Private The Future is a Foreign Land (Malum)

[Darth Carnifex]

The world below had been thoroughly conquered, it's people dispossessed and relocated to work sites within the Empire. Once the world had a name, it had been part of three dozen or so worlds caught in the Sith's advance as it pressed forward across the stars. But whatever that name had been was now stricken from record, all traces of it expunged from anywhere the Sith's influence could reach. None of its existence prior to this moment mattered, and because of what was to come nothing would matter every again for this world.

Already, the scars had begun to form on the planet's surface. Great machines, monstrous and greedy, drove across the planet's crust, gnawing and devouring anything and anything caught in their gnashing teeth. The gobbled up forests, drained rivers and lakes, and ground mountains down to nothing. In time, they would wipe this world clean of any value, a molten rock stripped of every resource imaginable. Such was the fate of so many worlds that fell to the Sith banner, to be fuel for the war machine which just as quickly burned people like firewood.

Darth Carnifex was viewing the procession of His great machines as they unraveled another world, filling the Empire's stockpiles with billions of tonnes of raw material ready for processing and refinement. The Empire required a constant stream of resources to function, and the Dark Lord made great use of Kainite technology to achieve it. There were hundreds of thousands of worlds in the galaxy, many of which were mere footnotes on a map; or weren't even registered on any at all. Their people, if they had any, were inconsequential, there would always be more flesh for the grinder.

"Revered Voice," came the croak of a Sepulchral priest, "He has arrived."

"Send him in."

The doors opened and the young Marr was granted entry into the sparsely decorated suite, the Dark Lord waiting Him near a large viewscreen wall; of which only the destruction of the planet below was being broadcast.

Darth Malum of House Marr ​

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

There was always nerves present when one met one that had certainly made their mark upon the galaxy perhaps a hundred times over. Even after meeting so many that had made such marks, the nerves were not ever fully quelled. This would be the fourth meeting that would take place between Marr and Zambrano, such was not to say they had not spoken previously, that they had not crossed blades several times already... it was to say, that there was a gravity to each and every one of those meetings...

...Only for little to change.

Perhaps that was simply the way of things, after all they had drawn themselves on opposite sides of battle numerous times already, in many regards lay opposite, mortal to immortal, lord to emperor, young to elder. He had hardly made things easier for himself, apart from the Jedi, and even with them there had been a hint of them as simply misguided fools... and how could you truly hate that? There had been no one that he had been raised to hate more than the one he was meeting now.

When the Kainite War had begun, he had been far too eager in the prosecution of it, seeing it as his chance to rid the galaxy of that whom had failed them all so long ago.

That man, who if Malum had been simply of age as the Tenth fell, he might have been loyally... dutifully serving. Despite all the moral and principled failings of the man he was, it was held to their lineage to be dutiful, that above all else had been the command of the scions of the ancient and great Darth Marr, a command woven into their blood, into their very souls.

But what was duty to one not worthy of it?

The Marrs had stood for over four thousand years, serving Emperors, serving Dark Lords, as they each came and went, failed prophets, and self-proclaimed gods. Each had failed, yet, they had continued to serve. For their people, for the Empire... for themselves, they had fought loyally for thousands of years.

The Gulag Plague had changed much, it seemed that a century had gone past in a decade, and what ws left to them apart from...

...The realisation that their duties did not bind them to failed leaders, that their duty was to their liege, as much as their liege's duty was to their vassal.

Was it merely excuse? Or was it right?

The questions offered no answers, as the grand doors swung open. Greeting him, a familiar giant, his darkness a foreboding sensation that touched any who drew close or near, a familiar feeling that had hairs standing at attention, even enrobed as he was in blackened plate bejeweled in rubies, with Sith blade upon his back, and ever greater weapons hidden beneath his robes.

Yet, he was not alone.

Behind the tall Marr heir, masked in the shroud of his ancestor, there held a decrypt old man, tattoed and with seering orange eyes. A sepruchal priest, the one gifted to Malum so long ago by the Emperor himself, and kept at a distance at least somewhat so for that fact, but now, unveiled, walking in lockstep with his young charge, to guide him, to a desire he had long wanted, but had not pursued in quite some time.

Malum's eyes fell upon the the viewscreen, displaying the industrial scale destruction of the unnamed planet from whence they stood.

...Was this really necessary?

"Darth Carnifex." The Dark Councillor intoned, with a tilt of his head.

Darth Carnifex
Mentioned: Darth Empyrean

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Councilor Marr."

The Dark Lord pivoted to face the younger Sith, religious vestments swaying as icons and fetishes gently clinked against one another with the motion. Darth Carnifex's entire body was rendered amorphous by the garments He wore, heavy cloak and billowy robe obscuring the true shape of His form. Every inch of fabric had been woven with Sith runic iconography, and a large stole had been draped across the Dark Lord's neck and shoulders, ultimately hanging down almost to the floor. It too bore the symbols of their blasphemous faith.

"It has been some time since we have spoken, let alone spoken without weapons drawn." He, of course, was referring to the brief disruption on Echnos, which had quickly been smoothed over by the Empress' diplomacy; as they had planned. "I can only surmise that the Tsis'kaar has been performing it's duties since then, ensuring that our enemies remains protected from enemies hidden within and enemies lurking without." It was less a question and more a statement, a reaffirmation of his duties as the new leader of the Tsis'kaar after Darth Strosius 's fall.

He gestured to a seat which had begun to morph up out of the floor, assuming the more accepted characteristics of a chair as the seconds passed. "I bid thee sit, and give voice to your thoughts." Soon after, a decraniated servant approached with a tray of drink, offering a cup to Lord Malum. It would then depart once it's services were no longer required.

"It is wondrous, is it not?" The Dark Lord referred to the holoscreen, and the destruction therein. "All worlds find purpose in our Empire, even as fuel. The fall of Woostri has opened the doors for more worlds to fall into our hands, to serve a purpose greater than their existence. Decrees have been flung to these worlds, bearing the sigil of the Emperor. Prove your worth. Those that cannot suffer only one fate, Lord Malum." He did not say more, the screen spoke enough.

Darth Malum of House Marr ​

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

It was a small, if welcome surprise that the response to his words had not been insulting. Enough to have Malum raise his brow in question beneath the mask, before returning to some equilibrium, as much as every bone in his body distrusted every measure of the room, he was in little position to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Mhmm..." Malum answered non-committally, it likely did say something that there had been as many duels as conversations between them, what exactly it said, he was unsure of, but certainly something, "I enjoy our duels, but I have a feeling those in our audience grow increasingly concerned and stressed about them." Malum offered, the wry smile beneath his mask toning his voice, there was no inherent lie in his words, there was something genuinely enjoyable in a battle to the death.

Of course, that was where the matter would come to a head, where the stress and concern of the spectators held fruit. There was little joy, little love, in seeing such influential, powerful, old and young Sith Lords wage a battle of annihilation against each other. One might consider it bad for business, others a danger to stability. That it had come to a head within the Dark Council chambers, had been enough for him to swallow his pride, and accept the invitation out here.

"The Tsis'Kaar conducts itself as well as it has ever done, joined with our Inquisitorial brothers and sisters once more, has only renewed our duty." And expanded the remit of their operations, to the annoyance of many a powerbroker within the Order, but, that was the burden of the strong, to contend with the opposition of the weak.

He flicked his gaze to the seat that emerged out from the floor, reminded of Ordo... on Ordo, so long ago. The seat of beskar that had seemed to... emerge out from the ground like the ground itself had never existed, as if the seat had always existed. It had been... so long since then, so much had changed.

Not all for the good.

He took the offered seat with little more than a side-eyed glance, it was not as if he trusted this, certainly not, but the fact there was little trust that had to be given... even that seemed too much, but as much as he hated it, hated himself...

...There could not be progress without a detente.

"Thank you," He furrowed his brows, the long gauntlets of both armour and utility held upon the armrests, as pauldrons and plate of black, relaxed as best they could into the seat, as the decraniated server approached. It was an unnerving thing, no matter how many times Malum had encountered them in his life...

...Just another matter he would have to ignore as best as he could.

He took the drink as the servant scurried away, left in his hand, as his eyes followed the voice, following it to the holoscreen. Parsing his lips.

"...It is a visible enough show of our industrial spirit, at the very least," Malum offered politely enough, he was not entirely sure what he thought of the process, on one hand, he could not help but feel it wasteful, these worlds that might have held permanent use somehow... at the same time, it was strange to call it wasteful, as after all, it would be used in some sense of the word.

It might be something to change, on the other hand, if the surveyors had felt the world had no other use than this...

...Perhaps it was the case.

"As for the reason for my visit, it is simple enough, I made an overture at Dorvalla, and you have yet to reply, I was curious why that is."

And so the great game began.

Darth Carnifex
Mentioned: Gerwald Lechner Taeli Raaf Darth Meritum

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Ah yes, Dorvalla."

The Dark Lord assumed His own seat, one which also rose from the ground as though it were a natural extension. Of course, the room around them was entirely inorganic, so the concept of a natural growth of hard, cold steel was an impossibility; but one that was made all too real. Taking no refreshments for Himself, Carnifex assumed a rather relaxed posture upon His seat. His eyes watched the young Marr closely, like a predatory studying it's inevitable prey.

"It was not necessary, and I was required elsewhere; tending to the future of the Empire." He didn't elaborate, nor would He if prompted to. It was beyond the scope of Lord Marr's station to inquire about the Dark Lord's machinations. "Still, I remained appraised of all that transpired. I do not see the need or appeal of this so-called Imperial Party. We are not the Republic and we are not the Alliance. The existence of a political party within the Assembly insinuates the tolerance of competing visions for the Empire, that there can be opposition and deviation. Let there be no misunderstanding, the Assembly exists only to facilitate a singular will, that which concerns the revival of the Sith Empire's grandeur as envisioned by it's architects."

His eyes narrowed, "So no, I did not grace your song and dance in a cave with a response. My purpose is to guide the Empire as a father guides His children. It is a task I share with the Empress, who works to accomplish all that has been set in motion." He had slowly inched forward in His seat with every word, almost looming over the smaller Sith like an obscene gargoyle. But, as the last syllable danced beyond the margins of His lips, His gradually sank back into His seat. A brief shimmer of the true weight of years that hung about His shoulders appeared then, belied by the youthful exuberance radiating in His countenance.

"I do not agree with your actions, Lord Marr, nor do I agree with the obsession you seem to have shared with Darth Strosius . That rancid fixation on what was." A pause, no longer than a breath. The Dark Lord shifted His angle of conversation. "I ask of you, what do you believe the Empire should be for the galaxy? For the rabble that rouse in squalor, for the baron who thrifted them of their livelihoods. To the children that beggar hungry in the streets, to those who's greed rendered them down to such a loathsome state. To the slave, to the master, and to those who count themselves neither."

"What is the goal of Empire, young Marr?"

Darth Malum of House Marr ​

 

[Darth Malum of House Marr]

It seemed to be the nature of his life, that nothing could be easy. He would wonder what deity he so annoyed to provide him such ill luck, though the answer for that was not difficult to grasp. He had declared himself in opposition to the only absolute power of this galaxy, nay, this universe. For that, he supposed it was fortune alone that had kept him alive, or the limitations of that subtle power that held dominion over all life and ur-life.

Still, he had hoped, and he supposed that had been the mistake, he had hoped, with how seemingly well the introductions went, there was a chance for something productive to come out of the meeting today. Though... they had not drawn blades... yet, so perhaps that hope still remained.

He was quiet initially as the once Dark Lord of the Sith spoke, tilting his head, the rankle of his armour the only indication that he was listening, as still, the drink went undrunk, as much as Kaine had the habit of causing one's throat to dry, in this instance, whether it was for the fear of poison (that his amulet could counter he supposed), some etiquette preference at not drinking while the host did not (rather weak, even he would admit), or even... strangely enough he simply did not feel thirsty.

"I appreciate your wise and sage counsel, Darth Carnifex, but it was not for that wish I came here," Malum replied, his voice a marriage of amicability, and tranquillity, "The Imperial Party exists, its vision and its voice exists, and I have been found by myself, my fellows, and my subordinates as amongst the cadre of architects that will build the future of the Sith Empire, all this is unchangeable." The chalice which he had grasped tapped down upon the armrest, its echo searing along the room's walls, as he left it abandoned.

"The past has aided in what we are, what we will become, I am not inflicted with obsession, simply with a curiosity that has provided me with knowledge of... as you put it, what once was," His red eyes peered through the visor of his mask, a glow that gazed up at the giant of a man that stood opposite... that man which he would have once, given all his loyalty to...

"A state's purpose is to the wellbeing of its people, an Empire's purpose is that but expanded manifold, ten Sith Empires have risen and fallen in this galaxy's history, even more, should we count pretenders and whoever else. I seek to not follow the mistakes of our past, I seek to bring about an Empire that in its grandeur shall span the cosmos, all the while acting in service and enlightening those within its borders. To their wellbeing, to their protection, never again will the land of my people fall into enemy hands, never again will my people be defiled by our enemies." It was not an answer that he imagined the once Emperor of the Sith would appreciate, but it had been a long time since Malum had felt the need to lie to those with power, he held a power beyond that now, "Yet, I did not come here to discuss philosophy, I came here, as I did on Dorvalla, to offer my hand, we may disagree on much, but we are united in the strength of the Order and the Empire, in that, cannot we make agreement?"

Darth Carnifex