Rebuilding Korriban [Open To Imperials Only]

[Andraste OG]

OoC: No deaths. I don't care if someone starts a fight, but I will finish it. >.<

To say that she was disappointed was an understatement. She knew the last time she had an outburst. It had cost her a lot. At the heart of it, she knew she was to blame for the swift hits against the Imperium. Along with her, the woman Eris was also at the heart of this. Andraste smiled to herself, silently admiring this traitorous woman. Royston had taught her well, though he was not the least bit involved now. The woman had grown into a powerful entity on her own, singlehandedly dealing blows against the Imperium when even the Jedi nor the pathetic rebellion could not. Andraste may have been a monster, but even she admired strength and courage.


The winds of Korriban were chilly at night, her yellow hawk-like eyes gazing out before her. She was adorned in all black, a dress with hems that extended beyond her feet. Wisps of curly black hair fluttered against her pale features. She was overseeing the reconstruction of the Korriban temple.


The blow to the temple had been swift, before anyone could blink. Andraste had been traveling throughout the galaxy, leaving the Imperium in more than capable hands. It took someone from within to send everything tumbling, and that was something even she hadn’t foreseen. And as a result, she now watched what remained of the temple slowly being rebuilt.

Imperial forces had done sweeps to ensure that no enemy ships or troops remained in the area. Andraste herself had prodded into the minds of all those around to seek out any ill intentions. The woman’s dark aura would be felt by all, heralding her presence. It was something most within her order hadn’t experienced yet.


“Empress… we have begun construction, but it appears a lot of our holocrons and intel are unaccounted for.”


Andraste did not turn to gaze at the Imperial soldier, her eyes trained ahead. She finally nodded, exhaling quietly.


“I know this. We will do the best we can. They have hit us hard. Rightfully so..”


She grimaced.


“We have become far too comfortable in our strength. I should have foreseen this.”


She spoke mostly to herself, realizing that the soldier shifted uncomfortably without having any input. She glared at him until he awkwardly shuffled away. Andraste walked closer towards the temple, her dress dragging along the sand. She wore no shoes, her toes curling into the cool powder. As hot as it was during the day, Korriban was chilly at night. Her frosty breath escaped between her lips as she came to stand much closer to the temple.


She had trained within that temple many years ago, when she was but a child. She was weak, so weak, with minimal control over the Force. That was back when Royston had hopes for her, as did Vereor, as did others. One by one they thought they could tame the monster within her, and one by one they failed. Where were they now?


Andraste was back in full force. She would be there to ensure that there were repercussions for those that acted out against her will. The first and foremost victims would be the snakes within the Imperium that started this war at long last.

 

[Aleksandr]

Well, I'm glad that's over with, Private Kardan Yaramenko thought, as he walked away from the Sith Empress. He had been transferred from Coruscant, which was where he was when the Imperial Palace bombing occurred, and deployed here on Korriban for the clean up efforts. The stormtrooper was not too surprised at the Empress' attitude, however, as he did not expect someone so high up to even acknowledge the existence of a grunt like himself.

As he walked away from the Empress, he could not help but wonder about the fate of the Empire as it seemed a civil war was occurring. But he knew one thing. The Coterie would eventually lose. As would the rebels. With the vast majority of the Imperial military loyal to the Empress, Yaramenko saw no way that any of them could succeed, even if the Rebels and Jedi helped them. That was why he would remain loyal to the Empress and not join the upstarts. But he had to admit - if the Coterie had actually succeeded in killing the Empress, than his reaction and views on their organization would be quite different.

For now, though, Yaramenko was willing to fight for the loyalist cause.

 

[Darth Maleficar]

Night time on Korriban proved to be the mirror of this sacred world when wreathed in daylight. The sands, the colour of blood when caressed by Horuset, were a shade of purple whilst the hot air was replaced by the embrace of the cold. Indeed, the existence of a desert was a duality all its own. Yet here, a form of sorrow manifested within Sin'ryk; indeed, this sacred world had been desecrated, the Academy upon her surface reduced to ruin...but not to the point where it could not be repaired and renewed. That much revitalised the Red Sith, renewal crafted much excitement within him; it meant more potential in the future. Stood beside the Empress, her presence seemed to eclipse the nascent Dark Side presence upon the surface of Korriban. The High Arcanist didn't shiver, himself far too used to being exposed to such dread energies that seethed within this place.

Within due time, an Imperial trooper approached, giving the Empress herself a report on the renewal of the Academy and the status of the holocrons. Sin'ryk knew the latter well, himself having salvaged as many as could; he ultimately decided to the voice this.

"Indeed your Imperial Majesty, half of those holocrons remain in my care; they will be returned alongside donations from my own collection once the Academy is restored."

The Empress then muttered something to herself, something that, though low, the Red Sith's enhanced hearing could hear. He ultimately decided to remain silent on the matter, wishing not to antagonise her even further; instead, he settled on something more...uplifting for one such as her.

"I swear to you your highness that the traitors shall pay dearly for their crimes. We will cut their hearts out on these ancient altars like the Kissai of old. In the meantime, let our reconstruction spite them; show them that their opposition to us will show no avail."

 

[Apollyon]

Korriban, the eternal desert held much in common with Audroti’s current dwellings on Ziost. Both planets had been settled upon by his ancestors, both planets were unforgiving and unrelenting in their attempts to destroy all who dwelt upon their surfaces, and both had been places he had once called home. The Sith Master hadn’t returned for pleasantries unfortunately, his home had been temporarily infested with sentient rats, pretenders who thought themselves Sith but were merely fools that dared oppose the might of the Imperium. However, the rats that had infested his former dwellings, the Korriban Temple, hadn’t flourished here, Korriban itself seemed to reject them. Instead, these mere beasts had ransacked and destroyed the Temple before returning to the holes that they had crept from.

Audroti hadn’t yet seen the condition of the Temple with his own eyes, and he didn’t land within eyeshot of the ruins either. However, the dark juggernaut needn’t see the remnant of what he had called home to feel the scars etched upon the desert world’s surface. He felt the death, the chaos, and the fear lingering in the air, it reminded him of the taste of blood and dirt on his lips, iron mixed with sand. Under other circumstances, Audroti would have basked in the sensation of countless lives being robbed prematurely, but this time it was different, this didn’t symbolize dominance or victory. Instead it only brought on feelings of shame and defeat.

The entire Imperium had been blinded to the wench Eris, or as Royston Spektor had once called the woman, Vica. A snarl formed on Audroti’s lips underneath the densely plated helmet of his Colossi-class War armor as he trudged up the final dune before laying eyes upon what remain of the temple. Even as his golden eyes peered downwards at the ruins through the red tint of his HUD, Audroti only had one agenda on his mind, the demise of this traitor known as Vica and anyone foolish enough to follow her.

However, Audroti would have time to plan the downfall of his enemies at another time, for now he had a different task to accomplish. Since the attack on Coruscant the Juggernaut had decided to unofficially take it upon himself to ensure the safety of whoever held the title of Empress or Emperor. While he was confident Andraste could hold her own against whatever the galaxy dared throw at her, he also knew that allowing his dark Empress to unleash her terrible power could be the final blow that would crack the already battered Imperium’s armor.

As such Audroti’s first task was finding his mistress and remaining close to her while she stayed on the surface of Korriban. It wasn’t a difficult task, Andraste held a particular presence about her, one that reminded Audroti of trillions of dying gasps and screams. The woman was utter darkness within the Force, and in that sense Audroti was attracted to her like a moth to a flame as he was always seeking to placate his desire for power through the pulling of dark side auras. So finding the woman wasn’t a difficult task and neither was finding visual confirmation, especially since a six foot tall Pureblood stood by her side.

Slowly, Audroti would make his way down to the pair, controlling the descent he made from the top of the dune through burying his heels into the loosely packed sand. He came alongside the Empress on the opposing side of Darth Maleficar donned in the armor he had previously only war into the din of the thickest of battles. Audroti listened to Maleficar’s assessment of the disaster before them, he listened to him make a promise of sacrificing him to their ancestors dead gods and he laughed aloud.

“It’s always altars, knives, and magics with you Sin’ryk isn’t it?” He asked, the sarcastic tone in his voice filtered out and replaced by the hollow and mechanical sound of the armor’s speaker. “Those ways are dead Sin’ryk as are what remained of the old castes, their feudal systems, and all those that aided in creating them.” He chastised in what would have sounded like a disgusted voice before turning his attention towards their Empress. “I will deal with these…bothersome pests, Lady Andraste. I promise you, they will all suffer before they are given a death far worse than swift one Maleficar wishes to give them.” He stated, his presence seething with a hatred and hunger for vengeance that gushed forth to every Force Sensitive being within or around the ruins.

“I will slaughter all that they hold dear before ending their miserable lives.” The Juggernaut promised as his gaze pulled from Andraste and back to what remained of the Korriban Temple.

 

[Tristar]

A pile of rubble. That's what Korriban had been reduced to- my home, sanctuary and fortress that had stood vigil for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years. Reduced to ashes and charred remnants of memories and emotions. One couldn't fathom the eerie feeling that emanated from the debris, how the air screamed in vengeance and pain. After all, I wasn't the only one to have called it home...and many others had died during the bombing, Acolytes and Crusaders barely aware of their attackers. Such sorrows were not an uncommon feeling in the universe, but to feel it strike so close- a jarring event, for sure.

I wasn't alone. Not on Korriban, never on Korriban. Metaphorically speaking, eons of memories ranging from lingering spirits to phantom images flitting from the side of my peripheral view, and literally speaking: The Empress herself, source of (Though not to be said publicly) the destruction, Audroti and Sin'ryk himself. There were others, milling about. The trinity were arguing among themselves and here I was clutching sand in the cold fist of agony. A slight release from pressure, and all I felt was the trickling grains falling betwixt my fingers- hold on to something far too lightly, and watch how it leaves you. Slowly, but surely.

I dumped it back to the ground where it belonged and returned to the group, grasping the length of my walking stick lightly- a calm expression upon my face did my no justice. A look of cool distaste, that felt better and more natural. Their conversation seemed to be centered on dealing with the traitor Eris/Vica, whatever name they see fit giving her. For me, she was not the enemy. Not in the fullest sense. We still had the Jedi and the masses to fight. She was someone to be respected for her ability to hit the Imperium so deep within its lair. The elders may not admit it, but much could be learned from her. "Forgive my interruption, " I said softly, approaching the group. "Milord, milady, but if all we can offer our enemies are death, what do we have to gain from it? Killing, torture, the odd disembowelment. I know, we are Sith, vengeance and aggression is second nature to us- but if we cannot use such an event to our advantage then I shudder to think of the future of the Sith."

 

[Lucid]

"Too comfortable in your own strength?" The light male voice had a slight echoing quality to it, though the man who spoke could not be seen. "My dear woman, your strength is the Imperium's strength. There is nothing you cannot do, nothing you cannot take, nothing cannot control, should you will it to be yours."

The cool night wind blew, tugging silently at the curls of the Empress' hair it blew by.

"That look of regret isn't very becoming," still the owner of the voice couldn't be seen in the twilight. "There are things that even the Force itself is blind to. You are the Empress, Andraste, the Force itself...regret and longing for things long past are not for you."

 

[Rector_Ras]

So much going on around the Empress it was laughable and rightly so. She had so much respect here even after the recent blows the Imperium took, blows that might not have ever had a chance to develop if the woman hadn't been so utterly absent in her rule. The peoples surrounding her all in comfort, none came from Ras. The Crusader never cared for the Empress, he'd never talked with her Majesty, though if the two had the chance they would likely get along fairly well. Even more so after the recent events and personal decisions Ras made.

It was loosing his left arm that solidified the decision. The attack on Korriban was disastrous to the Imperium but what mattered to this man was the wall that collapsed and smashed the bone from his left shoulder right down to the finger tips. Nothing salvageable, he'd been forced to cut the arm off himself. Slashing at the flesh just above where the rock was. Of course no one helped, even the acolytes who glanced at him in horror of missing an arm which had been there the day before ran towards the shuttles and rightfully so. They saved themselves, the true sith way. It was this injury that had the crusader deciding that the walls of emotion he cherished from childhood where dead to him. The cold rage and fury where to be his most valued friends in the battles that where sure to come.

Though the injury angered him his new robotic arm seemed to work well, though usage of the force through it came much harder then it had, fighting would be awkward, at least for a while but training was not the reason he'd returned to Korriban. The lost lightsaber from Xanthus was the goal today. Where in the rubble he hadn't much idea, he assumed it was somewhere in the path he'd taken to get off planet and so starting roughly where the entrance to the temple had been the Crusader using his good hand moved pieces of the demolished temple. Help would be needed for some of the larger pieces but that lightsaber was of great value to him and he wouldn't stop until he found it.

 

[Miz]

Those unfit to pick up a shovel for the Empress were the truly lame. Though, Mitsuki had lived in the howling tombs of Korriban, she were not present during the recent terrorist attacks that left the temple in ruin. She would have shed a tear for the lives lost if she weren't occupied fighting the good fight elsewhere. For now she needed to focus her emotions on the task at hand. The Sorceress would return to the front line once she knew that the students could continue their training without further interruption.

At the moment she was just finishing up a lesson with a few of her pupil; aspiring sorcerers and those interested in the arcane arts. She had quickly noticed a dark presence gathered someone near the temple. The taint was that of something she had never seen before and had peeked her curiosity, even her students who had just begun to unravel the mystery's of the force had sensed it. Teaching at night was satisfactory seeing as how they no longer had the privilege to study in clean air conditioned rooms, where the blazing heat would only prove to distract them.

Once her lesson was complete she made her way towards the dark presence where The Empress, Darth Kova, and her good friend Darth Malificar stood. Graced by her presence, Mitsuki instead approached Sin'ryk from behind not wanting to distract The Empress and Audroti from their oversight. She approached the Red Sith until they were standing side by side, before realizing that he were engaged in dialogue with the Sith Master. She did not catch the whole debate, but she did catch the part where he mentioned that ancient Sith traditions were dead. It would take dedicated Sith like herself and Sin'ryk to bring back those traditions.

"I will donate all of my holocrons as well, my lord." she whispered out of respect towards the Empress. Turning away to attend to her duties just as another Sith approached the group she gave one last response directed towards the Juggernaut. "Though, I respect your opinion Audroti maybe if those traditions were more closely held we wouldn't be in this situation," she said humbly keeping the same hushed tone as she did with Sin'ryk "but alas, we are Sith, we find power wherever it is to be found."

 

[Darth Maleficar]

Sin'ryk raised his eyebrow stalk as Audroti spoke; truly the Massassi didn't know the Kissai very well. As per usual, the High Arcanist had his own response to such a question. First would come the vocal jab.

"Dear Audroti, I believe I misplaced those items...along with my priest's robes and my blind idiotic sense of Kissai pride." Then came the more straightforward aspect of the reply. "And its called being theatrical, people tend to respond more to it; you should try it, might augment your intimidation factor, ensuring your foes hesitate before you cut them in twain. The traditions I keep serve me well, the moment they cease to do so, I will discard them as a soldier discards a spent energy pack."

Then a familiar voice manifested from outside the group, it was Sin'ryk's former apprentice, Lauke Chaosas; he added his own input to the conversation it hand. Quite the sadist aren't we young one? Thought the Red Sith, but he did have a point. As another familiar voice chimed in, something stirred within the area...or rather several things. Something had roused the spirits of Korriban, dancing around a particular individual, yet his Sense nor Sight perceived nothing alive. Yet there is, he knew this very well; only the living can draw the attentions of the Long Dead. The High Arcanist turned to his fellow Sith and spoke, his voice dripping with gravity.

"An unwelcome being is here; whilst their presence is masked, the Ancient Dead see them clear as day...they are dancing around them. Let me show you."

Sin'ryk then lanced his way into Audroti's mind with swiftness; there, he imposed his second sight unto the Massassi. The older Sith would see the Dark Side nexus of Korriban...but would focus it upon the ghosts circling an area. Whilst he knew Audroti would not like this intrusion in his mind, he knew he would understand the application of such a measure. With this done, the High Arcanist would maintain his focus so that Audroti could see what he normally could not.