Boost The Blood Price (Sith and Syndicate)

[Hasuras Na-Gerra]

C H I L O O N
R I F T

One does not simply steal the wealth of an empire without notice.

Across the galaxy, word spread. The Galactic Empire's coffers emptied just prior to the sacking of Coruscant by marauding Sith.

Gossip and tall tales drifted through the infochants, but two threads remained constant: Chiloon Rift, Galactic Syndicated.

In search of lost imperial gold, a thousand and more ships sailed. And racing at the fore came the pirates of the Blazing Chain: Hapans and Vahlans, fresh off the slaughter in the Core.

The Battle Dragon Torch Bearer emerged into real space inside the nebula of the Chiloon Rift.

Aboard stood Hasuras na-Gerra, Kalantha , and others he called allies.

"They are here," Gerra rumbled, eyes narrowing on the cosmic dust drifting thick before the viewport. "I can sense it."​

Aggadeen Myi | Varin Mortifer | Nero Drake
Open to Others

 

[Kalantha]

THE BLOOD PRICE​

Hasuras Na-Gerra was far rougher around the edges than the Royal High Commander was used to, but she was aboard his ship and therefore chose to abstain from comparing his pirate regalia to the crisp pleats of her officer's uniform. There would plenty of credits to buy him a proper suit with after they drain the Imperial coffers.

"Let's hope your senses are correct," Kalantha said flatly. She stepped forward from the shadowy rear of the bridge and joined the Qhan, standing with near-perfect posture. Her gaze followed Na-Gerra's through the viewport. Dust. There was little more to suggest that Aggadeen Myi had fled to the Chiloon Rift by sight alone, but Kalantha couldn't argue that skin-prickling feeling that they were close to something great.

And by that, she of course meant a great haul of Imperial money.

The Core had fallen into the hands of Sith warlords, marauders, and barbarians, and without a stable remnant anywhere else, those credits would be difficult to spend as-is. Kalantha contemplated the various ways Black Sun could expertly remedy that predicament as she watched and waited for their mark to show itself.

Tags: Aggadeen Myi | Hasuras Na-Gerra | Nero Drake | Varin Mortifer​

 

[Aggadeen Myi]

THE WARLORD WITHIN THE RIFT
AGGADEEN THE SURVIVOR vol. I
Issue #1 w/ Kalantha Hasuras Na-Gerra ​

The Chiloon Rift was a swirling violet expanse of plasma clouds and dense asteroid fields midway between the remnants of the Galactic Empire and the predefined Corporate Sector. For most pilots, it was a navigator's nightmare but for the Grand Vizier turned Warlord it was the perfect place to take the wealth of the fallen regime.

He had left before the Invasion of Coruscant had even began, to ensure that the exchange could take place without interference and was roughly several hours ahead of anyone attempting to pursue the large Imperial convoy. Standing on the bridge of the Reliquary, a still operational but no less deadly Pellaeon IV-class Star Destroyer with his hands clasped behind his back as the viewscreen became clouded in the midst of the nebula.

He had no need for optical sensors to navigate the darkness. Instead, he leaned into the forbidden art of Darksight, a power mastered by the Sorcerers of Rhand that allowed him to perceive the universe as a slow-motion collapse. Through this entropic lens, the future was not a mystery but a series of predictable pathways.

As he focused, he began to sift through the shifting timelines of the coming conflict, determined to ensure his gamble would not be in vain. It did not take long for the first ripples of reality to snag against his consciousness; far off the starboard bow, he felt a jagged surge of greed piercing the Force.

"The Battle Dragon Torch Bearer has emerged from the dust, My Lord," the sensor chief reported, his voice cracking under the tension of the Rift's interference. Aggadeen's expression remained weary, almost bored, as he watched the pirate vessel struggle against the nebula's volatile currents.

"Let them approach," he murmured. "They will struggle to navigate this everchanging nebula without an expert to guide them, and by the time they find their bearings, we will be well on our way to the Syndicated Outpost." His eyes shifted as he perceived several possible futures. In one, the Hapans closed the distance and shredded the freighters. In another, the Imperial escort engaged and took heavy losses. But there was a third thread a path of greater destruction for his enemies that required only a minor correction in his own trajectory.
​

 

[Varin Mortifer]

He received word they had entered real space. Varin say quietly in a chamber he had claimed for battle prep. He stared at the mannequin adorned in his armor as he glared into the visor of his helmet. The branded runes pulsed on his body like a furnace taking in gulps of air. Wrapped around his forearm was his rosary of bone, a tradition he performed silently to himself to pray before each mission.

It had worked every time to bring him home alive, sometimes not whole, but alive.

The notification blared to him on the bracer of his armor and he pocketed the rosary, standing up he donned each piece of heavy armor comprised of a phrik alloy. His gauntletted hands held the helm once more as the visor glowed with a menacing red light.

He placed the helm on his head, and slowly made his way to the bridge to meet with Na-Gerra. Smoke and embers billowed from his back like a cloak that trailed behind him as the runes from his body discolored the armor that came in contact with them.

He stepped behind Na-Gerra and the unfamiliar face. His hands folded behind his back, awaiting what his position would be.

Hasuras Na-Gerra | Kalantha | Nero Drake | Aggadeen Myi​

 

[Isur]

Hoist the colors. That they could do. And would do. Captain Delphos demanded it, and brought the ship into the Black Sun fleet, the Hunter speeding ahead, a heavily modified MC-42, or there-abouts. A few clamps for TIE style fighters and one cargo connector swapping to allow for LAATs to launch. Probably time Isur explained what he was living on. She wasn’t the prettiest of ships, but she got the job done.

And here they were, in the Chiloon Rift. The typically light gray hulled vessel pained and stained in a combination of scorch marks and navy blue paint in an effort to blend into the background of various spaces.

Broadcasting on all frequencies the goal to raid and plunder, the Hunter was waiting alongside the Torch Bearer, Delphos knowing better. The Captain and newly appointed Boarding Master, Isur, were standing and having their holograms forwarded towards the Torch Bearer. If only to show support, and to listen.

Granted, a Herglic and Karkarodon as holograms would take up space.

“We are in a pocket in the asteroids, awaiting orders.” Delphos was formal and respectful but did not provide an honorific or title.

Isur remained silent.

Hasuras Na-Gerra Kalantha Nero Drake Aggadeen Myi

 

[Hasuras Na-Gerra]

C H I L O O N
R I F T

​

Instead, he leaned into the forbidden art of Darksight, a power mastered by the Sorcerers of Rhand that allowed him to perceive the universe as a slow-motion collapse.

Gerra's eyes narrowed as he reached into the Dark Side and wielded the farsight of the Vahla, those seers of fire, to perceive beyond this foul mortal coil.

"They are," he rumbled in response to Kalantha. "The caravan lies before us. And they have a Dark Sider. I can feel him, though I know not who he is."

Footsteps announced the arrival of the young dragon and Gerra turned to greet him, a fierce smile alighting the Qhan's face at the sight of the one-eyed warrior. Slapping his shoulder, Gerra guided the Sith toward the uniformed blonde. "Varin, this is High Commander Kalantha of the Hapes Consortium. Kalantha, this is the One-Eyed Dragon I spoke of who took a Star Destroyer with his Nagai warriors single-handed at Coruscant. Soon we will all be drowning in imperial credits."

A transmission came through, a holograph projecting two figures gargantuan stature. The pirates of the Black Sun.

"Good," Gerra rumbled, turning to the helmsman. "Follow our course, Isur."

The Vahla were a nomadic people who roved the stars in fleets. And nearly every one of them was gifted with the Force. Small wonder then that they would have skilled navigators among their number. Moreover, the Hapes System was itself a nebulae, through which this and other Battle Dragons like it had navigated for centuries.

The helmsman was a Vahlan Seer whose Farsight and skill at astral navigation in the Force allowed him to navigate through the nebula without sensors.

The Torch Bearer angled toward the Pellaeon's position and churned steadily toward it, the pirates of Syndicate and Sith following in its wake. They pushed through a patch of dust and then beheld with their own eyes the convoy. Freighters no doubt loaded down with the riches of an Empire. And a Pellaeon-class Star Destroyer guarding them.

"There they are," hissed the Qhan.

Kalantha | Varin Mortifer | Aggadeen Myi | Isur

 

[Kalantha]

THE BLOOD PRICE​

“It’s a pleasure,” Kalantha greeted. As she bowed her head, a slight smile tugged the corners of her lips. The change of pace was quite evident, but most welcome; no medals jingling or stuffy honorifics to bestow, no academies being named after him. And the man himself wasn't a wizened old general accepting awards for a battle won by troops on the ground.

The pirates of Black Sun’ Crimson Fleet and those they worked with were not concerned with the theatrics so much as they were with the prize. A prize that Gerra was presently guaranteeing to be nearby, hidden within the nebula. What the Battle Dragon’s sensors failed to reach through, the Dark Side of the Force had little difficulty. Only the man’s patience was taxed. Kalantha hadn’t stood this close to one of his kind—a Dark Force-user—since she defiantly invited the leadership of every government to Naboo for a New Year’s celebration…

… every leader from Chancellor Auteme to Darth Carnifex himself.

At the time, she was wary. Unsettled by his presence. A bit frightened, even. But now, after all that has happened to her, Kalantha stood unflinchingly next to Gerra and his compatriot. Her nerves, the ones that hadn’t been shot by the torture, had steeled. She trusted that his sight would guide them to treasure, and if it were some kind of trap instead, she trusted her men to dispose of the pirates posthaste.

Luckily, it would seem that the Imperials would be the targets today.

The Battle Dragon cleared a nebulous cloud and emerged to see a Palleon-class star destroyer escorting bulk freighters.

“Good work,” she commended. “Now the fun can begin.”

Tags: Aggadeen Myi | Hasuras Na-Gerra | Isur | Nero Drake | Varin Mortifer​

 

[Aggadeen Myi]

THE WARLORD WITHIN THE RIFT
Issue #1 w/ Kalantha Hasuras Na-Gerra Isur Nero Drake Varin Mortifer ​

Aggadeen felt the strain of the Chiloon Rift gnawing at the edges of his Darksight, as the future was now clouded with the interference of the nebula and the competing ripples of the Vahlan seers aboard the enemy fleet as they were trying to steer the same collapsing timeline.

It would be difficult for him to know which plan of action was necessary in order to secure victory. Achieving victory was far more likely to boost the morale of the small group of loyalists under his command than simply surviving.

However, there was little that could be done, as the Torch Bearer, led by Hasuras Na-Gerra , along with their scavenger fleet, penetrated the nebula's veil and were rapidly approaching. Aggadeen assessed the bulk freighters within the convoy. These vessels were designed for the safety of the Core, not the volatile unpredictability of the Rift where they were vulnerable to pirates.

"The Hapan Battle Dragon is accelerating," the sensor officer reported, his voice tight. "They are bypassing the plasma pockets. They'll be in firing range of the rear freighters in four minutes." Four minutes was insufficient to devise a solid battle plan, yet something could temporarily ease this issue, as his gaze shifted to the bridge's pits where the Starfighter Command terminal hummed.

In his mind, he saw the pilots of the Starfighter Corps, men and women who had survived the fall of Coruscant, now sitting in their cockpits, waiting for the order to defend the gold they carried. They were the elite, highly trained, and completely disposable.

"Alert all TIE Defender and Interceptor wings, they are to launch at once. Vector 1-1-5. Full burn," Aggadeen ordered, his voice taking on a gentler tone at the thought of sacrifice. It was something he had ran away from, unlike the former Grand Vizier who gave her life in service to an uncaring Galactic Emperor.

"My Lord, that vector leads them directly into the Torch Bearer's main batteries," the flight officer hesitated. "Without support, they'll be annihilated before they reach the shields." There was a fleeting moment of doubt in the officer's gaze, but he quickly understood that the remnants of the Galactic Empire would never accept rebellion. Just a single transmission was sufficient to extinguish countless lives, and he executed it without a shred of compassion.

Through the Darksight, Aggadeen saw the moment their engines would bloom into white-hot wreckage. He reached out with his mind, not to bolster them, but to subtly nudge their perceptions, aligning their desperate bravery with the inevitable collapse of the nebula's stability.

"Launch them," Aggadeen whispered. "Now."

Over a hundred Imperial pilots screamed out of the Pellaeon IV-class Star Destroyer hangars. To the pirates of the Blazing Chain and the Black Sun, it looked like a standard, desperate counter-attack but it was merely a massive suicide charge.

 

[Varin Mortifer]

Varin dipped his head towards Kalantha after being jostled a bit from Na-Gerra’s jovial welcome. Varin placed a hand over his shoulder taking in the greeting and giving him his own.

“A pleasure, High Commander.”

He felt the ship move on course towards their target. Varin’s eye tracking each movement from the opposing force. The feeling of the enemy's sense of urgency rested in the back of Varin’s mind as he watched them react defensively as the Battle Dragon rapidly approached towards them.

“High Commander.”

Varin started.

“What sort of information might you have on this vessel ahead of us? Possible defenses, ship counts?”

His gaze flicked towards Kalantha, a question not to challenge her knowledge but one of genuine curiosity. Varin knew next to nothing of this vessel other than it was big, housed enemies and could launch counter offensives.

He did not like going in with little intel. That sort of strategy cost him dearly multiple times before.

His gaze flicked back to the star destroyer before them, the fighters pouring out from the ship like flowing blood from a fresh wound.

“Yes, the fun is well underway.”

His hands clasped over one another behind his back, the leather of his gloves creaking in his grip. He was ready for battle. He was ready to crush and he was ready to conquer yet again.

Hasuras Na-Gerra | Kalantha | Nero Drake | Aggadeen Myi | Isur​

 

[Isur]

Follow. That they could do. Follow and hunt? They’d do that better. Isur nodded as Delphos, the real one, turned and barked the order. The Karkarodon was serving as a Mate nowadays aboard the vessel, enough to still go ashore, but with the glory and prestige that comes with a rank.

“Yes.” He growled back, once his orders were given, to the Helmsman aboard the Torch Bearer. The Mon Cal light cruiser began to move, following in. Shields up, and weapons, sparse as they were, the pirate vessel preferring to use its landers and actual men as opposed to turbolasers, coming online. The star destroyer that was one of their targets was appearing in front of them.

The true prizes behind.

“Targets acquired. TIEs coming in.” Isur relayed to the Torch Bearer knowing full well that they say them, but he was nothing if not someone who followed his orders.

“We are ready to greet them.” He stated to the lead ship.

 

[Hasuras Na-Gerra]

C H I L O O N
R I F T

​

No sooner didst Kalantha and Varin become acquainted than did the Star Destroyer pull their attention away again by vomiting out a wave of TIE fighters.

"Good, Isur," Gerra replied to the Karkarodon, "We will deploy the Miy'tils to meet them as well," rumbled Gerra, "but do not overextend. Weapons, lay the gravity mines. Do not let them escape."

The complement of thirty-six Miy'til starfighters, manned by Vahlan cultists who wielded the power of the Dark Side, might stand a match individually for any TIE pilot, but outnumbered three to one they would be ripped apart without aid from the Battle Dragon's cannons.

Meanwhile, gravity mines began dropping around the Hapan Battle Dragon which would project mass shadows capable of preventing a jump to hyperspace.

Looking over at Varin as Kalantha prepared an answer to his question concerning defenses, Gerra pointed, "Do you feel it? The power of the nebula itself. Here there was the magic of a star's end. Can you harness that lingering destruction in the Dark Side to your own end, Dragon?"

Gerra tapped a TIE fighter inbound for them and gave the Sith Apprentice a knowing look. He wanted to see what Varin could do with the Force when not meeting the enemy face to face. He had heard that the Sith was skilled with lightning. Could he conjure it outside the ship?

The guns of the Battle Dragon thundered.

Battle was joined.

Aggadeen Myi Kalantha Varin Mortifer Isur

 

[Nero Drake]

Aggadeen Myi Hasuras Na-Gerra Isur Kalantha Varin Mortifer

"Now there's quite a sight."

Nero gazed out a viewport at the fireworks. Entire TIE squadrons perished under withering cannons on their mad approach to the pursuing Battle Dragon. Delphos was leading this raid but even he answered to the Blazing Chain warlord in command of the Torch Bearer. Meanwhile Nero fought with the controls of a cataclyst raider to keep her steady while nebula eddies crashed against their hull like angry waves on a rough sea.

"You worry about those fighters," he sent a transmission to Delphos, "We'll cripple the first transport."

Boosting more power to the engines, Nero flew under the angry battle dragon's current firing arc. He kept a weather eye on sensors for any TIE squadrons breaking off to intercept and ignored the hyperdrive klaxon from so many gravity mines. An old pirate song echoed throughout the ship while his crew loaded boarding harpoons and charged up cannons.

"Target their engines."

Ion cannons opened fire at extreme range. One or two shots splashed against the most trailing Imperial cargo ship's shields.

 

[Isur]

They were given the go-ahead. That was what the crew needed. Isur nodded to the Captain, who was already back at the helm and giving orders. “Dragon releasing fighters.” The Karkarodon said matter-of-factly. Delphos nodded as the weapons came online and the Hunter moved in line with the battle dragon, targeting the incoming quarry. The Torch Bearer was sending fighters but Nero made another order.

Going for glory in the smaller vessel. But the Hunter was a Mon Calamari light cruiser. She could move fast as a pirate vessel, but she could also outlast the fighter barrage.

“All cannons, target the fighters. No Quarter!” Bellowed the Herglic. Turbolasers and laser cannon banks moved to start targetting the fighters, as shield teams moved the shields. Delphos looked to Isur.

“Isur, prep a boarding party. We’ll be catching to Captain Nero shortly.

The Karkarodon nodded with a toothy grin. Barking out onto the ship’s intercom, he called for the boarding party as he himself ran down to the hangar.

Nero Drake Hasuras Na-Gerra