Private What Goes Bump in the Day

[Kal]

A shield to contain the Nexus? Fascinating. He had been involved in similar work before, but the data on her methods would no doubt prove enlightening nonetheless - from differing perspectives, much could be learned. The Shadows were by no means unwilling to make use of whatever knowledge they could procure, regardless of the source.

A saint was as likely to stumble onto a grain of wisdom as a sinner.

<Will do,> Came the prompt reply, Kal making an effort to establish a temporary 'link' of sorts in the process. All the better to let her respond without undue difficulty. <I look forward to observing the effects.>

Theatrics were as natural to him as breathing was to humans. As was observation.

 

[Kyriaki]

Kal

A couple days would pass as calls were made to secure the necessary resources, items and labour. Eventually a strange contraption would start taking shape on far outskirts of Sentinel's Rest. Determining the location had taken all manners of bureaucratic nonsense. Until a very chilly call from Lord Lachesis had suddenly sped things up.

Sibylla was inspecting while the technicians gave the device the final touches. "Run it through the calibrations. The crystal resonance must be in harmony. Watch out for power fluctuations," she ordered, checking some readings. There was a vaguely ominous feeling emanating from the device.

"A lot is riding on this device, Laskaris. We're risking a lot," Ralliades stated in a stern voice as he walked over to her, regarding the machine with an expression of sceptisim.
Sibylla's gaze was unreadable. "Then I suggest we both do the jobs we're qualified for," she said flatly. "You dispose of xenos and guide the settlers of the promised land...and leave the science to me."
While Sibylla conducted her inspection, Kyriaki was taking a look at the device's six arrays. It just took a small push, and one was slightly unaligned. A narrow gap in the umbrella. She quickly occupied herself with other business.

"All our readings are green. We're ready to initiate the charge up sequence when you are, my lord," a technician said.
"Good, then..." Sibylla trailed off when she looked at the arrays, frowning slightly. "Belay that order. This wrong." Quickly walking over, she promptly realigned the array. "They must all be in sync, otherwise there'll be a hole in the shield."
"Oh...thanks...glad you caught that," Kyriaki exclaimed. "Silly me missed it."
"Remember, always in sync."

 

[Kal]

A couple days later, Kal eagerly awaited the activation of Sibylla's device - but he was no longer alone.

Looming beyond sight and sound in the lower stratosphere, a Pyramid Ship was directing its formidable sensors towards the project - sensors that were supplemented in turn by a cadre of alien seers. Kal himself hovered within a lightless chamber in the company of his kin, thoughts flowing between them as freely as words did in a human conversation.

<It begins. / Yes. / I am glad you informed us of this opportunity. / As is only right. It is fascinating, is it not? / Yes. / Very. / The spirits do not deserve imprisonment, but interference would be ill-advised. / I concur, it is not our role. / Likewise.>

The lightsaber, having been repaired as promised, hovered above a pedestal of some kind. Sorcerous runes were carved into the strange metal that made up its bulk, their purpose to allow the contents to be summoned from afar with ease.

He was not planning to assume a form of flesh and blood for the showmanship to come.

Depending on how the situation developed, he might need to 'reward' Sibylla in some fashion as well. In case that should prove the prudent course of action, a single Soulstone hovered over an identical pedestal.

 

[Kyriaki]

Kal

"Initiating charge-up sequence, my lord," a technician declared. A series of buttons were pressed, and the crystals inside the machine started to glow. At first faintly, then with increasing intensity. "Five percent..."
Sibylla checked her scanning device. "Thaumaturgical energy build-up in the forest. This may get rough."

Dark clouds swirled in the sky overhead, coming from the forest. Abruptly, the lights suddenly went out in a couple nearby buildings, casting them in complete darkness. Vaderite minions guarding the device looked unnerved at the unnatural darkness. Soldiers held on to their weapons tightly, as if fearing spectral hands would grab and turn them against them. "Men of the Imperium, remember your vows," Ralliades bellowed. "Years ago we made Tephrike safe for women and children, and we shall do so again. Remember the Dark Father." Then he began to chant.

"Great Vader who reigns above,
hallowed be your name,
your empire come,
your will be done,
on Tephrike as in the Nether.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our failings
as we punish those who sin against us.
Give us strength to overcome our trials
and deliver us from death.
For the empire, the power, and the glory are yours"

One by one Vaderite minions joined in the prayer, steeling their minds and souls as the clouds, and with them, a thick mist drew closer and closer. Sibylla was the only one who didn't. Instead she irritably checked her device. Twenty percent. "Here I am making things work rather than praying to the sky..."
"Your words are blasphemous," Ralliades growled.
"I believe what she means is that the Great Vader helps those who help themselves. It's the Jedi way to wait for miracles," Kyriaki interjected softly, casting her gaze to the sky for an entirely different reason. Make your move, she thought silently, the words being carried by the link of sorts she had with Kal. She imagined that something dramatic was about to happen.

 

[Kal]

The Nexus was responding? Fascinating. He had not expected such a response - perhaps it was the deceased's equivalent of a fight or flight response or perhaps it was a result of his earlier meddling.

Either way, it was noteworthy.

Then, a message. She wanted him to act now? Understandable, given the situation. Considering the pawns on the field for a long moment, he quickly zeroed in on her words. He could help her help herself, no?

<That level of intervention would change things. / It would. / It would, but there is an Agreement. / Agreements must be kept. / Always. / We would still be able to observe, of course. / This is true. / We are agreed.>

Melding their powers together, the three Shadows extended their wills - and by extension the wills of the Shades, Grey Ones, and various other subservient aboard the Pyramid Shop towards the Nexus. Indeed, the ship itself acted as a focus of sorts, aiding in the direction of the mystical energies involved; a necessity for a group so focused on Forceful matters.

Down on the surface, the swirling darkness would intensify, streaks of otherwordly lightning soon shooting through the skies. From that chaos, a great billowing figure would emerge, its body seeming to hold within it hundreds of screaming alien faces, gaunt from hunger yet filled with vengeance. As it descended, other, lesser, Shrouds followed in its wake.

When they reached the surface, Kyriaki would find herself pulled towards them by a sudden, howling gale - as would, thanks to the efforts of Kal's less merciful peers, several rather unfortunate Vaderites.

<The Great Vader helps those who help themselves.> Kal parroted, amusement accompanying the words.

 

[Kyriaki]

Kal

And so it began. Bolts of otherworldly lightning slashed through the dark clouds that engulfed the sky, providing some minor illumination in the unnatural darkness. But that only served to illuminate the phantoms that descended upon the 'valiant men of the Imperium'. A mass of horrors emerged, accompanied by a blood-curdling scream that rent the air and brought some soldiers to their knees, clutching their ears. Agitated by the ghastly sight, some troopers fired their weapons at the abomination, but their bullets passed through it harmlessly.

More phantoms followed in its wake, both Shrouds and others. "Stand your ground!" Ralliades bellowed, grabbing a wavering soldier by the shoulder and forcing him forward. "Your ancestors are watching you. Your wives and children are counting on you!" And then the sudden, howling gale tore across the land. Abruptly, Kyriaki was forced off her feet and flung through the air. Ralliades was almost thrown alongside her. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed the frame of the device with his cybernetic hand, whilst using his powers to anchor himself to the ground.

Sibylla was gripped by the wind. Flung through the air, she called upon the Force to let loose a blast of telekinesis to counter the wind. She landed hard upon the ground, head hitting a tree bark. Her mask cracked somewhat. Above her lightning flashed from the sky, and she saw a bunch of Vaderite minions who had been unable to escape the whirlwind being assailed by the Shrouds and phantoms of Togrutas and Gungans, covered in blood and with hatred eyes blazing in their eyes. "Laskaris, when will your device be ready?" she heard Ralliades bellow.

"It needs time, stay where you are. We don't know what these entities are capable of."
Coward's talk! My men are dying. Chiosians, on me!" with a shout, Ralliades drew his Sith warblade, and charged into the darkness. With his enchanted blade, he struck spirit creatures. A burst of power rippling from his smote a phantom. This was how it was done. This was how the parasites and vermin would be defeated.

Then he suddenly heard voices. "Commander!"
He momentarily broke his stride. He knew that voice. Then his eyes narrowed. "I have no time for trickery."
"Don't you remember me, Commander?" a shade manifested...but it was of a human male, dressed in a dirty, damaged KEC stormtrooper armour. "And me." More and more appeared, until it was half a dozen. Some were still recognisably humans, others were twisted skeletons.

"Jargil..Stavros...more xenos sorcery. You died honourably, and your souls are with the Great Vader."
"Our souls are here...trapped in the hell you sent us to. All because we followed orders," the shade's expression was contorted into an expression of loathing. "Why did you make us do it? You turned us into murderers, why?"
For a moment he hesitated. Then his heart hardened. "This isn't the real you, it's xenos trickery. Be gone, demon," he snarled, and swung his sword. He lashed out with stygian might...and spectral apparitions swarmed him, alien and human alike. From the depths of the earth came writhing tentacles that seized Vaderite minions to crush them and drag them into the darkness. The trees themselves were turning on the Vaderites. Men were being ensnared, broken, strangled, and devoured.

While the hurly-burly took place, Sibylla had run back to her device. Two technicians were still at work, looking frightened. One almost jumped and pulled his pistol before he saw who it was. "My lord...I...," he sputtered.
"It's logical to be afraid. Now put that down, it won't protect you anyway," she said calmly. "What's our status?"
"Yes, my lord," he checked his readings. "Um, we're ten minutes to full coverage."
"Not good enough."
"If we force it we'll burn through the crystals," he warned."
"I know. Change alignment to focus on the 180 degrees first, rest later. Now give me some space." Quickly he got out of her way, and she pressed her hands against the arrays. She felt a strong jolt when the energies of mechu-deru surged through her body into the device, using herself as a conduit to jumpstart it. She winced as energy crawled over her body, giving her a feeling akin to an electrical shock. "I'll need more crystals soon," she muttered as they began to glow.

And what of Kyriaki? Caught in the wind she knew better than to fight. Of all the trained Sith here, she was the weakest in terms of power. So rather than waste energy, she focused simply on controlling her descent...and stabilising her heart. Finally she hit the ground, rolling and narrowly avoiding a flash of lightning. Her head felt like it was spinning, and her body ached.

She willed herself to focus and looked upon the havoc the nexus and, she assumed, the Shadows seemed to have wrought. Roots were reaching from the ground, phantoms were picking off Vaderite goons. Cries of anguish and terror filled the air. Sibylla's device was lighting up like a Yule Tree.
And then she sensed it. The great billowing figure of darkness, composed of a body filled with seemingly hundreds of monstrous faces. Her flesh hand felt clammy with perspiration, and she winced from phantom pain creeping into her cybernetic hand.

Resolution filled her. It was time...for the show. Drawing her enchanted blade and entering into what she assumed was a dramatic looking attack stance, she pointed the tip of her blade into the entity's direction. She felt utterly ridiculous. "Abomination, I challenge you in the name of the Great Vader!" she declared overdramatically, having to shout to make herself heard over the gale of the wind and cries of agony and terror.

 

[Kal]

Her challenge drew the creature's attention, but not before it demonstrated its efficacy by snuffing out the lives of several KEC men with the casual ease of a scythe cutting wheat. "We do not fear you. We do not fear your false god. You will perish and your souls will be consumed," it thundered, its voices like nails dragging across a chalkboard.

Then it struck, but not at her.

With supernatural speed, a mighty tendril shot towards the device, determined to destroy it - even Sith would be hard-pressed to react in time. Kyriaki would have no such issues, for through her link she would feel the Shroud's every move in advance. She was, in effect, purview to its thoughts and plans before the creature itself even thought them.

Such were the lengths Kal went to stack the odds in her favour.

 

[Kyriaki]

Kal

They should be consumed, Kyriaki thought. She felt the lives of KEC soldiers being extinguished, their life force being literally ripped out to feed this creature's power. And she felt nothing but cold satisfaction. If only they could all die that way.

In agony, forced to face the horrors they had wrought, dragged down into the abyss. Across the battlefield she could sense KEC men being assailed by the fury of the forest and the Shadows' sorcery. Some were Sith apprentices, most were not. They bled all the same. She heard Ralliades screams of pain and she was...well-pleased.

But she had a role to play. And she suddenly felt a surge of the Force through her body. Before the tendril was unleashed, she saw it unfold before her eyes. She smiled coldly. "I do not fear your sorcery. This is the realm of Men now and it shall be so forevermore," she shouted, and advanced blade in hand, amidst the thunderous roar of the wind. Force energies coalesced around the imbued blade as she thrust it towards the abomination.

Soldiers scattered as the tendril roared towards the device. Sibylla saw it...but too late to react except to seek cover. The tendril crashed into one of the arrays, completely wrecking it. Sibylla was knocked back by the blast, and smoke billowed into the sky. She got to her feet, covered in dirt and dust. Her cold eyes narrowed shen she beheld her device.

The technician had not been so lucky. Shrapnel was lodged inside his neck. "You there," she declared, grabbing a soldier lying nearby by the shoulder. "Get up. You will help me rotate the machine. Now," she ordered, voice unnaturally full of urgency. "Grab anyone here who's still breathing to help, if you want to live."

The trooper took one look at her, another at the mayhem...and perhaps figured this was better than charging into the fray himself. "Yes, my lord," he said, trying to catch his breath. Quickly they set to work. "Point the broken part to the town," Sibylla ordered grimly. "Increase activation to 180 degrees towards the forest." This can work, it will work. I've tested it, she told herself.

 

[Kal]

The intention had been to have her skillfully protect the device, but he could work with this development.

Sibylla had seen firsthand the threat the Arch-Shroud posed - and would be too busy making it work with a damaged device to study the confrontation too closely. Yes, this could definitely end up being to their advantage, in the end.

As Kal schemed, the creature focused its attention solely on Kyriaki - just in time to get struck.

The blow would have destroyed a lesser Shroud outright, but it merely recoiled, albeit not uninjured. "Insolent human. You will suffer the pain of a thousand deaths before oblivion takes you." Accompanying its words came a wave of pure, unadulterated fear. Fear sufficient to drive a weak man mad and send all but the strongest fleeing in terror.

At least at the centre of the effect - a centre Kyriaki was at.

She would be able to draw on her link to shrug off the worst of it, but theatrics might be advisable - not too lengthy ones, mind you, as the creature would follow up by surging forward with homicidal intent.

 

[Kyriaki]

Kal

A wave of pure, unadulterated fear swept across the battlefield. Even to make most men flee in terror. Kyriaki was awash in a miasma of darkness and despair. She grit her teeth, trying to steal herself against the wave that made perspiration appear on her hands and tried to weaken her grip on her blade. In her mind, the landscape began to shift. She was in Eisen's villa. Once again it was thoroughly wrecked and the carpet was stained with blood, just like in the vision. Once again, the Dark Lord lay helpless before the raging infernor that was the Phoenix.

Her sister.

His massive body was slumped against the wall. He was panting, his uniform was scorched and his flesh smelt like it had been cooked. He looked at Kyriaki. "Ah, my girl, kill the sub-human! We'll destroy this mongrel together and you'll be free of your curse." He sounds..desperate.

Then Kyriaki heard a voice, feminine, cold and resolute, coming out of the fire and smoke. "You'll be ash, and soon your empire will follow." The Phoenix. Elpsis. She looked at Kyriaki. "Hello, little sister." She had levitated herself off the ground. Her head was crowned in angelic fire. Sheer heat radiated from her body. Her skin was pale and there were glowing cracks inside her features. Her armour was battered and bloody. She was beautiful and terrible to behold. Kyriaki was afraid and yet drawn to her.

Finally the clone find my voice and manage to speak. The word left my lips before she could even think. "No." The voice that spoke sounds alien to Kyriaki, and yet it was hers.

Eisen's eyes were hateful and accusing. "You too...my daughter Kyriaki? Ungrateful cur!" he declared angrily...and disappointed? A storm of lightning swept from him with such force that it threw her against the wall. Pain exploded inside my body. But this tie she fought back. With all her might, she unleashed scorching flames towards him. A flaming shield cast by the Phoenix took the brunt of the storm. The Phoenix glided towards Eisen, heedless of the danger. With a contemptuous gaze, she made a motion with her hand. Air filled with blazing heat swept towards him. He choked as the smoke floded his lungs, and then he was dead.

"We did it, sister. I knew you'd come for me," Kyriaki declared triumphantly. The Phoenix turned. But when her white eyes fell upon Kyriaki, a shiver ran down the clone's spine. Something was wrong.
"Did you really expect a happy reunion, scum?" the Phoenix snarled. "I came here to kill Sith, and you are nothing more than another Sith."
"Elpsis...I...let me explain."
And then Kyriaki felt agony the likes of which she had never felt. She cried out in anguish as her body began to burn from the inside out. "Please...please.." she stammered helplessly. Then her hand melted before her eyes, and she struggled to breathe.
"Worse, you stole my face...so I will retake what is mine." And then all went dark.

"Murderer! Murderer!" the voices shouted. Shakka, the Togruta she had callously sacrificed to Menkales, Tara, dead because of her manipulations, the Duros boy killed by her bullet. And amidst all of this, she heard the cry of a Twi'lek baby who would never even have a childhood because of her. Don't get angry, get focused. Sibylla's words resonated inside her mind as the darkness closed in and the void wrapped her in its embrace.

"You deserve to die!" the voices declared hotly. "Yes, I do," she responded, and, boosted by the link, a targeted mental blast rippled from her, breaking the chains that were dragging her down into a pit of fear and despair. Just in time as the abomination surged towards her with hateful intent. Her head hurt. Her heart still thumped inside her chest, and sweat dripped down her face. Gritting her teeth, she called upon the Force, sending a fiery blast of energy the demon's way before slashing.

Sibylla, meanwhile, was a good deal away from the epicentre of the conflagration. But she could observe several Vaderite minions fleeing in terror or standing still as if paralysed...making them easy prey for spirits or aggressive roots. "This is madness! Run!" one of the men who had been helping her yelled. He ran, and was scythed by the spirit of a skeletal Togruta. Slammed into a tree, he was suddenly seized by roots, screaming in agony as the ground opened up.

Sibylla felt the mental tendrils trying to dig their way into her mind, so that she might join them in the pit. She winced painfully as they dug into her brain. Fortunately, it was not the centre of effect. "How tacky and common," she muttered, pushing the mental intrusion away. Fine, I'll do it myself, she thought grimly and wrenched the arrays in place. The final startup sequence began.

 

[Kal]

As the confrontation continued, Kal measures various potential endings against each other. The blade, perhaps?

At his urging, the spirit-creature responded to the blast of fire and subsequent swordsmanship by recoiling, visibly injured, only to draw in yet more strength from the surroundings - several lesser Shrouds were absorbed wholesale, their role completed. The distraction they represented would not be needed for long - by his estimates, they were in the endgame.

All that was needed was a culmination, of sorts. Victory ripped from the teeth of defeat, perhaps?

Lending the spirit some much-needed precision, it lashed out once more, this time with a thunderous scream. If allowed to hit her blade, the alchemised weapon would shatter outright, leaving her seemingly defenceless. What clearer sign of the Great Vader's favour could there be than a lightsaber suddenly finding its way into her hands in those direst of circumstances?

 

[Kyriaki]

Kal

The drama was approaching its climax. Kyriaki felt it. The ringing in her temples was getting worse. She also felt the sudden surge of Force energy. But the boost was not for her. The abomination opened the hundreds of alien mouths held by its twisted shape, and screamed. So loudly that blood seeped from her nose and ears, that she was physically knocked back, stumbling. Alarmed, she drew upon the Force, trying to wrap a shield around herself. And her sword shattered into dozens of pieces.

A sharp piece of metal slashed across her cheek, drawing blood. Another cut into her torso. She let herself fall, throwing herself to the ground. She saw the abomination looming above her. We're in the endgame, she reminded herself. "I shall not yield, demon!" she shouted defiantly and overdramatically, trying to make herself heard over the sounds of battle and terror. "Great Vader, who reigns above, give us the strength to repel the abominations!"

And there was a loud noise from afar, as the machine roared to life. Sibylla watched in satisfaction as the crystals glowed as bright as a nova, and the surge of energy produced a bubble. Slowly, it began to expand outwards. Phantoms unlucky to be caught inside it would be repelled. The bubble moved slowly, meaning there would still be time for the final phase of the theatre to be played out.

 

[Kal]

Perfect.

As the Arch-Shroud loomed over Kyriaki, hungrily seeking to devour her, a small cloud of sulfurous smoke appeared above her and congealed into a slim dark shape that promptly fell towards her. Ready to be seized in her hour of need.

A Sith lightsaber of yore, marked by battle yet eminently functional. At its heart lay an Aetherstone, not the usual Kyber. The crystal was, in other words, perfect for slaying a spirit such as this. A sign from the Great Vader, no doubt.

As the spirit converged on Kyri, Kal prepared to cut its infusion of power at just the right time.

 

[Kyriaki]

Kal

All seemed lost. The malevolent abomination loomed above her. Each of the gaunt, screaming alien faces contained within its body was terrible to behold. Of course, Sibylla's bubble had started to sweep spirits aside, banishing them into the ether, but that was besides the point.

The practical is often overshadowed by the showy.

Suddenly, black smoke coalesced into a small dark shape. As if on cue, her cybernetic hand rose and the small object fell right into her grasp. The hilt was marked by battle and engraved with arcane runes that bristled with power.

Those few soldiers, and technicians who still breathed air and had not succumbed to madness suddenly heard a sound that was almost comically banal in the galaxy, but incredibly rare on Tephrike. The trademark snap-hiss of a lightsabre igniting, producing a scarlet beam.

Red. The colour of the Sith. The colour of the Great Vader's lightsabre.

Kyriaki had never been trained in the use of a lightsabre. Indeed, throughout her admittedly short life, she had only ever seen one ignited once. Anyone actually trained in the use of such a weapon would've disarmed her quickly. But this was show, and she felt the Nether energies that emanated from the weapon. Kyriaki swung her blade, launching a clumsy slash towards the abomination.

 

[Kal]

There it was, the final move of the penultimate act - the climax after which lies would be told before the curtains closed.

Recognising her admittedly shaky swordsmanship, Kal took an active hand in guiding her blade towards the very core of the spirit, smoothing the arc in the process - all the better to make it a moment worth remembering.

Oh, and what a moment it was.

The crimson blade ripped through the spiritual mass in front of it like a scythe through wheat - the Arch-Shroud had been hurt before, but only shallowly. This blow struck at its core while the metaphorical carpet was pulled out from under the spirit and the results were devastating. Fear, anger, disbelief, then non-existence - and just like that it imploded.

With its demise, the lesser Shrouds lost cohesion. No longer did they fight as a unified whole.

No longer did they have the clarity of purpose to push against the barrier with all their might.

 

[Kyriaki]

Kal

And thus the final act of the drama unfolded. It didn't matter that Kyriaki's swordsmanship was poor, to put it plainly. Or that the bubble was in the process of cleaning up the battlefield.

What mattered was that everyone saw the mystical, scarlet blade tear through the spectral abomination. Its power was ripped from it, and the entity imploded, being consumed by a burst of scarlet energy. The wave knocked Kyriaki to her feet. Everyone who still breathed air on the battlefield saw it happen before their eyes.

Amidst all this, the lesser Shrouds fumbled. The phantoms of the haunted forest suffered no such loss of cohesion, but they were deprived of several allies. With the bubble rushing towards them, spirits dissipated, vanishing back to the forest that had spawned them.

"The lady slew the beast! She wields the blessed blade. Praise Kyriaki!" one wounded soldier shouted.
Kyriaki took a breath, head throbbing painfully as she got to her feet. And raised her still ignited lightsabre in an absurd theatrical fashion. "No, praise the Great Vader! His will works miracles. I am only His instrument. Praise the Great Vader!" The chant was taken up by soldiers.

Sibylla didn't chant. As the bubble slowly came to a stop, the machine having burnt through most of its crystals. Her icy blue eyes homed in on the lightsabre Kyriaki held aloft, looking very intently. The gears moved inside her mind.

 

[Kal]

Victory stolen from the teeth of defeat, humility driven by religion, curtain close. A perfectly engineered bit of theatre.

Only one person still living seemed suspicious - Sibylla, again. So much cleverer than her peers. So much less susceptible to the blinding influences of faith. She could pose a problem, especially since spiritual surveillance had been taken off the table by her ability to detect such meddling. Still, the Shadows were very good at gathering information.

There were other, less arcane means that could be employed. Bugging, perhaps, or the suborning of her associates.

<Well done, Kyriaki. Now to continue the theatre in a less dramatic fashion. I will come by to collect once matters have cooled. No need to take any risks at this stage.> Kal was was not one to risk exposure out of impatience.

Patience was a luxury he had long enjoyed. As a being of spirit, he did not march towards the inevitability of death along lanes of decaying flesh and fraying genomes. He would end, as all things did, but not from time alone.

 

[Kyriaki]

Kal

It took a while for the chanting of 'Praise the Great Vader' to die down. Kyriaki gave Kal the mental equivalent of a nod. "We must see to the wounded. Be careful, some of our comrades may still be confused by the spirits' sorcery," she began began once the chanting stopped. "Where is Ralliades..."
"He died 'valiantly'," Sibylla remarked dispassionately, not sounding like she cared at all.
"Oh," Kyriaki paused. "Then his sacrifice shall honour his bloodline."
"I shall make sure his son receives his sword. Not as impressive as yours, I'm afraid."

Kyriaki stiffened slightly when she found herself under Sibylla's emotionless, intense scrutiny. It reminded her of a scientist studying an exotic specimen under a microscope. "The Great Vader humbles me with a boon I am unworthy of. And He has bestowed His blessing upon you, too. I may have slain the arch-demon, but you drove its legion away. When I report to the Supreme Leader, I will make sure he is appraised of the potential and power of your device."

Sibylla raised an eyebrow. "It still has a few kinks to be ironed out, but it performed adequately for a first field test." For a moment her gaze travelled to the foreboding forest and the fathomless darkness within. "You were right. This nexus is too valuable to be bombarded. Such a waste to destroy something because you're too ignorant to understand. I look forward to researching it...and the Nether's intervention in your favour."
"In our favour," Kyriaki amended gently.
"Yes, of course," Sibylla placed a hand on the other Sith's shoulder. "We really do make a great team."
"Yes," Kyriaki's lips curled into a smile that was not even entirely insincere. "We do."

 

[Kal]

As it turned out, Kyriaki was a solid actress. This was unsurprising, all things considered - lying your way to the top (or to avoid an early death) was a time-honoured tradition of the Sith and he sincerely doubted the Vaderites were an exception.

If anything, the exaggerated religious fanaticism would make such talents even more valuable.

Sibylla seemed more the exception than the rule, in that regard. While he could not attempt to read her mind without risk of discovery, she seemed pragmatic to the core - yet so-so when it came to social matters. The data he had collected since she almost captured his Shade had painted a picture of someone who accumulated power through a mixture of skill and ruthlessness. Only time would tell whether she would become an issue or not.

For now, Kal was content to watch from afar. Once things cooled he would be by to collect.

 

[Kyriaki]

Kal

After the battle and the theatrics came the clean-up. Dead had to be collected for burial, wounded given care. All of the Vaderites' men had been pure humans instead of xenos, so they'd actually take care of them. As Kyriaki saw wounded being carried away on stretchers, she suddenly heard soldiers calling to her.

"Lady...my lord, please, a blessing!" a blood-covered soldier gasped, breathing laboured, trying to reach out for her. Reacting quickly, Kyriaki took his bruised hand. "Sh," she said soothingly. For all the pain he must be in, he held on to her hand tightly.
"What's your name, soldier?"
"Andreas...Andreas Perriades, my lord," he coughed. Her Force-borne insight told her he must've suffered internal injuries.
"You fought bravely, soldier. Do you have family?"
"I...have a girl back home. I was going to propose."
"You will. Get well for her, soldier." She winced heavily as she sunk into the Force, trying to will energies to stem his pain. In the process, she felt some of it herself. He didn't notice her heavy breathing or the perspiration or the beads of sweat. But then she felt more invigorated when energy suddenly flowed...from the lightsabre, boosting her. "Dark Father's blessings be upon you."
"Yes, my lord. Dark Father bless you."

More hands were reaching for her, soldiers and technicians calling her name. "Lady...may I see your blessed weapon?" one called out, and soon others chimed in as well, echoing the request. All the while, she felt Sibylla's watchful eye upon her.
"Look upon it," she declared, holding up the lightsabre. "This no mere weapon for me. Nor is it just a relic. It is a sign...that even the lowest of us can walk in the Great Vader's grace. I am no great master of the Sith arts. I have the body of a weak and feeble woman...but the heart of a Sith'ari, and you have the spirit of the Vader's legionaires. You are soldiers who must fight evil without the benefit of the Force, but you do the duty all the same. Through faith, we can conquer any foe. Dark Father bless you all." She felt a slight jolt in her skull when Sibylla's cold presence touched her mind. Nice pandering to the masculine ideal. I have a hypothesis about your sudden elevation.

Kal would not hear from Kyri for many hours. Indeed, it would be in the early morning hours, though it was still dark, when he would receive a signal through the telepathic place. This time Honna was with her, and the meeting place was not the grove, but the other side of town away from the forest.