saberforce

Tros piloted the Swift Justice into the Cularin system, slowly making its way towards Almas. He pushed through his own pain for the moment, while Kot’dral sat in the back, treating his own wounds more than what the jetii did back on the jungle planet. As he made his way towards the planet’s atmosphere, he discussed details with Vulios on the comms. 

“In short, the rumor mill seems to be stirring a lot amongst the Sith. Bann Dul seems to think that such rumors hold enough weight to be true if they spread as much as they have.” Both men had their buy’ce off as they talked to each other. “We may want to seek out a way to further cement ourselves then with this new leader of the Sith. Maybe our rally can help support them in some way.” Vulios leaned back a bit and opened both arms as if he was presenting something to Tros. “You may be in luck then. Naboo was a targeted planet in a conquest campaign of an up and coming Sith. It’s a short jump for us if we wanted to join in.”

Tros face was lit up with flashing lights as he passed through the atmosphere on the way to the surface. He was thoughtful as he thought through the options on the table before him. “Tell Kami she’s in charge as we’re away until Kot’dral can fully cover. Vulios, I want the Swift Justice, The Trident, and Bloodlust fully loaded with whomever is able to go. We will begin our rally point at Naboo. Bring me a few weapons to reload. I lost a good deal of equipment on Felucia.” Tros cut the transmission to let Vulios rally the House into action. 

Landing fairly quickly after getting done with his conversation with Vulios, Tros had no time to fully take in the new capital planet of his House. Instead he watched as the three ships were prepared and loaded with crews. Three pilots for the ships and six Mandalorians for each ship outside of Vulios and himself. “23 Mandalorians. Not a lot.” Vulios only shrugged his shoulders as he handed over a few items to Tros. “We’ve begun the training process of a good 140 new recruits. My guess of when they’re ready… two weeks. By then we should be able to gain more numbers through our rally campaign.” 

As Vulios talked, Tros looked through the items handed to him. There were 2 WESTAR-35 blaster pistols, a modified MK VI Paladin blaster rifle that had scope option to fire stronger rounds or could be switched to a more rapid fire three round burst. There was also an electro-dart and a poison dart to replace in his dart launcher. As he loaded them, he was also handed a Z-6 jetpack equipped with a rocket. He replaced all of his gear and then he and Vulios boarded their ships and House Solus was off towards Naboo, ready to begin their rally campaign. Tros would spent the time on the trip applying bacta and preparing for a second round of fighting with a few stimpacks to help him get through this campaign. 

((Equipment has been updated here and on the character sheet to reflect these changes. ))

Tros felt the intense pain of where the lightsaber like weapon struck in the areas of where his beskar'gam was not strong or reinforced to handle the blows, or even where there was nor armor present to defend against the jetii blows. His own face hidden behind his buy'ce, he could hear her walking around the mud around the village and his own mind wondered why she delayed in killing him and taking the final blow. It wasn't until she stood over him and sprayed him with a bacta spray that he realized she was not going to kill either of the two Mandalorians today. As she spoke, he slowly pulled himself up into a seated position and then watched her walk off into the jungle without looking for an engagement. Grunting heavily, he stood up and walked over to Kot'dral to help him stand to his feet. 

"She doesn't understand Mandalorian honor-"cough-cough"-does she." Tros kept his eyes focused on the trail she left behind in the mud for a moment before he responded. "No, she doesn't. But she let us both live. A compassion trait common amongst jetiise. And a flaw. Come now, we need to leave. My HUD is showing she was correct that the rest of the Sith forces did indeed withdraw from the system. We need to rally the House into action." Without any other words, Tros used his jetpack and lifted both into the air and guided the two to his ship. The two left planet as soon as they could headed back the beacon Vulios had activated for them. 

Vulios oversaw a majority of the rebuilding of Forard. The spaceport was redesigned to host a Keldabe-class Battleship if it was ever needed, along with the ability to host ten light freighters. Gronn Lerr, a local man who pledged himself to the House was quick to repurpose some useless buildings into comm arrays and training facilities. He was standing in the main audience hall of Dralaoriya, the capitol building discussing things with Kami Larkin and himself when Major General Bann Dul walked in along with a few other stormtroopers. The man respected the building process of the city from afar, only putting in small and slight inputs here and there, but otherwise let the Mandaloirians build the city how they wanted. He stood for a moment on the outskirts of the conversation until Vulios signaled him to come closer. 

The Sith officer approached the table, which was midway between the door and the throne looking chair. It held a holoprojector that was currently displaying the main city and highlighted a few spots here and there. He stood there for a moment as Gronn finished up his report over a new dish being installed. Only once he finished did Vulios speak. “Yes Dul, what news do you bring?” “Empire news. Reports have started to circle in the smallest of ways, but there are some sources that can confirm that the Dark Lord title has passed to someone new.” The news cut through the air for a moment and every Mandalorian held their breath and looked at Vulios, who was now supposed to speak for Tros. The older Mandalorian did not hesitate for long. 

“Thank you Gronn. Finish up what you think is best. Kami, have your clan support Gronn in this. I think that overall, the quick formation of this city has slowly turned it from a backwater world with not much to offer the galaxy into a central hub for us Mandalorians to slowly increase in numbers. We are on the path to greatness. Let our work here be a testament to all. Everyone but Kami and Major General Bann Dul are dismissed.” Vulios walked back towards the main chair of the hall and sat himself in it as he awaited for the main chamber doors to close, leaving only Kami, Dul and himself in the room. As he sat, he pulled out his beskad and looked it over for a second. "What do you know Bann of this new Dark Lord?" The Sith officer paused for a moment. "Reputation only. She is a warrior, if the claims of rumors are true. She will look to have everyone prove themselves. I can't say for sure if she will honor what the prior Dark Lord has offered your people."

The words broke a tension that Kami was waiting for. "Vulios, do we really need to stay aligned to them than? We don't have time to continue to prove our salt over and over again to new people. Least of all dar'jetii. I may not have been a Mando for long, but I do know this saying well. Haatyc or'arue jate'shya ori'sol aru'ike nuhaatyc." Vulios held his hand up and looked Kami in the eye. "Kami, I like your spirit, but there are some other things to consider here. Such as the opportunity to become something that all others who claimed to lead us as a people have failed... " Vulios held up his beskad to admire it before putting it in its sheath. "True warriors on a warpath. Let's all have a glass of morning glory to discuss what is the best next move until our Alor returns from the hunt."

The charge forward by Kot'dral was met with a very quick movement by the jetii, quickly knocking and essentially moving the more zealous Mandalorian towards the ground in a quick thud. On Tros' HUD many words came flooding in of Kot'dral's own discomfort and dislike of how his charge went. Tros was unable to fully process what was being said, as the jetii was in a full on rush towards him. Without thinking he fired a few more shots off at her, only to have them deflected into the ground like a kid slamming a rock into the ground. He could see from behind her that Kot'dral was under some form of an attack, but what exactly was unclear to him. She was upon him within seconds faster than what he wanted, and quickly dropped his blaster in a frazzled rush to use his vambraces to deflect the incoming lightsaber tip. 

Had there actually been enough time, he would have admired the blade being on a spear like weapon as a way to keep opponents at a distance, but the frantic looking swings forced himself to be frantic in response. With his blaster dropped to the ground, he was able to move quick to intercept the blade, catching it from finding a soft target. The confidence of his plan faded quickly, as while he caught strike one and two, the third he barely managed to stop and the fourth and sixth one found parts of his own body that were not protected and he was not quick enough to intercept the blows. The pain was exactly as he remembered it, searing hot that lasted longer than one would have thought. By the second blow striking him, he realized that as long as he remained this close to the jetii without a vibroblade of dueling weapon, he would be cut down into pieces rather quickly by the jetii. Rolling backwards to avoid another blow, as he came out of it, he utilized his jetpack and blasted up into the air and took quick aim. 

Upon getting into the air, Tros fired his dart launcher at the jetii. Almost as soon as the dark left his wrist launcher, he remembered that he never refilled his gas darts and all that he had was two electro-darts. Upon it leaving his launcher, he cursed. "Takisit." The dart wasn't going to be as useful against a jetii. His HUD lit up with instructions, and Tros knew there was a chance to fully take down the jetii. He turned off his jetpack and as he fell towards the ground, he opened up his flamethrower, choosing to use it's full blast and burn through all of the fuel he had to keep the jetii either pinned down or otherwise occupied. As he did so, Kot'dral came landing on the other side of the jetii His boot rockets turning off as he came to a landing. His beskar'gam was ripped, falling off in some places and had beyond counting of new scratches and marks. Three looking items protruding from his body in places. He pushed her fromt he other side, having his own flamethrower going as well, while with one hand he pulled out his thermal detonator, armed it, and tossed in into the fray. Tros knew within his mind that this was either going to kill the jetii, massive hurt and wound all three combatants, or utterly leave the two Mandalorians without any other advantage. 

((3)) 

Tros lost his blaster in the charge of Kyrie and took two blows of the lightsaber across the abdomen, but blocked the rest. Kot'dral was hit by 3 of the arrows and his armor near broken. 

Tros used his jetpack to gain some space, fired an electro-dart and then blasted his flamethrower at her. Kot'dral assisted by coming from behind and using his own flamethrower and tossed in a thermal detonator to cause even more chaos. 

**Iron-Pantheon**

Avao Skol and Sarpo Fost worked extra hard, putting in massive amounts of hours working on producing the outlines for the first batch of Fang-class starfighters. Over the course of a few days as both Vulios and their Alor Tros were away doing things to bring in new resources and plans for House Solus, the floors of the main docking hangar had complete outlines and some parts ready for a full squadron of Fang starfighters. The goal was to have the fist squadron of Fangs operational within 4 standard rotations. Avao spent time pouring over the specs of the old Keldabe-class Battleship, attempting to bring it up to date to begin production. She put in double work in attempts to make sure that some weapons that were almost useless be replaced by other weapons that deserved more usefulness. She wanted the production of this massive ship to begin within a standard week.

Meanwhile Sarpo worked hand in hand with the crews delivered by the Sith Empire to begin assembling the Fangs along with starting up production lines for weapons and armor along with the multiple forges needed to work the material given to them. While he oversaw those productions, the Sith crews that weren't directly involved with such setups were put to work in getting 60 quad laser cannons up and running to be fully functional within a standard two weeks to help defend the station if anything was to happen. 

**Jaro Outpost**

There was a very small crew on the surface, working around the clock to prepare the facility to be strong enough to house the weapons smiths alone, and to provide the maximum room for the surface shuttle to land quickly and then take off to avoid overheating.  This was also on schedule to be completed within seven standard rotations before it would be functional at the max capacity. 

Vulios now sat in a chair, a few of the key personnel of the city were standing awkwardly within the room looking back and forth to each other as talleys were being made of stock of what the city of Forard actually held. Conversations were being made by Kami towards a few of the officials over building redesign while the others were on their knees whimpering slightly as they were the ones who were still in refusal of accepting new control over the planet. Vulios watched the unwilling ones from his chair behind a desk with his own buy'ce on the table. He was currently the only Mandalorian who had his face exposed. After a few seconds passed by, he stood up and pulled out his beskad. 

"The terms of surrender have been made very clear. Kami, take these few with you into the war room and initiate gai bal manda. Then begin the process of rebuilding the city up to our needs. For the rest of the population... it is time for them to understand what is before them." Vulios walked up and took a woman by the hair, the same one who resisted him upon arrival. "And you are the tool that is to be used to show the way." With one hand on his beskad, the other on her hair, he dragged her along as the two 'walked' up to the roof of the main capitol building which would soon be the palace known as Dralaloriya. Once the two reached the top, Vulios moved her into a position near the edge and made sure she was on her knees. Before them was the rest of the population, enclosed by the Mandalorians and Sith Empire troopers who accompanied them to Almas. Vulios stepped forward without his buy'ce and began to shout loudly so that all would hear. The team had already setup a few droids to amplify his voice to reach the entire group gathered. 

"People of Almas, in the great city of Forard. You have a great opportunity that lays before you. Here is the beginning of a new power rising. You get to not only witness the rebirth and rising of a new era of Mandalorians, but you are given the chance to join in this rising power. Your choice is given is this; Join us and become vod within our aliit- or to use your simple words. Brothers and sisters within our family. For this great city will be remade into the perfect city for our rising power, turning this building into Dralaloriya. Simple words for you, Strong Capital. For those who don't wish to be apart of this great rising power, your example is right here!" Vulios put his beskad on the woman's chest. "She has chosen to never become one of us, nor to ally herself with us. She is your example of what your fate is."

Vulios spun himself around and had the blade cut the head clean off. The body and part of her hair fell backwards onto the building almost instantly. Her head rolled off and fell down the building and into the street before the people. Vulios then lifted his beskad into the air. "You have an hour to decide. Join the rising power and pledge yourself to the Mandalorian way and to your new Alor, Trosolus Ardell and the House of Solus... Or take your fate." Vulios lowered his beskad and put it away. Giving a look out towards his fellow vod, he gave a nod to them and then turned to walk back into the building. They would soon have their final numbers and complete control over the planet.

((Invasion Posts Complete))

The blaster barrage began a very successful movement of the jetii until she caught her wits about her and forced movement in a way that she attempted to push both Tros and Kot’dral on a less offensive front and instead on the more defensive front. A single curse went through his mind and almost as soon as he thought it, a body went flying towards Kot’dral in a very fast rapid motion. There was a loud thud, followed by a grunt. Tros made the small mistake of turning to see what happened, only to realize his opponent who was far deadlier than some random soldier was still in front of him. 

Turning to look at the jetii, the distinct hum of a lightsaber in motion caught his ear before he even saw it. Turning instinctively to protect himself, his blaster in his left hand was cut through cleanly before he was able to get his vambraces up in a v formation, protecting him from any further damage. The pure beskar vibrated as the blade against it, while making no progress, still threatened with heat and the constant vibration. The tactical pad on the left vambrace began to spark as the blade was able to damage basic functions of the pad. The blaster in his right hand had dropped to the ground and Tros stared at it for a moment before a flash of words went across his HUD. 

::Dampeners up-Sonic incoming:: 

Using the controls within his HUD, he quickly put up his dampeners as his own peripheral vision caught sight of the sonic detonator mid air near both jetii and Tros. Quickly he pushed back and rolled backwards in an attempt to break free from what would have resulted in certain death had he remained where he was without support. Coming out of the roll, Tros hit his right vambrace, utilizing the flamethrower in a quick short burst. Nothing that the jetii would be able to avoid. It was simply a tactic employed to get space from his attacker. After the burst finished, Tros stood up and picked up his other blaster. Kot’dral on the other hand activated his personal shield and withdrew his vibroblade and charged the jetii head on with the knife still in his ribcage just below his main armor. Tros simply took aim with his blaster and fired off a few rounds.

((2)) 

Tros lost a blaster and his tactical pad to the lightsaber strike, Kot'dral took a knife to his ribs. Kot'dral tossed a sonic detonator at Kyrie and Tros gave a burst of his flamethrower. Finished off with Kot'dral charging Kyrie and Tros firing a few rounds at her. 

Tros leaned in closer to Kot'dral as he scouted the area out. They were taking mental notes and figuring out where everything was as the rest of the Sith Empire arrived around them, causing even more stir from the site, which both Mandalorians knew as a Jedi Temple of sorts. The two had their own scouting of a way in interrupted by a thundering loud sound of a ship coming in and landing hard not far from them. "Kot'dral, get eyes on that wreck." Tros now stood up and watched the area of where the ship landed versus near where the initial speeders left the temple and passed through the area that one of the Sith most likely caused enough mayhem to draw attention to the area. Behind his buy'ce, he narrowed his eyes as his own HUD was not strong enough to get specs that far out. "A woman exited the wreckage. Jetii by the looks of her...Headed towards the first onslaught site." Without any hesitation, Tros extended his head towards Kot'dral. "We have to intercept her, or else she'll reinforce the other Jetiise in the forest."

Tros held onto Kot'dral as the man stood up and used his jetpack to move both towards an intercept path quickly. As the two neared, Tros dropped Kot'dral and turned off his jetpack, landing a good twenty to thirty meters away. Immediately he fell into a roll to help the impact of suddenly turning off the jetpack, to which Tros quickly drew both of his DE-10 blasters and began to open fire on the Jetii, attempting to push her position back towards the temple and not towards the others out in the forest. Kot'dral knew the plan without even saying a word drew his own EL-16HFE blaster rifle and began to fire off some rounds towards the Jetii as he slowly moved towards the left side of Tros. Both at the same time were having their HUD's fully linkup in order to better coordinate against their foe. Neither would use words unless it was absolutely vital for them to do so. 

(( Post 1 of a duel of Tros vs Kyrie. ))

Tros and Kot'dral opened fire from a slight distance attempting to move Kyrie away from the other Jedi.

Kot’dral Duvul 

Age: 24

Height: 5'9"

Weight: 165 lbs

Skin Color: White

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Jet Black

Sex: Male

Equipment [!equip]

Armor: Beskar'gam armor that’s black and red in color. Also wears a Personal Combat Shield on his right vambrace. His boots also have rockets to them for a quick attack or escape. 

Weapons: EL-16HFE blaster rifle, a vibroblade over his heart, a knuckle plate vibroblade in the vambrace with the shield, while the other holds a flamethrower. Typically known to carry 4 detonators. 2 Sonic, 1 Gas and 1 thermal.

Vulios Vuuku

Age: 51

Height: 6'2"

Weight: 202 lbs

Skin Color: White

Eyes: Green

Hair: Grey 

Sex: Male

Equipment [!equip]

Armor: Beskar'gam armor that’s black with red colors in the buy’ce and ensignas alone. A JT-12 jetpack with a single warhead equipped.

Weapons: SHUKUR-05 light repeater, 2 WESTAR-35 blasters, KX-60 blaster rifle and a Beskad. (Not fully made of Beskar.) Both vambraces have a dual dart launcher holding two each.

Kami Larkin

Age: 29

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 140 lbs

Skin Color: White

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Brown

Sex: Female

Equipment [!equip]

Armor: Beskar'gam armor that’s gold as the primary color, utilizing black and silver as accents in her buy’ce and other parts of her armor. 

Weapons: A280C blaster rifle, a WESTAR-35 blaster, KiSteer 1284 projectile rifle, a knuckle plate vibroblade in the right vambrace, while the other holds a flamethrower. Typically known to carry 2 detonators. Both are almost always thermal. 

The Swift Justice jumped out of hyperspace and hovered for a single moment over the planet Felucia. From above, it looked like a giant green mess, to which both Tros and Kot'dral knew from experience that it was in fact nothing but green jungle crawling and spewing out all over the place. A few pockets here and there of small villages and life, nothing worth noting of value. Even from a military perspective it held zero value to holding. Yet the Sith Emperor wanted it and asked for the two Mandalorians to personally join in on the hunt. He believed there were Jedi on the surface, something that from his own network of intel suggested little of that. traffic in and out of the area had been sparse at best and only spiked upon the plagues that seemed to overtake the planet a while ago. As the ship hit atmosphere, Kot'dral spoke. 

"Something more than locals are present. There is something causing a stir of comotion. I'm detecting a few low grade vehicles moving from a large site that has some power to it..."Tros turned his head to look back at Kot'dral as he spoke and felt something stir within him. Maybe it was excitement for the coming engagement, maybe it was something else entirely. Turning to focus on piloting the ship, he quickly scanned that area visually. "Find us somewhere to land without drawing more attention. It sounds like the jetiise are here and something stirred them. Let's not have our luck tested anymore already." Pulling the controls, Tros now was certain that the two would indeed face battle together. As he got the ship to break atmosphere, Kot'dral spoke again. "I have a spot for us. Two clicks east, sending the coordinates to you now..." Tros looked down to see the location given and quickly made pursuit there. 

Upon landing, both Mandalorians walked down the ramp, Kot'dral immediately got to his stomach as he pulled out his EL-16HFE blaster rifle and began to scope out the area. Tros stood over him and used his HUD to scan heat signatures nearby, along with other potential threats. "I have eyes on what looks like a long trek to the main building where I detected energy from." "Yeah, my HUD can confirm that. Let's keep a watch until we know the full situation." Tros moved himself now to lay down next to Kot'dral and help scan the area so that the two could be successful in their mission...

Lurching forward into the Almas system was about as satisfying as a mynock hissing as it was cooked- at least to the veteran Mandalorian soldier. Vulios smiled as he looked over the planet from the cockpit of The Trident. Amidst the darkness of the system, the Tyrant Adventure along with the imperial cruiser that accompanied them for this little playground assault looked far less menacing than he would have hoped for. Another chance for a later time. He leaned in and tapped Buya Strarr on the shoulder. “Open a comm to Major General Dul and Kami.” After he said it, he stood upright and looked out the viewport. 

“Alright, we’re going to go in quickly. I want the TIE’s and bombers to make a single run on the main city. Have them panicked as we land. Upon landing, deploy the AT-ST’s on the outskirts of the city of Forard. Kami, land mid city in a good deployment area. Make a show of force and meet up with us at the capitol building. Bann, Upon the walkers entering the city, flood the city perimeter with troops. I want this to be quick.” 

****Twenty minutes later in the City of Forard ****

Without much notice, the TIE’s came roaring through the skyline towards Forard with aggressive motivations. The only true warning of their intentions came through the very first blast from the TIE’s making their primary shots at whatever looked like a potential target. It took about two minutes from their first sighting for them to pass through the city, taking a few shots here and there. The TIE Bombers that came after them dropped a single blast, enough to cause a commotion in the streets. Vulios watched clear panic in the streets as The Trident landed right before the capitol building. As he walked down the ramp, screaming and panic took over the general sounds, almost drowning out the TIE’s roaring overhead as they made a few passes through the city. Stepping into the main light, the burning smell took over his nostrils even with his buy’ce. A few shots from blasters could be heard from Kami and her team, who improvised a bit and she dropped them off over a few buildings to help spread the fire arc range. 

“Kami, damp down your power core. We’re not here to kill everyone. Some of these people could become a part of our culture.” As he finished, he walked towards the main entrance of the capitol building, Buya Strarr and two others whom he didn’t know their exact name finally made their way down the landing ramp and joined him, weapons up and at the ready. As they got to the doors, four men armed came out along with a single woman who stood behind them. "What are your intentions here Mandalorian? To show up on our doorstep with a show of force and Sith Empire tools and weapons of war." Vulios let out a sigh and lowered his own weapon. "We are here to take possession of this planet. The show of force is to make sure that you hand it over. Otherwise things will get messy. I'd rather not start building everything up from scratch." The woman gave a clear scorn and placed her hands upon her hips in defiance. "You seem to be mistaken. You can't have something that isn't yours. And I doubt that-" "You may open fire Clan Larkin." Without another word spoken, loud fire erupted and the four armed men fell to the ground with at least two or three burn holes in their chests. Vulios pu this weapon away and stepped forward, grabbing the woman by her hair and began to pull her inside the building. "And now we will begin to discuss the terms of your complete surrender to us."

((House Solus Invasion Post))

Tros and Kot'dral spent a few minutes, maybe around fifteen shuffling through the armory of the Sith before both decided that what they actually had on them was more than enough. The two made their way to the spaceport where their ship, Swift Justice awaited for them. Sitting down in the pilot's chair, Tros handed off his buy'ce to Kot'dral. "Can you clean this for me? We need everything to be ready for the arrival in system if we are to make an entrance worthy of our House." Kot'dral removed his own and carefully picked up his Alor's buy'ce. With a half smile at the man, he spoke with excitement within his voice. "The two of us can finally hunt again. And this time, we'll be together." Without any words, Tros only nodded at the younger Mandalorian and then returned to his liftoff procedures. 

As the ship lifted upon getting clearance from the main tower to leave, Tros took a quick look back at where Kot'dral was standing. He was slightly disappointed that the man was not there, but understood why he wasn't and even more so, why he couldn't. But the fact that he even held the disappointment told him that Kot'dral was even much more closer to becoming his riduur than what he had expected. Allowing for only a second more of his head turned, he returned focus to piloting the ship. The Swift Justice was launched into hyperspace within a matter of minutes after lifting off. 

Vulios stood amongst the crowded control room of Iron-Pantheon as he oversaw the preparations being made. The leaders thus far of House Solus gathered in the room and discussed different strategies that could potentially be deployed on Almas. Vulios looked over at the Major General who stood in the room amongst them. He remained quiet for the most part, observing from what the veteran Mandalorian could tell. In the midst of a break of conversation, Vulios spoke up finally after a while. “Tell me Bann, you’re a man of war. How would you handle taking Forard?” The man now shuffled around for a second and looked directly into Vulios’ eyes. 

“The Capital, much like the planet itself, doesn't hold much in the way of defense. The residing body of government there will be fairly easy to overthrow. I think a TIE strafing run against the city followed by the show of force of Walkers and troops landing and walking in would be more than enough. From that point, it’ll leave you with enough to actually hold both Almas and this burning hot mess of a planet.” Bann Dul now leaned back against the wall and was clearly awaiting the final orders. Vulios turned and looked out at the others gathered in the room. After a long moment passed, he looked everyone in the eyes as he spoke. 

“We’ll take with us 10 AT-STs, 5 TIE bombers, one fully squadron of TIE’s and about half the troops. Atin, Avao and Sarpo will stay here and continue to work at the facility to get the shipyard fully functional with the help of our friends here. I will then lead Clan Larkin into Almas and take Forard. Major General Bann Dul will accompany us as well to oversee his own men. We’ll take our own vessels, The Trident and Tyrant Adventure to aid in the process of taking the City.” Vulios now signaled for everyone to get out, but he held up his hand to hold Avao a bit longer than the others. “Prioritize building the Fangs first. After you get a few of those, see if you can’t get a few designs for either Teroch-class or Keldabe-class vessels for us.”

Vulios then removed his hand to let Avao walk past. After she left the room, he stared at the holodisplay of Forard city and leaned in to get a better closer look one last time before he sees it in person. House Solus was about to make a real name for themselves quickly. 

Tros paused for a moment after Exodus left the main chamber. The lone thought echoed within his mind; Will they still respect me as their Alor if I am not present for them during a key battle? The thought had to be pushed aside when Kot'dral gave a hard push nudge to his back right shoulder and upon him turning to face the man, he gave a head nod indicating that both should leave the main Sith palace, as it seemed more fitting to prepare for the battle before them more so than the one he was handing over to the rest of House Solus. 

Putting his buy'ce back on, he turned and followed Kot'dral out of the main Palace to await the new hunt. As they walked, Tros linked up to Vulios. ::Vulios. Almas is a go, although you will have to take the planet without me. Me and Kot'dral have been personally assigned to hunt with the Sith Emperor. I trust you to do the job that I would do.:: Without any other words given or even needed, Tros cut the link. As the two got out of the main chamber, his mind had already been focused back upon the new task at hand. "Perhaps some additional weapons might be in order. You think we'll have the time to shop, or maybe our new allies will let us borrow some of their own handiwork?" Tros looked at Kot'dral as the two moved. "If you're asking for a lightsaber, I doubt it. I doubt we have the luxury of time to shop either. What we brought will have to be enough."

It was without any hesitation that the guard quickly showed them back. Moving forward into the main hall, Tros strode a bit more confidently through the palace, as he knew the play at hand was needed to move both forward. His boots making the loud thud upon the floor as he moved, matching sounds of Kot'dral next to him. His own beskar'gam was a bit different from Kot'dral's, which was black and red. The white pieces stood out amongst the light, and the new silver of pure beskar vambraces almost made his entire armor feel off and thrown together. But the light in the main palace made the white and silver glare a bit more than usual. "Emperor Exodus, there has been some development in the House of Solus. A scouting team has uncovered a planet that is ripe for the taking. I believe it provides a foothold not only for my House to advance within the sector but also provides your empire with a staging ground for further sector launches in your mighty campaign."

Tros decided to make a big play and he removed his buy'ce and put it under his left arm. Only trusted people would ever be able to see a face of anyone considered Alor within the Mandalorian culture. He wanted to make a show to the Sith Emperor that he was a valuable ally to have, even though he felt like it may already be known. "Almas is the target planet. The capital of Forard is practically uninhibited and has been run down enough to be built up into a mighty Mandalorian fortress. It's also far enough away from the old Sith fortress that it could still be used for your purposes." Tros took a quick glance over to Kot'dral only to notice that he also removed his buy'ce to follow his Alor. He felt like they were now standing upon the brink of a mountain edge, waiting to either jump or back down. 

Tros confidently walked through the main Sith Palace doors with Kot'dral by his side. Upon entry, a guard stopped them inquiring to the nature of the sudden appearance of the two Mandalorians. "I have a word for your Emperor. Tell him Tros Ardell of House Solus wishes to discuss something with him." The guard appeared to hesitate for a single moment before deciding to either humor him or felt that it was better to disturb the Sith Emperor anyways. As he walked away for a moment, Kot'dral leaned in to whisper to Tros. "Do you think this move is the right one?" Tilting his head, the older of the two made his own stance somewhat clear. "Yes. The ability to take a foothold for us also gives the Sith Empire a foothold in a location that they otherwise might not have held. I'm almost certain this will be well received."

There was a slight hesitation within his own mind, even though he was able to voice the words with confidence. The target planet was indeed something useful for them, but he still wasn't sure how well received it would be for the Sith Empire, as he still did not know the full goal of them yet to hold the confidence within his own mind. Until they had their meeting with Exodus, he would continue to have the doubt. 

Vulios kept his own thoughts to himself for a moment. There was no point in responding directly to Dul, as he was merely an instrument of the Sith Empire, one that he himself made perfectly clear. Without much else to be said, he looked at the hangar floor and pondered for a moment what exactly could they use. After a moment passed, he spoke up. “I believe that the technical personnel and sensor technicians are something that we need on this station right away.” “Plus everything else on that list…” The words came from Avao as she walked up to the two men. Her buy’ce was off, showing her short dark hair and eyes that looked like they always held knives. “Kami’s report, while slightly irrelevant to us in regards to Mechis III, does hold some viability in another area. Intel suggests that a certain planet nearby is of great value for staging grounds and building upon nothing. She even took the liberty to scout it herself, hence the reason her team was late arriving back. She was personally at Forard...” 

Upon finishing her talk, she handed Vulios a datapad with the full report. He looked it over and smiled behind his buy’ce. “Well Dul, It looks like most of your force is going to get working very soon. Allow for me to send this off to Alor and let him make the final call…” He then quickly send a report to Tros on Onderon to see what their leader thought of the new forming plan.

Tros sat in a booth of a cantina in the main city along with Kot'dral. Both had thier buy'ces off and sitting next to them while they ate and drank. Tros kept his eyes moving on the crowd for a moment as he held onto a tankard of spiced caf, while Kot'dral ate some sort of stew. Looking at his tactical pad on his right vambrace to see if Vulios had any update for them yet. "This is the worst bowl of Galla stew I've ever eaten." The comment broke the awkwardness of Tros just looking around and waiting. He looked down at the bowl after looking at Kot'dral and could only shrug his shoulders. "It's no Tiingilar, that's for sure. But I wouldn't trust anyone who isn't of our kind to prepare it. I told you to order the Hot Gizka sandwich." Kot'dral locked eyes with him. "Qat is a very hot planet. We knew that going there. All sorts of equipment is going to be needed to keep comms up and running, along with everything else that an outpost would require. Give it time Alor."

He slowly nodded his head and took a drink of his spiced caf. A million different thoughts raced through his own mind suddenly, almost as if he had his memory wiped and suddenly restored. Thoughts of Riella and Caen flooded his mind, along with his time serving alongside so many. He looked up the man across from him. His dark jet black hair and piercing brown eyes locked upon him doing so. "I never was good at being a leader. I've always been known as that lone wolf. Bounty Hunting, posing as leaders, assassinations... I think it's why Terra and Fett wanted me in their circles so early on. I was good at things like that. But leading..." A slightly eyebrow raise and tilt of his head, followed by taking a drink from his tankard. Kot'dral leaned back in his chair. "But you've always understood what the pack needs. Even lone wolfs have a pack that they return to, and you've always had a bead on what the pack needs. Sometimes you do need to hunt alone. But now, you need to rally others to the fight."

There was a long pause between both men. "And you are doing what's right by us. House Solus will be strong. Others are seeing that now and joining." Tros looked slightly off to his right for a second, just to break eye contact so that he could process everything. He was always that way, unless it was required of him to make a decision immediately, he always processed things. Luck however seemed to be playing into his hands. His tactical display lit up with a text display from Vulios. He turned his full attention to it and read it before looking up at Kot'dral again. "And with this, we have a need to go see the Sith Emperor..."

Vulios sat under a table, working on securing a steady powerline from the main console to the small portable shield nearby a recently crafted forge when an alarm of some sort buzzed and all he could hear was Sarpo Fost scream “Nayc, nayc, nayc!” Annoyed, he quickly stood up and looked at the man. “What is it Sarpo, and it better be fixable.” “Alor’s new allies need to remain up there until we can establish down here!” Sarpo’s answer was blunt and made his own point very clear by pointing with his finger at a tactical screen. Vulios walked up and looked at it, seeing the small fleet amassed on their front door. Avao Skol walked in, clearly hearing the later half of it, spoke up. “I’ll go up with you Vulios. There is an abandoned shipyard I want to get up and running anyways. We can meet them there.” Letting out a sigh, Vulios opened up a comm to the commanding officer. 

“Sith Fleet Commander, this is Vulios Vuuku. It’s been advised that you remain in space and not deploy down here. Shields are not strong enough to support you. We will meet you on Iron-Pantheon, a small shipyard near your position. From there, we can discuss further deployment.” Vulios cut the transmission and turned to Avao, but she had already left to prep The Trident for the launch up to the shipyard. 

*** On Iron-Pantheon ***

Vulios walked the main floor of the hangar bay alongside Major General Bann Dul, looking over a few items on a datapad that showed the entire list of things brought with them. “I’m going to be blunt Major, some of this isn’t going to work here, not under the conditions of the planet itself-” Vulios pointed towards the Walker crew line. “But a lot of this is going to help out majorly in getting this small operation running. No pun intended.” He handed the datapad back to the Major. “However, if this is ours to use in this alliance, I know that our Alor had another planet in mind as a potential home base…” Vulios purposefully let his own question hang to see if his own thought was correct on the matter.

The thought may have been interrupted just slightly, as a ship made a rather fast and quick arrival in the hangar. The Tyrant Adventure, the ship used by Kami Larkin made a shutdown of it’s systems followed by Kamii and her small squad coming down the ramp. “Mechis III has small defenses, but has been used to create droids for battle. It’s unclear if they’re operational without a closer inspection... “ Kami walked right up to Vulios, ignoring whatever protocol she knew existed in the situation or was super oblivious to it. It wasn’t until after she finished that she turned and acknowledged the Major standing next to Vulios. “Did he come with the massive fleet outside?” Luckily hidden behind his own buy’ce, Vulios was annoyed at Kami’s behavior. “Kami, this is Major General Bann Dul. He’s here on behalf of the Sith Emperor to provide us with some resources. Don’t be rude again or I’ll make you work a full fourteen hours in the forge.” Avao suddenly shouted out- "Send her over here, I have work for Clan Larkin to help get this shipyard up and running until Bann can send over the rest of the support." Vulios knew that Avao was simply attempting to give him time to talk without having to discipline the new Clan on how to interact with others. Turning his full attention back to the Major, he awaited to see what response he would have, or if there were questions. 

Vulios stood in the makeshift command center on Qat Chrystac, his buy’ce off as he looked at the man on the holoprojector before him. Both had their buy’ces off, so it was completely face to face. Tros’s own face held a small scar near his left eye, but the actual length of it was hidden by his beard. Vulios took in a deep breath before letting out a heavy sigh. “So you want us ready for a fight… Might take a while, I sent Kami and her clan to scout out Mechis III.”

There was a flicker of confusion that came to the face of Tros. It washed out pretty fast, but it was there long enough for Vulios to pick up on it. “Why Mechis III? And how many numbers does she even have?” With a slight eyebrow raise and facial expression that suggested there was more to be filled in on, Vulios continued. “Alongside Grurt Zelbaur who joined us on Tatooine, two other new vods caught word of our movement and came and pledged themselves to Clan Larkin. Meroro Crir and Buya Strarr. I have them scouting Mechis III for resources alone. The planet is close enough to us and holds a ton of droid and other materials; I figured it would be good to see what sort of stuff we would be able to pull from as we grew.”

Their alor looked off into the distance, he knew it wasn’t at his partner Kot’dral, who was slightly visible behind him before he turned his gaze directly towards Vulios. “Good work. Ten of us… not truly a force to be feared yet, but it's the building blocks of it. Contact me as soon as Kami gets back with the report… I have an idea stirring within my mind that may help us gain more favor with this Sith.” There was no other word spoken, Tros cut the line leaving Vulios to himself and the daily operations on Qat Chrystac.

Tros gave a nod and turned without much of a word, and Kot'dral also understood the movement and quickly followed Tros out of the main hall. Almost as soon as the two got into the main hall, Tros fired up his comlink. "Priority Four-Three-Omega, WarHorse home. Eyes only. ::Vulios, rally the House to be prepared, we ride to war soon. Setup a link to begin communication.::" After finishing, Kot'dral spoke. "What sort of forces do you think this Sith will provide us with? He showed a lot that's for sure." Giving another nod, he turned his body slightly and moved the two into a small side room that was unoccupied in the main hall. Upon entry, the leader of House Solus took off his buy'ce and looked directly into Kot'dral's eyes as he also took off his own buy'ce in response to Tros. 

"He wants to test us in battle. Our House is far too small to compete in the sense going toe to toe with many of the their own competitors. He wants to see our skills. I'm no fleet commander, never have been. Atin and Vulios are the only two who have served in that capacity." Tros looked away for a second and some of the moving staff within the main Sith Palace before turning back to Kot'dral. "My working plan is this, Clan Vuuku will help the fleet control. Clans Ardell and Larkin will take to the ground forces that are given to us. Between you and me we have enough experience to lead armies. Kami is the only unknown at this point. She's always been a sniper for the majority of bounty hunting career. And our outing on Tatooine also didn't show us much outside of her having strong support skills and damn good flying skill. We'll play it out upon the first battle thrown at us to see what sort of damage she can really do."

As he finished, he put his buy'ce back on, followed by Kot'dral. Without much of a word, the two stepped back out int he main hall and walked outside of the doors of the Sith Palace. "One way or another, House Solus is about to make a name for itself." All Tros could do in response was to nod his head. The two walked back to the main city where they would find there own lodging for the time being until such a time presented itself.

Tros watched and observed everything before him. The Dathomiri woman whom emerged from the shadows and was addressed from Exodus. He kept his own mind moving from thought to thought, slowly pondering his options before him. What he was being offered as a life of servitude essentially, much like anyone who served under Exodus. His eyes darted to his HUD and acknowledged a message and slow approval from Kot'dral. It was unspoken, but he doubted such a silent exchange of words went without notice from the two Force Users in the room with him. He slowly adjusted both new vambraces made of pure beskar before speaking up. 

"The clans following me will indeed serve in this capacity.  You have House Solus in the service of the Sith."

His voice was calm and sure. While it meant him serving another, this time he felt both parties understood what was at stake and on the line. Both were a means to an end, and both stood to gain much from each other. As long as the two held similar objectives and advancements, this alliance would serve everyone involved very well. 

Tros turned slowly towards the direction of the voice. It belonged to someone who was shrouded in clothes of darkness. A quick glance in his HUD showed that Kot’dral was tensing up very slightly at the confounded situation. Lifting his left hand slightly to wave him, he turned his full focus back on the figure before them. His right hand never left his blaster, holster, but not out of fear. He was prepared for anything, and that was something he felt like he needed to be within these halls. Without much hesitation, he turned to face directly to figure.

“No insult has been issued. What you find as unease is natural for me as you are touching the Force.” Not wanting to dwell upon the mistakes that both have already made with each other, he quickly responded to the question posed to him. “The ends of seeing my clan rise is to set them apart and make a name for themselves. But no not be unwise in assuming that I mean for all Mandalorians. I am no fool. I understand that my own culture has not been united since the days of when Mandalore the Ultimate led us. Many have tried, but few have been able to make such a claim with full support of all Clans and Houses.”

Tros now stepped forward, for the first time letting his own hand fall away from the holster. “I seek to raise up a House that can stand on its own. To make Mandalorians feared as they once were, even if it’s only one House of Mandalore.” He now stood and stared into the shadow, letting his own presence be known that he was willing to do anything for his clan. 

Swift Justice pulled out of hyperspace and quickly made its way to the surface of the planet. As it touched down, the two lone crewmembers disembarked and began to walk the city towards the main area of which they were summoned. Their armor clad feet making loud thuds with each step, but such noise that would have held a different reaction from the majority of places they could have traveled was lost on the Capital of the Sith Empire, as the citizens were used to armor clad troopers walking the streets. The silence of the two Mandalorians was broken by Kot’dral. "What do you know of this Sith Empire?" Tros took a quick glance over at Kot'dral before returning his attention back to the walkway towards the main palace looking building that loomed before them, which was crowded with a bunch of people. "Not much. Exodus is the name of the leader. They made this world home, to which I'm sure pisses Terra off to no end being so close to an ancient site of power."

As he moved past people and towards the main gate into the palace, Tros made zero effort to lower his voice or be careful, as he doubted it would do him any good anyways. He looked back at Kot'dral for a moment before he continued on. "Black Sun had been spotted on this planet making contacts of some sort, but I doubt that the Sith Empire actually trades openly with them." Tros remembered that Zalis had always been interested in playing all sides in order to make the most credits she could. So based upon such information he understood that Black Sun was just tolerated here at best. "I fought as a mercenary for them a while back over this planet. The Jedi and Rebels were completely caught off guard. No other attempt has been made by them to push the Sith Empire off this planet. And I doubt any other push is going to be made, at least not until Terra can muster more strength to challenge them herself." Almost as soon as he said the words, he knew within his own mind that more likely they would end up having a conflict with her before the Sith Empire would based upon his movements alone. 

Tros flashed the message at the guards at the gate and they quickly let him and Kot'dral in. As soon as they got into the palace, Tros then turned towards his companion and lowered his voice. "Best to remain quiet and talk to no one though. Until we know why were being summoned, everyone here is a potential enemy of ours." As he finished his words, he rested his left hand upon one his blasters, if nothing else but to make sure that he still had it at his side. He didn't know what was going on yet, and that was enough reason for the two Mandalorians to remain alert. 

Swift Justice and The Trident made a quick landing and the small band of Mandalorians began to unload what they could. Tros quickly gave orders to re-establish the old outpost base that Terra had setup for her House upon her full reign. Tros stood back and watched for a moment, grateful for the entire team that was slowly transforming into a new House of Mandalore. As he let out a sigh, his own breath felt like a heat wave under his buy'ce. The heat from the planet made things really hot, and they would remain so until the outpost was fully brought back up to operational level. The amount of sweat that he was producing was currently at a rate to fill up a few buckets worth if he wanted. 

A message popped up along his HUD, a beacon of sort had been activated and signaled to him for some reason. Turning his head towards his left and away from watching his vod work, he quickly read through the message. :::Onderon, launching point. Return home effective immediately. Command will instruct upon arrival.::: Tros read through the message three times to make sure he understood what was being asked of him. As he finished the third time, Vulios came to him and tilted his own head at him, eyebrow raised. His own buy'ce was not on him. "Problem?" Tros turned his head towards Vulios. "Maybe not. I got a message of some sorts, from a beacon. Onderon is the heart of Sith Empire... Maybe our fortune is fully turning in the direction that we want." Tros played it for Vulios. "I wouldn't go alone, yet I wouldn't take everyone. Besides, we still have a lot of work to be done here to get our home base up." Tros didn't say much of anything outside of nodding his head before looking at his own ship, Swift Justice and then back at Vulios. "You're in command until I get back. Keep a channel open. I'm taking Kot’dral Duvul. We'll report in when we find out what's going on." Without much of another word, he walked towards his ship, giving a quick hand signal to Kot'dral to follow. The two were off planet within thirty minutes.