Streets Painted Crimson

Previous: Scars You Don't See
Concurrent: ILLUMINANCE
Streets Painted Crimson
Information
Date: 40 ABY
Location: Kiast
Participants:	Guardian Corps, Consular Conclave
Combatants Clan Odan-Urr Unknown Displaced Sephi Nobles Black Sun Commanders Essik Lyccane Yuki Suoh
[ Source ]

The Streets Painted Crimson were a series of events that took place starting 40 ABY, directly involving the Guardian Corps of Clan Odan-Urr. Although initially appearing to be an isolated murder case at first, the situation rapidly evolved into a much wider conspiracy deep within the Kiast system.

Conflict Details

A long Way to Fall

Stretched thin due to losses in the previous Vatali Civil War, law enforcement officers in the Voraskel Palace called in members to help resolve a possible murder. A distant relative of the Empire's royal family, Bellaran Anasaye, had been thrown from his home's window in one of the city's eastern spires. Quickly suspecting that murder was involved thanks to the markings on his body and with only a few officers on hand, the Odanites were tasked with trying to help uncover anything behind the murder. A multitude of members arrived, including both Essik Lyccane and Marl Gondor to examine the findings.

Ryan Hawkins was quick to identify multiple stab wounds on the subject and the oddity of their nature, having inflicted them and then pushed the man from such a high place. Furthemore, the stabs themselves had bypassed easy killing strikes, focusing upon his eyes, mouth, and wrists, but avoiding means to swiftly end Bellaran's life. Hawkins, Essik, and Aura Ta'var worked to piece together details from the corpse and his belongings, using Psychometry to read details from a previous gathering, noting feelings of unease surrounding one visitor. While Bellaran was not noted to have any major enemies in politics and was something of a recluse, he was noted for being a scholar and writer by nature, usually only using his name in an effort to ease support toward areas of the Empire he felt needed to be strengthened. Although there were some forensic efforts made to recover details, the body had been doused in a chemical that had erased any species identifiers or remnants.

At the same time, Marl Gondor investigated the surrounding back alleys and areas, finding a mysterious message that had recently been added. The meaning and letters surrounding it were unclear, as the figure daubing it on the walls had been interrupted. The witness to this, a small girl, mentioned that the figure had disappeared the second that he realised he was being watched.

Further breakthroughs were made by Creon and Neza-Rem Zarabi, as they looked into the tower and the man's room. The area had been defaced with Sith symbols angled at odd positions, something Neza-Rem noted was habitual of mocking or countering a rival. They quickly pieced together that there had been a limited fight at first, and that Bellaran had been forced into his office chair only to be injected with an unknown liquid. Given that he was not bound, this was suspected to be drugs. Bellaran had eventually resisted, likely being thrown through the window during an act of defiance. Creon, meanwhile, was able to identify the nature of several surrounding books and items, most of which appeared to have been intact. However, one had been thrown out of sight, and a blood speck on the interior marked it as something he was examining at the time of his arrival. It outlined activities of the Church of the Force during its earliest days, their rituals, and failed attempts to establish themselves among certain settlements.

Although they made some headway, the group was unable to identify the attacker in question. It was, however, clearly an act of murder, likely by a group associated with Sith teachings. Unable to gain more information at that time, the Odanites allowed the police to take over, returning to their duties until anything more could be found.

The Hollow Mountain

A multitude of efforts were made to build upon the information uncovered by those searching the crime scene, but most were without any definitive success. Beyond gaining some potential links between certain nobles who had been with Bellaran within days of his death and some minor contradictions, nothing could be proved. Even with the semi-prominent nature of the victim, the case was eventually put on hold due to a simple lack of any progress or leads.

It was to the surprise of Odan-Urr when the case was abruptly re-opened some months later, when several of the suspects abruptly met up for a joint operation on Daleem. Renting out land in the Ithorian Gardens, Ilthei Vun, Nemrak Tann, and Zezrum Mehl had put their fortunes into a mysterious auction event. All three had been suspects thanks to their association with Bellaran close to the time of his murder, but also claims were made to gain elements of Bellaran's estate and interest was shown in a tome that had been at the scene of the murder. While breaking no obvious laws, a chance finding uncovered an illegal mining operation taking place on Solyiat. Okami Mandalorians had stumbled upon it while hunting, and the machinery was part of the Echo Depths Mining corporation, owned by Nemrak Tann. With suspicion raised, Revak K'Urr ordered that both locations be investigated with all speed.

Due to Odan-Urr's numbers being spread thin as they recovered from the Children of Mortis' invasion during the prior month, mixed groups of the Guardian Corps and Consular Conclave were gathered, using anyone that could respond in time. Essik Lyccane led the first group into the auction house, using slicing to put several assumed identities on the house's guest list and infiltrate the building. Others entered by more covert means, but they soon recognised a serious problem. The items being auctioned off were a variety of relics from the age of the Sith Empire, clearly uncovered recently. What was more, rather than other nobles or interested parties, many auctioneers were known associates of groups such as the Black Sun.

Not wishing to let relics fall into the hands of such groups or allow them to operate freely on Odanite soil, the clan members present were given little time to formulate any actions before the bidding started. Even as it did, it took only a short time for the event to descend into chaos. Though the original source was unknown, shooting began within the auction house, triggering mass violence as the nobles' guards and auctioneer bodyguards tried to target the source of the threat. As the brawling intensified, several banners caught fire, which quickly spread throughout the building. As items were snatched up and groups began to fight their way clear, most of the Odanites attempted to intercept and bring down as many targets as possible. This was met with limited success thanks to their relatively few numbers. Although Sentinel Network assets had worked to sabotage several Black Sun ships, the vast majority were able to flee the planet without being intercepted. It was quickly confirmed that Vun, Tann, and Mehl were not among the few that they were able to capture.

The only major victory they saw was thanks to the efforts of Lizuni Kotra Heraga, Celevon Werd'a, and Benn Nevis. By some miracle, they were able to retrieve and drag a sizable number of Sith relics free from the building, moments before something vital was caught in the flames and it was lost in an explosion. This at least granted Odan-Urr some research subjects, and potential clues as to the nature of these recent items.

The efforts on Solyiat uncovered similarly troubling findings. Yuki Suoh's group were able to initiate an airborne assault on the encampment, surrounding and storming the sprawling network of prefabricated shelters and tents. Yet the camp was clearly abandoned, leaving little indication of any life there at all. Documents within the tents illuminated some information on their activities, but a greater clue was soon found as they followed a large trail of footprints leading to the base of the mountain. A large tunnelling machine had been used to burrow its way into the mountain, breaching what was apparently a cavern several meters within. The footprints led inside, passing under a doorway marked with a symbol of the ancient Sith Empire.

Not knowing what had possessed every person in the camp to head directly into the mountain, the Odanites established a perimeter and sent in several droids. All were mysteriously lost, each abruptly shorting out and losing all life as they moved within. A few lasted long enough to broadcast images of what appeared to be human remains, likely those of the archaeologists on site, and eventually a fleeting image of what lurked within: A Sith Temple, buried within the mountain. A recording of a similar find was retrieved by Jafits Skrumm and, combined with other findings, it confirmed that the site had been actively searching for Sith relics; almost certainly to dispatch to the auction house for sale.

The arrival of Aura Ta'var and a number of other Odanites brought with it further reinforcements but, with the obvious danger of the temple and no way of knowing that the archeologists were even alive, the decision was made to instead temporarily garrison the site to gain further information. Burying the temple while those who knew of its location were still at large risked it being uncovered again, and there were too many unanswered questions. In the hopes of either intercepting others associated with the dig and gaining further information, the Odanites dug in for a lengthy stay.

Empire of Lies

Months stretched on following the battle against the Black Sun with little to no progress. Unable to search deeper into the Sith Temple or find the Black Sun elements who had fled the battle, they were left with little to work with. The few artifacts found seemed bizarrely contradictory to anything they could find, and the few details gleaned from those they could identify gave few clues as to where they could hunt the escaping criminals. The answer would only come through a single secure message broadcast directly to the Guardian Corps, forewarning them of an ally seeking to offer them answers.

The mysterious ally proved to be a ranking member of the Black Sun of the Outer Rim regions, Zamun Sen. Arriving on the outskirts of the Kiast system in a heavily damaged ship, Sen had come to them unarmed and of his own free will. Recovered and escorted by Dinos Bazaar, when secured in a cell, he spoke of a rift among Black Sun members, and a group who had attempted to deal with a faction they had otherwise ignored. The Black Sun were criminals, but they had no desire to deal with relics associated with the Force, largely due to the risk they posed and greater complications. However, another faction had emerged to fill that void, dealing almost exclusively in matters of the Force on an underworld level. While they typically went via unassuming names such as the Auctioneers and the Committee, the closest they had found to a proper name was the Erebus Pact. A group within the Black Sun had gambled in dealing directly with them and the nobles seemingly working with the Pact, using the auction either as a hasty means of seeming legitimate or offering a chance to draw out more targets. When this event had been raided by Clan Odan-Urr, it had disrupted their plans. The Pact had retreated, and the renegade Black Sun members had nothing to offer their superiors.

Sen regarded the renegades as a problem, and the Pact's involvement created complications. Having pinpointed their location via a few sources and barely escaping with his life, he offered the Guardian Corps their location, free of charge. He wanted them gone as much as Clan Odan-Urr, and considered this a means to remove two likely threats without risking any further Black Sun assets. Although questioning this choice, Essik opted to follow the information due to the threat both groups posed to the Kiast system, now that they knew of it.

The Guardian Corps' full fleet arrived at an asteroid base hidden within the Farlax Sector known as Archive 16. A Black Sun fleet consisting of a Vindicator heavy cruiser backed by CR90 corvettes and fighters was besieging the armed base. The Guardian Corps rushed to attack both sides at once, with the surprise assault quickly quelling both groups in the battle. The fight against the Black Sun proved to be an easy victory thanks to the surprise assault and multiple victories by Jafits Skrumm against their escort vessels, bringing several down with little direct support. After the Vindicator was rendered incapable of fighting, most of the remaining forces surrendered. In the Erebus Pact archive, assault boats stormed the main hangar and secured it, before taking both the bridge and engineering section. Pact crewmen made several failed efforts to scuttle the station, but these were ended in large part thanks to the actions of Revs. Nevertheless, while Black Sun prisoners were taken, explosive implants in Pact members killed the few who could be captured.

With the Archive taken, searches were made of the facility, uncovering several major warehouse environments filled with vast crates. Although the Guardians had done little to explore them, the few visible items were clearly of Force cult origin, with a book owned by Bellaran Anasaye's private archive among them. Knowing that they would need more time to examine this, Essik asked that the Conclave be brought in to root through the crates while the rest of the station was searched and secured.

Scars You Don't See	Guardian Corps Events 40-41 ABY