Remnant Dissidence

[Omnis]

As Rector of the Sith Imperium, Xic was able to requisition some impressive assets for any of his purposes. It just so happened that, for this particular mission, Xic required a state of the art ship that was fitted with the best stealth technology that the Empire had to offer. Despite being something of a creepy horror in his own right, Xic knew how to get around in style. The ship was small, only one deck, and supported a bare minimum crew. However, it was capable of traveling through hyperspace and could get them to their destination with no issues.

Xic was waiting for Crusader Eris in the ship's communications room, a multi-purpose room that was stocked with all kinds of communications equipment, jamming tech, and a holoprojector. The holoprojector in the center of the room, a wide sort of table, was on and showing a model of the planet Naporar. Located near the center of Chiss Remnant space, Naporar had once been an important stronghold in the Chiss Empire. Xic watched the holodisplay of the planet rotate around slowly until Eris entered the room.

"Welcome, Crusader Eris."

Unfortunately, Xic still wore his disgusting and mysterious mask. As always. Whether or not it was capable of moving at all, let alone of its own will, was still up to debate. There were more than a few Sith back at the Temples and the Academy that had opinions on the matter. Xic leaned forward, casting his loose and tattered cloak further over his well concealed frame.

"We are headed to Naporar. In the past, the ruling family was known as the Nuruodo. They headed the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force, which was in charge of acquiring and securing new assets and resources. It is unknown if the Nuruodo still exist within the Remnant on Naporar, or if they are still in charge if they do.

As of a few weeks ago, reports from the Empire's nearest border to Chiss Remnant space have indicated that unaffiliated ships have been engaging in active piracy. Imperium assets have been lost. There are also reports of the same unaffiliated ships constructing new asteroid mines in the Unknown Region surrounding Remnant space. There have also been sightings of those same ships orbiting possibly resource rich planets in the same areas."

The Rector cleared his throat, pressing a finger to the control panel on the holoprojector. His voice was incredibly ugly, unnatural almost, and speaking for so long clearly discomforted him. The holoprojector's display changed, showing a blueprint model of a city.

"The Naporar capital, where the CEDF was located, has been out of contact since the Empire abandoned the Chiss. Its state is unknown, but it is likely that any surviving organization has made residence there."

Xic looked up at Eris, regarding her directly for the first time. The eye holes in his mask were impossibly abysmal, reaching farther back into the darkness than was physically possible.

"Your questions and thoughts."

 

[Bee]

There were people who would say that living a double life wasn't easy. Eris would have to disagree. Perhaps she was well-practiced with insincerity, but slipping between the life of a bounty hunter - the bounty hunter when it came to the Hutt Cartel, the standard by which others were judged - and a Sith Crusader was as easy as drawing breath, though there were days she couldn't quite tell which persona felt more real. Some days felt more like waking dreams, trying on masks that didn't quite fit, but as she moved across the deck of the ship, dressed head to toe in the iconic black garments of her rank - though hers were woven from layers of shell spider silk, and offered more protection than what most who wore their regalia could claim - she felt at home. Even under all the fabric, her form was slim and almost sleek, not unlike a predator who lurked on the periphery of some dark forest somewhere, waiting to snatch an innocent little thing away from the light.

But none of it compared to the man standing before her. While she was subtlety, sharp angles that hinted at terrible things beneath a pretty face, everything about Xic seemed to scream danger. But she forced herself to hide her fear, to swallow it down and bury it beneath the kind of quiet, capable confidence she always wore, though that wasn't to say she could meet his eyes. Or more accurately, where his eyes were supposed to be, obscured to the point where she wondered if he ever had them at all. Hands folded in front of her stomach, she stood with her attention on the man's words and the projection that filled the space between them. Her lightsaber felt heavy on her hip, though she wasn't entirely sure why - usually it was a comfort, something she considered a part of her very being. Maybe it was nervousness. Or maybe the feeling of dread that tiptoed up and down her spine was something more - she didn't know. Nor was she in a great hurry to find out.

Tilting her head slightly to one side, considering his words, she wondered if perhaps speaking telepathically might be more comfortable him - and less difficult to listen to for her. But if he wanted to speak into her mind, Eris figured, he would do just that. It was a simple skill, and if he chose not to use it, he probably had a reason. She wasn't looking to try his patience the way she had the last Dark Lord who had offered to show her the secrets of the Dark S ide.

"You mentioned pirates?" Her voice held a subtle inquiry of it's own - smugglers were hardly the kind of trash that warranted a response outside of standard law enforcement, so why were they in pursuit? - though not to the extent that she sounded ungrateful. "Is it possible they're part of the Nuruodo clan?"

 

[Omnis]

"Undoubtedly, they are. They are the family that is closest to Imperial space that would be at all likely to have these sort of ships and resources left to them. Since the CEDF had once been an internally funded organization, the Hutts did not repossess everything that the Nuruodo held."

Xic pressed his finger to the holodisplay again. His hand was covered in a metal gauntlet, finger links pointed and sharp. It was as much weapon as defense. The Darth was careful not to touch the point of his gauntleted finger to the screen, instead pressing the inside of his finger flat to the panel.

The display changed again, showing a model of a Chiss transport cruiser with star fighters around them. The star fighters were not to scale, instead enlarged so their details would be clear to Eris.

"These types of ships have been spotted in the attacks near the Imperial border. You may still recognize these ships, as MandalMotors currently still builds these for the Empire. The ships seen in the pirate attacks have been slightly modified, but it's unlikely that any other group of dissidents bothered to go to Chiss space to steal old ships. My theory is that the Nuruodo family pulled together what resources they could to modify their last ships in a bid to search for or steal more resources. The Chiss Remnant has been ignored and abandoned since their Ascendancy first fell apart."

Darth Xic leaned forward, curling his gauntlets into loose fists and leaning his chin on their surface. The flesh of the mask gave way to the harsh metal, the expression on the mask looking pained in a strange way that was almost sour.

"I want to know what you think of all of this, Crusader Eris. Do the Chiss, as they stand now, present any threat to Imperium assets. Is it worth taking the time to confirm their involvement or are the implications clear enough already. How are we to deal with them."

 

[Bee]

Enigmatic and nearly extinct, the Chiss were a race of people that Eris knew little about. She knew of their blue skin and burning eyes, of course; of their melodic language and their disdain for sentients outside their species. But outside of a vague understanding of their peculiar caste system - something she'd skimmed briefly in the Spymaster's library, passing it over for more interesting tidbits - and their crushing defeat at the hands of the Empire, she wasn't sure she could offer much in the way of insight to their movements. Maybe that was the point - flying almost blindly was something that no well-trained agent would ever do on purpose, but it did happen. Making the best of the situation was a crucial skill, and it was one she liked to believe she'd honed to a fine point in her time as a bounty hunter.

But this, of course, was something completely different than anything she'd experienced so far. "I think it's possible. If they've managed to get their hands on more than just a couple of ships - traded some of those resources for weapons, maybe - and are staging some kind of resistance, it's definitely possible that they could become a threat to the Empire." Enough to topple the whole thing? Maybe not. But that wasn't to say that the Chiss should go unchecked for that fact.

"Confirm the Nuruodo clan's involvement, and destroy their holdings. I think that's the most reasonable route."

 

[Omnis]

Xic gave a somber nod, his mask squeezing in on itself for a moment before he looked back up.

"Very well. That is what we will do."

Pressing another button on the console, Xic cleared his throat and spoke.

"Pilot. Bring us within visual range of Naporar, over the quadrant where CEDF headquarters were located. If any ships bigger than a starfighter are in range, scan them and send the specifications to this room."

The ship accelerated, spent some time traveling in a straight line, then decelerated and banked to the right. Xic led Eris to the port side of the ship and looked out of the windows there. Below, the surface of the planet was as nondescript as any. If the Chiss had torn themselves apart or were embroiled in anarchy, there were no global markers for it. No massive columns of smoke rising into space, no glowing fires that lit the continents. However, they could already see ships.

"Multiple ships in range, sir." The pilot's voice chimed over the speakers. "Data sent to the mission room, sir."

Xic showed Eris back to the aforementioned mission room. The way he moved, it seemed as though he were floating over the floor rather than actually stepping upon it. For all of the Darth's power, that was entirely feasible. No footsteps leaked out from under his completely still cloak. His body made no impact as he smoothly fell into his hard chair again, motioning to the holoprojector so that it would automatically start loading the data he had requested.

Several ships showed up in soft blue light. Xic continued motioning with both hands, spinning the models around and zooming in on them. He began to move past some others and went to the largest, which bore a Cheunh symbol. The ship was missing a few panels, with a few other places where new panels had been patched on. It was clearly a hodgepodge of a freighter, bulky but in poor state. While it had always been built as a weapon bearing vessel, the ship was clearly sporting more than a few additions to its arsenal in place of only a few lost cannons. Over all, it was so mixed up that it only vaguely bore a resemblance to the model of ship still being produced by MandalMotors.

"Nuruodo." Xic read aloud, apparently versed in Cheunh. "That confirms it. This ship belongs to the Nuruodo clan and appears to be heavily modified for combat and cargo hauling. While it is possible that we could engage in combat with this measly fleet, destroying these last few ships, that does not guarantee that the Nuruodo heads operating on the planet surface will be stopped. It is your choice, Crusader Eris. Destroy the ships and leave, or land near the former CEDF headquarters, search for the remaining Nuruodo in command, and deal with them permanently."