Welcome to the Jungle (Ossus)

[Sirella Valkner]

The planet of Ossus was once a wasteland, but now through generations of effort was a sprawling jungle. The planet itself represented second chances and the ability of plants to persevere. In many ways it was the perfect planet for Sirella, it was a garden for her to tend. The shuttle landed in a clearing. In order to create paradise first the land must be tilled. Ysanna tribes littered the planet, forced back into their primitive state by a dark age. They were a force-sensitive people, and if they could be converted would be useful in Sirella’s conquests. The planet also once served as a fortress keeping Tion in check, and if properly nurtured could serve as an outer defense for the cluster once more.

The shuttles landed in a lonely clearing. This operation didn’t require armies, more subtle methods would be used. Tribes on the planet would be coerced and forced into submission and the Sith would use the old tried and true method of divide and conquer. Those who would convert would be saved, and those who did not would be destroyed.

The plan was simple, there was a village of Ysanna tribesmen nearby, and while night still hid them they would go into the fields and plant the deadly virus. Sirella cringed thinking about the plants that would die. It was natural though, plants had to be culled in order for their to be new growth. And there would be new growth when Sirella came to the aid of those beleaguered famers. It was in this way that they would gain the locals trust, and have their first allies.

Sirella looked around to her and smiled weakly at the girl next to her. She was an attractive girl, with potential enough. Sirella had taken her in, made her an apprentice. Samanthe had her uses, and Sirella in recent days had paid particular attention to her training with the double bladed lightsaber she wielded. “Let us go.” Sirella said.

 

[Daxton Bane]

Daxton was wearing a matt black suit of armor designed to minimize his profile and absorb light. It wasn't a suit designed for combat but rather for stealth. Strapped on his back were the plantings he was to seed the field with, a simple enough task but hardly worth his time. Still it paid to be on the good side of Lady Valkner, so he did as he was bid without asking too many questions.

The only problem he encountered was a small animal that growled and barked as he approached. Baring back his teeth, he projected a vision of pure horror that it ran away with its tail firmly tucked between its legs. It almost reminded him of the Jedi.....

Sinking his cold hands into the dirt, he began to dig so he could leave his deadly package to nurture and ferment and do its task for which it was created.

 

[Sirella Valkner]

Sirella grimaced at what she must do. Plants often competed with one another and there was hundreds, thousands, of species of generalist parasitic plants. It had only been a small matter to find one and warp it to her will. The plant grow at a prodigious rate, and none of the local tribesmen would be able to stop it from devouring their crops. It was sad that one would have to kill the other, but in the end it suited her purpose, and would allow the plant life to remain relatively unscathed. The alternative was, of course, a full scale invasion of the planet complete with bombardments. After finishing her task she returned to the shuttle. There was a village, large and aggressive, on the far end of the valley they were currently in. That village and its tribe would be the first to fall, an example of the new power on Ossus. "Bane," she said to the Sith Knight. "We have a village to subjugate." If properly motivated the Ysanna could prove valuable in the coming galactic conflicts, and in the more immediate future they would be valuable here in taking control of this planet.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

A figure stood off away from the others who had come, dressed in robes of black covering steel-colored body armor with a mask of gold covering his features. The figure scanned the jungle, taking note of everything his surroundings had to offer. He'd been on a few jungle planets himself such as Dxun and his species' birthplace, Panatha, but this was something else. He spotted two Sith he knew, Lady Valkner and the Knight Bane, the latter of which introduced him to the force many moons ago, and had formed a respect for since. He did not know Lady Valkner very well, but it was always good to make friends in high places, despite him being relatively high on that scale himself. He approached the Plant Sith, and bowed deeply out of respect. "Lady Valkner, its a pleasure to meet you. I have no doubt this world is to your liking?"

 

[Sirella Valkner]

"This is a wonderful world," she said taking a deep breath. "Well suited to me don't you think? I believe I'll make a temple here, obsidian with architecture designed to magnify the planets ley lines." Her lips pursed into a smile as she stared at Kaine. He was a bit more of a mystery than she was comfortable with. "And in a few hundred years when age catches up with me, like all saints and martyrs I can rule from the tomb." She liked reminding his sort of meat that even their enhanced lifespan paled to hers. "If I may be honest, I'm surprised to see you getting your hands dirty."

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"I am not above getting in the field. I participated at the Battle of Concord Dawn and both Battles of Junction, I'm not scared of field work, my Lady." Indeed he had been in the heat of war, fighting tooth and nail against the Mandalorians, a most formidable foe. "I hear old tales of Ossus being a world filled with Jedi artifacts... a reservoir of knowledge if you will. I'm quite eager to see what we will unearth once the tribesmen have been pacified."

 

[Sirella Valkner]

"I doubt it will be much," Sirella said. "There was a Jedi Temple here once more after, back when this planet was a barren waste. Ancient history, but when the Jedi abandoned this place they probably took much of the artifacts. We will see though, our order has accused the Jedi of many things, but I've never them being cursed with thoroughness." A slight laugh erupted from her lips and she reached out a hand and touched Kaine's shoulder rubbing it a little. "Well then little general, do you suggest a course of action for subjugating our first village?"

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"To be honest, I would prefer out-right enslavement of the local populace, but its up to you, my dear. You're the highest authority for this mission. I'm just here to aid and observe." Kaine turned his head to look at Sirella, his mask betraying nothing and his mind nothing as well. His species' genetic immunity to any force-assisted mind tricks, as well as mind reading done on them, made him a steel-trap of mystery and security. None could know Kaine's intentions or motives.

 

[Sirella Valkner]

"Yes, we could go that route." Sirella turned to look in the direction of the village. A jungle prevented them from actually seeing the actual habitat but they knew it was out there. "A famous man once said that no force of occupation may ever hold a people in chains by force of arms indefensibly." It was a foolish statement, of course they could, but they had to be clever about it. "We must be clever, we must make large enough portions of these worlds love us, make them willing to fight for us, and die for us. These tribesmen are primitive yes, but they are naturally force sensitive. Even if not trained as Sith they may provide excellent troops in our wars." She licked her lips and looked to Kaine, "So better to make them friends no?"

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Kaine nodded, "You speak sense, Lady Valkner. A regiment of force-sensitive primitives could prove useful, despite their lack of intelligence. Perhaps we could experiment on them to enhance what they lack? I have a few ideas of my own, and I must request a dozen or so primitives of mixed genders and ages for my own personal use after this is over. If you'll allow me, Lady Valkner." He gently took her hand, and bent down to let her knuckles gently tap the mouth piece of his mask, a sort of mock gentleman's kiss.

 

[Sirella Valkner]

Her smiled didn't fade when she heard the comment. "You are an intelligent man. It is refreshing, so many of these sithlings now believe in only slaughter and death. There is no subtly to them." She retracted her hand gently. The alien plants seemed to quiver around her as she walked. "Some say that sith are warriors, fighters only. They are foolish, while we are peerless in combat it is our wits that win battles, win wars. The most successful sith in history, who was he? A Politician, to many a frail old man." The smile turned to a lopsided smirk. "Appearances may be deceiving and the weak democratic and bureaucratic system of the republic used against them." The pair reached the end of the clearing and Sirella reached out to touch a plant. "They are order and stagnation, and we are chaos creating the necessary ingredients for evolution." Diametrically opposite positions in the galaxy, and while opposites attract the merger of two bodies could be catastrophic....

 

[Allyson Locke]

It was times like this, when Samanthe had wondered if searching for a Sith Master was the brightest of ideas she’s come up with. Though the girl was on a win streak having taken control of her family’s land and name along with every ounce of wealth they had. Sam had been in the middle; she destroyed her older siblings and imprisoned the younger. There was no way in hell the Countess would lose her place in the family.

Sam followed closely behind Sirella, the plant woman was interesting and she wondered if it was just because the woman was a plant that she was able to Fall in love with such exotic landscape. It wasn’t acceptable for the countess who was used to strong men carrying her where she needed to if the place wasn’t acceptable. Though it seemed this woman, this plant Sirella Valkner was the one that got pampered and not here. Sam kept her mouth shut for the most part though it provided to be the hardest thing she had to learn. Sirella was her Master and it bothered her to call her as such. Her lips curled as she listened them discuss politics.

As much as she wanted to chime in, the woman turned and walked beyond the pair. Despite Sirella being her Master, Samanthe had her moments of turning her nose up and moving about her business.

 

[Valik]

Valik walked behind the plantae Sith Master who lead this mission. She was speaking to a man who appeared to be the Grand Vizier, and with the way he talked about fighting the Mandalorians he very well could be. It matter little who he was in Valik's mind though. He had heard of the exploits of the Zelosian Sith Master, and her Force-less control of plantlife. Such a skill could be extremely useful if he could find a way to isolate the gene and implement it human and near-human species. It would also bolster the Sith's average soldiers far more formidable. He would have to take numerous samples back to his lab for study.

Then there were of course, the matter of Ossus itself. While currently inhabited by little more than force-sensitive primatives, Ossus once housed a Jedi Temple, as well as numerous artifacts. Then there the rumors of the Galactic Alliance teaming up with the Yuuzhan Vong to terraform the planet around 700 years ago. Between possible Vong Biots, Jedi Artifacts, Zelosian Plant samples and maybe even an adequate source of Force-Sensitive slaves to experiment on, Ossus and this mission, were a dream come true for Valik. Simply so many opportunities.

As Valik followed the Sith Master, being ever careful to listen to her orders, he began recalibrating his scanners to find Yuuzhan Vong biotech. He was content to find every secret this planet had to offer.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Indeed, but I do not think our mission parameters are to discuss politics, my dear Lady Valkner. I believe we may be upsetting some of the others on this safari" He turned to look at the small group that had followed the pair to the edge of the clearing, his emerald eyes staring out from the eye slots on his golden mask to stare at each one of their faces. He recognized a few of them, he had read their file of course. There was Samanthe Quiwl, a Countess of Serenno turned Sith Apprentice, and like all nobles she no doubt held herself higher than everyone else, as she should. Nobility are better than the average man, and they should act like it, but if she started acting like that towards Kaine he'd have to give her a brief lesson of his family history with the back of his hand. The other, the one known as Valik, was considered a prodigy for his 'genius' intellect and knowledge in Sith Alchemy. Kaine himself was extremely intelligent and had learned Sith Alchemy as well, perhaps he could be of some use to him in the future. He'd keep an eye on these two, and monitor their progress for his own devices later.

 

[Sirella Valkner]

A soft sigh escaped Sirella's lips. "Very well," she said looking at the jungle. "Firstly I'd like to introduce you to my apprentice, Samanthe Quiwl Countess of Serenno." Her hand waived in the air distantly, waiting for the formality to be over before beginning her briefing.

"The village just over there," she pointed vaguely in the direction ahead of them, "has been an aggressive influence in this region. Their warriors are said to be among the finest of any tribe. They will become our beach head. We will crush their spirit and make them bend a knee to us. This will establish us as a power in the region to be respected and feared. Then when our little parasites infect the other village we will offer our assistance, and become saviors." Sirella wet her lip with her tongue, "It is better to be feared than loved, but why settle? If we play our cards right, we can have both."

The woman started walking gracefully through the jungle remaining on the well beaten trail, her feet shying away from the edges of the terrain. "Oh and watch out for their Concussion Bows." She pointed to the side bringing attention to two Ysanna warriors with their rifle like arms raised in their direction. Two shots rang out flinging arrows in their direction. "And soon their riding beasts will be here." She lifted her hand up and pulled one of the warriors out from cover flinging him into a nearby tree. "Shall we begin the fight?" she asked nonchalantly.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Indeed, let's begin." Kaine easily enough avoided the shots of the Concussion Bows, disrupting the natives control over the projectiles with a simple wave of his hand to send them off course with a more powerful control of the force than they possessed, and then reached out with his right hand sending invisible tendrils of madness and terror out into the minds of the primitive tribal men. He searched their minds in an instant, conjuring their deepest darkest fears from their subconscious and making eachother look like those nightmares in their own minds. The tribal men would go ballistic, turning on eachother with their rifles and killing eachother at point blank range. However, there would be no doubt that more would come to fight these invaders from the stars, and Kaine would be ready. It would be a simple task, so he backed off and let the apprentices have their fun first, it built character. As if on cue, about a dozen or so warriors emerged from the underbrush brandishing a mixture of crude melee weapons and concussion rifles, and began to attack the group of Sith. "Fight, little ones, fight. Show them the might of the Sith."

 

[Eddie]

A black dragon looking starfighter landed nearby and Vyperion opened the cockpit and jumped out of it, the door closing as he left the cockpit.

 

[Valik]

Valik witnessed the Grand Vizier's finesse in not wasting time one by one, or energy conjuring an array of lightning, but instead used the Force to drive the primatives to madness and let them destroy each other. Valik then took a moment to thibk how this attack would be percieved by the indigenous primatives. Warriors from the stars land and instill madness on the first welcoming party. They must have seemed like gods. I can use that Valik thought to himself.

Then the Vizier beckoned the "little ones" deal with the second wave, undoubtedly referencing Valik and the other sith apprentice, a woman with a rather pretencios air about here, one that probably meant she was nobility. Still, her genetics of physique made her a rather enjoyable companion. Valik decided to take on three bowman and thre warriors, leaving the rest for the noblewoman. Remembering the Zelosian's words and his former though of apparent 'Godhood', Valik also decided he wouldn't kill any of them, only show them his power.

Three men aimed their concussion bows at him, so Valik took out an "Imp" blaster pistol and shot them the three of them before they could ready and shoot their primitive concussion bows. Still though, there were three Ysanna that came at him at with swords. Valik noticed two charged at him faster then the third. That mean hesistation. Fear. Something Valik learned to manipulate long ago. With a mere flick of his hand lightning erupted, consuming and stunning the two Ysanna in a pain unlike any they had experienced. He ignited his lightsaber and slashed at the two mildly armored men, killing them instantly. The third man stopped as Valik held his lightsaber and pointed it at the man's head.

"Please not hurt" The warrior said in fear, with a broken but understandable Galactic Basic language.

"Kneel." Valik said in a sharp commanding tone. The warrior went to knees instantly. "I am a servant of the Gods, and my Lords wish to bring your people prosperity. Your friends were punished because they tried to attack us, but in your submission you have found favor. Take this." He said and gave the man the blaster he had used to kill his allies. "I can offer your people great power and prosperity, but it will require all of you pledge your allegiance to the Sith, the Pantheon of Gods. Go tell your people all you have seen, what I have told you, and what power we have to offer."

 

[Allyson Locke]

Samanthe heard her name mentioned and walked over casually, she was introduced, but she knew here she held no authority. It was an ill feeling knowing that she couldn’t command anyone to do anything for her, she had to listen to Sirella which was already a difficult task. The woman started to explain the situation at hand, but then everything just exploded and Sam groaned. She moved quickly seeing that the other apprentice making quick work of what he was doing so it was her turn.

Three more bowmen popped out, quickly firing their weapons towards the slender Sithling. A grin crossed her face, no one attacked her like this, so cowardice. The duel blade ignited and with a flick of her wrist and twisted of her torso the blades disintegrated the attack. The men blinked watching the fluid nature of her defense and quickly started to run. They started to run towards their other companions who were fighting the other apprentice. Wrinkling her nose, Samanthe didn’t enjoy when the weak ran it meant she had to chase. The thrill of the hunt quickly fueled her as she ran, she remembered the chase she gave to her siblings when they ran looking for some sort of sanctuary from her.

Reaching out with the force, she opened her hand and then pulled back causing the bowmen to be pulled towards her. The first one who had seemed weakest of the three was drawn back finding his place on the tip of her blade. She flung his body off of it and then pounced the other two. Another quick spin of the staff like blades she sliced through both men quickly. Sam dusted herself off and made her way towards the man who seemed to be talking to the pathetic simpletons. She appeared behind the man who was on his knees groveling. With a look of disgust for both the man and the Apprentice who seemed to be wasting his time talking to the creature.

With a quick swipe of her saber she moved through the tender flesh of the man’s neck.

“You shouldn’t waste your time with these…things”

As she spoke her heeled boot kicked the decapitated corpse to the ground.

OOC: o_o...Valik just inbox me if you're not cool with this <3 just thought it would give a moment for Sam and Valik to interact

 

[Valik]

OOC:No problem. You didn't make my character do something, so it's cool.

Valik turned towards the noble, astonished. If he remembered correctly, and Valik always did, this woman was the Zelosian's apprentice. The Zelosian who just moments ago, said that they should be feared and loved by the people, in order maximum efficiency of rule. Valik had portrayed the Zelosian and the Grand Vizier as Gods, here to bring prosperity and power to Ossus and punish those who would rebel against them, effectively giving his commanders the best of both spectrums. Yet here the Zelosian's apprentice just ended hiss glorious creation.

"That thing was terrified of our power, and might have knowledge on the Jedi Temples we could have extracted. That thing was Force Sensitive, and could have made a soldier, a sith, or at the very least a test subject. That thing thought our masters were gods, and was about to tell his people the benefits of submitting to us." Or at least that's what Valik wanted to say, but elected not too. Her master would either inform her of her inefficiency or chastise Valik if chose to point it out. Either way it was not Valik's problem, nor was it a large setback. The backwater savages would be eating out of the hands of the Sith one way or another.

"Even backwater savages such as these can be useful to The Empire." Valik said in a shrugging and unabrasive tone, not drawing attention to the matter. Though Valik did not agree with the woman's . . . lack of insight, he could not deny the woman had superior aesthetic genetics. Her raven hair and slender figure could make her quite the seductress if she put her mind too it. Fostering a connection with such a woman could prove useful in the future, though Valik decided he would have to be careful with some a woman. There were always dangers when playing with fire.