ONDERON & DXUN

[SWSF Hale]

Onderon is a vibrant world full of all sorts of non-humanoid life and bestiary. What little civilization that lives on the planet's only (civilized) city of Iziz keeps a watchful eye over their walls. The planet's nearby moon Dxun, also known as "the Demon Moon" is inhabited by descendants of ancient Mandalorians. They too keep the watch, but over the ancient tomb of Freedon Nadd, a once-powerful Sith Lord.

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Dxun is also home to Sisterhood of Imperial Sith. Its founder, Darth Hera, was once an apprentice-turned-lover of Palpatine. As her power grew, she could not bring herself to obey the Rule of Two and thus lacked the will to fight Palpatine (as to replace him and take on an apprentice of her own). On one fateful day, Palpatine sensed this weakness and confronted Hera and forced her to fight him. After besting Palpatine in a lightsaber duel, Hera chose to exile herself because she foresaw Palpatine's rise to power and how his destiny was far greater than her own. During the Imperial Era, Darth Hera founded the SIS as a "contingency" in case Palpatine met his demise, or in the event that he needed to be killed. She took on a number of apprentices, four of whom became her High Council: Jana Sable, Katoh Niyne, Minajj Ventress, and Zekina Talon. Over the years, their numbers swelled and now several dozen Sith Ladies proudly call themselves "Sisters."

[SWSF Hale]

TEMPEST SQUADRON
Lord Admiral Hale
>>

ONDERON // ORBIT / DXUN VICINITY

The ISD Dauntless, ISD Vanquish, and INT Equalizer exited hyperspace over Dxun. The time for the gathering was at hand. Soon, all would be revealed, for Hale and company went to the surface to meet the High Council of the SIS.


DXUN // SURFACE / TOMB OF FREEDON NADD

Hale walked through the courtyard of the temple with Tarkin at his side, and his security attache. Jana Sable was leading the way. As the group reached the tomb's doors, Jana used the Force to slide the massive stone pillars that stood in the way. As soon as the group was inside, the pillars were put back in place. The sound of stone sliding on the dirt echoed through the hall of the tomb, and came to an end, only for silence to follow. The hall was lit with torches, which provided a great deal of light, though there were also plenty of shadows abound as well. Jana turned around to face Hale, "my master will be with you shortly," and then she turned slowly and walked down the hall.

A few moments later...

Footsteps in the distance could be heard, a single pair, until a figure emerged at the head of the hall. Darth Hera stepped into the light, her High Council stayed in the shadows.

"Lord Admiral Hale, I see you have accepted the offer of my envoy - to join our quest in search of Xim's Holocron."

Hale stroked his beard, "yes. But I need you to explain a few things to us before we commit any resources. What's so special about this holocron?"

"Our historical research has led us to believe that it contains the engineering archives of his war machine, all of the research and development, the blueprints of his defenses, everything..."

"...technology that could forge the next Empire? Is that it?" asked Hale.

"In short, yes. This is why our factions must unite. I have sent envoys to other governments around the galaxy, but I fear yours will be the only ones to join us. To make matters worse, we believe a resurgent Death Watch and your old friends Crimson Dawn are after the holocron as well. One of my envoys was also intercepted by a Jedi Knight, and so we have reason to believe the New Republic may have caught wind of our gambit."

"Well, given the amount of attention I've seen so far, I have a feeling this holocron is probably going to start another war. So we had better do our part," responded Hale.

"The High Council shall accompany you going forward in an advisory role, but I will personally join you on the field should the need arise. This matter requires my utmost attention..."

Hale nodded. "Very well, let's reconvene aboard the Vanquish and discuss our plan of action. Welcome to Tempest Squadron..." extending a hand.

Darth Hera smiled and returned the handshake. "For the Empire!"


TO BE CONTINUED

[SWSF Hale]

TEMPEST SQUADRON
SECOND TO NONE
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ONDERO // ORBIT / DXUN VICINITY

The ISD Dauntless, ISD Vanquish, and INT Equalizer entered hyperspace, but not before a short ceremony in which Hale promoted Tarkin to Admiral.

HYPERSPACE // ISD VANQUISH / CONFERENCE ROOM

After getting the fleet underway, everyone assembled in the conference room and took a seat. Except for Hale, he remained standing at the head of the table, where a large holoprojector was displaying a map of the galaxy. Hale pushed a button on his smartpad to begin the brief. A red circle appeared around the region of the galaxy known as the Tion Hegemony.

"We know a great deal of Xim the Despot from historical records. After all, his legend inspired the Trade Federation to use droid armies as opposed to flesh and blood, and the Clone Wars is a testament to their efficacy. The Empire was also inspired by Xim's army, for the concept of an all-terrain walking assault vehicle is, as we all know, proven to be the most powerful support for infantry. But this briefing is not about history, but of the future," Hale paused to push another button to zoom in on Mandalore. "The present location of the holocron is Mandalore. And, we know Quinton Harris trafficked it through Kwenn Station."

Tarkin leaned in, "what do we know about the smuggler?"

Hale answered, "not much, actually. He was a NOC agent who was assigned to Hutt Space by Imperial Intelligence. He provided crucial intelligence of Hutt activities to High Command during the Galactic Civil War, but since the Battle of Endor he is presumed to have cut ties and has assumed his cover identity on a permanent basis."

"Well, you can't blame him for that," responded Tarkin. "Ysanne Isard cut everybody loose after Endor. The question is: what does a former Imperial agent have to do with Xim's Holocron?"

"That's what we need to find out," replied Hale. "Which is why we're headed back to Kwenn Station to rendezvous with Admiral Dubois before we venture into Hutt Space. We need to retrace Harris' steps."

"Lord Hale, why not simply go after the holocron now?" asked Darth Hera.

"Something isn't adding up. Why is this holocron suddenly appearing now?"

Hera nodded.

TO BE CONTINUED (AT KWENN STATION)