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Insights
Insights
Secret Base
Near the world of Myrkr
Expansion Region
The dark halls of this long-forgotten base seemed to pulsate with the heartbeat of the darkside. Long ago, this secret base was once the pride of Darth Raven’s secret recon bases. As his empire slowly became over ran by the Jedi and their Republic allies, this base slipped from the pages of history and like the war it was designed to support, it was forgotten.
Concealed within an asteroid belt, it was perfectly hidden from the eyes of the Republic and even from the detection of the Jedi. Its location placed it only a few hundred light years from Myrkr. For centuries, this old relic of a war long forgotten had been lost until it was discovered by a researcher. Now, the location made for a prefect base of operations for a new threat to the Jedi Order.
Deep down the dim lit corridors a lone figure walked through the passageways of this base. The figure was cloaked in a dark brown robe. Its hood was pulled up and over the upper part of the face to conceal its identity. A pair of lightsaber hung from its belt revealing that the figure was a force user. One of those lightsabers held close personal memories to the figure. It was once owned by Miya, a Jedi Cadet that the figure has murdered.
As dim red lights illuminated the way the cloaked figure walked passed armed guards. Who didn’t seem to show any reaction to the figure’s passage. Soon, the figure walked up to a large blast door guarded by four-armed guard. They stepped aside allowing the figure to pass as the doors opened to allow the figure to enter the room. The lights within the room slowly brightened until the room was fully lit.
As the figure walked in to the room, the figure waved the guards in the room out. Without speaking they each turned towards the opened blast door and exited the room. As the doors closed behind the guards, the figure slowly reached up and lowered her hood. Her red hair and green eyes gave away her identity as Orchid. She was wanted by Jedi Order for numerous vile crime that included the murder of Miya.
She walked up to a large plateful in the center of the room. She slowly reached the center of the platform and dropped to a knee, “Mother, I am here, as you have commanded.” The figure said and waited for the link to be created.
After a few moments, a larger than life image of a woman wearing a hood to conceal her identity. “My Daughter,” the woman said coldly. “Submit your report,” the ghostly blue hologram image said.
“We have rescued professor Corti from his Kel Dor prison,” she said looking down. “I am pleased to report he has accepted your offer to help us in return for his freedom,” Orchid explained. “I have sent him on to your flagship. He should be arriving at the rendezvous point in forty hours.”
The ghostly image shifted a bit, “good, with him working for us. Soon, we will have our army and bring our enemies to their knees.” The ghostly image paused a moment before asking, “something troubles you, my daughter.”
Orchid nodded as she gazed upward towards the image before, “yes Mother. I sense something. Something powerful moving through the darkside. I sense a being woven with the pure essence of evil itself.”
The bluish ghostly image move about as she spoke, “yes, I too have sensed it. War for the Jedi is coming. A war of their own doing. This war will bring all forms of darkness back in to the galaxy. We can’t be drawn in to this war. Let the Jedi destroy themselves. We have a greater mission. We will destroy the Jedi and all other users of the force. We, my daughter, shall bring a kind of darkness to the galaxy has never been seen before. No Sith. No Jedi. We will stand alone in a galaxy devoid of the light and the dark. All that will remain is just the force.”
The ghostly image fell silent for a moment. Then she spoke up once more, “tell me, my daughter, what of your long-lost pet? How is Cordelia behaving?”
Orchid looked down in disappointment. “She has always been difficult, but now something has changed,” Orchid shook her head as she continued, “I don’t know what is different. She seems stronger now. She defies me even more than she has in the past. I hurt her more and more and she doesn’t seem to care. She won’t submit to me as she used to. I now see, that despite my affection towards her, I must kill her.”
Orchid slowly looked up with a smile on her face, “where there is defeat, I will raise and use this as a weapon to hurt the one who has hurt me,” She said harshly. “I plan on using her as bait to lure Auro out and kill them both.”
“That will have to wait, my daughter,” the ghostly image said. “I know you desire to hurt the Chancellor for what she has done to you.”
Many years ago, the Jedi Order was desperately in need of resupply base in the Outer Rim. The world of Fray offered the prefect location. The city of Baku was rich in fuel and welcomed the Jedi’s future base. The Grand Council of the Jedi Order orchestrated a deal with the leader of Baku, a wealthy man who went by the title of Lord Baku. He offered the Jedi everything that they wanted. All he asked for in return was a Jedi Cadet who would serve as his bride.
That bride was Orchid, who went by another name back then. The member of the Council that made this deal possible was Praeta Syrdash. Orchid lived through a life of hell as Lord Baku’s wife. Slowly Orchid slipped to the dark side. Her final fall came as she orchestrated the murder of her husband and her own child. She went on to murder a large number of Jedi at a nearby Temple. Nothing has fueled Orchid like her hatred for Chancellor Syrdash and her son, Auro Syrdash. Orchid has proven her hatred for Auro many times already.
The ghostly image continued to speak, “forces within the Senate have devised a plan to remove the Chancellor from power. We cannot allow this to happen. The mastermind behind this effort is Senator Sheev Palpatine. If they are successful, then the Chancellorship could possibly fall in to the hands of someone that could calm to the chaos that we have worked so hard to create. He must be removed from the game, my daughter. He is traveling home to Naboo next week for the Festival of Light. I want him killed. this will send a power message to his cohorts.”
Orchid’s entire body shook as she spoke, “mother…….I can’t, please…..” Orchid’s statement ended abruptly.
“You do as you are commanded to do,” the ghostly image said as Orchid fought for breath. Orchid reached for her throat as her neck showed signs of being crushed. “The Chancellor assuming power was a gift that keeps giving. We planned for a power vacuum that would throw the Jedi in to disarray. However, this unforeseen change works for our goals. As long as she remains in power the Jedi and the Republic will be distracted from our activities.”
Orchid continued to fight for breath as the ghostly figure continued to speak, “I have given you an order. You will set aside your hatred for Syrdash and kill senator Palpatine.” there was hatred in her voice as the female figure continued to speak, “you will travel to Naboo at once and carry out your mother's orders!”
Orchid was released from the unforeseen grip around her neck. The sudden action allowed Orchid to fall flat upon the ground as she gasped for breath. “Yes.....” she tried very hard to say. “Yes Mother,” she managed to get out. Orchid fought to get back to her hands and knees as she added, “I will do as you command.”
“Do not fail me, my daughter,” the ghostly sad then disappeared. Orchid remained there on her hands and knees for a moment as she recovered from the attack. As she set there gasping for breath, a small creature watched continued to watch the scene. Realizing that the scene has past, it slowly moved deeper in to the shadows of vent it was spying from. Without making a sound, Pablo-Jill slowly vanished deeper in to the vent system of the base.
A little bit later Pablo-Jill worked his way back in to Cordelia's room via an opened vent. As he crawled down a makeshift ladder, Cordelia got up from her bed, “welcome back, boy” she said with an optimistic voice. The thick metal cuffs moved from her wrists as she reached up and picked him up from the ladder. They had been on her wrists for so long, that she had forgotten that they were there.
“What did you learn,” she added. Once in her arms, he snuggled up to her as he pushed his nose up towards her neck. He had to push her thick metal collar aside. She carried him over to the table. “So, shall we try this again,” she asked as she placed him down at the table. “I am confident we can get this to work,” she said with more optimism.
Cordelia walked over to her bed while Pablo-Jill watched her from the table. She reached under her bed and pulled out a large rolled up poster board. She turned and walked over to the table and unrolled it. On the board were symbols of sounds. “Okay, you know the trick buddy” she said softly. “Come on boy, what did you hear,” she asked as she tapped on the table. Pablo-Jill walked around the table as he sniffed the poster board.
Cordelia tapped a symbol, “sh….” She said making the sound of the symbol. Pablo-Jill turned and walked around the poster board as if he was choosing which sound to step on. Cordelia smiled as the anticipation filled her face. He continued to walk over the poster board. He paused for a moment as Cordelia blinked, “Ah” she said making the sound. He then turned and walked over to her. He stepped up on her arm and licked her nose. Cordelia dropped her head on to the table with a heavy thud.
She lifted her head to see Pablo-Jill looking at her. He leaned forward and licked her nose again. The soft lick brought a smile to her lip, “I know boy, I miss him too.”
She reached up and picked him up, “do you think he still thinks of us” she asked, speaking of Auro. Before her escape from Republic custody, she had taken Auro’s beloved pet, Pablo-Jill with her. She held him in her arms like a baby as she nuzzled her nose in his furry belly. The little Albek made a cute sound as she played with him. She laughed at the cute sound as she spun around with the Albek in her arms.
A sound at the door caused Cordelia to place the Albek on the bed. She walked over to the table as the door hissed open. Barriss had a sadistic smile on her face, “Still trying to interpret that dumb creature,” the Mirialan said harshly.
Codelia picked up the poster board and started to roll it up. “Pablo-Jill is very smart. I am sure in a few more tries we will be communicating with ease,” Cordelia explained. She turned with the poster board roll in her hands, “why are you here?”
Barriss smile grew as her eyes grew yellow, “I got bored” she said then unleashed a full blast of Sith Lighting.
As Pablo-Jill watched as Barriss’ lighting seemed to be attracted to the metal cuffs on her wrists and the metal collar around her neck. Barriss’ eyes glimmered with delight as she heard Cordelia scream out in pain. Within moments bright blue lines started to glow under Cordelia’s skin as the metal devices continue to ensure that Cordelia’s suffering was as intense as possible.
Pablo-Jill watched from under the bed while Barriss continued her lighting attack on Cordelia. As the lighting danced over and within Cordelia body, Cordelia screamed out in pain. After a long while, a loud buzzer sound rang out from Cordelia’s collar. As she heard the sound, Barriss pulled back her lighting. Barriss grinned as she watched Cordelia laying smoking on the floor. “One day, Cordelia,” Barriss said then added, “I will kill you.”
Orchid stepped in to the room as she added, “we both will. But for now, we need her.” Orchid walked over to Cordelia laying on the floor. She grabbed Cordelia harshly by the hair and pulled a scream from her as Orchid forced Cordelia to look at her, “you broke in to the Royal Palace on Naboo before. You will do it again for us, Cordelia.” She pointed her lightsaber at Pablo-Jill, “or else!”
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