Rumble Down Under

[Darth Prazutis]

Vain Hollow was busy as usual with people coming in and out, ships being screened and inspected before being allowed to rock and unload their cargo, people mulling about the many levels. Unbeknownst to most a darkness has just docked at Vain Hollow unlike anything seen before. A subtle darkness carefully concealed by Darth Prazutis, the Regent-Lord of the Pacanth Reach. High up in the personal hangar bay of the Zambrano Lord docked a freighter, dark cloaked men stepped out while others led six particularly large metallic crates. Darth Prazutis wore a black doublet with gold buttons going down the middle and matching black trousers, he wore a black hooded cloak overtop with its hood down. There two lightsabers were strapped to his belt, he also wore a dark gold amulet with a purple gem inset around his neck neatly tucked in, the Valthris Crystal. There was an unease in the air that engulfed the force he had assembled to take possession of the crates, the Crownguard that swarmed the Hangar, and even the men pulling the crates off the freighter.

Everyone in this chamber knew to some degree what was inside those crates, it was danger. It took considerable expense, time and effort to capture this group. The Regent-Lord already spoke with the Blackthorne Company leader dropping them off. The Adult Male was particularly dangerous, he killed three men while in captivity after they tried feeding it. The whole group were rather large but the male was particularly big, a good sign that those future breeds will carry on his genes and be just as large or larger, but it made things a nuisance when it came to travel or feeding. Thankfully they had gassed the pack with a unique strain from Dxun to keep them sleeping for the trip, so the aggressive group wouldn't cause any problems. Prazutis held up his hand and walked forward, immediately the caravan stopped as he walked up to the crate documented as: Adult Male and presses his ear against the wall of the crate and with his highly enhanced senses, magnified by the force and the Valthris he listened in.

There was a low rumble that escaped from within, barely suppressed by the thick walls of the crates but with his heightened senses he heard it perfectly. It was a slow guttural mixture of a growl and the creatures breathing, a sort of malicious undertone whether it was the creatures nature or the dark side that it was so intricately connected to he wasn't certain, but the monster was huge, and it was sleeping for now. Most would have cause to be in terror at the presence of this infamous monster, but he was curious and elated to be in its very presence. Prazutis could only imagine the creature if it happened to wake up and angrily beat against the walls of his captivity, the stabilizers of the lift might not be enough to handle that much weight being forced down to one side, it was never tested against a fully awake and aggressive male of this size and a containment breach would cause catastrophic damage, including a loss of valuable specimens. "Remarkable..simply remarkable..." Prazutis said as he turned around and walked up to a man of equal height wearing a buttoned white lab coat that he filled into just nicely. The man was a tall Epicanthix with dark brown hair an aging face with brown eyes. "Doctor Kessler punctual as usual." Prazutis said as he walked up to the man, waving his hand to signal the caravan to move.

"Everything has been tested and prepared for the subjects, my lord." The astute Doctor replied, bowing his head in deference, accepting the Regent-Lords gesture. Doctor Joseph Kessler was a brilliant mind with several doctorates, a fellow renaissance man and just the individual Prazutis wanted to lead this project. "Please see to it that our new friends are settled into their new home, I will be down to see them soon." Prazutis ordered. He took one more look at the leaving freighter before exiting the hangar. Before he could begin his newest project there was one more piece that he needed on the chessboard: [member="Darth Pyrrhus"] a Sith Lord and one of Darth Prazutis's close colleagues and friends. Prazutis first met Pyrrhus shortly after he was recruited to train under his master on his former dominion of Thule. Darth Pyrrhus was already one of his masters students and ahead of him in terms of skill, and as colleagues the two spent lots of time together training and learning new techniques. They had come from completely different societies but they were alike in many ways, and after plenty of assignments taken together they developed into close friends. It had been awhile since they had spoken last with Darth Pyrrhus claiming dominion on the oceanworld of Glee Anselm, as well as the Academy there.

For the past few months Darth Prazutis was ruling over the Pacanth Reach as his masters regent and effective second in command. [member="Darth Vornskr"] prophetically remarked of a greater future, apart of the cryptic visions he received that it was not his time to claim the crown and that he would discover the truth out in the stars. So after naming him regent Darth Vornskr set out taking a small portion of the War Fleet Black Iron with him. Prazutis had his masters location of course, he could easily reach the man and find where his worldship had gone if need be. Perhaps he might join his master but he was needed here, and so he was crowned:

Braxus I, by his own grace, Lord of the Royal House Zambrano, Regent-Lord of Panatha, Bunduki, Fornow, Ravaath, Sorimow, Grand Duke of Canthar, Highreach, and the Underhold. Chancellor of the Kainate Authority, and Warden of the Unknown Regions.

Darth Pyrrhus was already on his way to Panatha according to his last reports, and now he had to do was wait.

 

[Darth Pyrrhus]

The flagship of Darth Pyrrhus arrived in orbit over Panatha. He was expected. In many ways it felt strange, travelling to his fellow Voice’s seat of power, yet finding him nowhere to be seen. The Togruta Lord was naturally aware of his companion’s excursion into space, but Panatha and the subsequent systems would forever in his mind be directly linked to Darth Vornskr. That being the case, he had no doubt the Sector was in more than capable hands. Braxus, who he knew well, would fail neither Vornskr nor the One Sith Empire. [member="Darth Prazutis"], as he now styled himself, was a man Pyrrhus was well familiar with. There were few Sith the Togruta had such hopes for.

Though Vornskr had left with a portion of the fleet, Panatha did by no means appear to suffer for it. The fleet stationed in orbit of the planet was magnificent, making the planet a fortress unwise to assault. Its size reminded him of his own stationed above Glee Anselm. Indeed, it was a force worthy of a Voice. In due time, Pyrrhus had a feeling he would be referring to the man by that title, or something similar.

The transport carried him down to the planet’s surface, onto the designated landing pad. The broad-shouldered man strode down the ramp, draped in an outfit much the same as the one he always wore. He was a Sith traditionalist. Pyrrhus wore the dark tunics and undertunics, frequently associated with the Sith, as well as a large hooded robe. The hood was kept down. Most likely, it would only have been in the way of his curved montrals. Instead the horns were left free and in the open, crowning him as the red devil of the Sith. While most Togruta had three lekku, Pyrrhus appeared to have four. Their patterns and colours made him look distinctly tribal, a mistaken assumption some who he had dealt with in the past had made.

Flanked on either side by a guard that in this moment served a purpose that was little more than being ornamental, the tall Lord of Ruin strode past them. He would continue forwards alone. Whether to be welcomed by the Lord-Regent himself, or met with a welcoming party that would take Pyrrhus to him remained to be seen.

 

[Darth Prazutis]

A lone individual stood to greet the Togruta Lord upon his arrival to Vain Hollow, his unique set of armor immediately standing out as one of Clan Zambrano's Crownguard, the elite guards of Panatha's Royal Family. "Right this way Lord Pyrrhus." The man said as he spun on his feet. Everything about the crownguard was shrouded in secrecy, they were a sect of 100 individuals, Epicanthix Purebloods who have been trained since birth to be deadly soldiers. The entirety of the Crownguard were the only guards aside from the silent but infamous Imperial Sentinels the gargantuan monoliths who stood alongside them.

Further down away from the wing of the royal family soldiers of the Blackblade Guard stationed at Vain Hollow, and even elite Graug units from the Underhold could be found, but they were never this high in the palace. The man led him through the winding halls of the reborn citadel until they came upon a massive darkened hall the only lights were the dimly glowing braziers and candles of incense that wafted through the air. The mark of [member="Darth Vornskr"] was heavy in this room customized to his specifications, it was so evident at the end by the massive spiked Black-Iron Throne, wicked skulls impaled on the dark spikes were proud trophies of those who dared to cross the God-King and live. This was where Darth Prazutis held court in his masters place.

The Destroyer immediately stood up as Darth Pyrrhus entered the room, as if on que "Darth Pyrrhus, what a welcomed surprise." Prazutis said as he stood up and walked down from the throne steps towards the man. Prazutis stopped a few feet away with a serious and inquisitive look on his face, eyeing the togruta. However a grin cracked on his face, he held his hand out "It is good to see you again my friend, I am glad you could come. How was your journey?" Prazutis asked the man, Panatha was out in the Unknown Regions. "I have something of a surprise to show you, the reason why I asked for you to come here." What a surprise it was indeed.

[member="Darth Pyrrhus"]

 

[Darth Pyrrhus]

[member="Darth Prazutis"]

Darth Pyrrhus recognized the armour of the Crownguard soldier. Ever since he first became a Sith he had been exposed to the various combat outfits that served Vornskr. With one soldier standing alone, the welcome was rather underwhelming. The Togruta Lord would endure. He followed the guardsman. Pyrrhus was not in a hurry and took in his time, allowing him to take in the sights on this guided tour. He did not believe had been here before. Even so the place felt familiar. He sensed him even now, despite knowing how far away he was. The place felt undeniably Sith, which pleased him. The Dark Side wrapped itself around the fortress with its cold, loving embrace. This was not a hive of decadence and debauchery, but a palace for Sith. Well, knowing his former master, maybe some debauchery...

At last he would enter into the room Darth Prazutis had designated as the one to receive guests of import. Upon laying his eyes on his old friend, the Togruta couldn't help but smile. He had the kind of smile that caused most fear, sporting a long row of lethally sharp teeth, like a wild predator just before it struck. Alas, it was but a Togruta's grin. Surrounded by the Dark Side as he was, it was a thing many were liable to misinterpret. Prazutis would know him well enough to recognize it as genuine, however.

"Darth Prazutis" the Togruta acknowledged his colleague, and began to walk towards him steps both confident and relaxed. Almost as soon as the Epicanthix held out his hand, the Togruta's was there to grasp it. "It is" he agreed. It was a strange thing, how meeting with prominent Zambranos often filed him with fond nostalgia as well as pride to be Sith. Vornskr had after all became the first Sith he had gotten to know, and naturally became a model of what it meant to be one. "It was long and uneventful." All was well on the fronts of Sector One and Five. "How do you find the estates of Darth Vornskr?" and the administrative tasks that follow with them.

"I have grown wary of surprises." Pyrrhus said, half-jokingly. Quite the contrary, the man preferred to know all the relevant information before acting on it. In their profession, of course, that was not a given. "But I do look forward to see what you have to show me." he continued with genuine interest. Though he had yet to discover what this secret involved, he had a feeling it was something magnificent.

 

[Darth Prazutis]

"Good, the loyalty and fear my subbordinates display for both myself and my master make my job much easier." Prazutis said as he walked with the man out of the throne room. It was true when your subordinates feared failing, or displeasing their masters they tended to work twice as hard toward success. Prazutis kept careful watch on the regime he ran in the Pacanth Reach, everyone played the game of politics but he played it the best, and no one came close to rivaling his regency. A long network of paid spies, contacts, informants, and loyal officials kept him well informed and ready to destroy any rival that dared challenge his rule.

Prazutis led the two of them through the expansive Vain Hollow, the new mountainous citadel he personally built. The citadel was built on top of and inside the massive Blacktalon Peak, its size was vastly larger than that of the previous location, and there were ten times the guards. Blackblade Guards, Elite Graug Warriors, 100 Crownguard, countless amounts of war droids, and even Imperial Sentinels in the upper echelons, they'd pass all of it while they scaled the citadel. "I don't think you've quite seen my humble abode yet, this is the new and reborn Vain Hollow. I built it inside the infamous Blacktalon Peak, it was quite the project but the finishing product is quite a sight. We took the failings of the previous Vain Hollow and improved upon them." Prazutis said to Darth Pyrrhus.

[member="Darth Pyrrhus"]