Fandom Dxun - Star Wars RP

[HK Fifty]

It is five years after the end of the Galactic Civil War. The crushing defeat the Empire delivered the Rebellion at Hoth has succeeded in quelling any potential unrest among the Imperial citizenry , and loyalty to Emperor Palpatine - whether through fear or through indoctrination - is at an all-time high. The last scattered remnants of the Jedi have been viscously executed , and the once powerful Alliance to Restore the Republic has been reduced to a small , tenacious band of die-hard Rebels and what equipment they can scavenge , cobble together , or steal. But while the vast majority of the Galaxy rests without concern for any large-scale conflict , the remnants of the last war and the beginnings of a new one brew aroukd a small , overlooked Imperial Garrison on Dxun. Historically the Demon Moon has been a place of war and of lost things , and it seems it is destined to once again be host to both of those things in a volume it has never seen before. Imperial Forces patrol a barren jungle while the remnants of the Rebellion frantically attempt to evade increasingly skilled contingents of Imperial special forces , forgotten Battle Droids of the Clone Wars roam freely , and forces yet unknown amass in secret to wage a war that has the potential to be of a form previously unheard of to the pages of history. With the fate of the Galaxy seeming to teeter on the edge of the second destructive conflict to ravage it in less than a decade , everything seems to hinge on a small moon most citizens might never have heard of. Those who fight have the potential to become legendary figures in Galactic History.

 

[HK Fifty]

Hyperspace - Nearing the Onderon System - Aboard Vader’s Gozanti-class Assault Carrier

Lieutenant Ranah Brevin reviewed the information on her datapad for what had to have been the one thousand , three hundred and eighteenth time that week. She’d slept very late and woken up very early to try to amass as much information as she could about Dxun , mostly the scuttlebutt and unofficial - and sometimes even classified - information that wouldn’t have been easy for another to learn of. For her part she wasn’t particularly looking forward to their excursion to the accursed moon , so remotely placed in a backwater of the Galaxy and full of all sorts of dangers she didn’t particularly wish to encounter. Of course , luckily for her it was unlikely she would have to leave the actual Garrison complex , though it wasn’t very sophisticated itself. She didn’t look forward to having to utilize the primitive , unrefined facilities there , but as always she’d make do. It wasn’t as if it could’ve been any worse than Jabiim , anyway , and at least she had the advantage of being Lord Vader’s personal aide.

Thankfully Lieutenant Brevin had been briefing them and making regular reports throughout the week , so she wouldn’t have to just sit there and explain everything she knew , which would’ve taken nearly an entire day. Which was good for her , as they were close to exiting Hyperspace anyway. Standing rail straight with one hand charcteristically on her hip and the other cradling her datapad , she continued the briefing she’d started hours before. She didn’t exactly see Lord Vaylin , her Droid HK-70 , or Styx , but she knew they were all lurking around somewhere , the latter two likely thinking of some attempt to frighten her. “The Landing Pad’s located exactly 487.68 meters from the actual main complex , so unfortunately it should give their bureaucracy a fair opportunity to attempt to ingratiate themselves with you. I merely wish to inform you of that in advance , Lord Vader , as I know you aren’t particularly fond of such gestures , nor are Lord Vaylin or Brigadier General Styx. If it helps , your rank of Surface Marshall far outstrips the Bridagier General thar commands this Garrison , so you - or Lord Vaylin , for that matter , who also ranks higher as a Lieutenant General - can dismiss him if you so wish. The good news is they have more than enough room to store our vessel , along with your TIE Advanced and Lord Vaylin’s TIE Silencer should you wish to detach them from the docking clamps. That is assuming you don’t wish to have her in orbit while we deal with this moon’s Rebel problem , Lord Vader. If so we would still need to land , if only to allow Lord Vaylin’s Vornskrs , High Colonel HK-70 , and Bridagier Styx to depart the vessel , along with whatever supplies or equipment you may wish to utilize. As I previously stated they already have one Gozanti-class Assault Carrier stationed there , though she seems to be in much weaker status than our own , and I’d recommend not making use of her unless it’s an emergency , Lord Vader. The Star Destroyer , which goes by the name of the Ravager’s Sword , should hail our Assault Carrier when she exits Hyperspace before allowing us to land.”

The red headed officer pressed a few buttons on her datapad before turning to show it to Darth Vader. On it were two pictures of a blue skinned , red eyed woman with horribly disfiguring scars on the left side of her face , and beside it a picture of the same woman in full Storm Commando armor with a helmet. “According to official reports , this is the Storm Commando who discovered the cache of Rebel equipment , one Lieutenant Khala. I’m assuming you wish to speak with her , yes , Lord Vader? She’s Half-Chiss , 26 years old , and from localized rumors isn’t particularly intelligent or valuable.” She said the Storm Commando’s personal details with something of a sneer , obviously resentful of her hybrid species and her supposed lack of intelligence. She left out that the woman was rumored to be a Lesbian , knowing none of her superiors particularly cared what her sexuality was and that it had little bearing on identifying her. Besides , while she kept it well-secret , Ranah herself wasn’t perfectly straight either - not that any of her direct superiors cared what romantic flings she had. “She shouldn’t be difficult for you to find , given her species and circumstance. She also is something of an outcast , so she won’t be where the bulk of the personnel are - which I assume is a benefit to you , yes , Lord Vader? It’s possible she’s somewhere out in the jungle , but if standard procedure is being followed - which may be something too much to ask for this backwater garrison , I must warn you - she should be awaiting your summons to be debriefed on her discoveries. As she was alone at the time there isn’t anyone else to debrief about this particular event , but Rebel and malfunctioning Combat Droid activity are common here , which means it shouldn’t be difficult to find plenty of other personnel who may have information you may be interested in , Lord Vader. Is there anything else you require of me , my Lord?” She stood with her datapad at the ready , as always serving as her ever-full spring of knowledge and information , and at the moment Ranah looked the very model of an Imperial Officer - or at least what an Imperial Officer should supposedly be , anyway , if not what they were in practice.

( WolfOfProphecys )
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Hyperspace - Nearing the Onderon System - Aboard Vader’s Assault Carrier

Nya was , as ever , staying very close to her two bestest friends , Vaylin and Styx. She might’ve been Vaylin’s droid , but she was lucky enough to have a far more personal , healthy relationship than simply being the Sith Apprentice’s property. The highly murderous Droid was practically jumping up and down with excitement over being able to go to a largely lawless , dangerous jungle like Dxun , where she could do nearly anything she wanted to without much recourse. Especially after it having been so long since she last got the opportunity , all the way back to Hoth by her own reckoning. “Excitable Speculation : I doubt any of these fleshsacks have seen an assassin Droid or a Sith Lord in person before , I guarantee they’ll be ripe for scaring to death. They’ll beg for their lives the moment we start threatening them , I just guarantee it. And supposedly rogue combat droids are everywhere too , they’re already scared of Droids , so they’ll be extra scared of one that could outperform any they’ve ever seen by vast leaps.”

The coppery-reddish Droid glanced over to Ranah , who she didn’t particularly like or dislike , perhaps one of the few who didn’t fall into either category. Perhaps because the Officer was so boring she hadn’t yet made much of a positive or negative impression , and perhaps because Vaylin didn’t really dislike the woman either. “Excitable Query : How long do you anticipate Lord Vader would need to talk to this Khala of hers until we can go out and murder things?” She paused , idly brushing her DT-17 pistol and the DLT-21 strapped over her shoulder dreamily. “Idle Musings : It’s been so long since I’ve been able to kill anything other than some idiotic fleshsack Imperial cowering in fear. I doubt these Rebels will be much more dignified , but at least they’re something new. And these droids , whatever they are , might be something interesting. A B1 wouldn’t pose even a minor threat , but I doubt they’d back down easily either. I think. I’ve never seen one before , though I did see a BX once.. which I grabbed by the cranial unit and crushed , naturally. Pathetic Droid..”

The heavily armed HK Unit started dreaming flexing her left fist , extending her concealed serrated-edged knife with what amounted to a dreamy tilt of her head , before jarring herself back to reality. “Excitable Query : What are you most looking forward to , Mistress Vaylin? Isn’t this so.. exquisitely exciting? Do you think we’ll be able to go out to the jungle sooner rather than later?” She stroked her blaster and rolled her head as if she were some kind of teenage girl , which in essence she actually was. “Sarcastic Musings : I certainly hope so anyway , it’d Be dissapointing if we had to just sit around and do nothing surrounded by idiots for several hours. But that’s just our fates , isn’t it? If nothing else , we can always count on the endless leadership chains to bore us to death. When they aren’t screaming and pleading for their lives. Hopefully there will be lots of that. If this ends up like Coruscant again I’m going to tear Ranah’s toungue out and split her jaw in half.” The Droid made her equivalent of a pout when it seemed like the woman either didn’t notice , or didn’t care. ‘Of course the one I can’t kill is the one who’s hard to scare. Why can’t we have one who at least shakes or urinates or cries , or does something other than ignore it or just freeze?’

( kalopsia. , WolfOfProphecys )
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Dxun - 347th Garrison

Meanwhile , on Dxun , the personnel of the 347th Garrison were frantically preparing for the arrival of Darth Vader himself , which they were assuredly very poorly prepared for. Personnel of all types were running everywhere trying to make the poorly maintained and staffed garrison approach presentable , from the disrepaired Vehicles with olive green paint markings to the dirty and cracked buildings to the largely dirty armor most of the troopers had. The contents of the Rebel’s Cache , some of it broken apart , were being hauled together where they understood all be viewed in the same location , the largely empty Vehicle Bay. Khala , perhaps the shyest woman on the entire moon , absolutely hated it - and she was the center of attention , which made it absoltely excruciating. If it weren’t for her discovery of the Rebel Cache hidden in the jungle none of this would be happening , and everyone knew it. ‘Just keep your head down , that’s all you had to do , your one duty , and here you go being an idiotic little halfbreed again and ruin even that. Why am I so stupid?’

It didn’t help the self-loathing woman’s already poor self-esteem that most personnel were shouting insults at her , even though she too was trying her absolute best to prepare a woefully underprepared , undermaintained garrison for a visit from some of the most powerful individuals in the Empire. Who would assuredly want to see her right away , if only to debrief her. They’d think she was stupid too , of course , everyone did , and that many people couldn’t have been wrong. It wouldn’t help her that she was a Hybrid , a woman , and a lesbian to boot , three things that never fared well in the Empire. Her scars wouldn’t help her either , but she hoped to keep her full armor on unless they ordered her to wear something else , or take her helmet off to speak to her. A Navy Commando darting behind her to clean his rather filthy armor shouted out ‘you stupid dyke! Look what you’ve gotten us all into , halfbreed!’ She grimaced behind her helmet , still attending to her duties of cleaning her quarters so at least if they wanted to inspect them she didn’t look as worthless and she felt. ‘At least if Lord Vader chooses to kill me I won’t have to be insulted constantly. Hopefully if there is an afterlife I’ll get to be alone , in torment or not.’

Right now the reclusive Hybrid would’ve given everything she had just to be on Csilla’s back out in the Jungle , just herself and the only organic creature that didn’t judge or insult her for things she couldn’t entirely control. She was stupid , true , but she couldn’t help being a Hybrid , or a lesbian , or her scars. She hadn’t don’t that , and she never intended to reveal her sexuality until the other Storm Commandos had chosen to use it as a weapon against her. She hadn’t ever even been in a relationship with another woman , she’d barely even gazed at another , and yet everyone knew anyway. And now one of the most powerful people in all the Empire - an Empire that hated everything that made up her identity , at that - was here to act on things she had discovered. She shoved a small picture into a drawer underneath her underclothes , before anyone or anything could see it other than herself. ‘I have to be the most idiotic Chiss in the whole Galaxy - if I can even be considered one being a halfbreed , anyway. Khersa was always right , it’s a shame she isn’t here to see how utterly worthless I turned out to be. Maybe I can try to make Lord Vader think I’m worth something or even somewhat smart , maybe , if he doesn’t care to look any deeper. Hopefully he won’t care much about me , he’ll just leave me alone after he gets what I need if I’m lucky enough. Which I’m not. Why do I have to be such an idiot? Why can’t I do something smart for once in my life?’

Externally , of course , the Storm Commando Lieutenant maintained the same icy , aloof demeanor she had ever since she had first killed someone , 11 years ago. She just coldly went about her day as she always did , numbly going through all the things she was required to , whether by order or because she felt duty to - such as cleaning her quarters , as small as they were. She’d already cleaned herself and her armor in the very earliest hours of the morning when she was practically the only person awake in this part of the Garrison , thankfully , so at least she would look presentable when Darth Vader and his two apprentices arrived. Maybe she could look like she was highly adept and intelligent. Maybe. Possibly. ‘And then I can go get Csilla venture out to start scouting again. At least out in the jungle no other souls but Csilla’s are there with me , and for whatever reason she doesn’t hate me. Or at least I believe she doesn’t , at any rate.’

 

[WolfOfProphecys]

Darth Vader had been mostly silent for the past few hours. As he had multiple times in the past week as they traveled, he stood silent in front of Lieutenant Brevin as she allowed facts to roll off of her tongue like water to the base of a waterfall. He liked her. She was clean, precise, and didn't act like she could control him, as others before her had done. Not all of his crew had been killed in action. No, some of them had pushed Vader one step too far, and he'd snapped them like the weak twigs they were. But Brevin was good, and so he had no qualms with keeping her at his side. Besides, she was very thorough in her research, a trait that previous people in her position hadn't had, and one that had gotten them into unforeseen trouble on countless occasions.

Of course, he didn't show that he liked her. His face was neutral, golden eyes blazing with the dark that curled around him like an angry blanket of energy. As always, he listened carefully to her advice, and then commented when needed, such as when she mentioned whether to land his Gozanti-class Assault Carrier on the moon, or leave it hanging in space. She always seemed to give her advice and ask for his opinion, instead of telling him what he should do, not even remotely trying to control the Sith Lord's decisions. He nodded to her, "It would be better if we left the Assault Carrier on the moon when we land. If things are as.... horrible as you've mentioned, we may at some point need a quick getaway for any reason. Whether that be summons or.... issues. It would waste time, and fuel, to leave it up in space." He returned to her, nodding his head, "We would not want to waste time on a Carrier that isn't as... strong as our own." He added, smirking. He was always amused when his ships, his people, were better than others. That, after all, was why they were here. Because his Master thought they were worthy of doing the job correctly.

Listening about the girl, he frowned, "Well clearly she must be more intelligent and valuable than anyone else on this rock. After all, she actually has information for us, does she not?" He asked rhetorically, rolling his eyes. No, he'd see what the girl had to say himself, before making his own assumptions. He could care less what she was, who she was, or what she did. As long as she was useful enough to him, and didn't do anything that may displease him, she'd be fine. He shook his head to her, "That will be all Lieutenant." He dismissed. ( HK Fifty )

--

Styx Kagore was content to listen to the droid ramble on about killing things. He wholeheartedly agreed, he was itching to end the lives of the Rebels below. Maybe, just maybe, he'd be allowed to torture some, have fun. He knew Vaylin didn't particularly like torturing others, preferred killing them quickly, but he much preferred to savour the deaths of those that opposed him, especially ones that were traitors to the Empire he served.

He smirked at Nya's excitable query, "Hopefully not too long now. I'm itching to destroy someone." He huffed, "Even if it is Rebels, at least they might give us a bit of excitement. Maybe a good chase. I do love running after them until they're cowering fear beneath my blade..." He mused, fiddling with his lightsaber. His mask currently covered the lower half of his face, but his eyes were bright with excitement to mimic the murderous droids. He glanced over to Vader and the Lieutenant, sighing, "I do wish this would hurry up. The quicker we get there, the quicker Vader meets whomever, and the quicker we get to go killing people." He looked between the droid and his best friend, beaming beneath his mask in an almost feral manner. ( HK Fifty kalopsia. )

 

[kalopsia.]

"I hate this." Vaylin grumbled mentally. "I hate unexpected missions, I hate being cooped up, I hate meeting new people. I hate this." The Sith Apprentice had attempted to remain still during their journey, but eventually found herself pacing back and forth before grumbling and finding a place to sit, though even then she did not stay still. The young woman instead bounced her leg in the same manner as she always had when she was restless. She glanced around the ship, as if she were scanning her surroundings. Not that she needed to, though.

It was quite true that the moment Vaylin stepped foot aboard the large vessel, she had immediately risen her shields. She had scanned the entire ship with her presence and was currently aware of every small detail from the quick flickering of lights on different control panels to every breath the organics aboard her father's ship took. "He's not your father." A voice deep within Vaylin's mind spoke cruelly. "Yes he is." Said another, much younger voice. "Maybe we should be thinking about this moon we are traveling to, what if she's there?" "My mother." The young voice retorted. "She isn't your mother, she left you. She left all of us."

"Shut. Up." Vaylin gritted mentally to the voices. In the physical world, she closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath and holding it as if she were mediating. Opening her eyes again, the Sith found herself standing in what was more like the dark rooms of her mind. Now the voices in her head had faces, they were her faces. Her personalities. And they were testing her patience.

You see, Vaylin imagined her patience to be like that of a long piece of twine, tying her true self to what little reserve she had left in her tormented soul. And may the Force have mercy on the poor soul who ignited the flame to break that twine, it would end in their immediate death. Now the voices inside her head had ignited that flame as they spoke of things that she would have been better off not remembering. But life is never fair, is it? Vaylin was destined to be plagued with the nightmares of her past.

"If she's there, then we will kill her." "No! She's my mother!" Vaylin's patience was wearing thin, the piece of rope becoming visible in her mind's eye, the singed middle pulling apart as the smaller threads popped and sizzled in defeat. "What if they leave us there? What if Styx and Vader decide that they're better off without us?" Vaylin clenched her fists, grimacing in her mental form as the voices argued with each other, until the last thread of Vaylin's reserve split in half and the girl yelled angrily through her thoughts.

"Shut up! I swear to the Force that if you do not shut up right now, I will rip your throats out with my bare hands!" She growled. "I do not even care if it isn't physically possible, I will find a way, and I will do it."

The voices were quiet then. Funny, the girl was afraid of herself.

With the chaos on her head finally settled, Vaylin was able to realize that Nya and Styx had been speaking, and she glanced up at the taller man. "I wasn't paying attention." Vaylin replied flatly. Many people confuse paying attention to listening, but Vaylin thought that the two ideas were very different. Paying attention required her entire mental focus to be on one specific thing or person, and Vaylin wasn't exactly capable of that, at least not often. Listening, however, can be done no matter what you are playing attention to. Her golden eyes flickered to Nya as her mind searched itself for what she had picked up on. It seemed that they had been talking about their destination, what they would do when they arrived.

"Ah. Yes, I do believe the deaths of others would boost our spirits. Maybe I'll find someone to drain the life out of slowly and make others watch as their body crumbles." She returned. Peering at the two people she trusted most, Vaylin could remember the fear she had felt regarding them both during their first encounters. When she first met Nya, she had feared that she would accidentally harm her, as she had the HKS units on Coruscant, and it is because of the droid that Vaylin learned to stay a little more calm, rather than getting frustrated at her defeats.

Meeting Styx was different, chilling her heart with not only fear, but guilt as well. Guilt for the jealousy she had caused him to feel, and the feeling of being replaced. And the fear that he would act out on that jealousy and harm her. But that was a long time ago, and she needn't fear that any longer.

( WolfOfProphecys HK Fifty )

 

[HK Fifty]

Leiutenant Ranah Brevin nodded as Lord Vader spoke to her , more than intelligent enough to know not to interrupt him giving her orders. It was one of the worst kept secrets in the Imperial Officer Corps that Darth Vader typically carried out summary executions of officers under his command , though the rumors about the reasons behind them usually swirled from the likely - such as certain high class officers being too haughty for their own good - to the sheerly absurd , and judging from what she saw most of the rumors fell into the latter category. Of course , that didn’t make the fact that there was an incredibly high turnover rate among officers serving Lord Vader directly , and given that she’d been in her position for a little over five years the took great pride in how well she served her superiors to have lasted as long as she had. Whether that meant she was actually liked or not she didn’t care to speculate on , but it at least indicated that she carried out her duties very well , and that was more than enough for her. And if nothing else , she certainly wasn’t stupid enough to presume to command the Dark Lord of the Sith himself , and even if she was the Grand Admiral herself she wouldn’t dare - she was much more interested in living than trying to show off power she knew very well only one had.

Leiutenant Brevin firmly nodded when Vader dismissed her , bowing. “As you command , Lord Vader.” There wasn’t any need to say any more than that , it was already understood that if she had more to report she’d certainly be back with that information soon enough , if he was ready to receive it. Landing the Gozanti on the moon itself was by far the smartest idea , but she didn’t dare frame it as any more than a suggestion , as that wasn’t her station - nor her desire. It was much more advantageous for her to be more reserved and offer her opinions as just that - opinions - rather than facts or orders. She was certain that alone was much of what had kept her alive to this point , even above her skill and acumen as an aide to Lord Vader or his two apprentices. As it was she executed a precise turn on her heel in a rather graceful manner and headed for the ship’s bridge.

The Gozanti exited Hyperspace a bit sooner than expected , and behind the triangular-shaped Star Destroyer lie the dull green orb that must’ve been Dxun. Somehow it was even more aggressively backwater than the holovids made it look , causing the core-raised woman to sneer as she heard her datapad - which was linked to all the ship’s communications gear - chirp in announcement that she was being hailed. “What is your crew manifest and mission , Lieutenant? Transmit proper security codes and a complete crew manifest immediately or we shall board you.” The picture on the datapad was a rough hewn , unkempt looking human male that appeared to be the communications officer of the Star Destroyer , a Lieutenant like herself. He seemed to regard her suspiciously , likely not expected a woman like herself to answer the hail. “My mission is to ferry Surface Marshal Lord Vader and his associated personnel onto this moon , and as for the former that is well above your security clearance , Lieutenant. Transmitting security codes now.” She smirked a little to herself , waiting to see what reaction he had to such a high level code. He likely hadn’t ever seen one this high in his entire life , and it showed when his eyes widened severely and he waved over a higher officer - probably the ship’s captain from the looks of things - to double check it wasn’t a glitch in the computer system.

After a moment the senior officer resumed where the Leiutenant had left off , facing Lieutenant Brevin - or at least her hologram - directly. “Your codes check out. Before we clear you to land , however , we require proof that Lord Vader is truly aboard your Vessel , and you are not falsifying information.” Internally she sighed , already caught up in the tangled beauracratic web that was the Empire’s internal military structure. Doubtless they had expected Lord Vader himself to answer the hail instead of her , which already showed a concerning lack of knowledge about her superior officers she knew would very quickly prove an irritance to them all. “This is Lord Vader’s Personal Gozanti-Class Assault Carrier , with proper transponder codes and security codes. Docked underneath her are both Lord Vader’s TIE Advanced and Lord Vaylin’s TIE Silencer. I am Lord Vader’s Personal aide , Lieutenant Ranah Brevin. There is no reason for you to require proof of Lord Vader’s presence aboard this vessel , Captain. I would advise you not force me to fetch him , as he is currently attending to his own personal preparations , and I assure you he doesn’t wish to be bothered.” The man regarded her for a moment before continuing on in his droning , unpleasant voice that she was sure would very quickly become one of her chief annoyances. “Be that as it May , we still require proof Lord Vader is truly on your Vessel , and you are not merely using his ships and clearances for your own gain , Lieutenant Brevin.” This time she wrinkled her nose slightly , though she felt like groaning. Just what she needed , for Lord Vader to already have to be pestered by Petty backwater Officers that couldn’t find their own bellybuttons with both hands.

“So be it. I shall contact him for you , Captain.” She pulled out her comlink and made a motion to flick it on , talking into it. “Forgive me for the interruption Lord Vader , but the Captain here requires proof you are aboard this vessel.” In reality the comlink wasn’t on at all , but she’s paused as if he had responded to her anyway. “Yes , I am aware that you were in the middle of attending to personal matters , sir. I informed the Captain of this , and he chose to ignore these warnings. Yes sir , I informed him that you don’t wish to be bothered. Oh dear , I deeply apologize , I was not aware that you were so engaged. No , I don’t believe the Captain can wait. Yes sir , I shall wait for you on the bridge.” She made it appear as if she’d shuddered , trying to mimic and play on the rumors of Vader’s legendary temper even though it made her seem a little weak. Though if she had just displeased Darth Vader himself for real , she’d be quaking in her boots right then , intelligent and skilled or not.

Seeing the red-haired woman’s display , however , did have the intended effect on the Captain , causing him to blanch. “That will not be necessary. You are cleared to land at the coordinates provided. Please inform Lord Vader his presence is no longer required to authenticate your landing clearance , Lieutenant.” She once again smirked , feeling triumphant. At the very least , she’d avoided annoying her superiors with this particular matter , though she didn’t like the portent it gave of what may await them all below. She pulled out her comlink again , falsely flicking it on again. “Lord Vader , my sincerest apologies for contacting you once more , however the Captain has decided he no longer requires physical proof of your presence aboard this vessel to authorize our landing.” She faux-flicked it off again , stowing it on her belt. “Thank you for your cooperation , Captain. Leiuteant Brevin out.” She flicked off the hail once landing coordinates had been given , knowing no Captain was suicidal enough to complain about Lord Vader’s personal aide simply shutting off his hail to any officials that would be highly placed enough to act on such a complaint. After all , the rumors were that the last few that had tried had all ended up the victund of Force chokes , which like any rumor had some truth to it. It didn’t hurt to exaggerate them though , if it meant she didn’t have to pester Lord Vader with such petty matters.

With her duties there over and the Gozanti’s two pilots taking over a landing she knew would be beyond routine enough to not require her oversight , Ranah took her leave of the bridge and traveled back to her previous location to inform Lord Vader of their landing. “I’m here to inform you that the Captain of the Star Destroyer has granted us clearance to land , Lord Vader. If you or Lord Vaylin wish to undock your starfighters to land them separately , now would be the most adequate time. The Garrison’s starship hangar does have docking clamps for the Gozanti so they could remain docked to her , but they seem dodgy at best and given the low quality of their own Assault Carrier it may be likely that she would be too heavy for their docking clamps to properly hold.” While she waited for a response the officer indulged herself with a quick glance over to Styx , subtly admiring him. Everyone else found him disfigured or terrifying , but she didn’t - even if he was talking about murdering people at that particular moment. His beautiful , yellow eyes were shining , however , which she very much appreciated the sight of. She knew she had no chance of ever being with him , but it didn’t mean she couldn’t be attracted to him anyway , in her own way. And maybe one day she’d have a chance of having a relationship with him , however that would turn out.

( WolfOfProphecys )
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Nya listened to Styx talk about his own personal dreams of what sort of death and destruction he could wreak on Dxun , remembering how often he used to chase Rebels for sometimes entire kilometers before their legs would give out , and he’d execute them. She herself had always preferred different methods , and typically instead preferred to stalk her prey subtly before moving to strike , viscously and with overpowering strength and skill to cover herself in her enemies’ blood and viscera. That was one benefit Ranah had , she thought , the redhead at least didn’t mind her tracking blood all throughout the ship like so many of her predecessors had. If the hunt on Dxun was as fruitful as she was hoping this would be a very often occurrence yet again , and she didn’t care in the least whether whoever was in charge of this garrsion took offense to her murderous habits.

The murderous class-four Droid certainly echoed Styx’s sentiment that it would be best for all this waiting to hurry up already , she didn’t have the patience to just stand there for hours waiting until she could go do what she was made for after having to wait so long already. And judging by how long it took Ranah to attempt to get clearance for the ship to land , or whatever it was she was doing before she returned , it seemed like this moon was a backwater-sheik green-tape nightmare. ‘Oh , wonderful. Well , if all else fails I can always cut the green tape in two , can’t I? There’s nothing that can’t be solved by just murdering someone. Or a score of someones , most preferably.’ She noticed Vaylin seeming lost in her own thought , struggling with her own thoughts and feelings again. Were she Lieutenant Brevin she would’ve helpfully explained all that had been said , but the Sith Apprentice seemed to go back through what had been said easily enough herself , as if she were a droid herself.

Which , of course , to Nya her Mistress having Droid like qualities had always been endearing to her. She very much adored her mistress , in her own way , and though she wasn’t programmed to be a lover she still would’ve used the phrase ‘I love you’ to her if that had been at all acceptable. As it was she didn’t hug her mainly because she was fairly sure she’d traumatized her the first time she’d hugged her , covered in gore as she had been at the time. Vaylin was the only person she’d ever apologize to willingly , and perhaps Styx if she deeply offended him. They were her two bestest friends in the whole Galaxy , her only two friends , she adored them both in her own murderously focused way.

And therefore it was no mystery why Nya enjoyed hearing her Mistress talk about how she wished to kill , if in less eager detail than herself or Styx did. Vaylin might’ve been a bit more like an IG unit than an HK unit so far as combat droids went , but she didn’t adore her any less. “Excitable musings : Both sound very interesting , Mistress Vaylin , Styx. I’m sure in a jungle like this it won’t be very difficult to chase our targets , nor be able to drain the life from someone as their comrades helplessly look on. I just can’t wait until I can split someone open with my sword again and cover myself in their viscera as they die , hopefully to wear their various internal fluids as a new paint scheme for as long as I wish after. Whoever runs this place had better take after Brevin’s lead and allow the three of us to do as we please. Though I wouldn’t mind being able to split them open either , rip out their intenstines while they choke on their own blood , unable to cry out , terrified as their last moments play out before their helpless eyes.. ohhh , it’s been far too long since I’ve been able to do that..” She sighed in a wistful manner , her menacing , yay surprisingly soft (when she wished it to be , at any rate) mechanical voice making the noise shockingly realistic. For a Droid , she’d always been more organic than many others of her type , though it would be suicide to tell her as she very much preferred to think of herself as all-Droid.

( kalopsia. WolfOfProphecys )

 

[WolfOfProphecys]

Darth Vader watched as his Lieutenant walked off, turning abruptly on her heel. He liked her. Forward, to the point, and with a healthy amount of fear of him, just as a good Lieutenant should be. And she was good. She'd lasted 5 years under his command after all, and not many people could truly say they'd been anywhere near him for that long, save his Apprentices, his Master, and a few droids. Well... after he'd become a Sith and seen the truth finally. He grimaced to himself at the thought of his life before the Sith, how stupidly naive he'd been, believing the Light was strong and true. Past him had been a fool, his current self knew the truth and power.

Ignoring his Apprentice, Styx, and the HK droid, he instead stretched out his senses after Brevin. He liked to hear her answering the hails of others. It often gave him an insight into the crew of whomever they were meeting. They were more likely to be honest around Brevin than they were Vader, who they'd more likely grovel at the feet of. It was a... good indication of their disciplines, and also who was just acting petrified around him because of who he is, and who may need a little... convincing when it came to fear. Vader liked people to fear him, enough that they understood not to annoy him, but not enough that they were frozen every time he walked into the room, as previous Lieutenants had been.

He smirked as he heard her try and convince them that Vader was preoccupied and wouldn't be pleased to have to come and show he was there. Honestly, did people think anyone would dare steal his ship, and his codes? Or did they just want to see Vader so they could later avoid him perfectly? Whichever one it was, he chuckled in amusement. Oh, his Lieutenant was good. Keeping annoying idiots like them away from him was the best way to avoid him murdering someone, and she knew he'd only become murderous if he had to talk to anyone so stupid. He was about to stalk in and give them a show of angry Sith, when she spoke again as if into her com link, as if to him. Oh, so she was acting. How... interesting. He grinned toothily to himself under his hood as the man quickly returned that he didn't need to see Vader any longer, and rolled his eyes. Terrified. How boring.

His face went to neutral again as she returned, and he nodded to her, "Then Vaylin and I will go and sort out our own ships. I trust you'll keep the ship in check Lieutenant?" He asked, though didn't wait for a reply. Instead, he looked to Vaylin, "Vaylin. Come along." He ordered, uncaring of their conversation. He stalked toward the door, before pausing and looking back at Brevin, "I admire your acting skills Lieutenant." He smirked, cluing her in to the fact that he'd been listening to her conversation, before he swept out the door, trusting that his daughter would follow. ( HK Fifty kalopsia. )

--

Styx hummed a pleased note when Vaylin joined in, nodding. Killing would lift all of their spirits for sure, he already couldn't wait to hear the screams, to feel the fear of others in his head, the rush of the hunt in his veins. He grinned beneath his mask, and then looked at Nya as she made her observations, chuckling, "Blood red has always suited you, dear Nya." He commented cheerfully, "I can't wait. It's been way too long since anything exciting has happened." He huffed, shaking his head. He'd noticed that Vaylin had spaced out, and had been about to mention what they'd been speaking of when she seemed to catch herself up. HIs friend was strange, but he liked her that way.

He twitched when Vader called for Vaylin, and nodded slightly to his best friend. Styx knew better than to disobey Vader, so he'd stay put, and he knew Vaylin could get away with far more than Styx dared, at least with her father. He was no longer jealous of her, of the fact she'd replaced him as Vader's Apprentice. He was just glad now to have his best friend, and also his life. They could have just killed him, instead of keeping him as some form of backup plan. ( HK Fifty kalopsia. )

 

[kalopsia.]

Vaylin sat quietly, slightly more relaxed than she had been only a few moments ago. She nodded to both of her friends, "I do think the Vornskrs are ready for action. It has been quite some time since they last truly hunted." She returned. Vaylin rather enjoyed watching them hunt, the way they paralyzed their prey and ripped them apart until their bones were stripped clean awed her. She glanced towards Styx, thinking of how Rhea quite enjoyed the company of her mother's friend. It wouldn't be long until the second-born of the small pack was hunting at his side. She was sure of it.

Her golden eyes flickered to Vader as he ordered for her to follow, "Yes, Master." Her eyes followed him as he left before she stood. The young woman returned the slight nod to her best friend, and checked to make sure that her lightsabers were clipped securely to her belt. She turned her head, eyes flashing between Styx and Nya. "Don't do anything stupid without me." She smiled, before turning to follow the Sith Lord.

It did not take her long to catch up to him, and she stayed at least a step behind him in pace. Vaylin made a point not to look at him, for if she did then the voices would surely return. Something she did not need or want at this current time. As eager as she had been to join Vader when she was younger, it surprised the Sith Apprentice that she now found it painful to be around him. Even more so when the longing for a father's love did not go away over time, though she wished it would have. It had often occurred to Vaylin that she seemed to do anything that would gain his approval, his praise. Whether that be throwing herself into the fiercest of battles or completing the most mundane of tasks, the girl craved to be accepted.

It was foolish, to think that she would ever have a real relationship with her father. "No. Don't call him that." But she wanted to. Vaylin mentally kicked herself for the foolish thoughts racing through her mind, but she couldn't help it. No amount of torture from the Emperor would ever silence the spirit of a small girl that lived deep within the darkness of Vaylin's soul. The small girl who waited anxiously to see her father, and, in her innocence, payed no attention to the terrible things he had done, for she admired him and wished to be like him. Now she was, and as she thought about the little girl on Coruscant, the one who's spirit she had left behind many years ago, she realized how stupid she had been. She remembered the day that the girl died. The day the soul of the girl known as Vaylin Skywalker had been crushed. It was the same day that she had learned the truth.

Sith didn't love, and she'd never be loved.

( WolfOfProphecys HK Fifty )

 

[HK Fifty]

Leiutenant Ranah Brevin knew better than to try to speak when Vader was busy , not trying to get a word in edgewise and instead merely nodding her head in affirmative. Trying to speak when her superiors were would only upset them , anyway , and besides , they both knew she’d do what she was told without fail. However , his brief aside to her caught her by surprise , though at this point she knew nothing should surprise her. That didn’t mean it wasn’t a rather pleasant surprise , and she smirked as he walked off , knowing better than to call after him unless the situation was very dire or she had information of very high importance. No , despite her pleasure at her superior officer taking pride in her skills , she merely smirked and made a mental note to herself that there was nothing she could do that didn’t escape Vader’s notice , not that she expected she’d need to.

Well , perhaps asides from the Lieutenant’s attraction to Styx , but it was so unlikely she would ever be able to gain his attraction , much less his love , in return that she doubted anything would ever come of it. Still , a woman could dream , couldn’t she? As she walked to where he and the assassination Droid still stood , she looked to one of the Gozanti’s crew and gently bent down to instruct them in a much more commanding tone of voice. “In a minute’s time disengage the port docking clamps , and if any of the personnel aboard the Star Destroyer or on Dxun have any reaction to this direct their inquiries to my datapad. If there is any issue with our landing , inform me of it right away and I’ll take command of the ship from the bridge. Am I understood , Ensign?” The ensign , a younger female of perhaps 18 or 19 years of age , nodded and firmly said “yes sir” , in response , continuing to monitor the screens in front of her to ensure her ship’s smooth operation.

Perhaps it was unprofessional of Leiutenant Brevin to talk to someone she was attracted to instead of directly commanding her ship , but she didn’t particularly care. And besides , this was so routine she knew that her well-trained crew could easily handle it without her having to micromanage every little detail. If anything came up that needed her , they would be able to send it to her datapad or request her presence in the bridge. No , she was free to talk to Styx at the moment , especially with Lord Vader and Lord Vaylin away landing their own craft.

The reheaded , fair-skinned woman adjusted her hair and cap as she started to speak , admiring him in a subtle way she hoped wouldn’t attract anyone else’s attention. “Are you excited to return to war , Brigadier Styx? I must admit , anything has to be more tolerable than Core World Imperial Bureaucrats acting like the greatest minds in the Galaxy. Though from the looks of things , I don’t think any of these officers here are going to be any better. But at least we won’t have to be around them often , right? If nothing else , you have equal rank with the highest of those backwater bureaucrats , and you’re exceptionally brilliant at frightening others of their ilk , so I’m sure we could make them go away easily if you should like. I’m very excited too , if you’d be interested in knowing.” She said the last phrase with a smile , happy for Styx and hoping if she was excited too he may like her more. Oh , Ranah had it bad for Styx , despite that she was sure very few would think she was anything but dangerously insane for finding such a dangerous man so attractive. She only wish she knew what it was he liked more , as it was trying to initiate anything between them was like trying to fire a blaster in a dark , soundproof cave.

( WolfOfProphecys )
—————————————————————

Nya gleefully giggled when Styx mentioned how good blood red looked on her , fully agreeing with him. She loved to cover herself in the blood of her enemies , to strut about for days showing off how deadly she was and frightening any fleshsack annoyances by the mere sight of her. Oh , blood red was her favorite color. She wished she could store blod in a vat and use it as an oil bath , but alas , that was apparently too impractical. She didn’t understand why , given how many fleshsacks there were in the Galaxy , but it merely wasn’t meant to be for her. Not yet. She definitely was looking forward to seeing her Mistress’s Vornskrs hunt again , they were so effective killers , and the way in which they destroyed their targets was a pleasure for her to watch. She was excited just thinking of it , she couldn’t wait to see them in action again , easily the best organic hunters she’d ever witnessed outside of her own mistress. She adored the Vornskrs , whatever their opinion of her was in return.

The murderous Droid didn’t particularly like that her mistress had to leave , but she , too , knew better than to even think of going against Darth Vader’s orders. If she wasn’t outright destroyed , it would cause issues for her Mistress , and that was the last thing she wanted to happen. After all , unlike many droids of her class she adored her Mistress , and would hate to be the cause of anything bad happening to her. No , instead she just nodded at her instruction - of course she wouldn’t do anything stupid without her , being with her Mistress was half the point of doing anything ‘stupid’ to start with. She huffed as Vaylin stepped out of sight and turned back to Styx , before Ranah showed up and started talking about the very same things she , Vaylin , and Styx has been discussing for hours , days even , by now.

In truth Nya had no idea what it was the Officer was wanting by talking to them. She didn’t dislike the woman - Vaylin didn’t , and she had helped her Mistress in the past - but she didn’t dislike her either , and that she really had no theories as to what her motives were annoyed her. So instead , she chose to try her hand at scaring her when she could , usually when Vader wasn’t around to rebuke her. Besides , since she wasn’t among her Mistress’ favorite people , she was fair game so long as she didn’t terrorize her to the point where she was useless , or actually harm her. The tall droid stepped right in her face and loomed over her , putting a heavy metallic hand over the woman’s chest , right above where her heart should be. “Threat : Ranah , this conversation doesn’t include you. If you don’t want your heart ripped out of your chest still beating , do me a favor and return to your little datapad there instead of trying to insert yourself where you don’t belong. Am I understood?” The last phrase was directly mocking the officer , who Nya did technically outrank as a High Colonel - technically , for Droids didn’t really have authority , even the self-styled Queen of the Droids herself. As usual , the Lieutenant just pursed her lips in an unimpressed expression and put a hand on her hip , both hard to frighten and aware the Droid couldn’t actually do anything to her with her status. ‘Could she at least have the decency to act frightened for me? Whimper , or shake , or something other than just purse her lips like that? I hate that expression! Why must she be so hard to scare? What is it she possibly gains from this that she doesn’t do what I tell her to after threatening her?’

( WolfOfProphecys kalopsia. )

 

[WolfOfProphecys]

Darth Vader didn't look back to ensure that his Apprentice, his daughter was following him. He knew she would. He doubted she'd disobey him over such a small thing anyway, since it was simply moving off to land their own smaller ships separately. He wanted his TIE Advanced ready at any moment, and that would be far easier if it wasn't docked to the Gozanti. He only hoped that the idiots down on the moon below wouldn't dare to touch any of his ships, since they already seemed incapable of doing their jobs to the best of their miserable abilities. Of course, the best they could do was probably useless, but at least Vader could have seen that they had tried. For some reason he had doubts about the group stationed here.

He barely paid attention to Vaylin as they walked, noting her footsteps and her signature behind him. He glanced at her silently once or twice, and noted that she wasn't looking at him at all. He rolled his eyes. Honestly, what had he done now? She always seemed... almost afraid of him. Or at least... she always seemed to avoid him when he didn't demand her presence. He didn't really blame her, but he was both her Master and her father, and there should be some form of strong bond between them. They may be Sith, but they weren't monsters. Well... most of the time. Sometimes he liked to let the monster out, but he very rarely let it out at Vaylin.

He stayed silent until they reached the hanger, then looked at his daughter, "We'll be landing our ships separately. I do assume that the idiots below will try and block us, since they have already demanded my presence to prove that I am onboard. You have permission to shoot down anyone who attempts to shoot us down, or refuses to believe who we are." He told her. Honestly, she didn't need permission, probably would have shot them down without it, but he wanted to cover all of his bases. From there, he turned on his heel and stalked over to his TIE Advanced, not even waiting for a response. Of course, she could respond to him mentally, if she really wished to, but he somehow doubted it. ( kalopsia. )

--

Styx blinked as Ranah walked over, apparently with the sole purpose of talking to him. Strange. He'd noticed her staring at him earlier, but he had no idea why. Most stared at him through wariness, so perhaps that was it. But then... she'd never acted afraid of him before, not like others had. Not even when he'd tried to scare her properly. So really, he had no idea why she'd been staring, or in fact why she was coming over now. Maybe she'd explain what her issue was with him. Because he really was clueless.

He seemed unfazed when Nya stepped forward to shoo the Officer away, threatening. Styx rolled his eyes. Scaring the woman never worked, and he doubted this display would. He was proven right, as he watched, as Ranah just seemed unimpressed and put a hand on her hip. She was such a challenge to scare, and Styx wanted to be the one to eventually frighten her properly, so she'd actually react. The ones who were difficult to scare were always so much more satisfying to terrify, once you'd worked out what their true fear was. But.. somehow he doubted that someone like Ranah was very scared of any of their threats.

He stepped forward, patting Nya on the arm, "Nice try. Don't think it worked." He teased, then looked at Ranah, "I'm always excited to torture and murder. So is Nya here. Don't you agree that blood red suits her perfectly?" He asked, basically daring her to say otherwise. One didn't want to disagree and anger the murderous droid beside him, "May I ask why you were staring at me? Do I have something on my face?" With this, he looked up to Nya, "Nya, is there something on my face? Blood? Something?" ( HK Fifty )

 

[Epiphany]

Dxun - 347th Garrison

Meanwhile on Dxun, Captain Brianna Titus checked the latest inventory analysis on her datapad. The last timestamp was an hour ago and she felt impressed despite herself. In the year she'd been with the 347th Garrison, Bri had come to regret accepting a promotion just to wind up in a dead end outpost. The work ethic here was almost nonexistant, relative to most Imperial installations. And yet orders were orders and at least the Jungle and the rumored Rebels hiding on the moon gave her something to focus on, something to think about.

The discovery of the Cache changed everything, though, given the size and scope of it. It suggested a far stronger Rebel presence than any intelligence report had ever indicated, strong enough to draw greater Imperial attention. That Cache was bringing Lord Vader himself here. And if fear wasn't the universal motivator for Bri that it was for most Imperial Officers, she had to admit that she'd never seen more effort in the enlisted staff than she had since the announcement was made. She wasn't immune to the emotion either, though for reasons more complicated than the average soldier.

"CS-23," she said, looking up from her datapad and looking over the Command Sergeant Storm Trooper silently awaiting orders. "Good work. Now, given the spread of inventory, I want twice as many stationary guards posted to the night shift. I also want a roving patrol to monitor and check in between these six command points." The red-headed officer flipped her datapad around and activated a dim blue-light hologram in the air from the device, showing an approximation of the Garrison layout. "That vehicle bay may be the only place large enough and empty enough for us to do our work efficiently but it was also never meant to be secured against the kind of traffic we're seeing now. I don't want anyone on base getting any ideas on what they might sneak in to see...or sneak off with. Put the 5th Platoon on it from Charlie Company. I want it in place by tonight."

"Yes, sir."

Captain Titus watched the Stormtrooper march off before deciding a personal inspection of the cache was due. As she strolled towards the Vehicle Bay, she tapped another passing Stormtrooper. "FN-2218, I want you to hunt down SC-1015. If she's on base, send her to meet me in the Vehicle Bay. If you confirm she's on assignment in the jungle somewhere, you come find me in the Vehicle Bay and let me know when she's due back."

She didn't bother to listen for the man's reply. Instead, she nodded as she passed by the stationary guard unit out front and entered the Bay directly. Once inside, she squinted slightly as her eyes adjusted to the change in light and she started towards the expansive collection laid out. Tapping her datapad, Bri brought up the inventory analysis once more and checked a few things off. Nodding in satisfaction, she decided to kill a few minutes looking for anything Lord Vader might be particularly interested in.

If only there was a way to avoid meeting the Sith at all...
HK Fifty