Chapter 1: The Ideal Soldier

[Vinny]

STORYTELLER​

Coruscant, Imperial High Command Regional Headquarters
Thirty minutes before the PROJECT EFFIGY trials
THIS THREAD IS DEATH DISABLED

The thunderous march of imperial troops over the surface of the landing platform made for quite an ceremonious welcome. Two columns moved with precision born of years of careful training. Parallel to one another they came to a stop on either side of the main causeway that split the VIP landing platform in half. They stopped, turned, brought their weapons up to their chests, and stood at attention. White armor shone in the artificial light that beat down on them from above. The clouds had grown thicker over Coruscant since the Sith took over.

Standing between both of the columns, a half dozen paces back to avoid seeming too eager, Colonel Hakke rolled his chin and shoulders, not daring to lift his hand to his collar to make himself more comfortable. Hands clasped firmly behind his back, the Imperial Legion's Research Director was the picture of the standard efficacy that the Empire demanded. His red hair was clipped short on his head, and only the thin remnants of a mustache remained beneath his lip. He gave a sharp salute when you, the VIPs stepped off of their transport.

"Welcome to Coruscant! Colonel Emile Hakke, Director of the Legion's Research Programs." He greeted and introduced himself in the same breath. You have a moment to take in your surroundings.

Spoiler: Hakke

The Colonel is immaculate in his dress and manner. There is a little bit of rose to his cheeks, but that is pretty normal for someone who has spent much of his day barking orders at subordinates.

Spoiler: Troopers

The Imperial Troopers flanking you seem to be some of the finest trained men in the legion, several of them have military honors emblazoned on their armor. Not a one shifts his or her weight in your presence.

Spoiler: The Facility

The Base strikes you as down right creepy, large, black, with the red banners of the sith hanging off to either side of the entrance. The whole facility seems to be designed just as much as a castle as one would design a military base.

@Gian Greydragon @Nor'baal @Crim

 

[Nor'baal]

Gently, the Yacht touched down in its designated landing area - its TIE escorts peeling off at the signal, expertly as part of their training. Grand Moff, General Solomon Lok exited the transport as quickly as it had landed and made his way to his transport a simple vehicle made en masse for Sith officials across the sector, capable of ground or hover travel. Men stood to attention as he past, and the Grand Moff dutifully saluted in return.



The Empire was far more complex that it first appeared, and the facade of military excellence the Grand Moff put on was more than a show; it was part of an image he portrayed, the clean, uniformed strongman at the heart of a web that spread across the core. In Front of his vehicle, a small team of one man speeders came, with a pair of CZPT-01 vehicles bringing up the rear. A standard detail for someone of his position, and a necessary one.



Few people understood the minutiae of his role, many seeing at a ‘cushy number’, the truth was far different. Dozens of other officials desired his position, and on a planet of just over one-trillion in population, Coruscant alone was harboring millions upon millions of radicals who would prefer it if their Grand Moff was ‘taken out of the picture’. In the past week, his security force had stopped just shy of two-hundred attempts on his life, ranging from letter bombs through to a half arsed ‘gun and run’ routine.



Solomon found it unsurprising that some of his fellow Moffs refused to leave their compounds in light of the danger. Sat in the back of his car, the Grand Moffs Adjutant, a young and cocky Imperial Noble who had been drafted to replace his previous adjutant - who last week has been on the wrong end of an assassin's pistol, and lost the bottom half of his spine in the process - was running over what the Moffs intelligence operation, something of a necessity in Sith politics, had managed to dig up on the day's events.



The data was disappointingly sparse.



With a wave, the Grand Moff silenced his over eager adjutant. ”You are armed I assume?” he asked the boy, whos eyes merely widened with horror at the very suggestion that a noble would carry a firearm. It was clear that the boys family had paid good money to have him as far away from danger as possible. Idiots.



”Trust me, you'll need one.” Solomon added with a nod as he straightened his military issue generals jacket, and stepped out of the car having arrived at their destination. A VIP platform opened up before him, an irritating series of clips and stamps marking the dozens of men standing to attention. These people need a good war. Solomon smile to himself and returned their salutes.



”Colonel Hakke, Sir.” the adjutant reminded the Grand Moff as he approached. May well have a use for this one after all. Solomon remarked to himself, his smile widening as though he had known Hakke for years, when in fact he had no idea who the man was beyond the briefing he had received. ”Colonel, a pleasure, fantastic work you have been doing, furthering the designs of the Imperium with every passing day!” the Grand Moff heaped praise on the man, inwardly cursing his intelligence operation for not divesting him of anything of actual use before this meeting.



”I have the pleasure of introducing Grand Moff, General Lok of the 8th Coruscant Stormtrooper Corp. and Grand Moff of the Core Sector.’’ his adjutant introducing him on his behalf.



OOC - Feel free to have the adjutant suffer a terrible ‘accident’ at some point in this thread. And yes, motorcades are cool.

 

[Crim]

Three priests, both dressed in plain, maroon robes stepped off the transport. The first priest held a gilded staff adorned with various jewels and stones. He sang in a deep voice, chanting an ancient Sith prayer. His face looked as if it had been shattered and put back together at least a dozen times. His broken yellow teeth jutted at chaotic angles, both cheeks were caved in from bone loss. A headdress sat atop his brow, glimmering in the light. Where his ears had been were two rods. The other two priests walked side-by-side. Their plain cloaks covered almost every inch of their bodies, save for their faces. Like the first priest, any beauty had been taken from them by physical punishment. The priestess on the left gazed blindly from empty eye-sockets. Her eyelids were sunken in, making her appearance almost similar to that of a mummy. She sang verses to supplement the prayers of the first one in a hauntingly beautiful voice.

The priestess on the right bore almost a perfect similarity to the blind priestess on the right, with two marked differences. She had not been blinded and, in fact, had eerily striking eyes. Her neck was bisected by a massive gash, the skin flaps pinned to the sides of her neck. Her trachea and esophagus seemed to have been removed. Two glowing apparatuses were jammed into the dried-out, brown muscle tissue. Her chest heaved with every breath she took. It was a labored, raspy sound with each inhale and an all-too familiar mechanical sound with each exhale.

The foremost priest walked exactly ten paces away from the ship and stopped. He turned, laid his scepter on the ground, and kowtowed to the transport's boarding ramp. The priestesses marched to either side of the landing plank and did the same, one facing the other. After a brief few seconds, the newly-christened Darth Trepidus marched out of the transport. A long, beaked mask peered out from under a drawn cloak. Opulent pauldrons rested on her shoulders, with an equally-extravagant brace adorning her right arm. Underneath a flowing tabbard, she wore a light breastplate over a black-and-maroon body-glove. Lightsabers of various design hung from her belt, with her primary saber clipped to her left hip.

"Welcome to Coruscant! Colonel Emile Hakke, Director of the Legion's Research Programs," said the man waiting for them. Trepidus motioned for her cabal to rise and said, "You may dispense with the pleasantries, Colonel. I am here to observe your work, not socialize. I understand you have quite the repertoire in the scientific community. I do not expect my time to have been wasted," she said.

@Gian Greydragon

 

[Intratec]

The next to make their presence known was the man of the hour, towering above all and flanked by a pair of the elite of the 121st. Caduceus Rhade, former Inquisitor now turned Supreme Commander. Compared to the rest he may have been dressed for a business meeting, or a night on the town. Dress slacks, a smoke-gray dress jacket, no tie, but a white shirt underneath. To the untrained eye he was defenseless. To those that knew him his protection was very nearly a part of him. An Armorweave layer with small 'scale' Armorplast discs sewn into the weave so at to not become bulky and to allow full range of motion. For the moment he seemed preoccupied with some minuet detail seeming to escape him.

Drawing near, his attentions were drawn back to reality. Enough to hear the pomp and cordial greeting of the Colonel. In response, the Supreme Commander pulled forth a small packet, and gently tapped forth a cigarette from it. Normally he did not smoke the ghastly things; preferring the delectable vaporization pens and their multitude of flavors. Yet right now he doubted such a thing would do well for his mood despite the roguish smile he firmly placed upon his countenance. "I expect great things today," he said in a light, airy tone all while stressing the emphasis on that one word. This was all before one of the trooper escorts stepped up, a lighter in hand and flicked it open and ignited it for Caduceus' benefit. Soon a cherry red ember pulsated along one end of the coffin nails. Pulling in a lungful of the nicotine-rich smoke he gestured to get on with it. All while walking forward, pulling the Colonel along in a companionable way appearing to favor the man.

"Now now, let the man have his welcome." chiding the woman behind him now. "If he's so welcoming it means that there has been some sort of breakthrough worth our attentions."

@Vinny

 

[Vinny]

STORYTELLER​

The Colonel maintained a stiff stance as the three approached. His back straight and his eyes fixed on each in turn as they made their initial statements. His shoulders shifted downward only a fraction when Darth Trepidus dismissed his greeting. He was relieved to see the Supreme Commander in a jovial mood, though. He bowed to all three before following that movement with another salute. A grin spread across his features;

"It is an honor to have such esteemed presences here. You will be pleased to hear that Project EFFIGY is ready for it's initial live trial. I will fill you all in on the full details of the project when we are inside." The Colonel said, before turning on his heel. He wasted little time leading them into the facility and past several layers of heavy security. Though he was quick to dismiss the guards in favor of his VIP guests.

The quick walk took them into a meeting room. A circular table in the middle was fitted with a holoprojector that was already displaying the likeness a capital ship's hangar bay. The locale had been refitted to look like something of a field hospital. He turned to them and gestured to their seats. He crossed his hands behind his back.

"As you know, Project EFFIGY was intended to replicate the extraordinary physical attributes of a force user in that of a trooper. Though we by no means delude ourselves into believing they would be a match for the indomitable prowess of our Sith Lords, we do believe that in terms of fighting ability those subject to the serum we have designed will be able to perform on par with the average Marauder. If you will forgive my saying, Lady Trepidus." He explained, gesturing to the holo display.

"In just a few short moments those participating in the trials will arrive. Before then, if you have any questions, I would be happy to see them answered."

@Zaphod Norblebrox @Intratec @Crim

 

[Nor'baal]

Stalking in with the rest of the VIPs, the Grand Moff was skeptical about the effectiveness of ‘Project Effigy’ to say the least, and with what little information he had been able to draw on; he was not convinced that it was worth the veritable black holes of spending it had created. However, never one to judge on face value alone, Solomon was no less eager to see the results than he had been when he had arrived.


Replicating the abilities of a force user was dangerous, and unlikely to be welcomed with open arms by the more ‘conservative’ members of the Inquisition, but Solomon reminded himself that such decisions and ‘religious matters’ were not within his remit. ”How do you envisage such assets being deployed to the field directly?’’ he began his question ”Such a formidable military asset must be deployed with caution, but also in a manner that avoids upsetting the military balance in the Empire.”

 

[Crim]

The very notion that technology or some twist of science could give a soldiers abilities to match that of an average Marauder was both laughable and heretical. Beneath her beaked mask, she couldn't help but smile. Yet, she was a woman of science and always would be. The man who stood in front of them was, likewise, a scientist. The scientific community could be as cutthroat as the Sith themselves. It was irresponsible of Lady Trepidus to dismiss this man's work without so much as seeing it for herself. The first step a scientist had to take before discrediting another scientist was to understand his work. If one intends to destroy a man's scientific career, one must at least have the courtesy to read his publications.

In truth, the Grand Inquisitor was intrigued. She doubted this man had managed to replicate the abilities of a Marauder, but such had been the goal of many scientists in the past. The Colonel was an esteemed personality in the scientific community and she was familiar with some of his prior work. If anyone in the galaxy could hope to perform such a feat, it was this man. Darth Trepidus crossed her arms and allowed her colleague to speak - the Grand Moff discussed tactics and logistics. Trepidus was more interested in the finer details, which she would soon have, there was one preliminary question she wished to ask: "In the Sith, the strongest survive. We are an empire of men and women who hone their natural skills into a weapon. There are marauders and there are soldiers, each with their respective strengths and niches. Why is such a serum necessary?"

@Intratec, @Vinny