Processional Way, Main Entrance, and Mezzanines

Crom'nen did not flinch. He was not impressed with dramatics. He had a task to do, and he would do it. With that said, he was oddly calm and respectful. He bore the Jedi no ill will, at least not more than he did all Jedi. But that did not mean the the Senator would not do his duty.

I hope that you are ready to face the consequences for your actions. On behalf of the people of Ryloth, I hereby place you under arrest. Please, come with me to the Senate.

*After a few minutes, the taxi landed at the entrance of the temple. Gavin quickly climbed and looked to the driver.* "Stay here. I'll be right back." *Without another word, Gavin took off inside.*

Sometime in the past.... (Private Storyline)





Orian and Keth burst from the entrance to the Jedi Temple to a scene absolutely thrilling with nervous Force energy. A large crowd of bystanders were ringed on the far side of the mezzanine leading away from the Temple, while at the base of the steps leading to the platform the two Masters stood on this moment was a single armored speeder, seemingly able to hold a squad of shock troops by its sizable passenger compartment flanked by bulky sliding doors, both open. The apparent contents of that craft were arrayed in a line in front of the speeder's boxy nose, powerful blaster rifles held at attention. The helmets only obscured the top half of their face, and so it appeared to them from a distance these were all Cathar, feline humanoids from the Outer Rim planet of Cathar. Their furry snouts protruded from beneath the visors and their shaggy manes spilled over their shoulders from beneath their helmets.

But the pair of Masters' attention was quickly drawn to the figure standing apart and in front of the line of ten or so soldiers, also wearing the black body armor but missing a helmet. Instead, the full head of a very sleek-looking Cathar was obvious, one with dark fur marred by a single white scar that ran up the left side of the being's face and across the top of his head, ruining the perfect sheen of the Cathar's coat. Yet that still was not the most important detail of the scene, for the Cathar with the scar had within his grip a Twi'lek, blue-skinned, and a blaster pistol held to the alien's head. The Twi'lek was somewhat familiar to Orian, but she could not figure out why. Either way, it was obvious that this was some sort of hostage situation.

Standing at the very top of the steps was the small Mrlissi Master, Crlsst. The crown feathers on her head were ruffled in agitation at the current predicament, and her irritation rippled off of her in the Force as well. Keth and Orian strode forward, coming even with the small Master and nodding to her in address, then turning their full attention to the kidnapper standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at the arrival of the two additions with a fang-filled sneer. Keth leered down at the mean-looking Cathar, some primal sense within him aroused by the Cathar's mere presence. His Jedi training, as well as his civilized bearing, prevented the predatory feelings from rising. In an inappropriate moment of humorous clarity, Keth realized that he and Crlsst completed two of the three parts of a naturally predatory cycle with the Cathar: Bird, Cat, and Dog. It was almost comical if not for what Crlsst said out of the side of her beaked mouth next.

"That's Jedi Apprentice Aan Celui. She and her Master, Vera Jacobi were on a diplomatic mission to Cathar to extend the Republic's offer of good will to help the Cathar people rebuild following what their planet sustained in the war. The Cathar you see there is Durm Storm, a leader of a Cathar revolutionary group that formed near the end of the war, originally they tried to rise up against the Sith occupation, but they never needed to when the Republic army come swooping in to liberate them once more. But unsatisfied when the very same ineffective government that had succumbed to the Sith returned to power on the back of Republic approval, the group turned their following into an unstoppable movement. They've controlled the planet since the end of the war using the fact that the Republic had not moved quickly enough to help their ailing society...until our Diplomatic envoy arrived. Unsuspecting, this group set a trap for our party, capturing them and killing Master Jacobi in the process. According to Storm, the other diplomatic members are still imprisoned on Cathar."

During this lengthy explanation, it was clear that the Cathar holding Padawan Celui was listening, content to hold his tongue while the new-comers were brought up to speed so as to save him his breath. When she stopped, he decided to join the conversation once more.

"The reason we're here, Jedi, is to give you a message. Thanks to the other members of your Republic's envoy we are fully aware your Republic does not recognize the new order in place on Cathar and has no plans to, as they put it so emphatically: 'Negotiate with terrorists.' It's a shame, really, because the only terrorists on Cathar were the government officials backed by your Republic here, extracting the lifeblood of our people and leaving us to die in the grasslands as they reaped the benefits of your supposed aid."

Catching on this vein quickly, Orian stepped forward to respond.

"I'm quite sure if the Republic had the requisite knowledge of your planet's situation, they would have rectified it. It must be a simple misunderstanding."

Storm grew angrier at this assertion and responded with every word carrying the hint of growl with it.

"You are wrong, Jedi! When the Republic finished what my organization had already started and watched the Sith flee our planet, they were not receptive to our assertion that the government of my design and that of my peers was illicit and deserved no consideration whatsoever. They thought us barbarians and immediately put the cowardly lot in power previously back into their corrupt seats. It's clear your Republic cares not for us!"

Orian shot back, remaining emphatic but not at all irritated. She was no stranger to the apparent ignorance of planets farther from the galactic center by the Republic government and there was every possibility that Durm Storm and his group were not wrong in their assertions. That definitely did not justify their violent actions against the Republic and the Jedi, however.

"I'm certain that they care! We sent that diplomatic envoy to offer the aid you needed to rebuild! To assess the situation and help you and your people."

The Cathar was having none of it, however, he jostled his hold on the Padawan and replied.

"Clearly you are siding with the Republic and their corruption, Jedi, just as this one and her Master did on my homeworld. There is no point in talking. My people have tried this time and time again only to be ignored and insulted. This is the message we came to send to your Order, whom we originally believed to be noble as history has always seemed to prove. Clearly, you are no better than the Republic that you serve.

"The Cathar people will no longer tolerate the ignorance by the Republic and the Jedi. We will no longer consider the Republic as allies or accept its jurisdiction. The same goes for the Jedi. We no longer want a partnership as harmful as this. To believe otherwise and to try and enforce such a view upon us is as good as declaring open war upon us."

As Storm said this, the line of soldiers raised their rifles to aim at the three Masters standing at the top of the stairs. Sensing the danger, the Jedi activated their blades, Crlsst's green shoto, Orian's double-sided green saber, and Keth's crimson blade, taken from the Chagrian Sith Lord Deixar during the Battle of Korriban, and the weapon used to defeat the Sith Master Lord in the Fourth Battle of Corellia. Having lost his own saber in that same battle, Keth had spent the past months not forging a new blade but instead purging the darkness from the one still in his possession, deciding to purify Deixar's blade in order to use it as a symbol that Keth would forever stand up against evil wherever it was and that he would not be afraid to take it head on. He was the only Jedi to use a Sith blade.

But there was more at work, Storm's message was both a statement and an action, and besides simply firing at the Jedi Masters, Storm was reaffirming his grip on Padawan Celui with the blaster pistol held to her temple. Sensing that he was tightening his grip on the trigger, Aan was struggling to free herself before she could no longer think or feel ever again. Noticing that time was of the essence, Keth was already leaping with the Force about him down the stairs, aiming to separate Storm from the Padawan before he took the fatal shot.

Even as Keth, lightening quick, landed in front of Storm, the soldiers behind the Cathar rebel were firing, and one had intelligently and diligently tracked the Shistavanen during his leap. He too fired at Keth, forcing the Master to deflect the bolt into the duracrete at his feet. In that spit second, Storm took the shot, killing Aan Celui instantly. And before Keth could lunge forward and apprehend the Cathar, he was retreating and Keth suddenly found himself batting blasterbolts away to save his own life as the soldiers continued to fire in a controlled manner at the three Masters, working hard to prevent a dozen soldiers from overwhelming them.

All the while, Durm Storm was retreating behind his line of soldiers, and Keth nor the other two Masters could advance towards the armored speeder. Then, as Storm opened the passenger compartment panels, the Cathar soldiers broke rank and retreated, laying down suppression fire to hold the Jedi off as they boarded to leave. Yet just as the volume of fire decreased, the three Masters had enough freedom to all make leaping attempts to close the distance with the speeder, hoping to reach it and prevent it from leaving. Yet, the remaining soldiers boarded efficiently and the speeder was already leaving the duracrete before the doors were even secured, and was gaining altitude as designated Cathar fired down at the Masters, forcing them to stay grounded instead of leaping to catch the craft in the air with Force-assisted leaps. The three Jedi could only watch helplessly as the armored craft sped away into the cityscape, closing the doors and appearing nondescript among a sea of speeding vehicles.

The trio of Jedi Masters looked on in frustration as the Cathar rebels escaped with one further atrocity on their hands: the cold-blooded murder of a Jedi Padawan. Much of the civilian onlookers had scattered when the shooting started, but a few stragglers appeared from where they were hidden behind landscape features and statues and approached cautiously as the Masters deactivated their sabers, turning back to the limp form of the Twi'lek Jedi Padawan laying at the foot of the stairs leading up to the Temple. As they returned to the body, Crlsst crouched down to swath it more appropriately in the apprentice's robe to obscure her from the onlookers. Watching from her side, Keth spoke into his comlink, on a frequency connecting him to Grand Master Vuuray Milara, a Mirialan woman from Mirial in the Wild Space regions. Having designated the signal as top-priority, Keth knew the Grand Master would respond even if it were interrupting the Senate meeting she was currently attending.

When Vuuray's voice came across the comm, hushed and ordering an explanation, Keth was quick to reply gravely.

"We have a situation, Master Milara. More correctly: a Padawan has been murdered on the steps of the Temple. The rest requires a rather long explanation; I'd prefer to do in person."

Change. It was the very force that drove the universe to evolve and shape itself into what one would perceive during the span of their short, and fleeting lives. Yet, despite this being a portion of the truth that had underpinned the very essence of reality, there were things within this life that had never changed - no matter how hard the galaxy pushed. The Jedi Temple adorning the surface of Coruscant was one of these seemingly immovable objects. For nearly a decade of the recent past, this fortress-monastery had been assailed by those who sought to claim a legacy that they had proven unworthy of bearing. Time and time again these pretenders would fail in their quest, pushed back and beaten wholly by the Knights that dwelled within. None could match the legacy left behind by the Betrayer, and his ruthless extermination of the Jedi Order during the Great Purge. Even when the Tide of Darkness had bashed down the crystal pyramids and tore the walls asunder, the Army of Light had weathered the storm and emerged victorious when the dust had settled. It seemed that no-one could match the devastation that still haunted these walls until a small shuttle had descended from the heavens upon wings of fire.

It had re-entered the system, after having departed from the Consortium's blockade, with freshly converted transponder codes to throw off any scent of suspicion that may have lingered in the hours since it's exit. In the time that had passed since it's arrival, the nondescript shuttle had managed blend in with the orbital traffic lanes as it sailed the bespeckled void, leaving no trace of its true origin behind. Once it had been cleared, the craft soared through the soundless skies to enter Coruscant's artificial atmosphere unchallenged. There was nothing to stop their silent advance as they glided towards the Jedi Temple, bursting through the cloud-choked skies as they had done so. Weaving expertly through the crisscrossing lanes of planetary traffic, the craft had set itself upon an automatic path with the primary hangar bay located inside the ziggurat's primary structure.

They would have, but a few moments before the mission would begin, and in recognition of this - Mephistion was found ensconced within the passenger compartment of the craft, looking down upon one of his greatest creations.



I had refused to play the Children's game with the Twins. It wasn't that I didn't have the stomach for it, I simply couldn't bring myself to endure the venomous rancor spat forth by them both during the declaration of my orders. Sure, I had smacked them both for such petulant behavior in the past, but as the objective at hand was far more important than a trivial lesson in manners - I would forgive their trespasses just this once. Were it to happen again, the Master would know of their failures and this... incestuous development festering between them. From there, I doubt even their considerable strength would save them from his wrath. It was adorable that they believed themselves to be important to their father, but they were nothing more than expendable pawns in his great game. Perhaps I shall allow them to embrace such a lie for a while longer, as when the truth is made apparent, the sensation of betrayal becomes all the sweeter when previously coated in ignorance.

Nevertheless, after we had left the Battle Dragon and the Twins had attempted to sink their envenomed fangs into my aligned humour, I had removed myself from their presence to ensure that my pet was ready for what was to come. My trust in the two children was never in doubt, as I was certain they would be able to handle whatever was laid out before them, however, it always paid to have another option on hand. I could've ordered them to remain within the vessel, as I made my way towards the Archives, but such a command would be disobeyed without even an afterthought slipping through their minds. They only listened to me, because I had their beloved Father's ear. Were that not the case, I fully expect that my hosts would've been utilized for impromptu training sessions. Thankfully, that was not how my fate had played out. My soul can only handle so many transfers before it begins to instantly rot any clones I inhabit.

After this excursion, such an issue should no longer be an issue. I will, by mine own hand, be truly Immortal.

Having beaten around the proverbial bush for far too long, I place my hand atop the cowled warrior's head. He's chained to the deck like some common slave, and guarded by several of my acolytes to ensure that he remains obedient. Once, he was a promising initiate of the Sith. Now? He's nothing more than a mindless killing machine that lives for nothing more than to seek his own death. It was the only thing of any real value left in his life, as the Technophage had robbed him of all the pleasures of the flesh. He could still feel, much as we sentient beings do, though exactly how he felt - I can't say for certain. Such things bordered upon speculation, especially when it involved the first of a new breed. There had only been one recorded creature that had survived the transformation with his mind intact, but as the being was bathed in the light - I couldn't fathom what the outcome would be if the subject was held in the throes of the darkness.

Thus, as my taloned hand travels down the side of his ebony cowl, I wondered what was flowing through his mind. Did he hate me for making him this flesh-metal beast, or did he relish the agonizing sensation as his entire body was slowly becoming metallic. Though his face was shrouded behind the obsidian fabric, I could see that his once sculpted alabaster skin had hardened into an intricate weave of metal plates, framing his face with an unnatural shimmer as the light from above caught such details in its artificial glow.

"Amit, my dearest son," I spoke aloud, hoping beyond all hope that he could hear me as the change forced his once fragile physique to evolve. "You shall be my spear. Once we land and the ramp shoots down." I paused for a moment, all to ensure that he could hear my words and understood them in due course. "I want you to end the lives of anyone in your sight. Kill them all. Maim them if you have to, and burn whatever's left." With the harsh edges of my tone sharpening upon my tongue, I finished my commandment with a simple warning. "But do not touch the archives. If I find out that you have, I will separate every molecule in your body and make you watch from the aether as I have your remains coat my pot for nightsoil."

My flesh spare lips had curled into a snarling smile as the last words left my gaping maw. Although the words themselves held some measure of power, it was all in how they were delivered that ensured my pet would remain obedient.



Touching down upon the marbled flight deck of the Fortress-Monastery, the solitary shuttle came to a lurching rest amidst a sea of unfamiliar faces. None within the craft would've known who had come to greet these unexpected visitors, but with an uneasy peace reigning throughout the galaxy, the Jedi of Coruscant had found themselves to be slightly more welcoming of strangers than they had been in the past. Who could blame them after nearly a decade of constant war? Jets of hydraulic steam vented into the controlled atmospherics of the Temple's Hangar bay, as the boarding ramp shot down towards the deck. The Jedi, who were taught to know no fear, felt an odd sensation crawl up their spine as the darkness seemed to pour out of the shuttle's fanged maw in sickening waves. "Come out!" One had yelled as his hand went for his saber. The others had made the motion to follow suite but were taken by surprise when a figure bedecked in metal stormed down the plank like an armoured Acrobat. Nearly a dozen sabers, each taking on various hues of the colour spectrum, ignited in that moment. Bathed in the light of their weapons, the beast surged forwards with his talons outstretched.

"MAIM!"

It roared as it dove under an arcing slash of one of the Jedi, before sinking his flesh-metal claws into his attackers supple form. His pointed punch-daggers had slipped behind the Jedi's armour and burst through the fabric and skin underneath. As the creature withdrew his talons from the Warrior-monk, he flicked his wrist to paint the deck and the Jedi standing beside them with the blood of his comrade. In that fleeting moment, where the beast had left himself open to attack, the now blood spattered Jedi swung his sabre upwards in the bid to catch his foe's unprotected back. The blade had connected, as surprise was on the blade wielders side, however, what was revealed beneath had sent a ripple of revulsion through the echoing tides of the force.

Black fabric smoldered into ash as it parted to revealing what lay beneath. Snaking tubes and thick cables adorned the man's protruding spine, coated in the steel cage of his malformed flesh. Emerald liquid pulsed through the transparent cables, and a soft red light flickered within the creature - adding to its mysterious and menacing visage. Enraged, the technobeast roared in imitation of some great ancient animal. The sound was grating, and caused two of the Jedi to take a step back, their aura's blanketed into the primal wariness known to inhabit the sentient genome. Unphased by the flashburn of the lightsabers embrace, the creature ram's both of his of his taloned fists into the belly of a Jedi that sought to catch him unawares with an overhead strike. Catching the being with his arms held high, blood flowed freely down the beasts thickly cabled arms, only to trickle onto the deck thereafter.

More blood to soak these hallowed halls.

"KILL!"

It screeched, before ripping it's clawed hands outwards and snatching the still active saber from the crumpling Jedi's hands. The emerald blade extinguished as the hilt came into contact with the foreign hands, but it did not matter. The beast didn't need such a civilized weapon, as this was no longer a more civilized time. Instead, it eagerly tossed the deactivated hilt aside and charged the Jedi that remained. In a furious flurry of blows from both the talons and active lightsabers, the technobeast collapsed to the ground as the Jedi around him had managed to subdue the creature. They were battered and bloody, each bearing the scars of battle, and bled freely as they held their sabers above the hunched back of this beast.

"Get a containment cell ready for this... thing, and put the Temple on lockdown. I don't want any more of these creatures getting in or out until we know what this is." One of the battered Jedi said as he began walking over to the shuttle. "I..." The man was unable to finish as he felt something strange coil behind his eyes. "What... I don't..." Were all the words he could say before he dropped to the ground. His actively thrumming saber extinguished and rolled from his grasp, as he was swallowed by the entirety of his brown robes. Agony reverberated throughout the core of his being, as this coiling presence took hold. The thing within the Jedi had sunk its roots deep, taking the very genetic code of the Human and warping them into something new. Changing him from the inside out. He cried out in pain, not knowing what was going to happen to him. He wanted to fight back, but this was new... He didn't know how to fight it. He was a veteran of many battles and several wars. He had served alongside the fabled Arcanus in times past and encountered a great many beasts across the rim. But this. This was new. The Jedi spat blood onto the deck as he clutched his sides.

It wasn't crimson.

The once bright and vital colour had been drained from his blood, leaving it an oily black - somehow similar to the beast they had subdued moment before. Was this... viral? Was this creature at the forefront of something sinister? Wait. He sealed the temple, and this was a virus. Oh, gods. He doomed them all! His eyes opened wide in terror, but as the change was taking place - he had found that his voice was stolen from him. The Jedi couldn't scream at his comrades to evacuate the fortress-monastery. No. That cannot be. How had it come to this? He was one of the best duelists in the Order, and now... he was devolving into a weakling wretch. No. I must fight this. But how? It was at that moment that tore his gaze away from the oily black splotch before him and turned towards his arm. There he had bore witness to the horrors that had begun the process. With the contact being made, and the infected talon breaching his flesh, whatever virus this was had instantly entered his blood stream. The skin around the wound began to harden and turn oily black, whilst the angry red veins began to thicken. He lost feeling in his arm then and was too shocked to do anything about it. He could fight it, but how? How did one fight something like this?

"BURN!"

Oh, gods. The creature still lived. How was that possible? We dismembered it. We had it on the ground! What is this madness! I... That was the last thought that had ever passed through the fleshy grey matter of his mind before the change had taken him over. His angry red veins began to coagulate and thicken, warping into metallic cables that snaked through his entire being. The skin that remained began to flake away as it rotted from his now lifeless form, revealing the mass of wire and metallic plates now embedded beneath his skeletal cage. He was no longer human. Like the creature that assaulted him, he, and his comrades were now a mindless technobeasts - ready to submit to their new master's beck and call.



When the screams had faded, I knew my son had done his work well. Thus, with this knowledge in hand, I descended the cargo ramp, limping as fast as my ragged form could manage. My regalia billowed in the onrush of recycled air, as the hangar Blast doors behind us came to a sudden close. The Jedi had sealed their fates as the entire fortress donned her armour. This would make everything all too easy. The twins would be free to rampage through the halls, leading my sons and swelling their ranks with the freshly slain. It was to be a glorious triumph, and none from the outside world would witness this devastation until the time had come for us to leave.

"Rhaezion, Iztara." I called back into the heart of the shuddering shuttle. "Go forth, and put what you've learned to the test."

The figure emerged at last from the light-less under belly of the great city. Driven here by the incessant nagging & bickering of the two figures that only she could her. Mary was carrying everything she owned either in the worn carry all slung over her shoulder, or in various sheathes scattered across her body. if nothing else, the primary center of force study in the galaxy would probably have some way of silencing the two voices.

-Jasper
We heard that, you know?

With another silent, but not silent enough mental sigh, Mary started making her way down the long open stretch that led to the great main gates of the Jedi Temple. It wasn't more than a few steps however before something started setting off alarms in her head. Was it always this deserted during the middle of the day?

-Jasper
No, usually it is rather active. Something's not right.

Well that was help from Captain Obvious for you. Another few meters down the walkway & the faint sounds of distant sirens could be occasionally heard.

-Titana
That sounds like a battle siren. Sure you wouldn't rather hijack some posh ship & go for a ride instead?

Mary's hand brushed against the still new but well cleaned arm bone that housed her lightsabre. If the Jedi were being attacked, she should probably help them out, even if for no other reason than to build up good will.

Planting her feet wide at the base of the stairs. Mary planted her hands on her hips, pushing back her duster enough to let the small arsenal she was carrying show, including the pair of lightsabres.

-Mary
I'm not afraid of a fight. I am Mary Cerulea & I am seeking the Jedi Order.

in the corner of her mind a pair of voices spoke.

-Jasper
That's not technically the correct way to address a Jedi Master.

-Titana
Blow it out your back door you pomp fool, you might knock that sabre hilt out of your ....

Quiet, both of you, first impressions are important.

Mary shot a quick glare off to her left, at something only she could see.

-Jasper
It isn't my fault, I haven't been to the temple here in forty years. How was I supposed to know that?

-Mary
Very well, lead the way Mr Jedi.

Picking up the lumpy (and to be honest a little strong smelling) carry all, Mary gestured vaguely in the direction that the pair had been heading. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to stab either of them.