Crushing the Plighting Carnage

[Dmitri]

OOC: This is a part of the Carnage arc (which has been altered into the Fel Conspiracy arc). This takes place after Angels We Have Heard on High.

Geist Weiss should have been with the rest of the fleet that was heading into the Core. He was suppose to be accompanying the group that would bound for Empress Teta. However, events had conspired to keep him in Imperial Space. Less than a month ago, Darth Vereor had been found again after a long absence, believed to have been dead. Geist Weiss had transported the Barabel to Bastion, where he was welcomed back into the Sith's fold.

It was believed Vereor's shipwreck was a result of a malfunction, or so Darth Carnaj's initial investigation had heralded. However, Geist wasn't sure, and wanted to investigate the matter. Darth Vereor had last visited the Aevum before his fateful departure. He had sent two acolytes, Xotomi and Caden Hec, to check out the Star Destroyer for any suspicious clues. The acolytes had shown their worth, discovering Captain Barrel Antilles involvement in the sabotage of Darth Vereor's ship. The acolytes had also brought back an encoded datapad which he had examined carefully. He was eventually able to crack it after a few hours. What he found was most displeasing. According to Antilles' datapad, Antilles had sabotaged Veror's ship under Carnaj's orders; this explained why Carnaj's investigation didn't find very good evidence: Carnaj was the perpetrator.

Geist Weiss contacted Darth Vereor and asked him to meet him at Uvuy Exen, a planet near the boarder. It was home to Carnaj's fortress and home to his lover, Darth Sechs. The Redemption was orbiting the planet. His message had been vague, with no hint of discovering Carnaj's role. All it said was to meet him here as soon as possible, that it was urgent. He made it seem like it was about the Core Campaign.

Geist Weiss told the crew to let Vereor board immediately and escort him to the observation deck, as he suspected the Barabel would want to meet in person.

 

[Rom]

Vereor entered on the other side of the system in his personal starfighter, looping low to keep the planetary body between him and the meeting place Grist Weiss had designated. The Warmaster made low grumbling hisses of annoyance in the back of his throat. He was needed in the Core, now that he had removed the threat of the Tion Coalition from attacking their backs while they moved coreward it was time for him to bring the 3rd fleet into the fray.

Yet here he was in some backwater system meeting with the Illusionist, Lord Weiss. It wasn't that he didn't completely mistrust Weiss; he simply was cautious since his supposed "marooning". He hit full burn on the thrusters, sending his starfighter screaming around the planet; should this be a trap he would simply slingshot around using his gathered speed and jump away, though if it was just Weiss his increased speed would bring him to the hanger bay as quickly as possible.

Seeing the Redemption sitting alone in space, Vereor quickly flew towards the Start Destroyer and stopped gonna hair in the center of the hanger, powering down his craft before leaping from the cockpit, his cloak snapping out behind him as he stalked through the halls, moving towards the observation deck as a panicked aid directed him.

"What exactly waz so urgent that you felt the need to summon the Warmaster away from his war? And that had better be the real you, or so help thiz one, Illusionist, this one will have to start checking with saberz next time!"

The words, while heated, contained no real threat. The Illusionist knew that he was one of the few that the Barabel actually felt was worthy of his respect and that Vereor would never cause him harm without it being deserved.

Usually.

 

[Dmitri]

The captain paged Geist personally on the arrival of Darth Vereor. As he awaited the arrival of the Barabel, the alchemist pondered how he would bring this news to his attention. However, all ideas that had sprouted during the brainstorm wilted as the Barabel entered the observation deck. The illusionist felt himself flinch a little at Vereor's tone, memories of Korriban those years ago still nostalgic.

"I thought you'd prefer to cake care of business immediately," said the alchemist. "The Grand Admirals have demonstrated their worth. I believe they will do fine." Geist turned around to face the glass, so he could see the planet below. "Not too long ago, I sent to agents to investigate what happened to you. They discovered that Captain Barrel Antilles of the Aevum had sabotaged your ship. They have evidence and his confession." He paused to let this information sink it. Vereor finally had a name to the hypothetical saboteur.

Geist continued on after a few moments, "However, evidence my agents obtained reveal that Captain Antilles was not the mastermind behind the operation. It turns out there's a reason Darth Carnaj's investigation heralded nothing. Darth Carnaj was the one who commanded Antilles to sabotage your ship in the first place."

Again, Geist paused. He then motioned with one of his hands the planet below. "Darth Carnaj is based on the planet below in Darth Proelium's old palace. He's yet to realize we're on to him."

 

[Rom]

Vereor inhaled deeply at the words Lord Weiss was saying, his mind flinging him back to the Jungle; the cries of Wraith packs moving through the night, the constant rumble of thunder, the rush of water that heralded a massive flood. The three years he had spent on that world were as fresh in his mind as the flight towards this Star Destroyer; he truly doubted that they would ever leave him.

But killing the creature who caused it all certainly couldn't hurt.

Vereor was immediately stalking for the hanger bay, gesturing for Weiss to follow him. His weapons were all in their holsters and his armor was ready. There was no way he was going to allow Carnaj to escape.

"He diez today. No other outcome iz acceptable."

The Barabel turned to face the Illusionist as he came to a stop in front of a shuttle. "This one thankz you for your aid in this, Geist Weiss. You have honored this one with your loyalty... And know that this one will do all he can until the end of his dayz to repay that debt of gratitude.... Will you come with this one to the Cowards's Fortress? This one would like to share the glory, in thankz for your aid."

 

[Dmitri]

As expected, Darth Vereor's wrath rippled through the Force like a gathering storm, ready to ravage anything in its past. Luckily, Geist Weiss was not in the turrent's gaze. Instead, he found himself following the beast of nature like some storm chaser lured in by siren's call. Darth Carnaj was not so lucky. There was no doubt he would pay the ultimate price for his actions.

Generally, Weiss would have made mention that most situations such as these required judicial processing. However, he had no illusions of such procedures being executed. It was why Geist had come to Vereor first. The Barabel would have thirsted for Carnaj's blood, vexed if he had to wait for his prey. This way was the better way, or so Geist hoped.

As they reached a shuttle, Vereor surprised Geist with a word of thanks. An addendum of an invitation to partake in the feast of battle was surprising as well, though slightly less so than the former. Geist bowed graceously. "It would be an honor. Darth Carnaj and his accomplice Darth Sechs have gotten away with this outrage for too long. Order must be preserved and such mischief makers only propagate disorder and disadvantage to the Sith." While one could easily claim the same towards Geist, his motives were different. He generally aimed to preserve the Imperium. After all, the Imperium was a symbol of order. While Geist didn't care who was in charge, per se, the constant backstabbing was very displeasing to his goal.

Geist entered the shuttle first to prepare it for takeoff. He ushered for Vereor to stay out of sight as he sent a message to Darth Carnaj while they took off. A moment later a miniature Barabel appeared in azure mist. "Darth Carnaj, I have an assignment for Darth Sechs. It's urgent that I speak with Sechs immediately. In private."

"I take no orderz from you," hissed Carnaj.

If Geist's face was visible, the Barabel would have noticed a scowl. "I am carrying orders from the Dark Council. Or maybe you would like to explain to the Dark Lord why the Battlemaster was not assassinated."

The Barabel cackled a bit, a sort of laughter. "I'm not worried. Let him come. Still, the Battlemaster you say?" He paused to consider this notion. Finally he made a decision. "Come then. Sechs will hear you out." Carnaj's hologram popped out of existence.

Carnaj's response towards the threat about Arcturus was a little unnerving. Was this man so far crazed that he cared not even for the orders of the Dark Lord? Disturbing this was, Geist felt.

Geist turned to face Vereor, whom was safe to enter the cockpit. "That should separate Darth Sechs from Darth Carnaj. It should make your revenge easier to carry out. I'll try to distinguish Sechs' guilt, to see if he played any part in this conspiracy."

 

[Rom]

Vereor nearly reached through the Force and snapped the neck of the other Barabel from orbit, so great was his rage. To think that another Barabel had been so cowardly as to resort to sabotage to attack an enemy... the Warmaster growled in the back of his throat as he took the seat at the pilot's station and sent the shuttle looping out of the hanger bay with a scream from the ion engines that faded into nothing as they entered the Void and made their way into orbit to begin the descent. The Barabel was pushing the freighter faster than it was meant to, angrily smacking the control panel to silence the klaxon of alarms saying that they were coming in at the wrong angle and risked stalling. The Warmaster did not bother sparing a glance at the illusionist as he pulled the shuttle into a turn it was clearly not designed for and set them on a level path, coming in towards a tall spired fortress nestled in between two mountain peaks. A gaping maw seemed to open up in the side of the mountain as they sent the correct transponder codes through to the control tower. The shuttle, still smoking slightly, came to a halt and landed gently with a heavy sigh of steam.

Vereor turned and nodded his head once before vanishing from view, both to the eyes and in the Force. It was no illusion that Lord Weiss would be able to pierce; to all eyes he was invisible. The Sith Lord disappeared around the corner and went down the ramp, swiftly sidestepping a nondescript female who stood impatiently at the end of the loading ramp and moved deeper into the fortress; he would wait until he was a little closer to the dark aura above in the top spire before revealing himself. The reptilian Sith continued to silently stalk the halls like a vengeful ghost until he came to the base of the stairs leading up into the main spire, his red eyes glowing and slowly turning black as he released the bonds containing his aura and allowed it to explode outward, immediately alerting the coward above him that he was coming.

And Vereor did not care.

As alarms rang out across the fortress and mercenaries and droids came running up and down the stairs, Vereor effortlessly cut through them all, leaving sparking pieces and decapitated bodies in his wake. If he had allowed anyone to survive the massacre, they would have described it as a tornado of whirling red plasma and biting steel that snuffed out all life in it's path. Eventually the sounds of battle faded, and the only the humming of lightsabers and the heavy metal steps of his boots hitting the floor echoed within the stairwell. The Force screamed a warning, and the Warmaster negligently waved his tail above his head, using the Force to send the falling grenades right back to the top chamber, where a hissed curse sounded before being cut off by a loud boom; sonic grenades then.

Darth Vereor entered the top chamber to find Darth Carnaj thrown into a wooden table, dressed in durasteel armor and holding his head to try and shake off the confusion caused by the sudden burst of sound. Vereor clipped one of his sabers back onto his bandolier and pulled the pistol from it's holster at his thigh, leveled the charric towards the metal armor, and fired, sending electricity coursing through the Barabel's body, causing him to thrash and scream while on the floor.

"Filthy...stinking..coward. Do you realize what you have done? What you cost this one? No... you don't. But you will."

Vereor holstered his charric and reached one clawed hand out and sent bolts of Sith Lightning coursing down into the other Darth, glaring with pitch-black eyes down at the being beneath him with the purple-blue light reflecting off of his bared fangs as the other Barabel screamed. Were anyone to observe him, he would appear to be a demon come to claim the soul of the fool who had dared to invoke their name.

And in a way, Carnaj had done just that.

 

[Dmitri]

Geist Weiss knew his knuckles would be sore tomorrow. As Vereor dangerously flew the shuttle, the alchemist had held down for dear life. One wrong move and they'd die before Vereor could quench his vengeance. Whether through luck, or the Will of the Force, or the intervention of some divine entity, they managed to arrive at the fortress alive.

Vereor departed first, employing newfound powers of invisibility and whisked away into oblivion. Geist walked calmly out of the shuttle, to give Vereor as much time as needed. He had entered the building and saw Darth Sechs approach in the foyer when Darth Vereor decided to trash all ideas of stealth. This caught both Sith in the room off guard.

"What is that?!" panicked Darth Sechs.

She immediately reached for her lightsaber, to Geist's dismay. He tried to usher patience. "Probably Darth Carnaj is vexed. Let's wait for orders."

Sechs' eyes stabbed Geist. Anger and epiphany drowned her sight. "You sent an assassin! I knew we should have killed you too!" Geist hypothesized she was referring to Vereor. If not, there was another who had perished under Carnaj's and Sechs' machinations. Sechs ignited her lightsaber. "I had hoped to take you out with the others, but I guess I get to eliminate you first." The woman charged at Geist. "Die!"

Geist knew Sechs should not be underestimated. Sechs Morgenroete was a self-proclaimed Sith Lord and had managed to live after her proclamation. It demonstrated she was powerful enough to avoid death even after vexing the Sith Order. She may have been protected by Carnaj, but she was no push-over either. He would have to end things quickly.

Geist boosted his illusions. He made it seem like he was charging at Sechs, playing a game of chicken using lightsabers. However, the real alchemist reached for his belt and unclipped a concussion grenade. The illusionist tossed it at Sechs.

Sechs felt a thrill as the doppelganger missed his attack and she was able to stab him. However, she was surprised how effortlessly she had been to impale her enemy. As revelation struck her, so did the concussion grenade's blast. She was thrown into a wall, hard. As the grenade was named after, the woman had obtained a concussion.

Geist was not taking any chances. He pulled on her lightsaber, the weapon flying into his hand. He extinguished the energy in both his and her blades. He approached her, kneeling down.

"You think you've won?" croaked Sechs in a coughing cackle. "You're too late. Our master shall be victorious."

Sechs' taunt intrigued Geist's curiosity. Reports indicated that Sechs was Carnaj's apprentice and lover, and Carnaj was an ambitious individual who slew his master years ago. Yet Sechs made it sound like both of them had a superior. Noticing her life was draining from the blast, internal bleeding a lethal infection the was sweeping through her body, he used Drain Knowledge on her, obtaining her memories. Deciding he might need some energy to help Carnaj, he used Drain Life on Sechs, sucking the last of her energy as she crumpled lifelessly.

Geist hurried over to where he sensed the furious storm in the Force. His mind was screaming for him to run in the opposite direction, fight or flight in overdrive, but he needed to help Vereor. Vereor was one of the few Sith Lords who he felt were less of a threat. Besides, the man had saved his life on Korriban. It was time to pay that debt if he could.

The illusionist maneuvered the labyrinth of a fortress. Eventually he arrived at the throne room. It was just in time to witness the cowardly Barabel be struck down by the hunter Barabel. Barabels were predators and Carnaj had disgraced his race by acting like prey. He paid the price, with his life.

Carnage littered the room. Bodies and sparking droid debris could be seen. He noticed one individual storm into the room, an Imperial Guard he recognized from Bastion. What's he doing here? Geist wondered. As if trying to answer Geist's question, the Imperial Guard raised his blaster at Carnaj. From Geist's perspective, it appeared that Vereor was too drawn into pumping Carnaj's body with bolts.

"Get down!" Geist shouted. Without thinking, he took Sechs' lightsaber and javelined it towards the Imperial Guard. The Imperial Guard paused upon hearing the vocal declaration, enough time to be vanquished. The force of the blade pinned his body into the wall. His life extinguished soon after.

 

[Rom]

Vereor did not turn as the Illusionist and a guard entered the room at the same time; he was ready to turn and reflect the blaster bolt should Weiss not intervene, but it was a test to see what Geist Weiss would do... and he exceeded expectations. The immediate move in defense of the Warmaster was done without hesitation or thought on the part of the Sith Lord. Vereor admitted to himself that it was a... comforting thought, knowing that the man he had decided to place his trust in those months ago when he returned was not involved in this betrayal.

"Lord Weiss, please check over hiz work area, this one believez that there is something more to thiz than just the the death of this one."

He spoke calmly, his voice an even hiss, not showing any strain as he talked over the screams of the Barabel cooking within his armor. His eyez were narrowed as he glanced around the room, finally falling on a sword hanging in a place of honor above the mantle. It was a hand and a half blade, with ripples in the dark steel and fullers to reduce the weight. It's pommel was decorated with the carved head of a mandalorian wolf with it's head held high in a silent howl. He summoned the blade with a wave of his hand and let out a small gasp of surprise as black bolts of ligthning crackled up and down the blade as it bonded with his power, strengthened by his dark aura that fed into the weapon and looped back into himself. A Sith Sword.... the Barabel allowed a fangy grin to stretch across his face.

Gripping the blade in one hand, Vereor reached down and grabbed the moaning Barabel by the chest plate and lifted him bodily into the air, slamming him hard against the wall. "You sought to betray this one.. leave him stranded... murder in the most cowardly way. This one would like to stay around and show you just how foolish your were... but there is much to do. You have shamed your race... and this one shall expunge that shame here and now. Farewell Carnaj, and may the Hungry One torture your wretched soul for eternity." And with that, he held the blade against the barabel's throat and leaned in, the dark side empowered blade cutting through the keratin scales and bone like a hot knife through butter and swiftly decapitating the traitorous wretch.

Leaving the body behind after taking the sword belt and swinging the sith sword over his shoulder, Vereor turned to observe the room and quickly moved about, sweeping the various artifacts and a single malevolent looking holocron into a leather pack, planning to give some of the spoils to the Acolytes who had helped them locate the fiend, before turning to face the Illusionist.

"Well... what did you find?"

 

[Dmitri]

Victory alluded in times present. Darth Sechs was dead. Carnaj was suffering the last segments of his miserable life. An Imperial Guard who had tried to kill Vereor was deceased. However, pieces of a conspiratorial puzzle lay scattered in the fortress. Geist had put some together, but there were still holes. The picture wasn't identifiable yet.

Geist agreed with Vereor's reasoning. The illusionist went over to Carnaj's desk and began to access the computer. As he did so, he spoke to the Sith Lord. The real Barabel Sith Lord. "Indeed. When I invaded Darth Sechs before I slew her, I learned that she and Carnaj were working with someone. Correction, for someone." He silenced himself as Vereor focused on Carnaj. The pitiful Barabel met his end. He could feel the life fade away.

Vereor was eager for knowledge, and Geist was willing to comply. He had cracked the password on the computer with ease; never a good idea to use your lover's name as a password. "From Sechs I learned there was more to this than just removing you for ambition. It appears that you were removed so you wouldn't find out what was really going on. From Sechs' memories, I learned that she's been trying to seduce military officers on Bastion, trying to find someone to meet their goals." He pointed to the dead Imperial Guard. "That was one of her 'playmates'. There are more, but it appears that there were only four she managed to turn to her side. I just killed one. It appears another died during the Battle of Alsaka. Two more are left. I recognize one name: Barrel Annyn, but I don't recognize the name Val Entine."

Geist typed in some more commands into the computer, doing a search for the name Val Entine. "Oh, no," he said as he read a file. "Val Entine's one of the security chiefs for the Palace. Specifically, the high security zone." Geist remembered Sechs' taunt and not fearing the Dark Lord. "I think I know what they're after. They're going to kill the Dark Lord. It makes sense. He's heavily protected. Sith Lords have easy access. They probably tried to remove you to get their man close enough to Darth Carnaj." He paused, fitting in the Imperial Guards into the equation. "They must have gone after security when their first plan failed. We need to contact Arctur... Damnit!" Geist remembered where he recognized the name Barrel Annyn from. General Annyn was in charge of all communications in and out of Bastion, monitoring everything, Ubiqtorate's pet. "Annyn's in charge of Bastion's communications. We need to get to Bastion to warn the Dark Lord. From this data, it's obvious they aren't ready yet. If we can get there before they can start..." He left the rest for Vereor to finish.

 

[Rom]

"The Dark Lord will fall... and our victory with him."

The Barabel swept from the room, his knapsack smacking heavily against his leg as he practically flew down the stairway heading back to their shuttle. He barely paused to allow the Illusionist to strap in before sending the ship into a fast swoop out of the hanger and into the night sky, heading for orbit. Though he outwardly showed non sign of distress, his heart was pounding like a war drum and a cold pit had lodged itself in his throat.

Was this what his vision had warned him about? The Barabel had been wrestling with the meaning of his latest visit from the Hungry One, and now he feared that he had waited too long.

"Fool... Of course it would wait til our final thrust to happen. Thiz doez not bode well for the Dark..."

Whether his words were directed at himself or the conspirators, he could not say.

They shuttle quickly docked with Lord Weiss' Star Destroyer and after sending a quick message summoning the third fleet to Bastion, they were off - vanishing into hyperspace. Their mission had changed them from a pair of avenging demons into a pair of guardian spirits.

Put down the rebels. Stop the attack. Save the Dark Lord.

"Sometimez this one truly wishez he had stayed in the Jungle..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~