Droids and other automated servants typically carried out this task cheaply and without fear of any rebel-inspired uprising, but the tradition of biological chattel slavery was firmly ingrained into the subconscious of the Imperial heartland.

And it could not be overlooked forever.

So the Emperor had established a committee to find an answer to the slave question and had invited [member="Darth Imperia"] to Kalakar Six to discuss a new method being pitched by his advisors.
 

Darth Imperia

Guest
D
Imperia wondered, briefly, why the Empire never held these meetings anywhere nice. Just once, she'd like to discuss the future of the Sith at a luxury spa resort, instead of a derelict space station or a volcanic moon. She could respect the aesthetic merits of such a location, and there was something to be said for the privacy the Sith were afforded by those choices, but still, Imperia held to the belief that one could be both secure and stylish while receiving a pedicure. On the plus side, she had been invited to a meeting with the Dark Lord himself, so that was worth a few mild inconveniences on its own. It wasn't that the young Sith held any particular love for Carnifex, but he was the Dark Lord, not to mention the Emperor - staying in his good graces lent an ambitious Sith no small amount of political clout.

But this meeting was about something far more important than Sith politicking. This meeting was about restoring the natural order of things - or coming as close to it as she could manage.


Heels clicking against the tile flooring, Imperia opened the door to the boardroom with a wicked grin and a bow at the waist.

"[member="Darth Carnifex"]. A pleasure to see you again."
 
The Emperor turned, his cloak swirling around his muscular body as he did. Carnifex wore a dark gray Imperial military uniform perfectly tailored for his immense height and musculature, a pair of dark pauldrons adorned each broad shoulder, and the aforementioned cloak was affixed beneath them by magnetic cuffs. A massive lightsaber hung from his waist, like a crucifix wrought of black metal and forged with pure malice and cruelty. He wore no crown, though his graying black hair had been pulled back into a tight braid and adorned with various gemstones and bangles of assorted precious metals such as gold and silver. His eyes, molten pupils surrounded by a sea of black sclera, peered out at the smaller Sith from beneath a heavy brow that seemed to always be tightened into a scowl of disapproval.

"Lady Imperia, it certainly is a pleasure." His voice was rich and dark, booming with the authority of a King well accustomed to being served. "I am grateful that you made time for an old Emperor like myself, it warms my black heart."

The Emperor was well into his sixties, though he did not show in either appearance on his steady gait as he walked around the large conference table that separated them. The body he currently wore was relatively new, only several years old and had only suffered superficial injuries in the battles the Empire had waged on the galaxy. Yet despite being youthful in appearance, Carnifex's body was beginning to show the telltale signs of Dark Side degradation. His skin was growing pale and his hair was beginning to gray, soon enough the necrosis would begin to set in as his body collapsed under the weight of his monumental strength in the Dark Side of the Force.

"But enough formalities, my dear, let us get to the heart of the matter. I have decided to revisit the topic of slavery within the Empire, and as you know the Empire currently forbids chattel slavery in all systems save for the factory-worlds of Kol Huro, but several voices have expressed the opinion that the tradition of chattel slavery cannot be forbidden within the Sith Empire indefinitely. I am looking for methods in which to compromise and find a solution that will benefit both pro and anti-slavery parties. That is why I have called you here, as you are quite an experienced slaver yourself, are you not?"

[member="Darth Imperia"]
 

Darth Imperia

Guest
D
The fact that there were anti-slavery factions within the Empire at all offended Darth Imperia's sensibilities, but she didn't let that show - there was a time and place for such unbridled disdain, and it was neither here or now. The young Lady rose from her bow, that wicked smile still on her face.

"I like to think that I am quite adept at adjusting attitudes and showing people their place in the Galaxy, yes, Lord Carnifex." She didn't like to call what she did 'slavery' - she supposed that was technically what it was, but by the time she was done with her little darlings, they were quite willing to serve. "Although my projects so far have been, admittedly, rather limited in scope. Still, I'm sure I could handle a large scale operation, given proper facilities and the assistance of a trusted ally or two. Unless, of course, you just wanted my advice from a legal standpoint - but I'm fairly certain that isn't the case. So what is it you have planned, Lord Carnifex?"


It might have been a bit presumptuous to think that the Dark Lord of the Sith had called her, still barely a Lady among the Sith, here to head a project on her own, but no one else was present - and it was even more presumptuous to think that he had called her simply to chat. This was most certainly about the Empire.

--

[member="Darth Carnifex"]
 
"I have a proposition for you."

The Emperor pressed a button on the table's surface, initiating a holographic projector built into the center of the table that began to display a three-dimensional image of runic letters in an unknown language. The image then shifted to several holographic videos detailing the construction of Skyreaper Drones and the conditioning and branding of slaves marked with the same exact runic symbols previously displayed. They then shifted to show various lists and graphs involving the current state of slavery within the Empire, and the projected amount of prisoners the Empire was expected to amass in planned future campaigns.

"In ages past, there was an organization known only as the Crucible. It was a nomadic slave-trading organization that was used by the Sith of old to create standing armies from the refugees of war, specifically those that the Sith had started against the Jedi and the Republic. The initial phases of its reestablishment have been underway for several months, and now we have reached the point where a more specialized hand will be required to guide the organization."

Now the Emperor smiled an eerie and otherworldly rictus grin. "And I want you to be that hand, Imperia."

[member="Darth Imperia"]
 

Darth Imperia

Guest
D
Imperia's smile flickered briefly. Not in the sense that it faltered, no - for a split second, Imperia's smile was not one of detached amusement, but instead one of genuine, unfiltered excitement. She brought herself back under control in an instant, of course, because such outbursts were unbecoming of a Sith of her station - but the fact remained that she brimmed with excitement.

"Lord Carnifex," The Lady began, her voice cold as ice and sweet as honey, "I would be honored to take up this project - given two conditions. The first is that, so long as I refrain from either harming or adjusting Imperial citizens, I be given blanket permission to operate as I see fit. I will, of course, remain loyal to the Sith - and the Empire, so long as they remain one and the same." Imperia paused for a few seconds, as if waiting for an objection, then continued. "My second condition is that I be given a full pardon for any, ah, indiscretions that I may have been accused of in the time before my departure to the Netherworld. An incident during which one of your sons accused me of treason comes to mind."

--

[member="Darth Carnifex"]
 
Oh, he liked her enthusiasm.

"I believe that neither of us will have an issue with your first condition, Imperia. The Empire keeps track of all of its citizens, their activities, and their whereabouts. Should you be in breach of your authority, it will be readily known to the Saaraishash. However, while your loyalty may be in contention among other members of my government I see the wellspring of potential within you; a creative cruel streak and a voracious need to find a conduit for your imagination." He found that much of the disloyalty that could be found amongst the Sith originated from a perceived lack of purpose, and once a Sith that harbored such dissident inclinations had been given an outlet for their desires those feelings melted away like snow in the spring.

Imperia was undoubtedly similar in that regard, she was not like him nor any of the other Sith that constituted his great Empire. He could easily read just how much this proposition meant to her in that regard, and he was more than happy to oblige her pleasures.

As for the second condition? Well, the Emperor merely smiled and chuckle under his breath, "What indiscretions, Imperia? You've been dead for quite some time now." It was true, publically the Empire considered the Lady Imperia deceased on every record one could drudge up in their archives. It was only in the databanks of the Imperial Council and the Emperor where the truth of her existence was cataloged, and any past accusations one may have had against her had been wiped clean in her death.

She was free to act in accordance with the Emperor's wishes, which is why he had singled her out for this undertaking.

"No one would suspect a ghost to be leading the Crucible."

[member="Darth Imperia"]
 

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