You Will Answer

[Darth Tagus]

Tagus hated the throne room.

He had honestly wanted to avoid using it again for as long as possible but it seemed that that was not to be. Instead, once again, he needed to use it. Sitting in the throne itself, Tagus had his mask in his right hand as he considered it for a long moment.

Sometimes things were just so... similar.

Dull.

As though they had happened before.

It was disappointing to feel that way but he wasn't going to hold it against anyone else. Victress was in the room with him, standing at the top of the dial near the throne but not seated as he was. He glanced at her again.

"Have the guard admit him."

As Victress issued the orders, Tagus would affix his mask to his face as he drew on the Dark Side of the Force. His presence in the Dark Side grew, souring the air around him and draining any semblance of warmth from it.

There was no crown but there didn't need to be - there was no question who's throne room this was and who would receive answers.

@Faded Truth
@KinkyPrawn

 

[Darth Victress]

.

Darth Victress stood in the throne room, off to left side of the seated Emperor. She nodded as the Mirialan spoke to her and she in turn gave a singular nod towards the Guard. The force coiled and writhed around the Dark Lord much like a snake, further seeding the corruption laced Throne room with her sinister aura. Green eyes slowly shifted into a golden yellow, dark sided after-effects on the human flesh, albeit hidden under the palpable power of her force forged armor.

Darth Victress had freshly finished an alchemy ritual, remnants of sith magicks evident on the palms of her armored hands as she glanced towards the door where her former apprentice would arrive from.

@KinkyPrawn @Nefieslab

 

[Mid Samekh]

To say he was surprised was an understatement. He rarely got called to the throne room. The last time he was there, the Empire was abolished and they elected another Emperor...who hopefully could stay on the throne for longer than a few months.

Darth Kados walked through the halls, heavy footsteps echoing with every step. His weapons were all hidden under the black cloak covering the heavy armour underneath. He was working on preparing a pilgrimage to get himself a suit of Dark Armour that would fit his new station, but for the time being his current suit would have to make do. He finally reached the throne room and the doors opened for him. With his helmet under his right arm he entered the room. Ahead of him sat Darth Tagus with Victress by his side. He knew how much they hated each other...so seeing them like this was quite amusing.

He came to a halt at the base of the throne and gave a deep bow. "You summoned me, lord Tagus?" he asked calmly as he stood at attention. He hoped this was something good...though he doubted it. Nothing good ever happened in this room. Thus he drew on the force in case push came to shove.

@Nefieslab @Faded Truth

 

[Darth Tagus]

Tagus stared down at Kados for a long moment in silence.

"I have summoned you here today to answer for your transgressions." he informed the pureblood bluntly, "We have reason to believe that you have started a relationship with the enemy."

He tilted his head to the side slightly.

"Tell me, how can the Order trust you to kill Jedi when rumour seems to suggest you would much rather spend your time on your back for one."

His tone was jovial.

His presence in the Force... was not.

Without meaning to, Tagus' anger was radiating off of him into the Force around the three of them so that all of them could feel it. It would be clear to Kados that this was not the moment to choose to be lighthearted. The atmosphere was charged with emotion alone for now but if the pureblood wasn't careful it would be charged with so much more soon.

Tagus was the last person in the Galaxy who would take this news well after all.

"Victress - confirm to your apprentice your findings."

@Faded Truth
@KinkyPrawn

 

[Darth Victress]

.

Darth Victress smirked, savage and brutal in her demeanor as the force crackled through the Throne room, forming a growing locus around the armored dark lord. Her tone was different than Tagus', Darth Victress wasn't known to rule with temperament but rather saw this as an opportune moment. Perhaps now Kados could prove himself to the order? She nodded in return to the Emperor's statement, slowly pacing away from the two of them and glanced upwards at the cobblestone walls. Head tilted halfheartedly, signifying almost as if the Sith was caught in her own thoughts.

"Sith Magicks have served as our allies for centuries, dating back to the origination of our order." She spoke, turning to face her apprentice as she continued, "Your visit to Atrer III, is clouded with conflicting emotions and amongst all this darkness, there appears to be a solitary point of light. Almost blinding in its presence." Her words with laced with venom and hatred, a seething rage for those affiliated with...Jedi.

"A light sided user..." She spoke. Her golden eyes casting a glare upon the pureblood, waiting for verbal affirmation to whether her sorcery derived visions spoke the truth.

@KinkyPrawn @Nefieslab

 

[Mid Samekh]

Mid blinked with surprise as Darth Tagus spoke. He figured he was doing a decent job keeping that hidden. He didn't let his emotions betray him, though. The surprise was genuine, he would admit that. Tagus then told Victress to provide "evidence" and as always she had to suck her own member before getting something done.

He watched with a raised eyebrow as she walked off and tried to be dramatic. Was interrogating one of their best warriors really that smart in the middle of a war for survival?

She started to talk about Sith Magicks. He expected her to know that the power stretched back far longer than simply a few centuries, but he got the idea. He recoiled slightly when she mentioned Atrer 3. She explained her findings and he couldn't help but see the issue. He drew a breath and looked back to Darth Tagus. "True. There was a Jedi on Atrer 3. One I fought before on Tython. She attacked the freighter I was protecting as we moved into the Atrer system. The ship got too close to Atrer Three and the EMP field and we ended up crashing on the surface of the planet." he started to explain. "The crash weakened the both of us. We ended up needing to work together to survive that rock."

"In that time I also got a good understanding of who she is...and she's fickle." he stated calmly. There was no point in lying or denying. Not with these two. "She's fickle...and she's redeemable from her misguided ways." he finished, looking between the two. He didn't let either out of his sight or senses.

@Nefieslab @Faded Truth

 

[Darth Tagus]

The truth was that neither he nor Victress had any proof of any wrong doing - they had rumors and an odd sensation in the Force and nothing else. That was the whole reason why Kados had been brought before him today, to get the final confirmation that would bee required from the Sith Lord.

But the reaction, the unguarded truth in the Force, showed Tagus that the rumors were all too true.

"I wanted to believe that you had not allowed yourself to become tied to this woman." he told Kados as he leaned forwards in his throne slightly, "We knew nothing for certain but that we had to test you to see if you had grown those bonds; and you failed that test."

Standing from his throne, Tagus stared down at Kados.

"I don't know if you or Victress know this - but I was married. To a Jedi." his eyes narrowed, "And my Emperor, my leader, asked me to prove that my loyalty was to him, was to the Sith and the Dark Side first and forever. So I took my blade and I struck her down."

He held his lightsaber in his right hand.

"This is the chance I offer you, Midwan Samekh. Prove your dedication - kill the woman and bring me her lightsaber as proof of the deed."

@Faded Truth
@KinkyPrawn

 

[Darth Victress]

.

Ahh

So it was true?

The visions had not lied, she had seen it much as she witnessed events occur through the reaches of space, channeled and conjured by the foreshadowing of sinister powers as well as the will of darkness. Darth Kados attempted to cover his error with words, but the powerful force sensitives were well aware of his deception. After all, it was an ancient prophecy, told by the fallen Jedi before them:

Do not trust what appears, for the world will deceive you...

Darth Victress maintained her cold glare upon Lord Kados as he uttered words, a seething anger broiling when he mentioned the Jedi. A distaste coiled in her throat, expelled only when she spoke after the Emperor had finished his command. "Taking the life of an innocent is always harder than even taking your own. She will be your sacrifice, in order to maintain tradition of the Sith. You have come far in the Dark Side, but now is an opportunity for you to show your true dedication. It is a demonstration that your loyalty remains to the Dark side and to the Sith Order rather than yourself."

@Nefieslab @KinkyPrawn

 

[Mid Samekh]

Mid knew full well that it was a test. Him and Sakadi were very careful about meeting. He simply figured they'd know if he lied. Not that he had any intention to in the first place. Though he was quite surprised when Darth Tagus admitted that he was married to a Jedi. Mid knew he was married before, the discolouration on his ring finger made that quite clear, but he didn't think he was married to a Jedi. What amused him was that Darth Victress didn't do anything with the news. Was she afraid of speaking out against him? Or was she that forgiving all of a sudden?

She went on to explain a part of Sith culture he literally grew up with and knew for longer than victress was alive. Her monologue wasn't helping the thoughts in his head. His Emperor was asking him to kill his lover. Love was the death of duty. He knew that. He realized his mistake. Had he taken a wife among his own people, this situation could have been avoided. Was the force still at work here? Or did his trust in the Dark Side mislead him down a path of hubris? Either way, he was feeling like an idiot.

He glanced between Victress and Tagus before letting out a sigh. "And what if she accepts the Dark Side, my lord? Abandons the light and decides to join the Sith? Would you still ask of me to strike her down?" he asked calmly. His right hand was gripping his helmet tighter. He knew what they were asking of him. It wasn't going to be an easy endeavour, but he understood what he had to do.

@Faded Truth @Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

It didn't take a connection to a strong empathetic power source to see that Kados did not appreciate the way that Victress was wording this. The Pureblood likely took exception to being lectured on what was, essentially, his culture but Tagus didn't much care if he did or didn't.

The truth of the matter was that Kados had crossed a line.

Of course the point that Kados made was... useful. Informative.

"You ask me to forgo your sacrifice."

It was damning to a Sith, especially a pureblood, to be seen breaking from tradition and the way Tagus had worded it made it clear that it would be seen as a break from tradition. A Sith who refused to sacrifice? To a pureblood that was a child playing at being a true Sith and nothing more.

But there was an opportunity here... Kados' Jedi woman was not yet a Sith even if she was falling. Which meant that she had the information on the Galactic Alliance, including locations and, until the bridges were burned, trust.

"There is only one situation in which I will accept she keeps her life."

He narrowed his eyes.

"Your woman must bring me the head of Eisa Swan." he declared bluntly, "And present herself, and the proof, to me alone. If she refuses, you know she will not turn and you will complete your sacrifice and kill her for her indecision."

It was not a request - it was an ultimatum.

If Kados was to keep his woman, his love, then she had to prove herself to be one with the Dark Side by killing a friend and ally. Kados would always remember that. That she killed someone she loved - what would be there to stop her from doing it again with him? And she would always remember that Kados, her lover, demanded something so cruel of her just to keep his own position and honor within the Sith.

@Faded Truth
@KinkyPrawn