RP Archive (2016-2018)

This page is an archived roleplay log from 2016 - 2018 of the Midnight Order's plotline.

## 11/29/2018

### To the Brink: The Price to Pay

Involved: Discord Chat

After the investigations were concluded, the examination of the remnants of Lethe had finished and the evidence provided by the Empire was examined and verified, the Council of the Midnight Order levied official charges of treason, mass murder,unauthorized experimentation and obstruction of justice against the scientist Ralikos Zin. Brought before a tribunal headed by Lord Pelaegean Lang and composed of Lady Misa'soma Kora and Darth Vi'kirr'naam Torak, Doctor Zin plead "Not Guilty" to all of the charges as his lawyer protested that he was fully committed to the betterment of the Midnight Order and, as a member of their military research divison, could not be held accountable for the risks presented by testing technology created in the defense of the Order. Further, he asserted that the Empire has vast resources at their disposal and suggested that they would be capable of incredibly convincing forgeries to frame his client of the heinous crimes for which he stood trial.

The prosecution, on behalf of the crown, presented its case including both the recording of Ralikos setting the bomb in the caverns for a test sequence as well as the footage of Ralikos placing the files on the Imperial database through use of his astromech droid. Also presented were the original plans for the bomb as well as the accounts of at least 3 other scientists who had worked with Ralikos on the project and testified that he had paid them or threatened them to keep their silence.

Denying all of it as circumstantial or unreliable, Dr. Zin's lawyer made his own arguments in favor of the scientist who was remaining eerily emotionless through the proceeding.

After the final arguments were made, the tribunal deliberated and returned with a 2-1 verdict of guilty. Owing to the dissenting vote, Ralikos was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for the capital crimes, but the doubting vote on the tribunal ultimately saved his life.

As Lord Pelaegean banged the gavel, the guilty doctor was removed from the chamber and placed on the Order's first available shuttle to the prison where he would live out the remainder of his life for the destruction of Lethe, which he most assuredly did cause.

## 9/02/2018

### To the Brink: Treasonous Train

Involved: Naair, Neronae, Vi’kirr’naam, Misa'soma

A deal had been struck with the Empire, the Order had
assumed responsibility for wrongly attacking an Imperial Outpost. As part of
their effort to mend the relationship with the pushy superpower, Neronae had
agreed to aid Moff Myrene Varga in a task of her choosing in exchange for
answers about who truly attacked the Order in the beginning.

In the council chamber, General Na’air Petraya marched in
waving a datapad wildly and claimed to the Empress that Moff Varga had issued
her instructions to them , all the while complaining that the Order had been
cowardly in apologizing for a perfectly justified incursion. Both Vi’kirr’naam
Torak and the Empress admitted that, for the sake of avoiding war, humility was
the wiser option.

Na’air read aloud from the datapad “Dearest Midnight Order,
we have been hard at work discovering who had the audacity to attack and
destroy your planet, identified as Lethe. We have found the relevant
information through our Intelligence network and security footage of the lab.
This information will be yours following the completion of a little task on our
behalf. A political figure of high importance has been captured and is being
held on Umbara. We have intel that he is vulnerable, being transported across
the planet via train. Rescue him and you will have the information you
desire.  –Moff Varga”

The Empress rolled her eyes “I suppose we’re rescuing
another murderous psychopath of theirs. I assume you have a plan general?”  Naair nodded and said it was a simple
extraction that the Empire didn’t  need
them for, it was just busywork meant to send a message. They boarded a shuttle
and launched immediately for Umbara.

The shuttle airdropped the trio of Na’air, Misa’soma and Vi’kirr’naam
on the rooftop of the moving train where they were immediately assaulted by a
squad of republic soldiers. They made quick work of each squad they encountered
with Na’air remarking that this ease was proof the Empire was merely testing
them.

Near the
front of the train, they located two jedi guarding the figure they had
been  sent to retrieve. Apologizing
before the engagement, Misa’soma leapt in followed by Vi’kirr and the General.
The clash with the Jedi lasted mere minutes and when  the second one had fallen, they moved to
greet the prisoner. They failed to notice however, the second jedi activiating
a kill switch before releasing her last breath as the train exploded, derailing
and throwing them all from onboard. Landing in a clearing, the group climbed
roughly to their feet all covered in cuts and bruises, with Na’air holding the
prisoner up off the ground while she undid his bindings. After telling him he
was being rescued, they sent a distress alert to their shuttle who, in return,
sent them coordinates to meet at for extraction .

As they neared the extraction
point, seven speeders each mounted by a jedi knight circled them, deploying their
riders to stop the rescue from completion. While Misa’some held two of the jedi
in force stasis, imploring them to abandon their fruitless course of
action,  Na’air pulled one of the jedi to
her. His face landed in her outstretched palm and she crushed his skull to pulp
before hurling his corpse into the trajectory of another jedi, knocking her
from the air. She turned to a third which she electrocuted with enough energy
to restart the crashed  train and finally
snapped the second jedi’s neck as she attempted to climb back to her feet. Vi’kirr
meanwhile, engaged his opponents, outmatching them with his brute strength and
superior lightsaber skills. He threw one aside while he dispatched the other,
breaking through his defenses in a matter of seconds before slicing the other
as he returned to fight. Misa, seeking to avoid combat, threw her opponents
into a wall of rock knocking them out, before folding her arms behind her back
and returning to the others.

They climbed aboard the waiting
shuttle and shot off into the sky back to the Matriarch. Upon arrival, they
sent a separate shuttle bearing the wayward imperial official, back to Dromund
Kaas. Not long after, Moff Varga contacted them by holo, smiling brightly as
she greeted them. “Thank you for returning our lost official my friends, you
did well.” Misa demanded she cut the pleasantries and hold up her end of the
deal. The moff continued smiling as she answered the question that had occupied
their minds for so long “According to our records, your saboteur is on the
payroll of the Midnight Order, a man by the name of Ralikos. He planted false
evidence in our databases during your visit to Rhen Var. Additionally, he was
responsible for fabricating the security footage against the Empire framing us
for the atrocities committed from his laboratory.

The trio stared on in disbelief.
One of their own had destroyed Lethe right under their noses. Na’air angrily
activated her comlink and demanded a warrant be placed for Ralikos’ immediate
arrest, he would face justice.

## 7/30/2018

### To the Brink: Parlay on Ruusan

Involved: Myrene/Na’air, Vi’kirr’naam, Misa’soma, Wrenn

True to his word, Emperor Vowrawn’s delegate made contact
with the Midnight Order providing them with coordinates for a parlay meeting on
the planet Ruusan, a neutral world. The Order’s delegation, composed of General
Na’air Petraya, Lady Wrenn Itera, Lord Vi’kirr’naam Torak and led by Lady Misa’soma
Kora, arrived at the stronghold, which had been adorned in Imperial regalia.
They were led by an Imperial escort to a building in the center of the
compound. General Petraya remained outside with the Order guards to ensure the
delegation remained undisturbed while treating with the Empire. Inside, waiting
for them, was Moff Myrene Varga who smiled wickedly upon seeing the Order
representatives enter and greeted them warmly, inviting them to sit down for
the upcoming discussion. Misa’soma disregarded the invitation and opted to
stand, staring intently at the Moff who returned the gaze with a smile.

Misa began immediately by pulling out a datapad with the
security footage from Lethe and demanded to know why the Empire had sent
troopers to Lethe with a weapon. Moff Varga reviewed the footage and retorted
that no Imperials had been deployed to Order territory and, if they had, they
would have been far less subtle about it. Wrenn asked about the chances of them
being rogue, which Varga confirmed was a possibility but highly unlikely. She
grew cross quite rapidly demanding to know if this was the only evidence the
Order possessed when issuing accusations against the Empire.

Without wavering, Misa’soma reminded the Moff of the plans
for the Black Hole generator they had found in the Imperial complex on Rhen
Var. Again, Varga frowned and reminded the Order’s delegation that she had been
chosen as the Imperial delegate because of her role overseeing weapons
development for the Empire, and that no such weapon had been researched let
alone commissioned by any of her installations. After Wrenn asked who else could
have been responsible for such an atrocity, the Moff bluntly stated that they
should have answered that question long before accusing the Empire, whose good
graces have allowed the Order to grow in their little corner of the galaxy. She
pulled up the research file backups from Rhen Var from the day before and the
day after the infiltration, a display that revealed that a single file had been
added in the interlude.

The Moff was visibly angered by the Order’s lack of evidence
putting the Order on the defensive with Misa’soma claiming that the Order did
not want another war with the Empire. Varga agreed saying it is because they
knew they would lose brutally. Misa stood up to her full height and claimed
that if the Empire did not cooperate and inform them of who had attacked the
Order, the Order would have no choice other than hold the Empire responsible
with the evidence they possessed. The Moff glared at her across the table and
said “If you choose to see the Empire as a monster based on your circumstantial
evidence, then strike me down.  According
to you, it would have been my responsibility, so take your revenge. That is
your first option. Your second is to issue a public apology to the Empire for
your insulting accusations at which point, the Empire, as a sign of good will,
shall investigate the possibility of a rogue operation to attack the Midnight
Order.”

At that, Misa chose to confer with her advisors: Wrenn and
Vi’kirr’naam. She left the chamber to discuss the developments with her
delegation team.  Vi’kirr opted for
swallowing their pride and issuing an apology while Wrenn questioned their
ability to trust the Moff as the Empire had a history of lying. Misa was
conflicted fearing that her inclination would be disapproved of by Empress
Neronae, but turned to face the Moff after coming to an agreement with Vi and
Wrenn. Misa informed the Moff that the Order would issue an apology in exchange
for the Empire’s help. The moff finally smiled and said that she would have her
agents begin to investigate. In the meantime, she wanted the Order to assist
her with a mission to thank the Empire for their good faith, while her agents
were otherwise engaged.

When Misa asked what the mission would be, Moff Varga
informed her that she would send them the details when they became relevant and
then told them they were free to go. Misa didn’t argue and led her delegation
out of the chamber while the Moff stared after them, pleased with the meeting.

## 7/22/2018

### To the Brink: Footsteps in the Snow

Involved: Neronae/Kosh’kah, Ralikos, Vi’kirr’naam, Misa’soma/Ra’yeja,
Gromnus, Obinaya/Klais

The rescue team was summoned to the throne room to discover
Neronae and one of the survivors waiting for them. They had been in discussion
beforehand and waited patiently for the team to file in and be seated. Without
a word, Neronae pressed a button on the throne and a holo recording of the man
being interrogated displayed itself in the center of the room. Ralikos, in the
interrogation, revealed that he had been the one to transmit the distress alarm
to the capital as he had also been the one who had seen the footage of imperial
soldiers.

In the Throne Room, the holo footage shifts to display the
security recording from Lethe. The recording is choppy, but the assembled team
can make out two armored figures with the Imperial insignia on their chests
planting a large device they assumed to be the source of the black hole.
Everyones’ ey es went wide as Neronae leaned forward to hear their thoughts. Vi’kirr
expressed remorse, but admitted that it was only a matter of time before the
Empire sought out conflict again. Ralikos, the surviving scientist, put forth
that the move would’ve been clumsy of the Empire who would have likely employed
Intelligence or Black Ops for a subtle operation. Neronae agreed as the others
quelled their angry claims of war.

The question of why the Empire would attack the Order
instead of the Republic loomed overhead as the team discussed what their next
move should be. Ralikos suggested that, from a weapon creation point of view,
they would  need first hand analysis of a
black hole or gravity well to create a controllable event such as the one on
Lethe. He continued that, as the Deep Core black hole was in the middle of
Republic territory, they likely would’ve examined the Maw Cluster in the
Akkedes Maelstrom near Kessel as it was obscured and close to another Imperial
research installation on Rhen Var. Obinaya continued to push for mobilizing the
Order’s forces in preparation for another attack while Neronae opted for
caution, unwilling to engage in a war unless necessary. Misa’soma agreed while
Vi’kirr proposed that someone could also be trying to pit the two powers
against one another. Ralikos suggested sending an intelligence team to Rhen Var,
assuming the facility had been restored, to hack their files for information
about the weapon. Vi’kirr frowned at the idea while Gromnus countered it could
be done if handled properly without igniting conflict. After a moment of
thought, Neronae ordered a team to Rhen Var under the guise of Imperial
soldiers. They were instructed to carry nothing with them  that could tie them to the Midnight Order. A
new team was assembled to carry out the orders and departed, at once, for the
snowy world.

On Rhen Var, the shuttle set down near the coordinates of
the old Imperial installation allowing the team to travel the rest of the
distance by foot. As they walked, they noticed heavy war machines buried in the
snow marking the entrance to the facility. At the gates, a guard stopped them
and demanded to know their business as there were no scheduled arrivals for the
day. Klais spoke up to inform the guard that they were performing a surprise
inspection of the facility. The guard, skeptical, swept his eyes across the
sith in the group before focusing on Ra’yeja. “Well, is that true?” he demanded
to know.  Ra’yeja straightened up her
posture and glared into the eyes of the guard “You think us liars, soldier?”

The guard cowered realizing he had angered the Sith and
permitted them entry. They strode across the frosty courtyard as soldiers
marched about in formation. They entered the facility largely undetected and
soon after, found a terminal that became available after Klais dismissed the
soldiers nearby.

Ralikos informed the group, looking at Gromnus, that he had
a program that would narrow the droid’s search parameters making it easier to
find the weapon’s blueprints. He asked Gromnus if he could upload it to the
droid and was granted access. The droid accepted the program and set to work
searching the Imperial database. Moments later, the droid beeped, it had found
what they were looking for. It turned to the group and projected an image of
the weapon’s schematics for all of them to witness. Kosh’ka growled that since the
weapon was clearly the Empire’s, it seemed to validate the security footage of
them planting the device on Lethe.

Ra’yeja asked if they wanted her to make copies of the
weapon and other schematic s for Order use to which all agreed but Klais who
suggested the knowledge was too dangerous and the entire station should be
destroyed. As they continued debating and others continued to probe the station’s
systems, the lights dimmed to be replaced by red flashers and an alarm: They
had been detected. Moments later, around 50 soldiers stormed into the chamber
with the blast doors sealing behind them.
Vi’kirr demanded to know why they were pointing their weapons at the
team, attempting to prolong their guise as Imperials. The Station Commander
told the soldiers that the team had downloaded classified intel and had to  be exterminated. They opened fire as the
Order’s team assumed defensive stances with Klais yelling “For the Republic!”
The soldiers fell after a while and the Order made for the hangar to steal an Imperial
starship.

The starship was only lightly guarded and the Order made
quick work of the soldiers before loading up and taking off. The installation
surprisingly lacked Starfighter support which allowed the Order’s team to
escape the atmosphere and jump to lightspeed without any issues. Upon returning
to the Matriarch, they met with the Empress to inform her of their findings. Angrily,
Neronae demanded that a channel be opened to Dromund Kaas: She wanted to talk
to Vowrawn. The Communications Officer informed her that a high priority
incoming transmission had been received from Dromund Kaas moments before and
that Vowrawn wanted to talk to her as well.

Emperor Vowrawn appeared in the center of the throne room as
a massive holo, smiling his infamously charming smile. “Ah Empress, I suspect
you were about to call me to explain why your Order infilitrated one of my
facilities completely unprovoked. You know we have trackers on all of our ships
in that facility...” Neronae grimaced and demanded to know how he had the nerve
to say their move was unprovoked after being attacked by the Empire. Neronae
responded that his scientists had committed an atrocity with their attack on
Lethe, a comment that seemed to surprise Vowrawn who raised his eyebrow puzzled
“Did we now? I assure you, I gave no orders to engage in an attack against you
or anyone else. We have no desire for war at present.”  Neronae and her team grew more frustrated as
they insisted they had proof to which Vowrawn raised his hand:

“Empress, I will make you a proposal.  Meet with a delegate of the Empire on neutral
soil. We can reaffirm our neutral standing with one another. I will, as a sign
of good faith, order an investigation and, if an unsanctioned attack was made
by my underlings… reparations will be made in full.”

Reluctantly, Neronae agreed to the meeting prompting the
return of Vowrawn’s smile “I do love when civility prevails. No need for messy
conflict. My delegate will be in touch. Until then.” As Vowrawn finished, the
transmission cut out leaving the Order members baffled in silence.

## 7/15/2018

### To the Brink: Third Planet from the Sun

Involved: Na’air, Neronae, Vi’kirr’maam, Obinaya,
Gromnus, Vi’vek, Faye

The mourning period had neared its end and the Order had
been quiet as people silently went about their day-to-day tasks. On a regular
patrol route in orbit above Acheron, the Matriarch’s engines hummed while
members of the crew and other Order officials moved about on her many decks. The
silence was broken by a sound many were familiar with: the emergency broadcast
alert. Everyone looked up from their work in alarm as Neronae’s voice sounded
on all of the vessel’s communication channels requesting all available personnel
to the bridge for immediate briefing.

Many higher ranking officials of the order assembled on the
bridge as General Na’air Petraya finally joined them reporting to the Empress
that she had gathered as much intel to present as possible. A distress call
from Lethe was being played before the response team, but it was so garbled
that no one present could understand any words aside from “emergency,
catastrophe and evacuation.” Neronae ordered Lethe be brought up on the map to
track for any attack or disaster, but when the ensign brought it up – Lethe was
completely gone. The team stared at the screen wide-eyed as Na’air explained
that the planet had completely disappeared, but that they had tracked three
vessels from its surface just beforehand that were programmed to escape to
Acheron in the event of an emergency.

The group debated the cause of the cataclysm some suggesting
that, for it to be a black hole, the star in the system would’ve had to have
died and it was still shining bright. Neronae growled saying that they had
likely been attacked. Obinaya offered to house the survivors on her world to
which Neronae responded, once they have been recovered, they would remain on
the Matriarch until she had the answers she needed. She turned to Na’air and
instructed her to travel to the surface and retrieve the surviving citizens
from Lethe.

They made their way to the shuttle bay which brought them to
Acheron’s capital city where they began their search. Na’air uploaded the pod
crash locations to each of their datapads in the event that they were separated
and then the team sped off into the forests of the Vale. When they arrived at
the first coordinate, they found the vessel crashed nose-first in a mountain of
snow with footprints marking a path of approximately six headed into a cave
nearby. They followed them in cautiously, unsure of what else lurked within.
Inside the cave, they discovered a group of carnal humans that attacked them on
sight. The Order’s response team made quick work of them, but upon further
examination discovered that they were Order citizens that had been afflicted
with Nostrem’s plague. They had not died, but their minds had been warped and
crazed. Faye questioned if they were still contagious to which Na’air said “Don’t
touch them to be on the safe side.” They ventured further into the cave only to
discover the maimed corpses of six guards that they immediately ID’d as
survivors from Lethe.

Vi’kirr suggested searching the ship’s database for logs. Na’air
said they were more than welcome to, but they should do so quickly as there
were still other survivors they could rescue. Gromnus told Vi’kirr that he
would have his droids search the vessel enabling them to continue on to the
next crash site. Vi’kirr nodded and called in a recovery ship for the remains
of the fallen. As they traveled to the next site, Gromnus’ droids sent their
report to him. All of the survivors had been accounted for as dead bodies in
the cave. The fact that there were few possessions indicated they had no time
to collect personal belongings. There were no other telling details aboard the
vessel.

When they neared the hydroelectric dam, they saw a plume of
smoke coming from a crashed vessel jutting out of the dam’s massive face: they
had found the second vessel. As they approached it, Na’air called up to any
surviving crew members requesting that they climb to the top of the vessel
where they can be lifted down to safety with the force. Nervously a young man
with wide eyes peered over the side and informed the team that there were 9
survivors aboard, but their pilot’s leg had been broken in the chaos. They
lifted him gently to the top of the vessel where he was received first with Vi’kirr,
Faye and Obinaya helping the others down gently while Gromnus once again
deployed his droids to examine the crashed vessel’s records. Once the survivors
had been recovered from the vessel, Faye summoned a medical evac. Ship for them
while Gromnus received his second report from the wreck. The vessel’s engines
had given out in orbit due to a tremendous amount of strain being put on them
during takeoff. Additionally, the origin of the vessel was listed as Lab Site
Alpha on Lethe.

The final vessel was found floating in the reservoir atop
the dam, more or less undamaged. Sitting on the helm of the vessel were two
figures, both male who had been looking around anxiously awaiting any sign of
help. Their facial expressions changed to faces of relief as Na’air and her
team approached on speeders. Vi’kirr questioned the two men about how many were
aboard their vessel to which one of the scientists responded, “We are the only
two aboard I regret to say.” The man continued saying that they had been
attacked, one of the last things he had seen before escaping the planet had
been enemy figures in the caves below his facility with a weapon that generated
the black hole that had destroyed Lethe. He said that they had waited for as
long as possible before launching their ship, but no one else had come and they
launched at the last possible second.

Na’air nodded and informed Vi that Order Command received
live feeds of all security recordings for safe keeping and reminded the men
that they would be assisting the Order when they reviewed the recordings to
investigate the attack.

Gromnus pondered the situation wondering why an enemy would
sacrifice soldiers and a weapon in a suicide run while Vi’kirr questioned if
the attack could have been force generated. Na’air said that she was inclined
to agree with Gromnus’ scenario that they had been attacked by a suicide run, a
move that merited further investigation.

As the recovery vessel picked up the last two survivors,
Gromnus’ droids returned with the final data: the origin of the escape vessel.
It had departed from the Chasm, another lab facility on Lethe. Na’air and Vi
considered the information determining that someone had intended to cripple the
Order’s research and development facilities by eliminating the entire planet
along with its resources.

They returned to the Matriarch to inform the Empress of
their findings with many questions.

## 5/27/2018

### Equalizer: Patient Zero

Involved: Si’alla/Treeko Zohest/Marciana, Neronae, Na’air,
Ahsa, Misa’soma, Vi’kirr’naam, Gromnus

It had been some time since a formal call had been issued from
the throne and those who received it were surprised to see Empress Si’alla’s
face emerge on their holocommunicators demanding their presence in the Council
Chambers aboard the Matriarch.

She observed them as they filed in and, one by one, took
their seats. When they had settled, she began; she informed them that one of
their own had been discovered dead on the Nar Shaddaa Promenade, something that
would usually merit a simple investigation. However, a Sith had been summoned
to investigate an anomaly felt around the murder site and discovered that the
site had been  drained of all of its
force energy, a pocket where there was no presence of the Force detected.

The Empress continued that she would like the attendees to
her summons to investigate further under the supervision of the Chosen,
Neronae. Neronae voiced her reluctance, but declared she would lead the effort
so long as it didn’t keep her from her daughter for too long. The rest of the
group climbed to their feet with their mission in mind, and began marching off
to the shuttle.

Over Nar Shaddaa, the shuttle emerged from hyperspace and
landed gently, moments later, in the heart of Nar Shaddaa’s slums where they
encountered a man with a peculiar looking head [Treeko Zohest]. The man
recognized them as the Midnight Order as Ahsa and Vi’kirr’naam chuckled at his
oddly shaped helmet, much to the chagrin of Neronae and Na’air. They were
joined shortly after by Gromnus, who had been dispatched to join the team from
another sector. After the last team member had arrived, they boarded a
transport that whisked them away to the Promenade.

When they arrived at the scene of the crime, the contact
informed them that the body had been discovered by some party goers on their
way to one of the many pleasure barges. Stepping within a few feet of the body,
the group, even the non-force users detected the absence of the force,
comparable to the absence of air. While they investigated and talked over the
details of the scene, the contact from the Cartel sent for some security
footage that eventually was delivered to his datapad with a “ping.”

The security footage revealed the Sith encountering a white
haired female while walking to a nearby shuttle. The only physical contact in
the footage was the woman clapping the Sith on the back. Following the odd
greeting, the two exchanged words for a few minutes before the female departed.
The Sith began to continue his walk until he staggered forward, fell to the
ground and remained there: dead.

Vi’kirr examined the body while the cartel called HQ to get
an ID on the woman. Misa’soma  suggested
that the woman could be echani given her white hair, but conceded that the likelihood
was lessened by the amount of people on the planet who could fit the
description. Vi’kirr called attention to his find when he discovered puncture
marks leading the group to assume a toxin was used in the man’s murder.

The Cartel security contact grimaced as he held his earpiece
and then hung up angrily before he informed the group that a terminal had been tampered
in the Network Access district similar to one they had observed the woman
hacking earlier. As no name appeared in the system for her, this was an
opportunity to get answers.

They boarded their transport once more and, a few minutes
after they arrived at Network Security, they were contacted by Cartel Security
with instructions on how to safely and discreetly reach the terminal.

They came upon the terminal and, to their surprise, found
the woman from the security footage. She was communicating with a superior to
whom she confirmed that she had sent the data on an experiment she had
presumably performed. When she detected the presence of the Midnight Order, she
pulled her blaster and destroyed the terminal before she addressed them. “You
found me, how unfortunate for you.” Neronae attempted to call the woman’s
blaster to her, but it remained firmly in its spot with the woman declaring her
amusement at the “Freak’s cute trick.” Neronae grimaced as she assumed that she
had been afflicted as well before Na’air drew her saber in an effort to stop
the woman’s arrogant comments.

The woman continued her speech “The power you freaks possess
is unnatural, but fear not – my Master will soon see to that.” Na’air lunged
for the woman’s legs as Vi’kirr drew his own saber, but she merely rocketed
back firing a volley of rockets at the Investigation Team catching Misa’soma
off guard while Neronae tried to deflect the projectiles with merely her saber.
Na’air leapt out of the way before she stepped forward and decided to try using
the Force. She waved her hand unleashing a powerful force wave in the direction
of the woman and smiled. Neronae and Vi’kirr’naam followed the wave, both
leaping at the woman brandishing their sabers while Gromnus launched his
polearm and Misa’soma performed a twirling saber attack. The Force Wave split
as it reached the woman before slamming into the wall behind her while her
armor took the simultaneous attack of the polearm and three sabers without
showing the slightest sign of breaking. She kicked Vi’kirr back hard in the
chest mocking the team “I don’t need your Force tricks.”

She raised an energy barrier around herself while she monologued.

She informed the group that she had been augmented since she
was a little girl and that the mutants and freaks, like them, needed to be
wiped out from the galaxy. She turned to Neronae with a smirk and said “catch,”
as she fired a dart in the direction of the Chosen. Misa’soma used the force to
push Neronae out of the way as the Chosen raised her hand causing the dart to
halt in mid-air.

Misa rushed the woman once more only to be thrown back while
Vi’kirr swings and punches in a combination attack meant to disable the
well-armored adversary. She responded playful kicking Vi’kirr in his manly
region while Misa’soma snuck up behind her slamming her foot into the back of
the woman’s knee causing her to fall to the ground and drop one of her blasters
as she grimaced in pain. She  fired a
second rocket barrage at the Chosen who dodged while Vi’kirr stopped them and
reversed their course to return back to the augmented foe. The attack caught
her by surprise as she raised her shield just in time to saver herself, but not
fast enough to prevent her from being thrown back. Her helmet was dislodged
from her head and the team spotted a medallion bouncing around under her armor.

Gromnus rolled an EMP grenade to the woman who attempted to
detonate it prematurely by firing upon it, but was caught in the blast causing
her armor’s systems to fail. Gromnus followed by shooting a concentrated blast
of energy from a specialized weapon while the woman rolled forward lightning
quick and punched Neronae in the chest, breaking a rib. The others all joined
in assaulting the woman while Vi’kirr successfully severed the chain carrying
the medallion. The woman’s eyes grew wide as she immediately turned to run only
to find herself clutching at her throat while being lifted in the air.

Behind her, Misa’soma’s hand was outstretched, pulling the
woman back to her with an angry gleam in her eye. The others approached her,
led by Neronae who grabbed the woman dislocating both of her arms with a
satisfied smirk.

The woman was surrendered to Order custody with a few more
bruises and only one good leg.

The rest of the team returned to the Matriarch to be
debriefed by Si’alla who awaited them in the Council Chamber. After listening
to their reports of their time on Nar Shaddaa, she informed them that she would
personally interrogate the woman to gather more information. She thanked them
all for their efforts and dismissed the group before turning to her chambers.

## 2/21/2018

### Will of the Force: The Chosen

Involved: Casmassia, Vi’kirr’naam, Neronae, Syrena,
Aiesling, Cirtas, Kasido

Gathered around a large holoterminal, on the bridge of the
Matriarch, Director Casmassia Chascri briefed the leadership of the Midnight Order
on her findings regarding the recent appearance of a strange cult orchestrating
rituals across the Order’s territory. After two major encounters and several
brief sightings, the Empress demanded results and the Director was keen on
giving them.

She summarized her findings with the Ministry’s belief that
aside from the Sects of Joy, Sorrow, Anger and Confusion, a fifth sect existed
that had yet to complete their portion of the ritual and thus, time remained
for them to stop the Cult from freeing the entity that Neronae had encountered
on Acheron. She continued by informing the assembled leaders that there had
been no successful attempts of pulling the cultists out of whatever trance they
appeared to be locked in and suspected mass possession.  Neronae spoke up, questioning what the base
emotion of the fith sect could be to which Casmassia responded that without
actual knowledge of the ritual itself, only encountering the sect could reveal
its purpose. She concluded her statement by informing the leadership that Vi’kirr’naam
had caught whispers amongst the Honor Guard that a final gathering would take
place on Cocytus, the icy planet at the far end of the Acheron System.

Based on the tip she had received, Casmassia had already
surveyed the planet to discover a shuttle had traveled there earlier in the
day. She was disturbed however, by the fact that only 8 lifesigns were detected
on board making it a far smaller gathering than the ones they had encountered
in the past.  Neronae looked to Cirtas
suddenly as he used their bond to question the fates of the Cultists to which
Neronae responded that most were to be killed for their treason. Casmassia
lamented this statement, but did not
argue further with the Chosen instead summoning their shuttle to the
frozen wastelands of Cocytus.

Upon arrival, they unloaded their mounts from the vessel and
set out across the cold, frozen landscape of Cocytus. As they traveled in the
direction they sensed the cult, they couldn’t help but notice that the planet
was unusually quiet. No snow was falling. No wind was blowing. It was just
silent. As they arrived at the gorge, Casmassia commented on the anomaly asking
if anyone sensed the cult getting any closer. Kasido surveyed the gorge with
binoculars while the others attempted to sense the same presence they had felt
on Acheron with all reporting back negative except for Cirtas who sensed the
force radiating like heat further on down the gorge. They descended to the
depths of the Gorge and walked its narrow corridor, following Cirtas as he
sensed them drawing closer.

As they moved deeper into the canyon, a solitary lightning
bolt shot down from the otherwise clear black night sky into the walls of the
gorge behind them. After the lightning struck, the path out of the canyon
collapsed in leaving them trapped with only the path in front of them to
travel.

When they finally arrived at the far end of the gorge, they
stumbled across the mouth of a cave that glittered brightly with thousands of
massive crystals.  Instead of pausing
outside, the group charged into the cave because they are the fucking Midnight
Order. Directly inside, Aiesling paused to express amazement at the natural
beauty of the place they had entered while the others ventured guesses as to
what the crystals were: adegan or otherwise.

As they stood in the center of the cave, the group turned to
Cirtas who gazed around the massive cavern reaching out to sense if any
presence was nearby. Initially, he seemed to sense nothing until his eyes
widened and he fell back into the cave wall, looking around frantically as his
senses became overwhelmed by the Force Presence that had arrived.  Neronae sensed this from Cirtas ordering the
group to be at the ready with their weapons. Cirtas continued moving his eyes
around the chamber uncontrollably before uttering the single word: “Everywhere.”
They all collectively looked around the cave for movement, but none came until
a familiar voice spoke and a figure stepped out from behind a column of
crystal.

Vi’kirr’naam stepped into the light admitting that the
Entity had not been freed, but that that was why the Order’s leaders had been
brought to Cocytus. Neronae wheeled around upon hearing her father’s voice,
lowering her saber in shock as she remarked “You can’t be serious…”   She quickly composed herself accusing the
man before her of not being her father before questioning his true identity. In
a deep voice, he responded that he was the “will of the Force, what has been
and what must come to pass.” He smiled at them as he asked “Will you oppose the
will of the Force? You stand against me? My purpose?” When he finished
speaking, Aiesling fired a shot at one of the monks as they collectively raised
their arms into the air. The shot dissolved in a glittering array of lights
before ever touching the monk as whisps of energy moved from his body and those
of his fellow monks into the bodies of the Order’s team.  Before the whisp headed for Neronae can
impact her, Vi’kirr reclaimed temporary control of his body. Summoning it to
himself instead. The whisps seized control of the team’s bodies forcing them to
stand against the wall between the monks as Vi’kirr uttered the words “My
daughter…. I” before returning to a rigid, emotioness stance. He ordered the
team to embrace serenity and free him as he drew his lightsaber and assumed a
battle stance to engage his own daughter.

Neronae removed her cloak, drew her own saber and spoke
softly “Hello Dad, can’t control it? I’m aware…” Vi’kirr radiated a power not
sensed within him before as Cirtas sensed the presence of the Entity adding its
power to Vi’kirr’s. The body of Neronae’s Father spoke “Come child, embrace
serenity,” before unleashing torrents of powerful force lightning that crackled
as it moved through the air, colliding against Neronae’s guarding saber and a
large chunk of the ice walls behind her, leaving massive, deep scorch marks.
Neronae broke the barrage leaping for her father and assaulting him with heavy
strike after heavy strike. Vi’kirr didn’t take a single step back as he met
each powerful strike with a strong, precise block. In a fluid motion, Neronae
twirled to the ground attempting to sweep her Father’s feet, but upon
completing her maneuver found him standing several feet away unphased as the
result of a teleport.

Meanwhile, as Aiesling continued to attempt to free herself
from the hold of the monks, they moved out of range of her attacks by hovering
a mere foot above the snow, while continuing to observe the battle passively.
As Neronae ripped a chunk of crystal from the ceiling of the cave and hurtled
it at Vi’kirr, Aiesling mentally repeated the move to throw a shard at one of
the monks which vanished on its trajectory appearing right above her instead.

The ice chunk Neronae
threw as simply tossed aside by Vi’kirr, who, in a blink, teleported
right in front of Neronae delivering a solid punch to her gut while taunting
her. Neronae took the pain as she had been taught all her life and wheeled
around grabbing hold of Vi’kirr’s arm dislocating it and yelling for him to
stop talking. Vi’kirr’s arm cracked, but he merely shrugged it off responding
with a headbutt and a blunt kick to Neronae’s chest. He taunted her again
remarking at how her father screamed within himself, unable to offer her his
strength, only able to watch as she failed what must come to pass.

Neronae grunted in pain as the attack forced her to stumble
backward, she looked at her father and agreed, he would see it all. She charged
him with her saber intending to impale him as the rest of the group acted
against the monks in an attempt to join the battle. As they believed they were
gaining momentum in their battle, the monks merely vanished, illusions created
by the entity.

Vi’kirr’naaem sidestepped Neronae’s charge, spiraling a and
slashing her across the back as he moved past her to face the remaining members
of the Order, relocating his shoulder. Neronae stumbled into the snow with a
scream as her saber fell from her hand. He commented on her failure as he began
siphoning energy from the Order’s strike team as Neronae watched.

Suddenly, out of the darkness a voice screamed Vi’kirr’s
name as Neronae looked up in shock and uttered the word “Mother?” Even Vi’kirr
appeared surprised as his eyes momentarily returned to their normal state of
being, full of emotion as the ghost of Raevyn materialized before him chastising
him for allowing himself to be controlled by an entity at the cost of their
daughter’s life and the lives of the Order. Vi’kirr stared at his wife’s ghost
in disbelief as the overwhelming power of the force inside him wavered. At that
moment, Raevyn shouted “Now, Neronae!

Neronae jumped to her feet, summoning her saber to her hand
and started slashing away at her father’s defenses, weakening them with every
blow as she brimmed with anger, hate and sadness. Tears streamed down her face
as each strike impacted her possessed father as the Entity continued to speak
through him, pleading for freedom and offering Vi’kirr and the Order in return.
Neronae charged her father’s body once more pinning him against the cave wall
and raising her saber “I will free him. “ In his daughter’s grip, Vi’kirr
struggled internally against the hold of the Entity. Neronae blinked before
dropping her saber and placing a hand on her father’s head. She ordered it to
release her father and return from whence it came.

The entity, through Vi’kirr looked up at Neronae with warmth
and pride and spoke slowly “This is how it will come to pass, a reflection of
the future. “ It continued, speaking in a tone it had not used before “The will
of the Force must come to pass and I’m sorry, but that means at any cost. I
appeal to you once more, Midnight Order. Free me, the fate of the Galaxy
depends on it. The souls of the possessed will be returned and your part in the
grand design will be over.”

The remaining Order members were released from the hold of
the Entity as it proclaimed that it would leave itself and the fate of the galaxy
in Neronae’s hands. Neronae stared at her father’s body begging him not to make
her end him. The entity through Vi’kirr’naam extended his arms wide and spoke
softly “Destiny will find a way my child, today or a century from now.”

Neronae stepped forward and hugged her father’s body before
moving back, tears filling her eyes as she choked out the words “I love you.”
With that, she pulled back her saber and drove it through Vi’kirr’naam’s heart.
Vi’kirr’s body lurched as he grunted in pain, but smiled at his daughter with
tears quietly trickling from his eyes. His face was calm, serene and accepting
as he fell to the ground. Neronae turned to return to the group whispering “Good
bye, Dad.”  As Vi’kirr’s true self
returned to his eyes and he took his final breath, the cave began to tremble as
a muffled scream of pain echoed from wall to wall.

They began to run for the entrance of the cave fearing it
would collapse in on them when five forms materialized over Vi’kirr’s lifeless body.
Each form was identical save for one feature. They were all clothed in glowing
robes of golden energy and hovered gracefully in the air above the Order, but
each stared down at them with a mask reflecting a different emotion. The center
form, Serenity, spoke for the group as she explained that the entity, known as 'The Avatar of Balance,' was a malevolent spirit that was committed to ensuring that the Prophecy of the Chosen One would never come to pass. To be freed from Jal'cuzza, the Avatar attempted to lure followers to its cause by having them open their souls to one of the five aspects of the Force's Emotional Spectrum when, in reality, they would be opening their souls to the Avatar. With enough souls, the Avatar's spirit could slip through the cracks and free itself from imprisonment.

As Vi'kirr'naam was the central vessel containing the essence of the Avatar, his death halted the ritual and forced the Avatar, in its entirety, back to Jal'cuzza. Serenity lamented an evil being using their manifestations for a sinister purpose, but expressed gratitude to the Midnight Order for acting to stop the Avatar's plan before he could threaten the Grand Design of the Universe. As a preserving the Force in Balance, the Priestesses granted Vi'kirr'naam a one-time reprieve from death before vanishing into the beyond in a flash of divine light.

## 2/15/2018

### Will of the Force: Haze of Joy

Involved: Ari’essa, Neronae, Akesi’va, Syrena, Kasido, Si’alla/Aiesling,
Cirtas

On Acheron, life for the citizens of the Order had returned
to its quiet, regular pace.  In the
capital city, the cityfolk moved from place to pace with calm, but determined
purpose. From his perch at a table right outside the cantina, Akesi’va observed
the people bustling from kiosk to kiosk in the Square Market as a breeze
whispered through the city center and down the main avenue, breaking as it
hummed against Neronae’s speeder. Neronae expertly landed her transportation on
the platform near the city gates before climbing out and pulling her hood over
her head. Nearby, Minister of War, Syrena Itera, stared at the city towers as
they glistened brightly in the afternoon light imagining strategic new defenses
should the city fall under siege again.  In
a quiet nook off the square adorned by planets and serenaded with the gentle
trickle of a fountain, Kasido indulged in exotic fruit while reclining on his
personal skiff reading through his files. The peaceful day was disrupted
however when a girl few of them recognized ran into the city center
frantically, looked around and rushed into the palace interior. Neronae,
Kasido, Akesi’va, Syrena, Cirtas and Si’alla all follow the girl in deciding to
investigate the strange occurrence.

Inside, they find the girl moving from person to person
examining their faces before moving on to the next. Akesi’va summoned guards
while Kasido approached the girl directly demanding to know what her business
in the palace was. She apologized justifying her presence by stating that she
simply had to see if anyone inside had the symptoms. As she continued to
explain, Cirtas ignited his lightsaber clearly agitated by her presence. He was
ordered to stand down by Syrena who continued to listen along with the
others.  She explained that her name was
Ari’essa and that, on the Empress’ invitation, she had been exploring the
system and had been captivated by Acheron’s beauty. She had gone further out in
the wilderness and discovered a village where everyone walked around with
creepy smiles plastered to their faces. She said she was confused by the sight
and questioned several of them only to be invited to “learn the way” and
embrace joy. She ran and, only when she saw merchants approaching the town by
speeder, turned around to observe the encounter. The merchants seemed as
confused as she had been and when they were approached by citizens of the town
and asked to embrace joy and happiness, they clearly rejected the invitation. Ari’essa
remarked that the citizens turned violent at the rejection and dragged the
merchants deep into the city and into a cave on the other side. She returned to
the capital looking for help and the group replied that she had found it.
Empress Si’alla instructed Neronae to take the assembled team with Ari’essa as
their guide to find the village and solve the mystery of the citizens’ behavior
before a repeat of the events on Dante happened.

The group set out from the capital by speeder, maintaining a
tight formation as they navigated the woods and mountains that decorated
Acheron’s surface. They passed through a number of towns in the mountains and
the people recognized the chosen as she rode by receiving several oohs and
aahs. When they finally arrived on the hills approaching the village Ari’essa
had informed them of, they paused about a half mile away to make a plan. They
surveyed the wall as Ari’essa reminded the group that the citizens inside had
displayed an unusual level of force sensitivity when they captured the
merchants. The settlement was well guarded and would take patience and skill to
break into.

As the group planned their strategy of letting Aiesling
infiltrate the settlement as a “willing convert”, Cirtas was experiencing
issues at such close proximity to the village. He experienced pulses of raw,
force energy practically flooding the air and, as a result, he was slowing becoming
unhinged, cackling and pacing madly. Akesi’va told the man to compose himself
as Neronae turned and calmly, placing a hand on his shoulder, asked him what he
was sensing. Aiesling insisted that she was not feeling what Cirtas was and
prepared to move in while Neronae connected with Cirtas, her eyes widening.
Neronae felt Cirtas’ feelings, the force of the place was crushing him and
compelling him to submit to its will. Neronae looked at the village for a
moment “I don’t like what they are doing in there, its unnatural. Unlike any
Sith Sorcery I have ever encountered.” As the Chosen turned back to face
Cirtas, he radiated dark energy and rage causing both herself and Neronae to
reach for their sabers. Neronae ordered Kasido to tranq. Dart the Sith Lord as
he began to rage out of control. Kasido followed orders and the dart flew
straight for Cirtas neck before freezing in mid air and shattering. Cirtas had
stopped the dart. Cirtas clawed at his helmet trying to remove it and, as he
broke the seals, it hissed and detached from his head. Free of the constraint,
he breathed freely and heavily as a shuttle emerged overhead, summoned by
Kasido to pick him up. Neronae ordered him to be held in the brig on the
Matriarch until she could examine him personally for both his safety and that
of everyone else. He was reluctant to go, but Neronae insisted that she could
not lose him to whatever force they were up against. She suggested he meditate
on the force from afar to seek answers. Disappointed, he climbed aboard the
shuttle as it lifted him away.

Meanwhile, as Aiesling infiltrated the village, she found
the citizens had adorned themselves in robes, some of grey and some of gold.
The ones wearing gold smiled brightly at her while the ones in grey looked at
her with youthful curiosity. On the wind, a voice whispered “It is the will of
the Force, follow the will of the Force.” Aiesling continued in, minding the
staring onlookers.

Outside the village, Kasido and Akesi’va updated Neronae and
Ari’essa of the events of the first cultist sighting on the moon of Dante.
Kasido confirmed that all of the people present were citizens of the Midnight
Order who were dressed in robes of red or blue and that all present, except for
the Honor Guard Knight, were average citizens with no known connection to the
force. Upon hearing this part of the report, Akesi’va remembered hearing about
how the previous team had encountered a clerk that they witnessed used the
force as well as a fully trained Sith Lord. As they continued to talk, Aiesling’s
breathing was becoming heavier as she began asking questions to no one “What is
the gate? How might I serve its will?”

Akesi’va, upon hearing Aiesling’s questions, turned to
Neronae frantically asking if they should move in. Neronae expressed hesitation
until a gold wave of energy radiated from inside the cave and crossed the field
fading right before it swept over the group. As the energy vanished, Neronae
charged in after Aiesling and ordered the rest to stay put and wait for her. As
Neronae entered the village, she began to hear the same whispers. The voice
filled her head  demanding submission to
the will of the force, to become part of the bigger picture, part of the spectrum.
Neronae told the voice to shut up as, deeper in the cave, the entity began to
latch on to Aiesling’s soul like a parasite. It whispered to her that she would
fulfill the will of the Force one way or another. She tried to severe her force
connection and said “I surrender, but only to Zildrog.”

Upon hearing the word “Zildrog,” the rest of the team ran
into the village to rescue their allies. Upon entering the cave, the entire
team heard the entity’s words “Free me and fulfill the will of the Force.” As
the words finished, the cave entrance collapsed in on itself and glowing lights
ignited deeper in the cavern, forcing them inward. As they reached the deepest
part of the cave, they found a massive cavern filled with citizens, some
wearing robes of yellow, some wearing robes of grey. Standing atop a massive
boulder, another Honor Guard knight presided over the massive gathering of
cultists proclaiming:
                On the moon of Dante, our
brothers and sisters embraced Sorrow and Anger. They fulfilled their part in
the Spectrum. Here and now, we do ours. And she will be that much closer to
being free and fulfilling the will of the Force.”

Neronae demanded the ritual stop and severed the neck of a
cultist as the rest wheeled around on her and, simultaneously lifted their
hands emitting an incredible force push that caught the entire team off guard
blasting them into the cave walls, leaving imprints and breaking Ari’essa’s leg
in the process. The Guard calmly stated “You cannot contest the will of the
Force. Submit.”
Neronae looked solemnly around the cave at the mindless
citizens; cultists all staring back at her. She resolutely closed her fist as
massive cracks appeared in the ceiling of the cavern. As she opened her hand,
the boulders forcefully dislodged themselves from above slamming down into the
crowd below. As the dust settled, the Knight spoke from atop the boulder “You
haven’t stopped anything, only delayed the inevitable. I now give myself to the
Will of the Force.” The knight began to dissolve in an aurora of light energy
similar to the one on Dante, but Akesi’va and Aiesling acted quickly throwing
rocks and lightning to disable the guard before he could conclude the process. The
Guard collapsed, his arms already dissolved, sand pouring from the open wounds
as he fell to the ground, defeated. With the guard defeated, the air in the
cave suddenly felt thinner and easier to breathe as the force energy vanished
from the area. Akesi’va collected the guard, slamming his head into the cave wall to ensure he was truly knocked out while Aiesling helped Ari’essa
stand on her one good leg as they began to move toward the cave entrance. After
some considerable effort, the collapse was cleared and they were able to return
to the Matriarch with their prisoner.

## 2/06/2018

### Will of the Force: Altar of Anger and Sorrow

Involved: Si’alla/Aiesling, Casmasia, Syrena, Misa’soma,
Akesi’va/Vi’kirr’naam, Kasido

It had been a busy day in the Midnight Order. A delegation
had just returned from a meeting with Darth Arctis of the Sith Empire, a joint strike team had been established between the Empire and Order to pursue the renegade Sith Lord, Darth Nostrem, and a
proposal had been made by Akesi’va to Misa’soma; things seemed to be looking
up for the Midnight Order. As the joy settled, a communication was made to all
of the members of the group requesting trusted members of the Order to assist
in an Internal matter being investigated by the voice, who introduced herself
as Casmasia Chascri, the illusive Director of Surveillance for the Ministry of
Intelligence. The group clamored down to the Intelligence Center on the
Matriarch to learn more.

When they arrived, they found the chamber empty and entered
with a great deal of confusion. Once all inside, Casmasia’s voice sounded off
from behind them as she entered and thanked them for coming. A holo of one of
the Order’s moons, Dante, was displayed in the center of the room for all to
see. As questions began circulating the room, a late arrival entered that added
to their curiosity, Vi’kirr’naam. Many of the people gathered were happy to see
him, but equally confused. They spent several mintues catching up before
Casmasia returned their attention to the matter at hand. She explained that she
had been monitoring a situation involving a large amount of activity on moon
which seemed at odds with its relatively small population. She said that a
number of unrelated figures who generally seemed to have no business traveling
to the moon had been coming and going at suspicious intervals and traveling
well outside the safe zone of the moon’s colony.

Kasido interjected asking if any of the numerous suspects
had been questioned. Casmasia replied that all, who had been questioned, had given
the same response, that they were seeking to rid themselves of anger and
sadness, to accept their dark sides and become more centered and whole. The
group mentality shifted to Revan with some suggesting that reports of his death
were inaccurate. Casmasia conceded that the behavior did indicate cult-like
behavior, but she was hesitant to jump to conclusions. Si’alla requested that
an agent be sent to investigate and infiltrate the cult to gain information on
their activities. All present volunteered. Si’alla suggested that Aisling, a
refugee from the Eternal Alliance join them in their investigation as she
ordered the Matriarch to stealth and be positioned over the moon.

After preparation, the team, accompanied by Aiesling, traveled
to the surface of Dante and were met by a dark, dreary and swampy terrain where
they could see only potential. Casmasia informed them that one of the suspects
she had been tracking had arrived just before them and was preparing to leave
the settlement. They were to follow. Moments later, Casmasia’s wrist console
beeped and she announced that it was time to go, the suspect, a clerk within
the Ministry of Justice, had left the settlement.

The group remained a safe distance behind the worker as he
navigated the dense and dark swamp of Dante. After nearly an hour of tracking
the Ministry of Justice suspect, he paused as a pack of native beasts swarmed
him and prepared to pounce and likely devour him. The group looked on prepared
to intervene when the clerk held up his hands and produced a powerful force
wave that swept aside the entire pack, knocking some out and killing the rest.
The group was awed by the display confused at the prospect of a powerful force
user being a mere clerk within the Order. Ideas were thrown around, some
suggesting that someone was teaching hidden force sensitives to use the force
while others believed force artifacts could be at play. The clerk utilizes a
form of force speed as he hastens along on his journey and enters what the
group quickly identifies as ruins. As they enter, crumbling statues loom high
above casting massive shadows creating a disturbing aura that was only amplified
when they entered a sunken area of the ruin filled with swampy pools of water
faintly illuminated by red flecks of energy. At the end of the massive
collapsed chamber, an massive organic structure surrounded by around 60 or 70
Order citizens revering it as an altar. At the head of the gathering, standing
before the altar was a large man wearing the ceremonial armor of the Honor
Guard. The crowd repeated his stance as a gentle flow of red and blue energy
moved from their bodies to spiral up the altar’s structure and into the
beyond.  They could hear the Honor Guard’s
words, “Let go of Anger, let go of Sorrow. Accept that they are a part of you
as they are a part of the Force. Allow them to become one with the Force once
again, allow yourself to become one with the Force.” The Guard continued as the
members of the crowd seemingly flickered between being corporeal and ethereal, “Anger
and Sorrow are the first, surrender your full spectrum of emotions, allow the
Force to fulfill its ultimate purpose and you will be rewarded, by becoming a
part of its majesty.”

Casmasia fired a number of rounds into the massive altar,
leaving massive smoking holes in its structure while the ritual halted with
citizens in the crowded expressing
confusion. Aiesling unleashed torrents of lightning into the bulk of the
altar causing it to crumble. The Honor Guard wheeled around as Aiesling
announced he was under arrest in the name of the Empress. He stared at the
group with powerful intent before turning back to the altar, raising his arms
and speaking to the stars “The first two are yours, the spectrum will be
complete and the Force’s will shall be done.” As he finished his words and the
group moved to arrest him, whisps of energy flew out of the bodies in the crowd
into the Guard who dissolved into a flurry of gold, white, grey, red and blue
energies before fading into Oblivion.

The group blinked in confusion at what they had just
witnessed. They signaled the Order to initiate an evacuation of the “cult”
while an investigation would begin to look into the events that had just
transpired.

## 12/03/2017

### Armageddon: A Bittersweet Victory

Event No. 6 (Conclusion)

Involved: Akesi'va, Arctis, Kasido, Setrax (as naval officer), Si'alla

The crisis on Acheron had ended in victory for the Midnight Order, albeit a bittersweet one.

A complication during Ivris' transfer from the detention center aboard the *Matriarch* to the capital city ended with security personnel forced to kill the militia commander. Empress Si'alla expressed disappointment when she received word from Kasido, but ultimately dismissed it.

The chief prosecutor had more unfortunate news, reporting a considerable death toll on Acheron due to the period in which Nostrem's weapon was active. Most disenchanting was the conclusion the Order's scientists had reached on the mutagen itself: the damage done to the planet's environment was irreparable, and regions that were subjected to prolonged exposure to the chemical, most notably the ruins of New Alexia, would remain contaminated to nearly any forms of life and thus too hazardous to resettle in.

An incoming transmission interrupted Kasido's report. Patrols on Acheron had stumbled on Nostrem himself. Although the soldiers who moved in to detain the Sith Lord were killed, a starfighter squadron was in pursuit of the shuttle he had boarded in an attempt to make his escape.

The *Matriarch* arrived in orbit of Acheron only to see the squadron obliterated by a Harrower battle cruiser that suddenly exited out of light speed. Nostrem managed to dock with the dreadnought, which jumped back out of the Acheron system before the *Matriarch* had any chance to disable it.

Even in failure, Nostrem had managed to strike one final blow against the Order. His slipping through their fingers was an agonizing twist of the knife.

Before Si'alla and the others aboard the command deck could lament Nostrem's escape, a bridge officer informed them of a broadcast the Sith Empire was transmitting publicly on the HoloNet.

Darth Arctis, the Imperial Minister of War, addressed the recent events on Acheron, decrying Nostrem and his actions and denying any Imperial involvement in his campaign or support of it. He vowed that Nostrem would be punished and executed for defaming the Empire's character and his theft of Imperial resources to engage in a personal vendetta. Making it clear that his mastery over the game of politics had not faded, Arctis cleverly offered the sentiment as a "gesture of good will" to the people of Acheron.

As the Imperial message concluded, the heroes that had gathered aboard the bridge agreed that the time of peace, however long it might be, would be best used as one of recovery for the Order.

## 11/25/2017

### Armageddon: Countdown to Doomsday

Event No. 5

Involved: Akesi'va, Desocratos, Ivris, Kasido, Nostrem, Si'alla

The Midnight Order's darkest hour had come. Darth Nostrem had fooled the Order with an elaborate ruse; his militia forces occupied and, as a last-ditch attempt to prolong the distraction, destroyed one of the major cities on Acheron, New Alexia. The Order had not even a moment to mourn the loss of its people, as Nostrem had revealed his true goal: contaminate the Order's capital world with a volatile mutagen that would ravage Acheron's ecosystems and warp the inhabitants into deformed monstrosities. To accomplish this, he activated a mass dispersal device that would spread the mutagen across Acheron in a matter of days.

The terror Nostrem's attacks had stricken the Order with had spread to even the upper echelons of the Order's hierarchy. Several of the Council had become convinced a third party, most likely a high-level Imperial official, was quietly supporting Nostrem's campaign, considering the vast resources at his disposal. Among the top suspects were Darth Haar, Admiral Myrene Varga, and Darth Arctis.

Despite the dire situation, Empress Si'alla Va'lenn was determined to see the Order prevail. Ardran Kasido, the Ministry of Justice's chief prosecutor, had taken a leadership role alongside her and Chosen Darth Neronae. As he had capably directed the latest missions against their enemy and delivered favorable results, the Empress asked Kasido to lead the strike team to infiltrate Nostrem's bunker and locate his weapon. Once the team was prepped, the military began marching towards the coordinates provided by Major Frannik. Time was of the essence; analysts in the Ministry of Intelligence had concluded they had a mere twelve hours before the dispersal device had saturated the entire planet.

The military faced almost immediate complications. Despite their massive losses in New Alexia, the remnants of Nostrem's militia remained steadfast and fought with a ferocity that trumped that of what the Order had seen in New Alexia. Their familiarity with the regions was clear; the Order's soldiers' progress was barred significantly by the militia's guerrilla tactics. Ambushes were frequent, but the lethal traps they had set in the area near the bunker caused the most damage. Despite the setbacks, they were able to reach the bunker grounds, but a surprise attack by Nostrem's war droids decimated the ranks of infantry.

Near the bunker, Empress Si'alla assumed command of the strike team, sending Kasido to rendezvous with the bulk of their forces and attempt to turn the tide of battle in the Order's favor.

Si'alla and her compatriots breached the bunker's front entrance with relative ease; Nostrem mocked the futility of their efforts almost immediately as they entered his facility. The heroes were undeterred, however, and fought through several squads of militia soldiers and Nostrem's acolytes until they found the Sith Lord at the controls of his weapon. Commander Ivris was by his side, and berated the Order one final time. Nostrem expressed respect for Si'alla, humorously noting he now understood why his master liked her. When the Empress countered his remark, Nostrem suddenly attacked, forcing her into a one-on-one duel while Akesi'va and Darth Desocratos dealt with Ivris. Throughout the fight, the two continued ranting on how the Order was destined to fail. Nostrem gloated that, even if he was defeated, the Order could not kill him in time to stop his weapon before the mutagen reached the capital city. Si'alla and Nostrem were evenly matched for a majority of their duel, with both landing minor hits on the other. Ivris, however, struggled to hold off Akesi'va and Desocratos simultaneously despite his initial advantage. When the commander finally faltered to the Sith Lords' combined strength, Nostrem, if only for the briefest of moments, lost his nerve, overcome with shock at the apparent failure of his strategy. He turned to Ivris, imploring his long-time friend and first lieutenant for forgiveness, before unleashing a massive blast of Force energy, sending both him and the Order's heroes flying backward to the opposite end of the control room. Before any of them could react, Nostrem vanished in a sudden flash of light. Clearly, he was confident the Order would fail to locate the weapon and now was the perfect moment to make his escape from Acheron.

Distraught at his lord's apparent abandonment of him, Ivris, heavily wounded, managed to explain to Si'alla that the mutagen was beyond any antidote or cure, but deactivation of the weapon would save what regions of Acheron had not been contaminated yet. The Empress administered a healing ritual to the broken militia commander, who led her and the others to an adjacent room. The room was apparently barren, until Ivris revealed a concealed panel on on the far side. Entering an access pin, the walls separated, revealing the true control computer to the dispersal device within a hidden chamber. Ivris entered an override code to supersede Nostrem's commands, deactivating the device and saving the capital city at the last possible second.

Infuriated at the final collapse of his plans, Nostrem remotely activated the bunker's "emergency protocol," telling them they would join the weapon in oblivion. An automated voice cracked to life over the facility's communications system, warning that the bunker would self-destruct in four minutes. The Order's heroes barely escaped the bunker in time, with the now-captive Ivris in tow.

Kasido contacted Si'alla, informing her that an evacuation shuttle was awaiting her and her team just outside the bunker. As they boarded, and the shuttle pulled away, Nostrem's bunker was incinerated in a violent explosion; the blast was massive enough observed by the crew of the *Matriarch*, in orbit of Acheron.

Back aboard the flagship, Ivris begged Si'alla for an immediate execution, his spirit broken by the militia's defeat and Nostrem's betrayal of him. The Empress agreed, but stipulated that the man first answer three questions before he was given his "release." Firstly, she inquired as to where Nostrem would have fled to. Ivris replied that he had observed Nostrem use the technique he employed to escape the bunker once before, unsure of where exactly he would have ran to but certain that he was still on Acheron. Si'alla proceeded to ask where the Order might find Nostrem's deactivated weapon. Ivris answered that the weapon was gone, destroyed with the bunker. He cited it as Nostrem's failsafe to ensure the Order did not acquire the mutagen or the device itself. Si'alla's third request, though more of a demand, would unintentionally cause dissent in the ranks. She instructed Ivris to hand over his personal datapad, which she assumed contained information regarding Nostrem's plans, the mutagen, and the dispersal device. Ivris declined, wanting to maintaining what little honor he had left and refusing to, despite Nostrem leaving him for dead, become a "sellout." Disgusted at Ivris' sentiment, Si'alla ordered him kept in chains and imprisoned in the lower decks. The militia commander screamed in protest, insisting he be given execution as Si'alla had previously vowed. The Empress stated she would not keep her word to a "disgrace" such as Ivris, but state director Akesi'va was angered by her refusal to keep to her promise. Despite Si'alla's commands for him to relent, the state director remained adamant and ultimately stormed off the command deck.

The Empress then turned to Kasido, who reported success in rallying their military forces. Orbital support from the Matriarch had made quick work of Nostrem's war droids, and he personally oversaw executions of the militia soldiers that remained. He then expressed a desire to place Ivris on trial publicly to make an example of him, as apprehending Nostrem himself was unlikely. Desocratos countered, saying a trial would only make Ivris a martyr who died for the Imperial cause he claimed to fight in support of. Si'alla instructed Kasido to see Ivris transferred into the Ministry of Justice's custody, and that the commander would only be given the death he desired once he had given the Order the information they required. The Empress further noted that anyone who interfered was to be arrested, including Akesi'va, and to notify her immediately if such a situation arose. Kasido nodded in affirmation, and he, Desocratos, and the Empress adjourned.

## 11/20/2017

### Armageddon: The Contingency (continued)

Additional Involved: Desocratos, Frannik, Ivris

The battle within New Alexia had begun. Kasido's team had reached the militia's command compound with relative ease, though the same could not be said for the Order's armed forces. Despite the Order's superior numbers, the militia soldiers utilized near-flawless tactics. It was clear that not even one of them intended to surrender. Nostrem's war droids caused the military the most difficulty, however. Squads of the machines were positioned near the detention centers, hampering the military's rescue efforts.

Li'ven'a and Nostrem's apprentice coordinated defenses against the attack from their command center. Setrax had been instructed by Commander Ivris to withdraw the moment the Order began marching on New Alexia. Sioned and Divah fought through the last of the base's guards to confront Li'ven'a and her Sith ally. Li'ven'a briefly exchanged bitter words with Sioned before the battle began. Nostrem's apprentice unexpectedly moved against Sioned, momentarily catching her off-guard. Li'ven'a moved to engage Divah, and gained the upper hand over the inexperienced soldier rather quickly, ultimately rendering him unconscious. Sioned had managed to wound Nostrem's apprentice, but the Sith was able to disarm her. Li'ven'a moved in to assist her ally, but the sudden arrival of Sith Lords Akesi'va and Desocratos turned the fight in the Order's favor. Desocratos' lightning attacks left Li'ven'a disoriented, and Akesi'va moved in with a strike that literally disarmed the traitorous soldier. Noticing her apparent defeat, Nostrem's apprentice dropped his lightsabers to the ground in an apparent surrender. Sioned, heavily injured, barely managed to remind Akesi'va they needed a prisoner for interrogation. Refusing to accept capture, Li'ven'a turned her sidearm blaster on herself and took her own life.

At that moment, Nostrem's apprentice revealed his deception, activating the charges the militia had planted across the city. He remarked on the Order's short-sightedness before committing suicide himself. Before anyone could react, explosions began rattling the compound. Wrenn ordered a full retreat from New Alexia as detonations continued and the plateau the city sat on began collapsing upon itself.

By the time they had returned the *Matriarch*, New Alexia had been completely leveled. The civilians Nostrem had captured were deceased; those who did not die in the initial blasts were crushed as the city buildings collapsed. One-third of the Order's military forces who had entered the city had also been killed. But the loss of the city was no longer the main cause for concern. After the last of the charges had been set off, a chemical weapon was detonated in the ruin of the militia command center. A dark-colored cloud rose up from the blast site; the chemical ravaged the ecosystem around it, plant life withered away to dust and humans were transformed into deformed, mindless monstrosities upon exposure, with Wrenn noting they were much like the undead. Before the Empress or her daughter could go any further, however, static interference filled the Order's broadcast channels. Nostrem's unmistakable voice soon stabilized, and holos of he and Commander Ivris appeared on nearly every public channel in the Order. Nostrem finally elaborated on his cryptic statements about the Order's blindness to what stood in front of them, while Ivris berated them for incompetence, insisting all hope had been lost. Nostrem proceeded to gloat on how easily he had deceived the Order, distracting them with the siege and occupation of New Alexia. Their focus set on liberating the city had allowed him to prepare his true endgame. Nostrem announced activation of a weapon that would suffuse his 'mutagen' across Acheron entire, ravaging the planet and exterminating all life in its path. He ended his transmission with the same frightening words he had given to those on Amgarrak years ago, "Die, with your rebellion."

Si'alla prepared her own statement to ease the dissent and terror Nostrem's message had brought, urging the citizens of the Order on Acheron to stand together against this threat, and to ensure to report any sightings of Nostrem or his associates to the proper authorities. She promised the Order's unity would see their adversary defeated.

Not long after Si'alla broadcasted her statement, Kasido entered the bridge to report. Unlike they had first believed, the detonation site in the ruins of New Alexia was not the point of origin for the mutagen now spreading through Acheron. Nostrem's weapon was elsewhere on the planet, and it was estimated they had mere days before the entire planet was contaminated.

The *Matriarch* was suddenly hailed, the transmission coming from the planet. Major Frannik appeared on the holo, revealing he had used his apparent demise during the mission to rescue Wrenn to trail Nostrem and his forces. He explained that the bulk of the militia forces had regrouped in the uncolonized hemisphere of Acheron, and surmised that Nostrem's true base of operations was somewhere underground near his current position. Unfortunately, he had not been able to gather any information on the weapon itself, only a hint that it too was elsewhere on the unexplored part of the planet. Frannik was forced to disconnect, however, as militia patrols were nearby. Si'alla ordered Kasido to direct the Ministry of Intelligence's efforts to locate the weapon, while she left to prepare a team she would lead personally to confront Nostrem in his bunker. Time was of the essence, as Nostrem would most certainly make his escape the moment his mutagen reached the capital city.

## 11/19/2017

### Armageddon: The Contingency

Event No. 4

Involved: Akesi'va, Cirtas, Divah, Kasido, Nostrem, Setrax, Si'alla, Wrenn

The time for retaliation had come. Wrenn Va'lenn had been delivered back to Empress Si'alla safely aboard the *Matriarch*. There, she convened an emergency war council to formulate a plan of action against the militia forces in New Alexia.

The tension within the militia's command center in New Alexia was palpable. With the hostage secured, the Midnight Order would undoubtedly move against the occupation. Infuriated at his lieutenants' failure to keep Wrenn in custody, Nostrem had come to New Alexia to personally oversee preparation of their final defenses. Setrax, deputy to Commander Ivris, joined him. Hours passed. When Setrax reported his men's success, a cruel smile was etched across Nostrem's face. The satisfaction was evident in his voice. "On my command, you will initiate the contingency." With that, Nostrem departed, leaving one of his Sith acolytes to assist.

After long deliberations, the war council had come to a decision. Both Si'alla and Wrenn knew Nostrem would keep to his word and begin massacring the captured civilians the moment they moved on New Alexia. A swift strike to crush the occupation and minimize civilian deaths as best they could was their only option. Kasido was to prepare his team for a mission to infiltrate the militia's stronghold in New Alexia and deal with Nostrem's lieutenants, but take one alive for interrogation. Meanwhile, the main forces would face Nostrem's militia head-on. One battalion was assigned to raid the municipal buildings that had been converted into makeshift detention centers and liberate the prisoners within.

## 11/12/2017

### Armageddon: The Rescue

(Event No. 3)

Involved: Akesi'va, Frannik, Ivris, Kasido, Li'ven'a, Nostrem, Si'alla, Sioned, Vi'vek, Wrenn

The Order’s high command had fallen silent after Darth Nostrem seized control of New Alexia. After conflicts with both the Empire and Republic, the Order stood prepared for nearly all eventualities, but an unprovoked attack on the homeworld was the last thing anyone had expected. Empress Si’alla Val’enn stood alone aboard the bridge of the Matriarch; the thought of her daughter in chains and the torment Nostrem and his militia officers undoubtedly were subjecting her to left the Empress overcome with emotion. The sudden betrayal of decorated military officers, most notably Sergeant Li’ven’a of Peregrine Squadron, was fuel to the fire.

Opportunity would come, however. The Empress was joined by the Ministry of Justice’s chief prosecutor, Kasido, who claimed to have discovered a weakness in the militia’s occupation. A ten-minute gap in which the militia’s patrols changed shifts offered a chance for one small group to infiltrate the city via a side entrance typically used by cargo transports entering New Alexia. The Empress approved of the operation, assigning her trusted agent Sioned, also commander of Peregrine Squad, to Kasido’s team. Interim state director Akesi’va again took to field operations; Major Frannik and the Sith newcomer Vi’vek were also assigned to the mission. But before they could mobilize, Li’ven’a herself forcibly opened a holo-transmission to the bridge terminal on the *Matriarch*. She brushed off Si’alla’s insults and mocked her former Empress and friend before revealing Darth Nostrem was well aware of the Order’s plans. Suspecting that Kasido may very well be the informant, as the plan was his, Si’alla used her powers of sorcery to peer into his mind, a process the chief prosecutor found rather painful. Finding no trace of treachery in Kasido, Si’alla released him, and did briefly apologize after he questioned the necessity of such an invasive technique. Nonetheless, Kasido remained confident his team could improvise on site and succeed with Sioned’s help.

Kasido led his team to a position outside New Alexia, where they were joined by Sioned. Upon reaching the entrance they originally intended to use, the team found several additional squads of militia soldiers and war droids posted there. Sioned scouted ahead to find an alternate means of entry. Upon finding a generator that could be used as a distraction, she contacted Kasido and the others. Wanting to avoid drawing too much attention before finding Wrenn, they ultimately decided to scale the mountain structure the generator was built on and enter the city as stealthily as possible. Kasido and Sioned quietly killed a pair of militia soldiers upon entry, at which point Li’ven’a contacted them over New Alexia’s public channel. Taunting Sioned, who was her ex-commander, that their infiltration would only end with the entire team’s demise, Li’ven’a challenged them to find both her and Wrenn.

When they reached the grounds of the municipal building that Wrenn was being held in, Kasido and Frannik split from the group to create a distraction. Frannik planted explosive charges on the generator they had found earlier, while Kasido took advantage of his stealth and poison-based tech to target groups of militia soldiers near the building. Once the generator was destroyed, a bulk of the militia forces moved to that part of the city. Sioned led Akesi’va and Vi’vek to confront Li’ven’a and her men. The traitor was in a holo-conference with Nostrem and Commander Ivris when the three arrived, with an infuriated Nostrem ordering Li’ven’a and her soldiers to deal with the intruders and secure Wrenn. Sioned attacked Li’ven’a, while Akesi’va and Vi’vek fought her subordinates. Kasido arrived in time to see Li’ven’a's men eliminated, but the traitor herself cleverly escaped capture. Only moments later, Wrenn herself appeared and killed a militia officer moving in to ambush Sioned. Assuming that Li’ven’a had called for reinforcements, the group exited New Alexia as quickly as possible. Although they faced squads of Nostrem’s war droids on their way out, they successfully escaped the city. While waiting for the arrival of their evac shuttle, Kasido questioned if they had received any word from Frannik. Sioned was bothered by the major’s disappearance, and suspected him as Nostrem’s informant. Unraveling the mystery of the third traitor’s identity would have to wait, however, as Nostrem would no doubt take more drastic measures to ensure the Order did not liberate New Alexia now that Wrenn was no longer in his custody.

## 10/29/2017

### Armageddon: The Arrival

Event No. 2

Involved: Akesi’va, Divah, Frannik, Ivris, Li’ven’a, Marciana, Neronae, Nostrem, Obinaya, Si’alla, Stasio

Acheron had fallen quiet ensuing the removal of the alien syndicate threatening the Order, but the tranquility would not last. A far more sinister enemy lurked on the horizon.

Akesi’va, acting director in the Ministry of State, had sensed a peculiar aura surrounding the leading military officers during the mission to eliminate the syndicate. Li’ven’a and Stasio had left the capital in haste; the Sith Lord was convinced the two were pursuing an ulterior motive and gathered a small group to follow and observe the two. Akesi’va and the others tracked Li’ven’a and Stasio outside colonized Acheron and discovered a military installation on a remote island that had previously been undiscovered. The facility crawled with uniformed soldiers and advanced war droids. Troop transports lined a nearby landing strip.

Now certain that Li’ven’a and Stasio were acting against the Order’s best interests, Akesi’va proposed a plan to gain access to the installation without drawing unnecessary attention: Marciana and Divah would approach the forces within the facility with the offer of joining whatever operation they were planning. The group believed Marciana’s status as a former prisoner and Divah’s short time among the Order would let them appear to be plausible traitors. While they distracted whosoever was in command of the facility, the others would attempt to move in unnoticed. Marciana and Divah entered, surprisingly met with no resistance. Li’ven’a and Stasio stood at the entrance to a compound built within the island’s mountain range, flanked by a uniformed Pureblood Sith, presumably the man they had acted on behalf of. At the Pureblood’s instruction, Li’ven’a ushered Marciana and Divah inside the compound to give them the “grand tour.” Stasio followed closely behind. Once inside, Li’ven’a introduced the two alleged new recruits to a massive contingent of Imperial-made battle droids. Stasio commented on the droids’ lethal efficiency on the battlefield, but smugly remarked that Marciana and Divah would not live to see their ability put to the test. Swiftly drawing his rifle, the traitorous soldier attempted to down Marciana with two shots to the back of her head. Although Marciana evaded Stasio’s initial attack, she shifted her focus to engaging Li’ven’a, who had taken up a vantage point and began firing volleys of suppressive fire. Divah scrambled into action, but was caught off-guard by a flash grenade Stasio had dropped before he dove for cover. The ensuing firefight saw all four combatants sustain injuries, and no one gained the upper hand until Stasio forced Divah into a chokehold with a blaster pistol to his head. Marciana countered by attaching an explosive to the roof of the cavern that the compound was built into. Stasio reluctantly allowed Divah and Marciana to escape, an action that later saw him violently chastised by his commander.

Divah and Marciana were able to regroup with Akesi’va and the others, but they returned to the capital too late to warn the Order of the impending threat. The militia had swept through the distant city of New Alexia, massacring its defenses and establishing a full occupation.

Empress Si’alla demanded an explanation from Akesi’va, but their conversation was cut short by a forced transmission. Darth Nostrem, the Imperial Sith Lord made famous by his attack that destroyed Amgarrak, appeared on the holoterminal. At his side was the Pureblood that Akesi’va and his group had encountered at the island facility, now identified as Ivris, commanding officer of the militia. Nostrem and Si’alla briefly traded insults before Ivris brought Wrenn Va’lenn onto the holo. Nostrem mocked Si’alla for trying to hide her emotions over her daughter’s capture before igniting his double-bladed lightsaber and impaling the young woman in the shoulder. Before Si’alla could answer, Nostrem boasted on how easily his forces had brought New Alexia to its knees and vowed that all of Acheron would soon follow suit. With that, Ivris ended the transmission.

Darth Neronae entered the war room to brief the Empress on the situation in New Alexia. The city’s defenses had fallen; patrols of militia soldiers and legions of war droids lined the streets, anti-aircraft cannons had been placed at key locations throughout the city, and Nostrem had broadcasted a message to the Order’s high command on an open channel: any attempts against the occupation would be met with mass executions of the civilians he had captured during the siege. Si’alla entertained the possibility of an orbital bombardment on New Alexia, a notion that greatly distressed Neronae and the military officers in the room. Si’alla promised that Nostrem and his forces would be fought conventionally for as long as possible, but ultimately the outlook was grim.

## 10/22/2017

### Armaggedon: What's Yours is Mine

Event No. 1

Involved: Akesi'va, Cirtas, Li'ven'a, Marciana, Si'alla, Stasio

Crisis lurked on the horizon. Sergeant Li'ven'a of the Ministry of War had learned of a criminal syndicate smuggling heavy ordnance onto Acheron for unknown purposes. Based on intelligence provided by her subordinate, Sergeant Stasio, she deduced that the criminals had been using a prototype stealth shuttle to bypass the planet's outer defenses and safely reach the surface. Surveillance of the syndicate's smugglers suggested they were using a cavern system in Acheron's southern hemisphere as a planetside headquarters. Aboard the Matriarch, Li'ven'a and Stasio had begun preparations for a decisive strike to crush the threat the syndicate presented before the situation could grow worse, and secure the criminals' cargo for the Order's own use. However, the sudden arrival of Empress Si'alla Va'leen saw the two instructed to infiltrate the syndicate's hideout and plant a tracking beacon on the stealth shuttle to trace the criminals back to their true base of operations. Furthermore, Si'alla asked Li'ven'a to bring along a woman the Order had apprehended a time ago. Although both Li'ven'a and Stasio expressed unease over including a prisoner in a sensitive military matter, the Empress assured them she was certain the woman's talents would make her a valuable asset. Li'ven'a complied and released the woman, called Marciana, while Stasio assembled a small strike team. Once all were on the bridge, Stasio briefed the strike team on the mission parameters and what they knew of the syndicate thus far.

The strike team regrouped on Acheron not far from the entrance to the cavern where the syndicate was believed to be operating from. Li'ven'a moved ahead to scout the area and, expectedly, found the syndicate's thugs keeping watch outside the caverns. The rest of the strike team moved in and quietly eliminated the criminals guarding the entrance before moving inside. As they continued moving deeper into the cavern, the strike team easily cut through the criminals within. Li'ven'a and Stasio frequently halted the advance to inspect the syndicate's cargo stashes, with Stasio placing tags on certain crates for purposes they insisted must be kept secret. Upon finally reaching the far end of the cavern, they located a massive stockpile of smuggled cargo, which Li'ven'a and Stasio appeared to be heavily interested in. Li'ven'a then left to carry out out the Empress' instructions regarding the syndicate's shuttle. Marciana moved to join Li'ven'a, though Stasio quickly intervened, citing his superior's order for the rest of them to hold their position while she pursued her objective alone. While they waited, Stasio was strangely adamant on seeing to it the cargo was not touched, or merely inspected, by any of the strike team. When Li'ven'a returned, she quickly ordered the team to exfiltrate once she was informed the military's extraction teams were en-route to "secure" the marked cargo stashes.

After the strike team returned to the Matriarch, Li'ven'a attempted to locate the syndicate's shuttle, which had just entered hyperspace. However, to her dismay, the connection to the tracking beacon had been lost. Stasio had been comparing the cargo manifest to those coming from Rishi, acting on advice from Sith Lords Akesi'va and Cirtas that the syndicate may have holdings in Raider's Cove there. The search revealed little to nothing of interest, however, prompting Li'ven'a to assign Akesi'va and Cirtas to travel to Tatooine and Hoth, respectively. She believed the pirates on those worlds might be pressed for further information on the syndicate. As the Sith departed, Li'ven'a hurried to report the details of the mission to the Empress.

## 10/15/2017

### Armagaddon: Reunion

Prelude

Involved: Li’ven’a, Na’air, Stasio, Akesi,va, Obinaya, Faye

Silence had dominated the Midnight Order since the explosive
conflicts months earlier. Much time had been spent reflecting on the losses
suffered and the lessons learned. For General Na’air Petraya, the silence was
shortlived as she was summoned to the Matriarch’s bridge by Sergeant Li’ven’a
for reasons unknown. When she arrived on the bridge, she found the sergeant
engaged in conversation with a small group of officials who all turned to
salute her as she approached.

The sergeant reported that one of the Order’s ships had gone
radio silent in deep space. The report stated that the last transmission from
the wayward ship had been received less than 3 hours prior, news that prompted
a frown from the General who believed two hours was insufficient time to create
panic given the mysteries and vastness of space. She asked if they truly
believed the ship was at risk in any way. Li’ven’a stated that while there was
no indication of the ship being lost or at risk, it’s signal was coming from a
set of coordinates way off course from where it was supposed to be.  Furthermore, its distress signal was looping.

Na’air rubbed her temple “Very well, better safe than sorry.
Assemble a team to investigate.” The group hustled at their new orders and
scrambled to put together the people and resources to send a team after the
Harbinger. As the team was prepared, contact was made with the Empress to
inform her of the situation. She offered her support by sending Faye along to
assist the investigation.

When they arrived at their silent ship, they boarded easily
and discovered the vessel vacant, but with evidence of combat in the form of
blood, blastermarks and explosions. When they reached the bridge, Obinaya
probed the command console for any indications of what happened when the
central holoterminal lit up and a harrower emerged from hyperspace and hailed
the disabled vessel. The image of a familiar face appeared on the holo
accompanied by a uniformed figure who had the look of someone who had seen
battle. The Order’s team realized they had been lured into a trap and waited
for the figure to speak. As he addressed the group, sarcastically apologizing
for the murder of their friends and associates, the man appeared disappointed
that no one among the assembled recognized him. His company questioned the
ignorant nature of the Order’s members while the figure chuckled. He asked if
it had been so long that the children of the Imperium had forgotten the name
Nostrem.

The recovery team seemed slightly amused by the pomp of the
man calling himself Nostrem and teased back that he was not the first and would
surely not be the last to try to trap and kill a tea m of the Order’s elite and
that he was destined to fail. Nostrem mocked them for falling into his trapped
and ordered his commander to open fire on the harbinger before cutting the
communication. The group turned to General Na’air for orders and in return, she
demanded to know if any active fighters or bombers remained aboard. Akesi’va
and Faye responded that they were aboard, but it would take time to manually
open the hangar doors. Na’air shook her head and ordered the ship abandoned
stating that if it survived, they could send a recovery team with an armed
escort to salvage the wreckage.

Li’ven’a raced ahead of the group to the hangar to commandeer
a drop ship for their evacuation. They climbed aboard with haste as Liv’en’a
pushed the shuttle forward out of the hangar as turbolasers pelted the
unshielded hull of the Harbinger. They watched as the vessel went up in flames,
but were surprised when Nostrem’s ship did not pursue them as it opened fire.
Two strikes landed on the shuttle before they were able to jump to hyperspace
back to Acheron

## 8/20/2017?

### Shattered Sight: Blood Moon Rising

<FILE ENCRYPTED BY ORDER OF EMPRESS SI'ALLA VA'LENN>

<To be released at her leisure.>

## 8/13/2017

### Shattered Sight: Full Moon

Involved: Si’alla, Neronae/Wrenn, Csavrah/Desocratos, Einas, Grommus, Akesi’va, Nezzor

Locations: Matriarch, Acheron.

Desocratos rushed to the bridge, shoulder checking Grommus, who had been in high spirits. He kneeled before a serene si’alla, reporting that Csavrah had revealed himself. Apparently, the man had unlocked his Intelligence office, and was perusing files with a glass in his hand.

Immediately, Si’alla ordered the room sweeped and the computer locked down. Both were executed flawlessly, and no explosives were detected. At that, Si’alla dispatched a security team to hold the door, before sending herself, Neronae, and Akesi’va to to the chambers.

As they arrived, Einas checked in, and with Sialla granting him remote access, Einas began deciphering what Csavrah had been perusing. While discovering files on Lady Cordaxia, a nano virus, and VIRGO, Nezzor and Einas uncovered a section that seemed to be erased. They began worked to finds out accession dates and otherwise.

Meanwhile as the strike team arrived at the chambers, The guards assigned to protect the door reported Csavrah showed little movement, yet continues sipping away. As guards swarmed his chambers, and the order walked in, Csavrah turned commenting he had data but would not share. Outplaying them. Si’alla and Neronae responded with two stun shots, and Csavrah crumpled. Sialla orders Csavrah taken to the brig, and Cryptographers attempt to recover the deleted data, as well as doing a search for Cordaxia’s records.

Einas checked in, reporting Virgo had begun interfacing with the Empire, and was growing.
At that Wrenn gave a call, reporting that an unidentified ship had landed on Acheron. Within moments, and to Sialla’s dismay, the order fleet began attacking one another, and was overtaken by a large republic battlecruiser. As Wrenn fizzled out, Sialla looked to the others.

Ordering a backup of all Matriarch files, she rallied her troops for war, warning all to beware shadows. The group began to agree to reside and focus together, employing a rallying code-word, “cobalt.” Grommus gave the group pulse grenades and neckbuzzers, to use if they suspected the plague.

As they landed on world, Desocratos and his teams established a perimeter and med center as the other moved forward.  Soon they encountered a jedi, who engaged the minister of knowledge, and was repelled. Neronae flew after the woman, as paratroopers jetpacked in and opened fire on Sialla and Einas, the latter of which took out one with a skill placed shot. Sia’lla in turn, sent a wave of rocks hurling at the remaining three, who went limp in seconds.

A few paces more, and a new jedi rose, as well as battle droids, who targeted and were destroyed Akesi’va. The jedi was shot in the head by Einas…and yet managed to crawl to si’alla who decapitated her as Neronae stood guard.

Nezzor called in amidst the chaos, as House citadel directed new information to the order, telling them that a jedi was coming with new information. Fairity, a gatekeeper of the citadels, cautioned to look for one of the three, with the lightest intent. Then they were lost, as Nezzor reported the comms jammed.

A third jedi arrived, this one spouting fanatics. Soon she challenged Neronae to a duel, to which Sialla impatiently obliged. After a quick disarm…. the jedi killed herself, annoying the group, who wished she had done it before and saved them time.
As the order watched, it appeared that they winning. Nezzor seemed to confirm this, anonucing that all officers and crew members of fleets in orbit had ceased mental possession.

At that moment, the members of the order felt a great shift as the shadows seemed to encircle them. Desocratos made use of his tool given by Gromnus, whilst Neronae and Akesi’va powered through, and while Si’alla remained unafflicted. Einas, curiously was not outwardly changed in the slightest.

Suddenly a Jedi lunged from the shadows, nearly decapitating Si’alla. Si’alla reacted faster ducking and cursing Mysh’kah who had revealed herself under the guise of an attacker. Promising information she began to tell the order their next set of worries: Ignun had arrived on world, and was disorientating the armies of those nearby. After giving Sialla coordinates, Mysh’kah agreed to join them to defeat the plaguemaster.

After receiving coordinates, the groups marched forward, searching for the creator of such an insidious plague.
As they came to Ignun, he was alone meditating. Soon enough, he greeted them, explained his logic. He know he was falling to the darkness, and as such, he was prepared to be locked up as soon as the Empire fell.

Looking at the group, he could sense their bloodlust and immediately began his assault. After bringing Sialla and Einas to a knee, he was repelled by Mysh’kah and Akesi’va. At this he grunted, and sent out a blinding wave of darkness, disappearing and leaving two dozen Jedi in his wake, who encircled the order.

It was not long before every single Jedi fell. And shortly the battlecruiser vanished. All that remained was X’aan’s departing words: “Tactics analyzed.”

Before the order could react, house citadel came back on coms. The empire had Attacked Kaeshun.. and it seemed the hutts were in tow. Kriff.

## ​8/5/2017

### ​Shattered Sight: The Sixth Spectation

Involed:Sialla, S’rahnia, Syrena, Zorget, Grommus, Akesi’va, Deso/Devisis/Xalven/MISC. Cord (in form of dead body and mindspace)
Locations: Matriarch, Cordaxia’s Mindspace.

Gathered aboard the council room, many members arrived to pay respects to Cordaxia’s coffin, lying in state protected by the finest guards. Sialla offered for councilors to sit, she would stand to honor her friend. Desocratos was joined by all present in saying that Csavrah would be subjected to a horrendous and slow death when he was found.

Akesi’va revealed he had recovered Cordaxia’s weapon, with it he said “There are customs across the galaxy. Where brothers and sisters of the fallen, swear vengeance against the accursed. Vowing to slay them with the fallen’s weapon. But I know nothing of blasters. I would do this aged weapon no justice.” He closed by saying he would use his own saber then to destroy the man who had killed her, Prince Xalven.
Desocratos announced Citadel ambassadors had arrived, and Si’alla directed them to be received anywhere other than the chamber where Cordaxia’s body was kept. He nodded. Soon after departing and giving the all clear, each member one by one went to give Cordaxia words of last respects.

After receiving and being greeted by Devisis in the cantina, S’rahnia surprised the Citadel with her very existence, who in turn told her jokingly that unlike her, watcher X’aan, murderer of Arestenax, was still quite dead.

At that moment, Devisis presented Lord Zorget, who had just appeared out of thin air. Si’alla and Zorget met with warm sincerity while S’rahnia looked on in distaste. Si’alla asked what purpose Zorget could have, and Zorget replied he believed he had found a way to serve justice.
Zorget first confirmed that his advisors had determined Xalven has been responsible and able to steal Cordaxia’s memories. However, the transfer had actually been two-ways. Cordaxia learned all of Xalven’s. This forced Xalven to murder Cordaxia, and prompted Zorget to ask for Cordaxia body. A ritual, developed by the Citadels, could delve into her mind and reach out the answers.

S’rahnia was swift to object, reminding the order that it was the Citadel who nearly destroyed her generation.
Sialla hushed her and reminded S’rahnia that she had bias, while telling Zorget she would allow the ritual to occur, but only under Desocratos’ supervision in his chambers on the Matriarch. Zorget obliged, and the group began preparations.

--2 hours later—
The group assembled in Desocratos’ room, while Cordaxia’s body hovered in an anti-preservation chamber. Zorget explained to a confused Si’alla that the members would experience a vision of memories. Thusly they would enter trances. S’rahnia, Desocratos and Gromnus stayed behind while all the others entered in. Zorget in turn produced a small crystal that rested on Cordaxia’s brow, and then he proceeded to shoot an arc of lightning at the crystal which grew and engulfed the body.

Zorget then told S’rahnia that he would be completely defenseless, so he asked for her restraint in not stabbing him senseless.
As the ritual began and members of the order were entranced, everyone appeared in a dark room that was lit by few torches. Doorless, Zorget introduced them to the mind realm, and invited them further in. As they began to walk towards a corner of the room, the entire thing darkened, and was reshaped and morphed into a small campsite with a woman whose back was turned.  She revealed herself to be Cordaxia, and Xalven appeared next. They never seemed to acknowledge the other. They looked over the group, and Cordaxia greeted all but Akesv’ia. Xalven however snarled any only recognized Sialla, calling her a traitor. With that, Zorget Vanished, and both Xalven and Cordaxia gestured.

\*Vision 1\*
As this occurred, the room shifts again, this time to reveal what Zorget said to look for: memories of the past of either individual. They saw what seemed to be a toddler version of Cordaxia being watched over by two humans, one male one female. As they approached and talked about a final speeder delivery the group was arrested on orders of a Hutt. Appearing before that hutt the order watched as the hutt accused the pair of smuggled an AR-57 bomb to assassinate him. The couple protested, begged for their lives and for their daughters, but The hutt called Cordaxia over and ordered her distraught parents to be shot.

The order was appalled, although someone mentioned they didn’t really much care for children. He however was cut off when the baby shifted into a full-grown figure of Xalven, who screamed, “Father!” The Hutt looked at the transformed Xalven, unaffected by the change of form and age, and said, “Take him away. To the slave pens.”

\*Vision 2\*
As Xalven walked away, the room darkened and reformed, and the order found themselves in a lively cantina, with many armed patrons. In it, they found 16-17-yearold Cordaxia in full salve attire, dancing with a chain around her neck. Xalven however, was decked in regalia and singing a tune of some sort. As the tune ended, The dancers took a seat, and the group could notice Cordaxia staring at a guard near here, eyeing him up and down. Xalven however, went to the bar, and chatted up guard. He recounted a story of how witches were taking over Kaeshun, however, one he called cute, was named Ravasis. As he has this conversation though, Cordaxia moved in a blur. She rushed the guard she eyed, pulled his gun, and pointblank shot at the back of his cranium.

Immediately the room exploded into blasterfire, yet Xalven seemed uncaring. It was becoming clear to the order that Cordaxia could not see Xalven, or vice-versa in these visions. Xalven continued to talk up the one guard, while the rest where slowly dropping one by one by Cordaxia. However, a array of bolts flew towards the Order. Si’alla was unconcerned and stood her ground and Akesi’va preformed an elaborate evasive maneuver, but as the bolt passed through Sialla like a ghost, Akesi’va looked slightly pretentious.
Eventually, Cordaxia downed them all, finishing her escape spree with a shot to Xalven’s friend. As she ran out of the room, Xalven swirled around to see and asked all the patrons who fired it. No one could say who.

\*Vision 3\*
The cantina faded and fell away, and was replaced with a lush vibrant setting of Yavin IV. Cordaxia appeared, and stared intimately at Si’alla impatient. After a moment of questioning why, the fallen Praetor S’renx appeared, dressed in white. Although Cordaxia was confused why Si’alla didn’t understand the gravity of the situation, and was near offended when Sialla admitted she had been drinking late the night before, Cordaxia spelled out “W-E-D-D-I-N-G O-F-F-I-C-I-E-N-T.” Then it clicked. After saying vows and going through ceremony, in which the order  would hear extra voices chanting, Sialla proclaimed the groom to kiss the bride, and Srenx leaned in to get a big smooch.

And wound up kissing Xalven. The Order cringed. Xalven smiled at S’renx repeatedly referring to him as “Ravasis”. However, S’renx still called Xalven “Cordaxia.” At this, Sialla tried to step away from the vision, when suddenly Xalven turned to her, saying ,”slave, fetch us some refreshments.” Sialla did a double take before retorting, “Fuck you You don’t command me.” S’renx stared at Sialla appalled saying All Cordaxia wanted was for Si’alla to give a toast.

Sialla, realized the corrupted nature of the memory, tried to address S’renx, “I fuck your toast, there so many more toastier things you can be doing right now, yes?” Xalven was utterly deadpan ,and rebuked Sialla for being so out of line as a slave. He extended his hand as if to Choke Sialla, and suddenly, no longer could see her. Likewise, S’renx looked to “Cordaxia” and asked, “where’d she go?”

\*Vision 4\*
The garden fell away, instead revealing the dark and terrifying architecture of the Dread Host. Cordaxia appeared, next to a black cloaked woman, who sat on a throne. The lady spoke of purity, be it dark or light, as well as the necessity for sacrifice. Pointing to Cordaxia, and looking at Nezzor, Sialla, and Syrena, she explained that the minister of Intelligence had offered to sacrifice herself. When met with silence, she looked to each one, calling Nezzor “Nolus,” Syrena, “Erasis,” and leaving Sialla to infer she was “Vemara. She realized that the memories were growing more and more convolted, now mistaking the order for people they were not. She replied with a sinister, tone, before Cordaxia was possessed, and attacked the group. However, Belleva and Cordaxia suddenly chanted, and faded, replaced by an image of Xalven.
He looked to S’rahnia, and asked her capabilities, and she responded with such zealously that Xalven was impressed. He turned to Akesi’va, referring to him as “Darth Haar,” and said the “Beast of Orpal” was a fine addition as an apprentice, implying S’rahnia to have taken on the guise of the captured girl on the Matriarch.  Xalven then requested permission to report, which Akesi’va granted. Immediately, Xalven threw out treasure troves of information.

Firstly, Xalven revealed that the Jedi killed on Orpal was a clone of Ignun x’aan, not the original, who, like the Dread masters, was going from leap to leap in the galaxy to prevent capture and ensure hit and run tactics. Worse off, Xalven detailed a plan to redirect the jedi to attack the order again through his agents.

Next off, Xalven revealed that he was still annoyed that his wife had been killed, which the unlooked were skeptical and thought to be insane. However Xalven explained that his plans were fueled by constant series of abandonments as far back as the Indrexu Spiral.
With that, Xalven revealed Haar had an operative placed within the order who he was using to maneuver the Order into traps. Then he faded, leaving the entire order speechless and concerned.

\*Vision 5\*
The room shifted again, this time being that of an office, where both Xalven and Cord sat at the desk. However they seemed frozen in time. Zorget materialized, explained he had been advised to walk through the most challenging vision yet. Sialla graciously accepted, noting that the data had already helped once. With the order at his side, he started the vison.

((Both Xalven and Cordaxia were so corrupted in this memory that occasionally they would give mission briefing statements to either faction, for either purpose. For the sake of clarity, the two stories are now separated here.))

The Order’s briefing was for a special team of soldiers codenamed “Vipress,” who were sent to build a small self-sufficient outpost on Kaeshun to protect it and watch over the citadels whom Cordaxia did not trust with ruling a planet. Her tone was the graceful tone.

The Empire’s mission briefing was for Xalvens next stage of his plan. He deemed he would first retake his home world, and use it as a staging point with Haar and Admiral Myrene’s support to destroy Acheron. His tone was brutish aggressive and vicious.

\*Ending\*
As the final vision ended, the entire mind space seemed to brighten, the fragments of memories becomes platforms that took the order and Zorget to a new chamber. In it, they were visited by the gatekeepers, entities only Sialla had interacted with. Morality explained the gatekeepers had selected these visions out of hundred to show the group. Corruption critiqued all present one by one, starting by insulting S’rahnia’s refusal to move on from old citadel crisis, to then critiquing Nezzor and Syrena for not calling war sooner. He then smiled at Askevia’s brother avenge brother dogma, and implanted within his mind the knowledge of an extremely vicious blaster combat style. Lastly, He criticized Sia’lla for-
Nothing. He was cut off and silenced by Fairity who addressed the group and asked what they learned. After Sialla responded with fears for the future, The gatekeepers surprised the group my merging into a brand new entity, who continuously stated she knew the order and was a part of it, after accusing Sialla and the others of forgetting the dead, and throwing Askevia against a wall, The Gatekeeper revealed herself to be none other than a metaphysical apparition of Loret, who reveled she was a vanguard and keeping the citadels in good hands, and trustworthy ones.

With that, Loret told the group the mindspace would soon trap them, and one by one at Sialla’s behest released them from it.
Waking up, the order realized they now had many answers…and now many problems.

## ​7/23/2017

### Shattered Sight: Far Wrought, Far Thought

Involved: Si’alla, Neronae, Gelukii/Desocratos, Akesi’va, Nezzor, Grommus, Eh-rohn, Misasoma.

As the Matriarch drifted in space, members of the order who had previously dealt with plaguebearers were summoned to the ship in order to begin deliberations on whether or not the Ministers could be freed now that Ignun X’aan had been killed. Upon arriving, Gelukii greeted Nezzor,  Akesi’va and Grommus who had been tasked alongside him with waking up The Empress, who had unlike the council gone into a meditative trance, had created a sort of aura of protection and warning, which got on the nerves of both Gelukii and Akesi’va. Grommus was undeterred, and walked forward…only to be thrown across the room from a powerful blast.  A voice, coming from all around room declared she was not yet to be woken, to which Gelukii retorted Si’alla had a request from the council, and Akesi’va tried a softer tone to wake Si’alla up.

Si’alla rose, asking if the perpetrator had been dealt with, and who was to blame for Cordaxia’s dealt, which she had felt in her meditation. Gelukii explained Xalven had done the final blow, but both questions demanded a longer conversation, which is why the council called for their Empress. Gelukii then explained that Desocratos had awoken the minds of the ministers in stasis, and they await Si’alla’s advisement as to whether or not they would depart their chambers.
As the group proceeded to the med bay where the ministers lay, and Sia’lla proceeded to speak to them. Neronae woke, being comatose when put into stasis, was both confused, and worried. Si’alla assured her that both Neronae and the child was safe, while Desocratos traded jibes with Neronae who promised the former that one day he too would go flying across the council room. Si’alla then silenced them, and the three began to discuss the pressing matter. Desocratos had revealed that via security footage, he had discovered upon waking up that Csavrah had let Cordaxia out, which had led to her death. Neronae was shocked, and even more appalled to discover the plague they had been under was none other than a ritual done be a jedi. At this Si’alla asked the member of the order who relay to her what happened the day Cordaxia died, and to explain More on the Jedi herself. Akesi’va took point, and recalled every detail of that day, down to the momentXa;ven snapped Cordaxia’s neck. He also offered a theory that Xalven had probed the Minister’s mind before killing her. Lastly, he had explained that they had captured Xalven’s associate, Vieta.

Sia’lla relayed this information, and finished with a declaration, “The threat of the mind attack is gone.” Desocratos cut her off, directing her to the latest holo-news report that an Imperial Batteship Omen had also exploded in self-destruct after three valor class cruisers had visited it. Desocratos theorized that was the plague.  Si’alla hoped at least someone had found a counter. Myshkash had not yet reported back, and the Hutts and House Citadel were sending messages Desocratos had not yet been able to review. One message from the huts kept saying, “Have they decided yet?” Desocratos didn’t get it.

Si’alla checked with those not in stasis, who confirmed the cruiser going down. However, no one had any ideas yet for a cure. Desocratos mentioned that S’rahnia may have information about the Jedi’s name, “X’aan.”  Si’alla instead was more concerned with the Hutt pods. All the while Gelukii reminded the group that they had confronted the Empire, a detail not brought to the council.

At this moment, Desocratos revealed he had not yet found Csavrah on this ship. It took Si’alla all of two seconds to order a warrant which, Eh-rohn confirmed he would send agents out on. Nezzor complied but first told Si’alla that his own records of the Omen crash implied that the plague had indeed occurred. At this point Desocratos shifted the topic to the Hutts who were insistent on a “deal” struck by members on Makeb. Si’alla confirmed via Wrenn that the Hutts had offered to attack either the Empire or Republic.

Si’alla then came up with a dashing plan to kill two orobirds with one stone. She proposed to send details of the Midnight Order’s info on X’aan and the Jedi to the Empire, in hopes of gaining an alliance. Then she proposed to send the Hutt warriors after the Jedi, to end two wars. Neronae and Eh-rohn both agreed, saying that even if the plan failed, they go right back to where they started. Desocratos suggested that the Prisoner captured could hold more answers, being from the Empire.

With that, a final question was proposed, on whether or not the council was to be freed. After quick deliberations, the council decided to risk it. One by one Sialla disabled the chambers with Desocratos’ help. As they awoke, Sia’lla confirmed with a glowy golden aura around her that Neronae’s child was indeed ok. Misasoma walked in and was treated to a pleasant surprise, while Nezzor confirmed Csavrah had not yet been found. While Sialla ordered no lockdown, she asked for inventories of every shuttle escape pod and other means of transport. Desocratos smelled Alderaanian Ale, and Si’alla suggested Faye had indeed held a little stress relieving party. Neronae gave a look, and they continued to discuss the war effort.

Desocratos finally opened the message from House citadel, which requested a meeting with someone who would be able to relinquish Cordaxia’s body. The request came from one Lord Patriarch Zorget. Si’alla, Neronae nad others were appalled, and the Empress decreed that she wanted nothing more than a proper burial with full honors for her close friend. Desocratos agreed, but said they should at least hear the Patriarch’s logic.

In closing, Desocratos asked if they were to keep with Si’alla’s plan. Misasoma was neutrally against it, simply asking if the order had not considered all options. Gelukii didn’t understand why talking to them would help at all. However, Einas, silent as a ghost walked in , suggesting Arctis may be able to help. Neronae suggested Mysh’kah, and the council was a storm of ideas. Finally, Sia’lla calmed it suggested her pull with Arctis would help her, however there was one last issue to discuss. Si’alla decreed the Matriarch should remain out of the picture, and a secure channel would be created through Wrenn and Si’alla. Einas pulled out a device ingraved with a spider. Both Desocratos and Si’alla saw the object and shoot down the agent’s proposal before it began, having dealt with the Web of Shadows before. Si’alla counseled Einas to make sure his loyalty was in check, before decreeing the council was to “get food, then sleep.”

## 7/16/2017

### Shattered Sight: Orphans

Involved: Cordaxia, Csavrah/Gelukii, Kosh’kah, Sioned, Akesi’va,
Nezzor

Still out of system, the Matriarch continued to remain
isolated from the rest of the Order whilst the mystery of the Jedi Commander
unraveled. In stasis, Cordaxia Vel’naz had been assisting Keeper Csavrah in
performing checks on potential locations for the next attack of the Jedi
Commander. As they searched, they received an emergency broadcast from an Order
world: Orpal. They had reported that a small free consisting of three
battlecruisers had blockaded the planet and a force had been deployed to the
planet’s multiple stations to assault the people. Although no plague symptoms
had been reported from the world, the Order had cause to believe the Commander
would be performing his ritual soon. Csavrah had selected the members of the
group on the basis that none had been affected by the plague during the Council
attack.

He handed each member of the team a dossier containing coordinates
and mission objectives. Upon receiving hers, Sioned questioned whether they
knew for certain that the Jedi Commander would be on Orpal. Kosh’kah and
Csavrah both assured her that he would be if the ritual was to be performed.
They were dismayed to discover that shuttles couldn’t be used to approach the
planet as the jedi would sense them coming and blow them out of the sky. They
debated the best way to breach Orpal with both drop pods and distractions being
shut down as both had vulnerabilities to the Jedi. Csavrah smiled as he announced
that they would be shipped in as cargo aboard Gelukii’s cargo ship. He walked
them over to the Matriarch’s carbon freezing chamber, “You’ll be frozen inside
and thawed once you arrive on world. Kosh’kah resisted the idea and later, when
informed that it was the only way to bypass the blockade which was only
accepting ships crewed exclusively by droids, consented reluctantly. She was
frozen in the midst of threatening Csavrah with immasculation, an expression of
fury on her frozen face. Csavrah froze the rest of the crew before walking over
to Cordaxia’s stasis chamber “I’m not hopeful for them.” Cordaxia’s automated
voice responded from the chamber, “They merely need a balance to temper their
fire.” Csavrah seemed rather defeated as he lamented that there was no one else
he could summon to help without being severely punished. After staring at the
chamber for several minutes, Csavrah sighed and pressed a button on the tank,
releasing Cordaxia from her stasis. Cordaxia stared at him, “Only for this
mission. If we don’t capture the Commander and stop the plague, you are to
return me to stasis with the others.” Csavrah nodded as he froze her in
carbonite as well and had her loaded aboard the cargo ship.

The team woke up in a hangar on Orpal and took some time to
recover from their brief imprisonment. They were surprised to discover that
Csavrah had smuggled Cordaxia aboard as the final member of their team and all
objected immediately while Cord explained the situation, that Csavrah had
deemed her presence on the mission imperative and that if her afflication took
hold, they were authorized to use any means necessary to stop her. Kosh’kah
opened up a communication with someone over her comlink with the voice
expressing surprise at the surprise factor of Cordaxia being involved in the
mission. The transmission shifted format to a hologram projection of a cathar
with similar features to Kosh’kah “This should prove interesting.” The cathar
urged Kosh’kah and the rest of the team to hurry as she could only hold off her
fellow jedi for so long. She wished them luck as the transmission ended.

Kosh’kah turned to the group to explain. She had had her
sister investigate the use of the plague by the Jedi Council and she had
arrived on Orpal with several other jedi giving them an opportunity to meet and
exchange information.

As they made their way across the station to Kosh’kah’s
sister’s coordinates, they encountered a number of Republic checkpoints which
the small group eliminated with ease. Cordaxia proved her value on the mission
by utilizing her experience having been a former mercenary and eliminated the
Republic soldiers at an alarmingly quick rate with her blaster. Sioned chuckled
in amusement while taking up the rear to guard from enemies attacking from
behind.

As they descended to the lower levels, they encountered
another checkpoint, but this time guarded by men in uniforms of the Midnight
Order. The team approached cautiously while Cordaxia interrogated them to make
sure they were truly allies before revealing their identities to the soldiers.
The guards seemed apprehensive at first believing the team could be another
illusion. They performed a Bioscan of Cordaxia as Kosh’kah reached for her saber
. The Bioscan came back positive and the guards breathed a sigh of relief
before apologizing for the delay. “We’ve been shaken up since the Empire
attacked,” one guard blurted out. Cordaxia questioned the man’s mental state
implying that he may have been infected by the plague as well. The soldier
seemed offended at the insinuation but responded that they had not gone mad and
that any soldiers mentioning red eyes or shadows had been executed on site.  In a defeated tone, they reported that they
were ultimately all that remained of the guard on this level while the Republic
and Imperial forces were clashing not far from their position.

Kosh’kah urged the team to continue on and the soldiers let
them pass with apologies for holding them up. They navigated the corridors of
the sublevels until they stumbled across a warzone with Republic soldiers
squaring off fiercely against Imperial forces. The team agreed to circumvent
the battle and stuck to the perimeter while moving to an adjacent hallway. They
narrowly dodged a few stray bolts of fire causing explosions and debris to
spray around them. The line of sight was so smoky and ruined that they were
able to avoid being spotted by the majority of both sides, but neither budged
to abandon the battle to pursue the small group.

After a few more corridors, they heard footsteps pursuing
them and Kosh’kah wheeled around brandishing her saber. She ordered the team to
continue while she stayed behind to protect them. They sprinted ahead as she
began deflecting blaster fire. When they finally reached the coordinates, they
found a jedi waiting for them, one that very much resembled Kosh’kah. She
introduced herself as Mysh’kah, Kosh’s sister and their contact. They held
their guns on her demanding that she answer questions to verify that she was
indeed who she said she was and she answered them reluctantly believing them to
be unnecessary. Once she revealed the identity of her husband, Sioned was
convinced and placed her rifle upon her back.

Mysh’kah began by naming the Jedi Commander, the twi’lek
called Ignun X’aan. She said that she had been stalling their efforts with “droid
malfunctions,” but they would not hold them back forever.  She said she was motivated by her fear of the
possibility that Master X’aan could lose control of the plague and that the
galaxy at whole could suffer for his efforts of trying to bring down the Empire
and the Order. He was a Master with a strong connection to the light, but a
willingness to use the dark to fight for it. Akesi’va scoffed at the notion
stating that a Jedi who has to abandon his code is no jedi.  Mysh’kah finally revealed the critical piece
of the puzzle: the jedi had been performing a ritual to somehow shield
themselves from the effects of the plague. She could not get close enough to
see it performed however, she believed the answers were hidden on Tython in
ancient crypts and burial grounds. She implied that a similar ritual had been used
by ancient Sith in the early days of the Jedi Order. Cordaxia questioned the
nature of the plague as the one historically used by Terrak Morrhage was used
to target specific individuals while Master X’aan’s seemed to have evolved into
an actual disease. Mysh’kah told Cordaxia that she would search for answers on
Tython as well. As she prepared to leave, she gave the team one last tidbit of
information: they weren’t alone in searching for Master X’aan. She handed a
datapad to Cordaxia with coordinates of Master X’aan’s next destination and ran
off down a dark corridor and out of sight.

The team trekked on coming across a massive chamber with
Imperials pouring into it. They were overwhelming the fortified Republic
soldiers save for a pair of blue lightsabers twirling around on a high platform
that were sending bodies flying. The elevator was on the other side of the
battlefield and Cordaxia requested ideas for a distraction. Gelukii grinned as
he summoned his ship which he announced had a missile silo aboard. Cordaxia
rolled her eyes and told him to do what he had to do while they moved through
the maw. The ship fired on both factions drawing their attention and their fire
as it danced through the air.

On the platform high above, the team spotted Master X’aan
and moved for him. As they drew closer, Sioned raised a shield to contain them
inside with the Jedi, a protection to the outside world. Cordaxia demanded he
surrender as his tactics were unstable, a danger to more than just his enemies.
He seemed distracted as he turned to attempt to leave, blocked only by the
shield. He cursed saying that “she” would make it harder now. The team stared
at him, all questioning his sanity until a woman walked in reporting on a
comlink that she “had him along with the others.” She stared at Master X’aan
and asked him if he believed they wouldn’t notice his little game. She threw
herself at him while firing an arc of lightning at the Order’s team which they
all deflected or dodged while Master X’aan appeared to gain the upper hand over
the female attacking him. He began to push her ot her knees, but suddently he was lifted high into the air and halted when
another voice sounded from the shadows. An armored figure recognizable to
the Order moved toward him, flanked by noghiri guards, one of which helps the
female up off the ground where Master X’aan had dropped her.

The newcomer locked the jedi in a chokehold and approached
him, stroking his cheek creating a feeling of discomfort in the assorted
onlookers. He stabbed Ignun through the chest before giving the noghiri
permission to open fire on his dying body. Master X’aan fell to the ground from
the force of the overkill. The armored figure was Xalven, the fallen ambassador
from Kaeshun. He referred to the female as Vieta, the Beast of Orpal and
informed the team that she was quite skilled even when Haar introduced her to
him. His tone shifted when he informed them that he was not there to talk and
that their meeting had to be cut short. He raised his hand and the noghiri
pointed their weapons at the Order’s team who raised their own.

Xalven hesitated, “Before you die, I have to ask, why choose
to ally with the Citadels?”

He paused, “I suppose it really doesn’t matter.” With his
last words uttered, he raised his hands and ripped Cordaxia from the ground,
holding her in the air before him causing her to lose her grip on her blaster.
Simultaneously, the noghiri opened fire on the others in the group while a red
glow radiated from both Xalven and Cordaxia, each moving into the head of the
opposite figure. Xalven smiled wickedly, “Thank you, Minister” before twisting
his hand in a gesture that immediately snapped her neck.

Cordaxia’s body fell limp in the air as Xalven threw it from
the high platform. Shocked and enraged, Kosh’kah charged at Xalven while Sioned
fired at him. He smiled and leapt high into the air, catching the edge of a
passing Imperial shuttle that carried him away while Vieta stared after him
with confusion.  Akesi’va slaughtered the
remaining noghiri while Sioned fired a sleeping dart into Vieta’s neck. Vieta
fell to the ground with a light thud. Akesi looked over the edge at Cordaxia’s
corpse on the ground far below as Kosh’kah moved to kill Vieta roaring that she
wanted the girl dead. Akesi’va turned and told her that she’d get her chance,
but that they needed information from Vieta first. Gelukii summoned his ship to
their position and they carried Vieta aboard before returning for Cordaxia’s
body. They would be returning to the Order and Si’alla with bittersweet
progress.

## 7/10/2017

### The Beast Within

Involved: Metoff, Faye, Gromnus, Akesi’va, S'rahnia

It was business as usual around the Academy on Styx when the
alarms sounded. The students immediately ran for the emergency bunkers as
others ran to investigate the source of the alert. As the first to respond,
Faye requested a response with any information regarding the emergency, but was
met with crackling on the coms as they remained dead.  They reached one of the labs in the high
towers only to discover B.A.M.F. Metoff lying on the ground with minor cuts and
bruises on his arms and face. The lab was covered in broken, bloody glass from
the shattered stasis tank in the center of the room. Faye disabled the alarm
while Gromnus had a medical droid help him, and Akesi’va questioned Metoff on what transpired.

Once he had regained himself, Metoff was treated
as he explained what had happened. Faye reviewed the lab’s camera footage which
verified Metoff’s story. The stasis chamber had contained one of the acolytes
from the forest rescue that had taken place a few months prior. Metoff
explained that they had been attempting to figure out her affliction unsure of
whether it was a dark side curse or an infection. He reviewed the laboratory
logs and sighed as he revealed that one of his subordinates had conducted
unauthorized chemical experimentation on the girl which had accelerated her
condition.

Akesi’va, familiar with the rescue mission asked about the
location of the Jungle Totem assuming it would be the first thing on the girl’s
mind if her condition had evolved. Faye questioned Metoff as to where the totem
was being held with Metoff replying that he had no idea as Minister Desocratos
had signed for it as custodian. They began discussing the best place to begin
searching for the girl when Lady S’rahnia entered the chamber. She had been on
world advising an overseer when the alarm sounded and had just returned from
checking in on the safety of the acolytes. She gazed around the group and they
briefed her on the situation.

During the briefing, Gromnus deployed his probe droids to check
the Academy’s perimeters and when they returned, they reported a breach at the
sector 15 station. Faye sent an order to the fleet to detain any ships leaving
Styx and/or entering the Acheron airspace while they investigated before
turning to S’rahnia and asking if she had encountered anything of this nature
in her many years. S’rahnia looked at her with a bored expression demanding
rhetorically “You have to ask? The acolyte should have just been executed in
the first place.” Metoff looked down slightly ashamed before leading them to
the section 15 guard station. Upon arriving, they found the four guards and the
sniper assigned to the post all mauled with deep claw cuts from their necks to
their stomachs. Akesi’va examined the cuts on the guards and informed the group
that the claw marks were smaller than those of the first acolyte indicating
that she was still in the process of transforming, not fully gone. The claw
marks led down the cliffs and into the jungle below leaving the group confused
about what she was after.

Looking down into the dense thicket of trees, Faye and Metoff
both appealed to S’rahnia for help with the former Empress responding that they
should have known better than to leave the girl alive. A debate sparked over
the motivations behind the decision when the guards from the Jungle Staging
area sent an emergency broadcast “The natives are overtaking our position… Send
he – tzzttzztztzzzzttzzzzzz “ The communication cut out and they raced for the
speeder to reach the staging area before it was lost. Faye opted to have fighters
fly over the area keeping the natives pinned while the team sped down to rescue
any survivors and clear the staging zone.  At the camp, they found the guards ultimately
being overrun by the sheer numbers of the natives. Gromnus ordered the fighters
to begin firing on the perimeter of the camp while Metoff, Faye and Akesi’va
began to aid the remnant guards. Gromnus sent an arc of lightning pulsing
through the bodies of the natives, taking advantage of their close proximity to
create an arc that dropped dozens of them at a time. His droids zoomed around
the battlefield sniping down the native stragglers. The guards fired on the
natives that refused to retreat who continued the fight despite their numbers
being severely thinned. Out of the thick brush, several large brutes emerged
wielding heavy, crude metallic spears and charged the heroes on the platformed
landing zone.

Akesi and Gromnus were irritated by their appearance
remembering that they had come hunting the monster girl believing they were
being distracted. Metoff loaded his blaster and fired several heavy shots into
the closest brute propelling it back, but not piercing its thick skin. Gromnus
used the force to confuse another while Akesi used the force of the charge to
influence a faceplant before slashing his brutes neck with a strong strike.
Metoff shot out the eyes of the two remaining brutes forcing them to stumble
around blindly swinging at whatever got in their way. Taking advantage of their
vulnerable state, Akesi threw his saber which planted itself into the head of
one of the staggering brutes and lifted a boulder into the last one’s head.
From the jungle, more waves of natives continued attacking the landing zone
prompting Metoff to urge them to fight further into the jungle

Gromnus eventually succeeded in making a native think that he was going to attack its mistress by moving in all directions, sensing his panic and anger. After trying several directions, the beast reacted with rage when Gromnus moved toward the swamps before regaining control of his senses and charging him. Gromnus beheaded
him and force pushed a path through the incoming wave. The group fought through
the forests and caves facing the brutal waves of natives before entering the
swamps and finding the girl in the grotto, resting in the water. Her veins were
engorged as green ooze pulsed through them. She was large, deformed and panting
as she fought the change distorting her former beauty. She looked up at them through
toxic, bloodshot eyes as they approached her, weapons drawn. They enter stances
to prepare to put her out of her misery as she begins to talk to them in a
deep, distorted voice. “You brought this upon yourself. After I kill you, I
shall ascend to the academy with my legions and we shall soar to Acheron where
I shall claim my totem as well as my rightful position as their champion.” The
group moves toward her as she relaxes her body which begins to expand and
engorge, her veins pulsing even more as her claws and spine expand into massive
spikes. Her skin becomes scaly and heavily armored as she grows to the size of
a larger rancor, the ripped shreds of her clothing dangling off of her mutated
body. In a barely human voice, she says “Behold, the marriage of the dark side
to the crude chemicals of science.”

The mutated acolyte held out her massive hand releasing a
force blast that impacted the group with the force of a steel girder in a
hurricane forcing Akesi and Metoff into the wall behind them, Gromnus standing his ground, rooted in place, was dazed while Akesi broke several bones, and
Metoff caught the full brunt of the blast, which threw him into the cliff behind
them, breaking his body. He crumbled into the water, dead on impact. The
acolyte wheeled around swinging her massive hand toward the remaining men,
hitting Gromnus, but missing Akesi. They both used the momentum of her attack
 Akesi to move around her body and slash her, Gromnus to plant his blade firmly in
her hand mid swing, resulting in only minor scratches. She roared in rage and
smashed her fist into the ground, throwing Akesi back while Gromnus rooted himself to the ground again,
before un-rooting and running to put some distance between himself and the raging titan. As he
moved, he hurled a grenade at her joined by the heavy boulders being flung by
Akesi which broke against her extremely tough skin. The grenade Gromnus threw
impacted her leg, taking out chunks in the vulnerable points on her feet and
behind her knees. With her one leg weakened, she dropped to her knee in the
middle of the grotto and looked up at her attackers with a look of pure hatred
lifting her hand to prepare for another amplified force blast. Akesi jumped out
of the way and noticing the damage her more vulnerable points took, slashed
under her arm causing her to howl in pain. She staggered back and her veins became
neon as the thick, green blood pulsed through her system and regenerated the
points of injury on her body. She laughed at the futility of their attempts to
harm her. As the skin healed, Gromnus used force speed to get beneath her and
stuffed a grenade into her healing leg, the skin wrapping around it as the
wound closed. Akesi leapt onto her shoulder slashing deeply into the already
wounded underarm exposing bone. As Akesi leapt off, the grenade in the monster’s
leg detonated destroying the entire leg from the inside causing her to stumble
face forward into the grotto. She used her massive claws and reach to grab at
the two struggling warriors. Akesi leapt on her back in an attempt to plunge
his saber into her neck, but the spinal bones had hardened to a point where the
saber was deflected from the attack. Gromnus moved for the bloody stump of a
leg and stabbed his blade into the open wound, sending electricity charges into the wound and through her entire body
ravaging her insides until she fell limp, not breathing into the pond and was
still.

Gromnus ordered his droids to relocate the mutated acolyte’s
body to a clearing nearby where a ship from the Order could collect it. He climbed onto the corpse and plunged his blade through the eye of the beast into her brain to ensure the death before returning to the ground. He bent
down to pick up Metoff’s body before summoning a shuttle to pick them up. Akesi
groaned in pain, feeling the effects of the battle more without adrenaline
running through his system. Gromnus' legs were in need of repair. They boarded the shuttle and returned to the academy for healing and to report their success.

#### Epilogue

The ship arrived in the clearing 26 minutes after the conclusion of the battle to collect the body of the mutated acolyte. The jungle had settled as the surviving natives had returned to their villages deeper in. The ship dropped several heavy-duty cords to wrap around the corpse of the defeated creature. Some men were deployed to the ground to wrap the cords and secure the lines before the ship began to lift the body into the vacant cargo hold. The cords shuddered under the weight of the beast and strained as it was raised from the ground. Eventually, it entered the cargo hold and the heavy duty doors sealed enabling the ship to depart Styx. The pilot began his request for clearance to Acheron as the ship shifted of course slightly. The pilot checked the cameras in the cargo hold and seeing no movement, readjusted his course and continued the flight pattern to the capital. In the cargo hold, a faint glow of green illuminated the otherwise darkened chamber.

## 7/2/2017

### Shattered Sight: Who?

Involved: Hadriel, Cordaxia/Nimyria, Csavrah/Lasterion, Sioned,
Gromnus, Kosh’kah, Einas, Jindo Krey

After days of frequent hyperspace jumps through the Outer
Rim, the Matriarch had finally settled several systems where it idled as
members of the Ministry of Knowledge scrambled chaotically to determine the
cause of the attack on the Small Council. Aboard the flagship, Cordaxia’s
brainwaves remained active and she requested the presence of members in the
shadier portion of the Order’s population to discuss a potential lead. The group
remained highly confused as they were led to the medbay where her tank was
being contained and remained chatty until Cordaxia’s brainwaves requested
silence via the speaker system embedded in the tank. She informed them that a
veteran of war, who had last fought in the battle of Makeb had been captured by
the Hutts and placed on House arrest, had uncovered information that had the potential
of revealing answers regarding the incident with the Council. She proved to be
an excellent leak on occasion as she sifted through Hutt intel, but to provide
the information they needed, she would have to be rescued and brought safely to
Order Space.

The group retrieved a datapad loaded with the information
they required for their mission and made way for Makeb. On its orbital station,
they were received by a member of House Citadel who was inspecting the shuttle
that would bring them to Makeb’s surface. He looked up as they walked over to
him. He explained that some members of the hierarchy of House Citadel had
fallen prey to a similar attack causing them to witness red eyes and a shadow.
Sioned expressed a mix of relief and confusion at the prospect that other
parties were affected by this unknown power. Lasterion, the House Citadel
representative banged on the side of the shuttle and asked if they were ready
to depart.

They climbed aboard the shuttle and it departed the station.
As it neared the surface, the pilot veered too close to a rocky spire and was
knocked off course.  The shuttle impacted
on an island sending debris flying in all directions. When the group climbed
from the wrecked vessel, the Falcon team formed a perimeter as the others
collected themselves. They set off on foot with Lasterion as their guide and
quickly stumbled across Hutt forces which were quickly dispatched.

They eventually reached the top of a hill near a Hutt Forces’
camp when they were stopped by a Hutt Enforcer who demanded they surrender
their weapons. Amusedly Nimyria called for the man’s slaughter as Kosh’kah
stabbed her saber clean through the enforcer’s
shin straight through the bone. In a second gesture, she removed his
weapon from his hands as he cried out in pain. Kosh’kah followed this up by
kneeing the man squarely in the jaw rendering him unable to speak. Nimyria
squealed in delight while Jindo Krey volunteered to take over whenever Kosh’kah
had finished. Sioned and Gromnus both objected to the needless violence , Gromnus ordering
his droid to repair the man’s jaw to enable him to speak, and his leg so he could focus. After
Nimyria had asked him many ridiculous and irrelevant questions, Sioned injected
him with a prototype truth serum and demanded that he tell them where their
contact, Meek Tal, was being kept. He gave them the location and informed them
how many guards would be watching over the house in question. Before they
moved, Sioned instructed the enforcer to go to the house and take the guards on
a “training exercise” on the far end of the mesa, a move that would allow them
sufficient time to break in and rescue their contact.

Once they observed the hutt forces leave the area, they
entered the house and discovered a woman waiting for them. She identified
herself as Meek Tal, their contact, upon being asked and revealed that she was
blind. She talked nonsense as the group attempted to get her to reveal
information and Nimyria expressed disdain at being dragged across the galaxy to
rescue a “conspiracy theorist.” Moments later, Meek Tal performed a security
scan before pulling off her mask and revealing her blindness and accent had
been a ruse to hide behind.

Suddenly, Kosh’kah lost her patience and grabbed the woman
by her horns ordering her to go with them, no questions asked. The woman
surprised, screamed at them that she needed time to deactivate the sensors and
if she failed, not only would the huts be alerted to their presence, but they
would detonate the explosives inside her.
Sioned ridiculed Kosh’kah demanding that she release the contact and
inferring violence If she did not. Hadriel pulled her weapon on Kosh’kah in
response while Nimyria aimed her pistols at Sioned. Meek Tal chuckled at the
group’s lack of unity proclaiming “He’ll get your for sure.” Quickly, she
revealed that the cause of their woes was a force plague with symptoms that
resembled Force Psychosis, instilling extreme paranoia and distrust in a person
or group of persons.

She continued on “The Republic views you, the Order, as a
splinter group of the Empire and had decided to use them, along with House
Citadel as tests for a wider use of the plague against the Empire itself. The
source of the plague, as it so happened, was a Jedi Master, who had been given
the blessings of the Jedi Council at the behest of the Senate, to engage in
darker tactics to utilize against the Sith Empire. Meek Tal did not know the
Jedi’s name and only referred to him as “The Commander.” She explained that he
was a large, blue twi’lek with a strong build, but did not know where to find
him. Similar to the Dread Masters, the Jedi operated from a mobile cruiser that
moved from location to location, testing his plague.

Lasterion declared that House Citadel would research methods
of fighting and protecting against the plague while Sioned expressed the Order’s
interest In tracking the Jedi and cutting off the plague at the source. Einas
collected the remainder of the data from Meek Ta on his datapad while the rest
of the group filed into the room across the hall as the contact instructed. Inside,
they found the Hutt Enforcer waiting for them and he revealed that they had
passed his test with flying colors. Seeing the confusion on the faces of the
Order’s team, he informed them that the Hutts had been looking for a way to
build back up to their former glory and saw potential in a relationship with
the Midnight Order. He expressed his appreciation for the way the team had
handled themselves on Makeb including the death of Meek Tal. The team members
eyed eachother with confused suspicion knowing that no one had killed the
contact. Almost at once, the group sprinted across the hall and found Meek Tal,
sprawled on the floor with a knife in her back. Sioned turned on Einas, the
last person to leave the room and demanded to know what he had done. He tossed
her his datapad “that, the datapad she gave to the Keeper.” Gromnus had a droid retrieve the knife.

The Hutt Enforcer followed them looking down on
the body grimly. He announced that the Hutts were providing them transportation
home, but required a decision to be made by the Council: which faction would
they wage war with. He turned and left as two shuttles descended from the sky
to their position. Lasterion climbed aboard one back to Thule while the Order’s
members boarded theirs to return to the Matriarch.

## 6/27/2017

### Shattered Sight: The Closed Circle

Involved: Csavrah/Desocratos, Cordaxia, Syrena, Si’alla,
Gromnus, Ahsa, Neronae, Ra’yeja

Csavrah knelt in the center of the Council Chamber as the
leaders of the Midnight Order looked on. Empress Si’alla gazed down upon him
for several moments before standing to address those gathered.  She fumed as she explained the consequences
Csavrah’s actions had had upon the Midnight Order and their relationship with
the Sith Empire, and demanded to know, by what right he had acted. Csavrah
glared back at the Empress claiming that his mission had been sabotaged by her
people, by one of the Sith. She approached him and began to explain his
numerous mistakes, but Csavrah wouldn’t hear it and began to walk away. Si’alla
remained stoic as she reached out a hand and the Keeper lifted off the ground
and was forced to turn and face her. The momentary glance into the face of the
Empress was all he was allowed before he was thrown high into the ceiling of
the chamber and then dropped to the floor as his bones cracked beneath the
force of impact. Gromnus had snuck in at some point during this.

Csavrah lifted his head weakly from the ground as the
Empress used the force to drag him to her, a distinct blood trail left in his
wake. As Si’alla turned to address the Councilors, several of them began to
shield their eyes from some form of light originating from her throne. Si’alla
continued, stating that Csavrah foolishly led himself and his team to Dromund
Kaas where he placed the entire Order on the brink of war, carelessly risking
the lives of all its citizens and their loved ones. Declaring that Csavrah had
left the Order without a leg to stand on, she condemned him to the same fate and
cleanly slightly his entire lower body at the waist, forcing him to cry out in
agony. By this point, the Councilors were too distracted by the source of the
blinding reflection until they could clearly see SI’alla’s eyes burn a fiery
crimson before similar pairs of eyes appeared all along the chamber’s walls.
Cordaxia slammed the comlink button on her chair demanding guards into the
chamber “We’re under attack!”

Syrena attempted to alert Si’alla to the presence of danger,
but Si’alla felt nothing. She ordered the guards to remove Csavrah from the
room, to patch him up, but not to offer him any medication for his pain. Si’alla
demanded to know what her councilors were seeing. Cordaxia uttered horror at
the visions of light and the many many eyes watching them from the walls.
Syrena continued, “They are watching you, you are in danger.”  Ahsa turned to face the Empress wondering what
the others had seen and staggered back in horror at the sight. Gromnus watched, confused but interested.

The entire council begins to call Si’alla the watcher and,
in their eyes, they see her figure transform into a shadowy entity. They
collectively demand to know how she hid it. Si’alla, in confusion, reaches for
her sabers demanding answers as she backs up the stairs to her throne, watching
everyone as they face her with mixed expressions of horror and apathy. Si’alla
then noticed a strange light surrounding Syrena as Cordaxia and Desocratos both
agreed that Si’alla’s treachery, in their eyes, could not go without response. Si’alla
tries to hold the group together, suggesting that some force is trying to turn
them against one another. The room’s chaos continues, the force appearing to be
an ancient entity of deception according to mixed comments from Desocratos and
Syrena.

The chamber doors hissed open as Neronae entered and the
Councilors gazed at her in terror hissing “The second shadow. Her other half.”
Cordaxia called for their heads claiming the deceivers had led them to ruin and
needed to be eliminated before further damage was done. Syrena contested the
suggestion before Cordaxia accused her of being infected by the same taint.
Distressed, Si’alla ordered a scan of the ship for any uninvited guests as the
room continued to tear itself apart. Neronae charged at Cordaxia as the
Chancellor fired a shot at Syrena’s head. Cordaxia was kneed in the stomach and
dropped to the floor as Ahsa leapt at the Chosen with her blade brandished. Si’alla
attempted to freeze the room to no avail, the only success being Desocratos
becoming free from the confines of the affliction. Si’alla demanded help in
figuring out what was happening as Desocratos stared around the room
dumbfounded. As Neronae threw Ahsa across the room, Cordaxia shot out Syrena’s
kneecaps before being blasted away by the Supreme Commander. The leaders of the
Order continued to attack one another until the shadows detached from their “hosts”
to form a swirling vortex of dark energy in the middle of the chamber. The
accusations persisted until Desocratos unleashed a number of shatterpunches
into the air throwing the infected back. As they were individually struck by
the attack, ringing echoed through their heads as the shadows vanished from
sight.

Desocratos phased out allowing the imprint of Erasis to take
hold. The spirit of the Dread Master used his powers to counter the dark
influences in the chamber before Si’alla unleashed an attack on him which he
laughed away before converting back into Desocratos who hurled energy at the
infected containing them within. Si’alla hesitated before hurling a massive
amount of energy at Desocratos himself, throwing him hard into the Council
Chamber wall where he left a massive dent before dropping to the floor,
incapacitated. Gromnus called in his Medical Droids.

Si’alla stood in the center of the wrecked chamber, panting
before looking around to ensure the entire group had been subdued. She then turned
to Syrena and tended to her wounds as the room fell still. The Empress knelt
amongst her friends before ordering a medical team into the Council Chamber.
Moments later, the team entered accompanied by Gromnus' med droids which
began to tend to the battered councilors, as well as Ahsa and Neronae.

The Empress ordered all of them remain sedated until she say
otherwise, a command Desocratos expressed immediate opposition to as he climbed
to his feet and was definitely not picked up, iron man style, by a med suit. He
requested an emergency vote be taken for actions to combat whatever had attacked
them and then suggested locking the Council into stasis pods for their own
safety as well as the safety of the Order.

Si’alla being the exception, everyone who had attended the
meeting left the room on hovering stretchers destined for the medbays and
eventually, stasis chambers. In one final gesture, Si’alla named Wrenn, interim
Empress of the Midnight Order as she moved to seal herself in her chambers to
enter a healing trance.

## 6/24/2017

### Noble Intentions

Involved: Cordaxia, Ra’yeja, Ashen’ris, Obinaya, Gromnus,
Gelukii, Nataya

Cordaxia glared at the report that had just arrived on her
screen before storming out of her office demanding a strike force be assembled
for immediate transit. On the bridge of the Matriarch, she met her team and
explained the situation they would be handling. An uprising had arisen on
Caseyarus with several nobles strongly opposing their planet becoming part of
the Midnight Order. These nobles had hired a small army of mercenaries in
addition to bribing a good number of the planetary militia to seize control of
the world in an attempt to force the leadership to withdraw from the Order. The
leadership of Caseyarus requested Midnight Order aid to quell the riots and
restore peace on world.

The group assembled would be leading the Order’s force which
was composed of 500 soldiers, enough to assist the Caseyaran loyalists in
reclaiming the capital city. After fielding questions from the team, they made
for Cordaxia’s cruiser, Hope’s Messenger. The cruiser was prepped before they
arrived and departed immediately for Caseyarus. The Landing process went
quickly as they landed in Avareen, the capital city on Caseyarus. As the landing
concluded, Cordaxia made contact with the palace which reported a high
concentration of Rebels in the Southwest sector (Market sector) of the city
including an established headquarters. Cordaxia announced to the command team
that they would be concentrating their efforts there first. They made their way
through the streets, eliminating rebel forces as they encountered them.

As they approached the sunken marketplace, it was revealed
to be a maze of narrow streets with many open rooftops and balconies perfect
for an ambush. Cordaxia ordered Ashen’ris to remain on the high ground with two
sniper squads to watch the rooftops, and Gromnus ordered some Probe droids to help out as spotters. The soldiers cleared the streets to
reach the main Quarter Plaza. The marketplace was accessible by two alleyways,
an element which forced the Order’s force to divide. Gunfire echoed through the
streets as the Order’s troops swept through the scattered mercenaries and
militia. Gromnus and a squad of soldiers searched each shop and household as
the force mobilized to ensure rear security for the troops as they marched. 50
soldiers were instructed to remain behind to hold the market streets as the
rest of the force proceeded up the stairs into the Central Quarter Plaza, the
area of the city acting as the staging ground for much of the rebel army.

The Order’s troops filed into the plaza and assumed a
formation facing the Rebel forces all aiming their weapons at the newly arrived
army.  Both sides remained in position,
awaiting orders from their commanders. As the Order soldiers observed their
opponents, they noticed several Sith warriors amidst the mercenaries and
militia of the Rebels, confirming rumors of Sith defecting from the Empire
following the invasion of the Eternal Empire.

Cordaxia turned to face the Order’s soldiers and began to
speak; “The men and women standing against us have blooded their own people to
spite us. Show the loyalists why they were right to place their faith in us!
Reclaim Caseyarus for them!” As she finished speaking, the soldiers charged
forward firing on the rebels who responded with fire of their own as the plaza
lit up with bright lights, blood and explosions. Obinaya leapt forward through
the charging soldiers to engage the enemy force, cutting down a number of
mercenaries on the front lines before turning her attention to some nearby Sith
Mercs and taunting them as she assumes the Soresu stance awaiting their attack.
Ashen’ris and Ra’yeja both remained
behind the frontline soldiers raining lightning down upon the charging
opposition. Nataya charged with the frontline soldiers, using her saber
skillfully to deflect incoming blastefire away from the Order soldiers while
Gromnus cloaked himself with both force energy and technology before leaping into the frey in a
spiral maneuver enabling his saber to catch and return much of the stray
blaster fire. Gromnus turned when reaching the back of the fight, heading back in to assassinate as many Sith as he could, before uncloaking at the backside of the field and engaging the
Rebels from behind with his droids, inflicting major casualties against the
enemies who only became aware of his presence as they were being shot down. In
the middle of the action, Gelukii hurled grenades and Molotov cocktails at any
enemies in sight, igniting the battlefield in bright explosions, filling the
air with the smell of spirits and death.

In the midst of the battle, the Sith warriors continued
their fiery duel with Obinaya who meshed lightsaber forms to throw them off
guard. After killing a number of them, she used the force to propel herself to
the Courthouse at the other end up the plaza, joining Gromnus in his rear
attack on the Rebels. Nataya remained close to Ashen’ris, guarding the overseer
as lightning dances around his body and into his clenched fists. When ready, he
yelled for Nataya to take cover as he extended his hands unleashing powerful
bolts of lightning resulting in explosives strikes that sent enemy soldiers
flying in all directions. Re’yeja saw Ashen’ris’ attack and performed a similar
offensive concentrating on a large mass of soldiers attempting to hold
formation as their peers fell to their left and right. The Order soldiers fought
fiercely with the ones positioned close to the strike team members boasting a
high survival percentage. Through the battle, several heavy assault mercenaries
assumed positions on the Courthouse rooftop firing explosive projectiles into
the middle of the Order’s army inflicting a high death toll on them.

After suffering a loss of about a third of their force, the
Order broke the enemy lines and reached the Courthouse where the enemy
commander had barricaded himself in to issue orders to his forces.  They found the entrance of the Courthouse had
been collapsed to keep the Order out. Cordaxia laughed at the feeble effort as
Obinaya  focused on the blockage and,
with the aid of the force, parted it thus allowing entry for the group. Immediately
inside, they found a terminal which Re’yeja accessed to jam their
communications and download incoming/outgoing transmissions. They marched
inside and found the Commander inside, hands up and head bowed in submission. “They
didn’t pay me enough to lay down my life for their cause. I surrender.” Several
members of the group immediately called for his death while Ra’yeja suggested
handing him over to Caseyaran leadership to identify the traitorous nobles.
Cordaxia agreed with the latter also stating that his fate belonged the people
of the planet he burned. Gromnus ignored the exchange, instead tapping into the enemies comms and sowing confusion.

As they prepared to leave, they received an alert informing
them that the Caseyaran Palace was under siege from a Rebel Splinter Force
composed of footsoldiers and tanks. The team rushed out of the Courthouse and
raced through the streets toward the booming echoes of cannon fire. The streets
and courtyards were littered with bodies from both factions and the buildings
and landscaping were collapsed with many of the ruins bearing ugly scorch marks
and blood stains.

As they neared the
Palace’s coordinates, they found a massive artificial crater likely caused by a
chain of explosives. It acted as a chasm preventing them from accessing the
other side and preventing the destruction of the palace. They fired grappling
hooks into the opposite side of the crevice and pulled themselves up, but with
a limited number of soldiers able to climb at a time, the army became divided
as they raced for the Palace. When they arrived, flanked by a limited number of
soldiers, they found 9 tanks guarding the outside of the palace and noticed
that the foot soldiers had already breached the Palace. Gromnus suggested stealing one, but Obinaya meditated,
using the force to pummel the tanks, rendering them useless. Gromnus stealths. Cordaxia ordered the soldiers to
advance, but halted as a massive Sith Lord emerged from the palace with several
heavily armored mercenaries behind him. In one arm, he held the governor of Caseyarus,
while the other held a deactivated lightsaber against his back. He ordered the
Midnight Order to stand down warning that if they attacked, their efforts would
have been for nothing.

Moments later, a shuttle landed in the middle of the
courtyard and the Sith Lord pushed the governor toward it while the armored
soldiers held position. The shuttle lifted off as the group looked to Cordaxia
for instructions. The shuttle turned its guns on their position and fired,
blasting Cordaxia off her feet and into the pond behind them, rendering her unconscious.

Having infiltrated the shuttle using stealth, Gromnus uses
the force to pull Sith lord’s saber out of his hands, using his own blade to stab his heart with a satisfied
smile, but is lurched forward as the Order’s soldiers fire on the shuttle’s
engines under the instruction of Ashen’ris. The engines ignite and the shuttle
spirals toward the ground. Gromnus uses force energy to shield himself and the
governor as the ship almost collides with the ground. Re’veja reaches out with
all of her effort placing a buffer between the shuttle and the ground, not
stopping it, but slowing its momentum as it gently lands on the shattered tiles
below. Gromnus pulls the governor from the wrecked shuttle as Cordaxia gingerly climbs
to her feet. The governor addresses the group weakly announcing that the
rebelling Nobles would be found and punished for their crimes and that
Caseyarus is in debt to the Order for its aid. He stared solemnly at Cordaxia
before finishing his thought “Your aid aside, part of me regrets joining your
Order. My people and my planet have become fractured as a result of the
decision, but what’s done is done. We will stand by you as you have stood by
us. Now is a time for healing."

## 6/11/2017

### A Promise Made

Involved: Nimyria, Ashen’ris, Gromnus, Ariealis

With a great deal of apprehension and caution, Gromnus and
Ariealis approached the large freighter where Nimyria stood waiting for them.
She was watching for others and hastened them aboard promising to brief them
inside. Ashen’ris overheard the whispers and asked if Nimyria or the others
required any help. Nimyria pondered the question for a moment and retorted “You
don’t want to be involved in this.” The overseer’s curiosity was triggered and
he told her he’d take his chances as he climbed up the loading ramp to join the
others inside.

Inside, the small group gathered around a holo in the crew
quarters and Nimyria filled them in on the intel she had received. She told
them that she had been contacted anonymously with instructions for a smuggling
mission to Nar Shaddaa. The contact told them that they would be retrieving a
large volume of heavy machinery, but that the mission should be safe, fast and
easy. The contact had given her the list of people to contact for muscle which
included the people present.

After answering what questions she could, Nimyria told
everyone to strap in for the ride to Nar Shaddaa and moved up to the bridge.
The ship creaked eerily as it lifted off the ground and shuddered when the
engines ignited launching the ship into space where they made the jump to
hyperspace. The trip was rough as the ship violently shook the entire time
before rocketing out of hyperspace forcing Nimyria to engage the reverse
thrusters to prevent them from ramming the planet. The ship landed and the crew
disembarked and made their way down to the Industrial sector where their
contact waited for them.

As they neared the coordinates for pickup, the tunnels that
were supposed to be abandoned were being patrolled by Republic soldiers. To the
group’s delight, Nimyria said that they didn’t have time to work out another
route and that killing the Republic soldiers was the only way to proceed.
Everyone leapt at the opportunity for some bloodshed with Nimyria reminding
them that the Order couldn’t know that they risked war with the Republic for a
simple smuggling operation.

They fought their way through to a large warehouse full of
shipping containers. The warehouse itself was guarded by Imperial soldiers that
the group quickly dispatched to allow themselves a personal tour of the goods.
After a quick sweep, Nimyria announced to the others that the full load was
present and accounted for, but they needed a way to get it past both the Empire
and Republic. She seemed troubled by the fact that both major factions were
nearby when neither was supposed to be. Ashen’ris suggested that whoever gave
her the intel had dropped the ball.

Ariealis quietly took out three guards gathered around a
terminal as Nimyria pulled up the shipping logs and with wide eyes announced that
the contents resembled some of the machinery used in weapons factories such as
the ones on Balmorra. Gromnus dragged the guard bodies behind a stack of crates
before another patrol moved by.  When he
returned, he questioned who in the Order would want machinery capable of
building weapons and war machines. Nimyria reminded him that the contact was a
private citizen.

She continued saying she could hack the cargo droids to move
the shipping containers to their ship, but something would have to be done with
the Imps who would be suspicious if the cargo just started disappearing. Ashen’ris
suggested that he and Gromnus use a little force manipulation to convince them
that it was supposed to be happening. Nimyria nodded in agreement as they moved
away to complete their task, with Gromnus moving to a security station first to
set the facilities cameras to loop, erasing any footage they had of them entering. Ariealis stayed with Nimyria to watch her back
while she hacked the system looking for access to the droids.

Ashen’ris reported that the Imps minds were resisting, but
he had successfully convinced them that the containers were set to be shipped
out. Nimyria succeeded in taking control of the droids which temporarily shut
down, but upon reactivating began immediately moving the containers onto a
platform that would move the full shipment to the hangar where their ship was
docked. Ashen’ris told her to move as fast as possible as his hold on the
guards was tenuous at best. Once Gromnus had joined his efforts, controlling
the Imps became much easier. The operation continued for several hours as the
containers were slowly loaded onto the platform in preparation of being moved
above to the starport and onto the ship.

With only two containers left, the group prepared to depart
themselves, optimistic that the containers would be loaded onto their ship by
the time they arrived up top. As they moved to leave, a Sith Lord escorted by
an officer and four guards rounded the corner and upon noticing the empty
warehouse, demanded to know what was going on. He demanded to know if they were
with the Republic stating that he had seen their filth all over the sector. Not
waiting for an answer, he ordered his men to fire on the group as he activated
his lightsaber.

Ariealis drew her blasters and in five shots had killed all
four guards and their commanding officer. The Sith Lord stared with a wicked
gleam in his eye “And I thought today would be boring, our machinery stays
here. You’ve failed your mission. Die in dishonor.” He jumped at the group with
his lightsaber on guard as he pulled a shoto lightsaber from his belt in mid
air. He targeted Ariealis first swinging the blades madly as the others repositioned
to repel his attack.

Gromnus knelt behind a stack of crates, tech stealthed, using the force to
blind the rest of the facility guards to the situation as it evolved.

The Sith’s attack was intercepted by Ashen’ris who utilized
several lightsaber forms to throw him off balance as Ariealis used the moment
to fire a rocket at the Sith’s feet. The Sith used the force the redirect the
rocket at Ashen’ris before jumping back to dodge the explosion. Ashen’ris
deflects the rocket into the warehouse wall before throwing himself back at the
Sith Lord who smashes the ground emitting a shockwave that damaged the ground
around him. Ashen’ris threw up a shield that caught most of the force of the
attack, but still pushed him backward. He taunted the Sith Lord saying most of
his students had more bite.

As the battle proceeded, Nimyria reported from the terminal
that the droids had finished loading and were being sent to the hangar with the
shipment to be loaded onto their ship. As Gromnus made the facility guards begin to file out, the Sith Lord questioned who was controlling them since it
obviously wasn’t Ashen’ris. Ashen’ris took advantage of the Sith Lord’s
hesitation and hurled lightning at him, clipping his face. The Sith Lord
growled in anger and used the force to seize control of Ariealis’ body. He
directed her blasters at Ashen’ris’ back and forced her to squeeze the triggers.
Ashen’ris sensed the danger and ducked at the shots fired at the Sith instead
who blocked them with his sabers. Growing more imbalanced as his anger raged,
the Sith corkscrewed through the air at Ashen’ris in an attempt to impale him.
Ashen’ris sidestepped as the Sith’s sabers plunged into a forklift and he
crumbled as his head impacted with the machinery. Nimyria approached the
knocked out Sith with her blasters drawn and fired three shots into his skull “He
was too dangerous to be left alive. Can’t have him waking up and alerting
someone of our presence. Let’s go!”

They fled the facility approaching a platform where Gromnus’
droid met them with a speeder. It rocked them back to the surface where they
found the ship fully loaded and the Imp droids on standby as their task had
been completed. Once on board, they strapped themselves in once more and wasted
no time fleeing the planet and returning to Acheron. On the journey through
hyperspace, the group ranted about the lack of proper intel, the presence of
both pubs and imps and how they were almost killed in what was supposed to be
an open and shut mission.

Once within Acheron’s atmosphere, the ship traveled to the
Shadow Mountains, the closest range of mountains to the Capital and dropped the
containers at the black site before returning to the City. Their payment was
retrieved in a drop box behind the counter of the city’s main cantina.

## 6/4/2017

### Shattered Sight: Sefran's Scientists

Involved: Csavrah, Sioned, Metoff/Myrene, Tvych Brit, Ana’vera,
Tulan, Einas

Csavrah eyed the men and women as they entered Intelligence
HQ one at a time. He had instructed his aid to quietly summon non-force users
to meet with him on an urgent, but secret matter and the curiosity was evident
in their faces. He stood to introduce himself and began by saying that they had
each been selected for their individual talents, but the one quality that
united them was that no one in the group had the ability to use the force.
Csavrah blatently declared that the Sith’s leadership in the past weeks had
nearly ruined the Order and that he had had enough with their gambling of
lives. To their surprise, Csavrah announced that the mission he had in mind for
them involved a covert operation on Dromund Kaas itself. The mission was a part
of a project Csavrah had been working on called S.I.G.H.T.

The Keeper of Intelligence asked if anyone had heard of the
technologies called SCORPIO, GEMINI or ARIES to which Ana’vera spoke up reminding
the group that they were forms of artificial intelligence. Csavrah proudly
stated that, using his small network of planted spies in the Eternal Alliance,
he had gained enough information on the artificial intelligence units to create
a base version of his own called LIBRA. The plan was to allow her to interface
with systems within the Order, starting with low priority functions, to
maximize their utility. Unfortunately, the Empire had a similar idea and had
developed their own replica of the AI technology under the codename, VIRGO.
Csavrah assumed that the Empire had received a stolen copy of his work from
Darth Haar during their last encounter and unfortunately, the Empire’s version
had had a few kinks worked out that the Order’s Intelligence could not figure
out.

For their mission, they had received a secured encryption
that would allow their shuttle to land safely on Dromund Kaas. Sioned spoke up questioning
whether the Empress knew of this mission or not. In response, it was learned
that she was aware of Project SIGHT, but not the particulars including the
mission they were about to undertake.

As they reviewed last minute details, Tulan departed to prep
the ship for departure. The flight was smooth and the codes worked exactly as
intended. The ship landed in a jungle clearing near the compound where VIRGO
was being developed. The group would have to proceed with caution to avoid
tripping alarms and attracting unwanted attention. As they approached the
facilities exterior defenses, Einas was deployed to see what they were up
against. He reported back on comms that the compound’s gate had a good amount
of security, making a move against them would result in immediate
reinforcements.

Einas returned for the rest of the group, overloading his
stealth field generator to provide cover for all of them as they bypassed the
wall’s defenses and proceeded to a shadowy corner in the Compound. Carefully,
they snuck from safe zone to safe zone, avoiding all possible contact with
guards until they approached the central building. A voice interrupted the
silence, a guard had spotted them and was holding a weapon to their backs. As
he instructed them to hold, Einas snuck behind the guard placing a knife to his
throat.

Metoff and the rest of the group wheeled around and in a
convincing Imperial accent, Metoff commended the soldier on his rapid response
to potential intruders and informed him that they were part of a team surveying
various facilities on Dromund Kaas to ensure there were no breaches in
security. He continued by saying that he would make a note of the guard’s
courage to his superiors. As Sioned rummaged through his pack to locate a
datapad with their authorizations, he instead pulled a knife and quickly
slashed the guard’s throat. Upon death, the technology the guard was wearing
detected the change in vitals and triggered a compound-wide alarm to the dismay
of the team.

Csavrah estimated a 15 minute window before they would be
overrun with reinforcements and instructed Tulan to remotely prepare the
shuttle. Sioned utilized his helmet’s recording tech to imitate the dead guard’s
voice and via comlink informed the Compound’s security commander that all was
fine, merely a glitch with his armor. They waited for a moment and, to their
surprise, the alarm shut off. Wasting no more time, they moved into the central
structure in the compound.

They quickly found a chamber with an available terminal and
Csavrah plugged in a datachip allowing LIBRA access to VIRGO’s systems. The
Keeper informed the group that he would be commanding LIBRA to overpower VIRGO’s
technology. The LIBRA assault tactic was uploaded as VIRGO spoke, introducing
herself as the monitor of Research Outpost 34. She stated that she did not
recognize the users and required identification cards. When the group refused,
VIRGO appeared troubled by the information.

Suddenly, LIBRA appeared in the system facing VIRGO and
began performing her task. VIRGO, while initially surprised by the appearance
of a foreign AI, smirked chiding her as an inferior design. VIRGO began to
attempt a purge of LIBRA from her systems while LIBRA attempted to seize
control of VIRGO. With guidance from the group, the two AIs began fighting each
other for control of the system.  The
members of the group took positions at various console to aid their AI and as
they hacked their way into data files and security protocols, VIRGO became
distracted with trying to maintain order in her facility as LIBRA continued the
assault. The Imperial AI proved initially successful in preventing the hacks
while maintaining her guard against the technological assault. As VIRGO held
her guard, LIBRA declared the group should work on improving their tactical
approach. Despite their best efforts, VIRGO gained the upper hand over LIBRA
and began erasing her data with the latter recommending retreat to the group. Moments
later, LIBRA flickered and disappeared as VIRGO engaged security protocols
alerting the compound to the presence of intruders. The group fled for the
shuttle, shooting any guards they encountered.

Within minutes, they had reached the shuttle which was
primed and ready for take off. As the last member climbed aboard, Tulan raised
the boarding ramp and the shuttle lifted off the ground and began its path into
the upper atmosphere. As the shuttle neared the edge of the upper atmosphere,
13 harrowers emerged from hyperspace blocking their path. The flagship of the
fleet immediately hailed the shuttle. An image of Admiral Myrene Varga appeared
on the holo as Einas opened the connection. She introduced herself and
applauded the group for their clumsy work on Dromund Kaas. After allowing them
to land on Dromund Kaas and disabling the alarms they tripped to determine
their intentions, she found the skill of the Midnight Order’s team wanting and
pleasantly notified them that their deaths would serve the purpose of allowing
her to eradicate their Order. Their actions had led to its downfall. Not even
awaiting a response, she severed the connection and ordered the fleet to fire
on the shuttle. As the order was given, squads of fighters swarmed from the
hangars. The fighters pursued the shuttle as it weaved through the fleet’s
formation. They opened fire on it with the shuttle’s enhanced shields catching
the blasts and protecting those contained within. As the shuttle prepared to
jump to hyperspace, three successive blasts from the fighters penetrated the
shields and caused moderate damage to the hull. Not giving the Empire any more
chances, Tulan guided the shuttle into hyperspace on a course back home, their
mission had failed.

## 5/27/2017

### Shattered Sight: Dark Requiem

Involved: Cordaxia, Neronae, Csavrah, Einas/Cirtas/Haar,
Zackmarr, Akesi’va, Frannik, Ceu, Tulan, Jarl Eryk

On the Command Deck of the Matriarch in the office of the
Chancellor, representative members of several ministries waited anxiously for
the news that Cordaxia had summoned them to hear. She began with a calm voice,
informing the group around the conference table that the actions on Kaeshun had
attracted the attention of Darth Haar, a Sith Lord with a personal interest in
the Midnight Order. Anger flooded into the faces of the group as many cursed at
the mention of his name. Neronae stood up and made clear that she knew how the
Empress would respond and grimaced as someone suggested simply murdering Haar.
She reminded them that such an act would lead to a war with the Empire, a war
which the Order was not prepared for.

The table erupted into an argument with many wishing to
ignore Haar and take their chances while others wished to remain on the side of
caution. Cordaxia called for a vote of the assembled members given the
sensitive nature of the situation and a majority carried the vote in favor of
meeting with Haar. Cordaxia contacted the Sith Lord who gave them coordinates
on the planet Ilum. She relayed the information to the group and turned to
Neronae “He has requested that you or the Empress be in attendance.” Neronae
smirked in acceptance of Haar’s challenge and moved for the shuttle with her
team to travel to Ilum.

The shuttle set down near Haar’s given coordinates, a small
Imperial Outpost that had granted them clearance. The location unsettled many
in the group as they proceeded into the mouth of the underground Imperial base.
At the entrance, they were met by guard captain who instructed them to
relinquish their weapons before meeting his master. Neronae laughed at the
request as Ceu slipped a knife into his boot as a precaution as Tulan could
feel the cold steel of his own in his gauntlet. As tension began to grow
between the two groups, Cordaxia reminded the guard that the Order’s group
would surely be obliterated when the first weapon was drawn, so there was
little harm in allowing them the added comfort of carrying their weapons in for
a meeting with Haar. The guard received a transmission from his superiors and
nodded “You have been permitted to enter with your weapons, watch your step.”

Neronae smirked and patted the side of the guard’s helmet as
they proceeded inside. They were led through the icy hallways into a chamber
bustling with activity where Darth Haar waited for them. He stared at them with
cold eyes and asked them if they knew why there had been invited to meet with
him. He informed them that the Empire had become aware of the orders “Exceptionalism”
on Kaeshun. The Empire was discomforted by the acts of the Order in such close
proximity to their territory. Neronae reminded him that Kaeshun was not under
Imperial control and no actions had been taken against Imperial forces.

Haar remained stoic and explained that his masters wished to
play things on the safe side, and while they did not regard the Order as a
threat, they wished for them to submit their holdings and assets to the Empire
at the risk of Imperial Legions marching on Acheron. Neronae with Cordaxia’s
support, refused the terms and reminded Haar that they would stand against any
Imperial attempts to seize their assets. Haar seemed almost amused and proposed
an alternate option where he ensures they do not bend the knee to the Empire,
but they instead assassinate Haar’s master, the man who issued the orders.

Akesi’va broke his silence in cold laughter at the Sith’s
desire to climb the hierarchy through extortion. The target of Haar’s request
was a Sith Lord named Cirtas, a man with ties to Empress Acina who coincidentally
was exploring ruins on Ilum at the time of their meeting. After discussion,
Neronae reluctantly accepted Haar’s terms and the group left the base to hunt
for Darth Cirtas amongst the ruins of Ilum. Csavrah was sent ahead to find
Cirtas and confirm that the intel was authentic. Neronae confronted Cordaxia
who explained that she only wanted Cirtas’ coordinates so they could pit him
against Haar thus weakening both powerbases. Neronae chastised the plan as
reckless and reminded Cordaxia that if Acheron or her people suffered, it would
be her fault.

They climbed onto their speeders and took off to join
Csavrah at the coordinates once he verified that Cirtas was indeed where he was
supposed to be.  Neronae’s team spotted
the Sith Lord exploring a downed shuttle outside of a large jedi ruin and
approached him and his guard in peace. Cirtas allowed their approach and turned
to address them. As they introduced themselves, Cirtas grew aggressive drawing
his lightsaber. Both sides drew weapons aiming at one another as Cordaxia
hastened to explain that they had come in peace despite Haar’s intentions.

Neronae suddenly spoke out as if responding to a statement
though Cirtas had said nothing. She requested that he shed light on their
situation before appearing surprised and asking “So you didn’t order an
ultimatum be made?” It suddenly became clear that Cirtas was mentally communicating
with the Chosen, both appearing to have been played by Haar.

Suddenly, Cirtas’ guard force opened fire on the Order
soldiers who returned fire. Tulan took out two immediately with the blades that
shot out from his gauntlets before drawing his blaster rifle and firing on the
soldiers. Akesi’va deflected several of the incoming shots with his saber
before hurling it at a nearby grouping of Imps and pushing two more off the
cliff mere meters away. Neronae stood defensively, using her saber to deflect
the shots back to their sources while Csavrah drew a canister of toxic gas,
rolled it into a concentrated area of soldiers and fired on it producing a
large explosion that left only scorch marks. Csu cut down a few nearby soldiers
with his vibroknife before sheething it and bringing down several others with
his own pistol. During the chaos, they noticed that Cirtas was fiercely
attacking his lieutenant who was constantly leaping backward firing shots on
the Sith when he was able. Eventually, Cirtas struck a crippling blow as the
Lieuteant releneted and screamed that he would tell them everything they wanted
to know. Cirtas stabbed the lieutenant sadly and the group realized that Haar
had arranged for both groups to be killed at the same time. As they began to
review their situation, the Eye of Mortis, Haar’s flagship, lowered into the
atmosphere over their heads and opened fire on the ground, destroying the
frozen landscape as they hastened for the shuttle which, thanks to Tulan, was
waiting close by.

They clamored aboard the shuttle and took off as two
terminus cruisers joined the Eye of Mortis, all three vessels unleashing squads
of fighters to pursue them. Csavrah cursed the Sith in the Order for making
further bad decisions as Neronae glared at him threatening to immasculate him
if he spoke further. Akesi’va ordered Tulan to jump to various points in the
galaxy before returning to Acheron in an attempt to lose Haar’s forces. Tulan
did as instructed, masterfully dodging the fighters and turbolasers before
jumping to Hyperspace. They traveled to several locations in the mid rim and
outer rim before returning to Acheron where they set down in the hangar of the
Matriarch. Neronae escorted Cirtas off the shuttle promising he would be
treated fairly and that she would explain the situation to the Empress. Csavrah
stared angrily at the Sith as they exited the hangar.

## 5/21/2017

### Shattered Sight: Legacies of Prodigal Sons

Involved: Desocratos/Xalven/Csavrah/Devisis, Cordaxia/Old
Hob, Obinaya, Syrena/Hadriel, Frannik/Trixis, Asyre, Si’alla/Sioned, Nimma’cetha’ura/Neinhart,
Li’ven’a, Irth’esh’ilk, Einas

Cordaxia observed as her colleagues entered the Council
chamber flanked by other elite of the Midnight Order. She had grown tired of
the grief Kaeshun had caused the Order and hoped to find a quick resolution to
the query she was bringing before the Council. Xalven, the representative of
the Kaeshun people had announced his intentions to cede control of his world to
the remnant of Ray’ak’s witch coven.

Obinaya, High Duchess of the Lonkii people stepped forward
to propose an official alliance of her people with the Midnight Order. Cordaxia
smiled and agreed that an alliance would be welcome, but she wished to discuss
the matter when more time was afforded to both parties. Obinaya offered members
of her militia to join the Order’s effort as a show of good faith before
returning to her seat. As murmurs filled the chamber, Cordaxia activated the
holocommunicator in the center of the chamber and Xalven appeared to address
the Council in attendance. He announced that he was speaking to them as the
King of Kaeshun much to the surprise of the people gathered.

Vahnus had disappeared and he had been contacted by the
Supreme of the Coven, the successor of Ray’ak. He continued that their
relations with the witches had been rocky since the people of Kaeshun had
allied with the Midnight Order, but since the witches had returned to Kaeshun,
all attempts to flush them out had been met with death. Xalven lamented that he
only had one option remaining to him, to abandon the planet to the witches’
mercy.

Obinaya stood once more asking to voice her opinion.
Cordaxia ceded the floor to her and she explained that in her experience as a
diplomat, one works to ensure the future of their own assets and that Kaeshun
offered nothing of value to the Order, therefore rendering its need for aid, an
inconvenience not worthy of their time. Cordaxia and Desocratos both voiced
their agreement and opened the floor to a vote as Empress Si’alla entered the
chamber. She voiced her own opinion that she wanted the witches obliterated
sparking a debate between the councilors and their leader.

Suddenly, Frannik ran into the chamber. He apologized for
the interruption, but announced that he had received a message that would be of
great interest to the assembled members. He stated that a transmission had been
received by the Ministry of State from an anonymous party who had indicated
that he had information regarding the situation on Kaeshun. Desocratos observed
the coincidental nature of the call, but gestured for Major Frannik to
continue. Frannik entered a few commands into his wrist communicator and
revealed that it was a contact from House Citadel, an entity that had not been
heard from in several years.

House Citadel was demanding a meeting aboard their flagship,
a harrower that had been believed to have been destroyed in the Dread War,
which was orbiting Kaeshun. The Councilors all agreed that the Citadels should
come to them if they wished to discuss anything. Si’alla ordered Frannik to
relay the message, the Citadels could meet them aboard the Matriarch, or not at
all. Within minutes, they had received an altered request for only a
representative to be sent to the Citadel flagship. Si’alla smirked and turned
to Cordaxia asking who she recommended be sent. Old Hob was selected to lead
the mission accompanied by a small guard supplied by Si’alla. The instructions
were relayed and Hob left immediate accompanied by the guard force.

They arrived on the Citadel flagship and were greeted by a
strange girl who led them down the ship’s corridors until they reached the
throne room where Devisis Citadel awaited them. Lord Citadel wasted no time in
informing the group that his forces had infiltrated the witches and were
planning to eradicate them and claim Kaeshun for their own. They requested the
aid of the Order to get close to Xalven and the Supreme of the Coven to enable
them to obliterate both. As the goals of House Citadel were in line with those
of the Order, Old Hob accepted the terms with the understanding the the Order’s
relationship with House Citadel would be determined at a later time by the
Empress and her Council.

Armed with the information, Hob and the Guard departed for
Kaeshun to escort the Citadel team and Xalven to the meeting with the Supreme.
They arrived at the coordinates where they were met by a representative of
Devisis who led them to Reyara, the sister of Devisis. Moments later, the
noghri representatives of Xalven approached carrying a white flag. They were
ready to meet with the witches under the protection they believed they were
receiving from the Order. The envoy traversed a canyon before reaching a hill
overlooking a collection of acidic looking pools. The area caused the
representatives of the Order much discomfort as they approached the meeting
location arranged by the Supreme of the Coven. She waited under a dead tree as
they approached. The Supreme opened discussions with the Noghri in private
while Reyera called the Order representatives aside. She told them that now was
the opportune time to strike.

Old Hob turned to Sioned and instructed her to take the shot
on the Supreme when ready and to order the other soldiers to eliminate the
remaining witches. As Ravisis, the Supreme and her witches concluded their
transfer with the Noghri. Sioned and her team took the shots shocking the
witches who proved resilient to the blasts, taking injuries but surviving.
Ravisis opened a portal behind her and drew everyone inside it, friend and foe
alike. Inside the portal, they found a pocket realm with a lake where the
Supreme knelt by its side, a trail of blood leading to her. She was flanked by
witches.

The Order’s team tore threw the witches with Hob and Einas
attacking them with blades while Sioned, Li’ven’a and Hadriel firing upon them
rapidly as they deflected the shots. A small group of witches teleported behind
the snipers, grabbing them in chokeholds until thrown back by their concussion
grenades. The snipers took out the stunned witches. As the Order’s team
massacred the witches bolstered by Reyara’s spellchanting, Ravisis placed a
hand in the lake which started to tremble ominously. Old Hob charged the
Supreme Witch before being struck by a tentacle of water from the lake.
Suddenly tentacles emerged from the lake followed by the beast to which they
belonged, they wrapped around everyone, witch and warrior alike, with the
exception of Ravisis. The order’s team fought out of their grasp as other
witches were dragged into the lake adding their strength to the beast’s. It
guarded the Supreme as the Order’s soldiers tried to form a plan to kill the
leader of the Witches. The tentacles formed pillars around the Supreme who
mocked them from her safe haven until Einas threw a backpack of explosives into
the air while Hob guided it through the tentacles to the Supreme while the
snipers laid down fire to distract the leader of the witches. The Supreme was
caught in the explosion and blasted back as her beast retreated into the water.
She bled out crying curses at the Order’s forces. Einas slit the Supreme’s
throat on the orders of Hob as the rest of the group prepared to return home
with their task complete.

## 5/14/2017

### Going Native

Involved: Na'air, Fortorno, Nataya, Tvych Brit, Kosh'kah

The warriors gathered at the Academy on Styx, having been summoned by General Na'air Petraya to deal with an issue that had arisen with some of the acolytes. The general explained that a group of acolytes had been sent down below to the the jungles to perform observations of a tribe of the natives. The natives that occupied the jungles of Styx were primitive, but exceptionally well-versed in combat making them a formidable foe even against more advanced technologies. Na'air continued saying that although the students knew the risks of traveling below, the Order could not afford to kill of acolytes as liberally as Korriban. Every acolyte was more valuable alive than dead. Without any further questions, they proceeded to the shuttle where they were met by Nataya. The acolyte begged to join the rescue squad to save her peers. Na'air, was reluctant to place another acolyte at risk, but seeing that Nataya wouldn't be deterred, agreed to let her come so long as she remained with the group at all times.

They proceeded into the jungle until they reached a small clearing outside the mouth of a cave that led further into the jungle. On the ground, they discovered five comlinks left in a pile. Fortorno questioned whethere the acolytes had potentially left the comlinks there intentionally. Clues were scarce in the clearing with only a small blood splatter being found nearby. With little to go on, they proceeded through the cave further into the jungle.

As they traversed the cave, Kosh'kah expressed her disapproval at the need for a rescue. She stated that the weak deserve to be left behind, Sith knew only strength. This drew a degree of disgust from Na'air and Fortono who both agreed that more value should be placed on the students' lives. Tvych watched from his vantage point with a shake of the head at the bickering during a rescue mission.

From there, the rescue progressed in silence as the group sliced through a variety of aggressive jungle creatures. Eventually, they came across a massive bipedal creature who Na'air identified as one of the natives. After deciding that is was a lone scout, the group consensus was to kill it and continue. Before they could approach it, the creature keeled over dead as Tvych smiled from his perch high above. The group ran to examine the body noting a precise sniper blast with no indication as to where it came from. Na'air assured them that the blast came from a friendly source and wasn't worth fretting over. As they rounded a corner, they found another group of the massive warriors patrolling the area and opted to keep near the perimeter instead of engaging.

Finally, they reached a ledge overlooking a small valley. They looked down to see a village heavily guarded by the natives and after further examination, spotted a number of cages placed in the center square of the settlement. Na'air instructed the group to use the huts to their advantage when engaging the natives, they were not to alert the entire village to their presence. As she continued planning their strategy, Nataya leapt off the ledge and charged to the village determined to save her classmates. Na'air growled angrily and she charged in after the acolyte with Fortorno. They engaged a group of natives on patrol on the outskirts of the village, but the attack proved loud enough to attract another group nearby. Tvych, watching from nearby, primed his rifle and took them out one-by-one knowing that the team would be overwhelmed if the chaos proceeded. Na'air rounded on Nataya as she moved to go further into the village and demanded that she not let her emotions cloud her judgment in this situation. She pointed to a cage that Nataya had blown past "You missed one of your classmates." Inside the cage, the acolyte was covered in cuts and bruises. He was slumped against the inside of the cage and it was easy to see that he was bleeding out. Fortorno declared the acolyte dead weight as Tvych finally emerged from the shadows, disengaging his stealth generator and applying his own medical aid to the acolyte. The group expressed surprise at his appearance except for Na'air who greeted her old friend warmly.

Nataya grimaced as Tvych took over medical care of the acolyte informing him that she had it covered. Tvych looked up briefly to respond that he was sure she was trying her best, but he was saving the acolyte's life. Na'air reminded the team that they still had four other acolytes to locate as Tvych told them that he'd see this acolyte to safety. Sticking to the perimeter of the village, they located another cage, but were saddened to see that the acolyte inside had already fallen to his wounds. Moments later, Fortornu informed them quietly over comlink that he had found another living one. They ran to join him and found the acolyte well enough to stand, but still in shock. Na'air asked him what happened and he replied that an acolyte named Calym had gone mad and caged them in the village. Calym had returned nightly to torture them resulting in the injuries evident on them all. Shakily, he told them that Calym had taken the final acolyte, Maris, into the largest hut in the village a few days before and that she hadn't come out since.

They moved for the hut and inside, they found Calym standing over the body of Maris. He was pressing a wooden totem to her forehead as six massive native warriors observed quietly. The natives noticed the intruders almost immediately, drew their weapons and charged them angrily to prevent their interference with the ritual. Na'air raised her saber, but was taken by surprise when the sheer force of the nearest natives charge threw her through the wall of the hut into the village center outside. She landed hard on the ground, dusted herself off and climbed back to her feet to engage the enemies inside. As Fortorno engaged two of them, barely holding them back, Nataya was having difficulty fighting even one of the massive warriors. Na'air performed a strong slash against her opponent finding that even power attacks would only result in light cuts. She jumped into the air and plunged her saber through the creature's eyes and into its brain before it fell to the ground dead. Nataya sliced behind the knees of hers before following Na'air's example while Tvych reappeared firing shots that crippled the remaining soldiers.

Acolyte Calym looked up as they entered the hut again and said "I didn't expect a rescue party, but you have earned answers through blood and carnage." He continued cradling Maris while holding the totem to her head. In shock, Nataya asked how he could attack his fellow acolytes. He responded, "I tried to share my enlightenment with them, my findings... they didn't listen." He explained that the totem he was holding had called to him through the force, he had found it in the first cave and when he touched it, he heard a voice that shared the truth with him. He knew what he had to do, so he lured the other acolytes to the village. The natives didn't dare attack them as he held the totem high above his head. To his disappointment, he found that the totem didn't share the same "truth" with his fellows and he caged them one by one, attempting to share enlightenment with them every night and torturing them when it didn't work. "Eventually, they all proved to be weak, except for Maris. She had begun down the path to enlightenment and strength. She has begun to see the beauty of our way of life." As he stood and began to move around the hut, the group could hear his bones cracking as though they were shifting beneath his skin.

Tvych fired several shots at Calym predicting what was coming next, but Calym deflected them with his saber before the cracking grew louder. His muscles began to expand rapidly, he grew in size reaching over 9 feet in height. Black veins pulsed all over his body as his clothes ripped apart. His teeth converted into tusks as pieces of his spine emerged from his back as hardened spikes. The group looked on in disgust as Calym released an exceptionally powerful force wave that sent the team flying back and destroyed the hut. From its wreckage, he declared himself the Foretold, the one who would lead his people to the stars and put them in chains.

The group didn't wait any longer and attacked the mutant acolyte who swung his massive arm at them, reaching to grab Nataya. The clash of her saber against the mutant's arm caused her to stagger back in force. Tvych cloaked the entire group temporarily allowing them to strike vulnerable points on the mutated acolyte; Na'air sliced behind his knees, Kosh'kah slid her saber between his ribs and Tvych hurled two vibroknives into his eyes, blinding him. He howled in rage before blindly swatting them away. He paused "I do not need my eyes to see you," and reached out with the force gripping the entire group in a chokehold. Kosh'kah, holding her breath, lifted a nearby broken piece of log with the force and hurled it at Calym, breaking his concentration and causing him to stagger back in surprise. The group dropped to the ground. Tvych fired several rounds into the mutant's eyes and penetrated his brain causing him to drop to the ground dead. Na'air lifted the debris off of the remaining acolyte Maris while Fortorno collected the totem, being careful not to make contact with it as he placed it in a secure container. The group returned to the Academy with their findings and the surviving acolytes.

## 5/7/2017

### Shatterd Sight: Where We Set Our Scene

Involved: Csavrah, Nimyria, Liv’en’a, Irth’esh’ilk, Tulan,
Aiesling. Einas, Echelon

On the fringes of the Order’s territory, a small fleet
overseen by Admiral Zo Baristan engages in a standard patrol of the border
worlds. Advised by Nimyria Hrux, the first mate of the Cortosian Razors, the
fleet had gone several weeks without engaging hostiles. The crew had grown
tired of what many deemed as grunt work and performing menial maintenance tasks
and morale was low as a result.

Without warning, the ship’s alarms sounded off as a number
of vessels emerged from hyperspace in front of them. Liv’en’a, reported that
the vessels were from the Eternal Fleet. A silent dread fell over the bridge’s
crew as they stared up at the superior hostile fleet. Einas immediately raised
shields as the two fleets moved to engage one another. Excited at the chance to
finally see some real action, Tulan ran for the hangars, suiting up for space
combat. He remained in standby awaiting official orders for his squad to
deploy.

Under the supervision of Aieling, two drones and a squadron
of fighters deployed. Finally, the Eternal Fleet opened fire, deploying missiles
from their central vessels. Seconds later, a second wave of missiles were
released, moving with incredible speed toward the approaching Order drones. With
many missiles on screen, shields were redirected to the forward positions on
all vessels. The escort terminus cruisers moved advanced toward the Eternal
Fleet cruisers while the harrower, the Heart of Midnight, remained in a rear
position to oversee the battle.

With the drones advancing, fighter squads were released from
both of the escort terminus vessels while a bomber squadron was released from
the Heart of Midnight. With the drones moving to intercept the missiles, the
fighters and bombers would have a clear shot at the enemy vessels. In the
center of the confrontation, two drones managed to reprogram the first two sets
of missiles to return to the Eternal Empire’s vessels.

The Eternal Fleet ships continued their assault and released
a third wave of missiles as the Midnight Order’s fleet held its position. In
the midst of the battle, the communications officer ran to the bridge command
station to report that Empress Vaylin of the Eternal Empire had been killed.
Aiesling immediately questioned who was commanding the fleet if Vaylin was dead
and the communications officer reported that he would open a channel with the
Ministry of Intelligence to get some information.

As the fourth wave of missiles launched from the Eternal
Fleet, Order sensors detected incoming vessels from hyperspace directly on
their port flank. With the arrival of a potential second threat, Admiral
Baristan moved the fleet back into a proper defensive formation to prepare for
the incoming vessels. As he barked commands, several of the reprogrammed
missiles impacted the Zakuulan cruisers causing light damage to the affected
vessels.

The Eternal Fleet held its position and continued firing on
the Order fleet which was being pushed back despite its efforts to reprogram
the hostile missiles. As the Order’s fleet finished repositioning to a
defensive formation, three more Eternal Fleet cruisers emerged from hyperspace
on their portside flank within firing range. Several members of the command
crew immediately recommended retreating.

As they return fire with the newly arrived Eternal vessels,
they prime the hyperdrive engines and chart a course to Tartarus in an escape
maneuver. As the engines charge, more hyperspace signatures appear followed
seconds later by several more waves of Eternal Fleet ships. After performing a
system-wide scan, they realize that the Eternal Fleet has boxed them in.

With such incredible odds against them, Irth’esh’ilk,
sprinted off the bridge and appeared on a number of security cameras moving for
the hangars below.  As the hyperdrive
engines neared full charge and the Order’s shields start weakening, the Eternal
fleet’s ships cease firing simultaneously. Around an hour later, the Heart of
Midnight received a galaxy-wide transmission direct from the Eternal Throne and
broadcasted it to the other vessels. The Outlander appeared on the holo
declaring an end to the Eternal Empire and the birth of the Eternal Alliance
under his direct command. The Eternal Alliance vessels all jumped to hyperspace
presumably to return to Zakuul.

When their fleet prepared to return to Acheron, Empress Si’alla
broadcasted a message to the entire Order which Nimyria patched through to the
vessels of the Third Fleet. The Empress announced that the message from the
Alliance Commander had been authenticated and that the former Hero of Tython
had gained control of Zakuul and the Eternal Fleet. She continued that, though
he was a jedi and though he promised peace, the Alliance Commanders intentions
remained unknown. The Order finally had an opportunity to travel the galaxy
freely without fear of the Eternal Fleet, the Council had consented to lifting
offworld travel bans. Happy with the news and with their continued existence,
the Third Fleet jumped to hyperspace on a return voyage to Acheron.

## 4/21/2017

### Growing Aspirations: Charred Resolve (Part 2)

Involved: Cordaxia/Nimyria, Vi’kirr’naam, Syrena, Ahsa

With her reinstatement as Chancellor of the Midnight Order,
Cordaxia Vel’naz wasted no time in reopening negotiations with Jal’Cuzza, a
world that had agreed to join the Order if the Order could aid it in the
removal of a curse at the hands of their god, the Avatar of Balance. She
reviewed reports from the previous team that had been deployed to the planet
and detailed the options the team had been extended when they communed with
this entity. The Avatar had left the people of Jal’Cuzza with two choices:
Conforming to Pacifism, an act of peace to counteract their act of violence, or
A Ritual Mass Suicide.

The people of Jal’Cuzza were greatly disturbed by the
choices and unwilling to give up their way of life, they asked the Order’s
representatives to help them find another way to lift the Curse. It had been
many months since the first team had traveled to Jal’Cuzza and Cordaxia was
keen on helping the people and securing their loyalties. The new team she had
summoned would be piloted to Jal’Cuzza by Nimyria of the Cortosian Raiders and
permitted to use their best judgment in handling the situation.

When they arrived on Jal’Cuzza and exited the vessel,
Nimyria relayed to the others that she had found a note left in the previous
team’s report that included a location on the planet where the natives would
occasionally make offerings to the physical incarnation of the Avatar. The note
concluded with a request of the natives to fight and defeat the Avatar as a
last resort effort to lift the curse.

They made their way, on foot, to the tribe’s sanctuary on
the other side of the charred terrain. As they went, they fought through beasts
and renegade warriors alike taking note of the hostile nature such a place
would foster in those born to it. When they reached the sanctuary, they entered
the tent of the Chief who was perturbed at the Order’s seeming indifference to
their struggle. He noted that it had been months since they had heard from the
Order and they had begun to believe they had been abandoned. After receiving a
formal apology from Vi’kirr’naam on behalf of the Midnight Order, the Chief
declared that the situation had not improved and as such, more of his people
were demanding the death of the Avatar. They believed they were being unfairly
punished for following their Code and had grown intolerance of following a God
that did not recognize that.

The Chief instructed the team to do the will of his people
and slay the God. If they fled, his people would put them to death.  Left with little choice, the Order’s team
embarked to the coordinates provided by the Chief to confront the Avatar of
Balance.

When they reached the location, a blackened cliff
overlooking a sea of lava, a bang erupted from below as a massive humanoid
figure with stone skin and burning red eyes emerged from the lava . It’s head
reached the ledge upon which they stood and it stared down on them, speaking in
a booming voice, it declared that it knew their intentions and they faced death
if they pursued them any further. Syrena yelled to the Avatar that they had
heard such claims and still claimed victory. This angered the avatar who
revealed that it had become an embodiment of the force and that they were not
prepared to face its power. Vi’kirr’naam asked the Avatar to allow the Warriors
to leave the world behind enabling it to become a blank slate to bring the
force back into balance, but the Avatar refused his offer saying that it would
not compensate for the scales being tilted heavily by the Warriors’ darkness.
The avatar said he would entertain no further discussion on the fate of the
Warriors and said that the Order’s team did not have to die at his hands. Ahsa
suggested to her master that the warriors were too uncontrollable to be allowed
to join the Order and suggested that they be allowed to die at the hands of the
Avatar. Nimyria supported Ahsa’s proposal. Vi’kirr’naam sighed and lowered his
saber admitting that there was no way to contend with such a being. He begged
the Avatar to spare the lives of the women and children to which the Avatar
responded that the warriors would be permitted to live so long as they remained
on Jal’Cuzza. To free themselves, the price was absolute and final.

As they began to leave,
Vi’kirr’naam turned to face the Avatar and asked it what price he would
have to pay to release the warriors from their curse. The question intrigued
the Avatar and after consideration, he declared that he would lift the curse if
Vi’kirr’naam took their place on Jal’Cuzza, his compassion was powerful and,
with time and guidance, could undo the taint of the past atrocities. The team
stood in shock as they all looked to Vi’kirr’naam, objecting to him even
considering such an act.

Vi’kirr’naam turned to the group and proudly stated that he
was an old warrior who had seen and done things they wouldn’t believe. He asked
how he could refuse an offer of his one life for thousands of warriors. Ahsa
interjected “You are a legend worth a thousand warriors. The Empress needs you.
We need you.” Vi’kirr looked to his feet with remorse, “It was made clear that
I cannot protect the Empress during the Civil War.” Vi’kirr’naam made his
goodbyes and left his instructions with the other Order representatives and
when he had concluded, the Avatar spoke once more “Together, we shall restore
this world to balance Vi’kirr’naam. Your journey does not end today.”

Vi’kirr’naam began to turn and a thought occurred to him. He
unclipped his lightsaber from his belt, handed it to Ahsa and instructed his
apprentice to bring it home to Neronae. He said that he would return for it
some day and that if he did not, it would be given to his grandchild.

The Avatar accepted Vi’kirr’naam’s sacrifice and with a wave
of its fiery hand, the team found themselves back on their ship. In silence,
they took off and made their way back to Order territory. The mission had been
successful, but had come with a great cost.

## 4/16/2017

### Thronebreaker: Nightfall

Involved: Si’alla, Neronae, Cordaxia, Vi’kirr’naam, Syrena,
Xaketh, Zackmarr, Einas, Khatenia (Val support), Eh-Rohn, Ahsa, Desocratos

Gathered in the throne room of the Matriarch, the Rebels,
under the command of Si’alla Va’lenn, charted their assault against Acheron’s
defenses. They knew they had one chance to deal a deadly blow to Val’erica and
everything had to be planned with precision. Si’alla consulted her councilors
to ensure that no loose ends were in place as they prepared to depart.

Neronae seemed distracted as she gave Si’alla her report, an
emotion her father picked up on and questioned as she stated that she would have
to deviate from the main force to deactivate the planetary cannon defenses. She
then turned to address the Rebel forces at large with their strike plan. She
reminded them that they would be going into battle with Empress Regent Si’alla
and that there was still hope in spite of their setbacks. She explained that
her team would be going in to disable and reprogram the initial defenses of the
planet to make way for Si’alla’s force which would be engaging the city
defenses while Si’alla herself would breach the palace with a small team to
bring down Val’erica.

When Neronae concluded, Si’alla stood and began her speech.
She informed them that on Zakuul she was learning how to separate a mind from a
body, that she had since bonded with S’rahnia who had successfully led the
Rebel Loyalists to her all in the hopes of saving the Midnight Order. She
finished by saying that Val’erica had stolen too much from too many and it was
time to take it back.

As Si’alla finished speaking, the Matriarch lurched as it
made the jump to hyperspace, moving for Acheron.

Flanked by two terminus cruisers, the Matriarch emerged from
hyperspace at the edge of the Acheron system and assumed a battle formation as
it made its approach on the homeworld. Si’alla sent a message to Val’erica on
the surface ordering her to stand down her forces and surrender. The response
was the fleet of the Midnight Order, 4 harrowers and 12 terminus cruisers
moving between the Rebels and the planet.

Neronae’s ship successfully moved through the Order’s fleet,
landing on the surface and within a few hours, they had successfully disabled
the planetary cannons and were moving to the military control center to
reprogram the Order’s droid forces. They gave the all clear for Si’alla’s squad
to make their way to the surface while the small fleet distracted the Order’s
ships. As Si’alla’s shuttles moved for the planet, Val’erica’s ships deployed the
full bulk of their fighter force to intercept and destroy them. A number of
shuttles were shot down in the process as the shuttle with Si’alla and her
squad slipped by, sustaining minor damage. A small branch of Val’erica’s fleet
broke off from the main group, descending into the atmosphere to bombard the
Rebel landing zone.

As the ships become stationary over the capital, a shield
raises over the Palace and a battalion of soldiers flanked by 10 walkers and 5
heavy combat droids emerged from the city gates to greet Si’alla’s squad. Si’alla
led the charge into the gathered defenses as together they slashed and blasted
their way through the soldiers and droids. With a clever joint effort,
Zackmarr, Cordaxia, Vi’kirr and Si’alla disabled the walkers aiding the foot
forces and the squad proceeded into the city.

As Si’alla’s squad moved through the city, they were pursued
by the cruisers and fighters above who bombed the city without regard for the
citizens below. The Palace remained protected behind a heavy shield as Neronae
acted to reprogram the anti-aircraft turrets to fire on the spacecraft above.

As the city quickly transformed from a glittering paradise
to a smoking wasteland under the fire of the fighters, Val’erica’s voice echoed
all around them ordering her forces to cease their attack. She instructed them
to clear a path for Si’alla to reach the palace so they could end their feud
before any more blood was spilt.

The squad moved through the wreckage of the city as the two
terminus cruisers they had come with plummeted to the planet below crashing in
fiery plumes. The Matriarch crew sighed with relief as the Fleet joined the
ceasefire, the shields had failed and the ship had begun to sustain major
damage. On Acheron, the streets were eerily silent as the spirits of the dead
haunted the charred wreckage. Outside the city, the remains of the Rebel army
climbed to their feet and searched the battlefield for the wounded.  Si’alla and her team moved through the
devastation silently, looking sadly upon the damage their war had brought to
their homes and their people.

The squad approached the palace in peace as the shield
lowered and when they entered the interior, a number of Sith soldiers crowded
the entrance blocking their escape. In the antechamber of the Palace, Val’erica
waited for them calmly, smiling slightly as they moved toward her. As Si’alla
came face-to-face with her, everyone moved to the edges of the chamber making
room for their showdown. Si’alla and Val’erica exchanged words before drawing
their sabers. Si’alla in a fluid motion charged at Val’erica with her sabers spiraling
at the False Empress bolstered by the joint power of Candicia and S’rahnia. Val’erica
moved with equal speed, blocking Si’alla’s fierce assault before being thrown aside
by a powerful force blast from the former Flame. Val’erica recovered and moved
to crush Si’alla with the force but was deflected by Candicia as the attack
destroyed a nearby pillar. With a scream, Val’erica moved for Si’alla with a
complicated attack that Si’alla blocked with precision before deactivating her
own saber and allowing Val’erica to take a free shot. She tossed her sabers to
Val’erica as the False Empress forced her to her knees with the force.

Val’erica moved for Si’alla raising her saber and swinging
down for her neck. As the saber lowered, Si’alla broke her word and grabbed the
descending saber as she summoned her own from Val’erica’s belt while kicking
her opponent squarely in the chest.  She
reactivated her sabers and the two engaged again with Si’alla landing a hit on
Val’erica’s arm. Candicia reached out with Si’alla’s arm separating Val’erica
from her saber as S’rahnia lifted her from the ground. Together, the two spirits
urged Si’alla to end the Usurper.

Si’alla shook her head and said that she intended to replace
the Clone with the Original. She seized Val’erica’s head in her hands and black
smoke oozed from the clone’s head and scattered in the winds as a lighter aura
moved from Si’alla’s body into the empty shell of Val’erica. S’rahnia was
reborn.

S’rahnia examined her new body before the gathered forces
smiling as her senses returned to her. She turned to Si’alla informing her that
it was time to coronate a new Empress. Kneeling before Si’alla, S’rahnia
declared to the entire Midnight Order that she and all Rodericks renounced
their claim to the throne of the Midnight Order for the rest of time and
announced Si’alla as the rightful successor to Candicia.

## 4/2/2017

### Thronebreaker: Last Words

Involved: Neronae, Na’air, Vi,’kirr’naam, Csavrah,
Eh-rohn,  Faye

It was no surprise when the Supreme Commander issued a
summons to the bridge of the Matriarch and as Neronae’s inner circle gathered
to hear her words, they knew the time had come to make their move. Neronae
leaned on the command console as everyone waited for her to speak.  When she did, she reminded them that they had
suffered substantially on Phlegethon and though it had not meant the end of
their rebellion, it meant that their chances of victory were significantly
lower. She continued on saying that it would take virtually a miracle for them
to win the coming battle.

Immediately the assembled group began stepping forward
prepared to lend their services to battle Val’erica. Before she could proceed,
the holoterminal on the bridge lit up and a moment later, Eh-rohn’s face was
displayed for all to see. He informed the group that he had freed Candicia and
that she was carving her way through the palace. This news surprised everyone
and they hastened to Acheron to rescue the Empress before Val’erica learned of
her escape.

When they arrived on the surface, they received a message
from the Matriarch urging them to hurry to the palace: they would not have much
time. As they neared the gates to the capital, they noticed that the streets
were far more heavily guarded than when they had last set eyes upon them. There
were hover tanks and military checkpoints on every block with guards on patrol,
their eyes never breaking contact with the frightened citizens as they moved
from building to building. They broke through the gates and found many of the
guards running further into the city as screams echoed down the streets:
Candicia was on the move.

The strike team bolted down the street toward the city
square slaughtering their opposition as they went.  Tanks were torn apart as the remaining guards
were gutted and filled with blaster fire. As they drew closer to Candicia’s
position, Val’erica’s voice echoed through the city taunting their Empress and
her weakness from being contained in carbonite.

Near the square, a gunship and a deployment of marines
waited for the team. Na’air carved through a mass of the marines before raising
her saber to defend against the gunship’s blasts. As she drew its attention,
she called to Vi’kirr to take it out. Csavrah raised his shield and fired
precise shots at the marines, dropping one at a time. Vi’kirr reached out with
the force seizing the gunship and forcing it to turn before hurling his saber
at its engines dealing a fatal hit to it. The gunship spun out before colliding
with the ground in a rain of fire that engulfed several of the nearby marines.

The strike team dispatched the remaining marines as Candicia
approached them commenting on the carnage proudly. The team briefed her on
their progress and within moments, they were moving for the Palace. Before they
could reach the Palace entrance, Val’erica appeared flanked by several of the
best royal guards in the Order. She grimaced at the destruction and asked what
the point of it was when she could easily wipe Candicia aside. The clone of S’rahnia
ordered her guards to dispatch Candicia’s allies opting to deal with the
Empress herself. The Strike Team engaged the royal guard as Candicia and Val’erica
drew their blades and they clashed with a blaze of scarlet light.

Distracted by Na’air’s charge, several of the guard fell to
Csavrah’s sniper blasts while Tol and Eh-rohn engaged a walker that had
approached from behind to seal off their escape.  Na’air and Vi’kirr realized they were up
against a different caliber of Sith as they fueled the fight with more of their
energy.

Candicia held off Val’erica’s relentless and vicious attacks
while the Clone taunted her. The Empress and Clone dueled with mastery,
shifting through the various lightsaber forms in an attempt to gain the upper
hand.

Moments later, the walker was felled by the joint efforts of
Captain Tol and Praetor Eh-rohn after being strategically dismantled. Na’air
was caught off guard and slashed by one of the remaining guards causing her to
falter. Vi’kirr killed her opponent while Csavrah masked her in smoke which she
used to force down the lungs of the last guard before her, choking her to
death.

The group turned to see Candicia catch Val’erica’s
saberstaff on her own two blades before reaching out to choke the Clone who,
through sheer willpower, resisted the choke and blasted the Empress with
lightning. Candicia relented redirecting her energy into a force shield to hold
off the energy attack. Val’erica reached out and, drawing on her rage,
increased her power to a level that caught even Candicia off guard. The Empress
continued her attack, masking her surprise. She gathered her own power in an
attempt to disarm Val’erica, but gasped when her full power didn’t come to her.
Val’erica laughed and plunged her saber into Candicia’s chest remarking that S’rahnia
had abandoned her. The Clone twisted the saber as Candicia stared at her in
shock, blood beginning to drench her robes. The strike team all moved to avenge
the falling Empress, but their efforts proved futile as Candicia demanded that
they live on to restore the Order.

Val’erica stared at the onlookers, holding on to Candicia’s
cheek while whispering into her ear “Now my claim to the throne is legitimate.”
Na’air ordered a full retreat as Vi’kirr threw a downed walker at Val’erica to
cover their escape. Val’erica dodged the attack and dragged their escape
shuttle out of the sky demanding to know where they were off to in such a
hurry.

She pulled Tol toward her, siphoning his life energy and
causing a chain reaction that impacted the entire group. They all fell to their
knees and Val’erica delighted in their dying forms, but stopped suddenly, terror
filling her eyes: she was paralyzed. The team took advantage of the situation
and fled the city for the shuttle in the woods.

Upon their return  to
the Matriarch, the ship jumped to hyperspace away from Acheron and their
defeat.

Around the galaxy, the many lives touched by Candicia felt
her loss in their souls. It echoed through the stars as some reveled and even
more mourned the loss of their Empress. It had been many years since a loss had
touched so many and the day darkened as a result.

## 3/19/2017

### Thronebreaker: Break the Hold

Involved: Neronae, Vi'kirr, Syrena, Desocratos and Faye

From their base of operations on Rishi, Neronae and other members of the resistance discussed garnering greater support for their cause. Using information provided by Chancellor Vel'naz using her former Intelligence contacts, they had learned that the governor of Jannuah had expressed interest in supporting their cause against Empress Val'erica.

With great effort, they secured a meeting with the governor and a team set off with high hopes that those within the Order had largely remained loyal to Candicia. When they arrived on Jannuah however, they discovered the planet under martial law with many resistance groups and rebels being arrested or killed by Val'erica's troops.

They landed in the shadows of the Red Light district and made their way through the various checkpoints and camps placed between them and the Palace. Along the way, Vi'kirr'naam observed that many of the citizens were acting strangely, unhinged and insane. The closer they got to the palace, the worse the "afflictions" became. Neronae said that the symptoms being experienced seemed familiar and it dawned on the group that they were feeling the effects of Dread Energy. Neronae turned to Desocratos who confirmed that there was a great deal of Dread Energy in the air, radiating from the Palace.

The team forced their way into the palace and the dreadful aura intensified. As they navigated the halls, they jumped at gusts of wind and fired at shadows. Other than the occasional guard, they made their way swiftly to the Governors quarters when they found her waiting for them. The dread aura in the chamber was overwhelming, but the source was immediately evident: a dread holocron was sitting on the floor beside the governor who stared at the team with blackened eyes and a warped expression on her face. She declared them traitors to the throne and explained that Empress Val'erica had helped her and her people find clarity in the chaos. The team determined that Val'erica had intentionally corrupted the people of Jannuah with the holocron to hinder their efforts.

The realization had barely set in when the governor attacked the loyalists demonstrating enhanced strength and precision in combat. Joined by her guard, she put up a fair fight against Neronae and her forces until Desocratos proved successful at destroying the Dread Holocron. As the Holocron shattered, the hold over the governor and t he people of Jannuah was broken and true clarity set in. The energy required to perform the ritual that destroyed the holocron took its toll on Desocratos who fell comatose shortly after releasing the Jannuans from the Holocron.

The governor, still dazed, apologized and agreed to accompany the Loyalists back to Rishi where arrangements for the future would be made. The events on Jannuah did not go unnoticed and as Val'erica stared out of the throne room window on Acheron, she began to imagine the delight she'd take with her response to the audacity of the Loyalists.

## 2/12/2017

### Royal Blood: Shadow of the Palace

With no word from Aisling about Si'alla, and the rule of Valencia becoming more and more brutal, the Order's heroes decide that now is the time to make a final stand.

Under the leadership of the Minister of War, they devise a multi-phase attack on the capital city. Neronae herself would lead the ground troops, engaging the soldiers seeking to keep them from the Palace. A small strike team would enter the Palace, confronting Valencia and Val'erica once more.

Having made plans, Faye broadcasts from the Matriarch an impassioned plea to Acheron, imploring them to see through the lies of Valencia and to view her as the threat she truly was, to join them in their cause to bring Acheron and the Order back under rightful rule. With her words still hanging in the air, the loyalists launched from the Matriarch towards the city.

On the ground, bloodshed and gunfire quickly filled the air. Meeting with several war droids, the Order's heroes fight back, dispatching them handily and creatively, fueled by their anger and rage toward the usurper. Approaching the Palace once more, they are halted by an elite squad of soldiers, who demand their surrender. From amidst the strike team, Neronae emerges, calling each soldier by name and begging them to lay down the weapons she had taught each of them to use. Her words, however, fell on deaf ears, and the specially trained soldiers attacked the group with a righteous fury, forcing them to defend themselves. In the end, the troops lay dead upon the ground, and Neronae left the strike team after hearing a call for help from the landing zone.

The rest of the group entered the Palace once more, this time finding Valencia seated upon the Throne, an unmasked Val'erica by her side. She taunted the loyalists, saying that the time had come to end their petty rebellion once and for all. Faye stepped forward, drawing her saber and challenging Valencia on behalf of Si'alla Va'lenn. Before the usurper could respond, however, Val'erica turned on her master, saying that she alone would have the privilege of ruling the Midnight Order. In a horrific display, she lifted Valencia into the air with the Force and ended her life, compressing every bone in her body and forcing the fallen woman into a ball of flesh and blood.

As Faye and Val'erica begin their second clash, Desocratos leaps onto a pillar, sitting down and reaching deep into the Force and into powers unknown to the rest of them, requesting time to find what he was looking for. Determined to give it to him, Faye fought defensively against Val'erica, a slow dance around the Throne room that ended with Val'erica stabbing Faye through the side, melting through her armor. Wounded and falling back, the other members of the team engaged as one, all of them eager for payback. Val'erica handled them handily, dealing out wounds once again, even as Faye re-engaged the fight. Just as it got to the point none of them could stand to face her, and all seemed lost, Desocratos, now shining and terrible to behold in the Force, unleashed his attack, forcing the clone of S'rahnia to face the original. As the two powers clashed, the Order once again made their escape outside, where they witnessed in horror the normally blue sky flash to pitch black, lit by nothing but lightning strikes as the Force trembled.

Calling to Neronae, they rallied to the nearest landing point, escaping to the Matriarch. Defeated, wounded, and homeless, they make their way to Rishi, to a safe haven out of Val'erica's reach for now, to plan their next move, whatever that might be.

## 2/4/2017

### Royal Blood: Buried Truth

A call goes out to every commlink capable of receiving it.

"To the Midnight Order, this is Valencia Roderick. Your Flame is gone, and your Empress is silent. I claim, by my right and by my Roderick blood, the Throne of Acheron and control of the Midnight Order, taking effect immediately. This proclamation has the backing of your Empress, who has retired from public life. Henceforth, I act in her stead. Obey me, Midnight Order. Valencia out."

A cry of confusion goes up across the planet. Several loyal subjects to the Order, and to Candicia, gather in front of the palace to protest this proclamation, including the Minister of War Neronae, Minister Desocratos, the swordswoman Faye, and others. Entering the palace, they confront Valencia, demanding to see and speak to their Empress. Valencia, seated on the Throne with an unknown figure next to her, merely laughs in their faces, saying that her word was now absolute, and anything otherwise meant open war. The group falls back to discuss the situation, with the swordswoman Faye heatedly advocating that, should the Empress be gone, the Flame was next in line, not this "intruder". The group agreed that Valencia could not remain in power, although Neronae wondered at the strength of Faye's conviction for Si'alla.

As one, the group approaches the palace once more. Met with armed guards, and reason having failed them, the group of loyalists has no choice but to fight their way in, where they meet not Valencia but the unknown figure once more, who identifies herself as Valencia's apprentice, Val'erica. She presents an ultimatum, to get to Candicia, they would have to go through her first.

One by one the warriors of the group challenge her, and one by one they fall as Val'erica uses her saberstaff with an unprecedented degree of skill, wounding noted warriors such as Neronae, the Honor Guard Vi'kirr'naam, Desocratos, and Syrena, until only Faye stood, her sword held at the ready. Before Val'erica engaged, Faye revealed a secret of her own, detaching the steel of her sword and revealing a lightsaber contained in the pommel. She announced to the room that she was the former apprentice of Si'alla Va'lenn, drawing surprised words as she had previously kept her Force power suppressed and hidden away. She engaged Val'erica without hesitation, her saber darting and weaving, lightning filling the room. At first it seemed the two fought on even ground, then Faye gained the upper hand, landing a blow across Val'erica's face, knocking the woman's mask off.

Snarling back at them was the face of the Imperium's former ruler, S'rahnia. The Order realized with dawning horror that they faced one of the most powerful clones they possibly could, and it quickly became evident as she re-engaged Faye, quickly driving the woman back and disarming her. Val'erica continued the attack, badly breaking and dislocating Faye's arm, who shouted to Desocratos. The Minister suddenly revealed that he had a trap, and began to bring the palace columns and ceiling down with the Force, gaining the loyalists time to escape. Retreating to the Academy, they began to see to their wounds, with the exiled Zakuul Knight Aisling joining them.

Neronae had a task for the former Knight, one that was of vital importance. Travel to Zakuul, and find Si'alla. No matter the cost.

## 1/28/2017

### Royal Blood: Blood from the Old World

Involved: Neronae, Na’air, Vi’kirr’naam, Kurgax, Hadriel/Ariealis,
Tempestina, Frannik

One more after the destruction of the Voss Star Fortress and
the end of Project Deity, Empress Candicia’s mind had grown steadily more cloudy.
She had claimed that the spirit of her aunt, former Empress S’rahnia, was
convinced that Zakuul was still producing clones using the blood of the fallen
Rodericks. Si’alla Va’lenn, concerned for her wife’s mental well-being,
embarked on a mission to the heart of the Eternal Empire, Zakuul, where she
hoped to find answers. With the Empress keeping to her chambers, Si’alla left
command of the Midnight Order to her friend and trusted ally, Supreme Commander
Neronae Vindarhin.

Eager to prove herself, Supreme Commander Vindarhin began to
prepare a mission to seek out the remaining clones, a mission that was halted
when the Order received a mysterious transmission.

From the bridge of the Matriarch, the Supreme Commander
issued a request to relevant available parties to join her as she listened to
what the transmission contained. When the requested parties had arrived,
Neronae announced that her Kilo Squad would be pursuing the renegade clones of
Tykas and Amavii while the assembled group would be following up another lead.
She pressed a button on her datapad as a projection of Darvannis appeared on a
nearby console.

The Supreme Commander explained that the former Imperium
world had fallen into the hands of the Eternal Empire and was being used as a
factory world to produce their skytroopers. The image zoomed to a former
Imperium town with a red dot near the middle. “We have received a recent
military distress call from this location,” Neronae continued, pointing the the
dot while eyeing the people grouped before her. According to her records, the
signal belonged to members of the 709th Imperium marines which she
believed was an impossibility as they, as the Blade of S’rahnia, had perished  in the Imperium Civil War. Clearly someone had
survived.

When all questions and concerns had been addressed, the
Supreme Commander ordered the Matriarch helmsman to set a course for Darvannis.
Within moments, the massive command ship had entered hyperspace erupting
moments later above the planet. The group boarded a shuttle and minutes later
unloaded on the surface in a canyon near the town. As they marched down the
loading ramp, they were met by a mandalorian named Ariealis who had offered to
help them through the Eternal Empire’s defenses.

The group kept to the shadows as they entered the town, but
found it silent and in ruins. Debris littered the streets while scorch marks
and cracks decorated the walls of the crumbling buildings. Very few people
occupied the streets and all averted their eyes as the Order’s strike team
passed. In a neighboring alley, a probe droid watched the group emitting a
consistent beep. The group made to follow it while Vi’kirr’naam and Neronae
remembered the battle that had taken place on the world when the Eternal Empire
had first emerged.

Neronae ordered the group to separate to investigate
different leads with the main party accompanying her as they proceeded down the
main street encountering and destroying probes as they appeared. Both groups
reported no findings and eventually reunited on the dunes just outside the
Quarter they had been exploring. They began to plot their next move when they
were fired upon by a Zakuul Walker and a squad of Skytroopers. The team leapt
into combat without a second and the opponents were dispatched within minutes.

Neronae looked around anxiously and declared that the
Eternal Empire was sure to know of their presence now. They pushed ahead as
squads of Skytroopers moved to intercept them, but managed to enter a second
quarter as they grew closer to the location of the tracking beacon. When they
had reached their target destination, the Supreme Commander stared at the
datapad in disbelief and announced to the group that the position of the signal
had begun to shift. As the group converged on Neronae, General Petraya broke
her silence saying that all the evidence they had found since arriving
suggested a trap to draw them out, not a former soldier in distress.

As the group huddled to protect against the strengthening
winds, the signal narrowed the location of the distress beacon to three
potential locations. Na’air took Kurgax and the Mando to the position in the
Southwest, Vi’kirr’naam took Frannik to the Southeast and Neronae pursued the
location in the central city on her own raising her hand authoritatively as the
team protested the Supreme Commander going alone.

Captain Torak’s team reported steady numbers of Skytrooper
adversaries while the General’s encountered small teams of Skytroopers and a
second walker. Both teams reported success in reaching their destinations
shortly after with Na’air reporting that she had found someone waiting for
them. Na’air, Kurgax and the Mandalorian, Ariealis all drew their weapons as
they approached the mysterious figure.

The figure turned around revealing herself to be a woman and
drew her own sabers upon seeing the team armed and ready for combat. Na’air
ordered the woman to drop her weapons declaring her to be outmatched, the woman
disagreed. When questioned about the distress call however, the woman looked puzzled
at the faces, not recognizing any of them as she lowered her sabers. She asked
if they were all that remained. Upon hearing the story of the Imperium’s fall
and the name Midnight Order, the woman laughed and revealed that she was
Valencia Roderick, the last surviving daughter of Emperor Arestenax and Empress
S’rahnia.

As the second team arrived, Valencia sensed a familiar
presence in Vi’kirr’naam and rushed to greet him, surprised to learn that he
had endured. Frannik reminded the General that reinforcements would soon be
upon them and was subsequently ordered to secure a perimeter. Na’air then turned
to the former princess ordering her to reveal why she had called them to
Darvannis.

Valencia explained that she had been investigating Project
Deity and pulled out a datapad to hand to Na’air. The General accepted it and
questioned what Darvannis had to do with the experitments of Zakuul. Valencia
responded saying that Doctor Danalo intended to restart Project Deity in the
labs on Darvannis and that he had to be stopped by any means necessary. She
informed the group that Danalo had likely fled back to Zakuul, but that she had
found Roderick clones on Darvannis in what she guessed was a training exercise.

Valencia proposed eliminating the clones as a team and then
suggested that she would like to join the Squad on their return to Order
territory where she could divulge more of what she had learned. Na’air accepted
the offer, but remaining suspicious followed it up by saying “Don’t do anything
stupid.” The discussion was interrupted when Frannik cried out that they had
been spotted as Skytroopers approached. Again they fought and again they
claimed victory. In the midst of the wrecked droids, Frannik attempted to make
contact with Neronae who had fallen silent while Valencia concentrated on the
clones revealing that one was nearby.

As they prepared to move, Frannik reported that Neronae had
engaged a clone of Bhula. When asked if she needed aid, she responded “No, I’ve
got a score to settle with this bitch.” The communication ended with a scream
that was clearly not Neronae. Valencia looked around at the surrounding
rooftops announcing that they had been discovered.

From the rooftops, two hooded clones leapt landing right in
front of the squad. They removed their hoods revealing Emperor Salvatus and
Darth Vindictiva, raw power radiating from both. As the enemies faced off, Na’air
unleashed a powerful force scream that ignited the combat. Both clones marched
through it unphased. Vindictiva launched a fury-driven attack at Vi’kirr’naam
who met her saber with his own while Salvatus unleashed a wave of lightning
against the rest of the group. Kurgax was caught off guard by the lightning
while Na’air caught some of it with a projected force shield while she and
Valencia both hurled their sabers at the former Emperor. Valencia’s lightsabers
were deflected while the General’s struck her target’s shoulder before returning
to her hand.

Angrily, the Emperor’s clone lunged at Valencia drawing his
own saberstaff while Vindictiva grabbed Vi’kirr’s arm, throwing him against a
nearby house before moving against the mandalorian warrior. Vi’kirr climbed quickly
to his feet and used a force push to blast Vindictiva away before she could
strike the mandalorian. Salvatus locked blades with Valencia showering the
sands beneath their feet with sparks. Valencia requested Kurgax’s interference
as Na’air threw herself at Salvatus brandishing her saber. Salvatus reacted
just in time and blasted Valencia aside while raising his saber to block the
pureblood general’s assault. The General swung furiously at Salvatus’ defensive
stance, aggressively cutting upward before faking him out with a lower uppercut
attack that caught him in the face.

Nearby, Vindictiva caught Vi’kirr’naaem in a force choke and
angrily drove her saber through his stomach before dropping him to the ground
where she prepared to end him. In his defense, Frannik fired a barrage of bolts
at the Dread Clone. Frannik’s assault allowed Vi’kirr’naam to climb to his feet
and strike Vindictiva across the face before moving to lock her in his own
choke hold. Vindictiva disabled Vi’kirr’naam preventing him from finishing his
attack, but left herself open to Frannik’s continued assault which struck her
causing her to drop to the ground.

Salvatus resumed an aggressive assault on Na’air, angered by
his injury. The former Emperor’s clone in his rage beat Na’air down with the
General only barely clinging to her saber. As her grip loosened, Valencia moved
on Salvatus impaling him with her own saber.

Vi’kirr’naam called Vindictiva’s saber to his hand and
sliced off the head of the Dread Master clone with a satisfying thud sounding
off as her head fell to the sands below. Outraged by the death of his ally,
Salvatus grabbed Na’air by the throat and sent powerful bolts of electricity
through her body causing her to drop her saber. Vi’kirr’naam pushed Salvatus
causing him to drop the General who grasped her throat gasping for air.
Salvatus regained his footing and stared at the squad of Order warriors circled
around him.

Frannik fired a volley at Salvatus attempting to draw his
attention as Vi’kirr leapt at Salvatus in a fluid motion swinging strongly down
at the clone. Distracted by the assault, Salvatus’ clone failed to noticed the
mandalorian Ariealis prepping a shot and aiming for his chest. The mandalorian
fired and the shot met its mark, Salvatus’ clone grasped at its chest, but
remained standing. Having taken a number of injuries, the clones resilience
made clear that it was one of the strongest.  Valencia leapt back into action slicing and
swinging at the clone of her brother while Na’air threw her saber to Vi’kirr
who caught it and cut down through Salvatus’ saber arm. Valencia, seeing her
opportunity, severed the other limb living him vulnerable as the mandalorian
and Frannik emptied their guns into his crippled body. The clone fell lifeless
to the ground, disfigured from the force exercised to bring it down.

As the team collected the fallen clone bodies, Kurgax made
contact with them saying that he had found Neronae who had defeated Bhula’s
clone in their duel and that they would be regroup on the Matriarch.

Two shuttles were dispatched from the Matriarch to collect
the ground team and Valencia and upon their return, the Matriarch launched back
into hyperspace on its return trip to Acheron.

## 1/25/2017

### Growing Aspirations: Charred Resolve (Part 1)

Involved: Cordaxia/Old Hob, Neronae, Aiesling, Abacaxi

Following her meeting with a large group of Newcomers to the
Midnight Order, Cordaxia offered the hall of eager immigrants an early chance
to prove themselves by embarking on a mission for her and the Ministry of
State. Those who accepted her offer were to report to the State Embassy aboard
the Matriarch to meet with her.

Out of the hundreds that attended the Chancellor’s welcome,
only Abacaxi, the new apprentice to Commandant Neronae Vindarhin attended. Side
by side with his master and fallen Knight Aiseling, Abacaxi stood before the
Chancellor as she detailed their mission. She explained that the final listing
on her primary roster of planets to annex was a world with a harsh climate
inhabited by resilient warriors who had been plagued by what they referred to
as a curse. For several years, any ships attempting to leave the planet with
its inhabitants lost contact near the edge of the system leaving literally nothing
behind. The planet, full of brutal and tough fighters proclaimed to the
Chancellor that they would pledge themselves to the Midnight Order if she was
able to rid them of their curse and allow them safe passage off their world. Cordaxia
decided that the Order’s best chance of ridding this world of its “curse” was a
team of experienced warriors helmed by Commandant Neronae representing the
Order. She briefed the team and deployed them, along with aged warrior, the Old
Hob, to Jal’Cuzza to meet with the people and figure out the mystery before
them.

As they prepared to depart, Commandant Neronae was called
away to deal with an internal military matter and the mission fell to the
command of Hob. The team set the ship down on a small plateau near the capital
village to avoid fire damage from the lava rivers below. They trekked on food
until eventually arriving at the village where they made their way to the chief’s
home. At the outer wall of the village, Hob announced in a raspy, metallic
voice that they would have to fight their way to the chief to earn an audience
per the custom of the people. The group drew their sabers and the fight began.
The warriors, though skilled, fell to the experienced blades of the Order’s
sith and they eventually reached the Chief’s h ome. Inside, he discussed the
situation and informed the group that he had found a volunteer willing to
attempt to leave the world to show the Order’s representatives the true power
of the curse. They watched in horror as the departure was broadcasted from the
inside of the vessel. As the hyperdrive activated, the ship began to
dematerialize and rip apart before their eyes before the feed cut. They
expressed their guesses as to what could have happened when the statue outside
the Chief’s home shuddered, its eyes becoming smoky black clouds as its head
moved to gaze down on the Order’s representatives. In a deep voice, the statue
spoke. It stated that the people of the world were cursed by the sins of their
past and that they would remain in the Hell of their own creation for all
eternity or perish trying to escape. It continued with cryptic accusations
claiming that there was a bloody line between being a warrior and being a
murderer, that murderers receive no mercy from the tides of fate. As its
sentence concluded, the statue returned to its inanimate stony state.

Disturbed by the Statue’s words, Aiesling demanded that the
entity return to answer their questions, but was met with the aged silence of
stone. The chief sighed and indicated that he had finally realized what was
happening. He explained that legends spoke of their world centuries in the
past. The chief described the legends saying that their world had once been a
lush paradise shared by his people and another tribe of pacifists, two groups
that worked in tandem. The warriors protected the pacifists and the pacifists
nurtured the world and the warriors. Their relationship endured for eons until
the warriors decided that they were tired of depending on the pacifists and
slaughtered them all in a matter of months. Without the pacifists, the crops
died over time, the paradise devolved into the living hell they had come to
call home. They survived by hunting the creatures that in turn survived off of
the rare plants that could be found near the lava beds. As he finished, he
admitted that he did not know the source of their punishment, only that they
were being punished.

Aiesling argued with the inanimate statue that the
difference between a murderer and a warrior was a matter of perspective and
said that some would view her as a murderer while she views herself as a
warrior. Abacaxi argued the opposite until the Chief interceded saying that
their people had collectively once worshipped a diety that represented both
philosophies, an Avatar of Balance. He expressed fear at the idea that this was
the retribution of the Avatar for throwing it out of balance. As the group
discussed further, the Avatar spoke once more in its booming voice. It said
that the world had indeed been thrown out of balance and that there were only
two ways to restore it and end the punishment: The populace either had to
conform to pacifism and put their warrior ways behind them forever or perform a
mass ritual suicide to cleanse the world of sinners. The voice ordered them to
make a choice to live or die by and went silent.

The group argued about the best avenue to explore for some
time before deciding to return to the Order with their findings to gather other
opinions. Old Hob, the commander of the group, bowed to the Chief and informed
him that they would return with their counsel and that the people should remain
on the safety of the planet for the foreseeable future

## 1/19/2017

### Growing Aspirations: Heart of Cortosis (Part 2)

Involved: Cordaxia/Na’air, Tvych Brit, Si’alla/Aiesling, Ka’sim

In the State Embassy, Chancellor Vel’naz and Lieutenant Brit
discussed the lieutenants recent findings on the moon of Caseyarus. Cordaxia
asked Tvych if he believed the secret project he unearthed in the mining
facility posed a threat to the Order that would require their interference.
Tvych stated that he believed the Admiral’s plans had to be stopped regardless
the cost, that no faction should possess that power. The Chancellor explained
that she had been in talks with the governor of Caseyarus who had expressed the
displeasure of his people at the Empire’s theft of their resources. He had
informed the Chancellor that his people would only become part of the Order if
they put an end to the Empire’s plans for the cortosis.

She continued that General Na’air had expressed interest in
leading a small taskforce to eliminate the Admiral’s project and that the
mission would have to be completed without complication: The Empire could not
be allowed to know the Order had interfered. As she said this, Lady Si’alla
walked in with a newcomer to the Order: Ka’sim Shaen. The flame was briefed and
minutes later, Ka’sim and Tvych were on their way to meet with Aiesling and
General Na’air Petraya in the hangar.

On the hangar level, the General briefed her team before
they loaded up on the shuttle and departed for the place they had tracked the
Empire’s final shipment of cortosis. They emerged from hyperspace in a desolate
sector with only a large space station barely visible in the faint light
released by the system’s sun. From what they could make out, the framework of a
command ship was loosely attached to the station’s exterior. They landed the
shuttle quietly in an open hangar and were almost immediately set upon by the
station’s forces. They fought through waves and waves of droids before they had
a moment of peace to discuss the next stage of the plan. Na’air commented that
the amount of droid workers and guards suggested that the Admiral was becoming
less trusting of living beings and was likely fearing for the security of her
project.

They proceeded through the station destroying every droid
and worker they came across. Eventually, they reached a massive guardian droid
which fired at them with massive blasts the moment they rounded the corner.
They retreated briefly before Tvych offered to stay behind with the five
troopers and draw its fire while Ka’sim, Aiesling and Na’air got close enough
to slice it with their lightsabers. The plan worked perfectly as the trio
reached the droid and sliced its legs one by one until it dropped to the
ground. Aiesling leapt to its head and slammed her saber through it causing the
droid to spark and inevitably shut down.

They sped through the halls as their enemies grew more
numerous until they rounded a corner into a hall and spotted the control room
at the end. Na’air spoke quietly “The Admiral’s subordinates, kill them and
secure the control room.” The orders were followed and the team barricaded
themselves in the room while Tvych, Aiesling and Na’air scoured the systems for
the station controls. As droids started banging on the sealed blast doors, they
found what they were looking for: the self-destruct controls. As she began to
enter in the commands, Na’air found the controls were being overridden by
another terminal, she was locked out. She banged the console in anger before plugging
a datapad into the system and hastily plugging in new commands. Moments later,
she ripped the datapad from the console triumphantly and ordered her  team to open the doors and eliminate all
adversaries. Aiesling dropped the door with a wave of her hand before igniting
the doors in a blinding wave of lightning that left them sizzling in pieces.
They moved quickly down the hall. As they rounded another corner, from outside
the window they noticed the arrival of five harrower cruisers. Na’air urged the
group to hurry along, time was running short.
In minutes, they made it to the escape pods and Na’air began punching in
commands as they hissed open. She ordered her team in and handed the datapad
with the prototype plans to Tvych. “These plans must reach the Order if I fail,
I’m staying behind and destroying this station though.” Na’air slammed a button
as the pods launched. Aiesling stared at Na’air as the pureblood general
motioned to the last pod, “It’s yours. Take it.”Aiesling looked at the General
and said, “Ours.”

The duo raced through corridors fighting the forces that
came as the harrowers sent reinforcements and eventually reached the station’s
reactor core. They found the controls here were locked as well, they
desperately looked around before ripping a console out of the floor with the
force and hurling it into the reactors which, breached, ignited and sparked. Na’air
and Aiesling ran for it as the station shook violently. Stumbling down the
halls, they found the droids disoriented by the chaos. They sliced through them
eventually reaching their pod, which launched moments before the station and
the prototype command ship were engulfed in fire. The pods sailed by the five
harrowers and into the black depths of space. After several hours of trying,
they were finally able to open a channel of communication with the Order and a
rescue ship was sent shortly after.

## 1/14/2017

### Royal Blood: We're Not Alone

Involved: Candicia/Neronae, Desocratos, Tvych Brit, Vi'kirr'naam, Vahnus, Misa'soma, Aisling

The Midnight Order learned, through the Zakuulan knight they had captured, that the corpses of the Imperial family and other Imperium heroes were taken to the Star Fortress above Voss. They were to be used in some sort of experiment called "Project Diety." Neronae, in accordance with the Empress's wishes, commanded two seperate strikes. The first strike, carried out by a spec ops force called "Kilo Squad", was against the planetary sheild generator protecting the star fortress. The second strike was  on the star fortress itself and was perfomed by a small team, consisting of Neronae, Vi'kirr'naam and Misa'soma, under the supervision of Minister Desocratos.
After Kilo confirmed that the sheild generator was down, the strike team entered the fortress, through a service duct and searched for a way to patch Desocratos into the fortress's network. As they looked, they were contacted, through the station's own communications, by an individual who claimed to have inside knowledge of what Zakuul was really up to with the imperium's dead. She knew the Midnight order would come to the station to stop them, and offered to help the order on one condition. That before they destroyed the station, they agreed to take her back with them. The group, hesitently, agreed and proceeded with their investigation.

On board the fortress, the team noticed that Zakuul had been experimenting with both the Voss and the Gormak, even taking samples of plant and animal life to experiment on. Quickly they realized that the experiments must have been created with the idea of making the perfect super soldier in mind. Which their unknown benefactor confirmed with them.
 As they progressed, they soon came across a lab, with four operating tables in the middle and tanks, containing what appeared to be knights of Zakuul, lining the walls. On one tables, a body laid face down, clearly deformed as if it has some sort of severe birth defects.

Curious, the group inspected the body, which they quickly confirmed as Prince Willerick. His body recently dead, instead of mummified or deteriorated in anyway. Neronae immediatly ran to one of the tanks and inspected it, to her horror she seen that the Knight floating inside was actually a clone of her long dead mother Darth Rae'vyn. It was obvious now, that Deity was not just a project to make super soldiers, but a project to create clones of prominent members of the Imperium, to serve as new knights of Zakuul.

Vi'kirr'naam, enraged by the descration of Rae'vyn's remains, killed the clone and the group proceeded through the star fortress. Their new friend giving them aide where she could, by keeping the skytroopers and knights busy in other sectors of the station.
About then, Kilo squad chimmed in. They came onto the holo channel screaming and  stating that they were under attack, by two knights of Zakuul. Bearing striking resemblance to Tykas and Amavii. The 10 man group was now cut down to roughly 5, and they pleaded with Desocratos for reinforcements.
Deso, having only his token gaurd of troopers protection the Roderick tomb, sent Lt. Tvych Brit to Voss to assist Kilo in anyway he can. And if possible, bring them home. The cathar trooper agreed and immediately set course for Kilo's location. But by the time he had arrived, the clones were gone and Kilo was down to about 3 men. The clones were no where to be seen.

Back on the fortress the strike team frantically searched for the remains of the royal family, even going so far as to fight their way into the lower levels of the station, eventually finding themselves in the security room. After killing the knights and skytroopers that were defending the area, they examined the security cameras. Only to see the remaining corpses being loaded onto shuttles, as Zakuul was preparing to send them to another facility to continue their experiments. However, Vi'kirr'naam noticed something else on the footage. A hooded figure was also making life hard for the Eternal empire. The figure was carrying what appeared to be a person in their arms, and was able to force push any skytroopers out of their way without even raising their hands. Unable to make out a positive ID, the strike team uploaded the security footage to Desocratos, for the Order to examine later.
Fearing that they would not be able to stop the shuttles in time, Neronae decided that the only way they could stop "project diety" was to destroy the station from the inside. By destroying it's solar reactor. Misa'soma agreed and the three fought their way into the heart of the station.

Assisted by their benefactor, they were able to overload the station's reactor and trigger a meltdown. As they tried to escape, the station's exarch Andur, tried to prevent them from leaving. Enraged by what Zakuul had did to their friends and loved ones, the strike team attack the exarch mercilessly, and were sucessful in killing him.
As they were escaping the station, their benefactor finally revealed herself. A knight of Zakuul, by the name of Aisling. She had been aware of what the eternal empire was doing, and felt strongly that it had to be stopped. That zakuul had to be stopped. After apologizing on behalf of the people of Zakuul, she informed the strike team that she had a shuttle ready and waiting to take them back to the matriarch, as a sign of good faith. Neronae, feeling that Aisling has more than proven herself trustworthy, agreed to return to her to the order. Hoping that the others will agree to letting her defect.

In her final report to Candicia, Neronae stated that the bodies of the royal family were incinerated in the blast, and that any and all trace of the cloning projects existance had vanished, save for the two missing clones. However, the Empress seemed reluctant to close the book on Project Diety just yet...

## 1/13/2017

### The Fallen

Involved: Xaketh/Silbren, Csavrah, Misa’soma,
Cordaxia/Carjuz

Xaketh, Cordaxia and Misa’soma entered Intelligence
headquarters aboard the Matriarch following a summons from Director Csavrah and
found him at his control console barking orders to agents across the galaxy.
Cordaxia cleared her throat to get his attention and he wheeled around,
addressing Xaketh first. “We got him,” the director proclaimed proudly and the
pair exchanged a mutual look of understanding. He clarified that they had
located the former Grand Inquisitor, Carjuz, after he had bombed the Matriarch
with the carbonite corpse of the King of Jannuah.

Xaketh questioned why Ciphers had not been deployed to
handle Carjuz to which Csavrah responded that the agents he had deployed had
been dispatched by the renegade Sith. Both Cordaxia and Csavrah suggested
Xaketh be responsible for capturing Carjuz as it had been his problem from the
start. Xaketh disagreed saying that if he were captured, Carjuz would have a
high profile prisoner to barter. The group established a team to pursue the
Grand Inquisitor to his hiding spot on the ravaged planet: Ziost.

When the team landed on Ziost, they were met with a
desolate, charred terrain and overwhelming silence. The absolute destruction
left behind by Vitiate’s power unsettled the squad as they began their trek
across the wreckage. As they moved, they scanned for other agents that could
have survived the world and received no responses.

As they neared the canyon, they stumbled across a massive monolith
which had not come up on the readings as a life form. The group engaged the
monster and after much effort, took the beast down. They snuck into the canyon
and climbed down until they reached an opening with a large temple in it. An
agent informed the team that the life form reading was behind the temple. As
the group looked on, they saw a massive pillar of purple energy, smoke and
lightning reaching into the sky from behind the temple. They moved forward with
caution.

At the eye of the storm, the center of the whirlwind of
energy sat Carjuz. He was chanting and seemed unaware of the approaching Order
squad. They had been mistaken however, the large zabrak stood and as the chant
ended, the whirlwind vanished. Silbren, Xaketh’s representative yelled that
Carjuz was under arrest for his crimes against the Order and the Sith turned to
face the team ready to engage.

As Csavrah launched his surprise attack, Carjuz tossed his
saber at the Director of Intelligence, blocked his shots and redirected his
smoke grenade at Silbren. Silbren tossed it aside before it detonated and
watched as Carjuz leapt for Csavrah with a fierce battlecry and sabers drawn.
Csavrah was stunned by the battle cry and saved by SIlbren’s interference as
the Sith moved to gain Carjuz’s attention. Silbren’s saber met the zabrak’s
pair as he jumped over his head landing behind her as Csavrah attempted to kick
Carjuz from behind. He plunged his sabers downward toward Silbren who rolled
out of the way cleanly. Through the battle, Carjuz kept saying “They were
right.”

Fueled by rage, Carjuz seized Csavrah with the force and
threw him hard against the temple exterior knocking him out. He reached out and
locked SIlbren in stasis and marched forward raising his saber as he approached.
He stated coldly “The Order has sent you to your death.” Silbren looked down at
his lost saber. Carjuz lifted Silbren off the ground using the force and swung
his saber forward in a powerful strike. Silbren focused and lifted his saber
from the ground enabling it to catch Carjuz’s attack at the last second. He
continues using the force to control his saber in the fight as it twists and
twirls in the air in clever attempts to injure Carjuz. The zabrak blocked every
attack before using a force blast to disrupt Silbren’s  focus and knock him out of stasis. Silbren
landed on his feet, summoned his saber to him and hurled a bulbous dead plant
at Carjuz who sliced through it angrily. Using the bulb as a distraction,
Silbren hurled his saber at Carjuz while simultaneous blasting him with
lightning, an attack that Carjuz used his twins sabers to shield himself
against.

Carjuz continued to hold his guard, though a force quake
from Silbren forced him to stumble backward. Silbren summoned the lost saber
and along with his own, hurled the pair at Carjuz before redirecting them to
attack him in a flanking maneuver. At the last second, Carjuz leapt into the
air causing the hurling sabers to crash into one another. In the air, Silbren
uses the force to push Carjuz back before catching him and slamming him into
the ground. As Silbren approached, he controlled the three sabers to point at
Carjuz before applying cuffs and a neural disrupter. Silbren signaled the Order
shuttle to retrieve the group and their new prisoner.

## 1/11/2017

### Growing Aspirations: Heart of Cortosis (Part 1)

Involved: Cordaxia, Tvych Brit, Neronae, Severei

Lieutenant Tvych Brit and Commandant Neronae Vindarhin moved
silently and swiftly through the halls of the Matriarch until they reached the
State Embassy where they found Chancellor Cordaxia Vel’naz awaiting them. She
informed them that she had another mission and that she wanted greater military
involvement just in case any violence took place.

Cordaxia explained that she was going to attempt to bring
another world into the Order: Caseyarus. The planet in question was wealthy in
resources, but traditionally isolationist. She continued that in spite of their
views toward outsiders, the people of Caseyarus were open to considering
becoming part of the Order in exchange for aid in restoring one of their
greatest sources of income. The people of Caseyarus were wealthy individuals
accustomed to a certain way of life which made predicting their wants and needs
fairly easy. Commandant Vindarhin guessed that the problems of the world
involved either a petty civil war or an assassination attempt. Cordaxia denied
both and went on to say that Caseyarus had a moon that was rich in ores and
minerals, one of which was the exceptionally rare metal, cortosis. The
Caseyarians had established a massive mining operation on the planet that had
greatly supplemented their wealth, but it had gone dark and all teams sent to
investigate had disappeared.

Once all questions
were answered, Cordaxia asked the pair how many soldiers they would require to
which Neronae responded, she and Lieutenant Brit would be adequate for an
investigation. The pair walked out and prepared to travel to Caseyarus’ moon. As
they boarded the ship, Severai ran up and announced that Cordaxia had requested
that he join the mission as a third. He climbed aboard and together, the trio
launched into the depths of space.

When they arrived at Caseyarus’ moon, Tvych set the shuttle
down gently a short walking distance from the mining facility. Tvych and
Severai disembarked from the shuttle into the cool night air while Commandant
Vindarhin remained behind to act as their minder for the mission. As they
approached the facility, they noticed little movement outside, but found the
main entrance tightly sealed. After several minutes, Tvych successfully sliced
the door and the pair slipped inside. Around the corner, they heard two voices
speaking in Imperial accents. The first said that he was on a tight schedule
and questioned why his miners had been forced to cease extraction and the
second responded that a ship had been detected entering the moon’s atmosphere
and the Admiral wanted the facility to blackout until they received an all
clear. The first voice stressed that the final shipment was supposed to have
been sent the day before and that this delay was only putting him back further.
Coldly, the second replied that the Admiral was not pleased with the delay and
expected her final shipment by the end of the week. He continued that the first
man should find new ways to motivate his workers once the blackout had
concluded.

Suddenly, the first voice asked if the second heard
anything. They listened and moments later, the second voice ordered the first
to sound the alarm, Tvych and Severai had been heard. The pair barged into the
next room and Tvych slaughtered both before either could sound the alarm. However,
the gunfire was heard by soldiers in the next room who flooded in firing on the
intruders. Severai slammed them against the wall knocking some out while
breaking others.

Moments after they had cleared the room, a communication
sounded off from a nearby terminal. The voice stated that gunfire had been
heard and was requesting a station-by-station all clear. Severai, who had a
distinct Imperial accent, responded “All clear,” but the voice on the other end
was no convinced. The officer said that he did not recognize Severai’s voice
and requested authorization codes. Severai remained in character and made clear
his offense at being questioned as a Lord of the Sith, he claimed he had been
sent by the Admiral. There was a pause and a minute later, the Officer
apologized for any offense before cutting the communication.

As Tvych and Severai moved out of the entry guard station, a
cold, female voice echoed across the base announcing the end of the blackout. All
miners were ordered to resume operations and were informed that further delays
would not be tolerated. They continued on and reached the main yard. As the
passed through the gate, they witnessed 7 large Imperial cargo ships lifting
into the air and jettisoning away from the facility presumably loaded with the
resources that the Admiral had requested. They stared upward as the ships moved
out of sight upset that they had been unsuccessful in stopping them. They
continued into the darkened courtyard until they spotted lights: a patrol
composed of 9 heavy troopers and 4 shielded sensor droids was moving straight
for them.

Severai told Tvych to lie low as he moved forward, standing
up to his full height. He requested the squad escort him to the Admiral’s
office immediately. The squad leader informed him that the Admiral was
preparing to leave the moon and thus was not seeing anyone. He said that he
would contact Commander Skarn, who had assumed command of the base in the
Admiral’s absence. Severai attempted to perform a mind trick on the Squad Leader
ordering him to take him to the Admiral. The squad detected the attempt at
deception and in one fluid motion, raised their blasters and fired on Severai.
The Sith activated his lightsaber immediately and leapt back. His armor took
several hits from the squad, but he remained standing as they continued their
attack.

Overwhelmed, Severai called on his anger and unleashed a
powerful scream that disabled the droids and caused the heavy troopers to
stagger back, momentarily disoriented. Severai took the opportunity to flee and
regain himself while Tvych remained safely stealthed, out of sight of the
troopers. The squad regained their composure and the Leader contacted command
to inform them about the intruders.

In turn, Severai attempted to contact Commandant Vindarhin,
but found that communications had been jammed. As they evaluated their
situation, a shuttle flanked by 6 fighters took off in the distance. As Tvych
watched it depart, he noticed another cargo ship being loaded with crates
nearby. Cloaked in his stealth field, he snuck aboard the ship and hid. From
his hiding spot, Severai also noticed the cargo ship. He waited for the workers
to depart to retrieve another load before using force speed to zoom aboard, unknowingly
joining his companion in hiding.

From their hiding spot, they overheard more workers
speaking. The workers were under orders to finish loading the cargo ships
and  then to lock them up until the
lockdown of the base had ended. A half hour later, they finished loading the
ship and sealed it up with the Order agents inside. It was then that
realization set in and Severai asked Tvych if he could pilot to which the
cathar replied “How do you think we got here?” Tvych moved to the cockpit and
began warming up the engines while Severai told him that he hadn’t seen any AA
turrets on the way in. As the vessel powered up, the control tower sent called
the ship telling them that they did not have clearance to depart and to power
down immediately. Tvych ignore the warning and the cargo ship lifted off the
ground and made to leave the moon. As they neared open space, 3 Imperial
cruisers emerged from hyperspace and began firing on them. The shields absorbed
the fire as Tvych locked in the coordinates for Acheron and they sped away from
the conflict.

## 1/8/2017

### Royal Blood: From the Grave

Involved: Candicia/Neronae, Si’alla, Vahnus, Old Hob,
Desocratos, Tyvch Brit, Vi’kirr’naam, Misa’soma

It began with a summons issued by a droid called HK-52. The
droid summoned all available organics to the Council Chamber aboard the
Matriarch by personal request of the Empress herself. In the Chamber, the
Empress sat quietly atop her throne and observed all who entered until she
finally spoke. In a quiet, yet powerful voice, she instructed all in the chamber
to stand before her. As her subjects approached, standing quietly before their
leader, Candicia broke her silence and announced that the spirit of her aunt, S’rahnia,
had been growing restless having claimed control of her body and actions on a
number of occasions in recent weeks. Through her connection to S’rahnia,
Candicia discerned that the former Empress had become afraid of something
lingering in the shadows, something deeply troubling and dangerous. She
continued on saying that whatever the source of this fear was, it had caused S’rahnia
to believe that she once again required a corporeal form.

According to Si’alla, S’rahnia had been raving about
defilers to her power having asked repeatedly, “Child of the Imperium, why have
you come?” Candicia then announced that she believe S’rahnia’s ravings referred
to her tomb on the original Imperium homeworld, Voss. Unfortunately, Voss had
fallen under the authority of the Eternal Empire. Fortunately, the location of
the Royal Tomb was not in Voss-Ka which had been decimated by the initially
invasion of the Eternal Empire.

Candicia ordered her followers to investigate the tomb to
discern why she had lost sight of its contents. With quick bows and a hastened
pace, the assembled group made for a shuttle and departed to Voss. The Order
shuttle, disguised as a cargo ship, emerged from hyperspace over Voss and quietly
descended to the surface. Landing in a desolate wooded area, the group followed
Desocratos down the boarding ramp as he announced that they had arrived as
close to the Tomb as they could without alerting the Eternal Empire to their
presence.

Desocratos instructed the group to move swiftly and to avoid
leaving any hints that they had been on Voss as they made their way to the
Tomb. As the group crossed a grassy plane, Desocratos instructed Hob and Vi’kirr
to halt and gestured at a Gormak encampment placed directly in their path. On
the suggestion of Vahnus, the group moved along a ridge at the edge of the
plane instead of engaging the Gormak camp. As they clung to the safety of the
ridge, Vi’kirr observed that it had been near their location that he had been
captured during the initial invasion of Voss and experimented on.

Upon reaching the Tomb’s entrance, the group was surprised
to see more Gormak camped immediately outside: there would be no avoiding this
group. Tyvch was granted permission to dispatch the Gormak to make it look as
though they had been attacked and killed by local wildlife. The group moved
inside the Tomb stealthily eliminating the Gormak infesting its halls.

Inside the Tomb, Neronae brought a massive hole in the wall
of the burial ground, an entrance clearly made by high powered explosives:
someone wanted the contents of the Tomb greatly. The group observed new boot
prints amongst the Gormak trails and found that many of the graves had been
looted of their contents. They moved deeper into the tomb, following the
footsteps, until they came across the grave of a Monarch. The sarcophagus had
been forced open with either a plasma torch or a lightsaber and, similar to the
others, was missing its contents. Desocratos moved forward to examine the
sarcophagus. Tyvch informed Neronae that the tomb smelled of the bodies they
had dropped and that they had likely killed a group of Gormak meant to check in
meaning that reinforcements would be on their way.

Desocratos called down from atop the massive sarcophagus
that he had discovered which monarch had occupied it and pulled out a golden
effigy bearing the resemblance of Emperor Salvatus Roderick. They moved around
the chamber exploring more of the looted containers until they stumbled across
the burial site of Arestenax and S’rahnia: the site they had come for. As they
examined it, Tyvch declared that a new scent had entered the tomb, they were
not alone. He also picked up a holopad that had been abandoned among the ruins
and handed it to the Flame.

The recording revealed a doctor with an escort of Zakuulian
knights in the same hall. The doctor had instructed his team to break into the
sarcophagus of S’rahnia and Arestenax and to ignore the unease they felt in the
Tombs. They flipped through the recordings until they came upon the final one:
a holo revealing that they had been unsuccessful in recovering the body of
Arestenax. The doctor, over holo, angrily condemned his team for the failure of
the experiment with the Emperor’s son and asked pointedly about his wife, S’rahnia.
They announced proudly that they had recovered the body of the Empress and that
they were sending it to the Doctor for his continued experimentation. As the
recording ended, the group questioned why the doctor would require the bodies
of the deceased monarchs of the Imperium.

As they continued to contemplate the possible fate of S’rahnia’s
corpse, Si’alla informed the group that S’rahnia had mentioned overseeing Voss
and witnessing an old empire replaced by a new one. The group discusses the
meaning of the words and eventually comes to the conclusion that the lab S’rahnia
was taken to, was on the Star Fortress orbiting the planet. In the midst of the
group’s planning, Hob twisted a dial on its armored chest and spoke in a raspy,
forced metallic voice declaring interest in wearing stolen Knight armor to
infiltrate the Star Fortress. Initially surprised that Hob could speak, the
group questioned how it would obtain clearance and properly emulate a knight.
Revealing a needle built into its armor, Hob declared that “information could
be obtained.”

The group moved to the nearest outpost of the Eternal Empire
at Pelath Point where they were ordered to surrender by the command of Emperor
Arcann of Zakuul. Si’alla commented on the cliché nature of the order as she
drew her saber, a gesture mimicked by the rest of the group as the Knight
approached. The Knight engaged the group, but lost hold of his saber when Old
Hob launched electrified barbs at him. The saber was quickly recovered by
Vahnus who sliced the weapon in half while Lady Si’alla Va’lenn held her own
blade to the throat of the knight demanding he surrender.

As the knight refused
to surrender information, Neronae reported ships from the Eternal Fleet
emerging from hyperspace overhead.  Si’alla
quickly knocked the Knight unconscious as Neronae piloted  the shuttle to their location for an emergency
pickup. Suddenly, the group found itself surrounded and formed a defensive ring
around Vi’kirr who had picked up the fallen Knight of Zakuul. He laughed and
reached out with the force crushing the skulls of the nearest three soldiers of
the Eternal Empire.

Rocket troopers emerged from a nearby hill to target the
Order strike team, but were quickly destroyed by an expertly thrown saber from
Misa’soma. Desocratos mustered a massive amount of dark energy before releasing
it upon the left flank of the Skytrooper offensive leaving them sizzling in a
malfunctioning heap. Hob clapped its hands together releasing sparks that
struck another nearby cluster of Skytroopers that had a similar result.

In the chaos, Neronae landed the shuttle in the center of
the ring and ordered the group aboard. One by one, the Order strike team
climbed aboard, deflecting the Skytroopers blasts as the craft lifted from the
ground and propelled itself into the sky away from the battle. As they
departed, Tyvch released an improvised explosive device onto the Skytroopers
below as Si’alla seized a missile from the air and sent it hurling back at the
Zakuul Dropship blasting it pieces that fell to the ground below. The shuttle
blasted past a small cluster of Eternal Fleet ships before jumping to lightspeed
back to Acheron.

###

## 1/1/2017

### Growing Aspirations: Clutches of the Tyrant (Part 2)

Involved: Cordaxia/Amahrra/Na’air, Adiliah, Csavrah, Faye

Cordaxia and her team ran from the Governor’s office, faced
with the threat of Amahrra overhead, they had little choice but to hide until
the Order noticed their silence and sent help. They ran into an abandoned
segment of the shipyards where the lights flickered and sparked offering
limited illumination of the massive underbelly of the complex. To their
surprise, they were attacked almost immediately upon entering the facility by
old operation droids. The droids were quickly dispatched, but the team
immediately began to question the truthworthiness of the governor who had led
them here.

Cordaxia offered the governor the benefit of the doubt
stating that, because Amahrra had his family, he had just cause to deceive
them. She continued that they would have to make a choice to either safe him
and his family or not. As they discussed, Amahrra broadcasted a planetwide
message to all of the platform cities stating that if the Order’s
representative did not turn themselves in, she would use her capital ship to
bombard the outlying platforms. Her plan was obvious, she intended to show the
people of Orpal that the Midnight Order would prioritize their safety over the
planets they sought to absorb thus creating an irreparable rift between the
people of Orpal and themselves.

Silence embodied the minutes that passed as the group
determined what their best course of action was. In hushed whispers, they
discussed the pros and cons and eventually settled on a decision. No sooner had
they concluded, then another broadcast issued, this time in the voice of the
governor. “I am truly sorry,” he said, “but my family is everything to me, and
if that means burning the lot of you, so be it. She is coming, I have my family
once more. Farewell.”

The message disconnected and almost immediately, the
abandoned facility was overrun by mercenaries shooting to kill. Cordaxia drew
her sidearm returning fire with deadly aim, but the opposing force was massive
and a body replaced every one that was dropped. The representative team, well
versed in combat for such situations, returned fire thinning out the herd of
mercenaries slowly but surely. In the midst of the chaos, Adiliah leapt from
concentration to concentration viciously mauling the combatants while Csavrah
tossed grenades at his enemies allowing him to move to the edge of the skirmish
and draw his sniper rifle. Explosions blazed around the factory floor as
Adiliah crushed the skull of an unlucky opponent. When they had eliminated all
but one of the mercenaries, Adiliah ripped him from the ground below and
dangled him helplessly before Csavrah, offering her companion the last kill.
Csavrah chuckled as he tossed a sticky grenade onto the helpless figure who
blew up in a pile of debris after being pushed by Adiliah.

When the combat had finished, clapping echoed through the
facility as Amahrra entered flanked by two large men each holding two nekghouls
at bay on chained leashes. She cut straight to the chase “My plans have
changed.” She said. She informed them that her capital ship was tracking her
vital signs and that they would destroy the planet, platform by platform if she
died. She chuckled as Adiliah stated that they would just have to destroy her
ship and then kill her. The laugh died and she ordered her guards to release
the nekghouls on the group. They did so and one of the nekghouls immediately
used the force to crush in the skull of the closest Order guard. Adiliah
speared it killing it immediately before Amahrra fired powerful blasts at her,
grazing her side as she moved to dodge. While Adiliah engaged Amahrra, Csavrah
succeeded into killing the second nekghoul leaving two remaining. The remaining
creatures were destroyed by Xaketh and Cordaxia who concentrated their joint
attack on Amahrra who was forced to seek cover. Csavrah hurled gas cannisters
at Amahrra which exploded knocking over a massive column which she failed to
dodge. It pinned the vile woman to the ground, her weapon sliding from her
grasp. Adiliah snapped the neck of her two guards as the group approached the
crippled woman. Amahrra choked up blood, while Adiliah stated that she would
keep the woman alive to stave off the threat above. Amahrra glared at her
before biting down on a poison capsule, dying immediately.

Overhead, the crew tracking Amahrra’s vitals noted the the
flatline and the captain of the ship ordered them to begin their bombardment of
the planet below. As the first shots were fired, three Order cruisers emerged
from hyperspace catching  the enemy
vessel off guard. The Order’s attack ripped through Amahrra’s ship like paper.
Within minutes, the enemy capital ship was in pieces, dark and lifeless
floating in the space above the world of its conception.

Back on the surface, Cordaxia ordered the governor be taken
into custody and his lieutenant given power until his fate could be decided.
There was much damage to be repaired, but it was clear that the Order had
gained the favor of the world it had just saved from the clutches of the tyrant.

## 12/29/2016

### Growing Aspirations: Clutches of the Tyrant (Part 1)

Involved: Cordaxia, Adiliah, Csavrah, Xaketh, Daenerys

The Order’s shuttle dropped out of hyperspace with an echoing boom before descending into the polluted atmosphere of Orpal. The
planet boasted a number of shipyards and harvesting facilities for resources,
but lacked the shine of planets like Kuat. Chancellor Cordaxia Vel’naz had
arrived with a team to conduct a meeting with the governor of the largest
colony with the intention of discussing terms to annex Orpal into the growing
territory of the Midnight Order.

Prior to their arrival, the governor’s aide had briefed the
Chancellor on a troubling situation they were experiencing, several months
before they had even made contact with the Order, a crazed tyrant dispatched
his crew to the colonies of Orpal and demanded they construct him a fleet. To
motivate the governor, he kidnapped his children and wife leaving the man
little option, but to aid him in his endeavor. When the governor received a
transmission from a passing Order scout, he seized the opportunity and
requested a meeting with dignitaries from the growing power under the guise of
negotiating a business deal for greater resources.

Once they were briefed, Cordaxia’s team made its way to the
governor’s home to meet with the man. As they approached, they noticed the sad
state of the workers and upon entering his office, the sad state of the
governor. He quickly informed them that his office was not bugged and thus safe
for free speech and the questions began. He informed the group that he had
never actually seen the Tyrant, either conducting negotiations through his
subordinates or with him masked. He continued to say that his business and thus
his people had suffered from the unfair dealings with the Tyrant and he was
prepared to do anything to escape the hopeless situation. He told them that the
Tyrant’s force of mercenaries numbered only a few hundred, but were concentrated
largely in the main facility.

Cordaxia turned to her team searching for suggestions on
potential solutions to the governor’s problem. Csavrah spoke first, suggesting
bombardment of the mercenary camp to which the governor retorted that his home
and the homes of a majority of his citizens along with their largest production
facility were on the main platform. The group quickly established that the
enemy force was also too strong for a sweep of their team.

Adiliah questioned where they could find the Tyrant and the
governor said that he took up residence on the first completed capital ship. The
group discussed potential ways of gaining access to the Tyrant when the door to
the office suddenly sealed behind them. As they turned, 20 heavily armed
mercenaries all had their weapons trained on the team. The Order’s finest made
short work of them cutting them down with lightsabers, blasters and expert
force use. Cordaxia looked on as her team destroyed the mercs without breaking
a sweat, discouraged merely by the fact that they were known about.

The holo on the desk activated and a familiar figure
appeared, unmasked and smiling gleefully, Amahrra the Cannibal. Ruu’san freed
her from the Order’s prison on Thule during her incursion and now they had
discovered where she had gone. She declared that she had destroyed their vessel
and cut off communications to and from the world fundamentally leaving them
isolated. They were trapped.

## 11/13/2016

### The End of an Abomination

Standing in the hanger of the Matriarch was none other than the loathed Darth Kairus. Having served as a stalwart leader of the military before and after the incarnation of the Midnight Order, Kairus' faith in his comrades had faltered, just as their faith in him had faltered. The Supreme Commander starred out into the blackness of space as he recalled his history with his comrades.

From the morale-breaking Asavianic War, through the dreaded Battles of Oricon and Voss, up to the crisis on Thule. Kairus fought and led in loyalty, but his lassitude and indifference grew as his appearance on the front lines inevitably vanished. He knew within his mind that the order he served was not the same empire that he had witnessed rise to power. The death of Sith platitude and tradition was all but a certainty, as Kairus believed was apparent by the weakness that plagued much the hierarchy and Council. But the aged Sith Lord remained true in his fidelity to Empress Candicia as well as his fellow Ministers. His allegiance only stuttered in his disbelief of the Council's unwillingness to pursue the Dread Masters when the opportunity had been available. Acheron had temporarily renewed Kairus' confidence in the Midnight Order, but the decision to return to Thule shattered any optimism that remained.

Kairus was snapped out of his thoughts as a young Sergeant approached him.

"The shuttle is ready, sir. Everyone's on board."

Kairus sighed, "Good."

Both the Commander and Sergeant entered the shuttle, joining the rest of the crew: a dozen like-minded militant "defectors" as they would become known. They all had their own reasons for being on that transport, though they remained intent on sticking together. The shuttle's engines soon boomed to life, and in a few moments, the ship and its content departed the Matriarch.

On the transport, Kairus contacted the hierarchy and Council. He spoke solemnly but confidently, offering his quiet resignation, before relinquishing what was left of the Ministry of War to his apprentice, the recently promoted Darth Jaggus. When he was finished, any further communications were blocked, and the former Commander said nothing to his remaining subordinates. Behind his mask, the Sith Lord remained emotionless regarding the decision he had just made.

From the cockpit, the shuttle pilot looked back. "Are we a go, Commander?"

Kairus only nodded in silence. The pilot understood, inputting the necessary commands. In a few seconds, the shuttle jumped to hyperspace as the last sign of a questionable loyalist vanished from the eyes of the Midnight Order.

## 10/26/2016

### Heart of the Matter: Hard Choices

Involved: Neronae, Eh-rohn/Paydon, Csavrah, Daenerys, Tvych, Cordaxia/Na’air

In the Flame’s Lounge, a group of figures including General Neronae joined Minister of Intelligence Cordaxia Vel’naz as she gazes into the hangar below. She asked them quietly what they see down below to which they all expressed confusion. She drew their attention to the shuttle that was missing from the hangar and informed them that General Na’air had taken it, without an official mission, to the moon over Acheron.

Cordaxia asked the group how they wished to respond and asked if it was really worth spending Order resources to rescue a lone individual. Eh-rohn reminded Cordaxia that they were missing a shuttle as well. The group then came to an agreement that Na’air would rescue them without a second thought. Tvych volunteered to initiate the mission, a request granted by General Neronae as the various members of the group move for a separate shuttle to take to the moon.

The shuttle soared across the dense jungles until Agent Csavrah locked onto Na’air’s last known position on the world and they landed next to the stolen shuttle. Once they left the shuttle, the trekked through the jungles following Neronae until they heard the sound of a lightsaber and ran in its direction. In a nearby glade, they found Na’air fighting off a swarm of native beasts. They helped her dispatch the remaining creatures and then questioned her presence on the moon.

She declared to the group that there was something that they had missed in their last trip, something beneath the surface. She told them that she would find it with or without them. For one reason or another, the group decided to follow Na’air into the depths of the moon to discover what she had come to see. They moved to the nearby cave entrance and descended into the darkness.

The group moved downward for what seemed to be miles before Na’air ordered them to stop. Sure enough, they were about to walk off of a ledge that dropped beyond what the eye could process. They had ended on a ledge in a very large chamber. Across the cavern in the darkness, faint green lights ignited in clusters. As the group witnessed, the clusters multiplied and they realized, these were the eyes of the arachnids and they had entered the main nest.

General Neronae pondered why they weren’t  attacking the group. As the eyes looked on, a massive set of green orbs hovering above the chasm opened and stared at the group intensely, with no anger or rage, just curiosity.

As the group prepared to attack the creature shrouded in darkness, it spoke in a raspy voice asking why they had come and telling them that it sensed their fear. Na’air told the creature that good men and women had died trying to colonize the moon and that when she had come last time, she had not sensed aggression or hate from the creatures, only the will of the Matriarch, a maternal will. The Arachnid Matriarch told the group that she did not sense a threat from them, but that they could not remain on her moon.

Neronae responded by saying that the moon was part of the Midnight Order’s territory and wondered if a deal could be struck for co-existence. The Matriarch of the Hive replied that no deal would be made and that if the group left immediately, their lives would be spared. The group suggested a desire to explore their options to which Na’air reminded them that they had no time. The agent, Csavrah volunteered his opinion that the creature was their leader and would likely cause the downfall of the hive if killed. Na’air expressed reluctant agreement with the Agent’s idea which earned Neronae’s support. The Agent handed them a seismic grenade which they threw into the Queen of the Arachnids.

The blast illuminated the chamber revealing the Queen to be a massive Humanoid-Arachnid Hybrid. Neronae threw her saber at the target, disgusted by the image. The saber struck the create clean in the face and she fell into the pit below with a cry of sorrow. Many of her arachnid children followed her, screaming as they plummeted to their deaths.

As the group departed the cavern, the force-users felt the absence of life in the cavern. The massive amount of death had impacted them, but they had to live with their choice.

## 10/21/2016

### Veiled Desert: Flame and Frost

Involved: Na’air, Kairus, Si’alla, Candicia, Syrena, Nomathecia, Vi’kirr’naam, Severai

In the war room, General Na’air Petraya in the company of Supreme Commander Kairus informed the warriors largely from her ministry that she had given the data collected from Phlegethon, following the battle with the pirates, to the Minister of Intelligence and that Intelligence had reported results. She said that the data contained on their datapads and terminals indicated that there was a world at the edge of the Acheron system that the pirates regarded as a place to store their treasures and prizes and that she believed Si’alla was among them.

As she continued her presentation, Empress Candicia entered the chamber, her white armor splattered with blood. As the members of the room knelt, she wiped the blood off of her gauntlet and demanded a progress report on the mission to find her wife. General Petraya relayed the findings to her prompting the Empress to express her displeasure at the most recent works of the Ministry of War and that she did not care who they sent as she would be going to the world herself to find her wife.

The team deployed immediately landing on the frozen plains of the planet and emerging to icy blasts of wind. Na’air informed the group that coordinates of treasure sites were included with the data given to her by Intelligence and that they should begin by searching them one by one as she could not sense Si’alla anywhere on the world. Disturbed, The Empress reported the same and questioned the accuracy of the information. Na’air vouched for Intelligence’s accuracy and trekked on.

The group had intentionally landed close to the first site and upon arrival discovered a number of ancient relics and trinkets, but nothing they had come to find. They noted the location and proceeded onward. At the next location, they discovered a giant pit with no clear point of entry that appeared empty. The group questioned why it would be included in the list of drop sites as Empress Candicia knelt down and reached out for her wife. Not finding anything concrete, she said with certainty that she was close.

At the third location, deep in a valley surrounded by massive walls of ice, the group crossed an ice bridge to enter the cave when suddenly a missile soared over their heads colliding with the ice wall. The attack resulted in the cave being completely blocked and the bridge becoming unstable. They moved quickly to avoid the bridge as it fell, piece by piece, into the gorge below. Once they had reached safety, they tracked the source of the missile back to an encampment guarded by heavy war droids.

Candicia invited Vi’kirr and Syrena to show the droids the meaning of war and the pair engaged, slicing the war droids to shreds with skill and precision.  They dodged heavy blasts as the droids attempted to track and match their movements. The two of them proved an incredibly destructive force, they finished off the last droid as a large man with a long black beard in heavy, yet battered armor emerged from the lone tent in the camp and spoke in a heavy, woodsman-like voice that seemed out of place on such a frigid world.

He resisted an attempt to choke him as he blasted the group back and warned them that they were not the first and would not be the last people to make an attempt to take what wasn’t theirs.  He held up an amber holocron that radiated an unfamiliar energy and taunted them saying that they would have been lucky to have such a power to instruct them in the ways of the force.

Candicia drew her lightsaber, enraged at the man who sighed before waving his hands in an obscure pattern. The Pirate Lord, said that he had been the guardian of this world for nearly a century and would not fail in his duty now. As he  spoke, he summoned 9 bronze colored energy spikes that flung themselves at the group . As they raised t heir sabers to guard from the attack, the spikes moved straight through the blades and pierced their targets. As the spikes entered their bodies, the group felt their connection to the force weaken.

As they staggered back, the man taunted them once more he charged them and ignited a pair of crimson lightsabers. Vi’kirr caught the man’s sabers slowing his charge, but was still forced back by the sheer power in his
stride. The unfamiliar fighting style was brutal, but accurate as the pirate applied it against Vi’kirr. The Veteran Knight of the Order observed the style and eventually was able to assume the offensive. He forced the pirate back and the pirate stood resolute, holding his sabers vertically parallel to one another. He did not move as Vi’kirr moved to strike him down, but when Vi’kirr’s saber collided with the man, he exploded in a blazing amber flame that threw the group backward into the cold snow. All that remained where the pirate had been standing, was the Amber holocron which had sustained damage from the blast, but still hummed weakly.

They collected the holocron, recovered from the explosion and moved to the last location on the list. They entered the cave, scorched and cold, but on the other side of the chasm, using the heat from the lava flowing far below as warmth, they discovered Si’alla, saberless and sporting a force-resistant collar. Si’alla did not recognize them at first and armed with an ice shard, moved to fight off the people she believed to be pirates. As she did, she also revealed that one of her eyes was missing. As realization set in, Si’alla dropped the ice shard which had left a small wound in the neck of Candicia and embraced her wife. She questioned what had happened while she was away and the group filled her in on the details.

As the emerged from the cave, the shuttle landed nearby enabling them to board and return safely home.

## 10/13/2016

### The Heart of the Matter: Fool Me Twice

Involved: Na’air, Eh-rohn, Faye, Vi’kirr’naam

Na’air entered the room with a sad expression on her face and thanked the group of about thirty men and women for joining her. She expressed her regret and disappointment at the losses suffered on Phlegethon, but admitted to still feeling pride over the recovery of order members in the midst of the battle.

She reminded the group of a previous colonization effort on the moon above and that it had failed due to the death of the entire team sent. A member of the Ministry of State had dispatched a second colonization group to the other side of the moon and the same fate resulted: death. Na’air informed the group of solely military members that they would be acting as the third colonization group to draw out whatever was attacking their citizens.

The shuttle departed in silence, the troops not saying a word as they looked at one another with expressions of fear and misery. The trip wasn’t long, they landed and began trekking across the jungle moon. The forests were oddly quiet as they moved swiftly through the trees. They spent all day running until they came upon a small pool near a waterfall where Na’air ordered them to stop. She instructed them to set up camp and keep a watch going all night.

Once the camp was set up, the troops not on guard duty one by one craweled into their tents and went to sleep. The night passed by without incident, to the surprise of many and when morning came, several of the troops felt slightly more optimistic about their odds of survival. Amazing what a good night of sleep can do.

The night duty guards were relieved so they could get some rest  while the rest of the team explored the clearing they were occupying. It was lovely, the waterfall nearby provided a serene and calming effect that the team greatly needed. Na’air emerged from her tent to discover Faye and Eh-rohn at odds with one another and ended the quarrel instructing Faye to figure out a perimeter of the glare while Eh-rohn would work on purifying the water supply which he had discovered the previous night, to be unfit for drinking.

While the teams did their work, Na’air traveled to a nearby ridge and meditated. As she focused on the moon, she sensed something conflicting about it, a mixture of peace and savagery. She remained steady for many hours while the teams completed their tasks. Eh-rohn
sent a message to the camp and was surprised when Lieutenant Gorman, and not the general, responded. He reported success in neutralizing the contaminant of the water and asked where the General was. Gorman responded that she had asked to be left alone and would hear their findings later that evening.

Suddenly, Faye interjected announcing that she had found a cave and was going in. Eh-rohn told her to wait for him, but her comm went dead. Gorman sent Eh-rohn after he saying that the General had instructed everyone to stay in the glade.

Inside the cave, Eh-rohn and Faye found something and Gorman, to his frustration, could not get them to tell him what. Eh-rohn later reported that they had likely found an artifact radiating powerful force energy and declared it overwhelming. Fate within minutes opened the comm and said Eh-rohn had touched something that he shouldn’t have. As they ran back, Eh-rohn suggested that whatever it was, had been tainting the waters and that he would be giving it to the Ministry of Ancient Knowledge upon their return.

Back at camp, Na’air returned and listened to the findings of her team and as they prepared to call it a night, a scream echoed from the perimeter of the camp. Moments after, lightsabers striking something and two more screams called through the night and Na’air, Eh-rohn and Faye went to investigate. They had barely moved when several large arachnids moved through the tents stabbing soldiers in the back with their stingers, moving from one to the next. Na’air and Eh-rohn ignited their lightsabers and Faye pulled her sword and they struck down a few before realizing they’d be overwhelmed if they stayed. Tunnels opened up in the ground as Faye expressed her disapproval of leaving and within minutes, hundreds of arachnids had flooded into the glade.

On their way out of the glade, Eh-rohn picked up a stinger from an arachnid he put down and laid charges to detonate after they had cleared the area. More tunnels opened upon along their exit route causing them to cut their way through virtual walls of the spider-like creatures. A few soldiers had survived and managed to keep up with the General, they aided her by covering the rear from attack.

When they reached the shuttle, Na’air boarded quickly punching in commands while the others loaded up. The landing gear and ramp lifted as the ship began to rise, arachnids threw themselves against it trying to pull it down, but the efforts were futile as the shuttle took off on its return destination to the Matriarch. Na’air looked back in the shuttle at her seven surviving men, Eh-rohn and Faye. She then turned back to the controls and remained silent until they landed in the Matriarch’s hangar.

R&R Time was granted to all surviving members of the mission while Na’air submitted her report of the events that took place on the moon.

## 10/08/2016

### Veiled Desert: Who Do You Save?

Involved: Na’air, Neronae, Faye, Soldier 5616 (portrayed by Erasis), Vi’kirr’naam, Oserapis, Paydon

The intention was clear when General Na’air Petraya summoned the military minds of the Midnight Order to the Room aboard the Matriarch: they were getting their people back. She opened the briefing by detailing the landing patterns and the force they would be bringing to Phlegethon to rescue their lost comrades and punish the pirates for their foolishness. After fielding questions from General Neronae Vindarhin and Faye, the military briefing ended and the forces were deployed.

Upon landing on Phlegethon, the Generals coordinated their troops in an offensive against the closest Pirate settlement. As they approached, a rocky arch in the settlement’s natural defenses exploded raining debris down upon the front wave of the offensive line. They were able to successfully dodge the surprise attack, but General Na’air was forced to take cover on the enemy side of the debris wall as she was pelted with heavy fire from the settlement.

As the Order’s force moved around the massive rocky avalanche, they immediately fell under fire from the Settlement’s defenses. Neronae ordered Oserapis to aid her in moving boulders from the avalanche across the field to act as cover for her forces as they approached the settlement. The pair threw the large rocks across the battlefield, providing cover for the soldiers as they moved, in groups of five and ten, toward the base. Some were shot and killed in transition from boulder to boulder while those who successfully navigated the field were able to lay down cover fire and take down some of the pirates on the wall.

As they took cover before the wall, a number of the Order’s soldiers with nowhere else to run, proceeded into the settlement and were mowed down by the forces within. Simultaneously, Paydon the Pirate was ordered to take out the snipers barraging the field from the walls. As he acted, a volley of grenades shot into the rocky field. Na’air used the force to hurl three of them back at the wall, dropping them at the feet of a concentration of snipers. When they detonated, a chunk of the wall was blasted apart, but many Order soldiers were caught in the blasts on the field including Oserapis who was thrown into the open field scorched and unconscious.

Frustrated, General Vindarhin called in the heavy armored units. Moments later, a dropship flew overhead and two heavy walkers dropped from the sky and slammed hard into the ground. They advanced on the settlement blasting the walls apart and leaving an opening for Order soldiers to move in through. As the first walker moved through the gate to assault the inside of the settlement, it tripped over mines set by the pirates and fell in a fiery pile of scrap. Trapped inside the wreck, the soldiers use the still active weapon systems to fire into the settlement at random until General Vindarhin ordered them to initiate self destruct, following up with a statement that their sacrifice would be remembered. The blast takes out nearby soldiers from both sides as they have engaged.

The dust cloud from the self destruct provides adequate cover for the Order soldiers to sweep into the base. With the presence of no force sensitive pirates, the Order’s numbers easily overwhelmed the remaining pirates and the first settlement was claimed by the Midnight Order. They searched the buildings within and found nothing. Neronae and Na’air ripped the door off the final structure, sensing something within. They proceeded, destroying heavy battle droids within until they rounded a corner and found what they were looking for: the first missing Order member.

Khazzra was strung up with cables in the middle of the room, her body broken and beaten with a pool of blood on the floor beneath her. She was the first confirmed death from Si’alla’s team.  Neronae commented on the kolto tanks within suggesting that the Pirates had healed Khazzra multiple times to allow for longterm torture.

Vi’kirr’naam cut the young girl down from the cables and held her dead body in his arms, she would be returned to the Order to be buried properly. Na’air accessed a the last transmission from the communication terminal which revealed the remaining prisoners had been moved to two other settlements. With coordinates in hand, the Order’s force moved out.

Commander Fresara led the assault on the Cliff Fortress with 1500, while General Petraya and General Vindharin attacked the Canyon with 2500 of the remaining soldiers. When they arrived, the mouth of the canyon was walled off. Oserapris, Paydon and a small strike team climbed the canyon walls to obtain a highground position overlooking the compound

As Oserapis’ team deployed, Na’air ordered the remaining heavy walkers to deploy. A total of five were deployed against the Canyon’s wall revealing that it was shielded from the interior. They could not breach without destroying the shield generator. Na’air ordered the strike team to seek and destroy the shield generator.

The Order’s army was ordered to hold back and stay covered while the strike team took down the shield generator behind the walls. When the generator was destroyed, the walkers began tearing the exterior wall apart. The walkers, after ensuring no mines were in their path, entered the settlement followed by the Order’s vanguard. They secured a foothold inside the settlement allowing the main force and the Generals to move in.

After entering the settlement, Na’air and Neronae noticed one of the canyon walls collapse as Paydon detonated it to crush the oncoming soldiers. Inside, three of the walkers had already been destroyed as a wall of bodies composed of the Order’s soldiers rested on the ground in a bloody heap. Three force sensitive pirate commanders emerged blasting all in their path with lightning that left them sizzling and dead.

Neronae engaged one of the commanders while Na’air leapt ferociously at one catching him off guard and cutting his throat. She turned to the second one and engaged in a duel, saber against cortosis blade. The two generals fought valiantly amidst their soldiers, Neronae fighting with strength and fury in ferocious strikes that easily overpowered her commander. Na’air dueled with precision, using aged techniques not seen in decades. She remarked on how much she was enjoying being oback on the battle field after spending years behind a strategy table. Neronae sliced her opponent in half after smashing him in the face with her hilt while Na’air skewered hers.

As the commanders fell, the pirates lost morale and surrendered. Faye reported that she had found Oserapis and Paydon, both still alive.

Neronae walked through the wreckage of the Settlement sensing something in a nearby building. Inside, she found Desocratos in a kolto tank acting as a cage. Upon being freed, Desocratos began bleeding, his wounds opening back up. Neronae ordered him to be contained to the kolto tank and transported back to Acheron to explore restoring him. The Generals collectively noted that the wounds were inflicted by a force power they were unfamiliar with.

While Desocratos was transported back to the ship, the generals and Paydon continued their search of the settlement and found, in the beast cages, Tvych. His fur was coated in dry blood, his claws ripped from his hands and his face expressing defeat as he looked up at his saviors with hollow eyes. After confirming that he was not a threat, Tvych was freed to rejoin his comrades.

As the Order’s forces boarded the shuttles to return to Acheron, a single speeder emerged from a smoky horizon carrying Rey’a and Eh’ron along with 5 battered soldiers. They reported that the battle at the Cliff Fortress had failed, almost the entire 1500 soldiers sent had fallen and the five had barely escaped with Eh-ron and Rey’a. They were chastised by Neronae for losing so many and even further when they reported they had not found the Flame. With about half their forces remaining, the Order army returned to Acheron to reconsider their position and analyze their findings in the datapads.

## 10/01/2016

### Veiled Desert: Peace or Peril

Involved: Cordaxia/Pirate Lord Anaxious, Neronae, Vi’kirr’naam, Jaggus, Faye, Paydon,  Talon Daggor

Cordaxia approached the group she had called on the palace steps and invited them inside the palace to avoid listening ears. Inside, she revealed a box that was charred and broken. It had been shot from orbit to attract the attention of the order and inside, they had found a holorecorder with a message for the Order. Cordaxia played the message which revealed a pale, bald man with scars, tattoos and piercings all across his face. He demanded a meeting with someone important in exchange for their friends lives, as payment for their spying and meddling.

After the message had concluded, Cordaxia asked the group for their thoughts. The Director informed the group that they did not have much intelligence on the inhabitants of the desert world as both the probe and the team sent to investigate had been taken down by the pirate forces. They went around the circle analyzing the force required to take down the Flame’s team and asked for Paydon’s opinion as a pirate.

Faye proved to be quite vocal as she voiced her dislike of the banter and said the choice was simple: go or don’t go. The team concurred and Cordaxia assigned General Neronae to lead the group meeting with the pirates.  The coordinates contained with the holorecording directed the team to the planet Lethe, the third world in the Acheron system.

When they had landed on the planet, the group noticed something peculiar about the atmosphere of the planet, but couldn’t identify what was wrong. They could breathe fine and there was no evidence of any life threatening toxins in the air, so they proceeded to the coordinates provided by the Pirate’s holorecording.

They arrived at the coordinates to find the man from the recording, alone with only a droid attending him. He greeted them in a deep, formal tone and informed them that he did not have their friends, but meant them no harm. He admitted that he was merely acting in defense of his people and that the Order had made the first offensive move. He asked them why they should not coexist as partners in the system to which Neronae ordered Jaggus to crush his droid. He shrugged it off and the group finally noticed that he was using a force breathing technique: he was force sensitive.

The group slowly surrounded the man as he continued talking and revealed that he had no idea who they were. At the mention of the Empress, he smiled realizing that he had her wife in his captivity. Angered, Neronae grabbed the man by the throat lifting him off the ground and demanded to know where the Flame and her team were being kept. He responded by unleashing a surprisingly violent and powerful force blast which freed himself and launched the group backward. As he drew his sword, he glared at the group expressing his disappointment in them for he had come with no ill feelings.

As the group regained themselves, shocked at the pirate’s control of the force, he launched two concentrated tunnels of the planet’s air at Faye and Neronae confessing that the planet’s atmosphere altered and destroyed memories with prolonged exposure.

He blocked the shots fired by Paydon and Talon before leaping at Neronae who was still struggling to recover her lost lightsaber. Neronae was suffering under the atmospheric effects and had trouble regaining focus as Jaggus engaged the Pirate Lord and Faye snuck up from behind. The Pirate Lord was ready and fired lightning at Faye as he held Jaggus at bay with his blade. Faye was thrown back hard by the lightning strike and threw her blade full force at the Pirate as Jaggus pushed him. The Pirate used the push to launch himself into the air leaving Jaggus vulnerable to the coming blade which was diverted at the last moment by Faye.

Paydon landed a successful shot on the Pirate’s face as Faye threw her blade once more, this time landing it in its target, her opponent’s back. He howled in pain and charged at Paydon. Neronae, having regained her saber, attacked the pirate using a force blast to throw him backward at Jaggus. The Pirate Lord, as he flew back, hurled his sword at Paydon. The blade landed in Paydon’s shoulder as Jaggus kicked the Pirate hard in the face, dropping him.

The pirate lord pressed a button on his belt while on the ground and ordered “Kill the girl” into the comm as Neronae held her saber to his throat. Paydon requested that the man not be killed. The group disregarded the request saying the Lord had no value and stated that they would have Intelligence trace the signal of the comm. He revealed that the Flame was no longer on his world before he drew a dagger from his boot and stabbed his own throat, grinning and chuckling eerily as he coughed up blood and died. Neronae dropped her saber through his skull stating that she would not let him take away her kill.

The General opened up a channel with the Director of Intelligence and conveyed the bad news. She admitted that Khazzra had likely been killed on the pirate’s orders while the fate of the others was unknown. Cordaxia said that she wouldn’t accept the deaths of any of the team members without proof and that she would do her best to track the pirate’s coordinates using the holocommunicator they obtained from the pirate’s corpse. She asked Neronae if this meant they were at war with the pirate forces and the General responded affirmatively.

## 09/24/2016

### Heart of the Matter: Consequences of Curiosity

Involved: Na’air/Khazzra, Eh-ron, Tyvch, Rey’a, Desocratos, Si’alla,

Several months after settling on the planet Acheron in Wild Space, the citizens of the Midnight Order were surprised to receive a broadcast from General Na’air Petraya requesting aid in relation to an undisclosed incident that had taken place. The squad that answered her call quickly discovered that an exploratory team had been deployed to a nearby moon to survey and determine if it was a habitable location for the Order to spread to.After a week of being deployed, the group had failed to check in three days in a row and the Ministry of War sought to investigate. The squad General Petraya assembled would be traveling to the moon to determine the status of the team. She detailed the terrain to them stating that there was no evidence of lifeforms on the surface so far as their scanners could determine. When the questions were all answered, the team was deployed to the moon where they quickly encountered the encampment of the exploratory squad. Minister of Knowledge, Desocratos joined the team on the moon to investigate the disappearance of those under his command.

The approach to the camp was immediately recognized as suspicious by the group entirely. They discovered the camp in a gloomy portion of the forest, completely void of light and covered in webs. The tents were largely in tact save for weather damage and there was no sign of any enemy forces save for the dead bodies of the exploratory team each with a single puncture mark in the same place on their bodies: over their heart.

Desocratos examined the wounds and determined the punctures were made from a stinger. The group was lead to believe the attacking creatures were arachnids and started to plan their next move: extermination or relocation. General Petraya ordered the group to return to Acheron, but before she cut the transmission, informed them that another situation had arisen: movement had been tracked in their system ending on the second planet. A probe
had been sent to observe the ship, but had been discovered and shot down shortly after arrival, Na’air wanted the team to investigate once more.

The team boarded their shuttle and traveled to the coordinates provided by the General, a desert planet with a handful of
settlements and a single large city. They landed in the city, which they determined to be a pirate port and subtly moved around to investigate. The town was weathered and old, built with primitive technology, but enhanced by what the pirates had brought. The natives wandered around hastily, with darting eyes as though afraid of being caught out in the open. They paid little attention to the group of Order investigators as they moved through the town. The team had not gone far, however, before armed pirates flooded out from every opening on the street to surround them, many armed with vibroswords and heavy weaponry. Three shots struck Khazzra who fell to the ground, critically wounded, but still alive. It was clearly a battle the Order could not prevail in without heavy losses, Si'alla ordered the team stand down as the pirates moved in to disarm them. Every member of the group was cuffed and dragged away leaving only a dusty, empty street. A brisk breeze blew across the street, concealing the footprints of the Order's team... it was as though they had never even been there.

## 09/03/2016

### Into the Haze

Involved: Candicia, Cordaxia, Reyliik, Eh-ron, Jaggus, Desocratos/Erasis, Vi'kirr'naam, Kairus

The time had finally come! Due to incomplete archives, system cannot determine the events immediately leading to the following action. The citizens of the Midnight Order had been loaded on the tattered, yet still functional fleet along with machinery, relics (much upon the insistence of Desocratos), and other supplies that would benefit them on the New World. From the bridge of the Matriarch, Empress Candicia broadcasted a speech about the era the Midnight Order was moving into and as she spoke, citizens all across the fleet felt a small, yet evident tingle of hope in their hearts. That hope was not to last however, as Director Cordaxia Vel'naz distributed the jump coordinates and orders to the vessels of the fleet, Dread Master Erasis appeared as an apparition on the bridge of the Matriarch as the lights flickered ominously. Dressed in the regal attire of the Dread Masters, crest gleaming even in the shadows, he flourished his arms as Dread Masters Vemara and Anguish appeared immediately on his left and right. They were followed by Dread Master Nolus, Dread Master Belleva and Dread Master Senna with the latter two inspiring an array of emotions in tandem with the fear.

The Dread Masters, united in their ghostly form were heard across the entire fleet. Their leader, Erasis spoke in a menacingly clear voice as he declared their intentions and announced that they had reclaimed his capital ship, the Spinnaret of Terror. As he spoke, guards on the bridge charged the ghostly forms to no avail as the Dread Masters tossed them aside, not out of necessity, but amusement. Supreme Commander Kairus ordered the fleet to fire aboard the Spinnaret, but it was too late. The Dread Masters vanished from the bridge as the lights returned to functioning status and their ship jumped to the depths of space.

Lamenting the loss of thousands of Order citizens, many members of the council and subordinate officers voiced support for a plan to pursue them, but Empress Candicia sadly reminded them that the Dread Masters were out of their reach and that the only way to move now was onward. She declared that there would come a time when they would answer for their crimes, but today was about renewal for the Order. She ordered the ships jump to hyperspace and together, they did, leaving Thule far in the past.

After many hours in anticipation and restlessness, the fleet emerged one by one before their new home. Those near front-facing windows gazed in awe at the beautiful blues and greens of the planet as clouds swirled high above its surface. A large landing zone had been cleared planetside for the Order's initial encampment while construction took place and was reporting that it was safe to begin deploying down to the planet. In organized lines, citizens began filing on to the shuttles, some feeling nervous, others excited and others still scared, as they prepared to start anew on Acheron.

## 08/27/2016

### Acts of Patriotism: *Fire in the Sky*

Involved: Ruu'san, Filan, Candicia, Si'alla, Na'air, Syrena, et al.

WIP

## 08/20/2016

### Acts of Patriotism: *Backlash*

Involved: Jaggus(Evus Gelvan)/Ruu'san, Kairus/Officer Morris, Tha'lia, Agent Marazen, Na'air

Fueled by revenge, the Order moved quickly on finding Kaldar's planet-side base after the recent revolt in Bastion City. Darth Kairus' new apprentice, Evus Gelvan, was tasked with working alongside Order Intelligence to locate where this base was. Following a group of opinionated citizens who assisted in the previous battle, Gelvan tracked them to a pit in the Empire's territory. His team set up a small camp near the potential base; if anyone was planning to leave that cave, the Order would know about it.

Returning to his master, who was already in a meeting with several military figures (Commander Tha'lia, Colonel Na'air and Watcher Marazen), he informed the group of his discoveries stating that a full scale invasion could be seen as an act of war against the Empire. The Colonel suggested that the four present should go alone, they would be undetected. Darth Kairus informed the group that he would assemble a task force should something go wrong in the cave.

The team journeyed through the jungles of Thule before arriving at the ridge of the gorge, they made certain to scan the area before proceeding further, as this was as far as Gelvan's team was able to travel. Surprised that there were no traps, the team made quick work of the bases defenses, their only slowing was their encounter with one of Kaldar's enforcers, Officer Morris, who fell rather quickly. At the end of the cave, all suspicions were put to rest--Kaldar was here. She sit in her chair above a team of researchers who were discussing some kind of weapon before the end of the war, from what was overheard during the Morris skirmish. Ruu'san went quietly and was cooperative throughout the arrest, which was unusual for her. What was she planning?

Upon arrival on-world, Darth Kairus wasted no time in meeting with his former colleague. He commanded that she be taken prisoner to the Unknown as a precaution. The Empress requested to meet with the Grand Moff personally before Kaldar be executed.

Later, commending him on his small find, Darth Kairus promoted Evus Gelvan to the rank of Lord, as his discovery led to a quick end to the war. The young major was showing the Supreme Commander a lot of potential.

## 08/13/2016

### Acts of Patriotism: *Homefront*

Involved: Ruu'san/Vahnus/Rhykan, Tha'lia, Kairus, Si'alla, Neronae, Syrena, Xalven

The words against the government were no longer empty threats as the bombs burst around the spires. No one was prepared for this invasion, Kaldar had the upper hand, and the support of many citizens.

In Bastion City, word was going around that the core group of protesters were rallying in the streets, this time with minor arms (farming tools, blaster pistols from the past) and backed by some of the Order's own military. Despite the death of the Chancellor and many, many innocent people, Kaldar was still able to rally the people as she had in her prime. Doctor Rhykan Darvahl, Chief Engineer of the former Midnight Research Facility was tasked with finding a way to prevent the terrorists from overloading the spires. However, time proved to be too slim, he was too late to reinforce the spires, however due to a contact in Bastion City, he was able to inform the Order that the rally was no longer a peaceful one, and that spires were blowing up on the outskirts of the city. Should any spire detonate on the perimetre of the villa, it could be devastating to the Order.

Si'alla, under pressure, was forced to allocate loyal soldiers to various locations around Bastion City. Kaldar was trying to thin out their forces in order to weaken them. The main targets were the spires, the armory, the downed AA cannons and the grounded fleet as many civilians took shelter in these ships. The armory was a primary objective, being that if it remained in the Order's hands, they would be able to keep the rebels as unarmed as possible. After making several calls on valuing people over resources, Si'alla had clearly made the right choice by picking people, as more and more loyal civilians left their homes to support the fight--this gave the Order the push it needed to drive the Patriots back.

Soon enough, the Patriots would slow their assault, eventually pulling their forces from the city, scattering in all directions as to not lead them to their base. Seeing as they had bombers and no accompanying fleet, led the Order to believe that Ruu'san had managed to settle on Thule without the Order noticing. Despite this blindness, the people were engulfed in morale with this victory at home.

### *The Empires of the Future*...

Involved: Syrena, Xaliax, Si'alla.

After the opportune intervention of the Empire at the end of the crisis, Darth Xaliax arrived on Thule to asses the situation of the Order on the ground while her troops secured areas and repaired the lightning spires, important to the survival of the inhabitants of the planets. On the ground, she encountered the camp that the Empress's Flame, Si'alla, had opened up with the help of Lord Syrena. Offering her assistance as a former medic, both Si'alla and the newly appointed governor of the Imperial side of Thule treated the survivors of the riots while chatted about the former Inquisitor Darth Haar, the Empire's interest on the Order, and the personal background of both. After a lenghty chat, both seemed to close the border that had been created between Empire and the Order, by removing the taxation imposed on them by Haar. After Xaliax offer her own name, Allectia Nhorom, as a sign of trust, Si'alla and Syrena departed the place, seemingly content with the new relationship created with the Empire.

## 08/06/2016

### Acts of Patriotism: *A Little Shocked Part I*

Involved: Ruu'san/Rhykan/Quemac(as POI), Salkoro, Neronae, Vi'kirr'naam, Khazzra

A distress call from Thule has earned the attention of newly appointed Chancellor Salkoro Thul. A report from the Midnight Research Lab indicated that the Patriots of Indrexu have struck at the Order's capitol world and was quickly taking over an ill-defended laboratory. A fireteam was quickly assembled and sent to the location of the call. The POI slicers worked quickly, shutting down communications and the automated speeders. The scientists trapped inside were unable to contact the Order, and the Order was unable to be there quickly. They took to the jungle, moving on foot, a dangerous feat on such an unforgiving planet. However the beasts of this world were unmatched against the Order's finest.

During their trek, the head of engineering at the facility, Rhykan Darvahl, managed to access a makeshift comlink long enough to inform the Order of the details of the assault. Time was short, and defenses were slim. He was locked up in an office in the complex, safe, but not for long.

Approximately an hour after the initial call, the fireteam had arrived moments before they breached the door to Darvahl. Surprised, he almost shot the Chancellor, thinking it was one of the Patriots. Darvahl quickly informed them that the entire complex was compromised, but that they terrorists had a particular interest in the Engineering Annex. He noted that they had stolen many logs reporting their current project - enhancing the lightning spires. He stated that engineering had been working on ways to enhance the spires without overloading them, they had run multiple small scale tests, and the scars on Rhykan's face indicated that they knew the limits. He had also introduced that they were experimenting using different alloys to strengthen the spires, however it also contained a list of the alloys that failed, causing the spires to overload. Rhykan hypothesized that if applied on a real spire, it could wipe out a large area around it, not to mention the crippling effect it would have on the power grid.

Rhykan provided a list of names to the Chancellor of the soldiers that lost their lives at the facility, hoping that they would have an honourable funeral. Moments after, a discussion emerged, curious of how to proceed with the spires. Rhykan shut down many ideas suggesting that it would be dangerous, and the Chancellor admitted that some alternatives would result a further drop in morale. This was not needed, considering several employees at the MRL turned their weapons on their coworkers, siding with the terrorists.

Promising to search for an alternative to the spire situation with whatever scientists remained, Rhykan was told to take a mental stability test before boarding the Matriarch to continue his research. General Neronae had ordered an attache of marines to the MRL, telling them to copy whatever data was left, and to torch the rest of the facility, not allowing the Patriots to return and salvage anything.

Acts of Patriotism: *A Little Shocked Part II*

Following the rescue at the MRL, the team returned to a downed Matriarch (she was due for refueling) to consider the future of the Order. They now knew that the Patriots were capable of infiltrating their capitol, who knows what else they could do. Moments after they boarded, the Chancellor was interrupted by a guard, something very unusual. The Chancellor asked for his rank and name, the soldier complied--however Salkoro clearly had not read the list of names, as the soldier used the credentials of one of the fallen guards from the MRL. He informed the team that there was a situation that needed to be addressed--*The Chancellor had been kidnapped.* Mere microseconds passed, everything was a blur. A coordination of the soldier's rifle butt knocking the Chancellor out, combined with the smoke grenades dropped from the ceiling, followed by uncloaked Patriots, instantly opening fire.

The General attempted to get the ship in orbit and lock it down before anyone could escape, but it was too late. Everything was much too prepared on the Patriots' side, and the Chancellor was gone. The soldiers quickly fell, the last of them almost blowing up on Neronae, if not for the young apprentice throwing the body away, causing it to blow a hole in the floor.

On the Paladin, Grand Moff Kaldar's personal warship, Salkoro had been tied up, being interrogated by the ringleader herself. A long discussion is broken out between the former colleagues, Ruu'san needed him to send a message to the Order, and potentially get him to change sides, but the latter was optional.

Finally Salkoro broke, after threats, stabs, and comparisons of the two factions, he decided to broadcast the rally to the people, to instigate a revolt. Ruu'san prepared everything, pulling out a blaster and pointing it at his head, however ensuring she was out of the frame to keep the illusion that he was in his office.

All was going according to plan, until he gave the people hope. Ruu'san did not hesitate, she called him a fool and shot him between the eyes, a pure representation that she would not stop until her goal was achieved. Nothing would stand in her way, whether they liked it or not, the people would be her tool.

## 07/30/2016

Acts of Patriotism: *A Small Miscalculation*

Involved: Ruu'san, Rayak, Filan, Kairus, Na'air, Marazen, Unidentified Sith (S'renx)

War! With primitive scouts completed of fueling depot PI-1973, the perceived base of operations for the Patriots, Supreme Commander Kairus rallies his team for the assault on the moon. Going off of the shuttle's navicomp and Ruu'san's word, the Order was going in blind. Little was known of the resistance on the moon, the Grand Moff could have had the few dozen she mentioned, or an army. Unfortunately for the Order, it was the latter. Although intelligence was slim, it was discovered that there were gas leaks amongst the facility--intentional or not is unknown--rendering blasters and lightsabers useless. The team must use vibroblades or low-power emitting weapons and filtration masks.

The team managed to infiltrate the facility seemingly unnoticed. Once secured in the freight depot, the team could see two Terminus-class warships emerge on the horizon from the viewport. Kaldar needed to be stopped. Halfway through the depot, they encountered Ruu'san's affiliate, Filan Kelborn, with a group of Patriots and droids. Few living beings were on the station due to its gas leaks. A fight ensues, and Filan escapes before his team is defeated by lobbing in a smoke grenade, and a false-detonator to distract the Order. After the fight, the team notices one of the terminals in the depot showed plans of a Dark Reaper and a Force Harvester. They had the option to either continue the mission, or erase the plans from the network. There is a divide in opinion for what should be done, knowing that it would take time to erase everything and reinforcements would arrive, the Supreme Commander ordered them to leave the terminal and continue the chase.

In the following room, a large modified war droid waited for the team. It had behemoth vibroblades for arms, and an impressive stature. Failing to combat it physically, Kairus thought tactfully, rushing the team around the droid and out the door whilst Na'air held the droid in a stasis. Before trapped with the Force, the droid revealed that its core was lined with detonite, enough to set the complex ablaze. At the last moment the door is sealed and an explosion is heard as the droid sets itself off. The blast was contained, however it flexed the metal door. That was not the end, yet another squad of droids engaged the group, but they fought relentlessly, determined to accomplish their goal of capturing the former Grand Moff.

A final fight breaks out, this time Filan is not alone. The Supreme had been on the moon with Ruu'san for a meeting when the infiltration began. Rayak did not stay long, simply tormenting the group until the Mandalorians arrived. She fled to Ruu'san in her private offices. During the final engagement with Filan, any living personnel on the station escaped onto the warships, preparing for escape.

Finally meeting with Ruu'san, the team had had enough. Although Ruu'san did not, looking at this as though it were a game, and she was winning. She sarcastically surrendered to the Order before mentioning that she rigged the power generators to explode on the station, and Rayak informed them that they had thirty seconds. Ruu'san warned them to run before being teleported away by Rayak onto her flagship, the Paladin. Rumblings are felt in the office, the former complex had already detonated. Barely escaping with their lives, the team manages to enter their shuttle and flee as the final bits of the station explode behind them. A warmonger-er remains at large, a corrupt witch intouched, and a valuable resource lost.

## 07/26/2016

### Acts of Patriotism: *An Explosive Return*

Involved: Ruu'san, Filan, Erasis, Candicia, Hadz Nekiri, Si'alla, Kairus, Iznol

Calling from an old Imperium channel, the alleged late Ruu'san Kaldar contacts the Order. She explains her situation; the Remnant Imperium fell three years ago when the Eternal Empire discovered their location on New Amgarrak. Displeased with hiding, Zakuul eradicated everyone on the planet for failure to provide tribute. In the final moments of the siege of Keine City, wanted criminal Filan Kelborn and members of his clan stormed the throne room. At first, it would have been thought he was there to execute Grand Moff Kaldar, but instead he rescued her and personal guard. They managed to flee to a dense jungle across the planet, waiting for the siege to end. They traveled the galaxy in search of a new home for a year after the raid ended. They discovered an abandoned mining asteroid, specializing in fuel extraction.

The members of the Order were not too keen on the Grand Moff's return. At Voss, Ruu'san had branded the Order as heretics and traitors to the Throne, swearing she would exact revenge. After some time, the Empress summoned Ruu'san and her team of loyalists to The Unknown.

Greeted by Dread Master Erasis and Supreme Commander Kairus, Ruu'san exited the shuttle with a strange walk and a decorated metal cane in her hand. A brief dispute arises about Filan, but they are ultimately brought to the bridge to speak with the Empress. Ruu'san was asked to leave her soldiers behind.

Tension filled the room as the Grand Moff stepped foot on the Empress' bridge. Ruu'san did not want to waste time with formalities, she showed much discomfort with standing, and asked her old friends to come to the cantina for drinks. The Order was firm on their stance to not waste time with Kaldar after her threats five years ago. Comparisons were made to the Dread Master's stay, the fire between Erasis and Ruu'san stood as strong as ever. Preparing to leave, Filan asked the whereabouts of Duke Andrekios, there was a quick response that he was dead and Ruu'san broke down.

Composing herself, she informs them of the mining asteroid she lived in before walking away, disgusted that they would trust the Dread Masters over one of their most decorated officers to live in the Imperium. She moved to the cantina where she would begin prepping the explosives in the serving droids. Most of the work had already been accomplished by the loyalists sent there, but she oversaw the last few bombs. As if on cue, the Order's elite entered the cantina. There is discussion of the asteroid and its conditions. When asked for what she wanted in return for the asteroid, Ruu'san informed them that she knew of the Sith sent to her shuttle, and admired the precautions taken by the Order. However their precautions only got them so far. Ruu'san staged a heart-attack to distract the Order. In that time, the serving droids strategically placed themselves around the room. When Filan helped Ruu to her feet, she popped the top off her cane, exposing it as a detonator, she presses the button and the droids explode, knocking everyone off balance and killing the few loyalists in the room. Filan threw a smoke grenade and he and Ruu run off to the shuttle, exposing that Ruu'san had no problem's walking and it was a ruse to convince them that she was weak.

Nine soldiers--a mix of Kelborn Mandalorians and Patriots of Indrexu--storm in and begin blasting at random, attempting to kill any survivors. Si'alla and Candicia cut down most with ease, until one of the loyalist Captain's ran in with a bomb strapped on his chest. In the middle of the room he yelled, "The Patriots of Indrexu shall get their revenge!" before activating the suicide-bomb. Erasis was blasted back with minimal damage, however the Empress was pushed face-first into the wall, burning her back from the fire and breaking her nose on the wall. Si'alla rushed to her aid, healing the majority of the burns and realigning her nose. Erasis rises, killing the remaining forces with a chain lightning-like ability, ripping the life from them in unison. Reinforcements never arrived as the Supreme Commander was occupied with the fleeing Moff and outlaw.

Meanwhile at the hangar bay, a firefight breaks out near the Patriots shuttle. They are clearly outnumbered to the might of the Order on the warship. Ruu'san did not engage the group, leaving Filan and the last Mandalorians to fend off against the attack. Close to slicing the doors open, Ruu signals to Filan and he fires a torpedo at the ceiling of the hangar, gaining them a small window of opportunity. The doors open, and the remaining Patriots board the vessel, in an instant, they vanished, dangerously jumping to hyperspace from the hangar.

Back in the obliterated cantina, a furious Empress demands that Supreme Commander Kairus and General Neronae find the asteroid base and prepare for an assault. The Flame demands that the Dread Master find Aden Arestenax Kaldar and to bring him to Si'alla. The time for games were over. Let the race begin.

## 07/23/2016

### Clouded in white

Involved: Si'alla, Salkoro, Vahnus, Tha'lia, Kosh'kah, Vi'kirr'naam, Vrars, S'renx, Mekleese, Tol'vulah

S'renx called a meeting to the Council chamber, he wasn't feeling well as of late and it was visible in his demeanour. He trembled, stuttered and sweat more profusely for no apparent reason. Upon arrival of everyone as he had requested, he requested situation reports from Salkoro and Vahnus. After insulting Vahnus, Lady Flame Si'alla told S'renx to calm down and that she wished to speak to him, to which he told them he would continue what Si'alla's sister had started, the Shade generator.

Upon arrival, the Orders members met where the late Dread Master Senna had started the shade generator. The hunt for S'renx began after he appeared before them, telling that if he were to not be found and stopped, he would bring back the Shade.

S'renx quickly cut down his foes, starting with Severai, cutting him down quickly incapacitating him. He continued on, taunting each of the Order as he attacked them, taking down Kosh'kah, Salkoro and Vi'kirr'naam next. It took some time before he found Vrars and Si'alla on a bridge, an area where it would seem to be a good place to not be ambushed but it proved otherwise as he knocked them off and swiftly incapacitated them as well.

Slowly prowling around, he sensed where Kairus and Tha'lia were, engaging on them in a heated battle. Kairus constantly protection Tha'lia from harm whilst Tha'lia hit S'renx from all around him, faster than he could react while Kairus also slashed at him with powerful strikes. It all ended when Tha'lia got a good hit on S'renx, causing him to fall to the ground bloodied and beaten by not only Kairus and Tha'lia, but by everyone of the Order.

Everyone that was incapacitated gathered around after Kairus and Tha'lia reported they had taken S'renx down. As he lay facing the sky, he blinked and said some final words to the group before closing his eyes. Si'alla spoke through the force to S'renx, asking if he truly wished to die. He described that he had pushed too hard for what he wanted and that it came with a cost, that it was time for his payment. With a nod from Si'alla, Tha'lia snapped his neck and Si'alla lifted his body with the force back to the Matriarch.

## 07/12/2016

### Shade of Thule: Army of Darkness

Involved: Senna/Carjuz, Echelon/Neinhart, Erasis/Potestia, Kairus, Neronae/Candicia, Salkoro, Tha’lia, S'renx

The call came after weeks of impatience and agitation on behalf of the Order and its leaders. After determining that actions taken by Dread Master Senna qualified as treason and as acts of war, the Ministry of Justice issued a warrant for her arrest, dead or alive. Many members of the Order’s elite received mission dossiers detailing the raid they were being asked to conduct on the Dread Union Enclave on Thule, a move that was certain to increase the already high levels of tension between the Union and the Order.

Grand Inquisitor Carjuz made the call and summoned all involved parties to the Ministry of Justice headquarters to brief them for the mission. When they arrived, he began with the permission of Minister of Justice Xaketh. Carjuz explained that they would be raiding the Dread Enclave in an attempt to determine where Dread Master Senna had vanished to and that they would be moving on it with the permission of Dread Master Erasis, who had indicated an interesting in maintaining the very fragile alliance between this Union and the Midnight Order.

In an attempt to not waste time, the strike team deployed planetside with haste with the intention of putting the matter to rest. They landed at the Dread Enclave where they were met by Neronae, who had flown directly there to join them from another critical mission. They moved toward the fortress where they found it unguarded and ultimately empty.They made their way into the throne room, feelings of panic and uncertainty already filling their minds. As they began to question his absence, Dread Master Erasis appeared, and after interrogating them as to their presence in his home, offered to take them to Senna’s chambers where they were likely to find the answers they sought. As they examined the chamber, they found it filled with ancient artifacts, dusty holocrons and datacrons. The chamber extended onto a balcony outside where an alter was placed, overshadowed by a large statue of Dread Master Brontes. The team determined that the Shade ritual had been performed here. As they investigated it further, Praetor Vel’naz arrived to offer his aid in the critical mission. Neronae offered her assessment suggesting that Senna had been using the shrine to sacrifice slaves, mostly human, twi’lek and cathar.

As they discussed the shrine’s use, a communications officer from the matriarch made contact with the group saying that a high profile transmission had been intercepted on an old royal channel. Neronae ordered him to put it through and the Lost Princess Potestia spoke. She introduced herself in a shivering voice as Neronae requested her location. She spoke in a hushed, yet shaky tone asking when the Dread Masters had gone rogue followed by her stating her fear of being discovered by “Her.”

Potestia began to state her location, a ritual site on Ilum near a place known as the Fray. As she drew close to finishing, the transmission cut ominously as the group considered their options. As they discussed, a powerful and angry force emanated from the Matriarch: Empress Candicia had heard the transmission and had moved to join the Strike Team herself, determined to rescue her daughter. The strike team landed on Ilum mere hours later and climbed aboard their speeders. As they crossed the frosty, desolate terrain of Ilum, mixed thoughts of fear and doubt entered their minds. They knew what was coming. As they entered an area surrounded by a massive icy wall, covered in fallen and damaged technology, Candicia spoke saying that the Dread Masters had angered her one too many times and that she had come to finish the battle and mount Senna’s crest on her wall. Her words gave confidence to the group as they moved in. In the center of the ruins, a massive circular structure loomed: Potestia was at its center.

As they moved into the Circle, Potestia stared at them, shivering and scared in the cold. They asked her not to move, sensing a trap. When the young Princess laid eyes on her mother however, she moved to embrace her. As she did, Dread Master Senna appeared and activated the large machine instantly vaporizing Potestia before she could reach her mother. She explained Potestia’s role as a sacrifice and stated that nothing the Order did could prevent the machine from doing its job. It replicated the Shade process, feeding on fear. It would create an army that would conquer the galaxy as its desperation and dread grew. Candicia, enraged, ordered her team to destroy the machine while she engaged the Dread Master out of vengeance.

As the group rallied to destroy the engine, Shades were spawned by its power and rose to the skies. Unbound by the laws of physics, they would be able to cross the stars to conquer worlds. Candicia leapt up to Senna’s perch as the Dread Master charged her saber with dark energy and began the showdown. Candicia’s saber met with the Dread Masters as they glared at one another. Senna attempted to blast her off the platform with a powerful pulse. The Empress masterfully dodged the attack, and responded by blasting Senna off the platform instead. In midair, Senna flipped upright and landed gracefully in the snow before firing dark energy blasts at her opponent. Candicia kicked up a wall of ice that captured the blasts before leaping down to continue the fight. Tha’lia in the chaos fired a number of shots at Senna who deflected them with a quickdraw of her saber before adjusting her stance to defend from the Empresses’ enslaught. She twirled around the monarch and placed a hand on her back, burning through the woman’s armor Candicia howled in pain as she turned sharply landing a kick in Senna’s jaw, sending the dread master flying across the hallowed grounds. She landed hard in the snow and instantly climbed to her feet. Tha’lia collided with her in an attempt to detonate her bombs, taking the Dread Master in the explosion, but Senna reacted quickly summoning a shield to buffer the blast.

In the chaos, S’renx, Salkoro and Kairus attempted to hinder the progress made by the machine as the Shades began to notice and attack them. They sliced through the dark opponents as S’renx summoned a barrier that proved able only to slow their progress.

Senna emerged from the smoke of the explosion and caught blasts fired by Reinhart. As she moved across the battlefield, Senna flung her lightsaber ferociously at Salkoro which impaled him, dropping him to the ground. In the same gesture, she summoned two purple rings of energy and threw them at Candi to induce a state of dread. Candicia, caught by the blast, kneeled as her mind became clouded and scared. Visions of her past and loss filled her mind as she became inconsolable. Her fear fed the machine which began producing shades at double its previous rate. S’renx yelled to Candicia to fight her fear as he was barely able to maintain his barrier against the sheer number of Shades.

Candicia recovered quickly, snapped back into reality by the suffering of her friends and followers. She climbed to her feet, eyes burning red as she lunged, her saber being driven right through Senna’s stomach. The Dread Master looked up at the Empress in shock. The Monarch used her other saber to slash across Senna’s chest and choked the Dread Master crushing her organs and bones with the powerful attack. Senna staggered back and ith every ounce of her remaining strength, stood staring at the Empress with rapsing breath. Her body shuddered and blackened as it began to turn to ash, the dark decay tainting the pure white snow. From the burnt remains, a dark purple orb rose and flew off into the night sky into the stars.

The fear felt by Senna before the destruction of her body caused the machine to surge, the Shades all melted into one large creature at the center of the Circle. The group looks on in shock as they proclaim their surprise and hate for the Dread Masters . The beast swung its clawed arms into Neinhart and Salkoro, flinging Salkoro and causing Neinhart to lose balance falling to the ground as he dodged the attack. The beast turned to S’renx and charged the zabrak, bringing both arms down on him with animalistic rage. The crushing blow caught S’renx by surprise as he was only able to summon a shield fast enough to prevent death, the attack injured him. As he lay on the ground, he reached out for the creature, draining some of its energy. Salkoro crawled weakly to Candicia and told her to let go of her fear to defeat the beast. Candicia responded saying that the Dread Master’s fear had created the beast. Tha’lia hid behind an icy pillar as the beast moved for her. Candicia threw her saber at the beasts eyes which in turn, caused it to fire black void blasts at her which vaporized the ground she had been standing on seconds before.

In a last effort, Salkoro threw a detonator at the beast which blasted its left side apart allowing Kairus to leap up and plunge his saber into the beasts core, while Neinhart fired shots into the creature’s chest and Candicia hurled an icy pillar at it. It erupted in an explosion of energy, the pulse of which caused the machine to shudder and halt. Piece by piece, it collapsed in on itself as the group fled, carrying their wounded members out of harms reach.

They regrouped a good distance away from the fallen machine as Neinhart checked on the Empress who was grieving for the loss of her daughter. Tha’lia approached the Empress while the others tended to the wounded Praetor and Minister. She knelt before the sorrowful mother and presented Potestia’s saber to her which was met with appreciation at the gesture. Candicia stared at the saber announcing that it would be used by Potestia’s youngest sibling, Wrenn, in her memory.

A shuttle landed nearby, summoned by Minister Kairus to evacuate the team and bring them back to the shuttle. As they departed Ilum, Senna’s presence could be sensed, lingering in the chilling winds, undying.

## 07/08/2016

### The Witch, the Doctor and the Dread Master

Involved: Belleva/Vahnus, Rayak/Tha'lia/Nomathecia, Xaketh/Silbren, Autumios, S'renx, Krattoas, Kairus/Rampage, Vi'kirr'naam

Given the previous dilemma with the Ministry of Intelligence, recently allied Queen Vahnus decided to perform the first act of their alliance and gather information on the escaped Sith Lords. Under direction of Kaeshi Commander Tha'lia, she arranged for Noghri spies to stalk Doctor Autumios--wanted for treason alongside the two Sith. They Noghri followed him for a week, noticing his odd collection of supplies. Once he left with his loaded freight ship, the spy immediately reported to Tha'lia, who brought it to her queen.

Queen Vahnus contacted Praetor Vel'naz to report the news. She did not waste time, she sent Tha'lia to the holoterminal to send out a call for all to join in the *Witch Hunt,* and proceeded to explain that the two witches had been hiding on Hutta and that the Doctor had just landed to pick them up. Time was of the essence, if they did not leave for Hutta immediately, they would be lost forever.

With the teams assembled--Vahnus with three of her warriors, Tha'lia with another three, and S'renx with the Order-only force--they made their way on world. Vahnus and Tha'lia scouted quickly across the planet, searching for the fugitives, while the Order's group was larger and slower, prepared for an attack.

They encountered Lord Belleva and Doctor Autumios on a ridge near the ocean, Kunta was attentive at her side, the first to notice the incoming force. After brief talking, the Supreme approached, mushrooms in hand, attempting to diffuse the situation by claiming innocence. It was not long before a firefight broke out, once Rayak used the mushrooms to influence Vikirrnaam to her side, it was Rayak and Vikirrnaam versus Darth S'renx; and Dread Master Belleva and the Doctor versus the new Lord Krattoas. The battle was long winded. S'renx pulled at Kunta's tail with the Force, distracted Belleva from her battering assault of Krattoas. She immediately sent her Sithspawn elsewhere to hunt down the remaining Order forces. Rayak had hardly fought throughout the battle, manipulating the bulky Sith Lord to do her work for her. Belleva managed to entangle the new Sith with her dark vines to a nearby tree, keeping him restrained while she turned her attention to S'renx. Before she could react, the was pulled in with the Force by Krattoas and strangled by her vines. She could not move, she created her vines to be inescapable--unfortunately it included her. S'renx pushed Vi'kirr away and marched towards Belleva, attempting to siphon her power to fuel him for the rest of the fight. He was quickly distracted by the return of Vikirr, who threw his lightsaber at the three to distract S'renx by order of Rayak. His blade missed and penetrated Belleva, going right through to Krattoas. Rayak was infuriated by the failure and vanished from the fight, Vikirrnaam snapped back to himself the moment she vanished. Belleva fell to the ground, her vines dissipating in her weakness. Autumios managed to sneak over to Belle to provide basic bandages to her wound. He provided cover fire for her as she hobbled off, it was not long before the group caught up to them. They were surrounded on the hill. The Doctor reacted quickly, firing an ion blast at the Praetor, granting Belleva just enough time to use all remaining power to sprint across the river, away from the Order. She was ambushed. Warden Nomathecia was waiting on the other end of the river, and quickly incapacitated the Dread Master. The Cathar and the doctor were sentenced to the *Midnight Correctional Facility* for treason to the Crown.

Once the reports came saying that only two of the three were captured, Vahnus and her people quickly swept the planet, hunting down the Supreme by searching every corner of Hutta. The witch was gone, however they ran into Kunta, who caught them by surprised. He managed to tear at one of the Noghri's arms, removing a significant junk. He was incapacitated and sent to the Matriarch to be placed in a cage.

In the prison, the Warden provided a quick tour of their new home, showing them to their rooms and delivering strip searches and new clothing. Dread Master Belleva was assigned to run the kitchen, being warned that if she attemped to poison anyone that Kunta would be in the next meat shipment. The Doctor was assigned to the transport truck, making deliveries around the prison and collecting supplies whilst under supervision. Minor interrogations ensued; Belleva was the key to locating the Supreme.

## 07/06/2016

### Shade of Thule: Seeing the Light

Involved: Cordaxia/Na’air, Salkoro, Si’alla, Asyre, Nomathecia, Kairus.

It was a late night when Commodore Salkoro, accompanied by Asyre, visited the containment cells on the Matriarch where Cordaxia had remained imprisoned since being captured on Alderaan. He lamented her imprisonment and the pain she had inflicted on her, now conflicted, husband. After she had flung more insults at the Commodore, he demanded to know what she knew about who had summoned the Shade. She refused to answer him saying that he’d be dead long before he discovered who had spawned the entity. As Asyre tried to figure out the prison consoles, Si’alla emerged into the Hall followed closely by Nomathecia.

Si’alla had lost patience with the wayward Minister and, in a very rare moment, utilized her abilities in the force for torture. Before she could begin, Cordaxia used her armor to open up a massive wound on her own leg stating that she could inflict her own pain and that time was ticking. Si’alla smirked saying that Cordaxia was not trained to resist her and used the force to break one of her arms. Cordaxia laughed madly at this saying she’d die before she talked.  Si’alla proceeded to create an illusion of Cordaxia being on fire followed by breaking each bone in her hand one by one. Cordaxia gritted her teeth, maintaining her silence stubbornly. The team’s torture and interrogation tactics, though intense, were ultimately unsuccessful against the former Minister’s training, stubborn nature and newfound darkness. In a last attempt to gain access to the information in Cordaxia’s mind, Si’alla explained what she would do to the woman in such graphic detail that a princess bride would swoon from disgust. Cordaxia explained that Si’alla’s only chance would be doing the impossible: restoring her light side. She stated that even she didn’t know how to do that, though Si’alla smiled thanking Cordaxia for her help. She then put the woman to sleep before healing her wounds.

She strode out of the room ordering everyone to the locked-down Intelligence HQ to work on restoring the fallen Minister of Intelligence. Nearby, Darth Na’air Petraya, newly appointed Colonel of the Order was meditating. She sensed the events taking place mere rooms over and went to offer her aid as well as to introduce herself to her old friend’s mate. Si’alla explained that she intended to find either Dread Master Belleva or call upon one of her siblings to undo the darkness placed in Cordaxia’s soul. Darth Na’air suggested an alternative: she had heard rumors of a Jedi holocron or tablet sealed away on Ilum that contained information on a ritual to “Find One’s True Self.” The ritual, she suggested, was originally used by Jedi in their crystal ceremony by those who were not in touch with their inner selves. Though Nomathecia expressed concern at using Jedi Rituals, Si’alla suggested that she would go to any lengths to restore Cordaxia who, herself, had sacrificed everything she was to serve the Order.

Joining with Nomathecia, Kairus questioned the wisdom in using a Jedi Ritual as Sith to which Si’alla responded that she might be light enough to persuade the holocron to trust her. The group made their way to Ilum landing the shuttle in a desolate, frosty wasteland near the coordinates provided by Na’air. Si’alla remained on the shuttle overseeing the mission while Nomathecia and Na’air made their way to the holocron’s location. The pair encountered a number of wild creatures as they crossed the icy tundra before eventually encountering a ruined Jedi Temple at the site of Na’air’s coordinates. The ruins were overrun with creatures that the duo quickly dispatched. The ruins of a crumbled building near at the far end of the site concealed a cave from which light side energy flowed. Feeling weakened by it, Na’air and Nomathecia proceeded cautiously inside. Inside, they spotted the holocron almost immediately. It was at the end of the cavern placed on an ice shelf. Next to it, a campfire tended to by an elderly man who stared at the two Sith as they returned his gaze. He spoke in a frail, deep voice as he warned them to turn back He explained that he had been tasked with guarding the artifact as had many before him and that for ages, they had been successful. Nomathecia and Na’air proceeded to attack then man as he had left them no choice, immediately Si’alla sensed the danger and abandoned the shuttle to help her friends.

Na’air shook her head before she leapt at the ancient jedi with her saber drawn. He reacted with impressive speed, countering each of her vicious strikes with perfect maneuvers that displayed his many years of training in solitude.  Nomathecia hurled her saber at the Ancient Jedi as Na’air continued her assault, though the man was ready and deflected both attacks with two sharp, fast moves. He knocked Nomathecia’s saber into the cave wall before blasting the pair back as Si’alla ran in. She attempted to reason with the man, revealing that she intended to use the holocron for light and that she, herself, was not a traditional dark side user. The Jedi refused to negotiate with her and ripped large shards of ice from the cave wall which he hurled at the trio. They easily deflected the attack, and Si’alla moved to finish the battle smashing both of her lightsabers down against the Jedi who caught her blades on his own. He succeeded at disarming Si’alla of one of her sabers while she pushed him back to gain a distance advantage. As he slid, Nomathecia charged at him, successfully cutting his leg before being kicked hard back into the ice wall. Having had enough, the Jedi Master attempted to use an ancient force compression technique on Si’alla that made the affected feel as though they were cut off from oxygen as well as the force itself. Though she panicked at the loss of her oxygen, Si’alla eventually regained focus after centering herself and with much effort, she freed herself from the attack earning the respect of the Jedi Master. He stated that she was perhaps the most powerful adversary he had faced during his watch, but that it mattered little. He turned to attack Nomathecia who was caught off guard before counterattacking. Si’alla and Na’air engaged the Jedi as well who guarded against the three of them, spinning and swinging with incredible speed. Si’alla faked a blow before knocking the saber out of the man’s hand, his wound had taken its toll and one sloppy move had lost him his saber. With a second move, Si’alla stabbed the man who dropped the ground, dead.

Si’alla praised the fallen Jedi for his honor and commitment to duty before creating a tomb of ice in which she placed the body gently. She then proceeded to collect the holocron as Nomathecia questioned Na’air and Si’alla’s admiration of the fallen Jedi’s honor. They returned to the shuttle with artifact in hand and within hours, had landed in the Matriarch’s hangar.

They proceeded to the Prison cells where Cordaxia waited for them. After she explained to Cordaxia what she had and what it would do to her, Si’alla opened the holocron and with its instruction, performed the ritual to unleash Cordaxia’s true self. Sia’alla experienced a number of conflicting emotions as she channeled the holocron’s power into Cordaxia who was flooded with hidden memories and emotions that had been cut off. When the ritual had completed, Cordaxia staggered back staring at Si’alla. She apologized to Si’alla and lamented all of the damage she had caused, pledging to fix it all. Further, she informed Si’alla that Ray’ak had been falsely accused. Si’alla demanded to know the name of the true traitor and Cordaxia answered: Dread Master Senna.

## 07/02/2016

### Shade of Thule: Bottled Insanity

Involved, Carjuz/Cordaxia, S’renx, Nomathecia, Akmon, Salkoro.

After the capture of the Iun Diplomat and a serious visit from Darth Haar, Grand Inquisitor Carjuz approached Praetor S’renx to discuss the matter of his wayward wife. He suggested striking sooner rather than later and informed the Praetor that Nomathecia had given them useful information that could potentially lead to the capture of Cordaxia.

Reluctantly, S’renx gave the okay for the mission and warned Carjuz that if the Order was discovered in any way, or if COrdaxia slipped away, he would be severely punished. Carjuz, Nomathecia, Akmon and Salkoro departed the Matriarch on a ship to Alderaan immediately after. When they landed, Nomathecia took a deep breath, considering the pain of returning to the place of her imprisonment and, with a look to her team, began to move forward.

They made their way effortlessly across the Alderaanian landscape until they made it to the large fortress at the head of the Valley that Cordaxia had occupied. While it appeared to be merely a wall with two large guard towers, Nomathecia revealed that a large complex was hidden beneath the ground. The group launched into battle, engaging the mercenaries and slaughtering them with little mercy. The initial group was taken by surprise as the Strike Team seemingly came out of nowhere. As they descended to the lower levels on the lift, they knew the forces inside would be waiting for them.

Inside, they were met with a great amount of blaster fire occupying Carjuz’s sabers while Akmon unleashed a massive barrage of lightning destroying all of the mercenaries in sight. As they entered the main hall, they noticed a shielded blast door and another door further down t he hall. As they continued walking, the Lift locked down and turrets with small orbs attached to them lowered from the ceiling and rose from the floor, all firing bolts of electricity at the group. Carjuz and Akmon defended against the blasts while Nomathecia went on the offensive and fired an energy blast at one of the t urrets. The orb absorbed the blast, charged the turret and fired the shot back at Nomathecia who took it full to the chest getting blasted back. Akmon ripped the orb from a second turret which continued to fire at the team. As Nomathecia climbed to her feet, Akmon ripped the remaining turrets from their mounts and continued down the hall.

At the end of the hall, the strike team entered a the room Nomathecia was tortured in. The room contained a good number of the facility’s master controls, so they fought their way to the command platform and attempted to breach the console. As they did, more mercenaries burst into the room to try and hinder their progress. While Nomathecia and Carjuz fought off the waves of mercenaries, Akmon attempted to revive the memories of a dead soldier to recover Cordaxia’s access codes. As he did, Carjuz swung his liightsabers in large, powerful arcs, catching anyone close enough to him with deadly and very painful blows.  On the other side of the platform, Nomathecia pulled down pieces of the ceiling to crush her opponents. Once Akmon had ripped the codes from the minds of the dead, he entered them into the console and deactivated the facility’s blast doors and energy shields. The group charged down the hall into the chamber where Cordaxia waited for them. Carjuz stayed behind as he fought off more mercenaries that swarmed the base to defend their mistress.

She announced that she had obtained a Sith Child from House Thul after Nomathecia had run away and that, with someone to power her machine, she needed only plug herself in to begin the transfer of consciousness. She continued on and told the group that she needed only eliminate them to begin her evolution. She then pressed a button on her gauntlets which began to spark and charged at Nomathecia. She was immediately caught by the Princesses’ blast which threw her back, but she landed on her feet. She renewed her charge and smashed her gauntlets together, directing a concentrated blast of lightning at Nomathecia. Nomathecia leapt out of the blasts range and threw her saber at Cordaxia who side stepped it and ran at Nomathecia, slamming her charged gauntlet into the jaw of the unarmed Princess. Nomathecia flew across the room into the wall as Akmon stepped forward.  He taunted the princess for being incapable of dispatching a non-force sensitive. In her rage, Nomathecia threw Akmon at Cordaxia who was taken by surprise and fell under his weight. Before he had time to react, Cordaxia pressed her charged gauntlets into Akmon’s face. However, he caught her hand and forced it against her own skin as she electrocuted herself. As the gauntlets disabled, she stared blankly at the ceiling, stunned from the overwhelming amount of energy that had just surged through her body.

Carjuz entered moments later and ordered her body be collected and brought back to the ship where Salkoro was waiting for them. She would have much to answer for when she awoke back in the Order’s hands.

## 07/02/2016

### Operation Damocles: Crashing the Party

Involved: Salkoro, Vahnus, Ophion (As Iun Representative)/Nimma'Cetha'Ura, Carjuz/Katariah (As Jedi), S'renx, Vi'kirr'naam, Kaisana, Hadz, Kairus, Ryshias (Darth Haar)

After information came forth that the Iuns have been talking to a Republic Representative, Watcher Nimma had placed all her available agents on the task of finding the Representative, and it seems that finally that those agents have born fruit. Calling together the best that the Order had available, Nimma revealed that the Representative had been tracked to the planet Alderaan, where information suggests that the Republic and Iuns were working together to write a treaty between the two. While this would be beyond disastrous for the Order, Nimma discovered that the Representative from the Republic has not revealed the news of Jannuah to the Republic for fear of a leak, which allowed for the Order to prevent news of Jannuah from getting out. Discussions amongst the Order focused on possible strategies to use in the pursuit of the representatives and where the treaty was being formed. A lack of knowledge on location confounded the ORder, and eventually it was decided that two groups would be formed, Minister Kairus would lead Vanguard Squad in an infiltration of House Organa, while secondary team would infiltrate House Alde and search there.

Salkoro and Vahnus, joined by newcomer Kaisana, make their way through House Alde as stealthy as they could (so only a few deaths) and made their way to the tower where the meeting was being held. Entering the tower, they attempting to negotiate for the Iun delegate to the Jedi, but was denied and so the Order members engaged the representatives in combat. Kaisana and Vahnus held their own against the Jedi while Salkoro cornered the Iun and stabbed him, wounding him gravely in the side. Witnessing the delegate fall, the Jedi lunged back and attempted to defended her fallen ally, although she quickly fell against the combined might of the Order. Salkoro and his group quickly subdued the fallen delegate, and fled to the outside where they were besieged by Alde forces responding to the sounds of conflict. The Order held off the Alde forces until their evac could arrive, then fled the scene of the crime, both representatives dealt with.

Returning to the Matriarch, the Order had little time to rest on their laurels, as a number of ships dropped out of hyperspace, with markings indicating they came from the Inquisition, the organization that the Order's landlord Darth Haar belonged to. Soon the Inquisition ships hailed the Order, demanding the Order to let the Inquisition aboard, which Salkoro cautiously allowed. Soon Darth Haar graced the Matriarch's bridge with his presence, delivering the head of the intelligence agent who's identity was leaked on Dromund Kaas. Angered at the Inquisition's poor handling of recent events, Haar demanded that S'renx hand over 2 of the Order's precious few ships, which S'renx vigorously denied to do. Threatening to reveal the Order's presence on Thule, and destroy them himself and take credit for their deaths Haar continued to push for the ships. S'renx, unmoving in his position, responded by threatening to upload camera footage and documents detailing Haar's knowledge of the Order's presence on Thule, and his allowance of their presence there. Locked in a mutually assured destruction deal, Haar decided that if the Order would not give ships, they would be forced to take them, and ordered that the Order would be responsible for destroying a Republic fleet refueling and repairing at Dantoonie. Left with little other choice, S'renx agreed, and set out to plan with how to deal with this difficult issue.

## 07/01/2016

### Shade of Thule: Fugitives from Justice

Involved: Cordaxia, S'renx, Nimma, Nolus

After the events of the Shade's defeat and the arrests of Rayak and Belleva, the Midnight Order seemed to have finally defeated its internal struggle. The peace, however, was not to last. With the aid of Autumios, the wicked pair escaped from custody and became hunted by the Midnight Order.

Praetor S'renx Vel'naz, in light of the recent events, sought out his wife, the Minister of Intelligence. When he arrived on the deck where Intelligence HQ was located, he was met by Watcher Nimma and Dread Master Nolus of all people. As he approached the door, he found it sealed and heard strange noises from inside. After his requests for the door to be opened were ignored, he forced the door open and entered, flanked by the other two.

As he entered the room, Cordaxia sat at the far end of the room and pressed a button disabling all of the computer systems within Intelligence. The two engaged in a conversation about her changed mindset which convinced S'renx that his wife had been contaminated by whatever Belleva had done to her mind. He ordered her to join him in his office and with must reluctance, she complied. They were joined by the Watcher and the Dread Master.

In his office, S'renx declared that Cordaxia would be placed in Quarantine while they figured out what had been done to her mind and how to reverse it. She revealed that she had no intention of being taken into custody and that she was Intelligence. With that said, she pressed a button on her belt sending a pulse through the room disabling the lights. S'renx attempted to sense her, but in the chaos, she was able to stealth and escape as the lights restored.

Watcher Nimma ordered a lockdown of the ship to prevent her escape, but with Cordaxia's skills as an agent and he clearances, she was able to make it to a hangar, steal a shuttle and jump to hyperspace without much effort.

The Praetor, Watcher and Nolus returned to Intelligence HQ to attempt to restore the systems, but as they tried, an agent's data file was released to the public on Dromund Kaas. Within minutes, members of the Inquisitorious under Darth Haar had seized the agent and scheduled his execution. S'renx entered the system and successfully restored the basic systems, though most of the information and files remained locked and inaccessible. As the group celebrated the small success, another file was released to Corellia accompanied by a message to Intelligence. The message stated that if they continued to attempt to restore the systems without Cordaxia, more files would be released ending with the release of the Order's presence on Thule.

Praetor S'renx instructed Watcher Nimma to continue attempting to restore the system while he would assume temporary command of Intelligence and try to disable the leaks to preserve the safety of the Order's field agents.

## 06/30/2016

### Shade of Thule: To Lose Thyself

Involved: Cordaxia, Salkoro, Si’alla, Vrars, Rayak, Belleva, Dread Guard, Kairus

Though still in recovery, Minister of Intelligence, Cordaxia Vel’naz wasted no time getting back to work. Armed with new information courtesy of the Supreme Witch, Rayak, she summoned those involved with the Shade Crisis to Intelligence Headquarters on the Matriarch to brief them on the new developments. Before the meeting could even begin, the group was interrupted by the presence of Dread Master Belleva whose presence always sparked conflict.

Cordaxia continued by shedding light on Rayak’s findings which elaborated on the cryptic information contained within Autumios’ datacron. She stated that the witch’s intel described the “inverse darkness” in greater detail making it clear how they were meant to destroy the Shade. She explained that the darkest of souls would have to become pure and the most noble of souls would have to corrupt themselves beyond redemption in order to obtain the power necessary to slay the Shade. Rayak then announced proudly that she would sooner sacrifice every body organ in her body than give up her darkness. Si’alla shook her head asking if there were any other means by which the Shade could be defeated. Cordaxia responded that the only other way would be to kill the source and that would be no easy task. Belleva chimed in suggesting they merely slaughter everyone to discover the origin.

Cordaxia stood in the center of the group and made one more revelation: the person making the sacrifice of self did not have to be force sensitive. That being said, she submitted herself citing her lifelong pursuit to ease the suffering of those in the lowest circles of existence. How she had seen evil and sought every day to fight it. Though Rayak and Belleva both urged the group to select Si’alla, Cordaxia stepped forward saying that she pledged to serve and protect the people of the Midnight Order, and that this was the only way to carry out that promise. As Cordaxia requested that Dread Master Belleva unlock her inner darkness, a heated debate broke out as Si’alla was reluctant to let the Intelligence Minister give herself to darkness. Cordaxia said that it wasn’t up for debate and ordered Belleva to do it.

Si’alla, upset at the poor choice of her friend and the insubordination of one of her ministers ordered Salkoro not to interfere with the ritual though she disagreed with it whole heartedly. Belleva wrapped her
hands around Cordaxia, unlocking the dark corners of her mind while erasing all thoughts of love and kindness. As the ritual finished, Belleva was blasted back as Cordaxia appeared to stop breathing. The group began to discuss her state of being while a Dread Guard, summoned by Belleva suggested killing the Minister. As Cordaxia awoke, the Dread Guard opened fire. Si’alla stepped in to intercept the shots commanding Vrars to protect Cordaxia as she choked the wayward Dread Guard. As Cordaxia began to speak in an unfamiliar tone, Si’alla sliced the Guard’s head off. Cordaxia said they could afford no more wasted time and the Shade had to be summoned.  As she said this, the Dread Guard began beeping and exploded as Si’alla shielded the group
with the help of Vrars.

Si’alla asked Cordaxia how she felt and the Minister responded merely by saying “Remade.” As the group discussed how to summon the Shade, Cordaxia thanked the Dread Master for her help with a glint in her eye as she pulled her pistol and fired at Belleva’s head to everyone’s surprise. The Dread Master fell while the group disarmed and seized Cordaxia for her attempted murder of Belleva. In the midst of all the chaos, the Shade emerged from the shadows and everyone understood that Cordaxia had acted to solidify the darkness’ hold on her in order to summon the Shade. Belleva climbed to her feet to rejoin the group, she had allowed Cordaxia to act with a the dark intention of killing her while never actually placing herself in harm’s way.

With the ritual completed, the group was now cornered in the chamber by the Shade, illuminated madly by the red lights within the chamber. It had adopted a massive, faceless, humanoid form and moved on the group, using no puppets this time. The shade swung its massive arm at the group and as it moved, tendrils exploded from the limb seeking to attach to all of the members of the group, save Cordaxia. Almost the entire group managed to dodge the tendrils save for Belleva. The tendril siphoned dark energy from Belleva and converted it into blasts of pure darkness which it fired at the rest of the group. Some shots missed and collided with the floor and walls of the Intelligence HQ causing them to vanish completely, leaving only emptiness in their places.

The Shade, attempted a different tactic and shrunk to a normal humanoid size before it cloned itself appearing before each member of the group. Each one’s hands had converted into smoky blades and each one slashed at their target with the intent of impaling them. The group scrambled, some fighting their shades while others attempted to dodge and run from them. Cordaxia moved through the chaos and placed a hand on the chest of the original Shade which immediately transformed from a shadow to an opaque, pearly black creature. The rest of the shades ceased fighting and flowed through the air, converging on the original shade to create one being again. The Shade dropped to the ground and began crawling across the floor, weakened and pathetic. It crawled until it reached Rayak and as it began to dematerialize, it bowed its head in submission to the witch and with a sorrowful wail, it shuddered and evaporated, defeated. The group collectively turned to Rayak, their suspicions now raised to a certainty that it had been she who had unleashed the Shade on the Order. She ignited her lightsaber and cackled that she would not be taken by the likes of those present. Belleva in turn ignited her own lightsabe, standing between the group and her ally, Rayak. The pair attacked the group, putting their command of the force on display as they unleashed tendrils, vines and powerful force blasts against the group. The conflict only ended upon the arrival of Hadzuska Nekiri who subdued the witch prompting the surrender of Dread Master Belleva. Out of breath, Cordaxia glared at the pair and ordered their arrest for conspiring to unleash the Shade against the people of the Order.

## 06/27/2016

### Shade of Thule: Look to the Skies

Involved: Khazzra, S’renx, Neronae, Karinsa, Si’alla, Selua, Jaliga, Rayak

Not long after the recovery of the Minister of Intelligence from Jannuah, a cloud appeared high in the skies above Bastion City. At first, it seemed a normal occurrence, but it gradually grew in size and darkened in color until the massive, jet black cloud cast a shadow across the entire city. A sentry post was the first to report it in and received a swift response from General Neronae who identified it as the Shade. Praetor S’renx Vel’naz confirmed her claim as the Shade continued to linger above the city.

As though in answer to their curiosity about its passive presence, the Shade unleashed a large amount of streams upon the city, each one finding its way to a seemingly random citizen in the streets. Each citizen that was struck by a stream immediately transformed, their eyes turning black as night and their skin cracking as though the energy within was preparing to burst out. The possessed citizens turned on their former friends and family in a bloody massacre, attacking anyone within reach without prejudice or care.

S’renx and the Flame determined that their only remaining option was to slaughter the possessed citizens and to not consider them a part of the Midnight Order. Khazzra followed the leaders with hesitance, reluctant to kill the people who has given her such warm hospitality.  As the group assembled before the Citadel, they were joined by Selua and Jaliga as a mass of the possessed charged their line. Si’alla initiated combat with a blast of the force, though the possessed continued their charge. Neronae wasted no time in jumping into the thick of battle and was successful in taking down several of the zombie-like citizens with precise saber maneuvers only a master could wield. The possessed however, kept coming and used whatever limbs they had left to attack the group. Si’alla joined the General in the center of the mob, twirling her sabers with grace as the enemy kept on coming. Jaliga, in support of the two warriors, fired off blasts of lightning disabling a number of the possessed citizens, who once defeated, crumbled to ash. Selua in the confusion, jumped into the center of the mass unleashing a massive shockwave knocking several of the infected away. Her action earned the attention of Si’alla who commanded the use of short attacks. The newcomer, Karinsa, pulled back from the battle and began to meditate offering her new allies increased stamina and morale. Almost immediately after the Marines arrived from the Matriarch, the Shade shifted in the air above and the possessed citizens all dropped to the ground as piles of
ash.

As if on cue, Rayak appeared and walked over the corpses, delighting in the bloodshed. She suggested that when the event had finished, she would collect blood samples and as Neronae opened her mouth to ridicule the absurd idea, the ashes began to stir. They swirled around in a massive vortex before assuming the form of a giant, ashen Si’alla. As the mock Flame moved closer to the group, S’renx stood up and began to suck the essence from, not only the false Si’alla, but from the group as well. S’renx lamented that he had no trained this new power, but deemed it necessary as he absorbed the Shade’s creation.  He fell to his knees and screamed as the others looked on. Within minutes, he regained his composure and clamored to his feet announcing that he had succeeded in gaining control of the possession attempt. High above in the sky, the Shade laughed quietly as it faded from view.

Concerned that S’renx could be infected, Si’alla apologized to her friend, but informed him that she would be keeping him under quarantine until they knew for certain that he was safe. As S’renx was escorted to a secure location, Khazzra received a communication from the city security team which revealed that a majority of the 394 citizens that had been killed, were members of the Ancient Knowledge ministry.  Neronae suggested that they consult with Minister Fidelisis to discover what his team had discovered about the shade, but was dismayed to learn that he had gone missing. Si’alla informed the group that she would begin the search for Fidelisis by consulting with the Dread Master leader, Erasis.

## 06/26/2016

### Operation Damocles: The Price of Intelligence

Involved: Si'alla, Carjuz/Cordaxia, Autumios, Salkoro, Neronae, Vi'karr'naam, Echelon/Nimma'Cetha'Ura

After the capture of Minister Cordaxia during her intursion of the Iun's State Building, interm minister Nimma'cetha'ura immediate put all her resources on Jannuah on high alert to look for any signs of Cordaxia's location. Finally, it looked like she had found something and called together a group of the Order's finest leaders to determine how to rescue the imprisoned Minister. When the Order members gathered, Nimma presented the issue at hand, how to rescue Cordaxia from an imposing Iun prison. Confronted with such an issue, they debated various ways of infiltrating the prison from air bombardment to utilizing Vanguard Squad. Eventually, due to the issue that the Prison's sniper nests provided, the Order members would slip into two groups, Carjuz would work with Vanguard Squad to eliminate the sniper nests while the rest worked to infiltrate the actual prison to rescue Cordaxia. Emphasizing the need to make their involvement, and Cordaxia's allegiance to the Order, a secret, Si'alla emphasized masked faces and a lack of lightsabers for the duration of the mission. The groups then set out for different shuttles, confident in their plan.

Using a shuttle to get to the prison, the rescue group engaged adversaries from the moment they touched down at the prison's landing pad. A squad of droids approached the group and soon opened fired, to which the group managed to aptly dodge. Si'alla rushed with her vibrosword in an attempt to take out the front droid's legs. Vi'kirr'naam also leaped forward, brandishing his lightsaber as he dismantled the left droid. Unfortunately for Si'alla, the metal blade of the vibrosword had little effect on the metal legs of the droids and seeing Vi'kirr'naam breaking their cover by using his lightsaber, Si'alla pulled out her own lightsabers and quickly brought the droid down. The remaining droid quickly unleashed another round of laser blasts, which Autumios managed to dodge before taking cover behind Neronae, all while Salkoro commented on Autumios' tactics with contempt.

Seeing the path to the inside of the prison diverge into two paths, the Order members decided it was necessary to split themselves up and enter the prison in two groups. As soon as they entered, they were confronted by a combination of turrets and guards. Responding quickly, each group managed to dispatch their respective obstacles, but took some minor wounds from the initial surprise of the hidden turrets. Autumios also used the encounter to learn how to, with minor efficiency, hack into the turrets and control them. The teams then entered the same room, apparently a control center, where they worked together to eliminate all the hostiles in the room. After the hostiles were cleared, the group quickly utilized the control they now held within the Control Center to unlock and release all the prisoners held within the prison to help cover their actions and attract the attention of the guards.

Continuing into the next room, the reunited group was confronted once more by 5 turrets. Responding rapidly to the situation, Si'alla and Neronae moved to cut down two turrets, while Vi'kirr'naam, taking some hits to his armor, slashed through another turret. For the last 2 turrets, Autumios hacked into their control system and managed to seemingly shut them down. The group then split to check all 3 of the remaining rooms, to which they found one held a severely beaten Cordaxia chained up watched by two turrets. Taking no chances, the group cut down the turrets while helping Cordaxia out of her chains. Salkoro helped her up and assisted her as the group begun their trip back to their evac shuttle. As the group passed through the main turret room, the 2 remaining turrets reactivated, as Autumios seemingly placed them in "sleep mode" instead of deactivating them. Targeting Cordaxia, as she was the prisoner, they shot her in the back and she fell to the floor, barely breathing. Si'alla and Vik'kirr'naam responded quickly, as Si'alla begun immediately treating her with her force healing, and Vi'kirr'naam used the force to pull the turrets into the air and crush them before they could fire again. Soon, Cordaxia was stable enough to move, and the group rushed to the shuttle as it touched down and returned to the Matriarch for debriefing.

On the Matriarch, while the group congratulated themselves on a job well done, Nimma'cetha'ura was annoyed and concerned, as the Iuns publicly decried the Order for their blatant attacks of hostility, as the Iuns knew the Order was involved in the attack of their prison as security camera footage showed the group used lightsabers and did not cover their faces. Reports soon came in that the Iuns were in contact with a Republic representative, that seemingly was traveling the Outer Rim attempting to sway planets to the Republic, and that the Iuns were close to accepting Republic protection and membership. The Order members present soon shifted to possible strategies on how to deal with this Republic representative, and while there were differing opinions on how to deal with the representative, one thing was for certain, the representative must be found, and killed.

## 06/23/2016

### Shade of Thule: One of Many

Involved: Carjuz, Si’alla, Vrars, Salkoro, Autumios, Carliyah, Jaliga, Silbren, Kairus, Hakafu

Si’alla and her apprentice Vrars patrolled the Matriarch requesting status updates from various officers along their way. When they reached the bridge, they demanded an efficiency update from Captain Salkoro Thul who reported the Matriarch at 93% efficiency following the strike of the Shade. Suddenly, Autumios ran up the length of the bridge and reported that he had finally learned something about the Shade. He informed the group that he and his Intelligence contacts had discovered the presence of similar beings to the shade, being used at several key points in history. His friends in Intelligence had determined that the last known record of these creatures, the last known fragment of information about them, had been removed from the tombs of Dromund Kaas some time ago. Due to a shipping manifesto he had uncovered, he revealed that the datacron had been relocated to Alderaan while the last known sighting of the creature, indicated that it had merely vanished from the realm of existence.

Si’alla demanded to know who signed for the datacron upon its arrival and after searching through the records, Autumios discovered that the datacron had been delivered to the stewardship of T. Panteer. Si’alla then requested the tactical advice of Captain Thul who suggested sending a small shuttle of Order members to retrieve the datacron to avoid detection by the Eternal Empire. He proposed sending Autmios, Carliyah Alcaeus, Si’alla, and Vrars. Carjuz declared that he would be joining as well given the importance of the mission. As the group prepared to leave, they were interrupted by Hakafu, one of the Order’s mandalorian allies who expressed interest in accompanying the group as well.

Upon arrival on Alderaan, the group took a moment to observe the beautiful landscape as some had never set foot there before. Si’alla expressed her delight at being back home while Carjuz and Salkoro determined that House Panteer might not be so welcoming given they were still recovering from their altercation with the Ulgos. The group made their way to Castle Panteer at the end of the Glarus Valley. As they drew closer, they were met with Panteer fire as Carjuz declared to Si’alla “Looks like diplomacy isn’t an option today.” The group engaged the Panteer forces and forced their way into the ruined Castle. They cleared the Castle entry hall and with guidance from Autumios, made their way to the Archives of the Castle. In the lowest depths of the Archives, they encountered a large, powerful looking man. Vrars determined he was Sith as Si’alla attempted to call out to him. He responded, asking if they too had come seeking information on how to destroy one’s enemies. Si’alla then requested permission to search the room in peace to which the Sith responded that he had obtained the datacron already and challenged them to try and take it from him.

When the Sith had finished talking, he extended a single hand, unleashing a powerful force wave that took the entire group by surprise. As the group stood and began to recover, the Sith wasted no time in pressing his advantage and leapt at Silbren ferociously while simultaneously slamming Vrars into a pillar knocking her out.  He engaged Silbren who deflected his powerful strokes, but the Sith used the defense to leverage a saber throw at Carjuz who took the strike across the chest and fell to the ground critically injured. As he turned his attention back to Silbren, Si’alla, now recovered, blasted him back with the force. He caught the blast and was forced against the wall which he rebounded against. He dived for Carliyah, blasting her with lightning the entire way down. When he had landed, she had crumpled to the ground. Autumios chose that moment to toss a smoke grenade into the mix in an attempt to daze their opponent who had now successfully taken down half the group. Through the smoke, he lunged at Si’alla who sensed the strike coming and rolled out of the way. With the Sith enraged, he had lost focus and Silbren took advantage of the moment and threw his saber slicing the Sith’s hand clean off. The Sith raised his other hand causing his twin sabers to rise spinning around him in a graceful arc; his style had changed. Across the room, a man strode forth from the shadows drawing a saber and charging the Sith who responded in kind as his sabers flew toward the man. Autumios recognized the ability from his readings on Traya and informed the group to disable the sabers defending the Sith. As the newcomer unleashed a barrage of assaults against the Sith’s sabers, they defended every offense with increasing sloppiness. The hooded man noticed the Sith growing weaker as the fight drew on and pressed his advantage eventually disarming one saber followed
by the other.

The weaponless Sith backed away from the group and unleashed a powerful barrage of lightning on his remaining opponents. Si'alla, who had had enough of the Sith, raised one saber to block the lightning and flung the other one which removed the Sith’s head from his shoulders. The datacron rolled from the Sith’s robes as the body fell to the ground. Autumios moved to recover the datacron as the strange ally removed his hood revealing himself to be none other than Vicros. He explained his survival to the group and when they were finally convinced of his authenticity, the left to examine the contents of the datacron with their returned friend.

## 6/20/2016

### Operation Damocles: Planting the Evidence

Involved: Nimma'cetha'ura/Echelon, Salkoro, Rey'a,
Vi'kirr'naam, Carjuz/Cordaxia, S'renx, Kairus, Mar'iiah, Agent Marazan

Directly after the Praetor Ceremony, the Midnight Order
received a call to congregate on the bridge of the Matriarch to discuss the
ongoing situation on Jannuah. Once the Order members had gathered, a briefing
began lead by Watcher Nimma'cetha'ura which focused on the newly received
information from the Kytovian ruler, who expressed his desire to turn the Iun
people against their own government. This would allow for the Kytovians to
easily take control of Jannuah and help the Order take control of its resources,
but the Kytovians had not developed anything concrete to act upon, and as such
delegated the task of operation construction to the Order. Several members of
the Order spoke out on potential idea, Salkoro advocated for the use of
propaganda to turn the Iuns on one another, S’renx expressed desire to send a
team to speak with the Kytovians, and Agent Marazan asked to present
Intelligence’s idea of evidence planting. When S’renx expressed interest in
Intelligence’s plan, Agent Marazan revealed that Intelligence’s plan revolved
around the idea that through infiltrating the Iun’s State Building and planting
evidence of their government’s desire to industrialize Jannuah, the Iuns would
believe their government intended to betray their values and therefore turn on
one another. After a general discussion, it was agreed that two teams would be
formed, one to go discuss strategy with the Kytovian ruler, and one that would
carry out the infiltration of the Iun’s State Building. Salkoro was placed in
charge of the delegation to the Kytovians, taking Vi’kir’naam, Rey’a, Carjuz,
and Mar’iiah with him, while the infiltration team consisted of solely Minister
Cordaxia, as the majority of Ciphers, like Agent Marazan, were unavailable, and
Salkoro had taken everyone else with his delegation.

Salkoro and his group met with the Kytovian leader as the
Kytovian leader welcomed the group into his home. As Salkoro sat and introduced
the group, he expressed the goals of the delegation was to assist the Kytovians
in planning their next steps in taking over Jannuah. Salkoro did the majority
of the talking as he advocated for the Kytovian government to publicly state
their intentions to support their own people so they can be seen as a pillar of
strength for all the people, and that with the Order’s technology they would
soon rule Jannuah. But when the Kytovian leader informed the group that his
promised technology had never came, Salkoro informed the Kytovian that he could
have his pick of technologies, from Destroyers to Starfighters. The Kytovian
displayed great interest in the technology involving Starfighters and
transports, which Salkoro gladly gave over. After a few more minutes of
talking, Minister Kairus contacted the group asking for a status report, which
Salkoro ordered Carjuz to give due to the discussion he was a part of. Carjuz
soon reported that Salkoro was given away weapon technologies to the Kytovians,
which sent Kairus into a stunned silence, which ended when Kairus demanded
Carjuz put Salkoro on the line. When Carjuz reentered and told Salkoro of
Kairus’ call, Salkoro quietly departed the room to talk to his Minister.
Minister Kairus soon informed Salkoro of his great displeasure with Salkoro’s
unauthorized transfer of technology schematics and told Salkoro he was no
longer permitted to talk during the visit. Salkoro responded with hostility,
telling Kairus of his importance to the talks, and eventually cut communication
with the Minister to return to the talks, fully willing to speak his mind. The
talks continued, where the Kytovian leader brought forth the idea that if the Order handed over those who were responsible for the kidnapping of the planet's ruler, Dread Master Belleva and Andrekios, to the Kytovians, they could hold a public trial that would win over the support of many of the planet's inhabitants. The groups debated this idea for quiet some time, with each delegation member holding differing thoughts about the idea, until the group was recalled to the Matriarch
for debriefing.

=== On the infiltration team however, Cordaxia made great use of
her hacking and stealth abilities to create chaos and move quietly throughout
the Iun’s HQ, avoiding motion activated turrets and a multitude of guards until
she was forced to engage several guards guarding an access door which caused
enough commotion to activate the alarms as a result of explosions that erupted
as a result of the confrontation. Eventually, a Transport responded to the
scene as Cordaxia was placing the evidence, forcing her to hide as the
Transport dropped it’s payload of highly trained Iun response guards. Cordaxia
hide next to the door to the transport’s platform, prepared to move past the
guards as they entered and commandeer the Transport, but was caught by surprise
when the squad threw in a flashbang which both blinded her and overloaded her stealth
field generator, leaving her easily exposed to the guards. Still, Cordaxia managed
to take down several armed guards before the superior numbers of guards managed
to sedate her and take her into custody. ===

## 06/18/2016

### Shade of Thule: Into Thin Air

Involved: Si’alla, Andrekios, Hadzuska, Khazzra, Caricla,Kairus

After they had returned to Thule from Taris, the crew of the Matriarch was ready to relax following their day. The peace was not to be enjoyed however as the lights of the Matriarch began to flicker. Si’alla immediately questioned the deck officer about the lights and before he could respond, the entire bridge went dark, illuminated only by the planetary map which glowed brightly through the darkness.

Si’alla again questioned the Ensign who reported that he had never seen anything like this and was unable to restore even emergency power to the bridge. As they bantered, the holo map began to become cloudly as dark patches appeared on it, interfering with the light it shed on the deck. Suddenly, the lights flashed back on and the planetary holo had transformed into a pulsing, jet black orb. It reshaped into a form Hadzuska recognized: a faceless humanoid. Andrekios announced the returned presence of the Shade.

The shade spoke with the voice of the Empress, expressing its disappointment and informing the group that they could not longer be allowed to live. After it had made its declaration, it leapt into the main computer system of the Matriarch as the entire ship shuddered. The bridge sealed itself as Si’alla attempted to regain control of the main terminal. It spoke in the computer’s voice informing them that it had taken control of the entire ship.

Si’alla declares to the group that she has locked down the engines and auto destruct and is immediately responded to by the Shade who activates the engines. The nav computers reactivate revealing the target location of the ship to be Thule’s planetary core. Andrekios and Hadzuska both ran to shut off the engines as Si’alla typed in a highly complex command code which overrode engine control s shutting them down. The ship’s momentum propelled it forward into the atmosphere. Continuing to battle with the Shade, Si’alla activated the reverse thrusters to prevent the plummet as she ship leveled out a mile over the surface.

With the ship seemingly safe, Kairus charged over to Si’alla and demanded to know what she was doing with the Matriarch and why the bridge was sealed. Si’alla ignored him remaining at the controls. Andrekios replied to Kairus instead informing him of the presence of the Shade on the vessel and how it had taken over.  As Si’alla turned to confront Kairus, the console behind her expoded as the Shade emerged hovering high above it. Si’alla and Andrekios are both thrown by the explosion. Apparently ignoring what he witnessed, Kairus informed Si’alla that the Empress would be hearing about her actions.

Si’alla taunted the Shade asking if it was ready to stop playing games. The shade nodded and shot a blast of dark energy at Andrekios which collided square with his chest. Andre collapsed as Si’alla attacked the shade with a focused blast of the force which it dodged. The entity pointed at Andrekios whose eyes flew open revealing pure black orbs. He rose slowly as though possessed  and approached Si’alla. As she questioned his well-being, he grabbed the back of her neck. Si’alla kicked Andrekios away freeing herself as Khazzra ignited her saber and with a frightened tone asked her master what she should do. She commanded Khazzra and
Caricla to aid Hadzuska against the Shade while she dealt with Andrekios. Andrekios however,  regained control requesting Si’alla to kill him. When she declined, he apologized to her with great sincerity in his voice as he plunged his saber through his chest. The Shade cackled madly, disappearing as the bridge doors flew open indicating he had gone.

The group surrounded the dying Andrekios as he coughed up blood. He spoke with finality indicating his belief at his imminent death. Si’alla healed his wounds ordering him to not die on her as Caricla offered to offer her own healing abilities. The saber wound healed though the Shade had inflicted greater damage on Andrekios’ body. Andrekios looked up into Si’alla’s face with the faintest smile and evaporated into a dark mist that lingered for a few seconds before gently fading into thin air.

Si'alla, after reflecting, opened a channel to the entire Midnight Order, saying:

***This is the Flame, Si'alla Va'lenn, to all citizens and military of the Midnight Order. I'm sure many of you noticed the Matriarch's sudden descent into the atmosphere of Thule. Rest assured, the situation is over.***

***I...I regret to inform you that Darth Andrekios Shay has given his life in defense of the ship, myself, and the Order, against the entity known as the Shade. He died a hero, and will be remembered and honored as such.***

***In the days to come, do not forget his sacrifice, and what it means to all of us. While he was not perfect, Darth Andrekios was the model of what every Sith should aspire to be. Bold. Fearless. Courageous. He has broken his chains, and now he is free.***

***You have my word as Flame that this Shade will answer. Not only for his death, but the countless others that stain our Order. It has ripped loved ones away, torn families and friendships apart.***

***No more.***

***The time for revenge is ours. This Shade thinks it has us. I will rip it from the Force, piece by piece, until it is as shattered and broken as its dream of destroying us.***

***Remember Darth Andrekios. Remember each of the ones that have been lost. We have work to do. Let's get it done.***

***Va'lenn out.***

## 06/18/2016

### Sacrifice and Survival

Involved: Si’alla, S’renx, Praelus, Hadzuska-Nekiri, Andrekios, Khazzra,  Caricla, Candicia, Kairus

It was a normal day in the Imperium, many of the Order’s prominent members were aboard the deck of the Matriarch going about their day-to-day activities and tasks. Suddenly, a communications officer shouted out that he had received a transmission from an Imperium signal. He patched it through on the orders of Lady Flame, Si’alla Va’lenn. A holo appeared of a gaunt looking man. He appeared malnourished, but spoke in a strong voice. He said that he and many other survivors of the Imperium had fled, but their ship had been damaged and crash landed. In the chaos, they feared for their futures and were saved by a woman he referred to as “her.” Under “Her” leadership, they established a colony and survived. He continued on by saying that he had made a number of attempts to locate fellow citizens of the Fallen Imperium and that if they needed refuge, his people would provide sanctuary at the coordinates he provided. The transmission cut shortly after.

As the transmission finished, Si’alla summoned the available officers on the bridge to her to determine their course of action. Andrekios and Khazzra both agreed that the guy seemed shady while Hadzuska scolded them for being pessimistic about people’s motives all the time. Si’alla agreed stating that, if there were indeed survivors of the Imperium, they needed to be contacted and perhaps even rescued. She asked Apprentice Caricla, newest student of Lord Carjuz what she thought of the situation to which she responded by saying that it could very well be a trap, but if it was, they should spring it and set one of their own. With that said, the mission had begun. Si’alla ordered a course set for Taris though asked the crew to proceed cautiously.

When the Matriarch arrived over Taris, all was quiet and still. Si’alla dispatched Hadzuska and Andrekios to determine if the colonists were safe to interact with as well as to determine if it was a trap. Initially, the pair reported no contact with the colony, but shortly after, the ragged man from the holocommunication appeared, winded, but in good spirits. He greeted Andrekios and Hadzuska telling them that they looked to be in better condition than most of the colonists, but that the colony was theirs to call home if they desired it. He answered their questions revealing that the colonists were the survivors of a Gage-Class transport and that their leader had crashed on the planet several weeks earlier than they had.

The strange man lead Hadzuska and Andrekios to the base of his people where “She” awaited them. Si’alla informed the pair on the ground that she was standing by to orbital strike the area if things went South. As Hadzuska and Andrekios were led to a tunnel by the man, he paused to point out rakghouls blocking them. The pair exchanged a glance of amusement, but also wondered how the man had reached them successfully after he admitted that he wasn’t one for combat.

As they entered the tunnel, Hadzuska attempted to make contact with the Matriarch finding that his connection was failing. He continued on believing it was merely the tunnel interfering. On Si’alla’s screen, the two had disappeared completely.

Finally, Hadzuska and Andrekios were led into a massive cave filled with tents. The cave was so big, that the pair could not see the walls. The camp was quiet, but full of people moving from tent to tent. Some people ate their meals, while others stoked fires, all eyes were on Hadzuska and Andre. They approached the woman they assumed was “A” who greeted them politely. They immediately asked about the bodies to which she replied “Not everyone can be saved.

Back on the Matriarch, Empress Candicia finally revealed herself demanding a status report from Si’alla. Si’alla, now on the surface of Taris herself, responded that she had lost contact with Hadzuska and Andrekios on Taris and was now pursuing them. Candicia informed Si’alla that she sensed a trap and did not want to lose any of her people to carelessness.

In the colonists’ base, Amahrra questioned Hadzuska and Andrekios on their reason for coming and expressed interest when they informed her that there were others, she hardly seemed disappointed that Hadzuska said they wouldn’t be able to save the entire colony.  She chastised the young Sith for threatening to leave his citizens behind and stated that survival meant sacrifice revealing that her colonists had survived through cannibalizing the corpses of their fallen.

Si’alla then entered the cave demanding a status report from Hadzuska and Andrekios. At the sight of a new intruder, Amahrra summoned twelve massive men from the shadows and ordered them to hold positions. She continued on explaining that she was the student of a scientist by the name of Sannus Lorrick and was sent to Taris to collect samples when she was attacked and force to flee her ship. She informed the group that she would not stay on Taris another night and with that , looked to her guards who each injected themselves with a serum. One by one, each man transformed into a massive hulking rakghoul, larger and stronger than the typical variety and began mauling the frightened citizens of the camp. When they had finished, they moved across the bloodied corpses of the fallen toward Si’alla, Hadzuska and Andrekios.

Hadzuska created a fiery wall blocking the rakghouls from reaching him and the other two. The walls extended to engulf the monsters before destroyed by Hadzuska leaving Amahrra alone with the three Sith. She turned and ran from the cave, hoping to reach their shuttle before they did. She was caught just outside the cave and brought back to the Matriarch to pay for her crimes against the citizens of the Midnight Order.

## 06/14/2016

### Shade of Thule: Voice of Destruction

Involved: Hadzuska, Xaketh, Khazzra

After several weeks without incident or siting, a transmission was made on the Midnight Guard comm channel alerting the Order to the returned presence of the shade. The guard reported a black cloud that had been hovering over the City Gates. After being ignored for a period of time, he tried to make contact again. He succeeded with his second attempt, but simultaneously drew the attention of the Shade which moved into a nearby turret and blasted him thus ending the transmission.

Minister of State, Hadzuska Nekiri was the first to arrive on seen. He met with Apprentice Khazzra Kade who had heard the blast and ran to investigate. Together they approached the temple only to witness one of the turrets flanking the gate had been blanketed in a liquidy black fog that could only be the Shade.

Hadzuska commanded Khazzra to stay back as he embraced the scourge emitting a similar black substance as he approached the Shade. The shade was keeping the turret active although military power had been cut to the gates. Joined by Grand Inquisitor Xaketh, the duo discussed the nature of the shade until it’s turret began to charge up in a non-standard way for a weapon of its design. In a spiraling vortex of grayish smoke, the Shade seemed to be pulling in darkness from the very air of Thule through the nose of the turret cannon. The charge created a whirring noise as the turret itself shook violently under the stress.

Suddenly, the cannon exploded in flames as the Shade emerged, larger than before, charging straight for Hadzuska. The scourage, Hadzuska’s birthright formed into a wall to block the advancing shade which suddenly disappeared. It reformed atop the citadel in the form of a cloud and appeared to be gazing down upon them. Xaketh proposed that it was afraid of the Scourge. Hadzuska taunted the Shade asking if it intended on communicating this time. The shade responded by forming into a featureless, humanoid shape. The faceless head nodded indicating his response and did something surprising: the Shade spoke the word “Indeed,” in Hadzuska’s voice. It then used the force to call Khazzra’s comlink to it and, still using Hadzuska’s voice, it contacted the Matriarch ordering an orbital strike on the field in front of the Citadel. It claimed Thule had been breached and they could not let the intruders proceed any further. Hadzuska made contact to belay the order, but was too late to prevent a first shot. As the blast rained from the sky, the Shade vanished once more. The shot collided with the shield created by the Scourge pushing Hadz into the ground forming a small crater. The shield ultimately deflected most of the blast in all directions catching Khazzra as she ran, badly burning her body. Xaketh too was caught as he ran to the citadel, much of his cybernetic form damaged along with a number of bones.

Hadzuska ordered a sound off as he tended to his own injuries. When Khazzra remained silent, he crawled toward her as Xaketh struggled to reach the young minister. Hadzuska, with effort and pain, summoned his holocommunicator to him and summoned medical aid to the group as they rested in the blast zone, another marker of the Shade’s destructive tendencies.

## 06/11/2016

### Shade of Thule: The Order's Guest

Involved: Cordaxia, S’renx, Marazen, Ray’ak, Rosslyn, Xaketh

An alert sounded on the Matriarch and in Bastion City, disturbing the peaceful day-to-day lives the citizens had enjoyed for five years. Something had gone wrong. Security forces moved to Sector Four of the city where the alert had sounded from and were joined quickly by Cordaxia, Agent Marazen, Grand Inquisitor Xaketh and Minister of Justice S’renx. Upon arrival, Cordaxia noticed a woman nearby (Rosslyn) who refused to leave the sector claiming she could defend herself. Occupied with the situation, Cordaxia moved in flanked by guards and her peers. The sector seemed quiet until the strike team reached an overlook which revealed a bloody sight.

Down below, the team witnessed what appeared to be an average citizen shrouded in a black shadow. With yells of rage, the man stomped on another citizens throat repeatedly, brutally ending her life. Surrounding the man was a massacre, twenty bodies all distorted indicating similar fates. Agent Marazen requested permission to take him out which was granted, however the shadow surrounding the man absorbed the shot as he turned his attention to the group above. The shadow disconnected from the man transforming into a massive black cloud before the group, the host body dying once free of the darkness. The shade faded from sight with what almost sounded like a quiet, wicked giggle leaving the group bewildered and sickened.

Down below, the sight was horrific, bodies mutilated, dead parents holding children in their arms, their noble intentions reflected in their still bodies. Cordaxia ordered the sector quarantined until the site was cleaned up and investigated by a member of the Ministry of Ancient Knowledge.

They gazed upon the site with silence until it was broken by a familiar voice. From the shadows, Rayak stepped forth to the dismay and anger of those present. Immediately, accusations were cast at Rayak for causing the massacre, though she denied having anything to do with it. The group believed her reappearance was too convenient given the circumstances, yet S’renx defended her saying that the event took place long before she arrived. Rayak confessed her love of the smell of a dead man, but held to her claim that she was not responsible. Grand Inquisitor Xaketh recommended surveillance of the witch given her unique abilities and coincidental appearance. Before harsh words could be said, S’renx stated that they were allies to which Cordaxia responded with a question for Rayak “If you’re our ally, what do you know about shades?” Rayak responded spitefully stating that it looked to her as though the man had been possessed by the shade, and that the Order had a new problem on its hands.

## 06/11/2016

### Operation Damocles: Playing the Odds

Involved: Nimma’cetha’ura,Cordaxia, Candicia/neronae, S’renx, Nolus, Hadzuska-nekiri, Kordaan, Kairus

Called to the bridge by Empress Candicia, many involved in the previous delegation party to Jannuah debate the situation caused by Dread Master Belleva and discuss how to move past it. Having heard the will of her people, Candicia decided that the best option was to extend an olive branch to the Kytovians, the second largest clan on Jannuah and rivals to the Iuns. She stated that their technological culture and mindset would make them the perfect allies to the Midnight Order. As the Empress stated her orders, Cordaxia made the point that a more carefully picked team should attend the meeting to avoid the disaster of the previous occasion to which the Empress agreed. Candicia assigned Minister of Justice, S’renx Vel’naz to lead the mission and commanded that he bring along any he deem beneficial to the mission with the knowledge that failure would result in his demise.

S’renx selected his team; He ordered that Cordaxia, Hadzuska, Vi’kirr and Nimma’cetha’ura rendezvous with General Neronae before initiating contact with the foreign power given their difficult situation. Kairus countered that if they encountered problems, they would have no defense to which S’renx responded that they were supposedly coming in peace. Contrary to his wishes, Dread Master Nolus informed S’renx that he would be attending the meeting one way or another.

Similar to the greeting they received from the Iun King, the diplomatic party was greeted by a high ranking official of the Kytovians upon arriving on the planet. The official expressed surprise at having received two
groups from the same faction on the same day. S’renx chose to disregard the comment and introduced his group to the official before turning the floor over to Hadzuska in his capacity as Minister of State. As they moved inside, the group discovered what the official meant by a second visit when Dread Master Nolus appeared waiting for them. He revealed that he had been discussing the Kytovian technology promising them more if they pledged loyalty to the Order.

Cordaxia then stepped forward asserting her knowledge of technology and how an alliance between the two factions could be mutually beneficial. The official accepted her offer and invited the group to accompany the pair of them to the couches to discuss the potential alliance. Arios, as he introduced himself asked if anyone would like drinks before opening negotiations. Cordaxia began by stating their interest in an alliance and exchange of resources before expressing her empathy at living in the shadow of another power.

After exchanging their opinions on the subject, Arios and Cordaxia came to an agreement and moved into the official’s office, with S’renx and Nolus to finalize the details. In the room, as they were talking, a ship appeared and opened fire on the group allowing armored soldiers to enter. They were quickly dispatched by the group who discovered, with the representative’s help that they belonged to the Iun and that a deathmark had been placed on the Midnight Order. The groups part with an alliance based on their collective oppositions to the Iun’s

## 06/08/2016

### To Save a Savior

Involved: Cordaxia, Neronae, Demagolka/Hadzuska, Vi'kirr'naam, Rey'a

Aboard the Matriarch, Neronae and her apprentice Demagolka approached Minister Cordaxia Vel'naz who had summoned them to the bridge conference room. When they arrived, she revealed that one of her operatives had stumbled across the location of a survivor from the Battle of Voss: Vi'kirr'naam. She continued on, saying that they had seemingly kept him alive as a show of their strength, to prove that even the strongest warriors would fall to the might of Zakuul. Vi'kirr, it was learned, was being held on the former-Imperium world of Quesh.

The trio quickly boarded a shuttle and made for Quesh. Upon their arrival, Cordaxia, Neronae and Demagolka made short work of the Skytroopers they encountered and made their way to the last known location of Vi'kirr: a cave with uncommonly high heat signatures. Inside the cave, they discovered an army of Skytroopers, which they battled their way through without casualty. As the last of their opponents fell, Demagolka broke off from the trio to investigate a side chamber while Cordaxia and Neronae examined a large, yet oddly empty chamber with only one life sign reading. They entered cautiously, aware that a trap awaited them, yet still jumped when the doors sealed and toxic gasses began to pour into the room. Cordaxia reacted swiftly running to a nearby console and hacking into the facilities systems. She and Neronae were both on their knees struggling to breathe as the gas finally drained from the room. At the far end of the chamber, a cell unlocked and the pair entered, remaining cautious of what lurked inside.

To their relief, Cordaxia and Neronae found Vi'kirr contained within. As they approached him, he threatened them with violence if they came any closer. Neronae chastised her father for not recognizing them to which he responded that he had been haunted by their ghosts since Voss fell. Neronae pulled her father's lightsaber out as an attempt to restore her father as Demagolka entered the chamber with a datapad in hand. Neronae collected the datapad examining it with Cordaxia as it revealed that Vi'kirr had been part of a cloning experiment by the Eternal Empire. A recording revealed that initial clones had fallen short in communication capability, but the list showed one active clone that had proven successful. Further examination found that the Knights of Zakuul had collected two specimen from Voss to clone once Vi'kirr's attempts had proven successful.

The information was saved and taken back to Thule by Cordaxia as the group fled before reinforcements could come. Once again aboard the Matriarch, Cordaxia examined the information with Vi'kirr as Hadzuska entered with Rey'a. He was pleasantly surprised to see the return of a hero of the Imperium and asked what was discovered on Quesh. When Cordaxia revealed the details from the datapad, Hadzuska realized with horror that Zakuul intended to clone the corpse of S'hrania and use her as their puppet. He informed the group assembled that he intended to hunt her down and ensure the threat was ended before it began.

## 06/05/2016

### Operation Damocles: Initial Contact

Involved: Cordaxia/Khazzra,Nimma’cetha’ura/Ophion, Si’alla, Neronae/Candicia, Hadzuska’nekiri, Kairus,Andrekios, Belleva, Anryus, Drekorig, Misa’soma

Minister of Intelligence, Cordaxia Vel'naz called the Midnight Order leaders together aboardthe bridge of the Matriarch to hear the findings of a top member of the Intelligence Ministry, Watcher Nimma. Nimma informed the group, amidst a good amount of tension, that she had been successful in locating resources necessary for the Midnight Order to begin rebuilding their military. The location was a newly discovered, unknown planet called Jannuah, a world with few connections ready to be explored and exploited. Belleva and Andrekios immediately suggested enslaving the primitive people while Empress Candicia, via holocommunication, suggested a peaceful resolution with a trade of resources. The Empress hoped the primitive world could be persuaded to join the Midnight Order with gifts of technology in exchange for the raw resources the planet could provide. Kairus interrupted the debate to point out that the fleet was still utterly useless without fuel and that a diplomatic party would be the Order’s best option. Empress Candicia called for silence to allow the agent to continue.

The government, the Watcher continued, was divided into two primary factions: one that favored technology (Kytovians) and one that preached tradition and spiritual values (the Iuns). The latter held power on the planet.  Before further disputes could break out, Empress Candicia commanded a diplomatic team to form and travel to the world. Under her orders, no hostility was to break out unless the citizens of Jannuah acted first. With that said, the team began to form with Minister Vel’naz electing to stay behind should the group need any intel or emergency transport out.

The group departed for Jannuah led by Si’alla. Assigned to the group was Andrekios Shay, Dread Master Belleva and her apprentice Anryus, General Neronae, Supreme Commander Kairus and Khazzra, a force-sensitive teenager Cordaxia had discovered on a Gang-controlled world in the furthest reaches of the Outer Rim. The group eventually arrived on Jannuah and landed on an available pad where a representative awaited them. Si’alla made initial contact with a bow, which was returned immediately with great appreciation. Inside, the figure introduced himself as King Trianus

Negotiations immediately went south as Dread Master Belleva claimed that Si’alla could not be counted on to tell the full truth in regards to the Midnight Order’s intentions. As the various opinions of the group flooded out, Si’alla attempted to salvage negotiations with the King who had grown greatly insulted by the Order’s lack of decorum. In a separate chamber, Belleva and Si’alla attempted to sway the King to their side with Belleva going as far as to suggest that Si’alla would benefit from a civil war between the King’s people and the other faction on the planet. With much to consider, the King dismissed both parties. As Si’alla began to leave the room, Belleva choked the monarch igniting a conflict between the two sides present.  Empress Candicia was eventually contacted and chastised both sides saying that she should have gone herself. She then sided with Dread Master Belleva ordering her to bring the King to the Matriarch to be frozen in carbonite until he can be made to see reason.

Aboard the Matriarch, the king was dragged away to the carbonite freezing chamber while Cordaxia yelled at Dread Master Belleva for sabotaging the diplomatic efforts of the Midnight Order. After several minutes
of exchanging insults, the pair separated with Cordaxia departing to attend to the consequences of the events on Jannuah.

## 05/22/2016

### The Hounds of the Empire

Involved: Si'alla, Neronae, Andrekios, Nolus, Ryshias, Fidelisis, Dread Guard #2169, Cordaxia, Demagolka, Erasis, Kairus, Xaketh, etc.

The day had started as usual for the Imperium, but the presence of Dread Master Nolus brought the darkened shadow of the darkness that had surrounded the fall of the Imperium. The Tactician appeared in the bridge of the Matriarch, where he prophesied the arrival of one of the Sith Empire's most valuable weapons, the Inquisition and it's Inquisitors. As the leadership of Si'alla, flame of the Empress, the Order decided to prepare for the arrival of such unknown and unlikely foe. But nothing could prepare them for what would they witness. A massive warfleet had arrived with him, and eluded all detecting scans of the Order's ships. The Inquisitor demanded to be prepared for boarding, and so they agreed, reluctantly, as Nolus warning had been threatening: The man who was about to set foot on the bridge was one of the most dangerous and skilled assassins that could have come around.

The Imperial had set foot, and for a strange turn of events, Darth Haar, otherwise known as Darth Ryshias, had been the appointed man of the Inquisitorius to deal with them. Known to Si'alla, both exchanged some surprised but hostile greetings. After a back and forth negotiation, where Ryshias forced the Order to comply to some...delicate demands from the Imperium, a deal was struck than in a year and a half, Ryshias will demand a percentage of resources as payment for using the terrain, while they would be made able to remain in Thule for a while. With hesitance, Si'alla accepted, and in turn would also provide information about Zakuul to the man. After a small conflicting issue, given some comments of the Imperial Sith, the man departed, and the Order survived another day.

## 5/14/2016

### Twilight of the Imperium

~ 3637 BBY (Five Years Ago) ~
Five Years Ago

Sitting on her throne, Kharia, the daughter of Candicia and Empress of the Imperium remained resolute. Her mother had pleaded with her, begging her to see reason, but the young monarch’s pride could not be so easily dissuaded. Fearing for the future of her people, Candicia fled to regroup with the remains of the Imperium fleet, leaving her daughter for the last time.

Zakuul had come and Voss had fallen. Having reached the Palace atop the Hill of Prophecy, the Knights of Zakkul penetrated the throne room as the young girl watched with rage-filled eyes. She stood calmly as nine figures in heavy, gold armor entered the chamber and ignited her lightsaber. Without a word, Empress Kharia engaged the Knights, fighting proudly until the end. All was then quiet.

Aboard the Truth’s Light at the head of the remaining Imperium Fleet, Supreme Commander Si’alla Va’lenn had sent out a warning frequency to all living members of the Imperium, but few had responded. She beamed with relief and elation as a shuttle bearing the Dowager Empress Candicia emerged from hyperspace and boarded. The Supreme Commander stood on the bridge of her ship gazing out at the ships she had been able to summon: four of the six Dread Master vessels, three more Harrowers, four terminus vessels and a handful of fighters. Hardly enough to oppose the Eternal Throne.

She turned a head to her communications officer who shook his head solemnly, she knew no more would be coming. She turned slowly to face her officers and a number of Sith who had crowded onto her bridge and began to speak. “Today everything changes,” she said. “We now embark upon a journey to find sanctuary, to find home in this new galaxy. It will not be easy, it will test us. But nothing lasts forever and when this threat has been vanquished, our time will come again.” She lowered her head and softly said “But for now, we must find a safe haven… to survive.” A deep, cold voice responded as Dread Master Nolus entered the chamber “I have the solution to your problem, Supreme Commander.”

Moments later, Si’alla squeezed the hand of Candicia. As the vessel made its jump to hyperspace, the pair gazed out the glass of the bridge windows wondering what future awaited them in their new home.

Upon arriving at the new location, their safe haven, Si'alla summoned all available forces to a large clearing close to where they landed. After all had gathered, she knelt before the Dowager Empress, releasing the authority and power she had controlled during the evacuation of Voss, pledging her support to her new Empress.

Candicia bade her to rise, informing her that she couldn't do it alone. Assuming the title Flame of the Empress, Si'alla took her place beside Candicia, ready to face what challenges this new enemy would bring.

~ 3632 BBY (Present Day) ~

On the Bastion World of Thule, the Midnight Order built a new home, a sanctuary from the rest of the galaxy and its turmoil.

## 10/11/15

### Called Home

 File:Screenshot 2015-10-11 21 44 01 396608.jpg  Involved: Arctis, Si'alla, Senna, Hadz, Aluna

Rumors had spread through the Order of State that Darth Arctis, head of the Sith Empire's delegation to the Imperium, was to resign his position of ambassador. Some suspect that Arctis reported the details of the growing threat His Majesty spoke of to his own masters on the Dark Council, and that many of the Dark Lords were alarmed by the revelation.

Citizens were summoned to the council chambers aboard the Sovereign by Lord Chancellor Si'alla Val'enn, informing them that the ambassador was to give an announcement regarding diplomatic relations. Once the attendees had settled to their seats, Arctis delivered a statement declaring his resignation. Councilor Senna rose to commend him for his actions as ambassador before the Chancellor finalized the resignation. Arctis expressed his honor to have served the Sith Imperium and its people before departing.

 09/29/15

### Lost Legacy

((An RP explanation for my characters that I hope will prevent in-character confusion))

Andrekios: Andrekios departed Imperium space, tired of war and in the hopes of finding a way to fill the void that Vindictiva left. He sought a temporary peace for himself and left behind House Shay in the control of his brother, Caigond. No one knows where Andrekios has gone or when he will return, but he has acknowledged that he has a family to return to. He left his lightsaber behind.

Salkoro: Salkoro left his wife and child behind to travel with the friend he has known the longest and trusts the most, Andrekios. Salkoro made several secret arrangements to ensure that his family was cared for including a special security force and a large sum of credits for his family to do with what they wish.

Filan: Filan traveled to other worlds and sought to control other Mandalorian clans. With Clans Kelborn and Varad under his control, and with several other augmented subjects in existence, Filan seeks to move towards what he describes as his destiny: the title of Mandalore.

## 09/20/15

### Legacy of the Fallen: Cloak and Dagger

Involved: Ryshias as Sierrah/GM, S'renx, Cordaxia, Chriskrayt, Nezzor, Daenerys,Isthar'rie

I'll use bullet points to recount this RP, as I seem to have issues with the Wikia where is so laggy and I can't type properly.

-Sierrah called up a group of the Imperium to recover a relic storage room inside a mine in the planet Apatos

-Several of the group made some concerns, but they were swayed with the promises of most of the relic inside the storage, also, it was revealed that it had Imperium protective banners inside.

-The group arrives at Apatos, where they see the desolated wasteland the planet is. They travel to the main wasteland, where the mine is supposed to be.

-The group, after a few minutes of search, find a wrecakge of a prison ship, with several of it's inmates lose and fighting a small group of Jedi jailors. The group slays the ones in their way to the mine.

-The group stumble upon the entrance to the mine, where they find more prisoners, and several reprogrammed security droids. They also notice the growing influence of the datacrons

-As the group dig deeper into the mine, they discover the datacrons security device was activated, and started to affect the minds of the group. S'renx was the one most affected, going into a panic attack that was only resolved after Chriskrayt punched him unconscious.

-The group found a report of the mine, where it was mentioned a Sith, and that the mine had begun the shipment of an ore called Cortosis, which had the unique capability to cut through lightsabers.

-The group fight through the remaining security forces and prisoners, and find a large computer. After Sierrah went into it, she took a very protective and deceptive detention against the group remaining mebers, Cordaxia and S'renx, as the rest had went into their own ways. After S'renx detected her lying, she confessed the content of the computer: Several files regarding the operations of the ERTC on the planet, their relations with the WoS and their CEO, Mace Kilrox as supplier and economic supply. The several plans of militarization of the Cortosis mined in the planet, sent to planets like Dromund Fels, Fondor, Corulag and Raxxus. The identity of the Sith behind the mine, being Ryshias, and his work to infiltrate the Imperium, Empire, and Republic, bribes, corruption files, and thousands of folders with all the activities of the WoS in the Imperium and beyond. ((All of this is unable to be known unless told by any of the participants in the RP))

-Sierrah arranged that S'renx would keep the information and parts of the relics inside the storage, as she took two of the datacrons inside, seemingly one made as Autobiography by Rysh, and the other of unknown origins. The remaining members of the group parted way.