Faction Silence at Arkan [Imperial Knights]

[Imperius Indomitus]

Arkan Station was one of the Imperial Knights's most secretive assets - an isolated black-site facility tasked with the containment, study, and neutralization of Force-related artifacts deemed too dangerous for conventional storage. Suspended in geostationary orbit over the dead world Belthas IV, the station's position in the Outer Rim shielded it from public knowledge and enemy surveillance. Manned by a skeleton crew of loyal Imperial Knights, sanctioned researchers, and advanced security droids, it operated in complete silence - until now.

Seventy-two hours ago, a distress signal escaped the void: a fragmented transmission full of static, corrupted audio, and flickering holovid fragments. Among the chaos, a few chilling phrases emerged: "containment breach", "they see us now", and "the darkness is awake." Since then, all communication with the station has ceased. No response. No telemetry. Nothing.

The Imperial Knight's Command issued a priority Theta-Seven order to investigate. A handpicked strike and recon team of Imperial Knights was mobilized - elite Force-users trained not only in combat, but also in resisting the corruptive influence of Sith relics and forbidden powers. Their mission: secure the station, recover any surviving personnel, identify the cause of the breach, and determine the fate of the Shard of Vhass'Karr, a newly discovered artifact recently delivered to Arkan's vaults.

HIGH PRIORITY
Intelligence Briefing

The Knight Intel dossier indicates that the station had recently brought in a rare artifact discovered on an uncharted ruin-world, marked only in fragmented Rakatan script as "Vhass'Karr." The object - a jagged crystalline shard with pulsing internal veins - exhibited a disturbing aura even when sealed in null-force containers. Preliminary logs from the Arkan science staff hinted at rising tensions, unexplainable system malfunctions, and psychological instability within the last two weeks. The final update mentioned a Knight reporting "whispers in the dark" and an order for full lockdown.

The presence of high-level Force containment tech, including isodural vaults and psi-nullifier fields, suggests that whatever broke free either bypassed or corrupted these systems from within. No escape pods have launched. No reactor meltdown has occurred. The silence is... absolute.

Objective: Investigate the fate of the station. Secure or destroy the Shard of Vhass'Karr.

Glory to the Empire!

 

[Imperius Indomitus]

W A R M A S T E R
INDOMITUS LEGION
Through war, we bring order.
Through strength, we bring unity.

A New Empire
From The Ashes We Rise

Isabelle Falco | Aron Thress

K N I G H T S​

Outer Rim | Belthas System | Knight Cruiser Hangar

Imperius stood silently in front of the droid which delivered the briefing, a holo-feed projecting from its head as it read out the information of the situation at hand. His large figure was unmoved, clad in black and golden armor, a deep crimson cape flowing from his shoulders, the face hidden behind a helemt, he could have been some warrior-king from a prosaic novel. The large sword at his belt, on which's pommel his left hand rested on, a lightsaber hilt at the other side of his hip.

The Imperial Knights were a venerable institution and dire need of reinforcements, both in manpower terms as well as to carve a justification for existence in the new Empire, leading the military and security efforts and showing that not all those who were attuned to the Force sought personal glory, power or nihilistic beliefs. He had been an Imperial Knight under Rurik Fel, fighting the Sith, the Maw and the Alliance as well as other threats and to see this order restored was very necessary. A new Empire required a strong hand that could wield a blade against Jedi and Sith, a strong blade with a purpose.

He did not know any of the Knights present, but he hoped to experience their readiness and share his own, to fulfill the duty they set out to accomplish. There was honor, valor and loyalty to be gained and spread, a new Empire to be forged. They shared that vision. Hence why Imperius is here to aid on their distress mission.

From behind his vizor he eyed the other Knights, curious as to their reactions to the mission.

 

[Velcarin]

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Knight Cruiser Hangar, Belthas system, Outer Rim Territories;
The Silence at Arkan.
Tag: Imperius Indomitus

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"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate....leads to suffering."
-- Yoda.

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SERAPH I.
​

Artificial blue light cast it's shadow upon Velcarin as she listened to the mission briefing. There was no-where else that she would rather be. It had been a long time she had given herself over to the Imperial paradigm that now ruled her. No room for questions, or to think for herself. It was easier this way to follow, and obey. From the castle on New Alderaan, where The Inquisitorious lived, she had been sent to the Belthas system to be briefed on an incident at a black-ops site in a place she had not heard of before. Not that it mattered even if she had heard of this place before. If they told her to go somewhere then there she went. That was the job, and it was simpler to obey. To follow.

Very little seemed to matter after what they had done after Nespis VIII. There was only the job, and the instructions it gave. Nothing more, nothing less. Devout, and privileged to serve the confederation as they saw fit. So she sat there, listening intently, focused and resolute. They had sent for Velcarin due to manpower shortages. The coalition which consisted of The Empire Reborn, The Imperial Sector Authority, and The Risen Empire whom had founded the coalition that she existed only to now serve was still in the early stages of it's infancy, and so with only little to work with, they had sent her to fill in.

Nothing more, nothing less. To obey was to be happy. To serve the confederation, and it's leadership, was to be content.

As a former Jedi, Velcarin possessed some expertise when it came to handling Force-artefacts such as the one being described in the mission briefing. While the blue hue of the artificial lighting of the holographic continued to play, which cast it's eerie light across The Dark Sister and the others sent to be debriefed, Velcarin did not turn to look around the room like her cohort in Imperius Indomitus was doing. There was no curiosity or consideration for the others here. Just the job: investigate what happened to Arkan Station, and to neutralize the threat. That was it.

No more, no less.

---

 

[Pel Grennin]

Pel had plans for his retirement.

It hadn't been an immediate thing, though he certainly had access to enough wealth to justify retiring at an early age. But he'd had a long career, full of accomplishments and innovations, and had teenage children who, thus far, didn't hate him.

He was, frankly, doing much better than most in the Galaxy. He'd been happy with that, and had made plans to eventually cut back on his projects and ambitions and help guide a new generation into leadership positions in the Empire of the Lost, and would have the opportunity to look back on a life few people could be satisfied with.

And then the Empire of the Lost collapsed.

If Pel had wanted to, he could have liquidated some of his holdings elsewhere in the Galaxy, taken his family, and run off somewhere else where he would be less likely to be caught up in the chaos of it all. But Pel Grennin had already shied away from responsibility, tried to keep his head down and live well, and on his watch, the best chance the Empire had of reclaiming its glory had fallen apart around him.

That would not happen again, not on his watch.

Pel was familiar with places like Arkan Station. His duties for the Empire of the Lost had been similar - recover Dark Side artifacts that were causing problems and store or dispose of them. He saw little value in Sith artifacts, and so he tended to have them destroyed. Some, however, were more difficult than others.

And so, here he was, part of an Inquisition he hadn't founded, cleaning up a mess he hadn't had a part in making. Such was the job; he had seen what had happened when it was someone else.

Where the others, such as Imperius Indomitus and Velcarin were staring forward, focused on nothing else, Pel was drinking a cup of over-sweetened caf.

"Rakatan artifacts tend to have a focus on control, of enslaving others to the will of the user. They were obsessed with commanding slaves and armies to their bidding. You may be tempted to cut yourself off from others. This is a mistake that such artifacts will use against you," Pel said. He took a sip from his cup, "In isolation, you are easier to conquer. We must act as a unit. We must be responsible for each others' well-being, as well as ourselves. You have greater power within yourselves than you realize. If one of us falters, the others will reinforce them. This is true as much as in any combat we might see as it will be in our own minds. We are together, and we are with the Force."

He took another sip.

"You are not weak for asking for help. You are strong enough to admit it when it happens. Do not falter alone. Stubbornness and arrogance is our foe here."

Pel stood next to Velcarin, and spoke softly, "That goes double for us. We have few friends here. They will expect us to be the weak link. Among these Knights, we are the outsiders, and, frankly, we are outsiders to each other. If I'm right about this artifact, then our team is the mission. Our divisions are our weakness. Let us show them, and ourselves, what it means to be a Brother and a Sister of the Inquisition."

He gave her a brief smile. He did not expect her to accept his sincerity - not yet, especially after everything she'd been through recently. Contrary to the idioms, though, words were their own kind of action, and he knew they had to be spoken.

 

[Aron Thress]

O B J E C T I V E
Location: Outer Rim | Belthas System | Knight Cruiser Hangar
Tags: Imperius Indomitus Pel Grennin Velcarin


Aron shuffled back and forth silently, adjusting the armor’s fit on his shoulders and testing his range of motion. He was used to non constricting, flowing clothing. In fact, he’d never worn armor a day in his life prior to this. The red plating did provide him some sort of comfort, though. Aron wasn’t sure how much protection the Imperial Knight armor actually provided, wasn’t particularly interested in testing that, but was happy to be wearing something all the same.


As he shifted his weight from side to side anxiously, the desire to begin this mission grew.
People trying to control something they didn’t understand. A tale as old as time, but one of the reasons he saw fit to come out this way, serve with these Imperials. The chance to do some good, any good, felt like it mattered more out here then it ever would in Alliance space, but right now he just hoped someone was still alive. Personal glory didn’t matter, the Imperial's honor didn’t matter, nor did their research.


The Imperial Confederation had a promise they had to live up too. Help provide security and order to those that had none. It was this promise that drew Aron here, that and the promise of servitude to the light. Perhaps it was naivety, but to Aron, there was nothing to learn from any darkside artifacts. Destroy what he found if he found it first. Take no chances. He’d clean this mess, but he wasn’t their janitor.

Armor was nice, though.

 

[Imperius Indomitus]

W A R M A S T E R
INDOMITUS LEGION
Through war, we bring order.
Through strength, we bring unity.

A New Empire
From The Ashes We Rise

Aron Thress | Velcarin | Pel Grennin

K N I G H T S​

Outer Rim | Belthas System | Knight Cruiser Hangar

Silence was indeed something that was too common. The brooding type was exceedingly popular among the younger generations of warriors, choosing to impress through an outward calculating manner. It was understandable - to a limited degree - for Inquisitors to be somewhat distanced to those they were tasked to watch and he approved of it. But going into a combat scenario that had the potential for casualties and more than challenging mental risks, it was better to know those around than to bolster one's silence.

Luckily Grennin had no such restraints and used every opportunity that was given to him, to fill it with a stream of verbal information. At least, most times it was information. If it were not mission specific and actually helpful insights he was giving, Imperius would have shut him down already. There was no time or opportunity for anything but relevant information.

"Inquisitor Dessico is correct, in more than one way. We are stronger when we are together, no lone-wolf tours, no unnecessary heroism. We are going to either rescue or kill former brethren and comrades, that will be taxing. Yet more importantly, we will be destroying the artifact that is responsible for this. Be watchful, even if you consider your mind stalwart, watch that your emotions do not triumph in combat. We are Iron."

Imperius' voice was deep and commanding, yet it did carry some warm undertones of eagerness and care, even if it was distorted through the helmet he wore.

"Nobody is going to die for a stranger." With a slow and deliberate movement, his hands clasped the helmet and removed it, accompanied by a sound of decompression. It revealed the face of a Sith Pureblood with black eyes, typical tendrils from brows and chin, deep markings and signs of cybernetics. Black hair was neatly tied up at the back of his head, streaks of white in it. "I am Imperius, I have served as an Imperial Knight under the last Empire."

Soon after the signal would come that they were in position, the shuttle was ready to carry them to the station with a Company of the 181st Stormtrooper Legion ready to jump in as quick reaction force which remained on the cruiser.

The flight to the station would be without interruption, without disturbances and without getting hailed from the station itself. Codes overriding their security measures allowed the shuttle carrying the strike team to land in one of the hangars without difficulties. But it was here where their true mission would begin, where their mental resolve and strength would be trialed. The Imperial Knights and Inquisitors of the new Empire might find their match here and grow beyond it or falter.