Open Darkness Rising

[Charlotte Le'Anna]

OOC: Open to Sith Only. Bonadan is a neutral world.

Resources had been diverted to Bonadan and placed under the command of the mysterious Champion Adava. An Imperial Fleet with accompanying ground forces hung in the space above the corporate sector world. The remade Sith stood on the bridge of an Onager-Class with her hands clasped behind her back. This particular destroyer was the designated flagship for the operation. True to her word, Charlotte planned to prove to the Empress she deserved her power. The Queen Mother had taken a quick trip home after their fateful meeting to ensure the Consortium continued to run smoothly. She spent that time preparing for her trip to Bonadan. Already Charlotte and Cairo had managed to place trusted sources throughout Hapes to protect their rule while they played Imperial Conqueror. She was extraordinarily careful to cover their movements.

Today, she put the Queen Mother aside. Today, she was something else. Adava waited patiently for contact to be established with the Bonadan government. They had been given a chance to surrender. Somewhere, her apprentice wondered about. He was meant to join her soon. Adava was wearing her first attempt at scary armor to hide her face. Frankly, she was unashamedly planning to plagiarize piece of the terror both Raze and Stolas invoked. Stolas wasn’t around to complain.

“My lady, we have connected to the surface. On your command we can transmit.” She nodded to begin the transmission. Her mask scrambled her voice. “Rejoice…the Empire has come to set you free…free from the chains of your corporate masters.” Yuck. She didn’t like that. Oh well, there was always next time. “You have one hour to free yourselves…or I will set you free…free from this mortal prison.” Charlotte grimaced under the mask. That was better. Adava cleared her throat and made a subtle sign to cut the transmission. “They are preparing defense planet side, my lady.” She nodded. “As expected, one hour and we strike as promised.” Her boots clacked on the durasteel as she moved to look out the viewports. Waiting.

@Fine Dining Set

 

[Cairo Kisufi]

Cairo felt weaker. Far, far weaker. Following a party on Taris, a thoughtless hit from a laced cigarra led him down the path of addiction, recovery, and all the hiccups that either term implied. Still, he followed Charlotte's call, and arrived to the front lines cloaked in his new armor. He swept behind Adava conspicuously, silent as she laid her proclamation before the planet's denizens. She had a funny way of describing freedom.

These people were free to serve the Sith or free to die. As was he. After Charlotte gave her orders, Cairo waved the officer away from the deck, to have a moment alone with her. He joined her in staring out the viewports - eyes glassy as scenes of carnage played out, over and over, inside his head. The war on Ithor, the failures of Denon. Now again, he was at a crossroads. Would he be able to act, this time? Change his fate? Be decisive, confident in his own actions?

"You seem eager." The vocoder rendered his voice deep, but Charlotte would still hear his attitude. "I take it your meeting with the Empress went well?" All Cairo knew was that he was called to the frontlines after. Which meant, it was a more successful meeting than any Sith Lord had with the Empress in months. Charlotte had survived without demotion.

The clock counted down, as Cairo stared at the world beneath. What horrors would they visit upon a neutral, unguarded population this time? "Where do you need me, my Queen?"

@Valen Pelora

 

[Ashla Ti]

Ashla had expected things to change after her promotion, some for the better, some for the worse. But the newfound freedom that came with the rank, the ability to go almost anywhere, do almost anything, and not be beholden to someone's permission or approval was definitely a change for the better. After the disaster of a party on Taris, right from the botched up invites to the whole mess with Veles and his wildfire, Ashla had been keeping a low profile, mostly to wrap her head around things. She had also put out a silent request for information on where Cairo was. If Altair was any indicator of the effects of this new drug then Cairo was in trouble, and she had no idea if he had even told anyone about that.

So when word had reached her of a certain acolyte's presence on an invading fleet setting off from Korriban, she had done the only thing that made sense, intercepted the fleet on its way to Bonadan and snuck aboard the capital ship that was carrying Cairo and Charlotte. She didn't really care about the invasion, with the forces in play and Charlotte in charge, she had no doubts that it would be a success. But she did care about Cairo, and if the fool had not told Charlotte anything about the wildfire and rushed into combat then that was her concern. She had no idea what Wildfire did to someone, and till she found out more she had to assume the worse.

It wasn't that she didn't trust Charlotte to keep him safe, she just trusted herself even more. If he ran into battle, she would follow, and make sure he got out of it alive. And then, then she just beat his skull in for being such a fool. So she waited, sitting on a storage container in the ship's main hangar. If either of Charlotte or Cairo meant to head planetside, the shuttles that would carry them down waited here. And so did she.

@Valen Pelora @Fine Dining Set

 

[Aadya Rasheer]

Recently Aadya had been finding herself somewhat bored. Of course, there were always things that needed to be done but she... just didn't find any of the normal shit she was supposed to be doing very interesting. On a whim Aadya had decided to trawl though some of the recently posted Sith bulletins and happened upon one mentioning open spots in an invasion force due to leave quite soon.

Figuring it had to be more entertaining than sitting in her room and browsing the holonet, Aadya had hoped aboard one of the ships in the invading fleet. She didn't really know who else she might see or if it was just going to be Sith troopers around her, but she didn't much care. Either way she'd get to fuck some stuff up, and that's all she really wanted anyway.

Eventually, Aadya found her way to the hanger of the ship, taking stock of the various starfighters and such that were housed there. Aadya was a bit of a budding starfighter pilot herself, and was looking forward to maybe joining one of the squads when they got into the battle proper.

She walked around for a moment before spotting a familiar set of monorails.. er, montrails. Creeping towards them, Aadya poked her head around a set of crates, eyebrow arched in surprise.

Ashla? She asked, a bit of a laugh in her voice.

@Valen Pelora @Fine Dining Set @Wit

 

[Charlotte Le'Anna]

Cairo appeared behind her. Charlotte had barely felt him coming. She turned her altered gaze towards her apprentice. He wore armor but the weariness in his presence was crystal clear. She had been gone a handful of day…what the fuck had happened? Stolas and Art were dead. Raze commanding the Council as Dark Lord. Sith Lords demoted a moments notice. The Empress purged the unworthy from her ranks.

That purge intensifying after rumors of a drug fueled party putting the entire Empire at risk. Her brow furrowed under her mask. Cairo could not have been so foolish. They had space to speak privately on the deck. “It did.” She clicked her tongue. “All as we planned. Spread our influence through any means at home and grow our new holdings here. We have the Empress’ full support.” Cairo felt wrong. She didn’t like that.

She turned to shield her words from the bridge. “We’re going planet side. We need to be seen.” Charlotte was a performer at heart and Adava needed to be ruthless. “What’s going on?” The scrambler garbled some of her tone, but the concern was clear. “The shuttles are waiting but your signature is wavering.” Her shoulders tightened. “What do I need to know?” The shuttles were waiting but she was not about to throw Cairo into a situation for which he was unprepared. She needed him. A dead apprentice did not serve her goals. If he had gone to that party…if he had taken Wildfire…Charlotte shook her head.

@Wit @Logan @Fine Dining Set

 

[Jaikus Thorne]

It had been quite some time since Jaikus had last found himself in an open combat zone - or rather, what was about to be one. The very nature of the Axxilan’s work meant that he largely operated in the background of the Empire, the intelligence work of the ISB keeping him well and truly out of the spotlight. Bonadan was a rare exception to that rule. Significant amounts of Imperial resources had been diverted to taking the Corporate Sector planet, and Jaikus was keenly aware of the value that came with wrapping the system within Imperial clutches.

It was all the motivation he needed to join the expedition - departing with the fleet leaving Korriban.

Jaikus confidently strode his way onto the bridge of the Onager-Class, moving toward the viewport to gaze out over the planet below. The Axxilan was adorned in his

signature Sith Armor - the ensemble of dark armorweave and cloth ensemble clinging tightly to his body, while bronze features were shrouded behind the chilling visage of his mask. The Axxilan’s lightsaber hung from his hip, accompanied by an additional vibroknife that was tucked into his belt.

Silent, ghost-like footsteps brought the Axxilan to on the other side of the bridge from the other two Sith in the room, out of immediate hearing of whatever conversation was taking place between them. His posture was rigid and straight, hands folded gracefully against the small of his back and slender fingers clasped together.

The Axxilan’s presence in the Force could be felt far before he stepped into view - the very air within the bridge seeming to take on an unnatural chill - one that dipped far below the sterile, cool temperatures of the ship interior.

While he kept his distance, Jaikus tilted his head towards the mysterious Champion from the other side of the bridge, dipping his head politely in her direction. The Axxilan’s gaze then flicked towards the Sith lingering just behind Adava, greeting Cairo with an additional nod of acknowledgement.

With that, Jaikus turned back to gaze down at the viewport. The people of Bonadan had been given an hour to surrender, and that deadline was rapidly approaching - with invasion almost certainly an inevitability. All that was left to do was to wait. And so Jaikus did.

@Valen Pelora @Logan @Fine Dining Set @Wit

 

[Ashla Ti]

Ashla looked up from the crossword she was trying to solve on her datapad at the mention of her name. "Aadya?!" The champion was the last person she had expected to see here. Okay, maybe not the last, Raze, Renfry, the Eternal, there was a list, but Aadya wasn't too far off being on there. Ashla had assumed she'd be off doing something mischievous with that fancy ship of her, but here she was, tagging along on another Champion's show.

Of course, dressed at she was not everyone might recognize the Champion, but her features were just too striking, even through the armor she wore, for Ashla to not recognize her. There wasn't really any chance she was going to mistake her for anyone else, or the mistake anyone else for her. Made Ashla wonder, how hard sneakier missions must be for her, with that pretty face of hers.

"Am I glad to see you!" She exclaimed as she jumped off the crate she had been perched atop. "I'm stuck. Eight letters, ends with te. Clue reads she fell so that she could ascend, before her the knee everyone did bend. Any idea?" Jumped down, she'd walk over, and Aadya would noticed the datapad in her hand open to the crossword page from the Korriban Daily, mostly filled up but still missing a few words.

@Logan @Valen Pelora @Fine Dining Set @Altaris

 

[Aadya Rasheer]

Aadya raised her eyebrow at Ashla's question, tapping on her chin a few times as she thought about it. She had always liked playing word games, though she didn't play the crossword much. Words With Friends 9 was more her speed. It was the best of both worlds - she got to play against another person and make them look like a dummy, and she could do it on her phone.

Andraste. She said, nodding with confidence. Aadya remembered her because Andraste had once been a Jedi before.. just like Aadya had been. Plus, she was totally badass.

What are you doing down here, anyway? She asked before finding a crate to sit on. Seems like a lot of Sith on this ship just for little old Bonadan.

@Valen Pelora @Fine Dining Set @Wit @Altaris

 

[Cairo Kisufi]

Cairo said nothing as another Sith approached the deck. Instead, he lay his hand upon Charlotte's shoulder, opening his mind once more to her. Memories of a night on Taris flowed in - especially lingering on the moment when he took a hit of a Wildfire-laced cigarra, passed around by the-former Darth Veles. And then, Tia's intervention into the bathroom, confirming the use of Wildfire. That moment, of course, sandwiched between barely-clothed bumping and grinding with the other acolytes. Shame emanated off of him, fused together with an aura of pain caused by the withdrawal from Wildfire. It was a problem that would need to be solved soon. But beneath all of that, there was a tiny ember of hope, of power, of purpose, that the past weeks had given him.

When the moment passed, he moved his hand, folding them both behind his back as he spoke. "I'll...I'm going to be alright. I won't do anything too stupid." Emphasis on too stupid. It wouldn't be Cairo if he didn't do something bizarre and dumbass-y, but he knew that he was weakened, now. He had an idea of the limits of his power. "When we're done, I'll need your help." He hadn't seen Veles since the night on Taris, but he had heard that the Dark Lord was working on an alchemical cure towards wildfire. With the resources of the best doctors of the Hapes Consortium, Cairo hoped that Charlotte could provide.

Perhaps most notably, though, Cairo had asked her for help. He hadn't done so before. And, after their conversation on Hapes, he hoped that she would oblige him. He checked his chrono as the hour counted down. It seemed like a surrender was unlikely. "I'll move to the hangar, my qu-" He caught himself. "Adava." It would take some getting used to.

The effects of withdrawal still lingered within him. It made it hard to focus, even harder to call upon the Force. Dizziness, wooziness, and constant vomiting were things he was starting to get accustomed to. It was like living in a dense, unforgiving fog. But duty called, he supposed?He doubted he could really lead an invasion force in this condition. But with Charlotte, the new, masked Sith on the bridge, and whoever was in the invasion force in the hangar, he was optimistic that someone could.

He noticed familiar presences once he reached the hangar - Ashla and Aadya. Fuck. What were these two doing here? Weren't there more than, like, twelve Sith in the whole galaxy? Had they come to babysit him?

Fuck that. Cairo regarded them, briefly, beneath his helmet. It was almost guaranteed that they recognized him - if not him personally, his unique signature in the Force. His stomach rumbled - he'd need to vomit again before they left.

Maybe they were right to babysit. He'd really stepped in it, this time.

@Valen Pelora @Logan @Wit @Altaris

 

[Charlotte Le'Anna]

Anger flared. A burning heat quickly flamed by the Darkness. Her heart quickened as that anger built. Veles. The memories poured into her mind. She was going to kill him. Charlotte had been away so long that she barely knew of the man. All she’d known was the disgraceful discharge by the Empress. She barely cared. What did one idiot ruining his life have to do with her? That was until he broke what was hers. Her hands balled into fists. Her anger barely restrained. Self-preservation demanded she acknowledge the arrival the armored Sith. Adava commanded this excursion, but her authority had limits. “We’ll fix this…and then I’ll kill Veles.” Her words were iron. She meant it. Charlotte leaned in closer. “Stay close.” She squeezed his shoulder one last time. “Do not overextend yourself.” For it was time.

Adava swept from the bridge. Nodding again at the armored Sith. “Times up…if you’d care to join us.” She had no idea who the man was but better to be polite. Cairo and Adava moved swiftly to the hangar where of course another problem awaited. Ashla and Aadya…both acolytes no longer. She did not sigh. She would not sigh. Could anything go right? Her steps slowed. Ashla knew their secret but was trusted to keep it. Aadya was another matter entirely. “Ashla…” She nodded towards the shuttle. “We’re boarding.” The scrambled voice bouncing in the bridge. “The people have refused our offer of peace.” Alarm bells rang across the ship.

Troops began to board all around them. “Are you brining your friend?” Charlotte could only hope Aadya had not met Cairo. His Force signature was a mess and his mind flowing over. He was a dead giveaway in his current state. Charlotte kept her mind locked tight. No need for anything to see those images playing out in her mind.

@Wit @Altaris @Logan @Fine Dining Set

 

[Ashla Ti]

Ashla actually slapped a hand against her forehead, the loud smack ringing out through the hangar even as the others were arriving. "Aadya," she declared as she started typing in the letter, and noticed that allowed her to identify another answer that cut through this one, and punched in edamame, though she wondered if the clue's claim that it was Renfry's favorite food was true, "you're a lifesaver!" Like the last pebble that kicked off an avalanche, those two entries opened up the rest of the crossword and she managed to fill it up within seconds, thankful for the moments distraction as she tried to figure out just what to tell Aadya bout her reason for being here.

"The new lady," she finally spoke up as she filled in the last entry with ziggurat, "Avada, she's looking to make waves. Wanted to see for myself what her deal was." She paused, realizing that she had called the name wrong, Avada Kedavra was the curse from Barry Trotter, and Charlotte definitely wasn't calling herself that. But before she could correct herself the woman herself was there, and thankfully this time Ashla used the right name.

"Lady Adava." She jumped off the crate, and gestured towards Aadya, doing her part in making introductions. "Yes, this is Aadya, the beauty," she smirked at her own choice of words, seeing as Aadya kinda broke that mould, "brains, [/I]and[/I] the brawn."

@Logan @Valen Pelora @Fine Dining Set @Altaris

 

[Jaikus Thorne]

Jaikus purposefully put himself out of eyeshot of Cairo and Charlotte's hushed conversation, instead focusing his attention onto the horizon that stretched out below. Citrine eyes drifted beneath the hollowed sockets of his mask, taking in the sight of the population centers and corporate-dominated structures that dotted the surface. Invasion seemed inevitable at this point, and he couldn’t help but wonder how many of them would be left standing by the time it was all over.

Though he made no attempts to eavesdrop on the conversation between Master and Apprentice, Jaikus could feel the ripples that emanated from Charlotte all the same. He could feel the pulses of anger that radiated through the Force - raw and ferocious and barely restrained. He didn’t know what had brought about the sudden shift - and he certainly didn’t make any move to investigate - but the sensation alone was enough for Jaikus to very briefly tilt his gaze in her direction - curiosity bleeding onto his shrouded expression - before turning back to the window.

It wasn’t until the Champion approached and properly addressed him that Jaikus finally glanced back in the woman’s direction. Time was up. “After you.” The Axxilan dipped his head towards her, keeping his hands clasped behind his back as he began to make his way towards the hanger. That polite and pleasant tone bled right into his voice - even if it was distorted and mechanized beyond recognition by the scrambler in his mask.

Jaikus followed a few paces behind Charlotte, making his way into the hanger and towards the shuttles that would take them towards the surface. As he walked, the Axxilan tilted his head towards the two champions already there. “Ashla,” He nodded politely towards the Togruta, “Aadya.” Then to the Firrerreo.

With that, the Axxilan strode towards one of the shuttles - prepared to depart towards the surface and to get this affair over with.

@Wit @Logan @Valen Pelora @Fine Dining Set

 

[Cairo Kisufi]

After a brief trip to the hangar restroom spent dry heaving, Cairo took a sip of a healthy-looking green and orange juice behind the closed stall. He spit it out almost instantly. This withdrawal thing was a real bitch. But, he couldn't sit and mope today. They had work to do. He rose from the bathroom, donning his helmet again. Ugh, he should really wash his hands before like putting on and taking off the helmet, shouldn't he?

A few minutes were spent wiping the helmet clean before Cairo emerged. Cairo was assigned with briefing the Sith strike team, now all gathered in the shuttle. Most of them looked familiar, save for the totally armored Sith. Cairo strode to the shuttle, closing the sliding door behind him.

"It's a pretty straightforward mission." Not simple, straightforward. "Bonadan's made its wealth selling weapons and armor - its planetary defense force is expected to be heavily armed and armored. But, they're untested, unlike our soldiers." The Sith troopers knew nothing save for war.

He rose now, hopefully to command the full attention of the Sith gathered. His tone was deeper, slightly garbled by the voice scrambler. "And, their armies are corporate soldiers. Mercenaries. While the bulk of our invasion force occupies their army, we're going to infiltrate the planet's capital and execute their board of directors. Only a team of Sith could be small and agile enough to get this done, efficiently." He made some hand signals that he had seen in an old movie - chopping motions and fists into gloves - for effect.

"Without anyone paying the bills, we can flip the mercenaries to our side and use them to establish our Order on this world." He clapped his hands together. "Any questions? We're about to get underway." He banged on the side of the shuttle, indicating to the shuttle's pilots that they were ready to take off. Fighters, troop landers, shuttles, and bombers began to prepare for takeoff, as well. It was time to go.

@Altaris @Wit @Logan

 

[Charlotte Le'Anna]

Ashla kept Charlotte’s identity carefully hidden. She would thank her later properly. The girl had matured beyond the young acolyte she’d met on Hapes. Adava nodded politely to Aadya. “A pleasure.” It was probably best her true face was hidden. They had ghosted each other after the party. Thankfully, Cairo saved her from any further embarrassment. Before they left her mind briefly touched Ashla…perilously guarding the words from snooper. “Something is wrong with Cairo…watch him…please.” There was no air of command in her thoughts. Only concern for the Acolyte which hopefully Ashla was see as genuine. Charlotte was worried and Cario’s answer on the bridge had not salved those concerns.

Adava took a deep breath and strode into a shuttle. In short order, the Sith forces were speeding towards Bonadan. They were headed towards the Capital where a combined assault would hopefully provide sufficient distraction for a smaller team to find the board of directors and conveniently change their employment. Adava was awash in the Darkside as they sped towards the corporate sector world. Of course…things did not go to plan. Adava’s shuttle was hit by antiair artillery just before landing. She wrapped herself in the Force to stave off death.

The shuttle crashed into the ground, spilling troopers and their commander onto the ground outside the city. Charlotte cut her way free from the wreckage, blood pooling down her arm, her armor ripped at the legs. She took deep shuttering breaths as fighting broke out all around her. Where were the others? Where was Cairo? Her hands balled into fists. She felt like a damn fool.

@Wit @Logan @Fine Dining Set @Altaris