Team Members
Warlord Andrelious J. Mimosa-Inahj (#1653)
Primarch Alaris Jinn (#9426)
Epis Saskia Ortega-Inahj (#8396)
Battlemaster Nikola Valtiere (#13308)
Priestess Kookimarissia Mimosa-Inahj (#13714)
Dark Jedi Knight Achilleus (#13033)
The fog was thick, the glow of the lightsabers making no difference after the newly minted Epis finally admitted defeat. As soon as the trail in the Force stopped cold, from the twins and their state of danger, the young woman ceased in her tracks. The whole thing felt unnatural. Her father, Andrelious, practically ran into the back of the Krath before he, too, began to search for the tendrils of life of his other offspring. The slight panting of a third individual joined them as Achilleus came into blurred view. The three of them had left Soulfire to chase down the impending danger that the twin daughters of Andrelious and Kookimarissia were in. They had all been drawn to this spot, yet they seemed to also be alone.
“If this is what having a family does to you, then I’m still not sold on the idea,” Saskia snapped, irritated more at herself for the deception than for coming to save her half-siblings.
“Be grateful that man didn’t succeed in his attempts to sever you from your family,” the Soulfire Battleteam Leader cautioned, side eyeing his eldest as she slashed through the fog in frustration with her new weapons.
“You make your own family,” the Krath hotly contested, glaring momentarily towards the Warlord before kicking the ground in anger. “But what good is family when all they do is get you distracted and led into a trap?”
“Focusing on getting out would be more beneficial right now,” Andrelious cooly interjected as his daughter kept her fueled rant to an internal monologue.
Silence befell the trio.
It seemed to be an age before anything started to form. The illusion starting to lift as the fog began to clear. The scene before them was one of destitution. The Valley of the Dark Lords.
Saskia had only heard whispers, the faintest of rumours about the place. Death walked in the shadows, and chaos ruled the plain. This was a place where only the strongest would triumph, and the weak would become part of the landscape.
“Andrelious?” Achilleus broke the silence, looking to his old master for explanation.
“There’s a reason we’re here, and I think it has nothing to do with the twins,” the Cirran replied before the Sith could open his mouth to form a response.
Kooki was approaching the desolate Valley of the Dark Lords, and was already hating the intense heat of the desert landscape. A change was as good as the rest usually, however this was a completely different circumstance. Something just wasn’t right. War was on the horizon, which was never pleasant, yet there was something else. But, it wasn’t clear what.
The dense fog surrounding the Priestess was making the way ahead almost impossible to see. She tried in vain to use her amethyst blade to help find her way, although this was proving unsuccessful. Just as Kooki was beginning to make progress, an image entered her head and took over her petite body. The colour suddenly drained from the Alderaanian’s face as the image took hold.
A tall figure remained silent, but pointed at the Corellian lodgings. The adults inside seemingly unaware. Yet, the female of the two was unsettled, while her spouse tended to the twin girls in the other room. Pulling funny faces seemed to amuse the small girls. The dominant figure in the Imperial uniform continue to be mute and without waiting any longer, ordered her One Sith ally to break the door down. “Now it’s personal,” the female mused, as she removed her cap and her flame coloured locks adorned her shoulders. Granta Prackx would do ANYTHING to get HER Andrelious back to where he belonged. If that meant luring Kooki to her death, then so be it. Two bundles were removed from the Inahj household. “I’ll be back…” Prackx purred.
Moments later, the unusually blurry and unclear vision began to disappear. Kooki shuddered and tried not to panic. Her twins were in danger. AGAIN. They had only just escaped the grasp of Sephilios Braxant, who had been effectively ‘dealt with’. Surely on Corellia under the watchful eyes of Andrelious’ parents, they were safe.
The relatively new mother was beginning to debate the validity and accuracy of said illusion. It didn’t seem right, even though she couldn’t think straight and comprehend a rationale behind her paranoid and oxymoronic emotions. Just as Kooki felt she could think no longer, she began to sense two very familiar Force imprints nearby, and another she couldn’t quite recognise. As she nearer closer, the murmuring voices became clearer, and the fog began to clear.
“Kooki, is that you?” came a familiar male voice.
Andrelious came into view, alongside him was Saskia. The unfamiliar individual was a fellow Soulfire member and Andrelious’ first Apprentice, Achilleus.
She struggled to smile at the Soulfire trio, immediately striking concern with her spouse. Even Saskia appeared worried.
“Something wrong?” queried the Cirran, before her father had a chance to ask.
“We don’t have much time,” pointed out the Iridonian of the group.
“Silence, Krayt!” hushed the Warlord, slightly aggressively.
“There’s always time to listen,”
Kooki only managed to utter out a whisper.
“I saw the strangest thing…. Something not quite right,”
Saskia swallowed hard. She could sense what was coming. Without thinking she mouthed the exact same thing as Kooki, in unison with her.
“The twins!”
MJHC Lictor
The datapad snapped off as Valtiere rose, mission brief committed to memory. The Valley of Dark Lords, right on the front. He smiled slightly, looking forward to getting his hands dirty again. He had been stood back for too long.
Apparently, there would already be Arconans on the ground. His old Quaestor was one such individual with the same task, though there were apparently others that went unnamed. He was to rendezvous with them to then take the assault into the valley proper, and onto the ancient tomb of Marka Ragnos. A mission that ultimately led to the immortality of the Grand Master. A selfish reason, but the only way to end the bloodshed was to win, so Valtiere resigned himself to eke out what joy he could from the war.
The fighter plunged through the atmosphere of Korriban, unnoticed by the forces keeping their feet planted in the dirt, looking down. It allowed the Stealth X to land safely and undetected, albeit far from the real warzone.
With a camo net thrown over the craft, Valtiere noted the landmarks of the area before setting off for the Valley, a jagged scar in the surface of Korriban. It would be awash with blood. He had walked through the night, and the morning had thrown up a mist that was only just clearing. As he trudged forward, shaped resolved, four figures. His mouth set in a grim line.
“The family Inahj.” He strode forward, approaching Andrelious, the former Rollmaster. He pulled out his datapad. “We have a mission. I was told to gather all the Arconans I could. It seems we are to secure a tomb for our esteemed leaders.” He handed it to the portly Sith, eyes only then flicking to his three companions.
“Interesting to find you all here at the same time. As a family.” A hint of derision flavoured his tone as he finished the statement.
Andrelious examined the information on Valtiere’s datapad. The mission goals were clear - their objective was the tomb of Marka Ragnos. What wasn’t so obvious, however, was how they were to do that. Drawn away by the fear of Poppy and Etty being in danger, the Inahj family had become separated from their respective teams. Andrelious found himself cursing his luck - whilst Kooki and Saskia were both strong fighters, neither were tactically minded.
“Are you really that surprised? I’d have thought from all the time you spent with Nadrin that you’d appreciate that families tend to stick together,” the Warlord said, handing the small device to Saskia. She too studied the mission map, as did Kooki.
“How did you become separated from my old Master, and the rest of your team?” the former Qel-Droma Quaestor questioned.
“The three of us got a strong feeling that the twins were in grave danger. It was only once we actually met up did we realise that it was all an elaborate ruse,” Andrelious answered. The illusion that he had experienced had not involved his parents, or Granta Prackx. Instead, his old Imperial prejudice towards the Jedi Order had been abused. He had seen an image of another set of twins - two identical female Twi’leks, snatching the twins, with assistance from Valtiere’s replacement as Quaestor, the former Odan-Urr Jedi Turel Sorenn. This all reminded him of the Jedi of old, the Jedi that snatched babies from their families at age of six months.
“Now we’re together, we’ve realised that we’ve been duped.” Kooki added.
“And what is HE doing here?” Valtiere queried, gesturing in the direction of Achilleus.
“He followed. Are we done with 100 questions or are we going to get on with it?” Saskia interjected, a flash of impatience on the woman’s face.
Realising the vision she’d recently seen was fake, Kooki was rather hurt. Despite this anger bubbling away inside her, she also knew that her twins were safe and she was here for a reason- even if that part wasn’t fully clear just yet. She wasn’t the only one shaken by such images. Furthermore, this desert planet’s climate was growing increasingly annoying for the Priestess, who was used to cooler places.
The four others travelling with her seemed eager to get moving, especially her spouse’s offspring. The Krath was still not entirely fond of Saskia, and really wanted to say a snippy comment about holding her father’s hand, yet she managed to suppress her inner resentment. The Cirran was actually quite a pleasant person. After all, she and Kooki had a past before the true identity of her father had been revealed. It was not the time nor the place. The fivesome needed to unite, not be enemies.
The group began heading towards a temple they were required to secure, without many pleasantries being exchanged. Everyone seemed rather tense, uncertain who or what they would find at this ancient civilisation.
Upon arrival there was little time to plan.
“Secure the perimeter team!” Ordered Andrelious.
His teammates did as requested and encircled the building.
An unusual noise from inside the temple echoed. Whoever or whatever they had stumbled upon here, had been disrupted.
Hands on hilts, ready to engage their blades of various colours, the five Arconans prepared for conflict.
The Galerean team leader quickly sent out a clear concise message through the Force.
“Spare no one!!”
Tomb of Marka Ragnos
A small annex in the temple had been converted to use as a forward operating base. Inside were several Humans, mostly middle aged males, dressed in the familiar grey uniforms of an officer of the Galactic Empire. As was typical with an Imperial command centre, the mood was sombre and mostly on task, with little banter or friendliness between the assembled group.
The entrance hissed open and a Stormtrooper breezed in.
“Sir. We’ve detected a group of five Dark Jedi on the perimeter. Sector Aurek-Six,” the white armoured soldier declared, his helmet’s transmitter neutralising any panic in his voice.
“Check Aurek-Six, Lieutenant,” the senior officer ordered. A female, one of the younger of the group, nodded and operated the monitor in front of her, scrolling through a few security devices before finding the one that displayed the five Dark Jedi.
Her superior leaned in, studying the monitor.
“Interesting. Four Humans and a Zabrak. Zoom in, Lieutenant. Try and get a clear shot of their faces. Intel may be able to help us recognise them.
Tomb Perimeter
“Looks like we’ve been spotted.” Andrelious observed, pointing out a nearby camera. The security device was incongruous with the rest of the tomb, indicating that it was a new addition. The Warlord frowned. The camera was of Imperial design. That meant the One Sith, and their Imperial allies, were likely laying in wait.
“What now, then?” Saskia asked.
“First of all, we keep moving. I could tell from the movement of that camera that they’ve got a clear shot of our faces. That means we’re going to be identified. How many of us they’ll actually have a file on is one thing, but assume nothing,” the Soulfire Captain explained, starting to move in the direction of the tomb.
“There they are!” a voice somewhere nearby yelled. Several Stormtroopers, Imperial Officers and a pair of Dark Jedi spilled out of a nearby doorway.
“Bucketheads!” Kooki snapped. Instead of waiting for her team, she began to sprint in their direction, a murderous glint in her eye.
“Kooki! Wait!” Andrelious pleaded, beginning to chase his wife. The rest of the team followed, weapons ready.
Kooki was far ahead of her spouse. Deep down he knew his attempt was in vain. When Kookimarissia Mimosa-Inahj was in a set frame of mind to do something, Kookimarissia Mimosa-Inahj did it. And nothing and no one stood in her way. Amidst Andrelious’ vain attempt to slow his wife down, he began to sense strange things were afoot. There was no time to arise his inner suspicions. Right now he had an even bigger mission on his hands- saving his wife’s skin.
Totally oblivious to the rest of her teammates, the Priestess was slicing through the enemy Stormtroopers with her trusty amethyst blade. Unusually, Kooki was outright maliciously killing them, rather than watching them die. Since they were like droids, she happily made an exception.
“Die Buckethead, die.” Yelled Kooki, once again.
Just as she had tripped another Imperial foe to its feet, a second one approached her from behind. The dust from landing on the sandy desert floor with a deafening thud, was slightly distorting Kooki’s vision, making it difficult to see. Luckily the Alderaanian was quick-witted and spun round one hundred and eighty degrees, thus slicing right through the central torso of the nearby Stormtrooper.
“Kooki! Look out!!!” Screamed Saskia.
The Soulfire Sergeant was almost tempted to close her eyes in sheer fear her father’s spouse was about to be tripped up by the soldier reaching out to grab her left ankle.
Unbeknown to the Imperial at her feet, Kooki being a lightsaber specialist, had her famous trick up her cinder robe sleeve. The ambidextrous female rapidly switched hands in which her weapon was in, and decapitated the “Buckethead” on the ground. Kookimarissia smugly scowled as she examined the Korriban landscape around her, adorned with dead troopers.
“You tried to defeat me before, but never again. No frakking Imperial bastards will defeat me. EVER!!”
Temple Perimeter
Though her hatred driven rampage had been no surprise to Andrelious or Saskia, Achilleus and Valtiere were simply stunned at just how effectively Kooki had cut her way through the Stormtroopers. The attack had also caught the trooper’s commanders by surprise, and they had fled, leaving only the two Dark Jedi in the way of the Arconans.
“Typical Imperial cowards.” Saskia remarked.
“Would you want to stay if you just witnessed an enemy agent do that to your soldiers? Besides, they’re just following protocol. They’ll retreat and get reinforcements.” Andrelious replied, annoyed at his daughter’s comment.
“If I could interrupt your family discussion, what are we going to do about those two?” Valtiere questioned, pointing at the pair of enemy Force users. They had made no attempt to approach, instead content with drawing the Arconans in.
“Approach slowly. Achilleus, Kooki and Valtiere, you take one, Saskia and I will take the other. I’m sure you can all feel that they’re not going to be the biggest challenge we face - they should be fairly simple,” the Soulfire Captain commanded.
Nodding at each other, the team moved into position, marching as one.
Tomb of Marka Ragnos
“One of the two females, the older one, just completed destroyed the patrol. We were expecting resistance, but not like that,” an officer panted as he recovered from his hasty retreat.
The senior Imperial smirked. “You’re incredibly lucky you got away. We’ve got a positive identification on their leader. He was one of ours. One Commander Inahj, formerly of the Colossus.”
“I assume he went with the Seven’s Brotherhood when they fled Eos?”
“No. He wasn’t even around until a few years later. He was serving on the Colossus, but was apparently caught spying for the Seven. When he was confronted he murdered two Stormtroopers and stole a TIE Advanced,” the elder man replied.
