The Pinnacle

Command Center

It had been a few weeks since the monumental showdown between the aligned forces of the independent clans of Arcona, Plagueis, and Tarentum versus the Iron Throne. The conflict with Darth Pravus was fresh in the mind of the Dread Lord, but Plagueis had come away relatively unscathed. Most of the damage had been done by the devious attack which resulted in the destruction of the Ascendant Fleet. The Dread Lord, given all that, sat in the throne atop The Pinnacle; contemplation of the next steps for Clan Plagueis was in the forefront of his mind. Staring into the night time sky, overlooking the vast geology that conquered the surface of Aliso, gave Teylas a certain ability to concentrate.

Selika was busy in the command center at one of the consoles. Hard at work trying to determine their next step. The two were an exceptional match in the leadership of Clan Plagueis, and Teylas was confident that he was imparting enough of his own methods onto Selika that they would bounce back quickly enough.

The one person who was missing was Dracaryis, who had been tasked with assuming the duties of Fist of the Brotherhood. Now a member of the Dark Council of the Brotherhood, Dracaryis' new position gave Teylas an inside person to keep a close eye on Pravus. There was always the chance that Dracaryis would betray the Anzat. It was a calculated risk. Teylas, however, thought it was one worth taking to help prevent another incident like the one that destroyed the Ascendant Fleet. He was a man almost consumed with strategizing, calculating risks, and doing whatever to ensure the survival of Clan Plagueis. Often he'd run into issues with the other members of the Plagueis summit who were more concerned with the reactionary short term; whereas the Dread Lord was already thinking far in advance. Dracaryis being on the Dark Council was one of those long-term projections in case Plagueis found itself directly opposing the Iron Throne again.

The silence was broken by a communications officer in the command center, "M'lord. The Anchorage reports it has a ship on sensors coming into the system. It isn't broadcasting one of our IFFs. Shall we deploy fighters to intercept?"

The Dread Lord finally rose from the throne and walked patiently over to the communications officer. Placing his hand on the much younger man's shoulder he asked, "Are they broadcasting anything?"

After a short pause for the man to double check his readings he nodded, "There is a high-frequency security code. They must have a damaged comm array because I barely picked it up."

Teylas looked over the security code which he immediately recognized. With a nod, he tapped his hand firmly up and down on the shoulder, "Send a message that their ship is cleared to land on the towers landing pad. I need to see them immediately."

The Dread Lord quickly snapped his boots as he turned and headed out of the command center and towards the lift on the far side. Entering it he commanded it to the level of the Pinnacles extended small-craft landing platform. The craft, an A-wing, landed; it was definitely in a firefight with extensive battle damage. The cockpit canopy popped open in the crisp, night air as the occupant jumped out, covered in robes, and onto the plating of the Pinnacle.

The robed, hooded figure approached. Small, red hands reached up for the hood and pulled it down revealing a face all too familiar to the Dread Lord.

"Welcome to Aliso, my apprentice. Your mission was a success, Jai'de?" the Anzat queried.

Though clearly exhausted, Jai'de's brilliant turquoise eyes flashed in annoyance as she regarded the one man she truly trusted. "Have I ever let you down before?" she replied flippantly. She was in no mood to be questioned; the past year's mission had truly weighed on her and she wanted nothing more than to return to herself.

Glancing away, she thought about the past year deep undercover within the Inquisitorius, shedding everything about herself to assume another identity. She had been eager for the mission, knowing it would be vital to Teylas' cause but she hadn't expected it to take so long or to prey so much on her mind. She had seen things within the Inquisitorius that were truly horrific and she had no desire to relive them anytime soon.

She winced slightly as the gash in her leg opened up once again. She had anticipated her extraction to be easier, but she had ended up fighting for her life to escape. Though the large gash on her leg was largely the only wound on her, she was sore and stiff and needed a drink. Looking back at Teylas' she knew he would want her report immediately and gave a small sigh of disappointment while she focused her energy on healing her leg enough to follow the Anzat.

The two made their way back towards the command center. Along the way, the two who were so close to each other caught up.

"I want to thank you for all that you've done, Jai'de. Without you, I wouldn't have known about the movements of the Inquisitorius and been able to stay one step ahead of their ordered treachery. We couldn't have ever foreseen the destruction of the Ascendant Fleet since it came directly from Pravus, himself", he said, motioning for the two to enter the turbolift. The Dread Lord commanded the lift to move then turned to his apprentice, "I've arranged living space for you; right next to my quarters, actually. The Pinnacle is a huge complex, and I want you to relax and heal up before debriefing you. I think we're safe for now and have all the vital information we'll need in the immediate future?" he questioned for certainty.

"Of course," Jai'de said simply. "I think we're in the clear for now however I did cultivate some contacts that I will continue to monitor to see that we stay that way". She took a moment to look her master over. He looked calm and in control but she could sense the underlying fatigue. After the past year, it wasn't a surprise that he would be tired. She reached out and laid a hand gently on his forearm as an acknowledgement of the trials they had both been through. The two stood together for a moment, taking the time they needed to regain some semblance of peace. Giving herself a little shake, Jai'de gave Teylas one of her signature smirks, trying desperately to hide the haunted look she knew was in her eyes and sauntered to the quarters Teylas had chosen for her. She had almost made it in the door before she could no longer resist the urge to look behind her to reassure herself he was still there and she was finally home and away from the Inquisitorius.

Teylas couldn't help but notice the horror that Jai'de was trying so hard to mask and made a note to check in on her again soon.

Staffing Changes

The first order of business is some staffing changes. I'm sure over the past year it has become apparent to the members of Plagueis that I hate making staffing changes in the middle of events. Luckily for staffing, Aftermath just ended!

The first change, as alluded to in this month’s fiction, is at rollmaster. Drac left us because he doesn't like us anymore went on to head up the Fist office. Drac still hangs around [Plagueis Chat - Log in to view join link] and with the summit; we like him. However, that also means he left big shoes to fill, and it just so happens that another great rollmaster of Plagueis past recently returned to us. Rollmaster is a tricky job in Plagueis because it entails taking care of our journeymen, overseeing our battleteam leader, but also essentially acting as a second proconsul. With that in mind, I'm glad to announce that Jai'de Serpens will be taking up (again) the position of rollmaster. Another huge reason for this decision is stability. Over the past 3 months or so the house summits have been getting shuffled around like crazy as real life was knocking people’s time down little by little. By making Jai'de the rollmaster it provides stability at that position, but also keeps the houses stable allowing the quaestors we have to remain there and train up their aediles.

Unfortunately, real life has crept up again. At the beginning of the month Taranae informed me that work was swamping her and she wouldn't be able to continue her duties as BTL of The Circle. Taranae has been a stalwart of the Plagueis leadership for quite some time now, and I think we will all miss having her on with us. I asked her to remain in the position until the end of Aftermath and she's done her best to comply with that. To replace her I see a simple choice in Taranae's XO, Kul'tak Drol, to move up into the BTL spot. As BTL, Kul'tak will be taking on the responsibility of working with Jai'de to engage, educate, and push our new journeymen into the world that is the Brotherhood.

The last spot left to fill was the Ajunta Pall aedile position. Laren opened up applications a few weeks ago around the Brotherhood, and a few days ago informed me of his decision. I'd like to welcome Xolarin from Clan Odan-Urr (SCORE ONE FOR EVIL, GUISE!) who will be working as Laren's right hand man. On top of also becoming aedile, Xolarin will be creating a fictional path for his character that I've wanted to see for some time in Plagueis: a fall to the Dark Side. With Plagueis being the only fully dark clan in the Brotherhood, this is a reality I've wanted to have a talented writer chronicle for our members for quite a while. I'm glad to have Xolarin on board doing that with us, and serving us as aedile of Ajunta Pall.

Aftermath

As I'm writing this Aftermath is still in the process of being graded. I do ask for a little patience as we get this done as fast as possible. People are sick (ugh) and we may have chosen poorly to end Aftermath over Halloween weekend.

The same as every event Plagueis takes part in we learned lessons. I learned some new things about the Plagueis membership that I didn't know before regarding format, activities and competitions enjoyed, variety, etc. We're already looking at the next format for an event for Plagueis - likely something small, around the beginning of December. I want to spend the next month or so working on other things including fictional developments.

In related Aftermath news, now that the event is over and the competitions are done I want to talk about the Week 2 Trivia comp. It was the Plagueis centric one, and there was one question that a lot of people whiffed on. I tried to create all of the questions so that the answers could be found on the wiki although being found on the wiki was not an actual requirement for the competition. Some of the answers could've also been found in things like Plagueis reports and the Run-On. The question was: "Who was the "One Sith" commander who seized control of the Anchorage?" The answer was "Xander Drax". This answer could've been found on two wiki pages: Restoration or Clan Plagueis history. This was the question most often missed, and it was also, admittedly, the hardest to find.

Run-On!

Now that we're out of another major event I've asked Jai'de, Laren, and Xolarin to head up the team to get the Clan Plagueis Run-On going again! This is a way for the members of Plagueis to write their characters more often and interact with other Plagueis members during… not a crisis! This has been a great success in the past for Clan Plagueis, and I'm looking forward to what everyone will write in this incarnation.

On top of the Pinnacle and Aliso, each house now has an approved HQ which each quaestor will be announcing in their own reports this month. They're both unique and very interesting so look out for those to hit the wiki and reports in the coming weeks!

The Clan Plagueis Run-On can be found here.

Ascendant Fleet

Per Evant's report drop today (go read it!) possessions is in open beta. For a little while now Selika and I have been working with Evant to help get information regarding the ability to buy a new fleet through possessions once it is in full swing. We're confident we have a fleet chosen, and are looking forward to displaying it.

Until then, participate in the beta! Buy things! Mess around with it! Let Evant know what you think!

Plagueis Reports

• Ajunta Pall Quaestor Report
• Karness Muur Aedile Report

Other Important Links

• Grand Master's Report
• Voice Report
• Fist Report
• Headmaster Report
• Regent Report
• Combat Master Report
• Wiki Report