ISD-II PERDITION

INSIDE THE INOS ORBIT OF THE ORIAN SYSTEM

37 ABY

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The bridge had grown comparatively quiet. It was a thick silence. The atmosphere, though relatively cold, felt as smothering as the Seprosian jungles they were fighting to liberate. There was a gravity to everything they were doing. For what seemed to be the hundredth time since this operation had begun, Bentre Sadow wished he had Araic Simonetti to call upon for advice and counsel in matters of fleet and tactics.

The man was possessed of years of naval experience that the Sith could not hope to match. Scrolls, tombs, ancient knowledge, archeological sites and libraries had taken up the time he had once devoted toward sharpening himself like a dagger. He had grown less focused as his time as Overlord had stretched on. The leadership of the Clan was a position he no longer envied, if for no other reason than the fact that he could not be on the ground right now with his fellow Sadowans.

The liberation of Aeotheran was a task he had taken a great interest in, but the Force, the fates, of the thrice damned stars themselves had not seen it fit for the Corellian to indulge in such a way. Instead, he was here, watching the battle intelligence flash in over the holographic array of displays that had been fitted into the bridge of the ISD-II, Perdition. The feeds had seemed promising, particularly among the Markosian elements of the Clan.

Come to think of Markosians, he was suddenly struck by an off-hand thought. Tasha’Vel had been oddly absent of the bridge for quite some time. Perhaps, she was off caring for the little one. He momentarily considered checking on the Twi’lek before a beeping alert captured his full attention. Drawing himself up to full height, the Sadow let out a slow breath and flipped the switch on the commlink to bring it to life.

“Afternoon.” He paused for the barest of moments. “I hope that both of you have good news for me.” Static filled the small speaker of the device for a moment. The Overlord bit at his lip out of impatience.

“-acing resistance.” The voice of the Dakhani Quaestor crackled, before dissolving into static. The static buzzed in an out for a minute before clearing out. “Hold that transmitter right there. We have a signal.”

“Is everything alright, Takagari?” Bentre’s tone was colder than normal, even as he tried to inject a lackadaisical tone. The stress of the operation was starting to wear.*

“Yes, sir.” The down-to-business tone had asserted itself, despite the muffled chaos that clipped the end of the second word. “The situation has just gone a little sideways. We have encountered greater-than-expected resistance.”

“Hold that thought, my friend, and we will see what we can do.” The Corellian paused. “How is Tarthos this time of year, Muz?”

*There was a pause, before a sound like a grunt or a growl came over the transmission. “Didn’t lose.” At this word, a transmission was being transmitted to the tactical display, labeling targets and other data. The names of CIara, Hades, Kojiro, Hilgrif and others were labeled at various points of conflict on the planet. *

“Alright, do you need some assistance on Aeotheran, Shar Dakhan?” Bentre’s tone was even, though he did feel some concern for his former house in the moment.

“I think we have got it, sir.” The curt reply of Darkhawk was as determined as ever.

“Well, if you feel that you both have got control of things, I will leave you to clean up. Though, your presence would be *greatly,” he emphasized the last word, “appreciated as we kick some teeth in back home. Gotta finish taking the fight to them.”*

*A call of affirmative came from the Quaestor of Shar Dakhan, whereas the Markosian Quaestor let out a briefer confirmation. Though, to be fair Muz was probably ‘in the zone’ now that he was back on home soil. *

After Darhawk closed his connection, Bentre coughed once, hoping to keep the Lion of Tarthos on the line. “I think,” he spoke into the silence, “that we are going to want to provide the Dakhani a backup. Spare what you can or will. Otherwise, I will see you on Sepros.”

The Sadow swore, but he wasn’t entirely sure, he heard something over the comm before it went silent. He could have sworn he had heard a soft growl, or perhaps it had been a chuckle.

It didn’t matter, for the moment though. He had to have faith that the rest of the Sadowans would come at the right time, in a rain of fire and thunder. This system was too important for them to lose. He found himself muttering to himself as he turned to the bridge crew of the Peridtion. “Please plot the safest course where we can get close in to Orian-5.” He smiled at the Warhost-uniformed officers. “We have a homecoming party to plan.”

The Situation So Far

Taking a measure of the participation we have seen in **Redemption and Honor” so far has been pretty heavily weighted toward House Marka Ragnos.

Now, you may be asking how this affects the larger narrative? Well, this adds a bit of a kink in the story for House Shar Dakhan. A series of explosions have rocked key points on Aeotheran. The Collective holdouts there have shaken up the Dakhani forces which have landed there, retaliating as soon as their presence was discovered. House Marka Ragnos has, so far, pulled off an efficient operation, securing more ground.

Now, how does this affect the flow of the run-on? Well, to be strictly honest, it does and it doesn’t. For example: you don’t have to be in the immediate range of one of these explosions. However, the alert on Aeotheran will make travel a little more difficult for the Dakhani.

Does this mean the Markosians cannot have a complication or two? Not strictly.

It does, however, offer an opportunity, a fork in the road for you to choose your path. As the Clan prepares to move on Sepros proper, the Markosians have the opportunity to help finish securing their sister house’s planet. You may help Shar Dakhan in the interest of unity, or drive straight on to our old home base. The call of the Summit has gone out to those who would help to see us retake what remains of our palace, and the ancient throne world of Urian Orian!

News From Within the Clan

It has been a pretty quiet month for Clan Naga Sadow. But, you know, there is the whole retaking Orian thing going on right now. I would suggest taking part in that. We have fiction in both singular and co-op flavors, gaming, graphics, and even some more comps coming in now!

Oh, of one note, we did have Sith Bloodfyre join us here in Clan Naga Sadow. If you haven’t had a chance already I hope you will all welcome him! (waves to Beef)

And of course, check out Redemption and Honor if you have not done so already for this second phase: Retake Sepros.

Recent News From Across the Club

• The office of the Fist and the office of the Regent have both release supplementals. One touched upon Fallen Order and some gaming incidentals, while the other touched upon the newly opened Mandalorian Forge and hinted at the possible future of themed stores!

• The Voice’s office has announced the removal of a Feat, namely “Pulling. It. Off.”.

• The Consuls of Arcona, Clan Odan-Urr, and Plagueis have released monthly reports.

• And I am sure you all have already checked out the results of Celebration: Mandalorians and the mention of the opening of the Celebration store for those who got 100% participation. If you haven’t I suggest giving it a look.

Competitions of Note

• The Return of Old Gods RO is still running. I encourage everyone to take part if you haven’t started already!

• Push it Forward offers you all the chance to capture a moment frozen in time in the graphics format of your choice.

• Take To the Skies will give you the opportunity to fly against the Collective forces with your fellow Sadowans!

• In Occupation Forces: Co-Op you will write with another Sadowan telling about how to take part in disassembling part of the Collective infrastructure on the planet.

• You will help to design the operation battle flag in “Fly the Banner”

• Hyperlanes, Take Me Home will see you create a bit to help to act as a bit to encourage the Sadowans who have missed our home system.

• A Moment of Reflection will give a different kind of encouragement or inspiration to our Sadowan family.

• And of course you can engage in a little bit of straight forward combat (or not) in Contact on Orian V.

• And as the second Phase continues on we will see more comps added to Phase Two!

Parting Words

I could drag out a bit about things, but really the last bit of this event is a moment for all of you to shine, from our number of Elders who have been at it for years, down to our greenest members. I mean, I would be lying if I said I didn’t have an idea of how this whole story could go in a number of ways, but I am leaving more than a bit of wiggle room. Some victories are better than others, and a bit of struggle can make for a better story, after all.

I just hope that everybody can really enjoy this event, and make this story their own.

Sorry for the lack of action in this wee bit of fiction. I really hoped to see the Run On and the fiction on the whole, among other things, to get a neat idea of how it all works out in greater detail. I am SERIOUSLY excited to see what you all come up with. For now, I will leave you with a permutation upon my normal departing words:

Together, we fight for the Sadowan Empire. Together, we fight for the Glory of Sadow. Together we will be victorious.

”Conquest is our destiny; we shall not fail.”

Consul of Naga Sadow