Colt

Victarion sighed. While he was a master of the force and in fact was well schooled in even the more arcane arts... he could not beat death. Nobody could. And he knew that Cillah knew that, deep down. He allowed her to hold on tight, gently holding her in one of his arms. "I'm so sorry Cills." He said softly to her. Colt's earlier words echoed in his mind. Kenlar had thrown his gesture of comfort away. Either the boy didn't know that he had rebuffed a Darth or he didn't care. The latter would make his job a bit more difficult.

Kenway smiled sadly at his son's behavior. "Son, I have failed you by not taking a more direct involvement in your training. As a Force wielder and more importantly as a man." He said quietly. "You're lashing out emotionally, which is perfectly understandable. It's a very hard time, but you need to be strong for your half-sister." He looked back to Larial. "I am here because this is where I am needed." The serene Jedi explained. "We will walk to your next great adventure together. That is how it should be and that is how it will be." 

"You didn't fail me." A spirit appeared in the doorway and went over to Larial's bedside. Kenway Cantarus, Larial's first husband and former Jedi Master, had arrived. He had arrived just in time, as he was wont to do. "Our son made his own choices... and you did what you had to do to protect our daughter." He said with a gentle smile as he looked over at Colt. "Artemis. Cousin..." He said sadly. "All I ask is you take care of our daughter... and our son... do what you can to bring him back to the light." 

Colt nodded with a sad smile on his face. "Of course. For both of you." He looked back at Larial. "I've never been good at these goodbyes... But you will be missed. And I'll do what I can to keep this family together." He promised, as he looked at his own wife and daughter. There were so many issues he had to face regarding that, but that time would come. "Blue..." He said softly. "I'll see you outside..." Colt walked out before he lost control of himself.

Victarion had arrived at the medical facility and nearly bumped into Colt. "Cantarus." He said with a sad smile.

"Victarion." Colt said quietly. "She only has a few more moments. There's a favor that I'm going to need your help with. It's treason against your Empire but..." 

"The boy. I know. I will do what I can." Victarion responded before going inside. He glanced around the room and saw a few faces he knew and a couple he didn't. Leaning down, he placed a gentle hand on Cillah and Kenlar's shoulders. He knew Cillah would be happy to see him and he hoped that Kenlar recognized the mask in his hand or the lightsaber at his side in order to know just where Victarion lay in the hierarchy. He bowed his head. "It's good to see you again one last time Larial." He knew that it was the last time they would speak.

Colt nodded. "My guess is that he'll come at the end... to walk with you on the final step of the journey." He said, knowing his cousin well enough to make that educated guess. Even now, after all these years, Colt still missed Kenway, the cousin who was more like his little brother. Colt looked at Larial and smiled sadly. He knew that she wouldn't be getting up to anger him anymore... not after this one. He hadn't been around for all the medical stuff, but he had instinct and he knew deep down that this was the end. "Something we need to discuss?" He asked quietly. He knew that this was where Larial was going to ask him for a favor. And he'd do everything he could to help. "What can I do?"

"There's only one Artemis here boy. And it's not you." Colt spat bitterly before nodding. "We'll have words after this Sith. Until then." He turned on his heel before going inside to see Larial.

As soon as he saw her, he knew that it was all over. She looked so weak, so tired. He went over to her bedside and knelt down next to her, taking her her hand gently in his. "Hey you." He whispered with a sad smile.

Victarion shook his head sadly. Everything wasn't okay. He sighed, remembering that due to her... job, Zed'la's memory of people that wasn't him was fuzzy at best. One of the perks of being that high up in the Sith hierarchy, even Imperial Intelligence knew that messing with you was a bad idea and not to be taken lightly. "I know you will always take care of me... and that's just one of the very many reasons I love you." He said quietly, considering his words for a moment. "Just the feelings of impending loss. This friend of mine was extremely close to me and I'm going to miss her..." Victarion trailed off. If he wasn't in his current state, he'd have made the connection that his love's job was likely headed to the exact same place he was. But he wasn't thinking clearly and as such he didn't make the connection.

His ship soon entered Alderaanian airspace and using his diplomatic clearances he was able to land. Instead of heading straight to the hospital however, Victarion took a few moments to steel himself. The meditation would help. 

There were two men named Artemis that were coming to Larial's side and one of them would be horrified that the other was using his birth name. Given his irrational hatred for the Empire, it was not something he would take lying down. He had been expecting a quiet scene when he entered the med center. Not what he was forced to witness. As soon as he heard the words "The name is Artemis Gamble." escape from Kenlar's lips, he rushed in. 

"Over my dead body." Colt growled as he glared at Kenlar. Kneeling down, he gently helped Cillah to her feet. "Come on girlie, you're going to be okay." He said softly. 

Zed'la was not the only Imperial that had heard the news. But unlike her, this particular Sith was instead in mourning. Of course, this was a facet of his personality that he had to keep hidden. Feeling loss over the impending death of a Jedi, that would be considered high treason by anyone in the Empire.

Darth Victarion considered his options carefully. He knew that he had to make his way to Alderaan. That would be no problem, even for a Darth. He'd gotten diplomatic clearance from Larial years ago, as they were close friends who had met at a function on a neutral site. She'd always been good to him, and in return he'd done his best to keep up with the actions of her... wayward son. At the thought of the boy, he sighed. How had things gone so wrong?

Wanting some level of comfort, Victarion pulled out his holocommunicator and called his beloved, having no idea that she was headed to the same place he was for a job. Quickly inputting her frequency from memory as he boarded his ship, he waited for her to answer as he removed his well known white mask and black hood. When she did pick up, she would see the sadness and loss in his eyes. "I have to head to Alderaan for a few days." He said quietly. "To... see a friend one last time..." Victarion sighed. "I don't quite know when I'll be back in Imperial space."

Colt didn't say anything for a few moments. He closed his eyes, trying to steady himself. Eventually he spoke, sounding tired. "I'll be there as fast as I can." He promised with a sad smile. "She won't leave until I'm there."

Cutting the connection, the aged smuggler began to make arrangements to make his way to Cillah's coordinates. 

Colt picked up the holo. He had been working on a repair when his niece called. "Cill." He looked concerned. "What's wrong?"

While I can't give you the legal lawyer-ese insight, i can give you the business world insight.

The reason for the big number is the poaching allegations. It's well known in the business world that if you're going to breach a non-compete (which in many cases aren't even 100% enforceable due to state employment laws depending on which state you worked in / will work in), you do it quietly and keep your mouth shut. Do that, and even if the firm that you're technically breaching the contract with won't come after you. Or at most they ask your new firm for a small concession of some sort. Very much a backroom handshake deal and the issue goes away.

But when you get caught poaching employees from your old gig... that's when the big numbers and big guns and big lawyers come out. No company takes kindly to someone messing with their talent stream. That's the reason this all came out as well. It's a warning that this guy poaches developers from other places to the rest of the industry. He didn't play by the unwritten rules, and his old firm wants the rest of the industry to know that. That's also the reason you're seeing the huge number. Poaching talent is a far bigger crime than merely breaching your own non-compete. 

TL;DR - merely breaching his non-compete isn't why this is a big deal. Poaching former talent is why this is a big deal and why the big number came out. 

At this question, the old man chuckled. "Look it up in the holorecords sometime." He said, clearly amused by the fact that someone would think he still used the rank for social and business purposes when the truth was that he only used it for irony's sake. "While they never tell the full story... they get close enough." He mused. "Speaking of which... I won't go and give you the speech on what will happen to you if you hurt little Ciilah here. But suffice it to say that I'll be the least of your problems." The old gunfighter smiled. "Remember your waiter. He's not just a waiter, he's a Sith Lord. Used to be the personal assassin for a member of the Dark Council. His fiancee has a thing for power tools..." Artemis cut himself off, turning to his niece. "I'll let you handle the rest of this little speech my dear. After you pay your tab of course." This was clearly a joke because Artemis had never made a member of the family pay at his bar.

"That you do little one, that you do." Artemis chuckled, giving his niece the proud smile he knew that she was fishing for. "Major Artemis Cantarus at your service." He said to Mata before frowning. In one smooth motion, he flipped the gun off his shoulder and fired it once without even looking. "OI YOU!" He shouted at a man who had been trying to get a little too touchy with one of the girls, a man who was now spooked by the fact the blast had passed mere inches over his head. "Next time I won't aim six inches high!" Artemis growled before turning back to his niece and her date. "And yes soldier, my darling niece is right. Well except for the girls. I didn't borrow them from the Red Hulls. I liberated them. Big difference." He quipped, knowing Ciilah would get why he needed to make this clarification. 

"So you think the kid will scare easy?" Artemis had heard his niece call him over and he'd made a dismissive gesture. He wanted Victarion's read on the young trooper first. 

"Don't know. It's not like I pulled my saber on him." Victarion mused. "But I suppose you could try. You do have that... grizzled veteran thing going for you."

"That and a giant scattergun." Artemis remarked, grabbing the firearm in question from under the bar. Slinging it casually over his shoulder, he went over to Ciilah and Mata. "So Ciils. You know that two soldiers of some repute shouldn't be in a place like this." He remarked with a sly smile. 

it's roll 100s with your character sheets considered for modifiers. I'll do a quick rundown as we get started.

Tonight's RP will start on the Guild Ship. 8:30 EST.

Artemis raised an eyebrow, finding this hard to believe. "You're telling me he hasn't even plugged your name into the Holonet?" He asked, sounding almost amused by it. "Either he's too trusting or he's..." The aging pirate cut himself off before he said something that would actually upset the girl. "Look, I can't stop him from finding all that out any more than I can stop the sun from setting every night." He said sagely. "You're going to have to tell him all this and trust that it won't change his opinion of you. Because he's going to find out and there's nothing either of us can do about that."

Victarion cracked a smile. "You don't know the half of it." He said, considering the man for a moment. "Military? Assuming that's where you met her. You're in her unit." This was more stated than asked.

Artemis had dealt with angry women more times than any one man should have to in their life. So he didn't seem too perturbed as he looked up at his niece. "Just because it's my bar doesn't mean I control everyone's actions." He said vaguely as he went back to cleaning some glassware. "You chose to come here. He chose to come here, he chose to go along with my plan and stop over and say hello." He mused, barely concealing his amusement at Ciilah's temper. "Did you tell that poor boy where you dragged him to? He's a soldier and you bring him to a place like this?"

"Victarion. Pleasure's all mine." The Sith said, shaking Matatomi's hand. He was grinning at the question, deciding how to answer it for a moment. "How do I know Ciils... now that's a great question." He remarked. "Well lets just say I'm a family friend... I've known her mother and father for years..." Victarion eventually settled on a somewhat vague answer. He'd let Matatomi fill in the blanks if he chose to. "And that cranky old man behind the bar apparently thinks I'm a waiter."

((Larial requested cameos incoming!))

What Matatomi didn't realize was that the place Ciilah had taken him to was two things. The first was that it was her uncle's bar and that the old man who tended the bar from time to time was overprotective of his niece. And he was also on the slightly crazy side. The second was that the bar was sort of a haven for the... more questionable members of galactic society. Killers and pirates and slicers all frequented the establishment. 

But none of those killers were at the level of the man who entered at that moment. He didn't look the part, from his handsome and yet boyish face, the ice blue eyes and the cropped and styled black hair. He looked like the type who belonged behind the bar or playing music in front of a crowd at the cantina. But he was none of those things, he was a Sith and one of the best duelists in the galaxy on a good day. 

Using the force to toss his black cloak away and onto one of the hooks in the back, the Sith now clad in red and black casual sparring attire made his way up to the bar, where the old man was grinning at the new patron.

"What are you doing in this sector Vic?" Artemis asked him, quickly pouring him a glass of Chandrilan wine. "Thought you weren't going to be back for awhile."

"You know how things are." Victarion said, idly pulling the glass towards himself using the force. He took a sip. "This is the 77 isn't it?"

"Indeed. I know that's your favorite vintage." Artemis replied, using the bottle in his hand to gesture to the table where Ciilah and Matatomi were sitting. "Don't look over. You saw her when you came in?" 

"Before I came in." Victarion quipped. "You know how that is. She can do better can't she?"

"Well she thought she was gonna snag you." Artemis seemed amused by this.

"Do you have any idea how long people have been giving me shit about that... habit of mine."

"Between your flirtations with both of my daughters... let's just say if you'd actually done anything with any of them..." Artemis was chuckling at the memory. "I don't know how your fiance puts up with it."

"She doesn't." Victarion replied. "But enough about me. Any ideas?"

"You up to play waiter?" Artemis asked after a moment's consideration.

"You're a real pschutta, you know that right?" Victarion asked, but he agreed. "You're lucky I owe you a favor." He said before finishing his drink. The Sith was grinning as he made his way over to Ciilah's table and plucked the menu out of her hand using the Force, catching it between his fingertips. He twirled it idly as he looked at the pair. "Don't think you really need a menu Ciils." He quipped.

Heartseeker Ashe is my girl

Yeah a pretty big part of it was recaps of the previous RPs for people who hadn't been part of those plots.

BTW Kax, your spoiler isn't actually hidden.

And for the rest of you, I'll be running a one night per week RP that's a spinoff of sorts. It'll follow the same rolling rules for the ingame portion. It will also have a forums portion which will be a bit more free wheeling, but I'll get into that when I make the opening posts for it.

Lieutenant Summer Gamble walked into the room. She hadn't been coming in to be on the call, she had been coming into check on her commander. Since the sniper's attack on Hoth, she could easily be accused of babying her commanding officer. However, it wasn't that. It was that as his XO, his second-in-command, she felt it was her responsibility to take care of things and make sure that the Captain was able to heal up and be back in vintage condition.

With this in mind however, her life had gotten surprisingly complicated since Hoth. She had gotten into multiple shouting matches with her on and off... Summer forced herself to cast her fights with Victarion from her mind. Not only was it a distraction that she couldn't have while trying to train up the new recruits, it was something that couldn't be revealed to any of her unit. Especially her Captain. After all, he had covered up a war crime for her, something that would have led to her conviction, her court-martial and her incarceration. Just like dear old dad. Because it wasn't like she'd ever be able to explain why she was making kissy faces over the holo with of the Dark Council's personal assassins. Even if she knew that he was misunderstood.

Speaking of her father, she had to deal with that as well. Having spoken to her Aunt Rhiella, the green-skinned temptress had inadvertently revealed that her father was alive. Typical. She really needed to learn to never believe reports of her old man's demise. Twice now she'd fallen for it. Then again, most of the rest of the galaxy had and more importantly it had taken the prices on his head down quite a bit. Which was good, because when they got high enough she would get concerned that people would come to her or her half-siblings in an attempt to track down their father. And she couldn't help the younger kids while she was tied up as part of the military. Even if they clearly didn't need it, given the fact that both her half-siblings were as powerful in the force as they came and they both had rather skilled masters.

Summer's musings about her rather dysfunctional family situation were interrupted when she heard that Belsavis was under attack. "Imperials on Belsavis." She sighed, looking at Kaxon before brushing her blonde locks out of her eyes to get a clear look at the warden and his aide over the holocom. The mere existence of the planet had once been one of the closest guarded secrets in the galaxy. Of course, that had been blown wide open with the Imperials had attacked it to free the Dread Masters. Now that was a nightmare to end all nightmares. In more ways than one. "Lieutenant Summer Gamble." She gave as a brief introduction for the two men on the holo before turning back to Kaxon. "I'll rouse the troops." She offered quietly. "I assume we're going in."

Victarion had waited for the commando's call before sliding into the rooms ahead. While a Sith Lord possessed terrifying power, heavy armor could stop more rakghoul bites than robes. And then there was the case of Larial. She was all but lost. Was it simply darkness as per usual, or had she been bitten. He almost hoped it had been a bite. For if she were to rampage, he would have to cut her down. And while he was peerless with a blade, should he and the Jedi duel, everyone on the ship would brawl to the death. If it was a bite, he would put her down peacefully and with respect. He owed her that much. 

These thoughts dominated as he made his way up to the front of their small team reuniting with Mak in what appeared to be a medical bay of sorts. "All clear. Excellent." Victarion said go the republic veteran before making his way to the next door. "We are close now. Our destination lies in the next room." He said after a long moment before trying the door. Locked. Of course. "They never make it easy do they. Watch my back." He requested before beginning to cut his way through the blast doors. 

Victarion heard the discussion of breaching charges come up. He had considered a similar tactic himself, but instead of using explosives, the Sith Lord would use his lightsaber to cut a hole towards the center of the ship. He nodded to Debid. "I concur with your assessment of the situation agent." Victarion remarked, glaring down the hall through his mask. He paused for a moment before pointing at a seemingly innocuous portion of steel. "Place your first charge here." He placed his hand down onto the wall to illustrate the point. "This is the way, I can feel it." Victarion didn't care to explain how he knew this.

He understood that non Force sensitives wouldn't get it. Larial, if she hadn't lost herself in the madness, would understand the instinct, but any further elaboration was simply not needed. "A number of charges, blasting our way straight through on this path... that should lead us to where we need to be." Victarion explained before turning on his heel and walking a bit further down the hall. It was clear to anyone who watched him closely that he was trying to commune with the Force. For what reason however, that was a mystery to anyone besides the enigma of an assassin before them.

In the heat of combat, Victarion said nothing. His double-bladed lightsaber twirled in his right hand, humming as it sliced through rakghouls one by one. The red shoto blade in his right hand gave him even more killing power, as well as a close ranged defense against the mounting horde. The massive range of the double-bladed weapon was an asset, however the single blade was vital to keep the leaping, snarling beasts from getting by his first defense and landing a deadly infected bite. Even with his formidable defense and incredible strength in the force, even he could fall victim to the plague if he was bit.

Like Debid, Victarion's mind tended to wander in combat. The beasts were not a challenge to him and thus his focus was not truly needed as he continued to cut them down. At the forefront of his mind was the fact that he and his love were split into separate parties. It concerned him deeply, almost as if it was intentional. He was also concerned with Imperial intelligence. Debid was clearly well informed, if bringing up the redheaded sniper he had past dalliances with was any indication. Even if the man's relationship advice was certainly not welcome, Victarion needed to keep the man close to ascertain exactly what he knew.

And the other agent, Cam. Victarion knew far less about him, given his place in the other group. The same issues came to mind, what did Cam know, why was he here and what actions would he take given what he had learned. Victarion knew that his... coming to an accord with the Republic was something that was basically unheard of in the Empire, especially from a Sith lord of his stature. And from one of the Empire's chosen assassins too. It was not a good look if it was found out.

With all of the concerns about his fellow Imperials, he didn't even have a chance to consider the Republic's stance in all this. Maybe that was for the best. If anything happened, he would just have to do what he did best.

"If I might be so bold m'lord, that was quite the show you put on back there.  But then again, I guess really wasn't a show at all.  I'm sure a certain redheaded spy would have been both inspired and livid if she had heard it.  Now, I'm not one to give out unsolicited relationship advice, especially not to one of your stature, but if you'll allow it I would like to share something I've learned from personal experience.  Stay away from Imperial agents, there are far too many strings attached."

If glares could kill, Debid's heart would have stopped at that instant. Victarion's ice cold gaze clearly struck the man, even through his mask.

"Not another word about my relationships. Especially about... a certain redhead." Instead of saying this out loud, Debid would hear this voice in his mind, the Sith lord using telepathy to get his point across.

He was glad that he didn't have to say more, interrupted by Larial's request. "Yes, we shall." He remarked, walking up to the front. "I'll take point." He stated calmly, not bothering to wait and see if anyone would protest. He wanted to make this quick.