Diplomacy Unholy Union: A Breach

[Mercy]

ANK KIT'AAR, KIFFU, THYFERRA, ORD PROVIDENCE

Gerwald Lechner Irina Jesart Darth Carnifex Taeli Raaf Astra Sadow Lysander von Ascania
​

The beginning is always followed by the eventual breach. Once the pressure becomes too much to maintain, when the first shatters appear and that which seemed impossible before, now has become inevitable. Four worlds and now four worlds more. The Sith were coming like the tide. There was no end to them. Everyone thought the Covenant and the Order fearsome on their own, but together, they came down like a current to reclaim relics and holdings.

Four more worlds.

These worlds were just new to the Sith yoke as the first four. The situation was unstable, there was an itch in the air, as everyone held their breath and awaited to see how the Sith would approach this new union.

Would they come with the sword again? Would they come with promises? It was hard to say. The only thing that was certain... were the words of the Sith'ari. They boomed along, at the backs of those approaching these worlds.

Go forth and claim what you can. As quickly as you can. Bring to me these worlds and their allegiance, expand our territory until you are sick with avarice and your veins are running black with exhaustion.

Do what must be done. Make your Empress proud. Make me proud. Bring as many of them home and we will reward you.

This, your Sith’ari decrees.

 

[Arris Windrun]

KIFFU
Gerwald Lechner | Irina Jesart​

There was a certain irony here - Arris Windrun, a cyborg, on Kiffu during the lightning season. Storms rolled across the sky, erupting tendrils of blue, purple, and white. Thunder roared so loudly that it left her with a tinny sense of hearing. She'd have to replace those audio receptors later.

Arris found refuge in the world's capital, where great towers drew the lightning towards them. She had arrived only a few hours earlier, and found herself waiting beside the entrance of a great house, where some influential locals had gathered to discuss the Sith occupation. Hearsay was as relevant as the storm above, for there were such rumors as to what was happening on their world.

Some feared the Sith were preparing something sinister for them. Others - foolishly hopeful - believed that maybe they would finally pull out.

Arris Windrun wasn't here to convince them one way or another. In time, reality would settle all doubts.

However, she wouldn't be the one to decide their future, beyond her immediate concerns for Kiffu: it was very near the High Republic.

She dragged her cigarette and looked down the street, where two figures approached.

Were these them?

The cyborg raised a lazy hand in greeting and flicked the cigarette into a nearby puddle. Then, she crossed her arms, leaning back against the building.

"Arris Windrun." She introduced.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

THE ETERNAL FATHER ◆ THE SHADOW OF THE EMPIRE

The doors to the council chamber shuttered open with a serpentine hiss, heavy footfalls dredging forth the shadow of the Dark Lord as He passed beyond the threshold. He left the myriad of raised voices behind, letting these avaricious oligarchs divide the spoils of their newfound bounty as they wished. So long as it was the Empire that benefited, He could honestly care little how they scurried. If they dared to reach for more than what given, then they would find such an offending hand lobbed off at the wrist.

"Their greed vexes me, regardless of how we can use it to control them." His rumbling voice carried no farther than He allowed. Even at full cadence, none could eavesdrop on the Dark Lord unless He permitted it. "Even so, I place my faith in your designs, my old friend, I trust in your mind and in your wisdom. If I am to suffer their mewling for a day to reap the benefits of tomorrow, then I will embrace such suffering." Though a savvy political operator, the Dark Lord had little patience for the avarice of corporations. It was beneficial, yes, but nonetheless He found such scheming wanting. He yearned for the straightforwardness of direct state control.

He looked to Taeli Raaf, one of His longest allies, co-conspirators, and friend; as much weight as that word had among the Sith, anyway. "What is our next move, Taeli?"

Whatever in creation exists without my knowledge exists without my consent.

Taeli Raaf ​

 

[Astra Sadow]

ORD PROVIDENCE​

It was becoming something of a habit at this point, but if it pleased Mercy then Astra wouldn't complain. Ord Providence was a world already ruined by the time the Sith Covenant laid eyes on it. Recent developments had opened up opportunities of expanding into the Order's territory, which a Corpo wouldn't turn down given the opportunity. Thus, Sanguine Enterprises had organized a surveying and construction crew to head toward the Western realm.

The first few transports had descended through the fouled atmosphere to take position at Site Alpha. Astra Sadow strode down the ramp wearing a transparent helm that left her burnt golden eyes clearly visible. A form-fitting leather-like, black environment suit covered her body. Just because one was forced to conceal themselves didn't mean a little style couldn't be adopted.

She took a moment to tilted her chin up in order to visually survey the ruins of the dome over Provinia before them. Meanwhile, others descended from their vessels to begin connecting the portable structures brought down from orbit. Their chatter registered, but nothing warranted her personal input. The briefings above had been thorough with assignments, objectives, and timelines already established. This wasn't their first broken world they'd need to rebuild. Though this was perhaps the most polluted so far.

"There is something in the air," Astra breathed for Lysander's benefit. Something familiar. Something strange. Perhaps they would be accosted by those claiming to be the reconstituted government of Ord Providence, but her attention lay... elsewhere for the moment.

Lysander von Ascania​

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

ORD PROVIDENCE
Astra Sadow ​

Working for the greater 'good' of the Sith had never been something Lysander struggled with. A good chunk of his time as an emissary had been spent navigating ambitions and irreconcilable egos. In that search for alignment, some could scarcely agree on the shape of tomorrow. With so much in flux, he couldn't ignore an opportunity to help shape whatever came next.

Ord Providence represented the sort of opportunity that naturally drew his attention. If anyone had bothered to ask, that was the story he would have told. And it held up, more or less. But it wasn't the whole of it. At some point, without quite noticing when, he'd started collecting reasons of his own for leaning into certain deals, and this one was no different. He wasn't in any hurry to hold those reasons up to the light.

He might've even forgone the helmet under different circumstances. After all, he was arriving as an observer, not a combatant, right? Well, one never could truly tell, nor did Ord Providence inspire that level of comfort. So the helmet stayed on, paired with a charcoal environmental suit built for practicality. If the whole getup made him look harsher than he meant to, then so be it.

His lightsaber remained tucked discreetly at his side. Nightstar, for all its virtues, had never been suited to subtlety, and he was still getting the hang of the Fold. Better not to lean on a trick he hadn't fully figured out yet.

Keeping pace with Astra, he looked out over the wreckage ahead. "If you're referring to the Clouzon-36, my helmet's been reminding me of it since we landed." The helmet had its perks. Its HUD fed him a stream of environmental readouts and other details, all hovering just at the edge of sight.

"You know, there is something poetic about a second chance. About a place being allowed to begin again. Most worlds never get that gift. And the few that do seldom use it wisely."

Lysander took another step. "Convincing the people who used to live here to trust the process is a different beast altogether." The vocoder stripped the mirth from his next words. "Though, knowing you, you've probably already anticipated that problem. Perhaps you've even secured the rights to name the next dome before anyone else thought to ask." Or all of them, actually.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Thyferra
Darth Carnifex Lysander von Ascania Lucette Raaf
​

"I've found it always keeps me sharp," she replied, her voice light as she tried to hide the amusement from her face. She knew Carnifex appreciated corporate products, but the maneuvering and power plays within the corporate sphere were... not to his liking. The Thyferra project was advancing well, at least for the planning stages, but the corporate executives they had left in the chamber were only the beginning. "Many executives are almost Sith-like in how they operate. Perhaps that is why we have always worked so well together, Sith and megacorporation."

That, and they were always easy to manipulate with their greed. The corrupt ones at least. She found fair dealings also opened the same doors. A lesson from Danger that she had taken to heart prodigiously.

"They'll do much of the hard work while we proceed with the actual project," she continued, glancing at the larger man bestride her. The two were such an odd symbol within the Sith; equally powerful Sith that could have easily been rivals, but had instead forged an enduring alliance that had toppled nations, broken through the dividing veil of the Living and Unifying to the source of life itself, and so many other endeavors that spanned decades now. "Our next steps are to begin roping in others with connections to the Core, solidify the supply chain, while we get the Shapers brought in. I was thinking von Ascania as a partner for the Core, he's proven useful so far."

She would press the button for the turbolift, while also summoning Lucy to meet them at the bottom. When it opened, she would gesture for him to step through first and then join him, the lift carrying them away. "What to do believe the next move should be?"

 

[Lucette Raaf]

Thyferra

Taeli Raaf | Lysander von Ascania | Darth Carnifex ​

Lucy wanted to say she was really paying attention. The honest answer was, partly. In truth, she was thinking about her beloved Viers. Oh, how Viers must be so bored and alone. She had accompanied her grandmother after another of her cousins had dropped out. One of Kai's siblings, she recalled. Vikar, or the sister... Aleya, that was her name.

Awful that it took her that long to recall. Awful that she was here on Thyferra and not in a lab, or out in the field collecting samples.

No, here she was, waiting.

She knew that Thyferra had been ruined as a result of the invasion. She also knew her grandmother wanted to help, although how far that went, Lucy would observe. There had been this idea that if Lucy was going to try and maintain some semblance of an alter ego before the wider galactic public, she needed to start that now. And so, there she was, accompanying Grandmother Taeli on the occasion.

Lucy waited there at the bottom of the damn lift, looking at her chrono and wondering if she could get a signal out here on her new Moonglow device. It was the latest model offered by Locke & Key. She popped her mint-flavored gum whilst she waited for her grandmother and her friend.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

THE ETERNAL FATHER ◆ THE SHADOW OF THE EMPIRE

"Strengthen our grip on neighboring systems. Thyferra may be ours, but a single weakness can compromise even the strongest of foundations. Some have professed obeisance, but others have been remarkable silent. We must rectify this lapse in judgment, and remind them that silence can not and will not be their shield. When brought before the power of the Sith, they must kneel or be broken. Bringing Lysander von Ascania into the fold is a wise decision."

The lift doors opened, and the Dark Lord slipped inside alongside Taeli. The mechanisms had been reinforced to withstand more than a ton of weight, a feature the Dark Lord had installed as conventional lifts struggled to bear His three hundred kilogram weight. After a moment, it began to descend through the central spire tethering the floating fortress to the planet below. Light whirled past, briefly illuminating their faces in periodic bursts.

"If what the Empress has planned is to succeed, then we must ensure that nothing can compromise it." He did not agree with everything that the Empress had spoken to Him about, and He advised her as such. But neither was He the one to break just because of a disagreement, not when all His machinations could adapt to new realities with enough care and diligence.

When the doors opened, the Dark Lord emerged first. His shadow fell across a young woman with eyes of cool mint green, a girl whose countenance bore many similarities with that of Taeli Raaf. He towered over the both of them, a monolith of war bound in Human skin. With measured precision, the Dark Lord flattened one hand over His chest.

"Greetings, young Raaf."

Whatever in creation exists without my knowledge exists without my consent.

Taeli Raaf | Lucette Raaf ​

 

[Lysander von Ascania]

Location: Thyferra
Tags: Darth Carnifex Taeli Raaf Lucette Raaf

Lysander missed the battle with the Republic altogether. By the time he found reason to visit Thyferra, the fighting was over, and the occasion was something altogether different. He accompanied his cousin Lily Rhodes to the Feast, enjoyed the festivities, and departed without much reason to believe he would return.

The journey back carried a small irony of its own. The freighter that brought him back to Thyferra was built from the designs of one of the very people he'd come to discuss matters with.

By the time he settled into the reception lounge, Lysander found himself with some time to spare. After seeing to correspondence concerning Brentaal, he struck up a conversation with the receptionist; nothing terribly important, just a few questions about the planet itself and whether anything was worth seeing if he managed to finish his business early. Not every interaction needed to be a diplomatic exercise.

It was then that he sensed a pair of presences approaching. Familiar signatures, easily named; the third belonged to a woman already waiting by the turbolift, one he couldn't place.

Once the others exchanged their courtesies, Lysander rose to his feet and made his way over, offering a respectful bow. "Lady Raaf." Then his gaze climbed to the far taller figure beside her. "Lord Carnifex." Those emerald eyes drifted from one face to the other. "A pleasure to see you both again."

And he meant it. There was much he wished to speak of with each of them, in time. After the siege of Coruscant, the Kainite had worked their way near the top of Lysander's list of people worth understanding. As the Order pushed deeper into the Core, the value of cultivating those relationships only became clearer.