[IC] Tashha's Voice Diary

[Joslae]

Entry 8 – War against the heretics (part 1 of 2).

[justify]*The recording begins and unlike the previous entries, this one is marked by a deafening silence, and a dim hum is heard in the background, it being the sound of the flagship engines, only Tashha’s voice breaking the silence*[/justify]

[justify]One of the main reasons for which I began to keep this collection of recordings was to have a way of venting part of the stress which war has brought. The pressure it had put on me and some of the acolytes which have participated at each of the events has been quite high, and demanding. However, as time passes and events unfold, looking back can be a lesson in itself. Now I stand in a new garb, many many months after my last recording and I looked back, listening to my previous entries, and I see how I have changed, and I realize… Just how useful it is to have a crutch to just go back in time and have a glimpse of the past. So, to continue the… documentation of events… I shall go over what followed after my last entry.[/justify]

[justify]*A pause follows, and from the muffled noises heard, it’s clear that she walks around briefly, reaffirming her grip of the recording device before her voice is heard once more, clearly.*[/justify]

[justify]It was not long after my first set of trials had ended. Back then, the house began to make changes regarding the system which they use, applying a light reform to how things would work and all I could have on my mind was what failure had to bring with it. I was in no way one of the top acolytes, there were others. Some of the ones which not long ago I used to spar were taken as apprentices, namely Trakaton, Hirak, Zirvesh, Raeniu, and Zunda. Of course, I was frustrated yet I understood what made it so I was not amongst them. I was simply not good enough, I wasn’t worthy of catching the attention of my superiors and I accepted this as fact, and began to work more. But then, one day something different happened.

We were brought aboard a Terminus-class Destroyer. When I say -we- I refer to myself and the rest of the acolytes. We were faced with a test, more specifically, how would we assault such a vessel. What plan would we have, and why would we execute said parts of it. Little did any of us know that what the acolytes brainstormed eventually came partially into fruition at a later date. It was only a few days after when Darth Horuset himself made the call to arms, and every single able bodied individual was to present themselves in front of him. We were told of the Arious Empire, and that we are to bring their downfall.

These heretics… From the initial briefing we were told that they are a splintered group of Sith who had proclaimed their own Emperor, hiding within some fringe part of the galaxy whilst the Empire had to deal with Zakuul and the Eternal Throne. From my studies done upon the wars waged in the past, I knew that events such as this and these events do happen. However, that is no excuse. Traitors and heretics eventually have only one fate - which is death. And thus, our war against heresy began with attacking the head of the snake himself, the flagship of the Arious Empire.[/justify]

[justify]*All throughout her speech, she is heard casually walking around and then she stops, her voice going silent as she seems to gather her thoughts. Then, a chiming sound is heard through what seems to be the intercom as a haughty female voice is heard, having a distinct imperial accent, speaking “All non-essential personnel are ordered to clear hangar A-2” and then, the message repeats twice. Tashha is heard chuckling a bit and she pauses, changing location, as the doors of the elevator are heard shutting behind her.*[/justify]

[justify]Even now I remember as I sat in front of the reinforced windows of Th’Assidra, our own flagship, of the assault we did. We had entered through one of the hangar bays and whilst our own troops were busy keeping the enemy troops at bay. Our team was comprised of a mixture between Sith Lords, Darth Horuset himself, Sith apprentices and the acolytes as well. We were to be the spearhead and our goal was to reach the heart of the Terminus-class Destroyer, and there, we would find our enemy leader. The intel we were all given checked out, another indication that the planning done was perfect. However, things never go as planned and one must always be prepared for the inevitable.

And such happened. Our assault came through. We breached an adjacent room of the level upon which the Hangar Bay was located, and inside we all made quick work of the honour guards posted there. Yet, when I say why, I refer to myself, still an acolyte, allowed to carry only a training blade, and the acolyte garb which I was forced to wear, just like the other acolytes. The rest which had joined us, the Apprentices, the Sith, The Lords, all made quick work of those guards and soon enough, we made our way through the troops which were still left on the upper levels. I could only offer support and was stationed in the rear-guard of the team I was part of.

This team was lead by, back then, Sith Apprentice Therdel, along with myself, some of the acolytes as well as a few Horuset Imperial troops. The rest had splintered into forming the frontal assault team and we all rejoined once we had reached the Command Deck. It appeared that the leader was there and we regrouped after many minutes of fighting a trench-war through the corridors against the enemy troops. Many of them did fight bravely whilst some of them showed their true nature, of being cowards, and some even committed suicide. I don’t blame them, as the cruelty our troops showed those traitors was something many of the acolytes found disturbing.[/justify]

[justify]*The elevator doors open once more and she is heard stepping out, and after a while she stops, and clears her throat as she continues speaking*[/justify]

[justify]As the Sith began to encroach around the heretical self-proclaimed Emperor, myself and the rest were tasked with securing the command deck, and to search the dead troops for anything which might be of use. Given me proficiency in slicing, I was tasked, alongside another acolyte, a pureblooded female named Jehenne, who I’ve grown to know better back then through our often conversations and spars, to begin copying the data found within the databanks of the ship. During this time, Darth Horuset along with Lords Tokiai and Saud, siths Cautus and Therdel, apprentices Zirvesh, Trakaton, Hirak, Zunda as well as a few aiding acolytes were fighting off the heretical leaders and their emperor.

From what I could see from afar, Darth Horuset and the emperor took on one another, and the ensuing duel was one of the most glorious I’ve ever seen. The sheer speed, skill and strength displayed as well as the intensity of everyone’s presences within the Force in those very moments felt like the air itself was heated. My head felt like swimming as the raging combat ensued, and from what I could see during my time at the terminals which were close to the raging combat, I saw many feats.

One of them would be that of the Exile. His skill in combining Telekinesis with Pyrokinesis was something to applaud. Raising their foe up in the air and breaking their limbs so that they do not struggle, whilst only after that use the flames which surrounded us all to burn them alive was a glorious sight. Another would be the foe the others fought who, I suddenly felt as the dark side of the Force shrouded them completely only to hear a gut-wrenching screech as my eyes would see a creature out of a nightmare. Standing tall, perhaps 7, 8 or even 9 feet, towering over my superiors, a Sith Spawn. The fight took such a turn that I began to fear for my own safety, but I could not abandon my post. Nobody did, each of us stood where we were, our wounds still fresh, still hurting, and fear flooding our system, through our veins like blood. And then, we were victorious.[/justify]

[justify]*Her tone would shift from serious to a more enthusiastic one as she continued*[/justify]

[justify]The heretical Emperor was defeated, and the one who cowardly gave into the madness of sith alchemy, surrendering their life into one final last-ditch effort and turned into a sithspawn was also now dead, laying on the floor. We were victorious. During this time, myself and acolyte Jehenne had managed, together, to download all of the data which we could get our hands on, and there were literal stacks of datapads filled with information. Acolyte Temekel aided our betters in the final push with a technique that I, back then, had no idea what it was, but now I do. It was then that I realised that she is not one to be trifled with, as well as some of the other acolytes. Many of them proved how battle-hardened they were, but none died. None backed down. And our campaign against the heretics began with a resounding victory.

But, it was not over. Over the course of the following months, small missions were done, several amongst which I took part in. Most were simply just to secure outposts, and clean-up jobs, or retrieving certain items and/or goods. One of them however proved to be different. A team of acolytes among which myself, Temekel and Siors were part of had to retrieve the reactor core of an ICB model tank. We had the patrol route and we were told to retrieve it. My skills in engineering also proved useful and after we had our ambush set among a ravine within the jungles of Kaas, we waited patiently, and then, we attacked. It only lasted about a minute or two as we surrounded the tank, and using our own training blade, we damaged key parts of the tank in order to ground it, by making them explode, and thus, damaging the exhaust ports. Then, there was only one problem, the turret, and such, I did something even know I think was reckless. I snuck myself under it, and using all the strength I could muster, I lifted the ICB tank turret, and tapping into all the strength in the Force as well, I managed to dislocate the rotating mechanism so that the pilot can no longer make use of it. My arms, my back, my feet, everything hurt. I stretched a large number of muscles in that foolish attempt, but the gamble paid off and we managed to secure the reactor.[/justify]

[justify]*Tashha chuckled as she would stop speaking, and then the recording would end not long after.*[/justify]