Master Jay-Li Kenobi shuddered in the cold, watching his breath freeze as it left his mouth and billowed behind him like steam as his speeder zoomed overtop the snowbanks. He disliked ice planets. The heat was much easier to ward off than the cold. He focused on his breathing and called on the Force. Soon he felt warm again, but the technique only slowed the effects of the cold and allowed him to survive without winter gear temporarily, not forever. His wife Nadia on the other hand wasn't having such an easy time of it. She was used to warm temperate climates, and despite how strong she was trying to be he could tell she was feeling fatigued.

Focusing on the Force, he let a stream of healing force energy flow from his body, through her arms and back into her. She stirred as the restorative energies loosened her muscles and warmed her extremities. "Thanks." she said sweetly and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled back at her. Her painted face was as white as the snow that surrounded them, save for the thick black lines that stretched from her eyes upward and across her cheeks. Her Jedi robes, a hand-woven gift from the Voss Mystics and made in their traditional style, were streaming out behind her in the wind. The bright, shimmering green of the decorative patterns contrasting the deep brown of the fabric.

"You're most welcome my dear. Now remember, try and focus on feeling the currents of the Force around you. Don't focus on anything else, just feel the Force." He felt her concentrate, and sensed through their force bond that the pain of the cold was beginning to leave her body. She relaxed more and squeezed him around the waist.

"What would I do without you?" She asked rhetorically.

"Get into trouble." He said shooting her a wink over his shoulder. She giggled and smacked him on the shoulder before returning her hand to its place with the other, clasping his abdomen. The speeder accelerated and roared off towards a massive mountain in the distance, covered in ice and snow.

Before long they arrived at the mountain. Jay-Li and Nadia had tracked their target, a Sith Lord, here. A unique calculating algorithm written by their good friend Tharen Cedrex had calculated that this particular Sith was likely up to something more dangerous than any of his fellows. The algorithm considered factors such as the locations he had visited in the past month, the history of those locations, as well as the number and significance of people who coincidentally come down with a bad case of dead within the same time period. Master Kenobi wasn't normally the kind of man to rely on technology or algorithms to decide his courses of action, but he could feel the Force's hand in all of this. They were meant to track this Sith. They were meant to discover exactly what he was doing here.

He climbed off the speeder and offered Nadia his hand, as if this whole thing had been nothing more than a man giving a lady a joyride. She laughed and took it, hopping off the speeder and drawing her lightsaber, but leaving it inactive. "Let's go!" She said and bounded off towards the nearby cave. Jay-Li smiled and called on the force. Taking off at impossible speed, he whooshed past Nadia in a blur. Giggling, she followed suit and they were halfway down the cave before they came across the corpses.

It was a group of dead Wampas. All sliced to pieces by a lightsaber. Jay-Li stopped and inspected the corpses briefly, allowing Nadia to catch up. "He's been here." He said, "Not too long ago either. Time for stealth." She nodded and with a wave of her hand, vanished from sight, sinking deep into the shadow of the Force. Master Kenobi followed suit and the two headed deeper into the cave. As they travelled Jay-Li poured over the situation in his mind. It didn't make sense. Their target was somehow making it impossibly hard to track him. All they had left to follow right now was a very faint force signature, and yet all the other clues said they were right on his tail! Suddenly they turned a corner, and realized they were in a small, open cavern. The end of the cave. A ray of light filtered down from a hole in the roof, casting its light on...there! At the far end of the cavern! Jay-Li felt it before he saw it. A small Sith holocron, glowing with a soft, pulsing violet light. Odd, he thought. Usually Sith holocrons were red. No matter. He could feel the Dark Side emanating from it in waves. It was a Sith holocron, no question about that.

Suddenly the cave exploded with Dark Side energy. In front of the holocron, a figure de-cloaked. He wore violet robes with white and grey armor attachments. At his waist was a saberstaff of Sith design. His three-fingered claw-like hands and his hooded head were the only things exposed to the open air. From those hands and through the Force, Jay-Li knew right away who he was looking at. The Kaleesh they were tracking, Lord Xalek.

Xalek reached for the holocron. Finally, his task was at an end. Grasping it in his hands, he stared at it. It was glowing with a bright purple light. Almost the same color as his own skin. Fascinated, he turned it over and over in his hands, feeling its weight and texture with his bodily senses, and its power through the force. Reaching for his pocket he pulled out a holo-transmitter and punched in the code meant for use by him and him only. He set the holo-transmitter on the ground in front of him and stood with his feet shoulder-width apart, the artifact hidden behind his back. The image of his master, wearing identical armor to him except for the helm and gloves, appeared. The similarity in their choice of wardrobe was no accident. Xalek had purposefully ordered his new set of armor with the specifications for his master's armor. It had served his lord well, so why should it not do the same, and more, for him?

"My master." He greeted Darth Nox with a bow of his head. Not his usual sign of deference.

"What is it Xalek?" His master asked, realizing he was either going to get very good news, or very bad news. Xalek didn't speak a word. He simply brought the hand holding the artifact around in front of him, to where Nox could see it. "Ahhhh yes. I knew you wouldn't fail me Xalek. You never have."

"You honor me, my lord." The Kaleesh said, bowing his head once more.

"Bring the artifacts to me at once! I will be awaiting your arrival on Dromund Kaas. There is much work to be done Lord Xalek."

Xalek was about to respond when a disturbance in the force stopped him. Summoning the Dark Side to him he moved with incredible speed, twisting the holocron from the spot it was in and clutching it to his chest as he whirled around. Drawing and igniting his lightsaber as he turned, he saw a faint shimmer of refracted light over his shoulder, and felt the wind of something moving past him at an incredible speed. Xalek attached the holocron to his belt as a man in brown robes with blonde hair suddenly de-cloaked six meters off to Xalek's left and drew a saberstaff, igniting the green blades. Xalek spat his next words with contempt and hatred. "Jedi!"

Xalek charged, moving at full speed towards the attacker who had attempted to steal the holocron from him, right in front of his master. His violet blade clashed with the Jedi's green one, and the two saberstaff practitioners battled at close range. Xalek utilized Form VII Juyo in an attempt to quickly end his assailant, thrashing and twirling his lightsaber in vicious combinations of moves. His opponent met them all. He seemed to be using a more defensive variant of Form VI Niman, incorporating elements of Form III Soresu into the more balanced, so called "diplomats form". Xalek growled and increased the frequency of his attacks, incorporating some Form IV Ataru attacks, hoping to overwhelm the Jedi with sheer offense. But to no avail. His opponent's use of the elements of Form III made his defense shockingly resilient.

Normally, Form VI Niman was favored by Jedi and Sith who were weak in lightsaber combat, or didn't have the time to train in the martial arts, as it was easy to learn. As such, the majority of its practitioners were weak combatants who preferred using the Force to solve their problems rather than the blade of a lightsaber. However, the effort required to learn Niman form was inversely proportional to the effort required to master it. Xalek knew well how deadly the form could be thanks to his master. Darth Nox was master of Form VI, after the order of Exar Kun. His perfect balance of use of the Force and use of a lightsaber in combat made him a terrifying foe to face. No matter what you did, a true master of Niman like his master had an answer for it. There were no inherent weaknesses in Niman. It was completely balanced. It offered no offensive advantage other than what its user brought to the table. On the other side it brought no exceptional defense boost either, other than what the user, again, possessed.

His master always used to say: "Form VI is the ultimate test of strength. If you are weak, it will not help you. It only empowers those who are strong enough to master it." As the thought flashed through his mind, Xalek began to strategize how he might defeat this opponent. Without his master here he had only his own power and skills to rely on. So he would use his master's training, and use it well. He slipped into Form II Makashi, aiming to disarm his opponent rather than pierce his seemingly impenetrable defense or counter his equally formidable offense.

The change threw his opponent for a second, but only just. In another microsecond the hole in his opponents defense closed and he cursed at losing his opportunity. He felt a ripple in the force, and dodged an incoming barrage of boulder-sized projectiles made entirely out of frozen snow, launched by his opponent in repeated, rapid succession. Not solid enough to crush him but more than solid enough to hurt. Bounding off the cavern walls, he dodged snowy missile after snowy missile. Then he leaped down on his opponent and brought his lightsaber over his head, unleashing a Kaleesh warcry. He was going to bring the blade down on the Jedi and cleave him in half. His opponent dodged easily, slipping to the side like a ghost, as if he had never been standing there in the first place. Xalek landed and attacked with fury. He began to break up his attacks with use of the force: slash, stab, lightning burst, stab, lightning burst, spinning attack, force push, Lightning blast, slash... Every move was countered, every feint foreseen.

Another ripple in the force. Running completely on instinct, Xalek whirled to the side. Another Jedi, a female, de-cloaked, grasping at the place where the holocron hanging from his belt had been only a few microseconds before. He snarled with rage. This was becoming tiresome. He realized his master was still watching the proceedings, silently. The whole time, Darth Nox had been watching Xalek struggle against a powerful enemy and said and done nothing! His muscles tensed with rage. But that is the way, Xalek reminded himself. If I am weak, he wants to see that weakness laid bare. The Kaleesh straightened, every muscle in his body tensing as he prepared for what was to come. He would not be weak. He would show his master he was fit to be his apprentice, that he was a worthy successor, that he was worthy to slay him and take his place one day! He would not fail his master.

The two Jedi attacked. The male attacked first, tying up Xalek's lightsaber in crosscuts and entangling combos. Xalek felt his limbs grow weary and heavy as his opponent attempted to use the Force to tire him and limit his reaction time. He resisted. With everything he had; his rage, his unbridled hate, his unquenchable bloodlust, he resisted. The female followed behind. She attempted to overwhelm him while his defenses were limited, using a deadly combination of lightsaber assaults and powerful force kinetics. This female was strong. Almost as strong in the force as her Jedi friend...friend? He mulled the thought over, even as his body weakened and the Jedi's attacks increased. No, he realized, not just friends. The way these two worked together in perfect sync...as if reading each other's thoughts, they weren't merely friends. Behind his bone mask, a smile split his face. He had his escape plan.

He slowed his reactions further. Not enough to lose him a limb, but enough to make the Jedi believe their strategy was finally working. The male began to raise his lightsaber, and Xalek saw the spinning slash coming before the lightsaber got more than halfway to full position. He leaped off the ground, using the force to enhance his strength. Spinning in midair, he unleashed a whirling kick right into the male Jedi's chest. Normally the blow would have cracked ribs, but the Jedi's force armor protected him from that. Not, however, from being winded. With the male staggering back, Xalek knew he had his chance. It was now, or never.

But he didn't need to, the female attacked him all her own. "Nobody hurts my friends!" she screamed and lunged with her lightsaber, trying to bury it in his gut. He spun out the way and knocked the back of her head with the hilt of his lightsaber, sending her tumbling into the snow bank behind him. Xalek raised his hands to the ceiling and reached out with the force. Snow began to fall and frozen chunks of snow began to break apart. The male Jedi was just clambering to his feet. When he saw what Xalek was doing his eyes widened with horror. "No!" He cried out. But it was too late. Xalek brought his hands DOWN with a finality that sent shivers up his spine. He'd won.

The male Jedi made a desperate leap to the female, landing on top of her, shielding her with his body just as the ceiling began to come down on them. Xalek turned and, with the last burst of force power he could muster, sprinted down the cave to the entrance, the holocron bouncing on his hip. The only thing left behind as the cavern collapsed was the holographic image of his master, still standing there, stoically watching his apprentice escape. In seconds the young Sith was out of range. Then the ceiling collapsed on the transmitter, and the image vanished.

__________________

Darth Nox crept, unseen and unheard, through the jungle of Yavin 4, his Force Cloak hiding him from all methods of detection. The trees emerged from the ground like bulbous tumors, their roots greedily sucking the nutrients buried in the planets soil. In the upper levels of the jungle canopy, tropical avians released loud calls that reverberated through the mist like the screams of phantoms. In the underbrush, small creatures scurried about, the only evidence of their existence being the rustling of the vegetation they disturbed. In the distance, a Krakjya stalked its prey, a young Ginx. In a flash of speed, the predator leaped from its hiding place and was upon the Ginx before it could croak. A bite on the neck from the feline predator's powerful jaws quickly ended the amphibian's suffering, almost before it even knew what was happening. Yavin 4 was a place where only the strongest survived.

Suddenly sensing a disruption in the currents of the Force, Nox quickly darted into an alcove created by the roots of a tree growing on the edge of an outcropping. The roots, which were as thick as his arm, hung over the outcropping like the tendrils of some Sithspawn monstrosity. He watched as, through the mists shrouding the landscape, a large shape appeared. Thunderous footsteps reverberated through the trees, heavy breath announcing the creature's presence with all the subtlety of a fanfare. A giant Massassi hunter tramped into view. Well over 12 feet tall, he had an eight-foot spear slung over his back by a strap made of some unidentifiable hide. Nox watched the massive monster lumber past him, and waited patiently until the behemoth had passed by and was significantly out of range before leaving the alcove to continue his journey.

He followed the path the stolen knowledge laid out for him, the desire to possess the secrets he sought grew greater with every step. Soon, he sensed activity up ahead. Organized activity, minds locked into routine, senses keen for any sign of trouble. Reaching the clearing in the trees, he saw what he had sensed: a stone building that looked like one of the many ruins that dotted the jungle moon, but this was no ruin. Despite the aged and battered walls, broken altars, and shattered obelisks, the place was teeming with Imperial Guards. The personal shock troops of Emperor Vitiate patrolled in strict, tight security grid patterns. Stationary guards stood at key infiltration points around the perimeter, their senses on high alert, just waiting to test his skills.

He couldn't leave any evidence of his incursion here. Doing so would risk drawing Vitiate's attention, and at this early stage of his plans Nox couldn't afford that. That meant he had to do this entirely by stealth. No casualties, no damage to the environment, no souvenirs. That last one stung a little. He was about to walk into what was possibly the greatest repository of ancient sith knowledge in the entire blasted galaxy...and he couldn't take a single thing.

But in the long run, he reminded himself, whatever knowledge he could obtain and whatever insight he could acquire by taking artifacts for further study was nothing. Not when he compared it to the impact the particular knowledge he sought would have on, not just his future, but the future of the galaxy. Sensing the opening in the patrols of the outer perimeter, a glance confirmed his instincts and with force-imbued haste he slipped in between the red-clad sentries, finding himself sandwiched between the outer and inner perimeter. No problem, he'd dealt with tighter security than this. Patience was the key to success here. Memories of his incursion into House Rist on Alderaan came back to him. A mere apprentice he had been then, and yet an entire house of born, bred, and trained-from-infanthood assassins had failed to not only stop his infiltration but even so much as detect his presence in their lair until he violated the sanctum of their leader, glibly talking her into summoning his target; Nomar Organa, to Alderaan.

He remembered too, the insufferable self-righteousness and immeasurable cruelty of the Jedi. How that scum, out of zealotry and with a lack of empathy that rivaled any Sith, had shamelessly manipulated his former lover and fiancé in order to lower Teridax's guard. He had played along with the Sith's attempt to reunite the two star-crossed lovers only until Teridax had left for the Elysium. Then with him gone he had broken his true love's heart all over again by rejecting her. Subjecting her to a world of heartbreak and torment in an attempt to intercept and capture, or kill, Teridax. With that one choice, the Jedi had violated every one of the very few rules and principles that Teridax held dear. He had slain Nomar for that particular transgression. What's more he made him suffer. First he had killed the Jedi Master's padawans right in front of him. They had died in terrible agony. Then the master had been subjected to his justice. He could still see that disgusting, deluded, self-righteous monster's face writhing in torment, struggling to stay strong in the face of Teridax's lightning, the physical manifestation of his immutable hatred. The then-sith apprentice had savored every moment as he watched Khem Vaal kill Nomar by devouring his spirit. The horror and fear of the Jedi had been like a sweet incense to him. Satiating his anger, his hatred, his bloodlust. Since then, he had rarely ever felt so alive. That had been a good day.

A shift in the Force's currents snapped him out of his wistful stroll down memory lane. A guard on patrol was coming directly toward him, only 15 meters away now. He frantically surveyed the situation: There were too many patrols nearby to make a move. He was trapped, he'd been too distracted. "Blast!" He cursed to himself, regretting it almost immediately. His stealth field prevented any sound from leaving the field's constrictive vicinity but it was still bad practice to speak under Force Cloak. He needed to get a handle on himself before he blew the whole mission. Extending his hand toward the approaching guard, he reached out in the Force. He felt the Dark Side surging forward to obey his command. Power gathered in his outstretched hand, and Nox felt the guard's mind through the Force, as if he held it in his hand. He grabbed a hold of it and with a carefully constructed thought, shut down the guard's conscious mind, while instructing his body to continue its normal routine. The man was his...for now. Vitiate was said to be linked to each and every member of the guard, but Nox was certain that, as far the Emperor was concerned, this guard was now merely asleep. Nox also doubted that the link between Vitiate and his guards was so intimate that he knew every thought each one of them had all the time. Vitiate's power and mind was immense and godlike, but not omniscient. No limited being could process that much information without destroying their mind entirely.

Satisfied that the immediate threat was neutralized without exposure, Nox turned his attention back to the patrol patterns. He didn't have to wait long before the next opportunity presented itself and he could pass between the oblivious guards like a phantom. Their blindness was almost laughable to him. Reaching the entrance, he looked down the at the opening. The steps before him descended into utter darkness. With a quick glance over his shoulder he confirmed that everything was exactly as he had seen it upon arrival, then he descended down the steps two at a time.

He quickly approached the bottom of the stairway. In the distance he could see torchlight illuminating the forms of two more Imperial Guards standing on either side of the passage that began where the stairs ended. Steeling himself, he fell deeper and deeper into the depths of the Force. Temporarily shrouded in the Dark Side, he was completely undetectable as he passed within a mere 2 feet of either guardsman. At one point his left hand nearly brushed against one of them, but the man showed no sign, physically or mentally, that he noticed anything. Continuing down the shadowed corridor, Nox slipped past several more guardsman and passed many dead-end halls with attached rooms before arriving at the door. It was a fake relic. Looking at it through the Force, Nox could see that it wasn't made purely out of carved stone. It was in fact made of durasteel with a thin coating of Beskar just underneath the layer of stone that camouflaged it with its surroundings. If he hadn't been sure of his stolen knowledge before, he was now. This was the place he sought. No guards were on duty, and this disturbed Nox somewhat. The fact that the compound was crawling with guardsmen and yet the final treasure lay unprotected set him on edge. Something wasn't quite right about this...

A quick examination of the door revealed it was a complex Force seal. Only a dark side force-user of considerable skill and knowledge in the methods of Force sealing could open it. However, the door was unlocked. This confirmed his suspicions. There was obviously no need for guards outside the library because there was already someone, or something inside! This made the mission a whole lot more complicated. Unless there was only a few weak-minded sentients or beasts inside, learning what he needed to know without alerting anyone or anything to his presence would be very challenging. Reaching out with the Force he scanned the area on the other side of the door that was within visual range. He could sense artifacts of great power, holocrons, datacrons, ritual items, relics of old...so much knowledge and power, all in one place.

Sensing no sentient minds and no animals beyond a few small rodents, he used the Force to slide the door open. Not enough that someone would see it, unless they looked closely, but just barely enough for him to silently slide himself through the opening. Using the Force again, he quietly eased the door shut behind him and turned to take a look around. He was in the largest, most organized library and artifact storage space he had ever seen. The entire room took up an amount of space equal to the main hanger of a Star Destroyer. Everything small enough was set up on metal shelves organized by century. The larger devices and artifacts were in the back of the room against the far wall. There were datacrons and devices from the time of the Infinite Empire, ancient texts along with Sith and Jedi holocrons from the time of Naga Sadow and Marka Ragnos, and even more recent artifacts such as pieces of Rakata technology he recognized from his time on Belsavis and in the Foundry. It was all so amazing! Nox closed his eyes and just felt the power that filled the room like water. Currents and eddies of energy rippled, curled, and flowed between the shelves, washing over him with an intensity that almost made him lose his concentration and drop his force cloak.

Suddenly he felt a shift in those currents. His eyes snapped open and instantly every muscle, every sense was on high alert. Something was moving. Someone was moving. The disturbance was coming from the back of the library, the section of shelves containing the knowledge from the Golden Age of the Sith. Nox sank deeper into his cloak and backed off to the opposite side of the door that the disturbance was coming from. Watching intently, he saw a smaller than average human male round the corner of one of the aisles and begin walking along the rows of shelves. He was about 5'6 with a rather withered face and sunken yellow eyes. He seemed to like black, as his ritualist robes consisted of no other color. He was engrossed in a text scrawled on papyrus. It looked to be roughly from the time period of Ajunta Pall.

The Emperor's librarian, Nox thought. The idea sounded strange, almost ludicrous, but when he thought about it, it just made sense. All of this knowledge needed to be kept organized and in good condition. Of course Vitiate would make sure he had someone to do that job for him! Considering the amount of knowledge and powerful artifacts at his disposal, Nox doubted this man was incapable of defending himself and the library if it came to it. No doubt this Sith knew things even Nox didn't.

The large holoprojector a few meters behind Nox beeped and the dark lord nearly jumped out of his skin. The Sith who had just rounded the corner looked up, seeming surprised, and placed the text on the front desk of the library before walking hurriedly over to the projector. Nox repositioned himself by the desk so as not to give the mysterious Sith any chance of detecting him. The man activated the holoprojector and the image of pureblood materialized. "Servant Three, report." He spoke in a deep, commanding voice that matched his intimidating, hooded black robes.

Darth Nox nearly gasped but caught himself before the air could enter his mouth. Servant Three? Servant? He acted as the Emperor's caretaker for this storehouse of artifacts and knowledge, but the title...him having a conversation with a pureblood also dressed entirely in black robes... Could the shriveled human before him really be a member of the Emperor's Hand?

Nox had heard only rumors of such an order, one of these rumors was that each member was referred to as "Servant" followed by a number designate. Another rumor said that the Hand acted with authority above the Dark Council's. This particular rumor, so persistently told to rookies in the Imperial Army and apprentices on Korriban, also stated that they were directly linked to the Emperor and knew his thoughts, that they carried out his will without question, without treachery, and without fail. This mission just got a lot riskier, Nox thought to himself.

"Servant One." The human Sith bowed out of respect. "This is unexpected, is it really that time already? It seems like only a few days have passed since the last check in."

"With our master temporarily out of contact the Hand must maintain its own security. You know this, Servant Three. I realize it is hard to keep track of such irrelevant concepts as time in your location, but you must be more vigilant in such matters. It has in fact been 10 standard cycles since your last report." The human nodded cordially and began to oblige his comrade.

"There have been a few disturbances recently." The pureblood, Servant One, looked simultaneously worried and curious at the admission.

"What disturbances?" He demanded.

"Nothing too troublesome..." The wizened human's voice trailed off. "But reports from the guards have claimed to have seen both Jedi and Sith scouting the jung-"

"What do they know?" Servant One cut him off.

"Nothing!" Servant Three replied. "I assure you my friend every precaution has been taken and carried out with flawless efficiency!" He smiled underneath his cowled hood "Although..."

"Yes?" Servant One asked impatiently.

"It might be nothing but..."

"Spit it out! Do not try my patience Three!"

The human smiled. It wasn't often he got to see One like this. Without an open connection to Emperor, he was in a rather unstable state. Then again, so was Three. "The Jedi and Sith, they were working together. Co-operating without so much as a spat or quibble." He paused as if remembering something. "There were also armed men with them as well. Both Republic and Imperial soldiers and officers, judging by their uniforms."

Servant One relaxed noticeably. "That is nothing new. What you are seeing is merely our master's plans bearing fruit. Do not concern yourself with these intruders, just stay out of their sight at all costs!"

Servant Three nodded. "I shall notify the perimeter guards to begin using stealth field generators on duty, and I will lower their numbers and extend the perimeter to reduce the risk of discovery."

"That is satisfactory." Servant One replied. "What of the latest texts from Voss?"

Nox started as he suddenly realized he'd been standing here listening to these two old men chatter when he could have been using this opportunity to acquire the knowledge he came for. Moving swiftly and silently, he followed the stolen memories to the far back corner of the massive library. There he found a set of shelves labeled "Forbidden". Knowing this was where he would find what he was searching for, he started perusing through the host of datacrons, holocrons, and ancient scripts there.

After a few minutes of searching and finding nothing promising, he summoned the Force. He was careful not to drop his cloak and to disguise his movements within the currents and waves of energy undulating and writhing around him. Opening his eyes, he locked his gaze onto a particular section of shelves. Moving towards them he felt the resonance in the Force, as the object of his desire reacted to his probe. Reaching the purple datacron, he gazed at it a moment. A datacron...he mused. From the time of the Infinite Empire by the look of it. So Vitiate hadn't been the one to create these rituals, the Rakata had. Almost hypnotized, Nox reached out to touch the datacrons surface. Stopping just short of the object, he pulled back and thought for a minute. He'd found one of these datacrons before, on Korriban as an acolyte. When he had touched it he'd lost consciousness for a brief but undetermined amount of time. It could have been a one minute, or ten. If the same thing happened to him here and now, he would be discovered the moment his cloak dropped, and the mission would ultimately be a failure, perhaps dooming his entire plan.

He considered his options for a minute. Then he began channeling the force, once more disguising his movements within the spectrum of energy surrounding him. In another moment, he felt the Force wrap itself around him like a true cloak. This cloak would not shield him from being seen with the naked eye, but it would hide his presence in the force, making him impossible to find without using your natural vision. The cloak would also last about 12 minutes without requiring his concentration, which should be more than enough time to acquire the knowledge stored in this Datacron. He reached out his hand, and touched the glowing, purple surface. The moment his gloved hand made contact, darkness closed in around him and he knew no more.

Servant Three turned off the holoprojector. One had always been the coolest and most level-headed of the Twelve. Seeing him in such an emotionally charged state had been both invigorating and unsettling. Three himself was feeling more than a little emotionally charged. Before his induction into the Hand he had been a keeper of Sith lore. His work as a ritualist had only ever been a way to ensure his usefulness in the eyes of his fellow Sith, and thus preserve his life. Luckily for him, few others could match his skill, knowledge, and talent. It was those same skills and talents that had drawn the attention of the emperor. The same emperor who had promised him eternal life, and given only an eternal state of undeath. The same emperor who had promised him knowledge beyond his wildest dreams and participation in rituals that would change the galaxy, and yet stolen from him his passion for history, knowledge, and ancient lore.

In these past few months however, with his connection to the emperor rendered inactive by their master himself, Three had begun to feel again. He had begun to lose himself in his work just like the old days. He had spent days at a time, studying, analyzing, learning...and even just reading for the sake of it. He secretly hoped his master never again reactivated that cursed bond. He didn't want to be some gargoyle protecting his master's treasures, unable to feel anything but disdain and a cold, empty rage. He wanted to stay the way he was, the way he had been. A passionate disciple of history, not the slave of a mad demi-god.

He walked down towards the far end of the room, where the newest items were stored. Servant One had been less than pleased with his report on the state of affairs, especially regarding the new texts from Voss, hand-copied by Vitiate himself after his escape from the clutches of Sel-Makor. The Emperor had done much studying while imprisoned in the Dark Heart and had learned several things of great interest to him, but much of what he had discovered merely hinted at even greater secrets, greater knowledge, greater power. Seeking to preserve what parts he had deciphered and understood, he had copied it all from memory into several holocrons.

Three spent the better part of 5 minutes deciphering, organizing, and cataloguing holocrons before a faint ripple in the force distracted him. Pausing for a moment he tried to reach out and see if there was anything there, but only emptiness met him. Returning to his work, he was drifting off into his own little world until...there it was again! Another ripple, very small compared to the ebb and flow of the massive currents of power in the room, had nearly slipped past his notice. But Three had not spent more than a hundred years working in this place almost every day without getting to intimately know every eddy and current. This was a small but persistent disturbance. A leaf, in the middle of the jungle, dripping water into a puddle. An invisible event to anyone who didn't know that jungle like the inside of his own mind.

Putting the holocron he was working on down, he slowly and quietly began to move towards the source. As he went further and further back into the library, he realized it was coming from the "Forbidden" section. Vitiate had instructed him never to access any of the knowledge stored there, claiming it would destroy him. Perhaps something was reaching out to him, he thought. Perhaps there was some knowledge there that his master didn't want him to see, afraid it might make Three more powerful than Vitiate. Reaching the corner before the aisle from which the ripple was originating, he stopped suddenly as an idea came to him. Or perhaps...it was an intruder.

Almost immediately he rejected the idea, there was no way anyone or anything could have found this place, let alone gotten past all the guards without being noticed. No one was capable of such a thing. The Imperial Guards were the best of the best. Handpicked by Vitiate himself, and Vitiate would not have allowed the weak or foolish to be a part of his personal army. Still, the thought gnawed at him like a starving Womp Rat. He decided to see what he could find in the Force. Reaching out, he sensed...nothing. The aisle was empty, or so it seemed.

Reaching down to his waist, he clasped the hilt of his lightsaber. Silently removing it from its position, he held it in his hand but didn't activate it. He would jump out and if there was an intruder in the aisle, he would activate his weapon and attack. He wasn't a saber master but he was no slouch. He knew a hundred different techniques for Niman form and thirty to fifty variants of the other forms. Putting them into practice in battle had always been his one failing. If he devoted his life to the forms his knowledge alone might make him to most powerful swordsman in the galaxy.

Readying himself and tensing his muscles, he leaped around the corner and into the aisle. There was no-one there. He hurriedly reached out with the Force and still found nothing but silence. Shame washed over him. He must be getting paranoid. Suddenly he felt something. Different from the ripple but it was coming from this aisle. Slowly he walked down the column of shelves towards the source of the emanation. There! Right beside a purple datacron, a green holocron was glowing softly, as if reacting to his presence. Three approached the holocron and picked it up, cradling it in his hands as he might a small animal. The holocron must have called out to him, its voice not nearly strong enough to reach him in the ocean of power that buried it. That had been the ripple he sensed, the slight distortion in the song of the force. A single singer in a massive choir, singing slightly off-key, had attracted his attention. When he had reached the aisle it must have reacted to his presence, activating itself to compel him to use it. Now with it in his hands he could feel its pull. It wanted him to use it.

Stretching out with the Force, Three moved the holocron from standby mode to active mode, and the form of an unknown, human Sith appeared. Within minutes, he was engrossed in the teachings of the one calling himself Darth Nekros. So entranced he was that he failed to notice a small ripple, identical to the one he had sensed before, emanating from the door as it opened slightly of its own will, closing only a few moments afterward.

_______________

Demise walked purposefully through the dark Ilum night, his metal boots crunching on the soft blanket of white powder cloaking the icy landscape. The cold didn't bother him, if anything his cyborg implants ran better in the cold, their cooling systems no longer having to work so hard to keep their temperature down. That energy could then be applied elsewhere, resulting in his vision being sharper, clearer, stretching farther and becoming more accurate. His body had little trouble with the cold either. The inner fire of his rage kept him warm. He had no need for cold-weather gear.

"Hey wait up!" came Vette's voice from far behind him. He stopped and turned to look at her. She was dressed head-to-toe in the stuff. Her large hood was pulled up over her head, her Lekku no doubt pressed against her back. Uncomfortable, but not as much as wearing her usual outfit, an open leather jacket with a strap bra and skin-tight black pants, in this environment. He'd honestly never liked her wearing that outfit. It showed too much of her body, and Twi'lek bodies were the instrument of choice for pleasure in the galaxy. He'd caught more than one Imperial officer or Sith staring hungrily at her physique over the past few years. They always averted their eyes when they found him staring directly at them, the black, empty abyss of his helmet's eyeholes scaring the lust right out of them. But it never mattered to him that he'd staked his territory, what mattered was that they had looked. They had desired what was his, and his alone.

"Hey!" Her small hands, gloved in white, waved in front of his face. "Wake up!" We've got work to do, remember? Republic base to invade, Jedi Master to beat, Darth Malgus and stuffy Moff-guy to report to...any of this ring a bell?" He came out of his trance and looked at her. The cold was purpling her small, blue face on the cheeks and nose. Her gorgeous eyes, the same color as her cheeks now were, looked up at him with a look that said: Hey! Pay attention to me! He felt the strongest temptation to press the hidden button located on the side of his neck, retracting and folding his helm back under his cloak so he could take her in his arms and kiss her. She was so adorable.

"I love you" he said, looking her straight in the eyes.

"I know silly!" She said. "But shouldn't we be taking out that Jedi?"

"I mean it." He said, wrapping both hands around her waist and pulling her slim but thickly clothed body up against his armor. "I love you Vette, don't ever forget that."

She giggled "How could I, when you never let me!" She noticed he wasn't letting her go. Her eyes widened with surprise and a small flicker of mischievous delight flashed through them.

"Don't get any ideas in that Sithy head of yours!" She teased him. "Someone could see us, and it's really, really cold out here!"

Demise couldn't help but smile. Vette always knew just what to say to lighten the mood.

"You're right, we have a Republic base to destroy and a Jedi to defeat." He admonished. "So let's get back to work before we do something we'll both regret."

Still wearing that mischievous grin, she turning around and starting to walk ahead of him. Demise watched her for a second, then followed. Within a few more minutes they reached the last Republic base they'd been sent to destroy: a small compound guarded mostly by Duros. This base guarded the entrance to the ruins where the Jedi Master Jaric Kaedan, commander of the Republic forces on Ilum, was holed up, although he wouldn't be there for much longer. Darth Malgus and Grand Moff Regus had given them orders to destroy the nearest enemy camps and then move on the field command base where Kaedan currently resided. Two of those bases had already fallen victim to Demise's lightsaber and Vette's twin blasters. This was the last base, after this they would move on Kaedan and end his miserable existence once and for all. Vette drew her twin blasters and twirled them on her fingers. "Ready?"

"Always." Demise's voice wasn't the same lighthearted, happy one it been mere minutes before. Now it was steeled in anger and steeped in rage. He was ready to fight. He was ready to kill. He took off toward the camp at a run. Spotting an outer patrol, he charged straight for them. The bulbous-headed aliens saw him coming, a dark shape against the pure white backdrop of the snow. Two of the guards pulled out their electrostaves, and the third drew a single blaster. They were dead before they had a chance to use them.

Summoning the Force, he activated his lightsaber, the violet blade glowing brightly. He hurled it at the guard wielding the blaster. Guided by his outstretched hand and his will, the lightsaber sliced the soldier in half, cutting through armor and flesh with equal ease. As his weapon returned to his hand, twin blaster bolts flew over his shoulder, impacting the one remaining Duros directly in both eyes. The last remaining mercenary didn't even have time to think let alone grieve. Demise was already airborne, his lightsaber raised to strike. With a swift slice, executed the moment he landed, Demise cut the man in half at an angle. His chest, shoulders, and bulbous head to fall to the snow, while the waist and legs dropped straight to the ground.

Shouts came from the camp, and the manned turrets turned and began to belch plasma at Demise. The Sith reflexively whirled his lightsaber in a dizzying pattern in front of him, and every blaster bolt fired went back to its source. He watched in satisfaction, his anger still growing, as the fools who had dared to attack him died to their own weapons. Two of the bases four turrets were now inoperable. Time to deal with the others. He ran towards the compound, lightsaber in hand. Leaping onto the raised platform surrounding the base building, he steeled himself for the attacks he knew were coming. Now that he had entered their range the two western turrets opened fire, just as two more Duros mercenaries and their commander came running out of the base, electrostaves and blasters in hand. He deflected the blasts from the turrets, aiming them directly at the commander. The explosion sent the twisted and burned corpses of the two bodyguards flying, but the commander charged out of the smoke, his personal shield forming a transparent blue barrier around him.

Two blaster shots rang out from behind Demise, and the twin bolts he was expecting flew past him. One struck a turret operator directly between the eyes, the other hit the one remaining turret, and the machine's power source began to go critical. It's operator, now the only man standing besides the commander, scrambled off just in time to be thrown 4 meters by the explosion. The commander reached Demise and began a laborious attack pattern, swinging his weighty electrostaff in a doomed attempt to protect the base and himself. Demise didn't even bother attacking, and a shower of blaster bolts struck the shield as Vette fired continuously at the shielded commander. Although Demise could easily overload the shield with either his lightsaber or the force, he simply deflected and parried the slow, heavy strikes effortlessly. He wanted to enjoy this. He sensed the duros turret operator getting to his feet, a quick glance confirmed it. He let the struggling alien clamber up, draw a blaster, and aim it shakily at him. Then, without even moving his hand, Demise reached out with the Force. The man's esophagus closed, and he was lifted off his feet gasping desperately for air. He scratched and clawed at his neck, trying to release the grip the force had on his throat...but to no avail. He was already dead. The only thing left to do was accept it.

As Demise humiliated the mercenary commander, he savored crushing the last remaining underling's life without having to so much as lift a finger. When the last light in the alien's eyes died, Demise released the corpse from his will and let it drop to the platform with a thud. Deflecting another pathetic attack from the commander, Demise gestured with his free hand. The shield began to shudder and waver as the crushing power of the Force was brought to bear upon it, and as a volley of blaster bolts from the little blue Twi'lek standing at the edge of the platform continued to pummel it, it began to fade. The commander's fear grew, feeding Demise's rage. Parrying each attack as the shield faded, he waited until it finally flickered out. Rearing back his hand, he focused the Force into it and slapped the commander hard across the face. Bones broke, and the Duros stumbled back as an inferno of pain overtook him. A single blaster bolt struck him straight in the center of his forehead, and his dying body fell to the floor.

Silence. The only sound was the humming of Lord Demise's lightsaber, and the whistling of the cold night wind blowing harshly over the white, snowy dunes. Demise de-activated his lightsaber and placed it back on his belt. Behind him he heard Vette approaching. Once she reached him, without waiting for her to speak he said: "Come on, we have to move quickly, before the Jedi has a chance to prepare." He turned and began walking towards the steps, heading for the slope leading up to the ruins where their enemy was waiting.

Realizing Vette wasn't following him, he turned and immediately sensed the fear in her. "What is it?" He asked worriedly.

"It's just..." She stopped and shook her head. "No it's nothing. It's nothing, let's get going." She tried to walk past him but was stopped by his massive, clawed glove reaching out and blocking her.

"Vette..." his voice was serious. There's no getting out of it now, she thought to herself.

"It's Jaesa." She said matter-of-factly, awaiting his reaction.

"Jaesa?" He asked stunned. Why was she bringing this up, and now of all times? "Vette, Jaesa and I are no longer what we were. We haven't been since she forced me to choose between the two of you."

"I know." Was Vette's worried reply. "It's just..." she trailed off. Demise took her in his arms. "Vette. I need you to talk to me."

"I'm scared of her Gally."

Demise was startled at her use of the nickname. She only used that name for him under two different circumstances, and they were nowhere near his quarters.

"Why?" he asked. "You know she wouldn't dare touch you. She respects and fears me far too much to even consider it!"

"Are you sure?" Vette asked her breath beginning to shorten as her heartbeat sped up. "How do you know she won't kill me just to satisfy her own thirst for vengeance! You know how she is!" Demise sighed.

"I do. It's why I chose you, not her." He still sensed fear in her. "That's not all though...is it?"

"No." She said quietly. "No, I'm not just scared for me."

"Then who?"

"You."

He held her at arm's length and looked into her eyes. "I-I'm not sure what you mean." She turned away from him and walked a few paces away. She was gathering the courage to say something.

"You...you really scare me sometimes." She said, not looking at him.

"Vette..."

"Just the way you act! It's like you're a whole different person when you're angry!" Her voice got very quiet all of a sudden. "A very scary person." She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered in the cold. Suddenly she felt his arms around her. His large, armored chest against her back. His head just over hers.

"Vette." He said softly. "This is part of who I am. You can no more take my anger at the galaxy away from me than you can take my love for you."

"That's part of the problem." She said. "I worry...about what you could become without me. I'm afraid of the person you might turn into if you lose me. I don't want that for you Gally."

Galadius was silent for a moment as he thought about what she was saying. She was remembering the stories she'd found about Darth Malgus, how he had killed his own lover, a Twi'lek like her. He turned her around and gently raised her chin to look into his eyes. He reached up and deactivated his helmet. With a whirring and whizzing sound it retracted under his robes, folding itself into a small, compact box attached between his shoulder blades. His mechanical eyes stared into her own. "Vette." He said finally. "I am not Malgus. I will never be Malgus. I vow, you will have nothing to fear from me. I will protect you with my life."

"And if you fail?" She asked, her voice beginning to tremble. A single tear rolled down her cheek. Demise reached out a clawed finger and wiped it away gently.

"If I fail, I swear to honor your memory. As if you were still with me."

"Promise?"

"Promise." He said with absolute confidence. He would keep that promise at any cost, he decided. He was a man of his word. They embraced for a moment, until he felt Vette's emotions return to normal. "Now." he said. "Let's slay us a Jedi hmm?" Her hands reached for her blasters, and when she spoke, there was a hint of steel in her voice. "Yeah, lets get'em!"

_______________

Snowflakes flew wildly in the raging winds sweeping the white dunes. The dark clouds that accompanied the blizzard blocked nearly all sunlight from the system's primary, making it appear to be night when in fact it was the middle of the Melenorian day. Suddenly, a 3-meter-wide circular spot of snow melted, and a rapidly spinning double-bladed lightsaber flew straight up into the air. The hiss of the weapon deactivating was lost in the howling of the winds, but its fall back into the hole it had created was unnaturally straight considering the 100 mph winds sculpting the landscape. After only a few moments, Jay-Li was levitated out of the hole, landing on his feet at its edge. Turning, he steadied his stance, bracing himself against the rushing winds and extended his hands. Moments later Nadia levitated out of the opening, held aloft by his will. Floating her right into his arms, the two embraced. The action was borne of need for warmth as much as affection and relief.

They had spent the past few hours entombed in freezing snow. Jay-Li had managed to summon and channel a Force Barrier before the ceiling completely caved in on them. He had kept the Force Barrier active for a full hour to give the snow time to freeze solid, creating a deathly cold but stable shelter from which to dig themselves out. Using one of their lightsabers like a spinning turbine to half-melt/half-drill their way out had been Nadia's idea. Not for the first time Jay wondered what he would've done without her. "Are you alright?" He asked, feeling her body temperature begin to decline.

"I'm fine, just a little cold that's all." She held him tighter as if doing so would banish the chilling winds. She suddenly looked up at him with concern "What was that overwhelming feeling back in the cave Master?" Her eyes showed confusion and worry "It felt so depressing...like I'd just lost something important to me. Did you feel it too?" Jay looked deep into her beautiful eyes. He couldn't lie to her.

"Yes, I felt it. Master Kaedan..." He stopped briefly to hold back his emotions "Master Kaedan is one with the Force." Nadia gasped and covered her mouth.

"No, not Master Kaedan, how? He was so strong! That's impossible!" Jay-Li bowed his head and closed his eyes.

"The Sith who killed him...I sense so much rage and anger in him, it's like a bottomless well..." Nadia shivered, but not from the cold.

"We need to get back to the speeder." Jay said urgently, attempting to change the subject to the more immediate issue. There would be time to mourn Master Kaedan after they had preserved their own lives. "If it hasn't been buried in this blizzard that is."

"Can't you just call someone to come get us?" Nadia asked, shivering despite her attempts to ward of the cold with the Force.

"Communications don't work with so much atmospheric interference." Jay calmly reminded her.

"Oh..." Her disappointment and discomfort were evident in her tone.

"We'd better get moving" Jay said releasing her. He reached out with the force and quickly found the speeder, buried only 10 meters down, 5 miles west of their location. "Come on, this way." He began walking out into the blinding, snowy haze. Nadia followed, trying to shelter herself from the elements with her robes and with the force.

They'd gone only 3 miles when Jay suddenly felt something that made him panic. He'd been so focused on using the force to keep their bearings in the storm that he hadn't noticed Nadia weakening, until she passed out just now. Whirling, he ran the few steps back to her unconscious body. Her heartbeat was fading fast. She'd been so intent on being strong that she hadn't told him she needed help, and now extreme hypothermia was setting in. If he didn't do something, she was going to die.

"No, no, no no!" he said desperately. "Hang on Nadia, I won't let you die!" Kneeling down and reaching out with the Force, he entered a healing trance. He felt the life energy flow from the Force into him, and channeled it from him into her. But it wasn't enough, the hypothermia was already past fatal levels, it was a wonder she had managed to stay on her feet for as long as she did. "Blast it Nadia!" Jay shouted, the winds catching his words and stealing them away. "Why didn't you say something, blast it!" His tears froze to his face moments after leaving his eyes. He brushed them away, not even feeling the pain of the ice tearing away flakes of his skin. It was nothing compared to what he was feeling inside. Closing his eyes, he calmed himself by repeating the mantra he'd spoken so many times. "There is no death, only the Force."

Focusing all his energy, he felt the Force gather itself around him. As the ghostly howl of the winds and the sensation of the frigid air faded, he heard Nadia's heartbeat. It was slow and faint. He could sense more of her life force slipping away with every passing second. Despair and sorrow welled up in him, but he quelled his emotions and called on the Force. He felt it answer with an influx of life so vibrant and intense he felt as if he were a newborn. All the energy of his youth came back to him, he no longer felt any sensation other than a great warmth that shone from within him like a new star. Reaching out his hands, he laid them on Nadia's prone, helpless, dying body, and let go. The life energy flooded out of him like a tidal wave. He felt it pour into Nadia and opened his eyes to see her surrounded in an aura of the purest white light. Her heartbeat quickened, returning to normal. He felt her spirit begin to stir and her presence washing over him made him want to cry, kiss her, and hug her all at once. Her eyes opened slowly and looked at him. "Nadia!" He said, his voice nearly breaking from the joy he felt. He immediately wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "For a moment I thought I lost you..." He whispered in her ear as he clutched her tighter.

"Jay..." her voice in his ear had never sounded so soothing.

"Don't ever do that to me again!" He pleaded.

"I'm sorry Jay. I'm so sorry."

They sat there for a minute, just enjoying the feeling of being in each other's arms. When they finally began to feel the cold again, Jay released Nadia and helped her to her feet. "Come on," he said extending his hand. She smiled and took it. When their hands touched she felt the healing power of the force flow from him into her. As long as she held his hand the Force would sustain her, Jay would see to it. They walked off into the blizzard towards where their speeder was buried. Until they returned to the ship, nothing would distract Jay from conducting the force into her. Nothing would come before her safety ever again.

_______________

Xalek paced in the front room of the apartment suite, glaring at the lift as if daring it to continue showing him what he did not want to see. His master was late. Such an occurrence was a complete anomaly. His master had never been late, not for Xalek, and not in the entire year Xalek had known him. It simultaneously worried and angered him. Did his master now believe him to not be worthy of his time? Or had he given in to weakness and been killed by someone other than Xalek? Such a betrayal was unthinkable. Only he should have the honor of killing his master. As his apprentice it was not just his honor, but his duty to see that his master survived long enough for Xalek to surpass him and then kill him.

With a discontented growl, he turned and walked towards the main hallway. Perhaps Andronikos could shed some light on the reason for his master's absence. Normally the ex-pirate was his master's personal pilot and substituted as Darth Nox's bodyguard when Xalek was not around. But Nox had left Andronikos behind on whatever mission he had embarked on, as Xalek could sense that the man was sleeping in the crew quarters. Crossing the hall, he suddenly sensed something in the commerce room. Turning aside from his personal quest to investigate, he entered the room to find a shapely, young human female sitting on one of the curved couches surrounding the small circular table in the center of the room. She was dressed in hooded robes of purple, gray, and black. The style was similar to that of a Sith Investigator, the bloodhounds of the Empire. Her midriff was entirely exposed, as were her arms, and on her waist sat an angular saberstaff of balanced design. The style was favored by Niman practitioners like his master, and the resemblance to his master's weapon disturbed him. Her face was hooded and covered with a golden assassin's mask. The covering resembled a character mask from ancient Sith theatre tradition, specifically of the character that often represented divine judgment or the wrath of the ancient Sith gods from the time before the first Dark Lords. But there were also curved, horizontal golden bars stretching around the mask with about an inch of space between them. The mask was of a common style among Sith assassins, particularly among the personal enforcers of Darth Aruk, Head of the Sphere of Sith Philosophy.

Wondering what this human could possibly want, Xalek approached and the young woman's masked face turned towards him. Before a word could leave his mouth she spoke, her mask distorting and hollowing her voice: "Where is Darth Nox? I'm here on behalf of Darth Aruk, of the Dark Council." She somehow believed the name carried weight with him. Xalek stopped and spread his feet shoulder width apart, clasping his taloned hands behind his back.

"My master is not here." He said firmly.

"Then summon him, I have a message to deliver to him directly from Aruk, and I've been waiting too long already."

Xalek stiffened. The arrogance. This little girl dared to make demands of not only him, but his master?

"My master will see to you when he is ready. No doubt your master's message means little to him."

"Darth Aruk is not my master." Came her incensed reply. "My master is the Emperor's Wrath, none other than Lord Demise himself. So if I were you, I'd show some more respect and inform your master that I'm here and waiting for him!"

Lord Demise? Xalek was privileged to have knowledge of the Emperor's newly appointed Wrath. His master had worked with the lord in question several times before his ascension. Not once, however, had his master mentioned that this Sith had an apprentice... Was it possible his master had not known? No. That couldn't be it. More likely his master had not seen any reason to discuss such things with him. After all it had had no bearing on his life until this moment, this...chance meeting.

"What is your name?" He asked, more calmly than his previous tone had indicated he was.

"Jaesa Willsaam." She said impatiently. Now are you going to call your master? Or must I summon him - with your screams?"

Xalek almost laughed. This little girl had a warrior spirit, even if she was brash and drunk on the Dark Side.

"As I said, my master is not here. I could not summon him even if I wanted to." That wasn't a lie. He had tried the exclusive holofrequency his master had given him several times with the same result. The channel had informed him that his master had taken his device offline. "And despite who your master is, you would do well to guard your tongue. You speak to an anointed Lord of the Sith."

"As do you!" she hissed back, springing from her seat on the couches to point an accusing finger at him, her other hand resting on her saberstaff. I may not have my title yet, but once I complete this errand for Darth Aruk I am meeting with my master to be deemed a lord. I am already a lord in all but name!"

"No, you are not a lord yet." Xalek replied, his calm and demeaning tone seeming to anger her all the more. "Until you are inaugurated you are still just an apprentice, subject to the whims of your betters."

The only warning was a primal scream as she leapt at him. In a flash of Force Speed her double-bladed lightsaber was out, the blade's color nearly shocked him for a second: it was purple. Exactly like his own. In an instant he drew his own saber and it locked with hers. He stared coolly into the dark shadows behind the eyeholes of her gilded mask. He saw her eyes, but only for a moment. They were a deep orange, displaying a perfect balance between sickening corruption and endless rage. But she was only still an apprentice, he told himself, she was merely a Kakrinah: a prey beast. He was a Gorvakah: the lurking predator, gaping jaws hungry for sustenance.

He smiled behind his bone mask and unleashed a burst of Force energy, throwing her back into the couches. She was stunned for just a second but was on her feet in time to dodge his whirling horizontal slash that nearly scraped the couch's back. She backed into the open area between the couches and the floor-to-ceiling windows. Without warning, she unleashed a stream of Force lightning at him. He raised his saber and blocked the lightning with it, slowly moving into the open area while shielding himself from her attack.

She stopped channeling her lightning and executed a spinning charge, combining a force-imbued leap with a twisting, spinning motion that turned her into a deadly, levitating tornado of death. She landed, her lightsaber splitting the empty air where he had been, and she growled as she looked around frantically for her opponent. He struck from stealth, dropping his cloak as he drove his saber towards her back, aiming to impale her. She quickly turned on him, twisting and arching her back to slip around his blade. Just for an instant Xalek felt something stir in him. A feeling he hadn't felt since home. Her curving body captured his attention, her navel drawing his eyes like a magnetic force. He nearly lost his head to her lightsaber as it came down from its high arc over her shoulder. She had turned her dodge into a perfect counter-attack. Thinking fast, he turned his impaling attempt into a lunge. Her lightsaber stopped just short of the floor and she pivoted 90 degrees to face her opponent, dropping into a ready position.

Jaesa felt more alive than she had in a good long while. It had been too long since she had killed something, and today seemed like a good day to start again. She charged him once more, feinting him out with a thrust to the left side and then following up with a sudden horizontal cleave that would slice him in two. To her surprise, her blade buzzed through the empty air as the Kaleesh leaped up and over her in a twisting front flip, her eyes and body following him until he landed. He charged, and she met his blade with her own, and as their weapons locked so did their eyes.

Looking deep into the catlike, predatory eyes of her foe, she saw the hatred, the anger, the rage in them. Using her gift of true Force Sight she could see them swirling inside him in vivid color. But there was one other thing... Honor. This was a warrior not just of power and skill, but honor. Just like her master. The thought brought back memories. Of the time she'd spent in his quarters, his bed. Those glorious nights when she'd had her fill of him. Then the pain, the hatred, the rage, the rejection, when he'd left her for that-that...alien! Screaming, she lashed out through the Force in anger, and the resulting blast blew the other Sith away from her. Despite being taken off-guard he landed on his feet with a catlike grace, and Jaesa felt a twinge of lust. He was so skilled, so surefooted, so fluid in every motion, a truly worthy companion. A fellow predator to hunt with, compete with, spar with...She caught herself and self-loathing overtook her. For an instant she had completely forgotten that he was an alien!

She shook herself to try and purge the offensive thoughts from her mind, and the painful feelings from her heart. Screaming she charged him again, determined to strike him down and end this. Her feet suddenly left the ground. She was rising straight up off the floor, her limbs flailing as she attempted to continue her assault in spite of the sudden elevation. She stopped halfway between the floor and the very tall ceiling, too far above her enemy to continue the battle. Furious, she turned her head to see who had dared stop her. Then she saw him. It was Darth Nox. She felt his presence for the first time and it consumed her. Suddenly those feelings of lust she had felt for the Kaleesh became overwhelming, an unstoppable tide that threatened to drown her...but with those despicable emotions also rose her hatred and rage. Every cell in her body was dancing with raw passion, raw power. She felt stronger than she had since the last time she fought by her master's side. But despite the power that flowed through her, she felt herself involuntarily quivering like a dog in heat as the storm of amplified emotions battled for control.

"Lord Xalek." Nox's voice brought Xalek back to reality and he immediately sheathed his lightsaber, sinking to one knee in deference.

"Master." He said solemnly.

"What exactly happened here Xalek? Don't lie."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Xalek responded. "I met this young woman while seeking clues to your whereabouts, we spoke briefly and then suddenly found our..." He paused to look at the young human shivering like a leaf in the wind above him, "frustrations boiling over."

"I see." Darth Nox turned to look at the young woman. She was beautiful for a human. Her mask hid her face but Nox had done plenty of research. Information on the apprentice of one of the most interesting objects of his surveillance and intense study was not difficult to find. Most interesting however, he found, was the conflicted feelings that now threatened to overwhelm the young woman. Having never experienced his unique presence in the Force, the effect on her was devastating. Her lust for his apprentice was amusingly strong, but even more entertaining was the intense feelings of racism and hatred of aliens that battled that lust for dominance.

The whole time her eyes had not left him. She was shaking visibly, her lightsaber having fallen from her hand to the ground upon her liftoff. Nox slowly and gently set her down. Her legs collapsed beneath her and she fell to her knees. She scrambled to her feet quickly enough though, bowing at the waist in fear as much as respect. "Darth Nox." She said her voice trembling slightly.

"You seem shaken child." He said sternly. "Has my apprentice harmed you?" The young woman looked briefly at the still-bowed Xalek and Nox couldn't help grinning behind his helmet when the action caused her lustful feelings to spike. She struggled to squash them and turned back to him.

"No." Her voice was calmer, steadier. She was gaining control, but only by exertion of an immense amount of effort and self-control. Impressive, Nox thought to himself. She has the will to resist the effects of my Force Presence. I'll have to keep a closer eye on her.

"Good, now what is it you came here to accomplish...Jaesa Willsaam?" She started when he said her name. No doubt she hadn't been expecting him to know it much less recognize her.

"My lord I-I'm here in an official capacity as an envoy of Darth Aruk." Her voice was becoming stronger and firmer by the minute. "I'm here to deliver a message." Nox felt a prick of disappointment as she squashed her lustful feelings, burying them deep under her hatred as she regained control of herself. No matter, he thought. I'm sure I can find plenty of ways to make these puppets dance the way I want them too. His gaze flickered to his apprentice briefly. Yes, so many ways....

"Well, let's hear it!" He demanded impatiently.

"Of course my lord." Jaesa was in full control of herself now. "Darth Aruk wishes to inform you that Lord Zavros's conduct in the field has proven to be questionable. She constantly undermines other initiatives and even her fellow diplomats, overruling them when they attempt to go against her un-sithlike methodology." Jaesa paused for breath then continued. "Darth Aruk warns you, he will not tolerate her despicable conduct for long. If you do not teach her to follow the way of the Sith, she will learn the hard way!" Nox was silent for a moment.

"Very well. Is that all you came to do, Jaesa Willsaam?"

"Yes, my lord." She said. Not even a bow. She continued to stare straight into the empty eye sockets of his helm.

"Good. You may tell Darth Aruk, if he has a mind to hear it, that his warning was received and will be taken very seriously." Nox stopped talking and began to walk slowly towards Jaesa, who inclined her head slightly upward to keep her eyes locked on the twin holes bored into his helm. Nox spoke again as he approached, his voice much lower and sinister. "But also inform him that an attack against Lord Zavros will be regarded as an attack on me personally. If he believes her worthy of punishment, correction, or retribution..." He stopped a mere foot from Jaesa, still staring directly into her eyes. The young woman's knees nearly buckled at the sheer weight of the Dark Side on her, being as close to him as she was "that he can lay charges against her, backed by evidence, and passed through the courts of the Sphere of Laws and Justice." Jaesa was silent for a minute while she grappled with his intense presence in the Dark Side, forcing her rigid body to obey her, her rebellious lips to move.

"Yes, my lord." Her voice gave away the fact that her teeth were clenched. Xalek noted that her weapon hand was balled into a fist. As Xalek watched, the hand opened and her saberstaff flew from its place on the floor, sinking into her gloved palm, and finding its way to her waist. Without another word, she bowed her head in deference and walked around Nox to the doorway.

When he heard the lift doors close and sensed the lift itself begin its descent, Nox turned to Xalek. "Rise, Lord Xalek." The Kaleesh obeyed and, for the first time in the past few minutes, raised his eyes to look at his master. "You have the artifacts?" Nox asked.

"Yes master." Came the calm, even reply. It seemed his apprentice had regained control of his emotions as well. Pity.

"Where?" Nox demanded.

Xalek pointed to the personal storage unit his master used to store items of personal interest, belongings, artifacts, and weapons and armor of all kinds. His master walked quickly, passing the GTN Terminal on his way over to the storage unit, causing it to blink to life in response to his proximity. The storage bay dispensary in question stood there next to the dispensary for the public storage unit and the storage bay his master used exclusively for storing items pertaining to his duties as a Dark Councilor. Typing in a command on the holographic keypad, the interface soon opened and the artifacts slid out on a tray. "Yeeeesss..." His master's glee was evident. "These are precisely what I needed." Xalek could see his master was very pleased, and very eager.

"Master," he asked humbly "forgive my boldness, but what purpose will these artifacts serve?" Darth Nox turned to him and Xalek briefly wondered if he'd misspoken. His fears were eased when his lord responded to his inquiry.

"They are the final pieces to a puzzle, apprentice. A riddle that, once solved, will change this galaxy forever. The power it reveals will make the conflict with the Republic seem like a petty argument unworthy of notice."

"Master, your wisdom is beyond me." Xalek stated matter-of-factly "But is not our purpose to defeat the Republic and the Jedi? Is that not the mandate of the Sith and the Empire?"

"Yes," His master said with succulent delight. "but the greater purpose of the Sith is to acquire power. By any means necessary." His master looked down at the artifacts he held in his hands. From beneath the one-way-lenses that hid his master's eyes, Xalek could see a faint glimmer of violet light as the Dark Side expressed itself. "And with these final pieces, it is power that I shall acquire."

______________

Demise strode towards the Imperial base camp, his triumph apparent in every step. The destruction of the Republic's operations on Ilum was complete. Their supply depots had been destroyed and their Jedi general, Master Jaric Kaedan killed. The Empire's only functioning crystal mine had been reclaimed from Republic hands and was now guarded by a small army of fiercely loyal and honorable Kaleesh mercenaries. Their anti-aircraft installation was disabled and their secret weapon, the ELX-25 was nothing more than a shattered wreck. Their main base had been ravaged and their crystal stock claimed for the Empire. Admiral Shai, the military commander of the Republic's offensive initiatives on Ilum had been killed in battle by Demise himself. Even now Darth Malgus's forces were beginning to outfit the Imperial Fleet with the stealth technology that would win the Empire naval superiority for the remainder of the war.

As Demise neared the outer perimeter of the Empire's operations base, the guards saluted him. The commander that was with them bowed to him as he passed. "My Lord." Demise inclined his head in acknowledgement and continued his course, Vette scrambling to catch up to him. As they entered the base Demise found himself wondering where he would go next. Unless his master intervened with another mission, he thought he might go back to Alderaan and help tip the civil war there in Thul's favor. If the Empire controlled Alderaan, it could use it as a staging ground to assault other Core Worlds with their new stealth fleet. Despite being lost in thought, when he entered the Command Center, he nearly froze in his tracks when he heard what Grand Moff Regus was barking into the console. "I don't care what you have to do major, find Malgus, and find that fleet!"

Demise paused for a moment to let the implications of that order sink in. When he spoke, it was to form the only question that made any sense to him, his rage growing with every syllable and his teeth clenching tighter and tighter with every word. "How can you lose an entire fleet?"

Moff Regus turned and looked at him over his shoulder. His weathered face grew pale and his lips trembled slightly with fear and anger as they formed the exact words Demise did not want to hear. "Darth Malgus betrayed us."

Demise clenched his fist. The all-too familiar rage with which he had destroyed the Republic forces an hour ago swelled up in him, like a fire having been fed new fuel. So great was his anger, that he barely even noticed Vette instinctively moving slightly away from him, an unconscious habit that resulted from being a slave for most of her life. "He's taken the crystal fleet...Emperor-knows-where!" Grand Moff Regus swore as he turned back to his command console. The voice of the major that Regus had been speaking to crackled over the comm.

"Grand Moff? It's Malgus, on the holo-net."

"This better be good!" Regus growled, hitting the button to bring up the holo-feed. The holo-projector burst to life and the image of Darth Malgus, the traitor, flickered into existence. Demise's hatred for him spiked before the sound of the betrayer's voice even reached his ears.

"Fellow Sith, citizens of the Empire. Too long has the strength of the Empire been beholden to the infighting of the Dark Council, and the disappearance of an apathetic Emperor. Sith, children of Sith and warriors everywhere, I declare a new Empire! Open to all who long for conquest, freedom from inhibition, and the right to follow their passions!" Outraged, Moff Regus leaned forward snarling at the image like a territorial Akk dog.

"What does he think he's doing!" The image continued speaking, unrelenting in its blasphemy.

"The Dark Council is dissolved." Malgus declared, his arrogance only feeding Demise's fury. "Those who would join Darth Serevin in supporting me, cast aside your titles and let me lead you to victory." The walls of the command center began to shudder, as if feeling the first tremors of a groundquake. A look of concern flashed across Vette's face as she stared at her husband. Demise radiated power and rage, and his anger was starting to unconsciously manifest itself in his environment.

"Those who will not, prepare to face our stealth armada. The Emperor is gone. His station and power are mine. We will conquer the galaxy while the Emperor sleeps!" Loud cheers echoed in the background of the broadcast as Malgus's speech came to a close. Looking defeated and frustrated, Grand Moff Regus let his head fall in exasperation, and switched off the holo-projector. He turned to Demise.

"If Malgus is able to construct the stealth armada, he'll be unstoppable. I know I've asked too much of you already, but this-New Empire-can't succeed!" The derision and disgust was evident in his voice as he said those words. "I need your help to stop Darth Malgus." When Demise spoke, his voice was filled with conviction.

"There is only one Emperor, and it's not Malgus!"

"I will never bow to a usurper!" The Moff agreed vindictively. "I will convene an emergency war council, take this time to prepare for battle, then meet me in my bunker." His teeth clenched and his hands balled into fists. "Darth Malgus will not survive the day!"

Demise turned and walked out of the command center, Vette following at a cautious distance. As he walked down the hall towards the base entrance, his mind was a storm of rage, hatred, and bloodlust. How dare he...how dare he! How DARE he betray the Empire! Malgus had been the Empire's greatest champion, a war hero thousands of times over! But now he was just another betrayer. No, Demise thought. Not a betrayer, the Betrayer! When he reached the opening to the frigid outdoors, Demise gestured violently, forming a tightly clenched fist. A nearby probe droid squealed and was suddenly crushed into a tiny, crumpled sphere of metal in an instant.

Vette looked briefly at the probe droid and back at her husband. Demise was standing there, his chest heaving beneath his armor. His breaths drawn through clenched teeth, and his rage was a palpable presence surrounding him. It was so strong Vette felt herself growing angry, but she didn't know exactly how or why...and that scared her. Suddenly, Demise stood stock still, in an instant his whole demeanor changed from furious, to a cold, empty void. Vette felt the temperature of the already frigid air around her drop even more. She shivered.

Demise reached down and pressed a button on the comm panel on his wrist, even as he brought the wrist-mounted console up towards his face. He had pressed the button to open the channel he'd thought he'd never open again, a channel only 4 beings in the entire galaxy, including himself, had access to. He was just about to speak, when he realized he didn't know what to say. His blood was roaring in his ears and his blade hungered for death, screaming for vengeance. He focused his anger, and the words came to him as easy as breathing, his voice cold, hard, and full of durasteel.

"Members of the Imperial Vanguard. The Empire has been betrayed. Betrayed by the man it once hailed as its greatest hero. None other than the very being who brought us together in the first place: Darth Malgus." He paused to recover his composure after speaking the vile traitor's name, then continued. "We cannot allow this gross insult, this...abomination to go unchallenged. It is for this purpose that I call on you, as fellow Imperials. Together, we will answer this arrogant challenge to our superiority. Abandon your power plays, your plots, assignments, and conspiracies, and come immediately to Ilum. The Imperial Vanguard assembles for the last time, and it is only fitting that our last mission should be to end the life of our founder: Malgus the Betrayer. Today, we fight for more than just survival. We fight for honor, for glory, for the Empire!"

________________

The grey Imperial troop transport shuttle settled on the landing platform of the Imperial forward operations base. The ramp unfolded and the hatch unsealed. Lord Demise stepped out of the hatchway and descended the ramp with long, purposeful strides. Darth Nox followed close behind, the two Sith receiving immediate salutes from all nearby personnel. As they left the ramp, another figure emerged from the transport. She was a dark-skinned, slender-looking human female in her late 20's. Her red and black tempered Lamanoid armor was decorated in a camouflage pattern, putting it at odds with the grey and white environment surrounding her. A pair of AD-12 heavy blasters sat on magnetic holsters on her hips, just above the armor plates protecting her upper legs. She wore no helm, a fatal mistake for other Mandolorians, but not for her. Her refusal to wear a helm into battle was a challenge, a taunt directed at every foe she faced, a statement that they weren't good enough to merit her protecting the most vital part of her body in armor. Her beautiful face had the calm, temperate look of a being wise beyond her years. Her long brown hair was drawn back in a thick ponytail, but a lock of her bangs fell down over her face, just shy of her left eye.

A few of the Troopers stopped to stare at her as she descended the ramp, their breath catching in their throats. They'd heard rumors of the Grand Champion of the Great Hunt, but seeing her in person was another experience entirely. They believed, as they had been told, that she made ample use of cosmetic repair surgery to maintain her beauty. After all, no Bounty Hunter was good enough to avoid getting a few facial scars now and again, and Mandolorian women weren't known for being vain. What they didn't know was that, despite her lack of head protection, she had never had any facial scars. She was just that good at what she did.

The last passenger of the transport disembarked, his scalene armor reminiscent of the infamous Tonvarr pirates. The red lines glowed like sinister veins against the pitch black of the armor plating, made of a durasteel and cortosis alloy. Attached to the magnetic holster on his back, was an Indomitable Raider sniper rifle. The model was an exclusive developed by Czerka Corporation, designed for intense long-range accuracy but with the ability to fulfill the role of nearly any other type of rifle. The only way to get your hands on one was to be one of three million beings in the galaxy with the credentials and influence to purchase one directly from Czerka, or buy one off the Cartel Market. A top of the line weapon, any sniper would kill to get one. Although the likelihood of being able to kill this particular individual was, in the mind of all those present, pretty much nil.

The man was known only as the Imperial Ghost. A mysterious being of unknown origin, unmatched skill and unrivalled intelligence. Rumors said he appeared when the Empire was in the direst need, solving their problems and defeating enemies with an almost magical efficiency, then vanishing into thin air. Some said he was a Sith in disguise, others that he was scientific experiment concocted in an Imperial laboratory, and others that he was the ghost of Grand Moff Kilran, returned from the dead in physical form to defend the empire for which he had given his life.

But in truth, the man was an ex-agent of the now dissolved Imperial Intelligence. Formerly known as Cipher Nine, he had been the agency's top assassin and infiltrator for five years until its dissolution shortly before the Battle of Corellia. But even now, the Rattataki known as Xelthos still served Imperial Intelligence. Although merely a shadow of its former self, the organization had survived through the efforts of its most dedicated members and leaders. Darth Jadus had seen to that. The dissolution of the agency had been allowed because it granted its remaining members, especially Cipher Nine, an unmatched anonymity and level of secrecy with which to operate that was nearly unprecedented in Imperial history. Only the Star Cabal, the shadowy organization that had been Xelthos's most recent victim, had operated with such impunity.

Xelthos joined the others at the bottom of the steps leading down from the landing pad. Demise was addressing the group: "I know it's been a long time since we were together like this," He said pacing back and forth in front of the others, his hands clasped behind his back. "But does everyone remember their call-signs?"

"Storm" Nox responded

"Meteor" Nei'tiri chimed in

"Ghost" Came Xelthos's calm, monotone response

Demise nodded in approval and finished the recitation "Blade. Now, I know Moff Regus briefed us all at the emergency war council, but let's review the plan, briefly."

"We're to fight our way through the traitor's forces to Fort Barrow." Nox said, the bloodthirst in his voice apparent.

"Where we will secure one of the enemies stealth fighters..." Xelthos continued.

"So that we can enter the cloaked space station and..." Nei'tiri trailed off to let Demise finish.

"kill the Betrayer!" He said with rising anger. "Good, then we all know the goal. Now all that's left is to determine positions."

"I can handle heavy ordinance and medical support" Nei'tiri offered. "I can even provide assistance on the front lines if you get overwhelmed. I'll just need to tweak my shields before we leave."

"Excellent," Demise replied turning to Xelthos.

"I'll handle recon and long-range support along with tactical positioning" He said, answering Demise's unspoken question. Demise turned to Nox in expectation.

"I'll provide back up to you on the front line." Nox asserted. "I'll provide medical support only if absolutely necessary. I am not missing a moment of this battle." Demise nodded in acknowledgement and understanding. "Then we are agreed." He spoke in a low growl as his rage and lust for battle continued to grow. "Today we fight together for the last time. Today we punish the greatest betrayal the Empire has ever suffered. Today, one last time, the Imperial Vanguard brings victory to the Empire." and with that, he turned and walked towards the speeder dispatch terminal.

Minutes later, the group arrived at the trenches. Blaster bolts flew like swarms of insects, their deadly bites downing men and women on both sides. Demise reached for his lightsaber, igniting the violet blade. Nox drew and activated his weapon as well, the blade's color matching Demise's weapon. Nei'tiri drew her blaster pistols from their holsters and twirled them around her trigger fingers in a flourish. Xelthos drew his sniper rifle, deactivated the safety, switched it into active mode, and turned on the targeting system. The three's attention was suddenly drawn to Demise. He was reaching into his cloak, on the right side. They watched in surprise and anticipation as he drew a second lightsaber, identical to the first, out of his cloak. He ignited it, and held the two sabers in the ready position of Juyo form.

Out of all of them, Nox was the least surprised. He had already known Demise was a master of Jar'Kai. His mastery of both the standard technique and the deadly dual-wielding technique was a rather well-kept secret, mostly due to the fact that Demise rarely, if ever, used it in battle. Very few beings that were still alive had ever witnessed Demise utilizing his dual-wielding talent. If Demise was using it here and now, then Nox had a feeling he was about to see for himself just how deadly the Emperor's Wrath was. The Sith Lord's unnatural proficiency with the technique was due in large part to him being ambidextrous, allowing him to wield two sabers of identical length and design. This in turn allowed him to strike with equal amounts of power behind both sabers, greatly amplifying his offensive potential in combat. The comm crackled to life and the voice of General Hesker buzzed in their ears: "Destroy the traitor's army, I'll cover you from the sky." As if in reply, Demise began to run towards the battle, one saber held horizontally in front of him, ready to block incoming fire, the other saber stretched out behind him at an angle to the ground. Nox watched him for a moment then followed, with Nei'tiri bringing up the rear. Xelthos watched them go, then reached over and pressed a button on his wrist. There was a soft hiss and he vanished from sight, as if he had never been there in the first place.

Demise leaped into battle, using the force to lengthen his jump and position himself in the midst of the enemy. Upon landing he swung both sabers in an arc that sliced through his first victim, a trooper whose armored corpse collapsed to the ground in three pieces. The New Imperial forces began to turn their attention from the old Empire's soldiers and open fire at him. He deftly blocked their attacks as if swatting insects, all while mowing down enemies like chattel. Nox took advantage of the distraction to kill several squads of enemy soldiers with such blinding speed that they didn't even have a chance to realize they were dead. A torrent of crimson bolts from Nei'tiri's twin blasters tore into the remaining squads, killing what few remained after the ravages of the two Sith. A salvo of missiles appeared seemingly out of nowhere, spiraling straight for Demise. Moving swiftly, Nox stretched out with the force and redirected them into the trench wall, the explosions showering the group with rock and sediment. The ice had been sublimated instantaneously, leaving a cloud of steam behind. It slowly began to envelop the group like the fog of war. Through the mist, Nox saw a six-legged insectoid shape. Within moments the artillery droid emerged from the fog, gearing up for another assault.

With a glance at each other, Nox and Demise leapt into action. They charged the droid at the same time, its targeting scanners flipped briefly between them before once again settling on Demise. Another salvo of missiles was released, but this time, both Sith ignored them. The missiles hit Demise directly and exploded. Immediately, Nox's double-bladed lightsaber flew through the air towards the droid, whirring like a buzzsaw.

It impacted the droids shields and bounced off, screeching loudly and creating sparks. The lightsaber turned in mid-air and flew back to its wielder's outstretched hands. The droid turned to face its attacker, just in time to miss Demise emerging from the smoke and fire of the explosion completely unharmed, the Force coursing through him like his own lifeblood, turning his skin to durasteel. He continued his charge towards the droid as if he hadn't just run through an explosion powerful enough to vaporize a whole squad. The droid opened fire on Nox, who twirled his blade to deflect every single shot back at the artillery droid, the bolts sinking into its own shields.

From behind the droid, a series of crimson blaster bolts impacted its shields with deadly force. They came from the business end of Xelthos's sniper rifle, the laser sight trained on the weak points in the droid's shields. The agent was firing from the shelter of one of the barriers set up by the New Imperial forces, the corpses of the squad that had been using it before him lay strewn around like so much refuse, their bodies largely intact except for one or two vibroknife or blaster wounds in vital areas. With a roar, Demise leaped the remaining distance to the spider-like machine, landing on the base to which its legs were attached. Squealing, the droid tried to shake him off, but to no avail. A sudden hail of blaster bolts impacted the droid's upper shields with savage ferocity. Nox's eyes briefly followed the stream to see Nei'tiri unloading her blasters at the droid. He followed suit and unleashed a barrage of force lightning at the automaton as Demise ravaged its shields with repeated blows from his lightsabers. The droid kept trying desperately to knock him off but he stuck to it like a parasite. The droid couldn't risk shooting him at point-blank range as it would destroy itself too in the process.

Within moments, the onslaught overloaded the shield generator. Demise switched his sabers to a backhand style and drove them deep into the droid's body. His weapons pierced its nearly non-existent shields and drove deep into its core. The Sith lord withdrew his blades and backflipped off the droid as it collapsed, its 6 legs splaying underneath it. Without a word, Xelthos vanished into thin air. Nox and Demise continued carving a path towards the crystal mines with Nei'tiri followed behind, supporting them with blaster fire and missile salvos.

Demise charged headfirst into several squads of New Imperial soldiers and in a blur of motion and plasma, converted them into chunks of charred flesh and singed armor. Nox unleashed blasts of Force lightning that leaped from foe to foe, electrocuting one, then three, then seven enemies. He followed his electric attacks with melee assaults, his speed and accuracy amplified by the force. Nei'tiri released salvos of missiles from her wrist-mounted launcher and coupled them with blaster bolts to create a veritable rain of fire. Together they were a storm of fury, destruction, and death that swept over the battlefield, consuming everything in its path.

_______________

Nox moved swiftly down one of the many corridors of Fort Barrow. His mind was focused on concealing his presence, both in the Force and in the mundane realm. Just in front of him and to his left, Demise crept silently along, the sight of that behemoth of a Sith stooped over might have been comical if Nox wasn't feeling more bloodthirsty than amused. Beside Nox, Xelthos was moving swiftly as well, his stealth field generator helping to conceal the group's presence in the physical world, while Nox filled any holes in the field and disguised their presence in the force. Meant to conceal only two beings within a five meter radius of the generator, the agent's field generator would have been strained past its breaking point had Xelthos attempted to keep it fully active for very long at its current range setting, which encompassed the whole group without forcing them to bunch together to tightly. However, Nox's Force Cloak ability allowed Xelthos to turn the field's power setting down while Nox strengthened the cloaking field with his own abilities in stealth and concealment. The end result was that all four of them were able to pass through the halls of the fortress completely undetected, with Nei'tiri bringing up the rear.

The group passed squads of oblivious New Imperial troops, traitorous Sith commanders barking orders left and right. Nox could feel Demise's rage burning through the Force. Forcing Demise to sneak through this den of traitors when he wanted to slaughter them wholesale was infuriating the Emperor's Wrath. But infuriating, Nox knew, was good. They might well need Demise whipped into a frenzy before they faced Malgus. The crackling of the comm and the voice of General Hesker brought his thoughts back to the task at hand. "A stealth fighter's tracking me, No...it's a command ship! He's skilled. Somebody get this scum off-argh!" The general's cry of surprise startled Nox. "Shield's out. Engines-blast! I'm going down! I'm going-!" The comm cut off abruptly and the group exchanged looks. Someone had just taken down one of the best fighter pilots in the Imperial Navy. This didn't bode well. Nox stretched out with the Force and he could feel a presence approaching, maddening in its familiarity. He remembered what Hesker had said earlier over the comm about Darth Malgus's right hand approaching Ilum.

Within moments they reached the sealed door to an unguarded hanger. With a brief look around to determine whether they were truly alone, Nox dropped his Force Cloak and the air around the group shimmered as they became semi-visible. Xelthos pressed a button on his wrist and the cloaking field vanished. The other three watched as he moved to the interface panel on the wall nearby. Within a moment, the door opened and, as one, the Imperial Vanguard strode into the large hanger. There was already a stealth fighter there, its boarding ramp extended. The only occupants appeared to be two Voss mystics, one of which was kneeling down with her back to the now open door. The second mystic stood beside her, watching apathetically as the Vanguard closed the distance. As they neared the two Voss, the female mystic with her back to them spoke: "I foresaw your arrival my lord." For a moment, Nox wasn't sure which Sith she was speaking to, but then realized it was probably Demise. The aura of rage the warrior was projecting was an almost palpable heat surrounding him. Out of the two of them, Demise was the hardest to miss right now. Demise stopped a few meters away from the female mystic, and she started to rise to her feet. "Welcome." Her words were soft, but as she turned around they could see there was no smile on her face. The cordial greeting seemed out of place considering the situation, but Nox chalked it up to Voss manners. They were almost insufferably polite, except when it came to the Gormak.

Suddenly, Nox heard the sound of a ship's hatch closing. He heard footsteps descending the stealth fighter's boarding ramp and felt that familiar presence again, but this time without searching for it. He was here. The right hand of Malgus had arrived. He looked past the two mystics towards the ramp, and his eyes widened behind his mask. Now he knew why the presence was so familiar. Darth Serevin walked towards them, his strides confident and measured. He's very brave, Nox thought to himself, for a man who is about to die. "Serevin."

"Ilum is stained with Imperial blood. As we speak your army falls to the superior strength of Malgus's force." The smug look on Serevin's face and his provocative tone made Nox tense, and beside him he sensed Demise's rage growing stronger. "I'm afraid I was forced to swat down your attack squadron. Troublesome brats had the gall to bomb my base. I hope they weren't friends of yours."

"When I helped you on Voss, I would never have pegged you for traitor." Nox hissed.

"I respond to logic, as do the Voss." Serevin's snooty reply infuriated Nox even further. The female mystic interjected before Nox could launch a rebuttal.

"They seek your stealth fighter." She informed Serevin, her tone calm and measured, as if she was having a polite conversation with a few good friends.

"Thank you my dear." Serevin responded in like manner before turning his attention back to Nox and Demise. "Talsa-Ko is a Voss mystic. Soon she will experience a vision of Voss prosperity under Emperor Malgus. Then all Voss will join us." Demise's enraged reply came through clenched teeth, and came out sounding like a growl.

"The cowardly Sith will pay for assuming that title!"

"Only one vision is certain." Talsa-Ko said softly, fear beginning to show on her face. "You fought. I watched, and bowed to the victor." She turned abruptly and walked away from them, moving to a safe distance to observe the spectacle that was about to take place.

"In that case, I will fulfill your vision." Darth Serevin's eyes narrowed and locked on Demise "For the glory of the New Empire!"

It all began in a blur. Serevin moved faster than the eye could see, drawing his lightsaber, activating it, and attacking Demise in the space of a few microseconds. But Demise defended himself with just as much skill, parrying and blocking Serevin's flurry of blows with equal speed. The weapons of the two Sith became only colored streaks of light as they clashed with Force-imbued speed and strength. Nei'tiri followed his lead, beginning to open fire. Xelthos, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen. Nox unleashed a burst of lightning that was absorbed by Darth Serevin's Force defenses. He was about to begin his own lightsaber assault on the traitor when he felt the Force push him back. Resisting the attack, he whirled to glare at the aggressor. The male Voss was readying himself for another Force assault. Very well, Nox said to himself, if it's a Force duel he wants its a Force duel he'll get.

Near a cluster of crates across the hanger, there was a small pop and Xelthos appeared, seemingly out of thin air. He quickly took cover behind the crates and aimed at Darth Serevin's head. Five shots rang out in rapid succession. Serevin deflected a few of them, and the rest were absorbed by his defenses. Fortunately, none of them returned to Xelthos. That was good, Xelthos thought, it meant the Sith was too distracted to focus on deflecting them back to the source. Demise was doing his job well. Suddenly, Serevin disrupted Demise's series of attacks with a Force push. It failed to move his foe but it provided him enough time to channel a ring of dark energy in front of him and release it in a thunderous blast. The impact sent Demise reeling and Serevin used the opportunity to reach out with the Force and telekinetically rip out a few adegan crystals that were protruding from the walls. The shards of crystals launched themselves at Demise, and shattered into a thousand pieces against the unbreakable cocoon of Force power that surrounded him.

Suddenly, a probe decloaked right behind Serevin with a pop, the Sith barely having time to react before a single blaster shot from across the hanger struck the droid and it exploded in a fiery nova. It took an enormous amount of Serevin's power to shield himself from the blast. But he had no time to even think before a salvo of micro-missiles descended on him. Just as he was about to throw his saber and force them to detonate prematurely, a recuperated Demise attacked him savagely. With his lightsaber defending him from the Sith's furious assault, Serevin was once again forced to expend a great amount of Force power to shield himself from a direct, explosive hit, followed by a steady stream of blaster shots.

Nox unleashed a mighty blast of lightning that shattered through the last remnants of his opponent's defenses and the Voss mystic was instantly fried to a crisp, the charred remains collapsing to the hanger floor. Nox didn't even spare it a glance before he drew his lightsaber and attacked Darth Serevin with primal ferocity. Now fighting 2 lightsaber-wielding opponents, Serevin's desperation became apparent. In a telekinetic storm, he summoned crystal shards, empty crates, and ship parts, turning them into deadly missiles that battered the four members of the Vanguard with incredible fury. Nei'tiri activated her shield generator and was surrounded by a blue sphere of energy. Xelthos took shelter behind cover and activated a shield probe. Nox called upon the power of the Force Walk ritual and used the ghost's power to guard him from the tremendous assault. Demise reinforced the invisible barrier of power that covered him like a second skin, and the battle continued, even as the storm of projectiles intensified.

Then as suddenly as it had begun, the storm ceased. Serevin disappeared from sight with a wave of his hand, and all the airborne objects crashed into the walls or dropped to the floor with an overwhelming clatter. The hanger was completely silent except for the humming of lightsabers.

The silence was broken by Nei'tiri's scream. Serevin had de-cloaked behind her and unleashed thousands of volts into her body. The energy had penetrated her shield and overloaded the generator instantly, and her body was now racked by spasms as Serevin raised his blade to slice her in two. But Demise was upon him. The ferocity and speed of the attack was so intense that Serevin was nearly disarmed, but he made Demise stumble backwards by levitating and slamming a crate full of adegan crystals directly into his chest without so much as a gesture. The telekinetic storm began to brew again, and the scattered objects once again propelled themselves around the hanger. Serevin swapped between unleashing blasts of dark energy to stagger and stun his opponents, defending himself with his lightsaber. Blaster shot after blaster shot sank into his Force barrier, as Xelthos utilized his weapons highest firing rate to pummel the weak points in the Sith's defenses. Nei'tiri, growling in anger, launched a barrage of missiles, only for them to be swept up in the storm of objects being flung around the room.

Then it happened again. The storm ceased, and Nox had to throw up a Force barrier to keep from being pulverized by a few of Nei'tiri's missiles, now unleashed on him.

The smoke and tremors of the explosions hadn't even begun to fade when Xelthos felt a spike of incredible pain fill his entire body. Blocking out the pain just as he had been taught, he drew a vibroknife from his belt and jammed it into the soft, fleshy side of the being standing right behind him. The howl of pain told him he'd struck true. He pulled the knife out just as quickly as he had thrust it in and forced his screaming muscles to move him far away from his attacker.

Nox and Demise flew past him in a blur, and he turned back to aim his sniper rifle directly at the traitorous Darth's head. The bolts were stopped by a wavering Force barrier. The two Sith could sense their prey weakening, he no longer had the energy to summon his telekinetic powers. They pressed the attack and felt Serevin's Force defenses beginning to cave under the constant pummeling he was receiving.

Nox suddenly ceased his lightsaber assaults and, with outstretched fingers, unleashed a stream of Force lightning. The energy crackled over the fading barrier surrounding the dying Sith, and began to find holes. It leaped through to sink into the pureblood's flesh and course through his nervous system, causing involuntary twitches and jerks that made defending himself even more difficult. Then, with abrupt finality, Darth Serevin's Force defenses collapsed. The Sith screamed as Nox's lightning enveloped him, draining his life force directly from his body even as it destroyed his flesh and fried his brain. Nox laughed as the jerking, scorched mess was scored with dozens of blaster holes while he drained the last remnants of life from it. The blaster bolts stopped, but the body continued to jerk like a puppet on electric strings as Nox continued to pour the Dark Side into his victim, laughing with malicious delight. When he finally relinquished the corpse, it dropped to the floor with a sickening crunch, the charred robes and flesh utterly indistinguishable from each other.

With the remains of a chuckle still on his lips, Nox deactivated his lightsaber and attached it to his belt, Demise doing the same. The Dark Lords turned and walked towards Talsa-Ko, who was kneeling on the ground where she had been the entire fight, Nei'tiri and Xelthos following behind them.

"Darth Serevin was a Voss friend." She said mournfully as they approached. "Now he is gone. I wish it had been you." She began to rise to her feet just as the comm crackled.

"This is Hesker. Repeat, this is General Hesker. Do you read me?" Satisfaction flooded Nox's mind when he heard the general's voice. He really didn't want to have to pilot this stealth fighter through the orbital warzone himself.

"There was no way Serevin could destroy the Imperial Guard's best pilot." Demise affirmed.

"I appreciate the vote of confidence."

"Inform the Grand Moff that Darth Serevin is dead, and that his stealth ship now belongs to the Empire."

"Excellent. Imperial forces are busy securing the Fort, and we've found survivors. Shall I dispose of them?" The general asked eagerly. Talsa-Ko spoke up, as if she knew that not just her fate, but the fate of many of her comrades was about to be decided. Then again, Nox thought, she probably did.

"Spare us and my people join the Empire."

Demise's response was as cold as the icy walls surrounding them.

"Leave no survivors Hesker. Anyone who supports Malgus must die for their treason."

He stepped up to Talsa-Ko, looming over her menacingly. "That includes you too."

"No!" She shrieked, raising her hands in a desperate attempt to stop the inevitable. The purple blade of Demise's lightsaber cut through them, cleanly separating her head from her shoulders, leaving the corpse to crumple to the cold floor. Demise deactivated his lightsaber, and for a moment, the hanger was silent.

"A just end for the traitors." Hesker's voice was full of steel and hate. "Grand Moff Regus already plots our next assault. Secure the stealth fighter...and prepare to slay the False Emperor."

_______________

Darth Nox sat in his seat in the passenger cabin of Darth Serevin's stealth shuttle. To his left, Demise sat seething with impatient anger, his aura of rage and hatred filling the space like a liquid. The Emperor's Wrath had only one thing on his mind: vengeance. Nox was feeling more than a little vengeful himself. Darth Malgus's betrayal had angered him as much as it would any member of the Sith Order. Malgus had been an undisputed hero of the Empire since the first Galactic Civil War, his many victories on the countless battlefields of the conflict having earned him the admiration and loyalty of many of those who served under him. Before the Sith Lord's betrayal, Nox knew many Imperial soldiers had indulged in hero-worship of the now self-proclaimed Emperor. Perhaps that is why so many follow him now, Nox thought to himself.

Malgus's relentless campaign against the Jedi and the Republic had also earned him the respect and admiration of many Sith, who aspired to reach the same heights of strength and cunning as the former Darth. Nox himself had admired the man while apprenticed to Darth Zash - not that Nox strove to be like him or imitate him in any way. Warriors like Malgus were often powerful and indomitable foes, capable of defeating great enemies and conquering unfathomable odds. But their weakness often lay in their strength itself: believing themselves to be invincible, they could be easily goaded, deceived, and steered into numerous traps or complex plots, stripping them of their strength and leaving them helpless and weak.

Nox had no desire to be weak. Notions like honor or glory through combat were a weakness not a strength: true strength came, not just from physical power and combat prowess, but through wisdom, cunning, and, ultimately, the Force. Only by shedding the bonds of morality and fully embracing, not just the power of the Dark Side, but the perception and insight it brought could one truly free oneself from all the chains that bound them, and Nox intended to break every chain that tried to restrain him. With the artifacts and knowledge he had gained, he could already feel the links of his chains beginning to strain under his growing power. Soon, he would unlock the secrets that would signal the beginning of his ascension. Soon, he would unleash a power that even Vitiate, the immortal ruler of the Sith, had failed to fully grasp. Soon, he would break the chains that kept him from his destiny and open the door to release the power of a god! Soon...

But right now, there were other matters to be dealt with. Nox still needed his power base, his seat on the Dark Council. Without the resources and authority it afforded him, his path to the future became uncertain. He could sense it in the Force. This battle was a tipping point, It wasn't just his future that hung in the balance, but the future of the entire galaxy. Everything was balanced precariously on a razor-sharp edge. This battle had to be won. He came back to himself as the shuttle began an approach vector toward one of the cloaked space station's open hangers. Nox waited until he felt the shuttle set down with a gentle thump before undoing his harness and rising to his feet. Around the cabin, the rest of the Vanguard was doing the same.

Demise, however, had risen to his feet the moment he had felt the pull of the station's artificial gravity. Lightsaber already in hand, he activated it and walked up to the boarding ramp. As soon as the ship landed and the ramp began to lower itself to release them into the hanger, Demise turned to look back at the other three members of the Imperial Vanguard, all of them now on their feet. Nei'tiri drew and twirled her blasters in her familiar flourish, Xelthos primed his stealth generator and cocked his rifle, and Nox drew his lightsaber. Slowly and deliberately, he activated it. The empty eye sockets of his skull-like helm stared into Demise's own, and he gave a slight nod. No words were spoken, none were needed. The gesture had communicated the thought that all three beings had formed in their minds in response to the Wrath's unspoken question: We are with you. Turning, Demise charged down the ramp, lightsaber at the ready, and the carnage began.

______________

The doors of the turbolift opened with a hiss, and Demise stepped out into the empty corridor. He was followed by Nox, then Nei'tiri, with Xelthos bringing up the rear. There was no need for stealth now, everybody knew exactly where they were. As they approached the door that lead to the false Emperor's throne room, it opened of its own accord. Malgus was expecting them. Demise and the Vanguard entered the wide open room, and together they crossed the bridge that passed over the seemingly endless ventilation shaft that lead straight to the power core. On either side, members of the New Imperial Guard lined the path, a mere Force push away from tumbling into the abyss.

Halfway across the bridge, three guards stepped up to block their advance. The two on either side drew blaster rifles from their backs, and the one in the middle ignited a red lightsaber. In response, Demise drew and ignited his own lightsaber, while the rest of the group simply waited for the first move to be made. They knew Demise was more than capable of dispatching all three guards in a few seconds, they would only have to intervene once all the guards in the room descended on them. Raising his head, Darth Malgus bathed the four in his hateful gaze.

"The Emperor's Wrath. Fitting, that we meet within his chambers." Reaching up, the blasphemer removed his hood, letting it fall back to reveal his pale, bald scalp, which gleamed in the crimson light of the chamber. With merely a gesture, Malgus communicated his command to the guards through the Force, and they began filing from the room. The three guards barring the way holstered their weapons and walked around the members of the Imperial Vanguard, following their brethren in their orderly exit. Sheathing his lightsaber, Demise lead the Vanguard across the remainder of the bridge. As they neared the staircase that lead up to where Malgus was perched atop the throne, the Betrayer spoke again.

"Welcome to my throne room. So much history. So many glory days that slipped away from us." He rose from the throne as he continued speaking, folding his arms across his chest. "The Emperor is dead. Long live the new Emperor."

"You are no Emperor of mine!" Demise snarled, drawing and activating his lightsaber once more.

"Kneel." Came the derisive command. Lightning poured from Malgus's outstretched hand and enveloped all four beings at the base of the steps in a small storm of electricity. Demise sank to one knee from the pain as the rest of the Vanguard collapsed around him. The only reason Nei'tiri and Xelthos didn't become smoking husks was the Force barriers Nox projected around them. Unfortunately, his power was spread too thin to completely shield them from the storm of energy, and all three of them unleashed cries of anguish and hatred as they involuntarily collapsed into various positions of submission.

Releasing them from their torment, Malgus sat back in the throne and waited for all of them to get to their feet before speaking. "The Empire is withering away." He stated, as if it were fact. "Soon it will be obliterated by decadence and antiquated ideals. Yet still you struggle to keep it from healing. Don't you see? Our survival demands a new Empire, tempered by alien alliances and strengthened by tolerance."

"The Empire is already rife with weakness." Demise said accusingly. "If you invite further incompetence, your Empire will be doomed." He punctuated his point by crossing his arms in defiance.

"You're as blind as the Grand Moff." Malgus said, his anger growing as he rose from the throne once more. Reaching out, with both one hand and the Force, he triggered a button on a nearby console, causing multiple alarms to sound and a computer generated warning to be issued.

"Emergency warning: Power core override engaged. Self destruct initiated."

"Malgus the Betrayer," Demise roared, his endless rage building to a peak. "In the name of the Empire, I will destroy you!"

Malgus said nothing, he merely took one step towards the edge of the elevated platform upon which the throne sat, then suddenly jumped off, landing with a thunderous boom at the top of the steps. "Die, or defeat me." He snarled, his face contorted in a look of pure, unadulterated hatred. "Either way, the Empire is reborn." He charged forward, leaping off the top of the steps and sailing through the air to land at the bottom of the steps, within lightsaber reach of Demise. The shockwave from his landing sent Demise, Nei'tiri, and Xelthos all stumbling back, their balance momentarily robbed of them by the concussive shockwave of Malgus's force-assisted landing. Nox, however, remained completely stable. The shockwave simply passed around him, breaking over him like a wave over a rock. Demise recovered his balance and drew his lightsaber as the False Emperor roared a battle cry:

"For the new Empire!"

Demise swung his saber in a rising slash intended to sunder Malgus's chest plate straight up the middle, but the False Emperor's blocked it and parried Demise's blade to the side, moving in for a vicious, angular strike. Demise parried in turn and moved into Soresu, blocking, parrying, and deflecting Malgus's attacks. Nox moved behind Malgus with force-assisted speed and dexterity as Xelthos and Nei'tiri opened their blasters on Malgus. The False Emperor didn't seem to feel them, his Force armor absorbing them as if they were merely raindrops. Nox attempted to impale him from behind, and the deflection he had expected came: Malgus swung his lightsaber around behind his back to bat away Nox's blade, then continued the move to bring it back around in front of him to continue his assault on Demise. Volley after volley of blaster bolts were unleashed at him to no effect, occasionally he would deflect a few back at their source and personal shields would flare in response.

"I hear the Grand Moff is calling me "Malgus the Betrayer. Tell me, did my deception sting?" Malgus taunted them, the malicious smile he wore beneath his respirator bleeding through in his tone. Demise continued to hamper and engage Malgus while Nox continued his attempts to assault him from behind, but Malgus's lightsaber was everywhere at once, parrying, blocking, deflecting Nox's strikes while keeping Demise under constant pressure, forcing him to maintain his defenses. Suddenly, Malgus leapt into the air and slammed down on the duracrete floor, using the Force to create a shockwave of concussive force that knocked Demise and Nox back. Whirling on Nox, Malgus gestured and Nox felt an overwhelming wave of Force power slam into him. He resisted, and for a moment stood firm, but Malgus applied even greater effort, and Nox found himself flying up the steps, thrown by the power of the Force. He impacted the throne's support column, cracking it. His Force armor protected him from most of the blow, but the sudden loss of velocity stunned him briefly. Malgus charged up the steps after him with Demise in hot pursuit.

Nox's pain was minimal, but his hatred and anger rose up in him like a dark tide, and he brought his lightsaber up just in time to meet Malgus's charge. Adding elements of Soresu into his technique, he deflected Malgus's blows, punctuating his movements with bursts of Force lightning while using the Dark Side to sap the strength from his foe. He could feel the darkness building in him, and he released it. A river of purple-tinged lightning erupted from his fingertips, temporarily overwhelming Malgus and forcing him to cease his assault in order to maintain his Force defenses. Even so, Nox could feel his dark lightning sapping the False Emperor's vitality. Malgus defended himself admirably from Demise's lightsaber assault while under the power of Nox's lightning, but that was all he could do, defend. Nox ceased his Force attack, reverting to lightsaber strikes as Nei'tiri and Xelthos reached the top of the stairs and put the pressure on. He could sense Malgus weakening, already his defenses, physical and in the Force, were beginning to wane. Nox continued to batter the Sith's force defenses with lightning and dark power, even as he coordinated his lightsaber strikes with Demise's entangling maneuvers. Malgus leaped up and slammed down again, almost knocking Demise off balance once more, but the Dark Lord managed to stand firm. Nox wasn't even affected. It seemed like he didn't even notice.

"I haven't enjoyed myself this much since the Sacking of Coruscant!" Malgus roared in malevolent delight as he threw himself into the battle with renewed vigor. Demise's defenses began to fall and the attacks of the rest of the group became seemingly irrelevant. Summoning the Force, Demise let it fill him completely, and he became impervious to pain, exhaustion, and weakness, invincible in the face of Malgus's assault. But it wouldn't last, Nox could sense the Force power Demise had invoked was already running out, and Malgus made no sign of ending his barrage of deadly strikes.

"Rancor formation!" He barked into his comm as he leapt at Malgus, trying to take some of the pressure off of Demise so the Wrath could catch his second wind. In his enhanced perception, he saw Nei'tiri switch out the gas cylinders in her blasters and Xelthos begin activating his cloaked probe droids. Soon bolts of gaseous Kolto flew across the battlefield with pinpoint accuracy, each one sinking into Demise and Nox as they juggled Malgus's unending fury between them. Probe droids burst from stealth, fired adrenal-laced kolto darts into their targets, then vanished without a trace. The Sith felt their strength return even as they expended it, and after a quick, full-body scan of Demise, Nei'tiri began to target problem areas for greater effect. Malgus's defenses continued to evaporate even as his rage grew, taking his strength with it.

Suddenly, a wave of rising Force power erupted from the False Emperor and lifted the two Sith off their feet. Malgus levitated into the air, lightning crackling around him as he tapped into the well of unlimited power that was his anger. Nox got to his feet and, seeing what was coming, erected a Force Barrier. Demise tapped into his own source of unlimited power and shrouded himself in a cocoon forged of his undying rage. Nei'tiri cranked her shield generator to full power and the familiar blue barrier materialized around her. Xelthos activated his shield probe and hunkered behind his portable energy barrier that he carried for instant cover. The burst of power that was unleashed was unlike anything any of them had ever seen before. The support column of the throne cracked in half and the seat collapsed to the ground with a crash. Railings warped and broke, computer terminals overloaded instantly, and Nei'tiri and Xelthos were thrown back.

Malgus charged, descending on Demise like a storm. Their sabers began to blur as Malgus strained to pierce his foe's defenses, while Demise struggled to maintain them. "Impressive" Malgus admonished "But it won't be enough." Suddenly, sparks flew as Malgus's lightsaber struck Demise's beskar armor. The lightsaber resistant metal protected Demise from the deadly weapon, but the force of the blow temporarily knocked him off balance. Malgus pressed the attack, landing several more blows on the somewhat dazed Demise. Before he could land a fatal strike however, his Force defenses took a powerful blast of lightning. A disproportionate amount of rage rose up in him, and he whirled and charged at his attacker: Darth Nox. "I should have killed you on Ilum when I had the chance!" Malgus growled as Nox expertly deflected his blows, relieved that his two-pronged Force assault had worked. A blast of lightning had redirected Malgus's force defenses, leaving him vulnerable to the subtle influence of Nox's mind control. Even so, his will was strong enough that Nox could only manipulate his emotions for a brief moment, but that was enough. Suddenly, a saber strike caught him on the shoulder. The thick armor that protected it and his own force defenses deflected the blade but it surprised him enough to disrupt the flow of his movements and allow Malgus to land a vicious series of Force-imbued blows on various parts of his body. His cortosis-lined robes and armor plating protected him from the worst of it, but he was damaged and shaken by the assault. He cursed himself for allowing distracting thoughts to weaken him. He desperately parried a second combination and was relieved to see that, behind Malgus, Demise was already rising to his feet, a hail of kolto bolts showering him in recuperative energy. Within moments, Demise descended on Malgus and the two Sith renewed their assault.

Suddenly, Demise felt a seed of doubt begin to take shape in his mind. Their opponent was still weakening, yes, but his strength seemed endless. Even with all four of them the Betrayer was able to resist, was it possible he was more powerful than them? Maybe he truly deserved to be Emperor...the thoughts overwhelmed him and he ceased his attacks. Malgus had turned to fight Nox, who was enveloping his foe in dark lightning, stealing the False Emperor's strength to feed his own. Watching Malgus simply continue to attack Nox despite the tendrils of dark energy siphoning his Force power, Demise's doubt fully blossomed into despair. How could they beat him? He was too strong, too powerful. He would kill them all and destroy the Empire with his power, it was hopeless. "Enough games!" roared Malgus, and suddenly all three of Demise's allies were pulled into the air by a mass Force Choke. The fog of despair thinned, and Demise realized he was alone, with Malgus charging towards him, lightsaber ready to tear him to shreds. Gripping the handle of his own weapon more tightly, Demise engaged the enemy. Parrying Malgus's quick thrust he felt rage beginning to cut through the shroud of doubt and fear as he realized what had happened. Malgus had tried to mind control him, to make him give up by surrendering to the despair the Betrayer had placed in his mind. Malgus began to execute a series of vengeful strikes, and Demise's fury approached its peak. He blocked and parried his opponent's blows effortlessly, launching counterstrikes that weakened his enemies Force defenses and occasionally struck armor.

Parrying a blow, he suddenly twisted his weapon in a move that temporarily threw Malgus off-balance. In that split second, Demise unleashed his rage. The power that had been welling up in him burst out in a storm of lightsaber combos and acrobatic attacks that put Malgus purely on the defensive. In the space of seconds, Demise launched more attacks than Malgus had in the past few minutes. His blade was untraceable, moving so fast it seemed only to be a stream of violet energy, striking Malgus many, many times from all directions. The Wrath himself was only a black and silver-gray blur that surrounded his foe almost like an aura of pure vibration. It was impossible to tell where he was at any given time. His own vision blurred and darkening with the lack of air, Nox watched the battle with a greedy interest and deepening envy. He knew if he had the power Demise possessed at his disposal, he would make far better use of it than the Wrath. He would be totally unstoppable. Even as he felt himself begin to lose consciousness, he vowed he would acquire the power the Wrath possessed, no matter the cost. Suddenly, the choke lapsed and Nox was mercifully dropped to the ground to collapse to one knee. Catching his breath, he looked up to see an exhausted-looking Malgus battling Demise, who was no longer moving at impossible speeds or leaping around with the dexterity of a being less than half his size.

Once he had caught his breath, Nox charged Malgus, whose defenses were even weaker now, and continued to assail his foe with the Dark Side and powerful bursts of lightning. Malgus's strength waned like a fading apparition, evaporating as he desperately expended more and more of his strength trying to end the battle before it ended him. "Vornskr formation!" Demise barked into the comm, and Xelthos and Nei'tiri effortlessly switched into a full-on offensive, showering Malgus with a hailstorm of blaster fire and various explosive ammunitions and projectiles. The False Emperor's defenses began to disappear, and Nox felt their enemy's spiteful hatred growing alongside his desperation. Malgus extended both his hands, erecting a full-on Force barrier as agonizing lightning poured from his fingertips to envelop Demise. "Your fleet is doomed" Malgus gasped "and with it, the Old Empire." Discovering that lightsaber strikes, blaster bolts, and projectiles had no effect on the barrier, Nox reached out with Force, and pushed. Not Malgus, but the barrier itself.

Malgus went flying, he sailed down the steps and barely managed to land on his feet. He once more unleashed lightning towards Demise, who was now charging down the steps towards him. The Wrath took the attack, using the pain to feed his anger and his anger to feed his power. He Force pushed Malgus from the bottom of the steps to the edge of the bridge, only a few meters from the yawning chasm, and was on top of him before he could move. Nox unleashed his dark lightning, watching with glee as the Force barrier was drained of the power Malgus reinforced it with. Then, with absolute finality, the barrier collapsed. Demise rammed his full body weight into Malgus, sending him stumbling back towards the very edge of the bridge, the hungry maw of the ventilation shaft stretching out below him. Rage rose up in the Emperor's Wrath, and with it came power. Behind his mask, his lips twisted to form a word so full of hatred and anger that when he spoke it, the Dark Side amplified the sound waves of which the word was formed into a shockwave of concussive force.

"DIE!" Demise roared. The kinetic blast slammed into Malgus with an audible boom. Organs ruptured, bones broke, his face twisted to the side even as it was crushed and mangled by sheer force. The broken and dying body of Darth Malgus, the False Emperor, fell back, plummeting into an endless fall down the ventilation shaft towards the station's power core. Demise ran to the edge to watch the body vanish into the depths, only reacting when Darth Nox's voice came over the comm, speaking to General Hesker. "It is done. Darth Malgus is dead."

"Thus the False Emperor is dethroned." The general declared. "I won't let you join Malgus in death, hurry to the hangars, I'm coming for you!" Explosions were ringing out all around them as the multitude of the station's systems destroyed themselves. The members of the Imperial Vanguard shared a moment of jubilant triumph, before sprinting for the door.

______________

Demise sat wearily on a cluster of crates back at the Imperial Operations base. The entire ordeal had left him exhausted. The battle of Ilum had been arduous enough, but the subsequent battle with the Betrayer had left him utterly drained. His mind recalled something his master, the Emperor, had once said to him. "Revenge drives and burns with bright intensity, but it is a mortal fuel that leaves the tank bare." For the first time since that day, he wondered if drawing on his rage and anger to seek vengeance against his enemies wasn't as great a source of power as he believed. Perhaps the desire for revenge offered only temporary power that, once used up, would leave him weak and helpless. But then what was the source of eternal power? As he sat, lost in thought, a pair of footsteps approached him.

"Lord Wrath." The speaker's slow, lingering tone left no doubt as to who he was. Looking up, Demise confirmed what he already knew.

"Darth Nox." He said in response. "What is it you want?"

"Want? You wound me, Lord Demise. As a member of the Dark Council, a leader of the Sith and of the Empire, I want for little."

"Don't waste your political machinations on me." Demise growled. "You and your kind always want something, now spit it out."

"Relax." Nox said calmingly. "You are right, I do want something. I want the Empire to emerge from this...catastrophe not only intact, but stronger than before." He gestured to the groups of officers milling about the base. "The Imperial people deserve to see their society flourish, but that won't happen without help. The Empire is vulnerable. We lost a great many of our forces at Corellia, and Malgus's betrayal forced us to expend a great many resources as well as troops." He turned and looked at Demise, who had tensed upon hearing the Betrayer's name. "I have a vast network of spies, informants, resources, and assets at my disposal. I gather more information on a daily basis than nearly any other individual within the Empire. I would be willing to share some of this information with you, in the interest of preventing something like this from ever happening again."

The thought gave Demise pause, preventing another Ilum before it even happened? He had to admit, the prospect was tantalizing. "I'm sick of all these Sith and Imperials who constantly divide the Empire." Nox spat hatefully. "If we are to defeat the Jedi and conquer the Republic, now is the time for unity. There will be plenty of time for infighting and posturing once the Republic is ours and the Jedi are nothing but a memory. Yet still the Sith have an easier time uniting against each other than against our universal enemy!" Nox's disgust and hatred were obvious, and admirable.

"I wholeheartedly agree." Demise said, pleased to hear such words from a member of the Dark Council. "You believe with my power and position, and your network of information and resources, we can preemptively stop cancerous threats like this to the Empire before they have a chance to spread."

"Indeed." Nox affirmed.

"So you are proposing an alliance?"

"Of sorts." Nox said thoughtfully. "Not a political one. These potential enemies must not know of our mutual involvement or it will ruin the element of surprise. But the discreet exchange of information should be more than sufficient in helping to guide you towards the greatest threats to our security." Demise considered it for a moment, then nodded.

"I find your loyalty to the Empire admirable." He said honestly. "It is such a rarity among the Sith these days." Nox was about to speak, but Demise cut him off with sudden anger. "But," he cautioned "if I find out you are playing the old games, if I find out you are merely manipulating me for your own gain, then you will suffer torment the likes of which you have never experienced. I am the Emperor's Wrath, I answer only to our supreme Lord and Master. Should I find out you are working to subvert his will, as many have before you, I will ensure you come to complete, and absolute ruin."

Somewhat angered by the outburst, Nox suppressed his emotions, burying them deep so that they could fester and strengthen his hatred. "But of course." He said in supplication. "I would expect no less. Traitors to the Empire must be cut out like a cancer, there is no other way." He paused, then said "I look forward to bearing up the Empire with you, Lord Demise." With that, he turned and began walking towards the shuttle that would ferry him to the orbital space station, where his ship awaited. Lord Demise watched him go, wondering just what this new development heralded for himself, as well as for the Empire.