However you made it to this forsaken rock of a planet you are here now. You found yourself on the only settlement, if you can call it that, on the planet - this settlement almost makes you long for Mos Eisely. As soon as you step on the planet the feeling you have been having for some time now increases ten fold. You are being pulled to the southwest, and it is almost painful not to follow it. You may resist for a little while, but no matter what you eventually go to where you are being pulled. It takes a day or two, depending on how you are travelling, to get there. What you find is a surprise.
You come across the base of a mountain, and although that is nothing unusual, you find what looks like a door in the side of the mountain. As you arrive there you can tell this is where you were pulled to and you see others already here, or just arriving
Jen'tara is a purplish-pink twi'lek, wearing a black and yellow dancer outfit. As she approaches, you see brand scars on her face showing that she is, or once was, a slave.
Von-Dai is an average height human who has clearly not spent much time in the sun. He's wearing a dark blue flight suit with grease and oil stains, and has an R2 unit trailing after him as he walks up. He seems to have no concern for the brandings on Jen'tara's face, as being from Nar Shaddaa, he's rather used to seeing both Twi'lek dancers and slaves.
An old and scarred Incom T-16 Skyhopper does a fly-by, then comes in for a gentle landing near the doorway.
When the door finally opens on the side, a truly disreputable looking R2 unit rolls down the ramp, making annoyed beeping sounds.
On it's domed head, holding on with two lower claws as it nibbles on some fruit appears to be a small furry animal. It appears the annoyed R2 unit has a picked up a pet in it's travels.
The R2 unit makes noises at the Twi'lek that sound somewhere between annoyance and a threat, and then settles onto it's tracks and begins to roll toward the door. On it's head, the passive pet continues to nibble on it's green fleshed fruit.
The R2 unit makes annoyed noises at the human as well.
A rough but serviceable speeder bike arrives bearing a rider wearing a modified but familiar (to some) looking style of armor. [Sans imperial markings]
The soldier dismounts and looks around the group as a speaker enhanced voice emits from the helmet, So. A door.
The human's R2 unit responds to the other with its own annoyed noises, before beeping at Von-Dai Cress.
"Go investigate the door? Well, okay, then. And I thought I told you not to pick fights with other droids, regardless of what they say."
Walking down to the door, Von-Dai says, "So, tell me, little droid, who's pet rabbit is this?"
The small droid whirls it's head toward the man in armor, and blats and whistles, a door opening on it's side and a small blaster pistol appearing in a gripper, kept carefully pointed at the armored man.
Storm troopers only good when dead!
When anyone walks up to the door and looks at it they see that the door seems to be made from the same material as the mountain itself. As a matter of fact, how you are even able to tell that there is a door here is amazing. You get the feeling that if you hadn't been brought here you would never have been able to find it. Looking over the door there seems to be writing, or at least you think it is writing, and 12 symbols - or in about 8 instances what were symbols as them seem to have been broken or worn away.
Von-Dai looks back at the armored figure. The armor did resemble stormtrooper armor, although it looked older than that, and heavily worn. Looking at the droid and its rabbit, then back to the armored figure, he says, "You know, you may want to remove that helmet and show your face. This droid seems to have a desire to shoot stormtroopers, and I don't think he'll be reined in."
The fact this R2 unit not only carried a gun but was apparently able to use it meant it definitely didn't have the standard programming. Most astromechs were programmed to avoid harming organics. He wondered if it had been modified, or if that R2 case contained something a bit more military.
Turning to the study of the door, he touches the door, feeling the material, marveling at its similarity to the mountain, then turns to his astromech, "Veeo, take a recording of this door, then project it. Let's see if we can figure out the missing symbols."
The astromech rolls forward, beeping and whistling.
Of course you need me to scan this and look over it due to my clear superiority as a non-organic being. I will of course assist you, as you would be completely lost without me.
Von-Dai rolls his eyes at the droid's comments.
The small animal looks at the commotion by the door, but seems distracted by the armored soldier approaching.
The droid unit meanwhile, with it's 360 vision, can study the writing and the soldier simultaneously.
Upon hearing Von-Dai's warning the soldier grunts emitting a speaker assisted, It can try. I've killed plenty of droids in my day... I'm not here to fight. Besides...I'm not a stormtrooper.
Tyron gestures at himself in a vague "see how I am not shooting at you" type of way.
More beeps and blatts.
Would be better proof if you shot and hit target. Stormtroopers not hit side of barge.
Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me.
Then a male voice, strong and determined, speaks You are the first of the council to return. When the others arrive, and are recognized, the door will open and the first steps to rebirth shall begin. The voice fades away, and you are just standing there with your hand on the door.
Von-Dai walks up to the door and run his hand down it, and then those who are watching see his hand move over to a spot on the side of the door. When his hand stops moving he begins to radiate a red aura for a few minutes. The aura fades away and he is standing there with his hand still on the door.
Von-Dai steps back, a look of wonder and confusion on his face. Turning back to the others, he says, "I believe that in order for us to gain entry, each of you must touch the door. If we wish to, that is."
I wonder the inscription means? I've never seen the like. I can read it, and I know the Force is what the Jedi used to talk about, but what does it mean 'the Force shall set me free?'
Having no answers to his questions, Von-Dai sits down on the ground, pensive, mulling things over.
Pristi pretends to be an animal, and then traces the symbols he can see, one at a time, on Reaf's shell with a paw so that the droid can decipher the writing for him.
Pristi finishes his fruit and drops the fruit, it bounces off the droid and rolls over next to Von-Dai. The small furry thing then drops to the ground and begins sniffing curiously at things, including the door, but doesn't actually touch it.
After a few seconds, it moves back to the droid and begins pawwing at it's case curiously, perhaps trying to figure out how to open the locked access hatch.
"Why not?" Jen'tara also touches the door, like Von-Dai did.
Tyron watches the little rat creature with half-hearted interest, it seemed like a weird addition to the setting. Regardless the niggling sensation that brought him here was going to be ill served by watching local wildlife so the trooper shrugs and touches the door with the twi'lek.
Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me.
Then a male voice, strong and determined, speaks You are the second of the council to return. When the others arrive, and are recognized, the door will open and the first steps to rebirth shall begin. The voice fades away, and you are just standing there with your hand on the door.
Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me.
Then a male voice, strong and determined, speaks You are the third of the council to return. When the others arrive, and are recognized, the door will open and the first steps to rebirth shall begin. The voice fades away, and you are just standing there with your hand on the door.
Tryon involuntarily snaps his hand back and shakes his head before wheeling on the others...
The droid moves closer and touches the door with a probe, and the small pet on it's head, caught off guard, tumbles down and bounces off the door and lands on the ground, chittering annoyedly and slaps the R2 before climbing back up again.
Watching from afar, Goggh finally approach the others. He always felt strange about what was happening, but now - somehow - felt as if these people were attracted here too. With his weapons in hands, he cautiously approached, until finally asked.
Who are you? What's going on?
He spoke in Basic and, although cautious, he was naturally intimidating. Large, dark blue and mean, covered in horns and with multiple eyes and armed, T'sur were rare enough that most people wouldn't know them - or even want to know about them.
Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me.
Then a male voice, strong and determined, speaks You are the fourth of the council to return. When the others arrive, and are recognized, the door will open and the first steps to rebirth shall begin. The voice fades away, and you are just standing there with your hand on the door.
Von-Dai looks at the armored man, and says in response, using the same language,
"I don't know, but whatever drew us here is watiing for others to arrive."
At hearing a new speaker, Von-Dai turns to look at them before giving a shout of alarm and falling over. Getting up, he says, "Son of the Sith, you scared the crap out of me! Who are you?" More quietly under his breath, he says, "For that matter, what are you?"
The small animal seems mildly dazed from bouncing off the door, then it climbs back up on the droid and curls up.
Goggh shows his teeth, as if angry, but careful - it was visible he was aware of the number of creatures there, and unsure he'd be able to overwhelm so many. Yet, he wanted to keep his intimidating pose nevertheless until he could understand better what was happening.
Who's this... 'Seethe'? My father was Brukoon, the Great! Stop speaking this weird language between yourselves. I asked first - who are you, and what's happening here? - he finally asked again.
Von-Dai eyed the massive creature as it proclaimed the name of his father, and repeated its demands. He'd never seen the like on Nar Shaddaa - and that said something, since it seemed every species ended up on Nar Shaddaa at some point or other. After thinking a moment, he dusted his flight suit off and responds, "I am Von-Dai Cress. I am here examining this most interesting door. 'Son of the Sith' is an expression, typically used to indicate surprise, since you are unfamiliar with it. It is not a comment on one's actual parentage. Perhaps you would care to look at the door?" He gestures towards it, still wondering what the creature's name was - and what he was.
"Very, but no more so than the ability to read the door or the fact I was drawn here by dreams and a pulling sensation. Did you experience the same?"
Tyron merely nods at Von-Dai and Jen'tara stepping back slightly so that he can keep the odd happenings of the buffoonish rat creature and this new arrival in front of him...
The T'surr looks suspicious, but yet his curiosity is peaking, and something had been attracting him to here.
I'm Goggh, of the T'surr. - he said on his low voice, as he approached the door.
The large creature stopped and looked at it with curiosity. His smaller arms wanted to touch it, but weren't long enough - and the big arms were occupied holding the weapons. Finally, however, he gave another step closer, and his small arms touched the door as he started to analyze it.
Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me.
Then a male voice, strong and determined, speaks You are the fifth of the council to return. All the remaining members of the council have returned. The voice fades away, and you are just standing there with your hand on the door.
Shortly after Goggh touches the door and steps back there is a grinding sound, with dust and dirt falling from the wall the door is in. Suddenly the door slowly slides to the right revealing a dark corridor. The members of the council have arrived spoken in Sith bythe same male voice everyone heard previously.
Standing, Von-Dai looks at the dark corridor, then turns to the others. "Before we walk down the dark hallway into who knows what, might I have the rest of your names? Also, we should probably come up with a name for this rabbit, since apparently it is now our pet - or at least it doesn't seem to have an owner."
Apparently ignoring Von-Dai, the small droid with the pet on it rumbles down the tunnel, a light on the front blazing up to light to dim corridor.
Tyron
Tyron pulls a glow rod from his belt and cracks it. Waving the light around the entrance. Tilting his head towards the large multi-armed creature the soldier waves to the entrance, I'll cover you. Tryon pulls his heavy blaster pistol as he speaks.
Goggh was confused, for some moments, with all those words on that strange language that, now, he somehow understood. The headaches have gone away, but now he was being pointed as... The fifth member of a Council, and he didn't know what it meant.
The T'surr grunted as the droid and the tiny creature ran towards the corrider, pulling his immense vibro-ax and moving after. He didn't care for these people enough to turn his back completely to the others, but at the same time something strange was happening there and he wanted to check. He craved to understand what else. And so the giant moved.
"Jen'tara Rhee." is all she says, then she follows into the corridor.
Drawing his blaster, Von-dai says, "And into the depths we go." Veeo toodles and follows behind as Von-dai steps into the corridor. He activates his own glow rod, providing illumination for the rear of the group.
As they walk down the corridor, Von-dai says, "So, what should we call our pet rabbit?"
After walking about 6 feet down the corridor lights come on, illuminating the entire corridor. The corridor continues forward another 10 feet before it ends at a door. Shortly after the lights come on a door previously unseen, and perfectly blended into the wall, opens and out steps a droid.
Greetings Esteemed Councilors. Welcome, I have been waiting for you for quite some time. I am 2V-R8. I have been tasked to be the council's Seneschal. Please come this way. He then starts walking towardsthe door at the end of the corridor.
As the corridor lights come on, Von-dai's eyebrows raise in surprise. This facility feels old. How could the generator still be providing power after all this time? What power source could this be?
As 2V-R8 steps out of his door, Von-dai begins raising his blaster, stopping when the droid emerges. Doesn't look like a combat model, and yet still functional. Suddenly I have the feeling someone's pulling a prank on me. What kind of droid is the 2V-series?
Von-Dai is now openly staring bug-eyed at the droid. This model was last manufactured 3000 years ago! How could it still be functioning!?
The small droid continues trundling along after the V2, and the creature on it continues to snack on some root of some type.
Jen'tara looks a bit confused, but follows the strange robot anyway... a old-looking protocol droid shouldn't be a threat for all of us combined.
Goggh kept his grumpy silence and followed the robot and the others. Eh, for all the T'surr hells, I might as well go along to get to the bottom of it., he thought.
After walking down the hallway you come to the door. The droid pushes a button on the door frame, and the door opens. Inside looks like a well appointed, almost lavish, conference room. What looks to be extremely comfortable chairs surround a table, and in the middle of the table is what looks to be a holoemitter. My Lords, if you will take a set the message will begin.
R3-A5 rolls quickly to a corner position, where it can see everyone, especially the man in the 'not' stormtrooper armor, and then drags a chair away, taking it's place.
Curious to find itself next to a table, the small creature on the droid sniffs the table, then pats it with one paw experimentally a few times before stepping onto the surface and curling up for an apparent nap.
Von-Dai moves to sit in a chair, and motions Veeo, who sets up in a spot where he can view the room and activates his holorecorder.
I hope that rabbit doesn't mess with the holoemitter. Von-Dai notes the creature's location as he makes himself comfortable, wondering what all this was about. What Council was he a member of? Some message about the Force on the door? Suddenly understanding a strange language? And the droid had called them "lords". Unless being a skilled droid builder and mechanic earned you the title of Lord, the thing's circuits were likely in need of a tuneup.
Turning his attention to the emitter, he sits and waits to hear what the message is.
Goggh didn't wait much or asked anything - he simply looked around for the biggest chair, move towards it and let all the weight of his large body press it against the floor.
This might be the dumbest dream I ever had. Ring the holo! Let us see some dancing twi'leks to brighten my day. - and he laughed and clapped once, getting a bit more comfortable than he should, and forgetting about Jen'tara's presence for a moment.
After everyone finds a seat the lights darken and an image is displayed by the holo projector.
I am Darth Marr. Knowing that history is written by the victors, or the survivors, you will no doubt have no idea who I am, or what the meaning of the title Darth. I am a member of the Dark Council, the body that currently rules the Sith Empire. We were originally lead by an Emperor who was, for all intents, immortal. However, he turned against all life. He destroyed life to extend his, and every living thing was a target – he even destroyed life on an entire planet. Even once he was dealt with, which took the combined power of the Sith Empire and the Republic, the majority of the Council was a destabilizing factor. There are intercine conflicts between council members, and many move against one another – even to the point of having their fellows killed. Because of this I have forseen that the Empire is going to fall.
Knowing this I gathered those loyal to me and loyal to the idea of a council that worked together, and did not try to kill one another. With out this, the Empire will never survive. To that end we planned for the future. We made this place so that when the time came it would summon you all, our descendants, those with the power to become the new Dark Council and rebuild the Sith Empire. On the table in front of you is the sigil of your family line, the same that was on the door to this place. Place your hand on it and declare your will to become the new Dark Council, and bring out the birth of the Sith Empire.
With that the image freezes, and seems to await something . . .
Von-Dai stares nonplussed at the projector. "The who Empire? I've never heard of it. Anyone know anything about this...Sith Empire...thing?" Von-Dai looks about in confusion. He knew a lot when it came to technology and droids, and thought he was pretty bright, but ancient history was well outside his wheelhouse. And what was a Sith?