The Reclamation of Helska [Sith Empire Dominion of Helska]

[Thyrian Hearthfire]

Discomforted by the many minor wounds his Queen had sustained during the fighting, the Ashborn was hesitant to leave her side. Should she buckle under the pain and he not be there to catch her, he would never forgive himself. Her previously beautiful, pale skin was now marred and scarred by dozens of blasters and small cuts. It pained him greatly to see her such, yet she did not show any signs of pain herself. Perhaps she had found a way to siphon her pain onto the Ashborn without him knowing it? It certainly felt that way, in either case. She was still so young, with a long life ahead of her - why place herself in such harmful situations with the chance of not living through the day? Had Thyrian been given any choice in the matter, he would not seek battle willingly; he does not take pleasure in taking lives so readily, but neither does he shy away from doing so when tasked to. She was his Queen, his mistress, and his master - her wish was his command.

Once the fighting in the immidiate area had died down with only a few executions being carried out by the Imperial troops here and there, he was tasked with rounding up the survivors - if there were any left standing, that is. His reluctance to leave her side caused him to send Skydd to do it for him so that he could see to her wounds. Part of being a man-on-fire is being able to effectively treat burns and such ailments. Looking upon her face would always bring shame the large man - a face so young and otherwise flawless, now imperfect by the large, visible scar he had left her with during his subjugation. To think this face was the same he had fallen in love with over a decade ago was remarkable. Mind you, the love he felt for his Queen was that of a father, or an older brother. Had he been able to shed tears, Thyrian would now be doing so from sheer shame. "KÄRA..." he whispered from behind his mask. "...YOU ARE HURT." By that time Skydd had managed to round up the unlucky survivors and lined them up on their knees before his master, and at the same time a dark, shadowy figure emerged seemingly out-of-nowhere. He did not seem hostile, and the fact that he called Thyrian by name gave away his own. "LORD FAUST..." he said with slight disbelief in his voice, along with a small inclination of his head in the Sith Lord's direction.

@[member="Kära Vi'dreya"] @[member="Marcus Faust"]

 

[Onrai]

Wits end was near as most of the Imperial warships left the planet. With no heavy firepower to attack the ice, Circe sighed, resigned to crossing her arms and watching as the pumps distributed more and more water from the enormous tank of a planet Helska was. Unless...

"Freighter 1, this is Pump Station Aurek."

"Go ahead, Aurek."

"Freighter 1, could you use your lower laser cannons to blast us a hole several kilometers west of our position for another pump station to use?"

"Can do, Aurek. Moving into position now."

 

[Olom Grihk]

Olom threw back another cup of something warm and mildly hazardous to the bloodstream as he looked about. Everything was going according to his plan. Circe's work seemed to be going slower, than hoped for. He could fix that. "Lady Pandeima, this is Olom Grihk," he said on the comm-link. "I am deploying a demolitions team via airdrop to assist in your water harvesting. They will have sufficient explosives to help you get all pump stations active," he said calmly as he flipped another switch, hearing Krag's retort. "Excellent, Krag. I sincerely doubt they'll give you any trouble. Their main strength is in numbers," he mused with a dry, sardonic wit. He added a few more programs to the droid's instructions. He wondered if he could get a small research outpost here....

 

[Darth Osano]

"Question, Knight Pandeima." Came a metallic voice from behind Circe as TB-18 stepped out from the shadows. How long had he been there? Hard to say. TB-18 was in lots of places when he shouldn't be. Or maybe that it wasn't he shouldn't have been there, but probably just wasn't supposed to be there. It was ambiguous whether he was really of any military authority or not. Some would say the Super Tactical droid was really just a stand in for organic commanders.

TB-18 was fine with that designation.

"Have we considered the potential environmental impact to Helska? This seems an awful lot of water. Transporting it could also be costly."

 

[Onrai]

"Excellent, Olom. Your assistance will be greatly appreciated, and I'll be sure to give you a tank or two of water for your own use."

Turning to the TB-18 droid, she gave a soft smile. "Helska is a planet with absolutely no life on it, sentient or otherwise. If anything, the removal of the planet's water will cause the planet's icy shell to collapse and melt. More water will then be harvested until it's at a sufficient ratio with the world's above-water land masses that we can transport people and facilities here. As well, it'll give us an opportunity to finally determine what minerals or other resources the planet has, thus exploiting them for the glory of the Empire."

That was the plan, after all. No life on the planet meant that People for the Ethical Treatment of Non-Sentient Creatures wouldn't be after her.

 

[Onrai]

Meanwhile, in orbit, the last of the military ships were leaving the area. Bosch gave a soft smile as he drank from his cup of tea, eager to get to work with the new generation of ships being designed and prepared for the Imperial navy. They would be ready whenever war broke out, that was certainly for sure.

"Get me a shuttle once we reach the dock. I want to see these new destroyers and other vessels that have been nearing completion. Particularly the Interdictus and Observator. Perhaps there are other ships at R&D."

And with that, the Iceni left the field of battle.

 

[Lief]

When they were a safe distance away from the melted ice the young Knight halted before turning to face what remained of the camp and the pirates themselves. Thyrian was expressing concerns for her wounds, and doing his best to tend to them, but for the most part Kara did not notice. The pain she could overcome by drawing upon it, fuelling herself through the emotions, no; her thoughts were elsewhere. She did not kill for the sake of killing, to destroy was to put an end to - there could be no tactical advantage save as a last resort. The pure carnage here today could have been avoided, but it would have hindered the Empire's advancement. Was that right? Perhaps it was, or maybe it wasn't, Kara did not stand tall with the scales of Justice within her hands.

Yet when Skydd appeared with the small host she had captured her spirits rekindled. With a little work they would be once again fit to work, specifically as crew upon the ship she was presently constructing. The same would be said of the crews she had already subjugated at the beginning of the Dominion - the ships would go to the Empire, but the men were hers. That was simply the way this worked. "Lord Faust" she said, despite the fact the man was of rank with her, inclining her head slightly as a sign of mutual respect. "Let us retire to move comfortable surroundings, I daresay this is over." And with that she left for the Vhailor with her Apprentice, fellow Knight, droid and small host of prisoners in tow. What a productive day this had been...