Katana Dreadnaught, Somewhere Along the Rogue Jedi-Imperial Border

"This is Sterik Darkel," Gash said, gesturing to the dark-haired, handsome Hapan man as he, too, strode into the office. It was quickly becoming crowded, as Gash motioned for them all to sit in the many chairs placed throughout the room. "From Hapes. He was undercover as one of Musaile's armed guards, and he helped us against Thrawn on Ossus."

The gathered sat, and Gash motioned for Zartel Vex to speak, as he obviously desired to. The man spoke in a plain Corellian accent. 'The people on board have set up something of a makeshift society, Admiral. Those of us who has small children and somewhere to go unloaded at Vintar 5, so the two thousand of us left are with you.' Zartel, obviously pleased to be a part of this miniature war council, smiled shakily. 'We're proud to serve under you, Master Jiren.'

Gash didn't smile. "I trust the fourty thousand credits I afforded those who disembarked at Vintar 5 bought them passage to wherever they wished to go?"

'Yes, of course. Sir. No one was stranded.' Zartel replied.

"Good. And I plan to hold you to the promise of serving under me. Those of you still on board will find work repairing craft. Anyone with a trade should be catalogued, and the list brought to me."

'Yes, sir.'

"In the meantime, it's time that we put our manpower to good use. We have run quite long enough; while we cannot make the difference we could with my fleet, we can still fight. As you know," Gash said, glancing to General Tellien, "We recieved a shipment of armaments, yesterday. Presumably, from some of our friends in the Republic."

Xeneth, who had sent those weapons and craft, bit out a chuckle that Gash ignored.

"Twenty four fighters, ranging from Hornet Interceptors to E-wings to X-wings. All of which are broken down and more than slightly used. Suffice to say," Gash added, glancing once more to Tellien,</b. "That our government help isn't anywhere near as useful as they appear to be. The hundred rifles we received would seem to be contraband Tenloss Syndicate Disruptor rifles."

'Confiscated from criminals on Coruscant's underworld,' [b]Tellien added. 'They're highly illegal, and they tear apart matter on contact. Shoot a man in the hand, and you'll turn his arm into dust. Shoot him in the chest, and he's dead.'

Gash looked dubiously at Tellien. "You certainly have placed us further into enmity than we already were." Tellien shrugged, and Gash continued. "Two hundred lightyears from year, along our present course, one of the flashpoints of Thrawn's battle with the Empire is currently in progress. I'm going to lead a squadron into the fight."

Silence.

One thought popped into everyone's mind, but it was N'iktal that said it. 'And who, exactly, are we going to be fighting?'

Gash sighed. "Thrawn. The enemy of the enemy is my friend, and we'd be underestimating out Imperial friends if we believed that haven't made that connection yet. Anyone who can fly worth a damn reports to me, or Arrix, in the next oh-three-hundred-hours. Any questions?"

Despayre, Royal Imperial Palace

The Shadow Jedi Master rubbed the last bits of groginess from his eyes as he glanced around the room, gaining one more bearing as to where he was. The PeFauna nodded to him, their dark cloaks making no sound as their heads bobbed.

Fearsons returned the nod and rested back in his chair, gazing back at Raven who seemed truly concerned. He fingered the arms of his chair as he sat deep in thought. Why did I summon her again? he thought to himself, feeling truly ashamed now. Oh yes.

"Raven...do you know exactly what's going on?" he asked, his glowing ruby eyes gazing directly back into her own lovely orbs.

<!--EZCODE UNDERLINE START-->Aboard the <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Blood of Hapes<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, Victory Class Star Destroyer and Flagship of Lupercus Darksword, taking part in the assault on New Republic Forces.<!--EZCODE UNDERLINE END-->

"My Lord? Your orders?"

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> The tall Hapan reclined in the central command position onboard the bridge of the <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Blood of Hapes<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->, his steely eyes taking in the scene before him. New Republic forces were already taking heavy damage, and as the deaths pilled up, the disgraced Hapans bloodlust grew even further. To calm himself, he let his mind drift back to the ambush in the atmosphere of Ossus, where he had slaughtered thousands of 'loyal' Hapans, they counter attacks ineffectual in staving off their eventual destruction.<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->

But one had got away...

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> He used the force to enhance the memories, his imagination adding screams to the cacophany of battle as each laser from his ships brought about the deathknell of hundreds of Hapans... But as he used to force to heighten his pleasure, it forced him sadly back to reality as his heightened senses portrayed the strange lack of substance from the Achiron soldiers in the other ships around him. Only the 3 other ships that he had fled Hapes with stood out as beacons against the voids of the force.<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->

"My Lord? Master Lupercus?"

I have dreamed too long, now is time to act.

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> Zoning back into conciousness, he barely missed a beat as he sent out his orders.<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->

"Launch our fighters. Have them stay close to the ships. They are not to take losses, thats what the clones are for. Lets move into combat..."

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> Instantly the Hapans lept into action. The 4 Hapan Ships advanced, their weapons blasting. The Sith kept his men together, enhancing them and strengthening them through the Darkness, as did the other Hapans who had been consumed by the Darkside with him. Soon grotesquely the bloodthirsty Hapans begun notching kill marks on their weapons as a tribute to their skill. Suddenly a daring New Republic Fighter broke free from the melee, intent on strike at the flagship of the Hapans. With a evil grin and hand gesture to the other Sith, the Prince reached out with his hatred and anger, seeking to break into his mind. But such was the pressure placed on the man by the Sith, his mind collapsed, his will crushed as the wild comfort of insanity overtook his mind. Turning slightly, the crazed man fired laser after laser into the passing starfighters, finally bringing down one of his own, an X-Wing.

Lupercus looked up with a grin, brandishing his knife.<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->

"I would say that was a kill, wouldn't you?"

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> With that, he plunged the knife downwards, slicing into his arm leaving a trail of blood.<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->

"Bring that man in, i want him as a trophy...

Now lets see if we cannot do some more damage!"

Despayre, Royal Imperial Palace

The question, that she just asked, was reflected back in her direction, and she sighed tiredly.

"Nothing more than confusion, and on-comming trouble." Raven replied in a sarcastic tone, her helplessness turning into frustration.


Of course, he'd either clue her in, or delay the answer even further by asking what was making her so frustrated. Unless, the emperor himself had a hand in having Daren sending her here.

Despayre
Rogue Imperial Palace

The emperor sighed and sat back roughly in his chair, his eyes red with exhaustion. Though he had some sleep before she entered, that was precious few, and even that precious few was haunted with nightmares of all sorts. Now all he wanted was just to lay back in a nice warm bed and sleep. Perhaps lying in Jade's arms would be better, but not everyone got everything they wanted.

The Force told him of the confusion the young girl was feeling, and it was completely understandable. Perhaps she hadn't had access to most of the HoloNets, afterall she had been in flight ever since the Ossan attack. After Major Trevelan sent her off to one planet after another, the Rogue Empire finally found the shuttle and gave her passage to the Rogue Imperial Palace on Despayre.

Daren had done quite a bit for the Rogue Empire in the past, and even if he hadn't Raven was the daughter of Emperor Fearsons's former master, and a Shadow Jedi Knight at that! The emperor needed to be sure that all members of his order were at tip top shape and condition, he would abandon none of them.

"I guess no one's really told you the entire dilemna," he said finally, yawning as if the words required an outstretch of energy. "After the fall of Ossus hell has sprung lose. Most of the war council wants to fire a nuclear missile salvo on the planet to rid it of these new invaders. I'm trying to override it of course, but even then I'm starting to wonder..."

At Raven's shocked expression he drew a quiet smirk.

"No not to fire! No no no. I am beginning to wonder if I should actually start playing my hand against this new threat. We have a massive starfleet, an enormous space station under construction, and millions of soldiers and thousands of armors ready to go off to battle. Maybe I should be using those in an attempt to liberate Ossus.

"Afterall...those skirmishes are getting awfully close to Rogue Imperial borders...just last week a rogue jedi X-wing was forced into a withdrawl right into the Almanian system...perhaps the only thing preventing its pursuers were the twin Star Destroyers shielding the starfighter."

He sighed and then looked up.

"I'm sorry, I'm venting...is there anything specific you need to know?"

Despayre
Rogue Imperial Palace


"One, I'd seriously doubt that you or I have the time or patience to divulge into the tiniest of details and be able to recall them. I probably wouldn't be able to. I'm probably stuck on a need to know basis, with the details handed out as needed. Besides, too tired to bother with that much at the moment. " Raven paused, a slight smile upon her face.

Hearing all this information, had suddenly clarified Daren's line of reasoning behind sending her here, and limiting how much flight experience in real situations that she actually earned. But, of course, it was up to her if she actually stayed put. He would want to wring her neck if she ended up fighting in the one place that he didn't want her to be! But, duty was duty, right? If she was asked to go, then she'd have to go. If she wasn't with the squadron, then she'd be on the ground, amungst fellow members of the order, and that of the Rogue Empire.

"Two, it's good to vent every once in awhile. To keep one's own worries and fears inside would not do any good. To be able to have even one person listen is good. It's the very reason why most sentinent beings have more bodily orifices for listening and seeing, than those for speaking." Raven this time paused because she yawned tiredly. Too much time on the travel lanes, she reasoned.

" Okay, back to your topics of ranting. I'd imagine that the missle that they are so eager for you to fire is gonna effect quite a few innocent lives. You might want to play that hand that you were just mentioning. Get as many civilians out of there as you can. If all else fails, then you could press the firing button. But, make sure the priority is upon those innocent people." Raven then concluded, leaning her head back against the chair she was sitting in, running a hand through her hair.

Hangar Bay, Carrion
Mon Calamari System

<font color=808080>Talus watched intently as Vanchex left at a run, speeding away from the pair of Sith after a hasty bow was offered. The Achrion was of the highest standard, made specifically for the task he had been assigned, and living up to all expectations that had been made of him.

“A worthy addition to our army,” Talus hissed, inclining his head slightly in the direction Vanchex had left by. The Achrion Lord was now out of vision, but Talus had no problem following him via the Force, the high-ranking Achrion having a presence Talus found easy to follow.

Xireon nodded his agreement, and when he looked at him Talus could tell that he too was following the Achrion with his mind. A curiosity lay in Xireon’s eyes, and was apparent in his body and presence in the Force. Talus noticed it immediately as one he felt, on occasion. It was the fascination with something that had been created by a person, something that they had spent a great deal of time and effort preparing. There was a certain element of parental like concern, for both the creation’s safety and the protection of the secrets used to make such a thing.

But there was something else there, as well. Something else that Talus himself had felt possibly more than wonderment at a creation - the desire for destruction. To test what had been made, to see how it would crack and weaken under the strain. To watch as the creation was destroyed, sometimes at the creator’s own hand.

Talus could readily admit to enjoying the suffering and pain of his own clones, and he had personally killed a large number of Achrion soldiers whilst they were being developed, as a way to test for weaknesses and make better the training of other soldiers, in the future. Business was not always without pleasure, it seemed.

And the business today would certainly be pleasurable.

Talus was now no longer just a simple observer, but now had the capabilities of a fully stocked crew of Achrion soldiers to back him, plus one of the most powerful ships in Thrawn’s fleet. One of the most deadly, for sure.

Talus came back into himself suddenly as a siren began belting out its metallic war cry around the hangar, before quickly being silenced by the Carrion’s computer.

Xireon still stood beside Talus, as all around Achrions rushed to their fighters and stations, while Talus’ clone crew went about their duties. They were below the Achrions, everyone there knew. Below in rank, below in size, below in skill. The Achrions were above everything.

And they would conquer.

Talus grunted, or made a sound that would come close to being called a grunt for his particular breed.

“You had better be going now, unless you wish to stay here for the rest of the battle,” Talus informed Xireon, the first Sith still warily unsure of what his counterpart would be doing. Talus himself planned to return to the darkened bridge after Xireon had made his decision, and to command in part from there. He was reluctant to leave the Carrion in the hands of anyone but his most trusted clones, but for the sake of letting the Achrions perform at peak efficiency, he was willing to make a few sacrifices.

"Trust me Corran. It flies. I have flown it many times and it never has made a complaint yet. It will get us where we want to go."

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> He lead corran up into the ship, and to the cockpit. There they sat down and waited for liftoff clearance. Kamon turned to Corran.<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->

"You have everything you are going to need? There is no turning back now."

<!--EZCODE UNDERLINE START-->YT-1300 <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Claw<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--><!--EZCODE UNDERLINE END-->

"Whoever said anything about turnong back? Not me, wimping out shouldn't be a problem. Unless you're scared?" asked Corran

Smoothly applying power to the repulsorlifts the freighter, Corran hovered the YT-1300 at 5 meters. then he slowly appplied throttle gassing the freighter out of the docking bay . The second they were clear he pulled back on the stick bringing the freighter around in the tightest loop he coould applying power they zoomed away with Corran doing a quadruple barrel-roll in the process.

"Well I guess it isn't that bad after. Next stop Hapes." Corran said

Ht then deftly punched in the proper information on the Nav Computer

"Hyperspace in T-Minus 10 seconds, 9, 8, 7, Beginning Acceleration,4, 3, 2, 1."

Suddenly Corran was pressed to his seat by the sudden acceleration. Taking his hand off the stick he waited for the acceleration to end before he undid his safety harness and stood up. He then went back to the hold to check on the equipment and to borrow a whiskey from the cold unit.

Thrawn smiled slightly, sipping the small glass of Alderaan wine he'd poured for himself, waving his graceful blue hand in time with the music he'd ordered to be played. In front of him, the glorious drama unfolded according to plan, the battle matched at roughly even proportions.

Even, but for two points.

One, the pair of Star Destroyers, crewed with those beautiful agents of destruction, weaving a path of destruction through the battle, devastating the superior New Republic force. Two, Xex Tirion's squadron. While the two perfectly-coordinated and strangely efficient Star Destroyers occupied the enemy's attention, Tirion's men had been quietly devastating enemy starfighter forces. "Star Destroyer Kalmar, pull 180 degree turn to the left, elevation ten degrees. Claw Star Destroyer Vechel, sweep across their flank and provide cover fire." Thrawn ordered, smiling again.

"And, Carrion," He continued, "Fight for real, now."

The ripples in the Force were deafening. All around him, a maelstrom of presences swirled, intentions dark and evil, hate flowing freely. They cut a hellish gash in the Force, a cut which was not supposed to exist cut by a dagger that wasn't, either.

And in the middle of it, Xylon could barely maintain his sphere of calm. This was something new to him, something far darker than he'd ever felt. The Jenova rumbled yet again, the relentless assault of the vessel the enemy comm channels had identified as the Carrion wreaking havoc on the larger, ungainly vessel. On the sensors, the craft twisted around their flank, spinning without losing fire intensity. The gunners onboard were impossibly coordinated, with each other and with the engineers.

Was it possible? "Captain, is the superlaser charged?"

Xex Tirion pulled his craft through a tornado of fire and shrapnel, spinning to avoid the pieces as soon as his comrades registered noticing them. Speach was unnecessary. Angling up, Tirion noted yet another enemy fighter, and each of his eleven squadron-mates instantly understood where the craft was, where it was goiing, and how fast. In an instant, a million battleplans flashed before each of their eyes, the product of the sum of each of their minds. Xex selected the most efficient one.

In seconds, the enemy fighter was nothing but shrapnel. Over one hundred fighters down, without a single casualty. 'Captain Tirion,' Came a cool, Imperial voice. 'It's almost time.'

"Captain Tirion, it's almost time." Thrawn noted, nodding to the sensors officer in thanks for his receipt of the superlaser readings. The plan unfolded still according to plan, Xylon playing his part perfectly. As Jiren had; as they all would. The fools. "Xireon and Talus," Thrawn continued...

'Prepare to present a target, my Sith allies.' Thrawn said, and Xireon looked dubiously at Talus. Yes, he'd known of this portion of the plan -- but it didn't make it any simpler.

"Talus, have them pull the craft around in front of the Jenova. Present a target, but don't look like you are." Xireon said, purging the uneasiness from his voice.

Talus raised the reptillian equivalent of an eyebrow, grimacing. 'Glorious allies you have found us...'

Xylon took a deep breath. "Two degrees to port. Lock onto the Carrion." He steadied himself on the rail as the Jenova shook yet again. "Prepare to fire the turbolaser on my mark."

Thrawn smiled again, and not for the last time. He registered just one more comm click to Tirion, to get him on alert. That was all they'd need.

It was time to test his allies' reliability.

The superlaser power readings rose slowly...

The click registered just once, and it was enough. In the distance, a faint green glow -- enhanced by Tirion's vision in the Force -- appeared in the superlaser's hardpoint. He brought his fighter about, targetting it.

It would only work if he timed it just right.

It was time to test his new abilities.

The superlaser power readings rose slowly...

"Trust them." Xireon said. Talus remained unmoving for a moment, then nodded his reptillian head. They were, after all, the creations of the two Sith.

It was time to test their creations.

The superlaser power readings rose slowly...

"Mark." Xylon said, and braced himself once more.

The slowly rising power readings shot through the roof, and the laser prepared to fire. Without the Carrion in the way, the battle should be simple for the overwhealming New Republic force.

But, it was only in the end -- through some taunting of the Force, perhaps, or merely a specter of the future -- that he felt the missile, flying towards the superlaser hardpoint. It just hung there, in that endless, hellish moment laughing at him, mocking him. Showing him his own death, showing him the enslavement of the galaxy. Showing him Gash Jiren's fall. Showing him the Republic's fall.

And in that final, ironic moment, Xylon saw his error.

He almost laughed.