Convocation Hall

"Thank you, my lord"

Said Savit. 

"I believe this shall not be the last time we see each other"

He bows before crossing the threshold into the antechamber. Ahmet almost expected to be appointed embassador in Coruscant; all things considered it wasn't a bad job. Once he walked outside the wide and splendid halls of the new palace, he talks to Thrune in a hushed tone.

"Negotations concluded, general. We have meetings scheduled with Sienar and CybotGalactica CEOs, and we should pay a visit to the Tagges and the Kuati. Then, we will be able to return to Etti IV. Ready the ship"

When Lord Havok was brought into the Convocation Hall, and escorted through the last line of security, he was met by faceless red armored knights, similar to the old Imperial Guard, yet their armor and helmets looked completely different. They were indeed force sensitive, but utterly silent. Their stance enough was to say that the two guests had to wait their turn. Three of them stood before Havok, blocking the way as it seemed that the Emperor was in a meeting.

Within the large space between the entrance, and the throne, a conference table, specifically built into floor had been risen up and allowed for seven people to be seated. Their uniforms indicated high ranking military officers and government officials. With the Empire's growth, and acquisition of Coruscant, a growing bureaucracy had begun to thrive upon the Imperial capital. The Grand Marshal, Baltasar Delvardus, and the Steward of the Imperial Knights, Brock Ferrum, stood upon the flanks of Emperor Delvardus as he sat. A gloved hand upon his chin as he looked to his right.

So the process to revert Muunilinst to a more economic world has proven successful thus far?

=Imperial Officer=
Yes, Your Majesty. Guilds have been given incentives to bring back business and commerce.

Nicademus nods his head slowly.

Any impact yet on neighboring worlds?

=Imperial Officer 2=
Indeed, Sire. Bastion is seeing a increase in merchant traffic and so has Yaga Minor. We have redeployed faster military vessels and reserve squadrons to police the new traffic between Core regions and Muunilinst.

Good, good.

The Emperor replies before his eyes glance upward, noticing the posture of his Praetorian Guard. It seemed his guests, reported from earlier, had arrived. Nicademus rises, causing the other officers to do so.

Thank you for your time, ladies and gentlemen. Continue with your work.

The officers snapped to attention and saluted their Emperor.

=All Officers=
Ad Victoriam, Your Majesty!

With that, they began to file out and the conference table sunk into the floor. Nicademus remains upon the main lobby, with Baltasar and Brock present, as he watches the Praetorians turn and bring Havok and Malice down to meet with the Emperor. Baltasar hands his brother a datapad which the Imperial reviews quietly.

You two have quite the extensive files. Something hard not to miss...

Nicademus states as he looks up. He was definitely not force sensitive.

...what exactly brings you to me though?

“If you have my file, then you know what I am. I am first and foremost a seer. A seer sees things others cannot. My file will tell you I have been missing and presumed dead for over a century. Your empire, with its vast network of intelligence and spies, cannot tell you where I have been for the last hundred years. Not all knowledge comes from reports.”

That fact might be the single most compelling proof that Havok was a creature of shadows. it was a true achievement to avoid detection for so long. Likely it was a story for another time.

“It is the truth that I was once a high lord of the Order of the Eye. A seer must always take care to see things as they are. I am the lord of nothing now. The Order of the Eye crumbled to dust in my absence, and with it, my ambition to force the universe to bow to me. My time for that has passed.”

“As a Seer, truth must prevail, but some truths may depend on where you stand to view them. Some pass judgment and call me 'evil.'”

He was referring to the reports that Havok was a Sith Lord. Some truths could not be openly admitted. Not in this place, not with Imperial Knights around. Some truths must stay in the shadows. Some truths must be denied for the greater good. There was such a thing as forbidden knowledge and Havok had always sought it out.

Havok's eyes shifted to watch and see who might overhear, and how they would react.

“I am not evil, Imperitor, but, to be clear, I am a monster. I lived and ruled among monsters. It is in my nature to devour my own kind. I have experience dealing with ruthless agents of chaos. And it leaves its marks. I am as my will and fate have molded me. I have seen the horrors and cataclysms that might befall an empire, and I did what must be done. People must have respect for the rule of law, or else chaos will reign.”

Havok was coming to his point.

“One would not call a judge 'evil' for executing a convicted murderer, or even call a predator 'evil' for eating its prey. I need you, as a judge needs the law, and you, Emperor, are the embodiment of law."

Havok was evil. He was not constrained by conventional morality. To say Havok was not evil, was a lie, but perhaps a necessary lie. But morality aside, though a Sith and a Jedi may argue whether taking the life of another is necessary or justified, both a Sith and Jedi value the need for laws, for hover-trains to run on time, and universal currency.

“You must understand what I am, to understand what I offer. I bring my abilities as a gift to serve, as long as this mortal frame does not quit me. I swear, and prophecy, by my visions, you shall be safe from me as long as you follow the path of order and law.” Havok closed his eyes. “I do not believe you will lose your way.”

Accepting Havok's service required knowing what Havok was, so he could be used properly. A seer, a powerful force user, and unconstrained by conventional morality, he was a potent and subtle weapon that could discover dangers and act in ways that contradicted the empire's propaganda. Havok could be trusted to keep the dark secrets of the empire, for he was as evil as the secrets. Havok's role must be clandestine, and hidden from the First Order's own forces that sought to root-out evil. Therefore, Havok's offer would require the commitment of the Emperor, to allow Havok to exist and operate, undiscovered, free from interference. In return, the shadowy might of this dark side seer would further the empire's lawful ends, granting the emperor supernatural threat detection and plausible deniability over forbidden means to neutralize any threat.

“And that, Emperor, is what brings me to you.”

“But what brings you to me... is far simpler. You need me. A creature of shadows, a soothsayer, a seer. You need a servant that will do whatever is necessary to smother the fires of chaos. You need a monster that listens. And sees. And acts. And disappears.”

"Allow me a demonstration. That man," Havok pointed to the imperial officer walking off in the distance- the one that spoke about Muunilist.  "His description of the full picture of happenings on Muunilist is incomplete. He said nothing of a religious revival there. It doesn't matter if he willfully concealed that information, or if he is ignorant and lacks the awareness. There is a threat to that world that was not brought to your attention.”

Havok's eyes glazed as he was speaking prophetically now.

“I foresee that if not immediately dealt with, the situation may become impossible, and the economic gains of that world burned in the fires of...” Havok searched the sea of the force, following the strings of causality, and found the Primary Cause, a man. The man was attempting to give birth to 12 apostles.  
“Brother Eli.”

Havok came back to the present moment. “An extremist of the old religion of the Order of the Eye. If not contained, the religion's re-emergence on Muunilist will spread to twelve new worlds.”

*Havok's revelation, and knowledge of the situation begged the question: what was to be done about it?  Perhaps it might be an excellent test, or first task for this Lord Havok to resolve, if the emperor chose to employ the seer.* 

What made me a monster... too long a story, too risky to tell... but not to show. But in this place? Misinformation, misdirection, subtlety. He must use cunning to throw the faithful imperial knight-hounds off his scent, and demonstrate his power, but must not give anything away. The emperor asked for a better demonstration. And Havok would do as the Emperor commanded. For he listened.

“Emperor, I would expect nothing less than to have many capable agents and servants at your disposal.” He was apologetic and deflated. “I apologize your majesty! Forgive me for underestimating your empire and its people!" Havok's expressionless eyes never left the emperor, though his face whinged. “Yes, I said I was a monster, a figure of speech.” Havok groveled, as if his statements about being a monster were a failed attempt of bravado, and he was speechless to provide an example.  "Certainly, a better demonstration of what I offer is in order.” As if confirming to observers that the prior genuine demonstration was puny and insufficient.  He looked around. "I require a crystal ball!” He declared (though he most certainly did not require one).

With permission, one was brought forward and given to Havok.

Havok closed his eyes and slowly waved his hand in intricate gestures over the crystal ball as if enchanting it, thus imbuing it with some unseen power. Havok used the force to manipulate the light around the ball to give it a more lustrous shimmer. Havok's brow was drawn in concentration before loudly declaring. "It is done! I am ready!" This performance was deliberate, to make it seem as though Havok's powers relied on such acts for their potency. "May I approach?"

With a nod from the Emperor, Havok approached.

Havok knelt on one knee and held the crystal ball out to the emperor with one hand. "I shall require you to remove your glove and place your hand, on the top of the crystal ball. When you do so, open your mind, and I shall grant your request..."

The emperor, perhaps skeptical, un-gloved his left hand and placed it on the crystal ball.

Gently: “Yes, now open... your... Mind...”  

The act of trust was a necessary one, and it confirmed to Havok, that the Emperor saw Havok as worthy of trust. Yes. Trust. Despite the damage a Sith Lord could do with access to an Emperor's mind. Havok restrained his lowgrade force drain power to protect the emperor from it. He swore he would not harm the emperor... and he would be true to that offer.

The Emperor lowered his mental defenses.

The emperor found himself transported, but still standing in the thrown room, facing Havok. All those around them seemed frozen in place. The color faded away from their surroundings into blacks, whites and grays, before becoming ghostly transparent. Through the transparency, the emperor could then see countless humming threads of light, that seemed to connect everything and everyone. Havok and the Emperor remained in motion and in color. Threads seemed to stretch into infinity beyond the emperor's sight as the grand tapestry connecting the past, present, and future.

"Be not afraid, O Emperor. Your mind is in my hands, and I shall reward your trust with loyalty, ten-fold." Havok meant what he said. “Emperor, my secrecy is itself a weapon, and I cannot afford to lose its cloak. The footage of our meeting will fuel the fires of a conspiracy, and to preserve my usefulness to you, we must communicate without record. Here, in this place, I will show you what I am, what makes me a monster, and what makes me stand out from those that make trite, presumptuous claims.”

Havok lifted his hands motioning to the humming threads of light. "Beautiful is it not? This is how I see the universe. Everything is connected. Everything is apart of it." Havok reached out and touched a thread and it glowed brighter. “It is the force. It is good to some, and bad to others, and it made me the monster I am. Some of it was fate, some of it was my choice.”

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< OOC:TRIGGER WARNING: extends until the end of this post. VISION will be modified if feedback is provided via PMed to me.>
<SUMMARY: (TLDR):The vision showed Havok as a boy, being tortured in an orphanage with a hot poker as others watched. It would explain Havok's pain tolerance, dark beginning, and that Havok still struggles with the memories. Perhaps becoming a monster and accumulating strength is always his attempt to save himself in the past, when no one else would?>
>>>>>>>>>>

The emperor and Havok were transported through time and space to the past- ...To the basement of an orphanage but better described as a dungeon. A boy was shackled to a chair and he about to be tortured by two adults. Around them, were blinking eyes in cages, silently watching. 

 The emperor could see the vision from where he stood, and from the view of the boy in the chair: “The punishment chair."  Havok stood by the emperor, but turned away to hide his face in shadow. The shadow that Havok cast, stretched and bent around objects unnaturally across the floor, joining with the shadow of the boy, as if Havok could not escape or cut ties with the events, shackled to the moment in time.

One of the adults lifted a red hot poker and shoved a helmet on the boy's head. The other adult locked it. "This is so I don't get carried away and mar your pretty face." The voice was sickeningly sweet as if the boy should be thankful for this. The boy struggled, but he was no match for them, and he was bound securely; even his neck was tied to the chair headrest.

There were no eye holes in the helmet but there were about 5 holes for the boy to breath though. If he tilted his head back, he could sorta see through them. The helmet was stifling and the boy was already hyperventilating. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears.

The adult that locked the helmet spoke, a female: "Now, shhh shhhh shhhhhhhhhh. We're doing this for your own good. We are going to purge the demons from your blood and make sure the other children learn from your example." Her voice was muffled through the helmet. The adult addressed the other cages in the room. "This is what happens to naughty little boys who disobey “father!” A glowing hot poker entered the boy's field of vision before it was applied to the boy's chest.

Havok twitched involuntarily where he stood as if he could feel the pain. The Emperor would not feel the boy's pain, but he would smell the stench of burning flesh.

The boy screamed and jerked forward, choking himself as his throat restraint pulled tight. "Father" took the poker off and the boy's flesh sizzled and blistered.

The pain was so intense, the boy vomited inside the helmet. As his body attempted to double up to retch, he cut off his air supply. He half vomited, choked, tried to swallow the rest, and ended up inhaling some of it, as his tormentor pushed him back in the seat again. The boy coughed and hacked, beginning to panic as the vomit pooled in the helmet seal against his neck. He couldn't stop coughing, and with the stench of the vomit, he could feel himself about to retch again.

Fortunately the vomit was draining slowly though the imperfect seal around his neck. From there it dripped down his neck and ran down his chest. The stomach acid added extra fuel to the pain of the burn on his chest. The boy cried, no air coming out of his mouth, tears rolling down his cheeks.

The boy somehow did not pass out, or choke himself, or die. And the ordeal continued several more times.

Boy was nearly horse and deaf from the volume of his own screams in his ears, and hadn't yet run out of tears. Under the helmet his face was a mess of perspiration, tears, snot, blood, drool and vomit. He had strained so hard at times against his bonds, that the rope around his neck had cut into his neck, strangling him, increasing blood pressure causing the capillaries in his eyes to burst as they bulged in their sockets.

And it showed no signs of abating.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The vision shifted again to the soon-to-be-present.

It showed Havok conversing with the emperor. The vision showed the conclusion of the audience. The murmur of words could not be made out, until Havok said...
"Yes, My Emperor."
These words represented a shift. The emperor would have noticed that in all previous addresses, Havok had simply called Nicademus, “Emperor.” Now, with those words, he became Havok's Emperor.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The vision shifted once more, to show the effect of that significant outcome. Havok traced the thread.
"Let me show you what might be, why you need me: Behold your apotheosis.”
Havok's fingers followed the glowing thread of the force, skipping flashing visions of a heated conflict between Havok and Brother Eli, like a war of words and philosophies, with intermittent physical combat. The final outcome: Eli bowed before Havok pledging "The Emperor's will be done."
>>>>

Havok followed the thread further skipping ahead.
The emperor, alone, was transported here... Havok was no where to be seen.

A massive place, possibly the convocation hall... was decorated in holy icons and symbols and full to the brim with silent masses. Fleets of hover-cameras float above peoples heads and capture the moment for eternity, projecting it across the holonet.

Brother Eli stands in robes of white, wearing the the mitre of a priest. The Emperor kneels before the holy man, griping a scepter and sacred weapon, arms crossed over his chest. Brother Eli prays in an ancient language and anoints the emperor's head with the oil of the Tano Fruit, from the forests of Shili, the home world of the inquisition. Nicodemus could smell the earthy-richness of the fruit.

"With the power of the Inquisitorious and the divine right of pastoral communion, I anoint thee, O Holy Emperor of All Mankind, Defender of the Faithful, Paladin of the God-Emperor of All Mankind, anointed to speak in His name, and rule in His stead, until He returns in MIGHT and GLORY!"

The massive crowd chants in response, “AMEN! AMEN! AND AMEN! THE EMPEROR SUSTAINS, THE EMPEROR PROTECTS."

Brother Eli lowers a wreath of golden leaves onto Emperor Devarious' hair, and raises the newly anointed Holy Emperor to his feet. Brother Eli bows to the HOLY EMPEROR, and the whole massive crowd kneels, shouting, "AVE IMPERITOR! AVE IMPERITOR! AVE IMPERITOR! GOD SAVE THE HOLY EMPEROR OF ALL MANKIND!"

Hundreds of bells around the galactic city of Coruscant began ringing in celebration.

Havok was no where to be seen in this vision. "I disappear..."  Havok's voice echoed.

It was apparent that Havok sought no credit, no honor, no praise, no position, no accolades, no promotions, no part of the imperial pomp of court. He would not come, in person, if the Emperor called, but he would always Listen, and See, Act, and Disappear like a terrible haunting guardian specter over the empire, leaving the Emperor free to feed the propaganda machine far from the deep, dark shadows where Havok would hunt, devour, and assimilate the insidious evils that also inhabited the shadows...

Sinistra arrived at Convocation Hall, lead by a pair of Imperial knights and trailed by a pair of her personal guard, dressed in robes of black and bits of body armor here and there.

"The old guard lead by the new, the cycle never ends", she thought to herself. A long black coat covered her attire in dark tones of emerald with silver embellishments on a long black tunic over wide leg black crepe linen pants. Her feet were hidden mostly by the sweeping hems of her clothing but she wore tall high heeled boots in black, looking dressed more for business than battle.

She was escorted inside where she was asked to wait. Her eyes played over the decor of the palace, appreciating some of the choices and the installation feel of some of the rest of it. The maze of hallways to get the room they were in was convoluted and she wasn't entirely sure she could find her way back to the ship if left to her own devices. Some of the hallways they had passed looked eerily similar to ones they were walking in, certainly done to confound intruders.

Sinistra stood waiting, her eyes closed as she pressed her palms together and meditated quietly on the will of the Force that had brought her to the door of the First Order.

A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she hear his voice from across the room. She opened her eyes to see the man who had once served under her now holding the Imperial reins of a vast empire.

"You have done well for yourself, Your Imperial Highness." She leaned forward a bit to show her respect to his position. He had taken the pieces of something broken and forged them into something new, something that he could call his own. It was an impressive feat that she could appreciate.

"Thank you for seeing me on short notice, but given that I have recently resurfaced after so long, I thought it only fair to pay you a courtesy call. I hope I am not interrupting anything pressing today?"

She had only been with the Vegemite Enclave for a short time when she had been proclaimed Herald and told she had to sort out some diplomatic visits. It was a role she was suited for though and it had given her something to do again. She was feeling her age in various aches and pains, but her mind was as sharp as ever and she relished a new business challenge. The days of her conquests in battle were over but that did not close off the possibilities for her victories to occur in the boardrooms of corporations. Or in back alley dealings of illicit goods. A girl has to make a living after all.