Ask Gathering Night

Val Varthra

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Val's transport screamed into the atmosphere of Eiattu towards the palace where she was told Altair Din lived. More accurately, where he was king. The young man she had first met a short time ago on Eraidu had not given her a regal air at first; but his behavior was certainly that of a king. With the recent news about Tiamat's betrayal, Altair was the only leader she knew for sure she could trust. Darth Draugr was out there somewhere leading a fool's crusade. The Empress and the rest of the Council were missing in action, leaving Imperials like her to clean up their messes.

Well, no more. The Empire's survival was her only task of importance, and even without the Force she knew that Altair Din was one of the keys to its survival. If there was even anything left to save by the time she landed.

"Should I keep the ship warm, ma'm?" her chauffeur asked as she disembarked the ramp.

Val, not in the mood for stupid questions, shot the officer a scathing look. "No. I rather prefer it cold. This may be a long day."

She spun on the heel of her boot towards the entourage waiting for her on the other side of the landing pad. Were this an ordinary occasion, she might have worn a smile for the colleague and superior who — in their brief time together — had managed to win some small amount of respect from her. But time was of the essence, and neither of them had the luxury of standing upon ceremony.

"Hello again, sir," she said when she saw the man she had come to see. Whatever rush they were in to address the recent crisis, he was her superior and she would greet him as such, with a small bow and salute. "Thank you for seeing me again so quickly. Have we anymore word on our 'developing situation'?"

She had her people scouring for everything they could find on Tiamat. Her connections, her projects, anyone she might have been in contact with, but it would take time and time was precious. Altair knew Tiamat from what Val gathered, so if anyone where to have heard anything first, it would be him.

@Sreeya
 

Altair Din

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Altair was waiting for Val when she arrived. He was flanked by several Eiattu guards. The planet couldn’t have any overt Imperial presence anymore thanks to the ISC moving into nearby territories. Nevertheless, he was still King. Unlike back at the tent, he was adorned in formal royal attire that was a curious blend of Imperial and local colors.

He gave her a nod when she greeted him, “Thank you for coming,” Altair said before he spun on his heel to lead them into the palace he resided in here. It was built like a citadel and had many chambers designated to host and entertain. He led her through a long corridor and towards a beautifully furnished room lined with a fireplace and several ornate sofas. The planet had more traditional decor over modern, and he preserved the aesthetics. One of the attendants offered her a drink if she pleased.

“Her roots are in Corellia,” Altair said, “I can give you the coordinates of her family home, but she does not have any living family,” He said. It wouldn’t be easy to do anything about Tiamat, not when she was under the protection of the ISC.

The tiefling was silent for a long moment before he gazed at Val, “I’m hearing reports that Darth Draugr ventured into Hutt space and hasn’t been heard from since,” He said, “Do we have reason to suspect a second instance of treason?”

@Malon
 

Val Varthra

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Pity, Val thought. Family was usually the best way to lure traitors out of hiding and make them sing like songbirds. Could nothing go their way?

The news that Draugr was in Hutt Space made her close her eyes and suck in a breath as they walked the catwalk back towards the palace. Another who was her superior, but she had a far lower respect for the Sith Lord. Since Eraidu, she had heard nothing from him. Nothing from any of the Sith, for that matter, save for Vahliri and Champion Atrix who had made themselves useful in their own ways.

"No reason to suspect treason, yet," she confessed. "Stupidity and arrogance are my guesses. The Hutts don't care about the outcome of this war so long as they're on the winning side, and we don't look like the winning side right now." Gods she needed a drink. "If we haven't heard anything back from him in a few days, we'd all best start placing bets on how he will be returned to us."

Still, they couldn't just let him stay in Hutt Space, could they? Darth Draugr was a Sith Lord. His brain was a thumb drive of important Imperial secrets they could not risk falling into the hands of the Hutts, who would sell it to the ISC and anyone else with a pocketbook as big as Emryc Thorne's.

"We need a victory, sir," she said after they had walked a short distance more. "Something concrete. Our greatest advantage was that blockade and Emryc Thorne dealt with it as easily as flipping on a light switch." The man utterly terrified her, which most men did not accomplish, and she respected him for that. But they still had to beat him somehow. "And if I may be allowed a moment to speak out of turn, I don't believe the Sith are the ones who will solve our problems. Their Order started this war and left us to clean up their messes. And now the last member of the Council who had even a passing interest in helping us clean up their mess has disappeared somewhere he should not be."

By the time she was done, they were near a door, flanked with guards, on the edge of the palace courtyard. She was ranting, she knew, but she hoped he understood she came from a place of genuine interest in the Empire's survival. And something in her — not the Force, because she could not touch it — told her he understood on some level.

@Sreeya
 

Altair Din

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Altair sighed at her words, considering them for a long moment. Tiamat leaving was a heavy blow no one could have anticipated. How could he have missed it? She always did whatever she pleased, but he didn’t think she could actively pick a side. He thought of all those shared times with one another, where she had been hurt, but they had worked through it. Or so he thought. What if he had taken the time to understand her better? What if he actually asked her about her real name instead of simply dropping that subject? Would those subtle, little moments in time have changed her path? In some ways, he had to admire her for remaining as unpredictable and turbulent as ever. Queen of the Stars. He wouldn’t have her any other way. It almost brought a sad smile to his lips, but he refrained.

Val’s comments about the Sith caused him to look at her with visible surprise, “You do not consider me a Sith?” He asked, genuinely appreciative. Altair gave her a faint smile, “Neither do I..” He looked away, considering the borderline treasonous line of her thinking.

“We need to prioritize survival and preservation above a resounding victory at this point,” Altair said, surprised at his own words, “Look at the logistics. We have limited fuel, we can’t deal with them the Corporate Sector blow, we don’t have the means to launch a full scale offense right now. The Alliance is rallying its fleets. After they deal with the circus act that’s the fifth fleet, you know they’re coming for us next. We are facing extinction, Agent Varthtra. There’s no other way to put it.”

Altair turned to fully face her, “What do you propose? That we outlaw Sith? The Imperials outnumber them. Do you suggest we publicly distance ourselves and hope it may stop all of us from going down with this ship?”

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Val Varthra

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Val's phone was buzzing in her uniform pocket, but she wasn't paying it any heed.

Relief was flooding through her. Relief that Altair seemed to have the same instinct she had been too afraid to express. The Empire had two choices. Sink with the Sith, or abandon them and salvage the remains. She had always had a good sense of people, and she was glad her instincts had not failed her again. "Aye, sir. We are facing extinction, though you're the first I've heard take the threat we face seriously. The Sith—they think this is temporary, but we know that it is not. "

Her phone buzzed again. Again, she ignored it.

"Thorne only wants the Sith. It was the Empress who attacked Corellia. The ISB didn't authorize that move. It would have been our job to advise against it," she explained. "And now—" For the third time, her phone buzzed, and, irritated, Val ripped the device out of the inside of her uniform only to pale when she saw the news, staggering backward before regaining her footing. Then she was handing her device to him, showing him the message Emryc had left. "And now the only active member of the Council is in our enemy's hands."

She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. The incompetence. She wanted Draugr back so she could wrap her fingers around his red neck and squeeze until the light went out of them, his Force powers be damned! She braced herself on the outer wall of the palace, steeling herself for a tough conversation. "The way I see it, sir, we have two choices now. We either stand by the Sith and die with them, or surrender them to Thorne and remake the Empire into the secular institution it should have always been. We don't have the power to outlaw them so long as the Empress holds the throne, but maybe we don't need to."

An idea was coming to her. A stupid one, but sometimes insanity was what was needed to get out of an insane situation. "You authorized the kidnapping of Jayna Thorne. I've been working to put together a team capable of carrying out that assignment." She was pacing, the thoughts flooding in faster than she could speak them. "Maybe we go through with the plan. Deliver Thorne's daughter to the Empress. She'll be pleased. Take all the credit, the way the Lords always do. I'll make sure my team is comprised of two other Sith. The blame will fall squarely on them." Now, it was her turn to look him full in the face. "I've been watching Thorne's tactics. If he believes the Sith have his daughter, he will throw himself at them, perhaps even the Empress herself. The Sith Order will crumble, its members will scatter into hiding or die. We will use the chaos to seize control and outlaw the Sith Order, just as Emryc implored the Imperials in his message."

She could anticipate what Altair might say. Their plan could jeopardize more of the Empire. The ISC would surely scorch more worlds on their way to deal with the Empress and the other Sith; but then, he must also suspect what Val knew. The Empire was infected with the rot of the Sith Order. The Dark Lords had woven their existence into every layer of Imperial life. If the Empire was to be righted, rebuilt, restored properly, the rot needed to be cut out. Sacrifices needed to be made for the greater good. Now, the question was: were they the people to make that sacrifice?

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Altair Din

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Altair’s brows rose when she implied Draugr was captured. What? However, in the end, he wasn’t surprised by anything anymore.

“Our Empress could learn some lessons on manipulation and galactic conquest from Emryc Thorne,” He said bitterly. The man was proving to be more twisted and deceptive than most Sith Altair knew. Altair thought about what Val said about Jayna, “Do we think the Empress is mentally stable enough to keep from killing Jayna or something worse? This is the very same person that attacked the ISC without any prep..” He could only imagine what Thorne would do if the Empress went on an idiotic rampage and killed Jayna Thorne on live Holo as a show of power. It was just the kind of bullshit that made him start to despise the Sith, “If Thorne is incensed, he may not differentiate between Sith and Imperial. Our best bet is to hide all Imperial connections to the kidnapping and lay it solely as a Sith play. Start cleaning the track and pinning it solely on the Sith involved. Consider the optics if Sith kidnap Jayna but Imperials return her as a show of good faith."

The plan sounded insane, but he saw no other option. He had long since lost faith in the Sith to be able to make a single strategic move. They simply grew in their Dark Side powers and flaunted it to become absurd comic book villains. Several of them ascended thrones and fashioned themselves royalty without doing a single thing with it. They didn’t make a single intelligent play and squandered all the advantages the Imperials had gained.

“We will have to take some hits on the chin to win the public over,” He said as he looked at Val, “The general public is already distressed about our lockdowns and many of them are figuring out that our media is blocked. Do you really think removing ourselves from the Sith will be helpful if we hardly look like the lesser evil? What’s to stop them from welcoming ISC with open arms? We can’t keep up this authoritarian routine. Not unless we can pin it entirely on the Empress.”

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Val Varthra

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Val did not answer him immediately. She couldn't. He was asking her to do something she didn't even know was within herself. The ability to turn her back on her tactics and embrace something new. Tactics that were drilled into her from her first days at the academy. But they weren't her tactics, were they? They were Sith tactics mandated upon her. Yes, the rot existed within her too. She could bring none of it with her if they were to truly transform the Empire.

She was quiet for a minute longer before replying. "If I undo the blocks on the HoloNet, the Empress will know something is wrong," Val explained. "I cannot order them undone until we make our move — but I can alter the message. Square the blame on the Empress by saying that the censure was done at her behest. She won't blink at that." It wouldn't be enough, though. Altair was right. The Empress needed to be at fault for everything.

"Framing the Sith for Thorne's kidnapping will be easier," she continued. "When Jayna is in custody, and we are safely away from ISB Space, I can activate a transponder sending you our location. You can intercept us as we arrive back in Sith Space and 'rescue' her, taking the offending Sith into custody. We could even turn them over to President Thorne as a sign of our good intentions."

There was the matter of her involvement, of course. But the Sith were known liars and her signaling Altair would at least spare her some of the blame should the Sith sing like canaries. She would be responsible for Jayna's rescuing. And for handing a Sith of value over to Emryc. "Lady Vahliri has signed on to the mission. She's a Sith Master. Thorne will want her."

There was another pause after that. So many conflicting emotions raced through her. Emotions she had locked behind walls for years. But, in the end, her loyalty was to the Empire. And she would do anything to preserve it. "We can speak more on what the Empire should be when our work is done." In truth, she didn't completely know herself. The thought of constructing something new out of a decaying corpse was at once exciting and disturbing. "Until then, consider me your man inside the ISB. I cannot say how much I can do at my rank, but I'll do whatever I can."

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Altair Din

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—-​
Only a few days had passed since Altair was formally promoted to Warmaster, giving him far more power than he ever held before. Normally this would have been a cause for great fanfare and a celebration of his achievements, but he was only left with a bitter taste in his mouth. He knew where his loyalties were, and he would act on them accordingly. First order of business, he had summoned Val to Eiattu once again. He didn’t trust doing anything over Holo.

As soon as she arrived again, she would notice the new insignia on his officer uniform. He was flanked by his personal royal guards, though they were dismissed. He led her to a meeting chamber.

“Effectively immediately, I’m executing Wartime Clause 8.28272 and hereby promoting you to ISB Director,” There was an acting individual on it, but Altair now had the power to remove them, “I want you to start locking down our intel. I also want you to start revoking Sith clearances. We can cite recent developments like the Draugr fiasco. Sith will lose all access to Imperial assets and resources.”

He eyed her for a moment, “Do you accept?”

@Malon
 

Val Varthra

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Val had spent the days apart constantly monitoring the Draugr situation. When news came in that Altair wanted to see her again so soon, she was convinced more bad news was involved. But the HoloNet was quiet. Emryc Thorne was quiet, reveling no doubt in his recent triumph. So, whatever news Altair wanted to reveal to her was no doubt internal. Had the Empress discovered them? One of the other Sith.

But she had no sooner than gotten off the ramp of her ship when she learned the real reason Altair had summoned her. With a stroke of a pen, he would make her the very leader of the Imperial Security Bureau. Her chest twisted into a knot. This should be a moment of elation. The Directorship was one of her life's ambitions. She had always wondered what it would feel like to wear the uniform, to be the one responsible for making the Empire safe.

But this was no normal promotion. She was literally being asked to be an instrument in saving the Empire from extinction. In saving it from the Sith — from itself. The burden was a heavier one than she ever imagined. And she wasn't ignorant to the risk Altair was making by promoting her and giving her this order, which is why she didn't hesitate for a moment. It was just as she had thought a few days prior. To save the Empire would require big sacrifices. Dangerous ones. And Altair could not do this alone.

"I do, sir," she said, her voice breaking only slightly as she saluted him. There was so much she wanted to say. Usually, promotions like these came with long speeches and a laundry list of thank-yous. But here, she could only thank one man. "Thank you, sir. For trusting me with this. I will not let you down." She stopped saluting, the haze of the moment finally washed away, realizing the situation they now found themselves in. "What will you do?"

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