The Return of the King (Don't be shy, jump in)

[Mythos]

"Lee... It's time to go back home"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4txbV5neVSY

They might have gotten hailed in orbit, attacked immediately upon entering orbit with the Atrisian fleet and the legions of Atrisia that formerly served the One Sith. Atrisians were notorious for isolationist policies and Mythos, their former king, knew all about it... it took courage for the Wyrrlock stardestroyer to make the jump into Atrisian space, the sight of the planet after the strings of light made by the hyperspace hit the transparisteel cockpit like a divine revelation from powerful gods. For the first time in years, the men and women of the Jar'Kai and the former king of Atrisia, saw the jewel of a planet in their eyes and Mythos could not hold back the smile.

Immediately, as expected, as every single cruiser, frigate and fighter not docked of the fleet made its way to Atrisian space Mythos was hailed by the Atrisian royal navy. The commands in Atrisian dialect came through the communication systems and Mythos payed them a diligent ear, they asked for identifications, for boarding permissions, usual threats of violence if left without compliance... Mythos smiled to himself, knowing what he knew, if they did not know it was Him, they would have begun shooting already. "Put me on display Captain"

With a nod the captain of the Atrisian fleet Mythos commanded put Mythos in the holocomunicator to speak directly with royal navy command. Mythos did not speak a word, he simply stared at the image of the commander of the royal navy expecting the traditional bow... expecting it... the moment of tension.

If the commander did not recognize him, if the commander decided this was a hostile encroachment of Atrisian space, Mythos would not have the return to Atrisia he wanted... it would be civil war. There was a moment of silence, Mythos holding the axe of Adas that identified him as ruler of this planet, it's people and it's domains in the system.... the pause seemed eternal for the men of the Decimus.... yet the bow came.

The entire star destroyer had a sigh of relief and a slow clap initiated in the cockpit, followed by cheers, followed by jeers and shouts of victory and laughter. "We are home boys, just like I promised... we are home" Mythos said while activating the holocumincators to all ships in the orbit.

"This is Animus, escort us to the capital my children... "
[member="Serena Bouie"]​

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Mythos"]

Ahh, Atrisia.

By another face and another name, she'd conquered this world once -- a long story, one that stretched back a good decade or so. She'd walked through a flame carpet bombardment, right up to the Imperial Palace, and accepted their surrender.

Good times were had by all.

Since then, Atrisia had gone through a variety of upheavals. The Madeleine Kahoshi regime had exacted authoritarian measures before an ignominious collapse. A terrorist had destroyed the capital city of Jar'Kai with an antimatter weapon. The One Sith had moved in, and with them a certain Ani Malgus, once of the Royal Naboo Security Force. Malgus was on her radar, both in her public face as a Theed official and in her private life. He'd publicly declared himself Darth Mythos at least once that she knew of, during wartime on Naboo several years ago, and once was enough. There were also indications that he'd been connected with a security breach in Theed not so long ago. And now he and a fleet had appeared in the Atrisian system. By all accounts, he'd come to reclaim his throne.

This wasn't the sort of opportunity that Lady Ajira Cardei of Theed Hangar could address. It was, however, a pretty fething decent fit for Ashin Varanin.

A single Sekairo-class stealth transport, an old Fringe Confederation dropship, deposited her on Atrisia. The Sekairo had the Connory trifecta -- stygium cloak, thrust trace dampers, gravitic modulator. There were maybe one or two types of exotic sensor that could pick it up, and they'd pretty much have to be right next to it, or know exactly what was coming and what direction it was coming from. Problems reaching the surface: zero.

The Imperial Palace's lone approach had been firebombed to Chaos and back a decade ago. The snow had returned, but a careful eye could still pick out the marks of the bombardment. Clad in anonymous and generic Mandalorian armor, Ajira stepped out of the hovering, cloaked dropship. Wind swirled as the Sekaira ambled away until called for. If there were comprehensive antipersonnel sensors around here, a single Mandalorian had just appeared from nowhere, as Mandos were wont to do. Said Mandalorian headed for the palace's perimeter.

 

[Mythos]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dypVv0NouI

Powerful thrusters deposited the massive star destroyer in the orbit shipyard, Mythos and his men exited the ship in gallant manor, blazing insignia and the flag of Atrisia waving high and proud. Mythos was always ahead, it was his way of life as well as his way of fighting, he lead from the front he never gave orders he himself could not or would not execute and he loved every single being under his command like children raised from his own breast. As King of Atrisia Mythos broke the mold on what a Sith Lord should be like while ruling; schools, hospitals, a campaign to eradicate all and any disease in the planet from terminal illness to the common cold. Mythos blazed a path to make Atrisia a jewel, a majesty in military, society and culture. Mythos was a king of the people, he walked among the common folk, strode outside the palace gates to man hammer and gravsled in construction himself, something that no Atrisian emperor before had ever done since the days of Uueg Tching.

He was no Atrisian, under noble Atrisian Law not only had he no actual claim but he was an outsider, a Gaijin... Nothing more, yet when the Sith gave him power he sought to earn it in the eyes of the people. Mythos saw in front of his eyes assembled just for him the entire sub-division of the royal Atrisian palace guard composed of sixhundred and sixty six Atrisian Men and women with more than eight battles each one.

The display of colors, the vehicles and silks, the gold and red embroidery, it was all here in orbit preparing for Mythos' descent into the palace. Mythos took it in pride, the Axe waving high over his head as knees hit the ground one after the other in recognition of the king who had returned. Behind Mythos was the Jar'Kai, the most fierce force wielding fighters Mythos had ever had the honor of commanding. They too were honored and praised in their return, Atrisian Heroes who served the true king. They made their way, escorted by fighters and royal frigates down to Jar'Kai the capital and to the palace... but Mythos... Mythos would not have his arival be in the palace.

"We march to the palace, we march from the Mukashi Cante to the palace, through the villages"

Not too strange of a command, the Atrisian commanders lowered the royal fleet to the Area Mythos intended, a poor area, poorer than the rest in any case and filled with common folk and farmers alike. When Mythos' ship landed the area around it was swarmed with Atrisian people from all over the Cante, each curious to see what was this all about. When the ramp hit the floor and, as usual, Mythos came down the ramp first emotions were mixed. Mythos did not fully step down from the ramp when he was assaulted with cheers and shouts of both anger, confusion and joy. This was the job, these were the people... if their hearts did not belong to him willingly.... Mythos did not consider himself worthy to rule.

He let the screams and shouts die down while standing proudly, axe in hand and banner held high, Jar'Kai at his back and determination in his eyes. It took a long while for the crowd to simmer down, when they did Mythos fearlessly strode into the crowd waving the riot guards who held them at bay to stand back. The crowd did not know how to react once the space between them and Mythos was cleared.

Mythos took this chance to speak. "I heard you thought I was dead" He said in a joking tone. It was met by chuckles and grumbling... again, mixed emotions. "I am alive and well My children, I am here again... but i need you to understand why i left" He began speaking, walking among the crowd of people with no fear of concealed weapons or the angry eyes behind the crowd. Shouts of "You abandoned us!" as well as "Glory to the force! you have returned!" and everywhere in between drowned him

He pointed to the Atrisian who said he abandoned them and nodded. "I Did. You are right, have no fear to speak your mind! I am your father not your executioner! I will not rule a people who dare question me!" Mythos shouted in a powerful voice full of pride and authority, the people nodding and whispering among themselves. "But did you ask Why i abandoned you young man?... did you ask what happened to Me, to the One Sith, to the Emperor that caused me to have to leave Atrisia?"

Silence...

"I would never abandon you..not unless I had to... I have never failed your before my children... Do you trust me? Will you stand by me again as i return Atrisia to even further glory now the chains the One Sith had on me have been broken!?" There was a loud cheer, even the man who shouted at him in an accusatory tone joined in... this is how Mythos won warriors... He won hearts first. "Then walk with me! All of you My Family! Children! Daughters and sons! To the palace! We will feast to celebrate my return and we will all speak on what is next for our family!"

The people's march to the palace, began.

[member="Ajira Cardei"]​

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Mythos"]

The city of Jar'Kai looked good for having been flattened less than a decade ago. That probably came down to Darth Mythos' influence: by all accounts, after the One Sith had installed him on the throne, he'd spearheaded construction and social services. He'd still aided and abetted any number of atrocities before and since, and carried them out himself on occasion. Still been an associate of the people who'd kidnapped and tortured her wife. But Ajira's hate wasn't so fixed that she couldn't see the complete picture. Any Dark Lord could pet a cat.

Since the Kahoshi administration and long before, the Atrisian palace had overlooked Jar'Kai from the mountains. The long switchbacked route, scarred and snow-clad, gave a decent view of the city and the landed ships. A procession and a crowd were working their way through the city in this direction.

At the edge of the pass, on a boulder, Ajira took a seat and waited. She didn't bother concealing her Force signature, or the cold, implacable strength she was gathering. Here, she wasn't a Naboo noblewoman, just some anonymous schutta in a tin can. So what if the rocks began frosting over, and a cold wind rolled down into the city? So what if Mythos -- a full-fledged Darth, last she'd heard -- felt her presence? All to the good.

 

[Mythos]

Word spreads as quick as the wind and as quick as the wind people gathered, Mythos leading the crowd through the main streets now mounted on his Guarlara, given to him by [member="Sage Bane"] long ago. The famed 'Valyshnya", the steed of legend the led the charge to defend naboo against the techno union was actually very old but his fame was definitely not aged. After the battle of Lujo Mythos lost the connection to the force in battle, he also gained many scars and injuries that later healed, their footprint on his body did not. Across his body Mythos sported a universe of scars, from third degree burns to severe lacerations to everything in between yet he was the best shape of his life. The absence of the force caused a change in him, he desperately needed to compensate for the loss of his powers, this brought him to dedicate himself solely on becoming stronger than he ever was a a 'Darth'.

His commanders however, they were not so blind. Mythos had with him the Jar'Kai commanded by Lee his trustworthy captain and second hand in all dealings since the death of Martha, his former captain in the battle of Chazwa. Force sensitive warriors that fought beside him in countless engagements, they did pick up on the anomaly and sent information through the correct chain of command. Once Lee got word of it, and he already knew, he informed Mythos through hand signals and Mythos nodded back, feigning calmness.

This was a time that was different for Mythos, different than anything he was used to at least. Mythos was used to leading the charge and taking critical decisions but here he could not, he was with the people and engaging everyone he could, he needed to trust Lee to do his job and take the necessary precautions in their march to avoid any trouble or casualties. Needless to say, security was in high alert. Lee met with his fellow commanders and they discretely exchanged basic information. "You feel it too?" Lee said to the Enok brothers, two commanders from the Sentinel division of the Jar'Kai. "Yeah, it's bad, and it's big... and were heading right towards it."

Lee mulled everything over, the size of the force waves and the fact that it was getting stronger... no one in the area realized it because the Capital was still far away but Lee and the rest of the Kai did. "Inform command and tell them to execute order six hundred sixty six" The brothers snapped at him, eyes staring in confusion. "The inquisitors? They have been inactive for decades" Lee nodded, eyes fixated upon Mythos and the surrounding areas of civilians and farm animals. "They have, that does not mean that they are gone, inform orbit and get a sweep of the area, send a three man team of the Bulwark to investigate"

They were gone like shadows after that.

[member="Ajira Cardei"]​

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Mythos"]

Three men appeared in due course, after she'd been meditating for a while. They wore brown leather armor, hybridized with a dark cloak, hood, and broad elbow-length sleeves over bracers. They wore masks that seemed styled after Gamorreans or some other tusked semi-humanoid species. The overall impression was Atrisian in the extreme. Each carried two lightsabres, and though Ajira had never been one for precision senses, they stunk of the Dark Side in a respectable measure. As good as most of Ke'dem's senior people, maybe. Three of them together might even be a threat to her if she didn't mind herself.

The Mandalorian helmet digitized and anonymized her voice. "My grandfather was an Atrisian inquisitor," she said. "So was one of my greatest students. I've known true Inquisitors, fought alongside them, killed them. What are you, you faceless men, hm?"

Deliberately, she turned her back on them. She stood on a boulder overlooking a slope. Down there, in the city, Mythos' procession continued to move this way.

"Do as you will."

 

[Mythos]

Mythos remembered riding on the mount into droid lines, and then doing it again against mandlorian forces in the form of Draco Vereen and the beskar plated tanks they carried. They stood no chance without proper One Sith armament but Mythos would have his stand for Nabooian freedom, now and forever to be free of any chains to any faction or entity other than the majesty herself... a queen he no longer knew was there. Three blaster bolts they took that day, one took him off the mount and two hit the legendary stead. Mythos no longer remembers how the steed got back to the ship but some of his men told him that the beast destroyed two droids and collapsed the skull of a mandalorian warrior before arriving at the ship and being tended for his injuries, of which there were several. Thus the legend of of Valyshnya, which roughly translates to steed of kings in common.

Lee on the other hand had other problems other than reminiscing, He was seeing the threat live on his holofeed and hearing the robotic words that came out of the warrior. Lee was sweating cold, the intensity of the situation getting to him as if he was really there sensing the power of the dark jedi. The Bulwark however felt no fear, they fought with power and sported alchemized terentatek leather to protect them against force based attacks. Inquisitors would have already seized the pray, attacked the enemy and disabled their use of the force but this was the Bulwark... they were not unthinking soldiers or super grunts... Individual men and women, Dark Jedi warriors who were trained to kill other force users and serve Mythos at all costs. The order came.

"Engage"

Yet not move came, the masks they wore stayed firm on the figure clad in beskar. Lee shouted again, thinking maybe his connection was out. "Engage the target! i repeat! engage the target!" Yet still no move came. The Bulwark stood expressionless, before one took one step forward and removed his mask. His name was Ino Hiotaka, a descendant of Atrisian soldiers of the past eras and last surviving member of his Noble house after the plague. His eye sported one scar that almost looked out of place in his young yet stern face. "Then why do you fight us? We seek no bloodshed today"

Lee did not believe in peace... Lee was furious. The Sith in him did not approve of this action, Mythos' thoughts on it however were yet unknown.
[member="Ajira Cardei"]​

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Mythos"]

Ajira didn't turn to face the speaker, though the buy'ce had a three-sixty pickup: she could see him just fine. Young, scarred, aware.

"Fight you? I've done nothing but stand on a hill."

She bit back an urge to call him son or boy, though he had to be less than half her age. Atrisians didn't respond well to diminutives. Well, nobody did, but Atrisians less than most.

Now, and only now, did she turn. She kept her hands empty and open, far away from her weapons. Her beskar'gam wasn't especially studded with hazardous things, as such suits went. Generic was the word.

"Do you serve Ani Malgus, the man who calls himself Darth Mythos, late of the One Sith?" She thought of communiques from her servant Ordavo, long embedded in the Sith Triumvirate and then the Sith Order. "Terrorist, butcher of children? If I don't know of what I speak, enlighten me, gentlemen."

 

[Mythos]

"Yes, and no" Ino said, his two Bulwark brethren taking off their masks as well. "We do serve Animus, but he is no terrorist and he would never slay an innocent man or torture a single soul. Or my life is forfeit!" He finished with a smile, sincerity in his eyes as he spoke. True, Mythos did kill thousands but it was in the midst of battle or conquest and he also hated torture with a passion rivaled by only jedi. So Ino was indeed telling the truth... in his point of view, casualties of war like crossfire or the destruction of cities to him were inevitable one way or the other. "But,may i ask... Butcher of children? That one definitely is new" Ino finished, sat on the hill were he stood and pulled out his pipe casually along with his three other mates. The two others were twins, Mish and Mika Vinish. They were Gaijin, poor and in servitude until Mythos began the hunt of force sensitives for his Jar'Kai, they turned out to be one of the most powerful force wielders in the entire unit. Humble, Innocent.... Fanatic to the end.

Meanwhile as the mass of people grew larger and larger, the amount of military personnel needed to keep a a handle on things became insane. "What the Kark are you doing!?" Lee could't leave, he needed to stay here with Mythos in case anything happened and he needed every member of the unit in their position. He decided, if they would't finish the job, he would handle it himself. He motioned for the order to be passed and the Inquisitors to move in and subtly take out the threat. If you spell subtly, like this. They would descend with a squadron of seven, surrounding the three warriors and the intruder... then seek to neutralize all four of them.
[member="Ajira Cardei"]​

 

[HK-36]

[member="Ajira Cardei"], [member="Mythos"],

HK was on the planet as well, using his own stealth transport to touch down in the planet's wilderness and making his trek closer to the Jar'Kai capital on foot. Atrisia was rather close to his current base of operation, so naturally the already nosy machined had some interest in the planet's politics, not only that, arrivals of fleet and big civil movements usually involved someone having a bounty placed on them, and having some early intel on a potential target was always useful in the bounty hunting business. The machine was also able to have a better look at Firemane armory since his recent re-activation, including their collection of loot from battles and skirmishes, Atrisian armor and weapons among them. HK liked the look of their suits and hoped turmoil would stir up some more of their tech he could observe. Now that he didn't had to divert some of his time to deal with galactic politics of a major faction the machine had more time on his cold metal hands, time he mostly used to churn out new designs, day after day, for his guild and Firemane's armories, but eventually he was bound to run out of ideas. So there he was, on Atrisia in midst of turmoil, checking if he would observe something of note that would inspire his future designs.

Unlike his usual behavior, for once he was trying to stay away from causing trouble, he simply found a nice sturdy tree on a hill overlooking the capital, and plopped down in its branches, wrapped tightly in his cloak, a bowcaster hanging off of his back, two revolvers and a couple of cylindrical objects on his belt along with miscellaneous gadgets he could use in case trouble found him either way. Which may have just came to pass, at the edge of his vision, the machine noticed some kind of movement on a hill few hundred meters away.

There was a pair of electronic macrobinoculars pressed to his faceplate, he used the device to witness the events in the capital city from safe distance, watching the movement of people through its streets, enjoying the history in the making and his ability to survey it. Then his vision traveled to the hill with seemingly a Mandalorian and a group of Atrisian soldiers, he scanned over their position with the futuristic binoculars, deciding to stay in his tree for now, calculating whether it would be worth it to even get involved in the first place, or simply flee if a fight would start. But for now it didn't seem out of ordinary, just a group of people on a hill, probably enjoying the sight just like the machine was, so he diverted his gaze back to the city, looking over the events.

Through his distraction and the barrier of Atrisian buildings he wasn't able to spot the soldiers closing in on Ajira and the soldiers chatting her up.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="HK-36"] [member="Mythos"]

"It's not such a mystery," said Ajira with a shrug. "I had agents embedded within the Sith Triumvirate before its collapse, and they passed on information about your master's personal butchery of an orphanage, in revenge for some slight or offense."

Her head tilted. Helmet sensors weren't the best things ever, but the helmet's suite did include a life-sign scanner and a motion detector. Seven individuals were closing in, close enough that she should have seen them. Clearly enough, they were using the rocks for cover, and that didn't bode well. The atmosphere fuzzed around her, a dense hard-air shield mated with an impermeable nope, but she drew no weapon and made no move. That wasn't her way. Long ago, she'd traded most of her pyrotechnic and cinematic skillset for greater powers of Force protection. Shielding herself against basically anything, for a time anyway, was her default response to most threats.

"Seven individuals are approaching," she said. "They'll be here in thirty seconds or less. Are they your reinforcements, or are we about to come under attack?"

 

[Mythos]

It was now officially out of hand. The crowd around Mythos was enormous and it grew in size with every passing second, Mythos had dismounted the steed and proceeded to walk beside it on foot as to better look the people eye to eye while engaging them. There was now a full blown parade with several thousand people and more filling the street, vendors and salesmen took the opportunity set up mobile shops and goods, musicians and marching bands assembled on the fly as now Mythos brought forth his trusty Tuk'ata Groom to walk beside him. The Tuk'ata was now an adult, far from the young pup that was in Atrisia when Mythos once ruled, the sith hound was now tall enough for his head to reach Mythos' shoulder while on all fours and large enough to ride. Groom also was a famed beast much like the steed, he was Mythos' throne guardian as well as his fighting partner for many years now... he was also smarter than Mythos even realized. The parade continued over a large hill, at the top the palace could be seen and Mythos along his men set sights on the massive and imposing building at the edge of the horizon... then the march carried on, full parade and colors blazing the trail.

Lee was in the crowd, shoving and squeezing to stay close to Mythos and at the same time monitor the situation with his men and the intruder who he considered a threat massive enough to justify all means of extermination. "Inquisitors engage"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38zmdwd5K3E
On the hill beside the warrior Ino listened intently to the words of the warrior while puffing away at his wooden pipe, he carved it himself from Midvinterian whitewood, it was quite the piece. The orphanage, Ino nodded in understanding of the warriors words mentally and conceding her point while also respecting her point of view on the matter.... but not without his retort. "The Orphanage on the Ocean of Coruscant was a subsection of Darkwater and a Sith organization... the young-lings in the compound were under training to become sith warriors, to form a legion of thousands of sith under the command of this shadow council..." He blew out a long and dense fog of white smoke from his lips, pausing to remember the day that haunted many in the unit then he looked at her with his single yellow eye with no readable emotions on his face. "A force of such nature would end entire worlds... wipe out lives as countless as the stars in the sky..." He truly believed that story, he needed to as did many others who shared a mutual concept of honor, even if that was not the primary reason for the deed. In truth Mythos was petty and brutal, he thought himself a chosen warrior of the force and a bringer of the Sith'ari, vengeful to those who did him wrong in even the slightest of ways... but his men made him out to be better than he actually was and then some. Mythos was a Sith and a warrior, a conqueror and a prideful monarch... his flaws were not perfect and they were numerous... but his men and his people made of him what they wanted him to be, built up the legend of Mythos to be the king everyone deserved. "We did what needed to be done... none rejoiced on that day." That was not true, Lee did but no one knew that for certain. Lee was more of a Sith than Mythos had ever been, Lee cared not for life or its preservation, for justice or honor or liberty, he cared only for power and victory.

Suddenly the warrior used the force brutally and formed a barrier of the force, the three warriors narrowed their eyes but other than that made no move. She asked if they were friend or foe, Ino responded with a raised eyebrow and a grin. "They are not ours... only seven?" He asked jokingly while using telekinesis to levitate himself off the ground and casually stand relaxed, still smoking on his pipe. The two behind him donned their masks again casually preparing their lightsabers accordingly. "Poor bastards..." Mika remarked, a girlish giggle escaping her lips as she cracked her neck in flexing for combat. The Kai relished combat and fighting over anything else in the galaxy, wine, money and everything else held no joy to them as much as battle did, they lived to fight and die a glorious death along side Mythos or in his service. It was what they were born to do.

As the Inquisitors approached Ino looked over to the warrior on the hill, smile steady on his lips as he realized who exactly these assassins were and who sent them. "Let us make a friendly wager shall we?" Ino said as he placed his mask over his face and ignited his red blazing lightsaber and stored his pipe in his pocket. "If i kill more of them than you, You remove your mask as we did" Ino thought it was perfectly reasonable and honorable to show the same courtesy as received, he also had a nagging curiosity with this warrior that was strange to him.
[member="Ajira Cardei"] @HK-36​

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

Ren walked with a protective hand on her son's shoulder. She could hear [member="Mythos"] speaking to the crowds and she felt the anger, the loss, and the sadness which radiated from each one. She had long ago learned to protect herself from the emotions, save for a few.

They had left Atrisia to go to live in the swamps of Dagobah to hide and regroup, then Mythos went on to Midvinter leaving them there until he called for them. Now they came full circle back to Atrisia.

The Jar'kai who had protected them at every turn remained ever loyal at every step, but what of those that had been left behind, what of those whose anger burned not about a ruler having left, but of a ruler returning and his expectation of those he sought to rule over.

Adas looked to his mother for a moment he could feel it too, the rage around them. They each took a step when the opposition took form, the masks. Ren had not seen them in her visions that coming. She who know Mythos better than most, his thoughts, his ways, even his desires.

Groom was stalking beside his master, it was unpredictable what would set the creature off. Ren saw Mythos get off his mount. In the past she would have felt anxiety, fear for his safety. Not today, today she knew that he had a destiny as they all did, when it was time, it was time.

Now was not his time, he would show them what strength he had gained in his absence from the galaxy

[member="HK-36"] | [member="Ajira Cardei"]

 

[HK-36]

[member="Ajira Cardei"], [member="Mythos"], [member="Serena Bouie"],

The machine finally noticed the approach of armed Atrisians on Ajira and friends' position. HK slid off of the branch he claimed as his sentry position, clutching to the sturdy limb with his hand to break his fall before finally releasing it and landing on his feet. He scanned the troops and calculated what course would be best for him. There's always the option to just walk away into the woods and leave this planet, after all the stake he had in it was minimal, he cared little for the locals' politics, who was he to judge and force their policies anyway? And besides, even if a hostile government took over, they were still only a single planet, he survived with the Sith and Vong as his neighbors, he would probably survive this as well.

He turned towards the woods, turning his back to Ajira's position,

But then again, it was a Mandalorian who was involved, and seemingly ambushed now, or so the droid thought judging from the armor Ajira wore. Although the machine did not fully aligned himself with the Vods anymore, there was still a sentiment he followed regarding them, a degree of kinship he perceived them through, after all it was Mandalorians who in days long gone by freed him from Hutt control and allowed the machine to roam the Galaxy, allowing him to join their army. To this day when Mandalore issued a cry for help the droid would usually answer, he came to their aid when Sith invaded Mandalore, and when Keldabe was nuked, the droid personally hunted down the man responsible and dragged him in chains before the Mandalore himself so that justice for the slain could be done.

So the machine decided, he turned back again, his hands reaching down to unholster a pair of Magnetic Revolvers, heavy variant, a recent design in shattergun technology his allies manufactured.

But then he saw that shield go up in the air, and it made him freeze in his tracks. He saw shields like that before, quiet recently in fact, during one of the battles Protectroate was involved in to push the One Sith out of their territory, shortly before he deactivated himself to pass the time faster. HK encountered a barrier similar to it when he faced off Darth Meow-meow, or Mierin, or whatever it was. He calculated then, how many Mandalorians in contemporary times used Force? Was the current regime one that frowned upon manipulation of the space-magic like in ancient times or did they not care?

He combed through his memory banks, did Gilamar use Force? No, he just had a beard. Lady Mandalore Mia? Well she was scary, even to the ancient droid, but he did not recall ever seeing her use such powers. Ordo used the Force! And became a Sith Lord as far as HK was concerned, bad example. He was able to confirm that he heard from Siobhan about at least one Mandalorian in recent times who used the Force and did not totally suck, that was enough for a droid to assume the Mandalorian force-user may have been one of the good guys.

Still, he held off from interfering just yet, hiding in the brush with his weapons ready, just to see how the situation still develops and if perhaps he would be able to notice more clues.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Mythos"] [member="HK-36"]

"My face is not solely my secret to keep," said Ajira. "And I've brought too much death in my day to enjoy competition. Do as you will."

Seven Inquisitors closed in: two for the levitating man, one each for his two compatriots, and the other three for her. She felt a touch on her spirit, expert in its way: they were attempting to suppress her connection to the Force. Darts, maybe loaded with ixetal cilona or neurotoxin, shattered against her Force shields and the armor plates beneath. Without undue haste, Ajira reached to the small of her back and drew a simple lightsabre. A red blade hissed to life, the kyber crystal pulsing crimson in reflection of its wielder. No true kyber crystal would go willingly to a Darksider: she'd taken this one by force, and now the crystal always wept red light. It was difficult in this day and age to find a really good lightsabre crystal, between One Sith exploitation and Silver Jedi mass production, if there was a difference in rapacity. Still, she'd obtained a decent one, and the sabre was serviceable enough. She raised the hissing blade in a vertical Makashi salute, hilt before her T-visor, then flicked it down and away.

They were still trying to cut her off from the Force. Something had to be done about that.

Her empty left hand snapped up and made a fist. It took a serious strength differential, and a great deal of expertise, to bull through another Forcer's natural aura. That was the reason Forcers didn't just rip out each other's hearts or shatter each other's sabres with a thought. These Inquisitors had strength, true, but not enough to resist her. The leftmost of her three attackers clutched at his throat and levitated half a metre off the ground. Her incorporeal but tangible grip was expert: a blood choke produced unconsciousness in a handful of seconds, too soon for him to find a countermeasure. As his aura faded, she snapped her fingers and broke his neck. That was one down.

 

[Monster]

Walking by he notices a battle going on. He grabs his lightsaber in his hand and slowly walks over but instead of joining a side he watches from a distance not sure if he should take a side. "Interesting" he said in a deep voice. He then sat down with the lightsaber laying next to him also reaching around to his bag grabbing some food while the battle begins.

 

[Mythos]

While the battle commenced and Lee oversaw things from inside the crowd Mythos was blissfully unaware of the violence and bloodshed being spilled in his name. Groom was now walking with a small child in his back and Mythos held two in his powerful arms as they walked. His son was not yet announced... The people still did not know that the king had a heir, they knew even less that he was here among them by his mother. "I thought you didn't like kids" Mythos said to his hound, the beast puffing hard from his nostrils in response. "Just as long as they aren't yours am i right?" Mythos said laughing, while accepting prayer beads from one of the locals. "I perfectly understand the sentiment buddy" Groom roared in response while Mythos tossed him a Pelko Bug he kept close in hand, they were his favorite treat and though the sting pained Animus at first and in his initial trips to Korriban, the sting was nothing more than a prickle now. The people loved the show but many grew anxious and Mythos knew he had much still to do..

After a small march Mythos with a crowd of now hundreds of thousands arrived at the gates of the palace that swung majestically to let the king and his people in. Petals and flowers were dropped from the high towers and trumpets of celebration as well as fireworks lit up the sky and ground. A squadron of Blade Star fighters danced across the sky, belching red and black smoke in intricate patterns. Mythos mounted his steed and rode into the gates with his men at his sides and the people following closely behind. It was a moment for modern Atrisian history.

While Mythos made his triumphant return to his throne, Ino and his two sisters of battle were a bit busy. Ino was boastful, confident and cocky of his abilities... even after loosing an eye that he referred to as a "Scratch". He held his lightsaber in an inverted grip, smiling at the assassins clad in black cloaks and sporting an array of gadgets. As the inquisitors attempted to suppress his force wielding affinity Ino simply allowed them to... Thus the secret of the Jar'Kai. The Jar'Kai were designed to kill other force users but not by matching their powers of the force with numbers against a single more powerful opponent, or even matching force powers blow for blow... that was not how they operated. The Jar'Kai worked off the premise that they were skilled fighters with or without the force where as force wielders normally would be much weaker once the power of the force was of no use to them or of no effect to their opponents. Ino strode calmly as the first inquisitor shot a whip made of a powerful fiber at him which Ino wrapped around his right arm... the smile still on his face. As expected the second inquisitor did the same and Ino allowed his second arm to be wrapped in the metallic fiber. Once both whips were in place Ino executed a backflip in place while also whirling around to pull in the inquisitors and release his arms from the whips. His enemies stumbled forward but held their balance steady... only for Ino to seize the momentum with a set of two flying roundhouse kicks at blinding speed. He knocked them down like a set of wooden stakes on loose ground, the impact of the kick snapping the neck of one of the inquisitors. He was dead before he hit the floor. As the other inquisitor stumbled to get back up Ino removed his head from his shoulder with a swift Jar'Kai style swing of his lightsaber.

"That's two warrior! it looks like I am winning! " "Shut your mouth Ino, If you fought as well as you spoke Lee would't be captain and Mythos would't be king." Mika never held her tongue, her sister was so quiet and shy many thought she was mute but her fist on her mouth taunting Ino was a universal sign of "You just got burned". The sisters fought with intelligence and caution, something Ino knew nothing about. They were back to back as they were encircled, protecting each others force presence and watching every slight move the assassins made. They held each other by the shoulder, they used the force to enhance their body to move even faster and with more strength than normal then they began to spin around, Mika holding the center and her sister extending an ignited lightsaber at the end. What resulted was a cyclone of plasma and the dark side of the force. When they let go, they were blasted from the circle they made on the ground at a speed that made Ino's single eye almost pop out of it's socket. "How did.." Ino whispered to himself as he straightened his back and narrowed his eye, the sight so baffling that he could't really process it. Mika was blasted so hard into an Inquisitor as he extended his twin lightsabers that her lightsaber never even connected, only her knee met the center body mass of the closest inquisitor and her elbow met the same mans face. What was left of the Inquisitor was mush, his armor and his body was depressed inwards by the strength of the impact that sounded like a speeder crash.

Her elbow dislocated, but so did the Inquisitors entire body. The sight was so shocking and jarring to both Inquisitors and Ino that there was a slight moment of pause from both combatants. Mika's sister spoke the first words Ino had ever heard her speak. "Forces' Sake Mika..." She shook her head, slight smile under her mask as she processed the impressive sight. Mika was now looking the inquisitor who remained dead in the eye beneath her mask.

[member="Ajira Cardei"] [member="HK-36"] [member="Serena Bouie"]​

 

[HK-36]

[member="Mythos"], [member="Ajira Cardei"], [member="Monster"], [member="Serena Bouie"],

The appearance of a red plasma blade cleared things up for the droid, the Mandalorian was some sort of a dark-sider. Which, in his calculations, meant this was basically a fight between two Sith-ish factions, one the machine had no stake in. Even if he would be hoping to take out a Sith and a bunch of possibly hostile Atrisians in one stroke, it was not worth it just having to deal with a dark-side Force user and making a political incident out of this.

So the droid spun his two revolvers on his fingers and put them back into his holsters, moving back away from the brush to retreat into the foliage and sneak away, possibly to find another, more quiet spot and watch the political proceedings, but probably to get back into his stealth transport and get off of this crazy planet where people kicked each other so hard that the bodies just got obliterated. He wrapped the black cloth of his chameleon cloak around himself tightly and engaged its stealth field, the material shimmering slightly before rendering him invisible.

 

[Draconis Caesar]

Draconis was here on Atrisia for no other business then his own. He wandered through the seething tide of humanity attempting to get a better look at these people's king. His face was hidden deep within the depths of his brown cloak and his saber sat idly on his waist. He was only a padawan, but still had the common sense about him to mask his emission of force energy. He also had the common sense to not let his master know he was here... Draconis was not interested in a fight, the political fall out would be disastrous. What really interested him was how this once all powerful Sith had lost his connection with the force. What better way to passively neutralize such a foe then by taking away his power? As Draconis walked the petal littered streets and drew ever nearer to this beloved king he couldn't help, but wonder why. Why do these people love such a tyrant. He had heard stories of Sith manipulations on such scales that whole galaxies bent knee to them, but this man seemed genuinely interested in his people. He was either a genius Sith master mind or a born politician. Both were snakes in Draco's eyes. Draconis was now close enough to see the king lead his parade. He seemed a kindly fellow. All smiles and waves, but looks were easily deceiving and he was still once Sith. He reached out with a miniscule amount of the force and probed the man. His connection to the force felt like a gaping wound. As if someone had hacked it off with a dull knife and it made Draco cringe inside. Just that small touch made him sick. He backed into the crowd again and hoped his master wouldn't be looking for him. He genuinely thought he was on to something. He just needed to get a closer inspection of the King.

[member="Mythos"]

 

[Kass Vale]

Kass was on assignment to asset the political situation of Atrisia. the first order wanted to keep an eye on [member="Mythos"] his return could signal well he wasn't sure high command didn't give him the information. kass decide to blend in with the locals he spent weeks making a false identity not cheap. his assumed identity was Sgt Monroe newly promoted and assigned to Mythos's welcoming not that the locals would know about the arrival prior first order information gave him this edge. the locals where happy for his return he'd spoke to honeyed words and marched off to his palace though the villages. strange why would the first order be interested in this man a well placed snipers squad could have eliminated him as a factor. kass strode into the palace without much trouble the people followed never had he seen this much love for a sith.

[member="Draconis Caesar"] [member="HK-36"] [member="Ajira Cardei"]