Carida

[Raven Nasra]

As Raven shuffled through stacks of data cards she felt a twinge of spirit in the back of her mind. A consciousness. A faint but unmistakable feeling. A searching for any mind that would carry its will. The Dark Side of the force. It bubbled and coursed through the force like an underground stream. Though she could not sense the intent behind it, it was enough to know that they were here. The Sith. This feeling mixed with the consistent contact reports at the Sith Temple was enough to stir her from the black granite seat and to her comm station. Hailing her personal guard and informing the Imperial Naval Liaison of her intentions, she departed to the ground based shipyard.

 

Two Imperial Frigates and the 189th starfighter wing were quickly beginning preparations for deployment. Raven adjusted her armour, based off the old imperial design for boarding operations, but sleek black instead of the familiar white. She headed to the nearest frigate that was parked at drydock, named the Relentless Viceroy. She grimaced at the name, obviously a holdover from the old Imperial days of glory, the name would have to be changed after this engagement. The Naval Liason, a nervous man of his late forties, bowed briefly as they ascended the drydock and into the Relentless Viceroy. With a glance of her purple eyes, Raven shushed the man’s fears as they walked onto the bridge. Looking at the command crew she began, “As you may know, the Sith have made their way onto our capital world. There will be no mercy given, and none expected if we should fall. Prepare for atmospheric combat. We head to Königreich des Teufels.”

 

In a few short minutes, the two frigates fell into formation alongside the 40 green painted TIE Defenders and green striped scimitar bombers at a distance of a kilometer above the ground, and heading due north as fast as their engines could launch.

[Robert McNamara]

Three little winks in the space around Carida and a Vigil Corvette along with two Gozanti Cruisers flanking it. Communications were brought up to the Space-Traffic Control, and were permitted into a stationary position above the planet. Robert communicated up the line of command that he had returned with a plentiful harvest- the wounded were taken care of- but they held off on restocking anything- it seemed there was a military engagement going on, and Robert wanted to be ready to assist, if requested. For now- he let his three ships sit in orbit- awaiting orders.

[Robert McNamara]

"Orders coming in, sounds like a request for fighter support." A cool, crisp, modulated voice came from the corresponding hologram that was being projected a meter away. His hands rubbed over what looked like some beard stubble, Robert silently nodded his head against his hand. The three dimensional map that was laid out before him projected the battle on the other side of the planet. They had been suggested to stay here above the capitol for the time being, but now- they were calling. Hundreds of drop pods were making a line to the surface of the planet- so many pods and chunks of debris that it overloaded the sensors with how much was coming down.

 

Robert sat in the briefing room along with Adams, Spook, and two Liaison Officers from the surface that had come aboard to supervise the offloading of their Myrkr bounty, which was mostly done. He had requested that enough remain on board to cover his ship. There were times where he did feel he was too paranoid.

 

"Gozanti One? Gozanti Two?" Robert calmly called out to the room, his eyes locked on the map displayed in front of him.

 

"Yes, sir?"

"Here, sir."

 

The two voices called in unison- the holographic projections of each of the cruisers captions appeared, leaning over the table, but with heads turned and their eyes fixed on Robert. "Hyperdrive status?"

 

"Hyperdrive is spun up, and pre-loaded. We can just in a moment." One replied confidently, but a bit nervously.

"Hyperdrive took a dip in power, but we will be able to jump in a moment. The VT is a bit heavy, and we are drifting." A subtle tone of embarrassment was in this captain's voice.

 

Robert shook his head in acknowledgement- his fingers still playing with the stubble, eyes fixed on the map. They had all been preparing for this- but weren't expecting to leave their flagship- Robert's Corvette- behind. But, the cargo did have to be unloaded. Soon the last batch would be bound to the surface, the injured had already been offloaded. "Pilots are ready? Gunners?" His eyes looked up for their responses. Both just nodded.

 

Nodding back- "Make the jump, remember, you're jumping into a debris field, your shields on all ships are your priority after your exit. The One-One-Five will follow shortly. Standard procedure- if there is anything harassing Imperial Forces- engage. Save any Imperial lives you can. Lots of people are out there, prioritize and don't waste time. Jump when ready."

 

Robert looked back to the map after the two holograms saluted, and vanished. He watched the two cruisers break formation, gain speed and disappear. He had just told them to jump into a post-battle clean-up action. And abandon anyone who was not worth the effort to save. Wishing for an Interdictor cruiser, he sighed. Tractor beam most of that debris and escape pods to safety. His brow wrinkled as the two Gozanti ships reappeared on the other side of the planet.

 

Where is Raven? He wondered and sent a communication to her, asking her where she was and if she needed assistance.

[Commissioner Mazzari]

A CoreSec corvette and three shuttles emerged from hyperspace moderately out from Carida orbit. On board the corvette Scales of Justice, Mazzari's red eyes began skimming over sensor reports. Tactical officers, with faces coming truly to life, began pouring over data, each rushing to make sense of it and be the first to present a report to the Commissioner. An accurate, report, at least, for Mazzari disliked inaccurate reports more than he liked people who forgot to fill out their Form z6455c-A3a Lunch Time notifications [that was quite a bit]. There was quite a bit going on so, sensing the need to make sure the recently battle scarred world didn't perceive them a threat, he opted to immediately open comms on a broadband.

 

"This is Commissioner Mazzari of CoreSec on board the Scales of Justice to Remnant Command. We are here to offer whatever assistance my ship and four hundred of our finest commandos can provide. Please advise on what course would be optimal."

[Aidan Darkfire]

Aidan's Lambda shuttle pulled out of hyperspace, taking a high orbit around Caridia. There seemed to have been the remains of a space battle not far off, and patrol craft were cordoning off the area for cleanup efforts. Two snubfighters quickly took up flanking positions, and a gruff voice cracked across the comm channels.

 

"Shuttle Bhotan, state your cargo and intentions."

 

Aidan flipped on the comm channels, giving a bit of a sigh.

 

"This is shuttle Bhotan, single pilot aboard, no cargo other than personal effects. I've come to enlist with the Remnant."

 

A moment of silence as communications were sent back and forth, contemplating the truth of Aidan's claim.

 

"Shuttle Bhotan, feeding course and destination to you now. Deviate, and we are authorized to open fire."

 

Aidan scoffed, slapping the comm button.

 

"Pretty harsh. Something happen recently?"

 

The reply came back very fast, the Remnant pilot sounding highly irritated.

 

"A Sith attack. They used false transponders. Escort is necessary for advanced precaution in case you are an affiliate. You have nothing to fear if you are who you claim. Now proceed on the predefined course."

 

"Understood. Shuttle Bhotan proceeding on course."

 

Aidan shut the comm off and fired the engines up, careful not to deviate as he flew down to the surface. It wasn't long before he was on a landing pad, his escort peeling off and returning back to their patrols. He began shutting the shuttle down, hoping someone would be waiting for him as he disembarked.

[Raven Nasra]

As the CoreSec Corvettes came into sensor range, the director of Military Intelligence (Ubiqtorate) who had assumed control of daily operations in the absence of the Imperial head of state took the communications station in the heavily sheltered underground command bunker. His greying brow was furrowed when he responded to the CoreSec taskforce. “Commissioner, how it pleases us to see you in the harrowing hour, with the destruction of the Imperial Peacetime Fleet in action against the Sith Empire we are left nearly defenseless. On the other side of the planet, a Sith Wrym is attacking our ground forces, and across the planet numerous forest fires threaten Imperial settlements, and the civilian casualties are now breaching ten million killed from space to ground impacts and the resulting fires and ground tremors. Your commandos and fighting ships would be invaluable in the fight against the sith, and whatever medical personnel would be used in Triage operations in the capital. Thank you for your assistance, after this disaster is over the Head of State would enjoy a personal meeting with you sir.”

 

Commander Mazcet of the Caridian Academy ran his hand through his military cut stubble and cut over to communications with shuttle Bhotan. “You are granted clearance at dock 03847B9 your assistance and enlistment is greatly appreciated, please submit your holo credentials to the officer assigned to your case who will meet you at the landing bay, thank you.”

Lieutenant Cathryne Jonvi-Fieldgrey a young officer in the recruitment sector of the Caridian Academy rushed to bay 03847B9, who was slightly aggravated that she was not taking part in recovery or aggressive actions against the Sith Empire, arrived and stood at attention as the shuttle set down. The wash from the repulsorlifts making her long black hair wave like a flag behind her.

[Aidan Darkfire]

As Aidan made his way down the ramp, someone was indeed waiting for him, a female officer type with long silky black hair. He wasn't impressed, but not much did impress him. His time as a spacer opened his eyes to a great many more things than even the Jedi had shown him growing up, and the galaxy was a cesspool. And if he was going to just get caught up in the galactic conflicts anyways, he might as well pick a side that he believed would do some good and could help him survive.

 

Without a word, he simply handed her a GA ident card, which had encrypted on it verified credentials of who he was and a lack of crimes. It would have likely been better if it was from the Remnant, but it was a generally universal format card that could be interpreted by a wide variety of readers, and very hard to duplicate. After a moment, he spoke, hefting the sack of his personal effects slung on his back.

 

"I assume you need a DNA sample as well to confirm with the one on the card. That's fine."

 

He squinted, looking to his surroundings. Carida wasn't exactly his idea of a luxury planet, but it wasn't intended to be one either. There was an air of military efficiency to almost everything, but that also stank of corporate sponsorships and ties to rich families that really pulled the strings in most governments. He wasn't going to enjoy working for the Remnant, but it was simply the best course of action moving forwards.

[Commissioner Mazzari]

When Imperial Command responded and told them the dire news, Mazzari simply nodded. "Acknowledged, Command. We don't have many medics, but we do have officers extremely well trained in policing to help keep the peace and prevent panic. I will have my four shuttle captains begin coordinating with whatever local control needs the most assistance.

 

"The Scales of Justice is capable of atmospheric flight, so if you would like us to directly engage this Sith creature, we can bring a significant amount of firepower upon it. If it is in a sensitive area, we can deploy an additional hundred and sixty commandos directly from this ship."

 

While his officers began scrambling into action, Mazzari motioned over to his chief aide. "Make note to reallocate 0.3% of our entire operating budget to more disaster relief, specifically medics. If the Sith are on the warpath again, we need to be better prepared to handle casualties. We need hearts and minds."

 

The four assault shuttles spread out taking officers and commandos to wherever they were needed to protect the population and keep order. The Scales of Justice headed toward where the Wyrm was to offer their own support.

[Raven Nasra]

Cathryne Jonvi-Fieldgrey inserted the Ident chip into her datapad and glanced through the identity cards docufolder. SHe accepted the dna sample and placed it into the vial on top of the datapad.

 

Aidan Darkfire
Phu
Humanoid 

 

She glanced over a few other bits of information and clicked the flag popup.

 

(This Humanoid is identified to complete an Imperial Knight Aptitude Test Alpha 1)
(This Humanoid is identified to complete the GA Human defection survey) 
(This Humanoid is identified to complete officer candidate school)
(Imperial Database files are consistent with over 40% Human Genome content, Starting rank determined as Lieutenant) 

 

She glanced up, a grey eye catching his green eyes. “Welcome aboard Darkfire.” She handed him back his Indent Chip and passed him four forms to complete. The first being a citizenship transfer request form. And the remaining three were various aptitude tests every recruit took before induction into the Caridian academy. She waited for him to complete the forms with the provided datapad and commed her superior officer, who transferred her call to the department of the Imperial Knights. She left a message for Kyrie and turned back to Darkfire. “Have you ever had any jedi training in the Galactic Alliance?”

 

__________

 

A message went to the Commissioner Mazzari inviting him to the office of the the Imperial Head of State. Imperial citizens, while inquisitive, were very thankful for the CoreSec assistance. Holocams of various news shows broadcast the images of CoreSec agents working hand in hand with Imperial officers in the Caridan Disaster. Causing widespread discussion in the Remnant and Galactic Alliance.

[Robert McNamara]

Robert had shed his armor and showered after the threat was neutralized on the other side of the planet. Which was for the best- he didn't want to see that action, he would rather want to relax and not do a microjump to the other side of the planet. Those microjumps were always so tricky. Running over the battle reports flowing in, he wanted to get going on some other assignment. But here they sat- surveying anyone that jumped in system. Ordered into a patrol pattern his corvette drifted silently through the vacuum of space in an effort to control the perimeter. Providing scanning and real-time video data to Space Traffic Control, no one would be able to get past his ship- or the other ships in the area who were now coordinating their sensors and weapons.

 

The ysalamir had, mostly, been transported off to the city. That was included in the reports to Raven. What he did next was up to her now.

[Aidan Darkfire]

Aidan took the forms, shuffling through them in mild annoyance. Mostly personnel information, which was exactly the kind of information he wasn't keen on sharing. But, it would likely be commonplace from here on out, so... Before he became too engrossed in the forms, he barely heard the officer ask him a question. "Uh...minimal training, at best. And mostly before the GA was formed."

 

He did his best filling out the forms, but some of it seemed nonsense, and the rest seemed like it should be common knowledge. Probably a personality test matrix mixed into the aptitude tests as well. It took him several minutes to complete, and it only took a few for him to feel awkward filling out datapad forms on his landing ramp, still having a rather heavy bag slung over his shoulder. Wouldn't they have time for that later? Still, it seemed even more awkward to bring it up to the still nameless officer before him, and he remained silent.

 

Finally finishing, he handed the datapad back over. "So, which way to the shuttle to basic training?" The question was mildly sarcastic, but even as it escaped his lips, he realized they had no motive to treat him any different than a fresh recruit.

[Godfrey d'Outremer]

A subpoena for Commissioner Mazzari arrives to bring him before a senate investigatory committee for the actions of Coresec.

[Kala Ianauria]

In the chaos following the death of an entire city, the space battle and its subsequent rain of evac pods, and the battle of the Sith Temple, the Remnant military created a massive crisis relief center for the tasks of sorting refugees, processing prisoners, and rendering medical aid. They were the best equipped and best trained of those with the resources and expertise to create such a center. As a bonus, with a bonafide planetary emergency declared, they were the easiest to mobilize.

 

The commanders of the resulting tent city found themselves hoping the civilian agencies caught up in their mobilization so that they could relinquish overall command of the refugee city as quickly as possible.

 

In Post-op, Area 4c, Kala stirred fitfully upon the narrow, military issue medical bed. She lay in the twilight between dreams and wakefulness reliving the events of the fight at the temple to the alarm of those around her. Worse than the nightmares, however, were the objects suddenly levitating whenever she unconsciously tapped the Great Song.

 

A calm voice from deep within the Song eventually came to her. It started as the earliest, kindest memory of her mother, morphed into Kyrie’s, and eventually became that of a blonde woman whom looked very familiar. Yet Kala felt sure she had never met the woman in real life.

 

The woman’s voice calmed her, small objects returned to resting on their stands, and she eventually opens her eyes to see the weary eyes of a nurse gently stroking her hand. Looking into the man’s eyes, Kala knew he carried the weight of great loss even while remaining on duty.

 

“I am sorry,” she tried to croak out. The nurse stiffened even as Kala tried to rise from the bed. She got as far as halfway when she felt herself grasped in a desperate hug from the man. Tears ran down his face and onto the hospital issue gown that replaced her armor from the temple.

 

Ackwardly, sorely, she reached up and held the man. She wondered how her simple words managed to unleash a torrent of emotion held overlong. Ever the trained noblewoman, an ancient memorial for the dead dredged itself from somewhere deep in her mind.

 

“We live that that those who pass might never be forgotten. They become stars, lanterns in the night to guide us home.”

 

Looking past him as his tears flowed openly, she saw restraints upon her wrists. The restraints where attached to cords that led to the frame of the cot.

The nurse stopped sobbing momentarily before saying, “We had them on because you kept thrashing in your sleep. Every time you did, this flew from your gear to your hand.”

 

Kala followed the nurses pointing figure to her gear that lay at the end of the bed in a disorderly pile on top of which lay the lightsaber she found in the temple.

 

She stretched out her hand, felt the force flow if weekly, and the lightsaber floated gently to her outstretched hand.

 

The nurse pulled back, looking at her warily.

 

Kala weakly chuckled and then reversed the flow of the Force, trying to gently return the saber to the pile of gear. She missed, short by a good foot.

 

The Nurse smile wanly, reached out after looking to Kala for permission, and reverently set the lightsaber back on the pile of gear.

 

The nurse dried his eyes and gently called a doctor over to where she lay. He scanned her quickly and called over a free roaming medical droid to quickly scan her. He looked over the results and nodded, seeming satisfied with what he saw.

 

“So, Miss Ianauria, your awake. Good. You should know you’ve been given high priority for a deep bacta treatment. We’ll move you there in the next couple of hours.”

 

Still slightly groggy, she missed the sound of disapproval of her going before other patients. Had she been more awake, she might have learned that military personnel and the Imperial Knights had been given far greater privileges with the onset of war along with far greater responsibilities. Or at least they were forthcoming.

 

Weary, and feeling her energy flagging from even such a short encounter, she allowed herself to be gently lowered back to the bed even as her eyes closed in a far more natural sleep.

[Kyrie Eleison]

...Master why would the shadow-spinner know your name?

 

The Imperial Knight walked down the thoroughfare, flanked on all sides by the surviving squads of Stormtroopers. With each step, a few droplets stained the cracked alabaster tiling crimson. Her armour was scarred and pitted, the deep blue painting upon the chestpiece worn away to the gleaming metal underneath. Her ebony braids were singed, and she reeked of war; of blood, of scorched flesh, of ozone and death.

 

...What is said in the darkness is heard by all who dwell in it. Eleison, there was a time when I embraced the dark for the greater good…

 

The young exorcist banished the voice from her head, setting Il-Andon aside until her head was in the right place for such conversation. The master’s holocron, in its crystalline matrix, hung from her belt alongside her long-handled lightsaber. She matched her mind to the cadence of the marching Stormtroopers, their ivory armor stained black from the ashes of the razed Sith Temple. A familiar song arose from the nearby medical facility, a whimper of weariness and injury from her apprentice.

 

The Exorcist parted from her troopers as they made their way to the cafeteria and medblocks to check on their wounded. She passed ahead of them, her stride widening as she made her approach to the office of Raven. The Empire had been struck by war, but had prevailed. Without knocking, Kyrie entered, not bothering to clean herself from the stenches of war. To Raven, she bowed, her ebony braids concealing her eyes as she stuttered. She hated her tongue

 

“Emp-press… The S-sith have f-fallen. We sl-laughtered those t-that gave f-fight. It is… Cleansed of what evil r-remains…”

[Raven Nasra]

Raven pulled a dirty bacta bandage from her flash burned face. The skin on the side of her cheek and temple was red and blistered, she had not elected to get reconstructive surgery as some past Emperors had, but instead took the bacta patch and the scar that would come with it as a memory. So many had died in this seemingly pointless fight against the Sith Lords, the death toll was reaching over ten million and her desk datapad was overloaded with calls from a thousand Ex Imperial worlds either denouncing her moves against the Sith or Screaming for their heads. She nearly collapsed into her seat, exhausted from the last two days of constant stress and fighting. Her secretary was busy fielding Holonet news calls from dignitaries, expressing their sorrow and anger from across the Galactic Alliance, but none of those calls held any material value. No Core World of the GA would dare send a task force to assist except the valiant members of CoreWorlds security who were busy fighting fires, and treating injured across the planet. Plus their Corvettes would hold the planet against any further attack, at least for now. She looked over to a box that she had ordered, laiden with small white and black crosses with purple and black ribbons.

 

Raven heard the door whoosh open and her imperial knights stumbled through. Wounded to the bone and braver than the entirety of the Jedi Order. Raven stood instantly and saluted them, before hitting the medical action team button on her console and stepping around the desk to embrace the startled Kyrie.

“My brave Imperial Knight.” She began before addressing the Imperial Troopers who surrounded her, their armour slick with soot and blood. “And my valiant stormtroopers, the Imperial Remnant owes you each a debt of honour and gratitude that we can never repay.” She took the step to embrace each one that was able to be embraced, placed a small Medal in their hands and continued. “I have here for each one of you the Imperial Cross, which would be my honour to give to you for your bravery and distinguished service in the face of an Evil Enemy.”

 

As the men were gathered up by the Imperial Medical Brigade attached to the Head of States office, she was left with Kyrie, who was being treated by a young male orderly. “I am forever in your debt Knight Eleson, I only wish we had more of you. We have a much longer war ahead of us than I ever imagined.”

_____________________________________________

 

Robert was given the opportunity to rest before given orders to report to the head of states office. She had a mission for him.

_____________________________________________

 

When Kala awoke she would see on her pillow the Imperial Cross for her bravery and dedication.

_____________________________________________

 

The officer grinned at Aidan, “Basic training begins tomorrow at 0500 hours, please make yourself comfortable at the dorms, a few additional tests will be conducted, and you may be visited by an Imperial Knight. But For now I am your recruiter, and you may ask me any questions you may have about the Imperial Government, Military, or other matters. Your bunk is 49A-2 you will find a set of armour matching your height and build there, please contact me if it does not fit.”

[Commissioner Mazzari]

Though he wasn't an in the trenches type of man, Mazzari was more than willing to put his best skills to use: coordinating and dealing with the minute of bureaucracy. He admired the Remnant's more streamlined approach to almost everything, it was far better than the chaos of the Galactic Alliance. Still, it had much to be desired and part of the Chiss hoped he could have an opportunity to tackle the redundancies and pointless loopholes. Bureaucracy was only efficient when done right.

 

He was informed of the subpoena for him from the GA, but he ignored it for the moment. The opportunities here on Carida were more valuable and he had already been invited to meet with the Head of State. He would address the summons in due time, but for the moment, he would ignore it. It was a calculated move, one not without risk, but one that could offer plenty of reward for CoreSec and the stability of the Galaxy.

 

When the situation on Carida's surface had been properly addressed and there was little more for him to do, he took one of his shuttles (which had already long offloaded its compliment of officers) to the Remnant capital to accept the Head of State's offer of an audience. When he arrived and was put through... adequate... screening (which could be only partially forgiven by the general state of frenzy the planet was in), he was informed the Head of State was in a meeting. He took no offense: the woman must be swamped with things to do. He politely informed the secretary that he was content to wait, took a seat, and immediately went back to work streamlining the distribution of custom engraved CoreSec styluses, mugs, and skullcaps to various schools and universities. Recruitment was necessary and couldn't be ignored even in the middle of such great transitions.

[Aidan Darkfire]

Aidan smiled, more for her benefit and politeness than out of actual satisfaction, hefted his bag, and moved into the large spaceport building. It wasn't long before he found transportation to the dorms the nameless Officer had mentioned, and the young man found himself simply tossing his bag in the locker and flopping on the bunk. It had been a long day.

[Kala Ianauria]

Kala awoke, finding herself submerged in a bacta tank. She awoke slightly groggy and unable to completely comprehend where she was. After a moment of nearly panicking, she remembered where and why she found herself floating in the warm, fluid like embrace of the near miraculous treatment. Her skin crawled with the feeling of eyes intensely watching her.

 

After a moment, she calmed herself enough to look around outside the tube to see what woke her. She felt the need to find the person responsible for the crawling feeling haunting her nerves.

Looking out from the tube, she saw a standard Imperial med-bay with a line of identical tanks all of which looked occupied. Closer, she saw an Imperial Cross pinned on top of a footlocker with her name scribbled on it in marker. For a moment, Kala stared at the small award with sadness in her heart and felt a need, a compulsion to make good on her promise to personally write the letters to the families of those troopers whom died in the former Sith Temple.

 

She sighed in the breathing mask, looking around for the timer that allowed her to see how long she needed to wait until her release. Once she found the timer, she closed her eyes and calmed her breathing. She had a few minutes left yet before they decanted the tube and allowed her to return to duty. At least she hoped so, she felt a need to return to her Master’s side and continue her training.

It came from a sense of duty and sense of need to be a part of the effort to protect people against the likes of the Sith Lord that assaulted her in the Temple.

 

When she opened her eyes, she located the source of the stare causing the creepy feeling. A boy no more than ten or so, sat being examined by a doctor, wearing the remnants of his own bacta treatment. He kept finding a way to stare over the doctor’s shoulder at her. She stared back for a second before having a small, ornery thought flit through her consciousness.

 

She smiled even as she took a very deep breath and found the faintest trace of the Force. The connection was weak, weak as her body would feel when she exited the treatment. Enough flowed that she managed to rattle her a couple of locker doors quite loudly.

 

The doctor, the boy, and his worried mother looked over at her. Kala pointed directly at the boy. The doctor laughed, the boy blushed a deep crimson even as his mother covered the boy’s eyes with her hand. Over the boy’s head, she smiled at Kala.

 

Able to relax, Kala collected her thoughts and found a faint shadow she though might be her Master’s song. She realized quickly she needed training to be able to make sense of the world she found herself violently introduced to.

 

The timer ran out and she quickly founded herself needing to once again stand under her own power. She found herself stronger than she thought she might be. While she wasn’t as strong as she once was, she knew she had enough strength to walk out of the hospital and go and find her Master.

 

After a quick examination, a long shower, and dressing in the remnants of her gear, she headed out to find her Master. Her only stop was to find an armory, exchange her damaged gear for more standard issue.

[Kyrie Eleison]

“One day, Empress, we will become legion enough to oppose heretics and Sith alike.”

 

With a gentle nod highlighted by the bouncing of her dark braids, the young Exorcist bowed and made her leave of the Imperial Head of State. She headed to her private chambers adjacent to the Stormcommando barracks. She passed groups of marching Stormtroopers, adorned in their bone-white armour, helmets like skulls. She gave each group a smart salute, before she slipped into her own room.

 

It was larger than any apartment she had lived in before and of spartan design, sacrificing niceties for utility. On the black-adorned bunk lay a set of reinforced stormtrooper armour, the chestpiece marked in forest green with the symbol of the Empire. Kyrie quickly changed into the more comfortable set of armour, admiring its flexibility compared to her older durasteel battle-armour. She slipped the armour over her tunic, letting her own cloak fall about it. She was now dressed in the fashion familiar to the Clone Wars, of the Jedi Generals of the Old Republic, great warriors and leaders of men. She set the holocron of Il-Andon upon the center of the training mat, and adjusted her weaponry. She forsook her bow, selecting a simple E-11 blaster rifle to accompany her long-handled lightsaber. Satisfied with her appearance, Kyrie set out to find her apprentice, and to check out the newest recruit, a boy named Aiden.

 

Into the Song of the Force, she passed her own voice, letting it settle into the background rhythms, sending out tendrils of feeling to her apprentice. A feeling of comfort and joy at their mutual survival against the evils of the Sith. She sent her voice uninterrupted to Kala, to speak to her mind

 

...Find me at the training chambers, I will bring another, and there we will study the Force…

 

The Jedi General slipped into the barracks, her emerald eyes dancing across the forms of relaxing men and women. One trooper caught her eyes and snapped to attention, but she waved him off with a pass of her hand. Finding the numbering scheme written in Aurebesh, Kyrie counted the bunks off until she found the one she desired.

 

Upon it relaxed a man several years her elder, hair of jet black with eyes as green as her own. From the length of his body, she judged them to be of equal heights. His song was feint, hidden by the swirling of the mind, but she recognized several reflections within it. With her bare knuckles, the Exorcist rapped on the side of the bunk to raise his attention

 

“You must be Aiden…”

 

She reached out with the Force with the feeling of happiness and greetings, in hopes to offput any feelings he might find from her scarred appearance. Her voice faltered slightly

 

“M-my name is Knight Eleison, Exorcist of the Jedi Order, and General of the Imperial Remnant.”

[Aidan Darkfire]

Aidan opened his eyes from his light nap, groggily looking upwards at yet another female face, except at the least this one identified herself. As she did so, however, the fact that she was a Jedi basically removed any trace of potential respect from his response.

 

"Great. So you're a Jedi and a superior officer. Didn't realize they were working with the Remnant as well. I don't suppose you're here to try and drag me back to the Order?"

 

Wearily, Aidan rose from where he was resting, deliberately not snapping to a position of attention. This could get him kicked out of the Remnant before his career even began, but if the Jedi were here, he wasn't sure he was in the right place to begin with. Wouldn't have been the first time he'd made a bad choice.

[Kyrie Eleison]

The Exorcist smiled at the man’s harsh and sarcastic response. It wasn’t an abnormal reaction citizens of the galaxy had to seeing Jedi, the Order had been inactive in the galactic sense for far too long, allowing all manner of scum to run roughshod over the innocents from the Outer Rim to the very galactic core. She indicated her hanging blade with a scarred hand and let his tone of sarcasm fade into the song.

 

“I understand why you would have strong feelings against Jedi, or the Order itself, and strictly I don't…”

 

Her eyes narrowed for a second, the gleam of jade illuminated by her inner fire

 

“Care.”

 

She leaned against his bunk, her cloak flowing around her armour-clad form, revealing the familiar plates of stormtrooper armour.

 

“I study war, I’m no pansy-fisted lilly-livered Master from Tython. I fight the Sith first and foremost, and I don’t care what the ineffective and blind Jedi Council might have to say about my actions.”

 

She indicated the holoscreen on the wall of the barracks which was showing a recap of the battle for the Sith Temple. It showed for a moment the Exorcist cleaving through the ranks of the Sith alongside Stormtroopers.

 

“Welcome to the Empire, we aren’t Jedi. We’re warriors. I’ll train you to use your potential to its maximum, Darkfire, but I’m not going to appeal to some grand sense of virtue that may lie inherent in your heart. The Empire stands against the evil, instead of letting it work unabated like the Council, and that’s your offer. Combat training in thirty.”

[Aidan Darkfire]

Her response left him jarred. Either the Order had changed, or this was a different animal entirely. He wanted to make a difference, he just didn't feel like the Jedi were the ones to do it, all stoic and sitting on their rumps in their temples...maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as he thought it was going to be. As she spoke, he stiffened, respect for her position and experience beginning to resume its proper role in his body language.

 

"Yes ma'am."

 

To say he was anything short of stunned as she walked off would have been a lie. After a moment, he thought of a question, and called after her, but either she didn't hear him or didn't care enough to respond.

 

"So...can I forget about the other aptitude tests, ma'am?"

 

Aidan stood there for a moment more before realizing he needed to get ready. As quickly as he could, he donned his combat armor, which he would definitely need to work on adjusting to better fit him later. He used a computer terminal to locate the general, and hastily made his way through the winding corridors and buildings to meet her.

[Raven Nasra]

Raven hit a button on her control panel that was inlaid into the obsidian desk. "Please see commissioner Mazzari is ushered into my office, thank you."

 

The secretary outside bid the Chiss to enter.

[Robert McNamara]

Robert, dressed in a clean and pressed uniform, made his way down planetside- summoned by Raven. Making his way through security checkpoints, and other red-tape. He made his way to her office lobby, but he would have to wait it seemed. It didn't bother him, he was late himself so naturally the schedule continued forward through the day. Waiting for his turn, he toyed with a datapad showing the status on his injured crew.

[Kala Ianauria]

The figure that strode from the Imperial armory no longer looked like a denizen of the lower levels of Coruscant. Then again, she felt quite conscious concerning a constant series of small stumbles that prevented her from getting anywhere near the easy grace expect of Kuati noblewoman.

 

The five inches she grown while submerged in the bacta tank affected her walk, her balance and her self-image. She kept finding door edges, often with the top of her head or even set a foot down short of the floor and head to catch herself before dropping to a heap on the floor.

 

Added to that, she now wore gear patterned after A.R.C. troop phase 2 armor, heavily modified with current technology with a full length Kama that wrapped around her body from just below her knees to her waist. Granted, she doubted an old time A.R.C trooper got to wear a forest camouflaged body suit, or had armor patterned in much the same way.

 

The tech sergeant whom outfitted her also included a full cape, currently rolled tightly and stored beneath a small, almost empty backpack that rode comfortably at her lower back. The lightsaber she’d earned in the Sith Temple was fastened within easy reach on one side of the pack.

 

She refused to wear a trooper’s mask, instead taking a commando's kepi and a pair of mil-spec smart glasses linked to the computer and holoprojector hidden in her left bracer.

 

He’d insisted on a pair of X-30 blasters for the pockets on the Kama. She’d nearly refused unto he mentioned, casually, that Leia Organa carried the same blasters during her assault on the shield generator on Endor.

 

Kala admired the woman for just about everything she’d accomplished, even for overthrowing the Empire. It took courage and conviction to overthrow a corrupt government, let alone one as massive and powerful as the Empire had been.

 

The rest of the pouches and pockets rode empty, waiting for her to customize a loadout dependent on whatever mission she might be on.

 

For now, though, she needed to join her Lady in the training chambers. Her experience in the Temple left her keenly aware of her lack of training, and she looked forward to becoming what had been glimpsed during the early stages of the fighting.

 

She stopped in a small alcove and gently quieted her mind as best she could. It took little while, but she finally found the focus and strength to call out to her mistress, “Lady, I will join you in the training room shortly.”

 

Once she felt like she was back in her own mind, she set off for the training rooms.

 

Among the many white armored troopers she passed and whose salutes she found herself very awkwardly returning, she found her Master’s respect reflected on her.

 

She’d forgotten her own part in the Temple battle and the letters she’d written to the families of those troopers she’d dictated over the course of her bacta treatments. Unbeknownst to her, word had gotten around the barracks concerning both.

 

One old trooper, returning to the barracks coated in blood and mud took one look at her and after saluting walked up to her.

 

She waited as he looked her up and down. His gaze held no desire, just a sizing up of what he saw before him. Their eyes met and she found herself staring into a pair of eyes hardened by a long life of sad and difficult experiences.

 

Listening, she heard the song of the Force turn sad around him, and brought faint images of friends lost and horrors that the mind found incomprehensible. She wondered what he was thinking.

 

He raised his right hand and rested it on her shoulder. The action felt like some kind of benediction, some kind of gesture of approval in a moment incredibly intimate and extremely fleeting.

Neither said a word before parting, he moving away with his squad behind while she found the correct door to right training room.

 

She went in and found where her Mistress waited for her.

[Commissioner Mazzari]

Mazzari spent his time waiting in the Head of State's office considering an official CoreSec response to the proliferation of a new craze item he had read reports about over the last few weeks. Apparently, small rapidly rotating handheld discs called SidgitFinners™ were popping up all over CoreSec offices and were becoming a minor nuisance. Curious, he had one brought to his office on Kuat to see what it was all about and was greatly disappointed that all they did was rotate when held between his thumb and forefinger and spun. He lost interest within 4.2 seconds, but was mildly annoyed that so many of the members and officers of CoreSec were wasting significant amounts of otherwise potentially productive time holding these SidgitFinners™. It was such a widespread problem that he was considering declaring all of them (and their various knockoffs) contraband within all CoreSec facilities and vehicles.

 

When the secretary came for him, he nodded and placed his considerations on hold for the time being. Standing up and walking into the office with his characteristically proper Chiss posture, he stopped before the Head of State and performed a crisp bow of his head and, as was proper, waited to be acknowledged and addressed by one of superior social and political standing.

[Raven Nasra]

Raven looked into the commissioner's red eyes and returned his bow before extending her hand in the typical core worlds greeting. She smiled and ushered him to the seat before her black desk. She remained standing until he sat and then sat herself down at her desk. She swept a stack of datapads off the top of the desk so that the path between them was cleared of obstacles and other debris. It had been a very busy last few months, and if she was honest with herself she knew that a lot of the normal paperwork of a head of state had been delayed and pushed down the line for another date. It would come back to bite her without a doubt. "Commissioner, it is a pleasure and honour for me to welcome you to the Imperial homeworld, as devastated as it currently is. I cannot thank you enough for the help your men and women are doing here on the ground. I hope this venture has not set you in too much jeopardy in the core worlds.”

 

She did not call it by its Galactic Alliance label as it was neither a functioning alliance or galactic in its scale. She wanted to call it the Republic, as its Rebel founders wanted it to be originally called, but she would not give it that distinction yet. For now it was ‘the core worlds’ and nothing else.

[Commissioner Mazzari]

Mazzari's right eye twitched slightly as he saw all that tempting, delicious paperwork be pushed to the side by the Head of State, but maintained his composure and didn't lose focus. "Of course, Head of State, CoreSec is more than happy to assist any of our allies in the fight to restore justice and order. Your fight against the Sith is a shared one, one that I myself helped guide years ago on Coruscant when CoreSec and the Jedi destroyed the Sith Temple there. We need to fight the Sith and their Black Sun allies as one unified front."

 

He was glad that the Head of State was cognizant enough to know that his actions were not something that the Galactic Alliance was exactly fond of. "If the Galactic Alliance is displeased with my actions to get justice for the tens of millions killed by Sith and Black Sun terrorists, then it is only further evidence that I made the correct choice aligning the CoreWorld Security force with the Remnant. Tell me, Head of State, is there anything I or my organization might do to assist you?"

[Raven Nasra]

Raven smiled as she saw him look to the stacks of data pads that towered over her petite frame. “Again I cannot thank you enough, our fight is a righteous one, and one the Core Worlds seem incapable of doing anything meaningful about. Even their Jedi have only sent a single knight to help us, though she is brilliant, it is disappointing that they care so little. We have Imperial forces engaging the Black Sun at their fortress of Cloud City, though it may be exaggerated, I am afraid our commander Beck may be partaking in war crimes against the civilian populace of Cloud City. Every blow against innocents weakens our moral authority in the fight against Terror and the Dark Side.” She looked fervently at the large holo display that was on the wall. Showing a mix of still burning Caridian cityscape and slow cuts of a now burning cloud city. In the distance of both holofeeds a tower fell. Snuffing out innocents on both sides. She slammed her fist on the desk and looked to the Chiss Commissioner.

 

“You have a fleet, men, arms, and the will to fight. You can assist me by bringing your organization into the fold of the Imperial Remnant.” She slipped a datapad over the desk to him. “This bestows you the rank of Moff and Director of the Ubiqtorate. Our Imperial Intelligence lost many good men, including its last director in this fight against the Sith.” She held up her hands, “Don’t accept right away or think I am trying to bribe you into the service of the Imperial Remnant, I am merely offering you the full might and power of the Old Empire to pursue your crusade against Terror and Tyranny. Plus a great many high placed agents and assets inside the old GA. I think it benefits us both and CoreSec.” This was of course a gamble, but one she was willing to toss the dice on. He was a good man, and his resume was a mile long.

[Commissioner Mazzari]

If he wasn't only one small step above being just a paper pushing, bureaucratic gobbling machine inside, Mazzari may have shown a bit more surprise to being offered the position Head of State Zinthos had offered. Alas, he had already deadened almost all of the parts of him that weren't useful to his position which included (but was not limited to): a sense of humor, the ability to enjoy what others considered "fun," any sort of feeling or sense of adoration of small children (of any species), and the ability to be surprised or shocked (though he hadn't yet gotten grounding implants, so electricity could still technically shock him).

 

His red eyes quickly scanned the datapad to look over what was being offered. It was quite impressive how quickly this young human could work, though it also showed how desperate things were. He wasn't without his own intelligence reports: not everyone in the Remnant was exactly thrilled to have young Zinthos as their leader. She clearly trusted him and needed his influence and firepower to boost her own position. Of course, putting himself in her circle meant adding a lot of enemies, but that didn't bother him. He didn't survive as many crazy assassination attempts, bombings, raids, and other threats simply by not making enemies. He simply got by with a good bit of planning and the good graces and high favor of a large number of the behind the scenes creators who seemed to write the story of this Galaxy. This would be a very useful advance towards being able to finally do something to destroy Black Sun and the Sith, one that he would be a fool to pass by.

 

"Forgive me, Head of State," he said carefully, "but I need no time to consider. I will accept your offer and begin the assimilation of CoreSec's assets into the Remnant. I have foreseen a split in the organization for some time and made plans for its inevitability. Many will remain loyal only to the crumbling Galactic Alliance, but there are more that are tired of the ineptitude and will join us in the fight against the criminals and murderers of this Galaxy. I have taken steps to ensure that most of the assets will remain under my control. It will take some time to sort things completely out, but I will begin the process immediately.

 

"The Galactic Alliance Senate has summoned me and I will go. The truth and righteousness of our struggle needs to be spoken there. I will not go empty handed: I have evidence of the Sith and Black Sun violating the peace treaties and the necessity of war against them. Most won't hear, but some may and be persuaded to join our cause."

 

He offered her another bow, this one from the waist down, and said, "Is there anything further you need of me?"