Holonet The Devastation of Abregado-rae

[Arris Windrun]

THE DEVASTATION OF ABREGADO-RAE
​

A derelict superfreighter dropped out of hyperspace, drifting towards the Froswythe System in Deep Space. From the outside, the starship looked unremarkable. Inside was another story. The halls were lined with the red, fleshy colonies of creuntomycena viscera, better known as “Bloody Bonnet” by spacers who have escaped Abregado-rae during the Sith attack on that world.

No signs of the crew or any passengers would be found aboard.

However, as soon as a passing salvage freighter pinged the ship, the modified comms array sent out a transmission. Wide enough to cover most of the Southern Systems. Including Naboo. The same message that also played across the Core Worlds.

<:Transmission Start:>

Arris Windrun's image flickered to life.

"Abregado-rae has fallen.

"What is found on this ship now covers every major population center on the world. I'm sure it won't take a science team long to figure out what it does to people. But trust me - you're gonna wear an airtight suit.

"Now, all this happened because a rogue collective of Mandalorian crusaders decided they could meddle in the Core Worlds. They came to Abregado-rae to use its people as a shield, while undoubtedly planning an indiscriminate war of plundering. Of course, whatever promises they made to Abregado-rae were a lie."

The transmission's image changed to captured footage from probe droids and local surveillance.

In short, the Mandalorians in that sector began destroying civilians, infected, or not. The Sith had unleashed something too dangerous for the Mandalorians to even chance infection. His word was absolute and final. Clan Munin and the rest of the Mandalorian ground troops would be put to task.

Kill.

Them.

All.

Civilians were slaughtered in the streets by Mandalorians wielding slugthrowers and disruptor weapons. Even as they fled or sought shelter.

"They bartered protection and alliance, only to kill them later. Abregado-rae did not have to burn... But its Government and the Gados elite chose to bargain with killers and liars. They chose to shelter them. To supply them. To bring war to Abregado-rae, when before there was peace."

The image changed back to Arris.

"But listen... Things don't have to become unreasonable. Mercy Star-Arm is as generous as she is furious.

"Instead of dealing with liars who sacrifice you and then flee... Instead of hosting war on your worlds, you can do nothing at all. Isn't that easy? You can say no to the Republic on your worlds. You can say no to the Mythic Fleet. You can say no to Jedi insurrectionists.

"In fact - I recommend it."

<:Transmission End:>

Spoiler: OOC

Feel free to use this thread to react to the events, or to explore the derelict ship. It is PUBLIC!

 

[Vreegan Fett]

Vreegan sat in the quiet of his quarters, monitoring the HoloNet channels for any fresh intel on movement within the criminal underworld. The Mythos fleet always needed supplies, and finding sources outside the standard galactic economy took time and patience. He had spent most of the afternoon speaking directly with his contacts, sifting through trade routes and black-market manifests.

An emergency broadcast cut straight through his feed, replacing the supply logs with the flickering cybernetic image of Arris Windrun. Vreegan leaned back in his chair, watching the Sith Covenant representative speak. She talked about Abregado-rae falling to the plague, claiming to be shocked that Mandalorians would turn their weapons on civilians.

It was a predictable piece of propaganda, trying to paint the entire Manda'de as senseless monsters for purging the infection before it could spread further. Vreegan scoffed under his breath, reflecting on the fact that he had ordered the bombardment of countless worlds under the flag of the Neo-Crusaders and he would have ordered them again without a second thought.

He watched with a bored expression underneath his mask, as the feed showed probe droid footage of Clan Munin and ground troops cutting down fleeing Gados in the streets with slugthrowers and disruptors. She called it a betrayal, though he only saw a reasonable tactic given the circumstances.

When the broadcast finally ended, Vreegan didn't hesitate as he stood up from his chair. Making sure his armor was properly secured, before moving to the ship's communication terminal. He certainly didn't need a script to voice his opinion on the Holonet waves, opening a broad-band frequency to patch directly into the same Channels.

His holographic projection was seen across the galaxy as he spoke "I am Field Marshal Vreegan Fett," gesturing towards himself so there was no confusion. "The people of Abregado-rae were weak, vile and undeserving of Mandalorian protection. They allowed a sickening plague spread by the Sith to corrupt their world, and when the fight finally came to their doorstep. They fought and fled like cattle instead of dying to protect their homeworld. Cowardice is met only with a bolt in the back, exactly as Clan Munin delivered." His explained in a dismissive tone of voice beneath the vocoder of the helmet, blaming the people of the planet instead of the Mythos Fleet for being to ill-equipped to defend their own territory.

"To find that horrifying or beneath contempt is precisely why our culture can never be destroyed. Darth Carnifex failed to wipe us out. The Sith Covenant, for all their plagues and tough talk, will not wipe us out either. Time and time again, the galaxy is surprised by the conviction we carry, because they do not understand that we are culling the weak. So what? The galaxy will burn, and we will continue to fan the embers." He paused, letting his eyes narrow at the recorder as thoughts of Mandalore returned to him. People called it the Great Sundering, but what happened was clear. Even though the Sith ruled the galaxy many times, they could never destroy the Mandalorian way of life.

"If anyone disagrees with what I've said, from Mercy Star-Arm to her crony Arris Windrun to even the High Chancellor Dominique Vexx. Then call me out, on the battlefield, in the boardroom or even a personal duel set on a long forgotten world. I will be there to defend my claim. Say nothing and you prove me right." Vreegan reached out, pressing the button to terminate the connection between him and the rest of the galaxy. He moved back to his desk and began reviewing the contacts again like nothing had happened.

 

[Dominique Vexx]

Dominique Vexx's response was delayed. Those eager to make declarations had to wait their turn, as the High Chancellor of the High Republic had just begun an emergency Session of the Senate to make a Declaration of her own, but on a different topic.

Though, they might be a bit let down concerning the nature of the response. It was, after all, handled by the Public Relations Office. "The High Republic has no desire to diminish, constrain, or eliminate the Mandalorian way of life or culture. The Office of the Chancellor invites everyone to review recordings of the High Republic Senate session held earlier this evening, and invites members of the public to submit questions."

A Special Envoy, Tavo Halor , was already en route to the Iron Covenant to feel out the possibility for formal relations. An extension of the Republic's outreach to the Mandalorians in addition to Sibylla Abrantes 's on-going efforts as Ambassador with the Mandalorian Empire. Naturally, the Chancellor didn't want to needlessly comment in a manner that would upset those discussions before they even began.

Arris Windrun | Vreegan Fett​

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Vreegan Fett
​

Lysander watched the holos. It was no secret that he hadn't been present for the battle on Abregado-rae; while the world burned and plague turned it into another graveyard, he'd occupied a cell with problems of a more immediate nature. But distance did not grant immunity. Since returning to the Core, the events of that battle had been impossible to avoid.

The latest transmission required little interpretation. There remained one thought when the man's words finished echoing through his room on Throneworld.

Fine. Me.

Ordinarily, Lysander's office existed to keep dialogue from deteriorating to exactly this point, ironic as that function might seem for one aligned with the Sith.

His hand moved across the console. The same Holonet channels carrying Vreegan's challenge were simple enough to locate. There would be no prepared statement, nor any carefully edited recording. Authorization cleared with a soft chime. The transmission opened live.

"Lysander von Ascania, Point Emissary of the Sith Covenant."

He allowed the silence to stretch for a few seconds after the introduction.

"Fortunately, you appear to have made your preferences quite clear. You invited those who objected to what you did on Abregado-rae to find you personally. I find that refreshingly direct. Saves us all those endless communiques."

After drawing another slow breath, a smile unfolded across his youthful countenance. "So consider this an acceptance. A duel. You and I. No intermediaries. No audience necessary."

Leaning back into his chair, palms spread open toward the feed. "Send coordinates whenever convenient. I shall be there, and we can settle this properly. I look forward to seeing what you do up close."

​

 

[Helix]

For his part, Helix didn't issue a public statement. He'd already issued two when he'd helped burn two worlds in as many weeks, engineered the deaths of tens of millions, and refused to allow his victims even the dignity of shuffling off to the afterlife. The galaxy already knew where he stood.

There was also the diplomatic landscape to consider. While the Iron Covenant and their cousins to the north may have parted ways, both were still Mandalorians, and Helix had a feeling it would not be taken well if he publicly made light of the dead only days after reassuring the Mando-Empire's visitors.

Still, the broadcast did elicit a chuckle from him, or a sound of inhuman humor-adjacent emotion that passed as a chuckle. "Well done." He murmured to nobody in particular. "I'm certain that will be received gracefully."

He relaxed in his chair, listening to the incoming stream of outraged bloviations from those responding. It was a petty, mean-spirited bit of nakedly-untruthful propaganda, likely crafted precisely to get a rise out of the wider galaxy. Such was the right of the victor, and Helix could appreciate this person's viciousness. He could also appreciate the fury of the listeners. Anything less than fury would be a confusing and irrational response.

Not that he cared. As far as he was concerned, the Core-Sith could believe (and do) whatever they liked. It was a post-truth galaxy after all, and had been for longer than any of the participants had been alive.

Of course, the Covenant's little taunting session could have wider consequences, consequences he was determined to prepare for. If there was any doubt before that the conflict would spiral into prolonged war, this statement from one of their leaders likely put those doubts six feet under. It was one thing to kill them, and quite another to speak of the conflict so flippantly.

No part of that reality was, at the moment, bad for him. As ever, this was the only lens through which Helix ever bothered viewing events. If the Core-Sith continued to provoke further conflict, then he would be there to vacuum up the wealth they left in their wake. Abregado had been lucrative in more senses than one, and he was still processing the sheer volume of interesting items that had been stripped from the world's corpse.

He didn't know the broadcast's speaker by name at first, only by face, having vaguely recalled her presence at past events. Whoever she was, he hoped she was aware of what she was inviting. In all likelihood, she was. Helix had associated with many varieties of lunatics and fanatics over his long and illustrious career of bloodshed, and knew a diseased and unstable mind when he saw one.

Fair enough. Diseased minds were fertile breeding grounds for war, and he'd have it no other way. Whatever horror came next, he knew that he would somehow manage to twist it to his favor and escape scot-free.

He always did.

 

[Efret Farr]

Arris' transmission was playing in the main hold of the Acheulean at a fourth of its normal speed.

It was muted for the sake of Casimir, who was somewhere on the ship as it floated in deep space, waiting for the couple to figure out their next destination. Efret had been in the middle of yet another attempt to drag herself through the task. The wake of Abregado-rae still weighed heavily on her and in such she couldn't muster up the motivation to continue chasing whispers of long-lost Sith artifacts.

Unsurprising but still frustrating.

At least she had an honest distraction now.

Her fingertips gingerly brushed against the tops of the tiny durasteel bumps of her refreshable braille display laying across her lap. A wire hooked it to the central holoprojector stand, long enough to allow her to sit on the nearby sofa as she read Arris' words translated slowly into the tactile alphabet.

Holograms didn't appear in Efret's Force Sight. Her physical sight, though extensively limited, was able to make out enough to form an understanding of spoken word; Comprehend Language still worked for her if she was only looking at part of someone's face.

But the Force felt heavy too, and not just because of the battlefield trauma. The feeling had steadily been becoming more common since she left Naboo.

Every one of her instincts told her not to push herself to call it, to carry it, when it got like this.

So she heeded, before and now. Fortunately, she had remembered enough of Galactic Basic Standard Braille for it to have come back to her a few weeks ago, the first time she had tried to read it in the first time in a little more than a decade.

Her hands stilled when Arris spoke of the Mandalorians' war crime. Efret had been so wrapped up in her disgust for the Sith's ritual that this was the first time she was hearing of that.

Did it change her post-invasion perspective? No.

Yes?

Not yet.

Casimir Thorne​

 

[Varin Mortifer]

VARIN MORTIFER

Equipment: Durum Mantle | Black Blade of Chandrila | Eye of The Dragon | Heavy Sith Mace | Cross Guard Broadsaber | Wyrmfang​

The feed had flicked over as he stood at the bridge of his ship. News of Abregado-Rae was spreading. He watched as Arris had relayed her message then followed the others. First response from Vreegan Fett, claiming the people were too weak to be saved. Followed by a challenge issued over his words.

Tempting…

His hand only stopped to send a response once Lysander’s visage appeared on screen. Varin slowly withheld his hand, pulling it back to cross with his arm over his chest. He listened to what his brother had to say.

A challenge issued.

Lysander wanted the fight this time, Varin would not rob him of that. Instead he would be his pillar of support.

His finger gently tapped the metallic gauntlet over his forearm. Varin remained there in silence as the words from Vreegan Fett echoed in his mind.

If they wanted galactic immolation, then they will eventually have it.

But it was something that the Fett said that brought a small smirk to his lips.

The people of Abregado-rae were weak, vile and undeserving of Mandalorian protection.

Something he could use for the future. His hand reached down, flicking a small switch, capturing the recording.

“Perfect.”

 

[Sae]

---

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"A minor, small mining consortium based on Kenari consisting of eleven groups who serve as distinct members within the organisation and who represent the Kenari system within the The High Republic's Senate in Theed."
-- A description of the Kenari Resource Compact.

---

Tags: Varin Mortifer | Efret Farr | Helix | Lysander von Ascania | Dominique Vexx | Vreegan Fett | Arris Windrun

---

It was a suit of armour designed to inspire terror and to shock populaces into submission quickly. A sleek white shine caught the cascading rays of sunshine which peered through the nearby window panels that served to illuminate the dome visor and metallic aesthetic built atop padding that was incorporated into the design to provide moderate comfort for the wearer. Sae knew that it was never comfortable when you were inside it, however. It was always tight, humid and a distinctive type of hot that reduced weak men to their knees. She had seen it first-hand in Melford.

Quietly Sae closed the wardrobe and looked away from where she kept her Stormtrooper gear. There was a different type of battlefield that she navigated now. After the wardrobes doors were closed Sae took the moment to admire herself in the mirror hanging on the front of it and decided that she looked good enough before exiting the office and into the adjoining hallway where a small camera crew had gathered outside the K.R.C's offices in Theed.

As the crew finished their preparations Sae averted her gaze away from them to follow the commotion in the hallway. A special emergency session had been called by Chancellor Vexx in the wake of Thyferra and dozens of people (from a wide array of cultures, species and star systems found across the Mid-systems) were coming or going towards the main chamber where the session was set to be held. Sae would be there soon but first there was an opportunity that needed to be taken.

When you're a small-time politician like her you needed to take each and every moment when the time came.

"When you're ready, gentlemen," Sae muttered to the crew.

---

KENARI RESOURCE COMPACT STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR SAE FOR CHOMMEL MINOR BROUGHT TO YOU BY VŪM ~​ "I hold nothing but contempt for the bloodshed that has engulfed Abregado-Rae. What began as another struggle between factions has left innocent civilians dead, their lives sacrificed to ambitions that have brought nothing but suffering. Footage released by Arris Windrun shows Mandalorian forces firing indiscriminately upon civilians, and Vreegan Fett has since acknowledged his responsibility for those killings. These actions must not be excused or forgotten. Let us be honest about what this war has demonstrated. Had Abregado-Rae remained under Imperial control, this conflict would never have taken place, and countless lives might have been spared. The people of the Mid-systems deserve better than to become battlefields for rival powers. I therefore urge High Chancellor Dominique Vexx to establish diplomatic channels with the Mahporeem Imperial Remnant, so that dialogue can begin and meaningful protections can be established before another planet meets Abregado-Rae's fate."

---

 

[Feydrik Munin]

​

Feydrik was behind Vreegan Fett -

Close, and undetected, maybe. Just silent. He was, a sneaky fellow when he wanted to be. He let him finish his speech. He found no faults in his words.

"You forgot to mention we didn't unleash the plague, brother." Feydrik said, his hands clasped behind his back, while he observed the stars for a moment. "Such a cowardly way to fight, to wage war. They wax poetic about strength and use civilians as their weapons." A long pause. Then, his words dripped with passive contempt, venom in only the sense that he found so preposterous the words of the Sith.

Then, another chimed in. Feydrik pulled his head back when the boy spoke. He sounded barely into his adulthood, if that.

"If you don't, I will, brother."

 

[Her]

---

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"Three years after it was formed, in which Tarsai have gained a repugnant reputation in several sectors located in the Mid Rim Territories (in and around the High Republic) for alleged corruption and mismanagement, this security organisation retain their presence along the Five Veils Route to this day, and still perform their much hated inspections upon ships passing through the hyperlane, where they also still install and run extortionate tolls and tariffs on commerce or trade coming through the star systems located nearby their operations in accordance to the original regulations that were created during the height of the Five Veils Revitalization Project."
-- A partial description of N&Z Tarsai Vigil.

---

Tag: Arris Windrun

---

Hyperspace anomalies opened up across the Froswythe system and with them came Tarsai: a security subsidiary created during the heights of the Five Veils Revitalization Project to patrol and effectively look after an important hyperlane route running throughout the Mid-systems. While the Five Veils were a long ways away from where Froswythe lingered on the frontier of the High Republic, the company would proport to claim that it had jurisdiction to enter the system in the best interests of protecting the route. There were ulterior motives in play here, however. Her would leave the obfuscation of her presence and the 'true' reasons for why Tarsai intervened today to the lawyers in the event that the company was investigated for it's actions today.

As the Suzerain took up a position near the superfreighter (where the Sith Covenant's transmission was emanating from) a series of smaller patrol craft jettisoned from the command cruiser and took up flights around the ship so as to intercept or stop other forms of traffic looking to intercept the craft as it floated in deep space. While the larger vessel (on lease from Tarsai's parent company) took up a position near the superfreighter it did not block it's out-going transmission or look to fire upon it.

Instead the Suzerain was broadcasting it's own transmission across the Froswythe system:

TARSAI VIGIL BROADCAST ABOVE FROSWYTHE This is TARSAI control aboard the Suzerain. All unauthorized vessels and personnel are ordered to withdraw from the Froswythe system immediately. TARSAI operations are not open to interference. Failure to comply will be regarded as hostile intent and met with lethal force. You have been warned.​

~

[ DEAD FLAG BLUES ]
​

Amid the hyperspace anomalies that emerged above Froswythe came with them an unidentified flying object. It flew through the clouds of interstellar gases and other phenomena on course for the superfreighter bypassing the Tarsai patrol craft and the command cruiser which floated above the Sith vessel while it continued to play Windrun's broadcast. Curiously Tarsai did not move to stop the Ufo despite it's own broadcasts claiming to utilize lethal force for those trying to intervene with the Vigil's operations today. The Dark Side is everywhere. It's an insidious thing that creeps in and exercises control. Something is very wrong on Naboo. Elusive. Enigmatic.

It's occupant was not a free woman according to the High Republic. She was a criminal at large and was presently wanted by the Jedi Order. Although her links to Tarsai could be well established by the laymen such investigators would be met with denial by the company. That was their verse. Always denying culpability or association to corruption while the rumours were strife along the Five Veils. Naboo had problems before the Sith made their move on Thyferra. These things tend to compound upon one another. Her didn't envy the pressure Chancellor Vexx must be under. Then again she didn't think much of the woman either. She was a target. Someone to displace and replace with someone else in time. Her knew the guy to do it. She just needed the pieces to fall together.

A white, esoteric beam of light shot out from the mouth of the Ufo after it took a position above the superfreighter. Scans revealed the position of the bridge and so Her would select it as her welcoming into the vessel. As the tractor beam tore through the hull of the ship Her emerged in the light donning a suit that she hadn't used since the first Imperial incursion on Brosi. While descending down into the opening carved into the ship Her bore witness to debris being sucked out of the hole via the vacuum in space. Strange, red matter was mixed in with an array of furniture or other technology that had been left on the board the bridge. Trepidation focused her attention from it in the moment as she focused to land through the canopy without being torn apart by the jagged metal barbs that lined the opening that she was floating into.

Hhhhh… ffffft… hhhhh… ffffft…

In the quiet of space Her's only company was the sound of each breath she took via the mask she was wearing above her head and face. After passing through the opening she landed on the ramparts of the bridge and took a squatting position along the railing to secure herself from falling off as the tractor beams light suddenly dissipated around her. Dark robes floated in the zero gravity space adjoined to her body and suit while the helmet she wore was obfuscated by the rim of a hood. She took a moment to crouch there and observe the environment while her breathes echoed in the bridge's chamber.

It was there that Her could see more of that certain red viscera that she had seen in the debris beforehand. As Her studied her surroundings Windrun's voice continued to play loudly and the sound of Arris' voice were eerie to the Dark Lord as she crouched there beneath the hole in the ship surrounded by an array of Bloody Bonnet that seemed to hang and cover every crevice of the bridge. Abregado-Rae might have been a dangerous place to live when the Iron Covenant invaded the Sith Covenant but somehow Her thought to herself that being in this ship was perhaps the most dangerous place to be in the entire Galaxy in this moment . . .

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