Their Blood Runs Black

[Kay-Larr]

[member="Arix Valen"]
[member="Kirie Ito"]
[member="TK-1515"]
[member="Ghorua the Shark"]
[member="Fedrig"]
[member="Xaedrin Vondiranach"]
[member="Jak Sandrow"]
[member="Galen Adina"]
[member="Ruby"]
[member="Ulic Adraya"]

{music}​

The Contingency was spreading. Iron Knights serving Lord Onyx had gone to nearly every capital world of the largest governments in the Galaxy. Some were met with hostilities, while others joined their cause. People died, yet some suffered an even worse fate than death. They became the Controlled ones, beings infected by a black substance that had powerful regenerative abilities. The price however, was the loss of free will. Sure, those infected had maintained their ability to think individually and to solve problems, but they were unable to resist the commands of Lord Onyx and his Iron Knights.

Villages and cities of those that refused this 'gift' that the Iron Knights presented eith hostility were burned and destroyed. Some civilians were lucky to escape, but others that were not killed were abducted and infected by the black substance. Videos of some of the victims began popping up on the holonet. A few showed the victims in the process of being infected. While others showed the telltale signs of the infection; that being their strange and altered voices, their blackened eyes and their increased strength. The victims weren't of any specific type either. They ranged from men, women, and children.

There seemed to be no sign of stopping the Controlled ones either. Blasters were ineffective, limbs lost due to lightsabers and vibroblades just simply regrew. It was as though they were animated corpses, yet they were all very much alive. Death didn't seem to touch them. But pain still did. It slowed them down until they were fully regenerated.

Just what Lord Onyx and the Iron Knights wanted the Controlled Ones for remained to be seen. Were they to become slaves in this new future? Or was something more sinister in the works for them?

**************************************​

A holo message of Queen Kay Arenais was sent out to not only the allies of her government, but to others as well. It came at great risk, for there was no telling who was working for the Contingency and who were against it. So there was a very real chance that Lord Onyx and the Iron Knights would learn of it. Encryption wasn't an option however, so instead she spoke without going into details:

"Greetings everyone. Change is coming, whether we choose it or not. No longer will we be secular governments, but be made into one. Let us have a small gathering of the minds. I want to speak with you, plan with you, engage your intelligence with scientific puzzles and find out if free will really is just a state of mind. I want to look you in the eyes and see not the past, but the future. Those that pass the test will help shape the Galaxy's future. Those that don't will fall. Which side will you be on?"

The message ended. For those observant enough to not just focus on the image of the Queen, they would have clearly seen the meeting room and round lit table behind her, as well as [member="Kirie Ito"] standing just to her side, signing in Standard Basic Sign Language. But she wasn't signing what Kay was saying. Instead the Queen had instructed her to sign something else:

~Greetings everyone. A plague has started to take control and strip free will from us, with every means to destroy us all. Have you spotted it yet? Come to Kwenn Station. It doesn't matter where you come from or what side of the Force you serve. The Contingency must be stopped. I have a plan that will at the very least slow them down in their progress of taking over the Galaxy. But I'll need some help. Hurry.~

Kay looked to Kirie, bowing her head to her and signing while she spoke. "Thank you for your help. Now we wait and see if it worked...." If hope was on their side, then it would.

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

In Ghorua's first encounter with the Contingency, he had ran.

They'd attacked an auction at Far Harbor. Instead of staying and fighting, the Shark made the logical choice; he had ran.

He'd decided he didn't know enough about them to make a significant impact, without ensuring his own safety. He had ran.

Since then, he'd begun information-gathering. The Shark wasn't planning on putting his boots on the ground of another galaxy-wide war. Not since Omega. That battle had been too dangerous, too close, too chaotic. But then he got the message from his oldest and most trusted friend.

This time, he would not run.

- - -​

Ghorua lounged in the command chair of his ship, the Jawsome, reading his datapad. Reports were starting to get out of hand. Powerful droid warriors, visiting many major factions, causing trouble across the galaxy. Rumors of calculating, invincible soldiers , but Ghorua's sources seemed conflicted. Some called them diseased, some called them traitors, some didn't know what to call them.

The Herglic rested his head in the palm of his gargantuan hand, thinking. The gears behind his eyes were turning, exploring hypotheses and situations unknown to him. Finding connections was what he was best at, after all.

The beeping of his ship's comms caught him off-guard. Waving one large hand in front of him, hardlight controls materialized in front of him. Tracing one finger along the address, his eyes narrowed. Tapping a few hardlight buttons, Ghorua played the message.

Just from seeing Kay's face, he knew something was up. He'd known her long enough to pick up the subtle shifts in her face when she spoke, when she lied. And she was indeed lying.

No, acting.

He studied the woman behind Kay, puzzled. His unsettlingly black eyes traced her hands, following the motions cautiously. Fingers tapped into the air again, and a display for the Standard Basic Sign Language alphabet popped up. He replayed the message, then replayed it again.

While many of the words had individual symbols, he realized one bit had to be orthographically spelled out.

K-W-E-N-N

With a frown, Ghorua began plotting a course to the Kwenn system. He would figure out the rest of the message on the way.

I'm coming, Mi'lady.

- [member="Lady Kay"] - [member="Kirie Ito"] -

 

[Kirie]

[SIZE=12pt]On the 3rd floor observation deck of Kwenn Station, Kirie Ito stood watching the stars. She had performed her task for the Queen, and she hoped that their efforts would at least make something of a difference in the galaxy-wide struggle against the forces of the Contingency, but she was unsure. It seemed like too little, too late. In the station's 3rd floor, the entertainment sector, the distraught people wandered aimlessly. The initial panic as they realised they were trapped on the station, unable to return to a home amid the rumors of war and devastation, had faded. Now, all they felt was a numb grief. An eerie quiet had settled upon the station, and everyone waited with bated breath to find out would would become of them.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]The Contingency had struck that morning, making good on their promise to bring war to the Galaxy. Kirie had just arrived at the Senate Building when the news came. The Iron Knights had struck, they moved across the Galaxy, crushing opposition. The building was whipped into a frenzy. Requests poured in to locate diplomats, to send shuttles, for military action. Kirie had chased down file after file with records on Commenori citizens in other systems. The work was overwhelming, so many people were in desperate need of help but she, and everyone else in the cramped offices above the Senate were powerless to do a thing. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Kirie had watched her holo-net in horror as the names of systems came, one after the other. Each tale more terrifying than the last. Traitors and thralls sewed chaos in the Commenor-System Alliances' worlds. Entire towns and cities had succumbed to the machine that was the Contingency, marching ever forward, and trampling everything in its wake.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]On Commenor, the military shored up their defences. Kirie had watch as weary men piled sandbags and deployed cover. The first shuttles of terrified refugees, fleeing the burning towns and cities in the other systems, arrived in Chasin city. It was decided that it was no longer safe for the Queen of Commenor to remain, and, with a number of officials, they departed the world for Kwenn Station; a civilian port on the edge of the Mid Rim. It was there that she now stood, gazing out into the dark abyss of space.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt]Once again, Kirie dialed the numbers into her holo-communicator, trying desperately to contact her family on Balmorra. It was no use, each attempt was met with silence. She leaned her head against the reinforced glass panes of the observation deck, weeping softly.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=12pt][member="Ghorua the Shark"] | [member="Lady Kay"][/SIZE]​

 

[Jak Sandrow]

Whistling a tune, hanging 3 miles up in the air upside-down, plastered to the side of a really interesting skyscraper, Jak Sandrow was happily slicing his way through a particularly obnoxious security system when a minor alert made itself known at the side of his HUD. Pulling up a side browser, he keyed through several tabs before finding something rather interesting.

He had heard rumors of a certain strange affliction sweeping the galaxy; after some surreptitious digging and one or two close encounters, he started tapping into some upper echelon communications. So when this, a private 'come hither' message dropped, he was aware of it within moments.

Only... something was off. There was something in her voice, something in the way her eyes moved. It was enough of a something that it gave Jak pause.

Distantly, he remembered hearing about a different sign language, used during the Old Clone Wars. One Jedi managed to secretly communicate a message through hand signals, betraying the location of his captors. Was something like that being used here?

Pulling up a separate window, he started slowly translating the message word by word, letter by letter. When he was done, the air felt much thinner...

"Well... looks like I'm headed to Kwenn."

[member="Kirie Ito"]
[member="Ghorua the Shark"]
[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Sol Damerin]

The message hadn't been meant for Sol. He actually wasn't even sure if his current employer had been an intended recipient or if it had been intercepted.

Bodyguard work wasn't Sol's absolute favourite kind of job, sure it was a steady paycheque but it was usually pretty dull. People only hired on extra security when they were expecting trouble but didn't know when it would come. So bodyguard jobs often turned into waiting games where he had to stand very still behind a person or next to a door while he waited for things to happen. There was only so much meditating one could do especially when you had to keep your eyes open.

The Ithorian Sol was currently guarding worked for a fairly large corporation and he'd learned one thing about the race. Two throated snores were as loud as a blaster a Krayt dragon's roar. Actually, he'd never seen or heard a krayt dragon so he didn't know if the analogy worked but he'd stick with it. Thankfully he'd pulled morning duty this week not evening so instead of standing outside of a bedroom he was standing behind the Ithorian's desk when the message played.

Sol couldn't read his employer's physical reaction to the video but through the force, he knew it wasn't good news. Sol didn't know what the woman, who he vaguely recognized as being Queen Arenias, had said since the Ithorian had headphones on. However, he did know the sign language the girl behind the queen was using. He'd heard of this plague and if half of what he heard was true he was concerned.

That night laying in bed unable to sleep he realized that something was tugging at his mind telling him that he should be more concerned. The Force wanted him to get involved because of course, it did, it was never content to let you be lazy when you could do something to serve it. Getting up he drops a Holo message to his employer to let them know he quits as he heads towards the nearest spaceport. "I'd like to book passage to Kwenn."

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay approached the side table where some refreshments and drinks had been set aside. Although this wasn't going to be a cordial meeting, she knew that she'd have to wait and it'd be better to not be hungry or thirsty. She poured herself some tea, as well as a cup for [member="Kirie Ito"] . The young lady was quiet, and it wasn't just because she was deaf. She was busy in her thoughts and working hard at trying to reach people. Loved ones probably. Kay could hear her crying.

With both cups in hand, she walked over to the young lady and lightly touched her shoulder with a finger before taking half a step back and offering the cup of tea. Kay waited until the Kirie was looking at her before she spoke, unable to sign as her hands were full. "Here, would you like some tea? It might give you a bit of comfort." Kay remained silent for a moment, trying to think of something that could offer her some hope. "Communications have been knocked out in some sectors. But we'll get them up and running again. And once people figure out our message and meet us here, we'll be able to save so many lives. So try not to give up hope..." Kay gave her a reassuring smile and then sipped her own cup of tea.

*Elsewhere on Kwenn Station*​

In amongst a bunch of crates in one of the many storage rooms on the station, a few of them carried specific labels and biometric locks. They were dusty, as if having been there for a long time, abandoned. The crates weren't wooden. Instead they were made of metal. But what was really strange was that besides the lock, there was nothing to indicate that it would open in any way. The corners and edges were all smooth and didn't seem to have any give to allow the crates to open when it was unlocked. Scans wouldn't find any electronics inside, so there was no threat of them being bombs of some kind, which ensured that they weren't disposed of.

What lay inside each of the three crates were something far more destructive than a bomb, depending on one's point of view. For now though, they posed no more of a threat than any other crate in the storage room.

It was as though they were waiting for something.

Or someone.

A girl, no older than 17 stood near one of the docking bays, watching people as they came and went. She wore dark glasses and a few layers of clothing. Gloves and large boots adorned her hands and feet, making her slightly out of place, but not too much. The aura that she gave off was an odd one, but the lightsaber hanging off her belt was enough to deter anyone from investigating any further. And that of course was her plan. She needed to focus on the tasks given to her. Success would bring her reward. While failure brings only death.

She did not want to die.

[member="Ghorua the Shark"] [member="Jak Sandrow"] [member="Sol Damerin"] [member="Arix Valen"] [member="TK-1515"] [member="Fedrig"] [member="Xaedrin Vondiranach"] [member="Galen Adina"] [member="Ruby"]
[member="Ulic Adraya"]

 

[Aryn Teth]

Arix Valen

---

---

​

---

Kwenn Station, Kwenn System, Kastolar Sector, The Mid Rim.​

Interacting With: [member='Lady Kay']​

A curious smirk danced across Valen's lips as he sat on the lavish couch in his corvette's quarters. He was watching the holovids that had been provided to him of these strange black substances used by the contingency to impose their will upon the organic races. It was fascinating to him, far more-so than it was terrifying. While others saw such videos and saw a horrible threat or even a fate worse than death - Arix saw so much more. Standing, he left the recording playing on repeat, the sounds of screams and infection the soundtrack to his mind as he strolled to the viewport out into the empty blackness of space, eyes darting over the Kothlis Shipyards he held so dearly now, along with the fleet hovering nearby. He had lied, cheated and murdered his way to where he was - but the galaxy was so much larger than this little speck in the void.

Indeed, that was what this new substance, this gift - no - this blessing could do. Were it possible, control over such a substance, to be able to bend it and along with it the minds of others to his will? The supremacy, the power and the order of the Empire would be assured. Oh, but it would not just mean victory, control and dominance for the Empire - but for him. Were he able to twist and manoeuvre his way to a direct holding, he could hold sway over the galaxy itself if he so wished. And did he? Well, such desire and plans were best left in those dark recesses of his mind, for one never knew what a hero was so near, listening and waiting to know where and when to strike. And after all, Arix was indeed no hero.

So was he determined, to be a villain.

His thoughts were twisted and drawn back to reality then as the chorus of recorded horror was interrupted suddenly by the incessant beeping of an inbound message. Glancing back towards the holocomm, he strolled back toward it as he opened the video, from the Commenori queen, no less. He smirked as he listened to the message, eyes darting over her shoulder to the other figure. The hidden message was not lost on Arix, as his lip curled upward in yet another grin. This, was his chance. Leaning forward, he pressed his finger against a console, opening a connection to the bridge. "Set a course for Kwenn Station."

-----​

​

​

As his dark shuttle touched down in his assigned hangar bay on Kwenn Station, Valen briefly adjusted his jacket and set his brimmed hat atop his head, clasping his hands behind his back as he watched the ramp lower and stepped off it. He had not brought a great deal with him, only his Corvette, The Masquerade, and his usual escort of troopers. But he had no need for shows of force here, he had brought along with him his greatest and most deadly weapon - his mind. Now was the time for plots to be laid and plans made into action, and hiding the thrill in his movements was difficult, while the Moff focused on concealing his force-signature, as he always did.

After a short walk, he reached the room where their meeting was to be, allowing his troopers to open the door for him as he strolled inside, smile spreading to a wide grin as he waved a hand in a delightful flourish. "Hello! Hello, my dear ladies, it is only the greatest pleasure to be making your acquaintances!" He lingered on the warmness of his words, approaching the Queen herself as he gave a gentle bow, having no concern over making himself appear low, when the time was necessary. "Moff Arix Valen, charmed."

 

[Kirie]

Kirie gratefully accepted the tea, and she was mildly amused that the Queen had still managed to acquire the Sapir tea she loved so much. Perhaps she carried it with her at all times, Kirie wouldn't be surprised if she did. Of course, she understood what the Queen was doing, by offering her tea, and giving her a hopeful message, it was to try and make her feel better. It was likely the Queen knew little more about what was going on outside of Kwenn Station than Kirie herself. Nevertheless, the kind words did their part to lessen her terror, and her panic regarding the fate of her family. Sighing deeply and sipping from her cup, she wiped the tears from her cheeks with the back of her hand.

Looking up at [member="Lady Kay"], Kirie raised her hand to her chin, gently moving her hand away in a sign of thanks. Almost as soon as she lowered her hand, her eyes widened, the dark rings underneath starkly contrasting with the white orbs with their brown centre. The man walked in flamboyantly, proclaiming something Kirie missed, due to him being on the other side of the room. The man bowed, which Kirie found off-putting. Why would a man who carried himself so confidently bow to another person, unless they had something to gain.

Instinctively, she took a step back, slipping slightly behind the Queen. She decided it would be best for her to watch. To observe his body language, perhaps she could find a clue to the strange man's motives.

[member="Arix Valen"] | [member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Sol Damerin"] | [member="Jak Sandrow"] | [member="Ghorua the Shark"]​

 

[Xaedrin Vondiranach]

Kwenn Station

​​The mists are coming​. And with them comes a threat with the potential to ruin everything. Everyone. The might, mystery, and sheer force of will from the Contingency was enough to cause hope to fail even in the most optimistic of hearts. Xaedrin had never been an optimist. He'd been travelling from his home on Coruscant, seeking new opportunities in his chosen profession - criminality - but had never reached his destination. War had broken out and life was on hold. Or over. Who knew? And here he found himself on Kwenn Station. Not the place he'd wanted to be, but one didn't always have choices.

​The dawn will end​. Sitting at an empty sabacc table in the station's entertainment district, he marveled at the absolute despair around him. It was so powerful that it kept the locals from gambling. He could see the dealer sitting in a chair against the wall, his face glazed over, his posture numb. Xaedrin held no pity for the man. Life was a sequence of cruel events - why should this man be an exception to the rule? Brooding, Xaedrin pulled his black cloak closer around himself. In travelling, he'd done what he could to hide his identity on the off-chance that someone recognized him. Plus, he liked anonymity. And the greater issue at stake was a desire to stay out of this insane war. Lay low, stay out of sight. He bowed his head a bit more, adopting a posture of despair like many others, his hood would ensure that no one noticed his was not the same visage of grief and panic that others held.

Our hold is tenuous. ​Shifting in his seat, Xaedrin felt the weight of the lightsaber at his side. It wasn't his lightsaber - he'd never been trained to use one. Still, a lightsaber was a good thing for a Force-sensitive to have, right? It felt odd. Like an extra hand that didn't belong to him. Part of him wanted to cast it aside, to be rid of the thing and what it represented - but why would anyone cast aside power? A holoscreen in the corner of the festively lit casino style room flared to life, an image of someone who must have been important dominating the signal.

Nothing to defend.​ The crone prattled on, some nonsense about science and puzzles. He barely heard her. A smaller woman stood behind her; delicate, innocent - scared, even? She was doing something with her hands, Xaedrin had no idea what. It was mesmerizing - she was mesmerizing. He wished the old woman would stop talking. The young innocent one intrigued him. She was so afraid ... he should go to her.

​

​

Spoiler

[member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Ghorua the Shark"] | [member="Kirie Ito"]
​[member="Jak Sandrow"] | [member="Sol Damerin"] | [member="Arix Valen"]

 

[Arabi Cordelle]

The vid screen flickered and faded to black as the message ended. Arabi sat silently in the wake of the announcement. The Cathar woman wasn't sure what she could do to fight against the Incursion like so many of her fellow Jedi. She really was not the best at lightsaber combat and had yet to find a Master with the free time to teach her. As a padawan, she had trained with a Lightsaber, she just needed more one on one instruction for her to be good at it. At best, she was mediocre. However, she was fantastically trained in healing, force shielding and using the force to protect herself in every other way thank lightsaber combat. In general, she was a defensive Jedi rather than an offensive one but she had yet to find a place here where that talent was needed.

Still, she could not simply sit idly by while people were slaughtered by the hundreds or even thousands and many more were infected with some kind of goo that made them no longer their master of their own fate. The healer in her was repulsed by this black substance and she wasn't about to let it go unchallenged through the Galaxy.

Quietly, she booked passage to Kwenn Station and packed what she needed. Even if she wasn't the best at Lightsaber combat, she still took hers. She also had a blaster and a vibro knife just in case. She wore her leathers instead of her Jedi Robes, though the leathers were very inspired by the look of traditional robes. Jedi robes were so cumbersome in comparison for a Cathar to move. In addition to her leather, she wore HTE Dueling Armor purchased by her parents upon her graduating to Jedi Knight. Her dark hair was up in a knot, exposing her spotted ears more fully.

When she arrived on the station, she felt she was as prepared as she could be. Now she just needed to find Lady Kay and [member="Kirie Ito"].



Arix Valen | Lady Kay | Sol Damerin | Jak Sandrow | Ghorua the Shark

 

[Ulic Adraya]

KWENN STATION
3rd FLOOR OBSERVATION DECK

The Jedi Knight Ulic Adraya also walked into the observation room to greet [member="Lady Kay"] and [member="Kirie Ito"] . He hadn't had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of meeting Kirie yet, but on several occasions had been in the presence of the Queen and after hearing his distress message it seemed like now was as good of a time as any for him to make his presence known as well.

The facts were as previously stated: The Iron Knights had made their presence in the galaxy known - in quite a bang. They had nearly decimated any whom had opposed them so far. While war and bloodshed wasn't something that Ulic reveled in like many others who may be attending Kwenn - Ulic did see it as a necessity and would fight and die to protect the lives of innocents and those whom he cared about.

Upon entering through the door he noticed the man bowing in front of him to both the Queen and Kirie. Currently he was adorning his typical light blue Corellian robes - his necklace showing in the dip of the robes around his neck. He kept his hands folded in the front of his robes and close to his stomach. A warm humble smile came over his face as he looked at each of the inhabitants in the room. As was typical of a Jedi he too bowed before a woman whom he secretly believed to be a Jedi Master, though it wasn't confirmed to him yet as well as the more reclusive woman standing behind her. Ulic made no attempts to hide his force presence from any in the room, and in doing so could also feel the emotions radiating off of Kirie behind the Queen. A deep sadness and almost anxiety seemed to radiate off of her - two emotions that in this moment Ulic respected greatly.

He rose up from the bow, standing fully erect and inhaled deeply before finally speaking in a soft tone.

"Greetings my Queen, and company. I've come to offer what aid I can in these trying times."

He still held Lady Kay in the highest regards and utmost respect - as well as the others in the room no matter their affiliation. Having noticed the deep sadness and what seemed like anxiety permeating off of Kirie he spoke again in a soft tone - though he didn't direct it at Kirie not wanting to offend her.

"None will die on my watch, not while I still draw breath."

Though his voice was humble and smooth, it still held a hint of confidence in the undertones.

 

[Sol Damerin]

The cargo hatch opens and Sol nods at the Rodian trader who had agreed to carry him to Kwenn. "Thanks for the ride." The Rodian returns his nod his reply in clipped basic. "No problem, safe journies." That gets a chuckle from Sol which confuses The Rodian. Gallows humour always appealed to him and the parting words certainly had the ring of that given the state of the galaxy. On the ride to the station, Sol had read more and more reports from all over the holonet.

The Incursion was cutting a swath of death and destruction through the galaxy and what little they didn't destroy was corrupted. As much as he might wish otherwise he could not simply ignore this and hope others would handle it for him. Oh, it wasn't as though he believed that his participation however small would be the focal point that tipped the balance against The Incursion. It was that he knew that they would need ever pebble they could get on the scale to tip things, so here he was a pebble stepping onto the scale.

Finding the meeting room is easy enough. One of the participants was making no effort to hide his presence in the force, to the point that Sol could sense them even while he himself was shielding his own presence. So he Followed the big blond Jedi, giving the imperial guards outside the room a once over, before slipping into it right behind [member="Ulic Adraya"]. Rather than introducing himself though Sol stepped off to one side as the Jedi said something that forced Sol to suppress a snort of derision.

Big heroic statements like: 'None will die on my watch, not while I still draw breath.' Always made Sol chuckle, he'd heard similar things enough times when he'd been with the Jedi or when he'd been hired to participate in a war. He understood it was well meant but honestly it was just cheesy.

Flicking his eyes over the other occupants he notes the girl from the video who looks nervous, no need to sense that with the force. The Queen who looks calm and collected but Sol thinks he sees some worry crinkling the corners of her eyes. The last occupant, for now, was an imperial moff. The man looked so slimy Sol had to wonder if he could slide along the floor if he picked up enough speed. Then again he thought that about most imperial officers.

[member="Kirie Ito"] | [member="Arix Valen"] | [member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay was glad that [member="Kirie Ito"] decided to take the tea. As much as she loved tea, she wasn't above sharing it. Why not spread the joy of her treasured drink? She had a rather large supply of it so that she was hardly without. It was of course, her addiction, and much better than spice, deathsticks and booze.

Another bad habit of hers was keeping secrets. Being a leader of a number of worlds, she was bound to have them. And there were quite a few, such as her Force Sensitivity. Kay had learned long ago how to shrink her Force Signature down to that of a small tree nut, and so she did that anytime she was away from home. There was no doubt in her mind that she'd be around strangers. Even Kirie was unaware of it. Other secrets were around certain things that she had to do to maintain the safety of the worlds and people under her care. Things that she didn't even tell her husband [member="Veiere Arenais"] about. He had his suspicions, but he never pried. And for that she was grateful. He did however give her warning about using such suspected tactics again. And like the dutiful wife, she agreed. There were certain looks that he gave that she didn't like to see, nor was she comfortable with him being angry. Hopefully she'd do well by him today.

Kay heard the door open as she was about to sip her tea. A brow was raised as some troopers came in, followed by [member="Arix Valen"] . At first she wasn't sure if she was in trouble or not, yet when he stopped and bowed, giving the usual silver-tongue introduction that was common among politicians, she bowed her head in greeting. "Pleasure, Moff Arix Valen. I am Lady Kay Arenais and this is Kirie, my assistant." For the moment she couldn't tell which Imperial order he came from, not by his attire anyways. She had only been introduced to a few of them.

[member="Ulic Adraya"] walked in next. His attire wasn't one made for battle this time, as she had seen him don before while they were on this station last. Kay bowed her head to him. "Thank you for coming, Ulic."

She had called for no one directly. It was interesting to see just who figured out her message and who didn't. The last thing that they needed was to have one of the Iron Knights find out.

Kay's gaze was then turned to [member="Sol Damerin"] as he walked in. Unlike the others, he didn't introduce himself. Either he had deciphered her message or he just saw some people walk into a room and wanted to find out what was going on. She studied his eyes, making note of their colour. "And who might you be, sir?" With this plague of sorts invading the Galaxy, one's voice was equally as important for detection as one's eyes.

*************************​

The 17 year old girl watched as more ships arrived. Some had important looking people, while others had the usual low-life types that liked to frequent gambling stations. She spotted [member="Arabi Cordelle"] whom stood out from the more human crowd. The weapons ahe bore suggested that she was a Force user, something for the girl to avoid. Sol was another individual that stood out from the others. Maybe it was the way that he presented himself. Either way, he was soon lost among the crowd.

She decided to follow, her small figure easily getting pushed around. But it wasn't as though she struggled against them either. Now was not the time to draw attention to herself.

Before long she was in one of the gambling areas. She looked for the one that she followed, but couldn't find him. Another caught her attention, however. [member="Xaedrin Vondiranach"] . He was seated by himself at a table. Hmm. He could be good enough. The girl approached him quietly, not looking at him directly while she spoke in a whisper, the quieter tone hiding some of the aspects of her voice that made it almost unnatural. "I need your help. My little brother...he's being held hostage..."

[member="Ruby"] [member="Ghorua the Shark"] [member="Jak Sandrow"] [member="TK-1515"] [member="Fedrig"] [member="Xaedrin Vondiranach"] [member="Galen Adina"]

 

[Ghorua the Shark]

LOCATION: KWENN​

EQUIPMENT: IN BIO​

OBJECTIVE: PULL ALL THE STOPS​

​

Kwenn Station was a bit of a relic.

It had been around since the Old Republic, a city and a rest-stop orbiting around the planet it was named for. It looked beautiful from space, but then again, anything looked beautiful from space when one had been cramped in a star-yacht for hours.

Ghorua walked through the third level of the station, a sight to behold. Clad in his white armor, the helmet cresting ten feet in the air, the Shark was a monstrosity. Each footstep was a small earthquake, each movement kicking up breezes. Around the beast, four small drones hovered in lazy circles, observing their surroundings. And his weapons.

Oh, the weapons.

Ghorua had brought everything. The whole galaxy was falling apart, and he would be ready if it began to crumble around him.

Finally, Ghorua ducked through a low door, coming into sight of the group. The first one he noticed was [member="Lady Kay"]. The Queen was one of his best friends, and he was glad to see her well. He smiled, the action hidden by his emotionless helmet. Slowly, he turned his head to look at each in the room, waiting as the facial recognition software in his helmet took effect.

[member="Kirie Ito"], from Balmorra. He didn't get much on her, aside from a few school records. The fact that she was helping Kay meant she was important. [member="Arix Valen"]'s face brought a little more info. Publicly, he was a Moff of the Galactic Empire, but Ghorua's contacts knew him as the King of Liars. The moniker alone would be enough for Ghorua's suspicions. [member="Ulic Adraya"], a poster-child Jedi Knight. Despite his occupation, Ghorua found himself feeling safer with Jedi around. They tended not to have ulterior motives. Finally, [member="Sol Damerin"], a quick search revealing him to be a mercenary. Ghorua didn't trust mercs, either. They were payed off too easily.

But he'd give them all a chance. They had to trust each other, if they wanted to stop the Contingency.

Finally, after his brief silence, he spoke, his already-deep voice augmented down to dangerous, rumbling levels by his Voice Disguiser.

"Here to help, Mi'lady."

- [member="Arabi Cordelle"] - [member="Xaedrin Vondiranach"] - [member="Jak Sandrow"] -

 

[Jak Sandrow]

Black demons, swirling out of even blacker voids, their eyes too human, their smiles too wide. They reached for him, and he could do nothing but accept it....

Jolting back to full consciousness, he yawned as he stood up from the seat of the transit corvette. Ducking into the bathroom where no one could see him, he splashed his face, and eyed his reflection in the mirror.

Green skin faded and blushed to a much more human-looking Corellian coloration, and his hair shifted to a dusky auburn. Changes made, he stepped back out and made his way to his luggage, hoisting the 35 kg satchel over his shoulder with relative ease. Whistling a soft tune, he stepped across the 'tarmac', making his way to the kiosk.

The receptionist droid whirred over to him. "Yes? How may I be of service, sir?"

He put on an easy smile, though it was probably lost on the droid. "I'm looking for the head of this installation? Is there any way you could set up a meeting with her? It's not urgent, but it's important."

The droid's eyes flickered as it worked through some calculation. "Lady Kay's next available appointment is in ERROR, SYNTAX." It tilted its head. "I'm sorry, I don't have that information; Lady Kay is not available for appointment. Would you like to sent a message?"

Jak shrugged. "Nah, it's fine. I'll come back some other time." Stepping away, he headed deeper into the station. He needed a whiskey... and directions.

- - -

Once at the local sabacc tournament pub, he sat at the bar and ordered a glass of whiskey. Once it was in his hand, he set down the satchel and turned around on the stool, eyeing the tourney with apparent disinterest. Something had felt off about this station the moment he had set foot here... and while he didn't think he could take it all head on, he did think that he'd be quite useful, perhaps skulking around in the ducts. There was information to be gathered here.

[member="Ghorua the Shark"]
[member="Lady Kay"]
[member="Sol Damerin"]
[member="Ulic Adraya"]
[member="Arabi Cordelle"]
[member="Xaedrin Vondiranach"]
[member="Kirie Ito"]
[member="Arix Valen"]

 

[Sol Damerin]

Sol didn't have a lot of experience with royalty so he didn't know if it was a common thing. However, to him, it was kind of funny that [member="Lady Kay"] referred to him as a sir. It had lapsed from it's more formal usage as the mode of address for knights into the common lexicon. But he'd have thought royalty if no one else might cling to the old usage. This was obviously not the case but still, he wondered if he could argue he was a knight now?

Irreverent thoughts over with he is about to answer her questions when what looks like a baby rancor in a suit of armour walks in. The big ol'whatver it was in armour looks around the room slowly and then offers its aid to the queen in the deepest, rumbliest voice Sol had ever heard. It was obviously modulated and considering the things bulk it made Sol think of one of two things. A, whatever it was under that armour already had a deep voice and the modulator was for intimidation factor overkill. Or B, whatever was under that armour had a really high pitched voice that didn't mesh with its appearance and it was compensating. B, didn't seem that likely but a man could dream of such hilarity.

Waiting long enough for the lady to great the newcomer Sol would then, once he felt it was appropriate, finally answer her question. His pale blue eyes give away very little beyond, perhaps the slightly impish humour that he was keeping under wraps. His tone was utterly neutral, but there is a hint of dry humour just behind every word. "Sol Damerin your majesty. I'm a mercenary, saw your message and thought I could be of help." There is a pause and for a moment it seems like he might say more. "I would disclose something to you about my ability to help since you are in command and you should know what your people can do. However, it is something I prefer to keep to myself. If I can get a moment of your time in private before we begin in earnest I'll tell you and leave it to your discretion who else should be informed."

Perhaps this was a bit bold of him to request but he'd spent almost half his life hiding his abilities as a force wielder. Even now his grip on force stealth was so firm that unless someone knew to look it would be virtually impossible for them to see him as anything more than a normal person. When you hold a secret for long enough you tended to keep it close to the vest, or well he tried to. Lately, he seemed to be sharing it left right and centre. But at the very least he wanted to keep it from the imperial and the Jedi. The Jedi because he didn't want to potentially get into a debate or get attacked. The imperial officers because, again, Sol didn't trust them on principle.

[member="Ghorua the Shark"] | [member="Ulic Adraya"] | [member="Kirie Ito"] | [member="Arix Valen"]

 

[Xaedrin Vondiranach]

​Xaedrin shifted slightly as the girl sat next to him at the Sabaac table. He didn't want company at the moment - why did this girl choose to sit next to him? He could feel her through the Force - could feel her need tugging at him. He didn't want to go help this girl, he had other things he wanted to do - but the pull was strong.

​"Where is he?"​ he found himself asking in a hoarse whisper. He didn't want​ to ask - he didn't care. He wanted to go find the interesting one. He wanted to show her that there was nothing to fear, no reason to be sad. She was close by, he suspected. This day wasn't turning out the way he wanted it to at all. Choices, choices, never any choices​, he thought with a smirk.

​"We'll go to him together."

Spoiler

[member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Kirie Ito"] | [member="Ghorua the Shark"] | [member="Ulic Adraya"]
[member="Arix Valen"] | [member="Jak Sandrow"] | [member="Sol Damerin"] | [member="Arabi Cordelle"]

 

[Ulic Adraya]

Ulic chose to wear the robes of Corellian Commoners for a few reasons to this meeting. He had his suit of armor on his own personal ship as well as within his quarters in Commenor; however, for simple meetings he didn't feel the need to wear it. With the oncoming threat of the incursion he doubted that anyone who was able to decipher the message sent out by [member="Lady Kay"] would dare attack anyone in the room. There would be plenty of time for infighting among each other after they had dealt with the threat of the Incursion.

[member="Sol Damerin"] seemed to instantly give off the vibe that he trusted no-one but Lady Kay in the room - and even that trust seemed shaky at best. The Jedi Knight slowly began to move over to the side of the Queen of Commenor a woman whom he served; as opposed to the rest of the people who had filled the room. Though he didn't know her too well he stood behind Lady Kay next to [member="Kirie Ito"] and gave her a warm smile before turning to face the rest of the room.

Ulic wasn't entirely sure what to think of this rag-tag group of warriors that had assembled all at the beck and call of the Queen for something greater than themselves of the factions they served. But the very fact that they chose to come and serve that greater something said a lot more about their integrity then words ever could. Yes, there was arrogance, yes there were petty secrets in the room; however, for so many people who would at times call each other enemies to come together in the cause of something greater, said so much about the galaxy as a whole.

Regardless of Sol Damerins snide gesture earlier in terms of working together the man looked like he had experience. Specifically experience in combat which was something that the Jedi Knight respected above a lot of things - and Ulic was glad that he would be tagging along with the rest of them.

 

[Kirie]

It had suddenly become crowded in the meeting room. There were too many characters, each talking over each other, spaced out so that Kirie couldn't possibly hope to follow it all. The empty room suddenly seemed dangerous, and suffocating. She looked around at the faces around her, [member="Ulic Adraya"] smiled to her, and she nodded politely back. This was too much for her. Her gut twisted with dread and anxiety. There was something profoundly off about this party.

She shook her head, jostling the strands of red hair that hung past her shoulders, untied to conceal her scarred ears, as was her usual fashion. Stepping up to the table, and placing her cup on the smooth surface, Kirie turned to face the Queen, quickly signing a brief message. My Lady, I am going for a walk to clear my head while we wait for the rest of our guests. Here is my communicator. She handed the small holo-communicator to [member="Lady Kay"]. The device was linked to her pager, so if the Queen needed her, she need only call.

She strode past [member="Ghorua the Shark"], and [member="Sol Damerin"], nodding almost imperceptibly. Ghorua was as decidedly intimidating figure, but she had heard of him in her time on Commenor, he was a a trusted confidant and friend to the Queen. He could be trusted. The other man, on the other hand, didn't look like a diplomat, or a politician. He looked too grizzled for that. Perhaps a weather-beaten Sergeant, or a mercenary.

Walking out the room she entered the dim hallway, and moved down the narrow, dim spiral staircase leading down into the main hub of the 3rd deck's entertainment sector. As she moved down, the light quality began to change, slowly shifting from the cold whites and blues of the observation deck to a richer, warmer shade of yellow. As her foot left the last of the metal steps it sunk into a rich, thick pile carpet. Around her, a number of paintings adorned the room, and the walls were covered in a festive wallpaper.

Most of the time, this would be a cheery place, full of uproarious laughter, and the clink of glasses. Today it was grim. The tables sat mostly empty. The remaining occupants sleeping fitfully, staring into space, or talking stony-faced amongst themselves. Kirie brushed past them, eyes ahead. She walked slowly, without purpose. Her eyes roved left and right, taking in each sorry sight the Kwenn Station had to offer. Eventually, she came to a small Sabacc pub. It was mostly empty. The only patrons were a dark haired man with a young girl, and man with a satchel slung over his shoulder. Kirie didn't spare either much more than a glance. Sighing with resignation, she took a seat at one of the empty tables, and rubbed her temples. It had been a long day, but something told her it was only just beginning.

 

[Arabi Cordelle]

Arabi had never been to Kwenn Station. Her eyes went everywhere as she tried to determine where to go. Finally, realizing she was just unable to understand in this maze, she put her back against the wall, away from everyone and closed her eyes for a moment. She let the rush and bustle of the station fade, easy enough as it wasn't incredibly busy. Her mind felt the ebb and flow of the people present here and the electricity running through as the life blood of the station. She smelled the stale recycled air, mixed with the chaotic concoction of body odor, sweat, drinks and dirt common to places like this. She too let that pass through and away. The vibrations of the station soon became almost nonexistent to her, as though she were standing on air and not the metal floor of the station.

Now with her focus was on the Force and its guiding light. When all other senses are cleared away, the Force can more easily speak. To her it did. The peace of it washed over her and through her, reconnecting her to all her surroundings and senses in a rush. Even as she opened her eyes, she had a connection to the Force so deep and pure she was ready to hear its call. Where did she need to go next and what did she need to do?




Lady Kay |Kirie Ito | Ghorua the Shark | Ulic Adraya
Arix Valen | Jak Sandrow | Sol Damerin | [member="Xaedrin Vondiranach"]