Populate THE HUNT FOR TIRA | TSC POPULATE OF EUFORNIS MAJOR

[Ziso Kus]

Ziso stalked quietly through the halls. The vault had to be further within, according to the map she'd been able to wrangle from one of the Assassin droids she'd found. Ancient as they might be, they were still as lethal as ever. Perhaps the secrets within would allow her control over them properly, to use for her own work. Another right, and-

The world erupted. Or was cut. It took a moment for her cybernetically enhanced mind to catch up with what happened. The path was shrouded, deep under ground as any hidden vault worth it's salt would be. Then it was suddenly bright. Day. The path before her was gone- no, separated suddenly from the rest. Cut like a piece of paper under a pair of shears.

She blinked, once, twice. Then huddled more under her cloak to keep out of sight. Whatever delusions of grandeur she had fell to the wayside as she heard the source of the sudden devastation above. Nonchalant and calm. A metallic hiss escaped from her mask. Maybe she'd be lucky in being able to scavenge what was left.

Krasskorr the Maw | Meliant | Eurydice

 

[Lirka Ka]

CHANDAAR

TAGS: Kaelyr

A great many monsters now stalked the ancient halls of Xim’s hoard upon Chandaar - each looking to take their piece of the possibility that laid within and the distant prospect of Tira and its power.

Indeed, so great was this clarion call that even some of the monsters that laid behind the Sith Order’s Blackwall to the Galactic South had decided to make an appearance.

Well. At least one of them.

Lirka considered herself something of a purveyor of fine carrion at times. A tomb raider, scavenging for bits and bobs of power to feed the Once-Sephi’s shadowy dealings from worlds throughout the Galaxy. Korriban. Oricron. Rhand. The many unnamed rocks she had desecrated in her years stranded within Wild Space. Chandaar would join that long list. Between Xim’s ancient weapons of destruction and the endless potentiality of the knowledge within the vault, this place would make a fine hunting ground.

She arrived with little fanfare, skulking within the darkness of the approach. The core-ward Sith of the covenant were not her foes by any means - but they hadn’t proved themselves to be friends either. The manic paranoia of Lirka’s warped mind did not much care for variables she had little control over.

Breaching the vault, Lirka ran a clawed hand across the dusty surface within. Fascinating. With the rancorous roar of some great killer on the horizon and the thunderous arrival of other Sith, the hulking form of Lirka Ka kept a safe distance from it all. Far more content to take a leisurely examination of the ancient craftsmanship as if walking through a museum.

And besides, she’d rather have decent pickings of whoever got left behind when lives got claimed from the great myriad of killing machines that most certainly would’ve been left behind. Or whoever killed each other first. Certainly, she’d make better use of whatever bits and pieces left after this little venture than the rest of this lot.

​

​

 

[Vector Monk]

Lysander von Ascania Seris Velmora

"Your pardon, lord."

Vector picked himself up off jungle soil and wiped the dirt from his knees. It would not do to grow lax in maintaining a proper grooming standard. When the Sith questioned him further, his eyes lit up and he grew more animated gesticulating when he spoke.

"The Rakatans never reached the glorious heights of the Sith Dynasties that inherited their legacy, but there is so much about their Infinite Empire that we still don't understand. Early masters of hyperspace there can be no doubt. We are still discovering lost frontier worlds with ruins just like these."

He didn't like the sound of Velmora's cryptic warnings about some kind of local predator. It was all Vector could do not to reach for the holster of the extravagant sporting blaster he carried on his belt. Always best not to give paranoid masterminds any reason to suspect he might wish either of them harm.

“When it comes, don’t slow me down. Nothing slows me until I am ready.”

"I wouldn't dream of it my lady," Monk looked scandalized by the very thought, "You can rely on me! My field research is often dangerous work."

Together they pressed on. Vector tried not to let the Sith's growing impatience dampen his spirits despite the very real threat their moods could pose. He thought he could see more signs of rakatan civilization ahead when something crunched under his feet and the archaeologist froze. Careful not to make any sudden moves, Vector turned to face the others.

"Acklay eggs," he whispered eyes wide with panic, "We've wandered into their nesting grounds."

 

[Mellia Raine]

BELAZURA
Anet Raine​

"Dozens, mostly staffed by hacks who wouldn't know fashion if it shot them in the face,"

Mellia checked her nails, and frowned, ever so slightly, at some indiscernible flaw in the art adorning them that only she could see.

Bah. Nothing to do about it now.

"I'm making moves, Anet. Aargau Medical went under when the Imperials lost the Core, and this new Covenant's selling assets off at bankruptcy prices. I thought I'd offer to cut you in."

In this, at least, she was being honest; and it was perhaps the most genuine display of sororal affection she had offered Anet in years. No ulterior motives, no petty sniping.

Not at first, anyway.

But now that she was here...

Well, what kind of sister would she be if she wasn't nosy?

"So,"

She shifted in her seat, posture straightening as her grin returned.

"Rakata, hm? On brand, I suppose."

 

[Tamsin Starfall]

Theme: Welcome To The Jungle
Tags: Varin Mortifer

Tamsin sat on nearby rock as the lumbering prat hacked away at jungle foliage. Not sure exactly why she always got to be his babysitter. He asked for probably the tenth time for her to explain the plan. She just signed and reached for the backpack that sat at her side and pulled from it a canteen of water and a granola bar. She began to unpeeled the wrapper.

"It ain't that hard dummy." She said as she took a bit of the granola bar. "We find the mind prison, we find the….." Damn that granola bar was good, she thought to herself. "We find what I guess you would call nerds in the prison." She looked at the granola bar almost impressed by how good it was. Before she could continue telling him the rest of the plan, he was already off another tangent.

He was now complaining about the insects. She half expected the demon to chime in her mind about how he was the only insect it saw. Yet no voice came, not even a stirring or sense the demon was awake. Not even a peep at the sound of obliterating a planet, which was seemingly a favorite past time of the demon. It was setting off strange alarm bells in Tamsin's mind that something might be amiss.

"Really this is the first tropical world I have been to, I think." She said as she took another bite of her granola bar then a sip from her canteen. "Not really sure been to a lot of desert worlds, a few ice worlds I love those, yet the majority of worlds I have been too were to war torn to truly tell what they were."

Her head turned slightly to the side as he spoke of Sinew who or whatever that was. She thought she heard something like a snapping branch off to her right. She smelled the air but smelt nothing but the jungle around her. Her yes caught something though just a blur in the distance through the trees she couldn't make out what it was. She squinted to try and get a better look but whatever it was, vanished.

She then turned as Varin proclaimed only one of them could fit. She gave him an odd look as she had no idea what the hell, he was talking about. Before her sights there was no slab of duracrete just more jungle brush. As she looked at him so did the six Gizka's that had surrounded her hoping for a bite of Granola. They too gave him a strange look like he was even dumber than he was.

"Is the heat getting to your brain?" That also led to another question. "Why are you hacking away at the bush? You could just do burning farts or fire breath…or whatever fiery crap you whoo-woo." At this rate they were never going to reach the damn city. "I mean I would do it but uh I can't do that fire stuff." Well, she could but it had catastrophic consequences if she attempted it both to her and those around her. She then pointed to the jungle before them urging him to continue on with the shoo-shoo of a hand wave as were hit wall there was now no wall.

 

[Madrona A’Mia]

​

Tags: Ra'Shayne Vorr & Delvin jeth

"One each, or do we go in together?" she asked with curiosity.

"there is safety in numbers but rakatan mind prisons are no joke so be prepared for anything"

So enraptured with her task, A'Mia hadn't noticed the approach of the former and blinked back to more keen alertness of her surroundings just as the latter spoke up. Her surprise at the company was mild, since A'Mia knew Sith were like kamoradon sea dragons: once there was even an ounce of blood in the water (opportunity in this case), they'd all come to churn up the waters.

Her face was friendly and serene as she regarded the newcomers, only her large blue-green pupil-less eyes gave away that something dangerous lurked beneath the surface. A'Mia's stance, previously that of one about to employ the arcane arts, relaxed and opened a bit to make room for the others.

"Mmm, what's that old axiom? Many hands make light work."

She smiled prettily but it never reached her eyes.

"Well met, I am A'Mia. Would one of you two care to do the honors then? Or both. I was just starting to get psychometric readings, and can remain here cognitively to watch the rest of the process unfold — as a kind of lifeline. Only if needed of course… perhaps you came well prepared to enter and exit a mind prison."

There was an unsettling amount of mirth in her words, but her offer appeared genuine. Whether they'd agree to it was another thing entirely. For A'Mia, it was all an opportunity and game. What fun twist that she might observe as the object claimed another victim, surely that would provide great insight into its workings.

 

[Caelis Venn]

Tag: Efret Farr Acier Moonbound @arris

Jedha's broken corridors held them both in the same breath of silence, dust drifting between them like a memory neither of them cared to inherit.
Caelis Venn stopped fully now.

The Force settled around the realization before words did—two presences aligned, not by chance, but by directive. The same current. The same purpose.

His expression didn't change much, but something in his posture eased into certainty.

"You're not an outsider," he said quietly.
A pause.
"You're Covenant."
He let that settle, watching the way she translated the world through motion and intent rather than sight or sound. The droid's presence marked each shift of meaning, but Caelis focused on her—on the Force behind the interpretation.

"Same assignment," he continued, voice lower now. "That means we weren't sent here to find answers separately."
His gaze drifted briefly across the ruins, as if mapping unseen threads only he could feel.
"We were sent here to converge on one."
A beat.

Then, more direct:
"The question isn't why you're here."
Caelis turned back toward her, the faint pressure of the dark side steady around him—controlled, contained, Sith discipline rather than chaos.

"It's what we're meant to extract from Jedha together."
A brief pause lingered between them, heavy with implication.
"And whether it survives contact with us."

​

​

 

[Nilira Vornix]

Tag: Arris Windrun

"Of course they'd have made a nest here. Creatures will live where they need to for survival. They'd have little natural predators here, and the leftover food stores perhaps have lasted more than enough for a thriving colony of...whatever this is to thrive enough to find their own replenishing food source."

The inner nerd of Nilira was coming out somewhat, as she crouched against the floor brushing her hand gently alongst the stone, frowning in thought. She was just doing the basic of tracking, as she looked down each path, before flicking her finger off down the right hallway, having came to a decision almost immediately..

"There's small scraps of paper coming from that direction. Whatever's made these nests probably grabbed the material from down there."

For all intents and purposes when it came to the cold, it didn't seem to bother Nilira anyway. It was hard to be cold, when you were a living "corpse". Of course, it was all mostly an act. Nilira was still living, breathing. But she had learned quite swiftly how to hide any discomfort she felt from the elements. Pain, cold, heat. It was something she had figured out how to disguise through the lens of apathy.

​

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Vector Monk Seris Velmora​

Another bead of sweat traced Lysander's temple. There was clarity in the other Sith's answer, recognizing that familiar hunger, which didn't surprise him. While most worlds indeed crushed the passive beneath their boot, he found himself secretly savoring this scholarly expedition more than he let on. A few that knew him beneath the Sith exterior understood that the archives had always been his sanctuary. And living history? Well, that was a different kind of nourishment.

A moment was taken to consider the scene. "I've studied a few fragmentary texts we have on Rakatan technology.. impressive, but ultimately limited by their dependence on the Force for hyperspace navigation." His hand found the curve of a root. "What fascinates me is how they built an empire spanning galaxies without developing the cultural sophistication that followed. Power without philosophy is just... brute force."

The eggs shouldn't have started him, but he still felt a jolt of the unexpected. He even considered his guides intentions versus the current vulnerability of their position. If this were a trap, then it was poorly conceived; a man with murder in mind had plenty of other efficient options..

One hand moved to the curved hilt as a smug smirk flickered across his face, entirely at odds with the danger surrounding them now. "Territorial apex predators of the region. Six articulated limbs. Visual acuity exceeding most sentient species." Emerald orbs darted to Vector. "And notoriously aggressive when their breeding grounds are disturbed." A modest attempt at his own little scholarly flourish.

Then, he turned to Seris, one eyebrow slightly raised. "It seems the ruins have decided to accommodate your bloodlust today." A half step was taken closer to their guide, a natural instinct. "Something that certainly believes it owns this place."

Lysander scanned the dense foliage around them. "We should form a triangle. I’ll guard our flank." Better to observe first, he thought, and not command with haste.

 

[Anet Raine]

Mellia Raine​

She rolled her eyes at Mell's 'witty' retort. Typical.

Anet was ready to stop listening until her sister mentioned the Covenant by name. The way she spoke of it made them sound like a trend, ignoring the brutality and terror that they--she included--had brought to the Core Worlds.

"Don't be foolish," she scolded. "You don't want to do business with Sith. It'll get you killed. Besides, have you considered that the Senate has levied sanctions against them?" It was clear she had more to say, but Anet stopped herself there.

Again, she reminded herself, it wasn't worth getting into an argument.

Then, Mell asked about Rakata. Anet tightened her jaw and glowered momentarily.

'It's not what you think.'
"I'm sure you remember your way around, hmm? Find a guest suite and get some rest. We'll talk more when we arrive."

SOMETIME LATER...​

The Starwind Epiphany dropped out of hyperspace - the oceanic world, Lehon, appeared before them; a beautiful blue thing dotted by a pair of battered moons. A sight eclipsed only by the looming threat of Covenant cruisers in low orbit, directly on their path. Were this truly an ordinary vessel registered in the High Republic, then the two sisters were in immediate danger. Yet, the yacht passed by them as if unnoticed... or allowed.

Anet sauntered onto the bridge, wearing her dark robes and cloak, which she hoped were fashionable enough alone not to arouse immediate suspicion. She kept her mask hidden inside the folded fabric around her torso, and the lightsaber at her hip was obscured by the cloak. She stepped past her sister and peered through the curved glass.

"Don't wear anything you wouldn't want to sweat in." She warned dryly.

Her eyes remained thoroughly engaged by the site below. She wondered just how many Sith had already arrived ahead of her.

As they traded space for a tropical atmosphere, the Epiphany soared low and past cloud cover, en route to a ruined city on the horizon. The ship's shadow cast over von Ascania's party, descending. (Mentioned: Lysander von Ascania | Vector Monk | Seris Velmora )

With a glance over her shoulder. "That is, unless you want to stay on the ship?" She wouldn't get her hopes up.

 

[Meliant]

​

Meliant may have looked to where Eurydice pointed, but it looked more like he was staring at her hand - which trembled. Between that and her swollen eye, the sight of her should have inspired pity in even the hardest of hearts.​

​

But Meliant had no heart at all, so he was disgusted. He sighed. It sounded affected because it was - he had no lungs, so it was a sound that he made naturally.​

​

"I'm starting to think our little academy isn't good for anything," he said. "All this time among us, among the Covenant, and you're still stupid with fear."​

​

He put a hand on her shoulder. It might have looked reassuring to an outside observer, but it hardly felt that way. There was surprising weight to it. And it was cold. Very cold. Meliant looked upwards, considering the distant sun and the cloudy sky.​

​

"I'm going to help you with that now."​

​

His father, Hasparon, had said that desperation was the true architect of advancement; that we find the wherewithal to live only when we are most threatened with death. That is how we come into mastery - by testing ourselves with greater and greater perils until none remain.​

​

Meliant wasn't sure if he believed that. His father was an evil cretin, and had reared - with some assistance - a small army's worth of evil, cretinous children, among which Meliant was at least in the top two.​

​

But... It could still serve as a useful starting point.​

​

Meliant wordlessly gave Eurydice a firm shove - to propel her over the edge of the crevasse and down into the depths below.​

Eurydice Ziso Kus​

 

[Krasskorr the Maw]

FOOD: Ziso Kus

​

Krasskorr burst through the earth, reaching the busted out side wall of the ancient vault complex and entering the upper corridor. This passage, a narrow vein of obsidian and cold iron, felt suffocating as he moved through it. The air, preserved for millennia, was now tainted by the foul odor that he instinctively began to track.

Each powerful step of his enormous, clawed feet reverberated through the floor, causing the ancient stone to creak and fracture under his immense weight. The steady thud and crack of his movement was the only pulse the vault had known for a millennium, though others might be lurking in search of the same secrets, none could rival his formidable strength should they cross paths.

His reinforced armor glistened with a fresh, dark sheen. A needle-thin blade had attempted to exploit a gap in his gorget, but the GenoHaradan sentinel, emerging from the shimmer of a cloaking field, made a fatal error in trying to take him down. Instead, he found himself ensnared in the Saruton's iron grip, torn apart, his mangled body slumped awkwardly on his back.

Blood dripped from the side of his snout, forming a pool on the floor as he pressed onward, driven by the instinct for another meal or perhaps the main archives. His nose twitched at the scent of cybernetics, specifically those belonging to Ziso Kus , a detail he was unaware of but nonetheless intrigued him.

With crimson Lightclub in hand, he charged down the hallway, curiosity propelling him forward.

 

[Seris Velmora]

Tag: Lysander von Ascania | Vector Monk

Lehon did what it always did—pressed in close, like the jungle itself was listening. Ancient stonework jutted through the thick green in broken ribs and half-swallowed geometry, the remnants of the Rakata’s Infinite Empire still clinging stubbornly to the world as if time had simply forgotten to finish the job. Seris Valmora knew what it was. Everyone with even a passing interest in the old wars knew what the Infinite Empire had been.

She just didn’t care. History didn’t bleed when you cut it. It didn’t fight back. It didn’t make a sound worth listening to. It didn’t fill your senses with tastes and odors. It didn’t alter reality.

Her attention drifted instead to the only thing in the moment that actually mattered: motion, positioning, and the faint itch of something that might turn into a fight. Her hands stayed busy at her belt, rolling one lightsaber hilt between her fingers, then the other, like she was checking that reality still had weight. Still present. Still interruptible.

Ahead, Vector Monk’s voice carried through the humid air as he examined the ruins and spoke about Rakatan remnants—structure, significance, echoes of something older than most species bothered to properly respect. Lysander von Ascania listened with the patience of someone mapping meaning onto terrain. Seris listened just long enough to confirm it was still talking.

Then Vector paused. The shift in his attention was subtle at first—trained eyes catching disturbance where the jungle tried too hard to look untouched. He moved closer to a collapsed stone basin, brushing aside vines and debris until the shape beneath became clear.

Eggs. Acklay eggs. That got Seris’ attention instantly. Not history. Not Rakata. Not ruins. Acklays. Her posture changed before she even spoke—weight settling forward, interest sharpening, that familiar tension of anticipation threading through her stance. She knew what Acklays were. Everyone who had ever fought something that wanted to eat them knew what Acklays were.

Now it was interesting. “Ah,” she said lightly, almost approving. “There it is.”

Lysander immediately began coordinating—angles, coverage, containment. Practical. Controlled. Predictable. He suggested he take the flank to stabilize their approach through the ruins.

Seris didn’t even slow down. “I’ll take lead,” she said, stepping forward as if the decision had already been made and everyone else was just catching up.

Her gaze flicked briefly toward Vector Monk, and her tone softened just enough to turn sharpness into something almost casual. “No offense, but if he’s up front,” she added with an easy, offhand tilt of her head, “he’s just bait. And that’s a waste of perfectly good bait.” There was no hostility in it. Almost humor, if you didn’t look too closely.

Above them, the canopy shifted with movement. A ship passed overhead again—distant, partially obscured through the jungle canopy and broken sky. Its presence lingered only long enough to register before vanishing beyond the ruins. Seris noticed it. Stored it. Moved on.

The Acklay nest was the priority now. Without waiting for Lysander’s final confirmation or Vector’s analysis to finish its arc, she stepped past the broken stone basin and into the ruins ahead, already pushing the formation forward by sheer momentum alone.

​

 

[Ra'Shayne Vorr]

LAHONA | MIND PRISON
TAG: Madrona A’Mia Delvin jeth

​

Ra'Shayne's mind slave had got her into the files and she scrolled through reading them with her claw. "This one." she didnt close the file, if the others read it, they would find out that the ratakan in question had been caught sharing state secrets, he was weak minded, the perfect vassal for her to enter through.

"You are no longer required" she said and her pet guard shook violently with a seizure as his brain died and he dropped to the floor.

The aboreal one wished to guard them, could she be trusted? Of course fucking not, but she would need to trust someone to be outside in case another guard show up and she would rather trust her than the monkey. She looked at the Arkanian with a imperceptible sneer.

"Alright then, lets do this." she said, looking at Madrona A’Mia as she sat cross legged in front of the prisoner and began playing his her tail. She started to him and then her eyes went vacant. The glitterstim glow was still there but the sentience was gone, she was now deep inside the prisoner's mind. The room was perfect blackness except for brief flashes like lightning where he reflexively tried to strain against metaphysical chains. She walked across a black floor that wasnt there towards an invisible portal in the centre of the infinite room. This was her way into his deep mind where he would have all his secrets. All she had to do was breach it.

Easy.

 

[Vector Monk]

Lysander von Ascania Seris Velmora

"Territorial apex predators of the region. Six articulated limbs. Visual acuity exceeding most sentient species." Emerald orbs darted to Vector. "And notoriously aggressive when their breeding grounds are disturbed."

"Just so, lord."

Vector bristled when the Sith acolyte referred to him as bait. He drew the sporting blaster from his hip and listened for the soft hum of a charging power pack. Starship engines roaring overhead frightened the archaeologist so badly that he almost blasted a tree and he was forced to concede that she might have a point.

"I will defer to your expertise, madam."

Despite his palpable fear of becoming acklay food when they emerged from the jungle the scale of what they beheld took Monk's breath away.

"This must be the lost city your scout pilots reported!" he was so excited by the discovery that Vector forgot to keep his voice down, "Magnificent!"

Distant roars drove birds from the jungle treetops. Vector's blood froze. Not distant enough. These ruins must be part of their territory. No wonder all memory of them had been lost.

"We're being hunted."

Adrenaline surging through his veins the Sith cultist pointed toward a looming monolith because it was the most grandiose looking structure still standing. Based on what little he knew about the Infinite Empire they were just as driven by pride as the Sith Emperors who came after, not that Vector would ever say as much out loud.

 

[Ziso Kus]

Deception was ever important. Ziso remained huddled on herself, her cloak carefully keeping her body out of sight. She looked so much shorter like this. A small Sith. A non threat, easier to overlook. Not that it mattered here where Assassins reigned supreme. They wouldn't overlook or ignore her if they caught sight, caught wind.

Grant it, the heavy footfalls of something else had her blinking. She glanced behind her. No GenoHaradan would be that loud, right? Again she blinked, especially once the cause sprinted into view around the corner.

She wasted no time, immediately turning and sprinting away. It wasn't Trandoshan, but more animalistic. Huge. Wielding some sort of Lightclub. An unknown, a wild card in her preparation almost as bad as the suddenly cleaved world before her. She sprinted through the opening, uncaring of the Sith above saw her now.

She needed to prepare for the other threat that seemed focused on her.

Krasskorr the Maw | Meliant | Eurydice

 

[Acier Moonbound]

Location: Jedha

Equipment:
Apprentice Attire | Lightsaber | Shoto | Cybernetic Arm

The corridors narrowed before opening into a chamber older than the ruins above had any right to be. A fractured dome arched overhead and beneath it, an ancient astronavigation mechanism still turned in wounded motion, bronze rings shifting unevenly, some moving, others long dead. Constellations drifted across the walls in incomplete patterns, sections missing as if deliberately erased.​

​

It wasn't a path. Not to Tira. It was more of... a remnant, a puzzle. Somewhere deeper in the ruins, he felt Arris Windrun in the Force, distant, moving. Ace stepped toward it, dark eyes tracing structure through absence, trying to read meaning from broken design, only to stop.​

​

She was already there. Hands folded in front of her, studying the stars. As if she had always belonged among old truths. Sibylla Abrantes did not turn immediately.​

​

"Hidden worlds.." She murmured. "Coordinates buried in omission." Then, after a brief pause. "How very much like you."​

​

Only then did she look at him, her hazel eyes calm. Too calm.​

​

"Your turn then." Ace said.​

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The faintest suggestion of amusement touched her mouth. "Another stirring reunion." Her gaze drifted toward the damaged star map. "Interesting. Even broken maps seem easier for you to trust than living counsel."​

​

The cut was almost elegant, a politician through and through. Ace folded his arms.​

​

"This place likes drama."​

​

"Mm. I had thought irony." She moved slowly around the mechanism, fingertips hovering near one of the ancient rings. "You seek hidden truths. While continuing to hide from obvious ones."​

​

"This again?" Ace muttered.​

​

"Yes." Her tone remained almost conversational. "This again. Because your conscience seems to possess a remarkable tendency to relocate the goalpost whenever it grows uncomfortable."​

​

Ace's jaw tightened. That one hit him, and he hated that it did. "This path works."​

​

Sibylla almost smiled. "How practical. How convenient." She tilted her head. "Tell me… At what point does 'using darkness' simply become serving it under another name?"​

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His eyes narrowed. "You think you know what I'm doing."​

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"No." Her answer was immediate. "I think you do."​

​

Ancient gears whispered overhead and she glanced to the fractured constellations moving across the walls.​

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"These Jedi charted worlds by reading patterns others missed." Then back to him. "And I wonder... how many signs must align before even you admit the constellation forming."​

​

Ace looked away first. Toward the broken map, anywhere but her.​

​

"You once told me…" She said softly. "If you began slipping… you would listen."​

​

The old wound in one sentence, the one that played on his mind constantly when things were quiet.​

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"Enough."​

​

Sibylla studied him for a long moment. There was no triumph or anger, only that terrible clarity. That same look she had on the Trinity.​

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"You keep insisting you are walking through darkness without becoming it." A faint breath left her. "But have you considered it may be walking you?"​

​

The chamber seemed to still around her words. Then she stepped aside, as though leaving him the ruins. Or the lie. Ace didn't move for several seconds, nor answer.​

​

When he finally looked she was gone. Only broken stars turning overhead. For the first time since entering Jedha, the chamber felt cold.​

​

Tags: OPEN​

 

[Varin Mortifer]

VARIN MORTIFER

LEHON​

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


Varin's head tilted at her question about using fire. The thought did land on him but he decided on a different approach.

“If I were to use my fire the whole forest would burn along with the temple and the so called nerds you are trying so hard to find.”

The crunching on the granola made his eye twitch at the noise. The sounds of chewing always irked him.

“Could you quiet that down? It's hard to concentrate with all of that noise.”

He looked back to her again a bit confused.

“Do you not see the big fething wall he-”

He looked back at the wall to see yet more jungle. His gaze sharpening, he then noticed something.

He handed her another small blade.

“You could be helping to make this easier.”

He grumbled something in his head to Ignati, some sarcastic talk about how the knife likely fit her stature better. Only, Ignati did not respond.

That caused him to pause.

Hello? Are you in there? I'm talking with you.

Nothing. Not silence, just nothing.

It was different and weird. Nothing like Ignati's usual cold shouldering or silent treatments. He stopped what he was doing.

“Something isn't right.”

Tamsin Starfall​

 

[Efret Farr]

"You're Covenant."

The statement struck her as an accusation even though she was sure that it wasn't. It was just the first time she had heard that since leaving Naboo. Granted, she had never officially aligned herself with the High Republic, but she had still considered herself a Jedi until recently.

"Yes," she affirmed.

When he turned away from her to regard the ruins and ponder the meaning of their encounter, she moved a few steps closer, a vain attempt to see what he said, but the meaning of that one sentence was lost. He faced her again in the next moment and understanding snapping back to her.

Once he was finished speaking, she blinked in confusion. "Survive us?" she repeated rhetorically. The robotic voice of her interpretation device echoed softly through the corridor. "Our survival here is not certain." Though her delivery was emphatic through body language, she did not seem angry. She only offered a shift of perspective to a new ally who she hoped might find it helpful. Survival here was not limited to that of the body; it extended to one's preservation of their mind—specifically of their convictions. "We would be lucky to leave this place the same people who came. This observatory, this moon. Jedha is an incredible Light side vergence."

Her mind wandered to Malva'ikh, the Dark side Elite she had fought the last time she was here. How had he and his company kept their wits about them? He hadn't wavered once in an environment bathed in so much Light, even dominating a Jedi Master on their impromptu battlefield. It must have been quite the feat to be that grounded on a world so hostile to your very being. They must have prepared for it for at least months it advance.

"We must be cautious."

Was she really giving a Sith advice?

Yes, and she would do well to abide by it as well. She stood with this Sith, as a Sith.

"Whatever exactly we're meant to find, I believe we'll be successful. I was an archeologist. My specialty was finding information in ruins like these."

Ever since resigning from the New Jedi Order Council as Chief Curator, engaging in archeology or even calling herself an archeologist had felt wrong. But now, in these circumstances, it was beginning to feel right once again.

"Both in artifacts and Echoes," she added.

Caelis Venn​

 

[Mellia Raine]

BELAZURA
Anet Raine​

Mell rolled the word around in her mouth, for a second, before she spoke -

"Sanctions."

Her tone suggested skepticism, as if Anet had suggested something entirely fanciful - like the existence of, say, Life Day angels, or paternal love.

Neither was she particularly impressed by her dear sister's warnings about the 'dangers of the Sith.' The Hutt Cartels were dangerous. The Black Sun was dangerous, not too long ago. The Sith? The Sith were only dangerous in the way a rabid akk hound was.

And Mellia had no fear of beasts.

"If you insist. More profit for me, then."

There was no point in arguing with her sister. So instead, Mell excused herself with a gesture, and departed for a guest chamber.

SOMETIME LATER...
LEHON​

It really was a beautiful view. Lehon, Rakata Prime, whatever one called it - gorgeous, with all of its blues and greens, its vast oceans and jungles. Mellia brushed her fingers along the glass of the Epiphany's bridge viewport, nails tracing patterns in the glass idly, thoughtlessly.

Covenant cruisers marred the beauty of the scene, though, cut across the sky like great, ugly knives hung in space. Which begged the question; if this was an area of Sith interest, why hadn't the Epiphany been boarded or shot out of space as soon as it approached? Why was it even being allowed to approach?

She bit the inside of her cheek, and pondered. There were very few options that made this situation look good for Anet - but the truth didn't click until her sister walked back into the room, and Mell's whole body tensed.

Some dreadful, creeping evil sat nestled in Anet's robes, and its presence sat in Mellia's gut like a knot. Quickly, she forced her posture to relax, though she couldn't regain her typical mirth quite yet.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world, sister." She tugged stiffly at her coat's lapel - high-necked, dark, stylish, but most importantly practical. Armorweave underlayer, blue witch mesh, hidden holsters...This was her workwear.

"So."

She forced a smile, though for once it wasn't easy, smug, arrogant. There was perhaps a twinge of sisterly concern in her voice.

"What was that about sanctions, earlier?"