The War of Evermore

[Arage Bao]

OOC: What is this?

Spoiler

This is the IC Civil War thread situated within the borders of the Fringe territories. The thread will not have a single specific location and instead will be about events all across the Confederation.

Spoiler

For those that have not yet read the planhttp://starwarsrp.net/topic/54909-the-plan/ thread in the Fringe forums, the civil war will have three distinct major factions.

The Old Guard, consisting of the old power players of the Fringe that do not support the Imperialization of their nation, the Imperials led by Jared Ovmar who is trying to create an Empire. The third faction is the Black Fleet, a corp of mercenaries that are skirmishing and assaulting Fringe Planes, spacelines et cetera.

Other possible threats are the Fringe’s ancient old enemies, the Sorcerers of Rhand, the Technobeasts of Darzu and a variety of other monsters which the Fringe has pushed back in its long campaign to bring stability to the Unknown Regions.

Join us and pick a side.

IC:

War, blood and mayhem. Those were the three nouns one could describe the Fringe with currently. It all started with the slow decline of the once proud nation. The remaining high officials were no longer able to keep control and stability a guarantee, member states were starting to look for separation, monsters which had once been pushed from their territories were slowly stalking in again, and icing on the cake was a mysterious Black Fleet popping up and wrecking any other remnants of order.

In this miasma of discord a new faction rose up, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that they jumped in when people had least expected it.

844 ABY. Above Annaj, a fleeting battle had raged, the defense force of the capital planet against the organized might of the Black Fleet and all had seemed lost. Until the arrival of the Chrysalidehttp://starwarsrp.net/topic/11740-chrysalide-class-battlecruiser/, the pride of the Fringe Fleet and once thought lost to the ravages of time, its sleek and majestic form jumped out of hyperspace at the head of a new fleet.

That day the Black Fleet had lost its first battle and Jared Ovmar returned to his capital, Annaj. It was here that he started to gather allies, to push all the enemies of the Fringe away and install a new order, an Imperial Order.

You might be a soldier of the Fringe Confederation, a lone Monster Hunter, perhaps a politician or a business owner. Maybe you don’t even have anything to do with the Fringe, or maybe you are a mercenary looking for opportunities of war.

This is that opportunity. Pick a side or don’t. Fight or flee. The Lords of the Fringe will prevail one way or another.

[member="Dissero"] | [member="Xander Blackmoore"] | [member="Cameron Centurion"] | [member="Nimue Stormson"] | [member="Coren Starchaser"] | [member="Anaya Fen"] | [member="Alen Na'Varro"] | [member="Inger Strömfire"] | [member="Lady Exedō"] | [member="Spencer Jacobs"] | [member="Lucien Cordel"] | [member="Evelynn Dorn"] | [member="Moira Skaldi"] | [member="Darth Vornskr"] | [member="Ashin Varanin"] | [member="Soliael Devin Talith"] | [member="Amorella Mae"] | [member="Sargon Vynea"] | [member="Elias Truden"] | [member="Matsu Xiangu"] | [member="Josiah Denko"] | [member="Jared Starchaser"] | [member="November Sinclair"]​

 

[Nimue Stormson]

Turmoil was an ugly thing, whether on a single planet or an entire territory of space. It had not occurred to the Empress of Effekt that things had been escalating between the Fringe leaders for this long until the message was sent out to all. Another war. And only after she'd managed to maintain stability on her own planet only a month ago. Now they were about to be plunged into another fight. Nimue was indeed conflicted on the matter. Part of her wanted to sit out and await to see who would emerge victorious. Another wanted to damn the Fringe itself and find partnerships elsewhere. But neither suited what she hoped to gain by staying within Fringe space. This had to be put to an end one way or another. Nimue had considered the sides and, after giving it some thought, knew where she stood. ​

​

Empires were only as strong as their leaders; something Nimue herself learned. And given what she'd seen and heard of [member="Jared Ovmar"] she knew that his path was one that would bring the Fringe into better light. An empire was something she'd already had rule over, so why not help to maintain a newer and more grander one. Ovmar would have her support in this overthrow of the old Fringe ways. It was time for change and those like her and the ones who stood with Ovmar would see that change occur. ​

 

[Jared Starchaser]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RleGG5PG_-s

The nice thing about Warbird Wing, and the whole crew of the Dawn Treader was they were focused. Not having been at Annaj when the Black Fleet arrived, but not far away, it had taken the ship very little time to snap into action. Call back the patrolling TIE Exalts, lock the fighters down and they were in hyperspace within the hour. Not being a typical Fringe unit allowed them the freedom to go where they were needed, when they were needed. During times of peace they operated as an independent unit, taking their own missions as they came. But there were two things that remained constant.

They were fighting back the darkness that was the Unknown Regions.

And they were fighting for imperialization of the galaxy.

The crew were all born out of Imperial sympathizers, they worked under several warlords and Chiss commanders during their time as an active military unit. Until the worst happened and they found themselves facing being faded out. Taking a discharge but working to keep the ship, through legal means, by former Senator William Wigefield with some not-so-legal help from former Wing Executive Officer Coren Starchaser, the ship became automated, gained a machine shop and was kept supplied.

That was all changing now. Jared Starchaser, the current Wing Commander, and leader of the almost-tribal paramilitary group, had devoted the ship and her resources, skills and firepower to the Fringe Federation. Assisting the crown jewel of the Fringe military in pushing back the Black Fleet. And that was when they sent down their representatives.

Ship Commander Lily Ardellian, and former Senator William Wigefield arrived at the summit hosted by none other than [member="Jared Ovmar"] and pledged the ship and Wing to the cause of developing a new Imperial Order to govern the worlds of the Fringe, and potentially the galaxy.

They were ready for war.

 

[Coren Starchaser]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSeNSzJ2-Jw

Coren Starchaser was on ass end of nowhere when the call came in. Annaj was being hit. Yeah, well, that was just fething great. Because, y’know what? So was he. Dealing with Force knew what was after him. He couldn’t see it, all he knew was it was big and it was after him. Rolling his Tachyon Rising between two asteroids and diving under a third, he slammed the repulsors as he rolled the freighter over. Sure, now he was in a ship that was bogged down, but turning the weapon systems off, he had enough energy for shields and for the engine. That was what was mattering right now.

Turning to his astromech, he shook his head. “Find out whats after us.” He ordered to the droid. It had been chasing him for a few moments, all he knew was that rocks were flying at him. He didn’t have time to reach out to the Force. He was focused on the task at hand, surviving. His ship lurched as the repuslor boost skipped him out from the asteroid. In order to not become one with the viewport, he cut the throttle and pulled the ship into a steep climb. At least he’d be able to catch his…

And the shields fluttered and the hull groaned.

“Feth me…” He shouted, rolling the freighter. Right. And how was he going to make the jump to lightspeed here? Yeah, he wasn’t. Shaking his head, he saw the message, it was from the Dawn Treader.

Tachyon Rising.
An unknown fleet has moved into the Annaj System. We have deployed and are moving to intercept. Will keep updated.
Dawn Treader.

Well, at least they were doing their job. Coren nodded, a bit pleased, relaxing a bit. There was a second message, and the ship began reading it out. Holo-message in Lily’s voice.

“Cor-
Hope all is well. We’re pledging our support to Jared Ovmar. Pro-Empire.
See you soon,
Lily.”

He really didn’t have time to be social right now, but there was something in Lily’s voice. It started to calm him down, his hands moving deftly over the controls of the starship. That was when he pulled into a new path, a new course. Taking a deep breath, he made sure that the ship was recording all data. That was when he saw it. What was it though? He had no idea. That was the issue with the Unknown Region. All sorts of bull that was out here. Quickly throwing power from the shields to the guns, he opened up with both turrets, firing upon the creature, one, two, three volleys hit through the… what he thought of to be the body of the beast. Blood frozen quickly in space and then came the scream. Something primal and hurting in the Force. Dark side for sure. He shook his head and pulled the throttle off.

“Lets see what happened to the ship…” He spoke to his astromech, knowing something was wrong. And that was the first time he was thankful that Kaia had opted to leave the Dawn Treader. She wasn’t a fighter, not like her brother.

 

[Lucien Cordel]

Lucien had heard of the mercenary attack on the capital, it was barbaric but such trivial attacks were well ... Trivial. It was what had immediately followed That had piqued Lucien's interest. If reports were to be believed [member="Jared Ovmar"] had swept in and proclaimed himself emperor. Lucien could stomach an emperor , he needed to get his foot in the door. To that end he had traveled to his estate on the capital.

He came to find a place ravaged by battle. On the other side of tinted glass was devastation . For awhile Lucien was concerned that his estate may be smouldering , he was pleased to see that was still very much secure. It seemed his butler had doubled his hairs and from the estate it almost seemed nothing has changed ... Of course it had but from an ivory tower one could afford to deceive them self. Lucien stepped out of his transport and took a deep breath before being swiftly ushered into the manor. Lucien had a feeling these anarchists were going to get on his nerves.

Taking very little Time small talk Lucien quickly directed his staff to despatch a message to the fringe's first emperor requesting a meeting .

 

[Arage Bao]

Brooding, it was one of those things that he hadn’t contemplated returning to, an emotion and pass-time more reasonable for the young and the petty. But he should have been above it, ascending such matters after everything he had been through. Yet… yet, now? here? Sitting in a dark room in the depths of the Chrysalide, orbiting Annaj? Things were coming to a head and Jared wondered why he was here. What was there to win here, what was there that was so important to do.

It had seemed clear to him when he had first popped up out of the ether, the Fringe in chaos, discord and anarchy running through his old nation. The others too apathetic, disappeared or caught up elsewhere to make a difference, it had been the natural decision to step in and create order out of nothing.

And yet there was the doubt currently making him brood like a twelve-year old, it would be in this doubt that Jared finally blinked and suddenly sensed something familiar. It had started with the portal, the same sense was creeping up to him right now.

Seemed she had learned a few more tricks after all.

Ovmar looked up, a familiar grin spreading to his expression.

‘What took you so long?’

[member="Zhol Kash Dinora"]

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Jared Ovmar"]

At four kilometres long or thereabouts, a Chrysalide-class battlecruiser was no joke to navigate as a pedestrian. There were people who could do all that by instinct; Kash was not one of them. So she'd taken her time, walking the battlecruiser's halls unseen. She paused by main engineering as a pair of GT-F0 droids scanned her. She scanned them in turn, staring them down. After a good thirty seconds, the little cortosis-plated droids moved on as if she didn't exist.

Creative time management eventually put her in Ovmar's office. Red zeyd-cloth covered her from head to toe, and shadow cowled her down to the chin. At his acknowledgement, she pulled back the hood, revealing a lean, scarred face and gray hair.

"I didn't want to interrupt your messianic moment until you were tired of it, Lord Ovmar."

She sat without invitation.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Zhol Kash Dinora"]

‘Mhmm.’ Jared simply mused, and leaned back against his seat. He hadn’t been sassed for a long while anymore, most people didn’t even want to look at him straight, others such as Spencer… well, there was that mixture of caution and power weighing that came with the territory. Needless to say things had changed for him since he had come back.

Some things never change though, do they?

‘I-’ the size-up combined with a scratching of the chin, then a shrug. ‘You know.’

Missed you?

What was there to say, what hadn’t been said when they had been busy experimenting. When she had been plotting on doing what she always had done. Playing a last game, making sure to see it through and at the end win it.

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Jared Ovmar"]

"The price of playing the games we play. Lost years are just feathers and liquid wax on their way to the ground." She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees -- not a comfortable stance, seeing as one of each was cybernetic and hard-edged.

"But even for those who reach too high by habit, this is something special. You're the last kaadu pulling the cart. All the other ones have wandered away or added to the weight. Don't look to me for salvation, I'll warn you of that right now. I keep my white knight impulses restrained; they never end well. But I am a professional with a gap in my schedule to match the gap in my pocketbook. And right now, your situation appears to need a professional more than it needs a hero.

"Five hundred thousand. Pocket change to you, and you can name one task with the assurance that it'll get done."

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Zhol Kash Dinora"]

The soft low and slow hum of a man pondering, it wasn’t a pondering of money, just as she had said and just as everyone knew. Ovmar always paid his debts, no this was about something else. About the commitment to a cause that might very well already be dead, the last kaadu pulling the cart, indeed and for what? Besides the usual blights of ambition combined with the nostalgic needs of a man grown older while the rest of the world still trundled on.

‘What if I don’t want salvation?’ Jared stood up all of a sudden, left his chair and wandered over to the viewing port. It was the side that was aimed to the endless expanse of space, behind him he could almost feel Annaj, trying to rebuild. Another shrug.

‘You caught me with my breeches down, Em.’ Heh. ‘But you were always good at that. How long do I have ya?’

 

[Nimue Stormson]

While the conversation between [member="Jared Ovmar"] and [member="Zhol Kash Dinora"] would progress a notice would come through to the former's communication's network. A signal was sent from Effekt where Empress Nimue, one of Ovmar's supporters, wished to have an audience with him. A shuttle was already in place and all the Empress needed was his permission. The tone and nature of the letter indicated how eager the young Empress seemed in wanting to speak with the new Imperial leader of the Lords of the Fringe. She hoped, she prayed, that he would be lenient with her request. ​

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Jared Ovmar"]

"I can stay until the wind changes." Maybe he'd get the reference, maybe not. She opted to explain. "One task is the duration, Lord Ovmar. Anything else would start looking...preferential. Characteristic, you might say. Indicative, even. You more than anyone should understand that a new name is freedom. I took this name twenty-five years ago -- I'm Zhol Kash Dinora, Lady Dinora to some, Kash to others -- and though it's far from new to me, it's fresh to the 'verse at large. And will stay that way. Old associations aren't of interest to me any more than old ambitions. Most of them, anyway -- I'm still a creator. I've just created all there is to create, so it's less a matter of ambition than of professional satisfaction. I'm looking for new horizons, one job at a time."

The comm buzzed.

"You should get that."

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Nimue Stormson"] | [member="Lucien Cordel"] | [member="Zhol Kash Dinora"]

Finally a nod then, he certainly could understand the wish for some freedom. Names had their own kind of power and in the end? She had earned her peace, even if the peace she was choosing for was a simple distancing of names and reputation, towards the creation of new names and reputation. Such was the way of things.

‘You’re hired, Lady Dinora.’ before walking to the comm and listening into the message, it seemed that people wished to speak with him, not surprising. Not surprising at all. First in line had been the Lord Cordel, once a mighty mover and shake in the Fringe. Recently? Less so, but still a man that needed to be respected for his cunning.

And a face that came with an old name, Effekt. Now that was a word he hadn’t heard in a long, long while. It seemed she too wished to speak to him, pledging alliances?

Seemed so.

Both of them got a positive reply, the Empress of Effekt’s meeting would be scheduled first and after that a meeting with Cordel. Was it a message to the old politician? That history hadn’t been forgotten?

Or was it simply that Jared was tired of negotiating, and wished to accept a pledge first, before going into a hard meeting? Who knew these days.

A lazy look at Dinora.

‘They are gonna be the end of me.’

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Jared Ovmar"] [member="Nimue Stormson"]

Kash stood. "I'll leave you to your busy schedule, then. No need to have me around confusing the issue." With finality, she put her hood back up.

"One final point, Lord Ovmar. I'm not on retainer. One task, as I've said, and you've yet to name that task clearly."

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Zhol Kash Dinora"] [member="Nimue Stormson"]

'I am aware.' he simply stated. Aware of the fact that she wasn't on retainer, aware of the fact that he hadn't yet given her a task clearly. But the fact of the matter was that there were a lot of things to handle, which ones would her skills be best used? Too early to say, and not with twenty meetings being held in the span of an hour. 'You will hear from me.'

 

[Nimue Stormson]

With the reply sent the shuttle from Effekt arrived almost within two hours after it was received. The Empress herself was only escorted by two of her guards from her planet, large and brutish viking-like warriors. A sign that this was but a taste of the type of fortitude and power she would provide the Fringe and [member="Jared Ovmar"] once negotiations where met. The Empress herself wore her usual royal robes of green and gold, carrying a scepter of power and authority in one hand, a large furred cape over her shoulders, and a golden horned crown upon her head. She did like making good impressions after all. ​

​

Once allowed Empress Nimue had entered into Ovmar's offices and, upon seeing him, greeted with a bow with her hand over her chest. Her dark green eyes gazed upon the man who would lead this new imperial Fringe, and finally seeing him in person had made her green colored lips cruel into a more confident smile. ​

​

"An honor to finally meet, Lord Ovmar." she said as she greeted him. "As Empress of Effekt I speak on behalf of myself and my people in praise for your new plans to change the Fringe spaces. And for meeting with me on such a short notice. I trust it is not too inconvenient for you." ​

 

[Velok the Younger]

[member="Jared Ovmar"]

Kash inclined her head, half a bow and half an acknowledgement. "I'll leave my card, then. Contact me when you decide."

One prosthetic hand -- battered old ivory and metal -- placed a simple business card on his desk. 'Zhol Kash Dinora,' it read, with a comm number and a spot of what looked like blood. She turned, still hooded, as [member="Nimue Stormson"] entered Ovmar's office.

"Empress Stormson," she murmured with a bow, and walked past the younger woman to leave the office, and then the battlecruiser. No point adding complications or distractions to Ovmar's meetings, and his position could only be served by glimpses of hooded, anonymous Masters.

 

[Velok the Younger]

(Later, and elsewhere.)

"What's the mission?"

"Win me the war."

"As if."

"Hey, if you can't pull it off, you can't pull it off."

"That's not one task, that's a hundred plus another hundred incidentals."

"No need for explanations, Em. You probably just lost your edge."

"I'm thirty years past rising to your bait."

"And yet you keep talking."

"Because you keep delaying. Name the task."

"Just admit it, you missed me a little bit."

"I wouldn't give you the satisfaction."

"Then I will say it for the both of us. I missed ya, lass. Reasonably good to have you back."

"And it's good to be back. Now tell me what the job is."

"How good are you at swimming?"

"I'm a cyborg."

"I lost one of my toys and I need someone to retrieve it."

"Oh, this ought to be good..."

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Nimue Stormson"]​

Nimue Stormson, the sound of war, drums raging. Blood on the streets and civil war, brother against brother, babies smothered in their cribs and mothers killed by their husbands. An open field filled with rotting corpses, a courtyard with hanging deaders. It all flashed in front of his ghost eye as the Empress walked into his office and offered him a bow.

Was there judgement in those blue eyes as they sized up Stormson? Never. Jared had done too much, executed too many plots and created decimation on… a variety of planes. Whatever blood was on Nimue’s hands, righteous or not, Ovmar had bathed in more than she could ever imagine.

A nod answered her bow, the same ancient eyes simply studying her and only her. The guard was almost forgotten, an after-thought that was not important for this particular meeting.

‘Never for you, Lady Stormson.’ courtesy freely given, it hadn’t been necessary. But the politician in him still remembered the dance of old. ‘I trust that you have suitably silenced the civil war on your planet and that there will not be any problems anymore?’

It was a test of competence, she wouldn’t have been here if her planet wasn’t under her control. Both of them knew that the other knew, but that was the entire point.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Coren Starchaser"] | [member="Jared Starchaser"]​

The particular thing that was currently hounding the Dawn Treader was something of a curiosity, roughly the same size as its prey and roughly the same altitude. But starting from that there were only differences, for example anyone paying attention would see that the ship was moving too gracefully, almost as if the controllers weren’t organic. Adjusting speed, trajectory and distance as one, guns tracking their target without hesitation.

It seemed the children of Darzu had returned.

They wouldn’t be able to shake it, they would need to kill it somehow. Make it incapable of following them, because if they didn’t? The thing would assimilate anything it encounter and the plague would spread.