Question Knight of Empire

3643 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin)
Taris, Ojoster Sector, The Outer Rim Territories

Nyeomi remembering the first time she saw the planet Taris, talk about confusing with her history. Ouch, 3 centuries and Taris stuck between 3 military powers, then bombed into oblivion by Darth Malis. The Republic has its job cut out for them trying to re-colonize this place.

Now most of the land masses were gigantic swamps or jungles with crumbling ruins falling into collapsing infrastructure tunnels. While that made the planet dangerous, the real threat were Rakghouls. Rakghouls were corrupted, mutated humanoids, mindless for the most part, cannibalistic, rabid and violent. The true horror was they were not an indigenous life form, but victims of a highly infectious blood pathogen, the aptly named Rakghoul Plague. No one really knew who had invented it, likely as a failed (or successful depending on your point of view) bio-weapon, but the plague was highly contagious and could be spread by a Rakghoul biting or scratching you.

Okay, trying to re-colonize the planet with the Rakghoul down there sounds like an extremely bad idea. And Nyeomi and Darth Vannacen sent to find out why the Republic is doing this, oh boy. Back when Nyeomi was 20, Vannacen sounds like fun, bending two Jedi Masters' logic back on them.

Hehe, seems Nyeomi had a mischievous streak even back then, leading a Padawan around and blowing a Knight's cover. And the beginning of a long-standing grudge by Leontyne Saresh and Nyeomi which came back to haunt Nyeomi later in life, jealousy is an ugly thing.

3638 BBY (The Present)
Office of the Supreme Chancellor, Senate Hall, Coruscant, Galactic Core

Wait, are the years counted backward or is the first scene from the future? Vitiate fled to Ziost, which sounds like the kind of place you would want to avoid. Half a billion people dead because she didn't think to look for Vitiate on Ziost, we get a description of what the ritual he unleashed caused, all those beings turned to dust and ash. And Vitiate escaped on a ship and is out there in the Galaxy, now that is a reason to be afraid if ever there was one.

Because Prince Marr chose Nyeomi to hunt down Vitiate and now to face down Leontyne Saresh, now the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic, just what we don't need. And Saresh just lists off what Nyeomi failed to do, her view colored by the long-standing grudge and she needs to rein in her temper. Lashing out and calling Nyeomi a monster, how she got to be Supreme Chancellor with that temper is beyond me.

Why does the agent which Saresh just called in seem more like a bounty hunter than a Jedi to me?

Theron Shan, Republic Strategic Intelligence Service

Ah, not a bounty hunter, still don't trust him. Yay, Tari, always great to see her. Keeping an eye on Nyeomi's comings and goings, Sarseh really holds a grudge a long time. A visit with Grand Master Shan, a reasonable Jedi, almost seems like a 2nd father figure to Nyeomi to me.

In his youth during the war, our future Emperor, Darth Malgus had spear headed the assault on the Jedi Temple in the closing days of the Republic Sith War, even crossing sabers with the noted Jedi Master Ven Zallow who our Emperor bested, leaving the temple burning as the so-called Sack of Coruscant began. Now the building was surrounded by construction scaffolding, cranes and repulsor construction droids, in a massive testament to the stagnation of the Jedi Order by being restored exactly as it had been.

Not even updating the temple with modern utilities, oh brother. Marr sending an operative for Nyeomi to meet with, Lana Beniko, interesting.

3643 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin)
Taris, Ojoster Sector, The Outer Rim Territories

And back to before the Battle of Yavin again. All that construction and rebuilding going on around Olaris.

“I see a lot of wasted effort and money,” I replied, after a long glance of taking in the vista before me. It was like an ant hill, furiously trying to hold back a tsunami. “There is no strategic need for re-colonizing this world, the trade routes have stabilized bypassing it two hundred years ago. The credits being wasted reclaiming this ruin from the jungle could make two or three virgin worlds fit for human habitation. It makes no sense.”

“Unless there is something here already that is worth all of this blood and treasure. Now, narrow your focus to the north and tell me what you see.”

Vannacen is very perceptive, noting all that government and military presence before Nyeomi does. Do what she does best, stick her nose where it doesn't belong, so not much has changed over the years for Nyeomi I see.

3638 BBY (The Present)
Embassy of the New Revanite Sith Empire, Senate Sector,Coruscant, Galactic Core

100 floors of a tower, that is a huge embassy.

Commander Lana Beniko, Sphere of Expansion and Diplomacy, on loan from Imperial Intelligence.

I knew she would be interesting, but from Imperial Intelligence, they went all out to help Nyeomi by sending her. Wasn't a Revanite and stationed there through most of the Sith Civil War, just gets more interesting the more we learn about her.

Heh, blinded by what she wanted the Empire to be, not what it was, familiar nowadays.

“Theron Shan is the son of Grand Master Satele Shan of the Jedi Order, though they have no relationship other than blood. Satele gave the infant up to her master to raise and when the boy proved not to be Force Sensitive, he was abandoned again, this time by the Jedi. It is not known who his father is.”

Tari made a face of disgust. “Gave up her son? What kind of...?”

I made a placating gesture to the obviously upset Cathar. “The Jedi fear all emotion, but the emotions of attachment, love, nurturing, and family, most of all. Don't be surprised she gave up the child, be more surprised she didn't abort him.” I turned back to the blonde. “Continue, Commander.”

And some of them call Sith monsters, ugh.

Using the desire for information to gain Nyeomi's confidence, that is a dangerous game to play with her if he doesn't actually have the information. Lana going to play cat to Theron's mouse, this will be fun to watch.

The Lyrans seems like an interesting race and their spa would probably do well most any place. Dang, wish I could have a massage like that myself. Hehehe, Nyeomi wanting to tell Lana and Theron to get a room because of how they are glaring at each other, priceless. Nice hanger and ground crew, the launch chute is interesting. A week to go to Ziost, what could possibly go wrong during the trip?

3643 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin)
Taris, Ojoster Sector, The Outer Rim Territories

I have to quote these just to keep straight if I'm reading the past or the present, heh. That expensive to rent a ride, yikes. Darth Vannacen arrives with the leasing agent, requiring a thumbprint as well, guess they talk leasing those rides out seriously.

Not to give the wrong impression, but one of the reasons Darth Vannacen chose me as an apprentice was that I was so extensively trained in military gear and protocols.

There are worse reasons to be chosen to be someone's apprentice.

Auto-navigation routes, now those would make police work easier if you could trace the criminals to their headquarters just by getting one of their vehicles. 20 minutes to their destination, wonder how fast that J-6 can go.

“That is an excellent reason to defend yourself,” she admitted. “But not why we are fighting. What is the cause of the conflict between the Sith and the Republic?”

And Nyeomi gives the right answer, after so long none of them know why they are fighting, just reflexive at this point. But if that is the case is there even a chance for peace?

A lost starboard engine which caught fire thinks it might be a bird strike, though I doubt that is the case. Crud, going down and no way to get back to the city with the J-6 in that condition. A crash landing, ouch, wonder if it was Republic soldiers who shot them down?

3638 BBY (The Present)
Ziost, Esstran sector, Outer Rim Territories

Nothing happened on the way to Ziost, and it is a flat, uniform gray, what Vitiate did to this world and everyone living there. Monster doesn't seem a harsh enough word to describe him. And Nyeomi felt it from 2 sectors away for 20 seconds, surprised she isn't in worse shape after that.

Otherwise the city seemed perfect and normal, except there were not nearly enough people on the streets. Ziost had a perfectly fine atmosphere and there was still water, but everything else was a gray dust that blew up around the Aces and Eights, as she settled down into the landing bay.

And to think, someone somewhere would actually think it a good idea to develop a weapon that does the same thing, leaving worlds and structures intact but killing off all life so they could take it without a fight.

Always good to make sure your weapons are fully charged before heading out. Well, that didn't take long for the ground crew to fix. Upton Davidge, Minister of Logistics, nice to have help in an investigation from professionals. The dust is all that is left of the people who died and she can pick up emotions from several different perspectives from it, eep.

And Vitiate cast the ritual from the Sith Citadel, bet it even boosted the power of his ritual with the kind of history it has. Interesting, never knew the origin of the Sith or of Darth Jedi Ajunta Pall before.

“Be careful, my lord,” Upton cautioned me. “There are rumors that something may have been protected in that citadel. Something dangerous.”

“Droids?” asked Torm, but Upton shook his head.

“Not droids,” the Minister affirmed. “Not alive either, I think. Some thing. I strongly advise caution, my lord.”

Don't tell me Vitiate has become the Sith version of a Lich.

Gah, the description of the hike, it sounds like sheer torture. And Nyeomi feeling all those deaths every time she comes in contact with the dust, now that is cruel. The description of the Citadel brings to mind something out of H.P. Lovecraft's Mythos, just creepy and wrong, good work, E.E.

“A monolith,” I told him grimly. “A kind of Sith Spawn.”

Darth Sidious once told Anakin Skywalker that the Dark Side of the Force was a path to many abilities some considered to be unnatural. He wasn't lying. When you bend the Force to your will for dark ends, the way this building had been used, strange, unnatural things happen. The Living Force is life itself, made up of every living thing in the galaxy. But pervert the living enough and monsters appear. Sith Spawn, as they are collectively known, are creatures made manifest of the Force. The Jedi say they are the tears of the Force, lamenting over being so abused.

There was plenty of room for debate, but suffice to say that Sith Spawn are horrific creatures, manifested, that is to say created from nothing, from the Force itself. They have no life cycle, although they have a physical body, with muscles and bones and flesh, they simply appear out of thin air. They do not eat, but have teeth and claws they delight in using. They are not intelligent, but they are uncannily cunning. No matter their size they are fearsome opponents and preternaturally strong.

And, of course, Monoliths are the worst.

And you topped that easily, the monolith looking like a Rancor but worse, I can't imagine anything more unnatural.

Lana trained as a Sith but never an apprentice, hope what Nyeomi has in mind words without someone dying.

“And now you're a diplomat?” Theron wanted to know. Beniko smiled an evil smile.

“I happen to have excellent patience for dealing with the terminally stupid.”

Hehe, I can why Nyeomi thought to tell Lana and Theron to get a room earlier. Tari and Nyeomi distract the Monolith while Lana leads the others inside past it, well, I've seen worse plans which have worked. The flirting between Nyeomi and Torm is too cute to watch.

3643 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin)
Taris, Ojoster Sector, The Outer Rim Territories

Back to the past once more. They got lucky with this crash if the port wing hadn't been snatched by that skeleton of a building who knows if they would have walked away. Walking away with just bruises from the seat belts, shoot, I would want a craft made by Incom. Emergency bags, more vehicles need those.

The wreck spread out of half a kilometer, dang. The jungle reclaiming the planet, what relics have been lost to time, I wonder. Standard medical kit and gear designed for survival and getting rescued, good bags. 12 kilometers back to town, 8 to their target, I'd keep going too. And if they are attacked by any Republic soldiers at the site, serious diplomatic issues will arise.

An hour just to get across the plaza and it is in that bad of shape, seriously would be questioning the Republic about this. Crude, down off the plaza and into a 'park' with Rakghouls.

When an ecunopolis is bombarded from orbit, what remains combines the worst aspects of a ruined city and a collapsed mine.

Sounds like a nightmare to navigate and maneuver in.

The tales tell of a Sith Lord who was either trying to cheat death or create a perfect army; either were favored pass times of the Sith, truth be told. Some version say it was a 'magical' amulet, endowed with Sith Sorcery that had the power to turn anyone the wielder could see into a slathering monster, loyal to him. But while the amulet could not harm Force Sensitives, thus this Sith Lord's downfall, the bite or scratch of a Rakghoul could.

Every time someone tries to cheat death it always seems to leave something behind to haunt everyone else.

*shudders at the thought of how Rakghouls are still there which Vannacen hints at* 4 of the Rakghouls with 3 of their young, this isn't going to be easy with the limit of avoiding being scratched or bitten by them. These creatures are as far from what they once were as can be, scary thought to become like that.

3638 BBY (The Present)
Ziost, Esstran sector, Outer Rim Territories

Gah! I mentally heard the roar, that hurt. Solid lumps of rock part of its body, well this just got creepier. And Lana notes the difference in the colors of their lightsabers, so it is shaped by their wielder's emotions, huh. Nyeomi gets good hits to start, but the monolith is extremely tough, even hitting Tari back nearly a dozen meters when it connects with a blow, scary strong.

Tari gets up though and does a leaping strike, hurting the beast but getting flung away by its raw strength. Nyeomi gets several good blows to its stomach before having to retreat, this is an uphill battle so far. Yikes! Thrown boulders, Nyeomi having to Force push Tari to safety but grazed Nyeomi's left forearm, breaking her arm in the process, brutal. The monster goes to finish Nyeomi, only to get its hand sliced off. Smart move to call a withdrawal, this monster is tougher than even first suspected.

I don't suppose this will cure you of your need to live life on the edge, will it?” he asked as he got it open and rooted through it.

“If you had wanted a demure little mouse to stay in your kitchen, barefoot and pregnant, you wouldn't have married me,” I told him. Even I had to admit that sounded more sexy than petulant in my perfect, rounded Eton accent.

Even with a broken arm, she is still sassy. Kolto injector to numb the pain, oh how I wish those existed. Yeow! Having to field set broken bones like that, now that is rough.

Good thing Tari is skilled in using the Force for healing, even if Nyeomi still needs a cast. Images depicting the War of the Second Great Schism, and the birth of the Sith Lords, interesting what you can find in temples.

It was a story written over and over, the Jedi waging war, the Jedi calling the Republic to Jihad, the Jedi who could not bear for us to exist; to allow any other view of The Force than their own.

*eyes bug out* And yet they are depicted as the heroes in the movies.

*tries to hold in dinner* I have to agree with Theron, this is just so wrong.

“These are the remains of a similar ritual we discovered on Yavin IV,” I told him. “Thankfully, a much smaller scale one, or I would not be here to inform you.”

Just what does the symbol on those patches point to which has Nyeomi freaked out, yet lying so Theron doesn't know? And Shan lies about having seen it before either, *gulp*

3643 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin)
Taris, Ojoster Sector, The Outer Rim Territories

Nyeomi remembers being taken as the apprentice of Jaydis Vannacen at 15, they start them young. Brought in a master of Ataru to teach Nyeomi and even studied alongside her, Jaydis probably believed the old saying "You never quit learning new things until you're dead.". A second mother to Nyeomi, yet said those kinds of things to her, Jaydis is the kind of being you can't help but like.

Back to back fighting against the Rakghouls, now that is awesome. And scares them off with a command after taking down their Alpha and several others so easily. Jaydis can go from terrifying to kind in an instant, a good handle on her passion.

Took them more than til after midday to get more than halfway to their destination, good time with the terrain and situations so far. Whoever designed those ration bars knew what they were doing. Why are they searching doctors offices and the pharmacy, what information could they be looking for in those places? Looking for Dynamet General Hospital, don't tell me the Republic was doing something there in the past they wish to assure remains secret.

To see an Emergency Room in that condition, indiscriminate orbital bombardment is just sickening. After all this time I don't think even an emergency generator would be operational. Two choices with equal risk, choose the one where you spend less time there. Yet Nyeomi's argument is good, stick together it is.

So everything undisturbed, that is normally a good sign, but sometimes not. Instructions on how to start up the emergency generator, guess they wanted anyone trying to be able to get the job done without issue. Dang, they got it working, that is some durable machine to start up after all this time, even the air vents still working. A cure for the plague, would it work on those infected years ago? I hope there is a cure, the end of Rakghouls would be a great thing.

3638 BBY (The Present)
Ziost, Esstran sector, Outer Rim Territories

Oh good, no Monolith to deal with on the way out. Fiveareen getting Nyeomi into the Kolto tank to heal, sometimes a good healer has to be stubborn for their patient's own good. Sliding into Kolto sounds...unique. 3 hours in the tank, arm fully healed and no sign of the original break, wish we had this kind of medical technology.

Time go so see Upton Davidge, Nyeomi dressed for mourning the death. 4 thousand ships down to 300, better odds than we had before of finding Vitiate. A dozen ships with trajectories to no known destination and all of them heading into the Unknown regions, well that narrowed down the search a whole lot, only a fool makes their escape path obvious. Should have gone on one of the ships heading to known locations with a lot of other ships, easier to get lost in a crowd.

Information from the game not matching up with the reality of this universe, it figures. The thought of her dealing with The Void again makes my skin crawl. Heading to Ruuria to deliver a message to Prince Marr, just how bad is it to make what happened on Ziost be considered a mercy?

Defining who she is still a work in progress, I think that is true of everyone as long as they are alive. Lana shows up to talk with Nyeomi about the symbol on the dead ritualist.

“Imperial Intelligence has seen this symbol a few times, generally along the frontier with the Unknown Regions. It was thought at first to be the emblem of a pirate or smuggling ring, but some of the things it has been found on do not seem to have an origin from either the Republic or the Empire. Getting additional information was a priority directive.”

Oh boy, from the previous Sith Empire and connected to Vitiate. Pultimo the Butcher, trying to stamp out the Sith Code and the Jedi helped him, sickening.

The body that was born Darth Vitiate died centuries ago,” I told her. “But the spirit of that Sith Lord has endured to this day; a ghost, who passes from possessed body to possessed body, driving out or destroying the spirit of its rightful owner."

Okay, he is a Horror that needs to be ended for good. No Will of the Sith, no way to transfer his soul to a new body, very good. Fiveareen shows up, wishing to do test on Nyeomi due to some anomalous readings in some of her blood chemistry. Oh my god, she is pregnant, that has to be it.

3643 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin)
Taris, Ojoster Sector, The Outer Rim Territories

Yeah, which is creepier? A hospital with the lights off and only a flashlight to see by or one with the lights and power on, but no people around to be seen? Having to bear witness to horrors unleashed long ago, yikes. Computer from the Nurse's station working and displaying, they were working on a cure, but having to euthanize people to keep them from turning into Rakghouls. It sounds like they created a cure for the virus, but were attacked by outside forces.

Zelka Forn could have been a hero to the galaxy if those explosions and their source hadn't happened. His office in ruins with nothing left, darn. Files found in the lab, copied onto the data pad and now back to see Governor Saresh. What happens that makes Saresh have a grudge against Nyeomi all this time?

Skyhopper back to town and even say the classic "Take me to your leader!" line.

“I knew it wouldn't take long for a pair of Sith to show their true colors! Destroying Republic property, trespassing, abuse of Republic personnel and theft of Republic property, the two of you are going to be spending a long time on a penal colony!”

She was plotting this whole time against them, or so it seems. And listing all the ways in which she is wrong, yet still, she is threating to lock them up to be forgotten, I hate corrupt officials.

“Really?” asked my mistress in a sly tone. “The Republic keeps a dungeon for political prisoners to hold without trial? That is interesting. I wonder what the fall out in the Senate will be when that goes public?”

And Sarseh actually thinks she can lock them up to silence them, very bad move.

“You don't think we came here alone, do you?” I smirked at her, while pointing up to the little holocamera in the corner of the ceiling, silently recording everything done or said.

And Saresh tries to shut it off with a remote, now that is just sad and desperate.

“And we have done everything we could to stamp it out!” I shot back with the enthusiasm and absolute loyalty that is the hallmark of youth. My mistress was content to smile and let me humiliate the Governor. “And in the seconds before we bombarded this planet to stop it, a hero, Doctor Zelka Forn discovered the cure! The cure my mistress and I found and those slicers have broadcast to the whole galaxy, along with my pictures of the pen of Rakghouls you have behind this very center and the massive biomedical research station where Republic scientists are doubtlessly working feverishly to weaponize that plague! For better or worse, the Empire has done nothing but try to stamp out what should never have been created. But you would turn it into a weapon!”

Okay, why isn't Saresh in prison for this instead of having a high position in the Republic Senate? This should have been the end of her career, yet Saresh was promoted in the last 5 years, arrggh!

3638 BBY (The Present)
Ruuria, Xappyh Sector, Revanite Sith Empire, Outer Rim Territories

The Palace of Darth Marr.

This was all in keeping with the austere lifestyle the Prince of Ruuria kept, strictly down to business and no-nonsense.

I like it, could do with more royalty and wealthy people who don't feel they have to show it off.

The dress itself was a sleek, fitted white number Princess Leia would have loved with a scalloped neckline to set off my decolletage. My waistline was accented by a wide brown leather belt from which my light sabers hung, then the light, milky fabric fell to just below my knees where the top of my boots that matched the belt came.

Cute outfit for Nyeomi.

Closely monitor the search from here. I was right, she is pregnant, 7 and a half months until due. She wasn't expecting to start a family so soon, but the universe laughs when you make plans. Due May 15th by her droid's estimate, what, not May the Fourth?

“Very well,” Marr growled. “I expect to be invited to the Naming of our Empires newest recruit.”

I couldn't help but smile at that. “Of course, Master. We would be honored by your presence.”

“Congratulations, Nyeomi,” he added in the most sincere tone I had ever heard him use. “Jaydis would be proud.”

“Thank you, Master,” I replied, deeply moved.

Fun story with a lot of details on the aftermath of Vitiate's ritual and the death of a world, Sith Spawn, history of the Sith and their origins, Rakghouls and how Nyeomi and Jaydis prevented the Republic from weaponizing something so horrific. I loved slowly learning why this one woman would hold such a strong grudge towards Nyeomi, though it baffles me how she could have risen in the ranks of the Republic instead of rotting in prison right now. Like the new friend in Lana. And especially love my guess about her abnormalities in her blood work being that is pregnant was right. This was a fun read and I can't wait for the next Star Wars story, E..E.