Atrocity on Atlas!

[The Storyteller]

BREAKING NEWS

“Citizens of the galaxy, hours ago, officials here received footage from what was originally considered a surprise firebombing of a popular bar on the independent planet of Atlas. Within the footage, the Sith Empress, Aadya Drast, can be seen causing catastrophic and uncontrolled damage that resulted in the severe injuries and deaths of numerous individuals, including some of her most-trusted colleagues.

The footage may be considered graphic in nature and viewer discretion is advised.

The footage, taken via security camera, clearly shows Empress Drast cowering behind a table of some sort before using her ill-trained powers for her own selfish interests. While her allies fought against planetary authorities, Empress Drast appears to ignite flammable substances within the bar in order to slaughter everyone within and provide her with a means of escape. Among the dead is the former Sith Lady Darth Valravus, one of Empress Drast’s reportedly closest friends and a stalwart protector of the Empire. Atlas officials thankfully put out the fires and retrieved the footage thanks to a tip from a concerned citizen of the galaxy. After reviewing the footage, it is clear to all: Empress Drast is unfit to rule.

The cruel Empress knowingly set the bar and its inhabitants on fire and, though she can be seen escaping with injuries, it is clear that she has no control of her own powers. This is not the first instance of the Drast dynasty’s inability to rule, however. In the past eight years, the Sith Empire have lost a Drast Emperor to a coup, lost a Drast Empress to a Kaggath, during which she cheated, lost a Drast Emperor to assassination, and now is ruled by an unstable megalomaniac incapable of controlling her own subjects. It is clear to this reporter that there is no merit to the Drasts coming into power anymore and are instead put into power thanks to a dying lineage clinging to relevancy, despite a clear lack of qualifications. The Empire has faced nothing but strife and turmoil since the rule of the Drasts.

Empress Drast is clearly unstable and is quickly losing the vote of the public with her tyrannical method of ruling. See, for example, how she handles the political minefield of the Mandalorian dilemma: rather than negotiate with the warriors, as Emperor Rask once did, to lead to an uneasy peace, she brings the full might of the Imperial Navy to their home world to commit the genocide of millions of innocents. What planet is next to fall under her ill-advised gaze? Coruscant? Alderaan? Dromund Kaas? Citizens around the galaxy see such atrocities and cannot help but be worried for when their time will come.

With the debacle on Atlas on clear display for the galaxy, it is evident she holds little regard for her subjects. She willingly provoked a planet that has a long and vocal history of not welcoming Sith. There can be no doubt about it – with her escape, only more unnecessary suffering violence and retaliatory bloodshed will come. Incidents like these are easily avoidable and no lives needed to be lost, yet the Empress chose to sacrifice her own subjects to protect herself.

Think for yourselves, citizens of the Empire: does Empress Drast appear to be looking out for the wellbeing of her own people, or is she simply seeking power to dominate the innocent?

We report, you decide.”

Spoiler: OOC

Reactions only.

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[Eva 'Skuld' Stark]

Zandrali was dead.

Her ally, her sword-sister... was dead.

For several beats, there was no reaction from Skuld Stark. Not a smile, nor a scream. Silence, as jaw clenched and unclenched. Far away, the sounds of hammering echoed, as Tagal seemed to be working on something. Somewhere else was the cry of their son, Dan, and yet she could not yet move from the Holonet broadcast. The space crew member that had been playing it wisely didn't comment.

She forced herself to watch, taking in a deep breath, and feeling it pulse deep in her gut. Not just shock, though that dulled the edge. Not just grief, though there was time for some. Oh no.

Rage.

Sudden, all-consuming rage that blanked out any other sound, and yet made her acutely aware of the facts; a leader she put trust in, that Valravus put trust in, had failed, and not only failed, sacrificed loyal members to save her sorry hide. Her breath came out in a rush; the toolkit she held in her hands creaked with the pressure she pressed into with both hands, and suddenly everything came into crystal focus.

The Empress. A mere girl-woman... caused this blemish on the Empire.

Sound came back, and with it sensation. She was aware of the beat of her own heart; the hammering had stopped, so had the crying. But that feeling burned in her veins, causing shoulders to tense, jaw to clench tightly enough that she almost tasted blood.

She still stood there. She slowly eased her grip off of the toolkit; finger dents and rippled stress cracks shimmied across the shell of the kit where she gripped it, almost hard enough to crack it to pieces.

Perhaps it was time for her to pay her Empress ally a visit. No doubt the Empire could use a helping hand.

And she would properly mourn her fallen comrade later. First, though, she had to go to the closest gym and punch the kark out of some poor bag, until either the fury would dull, or her craving to cave something in ease. But right now, she had to return to normalcy, before she would do something she would regret.

All in good time.

 

[Aadya Drast]

____________

Aadya had been sitting in her room aboard her personal ship, floating listlessly among the inky blackness and the twinkling of stars. She had left Markov and Serenno behind, content to isolate herself with just a television and to continue nursing her relatively fresh wounds for now.

She'd been watching some trash tv show, finishing up a cig and trying to decide on whether or not to go to sleep when the channel suddenly flashed with some sort of breaking news. She watched for a moment, eyes widening in surprise as they dove into its the contents of the story.

Most probably would have been expecting her to become irate, frothing at the mouth a the audacity of such claims to her ability to rule. Getting onto the holonet to call the story Mandalorian propaganda, fake news, some kind of literal witch hunt. Instead, Aadya could only let a breathy puff of laughter escape from her nose. She felt none of those feelings.

"Well shit, maybe they're right." She said to no one, shaking her head.

Aadya had failed over the course of her life just as much as anyone else, but recently it had seemed to be amplified. Everything she touched crumbled and turned to ashes, this most recent failure most literally. The people who surrounded themselves with her, cared for or hell, even loved her all ended up dead in some way or another.

Perhaps finally landing the death blow with her own hand this time had offered her this unexpected moment of clarity. Or maybe she was just the same girl she'd been the day she'd walked her first steps in becoming a Sith; impetuous, scared, inexperienced, desperate. Age had brought her much in the way of power and responsibility, but it had not brought security or happiness along with it. Hell, to this day Aadya was unsure if she was fulfilling her real purpose or had just happened to fall face first into ruling an Empire because she'd happened to win some stupid reality TV show.

Pulling out a datapad, Aadya started to record a video. Looking towards the camera, she couldn't help but chuckle in bemusement at the situation she now found herself in. There was nothing left for her, no reason to endure the title of Empress. No reason to remain loyal. There was nothing.

"Perhaps the Empire does deserve better, and I hope that you all find what you are looking for. The seat of Emperor is open for those of you who will slit eachother's throats to claim it.May the force be with you... you're going to need it."

Aadya would send off the video to the Holonet. She had no doubts that it would go viral faster than that bar on Atlas, and her life it would seem, went up in flames. Her ship would skip off to hyperspeed, though where she was going, Aadya remained unsure.

 

[Amur]

Amur was about to turn off the holoscreen on alderaan as she was just browsing for anything interesting to watch... as usual it was nothing worth noting. That was until she saw the News report of the story of Atlas. She heard it was bad but She didn't know how until she saw that footage and heard about the dead. Valravus was an up and comer working tirelessly to unite the Deucalians and align them with the Sith. Now she was dead at the hands of the Empress... Propaganda usually portrays the enemies as daunting and evil not incompetent. If this was a hit piece then it wouldn't mention the death of a powerful Sith. Maybe some underlings but not this.

She was hating the Empress ever since the decision to raze Mandalore but there was a chance that maybe with time she could improve. The Empire still would have a chance...

Now though that was gone. A deep anger was overcoming the Sith it was the same anger she had when she was younger working to try and quell the corruption of the Mafia from some parts of Coruscant's local government. Now it was back and the desire to move, to act, to bring change was too great. Amur was biting down so hard on her teeth that it began to hurt. Her hands gripping together in a tight fist. The darkside swelling about her in a moment of passion that was truly Sith like.

She couldn't let this stand.

"I refuse to be a part of dying empire... I will not let Andraste's name continue to be defiled like this!" She said in a force projected scream as anger overtook her. It unnerved everyone around her as the rage drowned out the thoughts of everyone. Suddenly she spat out a bolt of Force lightning at the screen causing it to crack and fizzle spewing it guts onto the floor. Something snapped in the acolyte. There was going to be change in store, whether the Empire liked it or not.

Just as she thought that was it and she could go to planning a video from the Empress popped up on the holonet as she claimed that there was an open appointment at the top for Emperor... The Sith saw that video and started laughing hysterically unnerving anyone around her for a second time.

"I will not play by the rules of a corrupt establishment, I will make my own." She coldly responded. Now the malice quickly turning passion and a new goal.

 

[Darth Perilius]

.

Darth Perilius sat within his ship. It hadn't been long since he had left the Empress to her own devices after sending her to a medical bay. His frustration and trauma from the recent events on Atlas was already on high. He had been recovering from his injuries within his stateroom. Soon enough, the Holonet had turned on to a coverage over the explosion at Atlas, which was obvious Mandolorian Propaganda. Markov was furious. If he didn't despise the war and violence of the event and Mandolorians to try to create a Empire against Force-Sensitives, then if he had the position, he'd slaughter everyone who opposed the Sith Empire. However, the fact that the negotiations were dropped also angered him. "All of the deaths of Emperors are because of the Mandolorians... and now because of this we aren't in the position to push back with war... Shit..." he said to himself as the Dark Side of the Force saturated within him, his anger rising.

Another video came to his attention, where the very Empress that Markov had treated not long ago had declared her resignation. Rage fueled within Markov as he heard her. He literally saved her and told her to not give up on herself, and Aadya was giving up now. He had enough with the Emperors and Empresses being ruined by Mandos, he had enough of them not ruling as they should. He was ready to take the initiative in order to reform the Empire and save the Galaxy from destruction.

"Fine... I'll do it myself..."

 

[Darth Tagus]

Well.

Tagus sat on the bridge of his ship watching the holonet broadcast with the bridge crew. Unlike some Dark Council members or Sith Lords, Tagus didn't see the point in hiding from those who saw him so often. They were bound to see the announcements themselves and there was nothing that could be done to stop that. So, instead, Tagus focused on letting them see that their superior was not so inhuman as to be unmoved by events that shook their Galaxy.

Sat in the captain's chair, Tagus ached from his 'adventures' with the mind-wiped Raz Solus on the surface of Zygerria. The kolto meant that it was more a phantom pain than anything else, the memory of bruises and the like, but it was still enough for him to easily reach inward and touch the Dark Side within him.

He had allowed Raz, Gaanla, to be upon the bridge with himself and his crew with her helmet and armour in place. Mainly because she was loathed to take the armour off now that she was wearing it. Tagus himself physically reached up to removed his plain Sith mask, setting it aside for a moment. Looking at his crew, seeing how they were all looking to him now that the message had ended, Tagus made certain to look them in the eyes as he looked around the bridge.

"The Sith stand on the brink once again."

Rubbing at the light stubble along his jawline, Tagus probably looked tired for a second or two before his resolve made itself known and his features hardened once more. He nodded to the helmsman.

"Set course for Korriban."

Standing from his chair as the crew set to their tasks, Tagus glanced at Raz as he stood to her side.

"It's time for a choice to be made, Gaanla. The only choice that can possibility be made by someone willing to make it."

@Sreeya

 

[Irolia Shen]

It had been a slow day for Irolia as she wandered around in a temporary apartment not really knowing what to do so she plopped down on the edge of the bed and turned on the Holonet just as breaking news of some important news went live. "hm... guess I could watch" shrugged the blue-skinned Sith and leaned back, resting her hands on the soft mattress.

However, as Irolia continued to watch the broadcast, she suddenly realized she was watching footage from some security camera on some planet as all hell broke loose. There were a few familiar faces she's seen on the holonet, but there was one person she didn't prepare for. Watching as the footage showed a bar getting lit on fire and Hask fighting for survival. No, fighting to the death. Irolia went pale, putting a hand on her stomach, as she watched the father of her child-to-be fought off pirate after pirates with everything he got. "No no no, Hask what the Kriff are you doing there?!" Yelled Irolia in shock as she leaned forward of the bed.

Watching Hask fight for his life one moment and then the next watching a large blast engulf Hask whole. Hask... Her Hask... was... dead. Irolia just sat there, on the edge of the bed, watching the body of her love, burning on some backwater planet. Something had just died inside her, but she couldn't look away. Water began to form in the corners of her eyes as the tears slowly broke the seal from her eyes and silently travelled in a single file down her cheeks.

She felt like screaming as her heart broke into a thousand pieces. She felt like burning the universe in a ball of fire and turn everything to ash from taking Hask away from her. Not to mention, keep her from ever be able to tell Hask that she was carrying his child.

Rage began to boil inside her heart as her hands close into a fist. Electricity around her started to crackle with a low hum. Irolia's eyes kept on flickering between red and blood-red pupils. Things began to shake and suddenly to levitate in the air a few inches from their original place. Parrot, her little robot hid as the rage started to fill over and with a powerful thundering force scream, she sent a crushing wave of force in every direction from her position.

With lightning crackling in her hands she out a half-cracked cry and slammed her fist into the interior's wall... again... and again. With tear now streaming down her blue cheeks, she continued to slam her hands at the metal wall, even if her mind screamed to make her stop. Even as her knuckles cracked and bled more and more she continued until her hands were screaming and shaking in pain.

Irolia just fell to her knees and ended up sitting on her lower legs just sobbing by herself in an empty room with the holo broadcast continued to talk about the security footage. Whispering started to appear behind her, even though no one was there, "did you really think Hask could keep us, your mind, from you forever? You useless girl" whispered one voice. "No... not now, leave me alone!" screamed the blue-skinned Sith out into her room. Then another voice joined in, "you couldn't even keep a relationship going before people would leave you to be alone in the universe".

A few more voices grew the number to five, all trying to break her mind as they grew and grew in volume until it felt as if all the voices stood and stared down at her. With one final scream she ignited her lightsaber and in a frenzy to get the voice to shut up, everything around her got sliced and cut to pieces, not caring what it was.

 

[Drace Solus]

Drace could feel pain in over a dozen places in his body, but goddamn if he didn't feel slightly better than he did before. He'd reunited with his people. He'd watched Imperials die and it had put him in a good mood as it usually did—but watching the Empire decimate its own command had pushed the Mandalorian to a brief moment of euphoria later on when the reality struck him. Sure, the Empress wasn't dead and he found himself angry over it—but yesterday had been a pretty good day overall. The children of Mandalore were one step closer toward achieving the vengeance they sought.

The holonet beeped with an incoming transmission and he looked up from his bed. Drace had suffered some rather severe burns from the explosion and was still recovering, having been patched up to the point of looking like a mummy. The medical droids had told him that he'd certainly recover with light facial scarring. The rest of his body would not be off the hook, and he'd likely have the scars to remind him of the event for the rest of his life. But his face would be fine, since he'd taken the helmet off before any severe damage could be done.

His body ached and he could barely move, so he just shouted "Open!" at the holonet device, and the transmission opened. The carnage from yesterday played out on the screen, and he watched intently, not having properly seen the fight from outside the bar. Noting that Burkhart was openly fraternizing with the Imperials before the battle sent a jolt of irritation through him, followed by contempt. No wonder Leandros had run the man through a window. The betrayal hurt a bit, seeing someone he'd once considered a friend—someone he'd gone on missions and hunts with—treating the Sith like equals. Oh, if only I could get my hands on that dog.

And then it all went to hell as it did on that fateful day. "Fssshhh boooooommmm," he remarked as the bar went off. The explosion was even more impressive from the camera. He could now see how the Empress had gotten away—by cowering, as Imperials usually did—and the way the rest of her people turned to ash. It was interesting, in every sense of the word.

He even saw himself step foot inside the building, only to be thrown back out.

"Hindsight is 20/20 I guess," he murmured to himself. The transmission shut off after the newscasters stopped bitching and moaning, and he was about to change channels when something else came on, another "Breaking News" report.

It was the face of the Drast girl. She looked like shit, though that wasn't a deviation from the norm. The Mandalorian watched in scrutiny as she spoke, slowly beginning to chuckle as she publicly abdicated her throne. By the time the transmission shut off, he was laughing so hard his lungs were sending jolts of pain up toward his brain.

"Set—" he choked on laughter. "C-call Leandros."

Oh, how the mighty fall.

 

[Arial Calvic]

Arial had been reading up on the latest job listings for her crew, trying to find something that was going to make them all happy for once, when she saw some news break out on Atlas. Initially she didn't care, until she noticed the Empress was involved. Interesting, first bit of news she had heard of the woman in some time. Against her better judgement, she turned onto the holonet via the VIP room on the Hurricane. At first nothing was wrong, as the footage played out, she didn't think there was anything to be concerned with, people died all the time right? The fact the Empress was involved was unusual, but what she saw next....she didn't have words for. She saw Hask fighting in the background, that oversized moron must had said the wrong thing again. Then it clicked with her, Atrocity? Mass casualties? What did it mean? Arial was starting to click the pieces together, when the she witnessed the fire engulf her longest remaining friend. Just like that, he was gone. The holopad she had been holding fell to the floor, as the room seemed to collapse around her. She was having a little bit of trouble breathing. Relax, Hask made it out. He always made it out. She assured herself, she had seen him be shot point blank range and shrug it off. Yea, he was fine.


So watched the footage again, replaying it, trying to see where he made his escape, but came up short. So she watched it again, slowing it down, knowing it couldn't be right, he couldn't be dead. He couldn't be, because that'd mean she was the last one left, and that just wasn't going to happen, okay? She couldn't stop watching, eventually setting it on an endless loop, trying to find how he made it out, where he jumped out of the way at the last minute, or maybe he absorbed the flames with his force bullshit. Each time she watch it, she felt the room grow smaller, her chest began to feel like to was being crushed. Clearly it was just the footage, she told herself, he was fine. In fact she was going to call him right now, and he'd be asking her to come save him. Totally fine. Arial moved towards the comms, keeping her demeanor in check, she was shaking terribly but that was just because she was nervous. Booting up the console, she selected his name on the registry and sent out a call. No answer. Maybe he was just fixing up his arm, he broke that thing alot after all right? Again, no answer. Arial gripped the side of the console, looking back to the footage as it played across the screen. Hask, there one moment, gone the next, all within a few seconds. He was really gone. Arial felt a familiar numbness take her, the sort she hadn't felt since learning Sabrina died nearly six years ago. Felt as if someone had vented all of the air out of the room, as she looked back to the comm terminal before her. Recall, failed. Recall, failed. Recall, failed. "Pick up you idiot...." She mumbled, fighting the stinging sensation in her eyes. "You can't do this to me....you promised...." She mumbled, watching as yet another called failed. He was all she had left of that old life, the only one who knew all her secrets, and he was gone. She never even got to say thank you for it. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He had promised her this wouldn't happen. "YOU FUCKING PROMISED!" She screamed, slamming her fist into the Comm, shattering the glass as she punched into it again and again, skin breaking open as the glass began to tear into her hand. She turned back, looking for her next victim and found a chair throwing it at the recording that played on the wall, before her legs finally gave out on her. She slumped to the floor, sobbing, her face covered in tears and her own blood as that damn had managed to get himself killed. Despite all that nonsense they had been through, defecting from the Empire, robbing from Czerka, ship theft....he went out and died in some back alley bar like a dumb ass. All he had left was the ship...it had been his. This was going to be all she had left to remember him by. She needed to protect it. He asked her to keep it in one piece after all. Destroying his VIP room wasn't going to bring him back. Eventually, she'd pick herself off the floor, clean up the mess she had made, and order the electronics she had broken be replaced. But for now? She was a sobbing mess on the floor. For all the issues they had, he was still her red dumbass friend, and she was going to miss him.