| abstract
| - A special room had to be crafted into this destroyer for the purposes of Malign. A totally black plated room from floors, walls, and ceiling with the entire back wall a viewport looking out into deep space angled away from the planet. The only light was from the faint stars in the distance, no doubt some of them making up some of the Bothan Federation which rests near this region. In the center of the room is an altar with several inscriptions on it in a script not seen in the galaxy in a thousand years. Kneeling before the altar in total concentration was Darth Malign, wearing a black outfit only fitting for a Sith with a heavy fabric, black cloak, and the hood thrown over his head as he mutters in a tongue completely alien to the modern galaxy. On the alter was a single sword that was at least a meter and a half long with a golden hilt designed like a pair of skulls one facing down as the hilt and the other with its mouth open with the blade jutting up from it. A series of extremely faint red lamps in the ground around the walls add to the effect of the room illuminating the edges of the room in red. At the door standing silently were two figures, no doubt droids in total black each holding a force pike and their features masked behind a black helmet and blacked out visor. Axel was a bit apprehensive about entering the meditation chamber of a Sith, but he would have to learn one day of the dark arts, right? Well, at least, in his hopes, the mercenary was wanting to progress along the path of the Sith as it was the path of true power in the galaxy. He pauses outside the blast doors for a moment, getting up the nerve. It was a bit more difficult than it once was. In days past, he would have just taken another hit of glitterstim and be done with it. Now though, he had not touched the stuff in over a month, the effects of withdrawal just now gone. The door chimes as it slides open and Axel steps inside. He pauses to get clearance from the droids, but remains quiet, not wanting to disrupt Lord Malign in his meditation. Axel knew that the Sith would feel his presence, most likely felt it from the time Ax had landed on the Predator. Axel looks over the two force-pike wielding droids, thinking about the newly acquired forcepike he has stashed in his armory. His mind ventures over the other weapons and armors he has collected and what he still wishes to one day possess. It was a good way to keep his mind calm and bide time while awaiting acknowledgement from the Sith. Walking in, Dareus' security escort seems to have abandoned him quite a few hundred yards back, as it would seem, the doors opening with an eerie silence for their size, and closing nearly as quietly. His eyes have a hard time adjusting, almost more than a normal humans, for good reason, but he shakes his head a few times,and squints looking almost pained for him to adjust to the darkness. He's evidently taken up Maligns' offer to stay on board the ship for now, having changed his clothes, removed his armor and weapons, standing only in a casual outfit, underneath his long dark nerf-leather coat that cloaks him in his own little dark shadow. He's been circumstance in the past to being called in to meet high ranking people; although the power that comes from the room can be felt by anyone, probably out of fear though; and a creation of their own mind. Still, Dareus lets his mind fall back to old habit and considerations, protocol, taking a deep breath and a few steps into the room; just a scant few feet inside the door; and ignoring the guards; had he been uninvited, it would have been too late by now to get this far. No sound comes from him, but instead he just instinctively falls down to one knee softly and bows his head, waiting for any acknowledgement not even risking the noise to greet his old friend. The Sith knew who was in the room, there were only three living beings on this entire deck of the destroyer. The total void of life on the ship made it easy for Malign to keep track of guest. His hazel eyes open and his chanting stops as he rises and his black cloak spills across the floor like a pool of black liquid running up and hanging from his shoulders, he pulls his hood back and turns to regard the men, men who would trust highly at this point, bringing them into his inner circle and into his very own focusing chamber. The room was filled with dark energy, almost wreaked of it. Malign smiles turning to his new arrivals, his eyes flashing with a brilliant energy, only briefly. He had been working with Sith magic for a few hours now and his aura was potent and filled with aggression and apprehension his emotions were to all extremes but a level of control kept him from leaping from a posture of a cool collected villain, "Gentleman. I see you have arrived." He says quietly, but the vaulted room allows his voice to travel far and loudly echoing, booming forward, "You were invited here today to make a stand and a choice, a choice to dine with and serve the Sith in our efforts to re-forge the galaxy from the shadows." He turns walking toward them but beckoning the two to meet him midway, "Fear not from your enemies or those more powerful than you because you are now Sith, if not in power, in practice. Thousands of years ago the Sith employed beings of all shapes and sizes to help general and muster armies to defeat the Republic, there is a time once again where the Sith must seek allies outside their own ranks and form brotherhoods to search for the power necessary to defeat our enemies. I am asking you to join me." He says darkly as a single light activates illuminating a table with three cups on it in between them. The Sith walks up to the table and pours them full of a dark red wine and places them at three different points on the table, "What do you say? Join my brotherhood of darkness?" Axel moves forward and gives a bow to Tyler, then moves to the table and picks up one of the glasses. "I have already vowed to follow the path," Ax states in a soft, though cold voice. "I will dine with and serve the Sith, as one of them." He swirls the contents around in the glass and inhales deeply of the wine's aroma. "I choose to assist in the restructuring of the galaxy in the hopes that I become one of the most powerful beings in existence. I fear no one, but I do know there are those that are stronger than I am in many ways. While I do not fear them, I do want to get to a position where they will no longer be stronger than I." He doesn't stand until he's really been given as close of permission to do so, could be interpreted from Malign's speech; but he does so quickly and quietly, clasping his hands behind his back. Dareus begins to walk to the table slowly, the words resounding in his head like a thunder, for him they carry far more weight that what one would expect with a few simple sentences. "In all honesty, I have been doing nothing but considering our conversation yesterday." He'd changed, but his look shows his efforts, really having done not much but wander the decks and hangar aimlessly while considering many things although most of his worries, he had no doubt; couldn't hold merit, Walking to the table, he stands by a spare glass, looking between the two others in the room, his mind still filtering out doubts and questions; but he still has some burning in his mind to just answer plainly, "If you have a use for me...then I will be at your service My Lord." His hands move to rest on the back of the seat at place of the table where he stands, feeling almost a little dizzy at even saying that. The Sith grabs his own glass of the wine and raises it to the two men, "My agents of chaos, my agents and brothers of the Sith, I drink to you and bind you into the service of our Lord, Vadim." With that he takes a drink from the cup and waits for the others to as well. After a few moments he places the cup, empty back to the table and gestures. From the shadows two of Malign's droids appear and hand Axel and Dareus a black cloak, and a plain black uniform, "These are the clothes of our order, we wear no insignia black is our color." He smirks, "Not much of a fashion statement but effective for our own." Once he is satisfied that they have finished with the wine glasses he presses a button and the table vanishes into the floor and is replaced with a map of the galaxy, "I am a haunted man, the spirits of the past walk as though alive to my senses. I see the past as clearly as I see the present." His features darken and his skin pales from a bit of fear, "An ancestor of mine comes to me in meditation and tells me to rebuild an Empire." He gestures over a map as a series of planets change color, to any seasoned spacer they would recognize a few of the worlds and those worlds were either dead or devastated by attacks, "I must walk the grounds of the dead to find our path. I must seek out the Sith from the grave." He says darkly, "My noble band will join me in this quest. Also, my agents of chaos will keep the galaxy confused and keep them from following our trail with terror." He gestures toward Axel, "Do your worst. This is our command ship. We must call forward allies and seek out the ancients and through them find answers for success in the future." Axel doesn't hesitate in drinking down the wine. He had seen the power that Tyler held, and Axel knew that allying himself with the Sith was his only chance of attaining a bit of that power for himself. "I give you my allegiance, Lord Malign, to you and to the rebuilding of a true Empire." He places the glass on the floor by his feet as the table is gone and a map display takes its place. Looking over the familiar starmap, his eyes fall first on Caspar, then they travel to the far outter rim, to a planet that was his birthplace, but has not been his home in decades. Sevarcos II, in the Sevarcos system was but a shell of what it once was. Oddly, Axel didn't care anymore. "Lord Malign," Axel inquires, "if I may ask, what is it you are looking for?" As he asks, Axel folds the cloak over his arm and sets the armor to the side. He would don it later, when he was alone. Now was the time for discussion, not equipping himself in black, non-descript uniforms. Dareus finishes the glass quickly in one sip, placing it effortlessly on the table while he listens quietly, looking at Axel for a moment while he takes the new uniform and cloak in his hands, turning his attention back to the map, "Then one matter concerns me. How Skywalker sent me a message of the attack on the compound." He looks between the two men, before back at the map, "With so few living beings on this ship, it obviously did not come from any of your men, and certainly not from yours, I would assume." His gaze turns back to Axel while he says that, "Keeping your quest quiet and behind the scenes would be best, because the New Republic would most definitely persue every place we went." He grins a little "Although I can use my current position to help keep Ord Mantell a little busy as well, there is a few things that still need to be taken care of there." He places the clothing under his arm and strokes his chin for a moment. The Sith grows silent and distant as he looks back over his shoulder, the room grows cold, extremely cold and a loose outline of blue and green form into a human male cloaked in darkness and missing one arm which is easy to tell by how strangely his body holds his cloak on his right side. The spirit touches Malign's shoulder and whispers to him and then vanishes back into the shadows after a few moments, "Artifacts, history, technologies, many things will be sought out, Axel Vichten and in time they will be useful to us." The Sith steps backward and turns toward the viewport, "Indeed I would be very curious to how Skywalker would know about an attack on the Zhao compound on Ord Mantel, but it is of no use to him without a when." Malign shrugs, "Where we go the Republic cannot easily follow, a path so dark is ours only would rest as a path to temptation and the very destruction of the Jedi Order, the Darkside is very powerful and the Jedi are not ready for the ancient evils that we seek." He laughs lightly, "Soon Nal Hutta's space will erupt into a brilliant fire fight, and one of my agents will be in control of Nar Shaddaa and that means we are effectively in control of the majority of crime in the Outer Rim." The Sith shrugs, "No minor feat, if I do say so myself." "I have not been careful with whom I discuss my plan on attacking the Maffi. I want them to know I am coming for them, for the sake of misdirection." Axel has a cold and calculated look to his face. "It is interesting that Skywalker knows though, makes me wonder whom I told about it told the Jedi or at least someone who has talked to Skywalker." He leaves it at that though, and turns his attention to Tyler. "Lord Malign," Axel starts, but stops as the room suddenly changes temperatures and the wraith appears. Axel watches, and after the spirit vanishes to whence it came, Axel decides to continue, though his voice softer than before. "Lord Malign, the Jedi knowledge of my impending attack may work to our favor. Yes, I am likely to be under surveillance while in Republic space, and possibly elsewhere, but misdirection is one of the tricks that has kept me alive. They know I will strike, will be looking for it to happen. My ships will be in position on multiple occassions, and it will not happen. The maffi are no longer my concern, having decided that they are not worth my time, but having them in fear of an attack may draw them into making a mistake. A mistake that would keep the Republic on their toes. It is not time for me to make enemies of the Republic just yet." A long shiver goes through Dareus' body while he could almost swear he saw his breath for a moment; but then again, it's nothing of a surprise to him, with the man who was in the room with him. Standing in quiet contemplation for a few moments, when Malign mentions the Jedi, and image of Johanna crosses his mind, a smirk while he remembers her lightsaber at his throat, before her invisible grip caught him and sent him unconscious. He turns back to Axel, "I don't know if the information has reached Mr. Esons' ears yet, it's possible that the messenger the Jedi sent already told him; or he may be in the dark. Lord Malign as asked me to leave it alone; so I stand neautral until I'm ordered to do otherwise. Although should he read my mind...then there's no point." His hand falls back to holding the clothing with two hands once again while he looks between them "I'm ready to make any move that's asked of me, although I think with enough misdirection that the Republic has around them, between their information, or lack thereof, it will be to our advantage; I highly doubt that even the Jedi can see into what will happen to them soon enough." The Sith shrugs politely and nods to his agents as they speak their mind, he liked that. Those in his inner circle had nothing to fear they were experts in their own right and he needed their expertise to make his desires reality, "Do not fear Tyy'sun, Dareus, his powers are weak he has no ability to reach into the depths of his mind. Hides your feelings, bury them deep in your mind and let them rest. He cannot reach too deep into your mind." The Sith says with a matter of fact tone. He nods to the men, "Maffi and Zhao are of no value to us except that they stress Ord Mantel and the local authorities, even though they are enemies of the Sith, they are also useful. Distractions and misdirection, as you suggest Axel, should suffice. Keep them in fear of the attack that will never come." The Sith strides forward, "Enemies of the Sith will be crushed under their boots like Danik was crushed underneath the heels of my Master, Vadim." The image of the galaxy zooms in on one specific planet with the touch of Malign's glove, "Our first stop once this ordeal over Nar Shaddaa is over, and will be Cochran. I wish to see what has been done and I want to wonder the surface of that devastated world in search for its secrets. All words bear a mark of the Sith, all worlds are polluted with our legacy in one or another I am sure of it." "The Corporate Sector Authority should be a target for our aggression Victhen, I want you to follow through with your plans to frame the CDU in an attack on them and edge the two governments into a war. A war in the slice will cause the chaos we need to work in a cloak of darkness while the New Republic tries to contain it, these governments have been a torn in the Empire and the Sith's side for too long." Axel's facial expressions change at the mention of Danik being killed. He had wanted to be present for that. He had wanted to meet the most powerful man in the galaxy, a man even Darth Malign would not dare cross. Axel doesn't say anything about it, though from the look on his face, it is apparent he is a bit distraught. "I have been to Cochran. I performed some salvage operations there after the fight, though I dare say that there was little worth salvaging." He pauses and thinks over the idea of starting a war between the CDU and the CSA. "I will first need to aquire a new home before stirring up trouble between the CDU and the Corporate Sector though. I have found a spot on Corellia that I find to my liking. There is no longer anything holding me to Caspar, but there are material items I have squandered over the years in my estate there I do not wish to lose." His mind instantly goes to his lost wife and a flashing hatred towards those that killed her. Caspar had been a crutch to the man, but it was not the same as it had been in the height of the Olumi Osahn, when the Shadow Brotherhood kept her protected in the way they saw fit. "It will take preparations, and if the Republic is watching me, all the better. I will, I can only assume, be the first person blamed by the CDU in this affair due to my history of business dealings in the galaxy. It would be beneficial for the Republic to have reports of where they think I am when the actions take place." He has complete faith in Tylers' words about keeping his mind safe, so he simply nods, and visibly relaxes some at that, "Tyy'sun has declared war on both of you; but we're forbidden to get near or involved...he knows that an all out war would be suicide. Strange...should he find that I joined this most destined brotherhood, I would have my head torn from my body." He laughs a little at that, "Assuming he could touch me." Those words come out as simple faith in the group, before Dareus watches the map move across to Cochrane, a thought coming across his mind that makes him grin, "With the New Republic intervening in a war between Caspar and The Corporate Sector; a Maffi attack would send the Republic scrambling resources in too many directions to watch us." He turns to look at Malign, "And the Jedi are not strong enough to move on their own after your plan..." Looking back to the map, he smirks again, "It's perfect." Turning his attention back to Axel, "The Republic may not like me because of a few murders on Mantell, but I can assure you; they can't prove, but am well aware that I'm Maffi. Hence, they think we are automatically enemies...they may very well pay attention to where we....'look' for you." The look on Dareus' face is pleasantly calculating, again, like he used to on the bridge of a Command ship, hundreds of possibilities, outcomes, mistakes and victories going through his mind. "Somethings are salvaged for credits, others for the peace of mind." The Sith answers Axel's appraisal of Cochran with a polite retort his eyes glancing over the computer readout, "The New Republic is a dangerous foe, not as strong as it once was but with the resources to hamper our movement. A distraction is all we need to shatter them into a thousand pieces." He nods to Dareus, "if a war were to break out between the CDU and CSA, the New Republic would have no choice but to strengthen key points along their border making them vulnerable to an attack from the inside. Maffi like all governments and organizations is a tool of the Sith and can be placed into the field of play with or without their knowledge simply by appealing to their greed or lust for power. If they perceive the New Republic as weak they will move and will show their underside. While they stab the New Republic, Axel can just as easily stab them." He bows to Axel, "Go see to the defenses of the sector and your vessels." After sending Axel to his duties and planning for attacks the Sith deactivates the screen, "A thousand possibilities, no, a million. The galaxy is a strange place. Like any game we must be careful and think our moves out slowly. Every piece can move in harmony with another and give us a free hand in the galaxy at large. I will need you to command the Predator in combat when the time has come." While Axel leaves, Dareus gives him a quick nod, before he turns back towards Malign, bowing his head, "Then I will take my place on the bridge of your flagship when you need me." Glancing down for a moment while the screen disappears, he turns his attention back to Tyler, "Sending them all into their own little feeding frenzy will buy a fair bit of time for you to complete your task. Time is on your side my Lord." He smiles a little at that thought for a moment, but at least he can finish his own legacy in some type of fashion, starting with here and now; not rotting in a prison cell on Ord Mantell. "Should they not even go to war, tensions would be able to work to our advantage as well. Like any government they are wrought with fear of losing their power and control. Mistrust bred between them all will open a new door, should it be required." "The Sith have all the time in the galaxy, Dareus." He says quietly stepping forward and placing a hand on his shoulder, "All the time in the galaxy." He smirks and adjusts his heavy cloak, "The Hutt fleet is positioned to make an attack on us to try to break the blockade and to land troops on the moon to save their relative and their clans from a humiliating defeat at the hand of outsiders. Even the Hutts fear what is transpiring and unlike the Republic or the Jedi, could very well be old enough and wise enough to see through our deceptions. However, their greed will be their undoing and they will devote their energies to Nar Shaddaa and Tatooine and other areas under their control in fear that these actions will spread. This will effectively leave the criminal world in our control by governing it with fear." Malign moves toward the doors, "The bridge is yours." He says darkly, "Do not fail the Sith, but do not fear a withdraw from the system, once Axel's ships are in position we will make our attack, punish the Hutt fleet into submission and then simply leave." He shrugs, "I have yet to decide to where perhaps Bespin for the time being." The doors open and the Sith steps through the portal removing his heavy cloak and handing it to one of his guards and throwing on his old flight jacket and accepting a pack of smokes. Dareus nods, and immediately starts to head towards the door, before heading back to Ord, he planned to don his new uniform and be prepared to let the bridge crew know who was in command; a smile crossing his face at the broad simplicity of a plan with the Sith having their own agents inside almost everywhere vital that would be required. He pats the set of clothing almost reverently, while he makes his way towards his temporary quarters, that might very well prove to be only temporary for now. He turns before the door shuts behind him, giving one last glance towards the room, wondering quietly how far he can go once again; before he moves to change quickly, almost wanting to dive head first into it again; like a first year cadet on his first assignment.
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