Diplomacy The Council of Nirauan - Gathering Storm [DE/SAO]

[Dyans Keto]

Location: Nirauan
Theme: Dark Ages
Tags: Antipater | Onrai | Detritus Ren | Allister McAuliffe | Darth Moskvin | Imperius Indomitus | Darth Callidus | The Lord of Hunger

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The Empress watched and listened to all those gathered words of poison on both sides. Promises of empty hands, talks of rot for more rot. She saw the sith playing there hand for power to control an empire once more, and how they propped up Marlon Sularen in there little game. It was almost comical to Dyans that almost everything the sith had put on the table in this meeting were things she had proposed but had all but been scoffed at and turned down as options to save this empire. Things they could have done with out the sith but had refused to do.

As Imperius spoke of giving up the deep core, she said nothing for the simple fact she had brought that very plan to the dark councils table and they all out and out rejected it. She knew at the moment the Empire, despite its victory on Tython could not hold the deep core in their current state. So, if any of them thought such words would bring malice or disgruntled rejection from the Empress they were mistaken. No what would bring her malice and hate to the forefront would be a blind acceptance of plan because some sith and his lackies offered it.

She looked right at Darth Imperius and slowly clapped her flesh hand against her cybernetic one. "You stoke the ego of the Lord Regent of this Empire so well, speak of the weakness with in the sith of the current with such conviction. You speak of dead empires you were a part of, yet you saved none of them. You offer ideas up that have already been purposed, you offer us weapons that we already possess. This Empire does not need sith it never has it uses them as a crutch it needs to learn to stand on its own. You are right however in that it needs to shed its past stop clinging to the rot that has decayed it. Though I fear you and your comrades of the ascendancy are just another crutch for this Empire not an answer to its problems. More corrosive rot that will just quicken the end."

Dyans did not see anything the sith offered as something new or revolutionizing that had not already been rejected by the dark council. Even though she thought some of those ideas were good ones because they had been her own ideas she had presented. From the Krath's reinstatement into the Dark Empire she had been willing to give up the core and force their efforts towards the outer rim or even into the old Maw territories. She had been for destroying every last vestige of Darth Solipsis rot upon this empire and rebuilding its foundation. Yet denied or fought at every turn so far, and now they were discussing the very thing she had been preaching.

Though it was because a sith had presented it, a sith like Solipsis who was at the core of the rot of this Empire. She had to wonder if Marlon Sularen would kneel to them and sell them down the river. Grovel at their feet like he had done for Solipsis so many times because they would offer him everything he asked for. She respected Marlon Sularen military prowess in naval combat but as had been proven and brought to light he was indeed a man who would serve those that offered him the most. Like she had told Evner Braxiatel, Antipator, and Mordane he was a good puppet that they could use but seemed maybe the sith got to him first.

 

[Onrai]

Tags; Antipater Detritus Ren Dyans Keto Domaric Mordane Marlon Sularen Allister McAuliffe Imperius Indomitus The Lord of Hunger Darth Moskvin Darth Callidus

"We did." Vanessa replied to Credius's claims that the Empire had not been overhauled or otherwise changed in the wake of Solipsis's disappearance. "To claim that a new regime that seeks to downsize the role of the artificial faith has done the opposite is just dishonesty. As is, what you desire is Sith dominance through finances and leadership." The governor of Ord Mantell reached within her robe and tossed a datapad to the Lord-Regent.

"If we need money, here's the accumulated wealth of several of my accounts. Enough finances to keep the Empire functional for years if not decades. Use it."

Moskvin's comments regarding starting a viral genocide raised an eyebrow - Onrai had barely met the Sith before, but it seemed unusual for her to mention this via fiat. General Mordane's inquiries sought to help pry further into the reason that Darth Imperius had chosen to bring his cabal to meet with them. The Lord-Regent said nothing, which was particularly surprising given the circumstances and, arguably, the direct insult that had been thrown at his own leadership.

Then Imperius spoke. Vanessa waited for him to finish before deciding to address his comments.

"What you want is to become Solipsis." Onrai said. "You want to instill your vision as a Sith Lord on the Empire, to become the effective Emperor. This would put us right back where we started - and when circumstances one day force us to separate, either through your end of life or your end of care, we end up right back where we were previously. To my knowledge, we have only met once or twice before during the time of the Eternal Empire, and with all due respect, I cannot trust a relative unknown to suddenly seize the leadership of this Empire."

She cleared her very real throat before continuing. "You ask for the New Sith Order to be purged, when those among them who still serve the Empire have yet been amalgamated among the Dark Side Elite. You ask for the Church of the Dark Side to be eradicated when it has already begun its cocooning and rebirth. You ask that there not be religious zeal for the political and military leadership of the Empire when no one worships the Lord-Regent, or anyone else here. What you suggest insofar as the Imperial Council's reformation would also effectively render everyone here surplus to requirements." She pointed out. "You'd also give up the Empire's last victory to the Jedi, which would also encourage at least one person in this room to have no justification to stay since their planet of choice would be abandoned."

Vanessa gave a sigh at the end. "In short, can you give us a better deal?"

 

[Antipater]

"What do you really want?"

Antipater nearly found this question to be redundant and unnecessary... Except that Darth Imperius proceeded to quite literally lay everything on the table. Datapads and all. He found these suggested reformations largely uninspired. The Deep Core was a travesty, but it had its present uses.

More importantly, would the Lord-Regent truly want to rule alongside this Dark Lord? Even someone as brazen as Sularen would have a difficult time convincing himself to step on the very same bear trap Korvan had.

"I wonder if you would desire the same or similar proof if I would sit here under my previous name, as a Knight of Zakuul, of the Empire, a Warden of the Shroud and made this offer or if your scars are truly just with the Sith. Trust is not given, it is earned, but it is not earned through blind action, through a mere trial by fire. I have fought the rotting Sith Empire under Tavlar, the heathen savages of the Maw under Fel, the Force itself under Tacitus and L'lerim..."

"It would seem you are a habitual servant," Antipater retorted, tone edged with a subtle annoyance. "Do not presume to dictate to us the terms by which our trust is secured. If you will not make yourselves useful against our enemies, then I see little reason to assent to your direct meddling in our government."

 

[The Lord of Hunger]

LOCATION: Hand of Thrawn
OBJECTIVE: Meh
IMPORTANT LINKS: Sword | Armor | Jewel | Ring | Necklace | The Usurper | The guards | The Enforcer
TAG: Imperius Indomitus | Darth Callidus | Antipater | Marlon Sularen | Darth Moskvin | Detritus Ren | Onrai | Dyans Keto | Domaric Mordane

Listening to Domaric Mordane 's vicious, yet completely ignorant recantation of the Lord of Hunger's words, it was unavoidable for the monster contained within the flamboyant armor to start chuckling. A deep, raspy and hollow chuckle that would have sent chills across the spines of anyone who knew the devious and dangerous nature the man kept hidden so well for so many eyes when he had been a Viceroy to the old Confederacy of Independent Systems, when he had been Chancellor of the Left to the Zweihander Union, and even now when most of the time he had to hide under the guise of subservience and humility just to maintain his shadowy station, his cover of being less than those who were thought to be his superiors.

"Allegiant General Mordane...while I understand your frustration, your ill-founded responses and quite frankly derivative language is just so... annoying to hear," Tapping with the nails of his left gauntlet's fingers upon the table a single time, allowing a loud and ringing noise to silence the group, the Lord of Hunger tilted his head ever so slightly. "Each and every one of you... act like headless children, blinded by ideology and a zealous belief that if you had your way, it would all be fine. You have nothing, ladies and gentlmen...nothing but hot air and bluster. Your industry is pitiful, your finances are a pittance compared to what it should be...yes, even what you think may run this empire for several years would only be capable of doing so because of how poor the empire's investiture is, Lady Vantai."

Standing up from his seat, the metallic sound of his heavy boots thudding upon the solid duracrete floor with each step would reverberate within the large hall in which they had decided to hold this meeting. He didn't like how they berated Imperius, how they thought of themselves of being so enlightened and bound for greatness, when they were floundering, failing and inevitably doomed to turn into nothing but a failed state if there would be no help from outside...the very 'outside' they had turned against them with each and every outing their empire had to show for itself in at the very least the past few months. However, Credius had a semblance of respect for these people, not because for what they failed to achieve, but for what they hoped to achieve despite the reality of the siatuation clearly saying otherwise on the endresult.

"Your claims that all we promise is bluster, that all we offer is subservience... one might think you only speak with such vitriol because you are keenly aware of your own failures," Holding still behind Domaric Mordane the Lord of hunger placed his hands upon the man's shoulders for a moment, his grip like steel, an unnatural strength residing within Credius' hands. "When I say I offer financial stability, I clearly do not mean just some lousy credits. I mean I will help you out with materials, revitalize your economy, strengthen your internal trading, your tax systems and most importantly...I will make it so the unbelievably pointless edicts that did your empire more harm than good...would be overturned. I will make it so that you can flourish, gain access to the newest technology, have a stronger and more modern fleet, a more modern army... WE will give you what Solipsis could not: A purpose, a means to expand your rationality, to bring your education, your core strength and your dreams of empire beyond the constraints which have plagued you for so long."

Walking further the Lord of Hunger took in a deep breath, his voicebox turning it into a muffled sound akin to radio chatter, until he finally stood still behind Marlon Sularen , this time he didn't place his hands upon the shoulders of the man in front of him, but he simply looked around the table before moving on again...until he stood behind Dyans Keto ​

"You are a lady of nobility...of pride and belief, THAT I can respect," Once again his hands moved forwards, metallic fingers aiming to wrap themselves around lady Keto's shoulders and give her an inkling of the strength within his hands. "We offer you weapons that can actually still be made, rather than rely on goods stolen through petty raids and witless piracy. What we can do is to strengthen not only your military, but also your economy...and what comes with a thriving economy? Prestige... the one thing you have been sorely lacking, the image of strength that you purport to have is non-existent...the fear other empires and federations within this great galaxy of ours once had for your Empire have long since vanished... you have hollowed yourselves out and now you all seem to be so keen on defending that hollow, unstable construction you still deign to call a 'functional' empire?"

Once more the Lord of hunger moved, finding himself standing behind Antipater , at which point the abomination within the force seemed to let out a rather joyful hum. "This one here...might be one of the few who actually knows what they are saying and doing, unfethered by pointless dogma and false ideology...bravo, sir Droid."

"It is in my own opinion...that to succesfully reignite the spark within this empire, you need to find concensus on three things: How to strengthen your economy, how to strengthen your military forces and how to strengthen the very image you have outside of your empire's borders. I am capable to alleviate your economic woes... and strengthen your military, we all are capable of this... but are you capable of accepting the fact that without our help... you will simply sink back into the abyss...like a forgotten footnote in history?"

 

[Darth Moskvin]

GATHERING STORM

"Horrors, I believe, should be original--the use of common myths and legends being a weakening influence."
- H.P. Lovecraft -
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Tags: Imperius Indomitus / The Lord of Hunger / Darth Callidus / Antipater / Marlon Sularen / Detritus Ren / Onrai / Dyans Keto / Domaric Mordane
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"Again....I feel the need to interject," those goldens eyes of coldness I seductively wear annoyingly shifted to
Domaric Mordane , "First point, where did you stumble over that assumption we would be allies?"

They call me Lady Death, name implies all.

"You do speak like the living, those mortals who feel the suffrage of aging, crinkly jowls swaying east and west like young words babbling from larvae, whose survival rate is higher than yours because you assumed I would enjoy your future rot as an ally?"

Long legs, long strides. In the time for Domaric Mordane could blink, I called a chair from invisible hands to coordinate with me sitting down. "Smirk if you desire, that was no parlor trick. You're a politician, general perhaps," I observed vocally, "But just a man with words. How many times have...." staunching my words, withdrawing my two hilts, slamming them on the table, my vampiric eyes briefly looking at Detritus Ren with implying eyes that comprise is the pulsating vein of survival.

"Political leaders of all planetary ideologies, promised the 'in your best interest' propaganda, shallow promises when it came to making those altering the future decision that every generation will thrive."

A shoulder shrug, deeply followed by my elbows being placed on the head of the chair, my own head resting in the 'Y' of my hand. "I'm a Dark Lady of the Sith. I've killed Jedi, soldiers, civilians, pirates, thugs, smugglers, Sith and my murderous cravings hold no boundaries. You push one button, trillions die. And we Sith are evil."

"If stumbling is what you bring to my perception of you, then you are a fool. Why create something if you can't cull it? You don't. I believe The Lord of Hunger spoke of financial placements, and with the cure's formula I already have, perhaps the Dark Empire can provide a facility to fabricate the cure, changing opinions."

Rising up, left arm outstretched to catch Archimedes, saying, "I hope further explanation isn't needed."


Imperius Indomitus / Darth Callidus

Onrai / Antipater / Marlon Sularen / Dyans Keto

 

[Marlon Sularen]

C O U N C I L_O F_N I R A U N - G A T H E R I N G_S T O R M

DARK EMPIRE
NIRAUAN, WILD SPACE

So far both the Ruling Council and the Sith Ascendant had brought up interesting and valid points, although Sularen found some of the Sith Ascendant's rhetoric and arguments to be both exaggerated and condescending to a certain extent, mostly as a means to further pursue their objectives but it was still a cause for concern as the Lord-Regent was still wary of the Sith. In particular both Imperius and Nargath caught the Lord-Regent's attention the most with their vast offers and proposals to reform the Empire's political system and revitalize both it's economy and industry which could be perceived as an attempt to exert control over both sectors.

Nevertheless, Sularen still recognized the importance of having a strong force-user orginization to counter the New Jedi Order and the Diarchy's so-called Brotherhood, as the Battle of Coruscant and Second Battle of Tython had shown him that the Empire lacked the ability to effectively challenge hostile force-user organizations on it's own without one of it's own. The Sith Ascendant was the ideal item that the Empire could use to replace the decaying New Sith Order and Dark Side Elite but their very ambition and desire to shape Imperial policy was something that needed to be carefully observed.

Thus the Lord-Regent would choose the path of compromise as usual and would proceed to share his thoughts once Darth Moskvin had finished speaking. "Lord Imperius, Lord Nargath. While i do find some of your arguments to have some merit, despite the overreaching nature of your proposals i simply can't give you free reign within the Empire at least not in the immediate future." the Lord-Regent began. "If we are to establish a proper working relationship between Imperial and Sith, then you must first prove yourselves to be worthy of replacing the New Sith Order and Dark Side Elite and offer us something greater then what Solipsis did, not through words but through action. Only then will we accept your help and give you a permanent place within our Empire."

Tags [DE] | Antipater | Detritus Ren | Dyans Keto | Domaric Mordane | Onrai
Tags [SAO] | Imperius Indomitus | The Lord of Hunger | Darth Callidus | Darth Moskvin ​

 

[Imperius Indomitus]

The Council of Nirauan - Gathering Storm
Nirauan | Hand of Thrawn

Imperius remained unmoved. It was action they wanted, it is proof they desired and it was heaven and earth they required to be moved. Or was it? The seeds of doubt were so deeprooted that they demanded blind action, their system and opinions so divided that action was the largest common denominator. An imperial tragedy no less. Whenever concrete action was offered, announced and it was rebuffed with vague demands, the signs were everything but promising. The Dark Empire suffered, sliding into an abyss of differences and inaction, soon to be picked upon by the crows of opportunity.

"You demand action, I propose a plan of action and your response is dominated by doubt, weakness and hesitation. I present to you a path forward from here and instead of using it, you return to comparing us to your ill-conceived, misled and abused past. But we are not the past. We are not the repetition of the past, but its rejection."

"Words will never equal action, but without agreement, there is no purpose and without purpose, action will be meaningless. Mind your craving for witnessing action while not ready to set clear purposes. Because we are. While we set up this encounter, do not believe that we are coming to this table without demand of proof for your ability to remain an Empire, of your unity and of your strength in rule, neither of us is intent on wasting our time, seeing another Empire fall to meaninglessness."

His gaze settled on the Lord-Regent after glancing towards the Master of Ren, so far the ones who have proven to be of most sound mind present. "We have prepared and we have shared our intentions, our offer and a plan to going forth from here. That is our foundation. I am willing to continue this conversation in a smaller circle, but our proposal remains, how we approach it, what we achieve and when, is part of what I expect this council to be gathered for or whoever you and I deem necessary to be present for a concrete, actual pact."

Darth Imperius' eyes wandered across the gathered imperials, the soulless gaze not halting on anyone in particular. While seeing the strength and ability of some, he saw the waste and decay in others. The Dark Empire had been abused, crippled and left by those that are responsible for its fall and in its wake, rot set in and occupied pompous seats of influence that were beyond their rationality and skills, but not beyond their ambitions. Certainly not. It was not yet for him to carve out the dead flesh and cast it into the fire. Not yet.

Marlon Sularen Detritus Ren Darth Callidus The Lord of Hunger Dyans Keto Domaric Mordane Darth Moskvin Antipater Onrai​

 

[Onrai]

Onrai simply watched. Antipater pushed his logic circuits further. Credius preened. Moskvin's utterances were enigmatic yet purposeful. The Lord-Regent responded. Imperius stood firm on his vision.

All she could do was wait and see where things went.

Marlon Sularen Detritus Ren Darth Callidus Imperius Indomitus The Lord of Hunger Dyans Keto Domaric Mordane Darth Moskvin Antipater

 

[Antipater]

By now it seemed rather clear to Antipater that Darth Imperius had no real intention of doing anything for the Empire so much as to it. His desire was for the Ruling Council to roll out the red carpet and grant him immediate and unilateral power, that he could pursue whatever agenda he deemed necessary.

A Sith so covetous of power that they could not be bothered to exercise some cunning or diplomacy would only ever be a liability. Antipater could not see Imperius sharing power with Sularen for very long. A few years, at most, before the charade grew tiresome.

Perhaps more importantly, why would anyone on the Ruling Council acquiesce to an essentially random Sith Lord - thoroughly unknown to them and apparently unwilling to work for their trust - becoming their superior?

"It is my present recommendation that the Lord-Regent and the rest of the Ruling Council emphatically reject your offer," Antipater's single photoreceptor remained fixed unwaveringly on Imperius. "I look forward to hearing your amended proposal when the 'smaller circle' is convened."

Marlon Sularen | Detritus Ren | Darth Callidus | Imperius Indomitus | The Lord of Hunger | Dyans Keto | Domaric Mordane | Darth Moskvin | Onrai​