Dark Age of the New Republic

[Sigundr]

((man, kinda sucks. i hope you come up with another great one Tepe. ^^))

[Joetheeskimo]

((Whatever happens, I hope no one else leaves, and that more RP'ers are born :/ ))

[Flamehart]

((Well, being the most knowledegable currently of the Sith Hunter background next to Wildjedi, I'd be more than willing to take ownership of the characters for the remainder of this rp. Luke and the others may have to fall as PCs and now become NPCs once more, since now they are on the Dominion's side you could control them easily Tepe, or I could if you preferred, either way, I do not wish to see this thread die and am willing to step in where I can to keep the thread going.))

 

Katherine looked back at Kin, sending a message back.

 

That is not a decision for us to make. I say we report the results of the meeting to the Riebe and Strider. Let Luke know that we've learned all that we need to know. It is time for the Hunters to leave.

[Black Knight of Keno]

((You'll also have to finish the Sith Hunter article in the mini-wiki. Allright then. You can take over at least for now then))

 

The Governors were nominated and the hammer smashed for a recess. The podium emptied and the guests were shown the way to the entrance hall where there were droids serving drinks and to translate.

Tepe also walked in the crowds, mingling and hearing matters on several planets needing of some sort of action or stance from the government. It was just free talking for the moment.

[Flamehart]

Katherine left the Jedi group, Kin tagging along. She looked at him and asked him, "What do you think this will mean for us? What side will Strider and Riebe take?"

 

Her hand gripped tightly around her hilt, and she warned him to be ready as well. Now that they were out of the protective company of the Jedi, they were far more noticable and susceptible to attack as they headed back to their vessel.

 

--------------------------

 

Luke turned and looked over the group of Jedi. Ten. He didn't even need to count, or take roll, he already knew two were missing, and he knew exactly which two. He sighed and shook his head, then turned to Kyle.

 

Kyle looked back at Luke and said, "Looks like the Hunters ditched us Kyle."

 

Luke shook his head and replied, "Maybe they will come to realize why we have made our decision. One can only hope. Out of all the works of the Force, the Sith Hunters are the most unpredictable beings I have ever come across in my lifetime."

 

Kyle nodded. "You got that right. I still don't know what to expect from the two half the time," he admitted.

 

--------------------------

 

Strider overwatched as Jahara was trained. Finally, the session was called to a stop, and Riebe returned her vibrosword to its stand, as did Jahara. Due to Strider's request, after seeing Tepe fight with the dual Sith Blades, they conducted future practices with swords.

 

Jahara looked over at Riebe as she called the training to an end and said, "So, guess old age is just slowing you down, huh Riebe?"

 

Riebe laughed, and shot back at Jahara, "In two thousand years, my age has not slowed me down in the least bit. Our friends are returning, I figure we shouldn't be sweaty and," she paused, looking over at Strider, who had participated earlier, "stinky for our fellow Hunters," she said with a smirk.

 

Strider could only let a small smile escape his lips. Jahara chuckled, and left to her room to clean up. Strider turned and left to do the same, but Riebe stopped him.

 

"Strider, you know whatever it is that's on your mind, you're going to have to tell me eventually," she stated flatly.

 

Strider paused at the doorway and turned. "You know me. I only say what I have to, when it's absolutely necessary," he reminded. "But alas, you are right. When I decide to tell, you will be the first to hear it," he assured.

 

Riebe smiled, and just before he left, she called over to him, "Alright Strider. Just remember, this isn't over."

 

Strider chuckled and waved at her.

 

"I know, and it never is."

[Black Knight of Keno]

A small hovering droid flew around with a tray full of drink. It stopped next to the jedi and screened the number of them.

"Ten blue milks" it said as the glasses were filled of the liquid from one of the many tanks ontop of the droid. After the Jedi had gotten their glasses, the droid left for a refill. In the meantime, Tepe had noticed absence of two and smirked at Charna.

'The Hunters have left' he noted to her throught the force and walked towards Luke and Kyle, grabbing a drink for himself also. some of the best wine grown inside the Dominion.

 

As the Dark Lord stopped infront of the jedi and flashed a smile at them, some jedi flinched and went for their lightsabers before noticing that nothing had happened.

"Luke, Kyle. How nice of you to come. What I do not appreciate is taking spies with you. However, I do not mind now that the Hunters also take you as an enemy. I am most pleased with your wise decision. Of course, this decision is reversable if you wish so, but not for some time yet. We'll hold a fueling post on Ossus from now to the end of this war, come what may and you have no say in it for that time. When we leave, we leave the post to you if you so wish. Now, Luke, I need to tell you that if you have plans to try and find out where the Sith Order is, which is something you might want to know now that you can access Dominion worlds much easier, I'm not going to give it out to you in any case. All spies of yours will be killed. No exceptions" he said and took a sip of his drink

[Sigundr]

"Master, where may I be of assistance.", Kaoin said to Darth Tepe through the force.

 

Kaoin was already on edge, and needed someething to take his mind off things. Nothing would better suit his craving for power more than to take a few Jedi lives, present company excluded.

[Flamehart]

Luke looked at Tepe with a dismal expression.

 

"If we are to have an alliance, Lord Tepe, you cannot be suspecting us the whole time. Yes, the Jedi have been known to combat the Sith in the past, but you seem to forget that our existance is at stake, and I will not put that at risk. The less you're worried about us spying on you or hunting out the center of the Sith operation the less reason we would even have to do so," Luke explained.

 

Kyle turned to Tepe and added, "It's a matter of our survival. We wouldn't be stupid enough to throw that away."

[Joetheeskimo]

Kin shook his head. "I wish they hadn't made that decision. I know it may be vital to their survival. But Tepe will not trust them or give them any status. They could be at risknow in other ways." He sighed. "How far the Order has fallen since that fateful day when Tepe slaughtered the Council."

[Flamehart]

Katherine turned to Kin. "Yes, but you have to realize the changes that has happened in the Republic as well. They see the true Jedi as traitors for rebelling against the order in Coruscant." She paused for a moment, looking back, then continued her rush towards their ship. "it won't be long until they send someone after us, we should hurry." She said.

[Black Knight of Keno]

"The Jedi Order is weak. Both are. I do not see the False Jedi as a problem and are easily pushed aside now that they have become nothing but the elite of the Alliance's army. You can leave now if you wish. Nothing we speak of from now on concern Ossus" he said before turning with a smug smile on his lips. The sith walked away and stopped finally next to Kaoin.

"Prepare your fleet. We need to rid ourself of some nuisance we have bugged. The Sith Hunters are with some pirates and your mission is to rip them apart. Leave as soon as everything is ready. I will follow after the meeting has been finished" Tepe said and nodded before leaving again for backstage as the second part of the meeting was starting.

[Flamehart]

Katherine took the pilot chair of the ship and started it up, and once Kin was aboard and seated, took off back for the pirate ships. She looked over at Kin and said, "Call the Hunters, tell them we'll be in shortly. If you want you can go ahead and tell them what the results were."

[Sigundr]

Kaoin bowed after Tepe, and turned to his guard Captain.

 

"Get me my ship and prepare the fleet. We're going to tear those Hunters and Pirates to nothing more than space dust." Kaoin said, clenching his fist. "We will rid ourselves of this nuisance once and for all."

 

"As you wish, My Lord."

[Joetheeskimo]

Kin did as he was asked, but he withheld the results the meeting. He could tell by the Sith Hunters' tones of voice that they knew something was afoot.

[Flamehart]

As soon as the ship docked, Kin and Katherine were in a rush to get back to the Hunters to deliver the news.

 

"What?" thundered Flamehart. "How could the Jedi side with the Dominion? This is insanity!"

 

Riebe looked over at Strider, shooting him a look to calm down. "I'm sure they have their reasons for it. Luke always has a reason. May not always be one we agree with, but a reason nonetheless. If we agreed with the Jedi's reasons, we wouldn't be Sith Hunters now would we?"

 

Strider crossed his arms and let out a sigh. "So what would you have us do then? We are against the Dominion, would you have us go to war against Skywalker?"

 

Riebe sighed. "Let me think Strider, okay?"

 

Strider growled back, "We don't have time to think!"

 

Katherine sighed, and looked at the two. "You guys...when we were there...it was almost as if everyone...appreciated the Dominion. I'm not harboring any love for the Dominion, but Tepe would be doing an awfully good job putting us down as the villains in any history textbook of this war, and so taint the Hunters' name should we dethrone him and return the planets to the unstable Republic. If we're going to do something, it has to be a well thought out plan," she explained.

 

Strider sighed and regained his composure. "Katherine's right...alright everyone..any suggestions?"

[Black Knight of Keno]

The meeting continued and the boredom of the Lord started to show so the pace was swiftened quite a lot. However, Tepe was not really that bored but seeking for the Hunters in the vast space. Having finally found them, he looked around the hall and noted to the Grand Admiral to come forwards.

"Prepare my ship. I leave once the meeting is over" he whispered and the Grand Admiral went off to prepare the ship. Meanwhile, the meeting dragged on and Tepe stayed silent. Only moments before Kaoin was to reach halfway throught his hyperspace travel he reacted and sent a single notice to Strider.

'You have a tracking device on your ship. Take it off and get out of there. Kaoin is coming for your pirate friends'

[Sigundr]

((Just speeding up a bit . If that's all right wit you Tepester))

 

One by one, Kaoin's fleet exited from hyperspace, near the pirate fleet.

 

"Captain. Take half the fleet and flank the pirates. I want none alive. Turn those space rats in to dust." Kaoin said, the light of battle in his eyes.

 

The captain saluted and barked out her orders. "Comm officer. Tell the Justified Vengance to take half the fleet and flank them. Once in position, I will give the order to fire."

 

"Yes ma'am!" came the rapt reply.

[Grace]

((In an attempt to get this moving again, I'm taking over all the Sith Hunters. This is too good and it's been going too long to give up just because one of the central players has stopped coming around.))

 

 

"Strider, what is it?" Reibe asked, seeing her old friend flinch almost imperceptibly.

 

"Nothing," he answered shortly. "A tracking device. I'll take care of it."

 

"On the Ragnarok?" Reibe clarified. "Wouldn't it counter any trackers placed on it?"

 

"Maybe, but maybe not," Strider answered cryptically, hurrying away to deal with the tracker. Reibe spun to Jahara.

 

"Tell Danera the Dominion is coming," she ordered. Jahara ran off to find him. Looking troubled, Reibe strode off, intending to be alone. Kin and Katherine followed. When she bothered to take note of their presence, Reibe turned to face them.

 

"We now find ourselves between hammer and anvil," she said slowly. "Opposed on every side, there is nothing to do without arousing further opposition." Frowning, she turned. "Where is Strider? I need to..." Her voice trailed off and she left the two younger Hunters, going in search of her old friend.

[Sigundr]

((*inhales deeply* You're so screwed when WJ, Strider and Tepe get back on. Can't say i didn't warn you.))

[Grace]

((In case you hadn't noticed, Tepe and Strider haven't been posting actively since WJ left the forums. And in the case of WJ himself, well like I said, he's gone. Not going to come back. So save your warnings for when they're more needed... like if I decide to go psycho and KILL all the characters involved in the thread.

 

And give me some credit: at least I didn't pull some noobish move like that. Oh, and one more thing. I've been conversing on MSN instant messenger with Tepe and WJ, who at the time authorized me to take over Charna and Jahara. They never got back to me on Reibe, but if it's going to keep this story moving, then by God I'll do anything. So shut up, will you? I'm only doing what Tepe WJ or Strider would do if the thread had been inactive for as long as it has.))

[Flamehart]

((You're doing well Grace, sorry for my lack of posting. Life has had me busy and I've scarcely had time to even consider posting.

 

Also, Aedan, it's cool. I'm usually cool with the minor use of my character to help move along the story if I'm not available. WJ exercised control over Strider on quite a few occasions with my permission. Grace didn't specifically have it, but it was for good intentions, so I have no qualms. Thanks Grace for giving it a little shove, I'll take back control of my guys now that my schedule has cleared back up.))

 

Strider was just in the process of coming back, and ran right into Riebe. He wasted no time in starting to push her back in the direction she came. "Round the others back up and hurry them back. I've already taken care of the tracker, I gotta get the ship started back up. Hurry, no time, explain later," he said rushed, and turned and hurried back to the Ragnarok.

 

Katherine had decisively decided to follow Riebe, and when Strider turned to leave back to the Ragnarok, she hurried past Riebe after him. She wanted to help Strider while Riebe rounded up the others, looking back at the Sith Hunter leader and informed Riebe of her intentions through a thought message. With that, she turned and hurried after Strider, not wasting a second in helping the preparations.

[Grace]

Hurrying back the way she'd come, Reibe again ran into Kin. After ordering him to go to the Ragnarok, she moved on, looking for Jahara.

 

-----------------------------------

 

"Dan..." Jahara began, stopping suddenly as she remembered Danera's insistence of not using his name. Frowning, she stared at him for a moment, "I'm going to... forget about asking what to call you because you have greater concerns about to be thrust on you," she informed him. "A Dominion fleet is on its way to wipe you out. You may want to get your ships on the move as quickly as possible."

 

At that moment, Reibe entered the room. "Sorry we've gotta run, Kid," she told Danera. Gesturing to Jahara, she said, "Come on, Jahara. Strider got the tracking device disabled."

 

Jahara smiled to Danera and offered him a little wave of one hand before turning to chase Reibe out of the room. They ran together to the Ragnarok.

[Flamehart]

Strider had everything ready as soon as they stepped in. The Ragnarok dropped almost immediately out of the hangar bar, barely giving anyone time to strap down. He jetted away from the pirate ship, hoping to draw attention away from them as an escaping pod or vessel and draw fire towards them, as the Ragnarok could take quite a bit of punishment. Strider turned over his shoulder and called at the others, "It's gonna be rough. Hang in there guys."

[Black Knight of Keno]

((Oy! Royal Aedan, whatever you are, Stop putting words in my mouth!))

 

Danera looked at the Dominion fleet pop out of hyperspace and sighed.

"All guns fire at those capital ships! Get my old ship ready" the man said and then walked over to the pilot battle droid, tapping it's shoulder and whispering a simple command into it's microphone: "Pilot the old gal"

 

------

 

The meeting finally finished and Tepe wandered off. He called for Charna to meet him onboard his ship while he himself went off to change into his armor. The sith later would take a transport so he could board his flagship ready to leave with his personal fleet.

[Sigundr]

Kaoin roared at the top of his voice, "Engage!"

 

"Yes, sir! All ships, fire at will! I repeat, all ships, fire at will!" the captain yelled. The pirates returned fire with utmost vigor, striving to stay ahead of the game.

 

Kaoin moved over to a holo-panel and pushed in the frequency for Darth Tepe. There was a crackling of static then the image of Tepe stood defiantly in front of him. "My master, we have engaged the pirates." Kaoin said with his head bowed, a vicious smile on his lips.