[[Anyone want to learn? Military members are encouraged to participate.]]
High Prophet Crozeus
((Me please!))
Darth Malice
[I'd love to join in on this.]
High Mage Serratus
I too.
Supreme Commander Alor
[[Alright. I'll wait 24 hours for anyone else, but I'll start the RP and let you know when to post]]
Major General Celestial
(I would like to join!)
Supreme Commander Alor
[[Alright. Sorry about my small absence, but things happened that kept me from my computer. I should have the starting post up by the end of today.]]
Supreme Commander Alor
Supreme Commander Marix stood in the main lobby of the Military Head-Quarters: Kuat. He was there to meet his pupils. He had decided to give out lessons on the art of Battle Meditation. It was a difficult talent and power, with perhaps more limited applications than the other powers. Battle Meditation required ultimate sacrifice, concentration, commitment, and intelligence. It was not a Fire-And-Forget power, such as Force Push or Force Lightning, nor was it a Quick Application power, such as Force Choke or the Saber Throw. It was a long, arduous, and dedicated power, but one that always bore fruit and brought gains. No matter the outcome of the battle, the Meditation would have worked to its fullest.
He looked up at the large Chronometer, set to Juliet Time or the Local Time, and had to double check the time. He had been running off of Zulu Time or Standard Military Time—which was based off of Triple Zero, the planet Coruscant named such because of its coordinates (0,0,0)—because of his nature to be out on patrol with his Fleet, avoiding the scandalous politics of the bureaucratic and somehow more civilized Capital-life. They were due in ten minutes. So far he had received affirmative communications from Commander Malice, Major Celestial, Private Serratus, and Darth Crozeus—a Prophet nonetheless.
They had better arrive on time; Marix did not feel like waiting for very long. He had matters to attend to later that he did not want to miss because of the inability of some young Sith to arrive on time and keep to a schedule.
High Mage Serratus
Darth Serratus strode into the lobby. Seeing the Supreme Commander, he stopped and saluted.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus, prompt as always, wondered into the pristine Military lobby. He had never been here before and he looked around in approval. He saw the Supreme Commander and Darth Serratus conversing and walked over to join them.
"Hello Supreme Commander, Darth Serratus. I'm worried I'll be out of place amongst you Military fellows."
High Mage Serratus
Serratus smiled behind his pitch-black vizor.
"Not at all Crozeus. I'm sure you'll be fine."
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus frowned. "That's Prophet Crozeus to you, Darth Serratus. Though thank you for the encouragement."
High Mage Serratus
Darth Serratus rolled his eyes. It was a great commodity, having a vizor that no one could see through.
"Forgive me, Prophet Crozeus," he said evenly.
Supreme Commander Alor
"Darth will have to do for now, Darth Crozeus. You will be involved with tasks that are fitting of a Sith, not a Prophet. But, Private Serratus, you must remember respect and titles. If you are unsure, default to Darth, for it can never be wrong with a Sith. It is their most powerful and prominent title, for if they were not a Sith, they would hold no other rank." Supreme Commander Marix intervened. "For now you may both head off to the Ready Room near the Shuttle Hangar. I will join you there before we begin."
Darth Malice
Malice walked briskly down the corridor that would lead him to the meeting room he asked asked to report to. It had only been one week since Malice had returned to Kroprulu after spending over a year away. In passing, he had heard of the Supreme Commander's open invitation to learn the art of Battle Meditation, something Malice has spend a substantial amount of time studying himself. He felt more than ready to dive head first into these teachings.
The final doorway slid open and Malice walked through, noticing the Supreme Commander at the fall end of the room. He walked towards the sith and stopped short, exchanging the formalities one would to a superior officer. It was a more relaxed and informal version, as Malice had been away for so long. He'd been through much and the luster of such structure and formality he'd been involved with before had somewhat dulled. Nevertheless, he felt the need to show his superior officer the respect he asked for.
Supreme Commander Alor
Supreme Commander Marix returned the salute to Commander Malice and then shook his hand. Malice had been absent for some time on duties Military-related and other. Marix was glad to have him back, as Malice was a competent officer and commander.
"Welcome back, Commander Malice. Head for the Shuttle Bay Ready Room, where Crozeus and Serratus are waiting. If Celestial decides to grace us with a timely appearance, then we should begin shortly."
Darth Malice
"Very well." Malice passed the right shoulder of the Supreme Commander and headed in the direction of the Ready Room. He hoped this would be an in depth and all-encompassing tutorial on the Art of Battle Meditation. While he'd heard the unbelievable stories connected to this power, he still held some reservations on it's application. It seemed there had been several 'variations' of this act and he wanted to gain insight on them all.
When he reached the Ready Room door he was somewhat shocked to see only two other Sith in the room. This was supposedly one of the most advantageous skills available to the Sith and yet only two members were present. One, Darth Crozeus, Malice had dueled some time ago. He was a capable Sith, but had much to learn. In time, he would make a fine and worthy member of the Empire. The other he was not familiar with. The being wore a mask which covered the entirety of his face. He reached out with the Force, delving into the reasons for this anonymity. Some sort of disfigurement it seemed. Malice's own reasons to conceal his appearance was not completely dissimilar.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus saluted Malice as he entered.
"Greetings Commander. I am Private Serratus."
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus smiled and stood up as Commander Malice entered.
"It is good to see you Commander. I haven't seen you for months."
The two Sith shook hands.
Supreme Commander Alor
Supreme Commander Marix turned towards the Shuttle Bay when the large chronometer in the lobby suggested that it was 1510 Juliet. He had given Celestial an extra 10 minutes to arrive, but the Colonel had not shown. That would not go over well for the Colonel, not at all.
He marched in a lose parade rest form to the turbo-lift that would take him to the Ready Room near the Shuttle Bay. While it may not seem normal to other commanders to have a Ready Room for the Shuttles, Darth Marix liked the options it presented. If the Shuttle Bay was ever used to store fighters, the pilots now had a Ready Room, without needing to add one in and take up more time.
A bell went off in the Turbo-Lift announcing its arrival, just before the doors opened. Stepping out, he saluted the Deck Officer and headed to the Ready Room. The doors slid open with a hiss, and Darth Marix entered the pilot's private domain. It was empty of pilots and filled instead by 3 Sith, 2 Military and 1 Church. This should be interesting Lord Marix thought to himself.
"You are here because you wanted to learn something from me that you could not learn on your own. I would like to warn you now that it may not be the teacher, but rather the student who is to blame for that. Some Sith are not meant to use Battle Meditation, and cannot use the power, just as others cannot use Telekinesis. Do not be ashamed because of it, you had the courage and initiative to try and learn, and for that you should be commended.
"You will board a Svelte-Class Shuttle shortly. From there you will be escorted by 2 Sentinel-Class Shuttles, with their complements of Stormtroopers in case of an emergency landing, and a squadron of TIE Avengers and a squadron of TIE Defenders. Your destination is the Military Annexation Zone [MAZ]. There the training will take place.
"I will meet you there, as I will need to make a few stops along the way and will not be returning with you, when the training is over. You may enter the Svelte and depart when you are ready."
At this Lord Marix took his leave of the Ready Room. He trusted that Vice Admiral Malice would make sure they arrived on time and at the right spot. Marix headed off for his own private hangar bay, in which his personal transport was stored. He would take it up to his Gladiator-Class Star Destroyer that was in orbit above Kuat and from there head out to an outpost on the Braxant Run, the Hyperspace lane that broke off of the Hydian Way and headed towards the MAZ.
He was soon on the bridge of the craft and headed off into hyperspace. He would more than likely arrive before the others as this Star Destroyer had a few personal upgrades that gave it an unheard of HyperSpeed.
Major General Celestial
(Sorry, I had just now saw this post and had been either busy or gone all day.)
Colonel Celestial quickly entered upon the room. His indoor "business" had kept him delayed ever so vastly. He looked at the people crowded around and bowed to them all. He raised his hand and saluted Darth Malice.
He looked at Darth Malice, "Sorry for my delay, sir."
Supreme Commander Alor
[[I'm already out of the room and in hyperspace. You'll just have to join your fellow Sith on the shuttle before it leaves.]]
Darth Malice
Malice watched as the Supreme Commander exited the room. Shortly after, Colonel Celestial walked through the Ready Room doors. His tardiness was one not tolerated by the Sith military and could not go without punishment; however, now was not the time for such formalities. There was far too much in store for these select few to take the time to deal with such action.
"I suggest you all make your final preparations for the trip ahead. It will be one that demands your complete and utter focus. If you cannot give 100 percent of yourself, I suggest you remain here." The Vice Admiral had no desire to pursue such a task with lukewarm followers. It would be all or nothing, as was always the case with this particular Sith.
"Colonel," Malice turned towards the exit and away from Celestial. "If you truly wish to unlock the knowledge of this power, I suggest you show a bit more discipline. It is of no concern to myself or the Supreme Commander whether or not you learn this art." With that, Malice exited the Ready Room, heading for his personal quarters. There he would ready himself for the journey ahead.
Major General Celestial
"Of course..." Celestial said as Malice was walking away. He despised being looked down upon, being treated like trash. Yes, next time he would have to be on time, but no one notified him, even though it was his own fault.
He entered the tiny incompact shuttle most of the others had already boarded. Prophet Crozeus could probably sense his anger right now.....
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus looked upon his former Master with a smile. However, he could sense that something was troubling him greatly, so decided not to press any issues. As he was already prepared for the journey, Crozeus simply sat and meditated over the situation to come, and whatever it was Marix has in store for them.
Supreme Commander Alor
The Svelte-Class Imperial Shuttle pulled out of hyperspace, right into the middle of a huge fleet of ships. The Sith onboard were overwhelmed by the thoughts, minds, voices, and activity from the men serving the fleet ships. Their minds had been opened to the ordeal by Marix, who was already a master of Battle Meditation. He had connected his mind to some of those of the fleet, but did not filter out the noise or concentrate, but rather just forwarded it to Malice, Celestial, Crozeus, and Serratus.
That was just a taste of what you will need to overcome and control Marix sent to them via the Force after he had let their minds return to normal. When the shuttle has landed on my Gladiator-Class, debark and head to your quarters. I will give you time to revive yourselves from the trip and my surprise just now. Training shall begin tomorrow at 1100 Zulu Time. To give you a reference, it is now 2000 Zulu Time, the day before.
And with that Marix once again left them alone. He had interrupted a large mock combat between two squadrons of the 1st Fleet, which had been put into inactive duty while it was revamped, upgraded, and repaired. But the ships and men were still actively training, and he had decided to add to their training with this Battle Meditation lessons.
Supreme Commander Alor
[[Bump?]]
High Prophet Crozeus
((What do you want us to do?))
Supreme Commander Alor
[[I think I said in the last post that you were to go to your quarters and prepare. So perhaps leaving the shuttle, heading to your quarters, and adding details about the ship, the men, and your personal fears, worries, and hopes... Just to make it interesting, take it as a chance to work on detailing skills.]]
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus blinked as Marix's voice drifted out of his mind. It was a bizzare feeling, like dreaming, but he knew he wasn't. The shuttle docked aboard the smaller Gladiator-class and the Sith onbaord disembarked and were met by a protocol droid, which droned on for a while before handing each Sith a map. Crozeus shook his head and headed for the quarters he had been allocated. He could hear every thought going on from the people around him. He felt his companions, the Supreme Commander in the distance, several Force sensitive troops... it was fast becoming too much to take account of and deal with.
Pressing two clammy fingers to each temple, the young Prophet tried to drown it out. After a fair amount of exertion he succeeded, sending the many Force signals back into the background noise of the galaxy.
Without knowing it, he had reached his quarters. He pressed the keypad next to the door which slid silently open. Crozeus looked around the sparse room with a slight grimace - the spartan Military accomodation was not what he was used to from the luxurious holdings in the Church chapters. He hung his robe on the door handle and sat on the bed, removing his weapons from their corresponding holsters and storing them in the drab grey chest of drawers.
For some bizzare reason, Crozeus felt like he was back in the prison cell on the Aggregator. He smiled as the memory of that paticular trip, and the trial afterwards, came back, but the smile turned to a sad expression as he envisioned Darth Suspiria's death once again. He would find her body. He would bring it back.
He cleared his mind of the thoughts and slipped into a light trance, restoring his body and wiping away fatigue without need for sleep.
Supreme Commander Alor
[[Anyone else?]]
High Mage Serratus
In his quarters, Serratus was preparing to enter a trance. His neck was bothering him for some reason. It felt as if it had been burnt, it was throbbing and radiating heat. But Serratus simply absorbed the pain as he had been doing since he was transformed.
Transformed.
He still remembered that day on Coruscant. When Tanya Secura had set him up and the group of arsonists had imprisoned him inside this armour. He often wondered whether there was a way to reverse it. Among these increasingly desperate musings, he often wondered whether he would ever be able to have offspring. It was not a priority of his but he was part of too many legacies to let himself be the last. The Houses of Dooku and Tagge and his father's own path to the Sith and the Military, both of which he himself had trodden. Sometimes he wondered whether he had made the right choices and whether or not it was a path he had walked, or a path his father had walked for him, in the form of the Dragon.
The Dragon.
Sometimes he missed its presence. Though he hadn't know it, that final shard of his father was all the inheritance he had been given. The lightscythe he had found by chance was no inheritance, he had stumbled across its path randomly. Or had he? The lightscythe's presence was an obvious sign his father had once walked the sands of the Krayt Graveyard, as he had. Perhaps that was why he had a marked affinity for the planet over which he was now Moff.
Serratus ended his wonderings as he folded his legs over each other and entered a trance.
