#inky be clutching my head and shaking it like a magic 8 ball

[pentacass]

Can you tell us more about Chukaem and Ves? How they worked together on Makeb? How long does Chukaem hunt Ves and Lana? Does she ever get close to them? And any other tidbits you want to share, you have free rein to let your brain go BRRRRRR if you want lol

ohhhboy here we go!!! thenk for ask :D

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:

"A traitor for a wife, a failure for a daughter, a Jedi for a son." The tip of a lightsaber, charred orange and black, boils the air beneath Vestra's chin. "A family that befits you - a disgrace to the Sith." Ves subtly pushes herself away from the blade, elbows digging against soil, maimed leg dragged over dirt. Despite her pain, she gathers the blood in her mouth and spits it at Chukaem's feet. "Better a disgrace than a hideous little bitch like you." A sneer parts Chukaem's lips, peeking from beneath her cracked rebreather. "Pathetic." Lightsaber rises for the killing blow. Ves unleashes a storm of lightning right into her gut, blowing her back.