I swung an uppercut towards Alha with the training saber. The attack was filled with the Force, making it nearly unstoppable for a normal person. Yet, she blocked the blow with her own blade. The two swords met with a clash, and the sound reverberated loudly around the Fury.

Our ship was hurtling through hyperspace on its way outside of imperial control. We left Yavin in a hurry after finding the Ordu coordinates. It was less about my fear of that lizard and more a combination of annoyance and my own lost patience. We were finally heading to Parnassos. If all went well, it would serve as our home base, and I couldn't wait to test the prospects.

I followed up the swing with a flurry of probing attacks. Each slash and stab came almost randomly as I allowed the force to guide my combinations. Each time, Alha managed to block the hits. Each time, the clash of our swords rang out across the ship. It was a testament to the magic ichor of Dathomir just how powerful Alha became. She was leagues ahead of where she was a week ago.

There were many unnatural ways to gain more power with the force. Most of these paths revolved around the collection of artifacts. The problem with these artifacts is that they were usually corrupted by the will of their creators. Whether by design or simply through osmosis, items like the Mask of Nihilus contained pieces of their master’s spirit. When you used them, you were basically allowing yourself to be prepared as a vessel for their rebirth.

Ichor, though it granted the same benefits, was different. It was a raw wellspring of the force, untainted by some twisted creator. By simply living on Dathomir and utilizing the ichor, Shelish’s people naturally became force sensitive. The nightsister’s ritual recreated this phenomenon by embedding the green liquid within Alha and integrating it into her very being. If you were to cut Alha, she would bleed, but that blood would be green and steaming with the mists of ichor. Inside her, running through her veins, it gave her strength and connected her to the force.

This power was just a starting point. Like a slab of iron, it would take countless hours in the forge to be useful.

“You’re doing particularly well today,” I commented as we continued to trade attacks.

She smiled, but before she could respond, one of my blows pierced through her defenses. She received a hard whack to her side. The combined pain of the stun blade and a force-assisted blow led her to falter. Before I could land a second blow, she instinctively leaped back. Even a reaction like that was an improvement.

“Maybe I spoke too soon,” I said before charging her. I upped the intensity by channeling more of the force into my hits. Within seconds, Alha was backed up against the wall. Her positioning took away her mobility. With a flourish of my sword, I caused her blade to be sent rolling across the floor.

“Have you memorized the code?” I asked with my dull blade pointed towards her neck.

She nodded. “Peace is a lie, there is only passion,” she said between heaving breaths.

I lowered my blade and called hers to me. It shot across the room and landed in my left hand.

“Good. Do you have any thoughts?” I replied and handed her the blade.

“Thoughts?”

“It’s an esoteric phrase, what do you think it means?” I replied.

“Peace is a lie…” she said slowly. We walked back to the center of our little training area on the main hold before she found an answer. “Then conflict is inevitable, so you must be prepared for it,” she said.

“That’s one way to think about it,” I replied. “Conflict isn’t just inevitable; it is a natural state of the universe. To embrace conflict is to embrace one’s natural state. Through conflict we become better,” I replied.

“There is peace though. People live their whole lives without fighting,” countered Bariss from the side. She was regularly attending our sparing lessons in order to better familiarize herself with the pike and her new limbs. Because she was not my apprentice, I did offer to let her use one of my other blades. She refused though, on the grounds that they felt far too dark for her comfort. I couldn't really fault her logic. I never used the saber pike and only got it on a whim. The rest of my blades had seen a considerable amount of combat.

“What of them? Have you experienced a life like this?” I asked them both.

“Well, no,” she answered, and Alha shook her head. I knew neither of them had. Bariss spent her youth in the Clone Wars while Alha grew up eking out an existence on Korriban.

“There is respite, but no lasting peace. At least now there isn't. Unless something happens, the next few hundred years will be filled with constant struggles. Conflict comes, why should we not find joy in those periods in the same way we enjoy respite?”

“That was rhetorical. Just think on it," I said. "But since you're so interested in the lesson, maybe you and Alha can go a few rounds," I continued.

I needed some good news after the disappointment on Yavin. My dreams of a Massassi honor guard or crew member weren't totally crushed. I knew there were some still out there in the unknown region, but it would be a while before I had time to find them. So, that personal ambition was on the back burner.

When we finally entered the Parnassos system I received a series of happy surprises. Communications were kept purposefully dark since the system became our new rendezvous point. Secrecy was of the utmost importance and I didn't want any signs that the place was in use.

I updated Kalani's objectives when we parted from High General Telro after the Battle of Nur. The first objective was to finish gathering all the remnants they could find before finally entering the system. After their initial success, I allowed Kalani to really pursue as many leads as possible. I can only describe the fleet that greeted us when we arrived as an utter success.

The full fleet was arranged in a defensive stance around Parnassos, the type-1 continental world that gave the system its name. The most impressive ships were a single providence-class dreadnaught and two recusant-class dreadnaughts. Providences were the flag ships of any major Separatist fleet. Their dreadnought versions were an upscaled design of the iconic ship.

Behind them were five lucrehulks, and ten omni-supply ships. Those massive ships were further protected by six recusant-class destroyers and eighteen munificent-class frigates. There was a smattering of other ships inside the formation. I could see a handful of gozanti cruisers and at least two Genososian cruisers. The fleet was large. Sure, it wasn’t large enough to go up against the Empire. But this much fire power put me on the same level as the other warlords of the galaxy.

The second objective was to disable and take over the Parnassos orbital defense system. Our ships were in orbit near those defensive satellites There wasn’t an active battle going on, so I felt sure in assuming they had completed that objective as well.

Onboard the providence dreadnought, which was indeed our new flagship, awaited the third objective Kalani completed. When I stepped off the Fury’s landing ramp a unit of magnaguards awaited me. There were thirteen of the beautiful droids standing at attention, awaiting their Supreme Martial Commander. They were perfectly still with their electro staffs resting against the ground. The only movement came from their white capes flapping in the air circulating around the hangar.

I couldn’t help myself. I ran up to the nearest one and began prodding and poking the droid in an excited inspection.

“Magnificent!” I shouted excitedly.

Who needs Massassi guards? They have nothing on these fearsome-looking terminators. At this point, I was pretty insulated against fanning out. I’d been in the universe for a few months and had memories of over thirty years from Zaros. But damnit, I’ve always wanted a magnaguard. I should produce more. We should make a million of these and send them out across the galax-

“Master?” Alha said and placed a hand on my shoulder.

I straightened up and smoothed out my robes for a moment. Then I turned around and said, “Yes?”

“I think Admiral Kalani is waiting for us,” she replied and pointed away from the guards. Sure enough, Kalani was there flanked by his personal commando droid guards.

“So he is,” I replied and strode over to the super tactical droid.

“Supreme Commander, it is pleasing for you to have joined us,” he said in greeting.

“You’ve outdone yourself Kalani. What do droids enjoy? Oil Baths?” I said with a smile.

“Your congratulations are reward enough,” the droid replied.

“Nonsense! So how goes our little project?” I asked as I started towards the bridge.

“We dispatched a sizeable workforce to begin removing the radioactive materials. Our original scouting parties malfunctioned from the radiation. We were forced to decommission them. The current force received better shielding and has maintained productivity,” he explained. Removing and/or neutralizing the nuclear remnants that were poisoning the planet was the fourth objective.

Parnassos used to be a profitable mining and agricultural world. A nuclear explosion destroyed an entire city and turned half of a continent into a wasteland. It further poisoned the oceans, created purple deserts, and resulted in some insane weather phenomena. The whole situation could have been easily reversed if swift action was taken, but the corporation, Con Star Mining, that owned the planet went bankrupt from the issues. Its new owners chose to cover everything up and scrubbed the planet from all official records. Millions of colonists were left on their own while civilization crumbled around them. This happened around fifty years ago.

It wasn’t all destroyed though. The lethal radiation was contained mostly to a single continent. The other landmasses of the world were still livable, though the changing weather patterns reduced their yields considerably. Without any solution though, these places would eventually become lifeless as more radiation leached towards them. The entire planet would probably share the same fate in a few centuries.

“That’s fine,” I replied. “And the natives?”

“The probability that they saw our ships is high. Our orbital formation leaves us visible to the naked eye, but we haven’t made any contact yet,” he explained.

“That’s good. We need to be careful with our exposure,” I replied. The surviving people of Parnassos were the largest obstacle. I doubt many of them want to stay on this hell of a planet. They would probably take the first ship off-world. I can’t afford any loose ends like that. To the rest of the galaxy, Parnassos doesn’t exist, and I intend to keep it that way. Thus, the theft of any space faring vehicles was the most dangerous thing that could happen. The silver lining was that they had very little technology. When Con Star pulled out, they took what they could salvage. The rest broke down over time and most of the survivors did not have the mechanical knowledge to keep them running forever.

“What can you tell me about the planet?” I asked once our group was on the bridge.

Kalani brought up a hologram of Parnassos. Several beacons blinked into existence on the globe. “There are six sizeable population centers outside of the dead zones. The largest is here,” the droid explained and pointed to one of the beacons.

“Cleo station was an industrial city used for refining and fabricating. It occupies a favorable position far from the dead zones. Scans indicate a thriving farming community bolstered by an untainted aquifer,” Kalani continued.

“I assume you’re suggesting this as our new capital,” I replied.

“It is a strategically important city. With the area as our stronghold, our units can be sent out to assert control over the mines on the rest of the continent,” said Kalani.

“Fine, let’s go with overwhelming force. I’m sure seeing a few massive transport ships descend from the heavens will cow them into submission," I said to the room.

“And if it doesn’t?” Bariss asked.

“An overwhelming victory will,” I replied.

“We should at least parlay,” She offered.

“Of course! How will they surrender otherwise?” I asked.

The Fury dropped us off on the top of a hill overlooking the station. Behind us was a full complement of fifty droid landing craft. Each ship was longer than two football fields and wider than three. Spilling forth were countless snail tanks, droid hover tanks, multi-troop transports, and platoon attack crafts. Hundreds of B1s buzzed around on STAP speeders to scout the surrounding area. It all took only a matter of minutes for thousands of vehicles to begin moving like a tidal wave towards Cleo station. With a single command, over a hundred thousand battle droids could be deployed from the various vehicles just as quickly.

“Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken,” I recited to Alha. As we stood looking toward our conquest.

She looked at me and nodded.

“People often claim that the Sith seek only power. Those who do forget that it is just another steppingstone in the code,” I explained to her.

“Power leads to freedom,” she offered.

I nodded to her with a smile. “Power protects your own freedom, without power you are at the whims of others,” I replied and then turned to call one of the armored-assault-hover tanks over to pick us up.

“Power is the spring of all virtues. Without it, sentiments like love or hate become meaningless,” I further explained while as the tank made its way over.

The four of us climbed onto the vehicle, and I ordered the tank commander to press ahead of the column. My plan was to meet with the leaders while they could see our forces. I figured it would be polite to do it with as few men as possible. That said, I doubted they could even damage this tank before it could raze the city.

The area outside of Cleo Station was a large arid grassland. Most of it looked less than ideal for farming, as it seemed only scraggly prairie grass grew in abundance. Closer to the settlement, the farmland was visible. Probably due to irrigation, there were hundreds of grain fields, all growing quite well.

On the way down to the city, we passed a smattering of outlying farm houses. They looked very recently abandoned and I sensed no one lying in wait. If they left their homes for the seemingly safer cities upon seeing our landing crafts, then they were afraid. If they were afraid, then at least part of my message was already delivered.

Cleo station was defended by a crude palisade. It was a combination of old buildings, spikes, and large sheets of metal pulled into the streets to block entry. Facing us was a rudimentary gatehouse with armed guards standing atop it. They were dressed in ragged armor. Some of it looked to be left over from the security forces, while others were just wearing sheets of scavenged metal on their torsos. I spotted a blaster or two, but most of them wielded jagged spears.

“Halt! Who…What are you?! Why have you come?” called a man from the top of the gate.

“You heard the man,” I said and pounded on the side of the tank.

“Roger, Roger,” replied the droid. When the tank stopped, I jumped off and away from the tank towards the palisade gates.

“I’ll answer your questions in order!” I yelled back. Then I infused the force into my voice causing it to come out in different tones all stacked on top of each other at the same time. “I am Darth Zaros. A lord of the Sith. I have come to claim this city and all who inhabit it. Come out and parlay or perish!” I proclaimed.

“T-the council of elders rules here,” the man yelled back. Then something caught his attention from within the city for a few moments. Afterward, he added, “W-What claim do you have over us?”

I gestured towards the hill. When I did, the rears of every MTT opened and massive racks of droids descended. Tens of thousands of droids began marching out from behind the vehicles and arranging themselves in perfect battalion lines. Every second more and more spilled out like an endless fountain of gleaming silver and orange metal.

“Call an emergency meeting of your council! I and my delegation will attend!” I yelled back.