Ask Hidden behind Death

[Darth Caelestis]

Agamar, perhaps the final piece in connecting the Eastern and Western parts of the Sith Empire. The pressure to join the growing galactic force had been ever present since the Order evolved out of the chaotic mess that The Eternal commanded. The ruling government had been persistent in there intentions of staying neutral, turning away each ambassador which had visited the planet, until two weeks ago. A group of innocent politicians from the Kingdom of Avillion had landed upon Agamar to hopefully begin the conversation again about the planet becoming one with the Empire. But they had gotten only as far as their hotel before disaster struck, their bodies ripped apart by blaster fire and thermal detonators. Radicals, New Republic diehards, it was not one hundred percent clear, all that was none was the ambassadors security had been lax.

With the death of his ambassadors Artorigas Wessex could of course not stand by idly, within twenty four hours of the news that the ambassadors had been killed he had informed the Agamar Government that he would be visiting. He had watched as the fear had spread over the man's face when he informed him via holo, the man stumbled over his words crying apologies and false claims that he would catch the culprits and have them executed. But Artorigas knew this was all false, he would never capture them, because they were not Radicals or New Republic diehards, they were plants, plants of the Sith. For the sacrifice of the few for the many, was needed in this arms race to defend their growing Empire from the Jedi and Republic.

______________________________________________________________​

It had been a week, enough time to make it seem as if he had shuffled stuff around in his schedule to make it to the planet. A fleet of Star Destroyers had accompanied the Sith Lord and King to the planet, all but one waited at the edge of the system as was promised, a single Resurgent-Class transporting himself and his companion towards the planet. The shuttle down from space was comfortable and spacious, it was a transport for Lord's and Governors not of Soldiers. Looking over at the man who had helped him concoct this little drama he smiled. "I assume all loose ends are tied up?" He asked.

@Altaris

 

[Jaikus Thorne]

A week had passed since the assassination of the Sith Ambassadors, and the time had finally come to make the journey to Agamar. Jaikus was sat within the spacious lounge of the shuttle, citrine eyes fixated out of the transparisteel window as they carved through the lower atmosphere.

While their delayed arrival was meant to give the appearance of needing to clear schedules, that really couldn’t have been farther from the truth, as the entire thing had been carefully orchestrated from the beginning. While Artorigas had sent the ambassadors to the planet, Jaikus had done the work of organizing their assassination – knowing exactly which hotel the men would be staying and when their security would’ve been lacking.

While sacrificing the ambassadors was brutal and not quite Jaikus’ style, it was a necessary evil to achieve their objective.

Intimidation would be the method of approach for this operation, and Jaikus dressed appropriately. Instead of the suits and stylish button-ups for which he was known, the Axxilan was garbed in full Sith armor – the

ensemble of dark leather and armorweave fitting tightly to his body. For the moment, the Axxilan wasn’t wearing the helmet and mask that usually accompanied the armor – leaving the metallic headpiece set against an end table.

He briefly flicked his gaze towards Artorigas when the man spoke. “Naturally,” He replied smoothly, citrine eyes flicking downward as he began to adjust the gauntlets on his hands. The loose ends, of course, being the men responsible for the bombings in the first place. Besides Artorigas and Jaikus, they were the only people privy to what actually happened on Agamar, and that made them a liability to their entire operation.

For that reason alone, each of the bombers had been privately summoned to collect payment for a job well done – only to be quietly executed and disposed of by Sith Intelligence operatives.

Several minutes would pass as the shuttle approached the surface of Agamar, gradually coming to rest within a private landing bay in the capital. It was only a short walk from there to the government center, where the two were scheduled to meet with Agamarian offficals.

Jaikus slowly rose to his feet, adjusting his gauntlets for a final time before plucking his helmet from the end table. “Should be relatively straightforward.”

@Braden Drake

 

[Darth Caelestis]

It was the first time Artorigas had seen Jaikus in something that was not designed to raise the blood rate of a certain Sith Lord. He was not one hundred percent sure if the deep dark broody look suited the man, perhaps seeing him only in the skin tight flashy outfits had burned an image of the man into his mind. Although Artorigas had not followed the other man's stylistic choices he had gone for the imposing look, found deep within the Catacombs of Exegol he had found an ancient set of armour belonging to an

ancient Sith Emperor. The powerful and regal nature of the armour perfect fit the atheistic of the Sith King.

The cape was currently sat on the row of chairs behind him, to be attached as soon as they arrived by one of the many royal servants who catered to the pair on their descent from the ship. He wore no crown as he was not within Avillion and even their he only wore one on special occasions, keeping the metal circlet away out of deferment to the Empress. "Hopefully not too straightforward, people rarely give something away for free and if they do there is usually a catch." He replied as he too rose from his seat. Two servants moved up behind him to help attach the large cape around his shoulders, moving it into place before stepping back and allowing their patron to move on. "After you." He said motioning to the slowly lowering ramp.

It was all about appearances, as the ramp lowered the first to depart would be six Avillion Royal Guard, their blood red armour standing out against the bone white of the ship, next would be a pair of attendants, here to keep track of any documentation, then came Jaikus, with or without the mask he would strike a dangerous figure, the dark clothes and swinging lightsaber showing all that he was a Sith of dangerous repute. Then would come Artorigas, dressed like a King and Lord of the Sith. Finally another four Royal Guards, the ones who would accompany the pair to the meeting, the others guarding the ship. You never knew when another bomber might approach?

@Altaris

 

[Jaikus Thorne]

Jaikus quickly rose from his seat once the shuttle made landfall, plucking the helmet off the end table to his left. Whatever image of skin-tight clothes had been burned into the Serennian’s mind, their current task clearly necessitated something more intimidating than Jaikus’ usual styles.The Axxilan slid the helmet over his head, shrouding his angular, bronze-tinted features behind the metallic visage of his mask. Only then did he turn his attention to Artorigas once more, taking a moment to gaze upon the armor that the man before.

A fanatically student of history, Jaikus immediately it as the armor of Good King Sirus II. He couldn't quite understand why Artorigas had casually decided to wear a centuries-old, priceless artifact to a diplomatic negotiation - even if the Axxilan was silently marveling at the historical suit. Citrine eyes eventually settled upon the Wyvern that had been engraved into the ancient armor, immediately causing him to grimace.

The mere thought of making modifications to such priceless armor caused Jaikus' skin to crawl, and the sight of it now caused a distinct pang of irritation to lance through his body - manifesting a sharp exhale through his mask. Despite his irritation, the Axxilan made a mental note not to mention that specific detail to Emryc. The half-Sephi would quite literally kill Artorigas if he ever caught wind of the atrocity.

Jaikus finally turned his attention to Artorigas – rather than the armor he defiled - when the man spoke. The Axxilan tilted his head to the side slightly at the words. “People with do or give anything, if they have the right incentives.” He replied smoothly, his voice mechanized by the robotic filter of his mask. “They believe that we have come here to demand violent retribution, and the fleet behind us will drive that point home.”

“They believe we are prepared to reduce their cities to rubble." The Axxilan turned on a heel and began to make his way towards the exit ramp. “I doubt there will be a tremendous amount of argument when we present a better alternative.”

With that, Jaikus began to make his way down the ramp – suddenly flanked by an overbearing amount of security. The Axxilan briefly glanced back to Artorigas, gesturing to the man’s oversized, completely unnecessary cape as he descended. “Do try not to trip.”

He began to make his way towards the government buildings directly ahead of them, methodical steps carrying the masked Sith away from the landing pad a few paces ahead of Artorigas. The entire plaza had been cleared for their arrival, allowing their progress unimpeded.

Positioned in front of the government building were the Agamarian politicians that they were meant to meet with. The council was flanked by a security detail of their own, multitudes of planetary security forces standing at the ready.

As the pair of Sith approach, an older man stepped out from amongst the rest – clearly the leader of their group. It was clear from the nervousness etched onto his features that he was on edge, clearly uncomfortable by the arrival of the Sith.

“My Lords,” He said, “Welcome to Agamar.”

@Braden Drake

 

[Darth Caelestis]

"You may be correct, but I hope they have at least some backbone." He replied with a smirk before following the man out of the shuttle. The large governmental building loomed over themselves and the empty plaza they had landed in. It was eerily quiet, only the light hum of the Shuttles engine and the howl of the wind broke the silence.

The guards broke to the sides, their firearms held ready at their chests as they eyed up the small gathering at the far end, the four guards which followed him fanned out slightly so they were both clearly seen and had clear lines of fire should something happen to the pair. A grey haired man stepped forth from the assembly, his eyes darted from Jaikus to Artorigas and back again, his mind knowing to pay attention to Artorigas but the hairs on the back of his neck begging him to look at Jaikus.

Artorigas smiled at the man as he greeted them, giving a long pause, the beads of sweat on the man's brow growing larger, Artorigas finally answered. "I prefer 'Your Grace'." The man stammered for a moment before readdressing him in his prefer manner. The old man side eyes Jaikus wondering if Lord was an ok title for him, the beads of sweat now clearly visible for all to see.

"Shall we head inside it is rather windy out here." Artorigas said motioning past the collected group and into the large building beyond.

@Altaris

 

[Jaikus Thorne]

Despite his very clear irritation, Jaikus chose - for the moment - to put Artorigas’ defilement of Drast armor to the very back of his mind, pretentious and infuriating as it might’ve been to anyone with even a vague respect for ancient Sith history. Instead, the Axxilan focused his attention onto the task that lie ahead them – citrine eyes fixated forward as they exited from the shuttle that brought them to the surface.

As he strode down the ramp, the Axxilan kept both hands neatly tucked against the small of his back – his posture straight and rigid, reflecting the man’s own noble upbringing. “I have no desire to draw this out longer than necessary,” He said smoothly in response to Artorigas’ quip about their counterparts having backbone. Jaikus quite preferred if they didn’t – as it made his job significantly easier.

Jaikus watched as the older man emerged from the group, greeting him with a polite nod of his head. Citrine eyes briefly flicked towards Artorigas after a moment, silently regarding the Serennian as he went on to correct the title that had been used. When the elder’s attention drifted back to Jaikus, the Axxilan merely raised a hand and waved dismissively. “That will do just fine,” He said, his voice heavily modulated by the filter of his mask.

Unlike his companion, Jaikus didn’t feel the constant compulsion to have those around him bowing and scraping as he walked by in order to inflate his own self-worth. Of all the things the Axxilan intended upon debating this evening, something as trivial as title wasn’t one of them.

“Your Grace, My Lord,” He said, careful to use the corrected title in Artorigas’ case. “I am Caladan Drake.” He bowed his head, giving a simple nod when Artorigas mentioned heading inside. “If you’ll please follow me.”

With that, Caladan and his fellow Agamarian officials turned and began to make their way back towards the government large government building, ushering the pair of Sith along to follow. They were eventually led into a large conference room, a table with multiple chairs positioned at the center of the room. The entire Agamarian council gathered onto one side of the table, while their own security filed in and stood behind them.

Caladan took a seat at the center of his peers, patiently waiting for Jaikus and Artorigas to do the same before he spoke. “First and foremost,” Caladan began, “Allow me to extend my condolences on the members of your delegation. I can speak for all of those gathered here, when I say that we were all shocked and horrified by this terrorist attack.” Undoubtedly, their concern likely stemmed more from the ramifications of the diplomat’s death, rather than the actual loss of life. “I can assure you, the very best of our security forces are working tirelessly to find the perpetrator’s of this bombing. You have my word, they will be brought to justice.”

He drummed his fingers against the table. “Now, as to the purpose of your visit here today..” He trailed off, briefly glancing curiously between the two. Even if it wasn’t explicitly stated, it was very clear that the man was flat out asking why they were here.

@Braden