Voices Across The Void (Open to All Sith)

[Slade Xandir]

Though the ship was started and swimming through the cosmos, Blood was only just skimming the side of the waves, not the crest. He truly had no idea where they were going either, only knowing they were supposed to find Warvanus. Disappointed at his own short sighted mind, he appreciated his Son's blatant vocalized thought. His own high in intellect and quick thinking bolstered his own.

"Depends on where War lies. His transmission is proving something too irritating for Valkyr to process and narrow down to pristine coordinate, so we just might have to give a ring to the worm."

After the words were just leaving his mouth, Blood pulled his wrist to the vocal range, and spoke a message which was jotted through the receiver, and saved. "Warvanus, we've heard your call, and have been attempting t track you; no avail. What is your position?"

Once the message saved, he sent it through the line War sent to he and whoever else the mutt rang. Then he sat and reverted his thoughts to something less murder-enticing.
A story, a lesson, and guidance, things he would never keep from his heirs.

"Warvanus' original name was Kell. Kell Sangros. He was a somebody, and as little as I know how Tormentous came across this whelp, he did. And Tormentous thought potential of him, and took him in. He took my place of being Tormentous' last Apprentice as I was growing accustomed to the Lord title Tormentous bestowed upon me. With it came my new name, my sith name, Blood."

Pausing for more recollection, Blood continued as the ship drifted, awaiting Warvanus' response.

"I grew curious of him, and invited him into the pack, just to introduce him to customs, see where he was at in his studies, and train him in the spare time where Tormentous was handling his own affairs. Being someone who was fresh and under more advanced in his training, I was the best and only student of Tormentous who could give Kell what he needed when Tormentous couldn't. And Kell never accepted any of it, other than a couple of spars we had. Not too long after the first, I was already infected with the desire to kill Kell."

Another moment, and Blood glanced over at the star chart, just noting their position. Then, he returned to the story.

"Tormentous dubbed him 'Warvanus' or 'Bringer of War', or 'Embodiment of War', more than likely to sate the hole that blossomed and corroded in Kell's chest to be recognized," Blood biasedly added. "And told me personally to tell Kell this was his new name. But as much as I disagreed with this act, I never doubted my Master, and thus did his bidding. Nothing like the ceremony I had in my naming, as I was the one who told him. More than likely he saw it coming, as Tormentous had infiltrated his dreams and bespoke such to him through reoccurring night-wanderings."

Running a hand over his head as another reached into a pocket, Blood continued. "Warvanus has been dropped by Tormentous, much harsher than I have. Tormentous taught me enough for me to last on my own, to grow, to use what he gave me, and build his ideals through such a similar mentality. But War was dropped while he was still a Baby Fang in the Force. And masterless, he looked for another. Again I offered my tutelauge, but again no bite. So to get rid of waste, I enticed our final duel, another bout to see where his skills lie, got him on Kroxata's ship, and made way to trade Apprentice for Apprentice. And by trade, I ultimately don't mean fairly."

A light chuckle left him as he began the decline in the story.

"I stole Kroxata's Apprentice, Xendiss, a Miraluka I became fascinated with, and made way for the stars without Warvanus, leaving him on there to be Kroxata's newest Apprentice. Since then, I've had a problems with not wanting the both of them dead. And how fitting Kroxata has such a tauntless leash upon his charge that the charge finds himself drifting in the unknowns of the Force."

His gaze intensified, just a bit, as the lesson came into play.

"This is why I am always watching you, your sister, Emre, Fox. All of you. Because treachary comes in a multitude of faces and smiles, in a plethora of voices and lusts. It will come for you all in the Force, and when it does, you all will not only be ready, but so will I. My Master knew of my whereabouts at all times, and I hid nothing from him. I expect the same of you all, especially when there is things you are finding questionable."

He was here to teach the youths, to show them the paths they could take, and rein them in the levels of leadership, power, and intellect. Nothing was meant to take them by surprise.
A Master was never so dominant than when he stooped to show his Pupils the way to victory. It wasn't a power struggle, it was a mentality, a calm and fitting one.

Finally the gotten coords were locked into the system, and through the stars the trio flew, coming well into the scene. The Infiltrator broke through the tight pull of hyperspace as Valkyr jumped them through a wormhole and settled them as close as they would possibly be able to get to the coordinants.

[Raphael Xandir]

Pacing back and forth in the hull of the Infiltrator, Raphael continued to listen to his master. He wondered what the other Sith was up to requesting the presence of Lord Blood. The young acolyte also considered the possibility that they could be moving into a trap. He would keep his mouth shut though as he knew his father would know exactly what to do as he sent a transmission away to the one called Warvanus.

The two found their way to a seat among the starship while the cyborg piloting awaited coordinates. A history lesson it seems was the topic of the lesson Lord Blood was trying to teach. The story was not one of a long time ago, but rather a recent one as he began to understand the things he did not see just a short while ago.

A different name accompanied the man named Warvanus not to long ago. Raphael knew already names were bestowed upon Sith from time to time by their masters. Yet, with a name like “Kell”, it made the man with a strong name seem more…. killable. The mountain of a man that first appeared on the dashboard of his Z-95 Headhunter now seemed more mortal to the young acolyte, easing his mind about what they were going into.

Distaste began to form for the man as his father divulged the history between the two. The man clearly slapped away the hand of his father who was trying to aid him in his training. Given, he could sympathize with Warvanus as he would understand what it would be like to be dropped by a master at such a premature point in the process of training. Yet, if Blood offers a way into the very selective pack, you should take it.

Realizing that Warvanus should of denied the training of another and stuck with Blood regardless of a so called “trade”, made Raphael dislike him even more. Treachery seemed to be the way this man operated, and the young acolyte was fascinated to meet him whenever that may be.

“I have pledged my life to the pack and will continue to do so, I will hide nothing from you…” Raphael stated to his father.

Anticipating their first meeting, adrenaline coursed through young Raphael as they grew ever closer.

[Kroxata Akhoi]

That same, ominous presence that had bewitched him in his own territory arose once more, as if a force was stroking across his shoulder blades to get his attention, the Dark Side aura drowning out even that of Kroxata’s but now it felt different. Indeed it felt powerful, beyond that of the Dreadlord’s but no onger did it feel like that of his master. The presence was filled with lies and deception, a lust for its own ascension of strength compared to Tormentous’ that relished in it’s own kind, once noticing the difference, a light growl emitted from the Zabrak, hia aura treating the presence as an enemy, expanding outwards to defend against this unknown threat. The second the threat was seen, the aura vanished into nothing, fleeing from the sign of a hostile threat like a rat scurrying underground to leave its young to die.

This was not the aura of Tormentous, no, it was something else, something wicked and cruel, having no courage or dignity to face its enemies face to face. A trait Kroxata’s master strayed far away from, he is brought back to the bridge of the Maul, still heading deep into hyperspace, narrowing the distance between him and Warvanus last known signal, but something wasn't right. The signal constantly scrambled and jolted from one location to another, the Dark Side began growing in strength not only due to Kroxata’s addition to the already swirling storm that clouded over this portion of the galaxy, another strong user of the Dark Side was near.

Looking to the holomap, displaying the various coordinates of their current location, a another much smaller vessel was detected, transmitting a message that crossroaded into the same frequency the Maul was searching for. The Dreadlord took no hesitation to listen in, in hopes of hearing the voice of Warvanus, but as he listened, a scowl, formed on his face “Slade….”. Truth be told the same aura he felt earlier now replicated the one he felt on the bounty hunter turned to the so-called ‘Lord Blood’, only far more powerful. This human was everything he despised about the Sith, the deception, the corruption, the taint that spread like a virus to his many followers that fly around him like flies to a carcass. If he was also interested in what Warvanus had found then it could only mean he sought to use this as an opportunity to boost his own needs, he did not care for the young Sith, he cared for barely anyone else but himself, a trait that will surely end in his own downfall. This now became a race to a finish line, “Push our efforts into the engines! Pinpoint that location. Now!”

[Kell Sangros]

Warvanus had been researching possible areas and narrowed it down to two possible systems thanks to Vector. He was beginning to prove that he was quite useful. The comm started to beep. It was Lord Blood he felt instantly irritable for being disturbed in his research. However on the other hand he did include Blood in the transmission that also included Dastan and Kroxota. He had to take a few breaths to steady himself, he pressed the comm button, and then hit a few other buttons. He wasnt that hard to find. “Faulty Equipment” He thought to himself. He had just sent his coordinates to Blood and Kroxota, even though his sensors were picking up the Maul approaching his sector. He would send Blood a message short, sweet and of course encrypted. The Decryption key was one they were all familiar with. So no chance of mistakes.

“I might have found Tormentous” was all he had sent to the Sith Lord who had on a couple occasions tried to off him. He had once saw Lord Blood as a potential ally, but that door was closed, more and more, he was more like a rival, an irritant. He tolerated him, and he was sure that feeling was somewhat mutual but for different reasons. Warvanus’ was just one simple fact. He wasn’t currently strong enough or experienced in the Force to feed him his entrails as he choked on them with dying breaths. “One can fantasize” he said aloud to nobody in the room. After that transmission sent successfully, he then entered the codes to send a message to the Dreadlord. He also encrypted the message

“Dreadlord, You should have my co-ordinates, standing by to board your ship on arrival. I will explain more when I see you but I believe I might have found Darth Tormentous”

Warvanus respected the Dreadlord, who was a warrior, like Lord Blood stronger and more experienced in the Force than he himself was. While in alot of ways they were cut from the same cloth there were differences in beliefs.

He had also sent a message to Lord Imatari even though he had not respond to his initial message, he wanted to keep him in the loop as well as he had an ominous feeling about this whole affair. Vector he had briefed had measures prepared in the event he went missing. When his transmissions were sent. Warvanus did an instrument check, everything was within working parameters. He would still have to play the waiting game and while he did that, he prepared a briefing. He still was not sure if anyone would accompany him, he was still prepared to go alone, he had to prepare for any and all possibilities.

[Slade Xandir]

“I might have found Tormentous.”

"Son of a Jedi," he swore in a heated curse. Laying back as they drifted idly near the Maul, Blood sighed, asking the ceiling of the ship, "Has no one taught him 'What isn't yours, you don't touch'?"

'Tired Blue Boy walks my way,
Holding a Girl's hand,
That basic skank leaves finally,
Now I can steal her man.'

"This runt needs to be put down. Fast."

Blood knew he more than likely wasn't going to be a welcome attendant on the Dathomirian's ship, so with the Infiltrator cloaking, there was no issue of him being found. Continuing to do nothing, go no where, he decided to wait until Warvanus made his move through the stars. Of course he was going to be leading them to wherever his Master was. But what led Warvanus to believe he had any inkling of grounded evidence it was Tormentous was beyond him.

"Wherever he leads us, we'll have to follow, regardless. But the betrayal will be a flipping switch- Kroxata will no doubt pursue his lead as well. and then another facedown will more than likely occur. If anything, I might be caught up with Kroxata; you'll need to keep watch over Warvanus, if not be the one to pull the heart from out of his chest." Crossing his leg in a gentlemanly fashion, he mused over the plan to himself until his plot rendered finally in his head.

"This signal, pull or whatever he has considered to be influence of Tormentous is what he will base his lead on. If it is something in the Force and turns out to be a false lead, something more devious and illusionist in its scent, Kell will be doomed. But I will need to distract Kroxata, hence your little introduction to Warvanus. Maybe a game of tag o such will do."

A finger ran across the bottom of his face, rubbing against the base of his jaw as he continued to plan this sinister scheme.

[Raphael Xandir]

Pondering the conversation the two were having, Raphael wondered who this Kroxata individual was. His attention was caught as he looked out of the infiltrators cockpit at the massive ship that floated before them. Surely they weren’t meant to board it and if Kroxata was the commander of it, then Raphael wouldn’t want to meet him so soon. His eyes focused in as they floated closer, hopefully the cyborg had the Infiltrator cloaking their position.

Young Raphael began to question the situation they were in. It was uncertain were the great Tormentous has gone and why but this seemed almost too easy. The Sith that followed him worshipped him at his feet and would jump at the chance to follow him again. Raphael felt this to be the case as one of his students is desperately trying to find him. This Warvanus seemed to be desperate to have guidance yet again and is willing to follow a ghost.

Regardless, Raphael was enamored at the thought of Blood’s plan as they searched for a way to take advantage of the lost pup. He looked forward to their inevitable meeting, as the acolytes would soon rival each other. It seemed while his father would be taking care of the more powerful Kroxata, an interesting encounter with Warvanus was to be held.

Raphael was not as trained as the other acolyte is within the force, yet he was cunning and determined. He was sure he could manipulate this Kell into whatever he needed him to do, a puppet for the puppeteer it seems.

“Maybe a little trap will do for the lone wolf… I could put him out of his misery.” Raphael suggested to his father.

[Kell Sangros]

Warvanus checked the readings in the shuttle, the ship was capable of going to this planet in the Unknown regions simply known as Galfaan He had not heard from Lord Blood which surprised him because of his undying loyalty to the missing Sith Lord. For Warvanus he felt conflicted on what he would do if he did find his former Master. He had abandoned him left him to fend for himself against the Dragon, against those who wanted him dead to where the root of it was beyond his comprehension. He had to know and he could no longer wait. He had brought a newly acquired droid who would act as his Co-pilot.

“KL-PK1” he said “Enter the co-ordinates and prepare for the jump to hyperspace” the droid nodded in acknowledgement, he had yet to install a personality chip into the droid. No doubt the droid probably had one installed already. Something he would do when he returned. The droid went about it’s business while Warvanus went into the cabin behind the cockpit. He turned on the holovid. He would encrypt it using his personal codes. He would send two messages, with the encryption nobody would be able to intercept and decrypt it. The first message he sent was to the Dreadlord, Kroxota.

The Vid came to life and Warvanus stood there clad in his armor and began to speak “Dreadlord, I am heading to the Galfaan system in the Unknown Regions, the 5th planet in that system that also shares the same name as its star. I wanted to deliver this to you in person but time is of the essence. I have been hearing a voice call to me during my meditations when I focus on its source I believe it to lead me to this planetary system, The author also feels like it is Darth Tormentous. “ Warvanus would let that sink in before continuing “ I am attaching co-ordinates to this world, I do this against my better judgment as I feel something sinister, nefarious is afoot. I am unable to place what. I have also made a contingency plan with my agent Vector. In the event something happens to me.” He paused again “May the Force serve you well Dreadlord” He bowed his head in a sign of respect before the vid cut off and transmitted it’s message directly to Kroxota’s flagship.

He would send the next one to the Emperor. He knew that he would take interest in this, plus if something were to happen he would have another person in the know. The Holovid came to life and this time Warvanus knelt with his head bowed. “My Lord Emperor” he began “I have attached co-ordinates to the 5th planet in the Galfaan system, I have been hearing through the Force a voice call to me, it feels like Darth Tormentous I had sent out a message to other Sith Lords with no response so I must carry on alone I have left a contingency plan with my agent Vector as well as sent a similar message to Lord Akhoi, I must tell you I go into this with a sense of foreboding, this seems to easy , but success or failure I must investigate and see this through my Lord” He kept his head bowed “I hope I have found favor with you my Lord as everything I do I do for the Empire. Glory to the Sith, May the Force serve you well my Emperor” after that last word the vid deactivated and Warvanus rose and like the first message had it encrypted with his code and transmitted to Lord Imatari. Now that he had that taken care of, it was now or never. It was go time. He was not weaking, he did feel foreboding, but the pull to this place was too strong to ignore.

He made his way to the cockpit and sat in the pilots chair “everything ready droid” The Droid who had a bit of an accent spoke “Everything is bloody ready Master” the tone and manner this droid spoke took Warvanus back, he wanted to laugh but there would be a time for that later. He took the controls and shortly thereafter the shuttle was in hyperspace.

Hours had passed when the shuttle came out of hyperspace. He had entered the Galfaan system, nothing had come up on any sensor sweep he brought the shuttle in as made his way to the 5th planet. He had put the shuttle in planetary orbit as he did another scan. He wanted to be sure he was not going to go right into a trap. He looked at his new droid. “KL when I step off this shuttle, you are to proceed to this planet’s 3rd moon and put the shuttle into an orbit, while in orbit activate any signal jammers. You will come get me when you see this blink” he handed him another beacon “This will let you bring the shuttle right to my location, I might not be gone long I do not know what will happen once I am down there, Do you understand?” The droid in that same accent replied

“Yes Master”

“Repeat my orders back to me” the droid did as he was told when Warvanus was satisfied he brought the shuttle craft down to the surface, made sure his lightsaber was clipped to his side and took the pack of provisions and supplies before stepping off the shuttle. Once his feet had touched the ground of the planet the droid followed his instructions.

[Slade Xandir]

Valkyr turned a sleek feline head around, her robotic voice slicking out through her transmitter, "There are unknown coordinates hitting our tracker, Unknown Region, unnamed, but they are located on the fifth planet on the left of a undiscovered system, Alpha X. Proceed?"

Blood thought about it for a second. This was confirmed just then it was a trap.

"Yes." he concluded with her as she followed the Acolytes ship through the stars. Turning back to Raphael, he mused out to the younger male, "I believe War just thrust himself into a trap that wasn't of out efforts. This place is of Unknown Regions, and few venture to these places unless they look for an unmarked place to lay a body. This is indeed a trap, one we didn't even have to spring. But the problem with this is that we must in turn be careful, lest we land in the same pit as Warvanus."

As the ship broke from the hyperspeed and shook till leveraged just to the left flank of the forsaken student's, Blood watched it land in the desolate lands of the planets. It seemed the Maul had yet to join them, but that made it all the sweeter for Blood. Their Infiltrator began it's descent and lowered to the planets crust, as well. It remained invisible as they parked it a nice distance from War's own. Expertise allowed Valkyr to lower it silently, and she cut the engines off. All remained quiet with the trio as they watched the scene happen before them.

[Raphael Xandir]

Raphael didn’t like the idea of this trip anymore; he wanted to be back on Sojourn comfortably. What was supposed to be any easy way of trapping Warvanus, turned into an exploration into the unknown regions of the galaxy. They didn’t know what they would find there but he sure didn’t want to get separated from the pack. The end of Warvanus was the only thing keeping him focused on the task at hand.

“Foolish brute, he doesn’t even know what he is getting himself into. It seems he has given us an unmarked place to lay his body then.”

The young man gazed out the glass of the Infiltrator as he examined the world around him. Once the ship landed the three watched out the glass, waiting for something to happen. As he looked around the environment, he could not recognize the planet that they were on.

“What could he want from us here?”

Raphael prepared himself for the task at hand, gearing up. He put on his boots and gloves over his loin coverings. Carefully placing his new bone armor on and a back holster to hold his vibroswords, crossed in an "X" on his back. A vibroshiv was placed within his boot and a pair of swamp stunners with a Lanvarok on his left forearm.

[Kell Sangros]

=Surface of Galfaar=

Warvanus slowly made his way he was dropped off near the entrance to a small forest, off in the distance in the clearing he could see what appeared to be a castle of some sort. He did not enter the forest until he could no longer see the shuttlecraft. KL-PK1 was executing his orders flawlessly. With the shuttle heading to its temporary location, he entered the forest; the sky was blue and clear. He had made his way through the Forest slowly but he made it through without incident. Upon exiting and coming into another clearing he could see this fortress sitting on a large hill. He still had some distance to go. Maybe he was making a mistake coming here. He had very little support as far as the sith were concerned. At the same time every experience was a learning experience.

From what he could tell there were no guards posted and the closer he got to this building it looked less like a castle and more like a temple. He could sense the Force was strong here. If he could sense other Force users no doubt they could sense him too. He drew on the Force in hopes of sensing Tormentous’ presence, he could not find him. Either they were shielding him or he was not here and this was all a ruse to lure him here. But why? What purpose did it serve? If he did not face this now he would never know and possibly would have to deal with whoever this was again in the future.

The banners on this temple had what looked like 3 suns forming a triangle. Much like what he saw in his meditations. He continued his approach hoping that he was not being watched. He had begun to wish that he had brought Vector with him on this, if for anything for someone to have his back. The closer he got the more detail he could see, this temple was made of a grayish stone. It looked old. He wondered if this was the home of the Tri-Sun cult but he thought they were no more. He knew this temple held occupants it might not even be this cult could be pirates or smugglers, No his gut told him that this was not a hiding ground for scum.

He finally was at the base of this temple, still no apparent activity but he knew better. Now he had to find a way inside.