#chukaem

How they worked together on Makeb - It was professional, but incredibly tense. Chukaem is your typical Sith, trampling on everyone else to reach her goal, arrogance made all the worse by her status as Wrath. By then, Ves had been tempered by her crew and Marr, and viewed Chukaem's outbursts and aggression towards their own allies as unnecessary and detrimental to their mission. They clashed, but never came to blows. (Ashara and DS!Jaesa did though. Ash won :3)

Though the mission was successful, they came away hating each other. Ves hated the Wrath for her callousness, blind reverence of the Emperor, and putting her lust for power above the stability of the Empire. Chukaem hated Avriss right back - for her lack of respect for the Emperor and his Wrath, her ostentatious vanity, her softer hand on their Imperial subjects that would 'breed weakness' in their ranks.

Funny story (to be included in fic): because of how badly Chukaem treats her crew, Ves managed to win over Vette by simply feeding her cake. Not that Chukaem knows about it. All she saw was Vette drifting over to Avriss' crew, willing to spend more time with them, and identified Avriss as a threat to her authority.

Why were they both assigned to Makeb - Ves could've handled it on her own, but Darth Marr wanted her to take the chance to assess the Wrath - would Chukaem be willing to work with Marr and Avriss to secure the Empire's future, out of the Emperor's long shadow?

Ves' answer is no, viewing the Wrath as nothing more than an attack dog with no guiding hand on her leash, and she's right. The Wrath is near fanatical in her loyalty to the Emperor - the one who granted her power above all. She did not support the Empire when it moved on from Vitiate, and went rogue when Acina took the throne, choosing to strike at the Empire's enemies from the shadows, on her own authority bestowed by an Emperor long gone.

After Tenebrae is slain in EoO, Chukaem goes off the deep end, unable to feel her Emperor's weight in the Force anymore. She turns into a killing machine, hunting down those she deems a threat to the Empire, and those who'd turned traitor. Aelirra, Vestra, and Lana are at the top of her list, but Ves gets the top 'Fuck You' spot thanks to their funtimes on Makeb.

How long does Chukaem hunt Ves and Lana - I'm not too sure! I have some lines for a showdown that references Ves and Lana's kids, but I feel like Chukaem wouldn't leave them alone for that long. To be decided later.

Does she ever get close to them - On a few occasions, which is what tips them off to the former Wrath hunting them. Haven't worked out the final showdown's specifics yet, but Ves will lure Chukaem to a remote location by herself (perhaps forced by circumstance), fire off a distress signal to Lana and the Alliance, and fight off the Wrath in the meantime.

I'm both looking forward to and dreading writing Ves and Chukaem's battle, cos it is very Epic in my brain and will probably end up as a stickman equivalent written down lmaoo. But Ves will feel a very primal fear for the first time in ages, and has to dig into the deepest, darkest depths of her power to face down a Sith who has immersed herself in the Dark Side for decades, turning into a nigh-eldritch being that makes the Force itself wither in her presence.

Here have a bite from the notes I've jotted down:

Sedoyin is Aelirra's oldest, closest friend. They met way back on Tython, finding kinship as two talented padawans whose fledgeling fame had formed a degree of social separation between themselves and others of their generation.

They kept in close contact through their class stories, and Sedoyin was devastated to hear that Aelirra was gone after Darth Marr's expedition ended in disaster. When word of the Alliance and its Jedi Commander spread, Sedoyin was one of the first to travel to Odessen with her Jedi students, and offer her aid.

As Barsen'thor, she co-leads the Force Enclave with Sana-Rae, providing guidance to Jedi and Sith alike, and training Force healers for the Alliance. A diplomat as well, she helps ease tensions between their Jedi and Sith residents, and cajoles more Republic contacts into supporting the Alliance.

Roziq met Aelirra years back on Makeb, where they worked together to evacuate the planet's population. They found mutual respect for each other as defenders of the Republic, and Roziq admired Aelirra's steadfast compassion for all - a reminder to herself that mercy is always an option even in the bloodiest war.

When she heard of the Alliance and its Commander, Roziq wanted Havoc Squad to defect on the sly, and deal with the real threat of Zakuul. Most agreed. M1-4X and Elara refused, staying back to serve the Republic as they had sworn. It left a bitter taste on her tongue, but Roziq left her wife behind with a steeled heart, and Aric by her side. (It's alright, the parting was mutual and they'll reunite after :3)

Roziq serves the Alliance as Commander of their Spec-Ops division, under Admiral Aygo. She coordinates precision strikes against key Zakuulan targets, and often takes to the field with Havoc to hit back against the Eternal Empire.

Uyomize had never met Aelirra or Ves - but she is a friend of Hylo Visz, who roped her into the Alliance. Though she balked at the thought of having to give her credits to the Alliance (instead of keeping that sweet dosh for herself), Hylo appealed to where Uyomize is weakest - her family.

Her mother is a renowned doctor on Coruscant. Her older brother is a Republic Commando. Her younger sister is a rising Republic bureaucrat. Her Republic ties are strong (despite her insistence to the contrary), and she is loyal to her family above all.

Working with Hylo, Uyomize pulls on her underworld contacts to scrape up credits, supplies, manpower for their covert operations. Often, she'll send people to...'relieve' pirates of their ill-gotten loot, and redirect it to the Alliance. Some of the 'pirates' maaay have been Imperials. cough.

Zhaste'varu'mir (core name Evarum, or Eva for short) had intimately studied Intelligence's comprehensive profile on Darth Avriss. She knows how to manipulate Ves in myriad ways, but chose the most straightforward method into the Alliance - poison.

She contacted Ves under a pseudonym, met in a busy Nar Shaddaa cantina for the 'entrance interview', and slid to Ves a poisoned drink - "I will work for the Alliance - if you have the answers I want to hear. If not, you will return to Beniko in a body bag." Ves raised Eva's brow by downing the rest of the drink, and winning over one of the galaxy's best spies.

Eva has a deep distrust for hierarchy after her time as Cipher Nine. She works for the Alliance as an independent agent, with Ves as her sole handler. She feeds the Alliance intel stolen from deep within Zakuul, and performs solo espionage missions. When the Alliance aligns with the Republic, she stays and volunteers as an agent for Task Force Nova, finally working on her secret goal all along - to find her lost Force-sensitive sister.

Chukaem knew of Aelirra, the Jedi who murdered her Emperor, and disdained the Alliance and its Commander. She served as Wrath until Acina threw in with the Alliance - which turned her away from the Empire, and led her to work alone in the shadows, executing anyone she deems a threat to the Sith.

When she learned that Aelirra had killed Vitiate again, she swore to end the Commander's life. But when the Alliance turned to the Republic - with Darth Avriss and Lana Beniko still within its ranks - her priorities shifted. Traitors first. Jedi filth next.

Ves is at the top of her shit list. They'd worked together on Makeb, and came away with bad impressions of each other. Chukaem sensed, accurately, that Avriss did not share her (zealous) loyalty to the Sith Empire and its Emperor. She tolerated it because Avriss served the Empire well as Councilor. Now that Avriss has turned... Chukaem looks forward to destroying her. Personally.

Djixas has met neither Aelirra nor Ves, and has no desire to. She is loyal only to the Mandalorians, and follows where Shae Vizla leads. When Shae pledged Mandalorian support to the Alliance, Djixas followed.

But where Torian was assigned as a representative on Odessen, Djixas led her brothers and sisters on offensives against Zakuul - be it on ground or in space, she planted the fear of Mandalorians in Zakuulan hearts with every battle. She is one of Shae's best lieutenants, and is almost always on the field.