Private Trying to Pierce the Veil

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Aing-Tii
Outfit: Bokken Jedi
Equipment: Arwr Da, Hydrangea Moonblade (Concealed)
Tag: Darth Carnifex

The people of Aing-Tii had not been the most open to Lily or her presence on the planet but the bokken Jedi was attempting to offer her assistance and abilities in their work. She knew that they were heavily anti-slavery people and being on the borders of the Sith territory, they were likely feeling some pressure from the Sith potentially arriving and claiming their homeworld as part of the Sith territory. Not wishing to push her luck and try to break through the Blackwall to infiltrate and cause some chaos within the Sith Order's borders without any secure ways of getting home, Lily thought it was smarter to work on the bordering worlds. She was also hopeful that if she demonstrated to the natives of Aing-Tii that she could be trusted and that she was there to work with the people that they might be willing to show her more of their culture. Perhaps even give her and Kito a chance to learn and experience things. Seeing and learning how others view and used not only the Force but fighting styles, it was something that Lily thought her Padawan would appreciate as long as she could develop that connection with the people.

It was also close to the borders that she figured if they did use this location as a base for training for any length of time, Kito might like it for the benefits of being easier travel back and forth to see her Sith partner. While Lily was not as much of a fan of that, it was not her place to judge nor could she stop it. All Lily wanted was to make sure that her Padawan was safe. However, that would be something to consider later, right now it was the difficult task of demonstrating that Lily was worthy of the trust and respect amongst the Aing-Tii people. She was nervous since she wasn't sure what to expect and Lily feared that she might make an error that could set back her efforts or even get her removed from the planet, meaning that she would have to hunt down a different place to train at.

"I understand that I am a Jedi and that means things could get dangerous but no, I am not a part of any Order. I am just roaming the galaxy looking to help. Please, let me stay and help." Lily pleaded with one of the Aing-Tii as they looked down at her, unconvinced her standing. "I won't pry into anything if you rather I keep my distance, but I do wish to help where I can. I know that there is a slavery operation not far from here that you are planning to attack."

Breathing in deeply, "I only wish to help you in that fight."

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Elsewhere, in a nearby system...

Columns of prisoners were marched forth across a world stained by ash, the remnants of a community smashed by the cruel fist of the Sith. Towering warriors, clad in matte black plate, observed the procession with deathly silence. When one fell behind in the march, they were spurred on by a painful electric shock delivered by the end of a long force pike. Ahead loomed large cargo barges, bay doors yawning wide as the prisoners were shepherded inside.

Above the collection, an observation platform lazily drifted from East to West. Standing upon it were numerous commanders and overlords of the Crucible, the most feared and mythical slavers across the galaxy's seedy underbelly. But it wasn't them who ruled over this calamity, it was the being that stood well above them.

Darth Carnifex, the Eternal Father, looked dispassionately at the world beneath Him. Normally, He would not have bothered appearing in person. Dozens and dozens of similar operations to this were happening concurrently across the galaxy, there was little about this world or these people that warranted such a high priority visit.

It went deeper than that.

The currents of fate converged, the threads intertwined. She would come here, and He would be waiting.

Lily Decoria ​

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Aing-Tii
Outfit: Bokken Jedi
Equipment: Arwr Da, Hydrangea Moonblade (Concealed)
Tag: Darth Carnifex

Lily paused in her conversation with a member of the Aing-Tii council, the dark familiar presence in the Force rippled from a nearby system. He was near and he wanted to make sure that Lily knew that. It was not a good thing but she could not help but feel a need to ensure the people here were safe and protected from the wrath of the Sith Lord. Looking apologetic to the council member for abruptly dropping her words, "I have sensed something extremely dangerous and something that I must go contend with as a Jedi. Please stay safe here." Lily mentioned as she bowed deeply in respect before making her way back to her ship.

Setting coordinates, Lily steeled herself for this encounter. She didn't have any back up this time, there was no Kito, there was no other Jedi that she was working with. This was going to be the most reckless and most dangerous attempt in fighting Carnifex but Lily couldn't stand idle by and do nothing. She felt him and she knew that he needed to be stopped. Lily had never forgotten that part of the Jedi ways, even though certain members of the Jedi Order accused Lily of forgetting those moments.

Once she arrived where the Kainites were operating, a great sadness washed over Lily. The enslavement and reaping of resources had already begun. It was brutish and just so cruel to see. Her ship shifted towards the ground, it was never going to be strong enough to take on any of Carnifex's ships but she could at least make it to the surface and see what she could do from there. Even if she saves only a handful of people, that was better than none. Lily landed the ship in a hurry and race out onto the ground, her Lightsaber hilt in hand as she prepared to tackle whoever was daring to come her way.

She would stop this enslavement of innocent lives.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

What awaited Lily Decoria was not a detachment of Kainate warriors, armed to the teeth, but instead a stern looking officer wearing the dull maroon uniform commonly associated with members of the Kainate military aristocracy. Her dark hair was pulled back into a practical, yet visually appealing, bun, half-hidden beneath a sharp military cap emblazoned with the diamond-shaped emblem of the Sith. Her eyes smoldered a bright molten yellow, yet Lily would find no trace of the Dark Side in her gaze, only ruthless determination and focus.

"Madame Decoria," the woman spoke first, her voice carrying across the brief distance between them. She held up a single hand, a gesture for peace and calm. "I am Major Adjutant Veyra Halcyon of His Supreme Excellency's personal division. He has offered a hand to you to join Him at the observation pavilion, He is willing to negotiate with one of your stature rather than indulge in needless violence."

She spoke no untruth, and nothing in her body language or tone of voice indicated that she was being coerced or misled. This woman was absolutely committed. But even so, there was a harder edge to her hidden beneath the surface, a faint but lingering resentment. She turned and expected Lily Decoria to follow, leaving herself entirely exposed should the Jedi have wished to strike her down.

But that would not be the Jedi way, would it?

Confidence exuded from young Halcyon, and it was reflected in her posture and gait. All around them, the eyes of Kainate slavers watched silently as they passed through the camp. Large droid fighters walked on the tips of their wings, occasionally bellowing in deep binary as their exterior lights swept over bound columns of slaves. Ahead, a large platform slowly descended down to the ground, ramps clamping down onto the earth as Lily was led up by Halcyon.

Waiting for her was the Dark Lord of the Sith, seated at a modest table with only a smattering of servants attending Him. A seat had been left for Lily, as though He'd been expecting her. His glowing eyes swept over to regard her with curiosity and amusement in equal measure.

"Welcome, Lady Decoria. Take a seat, if you will."

Lily Decoria ​

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Aing-Tii
Outfit: Bokken Jedi
Equipment: Arwr Da, Hydrangea Moonblade (Concealed)
Tag: Darth Carnifex

Lily paused as a woman stood, tall and imposing but not the black guard warrior that Lily was more accustomed to fighting as Kainite henchmen. "Mademoiselle, not old enough to be addressed as madam." Lily stated, her eyes narrowed, it was something stated in an outrageous manner but because she was confused. Stunned but knew that she couldn't reveal that she was feeling off put by everything that was going on. Lily held her Lightsaber firmly, in a manner that suspected an attack could happen at any moment. She would not put it past the Sith Lord to surprise attack her from behind a tree, punishing Lily for thinking she could believe his word.

Walking through the Kainite forces without having to fight, it was strange. The last few times that she had encountered Carnifex had been in fights where she was having to slice down his followers. Taking the lives of far more than she could possibly remember. All hoping that it was acts that served the greater good. But she also had lost so many friends, so many of those she loved because they were killed or mentally destroyed by losing to the Sith. If this was a chance to face Carnifex in a duel and win, she had to think that this was an opportunity she could not refuse.

As they approached the Sith Lord, Lily could not keep the confusion from appearing on her face. She had been expecting him to stand in an arena, standing weapon ready to fight. To clash blades once again. However, things were not like that. He was not seeking conflict but offering a seat and seemingly wishing to talk. There was a pause as Lily stood there, every fibre in her being wanting to just strike him down. To demonstrate in front of all his followers that there was someone strong enough. Someone skilled enough to make their god bleed. That he was not immortal as he desired those that followed him to believe.

It shouldn't be difficult, it should be the easiest thing to do. But Lily stood, unable to do it. Something felt wrong, that this was not honourable and while Carnifex was perhaps someone not deserving of honour, Lily needed to remain honourable for her own sanity. Tentatively, she took steps toward the chair. Weapon still in hand in case things shifted or a trap was attempted to be sprung on her. Sitting, but not relaxing at all into the chair, her silver gaze fixed up Carnifex with a fury.

"What is it that you are wanting with me?"

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"To get a measure of you, not as a warrior but as a Jedi."

As Lily took her seat, Halcyon stepped over to stand at Carnifex's side. Hands clasped behind her back, she became all but a statue in function, silent and immovable. It was the servants which moved now, carrying forth trays of small delicacies and pitchers of tantalizing refreshment poured into suitable vessels to imbibe them. Where the Dark Lord would have used Decraniated had this been a different setting, He instead opted for more mundane servants to wait on them and the Jedi Decoria. Decraniated would only distract her, and He wanted her full attention.

"When last we met it was on the field of battle, as were the times before. Never have you and I simply sat and conversed." He plucked one of the small vessels and spared a moment to drink from it, demonstrating that whatever refreshments the Dark Lord provided were not hazardous. He did not fault the Jedi if she still refused to partake, had He been where she was He would have been just as wary, if not more-so.

He also noticed that she had not sheathed her weapon, though He had not asked her to. Another understandable precaution. "Of course you may still take up your weapon, I am unarmed, as are all my servants." There was a subtle glint in the Dark Lord's eye, almost goading the Jedi to give into the impulse. "But, if violence is not your inclination, then perhaps you can enlighten me as to what a Jedi like you is doing so far from the High Republic's borders, and on the opposite end of the Sith Empire."

"You are an awful way from home, Lily Decoria."

Lily Decoria ​

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Aing-Tii
Outfit: Bokken Jedi
Equipment: Arwr Da, Hydrangea Moonblade (Concealed)
Tag: Darth Carnifex

He was not the first Sith to be testing her skills beyond being a warrior, seeing what else Lily could offer as a Jedi. Her mind thought back to the fight with Arris, to how Lily had tried to see where the descent into the corruption came from. Exposing how the folly of the Dark Side did not offer the protection and expression of devotion that Arris attempted to claim to Lily that it did. It seemed that Carnifex was wishing to see how Lily would handle a conversation with him, how she could argue the ways of the Jedi.

"Sí i lócë merë nacë i nacca." Lily spoke in Echani quietly as she fixed her gaze on Carnifex. "Hard to converse with a man who continually seeks to destroy and genocide the people I care for and fight beside." Lily countered, it was not merely that she jumped into a fight with him every single time, he came to locations where she was protecting lives. He came seeking chaos, destruction and ending the Jedi ways.

Lily shook her head and rolled her eyes, "I am not dumb. You do not need a weapon to hand in order to prevent my attacks." Lily growled, she had thought about attacking but knew that the Sith Lord was far too skilled in the Force for her to be able to get the necessary clean strike in and end his life. Or what she assumed would be a clean strike that ended his life. Lily noted the guards and servants around them. "Servants? I believe slaves is the far more accurate term. Though I am reliably informed that slavery is not practice all Sith share." She had seen the attempts by Strosius in organising the slavery liberation on worlds away from Sith Order rule, it was a sign of what could be internal conflict.

Something that Lily knew needed to be lit ablaze. Without the risk of internal fighting then Jedi were always going to be an underdog in the conflict.

When Carnifex probed about her presence this far from the High Republic, Lily laughed, "ah. Much like yourself, my work does not limit itself to the borders of the High Republic territory. I seek to help and work with all in the galaxy to end the blight of the Sith and oppression in all it's forms." Lily stated firmly but also not revealing the current issues she was going through. It would be far too much information for the Sith Lord to hold. Instead she played the cards far closer to her chest. "My work has always demanded that I be far from home. I will likely never rest at home until the very end of my life."

There was always work to be done and there was always Sith for Lily to stop. She did not see a peaceful life for herself any more. Love, marriage and a family, that was not the path she walked. Not for the time being.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"We are both missionaries of our own making," replied the Dark Lord, unfazed by Lily's repeated attempts to hold a mirror up to His own moral character. "Proselytizing our truths to those we deem sufficient of our grace. My gifts bless those from the glittering spires of wealthy Coruscant to the dimmest slums of Desevro, for even the lowliest of wretches can aspire to stride among their peers like titans with enough strength of will."

He drank quietly from His cup, His eyes never leaving Lily's. "Your outlook does not engender envy, Lady Decoria. A thankless servant to the very end of her days, when your abilities could be put to much greater use. How many of your kind have you witnessed surrender to despair, or - worse yet - allow themselves to be swallowed by the darkness? Have you had to kill anyone you once called friend, or watch them die by another's hand?"

Carnifex breathed in and then exhaled in an almost sorrowful manner, although it was certainly inauthentic beneath the surface. "Such a difficult existence, to watch all that you and your friends fought and died for be handed away by those who do not appreciate or understand your sacrifice. The Alliance even blamed Jedi like you in the end. Valery Noble's name is hissed like a curse all throughout the Core, as well as those believed to be close to her."

"A life of selflessness repaid with hate. I do not bereave you for abandoning the Republic, they are cut from the same cloth as the Alliance." He set His cup down, giving a moment for the atmosphere between them to settle. Then, He shifted gears. "What does a shepherd and a wolf mean to you, Lady Decoria?"

Lily Decoria ​

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Aing-Tii
Outfit: Bokken Jedi
Equipment: Arwr Da, Hydrangea Moonblade (Concealed)
Tag: Darth Carnifex

Lily scoffed, "your gifts break people down, entrap them in lives where only suffering and misery exists for them. Only you ever benefit from the work others do." She was not surrendering to the idea that Carnifex uplifted anyone that orbited him. "If you were uplifting others beyond their current position, you would be risking others to believe they could challenge you. Something you would never allow, hence why you force those around you to believe you to be a god." She did not see this man as a god, he was skilled in keeping himself alive against all odds, but he was no god.

The Echani warrior was determined to demonstrate that.

"Redemption is a pathway open to all. Killing is a last resort. I have heard of others turning, I have seen you among many other Sith killing my fellow Jedi and I have seen civilians suffer at the hands of Sith tyranny. It is why I continue to fight. It is why I continue to push forward. My presence here is not for fun. I am here to prevent more lives being lost to the tyranny of the Sith like yourself." Lily countered, she was not going to fall into the trap of admitting to be tired or saddened by the loss of Jedi. More would come, more would fight. They just needed to see that there was someone willing to lead that fight.

Lily heard the mention of Valery's name being hissed in the core, she rolled her eyes. "I am sure the Sith Covenant's propagandists are working very hard to make sure they ruin the name of the Galactic Alliance and the New Jedi Order." Her gaze turned to Carnifex, "I am also sure that you are working hard to discredit your son and daughter-in-law, tarnish the legacy that they had built that opposed you and the Sith for so long." Her eyes narrowed when he mentioned that she had cut ties with the Republic.

"I never said I cut ties with them." She was not lying that she was still tied to the High Republic or it's Jedi Order, but she was never going to confirm the idea either. "If they are cut from the same cloth, then your Sith Order must be terrified that they will bring another age of peace to the galaxy." Lily pointed out as he mentioned the shepherd and the wolf.

Leaning back in the chair, she sighed, "the shepherd protects the innocent and the wolf hunts them. Consumes them."

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"My gifts offer countless delights, Lily Decoria. What child beset by aggression from their peers would not yearn to strike out against those that wish him ill? To see them brought low before him, and make them lick his boots? What spurned lover would not desire to see their object of fixation made to obey their every whim? The avaricious see their wealth triple with a snap of their fingers?" His eyes shone with something far more depraved than hatred now, the luminous darkness of unrepentant power to grant every vile wish ever whispered in a being's lowest moment.

"It is the nature of the Dark Side to consume those weaker than yourself, to amass power to the detriment of all those around you. It is an easy avenue to gain strength for those seeking easy and immediate results, but few ever truly master the darkness. My gifts imbue those seeking power with what they desire, strength in abundance and the permission to exercise it. That the darkness devours them before they can even reach a fraction of my strength is no fault of my own, it is a natural endpoint of their greed. Those that survive long enough assume their place at my side, only to be toppled by future underlings."

The Dark Lord did not care if His servants amassed their own power, even enough to challenge Him. But by design, the system in which He operated was conductive to the lesser wielders of the Dark Side cannibalizing one another. Even when they banded together, they were not enough of a challenge to seriously threaten Him. Many understood this, and sought survival in His shadow rather than dying in pursuit of futile ambition.

The faintest glimmer of a smile pulled at the edges of the Dark Lord's mouth, lips briefly parting to flash a shine of teeth. "Does he? The shepherd protects his flock because the flock belongs to him. He chooses where they graze, when they wander, when they breed. He culls the sick and butchers those whose usefulness has reached its end. Yet because he keeps the wolf from their throats, the sheep imagine themselves loved. And the wolf? The wolf makes no such pretense. It hungers, and so it hunts. It desires, and so it takes. You condemn the wolf because you can see its teeth, while praising the shepherd because he has learned to hide the knife behind his back."

"You Jedi are very fond of shepherds. You appoint yourselves guardians of those you deem incapable of guarding themselves, decide which powers are permissible and which desires must be restrained, and kill those creatures you name wolves. Then, when those you have protected grow frightened of you, when politicians decide that their shepherds have become inconvenient, you discover that you were never holding the crook at all. You were merely another creature within someone else's flock."

"But you mistake me if you believe I consider the wolf superior. I have been the wolf and I have been the shepherd. I have protected billions beneath my dominion and consumed just as many billions who stood against it. Neither creature possesses virtue merely because of what it is. The only truth that matters between the shepherd and the wolf is will, Lily Decoria. The strongest will prevails over that which is insufficient. Between the destruction of the wolf or the protection of the flock, what will a shepherd Jedi like you be forced to choose?"

Lily Decoria ​

 

[Lily Decoria]

Location: Aing-Tii
Outfit: Bokken Jedi
Equipment: Arwr Da, Hydrangea Moonblade (Concealed)
Tag: Darth Carnifex

"Surrendering to base emotions is not healthy nor is it something that we should be seeking to do. We are not primal beings that seek to only reward our most basic of instincts. It is why there are always consequences for a person's actions. You claim to be liberating people, is shackling them, throwing them into slavery truly liberation? Do others truly benefit from your power? Strength is not merely what one can do with the Force, what one can achieve with raw muscle. Strength is seeing others, those you claim to be weak, seeing them in need and willing to do whatever you can to help them." Lily stated, "doesn't matter if they thank you, if they reward you or the fact they might continue to hate you. Strength comes from knowing the risks and still committing to helping them."

She sighed, she doubted that the Sith Lord would understand her point, others failed to see it. Lily had not been very convincing even amongst her peers, especially when it came to doing what was the morally correct thing to do even if it meant risking safety. "No one masters the Dark Side, it is not a thing to master. It is a mere perversion of the Force and that will inevitable come at a cost. No one can live forever and no one can avoid the consequences of betraying nature. Debts will be repaid, even if they take their time." Lily believed that there would be karmic repayment, it might take years, perhaps beyond her life time, but she was sure that inevitably there would be a time where Carnifex would find himself in a situation where death was the only thing left and there would be nothing left after that for him. A void.

"Hm. I fear you do not understanding the wildness that still exists even in farm animals. A shepherd by guide the sheep to the best grazing spots, they might attempt to contain them in the safety of a fence but sheep are not so easily controlled. They will find their own way around and they will select where they wish to graze if they see another location that looks far more appetising than the one they are in. As for killing them for meat, true, but all things die. Some may wait till the animal dies naturally and ensure the body is not wasted. And it is not done out of greed and only what is needed to be killed is killed." Lily pointed out, "a wolf would eat and eat until it could not eat any more, the wolf consumes the whole flock and then starves to death because it consumed so very recklessly. Sacrifice for a greater purpose always exists and death is always going to happen, but wiping out everyone leaves the galaxy a lonely place to die."

Shaking her head, "you have not been a shepherd, you have been a wolf that just thought itself smarter. However, your empire crumbled and you failed to hold onto that control. Just as this Sith Order will crumble and you will fall." She breathed in deeply, "I have never been one to believe that the Jedi should be shepherd's but I also believe that everyone has a right to their thoughts and beliefs. If they wish to view me with suspicion while I demonstrate nothing but good intentions, that is their decision. My actions and the impact they have on the galaxy will be the voice that I use. I understand that it takes more than a single individual to fight the empire that you are part of. That it takes more than myself to finally defeat you."

"Tyranny is the attempt to establish order when nature is far more chaotic and uncontrolled. A Jedi does not seek to control or force order onto others, it is giving autonomy and only extending a guiding voice. However, some Jedi either forget that or believe we must never attempt to help or guide others." That had been the issue with the High Republic, the Jedi took too much of a backseat and just allowed the senate to control what the High Republic should be and how the military should look without understanding that the Jedi needed to be an active participant in all that.