Open Dromund Kaas RUINS OF THE ACADEMY

[Xukas Mangle]

OOC Note: Open to Sith aligned characters only. Takes place shortly after the bombing of the Sith academy by unknown Onderon forces.

He's angry. Like the fire that licks at dura-steel beams and glows beneath rubble where the spray of firefighting equipment had not yet reached, flickering through cracks in crumbled remains to grasp at burning oxygen. Xukas has an inferno within his own mind, a writhing, tumultuous vortex of fury. As he gazes upon the shattered remains of the Sith academy, he's left to wonder how something like this could have happened. How had their enemy struck so deeply within the Imperial heart, like the tip of a razor-edged spear plunging through the Empire's chest? They were meant to be armored. Guarded. They had failed. This should not have happened.

He can't help but feel that he shares some of the blame. He had not been on the planet at the time of the academy's destruction. They had all failed, but Xukas had failed worst of all, in his own eyes. It was a foolish thought, perhaps, one snared by the mind of an addled extremist, an imperious creature with machinations both equal parts loyal as they were ambitious. His lip curls, and fangs gleam with a sharpened hate, as spittle strings between parted incisors like venom between gnashing teeth. The Free World Alliance would pay.

Xukas steps from his perch upon a heightened beam of twisted steel, paws thumping into the rubble remains of the academy he had spent so many years training within. Oh, what a cruel twist of fate. Glowing eyes peer between both workers and students alike, as the Sith pick through the remains of what had been home for many of them.

"Be careful of where you step, the rubble is unstable. We have lost enough already." The thunderous vocals of the wolf ring out, as the crack of a golden dusk descends ominously across the distant horizon. "Unslaad faaz! Eternal suffering upon that wretched planet." Xukas's curse toward Onderon is little more than a rumbling growl, as he steps deeper into the scorched ruins. "See what can be salvaged here. And we must work to accommodate the students that have lost their dorms." But relocation would wait until the students were ready to part with all they would be forced to leave behind, ash and crumpled remnants of their life before the bombing.

 

[Cassandra Victus]

.

What a kricking mess.

Cassandra arrived to Drommund Kaas as soon as she could. She intended to see the damage this so called “Free” Worlds Alliance caused. Their mere name angered her and saturated darkness around her. She had been a student at the academy years ago before being selected for.. other training. To her, it was a mere sign of something foul among the Sith occurring to let this happen. How could some dingy squad get into one of the Sith seats of power, and destroy the academy completely?

No. This wasn’t just an deliberate attack. Something greater was at play if they were able to get in and out scot free. Not just incompetence within the Imperials guarding and running the academy, but perhaps someone in the Empire had a hand in this plot…

The fires of war would most certainly remain as she would trod towards the rubble, ready to both assist students that were one succeeding her generation, but also to see if she can collect and evidential data if there was any. “Let’s see what we can gather from this.. mess..” she said rather coldly. The mask covering her face did not inhibit the muse within her voice.

In an awkward stance, perhaps this incident could bring her to knowing more people as well as opening up potentially new data for her own reference but also for the Sith itself. She’ll need to see what happens in the end within her interactions. But for now, she’ll remain her calm yet inquisitive self… below the shroud of the bitter act of war.

There will most certainly be consequences for the ones involved within this attack. Sith or not.

 

[Altair Din]

Altair didn’t care about who did it or the nuances or vengeance or any of that. For now he only felt emptiness. He roamed vacantly through the wreckage, looking for little pieces of his life he had set up in the place he had called home since leaving the farm on Bandomeer. The remnants of the smoke and heat were still being cleared, but he was largely unbothered by it. Altair kept wandering around till he knew he was closer to where his belongings had been. He spotted the shattered family picture he always carried with him everywhere, every face but three of his siblings burned away.

He spotted shredded remains of his prized guitars, the pages of the song lyrics he had been writing gone forever. Altair’s heart felt heavy and he felt a lump in his throat as he wandered around. His comlink had been blowing up nonstop, and he didn’t feel like responding to any of it. He simply marked himself alive on social media and left it at that.

The tiefling picked up the picture and simply sat down on a piece of debris. He buried his face in his hand, feeling the emotions almost overwhelm him. He felt hot tears in his eyes as he thought about everything that was erased in one fell swoop. Altair could only stare down at the picture of his family, thankful that he was alive but feeling that sense of loss. Everything he knew and had gotten familiar with was gone for good, and he would have to start all over again.

 

[Malus]

The destruction of the academy boiled Malus's blood. The little green alien was going to have his revenge. This was a school! A place where children came to learn- to read, write, and use the Force if they were able to. Senator Graves announced proudly that there were no casualties- but was blowing up a school okay even if no was caught in the crossfire? Malus honed his anger, tempering it with patients. He would have his time when Cassandra assisted him in controlling Ambria, which was perfectly placed right next to Onderon.

As Malus hobbled over the wreckage, he noticed a much taller, much more intimidating specimen sulking over what looked like to be a broken guitar or two. The little green alien made his over to the horned being, but stopped a few feet away. Something caught the old Champion's eye- a simple page of sheet music that had been dirtied, but was still recoverable. Was this younger specimen a musician? How wonderful! The Sith were more than than warmongers, and this boy was proof of that.

Malus picked the sheet music up and carefully brushed the dirt off before poking Altair's leg with his walking stick. "Hrm, belongs to you, this does, yes?" The little green alien showed the bigger Tiefling the piece of paper. "Marvelous work, that is. Yes, very skilled you are." Malus was no musician, but being able to write music was a skill Malus thought was quite admirable. "For the masses, begin anew, hrmm? New creations...new music...new purpose, give your fellow students." If Altair's skill was with words, then Malus thought he should use the skill to strengthen the vigor of the Sith

But, with all of that being said, Malus hobbled away, albeit pretty slowly, because their was nothing to be salvaged besides broken dreams and missed memories. Besides, Malus needed to strike back against the Senator and remind him of how much smaller he was compared Malus in terms of actual power. Cassian Graves had quite the mouth, and the little green alien wondered if he could take it from him. Malus did not want to kill the man, no, but instead, make his life a living hell.

@Sreeya @ByakuyaXVMarkov @Nevermourn

 

[Ashla Ti]

Ashla's blood did not boil, not anymore. She had had her moment of panic, of pure, overwhelming fear, when the news had reached her. They were all there, Altair, Vahl, Cairo, it had been the one place she always knew to find them. She had tried her best to clamp down on those emotions, do the logical thing and simply pick up a comm to make the calls that would confirm that they were fine. But in that moment logic had no place, and only after the room she was in had been completely destroyed, consumed by fire and lightning, did she calm down enough to reach out. Only then did she feel brave enough to open herself up to reach out, to face the possibility that one or more of her friends might be gone. It took her some time to face that fear, to overcome it enough to make contact. And only then had the fist crushing her heart loosened its grip.

They were fine, they were all fine.

Her mind had been made in that moment, it was time to return. And so, as the weird little gremlin parroting hallwaymark greetings had walked away from Altair, another figure slipped up and sat down next to him. The hood slipped off her head to reveal a pair of monorails, larger than ever before, just for his irritation.

"Hey," she whispered as she placed a hand gently on his shoulder, "you alright?"

Her voice, calm and soft, did not betray the anger that seethed within her. Whoever had done this had put her friends at risk, and in doing so they had crossed a line. She had always been a loyal servant of the Empire, had done what was right. That was why she had gone where she was needed, away from her home, away from her friends. But she didn't care about that anymore, didn't care about the academy. Whoever had done this had crossed a line, and for that she would make them pay. Would make the entire Galaxy pay if she had to.

@Sreeya @Charles

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri didn’t want to believe the news as it began to circulate through the HoloNet and all across social media. Surely there had been a mistake. Surely, it wasn’t as bad as reports were making it out to be. Dromund Kaas was the heart of the Sith Empire - and there were few places where Imperials felt safer. It was part of the reason an Academy had been established there in the first place. Here, of all places, Vahliri didn’t want to believe an attack could’ve been possible. And yet it had been.

It had been pure happenstance that Vahliri was away from the academy when the attack took place - and the half-Annfyn felt her heart sink into the balls of her feet when the first images of the wreckage began to circulate. She felt the overwhelming sensation of dread that washed over her in that moment - the queasy, sick feeling in her stomach as raw panic and anger roiled within. Emotions that manifested explosively and beyond her control as they so often did. The initial flurry had ended with her private ship-cabin reduced to tatters - every throwable item thrown and the rest damage by both physical means and the Force.

Only then did the panic truly start to settle into the very core of her being - thoughts immediately going to all those who might’ve been caught up in the explosion. Those who she may have lost in but a single stroke - consumed by the flames alongside everything else in the academy. Altair, Cairo, Sol - even Finn had all received a multitude of text messages from Vahliri in her panic - unable to help her pacing around her cabin as it landed back onto Dromund Kaas, or the tears that gradually began to roll down her cheeks as she desperately awaited a reply. One by one, that panic subsided as replies were returned or she received confirmation from social media updates. The people she cared about were safe. All that remained was what they had all lost.

A sense of numbness gripped Vahliri as she silently roamed through the wreckage - amber eyes drifting across the ruined, smoldering remains of the place she had called home for years now. The half-Annfyn felt the smoke and dust that lingered in the air with every inhale, and despite the coughing it elicited, she continued to press on - trudging her way through towards the corridors where her dorm had once been. Piece by piece, little by little, Vahliri began to find scraps of what had once been. Jewelry and little mementos she had brought to Dromund Kaas - little things to remind her of the family and home on Indupar. Scattered pages of books she had engrossed herself in. The half-burnt frame of a shredded canvas - one of her paintings, but not one she would ever be able to identify in its current state. Did it matter? All of it was gone anyway. After a few moments of trudging through her belongings, Vahliri finally paused and bent forward - pulling the remains of a photo from the wreckage - the glass frame it had once been housed in falling away as shards on the ground. It was a picture of herself, Altair, Cairo and Ashla not long after that original trip to Zakuul - huddled together and each of them with a smile on their faces.

Vahliri quickly tucked the photo into her pocket before moving on - walking past the wreckage of her own dorm and towards the rest of the Academy. It didn’t take the half-Annfyn to spot a familiar pair of horns and monorails up ahead, and she immediately felt a lump begin to form in her throat as she quickly moved in that direction. In that moment, everything around her was forgotten - what she had lost in that explosion, and the pieces she would need to pick up to start over again. Because the only thing that really mattered was straight ahead.

“Altair.. Ashla..” Her gaze flicked between the two of them as she rounded the piece of debris, stopping short just a few steps away. There was no hiding the tears that began to form in her eyes - fluted ears swiveling and flicking about wildly. To see them both safe - and to see Ashla after what had been months at this point - was more of a relief than Vahliri could adequately put into words. She didn’t linger in place for more than a split second - stepping forward to close the distance and wrap both of her arms around Altair and Ashla - pulling them close and squeezing them tightly.

@Sreeya @Wit

 

[Altair Din]

Altair wiped off his face when he felt a gentle nudge against his leg. He glanced over to spot a diminutive little figure, blinking down curiously as he held out something Altair recognized at once. A flash of gratitude appeared on his face as he took the paper, “Thanks..” He said with a hoarse voice. The rest of what the Sith said didn’t resonate too well with him just yet, but perhaps they would after he had some time to heal. For now he only felt a sense of grief. The tieling stared down at the music, sensing someone taking a seat next to him. He glanced over just in time to see the figure remove their hood.

To say that Altair was shocked was an understatement. His jaw dropped at the sight of her and it felt as if he saw a figure rise from the crypts that had been lost, “Ash!!!” Altair exclaimed. Before he could stop himself, he flung his arms around her, pulling her into a fierce embrace. His horn almost slammed into her monorails which were obnoxiously big and somehow appeared to grow, “I haven’t seen you in ages!” He drew back, smiling at her. He couldn’t help the tears that fell down his cheeks from his earlier moping and he quickly wiped his face, “It’s so good to see you again,” Altair whispered, feeling a rush of emotions at seeing his old friend.

Altair glanced up when he heard someone speak, spotting Vahliri. His expression softened even more at the sight of her. He had frantically checked social media and had blown up the group chat to ensure his friends were alive, but it was a whole different kind of relief seeing them here. They all shared in this loss, and it was where their friendships began.

As Vahliri came in, Altair embraced her and Ashla tightly. Cairo was still not here, but he had been offworld and safe. For a moment, he said nothing as he tightly hugged his friends, beyond relieved that they were all still alive. He could only think about how this was their reality. This was what war looked like. They had gotten lucky this time, but what about the next? What if it was a random building he or Vahliri were in and it just disintegrated? It was just that easy to lose one another. And that realization was sobering - a dark reminder that nothing was guaranteed. And so he held both women as if they would simply fade away, and he refused to let go.

@Charles @Altaris @Wit

 

[Soleil Altan]

Soleil had been off-world when the bombs went off and the news report hit the holonet. He'd rushed back, constantly checking any reports he could get and messaging people he knew to make sure they were alright. Despite the forewarning, what reflected in his eyes was still a heartwrenching shock.

He trudged through the rubble and ruin, seeming heedless of the heat and smoke that still clung. Slowly his gaze moved to places where something used to be, things so clear in his mind that if he closed his eyes it was almost like they were still there. A pile of broken stone and flame used to be the archives, a bench outside he'd always sat at left no more than black, twisted metal scrap. Ancient and unique tomes had been reduced to ash.

The dorms were in no better shape. Bits and pieces of who they were strewn and buried across the landscape. They shared in their sorrow and relief. Not far from there was where Soleil'd made his home much of the year, his own little dorm.

An old, tall tree outside his window where he'd fed the local crows had been blown to splinters. The birds themselves were nowhere to be seen. He sped up, clambering over things that used to be, digging about in the hot ash. Paper sketches and paintings were utterly gone, little keepsakes crushed and burned, books both borrowed and owned reduced to nothing. With effort, he messily shoved aside a bit of debris, paints and other half-burnt art supplies splattered around beneath.

Ignoring the pain in his hands, Sol yanked an artwork storage tube from where it was jammed under what used to be a shelf and part of a wall. The large tube was partly crushed, battered and scorched, but still mostly in one piece. He quietly sniffed and let out a shaking exhale of breath, taking some time to see what other tidbits of his life on Drommund Kaas he could recover.

A life that was obviously not as steady as he sometimes thought. Zoella had gone, the school he'd partly grown up in as well. What could be next? Aadya's carrier? More friends or family whose voices he'd never hear again? He looked around again with his arms full of random things, taking in how utterly quickly and easily things could be destroyed. One day there, gone the next.

Silent tears dripped down his face as he stood. He hadn't noticed them in his single-minded stupor, but there was Altair, joined by Ashla and Vahliri, surrounded by the scattered remains of what'd been inside the dorms. Sol's legs carried him nearby to sit down on a bit of rubble. He wasn't sure how to involve himself in all the hugging, or if he should intrude at all, but they were all still there. They were alive.

Whatever their connections or personalities, they'd all been struck by this loss. It was something they would never forget.