Private The Indulgence of the Bourgeoise

[Onrai]

Telis Taharin-Zambrano

With the civil war having started within the Sith Empire, the military might of the Imperial Army and Navy were needed more than ever before. Every vessel that could be used against the treasonous heretics would need to be effectively put into use. Military stockpiling was not the most effective way to direct the war in the Sith’s favor. But there was one location that had resources to a degree that no other system in the Empire, besides perhaps the Imperial capitol, possessed.

That location was Nathema.

Nathema had several fleets worth of naval vessels there, of differing type from any other ship in the Empire. These vessels were complemented by millions of Dark Troopers, Radtroopers, and Bloodtroopers, all of whom were equipped with a wide variety of specialized and particularly lethal weapons. All of whom had been rebuild from their crippled and disabled states.

All of whom were devoted to Vanessa Vantai.

It was no wonder then that the individuals at the mighty Orbital Complex above the agricultural world, a world capable of surviving on its own in the event of Imperial collapse, a world that had been crafted as a fallback position in the event of Sith defeat, detected an atypical signal on their sensors. It wasn’t one of the Sith ships that patrolled the sector, nor was it part of the Maldrood fleet or a civilian freighter transporting goods of varying types.

“Unknown vessel, please identify yourself and your intentions.”

 

[Telis Taharin-Zambrano]

In Aagenti’s mind, Nathema was still a backwater planet with only a moniker of interest built into it from its history. He had no plan to ever head to the ancient-scarred world, especially not with the beasts that still roamed the deep forests and roving wilds, but there came to his desk a new notification, some three days prior to present time, acknowledging a Sith Lady that evening he, in his new position of unrelenting power, had not yet heard of - Onrai . It was then an arduous few days as he dug through files to find anything on the woman that he could, eventually landing on the sentiment that he simply had to visit her.

It was that truth that brought him to Nathema, in the large Sith-Imperial Cruiser that now slowly approached the space station, moving silently through the darkness of space and only outlined by the glare of a distant star. At its helm stood Aagenti, a Lord on his throne, as all around him pilots and soldiers worked to keep the ship running, sending intercepting the call forwarded to them by the station and returning with a message of their own.

”Stand down, station. This is an official visit from the Pyramid of Military Command. Any firing upon the ship will be taken as an act of war, and your fleets will be annihilated.” The message would be sent to the station’s monitoring station, though with a flick of his hand, Aagenti took control of his ship’s network; closing his eyes as he bolstered the message to play across the whole station, making sure everybody knew that he was indeed arriving. Ever since becoming a Dark Councillor, it was far too easy to make a memorable entrance.

Slowly, without fear, the behemoth of a Cruiser continued its flight path towards the bay of the station, eventually docking just outside the opening, as Aagenti left the helm and left the pilots and navigators to their work. Moving through the halls of the vast ship, Aagenti gathered respect from anybody he passed by, a retinue of pilots and soldiers gathering by him while those passing by pushed themselves to the walls as he passed, somewhat unnecessarily, but a force of habit when dealing with previous leaders of the Sith Empire, much of whom were at least two feet taller than the well-dressed and well-armored Coruscanti Councillor. Moving through the hallways, Aagenti eventually reached the small hangar bay of the Cruiser, seeing not only his own ship, but a few others that would be joining him in his visit.

There was a hive of activity as Aagenti moved into his ship with the small squadron of spare soldiers with him. The entirety of the squadron began to lift from the floor, racing off into the hangar of Vanessa Vantai’s station in a perfect formation strictly trained by Aagenti. It was a short flight, but a minor show of power in the process, as the ships eventually landed into the main hangar of the station, and the ships were immediately offloaded of all present Legionnaires and Aagenti, the pilots remaining behind to care for the crafts.

The hangar stopped as Aagenti made his appearance, his gold eyes reading the crowd around him as all eyes were set on him and the small squadron of soldiers. Without hesitation, Aagenti raised his voice, speaking to the room with a sense of familiarity and comfort, a thin smile on his lips. ”Well? Either show me the way to Lady Vantai, or get back to work.” Aagenti’s voice boomed over the hangar as he addressed the crowd, and eventually the soldiers who were gathered in the station made a scramble to begin leading the Sith Lord towards where Vanessa might be found.

It was not very subtle to hide the movement of Aagenti’s retinue, as they moved through the hallways under the guidance of Vanessa’s soldiers, completely silent save for the sound of their marching feet, and completely impassive save for the weapons held in their hands. Aagenti’s own hands were clasp at the small of his back, his gait mixed with a high posture and gentle sashay.

 

[Onrai]

If there was a palpable sense of tension that could be felt in the air upon the arrival of Telis Taharin-Zambrano and his entourage to the hangar bay, it was never more evident than his demand to be shown to where Lady Vantai was located. That, in concert with the message that had previously been broadcast, had made the military population of the ships floating in the system and the soldiers on board the station defensive.

A squad of soldiers would eventually arrive to meet the Sith Lord. They would say nothing to him, faces masked by blackened armor that was otherwise standard issue. The squad would begin to head to the central elevator, where the party would soon travel up hundreds of floors in order to reach the meeting room where Vanessa was waiting.

The doors would open to reveal a quartet of bloodtroopers and a table, with the light-haired Sith Lord sitting at the far end. The squad of troopers would remain still, but when the new Pyramid leader stepped outside the elevator, she would raise a hand.

“Your men. They have no part in this. They may wait back in the hangar bay.” She said. There was, as was the usual thoroughfare for Vanessa upon the arrival of guests, a serving droid with a tray of various small appetizers. It wasn’t stress eating, but Vanessa was about as tense as the rest of her men and women on the station. What this ‘Pyramid of Military Command’ wanted was unclear to her, but she was prepared for the worst in the event of hostility or blatant antagonism. And while she preferred not to, she recalled an instance many years back where Zahori Denko, herself a Sith Lord, had successfully raided Sith shipping without receiving so much as a reprimand for her actions.

She hoped such would not be the same.