Ask Black Treasure

[Wodan]

Korriban was a mess, the centre of Sith life and half the Imperial Military was a powder keg waiting to ignite. A simple misstep by either side and total war would erupt on the planet, the Sith Order was begrudgingly stepping aside as masses of Imperial Troops swarmed the world. It was only a matter of time before this became a battlefield and so Wodan had to act fast, before whatever happened, happened.

The Firrerrian stepped off the Imperial Shuttle, he wore simple clothing, not having any official rank as of yet within the new Din Empire and not wishing to antagonise anyone further by wearing anything symbolising the Sith Order. He brought with him two Imperial Officers, they were the legal authority to his mission. Technically he was only there to protect the two from any Sith traps which their minds or bodies could not detect or resist. In honesty he was there for a solely selfish purpose, hence why he had originally proposed the mission in the first place. They were to secure Darth Anaris’ old chambers and treasury, lest anything ‘dangerous’ fall into the hands of the Sith Order as they fled the planet.

Wodan got more than one dirty stare as he exited the shuttle, the hangar was under complete Imperial Control for the moment, though dozens of Sith were making their way to shuttles to take themselves off world. The Imperials gave him a look of distaste for him once being a Sith, the Sith gave him the same look for only being a Sith once not now.

“Best you lead the way, I am sure I will get stopped every five feet in here otherwise.”

@Eccles @Nor'baal

 

[Galen Terco]

Before...

It was going to be quite the mission. Lieutenant Terco of the ISB had been briefed on what was to happen, and he had ensured his unit was prepared fully and entirely for what might come their way. Standing before him were two ranks of ISB troopers, adorned in fitting armour*, DA-34 Blaster Pistols holstered at their side, E-11D Blaster Rifle held at guard positions across their chests. Each had a brace of frag and stun grenades on their belts. He walked in front of the line, wearing his own combat armour and equipped for deployment.

"Attention!" feet stamped on the ground in reply to his order "Agents of Rancor Squadron. You have all received your orders and know what must be done. If the treasures of this vault fall into the hands of those who would harm the Empire, we cannot be sure of the consequences." he reached the end of his pacing and turned back, walking down the line.

"We will deploy swiftly, in pattern Z-6. This is considered a weapons-live operation; anyone in that Palace, be they staff, Sith or otherwise, will be stunned and exterminated if they resist." nobody responded, and nobody nodded - the ISB did not need to; they all knew what had to be done.

* pictured above

---

Now...

Four Kaba-Class Shuttles touched down at the landing pad, the ramp spilling out four squadrons of ISB Troopers. They did not form ranks; they did not wait for orders - the orders had already been given. Instead, they walked forward in two lines, a loose formation with a few feet between them. Galen followed with his other Imperial Officer, his pistol in his hand.

"Come." he replied to Wodan, a sneer on his face as he looked at the man. The Sith had been at the top of the food chain for too long; it was good to see the positions changing. The squadrons advanced, their two lines stepping toward the entrance to the Imperial Palace, the door open, as the evacuation had prioritised the protocols which governed the building itself.

A cluster of Palace staff ran out of the main door. No order was verbally given, but the advancing ISB operatives immediately fired upon the group, stun bolts bringing them down almost immediately. A smattering of reports came in over his comlink "Clearly, we have company. Unarmed at present." he checked his comm.

"Proceed." the men continued to walk forwards, storming into the main door of the Palace.

 

[Levik Karn]

Imperial peacekeepers were suddenly in short supply and as Taris was a relatively unimportant world without a large presence from the Sith Order itself, the Imperial Security Bureau had ordered Lieutenant Karn to take twenty of his finest peacekeepers and go to Korriban at once to join with the forces of Lieutenant Terco and a Sith Champion that had professed his undying loyalty to the Empire.

The shuttle they were in was extremely crowded and Levik stood entirely too close to the Sith Champion for his comfort. He despised the Sith and their undeserved higher rank in the Empire up until now. This man, this Wodan, had been forced to relinquish his lightsaber and would only be here in case the Imperial troops ran into some kind of dark magic stuff.

As it opened, Levik followed Wodan at a few feet. The Sith, Levik and his peacekeepers were all behind the main force of Lieutenant Terco's men. "Arrest Sith sympathizers with the shock-collars provided, confiscate lightsabers, confiscate kyber crystals, confiscate those weird boxes they call Holocrons. It all belongs to the Empire now."

@Nor'baal @Braden

 

[Wodan]

Wodan couldn’t help but grind his teeth as the Imperials went about their vicious retribution. Even though the Sith technically had a week to depart the planet and Sith space proper, it didn’t stop the more ruthless Imperials letting out their built up resentment on anyone who wasn’t one of them. It was sickeningly ironic how the Imperials had chaffed under their perceived second-class citizenship and cursed at the Sith who pushed them down, now Altair sat at the head of the table they had no quorum in pushing the Sith into same hole they had apparently been in only a few days before.

Yes they would have potential resistance but it would be much closer to their destination, not here in the hanger, these were the women and children of the order, those willingly leaving their homes, but it didn’t matter.

The humm of a lightsaber broke through the shouts of the ISB peacemakers. Those shouts turned to screams as one Sith they pushed too far struck back, defending his family from the Imperials abuse of power, he took out a pair of Imperials who were attempting to force a shock-collar on his daughter. Wodan doubted he would live much longer, but part of him respected the stance the man took against these attack dogs.

He didn’t step into the small conflict, he would only worsen things for either side, so he kept to himself continuing to walk in line with the two officers as they headed into the temple proper.

@Nor'baal @Eccles

 

[Galen Terco]

They had been briefed to expect resistance.

In a way, Galen was secretly quite glad they encountered some so early. As the Sith ignited their lightsaber, Galen spoke over the squadron's commlink "Pattern B."

The command was a simple one, but it would be deadly. Each squadron member knew it moved the mission from a 'pacification' objective to an 'extermination'. It meant that command had ascertained the situation was dangerous, the area itself was dangerous - and the people within it had made it so. Within an instant, the Sith would find themselves the target of the entire front lines rifles, set from stun - to kill.

A wave of fire was immediate, and it was deadly. No matter one's mastery of the blade, deflecting twenty shots at medium range per second was simply impossible. The Sith deflected one, and was caught in the chest, leg and then face within milliseconds. The squadron moved forward without a word, a front rank scanning for hostiles, and engaging accordingly, the second rank stunning civilians as the teams advanced.

"Levik, lightsabers if you please." Officer Galen asked, prompting the other Imperial to scoop the fallen Siths blade off the ground, and confiscate it accordingly.

 

[Levik Karn]

One had to admire Lieutenant Terco's utter devotion to the cause as he didn't even flinch when he switched the orders from stun - to kill. His own men naturally complied as they appeared to be trained to the Imperial standards of utter perfection and obedience. Levik turned to look at his second-in-command, a grizzled old detective-veteran from Taris who had been promoted to sergeant just a week earlier. "You heard him, Pattern B-" his sergeant replied by way of giving the hand signal to the men for the change in pattern and they immediately switched their rifles to shoot lethal plasma. "-orders on lightsabers, kyber crystals and Holocrons remain unchanged."

Levik approached the body of the brutally scorched Sith and bend to one knee to peel the lightsaber from its burned hand. "Good riddance," he couldn't help but mutter with a hint of satisfaction as he pocketed the lightsaber, padded down the Sith's pockets for good measure and rose back up to his feet. "See it as a reminder, Citizen Wodan." displays any kind of Force sensitivity and meet the same fate. Lieutenant Karn returned to follow the Sith and Lieutenant Terco into the temple.

@Nor'baal @Braden

 

[Wodan]

Wodan tried his hardest to keep his face as neutral as possible as both Terco and Karn let loose their rabid dogs on the Sith around him. Rage and anger rumbled inside him as he followed the pair through their route of destruction. “No worry Lieutenant, I have a good memory.” No matter where he landed with Altair, be it on his side or with the Sith Order, he would soon have more power than either of these men. Then his memory would return.

“Anaris’ chambers are in the deepest part of the temple. We will need to head down, there is an elevator not too far from here which takes us down towards the council area. I will follow your lead.” He said, his voice blank of any emotion as he spoke. “I advise we keep the elevator shaft guarded, there are many hidey holes in the Temple. If we all go down they could trap us down there.”

@Nor'baal @Eccles

 

[Galen Terco]

"Your concern for our well-being does you credit." Galen replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm as the squad entered the temple proper. The main hall was a colossal affair, made more significant by its emptiness. Wodan was quite correct; they would need to take their next steps with extreme caution - who knew what the late Empress had left in store for interlopers.

Leaving two-thirds of the squadron in the main hall, Galen instructed the remaining ten men to take point and head down. The journey was brief; soon they arrived at the base of the elevator shaft, the doors opening to convey them to the vault. Like many parts of the Palace, the vault was built to impose, to project the power of the one whose valuables it protected.

It was also locked fast.

"Squadron is positioned, entrances and egress routes secured." he reported to the others with him as he listened to the coms chatter coming in from above. "Let's get this door open. Ready positions." he instructed, the men raising their weapons to face the door.

 

[Levik Karn]

The Council Area, Levik though about for a second and motioned for most of his men to follow him. "The Council isn't on Korriban," intel had confirmed as much, "Be sure to confiscate all of their items, personal and Sith artefacts for the Empire." He ordered before they'd follow Lieutenant Terco down and followed his lead.

The doors of the elevator shaft opened and they Imperials found themselves pointing their rifles into nothing. There was no one blocking their way as they moved into the so-called 'Council Area'. "Split up, check rooms, keep on comms. You three with me," he motioned for three of his men, those he knew were the best shots, to join him as he accompanied Wodan to Anaris' chambers. Whatever this Sith wanted that he specifically chose to go to Darth Anaris' chambers would be confiscated by the Empire and he could request it afterwards after careful review and submission into the Imperial databanks.

@Nor'baal @Braden

 

[Wodan]

They were efficient. That was for sure, he recognised some of the tactics the pair used from his own time embedded within the Imperial Military. Contrary to what these two probably believed Wodan had done the dirty business of being a soldier, ate the bland and dry rations, slept in the mud, watched friends and comrades die to blasters and IED’s. He just rose above it once he learned what he wanted, as he would again, although Terco and Karn had power now, it wouldn’t be for long. He would outstrip them again, just give it time.

As they exited the elevator, the soldiers split up to clear the side areas. “The Council isn’t here, but there minions will be.” Wodan said, he was on edge deep now, if they were to meet resistance and death it would be here, in the dark corridors of the inner sanctum. As if on cue, screams were let out in one of the side rooms, but they were quickly cut short. Then another from a room on the other side, then one behind. There was more than one of whatever slept here and it was picking of the Imperials one by one.

By instinct Wodan reached for a saber, but there was nothing there, his only defence was The Force and that done nothing against a blaster bolt flying at his face.

@Nor'baal @Eccles

 

[Levik Karn]

The warning from the former Sith was too late and too vague, which immediately irritated Lieutenant Karn. "Attention all units. Enemies present not in pre-mission briefing. Be on alert. Shoot to kill." He said into the comm to warn them, but it was too late and short screams echoed through the Council Area. Together with his three fellow peacekeepers, Levik raised his rifles to prepare for hostiles as the squared up next to the former Sith. Usually similar formations were used to protect a person of high value, but to Levik and his men this Sith was the lowest scum of all.

The Sith had always killed because they could, getting high on power and domination. Now with the first sign of trouble some of them, citizen Wodan included, quickly capitulated to join the enemy. However useful he would be in the future to the Empire, to Levik he would always be a Sith and a now traitor to boot.

"Did you just hold back information on purpose, citizen Wodan?" Levik gritted his teeth as he scanned their surroundings and motioned for the group to continue to Darth Anaris' chambers. Apparently the former Sith had forgotten his role in this mission, so Levik took to the comms again; "All units, to me-" the had personav's in their helmet and were aware of each other's positioning thanks to Imperial technology so it wouldn't take long for his men to join him to provide a bigger buffer and extra firepower in case of hostiles "-Lieutenant Terco come in. The citizen needs motivation."

@Nor'baal @Braden

 

[Galen Terco]

Every fibre of Galens body screamed that this was a trap. Here, in the nexus of power of the now-banned Sith Order, and a former member or the Sith Order had neglected to to inform them as to the nature of entities within the Empress' Palace.

Which was literally his job.

Watching as the hostiles seemed to form a protective formation around the former Sith, Galen followed his training. They had been given orders to secure the vault or ensure nobody else could. He was not about to send his men into a trap; he was not about to throw the entire mission because Wodan had neglected to provide adequate levels of intelligence to them.

Fortunately, they had ensured their exit route was secure.

"Withdraw." he instructed over the comms, with the squadron making haste to comply. "You've got a lot of questions to answer." he added, pointing at Wodan "Move it." Galen watched as his men folded back, moving back up the stairs - he looked at Wodan, and shook his head in frustration.

The former Sith would be facing a write-up for this severe breach of protocol. He would be expected to explain why he had failed to provide the intel he was meant to provide on one of the most high-profile Sith 'bases' in the entire Empire.

Once the squad had made their way back to the top of the stairs, they formed up into a protective formation, scanning for hostiles as the team then made their way out of the building. As they did so, Galen would be back on his comlink to command "Hostiles present through lower-levels, suspected foul-play - threat level increased. Move to air-strike."

He walked a few extra paces before the reply came back "Affirmative, strike approved. Ready on your signal." Galen shook his head in disappointment as they approached the vast doors through which they had entered the Palace.

 

[Wodan]

“It's hardly holding back on information Lieutenant, if you and your superiors thought that the Sith would give over their homeworld willingly, then you are all fools.” He replied with a smirk, it was surprising how dense some of the Imperials were. Yes Altair had pushed the Sith aside on the Imperial pedestal, but that didn’t mean they were all going to bow down to soldiers who only a few weeks ago would have been cleaning latrines.

The soldiers began running for their lives up the stairs away from whatever was behind him. Although he doubted it would be much, considering most had already left with Darth Tempest, unarmed as he was Wodan chose not to wait and see what was attacking the men downstairs. Caught in the middle of the rear guard, the Firrerrian took the steps two by two until he reached the top. Just about getting there in time as Terco tried to call in an air strike.

"Why are you calling in an air-strike? Are you scared of a few Sith? Also you saw how far down we were no Air-strike is going to reach them." Wodan was still shocked at how quickly the Imperials had run at the sight of a little resistance. Would they truly be able to win a fight against the Sith Order if the soldiers retreated as soon as something mystical happened? He was there for that reason, but before he even had a chance to assist them they had berated him then legged it out of the room as quickly as a bantha fart in a calendar.

@Nor'baal @Eccles

 

[Levik Karn]

The idiocy of the Sith always amazed Levik as he and his peacekeepers followed Lieutenant Terco's orders to withdraw. Apparently he couldn't read or respect proper Imperial procedures.. no wonder the lieutenant general thought it was better to just kick these malevolent anti-establishment Sith out of Empire. "You're here for a reason, citizen. That reason was to provide information-" he bit back just as one of the Sith minions, a youngster wielding a lightsaber, came into view twenty feet further down the hallways.

Three shots rung out, including one from the Lieutenant and while the acolyte did manage to parry two, the first one hit its mark on his right hipbone. The acolyte staggered and dropped to one knee, "Woooodan!" he cried, tears running down his face as the pain from the open wound worsened "Traitor! You chose shackles and chains over you creed!"

Another three shots rang out, hitting the acolyte in his torso after he levied his accusation and the young man dropped dead in the hallway. "You should know your place, citizen," Levik calmly stated, for the Sith had once perhaps held some station as a Master, today he was just the first who had willingly knelt to the superior force of the Empire. In the new Empire the Force-sensitives had no place in its formal hierarchy and there were only rumors about some 'Imperial Knights' unit that would solely exist to hunt down those Sith that refused to cooperate today. A fitting job for traitors and turncloaks.

"Lieutenant Terco," Levik sighed after the citizen spoke again, "This basement feels like a bunker," which made sense if it was to house the personal chambers of the Sith Council, "I suggest we see what use the citizen and go ahead." he made a hand-signal only Imperial soldiers understood hinting to the others -not to Wodan- the word 'cannon fodder'.

As if on cue three other acolytes appeared behind the one that lay dead and one of Levik's men was brave enough to give Wodan a push into their direction. As if to say, "well, go on then. Be brave without your lightsaber"

@Nor'baal @Braden

 

[Galen Terco]

This entire operation was going down hill, and fast. Convinced this had been a trap, or at least an anterior motive driving the mission itself, Galen kept his eye on the former Sith and nodded as Levik spoke. "Belay that, Command." he intoned over the communicator, calling off the airstrike. Staying close to Levik, and the bulk of his men, he held fire on the remaining assailants, preferring instead to ensure Wodan was sent to deal with them.

After all, that was why he was here - so they had been told.

"The door, now!" he gave a set of barked orders, as a duo of men moved toward the vault door, further from the assailants. Looking from the room as if one had just come down the stairs, there would be a cluster of Sith, then a smattering of ISB troopers, followed by Wodan, then beyond him Galen, and two ISB men heading toward the vault door.

Galen was confident that was enough space for them to get to work on opening it.

Drawing demolitions, the two ISB Troopers walked toward the vault door.

 

[Wodan]

Wodan stood face stern, unmoving as the Acolyte screamed at him. Markaresh was his name, Wodan had come back and run a few lessons after his ascension to Champion at the Academy Markaresh was one of the more prominent students in that class. Even though his face did not show it, the Firrerrian felt sorry for the boy, not because he got gunned down by two dozen imperials, no, because he knew nothing else but the Sith code, of course he would fight and die for it.

That was the true cost of this ‘purge’ the innocent children who had been brought up to know nothing but the Sith Code and Religion, persecuted because of the timing and location of their birth. Wodan turned to face Karn. “My place is next to Altair, Lieutenant, do not confuse my lack of fight for the Sith Order with my loyalty to my Brother. I followed him long before he was your commander, long before this.” He said gesturing to the body of the dead Acolyte.

He rolled his single eye as he was ‘gestured’ forward, Wodan had been a part of a military unit for months when he was an Acolyte and had learned most of the hand signals they used to move around warzones quietly. Although he was not one hundred percent sure, he had a good idea of what the Lieutenant had said to his men.

Then the other Sith came, he sighed as he recognised another face amongst them. He didn’t want to kill any of them, why had they not left when they had the chance? Three crimson blades ignited within the dim lit room, Wodan began pulling The Force inside him, Korriban a conduit of dark side energy made it easier than normal to reach his internal limits. With a snap of his wrist Wodan let out a wave of Force energy clattering into the Acoylte to his right, sending him flying backwards, bones snapping as he crashed into a pillar. The others charged.

 

[Levik Karn]

Lieutenant Karn didn't move to help Wodan as the latter charged the three acolytes with the Force, but instead seemed to smile a little as he looked at Lieutenant Terco, "This former Sith thinks the Lieutenant General is his brother." some of the peacekeepers around him laughed softly as they kept their rifles pointing in the direction of both Wodan and the hostiles. "Seems he runs from one delusion," namely the Sith Order and its creed, "into the other."

What struck Levik was the part Wodan had left unsaid. He didn't join the Empire because of its loyalty to the institution, or its people, or the order it brought from chaos. He joined it because of some unfathomable ideal and delusion that because the warmaster was Force-sensitive himself, so he would naturally be this Sith's brother. That was a scary thought and Levik hoped that -all things considered- the Sith that surrendered weren't given important positions in the new Empire. Despite the fact that, for a moment the Lieutenant shuddered at the thought, it's Emperor was -like his predecessors- Force-sensitive, too.

"Don't help him until he admits that his loyalty-" Levik made sure to emphasize the word, "-is to the Empire." Altair Din might be a shoe-in for the role of Emperor, but as of this moment he did not yet hold that rank and the operation here on Korriban answered to the Director of the Imperial Security Bureau and no one else.

@Nor'baal @Braden

 

[Galen Terco]

It was clear that the ISB agents were growing increasingly concerned with the conduct of the former Sith on their 'team'. However, whilst Galen shared and echoed their worries, he focused on completing the mission. "Acknowledged." he replied over the comms channel to Levik, as he focused on the Vault door and their efforts to get it open. Galen had little doubt that Wodan could handle the rearward thread they faced, but he still had a job to do.

Slowly, a selection of micro explosives was placed along the sides of the vault. His men had started this process whilst Levik and Wodan had enjoyed their exchange of views, and so all was ready within a matter of minutes. Galen suppressed the detonator, removing the vault door from its supports and slamming it down and away from him into the vault itself.

"Hold." he warned the ISB Troopers against storming into the room, instead throwing a slight flare into the room, which exposed a vast treasure trove, assorted Sith artefacts, crystals and currency of several denominations. "You two, secure the room." he ordered the leading two troopers, who activated the torches on their guns, and stepped into the vault proper.

 

[Levik Karn]

Lieutenant Terco pressed the detonator and opened the door to the room where Levik could already see the trove of Sith treasure, so while the citizen kept the Sith acolytes busy, fighting them unarmed while they carried the Force and their lightsabers, Lieutenant Karn motioned for his peacekeepers to follow. "Secure the treasures," was his simple command.

The peacekeepers moved swiftly to secure Darth Anaris' chambers for the Empire. The followed Terco's two troopers inside, where Levik pointed to the now illuminated entrances, "Secure the doors. I want no shadows in this room, no way for more Sith to enter."

The lieutenant himself went for what seemed to be the most treasured corner of devotion to the Sith tenants. Here the former Empress no doubt worshipped that Sith philosophy that the warmaster had now banished from the Empire. One artefact in particular took his notice. It was small, almost like a shard and as he took it he found that it easily fit into the inside pocket of his tunic. He was glad that in the relative shadow of this darkened place of worship, no one had noticed him picking up something so small, especially because right after her grabbed what seemed like one of the storied Holocrons and turned around to face Lieutenant Terco. "I heard it said that these things hold the souls of ancient Sith," he set his rifle aside and unholstered his pistol, putting the barrel against the small black cube, "Black Treasure?" He could also simply destroy it. Rob the banished Sith of their forebears.

Meanwhile a trio of his peacekeepers kept an eye on the citizen Wodan and would, if the man seemed to be losing his fight against the acolytes, help him by shooting at the Sith with their rifles.

@Nor'baal @Braden

 

[Galen Terco]

The mission was proceeding with haste, just as the pair of ISB Officers liked it. At Terco's recommendation, the men lit the room up - ensuring, within a matter of moments, that no dark space was left in the vault. There was quite simply nowhere for people to hide. Galen turned away from Levik to focus his attention on covering the entrance to the vault with his men; after all it was not his job to inventory the contents of the vault.

He would leave that to Leviks more capable hands.

"If we could hasten this process please gentlemen." he asked politely over the communicator, aware that this mission had the capacity to go south should their egress window narrow. He kept his weapon levied, as did his men, in Wodan and his enemies direction, just in case the former Sith required any assistance.