Public Rousing the Storm

[Skaarja]

NOTES: This thread is open to all, especially those interested in reviving the Nihil.
TAGS: Lord Kalrath | Abaddon Khimarian | Open

LOCATION: Cyclor

Not much to stay about the planet save for the locals were disgusting. Their shipyards had fallen out of favor with the galactic eye over the years. Left the planet largely unmolested, but the locals had kept themselves busy. Even if they weren't the favored shipyard, there was plenty they could do, and the yards were still active. Many of them ended up leaving the planet. There were a lot of abandoned buildings on the surface, probably because so many had gone to work at other shipyards that would happily employ the grotesque bugs. Their engineering prowess was legendary, after all.

Her little transport ship had arrived unmolested. Not unexpected since the major galactic powers had neglected the sector of space that Cyclor was in. The locals had been, well, easily convinced that she was not but a simple traveler seeking to study the history of their world. They might be great engineers, but their minds were not the sharpest for other things. A few suggestions, a little lip service, and she'd been allowed to land.

The actual reason behind the trip had made selling herself as a student of history rather easy. She was there to look for wreckage from the ancient battles that had taken place there. She was hoping to find a still functioning Path engine, but even if she could find a broken one, she could get information from it that she needed in order to find the old base that the Nihil had called home, the one that had eventually been stormed by the Jedi. She remembered that bit of information from her time as a Jedi in ages past. She knew the name of the base, she new it was in No-Space, but she didn't know how to get there.

After landing at the local starport, she'd departed using an illusion of her appearance in order for people not to see that she was wearing gear associated with the Nihil. She wasn't worried that the current population would recognize what she wore, but she didn't want the entirety of the galaxy knowing that someone was seeking to bring the Storm back to the galaxy. She had put out feelers, though, in various underworld groups, looking for descendants of former Nihil members, possibly even some living members of the Ro family that might be interested in revitalizing their family history. It was a dangerous thing to do because the wrong people could sell the information to those who would try to stop her, but she couldn't grow their numbers without recruiting.

The benefit she had was that Cyclor was covered in numerous forests. From space it was entirely green and brown. Somewhere in those forests was likely to be wreckage that she sought. If not, she'd return and pry information out of the Cyclorrians historical archives to get what she wanted. One way or another, she was going to find the Great Hall. It was only a matter of time.

 

[Darth Vindictus]

Darth Vindictus stepped off his transport ship, the oppressive humidity of Cyclor's atmosphere clinging to his black Sith robes. His red eyes gleamed beneath his hood as he surveyed the decaying landscape of abandoned shipyards and dense forests that stretched beyond the horizon. The faint scent of rusted metal and forgotten industry permeated the air, but he paid it no mind. His thoughts were focused entirely on the reason for his arrival.

The whispers of the Nihil had drawn him here. Ancient, chaotic warriors, whose legacy still echoed through the galaxy's underworld. Their remnants, particularly the elusive Path engines, could hold the key to unlocking forbidden technologies long lost to time. Vindictus had no interest in their brutish tactics or lawless ways, but the power they once wielded—that was another matter.

He had sensed a presence on the planet, subtle but unmistakable. Someone else was searching for the same things. An old Force signature, faintly familiar from his studies of Sith history, but masked, veiled in secrecy. Perhaps a Jedi, or even another Sith with their own agenda. His lips curled into a thin, dangerous smile. He welcomed the competition.

With a wave of his hand, he activated his personal cloaking device, blending seamlessly into the forest as he moved away from the starport. Stealth and patience would serve him well here—let his rival uncover the wreckage first. He would simply take it from them when the time was right.

Cyclor's dense forests loomed ahead, shrouded in mist and shadow. Somewhere within lay the prize he sought, ancient technology from battles long past. Whether it was by finding the Path engine or prying the information from the Cyclorrians themselves, Vindictus would uncover the Nihil's secrets. The Great Hall, the ancient base of the Nihil, was within his reach—and with it, another step toward greater power.

Darth Vindictus moved with purpose, his mind sharp and focused. He was not here for idle curiosity or forgotten history. He was here to dominate. The galaxy would soon learn that nothing could stand between him and his quest for ultimate power.

 

[Abaddon Khimarian]

THEME: Symphony Of Destruction
LOCATION: Cyclor
TAGS: Skaarja | Darth Vindictus | Lord Kalrath

---

The ship looked like nothing more than a hunk of space debris as came into the atmosphere of Cyclor. The natives paying it no mind thinking, it nothing more than a chunk of their decaying shipyard that would burn up as it fell to the ground. It sped to the surface, flames erupting all around its outer shell as the friction of the atmosphere collided with it. As it neared the surface it came to an abrupt stop just before collision with the ground and let itself down safely.

The central chamber of the ship opened, and a single figure stepped out onto the surface. Golden eyes peered across the landscape of the world. What they hunted was here, the visions of the dark had told them as much. They looked at the broken and ruined world, in their eyes she saw it as a world slowly dying from a disease of its own making. It was beautiful the self-destruction of a world and its people.

Death was coming to this place and soon it would join the worlds of entropy. Soon the dark would have yet another world to feast upon, one step closer to its glory. The being known as Abaddon began their trek across the desiccated corpse of this world called Cyclor. They wore a studded hide dress and carried a rusted ancient great sword on her back. Their face painted in mud, blood, and blue paint.

They did not care if the natives saw them, they would cut down anything that attempted to get in their way. They were here to collect the path engine perhaps this one had data they needed unlike the ones the Maw left behind. They need a one or at least a data core of one that could get them to very specific place if one was even capable of going to the place Abaddon and their people sought.

 

[Kryos]

The Nihil had been marauders, glorified pirates embarking on a crusade many never even understood. Blame it on poor choices of leadership, poor choices by leadership, it didn’t matter. They had picked a fight most thought impossible to win. And they had not won. No, they had lost rather decisively in the end. At least that is how they were remembered in the history books. The archives of the Jedi contained more information, more details. The Nihil had been a legitimate threat to the Jedi Order.

Kryos felt the shift as the transport exited hyperspace above Cyclor. His eyes snapped open, abruptly ending his meditation. There was no peace to be found today, anyway.

The trip through the atmosphere to what passed for a spaceport took too long for the impatient Fallen. As soon as the ship touched the ground, Kryos disembarked and made his way through the locals, navigating away from the city center. The dense forest was his destination. But why?

Truthfully, he was still figuring that out. The message had been unexpected, although his hatred of the Jedi was no secret. Many knew of his mission to cripple their power and eradicate their stranglehold on the galaxy. Still, whoever invited him to Cyclor knew how to contact him. That bothered him. He took great steps to remain in the shadows until it came time to strike, yet someone had been able to bypass those barriers and relay an invitation. That meant they could also find him if they decided he was more of a threat than he was useful.

Kryos had packed light and moved quickly through the trees, not bothering to hide his presence. Whoever — whatever — was out here with him was already expecting him.

 

[Skaarja]

APPEARANCE: LINK
TAGS: Kryos | Abaddon Khimarian | Darth Vindictus | Lord Kalrath

Others had come. People with the gift of the Force. She could feel them as she moved deeper into the forests of the world and further away from civilization. They followed, or tracked, or moved after, it didn't matter to her. They had come because of the call. They, like her, wanted the power of the ancient storm, and wanted to do what they loved most: kill and take.

It seemed forever that she wandered, following her own guidance and that of scans she'd obtained of the world. The tech was out there, buried deep in the forest, barely even visible after so many years. It had been overtaken, grown dirt covered, more of a hill than it was a ship any longer. Having found it, she stood atop it, wondering what the best way to get inside was, given that everything was so encrusted there was no chance she'd be able to find a hatch or hangar access.

She felt around the area, locating a space where she was certain that she could, at the least, rid the ship of its outer earthen coating in a relatively short period of time. Reaching deep into the Force, she gripped at the undergrowth and detritus that covered the vessel and began to rip it free, sending huge clods of dirt, small trees, and even animals flying away from the vessel with little care for where it landed. No care, really. Why should she care about the crap hole that was Cyclor? Nobody else did, clearly.

When she could see bare metal, she drew one of her shoto sabers, and activated it, a pure black blade extending before she drove it into the metal and began to cut an opening that would allow her, and the others who were coming, access to the ship.