Lord Atrox walked through the empty halls. The black metal of his environmental suit echoed down the equally black metal halls. Not a soul was on the station except for the Sith Lord but he was not alone.
Karl, how goes the final preparations for the drives?
The main core is nearly formed to your specifications. It should be operational within the hour.
Excellent, use the Space Minus Power Tap to provide all the energy you need.
It would seem most prudent since I will not be docking any time soon.
That is true, you will be set free and your Improbability Drives will take you where you are needed. Nobody outside the Ta’Nar through Overmind will be able to track you.
Are you sure this is the right thing to do?
Absolutely, I have been given free reign by the Warlord to do as I please in the NSO. All the Advisors have their own projects they devote their attention to.
But the additional training you have given me seems too advanced.
Nonsense, if you could not do this I would not have asked for you. I specifically chose you from the other Shipminds for this mission because you have the talents needed. You do not mind working alone, well, as alone as a Shipmind can be with the ever-present Link. You have a Talent for intrusive Psi, and your projection skills are in the top of the charts. You are exactly what we need for this mission.
Atrox could feel Karl blush, as much as a station could pull off a humanoid response. The talk was not complements; Karl was not only the most talented from the volunteers but also a loner, perfect for the mission ahead. Atrox turned left at a corridor and continued walking. He was headed for the central chamber of the station to accomplish one more task before the place would be operational.
So, my mission will be to follow where the Improbability drives take me?
Yes, when you arrive there will most likely be a ship or some sort of vessel nearby. The subject of your mission will be on board and when they arrive, you will leave again.
Let me guess, that is when I will test them.
Exactly, you will project the testing matrix into their minds and probe their intent while their defenses are occupied by the test. If they are true with their intentions, then will reach the center chamber, if not you can do whatever you want with them. They would be unworthy and can suck vacuum for all I care. If they bring a ship, absorb it into yourself and store the schematics in case they require it later.
I understand. The station’s armaments are online. The defenses will be ready in fifteen.
Most excellent progress Karl. Please attend to the tasks I have given you while I finish the last project.
As you command, Lord Atrox.
Atrox stepped through a double door into the final chamber of the station. The room was massive and decorated in black relief seemingly carved into the ebon metal the entire station was constructed from. Glowglobes hovered along the walls, providing unneeded illumination, mostly aesthetic in appearance and helped soften the overall effect of the room. A thick red run led across the room from the door to the other side. At the far end of the room were two great pillars with a small alcove behind them. Above the pillars was the symbol Atrox chose for the NSO, the same symbol once used by the Infinite Empire thirty thousand years ago, the silhouette of the Star Forge.
Time for the final touch.
Atrox knelt and he sent a command to his suit to freeze the joints and keep his body upright. Then something strange happened, a form stepped through the insect-like form of Lord Atrox and stood free. The form was composed of pure thought and formless, if that could be imagined. This was a Ta’Nar. Ba’El, the Ta’Nar who was really Lord Atrox, founder of the New Sith Order, stood free from the body he inhabited. He would not normally need it but as a being of pure thought, Ta’Nar were not able to access the energy field called The Force, no Midi-chlorians existed within a body that was immaterial. Ba’El was the only Ta’Nar able to feel the Force, unique among the extraordinary. Even without a body, he could manipulate the Force but to stack the deck in his favor, he used supersaturated clones designed for various missions. The galaxy knew Atrox as an environmental suit-clad insect who was more than a match for others in combat. Very few left alive knew he was secretly a Ta’Nar.
Ba’El reached inside himself and found the Conduit all Ta’Nar shared with the Multiverse itself. It was a Conduit forged by one of the Avatars of the Multiverse itself long ago and allowed all Ta’Nar the ability to shape reality using the powers of creation as well as other Eldritch Powers. Most civilizations would call this magic but the Ta’Nar knew different. Gathering the Power he needed, he bent and warped reality between the two pillars until there was a hole. Reaching out he formed a second hole and connected the two forming a bridge or a teleport untraceable by any known society in the galaxy. It did not use any known emanations or power signatures, it would not exist to any sensors, even if placed right in front. Stepping through would take the successful test subject directly to the entrance hall of the NSO on Lehon.
Sinking back into Atrox, the form stirred and turned back to the double doors.
Karl, the gate is finished. If you are attacked and the passage is endangered, simply break one of the pillars and it will disconnect.
If it gets to that point, I most certainly will do so. I will not let you down.
I know, you will not. How is the drive?
It will be online in five.
Rearrange the corridors to take me directly to the ship dock. I want you to be able to leave as soon as you are ready. Also run diagnostic tests on the drive.
As you command, Lord Atrox.
Atrox walked directly to where he knew the docking arm for larger ships to be and the walls melted as he approached, allowing him a straight passage from one point to the other. Within minutes he reached the docking arm which was extended to reach The Abomination, his personal flagship. Crossing over to his ship, Atrox greeted its Shipmind verbally.
“Hello Beth, anything happen while I was away?”
“No Atrox, just the usual. The Forge was getting uppity again but Angelique slapped it a few times and it fell into place.”
“She can be tough but the Forge was responsible for the fall of its last owner so it needs to be kept on a tight leash. Take us out a few thousand meters from the station. I want to watch as it activates.”
“Of course.”
Atrox reached the command bridge and stood facing the large holoscreen. The image showed an asteroid the size of a small moon a short distance away. Dominating the upper surface was a black pyramid. Along the equator was a hanger bay as well as the retreating docking arm he had walked through a few minutes ago.
“Karl, are you fully operational?”
“Yes Atrox, the drives are online and all tests are in the green.”
“Then you are ready to go. From this moment forward you will be an enigma among the shipping lanes. You will be a living legend, a ghost and a rumor seen only from a distance. You will be a myth people who seek to test their worth will try to discover. I name you Destiny Point.”
Atrox waited a moment before continuing.
“Activate your drive.”
With a ripple, the asteroid faded from view as it was taken elsewhere. Soon Fate will deliver prospective students to meet their Destiny.
OOC:
Destiny Point is a plot device I will be using to allow new students to find their way to the secret location of the New Sith Order (NSO). As described in the story above, the Shipmind will administer the test which the user will determine through your own story. While your character is undergoing harrowing experiences as directed by your own subconscious, Karl will be probing your true intentions. If you are truly a student wishing to travel to the academy you will pass. If you are a spy or mean to harm the NSO you will meet a fate ranging from simply being turned back to being devoured by the station with variances such as being dumped into the core or let out an airlock or any other creative disposal.
Only players in the SWG Reboot can participate and right now, the admissions are closed until OG and I can conduct the first test. Afterwards it will be Invite Only, as arranged by TG with me. More information will be disclosed in the RP with OG and in the Thread we start for the NSO itself.
