Power is power, strength is strength

[Essien Inemesit]

Aboard the Nefarious-Class frigate in Old Empire controlled space.

He mopped his dark face and tossed the white towel at the wall, hitting below the dispensary slot and plopping to the glossy floor. He rose from the thin bench and threaded his bare arms through the sleeveless tan frock's holes, it's linen coat tails whipping about his shins. He bent down and stepped into the loose and breathable pants and pulled them hip high with a deep breath, his adrenaline finally calming after exercise.

His eyes shifted to the muffled noise outside and he followed his curiosity, walking through the opening doors of the locker room bare-chested and barefoot out into the hallway. Essien cranked his stiff neck left toward the three soldiers standing down the way. They looked to be under inspection, not doing very well by the sound of it. As loud as the officer was, as contorted as his face was, Essien warmed to the officer's vigor. He must really care, Essien imagined.

But his ears perked to new sounds coming from his right. He turned to find what had caught his interest this time. There two more soldiers stood guard outside a room, in heated debate. Essien approached as a feline would, stalking its new prey; though he only now hungered for gossip. "-wasn't the only thing they were good for. They did the dirty work. The Old Empire is what kept it all together," said the one. "The bureaucracy did that, the senate. The Emperor was the one who used politics to keep it all together, not the remnant. They were responsible for a lotta things, but not that," said the other. "If not for those guys, the bureaucracy wouldn't mean a thing. They were the ones who put down the insurgents when we needed them. They kept people in line. They kept the Empire true to its identity." "Yeah, but the real trick was keeping all the other planets from," the other stopped.

Essien steadied his weight over a sturdy stance before them and folded his arms over this chest, eyeing them thoughtfully before needing to beg them continue.

"You believe strength is power. And you believe power is power. Is that it? One of body and the other of mind. The Old Empire verses the new, before they were reunited. This is what you speak of? No?"

@Markus Varo

 

[Cawar]

There was so much work to be done. A ship such as this was always bustling and work was everywhere. Cawar had taken it upon himself to start moving boxes of food from the cargo area to the kitchen. Food was also a necessity. On his way to the kitchen, Cawar saw the man, and heard his inquisitive nature towards the soldiers. Of course, Cawar had heard these murmurs everywhere he went, how the Empire was resentful of the Sith Empire. How they did not need the Sith, and why things were better the way that they were before. Cawar had been an outcast before, but never had he put up with such disrespect from other men that were his equal.

These men would all be slaughtered in the gladiatorial arena, Cawar thought to himself. Cawar was not a physically imposing man, his flowing robes and tattered clothes always made people underestimate him. He was not like the other Sith, but little did the other soldiers know that he was just as deadly himself.

"These soldiers will mock us all the time." Cawar said, his hateful tone lashing like a whip. "They think themselves better than us. They think they can run their own Empire without the glorious Sith behind them." Setting down his box, he folded his arms, waiting to hear what the soldiers would say in response to the questions.

"Go ahead, answer him. And tell him the truth, we know when you are lying" Cawar said, giving a wink to the other man.

@Essien Inemesit @Markus Varo

 

[Markus Varo]

.

Markus was aboard the Violator, the Nefarious class-frigate assigned to now Darth Parox. Markus strode through one of the long corridors when he heard noise coming from the end of the hallway near the troops barracks. He quickened his pace to see what was going on. "Hey, hey hey! That's enough all of you, stop bickering. We're all on the same side, Sith and Agents. Save your fight for the Mandalorians." Markus said, spitting the last part. Those terrorists were wrecking major havoc on the Empire, and it needed to be crushed without mercy, he couldn't have fights on his ship, Darth Parox wouldn't like that.

@Cawar @Styx

 

[Essien Inemesit]

Essien prickled to the approach of the pale man carrying and setting down the crate, but resettled after assimilating the man's tone and realizing he was a fellow Sith. The man was not wrong. Too often the common soldier imagined themselves to be just as lethal as any Sith, until they incurred the wrath of one. But this was not why he was here. Essien flexed a hand to calm the other yet could not help but crack a white sneer in reply to the man's wink.

"Well. Well, we were just saying," the first stuttered. "Yes, sir. Strength is one thing, but power is something else. When the Emperor bombed Medriaas, the insurgents and all the Dark Lord's strength didn't save him. One Sith can't match a military mind," the other cracked from inside his helmet.

Then, just as Essien began to speak, he started to the arrival of another and peered over his shoulder. An officer marched up to them, dutifully keeping order. But while Essien respected duty and order, his curiosity compelled him to continue. The officer's rank would add an interesting element to the conversation, opinions of diversity wet his current appetite.

"This one believes we should not be leading," he said thumbing the one soldier. "That mind overcomes muscle. Do you? What do you believe?" He trailed off as though wishing to use the officer's name and, not knowing it, expressing the desire to learn of it.

@DeeCeeP0 @Brick

 

[Cawar]

Cawar felt hate when he heard the solider respond. The Dark Lord's death had nothing to do with him being a military mind, he thought, as he stewed looking at the solider.

"I'm not sure these military minds that he spoke of" Cawar said, dismissively "Is going to make any difference when running an Empire."

Cawar turned towards the officer, listening to the other Sith as he talked to him. The question was sufficient and he waited his answer, knowing full well that in his heart, this Officer believed the same as his subordinates under him did, that they did not need the Sith.

@Brick @Styx

 

[Markus Varo]

.

Markus sighed, shaking his head. There had always been a rivalry between young and naive sith acolytes and fresh imperial ensigns. According to imperial protocol any disagreements, or fights between the two groups should be broken up, and the members given a warning, and sent on their way, Markus would answer the young aspiring sith's question, and attempt to bridge the gap between the two services if the empire ever planned on defeating their enemies. "You are right and wrong. I believe that mind and muscle go hand in hand. Without a mind, the muscle becomes a mere killing machine, a mercenary, without a brain, this is not needed within the Empire. The mind also can not be without the muscle. The mind gives orders, and the muscle follow. Empires rule by fear, and muscle is required to instill that level of fear to insure the populace are kept in check." Markus said, looking at the sith. "What is an empire without a mind? Muscle do not know how to control a government, let alone the galaxy. Officers handle the bureaucracy and politics needed for an empire to thrive and survive. The muscle are used extensively behind the scenes to fight wars. The sith however, can both be the mind and the muscle. The empire can not function without the mind and the muscle both. This is why we have the position of Moff, Grand Moff, Governor, Overseer. Sith move on to be Crusaders and Sith Lords."

@Styx @DeeCeeP0

 

[Essien Inemesit]

Essien's chin raised to the Imperial's reply, wise and measured. It struck Essien into a daze as he listened, wrinkling at times to being called, in part, wrong or a follower, or to his role being characterized as behind the scenes. An anger simmered within, but was stifled mostly due to his dumbstruck. One needed the other, was a logic he had not considered. This was not what he was taught. When he was forged to break from his own chains, he and his kin killed the soldiers who held them prisoner. Their lives weren't even significant enough to be a challenge for them, the lesson being that no one controls you when you wield the Dark Side. Chains are an illusion. And this cooperation he spoke of seemed comparable to those chains by his estimation, an unnecessary illusion. But he wasn't sure. Something rang true about it that it held Essien's mind captive.

"We instill fear? So that, for example, men don't speak out of turn against their betters?" In that moment, the soldier whom spoke so boldly of Medriaas began to choke inside his helmet. Essien's right, clawed hand slowly raised behind him to reveal the source of the soldier's choking. All the while staring at Markus to see his reaction, still judging the man. It was more a childish tantrum than wise countermeasure, feeling cornered by the officer's wisdom, but he wanted to continue this debate.

@DeeCeeP0 @Brick