the Monsters Under Your Bed

[Deviant]

Lower set of arms wrapped under the tendrils of her robes, and upper set wreathed together over her armored chest, Hecate stands idle in the dim confines of the transport. Abraxas, Lilith, Eris— all of her embellished sabers —dangle from her waist belt, ready to carve and lop through a mob of Jedi. Although as much as the Queen-to-be would enjoy the thought, she had come to Ord Mantell for an entirely different reason: pirates. According to Imperial Intelligence, bands of corsairs were taunting and raiding caravans and convoys across the northern edges of the Core, leaving charred bodies and empty freighters in their wake. Today, however, she would seize retribution, and lay waste to their tacky hideout. Not alone, though.

Aside from another company of a dozen Inquisitors, one in particular stood out against their charcoal capes and steel masks. A Tiss’shar by the name of Nok-Krah-Nin (@Chask274), settles his reptilian frame just several feet from the silent Hecate. Teeth razor-sharp, rough scales lining his body from head to tail, and his eyes, glowing with the dark side. Although Hecate was blind, she could see both his body and his strength in the force as clear as day, and what she saw— she liked. These other men, curled up under their cloaks and masks? They wouldn’t last a second out in the battlefield. But, as for the Tiss’shar, she saw something more than a coward, or cannon fodder. She saw a worthy Sith.

Their transport trembles, and in an instant, the pilot echoes from the cockpit. “Ten seconds until landing!” Hecate dusts off her shoulders, and turns around to face the thirteen Sith. “The pirates will no doubt know we’re coming, and have an ambush waiting for us below.” A pause. “Some of you will die here, and some of you will not.” She glances to the Tiss’shar. “Either way, I don’t care, as long as you follow the mission as planned. And if you cower against the enemy, know that I will strike you down myself. The Sith don't need anymore weaklings in the coming war.”

She twists around, just as the ship touches down and the side exit slides to an open. Her two lower arms dart out from the depths of her robes, as her upper pair theatrically tosses off the cloak. The black stretch of fabric glides into the sandy pavement, revealing glints of silver as they fly off her belt and into each of her hands, save one. The silver handles, now tight in her grip, ignite into an array of crimson and violet. Her favorite colors— the colors of death.

 

[Chask274]

As the transport rumbled through the atmosphere, Nok stood silently in the hold. The occasional twitch of his eyes was the only outward sign he was aware of his surroundings, though internally he was decidedly less serene. He enjoyed this part of an operation, the calm before the storm. The Tiss'shar could practically smell excited fervor emanating from his fellow Inquisitors, and truth be told he was just as eager himself. Normally, he left raids like this to the Templars, Marauders, and the Legion, but today was different. Some unpleasant news Nok had recently received had left him angry and restless, feelings he was all too happy to take out on the foolish scoundrels who thought they could steal from the Empire.

When the Sith woman accompanying them spoke up, Nok's lips curled back in a snarl, and he gave an amused hiss as he replied. "I won't disagree with the prediction that not everyone will survive today, but do be mindful of who you speak to. These men are among the most devoted the Inquisition has to offer, and if they do happen to buckle, well..." He let out a dark and humorless chuckle. "...I'll rip their throats out myself." The predatory grin Nok flashed the other Inquisitors would leave no question as to how he'd do so, and he took satisfaction in the wave of uneasy squirming that moved through them.

The transport finally touched down, and Nok plucked his saber hilt from his equipment harness as he exited the craft, the crimson blade snapping to life just as Hecate ignited her own collection. Glancing over at the woman, he nodded appreciatively. "Four blades for just as many arms, impressive. So how shall we do this, hmm? Frontal assault, or see if we can flank around whatever defenses they've prepared?"

@Deviant

 

[Deviant]

Most devoted the Inquisition has to offer? She nearly scoffs at his remark. To her, the Inquisition were nothing more than a band of goth children dressed in heavy make-up, dubbing themselves as the ultimate power the Sith had to afford, in which they would allow otherworldly spirits to possess them, corrupt their bodies, and send them spiraling into pits of madness and insanity. The dark side is a powerful force, but go too deep, and go too far, then you risk losing yourself altogether. And likewise, Hecate knew of the Inquisition’s notoriety— the kind that doesn’t exist. They may have wrought powers from beyond, but never had they won the Empire deserving victories, or even properly disposed of both the Jedi and the remnants of the Republic, who now seek to destroy all that Kyuss Thaun had built.

The Inquisition were simply puppets to Darth Cain, too corrupted and poisoned by his lies of power. Yet, soon enough, she would insure the rapacious Sith Lord meet his inevitable end, and thus end the blight he had let fester within the Empire. But first, she would have to deal with these damned pirates.

Sabers ignited, she waltzes down the landing bridge platform, empty and devoid of crew. Tendrils of her hair flow freely against the ebbing breeze of the Ord Mantell, copper and russet like the barren plateau sprawled across the horizon. The setting sun reflects off trails of white clouds, and into her ashen, wary gaze. She moves like a wraith, her footsteps light and breath soft, to the closed door a dozen meters ahead. No doubt that was where the pirates remain, armed to the teeth with the very Imperial weapons they had plundered. Not that it mattered to her. No ordinary man, and no simple weapon, would be able to stop her from shredding them into a wedges of charred meat.

Hecate chuckles aloud, not bothering to glance back to the Tiss’shar and the dozen Inquisitors following behind her. “I don’t have the time to tiptoe around whatever pathetic ambush they have planned. So, instead, how about you all stay out of my way, and I carve in a path myself?” She reaches the end of the platform, and thus to the closed entrance. “Sound like a deal?” With that, she slides her emblazoned sabers into the metal doors, fashioning a clean opening into the dark environs of the base.

@Chask274​