Faction Relics of the Past

[Julius Haskler]

RELICS OF THE PAST

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THE MAN, THE LEGEND

Centuries ago, one man had risen to prominence in the Core. Acting as a safeguard for the Empire whilst trying to make it better, Moff Kraig Haskler led the Corellian Sector for more than a decade. He amassed immense armies and garnered loyalties from across the galaxy.
Nothing that would be relevant 850 years later, right?

He established his family as one of the rulers of Anaxes, thus creating the noble House Haskler of Anaxes. But he was also a man of duty, and when Grand Admiral Thrawn summoned the Imperials to war against the New Republic, he left his son, his wife and his belongings behind, and joined Thrawn's Confederacy. He would wage war against the Republic, his immense skills and assets proving useful as ever. And when Thrawn was murdered above Bilbringi, Kraig Haskler went missing.
Nothing that would be relevant 850 years later, right?

He left behind protected planets, that had grown in strength, able to defend themselves from the many threats the galaxy harboured. Moreover, he left behind a family and his legacy would be celebrated for the next centuries. Among the relics, a mysterious key fell into the hands of the heir to House Haskler a dozen years later. While it was useless at the moment, it was rumoured the key would reveal vital information, that would shape Anaxes's fate, for better or worse.
Wait... This is relevant, even 850 years later.

The time has come. Julius Haskler 's key has unlocked itself: heading to Nirauan, the Anaxsi follows the clear orders this key gives him. With him, the full power of the House comes to Nirauan, determined to explore the buried Tormentor and claim it for Anaxes.

T H E _ T O R M E N T O R
OBJECTIVE I | DRACO DORMIENS NUNQUAM TITILLANDUS​

As Anaxsi land on Nirauan, they discover the wreckage of a warship dating back from the Clone Wars. According to Julius's key, the secret cloning facility is located in the Tormentor. And while the Nirauanians rush to fend off the intruders and sort the problem out, orders have been given. If the Hasklers are to become a major power of the New Imperial Order, symbols are sorely needed. The Tormentor is one of the assets the Anaxsi will claim in order to mark their position and remind everyone of the war heroes they once have been. Now, the best crewmen of the Azure Hammer Command are deployed aboard the ship with one simple mission: bring the dragon back to life at any costs.

C L O N I N G _ F A C I L I T Y
OBJECTIVE II | BRING OUT THE DEAD
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The true objective of Julius Haskler has been kept secret. No one must know about the possibility of Kraig Haskler coming back. If the Dookus learn of it, they will storm the cloning chambers in the heart of the Tormentor and wreak havoc upon it. As such, while the Anaxsi try to stall the Nirauanians, the heir has taken with him a small retinue of elite fighters to protect him during the exploration. They will try and slow down anyone coming there to destroy the Anaxsi's greatest prize. No one shall pass.

PARTICIPANTS​

A N A X E S​	N I R A U A N​
Julius Haskler Albrecht F. Herlock Moldau Keith Nukth Kelga'an Jerec Yularen	Lucien Dooku DECEASED Erskine Barran Tiadu Dorin Nalju

 

[Julius Haskler]

C L O N I N G _ F A C I L I T Y
OBJECTIVE II | BRING OUT THE DEAD

The Tormentor was a massive warship of an ancient past. While from orbit, it was almost hidden, the Silencieux's stealth capacities had proven useful to locate it and land nearby. Julius feared they had been detected, one way or another. Maybe when they had entered the atmosphere. Maybe when they had landed. How could he know? In fact, it didn't matter. If Lucien Dooku wanted to come and inspect the ship, the Hasklers could welcome him with flowers or with blasters. They had sufficient forces to do so. With a TodHusar company deployed, they could hold the Rothana-class Battleship for many days, enough for the Azure Hammer Command to power the ship and take it away from Nirauan.

Julius had given his orders as the Anaxsi entered the relic. The TodHusars would scatter across the vessel to defend the crew, but a good portion of them would accompany Julius and Moldau Keith on their way to inspect the cloning chambers. The Moff was confident he was well-enough protected. An Imperial Knight and a platoon of elite Sith-killers? He could not ask for more. The Sith Emperor himself could come that he would not be scared.

As the team scouted the corridors and slowly advanced towards the cloning facilities, Julius wondered what they would find. More importantly, he wondered who they would find. There was the legend that Kraig Haskler would come back when the key came back to life. But who could tell if he had been cloned, or if he was still alive? It was most likely a rumour, a feeble hope. Julius was content enough to seize the Tormentor and its content. The warship had been recorded as one of the terrors of the Separatists of the time, and of the Rebels later. When the warship would come back to the war front, fear would linger in the hearts of the enemies. The Hasklers would become a renowned force in the galaxy.

And when the lights of a clone-vat began lighting the Anaxsi's path, Julius turned to Moldau Keith and Nukth Kelga'an . He needed to know what they expected, for the morale's sake.

"Tell me, my friends. What do you expect to find in this facility?"

 

[Albrecht F. Herlock]

THE TORMENTOR
OBJECTIVE I: DRACO DORMIENS NUNQUAM TITLLANDUS
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As the stealth corvette Silencieux landed near the wreckage of the Tormentor, Herlock got himself ready. His mission was simple. He had to find a way to power the ship so the House Haskler of Anaxes could rise again, more powerful than ever. The hatch finally opened and Albrecht got out and drew out his gun, ready to deal with any hostile who would be present. He was leading a squad composed by himself and nine enginers from the Silencieux's crew. He knew that the TodHusars who came with them would do anything to protected the battleship, mostly due to Julius Haskler 's presence. But Herlock was still glad they were here. He was good with a gun, but prefered to battle in space, commanding a ship. He then faced towards the enginers who were following him and declared:

"Alright boys. Let's find a way to power this ship and get it out of here. For the glory of Anaxes !"

 

[Nukth Kelga'an]

CLONING FACILITY
OBJECTIVE II | BRING OUT THE DEAD

« Concordia.

A good ops, right ? Well, I think it was good, even if I lost two men. You know, it's never a good moment when you lose your men, but it was for the mission. The operation and our attack was as I imagined it, and as the TodHusars are. 'Brutality but quality', Double-Five said. I like him. It's not my best soldier but he's a commando, like his brothers and me. He was very concerned by the death of his friends, and I understand him. But we have a mission. A difficult mission. »​

— Extract from Nukth Kelga'an's personal diary.​

Captain Nukth Kelga'an was here, on the Tormentor, organizing cruiser's defense. He looked at his men who were patrolling in the corridors and nodded to them, waiting for an answer. They nodded back and Nukth smiled under his helmet. With his troops, the ship would be sure for Julius Hasklers, and for his projects. He knew that there was a possible attack from the Dookus but he was confident in his men, 'as always'. He took an SFR-58 in the nearest rack and verified that everything were OK.

He sighed. He didn't how much time he would pass in this ship. Uh, it didn't matter. He had a mission, a mission for Julius Hasklers, his chief, and he didn't want to deceive him because of his incapacity.​

 

[DECEASED Erskine Barran]

1
GALIDRAANI FREE-STATE

Objective 1: DRACO DORMIENS NUNQUAM TITILLANDUS

Location: Nirauan

Allies (Nirauan): Lucien Dooku Tiadu
Opposition (Anaxsis): Julius Haskler Moldau Keith

Sitting on top of the window to the Tormentor's bridge, looking down into the chamber's array of seats, controls and displays as he chuckled away to the Nirauan countryside, laughing at the landing of a ship he'd almost disbelieved seeing for himself on Csilla. Whether the crewmen aboard would outnumber Guardian Company or not, it mattered little to the Blue-Hearts who guarded every entrance, and with orders to stand fast, Baird's subordinates were going nowhere in a hurry; even going so far as to bring deck-chairs and the likes for afternoon tea and cigars, many of the guardsmen would be all too willing to (physically) settle into their places at every possible entryway into the ancient Anaxsi ship.

'Shame we were too late for Haskler an' Keith's arrival, eh? Could've made their day aw the mare infuriating by barring their entry also, but we're here noo.... Standin' oan their relic's windshield, whilst another relic lands ti challenge us!'

'Ne'er a dull moment, eh?', Erskine responded, slapping Captain Baird on the shoulder as his guffawing slowly subsided. If ever there was a true success story in the ranks of the Barran clique, Ryan's had been the most-meteoric by far; starting out as a mere AFV-crewman, ranked private, young Baird had shot his way to success and a place under Brandon Coyle's (the first to hold the Guardian One callsign) wing, only to see Coyle die on Ziost and earn his mentor's role and rank on his quiet, but eventful ascension through the non-commissioned and commissioned ranks. From a Private to full-bird Corporal in two years, and from there to Captain in one long, arduous year of hell, dealing with everything the Sith, the Confederacy and the Maw had to throw in Barran's general direction; everything about the deployment to Nirauan was a welcome change of pace for Bairdy, and for all who worried the youngster was taking on too much too soon, so none would grumble or complain about the simplistic orders they'd been issued.

'With more expected on the horizon too, mind? If the enemy break through Mygeeto somehow, Nirauan becomes a frontier-Capital, an' we both know what that means for our presence here.... Means we might as well start getting used to the sight of Nirauan, wouldn't you say?'

Before Erskine had the time to answer, the distant deep-hiss of landing-hydraulics cut in to properly herald the arrival of the NIV Pride of Anaxsis, a symbol of solidarity on Csilla, but a symbol of treachery on Nirauan. Barran didn't want it to come to this, but it had become obvious that he would eventually be rattling sabres at each other anyways, so the Brigadier-General's acceptance of House Dooku's request (specifically, to deploy for the sake of the New Order's stability) was easy enough for him to confirm when the intel was passed down the line. Whether he'd be crossing swords with Julius Haskler, Albrecht Herlock or any other Anaxsi that day didn't matter to Lord Erskine, all he knew was that the orders issued to the Free-State's high-command would be obeyed faithfully, and to the letter.

'True, but we best finish what's oan oor plates first, eh? Too busy thinking of the proverbial pudding, an unhealthy habit for a commissioned officer, commoner or otherwise!'

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[Jerec Yularen]

T H E _ T O R M E N T O R
OBJECTIVE I | DRACO DORMIENS NUNQUAM TITILLANDUS

ALLIES | HHA | Albrecht F. Herlock
ENEMIES | Lucien Dooku | DECEASED Erskine Barran | Tiadu

As the Silencieux landed near the impressive wreckage of the warship, Jerec wondered what kind of monsters they would find in this. Surely, things that would grant him more and more scars, just as the Sith on Concordia had done. The juggernaut had escaped, though, but the duel was not leaving the TodHusar's memory anytime soon. It was not commonplace to fight one of the Sith Empire's most gifted warriors, survive the brawl and force the enemy to flee.

If the Sith hadn't left that deep scar on his helmet, Jerec sure would have commemorated this fight one way or the other. Maybe he would have painted a small fist on his chestplate, or he would have engraved the encounter on his maser. Nothing too fancy for sure, but a way to remember he had let a Sith flee.

Focusing back on the mission, Jerec and his men led the group towards the bridge, through the damaged hull of the warship. While walking in the abandoned corridors, the Captain felt his back shiver. The ship felt dead inside like his soul had left for good. Whatever Lord Haskler was doing to the vessel, the TodHusar wasn't sure to appreciate it.

"This place is freaking me out, he whispered to his Lieutenant, making sure the Navy guys couldn't hear him. What the hell are we doing on this ruin anyway? It's dead wreckage, a ruin. I don't understand what the Moff is looking for here. Whatever it is, I feel this bad. Like we're about to stumble on a Sith ritual or something. Yeah, I've got a bad feeling about all this..."

His men silently nodded, agreeing on the dark and sinister nature of the place. The atmosphere felt heavy, and the weak lights still functioning were adding to the weighty environment. No signs of life, no active droid, nothing. The ship could have been alive a few hours earlier, no one would have known. It was dead. And Jerec wished wholeheartedly they could reach the bridge before anything happened to his squad and the crew.

"Strange, all this ship looks familiar. Like we're aboard an Imperial ship. Given the markings, I'd say Roan Fel epoch, or earlier even. I don't understand at all what we're doing here. I know we need everything to pull the Sith out of the galaxy, but I highly doubt scavenging an antique cruiser will help anytime soon. If you want ly opinion, all of this is pointless."

All of this had been said aloud, and there was no doubt the Navy had heard this time. Maybe they would provide an explanation for this situation. Because none of the paratroopers could find one.

Soon enough, and while Jerec continued complaining, they reached a darker area. Within seconds, the corridor became pitch-black, and visibility dropped. The TodHusars lit up the infrared vision, and, ever the paranoid, the Captain added the thermal captors to his HUD. If anyone was living here, he would know soon...

The small group continued to walk until they reached the elevators to the top of the structure: the bridge was in sight. Just a few minutes of curtain call and... Wait. The thermal sensors had picked something. The signatures were faded, distorted by the amount of metal there was between the Anaxsi and their opponents, but people were up there. That meant one thing.

They would have to blast their way in.

 

[Albrecht F. Herlock]

THE TORMENTOR

OBJECTIVE I: DRACO DORMIENS NUNQUAM TITLLANDUS

Allies: HHA | Jerec Yularen
Ennemies: Lucien Dooku | DECEASED Erskine Barran | Tiadu

Equipement: Uniform, custom-made gun; sword; telescope

As Herlock and his team were exploring the shipwreck, he found it more and more beautiful. He was wondering how a ship this old could be in such a beautiful state.

"Strange, all this ship looks familiar. Like we're aboard an Imperial ship. Given the markings, I'd say Roan Fel epoch, or earlier even. I don't understand at all what we're doing here. I know we need everything to pull the Sith out of the galaxy, but I highly doubt scavenging an antique cruiser will help anytime soon. If you want ly opinion, all of this is pointless."

"According to me Captain Yularen" replied Herlock, "this ship is older than that. It seems too old to belong to the Roan Fel era. If I'm not mistaken, those markings are from the Clone Wars and the Galactic Empire era. I think this ship wonderful. If we can restart it and give her proper repairs, it could be a perfect flagship for Anaxes Navy. Anyway, we need to keep moving and quickly find a way to power up that ship".

As he said that, he quicly pulled out his gun off his holster. His instinct was telling him that the forces of Lord Haskler were not alone in this area.

"Captain Yularen, may I suggest that you and your men stay in alert ? I've got a bad feeling about this."

 

[Julius Haskler]

C L O N I N G _ F A C I L I T Y
OBJECTIVE II | BRING OUT THE DEAD

As the main group progressed through the corridors, Julius received reports of the second team, seemingly facing unidentified contacts on the bridge. This was annoying to say the list as the old diplomat had expected the Dookus to react much later. It seemed they had been detected anyway. This was going to change many details of the plan. He had to play quick now. If Lucien Dooku was here, the battle could be fierce. He was a talented warrior and a dangerous Jedi.

But Julius could count on Nukth and Moldau to deal with him. Even if they weren't able to defeat him, they could very well slow him until he reached his true objective. The clone-vat. If this was secured, the whole world could crumble that no Anaxsi would care. The old diplomat was convinced his desperate gamble would pay off. Doubtlessely, the Dookus and the Pellaeonist party at large would take offence of the intrusion, but the alienation of the Federalists was nothing compared to the prize that would confirm House Haskler as an important force in the New Imperial Order.

Kraig Haskler. The legend of so many people. This mastermind of warfare had proven to be one of the key assets to Thrawn's victory in the Outer Rim reconquest. And Julius knew the Moff would play a major role in defeating the Sith. Maybe it was the only thing the New Imperials needed to land the final blow. Anyway, Kraig would bolster the scattered TodHusars fighting everywhere around the galaxy, in Chiss space and on the Stygian Caldera front. Seeing an 800 years old hero come back to life would sure impress the Imperator, the Sith, and every major player of the Third Imperial Civil War.

The diplomat entered the cloning room with Moldau Keith at his side, accompanied by a squad of TodHusars. Nukth Kelga'an and his men had been ordered to secure the outskirts of the room. Now was the time to see if the legends were indeed true, or had been rumours from the start. A turning point in the Imperial-Anaxsi's struggle was about to happen. Since the Grayson Imperium had taken over Anaxes, the Hasklers had been on the run, trying to reclaim their homeworld from the hands of the Jedi and their pro-Republic or pro-Alliance minions. The traditions of the fortress world had began to decay slowly as the Imperialists were pushed aside and the Generationals stripped of their riches.

The Heir walked slowly towards the vat. The liquid cloud of white bacta was lazily moving, its impossible shapes shifting at any second. Bashfully, the diplomat approached his hand, wondering if he should touch the glass of the tank. His hand tentatively reached the pane, and suddenly all the white cloud disappeared. In its stead, an indistinct humanoid form was floating, connected to the monitoring console my a rebreather and a number of cables. The vital signs were stable, and he seemed to sleep. Only now did Julius realise the weak "beep" of an electrocardiogram filled the room with its regular pulse. The atmosphere was tensed and emotional. The genetical records matched those of the form in the vat.

"Kraig Haskler... the Heir whispered. There you are, my Lord."

He fell to his knees and watched with marvel as the body continued to move faintly in its liquid environment. He felt glorious. The legends were true. The Hasklers would now rise and show the Core they could still pose a threat to the corrupt politicians of the Republic, Imperium, Alliance or whatever form these descendants of the Rebels were calling them.

The Iron Hand would rise soon and crush those who opposed him. Led by a hero of forgotten times, the Imperial-Anaxsi would be able to establish themselves as a legitimate force in the galaxy. For the Empire

 

[Nukth Kelga'an]

CLONING FACILITY
OBJECTIVE II | BRING OUT THE DEAD​

A WEIRD VAT.
The automatic doors opened and the Captain of the Tods entered the room quickly, as always. As Mandalorians said -- even if he didn't know them in person -- he had ramikadyc, a state of mind of commando, always on the alert, ready to fight, ready to see the danger and ready to answer the danger. With the same rhythm in his steps, he approached his leader: Julius Haskler, without a glance to the vat where Kraig Haskler was coming to the life, a second time. When he saw his chief on his knees, he understood that something was going wrong, or that he did not see something that he had to see. Julius -- he didn't call him 'Moff Haskler' in his mind -- was bathed by the light emanating from a weird vat. What was in this vat? For sure, he had to know that, but he could not question the Moff about this place or about the white container. He got a look to Moldau, the Imperial Knight, to see his reaction, but he was calm. All of that was very, very, strange according to Nukth. How could the Jedi -- anyway if he was not that, he had a light saber -- be calm while Julius was in this condition? Stang, he didn't have any explanation for that...

He looked better to the vat, getting close to his leader slowly as he could. Suddenly, he saw him. A man, in a white liquid, moving and looking to Julius. So he was alive! Julius was just kneeling in front of him! After some seconds, Nukth understood what it was going on: Julius was celebrating the coming of a new leader. And it was probably someone like...no...it was impossible...it could not be Kraig Haskler! Nukth did not believe him! He died centuries ago, if it was not millenniums ago!

Anyway who he was: this person was important to Julius, so he was important to Nukth. He removed slowly his helmet and put a knee on the ground, lowering his head to honor the memory of this ancient leader.

"We were waiting for you, my Lord..." he whispered for himself.​