The office of the Battle Team Leader faced the desert plains of Kurs’kranak. The desert lacked life and the skulls, bones and traces of fauna; long gone rest snow white. The Togruta stood here and looked out onto this absence of life, eyes saddened from current events. His body then turned back to the desk and chair, as he rested a hand on the sea blue aura from the datapad. The casualties were predicted heavy and the fear of defeat was likely. With his most loyal members lost to the historical cause, Lex’s mind wandered to diplomatic tactics, and to use security more defensively. With several taps of his sea blue fingers, he logged his thoughts into the datapad and shared them with his superiors. He then set his gaze up the most loyal of his team; the female Human in one chair and the male Neti in another.

Saskia’s hazel eyes flickered over the male; a cold steel in her gaze as she studied the Knight. “You understand that failure is never an option.”

With a wheezing sound, the oldest being in the room interjected, “Failure is a certainty, it is success that is optional.”

When his eyes met theirs, the wisdom of time could not be swayed; his senses warned him of many flaws in their plan, even with trusting himself to lead a team. He gripped his datapad tightly and leaned against the meleenium desk with curiosity on his mind.

“Failure is always an option; it’s how we fail that will matter. I thought I trusted you.” The Togruta uttered, his gaze falling once more.

“The Arconae will strengthen us before we move forward. The Quaestors will only find their faults and stumble. Experience has that much to say and apparently you will learn,” the Cirrian replied, her lips tightly pursed as she reclined back in the chair.

“It were the Arconae that made this Clan grand. However, this does not matter. The Arconae will win, it is therefore obvious what side we will join: the winning side!”, the Neti wondered when his mentality changed to incorporate these ideas, while deep inside the cavernous brain, a trapped Jedi screamed in agony.

Lex’s gaze turned to the ancient Neti, his eyes faded and darkened through time. Though his words speak truth, something about his passion led him to disbelief about the Praetor. The Togruta furrowed his brow more, passing his gaze from the Human back to the Neti again, then sat on the cold desk.

“If you knew as little as I did, would your ties still reside with Arconae?” He questioned the pair, watching their facial expressions.

The Epis looked at the Sergeant, “Yes I think I would. Two retired Grand Champions and Combat Masters against two relative younglings.” then the Neti snorted, “If these Quaestors end up winning, what would stop the Arconae from unleashing Master Doto on the Clan?” The Neti decided he had said his say, thus moved his gaze to investigate the office he found himself in. Not quite the opulence he had so recently gotten used to on Lyspair.

With a soft nod Lex felt that the point was made and that their time here was beginning to waste. He rose from the desk and placed his datapad down, looking into the Human’s eyes.

“Then I shall see you to the door, if this is the way then I hope to not come by your anguish on the battlefield.” He uttered as he walked to the door panel and coded in the security phrase.

The old Krath rose and ignited his saber, “Look at it! I urge you to reconsider your plans, lest this blade will one day become more intimately acquainted with your inner organs.” Having made his point, the Neti moved out into the corridor.

The Archpriestess rose out of her seat without another word, her own saber hilt tight in her left hand as she followed in the wake of the Epis, leaving the Togruta alone with his thoughts and words lingering in the air.

“My dear companion, would you care to share my Academy Shuttle? We have a meeting to get to on Gethsemane.” Ood stated, his voice a near whisper, empowered by the Force to only reach one set of ears.

“Indeed we do,” the Human quietly said, her lips barely parting in her response as she glanced over her shoulder, and back towards the direction of the room they had just departed.

With his blue lips curling away to reveal the brilliant white canines hidden under, his hand flickered, reached out towards a bookshelf, as a glass cylinder fell onto it’s side with the seraph hilt shooting out to his latching hand, the emerald photon blade sparking to life.

“Be thankful that I let you leave, and that Cethgus himself has not sensed your lifesigns, Gehaash.” The Togruta softly snarled, with an extended hiss leaving his lips as he watches their shadows down the hall.

As the pair reached the hangar, the Neti gestured for Saskia to get in and activate the piloting droid. With a smile on his face, the former Jedi General shook his shoulders as he released all camouflaging techniques and let his dark force presence warp the surrounding area. What would the little Zabrak do? Would he be bold enough to strike at a senior Council Praetor, or not? Technically, the Epis had been escorting new students to Galeres, thus ensuring the safety afforded to any vessel bearing the seal of the Academy.

Footsteps slowly reached the Neti’s ears, “Dear, I think you may want to get that droid activated so he can start the engines!” Turning back towards the hangar entrance, the old tree gently, and non threateningly let his outer robes fan open in the evening breeze, allowing him quick access to his blades, if needed. A shadowy figure could barely be made out in the darker hallway as it raced to catch up.

As if from the air around them, two soft whispers simultaneously echoed around the shuttle. “You should have left when suitable, he is here.” The shrouded Togruta stood on the rafters in the corner, his seraph hilt in hand.

And the Neti smiled, looked up at the Team Leader, used the Force to hit a switch on the dashboard of the shuttle behind him. The seal of the Academy lit up on the side of the ship, as the Krath turned his back on the Galeres, and serenely - with the grace of a servant of the Dark Council - walked onto the shuttle, ordering the droid to start launch procedures. A laugh, rather dark and eerie was the last thing that poured out of the shuttle, before it closed and started to slowly lift up, broadcasting a set of codes not normally seen in Clan facilities.

From their metal room of safety, Ood sat in a rear seat as Saskia programmed the flight droid. A loud twang of the hull metal, followed by the progressive and increasing whirring sound from the thrusters. Sparks and fire engulfed the flight droid as the shuttle slammed back onto the hanger floor. Then the electronic lights flickered off and the aft shuttle door slowly descended.

“Did I give you permission to leave?” The blue and green lightsabers snapped to life in his hands as the Quaestor slowly walked inside the hangar.

---

Greetings Brotherhood, welcome to another update on the Dark Forge front and this is just what I wish to repeat from other reports, as well as updates in our team. As well as talk about what steps I have taken, steps I will take and some that I have in mind.

Operation: Figurehead

Wow what an event! Stu and Will just sparked up what Arcona needed, a massive clan-wide event that will surely revitalise the oldies and make the young ones put down their Monster energy pints. Incase some of you aren’t caught up yet, I will post the link below to the main competition. We have Hunt the enemy, we have Fiction submission, graphics design, gaming activities, ACC matches and so much more! What else could you want to dig your fingers into?

The Quaestors want you!

• Hunt the Enemy
  
• Fiction
  
• Gaming
  
• Graphics
  
• ACC
  

Dark Forge Wiki

I touched on the wikipedia last time because I wanted to make sure you know that I knew what I was doing, you know? So far it has been hard work but we are making progress on updating it, revamping the awards and getting the whole ‘Intelligence Agency’ vibe to it. I will pursue my course to make you guys happy and proud, this is the only reason I need to continue my work. But we still need one more award and I would not want to take all the creativity for myself, so step on in and cast your ideas in the comments below. I enjoy hearing the many ideas from my members, and some of those ideas are around you today so do not feel disheartened that your brain-child will be refused. I take every idea to heart and in a Motherly Fashion.

Competitions

We have several competitions going live currently, make sure you look out for the best in them and try your hardest. Also, the Pazaak Tournament is currently active with our very own Ood Bnar reaching the next round through a close clash with Saskia Ortega. We carry our winners to victory and hold the hands of our fallen regardless of the outcome, equal ties.

• 2014/15 DB English Premier Fantasy League - Apply before 16th August
  
• Dark Brotherhood @midnight - Attention Twitter users!
  
• Monthly Mobile Gaming: StackO - Need the StackO app
  
• Monthly Mobile Gaming: No One Dies Today! - Just approved by our Aabs
• Darth Ansel - Only apply if you have LEGO figures and a camera
  
• Speed Sporcle Challenge #1 - Free registry, free game
  
• Assassins - Created by Pravus and Montresor themselves!
  
• Between the White Lies - Simple fiction, possibly minimum 250 words
  
• Mind of a Diamond - MAKE SOLARI DO NASTY THINGS!
  
• Leadership Rewards! - Take the course, and email Aabs!
  
• Forgery - Meet the Dark Forge team, for the last time?
  

Change

Well these past two weeks have changed the team a lot, people have joined then left, some have moved onto greatness and a whole lot of alterations to the Shadow Academy have made our minds wanting more. I am not happy to see future leaders disappear, but we will keep calm and carry on in the hopes that we can welcome them back.

Arrivals

• ACO Zorix Zoff transferred from House Galeres to Dark Forge
  

Departures

• ACO Zorix Zoff transferred from Dark Forge to Rogues
  

Grand Master’s Royal Guard

• KAP Saskia Ortega elevated to Rank II
  
• DJK Lexiconus elevated to Rank IV
  

Shadow Academy

• KE Ood Bnar obtained Dark Maven: Lore
  
• KE Ood Bnar obtained Dark Savant: History & Lore
  

Conclusion

It seems that Dark Forge are at odds with each other, civil war truly is the phrase. As Ood and Saskia pit it out on the Arconae side, with Kordath and I on the Quaestor side it will truly be a test of skill, will and strength. No matter the outcome I wish everyone the greatest of luck and that we all find this event entertaining because that’s just the purpose on this first layer of activity. On the 15th of this month I will be heading out to a town near here called Southport, it has a lake nearby the sea that I along with my family of twenty-seven will be camping for the weekend.

Ood: Let’s go to war! Have fun but no quarter will be given nor expected. So Lexi, who do you think will win?

Lexiconus: To be frank, if we put our minds together we could win. But I have the feeling that any slip of our fingers and Arconae will soar victorious.

Ood: Hmm, probably true that. How are you enjoying the position of BTL? Liking Dark Forge already?

Lexiconus: Truly loving it, I enjoy the excitement of helping others and working for the members. You all have such potential here that I do not want any crumb wasted.

Ood: Anything on the horizon that you feel willing to divulge?

Lexiconus: The Sergeant and myself have gone over our senses the past few days to confirm it, but we do believe there is some presence floating around the HQ, possibly a human-cyborg relation.

Ood: Thank you for the interview.

Lead by example. #Tigerblood

DJK Lexiconus (Krath) / BTL-REC / Battle Team Dark Forge of House Galeres of Clan Arcona [GMRG: IV] [SA: V] [ACC: Q]