Post by Danz on Apr 23, 2018 4:11:41 GMT
"We need hyperspace....<i>now!</i>" The pilot yelled back behind him, but the response was only the feminine crack of cuss words in some alien language followed by the sound of couplers being overloaded. The frigate was going full throttle as it avoided fire from a trio of sleek TIE's, followed by another trio going left, and another trio going right. The added cargo made them slower, and the rest of the crew was manning the guns. The small female alien hit something metallic a few times before the engines roared back to life, though the power flickered. "Try it now!" she called out. One the TIE's hurtled forward as it exploded, bits and pieces scattering. The pilot pulled the lever for the hyper drive, and it begun to activate before sputtering out. Smoke filled the corridor before more cursing.
The TIE fighters did not come in, and the two trio's on the flanks did not engage directly. The pilot blinked when he realized that despite being fired upon, they were herding the ship. With this realization, he made a decision. "I'm going to dump the cargo!" he called out, giving control over to his somber and silent co-pilot. The entire ship rumbled dangerously before the woman jumped out. "It's fixed!" she said, throwing her arms up. "Punch it!" As the co-pilot went to grab the handle, the pilot turned and told him 'no!' quickly. Another great rumble shook the ship so hard that the power nearly went out. "What the..." the co-pilot begunt o say as the light from the surrounding star was stifled, leaving them in near total darkness besides their own lights. Above them lurched from hyperspace a <i>Mandator</i> class Dreadnought. A few smaller Star Destroyer's accompanied it, spreading out in familiar fashion as cords of TIE fighters could be seen like buzzing bees around the hive.
"That's the--"One of them said, spotting the large Black Sun symbol etched onto the dark hull of the ship. The Co-pilot just sat back, as their systems flickered. Dumping the cargo meant nothing now, but the massive ship did not slow down. Instead it continued on, some massive sight akin to a waking nightmare. One of the smaller Star Destroyer's locked onto their position however, and the engines begun to be bled dry as the entire ship was hauled in closer for inspection.
Onboard the <i>Star's Fury</i>, the command deck was efficiently run with little tolerance for yelling or thoughtful dialog. A woman sat in the chair, with a straight back and dark hair touched with embers of white. Her skin bore similar markings to other Nightsisters seen across the stars, though her eyes had a piercing dark aura to them. Red irises tamed in black cords, with long hair pinched back by metal latches. She wore an Imperial Uniform tied tight to her frame, with a half cloak slung over one side. Bada's face retained much of her youthful disposition, though a terrible scar lay across it, from eyebrow to chin, the discolored skin sunken down, and what was once something hideous now over years had become a badge of pride. For Bada was second only to <i>him</i>, though it took years to sear his superiority into her skin. Their Master had wrought him like pig iron to titanium, and even now his pain fed rage that echoes across the <i>stars</i> themselves.
A blinking light in a dark room awoke the man who sat up among the sheets of his bed. A communication--though he did not seem bothered by who. As the figure stood, age seemed to take nothing from him. Broad shouldered betrayed not weakness, as metal and skin grafted from shoulders into arms which turned with great fluid movements. Scars become the embodiment of his story, sinking into his flesh. From upstart to war hero, to MIA...to conqueror. But the man who was pulled screaming into that abyss never returned. Fragments only remained..memories of a man who clung too hard to the past, bogged down by the pain of loss. The man's illuminated eyes glanced down to his cold, inhuman hand a long moment before he cleared his throat. Few knew who he really was, few knew what had emerged from the Unknown Regions.
A brutal creature, who harnessed his rage and pain to overwhelm his foes.
Bada glanced at the doors and in one fluid motion stood before the doors even hissed open. Someone turned and spotted the imposing figure stepping in the room. A dark half-cloak much in the same fashion of Bada's hung from the man's shoulder, adorned with the rank his position gave him. His wardrobe more akin to that of a soldier and duelist than of some head-of-house. Clinging to his side were two lightsabers--one scorched relic of years past, slender with the faint clawtip at the end. The other was utilitarian in every aspect, with no bells or whistles to it. The Darth Lord glanced across the souls on the command deck, which turned and saluted him without question. Bada stepped aside obediently, though the fire of hatred still raged in her eyes. Uncowed even though she knew the price of her temper--it was why he decided against killing her.
"Sir, we've picked up a smugglers ship carrying contraband intended, we think for--"
"Torture them for information. When your done, discard them, and the ship. We continue on as planned. I'll not delay myself in the presence of others for mere <i>trash</i>. Stay on course, and continue as discussed". Iron words that were law. Instead of seating himself, Vuusen turned and left as soon as he had come in, leaving Bada to grit her jaw and follow like a dog at his heels.
"That's the third smuggler in a months time. We should punish the local viceroy if he thinks his security is enough in this sector--" Bada was cut off by Vuusen as he turned to glance over his shoulder. "We continue on. I said I will be present for the meeting, and I will be there. If you feel the Viceroy needs correcting...then go, knock on his door. They carry supplies..hither to where?" Vuusen looked out a window, the gloved hand touching it. "I want to know....this..stagnation of bloodshed. It has to end. So instead of quitting the Viceroy, we should mold his ambition to make use of his failures. Start releasing the Smugglers, and tracking them. Track their shipments, find their families. Find the nest, and you kill the infestation...no leave me, Bada. I'm going to meditate."
Vuusen killed their conversation right there, and walked away. Who he had become from those early days was a transformation. One birthed in blood and agony. Yet there were few in this galaxy even <i>he</i> knew had to be destroyed. Every vestige, and memory of <i>him</i> needed to be erased. It was the only way to quiet the roaring despair in his heart. To kill it once and for all. Bada stood there silently as he walked away, her hand clenching almost behind her. Always taking orders..always the lapdog....when once, once she had lorded herself over him, showered in praise for her prowess.
Those dark eyes stirred with hatred, and that hatred gave the witch <i>power</i>..
But never <i>enough</i>....for <i>his</i> hatred seemly eclipsed all before him.
<i>Docking procedures in five. Ready the transport.</i>
The backdrop of Kuat crested in the window on the main deck, the massive ring of shipyards and defenses, in a constant flux of repair. Small ships buzzed among busy lanes, while a plethora of Imperial Star Destroyers hung a heavy military presence over a planet that had changed more hands than he cared to admit before he had taken it. In the annals of history, the battles to actually take the planet into the Imperial fold once more will probably be the achievement for which is most remembered for. Yet to hold it, Vuusen now needed defenses that superseded the prior installations. He needed to produce ships of immaculate quality--and Imperial citizens to man those ships. A tall order..one which he hardly shied from. His recent sojourn from the planet was a rare case...tracking down a priceless item. ne he did not often make, for fear of losing the tightened grip on not just the planet..but all that came with it, that he has meticulously built up over these hard won years.
As the sun danced across the curved horizon of the planet, Bada waited in the shadowed wing as she watched the facial expression of Vuusen change. Something was there, she felt it. Some horrific answer that only waited for the right question. There was fear she sensed..but it seemed always swallowed by this pit of desperate anger. What did the Lord have to lash out for? He sat upon this temple of power, it's lord and master. It confused her...the man had always perplexed her. Their Master's obsession with the man before his transformation. Her obsession was both spiritual almost--and notably physical..forced, until the day he pried her life from her chest. Bada shirked away, nursing her own pride and resentments..seeds that have grown ever since he cast her down before their master. The Exiled Witch let her scarred lip twitch a little into a sneer as Vuusen turned, his boots striking the floor with each step out. Storm troopers with gilded black outfits followed, flanking his form on either side. They bore an inverted Black Sun symbol, and aside from blaster pistols on their hips, they carried staffs which were quite useful against lightsabers.
From the ships deck Bada turned and stepped out when Vuusen left, looking at the scars that still remained along the planet's surface. Great tortured craters from orbital bombardments, and even the elements themselves were thrown into despair. Kuat had become a world processed for only one purpose...great clouds seen from space tormented the landscape in thick hails of dust. Vegetation had become barren, or low-scale such as mosses and lichens. The poles were encrusted in hard caps of ice and perpetual blizzards, which whipped the dust storms down upon the other regions. Whatever natural resources existed were perpetually chased to be extracted, and those that lived on its surface did so with one purpose in life. To fulfill the Lord's wishes and desires. Work. Train. Die.
Glory to the Empire.
Glory to House Vuusen.
Bada turned and moved to catch up to Lord Vuusen, who was moving to board his personal transport as the Star's Fury stayed up by the docks. A trio of transports exited one of the ships many bays, flanked by an entire squadron of special sleek TIE's. Housed in the massive ring that circled the planet were not just shipyards, but development sections for R&D, entire divisions of fighter pilots and their fighters, assembly lines for TIE productions--this was the heart and soul of the Imperial Navy under the direction of Vuusen. From the planets surface the titanic ring is clearly visible. Across the entire planet the surface had become a massive ship graveyard, with ships of all types and classes present. Teams regularly descend down to pull scrap, ot salvage metal for processing in moving mobile smelt yards, thrusting heavy smoke out with perpetual red glows...they are visible for miles in all directions at night. Planetary surface defenses regularly include small hovering bases, and sometimes heavily entrenched 'Castles' built into the surface. These generally ring important sections--massive industrial yards, where Gorilla walkers, and other AT units are produced by droids or slaves en masse for Imperial usage across the Empire.
Yet two landmarks stand out above all.
Vuusen's transports were moving along the regulated lane towards the massive floating city-ship. Dissected from the hull of some massive abandoned Star Destroyer class found on the planet, it now served as a floating <i>city</i> of versatile defenses. Great battlements existed on it, and it seemed to follow the orbit of the great ring for the most part. It was shaped over the long years of its use, like a great full pyramid, a triangle that faced downwards towards the planet. Titanic bays held differing classes of smaller Star Destroyers, and large compliments of fighters. Yet it was the vestige in the background that would draw ones eyes from this miracle of engineering.
Buttressed in the Northern hemisphere, near the collapsing continental shelf of the main landmass, icy peaks visible in the hazy distance lay the Lord of the Imperial Navy's lair and House Vuusen's base of operations. A frigid ocean on one side, and a long exposed field on all three other points, a city emerged from the ruin and desolation. Great walls folded upwards, and a industrial megacity flourished. In the very center, two pyramid structures much like the floating one thrust up at perfect angles. Pillars extended, and what looked first like strange limbs became clear as the city made its slow crawling journey towards them. These limbs were docking stations, which let the floating citadel literally dock in, with the other two ship-like castles. Among the sheer monstrosity of it, lights flickered on as the dim star went down. Upwards the lights thrust upon the bleak black metal, and large tapestries with the Imperial symbols and the Vuusen Black Sun could be seen for miles.
Here..
Power had become absolute.
Vuusen was in his personal deck, overlooking the entirety of everything he had built. Here he secluded himself for long terms, wrapped in a cloak of fermenting anger and despair. His hand turned, as he held a helmet. An old Rebellion era helmet, with dark scorch marks etched across it. As he turned it, his shadowed eyes watched as his other hand came over to touch something printed low on the back of the helmet. The air seemed palpably thick with his fury...Bada felt it from rooms away as she twisted with indecision. It was now or never, with the Lord so distracted. Her hand moved along with her head, and the guards seemed to melt away into the shadows. As the woman drew in a deep dark breath, her fingers clutched at the long handle of her double bladed lightsaber at her hip. The great doors of the Vuusen Lord's keep groaned as they opened, and the Dathomiren Witch tilted her head at the silhouette of the man she so despised.
More than anything.
Her heart beat only for <i>revenge</i>....for this exact <i>moment</i>.
Vuusen felt so...tired.
Her motions of gratitude, proclamations of loyalty. The Witch's duplicity was all but known as a lie. So why did Vuusen not kill her?
Simply..
It's what she wants. What she has always wanted. Her sisters betrayed her..and now, in servitude, she languishes in a state between anything of true worth. Neither Sith nor Kindred...neither powerful nor weak. Vuusen kept her alive for the sole purpose of breaking her. It was the final lesson she had passed to him. Despite the urge to kill..sometimes it was better to deny them the endings so sought after. Patience had never been a key trait of his. But over the years he had honed it, much like an old Wookies blade. So it came as little surprise the guards did not stir, knowing the mood of their Master. With his back turned to Bada, Vuusen lifted his free hand and the great sealed window before him started to part. Frigid air flooded the great expansive room, as they towered over the entire industrial city. He almost didn't hear the audible snap-hiss of the double bladed lightsaber come to life. The ferocious intake of air as Bada wrapped herself in her rage, snapping forward on those light feet of hers.
The first time...he met the Witch was on a special mission. His entire unit had eventually been marooned after a great battle on a planet in the fringe outer sectors of the galaxy. The Rebel fleet had taken a terrible beaten...his entire squadron--Ghost Squadron--now limped onwards to the large Imperial base. A planetary shield, which was also a base for their weapons department. There his Master had laid the Witch to capture him..not planning on his tenacity that would span the next few months in a dangerous cat and mouse game, ending in...
"Despair" Vuusen said as he turned with the sudden popping of his own lightsaber. It caught the upper blade of Bada's, his own red blade caught against her intense yellow. The light illuminated their faces, yet Vuusen was physically the stronger. He held her back with one of his synthetic arms, before swiping and sending her sprawling backwards into a elegant flip. She landed in a chair, long thin limbs tucked tight. Vuusen glanced at the helmet, and chucked it to the side. His ornate half-cloak was flicked back to reveal the other synthetic arm as he pushed forward without hesitation.
"Your as predictable as the Jedi, Witch" he said with scathing anger twisting his words. A steady march to her ended with a single swipe, watching her flip away before she charged in. Vuusen kept one arm down at his side as he blocked most of her attacks, aside from dodging the rest. The whirling dervish of strikes from Bada grew more intense as her rage and inability to predict his movements grew. All the training, all the preparation--her eyes widened with the realization of the gulf between them. Her scream echoed as she came in, and Vuusen dipped down as the blade came up. Time seemed slow as her eyes tried to follow the quick maneuver as she had stretched out the lightsaber and her arms. Vuusen had tilted himself, using his free hand to push himself up as the red blade came so close to her skin she felt the heat radiate. One of Bada's hands release and came away so her arm did not get severed as it touch the middle of her duel-bladed weapon, and sudden the pop and hiss that followed severed one side, sending it into the air. Time still seemed so slow as Vuusen's arm then bent curiously, and his elbow came in hard against her chest with such strength she thought her chest cavity would collapse.
Time snapped forward as her entire body was flung back, hitting a couch and the furniture and herself bowling over. The lightsaber she had used scattered into two pieces across the floor. Vuusen stood up with a faint panting to his breath as he released that tight knot in his stomach. Casually he moved forward, planting his foot on her chest where he hit her, watching the pain blossom across her more mature features. The blade came down, dangerously close to her skin as she tried to arch away from it only momentarily before locking eyes with Vuusen and lifting her chin to expose her neck. Daring him to do it..wanting him to do it, so utterly badly it was not an emotion easily concealed. Bada's ink tipped fingers were clutching the floor as Vuusen released his finger and the blade was gone.
"You think the loss of my arms separates us...you are wrong, Bada. That has always been your problem. You <i>think</i> you can win..instead of <i>trying</i> to win. You weakness grows more desperate.." His face scrunched up in anger as he bent down, grabbing her by that exposed throat and lifting her up. Those tense, thick synthetic arm muscles bulged as he clenched down on her throat to cut off air. Vuusen walked towards the large open window as the strong winds whipped about them. She wanted him to finish her..yet fear was growing in her as her fingers clutched at that arm, clawing at it miserably as she gagged and choked. Vuusen watched her thin frame twisted and wretch. An intense thought came on why he kept her alive--she was so weak, and her hatred made her weaker for some reason. Where was the beautiful, deadly assassin on his youth? Her ineptitude only further aggravated him, and for a moment..for a moment he almost simply let go.
Instead he turned and put her head first against the hard tile floor, smearing it with blood as he released her to crumple up there, clutching her head. One solid kick and it would be over--out the window, to fall to her death. Perhaps he was a coward to not do it. To cling to the last vestige of who he had been. Seething hatred seemed to blow off him as the winds pushed into his living quarters. Vuusen lowered his lightsaber down, pressing it back to the clip on his belt. "So useless..and weak" he growled, bending down to grab her half-shaved head. He turned her head, seeing the split that bled profusely as her eyes rolled in a concussion. Her eyes saw the miserable medical droid hovering behind him, as she rolled eyes backwards, darkness swallowed her.
The Sith Lord's head crane towards the open window before he turned his body, watching the massive storm roll up in the distant horizon. In the thinning light, the illumination of from artificial lights came on, doused with the occasional lightning that beckoned across the broken landscape. Despite this..the plants did not shut down, the factories did not slow, and below him as Vuusen came to stand at the precipice of the large open window, he could hear the din of the Imperial machinery like a quaking heartbeat. <i>whatever it takes</i> he thought as he turned to glance down at the foreign object that resembled a hand. <i>Whoever it takes..</i>.
The TIE fighters did not come in, and the two trio's on the flanks did not engage directly. The pilot blinked when he realized that despite being fired upon, they were herding the ship. With this realization, he made a decision. "I'm going to dump the cargo!" he called out, giving control over to his somber and silent co-pilot. The entire ship rumbled dangerously before the woman jumped out. "It's fixed!" she said, throwing her arms up. "Punch it!" As the co-pilot went to grab the handle, the pilot turned and told him 'no!' quickly. Another great rumble shook the ship so hard that the power nearly went out. "What the..." the co-pilot begunt o say as the light from the surrounding star was stifled, leaving them in near total darkness besides their own lights. Above them lurched from hyperspace a <i>Mandator</i> class Dreadnought. A few smaller Star Destroyer's accompanied it, spreading out in familiar fashion as cords of TIE fighters could be seen like buzzing bees around the hive.
"That's the--"One of them said, spotting the large Black Sun symbol etched onto the dark hull of the ship. The Co-pilot just sat back, as their systems flickered. Dumping the cargo meant nothing now, but the massive ship did not slow down. Instead it continued on, some massive sight akin to a waking nightmare. One of the smaller Star Destroyer's locked onto their position however, and the engines begun to be bled dry as the entire ship was hauled in closer for inspection.
Onboard the <i>Star's Fury</i>, the command deck was efficiently run with little tolerance for yelling or thoughtful dialog. A woman sat in the chair, with a straight back and dark hair touched with embers of white. Her skin bore similar markings to other Nightsisters seen across the stars, though her eyes had a piercing dark aura to them. Red irises tamed in black cords, with long hair pinched back by metal latches. She wore an Imperial Uniform tied tight to her frame, with a half cloak slung over one side. Bada's face retained much of her youthful disposition, though a terrible scar lay across it, from eyebrow to chin, the discolored skin sunken down, and what was once something hideous now over years had become a badge of pride. For Bada was second only to <i>him</i>, though it took years to sear his superiority into her skin. Their Master had wrought him like pig iron to titanium, and even now his pain fed rage that echoes across the <i>stars</i> themselves.
A blinking light in a dark room awoke the man who sat up among the sheets of his bed. A communication--though he did not seem bothered by who. As the figure stood, age seemed to take nothing from him. Broad shouldered betrayed not weakness, as metal and skin grafted from shoulders into arms which turned with great fluid movements. Scars become the embodiment of his story, sinking into his flesh. From upstart to war hero, to MIA...to conqueror. But the man who was pulled screaming into that abyss never returned. Fragments only remained..memories of a man who clung too hard to the past, bogged down by the pain of loss. The man's illuminated eyes glanced down to his cold, inhuman hand a long moment before he cleared his throat. Few knew who he really was, few knew what had emerged from the Unknown Regions.
A brutal creature, who harnessed his rage and pain to overwhelm his foes.
Bada glanced at the doors and in one fluid motion stood before the doors even hissed open. Someone turned and spotted the imposing figure stepping in the room. A dark half-cloak much in the same fashion of Bada's hung from the man's shoulder, adorned with the rank his position gave him. His wardrobe more akin to that of a soldier and duelist than of some head-of-house. Clinging to his side were two lightsabers--one scorched relic of years past, slender with the faint clawtip at the end. The other was utilitarian in every aspect, with no bells or whistles to it. The Darth Lord glanced across the souls on the command deck, which turned and saluted him without question. Bada stepped aside obediently, though the fire of hatred still raged in her eyes. Uncowed even though she knew the price of her temper--it was why he decided against killing her.
"Sir, we've picked up a smugglers ship carrying contraband intended, we think for--"
"Torture them for information. When your done, discard them, and the ship. We continue on as planned. I'll not delay myself in the presence of others for mere <i>trash</i>. Stay on course, and continue as discussed". Iron words that were law. Instead of seating himself, Vuusen turned and left as soon as he had come in, leaving Bada to grit her jaw and follow like a dog at his heels.
"That's the third smuggler in a months time. We should punish the local viceroy if he thinks his security is enough in this sector--" Bada was cut off by Vuusen as he turned to glance over his shoulder. "We continue on. I said I will be present for the meeting, and I will be there. If you feel the Viceroy needs correcting...then go, knock on his door. They carry supplies..hither to where?" Vuusen looked out a window, the gloved hand touching it. "I want to know....this..stagnation of bloodshed. It has to end. So instead of quitting the Viceroy, we should mold his ambition to make use of his failures. Start releasing the Smugglers, and tracking them. Track their shipments, find their families. Find the nest, and you kill the infestation...no leave me, Bada. I'm going to meditate."
Vuusen killed their conversation right there, and walked away. Who he had become from those early days was a transformation. One birthed in blood and agony. Yet there were few in this galaxy even <i>he</i> knew had to be destroyed. Every vestige, and memory of <i>him</i> needed to be erased. It was the only way to quiet the roaring despair in his heart. To kill it once and for all. Bada stood there silently as he walked away, her hand clenching almost behind her. Always taking orders..always the lapdog....when once, once she had lorded herself over him, showered in praise for her prowess.
Those dark eyes stirred with hatred, and that hatred gave the witch <i>power</i>..
But never <i>enough</i>....for <i>his</i> hatred seemly eclipsed all before him.
<i>Docking procedures in five. Ready the transport.</i>
The backdrop of Kuat crested in the window on the main deck, the massive ring of shipyards and defenses, in a constant flux of repair. Small ships buzzed among busy lanes, while a plethora of Imperial Star Destroyers hung a heavy military presence over a planet that had changed more hands than he cared to admit before he had taken it. In the annals of history, the battles to actually take the planet into the Imperial fold once more will probably be the achievement for which is most remembered for. Yet to hold it, Vuusen now needed defenses that superseded the prior installations. He needed to produce ships of immaculate quality--and Imperial citizens to man those ships. A tall order..one which he hardly shied from. His recent sojourn from the planet was a rare case...tracking down a priceless item. ne he did not often make, for fear of losing the tightened grip on not just the planet..but all that came with it, that he has meticulously built up over these hard won years.
As the sun danced across the curved horizon of the planet, Bada waited in the shadowed wing as she watched the facial expression of Vuusen change. Something was there, she felt it. Some horrific answer that only waited for the right question. There was fear she sensed..but it seemed always swallowed by this pit of desperate anger. What did the Lord have to lash out for? He sat upon this temple of power, it's lord and master. It confused her...the man had always perplexed her. Their Master's obsession with the man before his transformation. Her obsession was both spiritual almost--and notably physical..forced, until the day he pried her life from her chest. Bada shirked away, nursing her own pride and resentments..seeds that have grown ever since he cast her down before their master. The Exiled Witch let her scarred lip twitch a little into a sneer as Vuusen turned, his boots striking the floor with each step out. Storm troopers with gilded black outfits followed, flanking his form on either side. They bore an inverted Black Sun symbol, and aside from blaster pistols on their hips, they carried staffs which were quite useful against lightsabers.
From the ships deck Bada turned and stepped out when Vuusen left, looking at the scars that still remained along the planet's surface. Great tortured craters from orbital bombardments, and even the elements themselves were thrown into despair. Kuat had become a world processed for only one purpose...great clouds seen from space tormented the landscape in thick hails of dust. Vegetation had become barren, or low-scale such as mosses and lichens. The poles were encrusted in hard caps of ice and perpetual blizzards, which whipped the dust storms down upon the other regions. Whatever natural resources existed were perpetually chased to be extracted, and those that lived on its surface did so with one purpose in life. To fulfill the Lord's wishes and desires. Work. Train. Die.
Glory to the Empire.
Glory to House Vuusen.
Bada turned and moved to catch up to Lord Vuusen, who was moving to board his personal transport as the Star's Fury stayed up by the docks. A trio of transports exited one of the ships many bays, flanked by an entire squadron of special sleek TIE's. Housed in the massive ring that circled the planet were not just shipyards, but development sections for R&D, entire divisions of fighter pilots and their fighters, assembly lines for TIE productions--this was the heart and soul of the Imperial Navy under the direction of Vuusen. From the planets surface the titanic ring is clearly visible. Across the entire planet the surface had become a massive ship graveyard, with ships of all types and classes present. Teams regularly descend down to pull scrap, ot salvage metal for processing in moving mobile smelt yards, thrusting heavy smoke out with perpetual red glows...they are visible for miles in all directions at night. Planetary surface defenses regularly include small hovering bases, and sometimes heavily entrenched 'Castles' built into the surface. These generally ring important sections--massive industrial yards, where Gorilla walkers, and other AT units are produced by droids or slaves en masse for Imperial usage across the Empire.
Yet two landmarks stand out above all.
Vuusen's transports were moving along the regulated lane towards the massive floating city-ship. Dissected from the hull of some massive abandoned Star Destroyer class found on the planet, it now served as a floating <i>city</i> of versatile defenses. Great battlements existed on it, and it seemed to follow the orbit of the great ring for the most part. It was shaped over the long years of its use, like a great full pyramid, a triangle that faced downwards towards the planet. Titanic bays held differing classes of smaller Star Destroyers, and large compliments of fighters. Yet it was the vestige in the background that would draw ones eyes from this miracle of engineering.
Buttressed in the Northern hemisphere, near the collapsing continental shelf of the main landmass, icy peaks visible in the hazy distance lay the Lord of the Imperial Navy's lair and House Vuusen's base of operations. A frigid ocean on one side, and a long exposed field on all three other points, a city emerged from the ruin and desolation. Great walls folded upwards, and a industrial megacity flourished. In the very center, two pyramid structures much like the floating one thrust up at perfect angles. Pillars extended, and what looked first like strange limbs became clear as the city made its slow crawling journey towards them. These limbs were docking stations, which let the floating citadel literally dock in, with the other two ship-like castles. Among the sheer monstrosity of it, lights flickered on as the dim star went down. Upwards the lights thrust upon the bleak black metal, and large tapestries with the Imperial symbols and the Vuusen Black Sun could be seen for miles.
Here..
Power had become absolute.
Vuusen was in his personal deck, overlooking the entirety of everything he had built. Here he secluded himself for long terms, wrapped in a cloak of fermenting anger and despair. His hand turned, as he held a helmet. An old Rebellion era helmet, with dark scorch marks etched across it. As he turned it, his shadowed eyes watched as his other hand came over to touch something printed low on the back of the helmet. The air seemed palpably thick with his fury...Bada felt it from rooms away as she twisted with indecision. It was now or never, with the Lord so distracted. Her hand moved along with her head, and the guards seemed to melt away into the shadows. As the woman drew in a deep dark breath, her fingers clutched at the long handle of her double bladed lightsaber at her hip. The great doors of the Vuusen Lord's keep groaned as they opened, and the Dathomiren Witch tilted her head at the silhouette of the man she so despised.
More than anything.
Her heart beat only for <i>revenge</i>....for this exact <i>moment</i>.
Vuusen felt so...tired.
Her motions of gratitude, proclamations of loyalty. The Witch's duplicity was all but known as a lie. So why did Vuusen not kill her?
Simply..
It's what she wants. What she has always wanted. Her sisters betrayed her..and now, in servitude, she languishes in a state between anything of true worth. Neither Sith nor Kindred...neither powerful nor weak. Vuusen kept her alive for the sole purpose of breaking her. It was the final lesson she had passed to him. Despite the urge to kill..sometimes it was better to deny them the endings so sought after. Patience had never been a key trait of his. But over the years he had honed it, much like an old Wookies blade. So it came as little surprise the guards did not stir, knowing the mood of their Master. With his back turned to Bada, Vuusen lifted his free hand and the great sealed window before him started to part. Frigid air flooded the great expansive room, as they towered over the entire industrial city. He almost didn't hear the audible snap-hiss of the double bladed lightsaber come to life. The ferocious intake of air as Bada wrapped herself in her rage, snapping forward on those light feet of hers.
The first time...he met the Witch was on a special mission. His entire unit had eventually been marooned after a great battle on a planet in the fringe outer sectors of the galaxy. The Rebel fleet had taken a terrible beaten...his entire squadron--Ghost Squadron--now limped onwards to the large Imperial base. A planetary shield, which was also a base for their weapons department. There his Master had laid the Witch to capture him..not planning on his tenacity that would span the next few months in a dangerous cat and mouse game, ending in...
"Despair" Vuusen said as he turned with the sudden popping of his own lightsaber. It caught the upper blade of Bada's, his own red blade caught against her intense yellow. The light illuminated their faces, yet Vuusen was physically the stronger. He held her back with one of his synthetic arms, before swiping and sending her sprawling backwards into a elegant flip. She landed in a chair, long thin limbs tucked tight. Vuusen glanced at the helmet, and chucked it to the side. His ornate half-cloak was flicked back to reveal the other synthetic arm as he pushed forward without hesitation.
"Your as predictable as the Jedi, Witch" he said with scathing anger twisting his words. A steady march to her ended with a single swipe, watching her flip away before she charged in. Vuusen kept one arm down at his side as he blocked most of her attacks, aside from dodging the rest. The whirling dervish of strikes from Bada grew more intense as her rage and inability to predict his movements grew. All the training, all the preparation--her eyes widened with the realization of the gulf between them. Her scream echoed as she came in, and Vuusen dipped down as the blade came up. Time seemed slow as her eyes tried to follow the quick maneuver as she had stretched out the lightsaber and her arms. Vuusen had tilted himself, using his free hand to push himself up as the red blade came so close to her skin she felt the heat radiate. One of Bada's hands release and came away so her arm did not get severed as it touch the middle of her duel-bladed weapon, and sudden the pop and hiss that followed severed one side, sending it into the air. Time still seemed so slow as Vuusen's arm then bent curiously, and his elbow came in hard against her chest with such strength she thought her chest cavity would collapse.
Time snapped forward as her entire body was flung back, hitting a couch and the furniture and herself bowling over. The lightsaber she had used scattered into two pieces across the floor. Vuusen stood up with a faint panting to his breath as he released that tight knot in his stomach. Casually he moved forward, planting his foot on her chest where he hit her, watching the pain blossom across her more mature features. The blade came down, dangerously close to her skin as she tried to arch away from it only momentarily before locking eyes with Vuusen and lifting her chin to expose her neck. Daring him to do it..wanting him to do it, so utterly badly it was not an emotion easily concealed. Bada's ink tipped fingers were clutching the floor as Vuusen released his finger and the blade was gone.
"You think the loss of my arms separates us...you are wrong, Bada. That has always been your problem. You <i>think</i> you can win..instead of <i>trying</i> to win. You weakness grows more desperate.." His face scrunched up in anger as he bent down, grabbing her by that exposed throat and lifting her up. Those tense, thick synthetic arm muscles bulged as he clenched down on her throat to cut off air. Vuusen walked towards the large open window as the strong winds whipped about them. She wanted him to finish her..yet fear was growing in her as her fingers clutched at that arm, clawing at it miserably as she gagged and choked. Vuusen watched her thin frame twisted and wretch. An intense thought came on why he kept her alive--she was so weak, and her hatred made her weaker for some reason. Where was the beautiful, deadly assassin on his youth? Her ineptitude only further aggravated him, and for a moment..for a moment he almost simply let go.
Instead he turned and put her head first against the hard tile floor, smearing it with blood as he released her to crumple up there, clutching her head. One solid kick and it would be over--out the window, to fall to her death. Perhaps he was a coward to not do it. To cling to the last vestige of who he had been. Seething hatred seemed to blow off him as the winds pushed into his living quarters. Vuusen lowered his lightsaber down, pressing it back to the clip on his belt. "So useless..and weak" he growled, bending down to grab her half-shaved head. He turned her head, seeing the split that bled profusely as her eyes rolled in a concussion. Her eyes saw the miserable medical droid hovering behind him, as she rolled eyes backwards, darkness swallowed her.
The Sith Lord's head crane towards the open window before he turned his body, watching the massive storm roll up in the distant horizon. In the thinning light, the illumination of from artificial lights came on, doused with the occasional lightning that beckoned across the broken landscape. Despite this..the plants did not shut down, the factories did not slow, and below him as Vuusen came to stand at the precipice of the large open window, he could hear the din of the Imperial machinery like a quaking heartbeat. <i>whatever it takes</i> he thought as he turned to glance down at the foreign object that resembled a hand. <i>Whoever it takes..</i>.