Xalek walked down the hall to his master's office. He had been instructed to meet Darth Nox in his meditation chamber, which was connected to the Dark Lord's office by a side door. He was looking forward to the experience as he had never been in his master's meditation chamber before. Hundreds of the most powerful Sith in the Empire had mediated in those chambers over the Empire's history, and there was no doubt that each had left their mark on the Force in that particular area. Xalek could almost taste the overwhelming Dark Side power he was about to experience. He believed it would be similar to landing on Korriban for the first time, and combined with his master's presence he was certain the experience would be rapturous.

Entering the office, he turned to see that the door to the mediation chamber was open. He could sense the vestiges of the Dark Side energies contained within the chamber, as if they were the faint stirrings of the breeze before a storm. He entered through the door, finding that the energy currents grew more powerful with every step, before he even exited the hallway and entered the actual chamber, he found himself to be traversing through what felt like a hurricane in the Force. The Dark Side swirled around him, buffeting his spirit with its power. He felt like a leaf caught up in a tornado, but he steeled himself and hardened his resolve, reaching out and seizing the violent energies around him, bending them to his will, forcing the currents to change and warp themselves to his designs. They gave way easily. There was power here, yes, but it was diffuse and chaotic. Easily shaped and formed to the will of the strong. A Jedi entering these chambers would no doubt find themselves oppressed and ravaged by the intensity of the Dark Side here, not realizing that mastery of it would grant them safe passage. This, Xalek supposed, was far better security against Jedi infiltration or attack than any technology.

He crossed the bridge separating the entrance from the platform on which his master knelt in deep meditation. A black aura of visible darkness surrounded the Dark Lord, and Xalek was certain he could see the soft purple glow of his master's eldritch powers emanating from behind the lenses of his helm. The familiar darkness that surrounded his master washed over him as he drew closer, and he felt his passions rise, taking his strength with them. His body felt alive with power as the darkness filled him from head to toe. He approached his lord and bowed to one knee.

"My lord." At the sound Darth Nox appeared to awaken, although Xalek was certain his master had sensed his arrival, it was only now he seemed to take notice. His head raised from its bowed position of intense concentration, he stood to his feet and turned to regard his apprentice. The visible aura of darkness faded, but Xalek could still feel it in the Force. It surrounded them like an inky liquid that permeated the Kaleesh's body and soul.

"Lord Xalek." Darth Nox spoke, his voice creating ripples in the Dark Side. "I hear your liberation of Detrimos went well."

"Indeed master. You were wise to send me there. The Republic will not soon strike so close to us again."

A sinister chuckle escaped the grill of Darth Nox's mask.

"Indeed, although not for the reason you think apprentice."

"Master?"

"You are correct in assuming that the Republic will not strike so close to the heart of the Empire so soon, but it will not be because of your efforts on Detrimos." Xalek lowered his head, shame and confusion sweeping over him.

"I am sorry I failed to live up to your expectations master."

"On the contrary..." Xalek looked up, confused. Darth Nox continued: "You lived up to my expectations exactly, Lord Xalek." The Dark Lord reassured him. "You have proven your effectiveness in a leadership position on the battlefield, but Saresh is a warmonger, and she will not be cowed by failure, no matter how complete."

"But the Senate will be, master." Xalek offered.

"Yes," Nox conceded, "but Suresh is not without her supporters and puppets. She has spent almost a lifetime gathering connections and accumulating political favors in preparation for her chancellorship." His master paused, as if in thought. "I believe she does not intend to ever vacate the position."

Interested, Xalek asked: "What does this mean for us master?"

"It means that the Republic will continue to be a dangerous opponent. While the Jedi are always a problem, the Republic is not so dedicated to our destruction. With a zealot like Suresh in power, we face considerable opposition to our plans from inside and outside the Empire. This must not be." Xalek waited for his master to continue. "We must cripple them, apprentice." Darth Nox said, clenching his fist in front of him for emphasis. "We must leave them so broken and hurting that they will have no choice but to retreat and lick their wounds while the Empire keeps them on their toes, and we increase our power."

"Through power I gain victory." Xalek recited. Darth Nox nodded his approval.

"Many Sith, even some of the Lords of the Dark Council, erroneously perceive the Republic as a nuisance to be ignored until it becomes a threat. This is why the Empire is in the situation it is in today. The previous leaders of the Empire ignored the Republic and instead focused on each other. Thus we are severely weakened by infighting while the Republic stands united and focused on our complete annihilation." Xalek could hardly believe what he was hearing, his master was admitting the Empire was weak? Such words would have been thought treasonous by many, even Xalek himself, were the words not coming from his own master. Darth Nox must have sensed his turmoil because he addressed it immediately.

"Do not fool yourself apprentice. Arrogance and honor are chains just as surely as mercy and compassion are." Xalek found the truth hard to accept. Honor a chain? His honor gave him strength, it made him superior to an honorless opponent and gave him hatred of such foes. "Fool!" His master growled at him, and too late, Xalek realized his master was reading his thoughts. He tried to throw a up a Force shield to protect him but his master ripped through it like it wasn't even there, his dark presence shifting in an instant, becoming oppressive and stifling. Xalek felt it creep into his mind and begin to crush his spirit. He fell flat on the ground under the immense weight of the Dark Side.

"Master!" he cried. "Forgive me! Forgive my foolishness!" He felt the weight lift, and he rose to his hands and knees, bowing his head before the Dark Lord. "Master, I'm sorry, forgive my stubbornness."

"You must learn to put aside your pride apprentice, when it does not serve you it will hinder you. Do you understand?" For a moment, Xalek considered lying to ward off more possible punishment, but he caught himself as he felt the darkness begin to roil once again.

"No master, I do not."

"Gooood... You are learning." Darth Nox said with satisfaction. "The Sith are superior. We are the driving force that shapes the universe to the will of sentient life. We will one day be hailed as the saviours and champions of all life everywhere." Xalek felt inspired by the assertion but confused at the apparently contrary nature of his master's philosophy. No doubt sensing his confusion, Nox went on. "But this is not an excuse for weakness!" He declared, anger creeping in to his tone. "It may be true that we are superior, but that does not mean that we will simply crush every single enemy we encounter without effort!" Beginning to realize his error, and feeling ashamed at this new revelation, Xalek remained silent while his master continued to berate him.

"Many, many life forms and forces will resist us at every turn, for we bring change, and change is never welcome. We are not omnipotent. Even with the combined might of the Sith it is inevitable that our order will encounter enemies that will prove to be a match for us, or even..." his master paused, "stronger than us." Xalek felt like he was back at the academy on Korriban again. He felt lost and unsure of what was true and false. His master, the most powerful Sith he knew, was telling him one thing, while his warrior training and Sith training were both telling him another.

"Listen well, apprentice." Darth Nox said, his voice becoming softer but maintaining an undertone of menace. "The Sith are not perfect yet, it is perfection we strive for. We are closer to it than our enemies it is true, but even so a Sith may find himself in a position where he is powerless when compared to his foes. If you have not experienced this yet, you will soon enough." Xalek remained silent and still. "But if you choose to cling to your pride in such circumstances, you will rob yourself of the chance to grow and become more powerful. If you are to become a truly powerful Sith you will eventually have to learn this lesson. If you do not learn it, you will die." The words were spoken with such finality and certainty that Xalek felt they were nothing less than prophecy. "It is a hard lesson to learn, but if you truly desire to break all the chains that bind you it is a necessary one."

"The entire universe, even the Force itself, conspires with our enemies against us, apprentice. Unwilling to accept it's place under our heel, the Force raises armies and champions to test us, to see if we are truly worthy of being called its masters. Those who hold on to their weakness will be found unworthy, and be judged thusly." Nox paused, causing Xalek to look up at him in expectation. "Honor is for the weak, apprentice. If you desire true strength, true power, you must be willing to put aside your pride when it does not serve you. Remember, you cannot give form and shape to the future, you cannot control and direct your own destiny, if you cannot see the present for what it is. For how can you change what you cannot perceive?"

Xalek nodded, his mind awhirl with thousands of questions and doubts. He'd been raised from birth to believe that honor was what bestowed him godhood upon his death, but now his master was forcing him to call all of his lifelong beliefs into question. Was honor truly a weakness? A chain that bound him as surely as mercy and compassion? How could his master be wrong? And yet, could thousands of years of Kaleesh tradition and belief also be wrong?

"I sense your turmoil." Darth Nox said, placing a hand on the young warrior's shoulder. "You doubt your beliefs. Remember, change is never welcome, because it is always uncomfortable and unpleasant at the first." He released his grip on Xalek's shoulder. "I continue to have high hopes for you apprentice, I will allow you time to consider what I have told you. Mediate on these truths I have shown you and on the Dark Side. In time I believe you will come to understand."

"And if I fail to understand?" Xalek asked, dreading the answer. Nox's voice hardened.

"Then you will die, shackled by your own weakness."

Xalek bowed his head in shame and submission.

"But in the meantime," Nox said suddenly. "I have a task for you to complete, it might help to illustrate the heart of the matter." Xalek waited expectantly, and his master continued. "As of this moment, I am enacting Plan Omega. This plan will culminate in the utter devastation of the Jedi and the Republic, and you, Lord Xalek, will be the head of the spear that the Empire will drive through the heart of its enemies."

"I am supremely honored, master." Xalek said with a mix of surprise and eagerness.

"As well you should be." Nox affirmed before walking past Xalek towards the door leading to his office. Xalek followed behind, listening as his master continued to discuss the plan. "I have been planning this for some time, and I believe now is the perfect time to strike. Reports from the front indicate that the Republic advance has been halted and that their forces are doubling down in an effort to regain their momentum. In response, the Empire is committing more and more of its resources into full confrontation. The confusion and large-scale conflict will provide you with a smokescreen in which to accomplish your end of the preparations for the execution of the final phase." They passed through the doorway leading to the hall to Darth Nox's office as the Sith Lord continued to speak. "Plan Omega will require the laying of extensive political groundwork and the timely accumulation of various resources in order to ensure the full confidence of the Dark Council. In order to convince even the most stubborn of the Council, they must feel certain that the plan cannot fail."

They entered into Nox's office and stopped in the center of the room when he turned to face Xalek. "This is where you come in, apprentice."

"How can I serve you?" Xalek asked, his calm monotone disguising his mounting eagerness.

"I am dispatching you on a top-secret recovery mission." Darth Nox said, and Xalek's heart sunk.

"Master, would not my talents be better spent in other areas of the plan?"

"Surprisingly, no." Nox said with cold certainty. "There is no one I can entrust this task to other than you, Lord Xalek." Xalek's shoulders drooped ever so slightly.

"I can sense your disappointment apprentice," Nox assured the Kaleesh. "and I think you will find this mission to be far more challenging than it sounds. Trust that I would not send you on any mission that I did not feel would test you."

"I trust you, master." Nox still sensed doubt and disappointment in his apprentice, but that was understandable considering what had happened between them in the past few minutes. Still, if his apprentice didn't get his mind in order then his mission would quickly become perilous, perhaps fatal.

"The first artifact you will seek is on Deriada Minor." Nox said. "Speak to Commander Galen once you arrive, he will help set you on the trail. Go in strength, apprentice, and know that the Dark Side goes with you."

_____________

Xalek descended the boarding ramp of his ship in Deriada Minor's principle spaceport. The planet occupied the tightest orbit of a red dwarf star, and thus was one of the more peculiar planets within the Empire. Locked in place, with one side always facing its star and the other always facing the void of space, extreme environmental conditions covered most of the planet. The dark side was perpetually frozen, as dead as an orphaned planet. The light side, however, wasn't too lucky either. A massive storm covered the area of the planet that directly faced the system's primary, creating a perpetual "storm zone" that was just as uninhabitable as the planet's dark side. However, between the storm and the frozen wastes lay a belt of habitable land and traversable ocean, and it was here that Imperial civilization flourished. As Xalek made his way towards the spaceport's main entrance, he wondered where on the planet his target could possibly be. The night side of the planet would be the obvious choice, but there was an impossible amount of ground to cover. The storm zone was the other likely option, but it too was nearly impossible to explore.

As he left the spaceport and entered the domed city of Kuris, he looked up in time to see the system's primary flare brightly, unleashing a wave of devastating radiation upon the world. The specialized dome surrounding the city immediately filtered out the radiation and tinted the light so as to keep the citizen's safe, but the sight was still a spectacle to behold. It lit up the city like a divine light, making the buildings shine and gleam proudly. Xalek felt like the gods were blessing the citizens of Kuris, then the light faded and he remembered that this would happen every few minutes. The only protection he could have would to be in a shielded vehicle, in the storm zone, or on the world's dark side. If he were caught out, there was no telling whether the Force could protect him from the radiation or from simply being cooked alive.

Moving through the streets towards Commander Galen's office, Xalek's path was obstructed by a human cyborg in red and silver armor. The man's eyes were mechanical optical sensors, and instead of hair his bald head was covered in vein-like implants that were no doubt implanted in his skull. The rest of his body appeared to be entirely encased in cybernetic armor. There was no telling whether his whole body was cybernetic, or if it was just the outside. Xalek felt disgusted by how thoroughly this man had defiled his own body. He hated him already.

"Well well." The man's voice was partially hollow, like a droid's. "Look who I found."

"You've found trouble if you don't get out of my way." Xalek said in a low, menacing tone. The man laughed, a horrible sound.

"That's funny coming from a soft-shell." The monstrosity fired back. He patted the lightsaber on his hip. "I'm superior to your kind in every way, especially in combat."

"Care to back up that boast?" Xalek challenged, his clawed hand drifting to the hilt of his own weapon. The man laughed again.

"I don't need to, not yet." With that, he brushed past Xalek, seeming to have decided that the conversation was over. Xalek's eyes narrowed as he watched the abomination leave. He never understood why any being who considered themselves a warrior would defile their body so utterly. The pride of a warrior was to use what the gods had given him to the greatest extent he was able. Pride. His master's words came back to him: "If you desire true strength, true power, you must be willing to put aside your pride when it does not serve you." Continuing to ponder his master's words, Xalek entered Commander Galen's office and found the commander bent over a holotable, apparently studying schematics of a large fortress with intense concentration. Xalek cleared his throat purposefully, and the startled commander turned to regard him.

"Oh, my lord!" The man bowed. "Forgive me, I was so wrapped up in my work I didn't notice you come in. We are honored to have one of your stature with us. How may I serve?"

"You can start by telling me everything you know about a powerful artifact called The Siphon."

"The Siphon eh?" The commander stroked his chin. "Come to think of it..." he turned and pressed a button on the holotable's control panel. The image changed to become a series of 3D renderings of ancient technology and stone carvings, all Rakatan in origin. "We conducted archeological expeditions several years ago, what we found indicated that there is a fortress of some sort in the center of the Storm Zone that was built by the Rakata." The image changed to display a massive, monolithic construction that was a hologram of the 2 and 3 dimensional images that had been depicted in the previous images of the recovered artifacts. The commander moved off to the side and Xalek approached, placing his hands on either side of the control panel for support while he leaned in to investigate the structure.

"Why have you not already gone there?"

"We did send a team but...they disappeared without a trace. Not even a final transmission to go on."

"What do you mean?"

"The storm is so violent you can't get a signal through anywhere inside it."

"What about in the eye?"

"Unfortunately, no. Not even there."

"Not even with a satellite directly above it?"

"The planet doesn't spin my lord like most do, this causes serious problems with satellite orbits and is why this world has no moon. I'm afraid we can't use satellites."

"So anyone that goes in there is on their own." Xalek murmured. "If they vanish no one will know what happened." He pushed off of the holotable and let his hands fall to his sides in mild frustration.

"It's still the best lead I have commander. I'm a lot closer to my goal than I was a few minutes ago."

"I'm sure that whatever this Siphon is, you'll at least find hints to its location in that fortress, if it is indeed there. Perhaps you'll even find the artifact itself."

"We can only hope, commander." Xalek turned and walked out of the office, determined to get the sturdiest, most well-shielded shuttle he could find.

____________

Darth Nox focused, feeling the energy gathering in his hand as he drew it back beside his head. He could see the glow as the purple and white ball of Force energy formed in the palm of his hand. Then he leaned forward, thrusting his hand down as if the throw the ball onto the ground in front of him. The sphere of mottled light hit the ground and spread like a liquid, creating a pool of purple-white energy on the ground. Nox relinquished his Force sight and the pool disappeared, although he could still feel the disturbance in the Force that he had created. he walked to the other end of his lab and summoned the Dark Side again. His fingers and hand moved in an arcane motion and as they passed in front of his face, he felt the universe around him shift, as if it were sliding and slipping into a new formation. With a rising sense of triumph he looked around him to find that he was now standing in the exact same spot where the center of the pool of energy had been.

He'd done it. He had really done it! He'd been working on this spell for weeks, studying ancient texts, researching techniques, reading accounts of its use. And now he had done it. He had unlocked the secret of the Phase Walk! An ancient Dark Side spell created by the Rakata, the Phase Walk allowed the user to mark a location by creating a gateway in the Force. In this way, it was a weaker, simpler version of the legendary Force Storm that was said to be able to tear a hole in the spacetime continuum. Then, with a subsequent spell, the user could access that gateway and thus return to that spot at any time provided they were within a certain range of the gateway that was limited only by the user's power and ability to call upon the Force.

Satisfied with his incredible success, he left the lab and began the trek back to his speeder parked outside the Temple. Within minutes he was racing through the mists towards Kaas City. His mind was alive with plans and predictions. Since he had dispatched Xalek on his mission a few days ago, he had thrown himself fully into his study of the Phase Walk. His success today marked the end of weeks of research and practice, but only the beginning of his political machinations regarding his plans for the future. Plan Omega was simply one of these plans. It would help him to accomplish two things in one fell swoop: cripple the Republic and distract the Sith by giving them prey to hunt. Smelling blood in the water, the Empire would likely strive to drive the Republic into the abyss, and Nox would encourage this. He would fuel their bloodlust while he secretly shaped the galaxy in his image.

He slowed down as he entered the garage of his apartment suite. Landing among various other speeders from many different companies with many different designs, he shut the Nethian off and dismounted, walking straight past the Rakatan stasis chambers he had procured from Belsavis for his personal use.

Entering the main hallway, he checked the rooms of the lower levels and found that nobody was there. Even Andronikos and Khem seemed to be absent. On his way up the flight of stairs, he saw HK-51 standing rigidly at attention in Khem's usual guard spot.

"HK." The droid turned to regard him.

"Acknowledgement: Greetings master! Query: How may I serve?"

"You can start by telling me where Khem Val is."

"Query: Who is this Khem Val, master?"

"He's a red-skinned Dashade. You've likely seen him around here."

"Epiphany: Ahh! Yes! I wondered what such a dangerous creature was doing in your household, master. I took the liberty of placing it in one of the stasis chambers I found in the vehicular storage area until I could apprise you of the apparent infestation." Nox froze, his fists clenched, and his limbs trembled slightly in anger.

"You what, droid?"

"Query: Were my actions undesirable master? Do you wish me to release the creature?"

"That would be a start, yes." Nox's voice was low with anger and he was working his jaw in an effort to contain his emotions. The droid didn't know any better, it had made a rather accurate threat assessment regarding Khem, but Khem would no doubt see it as mistreatment and would subsequently desire to destroy the droid out of revenge, something Nox couldn't allow, which would cause strife between him and Khem. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but Nox still needed his Shadow Killer. The last thing he needed was for Khem to be more likely to attack him than the enemy. An assassination mission or two would have to be arranged to put the monster in a good mood again. "When you release the Dashade, be sure to activate your stealth generator and refrain from engaging. Merely protect my personal property and the infrastructure itself from his temper without the use of lethal force. Do you understand?"

"Confirmation: Yes master." The droid bowed its head. "Apology: I am sorry for causing you so much trouble. I shall remedy my error with all haste!" The droid turned and walked down the steps to release the no doubt angry Khem. Nox just hoped they didn't end up breaking anything, least of all each other.

Sighing, he turned and ascended the short flight of steps into his chambers. The door hissed open and the subtle Lightside presence of Ashara trickled out. Looking towards the windows, he noticed she was sitting cross-legged in the loveseat facing the massive, floor-to-ceiling panes. With a smile tugging at the corner of his lips behind his helm, he reached back and undid the metal headgear, placing it on a nearby featureless bust made specifically for the purpose. He approached, noting she didn't seem to sense his presence as she was so lost in her own thoughts.

With sudden inspiration, he approached the seat from behind and leaned over to plant a kiss on her upper cheek. She jerked her head around, startled, but the surprise quickly changed into affection as she saw him round the loveseat to sit beside her and wrap an arm around her padded, armored shoulders. "And how is the loveliest woman in the Empire doing today?" He asked, his passions becoming a tangible presence. Ashara giggled and a large smile spread across her soft, smooth features.

"Enjoying the company of the wisest man in the galaxy." She replied in like passion.

"Oh come now, lover, you flatter me." Nox said in mock bashfulness.

"Absolutely not." She replied in pretend indignation. She reached out and tapped his nose with one finger as she spoke. "I'm a Jedi, I only speak the truth."

"Then all those things you said last night were true?" Nox asked playfully. Ashara's face took on a little color as she relived the previous night's activities.

"Every one." She said seductively, moving in to meet his lips in a fiery kiss. She appeared to want to take it further, but Nox broke it off gently. There would be time for passions later, there was a discussion they needed to have.

"Ashara, a messenger came to the suite a few weeks ago."

"Oh?" She questioned, still with a playful undertone. It was getting harder to get her to come out of this kind of mood lately, a good sign, but at times it was counter-productive.

"It was a representative of Darth Aruk."

"Aruk!?" Ashara wrinkled her nose. Nox resisted the urge to chuckle, she always looked cute when she did that, it was one of her many endearing features. "That red-skinned tyrant? What did he want?"

"To deliver a message." Nox said, his tone indicating the nature of the message.

"What about?" Ashara asked tentatively.

"Specifically? You."

"Me?"

"Yes. As the Dark Councilor responsible for maintaining the Empire's moral foundation and preserving the philosophy of the Sith, he is quite displeased with your conduct in the field lately." Seeing Ashara didn't fully understand, he simplified it for her. "You've drawn his attention my dear."

"That thug and his minions have opposed me at every juncture." Ashara complained. "I'm trying to help expand our group of sympathetic allies, and he and his kind have done nothing but oppose and undermine me without cause!"

"You must remember dearest, that this is the Empire, not the Republic. A man like Aruk doesn't need a reason to oppose the efforts of one of my apprentices." Ashara opened her mouth to say something but Nox put his finger in front of it. When she closed it again he continued, "You must also remember that his work is directly in opposition to ours. We seek to change the moral foundation of the Empire from within, to reform it through non-violent, political means. To transform the Empire's vast machinery into a force for peace and justice. Aruk seeks to keep it as it is. In the eyes of the Imperial people, the Sith, and the Emperor, he is in the right and we are in the wrong."

"But were not in the wrong!" Ashara insisted.

"I know that, love." Nox assured her. "But that doesn't matter if everyone thinks we are. We must change the Imperial subconscious to be more in line with our way of thinking before we can take overt action." Ashara got up and paced towards the window, turning back to face him to make her next statement.

"Is that why you didn't join Darth Malgus?" She said, an undertone of accusation entering her voice. "Is that why you lead the charge against him? Killed him and ended any hope of bringing his New Empire to life?"

"I made a hard decision." Nox said, exercising his discipline to remain calm. "I calculated Malgus would fail, and chose to side with the winners to preserve my own life and the lives of those who followed me."

"So you choose self-preservation over bringing about real change?" Ashara asked, flabbergasted and disgusted.

"No." Nox said, holding up a hand. "I didn't side against Malgus out of sheer selfishness, but as the result of logical deliberations and calculations made to determine the probability of Malgus's revolution succeeding. I knew that Malgus would fail."

Why?" Ashara demanded, hands on hips. "Prove it to me, what evidence do you have?"

"Because his method of bringing about lasting change was fundamentally flawed." Nox posited. "Violent revolution does not bring true and lasting change to a society, it only temporarily purges it of certain ideals and beliefs that inevitably return at some later date. Malgus, being a warrior and a soldier, did not understand this. He was as inept at politics and understanding the workings of the sentient mind as he was skilled in combat and battle strategy. He could not possibly bring about true societal change, only division, strife, and temporary unity. He created his Empire by unwittingly forming a cult of personality around himself. As soon as he died, his New Empire would have collapsed around his corpse and left the Empire in ruins. And he would have died, quite soon no doubt, as his own lust for combat and bloodshed would lead him unerringly into battle with his troops. Only the Emperor could possibly risk such a thing and never fall eventually, and Malgus doesn't have near the amount of power of Emperor Vitiate. Thus true and lasting change can only be brought about by subtly and slowly altering the viewpoint, beliefs, and goals of a society's citizens. This can, in turn, only be brought about through inconspicuous indoctrinization and deception carefully applied over an extended period of time."

Ashara looked equal parts chastened and downcast. "I'm sorry master, you are right as always. Violence is not the answer. I should know better."

"Violence is not always the answer." Nox corrected. "As you know, violence is a tool to be used towards an end, not an end in and of itself. We must hold our power to physically enforce our will in reserve, unless the ensuing violence serves some extraordinary purpose."

Ashara nodded, and Nox could sense she understood, although she harbored reservations towards his admonition that violence was necessary. Speaking to her inner thoughts, he said "As a Jedi, you no doubt learned that violence was to be used as a last resort, this is not so different. Only, in our situation, we must be prepared to use violence as a first resort in situations where we definitively know that no other course of action will furnish us with the results we require. We must be discerning of situations where violence is the only acceptable answer and apply it in appropriate measure."

"But how do we indentify such circumstances correctly?" Ashara questioned.

"That is where the Force comes in." Nox replied. "The Force brings beings together, either into alignment or into conflict, in order to service the best result for sentient life as a whole. We must deeply attune ourselves to the nature of every circumstance we find ourselves in and divine, through the visceral experiences arising within us at that time, the destiny which is a foregone conclusion."

Ashara looked somewhat confused. "So the true nature of a situation is to be found within us?"

"Yes, you're getting it." Nox praised, causing the tips of the beautiful young Togruta's head tails to twitch in delight. "When in need of guidance, look into yourself to find what passions are rising to the surface. It is these passions through which the Force communicates with us. The Force influences our passions in order to drive us to act in accordance with its will."

Ashara's face lit up. "I remember reading something similar in the Jedi Archives. An ancient Jedi master said that in order to divine the will of the Force, a Jedi must listen to their instincts in order to receive the answers they seek."

"And so you see why the Jedi of today are bound by apathy." Nox said. "They ignore their own instincts and trust in their own reasoning and logic, when our instincts and natural tendencies are the Force's way of communicating its will to us." Ashara walked back to the loveseat and settled into his arm once more. "The Force is within all living things, thus it would only make sense that when it communicates with us, it speaks from within us, rather than from without. You must trust your feelings, and have faith that the Force is leading you down the path that will ultimately produce the best end result for life everywhere, even if it doesn't seem like it at the time."

"Thus violence is sometimes a necessary first resort, rather than the last." Ashara concluded.

"Yes." Nox affirmed. "It is an uncomfortable truth for some, but it is indeed the truth. To deny it is to leave yourself vulnerable through ignorance."

"There is no ignorance, there is knowledge." Ashara repeated by wrote.

"Perhaps the one line of the Jedi Code that can be used for unequivocal good." Nox admitted. "But you must also remember that knowledge is a form of power, and that through power you gain victory. Thus through ignorance you weaken yourself, allowing those with power to dominate you and any others you wish to protect. Therefore, the idea of forbidden knowledge is blasphemous, a blasphemy the Jedi embrace wholeheartedly."

"So if we hope to accomplish our goal..." Ashara started.

"...we must know more than our enemies." Nox finished. "For through knowing more than our enemies, we gain power over them. Through our power we will gain victory, and through victory..."

"Our chains are broken." Ashara said, a new appreciation for the words she would have once thought vile and evil, before she met Nox.

"Not just our chains." Nox added with a smile. "Once our chains are broken we can teach others to do the same, and liberate them from the bonds that those like the Jedi and the Republic would see them languish in."

"I never knew the Sith Code could be used to do good." Ashara admitted.

"Remember that the first Sith were not the red-skinned indigenes of Korriban, but Jedi Exiles who were cast out by those they once called their family. In discovering this truth, and the hypocrisy of the order, they sought to change it, only to be hated, reviled, accused of blasphemy and cast out."

Ashara's face took on an angry expression. "The hypocrisy of the Jedi Order is systemic." She asserted with vigor. "They are too bound by their own ancient dogma and narcissism to ever consider the possibility that they are wrong, let alone change."

"Which is why the Empire and the Sith are the galaxy's best hope for, not just peace, but continued evolution and advancement. The Jedi are stuck in the past, while the Sith look to the future, only learning from the past instead of dwelling in it."

"But not everyone among the Sith shares these views." Ashara pointed out, discouraged.

"Yes." Nox admitted. "The Sith have their own dogma. The traditions of the ancient past still hold a firm grip on the Sith and the Empire as a whole. Beings like Rictus, Thanaton, and Aruk are embodiments of the forces that strive to keep us chained to the past, just like the Jedi. But this is a perversion. The Sith are meant to be a force for change, like a forest fire that destroys a vast area of overcrowded forest so that a new generation can rise from the ashes without being choked and debilitated by the stifling influence of the decaying past. This does not mean we abandon all traditions however. Some traditions were created for a very good reason, reasons that are still relevant today. But there are others that are no longer relevant or never were, and it is these we must cast away, for they only burden us."

"Which is why beings like Aruk and Rictus must be destroyed, as Thanaton was." Ashara said vehemently. Nox chuckled.

"Patience, my sweet fulagh." He said affectionately. He could feel the buzz flooding Ashara's brain at the sound of the Togrutan term of endearment. "They will be destroyed, but first we must focus on shaping the Empire as an organism to be more accepting and partial to the truth we possess. This will not, cannot, happen through overt influence. We must be as wise and cunning as Sakash serpents in our re-education of the Imperial people. When beings like Aruk and Rictus are alone and without support, then we will have our opportunities to strike and rid the Empire of their cancerous influence. But until then, we must remain a silent and unseen force in the shadows, shaping, molding, forming. Our work must be done in secrecy, and that requires both wisdom and deception. You possess the former in abundance, but you must learn to use the latter as second nature if we are to succeed."

Slowly, Ashara nodded, then she tucked her legs up off the floor, curling them up on the loveseat and snuggling up to him. "I understand, my lord. I will try my best to practice benevolent deception in all my future endeavors. It's for the good of the Empire, and subsequently, the good of the galaxy."

Nox let his head fall sideways on top of hers. "Exactly. As embodiments of the Force's will, it is our duty to provide those who do not share our strong connection with the Force and the wisdom that comes with it with guidance and direction. They will not always accept this guidance if it is presented to them openly, so we must direct them like nerfherders tending their flock. The nerfherders know where the flock needs to go and why, but the nerfs are simply incapable of understanding the matters involved. Thus it is the moral duty of the nerfherder to direct the nerfs to safety, to lush pastures, and comfortable lodging. To not do so leaves the helpless nerfs exposed to predators, in danger of starvation and thirst, and of developing injuries or dying out in the cold. The nerfs may not understand, they may even stubbornly resist the nerfherder's guidance and direction, believing that they know better. It is then that the nerfherder's moral duty requires that he use whatever means necessary, even physical force, to ensure the nerf's safety and prosperity."

"It is necessary." Ashara said softly. "Our guidance is for their own good."

"You are indeed beautiful and intelligent." Nox said, lavishing her with praise. She had one hand on his lower abdomen, feeling the muscle through the armor-lined robes. Her hand drifted downward to rest on the large clasp of his thick, military quality, armored utility belt.

"How much force will it take to get you where I need you to go my little nerf?" She teased.

Nox smiled in response. "Only a minute application of the strongest force in the universe talreh." She smiled at him and they both moved into the kiss at the same time. Nox gently pushed her onto her back on the sofa, and they gave life to their passions as the cloud cover parted to reveal 2 full moons, locked in a lover's embrace.

_____________

Xalek banked the shuttle into a descending spiral, dropping towards the dark fortress in the center of the Storm Zone's eye. Around the large, gothic building, the perpetual storm raged with unending fury, but here, in the eye above the fortress, there was nothing but an eerie calm and the red-shifted light of the system's primary that filtered down through the dusty atmosphere of the eye. The reddish beams bathed the black citadel in a blood-red glow, making it seem as if the bastion were coated in the blood of past battles. Setting down on an obvious landing platform, Xalek shut off the ship and disembarked. The distant rolling thunder of the Storm Zone echoed off of the black walls of the fort, and the dark maw of the entrance loomed before him. Reaching out with the Force, Xalek could sense the power of the Dark Side that was present here. The builders of this fortress had obviously been skilled architects and force users, but Xalek couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong with the place. It seemed entirely unnatural, as if carved from the void itself. Even the aroma of the Dark Side that wafted off of it like the aroma of a well-cooked Kakrinah wasn't enough to hide the strange emanations coming from deep inside the fortress.

Putting his fears aside, Xalek entered the open portal into the darkness beyond. His predatory yellow eyes easily adjusted to the dark, and they glowed with sinister purpose as he walked through the darkened passages. Very little power remained in the dark bastion, and so the only lighting was from the red emergency lights that lined the bottom edges of the hallways, illuminating the floor and little else. The few windows that there were had lost their force field reinforcements long ago and now served only to let in some light from the primary and allow viewing of the barren and storm swept landscape. As Xalek explored the fortress, he found himself in the largest hallway yet. At either end was a large set of double doors, one incredibly more ornate than the other. Deciding to investigate the ornate door first, it took a surprisingly long time to reach the door. As Xalek walked down the massive hall, past many different doors and hallways leading to rooms or other parts of the fortress, he wondered why the teams hadn't returned. So far he'd encountered no resistance of any kind, no traps, foes, or beasts that could possibly kill armed Reclamation Service teams, there didn't even seem to be any vermin here.

The thought suddenly brought a wave of cold chills sweeping over him, and he suddenly realized that the door seemed to be moving farther away. Something moved in the shadows and with growing fear, Xalek realized he wasn't alone. His warrior instincts kicked in and he drew his lightsaber, its glow seemingly dulled and suffocated in the growing darkness. It was then Xalek realized that it wasn't something moving in the shadows...it was the shadows themselves. Terror shot up his spine and exploded in his brain in a burst of hormones and emotion that spread over his entire body. Turning his fear into hatred, Xalek felt the monster rising, and unleashed a blast of dark power that blossomed out from him in a dome of dark energy that briefly pushed the shadows into a retreat, but that quickly dissipated, allowing the shadows to resume their advance. The whispers of a thousand voices filled his mind. Threats, pleas, and seductions gnawed at his sanity, and he clutched his head as he tried to force the thoughts out. But they clung to his neurons like parasites, feeding off of his life energy as they devoured his mind. The shadows grew ever closer, but Xalek didn't even notice. His lightsaber fell from his grasp and deactivated, falling to the glossy black floor and rolling into the inky black fog that was closing in on the helpless warrior.

Struggling against the overwhelming tide of dark thoughts taking over his consciousness, the Kaleesh suddenly found himself isolated in the darkness of his own mind. He felt cold and alone, and he could sense the void closing in. No, he thought, I will not vanish into obscurity. I will not simply disappear! He could feel his anger, red and burning like fire rise up in him. I will ascend to the heavens, I will pass beyond this, I will become a god! The power rose up in him, and he began to feel sensation again. With brief horror that was swallowed up by vengeful rage, he felt the inky darkness, somehow material in form, surrounding him. He harnessed his rage and his hatred, feeling it burn in his heart with such bright intensity that he felt as if he was on fire, yet there was no pain. He reached out with the Force, and gripped the otherworldly consciousness of the black fog. He nearly recoiled when he felt the sheer torment and pain and hatred of the minds trapped within, all the victims of the insidious fog, from beasts to sentients, were still, somehow, alive within the monstrosity! Steadying his ethereal hand, the young Sith crushed their combined wills with the power of his rage and bent it to his. He drew their power into himself, feeling their newly enslaved wills submit to his own. He felt the darkness enter him and recognize his power, that he was worthy, that he was its own. He came back to the mundane world and saw the darkness retreat, vanishing into the shadows. It was then he looked up and noticed that he was not more than a few feet from the door which he had been trying to reach. Using the Force, he swung open the doors without touching them, and entered the massive room beyond.

It appeared to be a throne room, with ancient banners still hanging on the walls, a skylight letting the reddish light of the system's primary fall down upon the chamber, and a raised portion against the far wall on which sat a large, glossy black throne. Rows of pillars and archways lined the sides, supporting balconies likely accessible from various other parts of the citadel. Approaching the throne, Xalek paused to regard the ancient seat. It was made of the same glossy black material as the floor and the dais upon which it sat, and the style of the chair was identical to the rest of the fortress: a motif of sharpness, spikes, and hardness that were no doubt meant to intimidate the faint of heart. Checking for traps, and finding none, Xalek settled into the throne and allowed himself a moment to savor the feeling. He drifted into his own thoughts as he considered what to do next. He had yet to find any indication of computer access terminals or any clues to the location of the artifact. He couldn't sense the item through the Force so it was likely it wasn't here and the Dark Side aura of the place was simply a lingering effect of the presence of darksiders here in the ancient past. He drummed his fingers on one of the armrests as he considered his course of action. Without warning, a small, square section of the armrest glowed red when his claw tapped it accidentally and a red-tinted, transparent holographic display came to life in front of him. Startled by his discovery at first, Xalek processed what had happened and smiled to himself. When he had no answer, the Dark Side provided one, as it always did.

He studied the display in front of him, it appeared to be a control panel for the entire complex. Oddly enough, the language was similar to Galactic Basic, despite the fortress being incredibly ancient. Power levels were incredibly low, but the system was predicting it could run emergency power for another few decades or so on what was left. Xalek searched the system for a database or inventory, something that might possibly lead him to the Siphon. He had just found a promising drive when his pointed ears twitched at a sound, it took a second to process the noise and identify it as a high-pitched whistle before Xalek realized what it meant. He threw himself through the holographic display and to the ground just as a lightsaber hilt flew over his head and back. The red blade ignited and sliced through the thin air where Xalek's neck had been moments before, striking the back of the throne and bouncing off as if it were made of solid cortosis or beskar. Xalek hit the dais and rolled down the steps to the ground in front of the throne as the active lightsaber flew back to the balcony from which it had been launched, where it sank into the cybernetic hand of a shadowy figure illuminated only by the glow of his blade. The Sith Xalek had encountered outside Commander Galen's office stepped out of the darkness and into the red light falling from the throne room's skylight.

"So my master was right, you are looking for something important." He leaped from a standstill off the balcony and landed on the solid black floor with an echoing "boom", as if his feet and the floor were made of the same material. "How prudent of Darth Ravage to realize what you were up to and send me after you." He began to advance on Xalek, who was just getting to his feet, but stopped a few meters short. "But now we're curious, just who is your master, rogue?"

"I serve the Sith." Xalek replied, drawing his lightsaber and activating it, the purple blades shining brightly in contrast to the dark red sunlight coming down from the skylight. "That is all you need to know."

"I'm afraid you're wrong about the latter, and most likely the former too." The Sith said, pointing his lightsaber tip at Xalek's chest with an outstretched arm. "I am Lord Skalwaar, apprentice to Darth Ravage and your executioner. I will have the truth from you, or I will have your head!" With that, Skalwaar unleashed a war cry and charged. Xalek brought his saber up and blocked the first blow. When Skalwaar tried a sweeping strike at his knees, he blocked that too, then followed up with his own series of wide, sweeping attacks meant to put his enemy on the defensive. Instead, Skalwaar took to the blows to his chest and limbs, Xalek's purple blade bouncing off of the cortosis armor covering his cybernetic form. Xalek was forced to end his attack early, ducking and rolling to the right in order to avoid the counterattack Skalwaar unleashed, seemingly ignoring Xalek's own attacks.

Xalek was forced into a defensive position as Skalwaar descended on him with a sequence of ferocious Juyo attacks. Xalek found his options limited with regards to mounting his own offense, and instead fell back on his training in Niman and Soresu. He combined the defensive parries and blocks of Form III with the balanced blade work of Form VI and the use of Force abilities to drain his opponent's strength and will while he defended himself. Bursts of lightning launched at key points of weakness combined with light counterstrikes and the Kaleesh's seemingly tireless defense managed to chip away at some of the cyborg's endurance, but still his enemy persisted, his attacks remaining strong and focused.

It was only after a full minute of fighting that Xalek began to notice that Skalwaar was becoming frustrated. While his rising ire meant his strength would increase, it also meant he was more likely to make mistakes. Xalek began adopting elements of Djem So into his form, counter-attacking when he saw an opening. With each successful blow Skalwaar became more incensed and more offensive, trying to finish a fight that he felt had gone on long enough. When the cyborg came in for a blow with his elbow too far out, Xalek reacted perfectly. In a sideways twisting motion he ducked down and under the swing and managed to make a cut about an inch deep in the machine man's waist. A metallic howl of pain erupted from the man's cybernetic vocal chords just before he rounded on Xalek, who now stood behind him, and unleashed an intense volley of attacks. The pain seemed to give him focus, as he left no openings big enough for Xalek to exploit without risking exposing himself.

Xalek once again fell back on the defensive forms, relying on Force attacks to slow his enemies reactions and drain his strength, but it still wasn't enough. It seemed Skalwaar was getting angrier and angrier with each passing second, and Xalek was quickly finding himself being driven against the wall. In a flash of desperation, he unleashed a Force push that staggered his foe for a second, long enough to perform a leaping back flip that saw him land on the balcony behind and above him. He retreated as Skalwaar leaped up to pursue him, and the two Sith ran down the hall leading out of the throne room, both calling on the Force to grant them speed.

Within a few seconds, Xalek exited the hallway out onto a platform high up on the tallest spire of the fortress. Skalwaar followed an instant later, and when he saw where they were, he laughed maliciously.

"You fool." He said, mocking Xalek. "You have nowhere to run to now. I stand between you and the only exit that doesn't involve a drop of seventy klicks!"

Xalek adopted the Juyo ready stance. "We'll see about that."

Skalwaar charged again, but Xalek sidestepped him and brought his saberstaff around to cut the man's face off. The cyborg blocked it but Xalek followed up with a series of vicious strikes that forced Skalwaar to switch into Djem So. Knowing Juyo's greatest weakness was strong Force attacks and that Skalwaar had likely long since given up on using the Force for anything other than strength and perception enhancement, Xalek kept the pressure on. He dodged or deflected his foe's counterattacks without breaking his own attack combinations, choosing to even take a few glancing blows to his armor rather than sacrifice his offensive advantage. He couldn't afford to lose his offense now, not with such limited space.

Just then, Skalwaar seized an opening and initiated a counterattack that seared Xalek's cortosis-lined robes. Staggered by the attack, Xalek received another blow to his chest, which was more direct and sent heat through the armor lining to scorch his skin. Xalek fed on the pain and parried the next attack with uncanny foresight. He followed up with a ferocious riposte that penetrated a weak point in Skalwaar's armor and kicked up a shower of sparks and elicited an eerie howl of pain and rage from the abomination. As before, his enemy responded with savage fury and Xalek found himself on the defensive as his opponent ravaged him with sequence after sequence of overwhelming assaults.

Soon Xalek was backed up to the low wall surrounding the platform and Skalwaar loosed a salvo of blows followed by on overhead slash, the mere force of which bent Xalek backward over the wall in order to block it. Skalwaar summoned his rage and pushed harder, bringing the crossed blades closer to Xalek's masked face. The Kaleesh's head quickly turned to look down at the long distance below him, and Skalwaar grinned as he realized his prey was trapped. Then Xalek's eyes, already predatory by nature, narrowed and the edges of his grin poked out from behind his bone mask. A flicker of confusion passed across Skalwaar's features, then he felt the alien's feet impact his metallic codpiece and his confusion changed to terror. The strength of the Force in his legs, Xalek followed through on the kick to send Skalwaar flying a good few meters over the edge of the platform, sending both of them over the edge from the momentum. Skalwaar screamed as he plummeted to his death far below. Xalek managed to grab the edge of the wall at the last moment, leaving him hanging by one arm, watching the form of his enemy descend into the fog that had gathered around the tower's base.

Xalek deactivated his lightsaber and hooked it onto his belt. He took a second to enjoy the view before reaching up with his free hand to grasp the ledge and, summoning the Force to give him strength, pulled himself up and over the wall. He took a few minutes to assess his injuries and, after determining that the only serious wound was to his chest, he went to work healing the scorched, violet flesh using the few Corruption spells his master was currently teaching him. He was skilled enough to perform them with great concentration, but not yet skilled enough to perform them in combat while under attack, not without seriously exposing himself anyway.

After his wound was taken care of, he returned to the throne room and reactivated the holographic console. After half a standard hour, he had recovered all the information he needed to know and uploaded it remotely to his shuttle's onboard computer. Using the display, he accessed the shuttle's systems and turned it on so that it would be warmed up and ready to go when he got there.

Before leaving the throne room, Xalek stopped and looked around one last time. Someday, he thought, I will return and claim this fortress for my own, someday I will rule the Empire from this bastion in the eye of an eternal vortex, and no one will ever challenge me. With that thought, he turned and left, the Force closing the doors behind him.

____________

Demise was busy deflecting bolts from the end of Lieutenant Pierce's blaster rifle in the main cabin of his ship when the ring of the holoterminal broke his concentration. Vette, who had been sitting on the couch watching one of her favorite holonet programs immediately leaned forward and grabbed the remote to change to the calling line while Demise sheathed his saber and moved to stand in front of the projector's input camera. When the image of Darth Nox replaced the image of Belsakk the Bounty Hunter, Demise was more than a little surprised.

"Darth Nox." The Emperor's Wrath said in a questioning tone. "What is so important that you would contact me directly?"

"It's a matter of utmost importance," the Dark Lord replied, "the annihilation of the Republic."

"I'm listening." Lord Demise said, giving the Darth his entire focus. He rarely took claims like these at face value, but any chance to hurt the Republic was an opportunity to him, so he took them as they came.

"I have designed a plan to utterly cripple the Republic," Nox continued, "a plan which involves an attack on Coruscant." Startled, Demise immediately asked,

"Is this line secure?"

"Of course, I wouldn't have made such a statement if it wasn't."

"That's quite a bold statement, and a bold plan."

"I'm aware of that, in fact its audacity has me questioning whether the rest of the Dark Council will accept it."

"So why risk telling me about it?"

"Because I want your participation in the attack, and I think you will be able to sway them." Demise laughed out loud at the thought. He could sense Nox's anger through the connection but he couldn't help it, the thought just sounded so ridiculous. "And what makes you think I can convince them? You are a far better speaker than I."

"But that's just it." Nox replied. "You won't even have to speak, not really. All you have to do is show up at the council meeting during my proposal and support the plan. Any members of the Council who do not support it when it has the endorsement of the Emperor's Wrath will look petty and foolish, possibly even weak or cowardly." Demise stroked his chin.

"I'd be more than happy to participate in an attack of such magnitude."

"You can count me in too my lord." Pierce chimed in.

"And us!" Broonmark, the resident Talz, growled in its native language. "It has been too long since we bathed in blood and waded through carnage!"

"Motivating them to go along with this plan of yours will be beneficial for them and the Empire, opposing it would cast them in a bad light on two counts..." Demise mused. He looked up at Nox. "Of course even if they do refuse, you're position is advanced either way, provided this plan of yours works." Nox seemed slightly offended.

"It will work, everything is already falling into place and by the time the Republic realizes what's happening there will be Destroyers in orbit over Coruscant!"

"What is the goal of the plan?" Demise asked. "We can't defeat Coruscant's forces and raze the planet before the full force of the Republic fleet comes crashing down on us, so what is the purpose of the attack?"

"The assassinations of the Supreme Chancellor and the Supreme Commander of the Republic Military."

Behind his helm, so similar to Nox's own, Demise's eyebrows raised themselves up from their place atop his mechanical oculi.

"For a member of the Dark Council, you're one of the most audacious Sith I've ever met. I'll bet you're a real gambling man."

Nox chuckled. "I don't gamble, Wrath. Unless I know that the odds are in my favor."

Vette snorted. "That's not gambling!"

____________

Xalek landed the shuttle at the coordinates he had found in the ancient fortress, and lowered the boarding ramp. With nothing else to do, he'd repaired his robes during the flight from the fortress, making them look and function as good as new. With no other reason for further delay, he exited the warmth of the shuttle and entered the barren, frozen wasteland of Deriada's dark side. The icy landscape stretched to the horizon in every direction, and Xalek knew that the massive glacier on which he stood was just one of many glaciers that stretched across the dark side of the planet, moving and shifting like tectonic plates but at an even more excruciating pace. Above him, the clear sky giving him a perfect view of the galactic arm in which the planet resided and the nearby Boron Nebula. The sight was certainly beautiful, but he hadn't come here to sightsee, he was here to find and claim the artifact his master had sent him for: The Siphon.

An ancient, legendary artifact created by the Rakata, The Siphon was said to be capable of sapping the very life essence from its victims, similar to how the infamous Force power known as the Death Field was capable of utterly devouring the life force of beings that were weak in the Force. The artifact was said to passively increase its wielder's ability to easily and effectively use the wide array of various Force powers collectively referred to as Force Drain in addition to its use as a way to weaken one's opponent by direct application. On both counts, it was an extremely powerful weapon, one that shouldn't remain lost, or worse, be found and locked away by the Jedi.

Looking around, Xalek couldn't see anything particularly telling, nor could he sense anything through the Force. There was no active life here, and thus the Force was all but absent. Xalek himself would have frozen to death mere minutes after leaving the shuttle were it not for his use of the Force to counteract the effects of the extreme cold. Settling himself on the frozen snow, he kneeled in meditation and reached out with his mind. Slowly expanding his awareness over the landscape, he began to search under the frozen surface of the massive glacier, prying it's interior for anything that might lead him to his prize. He soon found it, a small cavern close to the surface with tunnels leading out from it, roughly half a klick west of him.

Rising to his feet, he walked to the spot where he knew the ice was thinnest and activated a single blade of his lightsaber, the purple plasma glowing brightly in the eternal night of the frozen wasteland. He buried his lightsaber to the hilt and rotated, cutting a circle in the ice. He immediately felt the makeshift platform drop into empty space and he leaped off of it, executing a spinning somersault and landing on his feet several meters away from where the icy platform crashed to the floor of the cavern and shattered. Deactivating his weapon, Xalek took a moment to analyze the space he was in. The grotto was pristine and immaculate, appearing to be artificial and likely undisturbed for thousands of years. There were three tunnels leading in different directions branching out from the hollow, and after reaching out the Force, Xalek sensed a very faint Dark Side aroma wafting from the northeast passage.

After a few minutes the tunnel began to slope downward, and the Dark Side emanations became stronger. Xalek was surprised to find himself entering another cavern with two passages, and he took to the western one when he detected the scent of the Dark Side floating out of it. After a long time of descending into the glacier through various caverns and passages carved in the ice, always following the trail of Dark Side power, Xalek found himself in the largest cavern he'd come across. Sitting on a raised pedestal carved from ice, which was itself protruding from a raised dais carved out of the icy floor, was the Siphon. A cube of red and black that gave off Dark Side energies as a corpse stinks of rot, death, and decay. Xalek felt like he was smelling sweet incense as his Force senses experienced a sensory overload. He had never touched spice, but he imagined this was how it felt to be high on such a substance. His brain was buzzing with all sorts of emotions and sensations all at once. His body felt like it was supercharged with electricity and power just waiting to be unleashed.

"Ahhh, I knew you were up to something!" A familiar voice said triumphantly from behind him. Xalek whirled around in shock and disbelief to see Lord Skalwaar, standing with his lightsaber drawn, in the entrance to the cavern's only passage. "I just didn't know what, but now that I do..." He stepped closer to Xalek as the Kaleesh drew and activated the twin blades of his own weapon. "I'll be taking that artifact."

"I killed you." Xalek said, as if Skalwaar's survival merely depended on the Sith Lord not realizing that he was dead and that reaching that conclusion himself would result in the immediate rectification of the apparent paradox. Skalwaar laughed, and Xalek felt his hackles rise at the haunting, empty sound.

"Is that what you think?" Skalwaar taunted him as they began to circle each other like predators facing off over a kill. "I don't die so easily, soft-shell." He sneered. "I've survived losing limbs and being impaled, a little fall won't kill me!"

"Then I'll be sure to take your head as a trophy, so that I'll always know where you are." Xalek countered as his hatred and rage gathered within him.

"I think you've got that mixed up soft-shell." Skalwaar said, "It's going to be your head on my wall!" and with a roar, he charged. Xalek met his crimson blade with one of his own, blocking the strike with Force-empowered strength and a solid stance. With a heave he threw his opponent off balance and sent him stumbling back a step. Xalek advanced on his foe and entered a sequence of Juyo attacks that Skalwaar countered with his own aggressive, Djem So sequences. Xalek masterfully deflected his opponent's counterattacks with his spinning saberstaff and responded in kind, their attacks building off of one another until they were a blur of motion and light. Xalek launched a sequence of attacks that successfully exhausted his opponent's defenses, then unleashed a burst of lightning that struck his foe straight in the chest, causing several of the cyborg Sith's systems to spark and sputter. With his enemy weakened and staggered, Xalek pressed the attack, and despite Skalwaar's desperate efforts to defend himself, Xalek managed to land several blows with his lightsaber on various portions of the Sith's armoured body, causing more damage to several systems.

With an enraged roar, Skalwaar retaliated brutally. The sudden ferocity from a foe he had thought weakened took Xalek by surprise, and he quickly mounted a defense. Skalwaar's power began to build, and Xalek could feel himself losing the advantage as his opponent's reflexes sped up, the strength of his blows increased, and his Force powers grew. Feeding off of his own adrenal-induced fury, granted by the complex injection systems in his cybernetic armor, Skalwaar was becoming increasingly dangerous with each passing second, and Xalek could already feel victory slipping away.

He redoubled his efforts, using his own mounting fear to feed his anger and hatred and increase his power in an attempt to match his opponent's rising strength. For a moment, it appeared to work, but Skalwaar's fury propelled him into a mindless savagery that accelerated the cycle of his increasing power and Xalek found himself on the defensive and giving ground, merely trying to stay alive against his foe's animalistic ferocity. A particularly advanced and well-executed sequence of attacks pierced his defenses, and a shower of blows rained down on him, striking and singing portions of his armoured robes. Xalek dodged several strikes aimed at his head and arms, struggling to regain the defensive, but Skalwaar, smelling blood in the water, pressed the advantage and drove him into full retreat.

Just then, faced with his opponent's overwhelming power and his own shrinking advantage, Xalek suddenly realized how to defeat his opponent. His master's words came rushing back to him: "If you desire true strength, true power, you must be willing to put aside your pride when it does not serve you." Xalek began to give more ground in the face of Skalwaar's assault, retreating in a circular pattern, slowly moving the fight around the chamber. Infuriated by his opponent's refusal to stand and fight, Skalwaar's attacks became more aggressive, violent and sloppy. Xalek continued to lead him by the nose, settling into the balanced rhythm of the Soresu-laced Niman variant his master had taught him, as he drew Skalwaar closer to the platform at the cavern's center. Skalwaar attacks were ragged and careless enough for Xalek to land several blows on his cortosis armor without lowering his own defenses, and the attacks seemed to enrage the monster further, making him increasingly less of a threat. Xalek backed up one last time, so that he was now on the steps of the dais with The Siphon's pedestal.

With sudden precision and speed, Xalek executed a series of maneuvers that disarmed his opponent, sending the cyborg's weapon skittering across the chamber. Before Skalwaar could call the weapon back to his hand, Xalek landed a Force kick in the center of his chest to send him sprawling to the floor. Raising his lightsaber above his head, Xalek brought it down, burying the tip in Skalwaar's abdomen until he felt it sear through the floor on the other side. His enemies screams filled his pointed ears, and he felt a rush of triumphant pride surge through him. He deactivated his lightsaber, returning it to his belt, the job was not done. He needed to make sure this time, and he knew just how he wanted to do it. Closing his eyes, he reached out with the Force. He felt the Dark Side all around him, a thousand whispers filling his ears, tempting him, calling to him, seducing him. He reached out with his will and touched the power at the center, the dark energy rushed into him like a dam had burst, and he felt it fill his body like a vessel.

He opened his eyes and saw the world through a red veil, he looked down at his feet to see Skalwaar, writhing in terrible pain, looking terrified. Xalek raised his hands towards the cyborg, and he saw the man's face, the only visible flesh there was, begin to turn pale and cyanotic. Skalwaar opened his mouth and gasped as it was became increasingly harder for him to breathe. His thrashing became twitches and minor convulsions, and his eyes grew vacant and staring. His cybernetic injection systems struggled to administer Kolto and Bacta into his veins as fast as they could, but even the potent regenerative properties of those chemicals couldn't save Skalwaar from the treachery of his own cells as they revolted against him. In fact, in a morbid, perverted version of poetic justice, they only prolonged his suffering to an unbearable length. For a full minute, Xalek channeled the power of The Siphon to drain Skalwaar of all his life force, and his own cybernetics fought back in a doomed effort to save him. When the last vestige of life left his body, the organic matter dissolved into ash, leaving the mechanical shell behind, like the exoskeleton of some humanoid insect.

Turning dismissively away from the remains, Xalek mounted the steps and approached the pedestal. The artifact seemed to glow brighter in response to his presence, or perhaps his perception changed as he got closer to it. When he reached it, he extended one clawed hand to seize it and gingerly remove it from the pedestal. When no traps were sprung, he held it in his hands and gazed at it for a long moment, savoring its power. Then he attached it to one of the magnetic clips on his belt, turned, and left the cavern. He'd already established a minor bond with the artifact, which allowed him to absorb its entire aura so that only he could benefit from its effects or tap into its abilities.

As he ascended through the various tunnels and caverns on his way back to the surface, Xalek pondered how best to report Skalwaar's death. Normally he would simply confess to being Skalwaar's killer with pride, but his master would likely frown upon this as Xalek's missions were often supposed to be kept secret, and this particular mission was part of one of his master's much larger plans. After a moment of deliberation, Xalek simply decided to not report Skalwaar's death at all. It was astronomically unlikely that anyone would ever discover what remained of the Sith Lord, and it seemed, for all intents and purposes, that Skalwaar had been working alone. Thus Darth Ravage would remain in the dark about Xalek and his mission, beyond what Skalwaar might have told him before following Xalek into the glacial caverns, which was most likely just how Darth Nox would have wanted it. When Xalek reached the final grotto and Force leaped through the oculus, he felt the sting of the cold through his damaged robes, and realized what he was going to spend the next hour or so doing.

He ascended the shuttle's boarding ramp, closing it behind him, and entered the cockpit to fire up the engines and begin the launch sequence. The shuttle rose from the frozen ground, its landing gear disappearing into its belly as it hovered into the air. Its nose turned and pointed towards the eastern sky, before the engines flared and the craft flew off into the pristine, starry night sky.

_____________

Lord Serjay Thul walked down the aisle of the massive throne room of the Thul Palace. The throne room was filled to the brim with Alderaanian nobles from every House, even representatives of House Organa and Alde were present, albeit in the very rear of the assembly. As he reached the front he could see the stalwart holograms of the members of the Dark Council, taking up the entirety of the right-side first row. The eidolons tracked him as he ascended the platform, about to take his seat on the throne of House Thul, now the Royal Throne of Alderaan. He turned before the assembled and awaited the Thul lord who was bearing the crown to approach him. Upon reaching him, the noble bowed and extended the crown in his hands. Serjay took it and placed it on his head, and a great cheer rose up from the section occupied by the representatives of House Thul and its vassal houses. A somewhat reluctant but fearful applause broke out among the rest, with only House Organa and Alde refraining from joining in.

Serjay took his seat on the throne, but only momentarily, as the noble who had offered the crown now placed a small, portable holoprojector at his feet and activated it. Darth Marr's hologram disappeared from the front row and appeared before the newly inaugurated King of Alderaan. Serjay rose to his feet and bent down on one knee before Darth Marr. Following him with his eyes, half a galaxy away, Marr waited until Serjay's knee touched the ground before he spoke.

"By the power invested in me by the Emperor, and by the authority of the Dark Council," he extended his hand as he spoke, "I proclaim you, Darth Imperious!" Another round of cheers, louder than the previous one, erupted from the section of Thul nobles. Applause from the rest of the assembly followed soon after, with only the Organa and Alde nobles remaining unmoved. The Imperial troopers posted as honor guards around the perimeter of the crowd cocked their rifles, and the applause soon turned into mustered cheers, although possibly less enthusiastic than the cries of the victorious houses. Organa and Alde reluctantly joined in, although many of their facial expressions did not match their actions.

Darth Imperious rose from the floor and waited for Darth Marr's hologram to return to the front row before he seated himself on the throne and House Thul's cheers became louder. Imperious motioned for quiet, and once the hall was silent, the same lord who had granted Imperious the crown spoke in a loud, clear, booming voice.

"People of Alderaan, bow before your new King!" House Thul's nobles were the first to bow, prostrating themselves on their hands and knees. Slowly, the rest of the congregation followed suit, until only House Organa and House Alde were left standing, their faces twisted in angry defiance. Darth Imperious rose to his feet and pointed at Duke Organa.

"Bring him to me!" The nearest soldiers obeyed. Lady Organa clutched at her husband's arm, but he gave her a sad look and indicated she should remain where she was. She reluctantly obeyed, her fear plastered to her face like a mask. When the soldiers brought Duke Organa to the foot of the throne, Darth Imperious spoke;

"Why do you not bow before your king, Duke Organa?"

"Because I refuse to bow my knee to any tyrant who takes the throne of Alderaan by force!"

"So you will not bow?" Imperious asked.

"Not now, not ever!" Charle Organa spat.

"Then it is with great sorrow" Imperious replied, his voice becoming louder so that everyone could hear his first royal decree "that I hereby banish House Organa and their allies; House Alde, from Alderaan." Gasps of shock rose up from the assembly. "All of your assets and property will be seized and allocated among House Thul and its allies, and all members of your royal houses will be scattered, creditless, among the stars, never to return to Alderaan!" Cries of sorrow and horror rose up from the nobles of the two newly banished houses. "Away with them!" Darth Imperious commanded, and as the guards moved to do his bidding, a chorus of Thul voices began to chant, with fists pumping in the air; "All hail Darth Imperious, all hail the King of Alderaan! All hail Darth Imperious, all hail the King of Alderaan!" Eventually, the remaining assembly joined in;

"All hail Darth Imperious, all hail the King of Alderaan! All hail Darth Imperious, all hail the King of Alderaan!"

The cheers continued as, one by one, the holograms of the members of the Dark Council vanished.

"All hail Darth Imperious, all hail the King of Alderaan!"

________________

Nox settled into his seat on the Dark Council. Today they had many items of interest to attend to, and attending the inauguration of Darth Imperious had just been the first. He could not help but feel raw excitement buzz through him as he surveyed the Dark Council Chambers. He remembered the day he had first set foot here, it seemed so long ago that he had struck Thanaton down in a hard-fought and well-earned victory and taken the old fool's seat on the Dark Council. Thanaton could not, and likely would not, have seen the potential in young Serjay Thul that Nox had. Thanaton, being so wrapped up in the past, would not have seen the future that Imperious could bring about. But Nox was about do what Thanaton could never have done, cross divides and shatter barriers his predecessor could never have dreamed of conquering, and it was at this meeting that he would rally the other members of the Dark Council to his cause. With words of blood and honey, he would draw them like prey into his inescapable web, and forever ensnare them in the bonds of his destiny.

"Now," Marr spoke with what sounded to be a mixture of triumph and eagerness "On to other matters." He turned his masked face towards Nox. "Darth Nox, perhaps you would like to begin?"

"I would." Nox replied, enjoying the slight tingle of dislike from Ravage and Mortis, and the outright hatred from Aruk and Rictus. "The Battle of Ilum, as I'm sure we are all aware, was the most costly campaign in recent Imperial history, surpassed only by the Battle of Corellia." Eyes went to the vacant seats of Decimas, Hadra, Acharon, and Arho. "Darth Malgus's betrayal, along with our heavy losses at Corellia, have left the Empire in an...undesirable state."

"Come to the point!" Rictus snapped. Nox glanced at him.

"The point, my fellow Councilors, is what are going to do about it?"

"What do you suggest we do?" Aruk all but sneered. "Propose another treaty? Maybe roll over for the Republic?"

"Hardly." Nox stated, his voice layered with an almost imperceptible undertone of derision.

"What Darth Nox is trying to say," Marr interrupted. "Is what are we going to do to rekindle the Empire's strength and secure the advantage?"

"We should be focusing on defending our assets and resources." Mortis asserted. "If we lose our resources we lose the war."

"True," Nox replied "But considering how limited our resources already are, especially when compared to the Republic, a defensive stratagem would only preserve us for so long. The Republic is in a far stronger position to win a war of attrition."

"Darth Nox is correct." Vowrawn chimed in. "Our enemy suffered far less punishment in the most recent battles. Perhaps a more aggressive strategy is needed if we hope to achieve any advantage."

"But by doing so we would expose ourselves to more devastating, possibly fatal offensives from our enemy!" Ravage protested. The Empire's subjugants are hard enough to corral when their cities aren't burning and their people aren't dying by the thousands."

"I never pegged you as one who cared for the "lesser" species, Ravage." Marr interjected. Ravage struggled to remain calm, but a slight tone of anger seeped into his voice.

"With the recent losses we have suffered we cannot afford to lose more resources than we already have." Behind his mask, Nox's face twisted in anger at the way Ravage referred to the millions of aliens on the Empire's conquered worlds as "resources". "In launching a full-on offensive we expose our flank."

"You think too highly of the Republic, Ravage." Nox responded with deceptive calm. "If we launch attacks at the Republic's most vulnerable points, they will trip over each other in a rush to defend their members. They foolishly protect those who are weak and worthless and will prioritize the lives of their citizens over destroying us."

"And you are sure of this?" Aruk said, challenging him. "Saresh is a warmonger who would cut off her nose to spite her face. She might well sacrifice millions or billions of lives to capitalize on an opportunity to bring us down!"

"Leontyne Saresh is not the Republic's dictator." Marr pointed out. "The Senate will undoubtedly overrule her on humanitarian grounds."

"Doesn't she have the power of veto?" Aruk asked. "She could simply use it to counter the overruling."

"Actually, I'm pleased to say that it doesn't quite work that way." Vowrawn said, pretending to address the entire council when he was really addressing, and embarrassing, Aruk. "In the Republic, the Supreme Chancellor's power of veto only allows them to stop legislation, not enact it. Furthermore, a seventy five percent Senate ruling in opposition to any veto overturns it. So even if Saresh could somehow use the power of veto to have her way, she would need to convince more than twenty five percent of the Republic Senate to abandon their beloved comrades to painful and violent deaths in order to strike blows against the Empire which may or may not be the end of us."

"Since when are you such an optimist Vowrawn?" Rictus shot back.

"Since the execution of Darth Baras." The ancient pureblood said with a mocking smile.

"His death was long overdue." Mortis said, his tone almost reminiscent.

"Speaking of the pretender," Ravage added, "Has anyone heard anything about the true Voice?" Heads shook and shoulders heaved all around the room.

"No one has heard anything from the Emperor since the attack on Dromund Kaas," Marr said, looking directly at Vowrawn "From his Hand or otherwise." Aruk looked around at the other members of the Council in disbelief.

"Have we simply forgotten about our discussion regarding the Empire's future?" He asked, incredulous.

"Let us table that for now, and come back to it later." Marr responded. "I think Ravage's line of thought merits some attention as well, especially if we wish to discuss the Empire's future." Several members of the Council raised their eyebrows in a mixture of interest and suspicion.

"My recent activities took me to Belsavis," Nox said, breaking the brief silence. "There I discovered that the Dread Masters seemed to be in direct competition with Imperials for lost resources."

"Meaning?" Marr demanded.

"That the directives of Imperial High Command ran completely counter to the apparent interests of the Dread Masters. I checked with High Command after the fact, and they assured me that the Masters had not attempted to contact or inform High Command of their objectives."

"That is their right." Rictus said, his mocking tone mimicking that of a parent speaking to an impaired child.

"As servants of the Emperor, yes." Nox agreed, "However, if they were acting on the Emperor's orders or in accordance with his wishes, the Hand would have informed High Command of the situation in order to avoid unnecessary conflict and wasted resources."

"That is the precedent." Marr agreed.

"What are you saying?" Mortis asked. "That the Dread Masters are disobeying the Emperor? That they have betrayed the Empire?"

"It is conceivable..." Marr said pensively. "With the Voice remaining silent, we cannot exclude the possibility that the Dread Masters might not be as loyal to the Empire as they once were."

"More enemies on every front." Ravage complained. "As if we didn't have enough problems"

"We don't know they have betrayed us." Marr reasoned. "The Hand could very well be busy assisting the Emperor with whatever recovery or reprisals he has planned. That would explain the recent lack of any form of guidance from him."

"Still, such aggressive actions from ones so powerful are reason enough to be on the alert." Mortis argued. He turned to Nox; "Did you investigate further?"

"I did indeed." Nox replied. "I discovered they had left a contingent of the Dread Host behind on the planet to secure the area of Belsavis Prison known as Section X, as well as some lost Imperial resources there."

"What resources?" Aruk drilled him.

"Specifically?" Nox replied. "The Fatality." The other members of the Dark Council exchanged blank glances.

"The Fatality?" Darth Marr asked.

"A lone warship stolen some years ago not long after the Dread Master's capture and imprisonment on Belsavis. The Sith who stole it was an apprentice of theirs, presumably he was attempting to rescue them."

"What made him think he could storm the most secure prison facility in the galaxy?" Ravage asked.

"Probably the small army of HK assassin droids in the hold." Nox replied. There was a long moment of silence as the other members of the Council processed what they had just been told.

"Is it secure?" Marr finally asked when the long moment had passed.

It is under the care and protection of the Imperial Reclamation Service." Nox said, leaning back in his seat, the picture of confidence. He knew the thought of him in control of an army of HK assassin droids was rushing with panicked haste through the minds of many in the room. He had just made sure everyone wanted to be on his good side, even if they only wanted to be there so they could stab him in the back.

"I seem to recall Darth Hadra mentioning the deal with Czerka in passing." Aruk said, leaning forward to challenge the nonchalant Nox. "Doesn't that ship fall under the jurisdiction of the Sphere of Technology?"

"In case you haven't noticed Aruk," Nox replied evenly, "The seat of the Sphere of Technology is still vacant after Hadra's death on Corellia. The Imperial Reclamation Service would normally hand the ship and its cargo off to the Councilor of Technology after processing, but since that Sphere of Influence is currently leaderless, the IRS has the most jurisdiction until we elect a new Councilor for that Sphere."

"Which brings us to our next issue for consideration," Darth Marr spoke up, "Our numbers have been severely decreased. Five seats stand vacant today, their Spheres of Influence largely leaderless. We must elect new candidates to serve on the Dark Council if we hope to regain the stability we have lost."

"And what of the Dread Masters?" Aruk pressed. "Stability or not they may well have the power to tear the Empire to shreds if we allow them to consolidate their power unabated."

"We do not know they have betrayed us yet, acting now would be rash and reckless." Marr nearly snarled. "We will remain on high alert for any movement and new information on that front and discuss any findings we have at the next meeting." Heads nodded in agreement around the room and Aruk settled back into his chair, seething.

"I have an ideal candidate to succeed Hadra." Marr continued his line of discussion, "the Falleen, Darth Karrid."

Rictus snorted. "You can't be serious Marr." he said dismissively. "She's an alien. We just got over dealing with Malgus and his mongrel hordes, and we already have our token outsider." He said, gesturing towards Nox. Nox could barely suppress the indignant rage that welled up in him.

"Marr is right." Vowrawn said in his usual, measured tone. "I've read the accounts of Karrid's victories and I see real potential."

"As do I." Nox concurred.

"A potential ally you mean." Aruk sneered at Nox.

"Enough!" Marr said firmly.

"I agree," Mortis said, drawing the eyes of everyone in the room. "I've heard enough about this Karrid, especially when there's a far better candidate right under our noses." Everyone continued to stare at him.

"And who would that be?" Marr asked with a note of exasperation.

"Gravus."

"You aren't serious I hope." Nox replied.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Mortis responded, a cold anger entering his voice.

"I've met Gravus." Nox said. "He's politically astute and an intelligent commander, but that's all he is. I'd hesitate to even call him Sith."

"You're one to talk!" snarled Aruk, leaning all the way forward in his seat.

"Aruk," Marr said with an eerie calm, "you would do well to remember we are discussing future candidates for the Dark Council, not past ones."

"Now, now." Vowrawn interjected when Aruk's grip on the armrests of his throne tightened, "There's no need for this to devolve into violence," a twinkle appeared in his eye, "yet."

"You aren't helping." Marr said, sounding frustrated.

"Patience." Rictus said in an uncharacteristic display of rationality. "We cannot allow our differences to impede progress."

"Agreed." Marr said, sounding somewhat relieved. "I hereby nominate Darth Karrid for the position of Head of the Sphere of Technology."

"Seconded." Nox added.

"I support the nomination." Rictus said, causing many of the members of the Dark Council to turn their heads towards him surprise. Nox was as shocked as anyone. Rictus wasn't known for his fondness of alien species, or for any of the Council members supporting Karrid. Which made his choice to side against the interests of his usual allies all the more strange.

"I hereby nominate Darth Gravus for the position." Mortis countered.

"I support the nomination." Came Aruk's response.

"I as well." Ravage agreed.

All eyes turned to Vowrawn, who's steepled fingers didn't distract Nox from the distinct, mischievous twinkle in the Pureblood's eye.

"I can support Gravus's nomination to the Council." Vowrawn offered diplomatically. "But his greatest success was the recent rout of the Republic on Taris, all his previous victories are rather small, and his recent failure to defend the Leritor system is simply unacceptable."

"So what do you suggest?" Ravage asked.

"That we wait and see what unfolds. If Gravus regroups and reclaims Leritor, proving himself worthy of the Council, then we will elect him. If he fails..."

"Darth Karrid will be our choice." Nox finished the thought, hiding his relief behind a Force shroud and emotional barriers as effectively as his ghoulish mask hid his face. "What about the Sphere of Military Offense?"

"If I may," Vowrawn butted in, "There is a very promising candidate in that sphere by the name of Darth Arkous. He was the favorite to succeed Baras but Arho outdid him."

"What makes this Arkous worthy?" Rictus asked.

"Well for one thing he shares my complexion," Vowrawn said with a confidence born of stacking the deck in his favor, "and in addition to great power in the Force he is no stranger to inflicting defeat upon the Republic. He commanded the Fourth Fleet at the Battle of Soricys, and lead the charge in the Battle of Talinor Six. Both were very successful campaigns that utilized fear, manipulation, and surgical strikes in combination with well-coordinated and executed battle plans."

"I know Arkous well." Aruk said with undisguised satisfaction. "He will be a fine addition to the Dark Council."

"I may not know much about the man but his track record speaks for itself." Ravage agreed. "Soricys and Talinor weren't his only successful campaigns, just his most noticeable."

"Then I hereby nominate Darth Arkous as Head of the Sphere of Military Offense." Vowrawn stated. Aruk spoke before anyone else could;

"Seconded."

"I support the nomination." said Ravage.

"As do I." said Rictus.

"And I" Mortis chimed in, with Nox nodding his reluctant assent as well.

"Then it is finished." Marr said, signaling the passing of the nomination.

"The Spheres of Biotic Science, Military Strategy, and Imperial Intelligence still need to be filled." Nox pointed out.

"The Sphere of Military Strategy is easy enough." Marr replied. "Darth Charnus will replace his former master, Decimas. Any objections?" Heads shook in response. "Then Darth Charnus is the new head of the Sphere of Military Strategy."

"I think Darth Nalik would be an excellent successor for Acheron." Ravage supplied, "seeing as our former colleague lost all his apprentices along with his life." There were nods of agreement around the room. Only Aruk seemed averse to the nomination, but he, for once, kept his reservations to himself and gave his reluctant assent.

"Then Darth Nalik will take the seat of Biotic Science." Marr said, affirming the decision.

"And what of the Sphere of Imperial Intelligence?" Nox requested.

"At the moment, that Sphere no longer exists." Marr responded. "With Darth Zhorrid dead and Imperial Intelligence itself dissolved soon after, the remaining assets have been temporarily assigned to various aspects of the Imperial military. We will need to rebuild it at some point, but for now the Sphere is of more use to us reinforcing our martial resources."

"Then the reformation of the Sphere will be top priority at the next Council meeting." Nox replied.

"Yes." Marr affirmed.

"With that settled," Mortis suggested, "perhaps we should turn to the matter of nominations for Darth for the next meeting. My apprentice, Lord Zavrasha, has earned the title I believe."

"Indeed." Vowrawn said with a familiar twinkle in his eye. "Her sensibilities have become quite enjoyable for those under her." Mortis glared at him.

"I see no issue with that." Marr replied, and a nodding of heads around the room indicated that no one was opposed to the promotion of Mortis's apprentice.

"I'd like to recommend Lord Willsaam and Lord Gravuk." Came Aruk's voice out of the silence.

"Isn't Lord Willsaam technically not within your sphere?" Ravage asked out of curiosity.

"Her master, the Emperor's Wrath, has discussed her place in the Empire with me." Aruk said, somewhat haughtily. "He has deemed me to be the only one fit to oversee her."

"Madness to madness." Nox muttered the old Sith proverb under his breath, loud enough for Marr and Ravage to hear, but no one else.

"Very well." Mortis said solemnly. "Does anyone object to the promotions of Lord Willsaam and Lord Gravuk?" Silence. "Then they will be added to the agenda for our next meeting." Mortis concluded.

"Not Lord Willsaam." Aruk interrupted. "The Wrath specifically stated that he will be granting the promotion himself."

"One less thing for us to deal with." Marr answered. "Let it be done then."

"Is there any other business yet to be addressed?" Mortis asked.

"We still have our first topic of discussion on the table," Marr reminded him, "what strategy to adopt for the next stage of the war."

"I'm not sure what discussion needs to be had," Mortis insisted. "If we do not defend ourselves the war is over!"

"And yet if we simply defend and do not attack we will lose resources far faster than the Republic, and the war will, in all likelihood end with our defeat." Vowrawn countered. Nox rose from his chair and descended from the dais to the middle of the room. All eyes turned to watch him as he took center stage, some in interest, some in hatred, some even in amusement.

"Members of the Dark Council." Nox began. "At the beginning of this meeting we coronated a new king of Alderaan."

"Great, more grandstanding." Aruk whispered to himself, with only Rictus and Vowrawn able to hear him.

"In this, we now have a great opportunity," Nox said, clenching his fist for emphasis, "if we have the ambition to seize it! It will not be long before the Republic moves on Alderaan. We must act now and claim this advantage while we still have it. With the annexation of Alderaan we are now in possession of many hyperspace routes that lead directly to the heart of our enemy. If we act now, we can turn Alderaan into a staging point for full-on invasion of the Core, and..." he paused, "the completion of what the Sacking of Coruscant began all those decades ago." He paused to allow anyone who wished to speak the opportunity to do so. When he realized that he had the rapt attention of everyone in the room, he continued.

"With Alderaan and its hyperspace routes under our control, we have a chance to deal a death blow to the Republic, and spell out their doom for all the galaxy to see. We can launch direct attacks on Coruscant and Tython while the Republic scrambles to gather its forces, we can cut the heads off of these snakes and possibly even end the war here and now!" The door of the chamber opened, and all eyes went to the entrance, some startled, some curious. There, striding in through the open doorway, was seven feet of muscle, armor, and force power: The Emperor's Wrath.

"Lord Demise." Nox said, bowing his head in a gesture of respect.

"Darth Nox." Demise replied in acknowledgement. "Members of the Dark Council. I have come in support of Darth Nox's plans to take action against our enemy: the hated Republic." Looks of surprise showed on every visible face. "Too long has the Empire been held back by petty infighting and division. I have come here today to call upon the Dark Council to take hold of this opportunity to strike an incredible blow to our common enemy, providing new opportunities for conquest, resources, and the expansion of our influence."

"As Lord Demise so eloquently said," Nox continued, "This is a great opportunity for all of us."

"I'm beginning to wonder just what you have in mind, Darth Nox." Marr spoke up from his seat.

"Just this: "Nox said, smiling behind his helm, "I propose the execution of a plan I have been crafting since I took my place on this Council many months ago. Plan designate: Omega. Plan Omega involves a coordinated attack on both Coruscant and Tython." Ravage leaned forward in his seat, crossing one leg horizontally over the other and resting his elbow on it as he paid close attention to Nox's words. Mortis was leaning forward slightly in his seat in interest, and Marr and Vowrawn were both relaxing in their own seats, Vowrawn with his hands steepled in front of his face and a wicked smile in his eyes.

"These coordinated attacks," Nox continued, "are largely to serve as elaborate distractions, complementary to the plan's true purpose," He paused. "the assassinations of the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic and the Supreme Commander of the Republic's armed forces." Dead silence. Nox allowed it to stretch to just short of an uncomfortable length of time, but just as he was about to continue speaking, Marr spoke up.

"This plan is...bold, to say the least." He said in a slightly awed tone. "What information do you have regarding the republic's defenses? Their emergency protocols? Their contingencies?"

"All right here." Nox assured him, detaching a small holoprojector from his utility belt and tossing the device so that it hovered above the floor while going through a slide show of data and intel on all the various aspects of the plan. "Normally I would be content to carry out this plan myself and take all the credit, but the sheer scope of the plan requires far more resources and sources of expertise than I have at my disposal. Thus I bring this to you, my fellow councilors, and ask for your cooperation in orchestrating the downfall of the Republic."

"This plan is audacious but hardly a death knell for the Republic." Ravage cut in. "I think you are overstating the case."

"Ahh but you see, the attacks and assassinations are only phase one."

"Phase One?" Vowrawn asked, a youthful eagerness in his voice.

"The second phase involves a barrage of invasions of various other planets throughout Republic space, immediately following the attacks and successful assassinations."

"Why attack Tython too?" Mortis asked. "Isn't Coruscant good enough to serve our purposes?"

"I thought so at first." Nox said, nodding sagely. "But then I realized that if the Jedi are simply left to their own devices, they will reinforce the forces on Coruscant by surrounding the planet and trapping our forces between two fronts. Thus the attack on Tython to draw the main force of Jedi away from Coruscant so that they cannot interfere with our assassination attempts or turn the tide of the battle before we are ready and able to retreat."

"Divide and conquer." Marr mused absentmindedly.

"Precisely." Nox amended. "With the follow-up invasions, the Republic will be leaderless in nearly every capacity and the Jedi will be stretched thin, trying to keep both the Republic and their order from falling apart."

"What about the Jedi Council?" Rictus inquired. "Aren't we just creating a way for them to take over the Republic?"

"The Republic being run by the Jedi will only make our enemy more dangerous!" Aruk hissed at Nox. "You're trying to undermine us!"

"You know as well as I do how principled the Jedi are." Marr responded in Nox's place. "They may institute temporary leadership in a time of crisis such as the one this plan will create, but we will have the initiative, and even after they assume control they will still be stretched too thin trying to protect the innocent beings of the worlds we enslave to even think about launching an assault on our most vulnerable sectors."

"Marr is correct." Vowrawn chimed in. "We are dealing with an enemy which has extraordinary weaknesses. This plan takes full advantage of them to give us what we need while protecting and concealing our own weaknesses."

Rictus looked convinced, but Aruk's body language said he was still desperately clinging to his prejudices. Unfortunately, he had no support on which to stand, so even he conceded the point. Nox called the projector back to his hand and switched it off, returning it to his belt.

"I will be sending you all detailed copies of the plan in its entirety. The role of every Dark Council member is explicitly outlined within. Darth Marr and I will be commanding the assault on Tython, provided he has no objections. Darth Aruk and Darth Ravage will be commanding the fleet battle above Coruscant, again, provided they have no objections, and Lord Demise will be commanding the ground forces alongside Darth Mortis on the planet. Darth Vowrawn will be seeing to all the preparations for the subsequent invasions following the attacks, as well as coordinating efforts and resources in preparation for the attacks themselves. During the battles we will be holding some resources and troops in reserve in case backup is needed. The total sums of ships, troops, and resources required are listed as well, divided as evenly as possible. The remainder of our combined resources will, of course, be protecting the rest of the Empire while we cut out the Republic's heart." He looked around at the faces of his fellow council members. "I suggest we adjourn for a few hours to review the plan and consider our options before we take the vote." He suggested. "Some time to evaluate the plan with a more critical eye is a welcome prospect I'm sure."

"Agreed." Marr said. "we'll meet back here in three hours, then we will vote on the fate of the Republic."

____________

The members of the Dark Council filed out into the hallway after the vote on the enacting of Plan Omega. The vote had passed, much to Nox's pleasure, and the council members were even now departing to galvanize their various power bases to begin preparations for the assault, which was scheduled to begin in a standard week. Nox approached Marr as they neared the elevator and asked:

"How did she take it?"

"Who?"

"Karrid, who else?"

"I informed her of the situation." Marr said in what amounted to a hushed tone. "She took it better than expected."

"Do you think she has a plan?" Nox asked when the possibility suddenly crossed his mind.

"It would not surprise me." Marr conceded. "Let us hope that it is as well-thought out as yours."

"Speaking of well thought-out plans..." Vowrawn's voice cut in. The two Dark Lords turned to acknowledge the other Dark Councilor as he approached them. "This delightful scheme of yours is absolutely brazen, Darth Nox." The tall, lanky pureblood complimented him. "I'm surprised I didn't come up with it myself."

"It wouldn't be possible without Darth Imperious winning the war for Alderaan." Nox pointed out.

"Yes, and I'm sure that wouldn't have been possible without certain...shadowy benefactors." Vowrawn rebutted with a twinkle in his eye. Behind his helm, Nox's eyes narrowed. Just how much does he know?

"The boldness of the plan is its strength." Marr said with conviction. "We've been on the defensive for so long, and been so severely weakened by infighting and betrayal that the Republic will not be expecting such an aggressive maneuver from us. They will be caught off-guard by an opponent they believed was defeated."

"Indeed." Vowrawn complied. "Let us hope that the element of surprise will be enough to help disguise our true goal until it is too late. With chaos that the deaths of their leaders will sow in the ranks, we rely on them being too busy scrambling to defend themselves to notice our weaknesses elsewhere. If they do, this plan could easily backfire."

"I agree Vowrawn." Nox said, causing both of the other Sith to look directly at him in mild surprise. "Which is why I entrusted you with staying behind to ensure the safety of Alderaan and keep in touch with High Command to keep us informed of the state of skeleton defense of the Empire."

"The Republic might take notice of the mass retreats of our forces across the galaxy and divine it as a prelude to something bigger." Marr pointed out. "What if they are prepared for us?"

"They won't be." Nox assured him. "We're already in retreat from many sectors, unfortunately. I took that into account when I started conducting this plan. I believe that the massive withdrawal of our forces will be seen only as self-preservation, the actions of the desperate. With this plan we will feed their delusions of superiority so that they will not see this coming until it is too late."

"What about communications from Alderaan?" Marr inquired further. "Don't you think the conquest of the planet has already been leaked to the Republic?"

"Imperious's elite commando squads disabled communications for the entire planet right before he sprung his trap, when House Thul appeared to be in full retreat. All the Republic knows is that House Organa and her allies were winning the war when a communications blackout occurred. Thul now has total control over the communications systems and are faking the blackout to use as a smokescreen to conceal our impending attack." An evil grin split Vowrawn's face.

"I do so love blindsiding opponents!"

"It is such an exquisite pleasure isn't it?" Nox replied with an equally delighted expression spreading across his own hidden visage.

"Indeed!" Vowrawn said, rubbing his hands together in eager anticipation, "Well I'd best be off, these preparations aren't going to make themselves!" and with that, he turned and headed down the hall, turning the corner towards the elevator.

"Are you sure about this Nox?" Marr asked, genuine concern creeping into his voice. "Do you at least have a contingency plan in case this plan backfires?"

"Yes. There is a reason I did not involve The Ascendant Spear and my ships equipped with Silencers in these attacks." Nox replied.

Marr nodded. "I wondered about that. The plan made no mention of them."

"I've stationed each Silencer ship at key Imperial strongholds that must not fall." Nox stated, "And Darth Karrid will be more than willing to defend the Empire with The Spear should the Republic be so bold and well-organized as to counter-attack. With its highly advanced weaponry and unmatched speed, The Spear will be more than capable of defending multiple positions within short periods of time."

"The need for your ships to defend key strongholds was why you required the Council's help in executing this." Marr said in realization. "Thanks to the Silencers, your ships are powerful but you don't enough of them to take on Coruscant's and Tython's defenses by yourself."

"Exactly." Nox affirmed. "But they will serve perfectly fine in defending key strongholds against small Republic fleets with minimal support."

"Why have the Council members lead the attacks?" Marr asked. "I'm surprised no one accused you of setting us up."

Nox chuckled. "Possibly because I myself will be fighting the battle as well. I wouldn't be very intelligent if I set myself up to take the fall with the rest of you." He paused to consider the matter a moment, then spoke again. "But to reassure you, my intentions regarding having the Dark Council lead the attacks is simply because the Empire cannot afford to have this plan fail. We need the very best leading the charge to avoid incompetence and mistakes." Seemingly satisfied with his answer, Marr nodded.

"Understandable considering the recent events, although some might point to Corellia as an example of what happens when too many members of the Dark Council gather in one place."

"If you want my opinion, that was simply a tactical mistake." Nox replied with fervor. "We could afford to lose Corellia. There was no need to have so many members of the Dark Council present on-world." He paused. "This, however, is a gamble we can't afford to lose. Whether the Dark Council is wiped out or not, if we lose this battle, we lose the war." The two Sith stood in silence for a moment, letting the weight of the realization settle on them. The gravity of the actions they were about to take was suddenly very real. After a long moment, Marr reached out and placed a gloved hand on Nox's armoured shoulder.

"May the Dark Side ever serve you, Darth Nox."

"And you as well, Darth Marr."

_____________

Xalek descended the boarding ramp of his ship, feeling the hot, foul-smelling atmosphere of Vlestakk sting his lungs and throat. The lack of oxygen in the nitrogen and xenon-rich atmosphere was unhealthy for most humanoids, but not fatal, merely painful, and he could use the Force to counteract the most harmful effects for long enough to leave the planet without permanent damage. Looking out over the plain in which he had landed, Xalek took in the alien landscape. A carpet of blue, grass-like plants covered the ground for as far as the eye could see. In the green sky, the system's three suns illuminated the foreign landscape in vibrant color. At various points, tall, thin, tree-like plants sprouted from among the grass, their red stems contrasting sharply with the vibrant ocean blue of their own leaves and the grass from which they sprang. Far off to the west, Xalek could see a mountain range that stretched for hundreds of miles, only to seemingly vanish over the horizon. To the east, north, and south, the plain seemed to go on forever, but Xalek knew from the planetary survey carried out by the Expeditionary Fleet that this was merely an expansive flatland, and that a large body of liquid lay to the east.

He knelt on the ground and summoned the Force to do his bidding. He stretched his awareness out across the planet, invisible tendrils of thought covering miles in mere moments. He could definitely feel something, a kind of intuitive sensation of distant disturbance, like feeling the beating of drums long before you heard them, soft waves of dark power emanating from a source far distant. The radiation of the system's three stars, while not toxic, played havoc with ship sensors and navigation computers, it had been hard enough getting the ship through entry into the atmosphere, so Xalek wasn't eager to risk a crash by tracking down the relic in his ship, despite the vast distance. After a moment of consideration, he decided on what to do.

Positioning himself so that he faced away from the setting suns, Xalek stared into the distance, assuming a running stance, furrowing his brow, and narrowing his eyes as he summoned the power of the Dark Side. He felt the energy crackling through his limbs and his predatory instincts rising to the surface. Every muscle in his body coiled, then released. He flew across the plain like a thunderbolt, moving so fast he appeared as a blur to everything but the wind. The featureless landscape whizzed past him as if he were a ship in hyperspace. He saw the daylight begin to slowly fade as he crossed into the next time zone, and though he felt his energy reserves dropping, he ran on. In a flash he reached a vast expanse of black, oily-looking liquid, and continued at his current pace without stopping. The pain in his lungs from breathing the alien atmosphere drove him on, and his feet carried him across the strange ocean, never breaking the surface tension.

As he ran, he saw a dot appear on the horizon, directly in front of him. As he got closer, he saw it change from a dot to a group of shapes, then from a group of shapes to a herd of large animals. His enhanced vision allowed him to see them despite the vast distance between them that was rapidly closing, and he was able to analyze them briefly. The creatures were large mammals with round, wide bodies, flat heads, and three, long, thick tentacles sprouting around the openings in their faces that were most likely their mouths. The tentacles hung down almost to the surface of the sea, and seemed almost as long as the legs of the strange creatures, which were thicker than the tentacles but still seemed thin due to the bulk of the animal's bodies and the length of the limbs compared to their circumference. The beasts plodded along the surface of the viscous ocean on incredibly large, flat, circular feet that evenly distributed their weight to allow them to traverse the body of liquid as if it were solid ground. The sight was awe-inspiring, even to a born and bred predator like Xalek, who would have preferred to taste their flesh rather than admire their design, but he took only a moment to ponder them as he raced through the herd, stirring haunting moans of panic and surprise from the creatures that were snatched away from his ears by the wind.

After a few minutes more of running, Xalek felt a subtle disturbance in the Force. It seemed far away, but was drawing closer with each passing second. It wasn't the artifact, he was certain, as the disturbance wasn't aligned to either the light nor the dark. It grew stronger as he raced across the black sea, until suddenly, like a symphonic transition, it spiked. Xalek slipped to the side without breaking stride as a large, hideous, eyeless mouth full of impossibly sharp fangs emerged from the oily mire, huge jaws agape to swallow him whole. The creature missed completely, but Xalek wasn't even concerned with it anymore as the flat surface of the sea suddenly became a minefield of identical, monstrous black serpents. They sprung from beneath the surface in and around his path, all trying to swallow the Kaleesh whole. With each failed attempt their long, thick, scaly black bodies would follow the arc of their heads until the tail emerged and then vanished, but Xalek hardly cared as all his attention was focused on dodging this miles-long trap these creatures had obviously laid to catch prey, such as the strange herd of sea walkers he'd encountered not minutes before.

Xalek was so busy dodging left and right that he almost didn't see the creature that sprung from the muck right in front of him, the black, stinking void of its mouth opened wide enough to swallow a fully grown Syrox. Xalek leaped up into the air, the monsters jaws snapping closed around the thin air where he had been moments before. His Force leap propelled him along the length of the serpentine body and past where it was still emerging from the tar of the alien ocean. Using the Force, Xalek slowed his descent enough to avoid breaking the surface upon impact, and hit the sea running. No more serpents emerged to attack him, and he realized that he had escaped their trap, but there was one problem; he was growing tired. His legs were becoming sore and numb, and his energy reserves were dangerously low, cropped up only by the power of the Dark Side. If he didn't find land soon he would be in serious trouble.

Digging deep down into himself, he dredged up painful and violent memories to strengthen his anger and hatred and renew his resolve. He felt his stamina rise and the numbness in his limbs fade, but only partially, he had delayed the crisis not averted it. As the tension in his muscles began to mount, he saw land emerge on the horizon. His body burned with pain, and he fed on his agony to increase his speed. The land rushed closer and closer and closer until it filled his view and, suddenly, his feet touched solid ground.

Skidding to a momentum-defying stop on the rust-colored sand, Xalek knelt down and entered a deep meditation trance. He channeled the powers of corruption to repair his physical body while the Dark Side restored his strength. He felt his aching muscles heal quickly, but the drain on his power that the journey had inflicted was not so easily recovered from. He spent a good ten standard minutes calling on the Dark Side, channeling it through him and renewing his power. When he finally felt whole again, he rose to his feet and examined the area.

He was standing on a beach which gave way to blue grass a few meters away. Beyond the end of the sand were pleasant, rolling hills, a small lake, and a thick jungle of red-trunked, azure-leafed "trees". Behind the jungle, a solemn mountain range loomed. Reaching out with his senses, Xalek could feel a deep resonance in the fabric of the Dark Side, like waves emanating from a source. It was coming from the jungle's heart, booming like the war drum of a warrior's heartbeat. With his sense of direction now more acutely focused on the location of his target, he set off at a full sprint for the jungle.

____________

Nox was leaning back in his chair, typing orders into his datapad when Ashara came storming down the hall and entered his office abruptly.

"I don't believe them! The nerve!"

Smiling behind his helm, Nox looked up and pretended to sound marginally surprised: "What? What is it?"

"Darth Salrivek blocked my team that I dispatched to Vemrianna, he said my privileges are suspended pending an investigation by the Ministry!"

"Well," Nox said, disguising his self-satisfaction behind a veil of false sympathy, "that's quite the statement."

"They're deliberately sabotaging us!" Ashara raged. "They must have some idea of what's going on, no one could be this racist!"

Nox didn't even attempt to hide his amusement at the remark. "Because we all know the Empire is a pillar of acceptance and tolerance." He added glibly. His gleefully sarcastic remark seemed to go unnoticed, however.

"If they know what's going on, then we have to deal with them!" Ashara said, the fires of her passion as sweet as incense in Nox's proverbial nostrils.

"Now, now." He said authoritatively. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves talreh."

At the sound of the word Ashara seemed to calm down somewhat. "You can't deny this is unfair." She challenged him, "this is just unprecedented!"

"Of course it is." Nox assured her. "Aruk is pulling out all the stops to keep us in line, he'll take advantage of every opportunity we give him to discredit and weaken us."

"It's just frustrating," Ashara complained, seating herself on the edge of his desk. "I feel so helpless."

"I know." Nox said in a seductive tone. "But this is a perfect opportunity to put your knowledge to good use."

Ashara looked at him askance. "What do you mean?"

"It's time you demonstrated your ability to practice deceit and apply violence in appropriate measure." Nox said, reaching out with the Force to subtly influence her emotions through his innate Force presence, bypassing her ability to detect mental manipulation. "In the depths of the Citadel is the Archive of the Ministry of Sith Philosophy." He continued, "if you get the access codes from an archivist, you can access the archives. From there, slice into the ministry database and delete registration forms CX9 through to 17 along with Dispatch and Assignment order 10K58G39 and the attached Use of force Authorization. Aruk and Salrivek will have no legal jurisdiction over you until they realize the files are missing. If you cover your tracks well enough, they won't ever be able to bring any accusations against you."

Ashara looked a little stunned for a moment, then asked: "Where did you get all this information?" Nox smiled.

"We have eyes and ears everywhere my dear, you know what I always say about friends and enemies." A pleased and eager smile was spreading across Ashara's smooth, brightly colored face.

"You never cease to amaze my lord."

"Neither do you." Nox replied suggestively. "Now you should hurry, Aruk is offworld, but Salrivek is in a meeting with several other Darths and Lords. It would be best to strike while you can be certain he is occupied."

"I could kiss you right now." Ashara said gleefully.

"Save it for later," Nox said cheekily, "We can celebrate after your diplomatic team gets off-planet."

"I like the sound of that." Ashara replied sweetly as she reluctantly slid off the desk. "I'll be back soon, gilrah." She turned, walked out of the office, and down the hall.

Nox watched her go until she turned the corner, then turned towards the holoprojector in the corner of the room. Getting up from behind his desk he walked over to it and switched it on, and the image of Darth Nalik appeared before him. The young man looked anything but youthful. The Dark Side and his many scientific experiments on himself had shriveled and warped his body until he looked almost as ugly as some of the less human-looking aliens.

"Darth Nox." Nalik said, an almost imperceptible undertone of seething hatred and menace entering his hollow voice. "What is it you want?"

"The apprentice," Nox said, wasting no time with cordiality. "What is your report?"

"He is developing quickly." Darth Nalik said, "just as you predicated."

"And his talent matches my specifications?" Nox asked in an exacting tone.

"Your extrapolations were uncannily precise." The Sith admitted. "I admit he is a promising candidate, your assistance in bringing him to me is...appreciated."

"I hope that appreciation will not fade with time." Nox said menacingly. "You owe me for this Nalik."

"That was the understanding." Nalik admitted. "Although I am curious as to why you did not seek to take him on yourself."

"I already have an apprentice to train," Nox said "and I prefer to have as few distractions as possible. In our line of work we cannot afford to split our attention too many ways, can we?"

"Are you threatening me?" Nalik asked, his growl barely contained.

"Advising." Nox corrected.

"Your advice is not necessary." Nalik said gruffly.

"True," Nox admitted. "I simply thought you might wish to keep your position, and your head." Nalik snarled.

"I owe you for bringing Nemin to me, but after that, we're through!" and the signal abruptly cut out.

_____________

Xalek made his way through the alien jungle, tracking the source of the dark energy radiating through the Force, relying on his physical senses to keep him alert to his surroundings. He could detect the presence of several predatory organisms stalking him, but they made no move to attack, nor did they reveal themselves, so Xalek simply monitored their movements with his olfactory and auditory senses and continued to draw closer to the source of the disturbance in the Dark Side.

Suddenly a strong odor, even more foul than the latent toxicity of Vlestak's atmosphere, permeated his nostrils. He immediately became lightheaded, and in response he called upon the training his master had given him on how to purge poisons and toxins from his body. He held his breath as the fog in his brain faded, his stalkers however, weren't so lucky. With several loud thumps, the small group of Akk dog-sized predators dropped from their perches in the trees and hit the ground. Xalek's hand drifted towards his lightsaber as he scanned the surroundings through the vibrating air. He was so busy looking for sharp, fast movements in the underbrush that he didn't notice the strange aliens with tiny, snail-like bodies, thin heads with eyes mounted on stalks, short, thin arms that ended in large, four-fingered hands, and with large, inflated glands on their backs, descending from the upper canopy.

Xalek whirled around to see the four creatures descending on their unconscious prey and removed his lightsaber from his belt, but did not activate it. If these creatures were responsible for the knockout gas, they might have more on them that they could use against him, so fighting them should be a last resort. The creatures seemingly took no notice of him, and they descended on the fallen animals and began to choose which ones they would take. The air was filled with vibrant and foreign smells that quickly nullified the threat of the knockout gas, and Xalek realized that these beings communicated through generating and releasing different combinations of gases, that was probably how they produced the knockout gas as well, making them a deadly enemy to almost any life form on their world.. Examining them closer, he could now see the tubules on the rear of their balloon glands that no doubt gave them propulsion and allowed them to manage their ballast, as well as communicate with each other. The "conversation" appeared to be over, as the four aliens had chosen their prey and were carrying off two of the sleeping creatures by their limbs. Xalek waited until they had gone on ahead of him a ways and then cloaked himself in the Force. He no longer needed to focus on tracking the artifact as he was close enough now that he could perceive its effects without concentrating, and the aliens were heading towards the artifact anyway.

After only a few minutes of stalking the alien floaters, Xalek sensed a great many more of the odd creatures up ahead and above. He looked up and could see that many of the thick-trunked tree-like plants that composed the jungle had been carved out to create multi-level dwellings for the planet's native sentients. Xalek wandered under the village as he watched for anything out of the ordinary, anything that might give him some hint of the artifact's location. He could feel the item's power permeating this place, but he could not sense it's exact location. He suddenly got the sense that he was being watched and, concerned that he might have underestimated the olfactory senses of the natives, he frantically scanned his surroundings until his eyes settled on the small Floater hovering only two meters away. This specimen was smaller than the others Xalek had followed, likely an adolescent, and it seemed to be staring right at him with its black, soulless eyes. A faint scent wafted over Xalek and he recognized it as being similar to the Kaleesh pheromones released by a member of the species when they were possessed of an intense curiosity or interest.

Deciding to test whether the creature could actually perceive him, Xalek took a step to the right, the creature's eyes followed him. He stepped to the left, and again the Floater's oculi tracked his movements. Struck by paranoia, Xalek was seized by an almost insuppressible urge to kill the creature, but he quickly thought the better of it. If the others had truly detected his presence below the village and they were the kind of sentients to attack without provocation, then they would have used their knockout gas on him already. They either didn't know he was here, or they didn't care. Comforted by this, Xalek turned away from the young Floater and resumed his search of the ground surrounding the village, after some time he noticed that the little creature was still following him, watching his every move with such naive curiosity that it made Xalek's stomach churn.

After some more time spent searching the area, Xalek was about ready to give up when a smell similar to the Kaleesh pheromone for attracting attention reached his nostrils. He turned towards the little sprite still following him and saw it turn and head part way towards the center of the village before turning back to him, the universal body language for: "Follow me!" Xalek obliged, but only because he suspected that the creature might have realized he was looking for something and put two and two together. They arrived at the base of the thickest tree in the village, and into its red trunk was carved an entrance surrounded by rune carvings in a language wholly separate from Galactic Basic or any derivative of it. The creature paused beside the doorway and looked back at him, as if waiting for him to go first. "Of course you would send the stranger in first." Xalek murmured as he took over the lead and the Floater followed him into the darkness.

Discovering a flight of steps descending into the ground, Xalek took the steps cautiously, expanding his awareness through the Force to keep from being ambushed or springing an ancient trap. He reached the bottom without incident however, and was surprised to find himself in a spacious cavern that had been obviously created by the Rakata. Their stonework and statues decorated the space, which was dominated at its center by a pedestal upon which sat a smooth, semi-opaque sphere that glowed a deep crimson. Somewhat mesmerized by the sight and sensation of the object, Xalek approached without bothering to search the Force for signs of traps or guardians. It seemed his recklessness was to remain unpunished however, as he reached the orb without any incident. The swirling red of the orb, melted and mixed with black shadows moved in hypnotic, seductive patterns. Xalek extended a hand towards the orb, as if in a daze, and the moment his claws touched its surface, he lost all consciousness.

_____________

Dark.

So dark...and cold.

Something moved within the void, a shadow among shadows. Xalek looked but all he saw was black, then he saw it suddenly, without warning, and a chill went straight through him to his bones. It was a familiar shadow; his master. He felt like he was about to die, that hollow gaze would kill him. With a horrifying sound halfway between a screech and a roar, the shadow coalesced into a floating mass of darkness and flew away. Hardly knowing why, Xalek pursued. He found himself in a cave tunnel and despite not being able to see the shadow he could sense it and track it that way. Without warning, he burst out onto a cliff overlooking a vast plain and a distant sunset. Approaching the edge of the cliff he looked out at the setting sun, wondering what lay beyond the horizon.

"Beautiful, isn't it son?" He heard a very familiar voice say behind him, he whirled around.

"Father!" He exclaimed when he saw the image of the great warrior who had birthed him. He dropped to one knee, as he would before his master. "Father, I knew building your shrine was not in vain, you have become a god!" His father walked forward wordlessly to stand beside him.

"Rise, son." He said simply. "Look upon the end." Xalek rose to his feet and turned, walking towards the very edge of the cliff to look down. A great battle was being waged below him, but the combatants seemed to be frozen in time. There were the forces of the Empire and the Republic, locked in mortal combat as they had been for millennia past. Jedi and Sith, battling for supremacy. But something was different, there were strange, unfamiliar combatants mingled in with the opposing forces. Some were dressed in armor and robes of varying shades of red and silver, with lightsabers of yellow, pink, and purple, while the other combatants...Xalek froze as a wave of pure fear and foreboding seized his entire body. The other combatants, whether they wielded lightsabers, vibroknives, blasters, or vibroblades, all wore helms identical to his master's. His dread became abject terror as the head of every one of the skull-faced fighters turned to stare directly at him with their cold, black, empty eye sockets.

Xalek tried to move, but his body refused to obey him. Suddenly, his abdomen was pierced, and he looked down to see the blade of a purple lightsaber protruding from his stomach as he felt the familiar presence of his father change to become his master's. He felt an invisible hand press against his shoulder blades as the blade impaling him deactivated, and his limp body toppled over the edge of the cliff. He plummeted towards the ground, and he closed his eyes, praying that he had done enough to become a god. As he plummeted, he wondered who would build his shrine, who was left to do so? Who knew?

Realizing he should have struck the ground by now, he opened his eyes to see an impossible sight; He was falling through deep space. He looked up to see the galaxy in all its brilliant splendor, shining like a jewel against the backdrop of the void. Then he saw a dark spot, growing and consuming the stars one by one. The light of the galaxy seemed to dim for a moment, then it flared brightly and the dark spot shrank back to its former size. The dark orb suddenly swelled again, in defiance of the light seeking to destroy it by sheer luminance. The light of the galaxy responded by shining all the brighter, and Xalek watched as the dark orb suddenly shot up out of the galaxy's disk and into the void above. The light was pure and bright again...then Xalek noticed the edges. The edges of the glowing disk were disappearing, being eaten away by the ravenous shadows of the void. Tendrils of impossibly dark blackness swallowed one point of light after another, inch by inch the void was consuming the galaxy, eating away at the fringes. The light seemed to dim as the void began to devour the inner disk, and Xalek watched in morbid fascination as it crushed the light into a pinpoint at the center, and there was nothing left of the galaxy but that single, pinprick of light.

Xalek stared at the light for what seemed like an eternity before he realized that it was getting bigger. It took a second for him to process what was happening but when he did, he realized that it was coming towards him. He tried to move, but found he couldn't, his body wasn't responding, as if it wasn't even there. The light grew bigger and brighter until it filled his vision...then quickly faded into darkness again. Alone in the empty black, Xalek floated, seemingly incapable of forming a complete thought no matter how much he tried. He tried to remember: Who am I? Where am I? How did I get here? What happened? What is this place? Am I alone? Am I all there is?

He saw a light appear in the distance, a bright, soft white light that beckoned and called to him. Without knowing how, he moved towards it, wondering what it was. Suddenly an incomprehensible mixture of horrifying sound, emotion, and sensation struck him all at once, and the light vanished to be replaced by a dark, infinite mass of bubbling, hideous flesh in which were growing thousands of profane eyes, tentacles, and mouths, all blasphemous to any form of sense or reality. In pure horror, Xalek turned and fled into the void to escape the abomination, trying to scream despite having no mouth to do it with. He fled for what was either hours or seconds when he saw the light again. He moved towards it as fast as he could, he had to reach the light, had to reach it before the thing found him again.

The light vanished and in incredible horror, Xalek once again faced the chaotic, grotesque tangle of prehensile appendages, monstrous oculi that saw in all dimensions, and blaspheming mouths that snarled and snapped and howled and cried and moaned. Once more Xalek turned and fled, but this time no matter how fast he tried to escape, the mass was there behind him, pursuing him without movement. He tried to scream as madness ate at his mind but nothing came. The roars of the monstrosity violated the very concepts of sound and telepathy, shaking him on all possible levels, seemingly swallowing his soul. He tried to go faster, but instead he felt the incomprehensible presence drawing closer. Madness entered him like water soaking through a leaf, and he felt all his senses abandon him. All he could perceive was the thing and its blasphemies against all that was sane and real.

He struggled to escape it but he could feel the pull of primal chaos drawing him back, the current of an invisible, insidious vortex in the fabric of the void that drew him back towards the atrocity. He dared not look back for fear of seeing it and being shattered to his soul by the knowledge of its existence. He continued to struggle, fighting the irresistible tide with everything he had. And it was then, that the thing fell on him.

____________

Xalek knelt on a small hill near the lake he had encountered earlier before entering the jungle. The artifact was safely attached to his belt and thankfully dormant, the last thing he wanted now was receive another vision from the cursed thing. He closed his eyes and began to meditate, focusing on his emotions. His fear and hatred rose up within him, creating a bubbling well of dark energy that spread from his core to the ends of his claw tips. He dwelt on the meaning of the horrifying vision the dark artifact had granted him, trying to pierce the veil that the Force used to obscure such things from the eyes of the unworthy.

What did it all mean? His father becoming his master and killing him, the frozen battle with the beings that wore his master's helm, the galaxy consumed by darkness again and again, it didn't make any sense. He stopped himself and brought his attention back to the first part of the vision, the shadow in the void, the shadow that had taken the form of his master. An involuntary chill ran down his spine and his flesh became covered in goose bumps as he remembered. The hollow, soulless gaze of the dark entity had been like the gaze of death itself, it had afflicted him with the cold, empty chill of the abyss. Then it had lead him, somehow, out of the darkness and to the cliff over the sunset, where it had disappeared, only to be replaced by his father. Unsure of the meaning, Xalek pressed his memory further; His father had shown him the battle, frozen in time, between the Empire, Republic, and the beings in red, with the skull-faced legions working amongst the chaos. Until that terrible moment when, seemingly in defiance of the power that held them petrified, they had seen him, staring at him with the same hollow gaze as the shadow in the void.

Then his father had killed him, betrayed him, only it wasn't his father but his master. Perhaps it had been all along. But still, what did it mean? He searched for the answer in his emotions, breaking down every whim and passing sensation within the vision. Finally he reluctantly came to the answer, his master was plotting to betray him. Darth Nox, the man he considered a second father, was orchestrating his downfall. The significance of the mysterious army and the battle between light and darkness for the galaxy still escaped him, but he already knew what he needed to know; his master was no longer his benefactor.

Still, that meant he had to decide what to do, how to handle this. He searched for the answer within himself, opening himself to the Dark Side and letting his passions lead him, it wasn't long before he reached a conclusion. There was nothing he could do for the moment, he would have to watch and wait, scrutinizing and analyzing his opponent's moves in secret, while he showed nothing but deference and submission outwardly. But he would remain vigilant, always watching for signs and hints of betrayal, he would not be taken by surprise or caught off-guard.

Sensing something behind him, he rose to his feet and turned around to see the Floater that had lead him to the artifact; the curious creature had followed him all the way out of the jungle. They gazed at each other for a long moment while Xalek's thoughts raced through his head. If he was going to be ready for his master's betrayal one day, he needed to grow, not just in power, but as a Sith as well. He would need to not just be a great warrior, but a great thinker and strategist, he needed to truly master the Dark Side. It would be a daunting task, his master would not teach him, of that he was now certain, so he would need to learn such things on his own, through experience. It would not be simple, but he remembered something his father once told him: "Victory over a thousand foes begins with first blood."

If he was going to ascend beyond his master, he needed to begin his ascension now. He extended a single claw towards the alien, and reached out to briefly touch the Floater's mind, beckoning it closer. The creature approached, cautiously at first, but it soon was close enough that Xalek could reach out and touch its thin, elongated head with his extended claw. Upon contact he seized the Floater's mind and began to pour the knowledge of the Dark Side into it. He showed how rage and hatred bring power, how to weaponize passion, and how to bend the Force to one's own will. He watched the creature's innocence and naiveté melt away, to be replaced by toxic malice.

He released the Floater's mind and withdrew his claw from its forehead. The creature looked a bit dazed, but Xalek only spared it one last glance as he turned and gathered his energy, taking off at impossible speed and racing out over the black ocean. The alien watched him go, then turned and floated back towards the jungle, a yellow gleam in its formerly black eye.

_____________

"So...we are fully prepared then." Darth Marr said, glancing at the rest of the original seven members of the Dark Council.

"Yes." Darth Mortis said in response, and the other five nodded in agreement.

"Vwhat about usss?" Darth Karrid asked, her accent elongating the "s", making her sound as reptilian as she looked. "You ssstill haven't told usss vwhat exactly isss going on Marrrr." The way she naturally rolled her r's made her sound almost like she was trying to seduce the Dark Lord, but it was simply an aspect of her Falleen biology, as the species of reptilian humanoids had evolved many sensual mannerisms to promote the propagation of their species.

"The seven of us are launching full-scale, coordinated assaults on Coruscant and Tython." Marr replied. The somewhat stunned silence from the four newest members of the Dark Council was again broken by Karrid.

"And you didn't think to include usss?" She questioned, her bottom lip protruding slightly in what might have been a pout.

"There was no time." Marr said firmly. "As it is it will take you four a while to reorganize your respective Spheres as you see fit, and this plan was approved and preparations were begun before any of you were appointed your seats." He paused briefly. "And besides, the Empire will need strong leadership in our absence, leadership you all have proven capable of providing."

"Your confidence in us is appreciated, Darth Marr." Nalik said, cutting off Karrid before she could respond. His eyes moved to Nox as he continued, "We will not disappoint you."

"With our newest members settled," Mortis spoke up, "I think we should get on with the business of this meeting."

"Yes," Marr agreed. "The Sphere of Intelligence should be reformed, and preferably soon."

"The first issue is who to elect as Darth Zhorrid's replacement." Ravage said. "I think Darth Malron would be a good choice." A snort of disbelief came from Rictus.

"You think that little bootlicker is fit to be on the Dark Council?" The old man could barely restrain his laughter. "Come now Ravage don't tell me you think a politician like Malron is fit to head Imperial Intelligence!"

"I don't hear you offering any candidates, Rictus." Ravage growled.

"Darth Emereen would be an excellent candidate." Rictus shot back. Aruk and Charnus nodded their agreement.

"Emereen?" Arkous asked politely. "You mean the one who uses aliens for cannon fodder?" Rictus glared at Arkous who, to his credit, easily maintained his composure.

"If Arkous is correct," Marr interjected, "Than Emereen would not be a suitable candidate for head of the Sphere of Intelligence. The Ministry of Intelligence is required to identify and make full use of any potential assets its encounters. Someone with as blatant disregard for asset value as Emereen would be a waste."

"I agree with Marrrr." Karrid said. "Vwe need sssomeone perrceptive with the ability to rrecognize talent."

"What about Darth Vedira?" Nalik asked.

"Vedira would be a good choice in a time of peace." Mortis replied. "But her paranoia and obsession with traitors would end up being a liability given our current situation. The next Councilor of Intelligence must be capable of always seeing the galactic situation, rather than just Republic or Empire."

"Darth Onakk has proven himself capable of orchestrating and managing several complex plots at once." Darth Vowrawn asserted. "And he is quite skilled at detecting them too."

"Yet he relegates himself to only hunting prey and orchestrating assassinations." Rictus replied. "He would not do well without some kind of oversight, of that I can assure you."

"Weren't you the one that taught him Rictus?" Nox asked, weathering the glare of rebuke he received in response.

"Yes." The old Sith admitted. "I taught him, but his potential proved to be far less than I imagined. He has proven to be useful only as a tool or weapon, however effective." A full hour of deliberations later, all the members of the Dark Council had reached the same conclusion.

"It would appear," Marr said, finally putting into words what all of them were thinking, "that there is no suitable candidate for the position."

"But surely we must elect someone?" Nalik asked.

"And have a repeat of Zhorrid?" Ravage asked incredulously. "No thank you. That petulant, ignorant child should have been strangled at birth. What use Jadus had for her I cannot fathom."

"Ravage is right." Mortis added. "If we are to elect another to take Jadus's place, they must be suitable for the position. Despite the continuing risk, we cannot rush this."

"Agreed." Marr said. "We will watch and wait for now, to see if a likely candidate distinguishes themselves."

"Is there any more business to be discussed before we embark?" Ravage asked.

"I'm promoting Lord Zavros to the rank of Darth." Nox replied. There was a moment of silence before Aruk exploded in outrage.

"Zavros? Have you lost your mind, Nox?" The Pureblood shouted.

"I too am skeptical as to your motivations, Lord Nox." Rictus acknowledged. "Lord Zavros's track record has proven to be...errant."

"Surely you can't be speaking of her results." Nox said sardonically. "She has one of the highest success ratings of any member of the Imperial Diplomatic service."

"It is her methods that concern me." Ravage said accusingly. "She is often too generous with the Empire's time and resources, choosing diplomacy when the simple application of deceit or brute force would work just as well, if not better."

"An understandable concern." Nox admitted. "But you must remember that she seduced several star systems that proved impervious to all other attempts at diplomacy and were too well-protected by the Republic to simply conquer. The reason Rictus enjoys a larger influx of Umbaran students into his Sphere is due to Zavros's acquisition of Umbara's pledge to join the Empire." The point didn't sit well with Aruk or Ravage, but Rictus seemed grudgingly convinced. "Lord Zavros's methods may be...unusual, to say the least, but I can personally vouch for her dedication to the Empire. As a Darth she will have access to even more ways to benefit us."

"Then let it be done." Marr said with finality. "Will you be performing the ceremony yourself?"

"Of course." Nox said with undisguised satisfaction.

"Then we will speak no more of it." Marr said, and Nox enjoyed seeing Aruk's fists tighten around his armrests.

"I believe it is time we adjourn to make our final preparations before the assault." Vowrawn said in a conclusive manner.

"Then by all means," Ravage said, standing to his feet. "Let us get on with it." One by one the other members of the Council stood and followed Ravage out the door. Nox was the last one to leave his seat and begin walking towards the exit. Soon after leaving the Council chambers and hearing the door shut behind him, he was pulled into a side hall by Karrid, who seemed to have been waiting for him.

"Darrrtth Nox." She said by way of greeting, her seductive tone possessing an extra layer of potency.

"Darth Karrid." Nox said in like tone. "What is it you desire?" Her eyes briefly flickered down and then back up to his hidden face.

"The Fatality." She purred.

"Ahh yes." Nox said, allowing a false undertone of resignation to seep into his words. "I knew this conversation would happen sooner or later."

"I'm told that the contentss of the cargo hold are the property of the Sssphere of Technology." She said, her eyes glittering. "My Sssphere."

"Of course." Nox said, attempting to placate her. His engineers weren't finished analyzing the droids so that they could reproduce them in secret, so he needed to stall for more time. "But you know how Imperial bureaucracy works." He said, faking sympathy. "I'll dispatch the order to turn it over to your engineers, but the paperwork will take a few days to unravel."

"You can't-" Karrid paused to sidle up to him, evoking equal feelings of amusement and disgust in Nox. "accelerate thisss processss?" Karrid's charms might have had even Nox in her sway before she accepted the cybernetic implants that now marred her once perfect features, but thanks to her lost beauty, Nox was largely unaffected. Still, he knew it could be useful to allow her to think she had him right where she wanted him. It was so much easier to manipulate people, especially women, when they thought they were the ones manipulating you.

"I could bypass several processing procedures and protocols." He offered, tilting his head slightly so as to pretend to be distracted by the outline of her figure in her form-fitting robes. "It would cut roughly twenty-four hours off of the turnover time." He hid his apprehension behind a mental wall as he prayed Karrid didn't decide to press her luck and try for more than that, otherwise he would have to resist, which would shatter her delusions that he was easy to manipulate. Thankfully, she didn't.

"Thank you." Karrid purred, gently caressing his arm. "I knew vwe could come to an...underssstanding. Usss outsiderrrsss have to ssstick togetherrr."

"I agree." Nox said, still feigning distraction. "There are many on the Dark Council who will conspire against us."

"All the more rrreasson to form an alliance, vwouldn't you agrree?" Karrid cooed. Nox had to restrain himself, physically and mentally, from recoiling in revulsion.

"Of course." He said, as it was only logical. "And what better gift to cement our allegiance than the Fatality?"

"My thoughtsss exactly." Karrid murmured in his ear. Nox was relieved when she released his arm and slipped away down the hall towards the elevator. He turned and watched her go, knowing she could feel his gaze on her, he made sure to place it on all the right spots until after she turned the corner, at which point he allowed himself to shudder in disgust. The things I do to deceive people...he ruminated to himself as he pulled out his now vibrating datapad to check the incoming notification; it was an encrypted message. Decrypting and opening it, he saw that it was from Xalek's alias; Raptor. The message simply read: The Gorvakah has returned to the nest with the Kakrin.

Excellent, Xalek had returned with the artifacts and was awaiting him in his apartment suite. Nox returned the datapad to its place and headed for the elevator. Minutes later he was speeding through the skies of Kaas City on his Nethian, heading for home. Upon arrival, he parked the speeder bike in the garage and traversed the length of the hall to enter the lounge, following the overwhelming concentration of Dark Side energy. Xalek was standing near the GTN terminal when Nox entered and he bowed respectfully.

"Master."

"Where are they?"

The Kaleesh wordlessly reached into the pack attached to his belt and removed two small objects: one a black cube carved with glowing red runes, and the other a crimson sphere shot through with moving shadows that curled and wound around each other inside.

Nox approached and seized the artifacts, one in each hand. "Yes...thank you apprentice, you have done well." Xalek's pride swelled at the praise. "But your work is not done yet."

"Master?" Xalek asked as his ears pricked up in curiosity.

"Come, Moff Pyron's fleet awaits us in orbit. We are about to embark on a mission that will shape the galaxy for decades to come." Xalek bowed his head low as his bloodlust rose to a roar in his ears.

"I will follow you to the gates of oblivion, master."

"And I will lead you to the throne of godhood, my apprentice."

______________

With a thunderous boom, an Imperial fleet emerged from hyperspace over Tython and opened fire. Several of the smaller Defender-class ships, taken completely off-guard, were destroyed in seconds. The rest of the orbital defense fleet scrambled to organize a response as their shields took heavy damage from the surprise attack. Hundreds of troop transport shuttles with fighter escorts were dispatched from the Imperial capital ships, some headed for the enemy's capital ships, and others down to the planet's surface. The guns of several of the heavy cruisers turned and locked on, opening fire and destroying several shuttles in a hail of blaster bolts. Fighters swarmed out of launching bays on both sides.

A Fury-class Interceptor launched from the bay of one of the Star Destroyers and, weaving in and out of the tangle of ion blasts, blaster bolts, and fighters, headed down towards the planet's surface.

____________

Demise deflected a series of blaster bolts back at their sources, and watched with malicious pride as the soldiers were torn apart by their own weapons fire. He leaped thirty meters from behind the makeshift barricades the Imperial forces were using as cover to land in the center of the squad of Republic troops opposing them. He augmented the impact of his landing with the Force, causing the permacrete to crack and buckle under his unnaturally increased weight. The shockwave of the landing robbed his enemies of their balance and they staggered and stumbled, struggling to regain their composure. With wide, sweeping arcs of his lightsaber, he cut through the armor, weapons, and flesh of the disabled troops until they were all in pieces on the ground.

The squad of elite Imperial commandos assigned to him, with Lieutenant Pierce at leading them, scrambled to catch up with him. He led them through the city streets, hewing down the squads of soldiers, Coruscant Security officers, and the occasional roving groups of gangsters who were about as happy about the invasion as everyone else. They all fell to his blade and the blaster fire of his troops. They worked their way towards the Coruscant Military Command Center, the headquarters of the Republic Military on Coruscant and, according to Nox's intel, the de-facto Command center of the Republic military during an invasion, and the most likely place to find the newly appointed Supreme Commander Jace Malcom.

The com in Demise's ear chirped, and the voice of Darth Mortis came over the channel. "Wrath, what's your status?"

"We're carving our way to the Command Center." Demise replied. "We'll be knocking down their door in about ten standard minutes." The sound of blaster fire rang out and a sudden explosion off to his left staggered Demise for a second. He looked up to see a Republic troop carrier deposit a group of commandos on a nearby platform and peel off. His commandos responded in short order, with Peirce barking orders as both sides opened fire. "Better make that fifteen minutes." Demise said into his com.

"We've reached the Senate building and are encountering heavy resistance." Mortis replied. "We'll get through it eventually but by then the Supreme Chancellor is likely to escape."

"Don't worry." Demise said in response, as he hurled his lightsaber to cut one of the enemy soldiers in half. "We've got assassins and ambushes set up at every one of her little hidey-holes. She won't get away. All you have to do is make sure she runs, and kill her if she doesn't." He terminated the channel just as his blade returned to his hand, and he leapt across the empty space separating the two platforms to land among the enemy. These soldiers were much better trained than the last ones, as they had already started to disperse to avoid the impact zone by the time he was airborne, successfully avoiding being unbalanced by his augmented landing. Several of them opened fire on him and he was forced into a defensive position as the torrent of bolts came at him from all sides. His personal shield flared as it assisted his armor in absorbing most of the impact of the bolts he missed.

With sudden fury, Demise whirled on one of his attackers and Force Pushed the unfortunate woman right over the platform's railing. He began to Force Choke one of the other soldiers without even looking at him as he advanced on the two remaining attackers. They intensified their fire but Demise simply deflected the bolts back at them, driving them into their own personal shields, causing them to flare and spark. One of the soldiers stopped firing and reached for a plasma grenade on his belt, hurling it at the Sith. Demise gestured with his free hand, grabbing the grenade in his telekinetic grip and hurling it into the nearby group of commandos that were engaged in a shootout with his own troops. The grenade exploded and the thrower's unsuspecting allies screamed as the plasma explosion burned through armor and flesh and set them aflame. One of them, either lucky or unlucky depending on your point of view, was hurled over the edge of the platform by the explosion, and plummeted to his death far below, screaming all the way.

The commando who had thrown the grenade dropped his gun and reached behind his back, drawing a vibroblade as his partner did the same. Demise smiled behind his helm as he stopped his advance, raised one hand, and beckoned them to attack him. The taunt worked, and the two soldiers charged him in sync, attempting to overwhelm him with their slow and predictable style. Demise entertained himself by easily defending against their assaults, batting their blades away is if they were mere children. He landed a few blows on their limbs and torsos which the combination of their armor and personal shields deflected, but he remained untouched even as the power packs powering their shield generators were slowly drained of energy.

Then, with sudden ferocity, Demise switched from Soresu to Djem So, ravaging the two soldiers with an unstoppable flurry of blows that immediately put them on the defensive. Demise didn't let up however, and the female soldier's shield was the first to collapse. A single thrust pierced her armor and impaled her, causing her companion to unleash a battle cry and attack Demise with reckless abandon. Demise put him out of his misery with a series of heavy, overhand blows that brought him to his knees and drained his shield before Demise beheaded him with one sweep.

As an afterthought, he clenched his fist and the neck of the soldier who he had been choking during the battle snapped, the body dropping to floor. Peirce's voice crackled over the com, "Nicely done m'lord."

"We need to keep moving Pierce, we can't afford any more delays."

"Roger."

____________

HK-51 moved quickly and quietly through the backstreets of Coruscant. His motors whirred softly, muffled by the stealth field generator which hid his existence from the naked eye. Being a droid, Force users had to rely on their physical senses to detect him which made him one of the top assassins in the galaxy, a fact he was quite proud of.

His optical sensors took in the environment as he rounded corners and slunk along walls, heading towards his target's location. He was deep in Coruscant's lower levels, where even the invasion forces wouldn't reach, which made it the perfect place for someone like his target to hide. Reaching the building he was looking for, he found an entrance blocked by an archaic slab of metal on hinges with a handle to be turned in order to access the property. Gripping the handle, HK-51 turned it, allowing the door to swing open so he could enter. Once inside, he turned and closed the door again, hearing the ancient mechanics click as the door resealed itself.

He searched the floor and found a staircase leading up, he took it up four floors until he knew he was far enough up to have a good view of the street below. Searching the floor, he found the perfect vantage point and retrieved his sniper rifle from its magnetic holster, double and triple checking it to ensure it was in perfect working order, then he ran a diagnostic on all his systems, correcting all errors he encountered to ensure he was operating at peak efficiency. When he was ready, he positioned himself in the shadows of a corner and waited.

Within twenty minutes he heard the sound of speeder cars approaching. Leaning slightly out of his position to get a better view of the street, he saw the small flotilla of covered black speeders with tinted windows pulling up to the LiMerge building across the way. His subroutines indicating that his target would soon be appearing, HK performed one last, rapid self-diagnostic and took up position in the window, his cloaking device still active, his rifle primed for fire and aimed at the cars in the street.

The doors of some of the cars opened several members of his target's personal guard climbed out, dressed in blue and yellow armor and carrying assault rifles in their magnetic holsters. Most of them drew their weapons and took up positions on either side of an invisible path leading from the door of the center car to the entrance of the LiMerge building. The remaining soldiers entered the building and for a few minutes, nothing happened. HK stood patiently, waiting for the signal.

Suddenly, the first soldier on the left side of the door put his hand to his earpiece and listened to what was being said. When whoever was talking apparently finished, he leaned forward, reaching for the door handle. HK dropped his cloak, and initiated his assassination protocols. All sensory processing accelerated to maximum speed, causing time to seem to slow down. HK's optical sensors refocused slightly in preparation for target acquisition, and his entire body became as still as stone.

The door opened and a green-skinned Twi'lek woman emerged from the car. His optics narrowed to pinpoints as they locked onto her, and it seemed to take an eternity for her to leave the vehicle and begin walking towards the building's entrance. He began the charging sequence, even as the end of his rifle tracked her progress in perfect sync. She was halfway between the car and the building now, and HK could feel the minute vibrations of his weapon as it supercharged the plasma that was straining to launch itself from the barrel. The charge grew closer and closer to full capacity as the Twi'lek drew closer and closer to safety. The soldier on the left of the door leaned forward, seized the primitive handle, and opened the door for her even as she drew closer and closer to it. Then, when she was merely three steps from the threshold, HK's rifle clicked once, and he squeezed the trigger.

There was a loud crack as the supercharged blaster bolt burst from the barrel of the assassin droid's weapon and flew across the eighty meters of distance separating the barrel of the sniper rifle from Leontyne Saresh's cranium. It seemed to travel the distance instantaneously, like an arrow shot from the bow of Death itself. The bolt penetrated the Twi'lek's skull and seared through her cranial cavity, scorching tissue of every segment of the brain. The Supreme Chancellor collapsed in mid-stride, and for a brief instant, there was dead silence.

HK raised his cloaking field and retreated back into the shadows where he could still view events on the street. The soldiers suddenly came alive, orders were shouted, weapons were cocked and raised, and helmeted heads surveyed the area, searching for any evidence of the sniper's presence.

"Spread out!" One of the taller guards barked. "Find the assassin!" He rushed forward towards the body of the Supreme Chancellor, hastily removing his glove and placing two fingers on her dead pulse. When HK saw him lower his head in defeat and confirm the kill to the guard next to him. He whispered softly to himself; "Plus one to kill counter." and moved off to make his escape.

____________

The Midnight Shadow, Nox's personal Interceptor, rotated 180 degrees as it slowly lowered itself onto the ground. Upon landing the boarding ramp lowered and Nox, followed by Xalek, descended to set foot on Tythonian soil. Nox grimaced as he felt the Light Side wash over him, making his skin burn and his stomach turn as he felt the presence of the planet's vibrant ecosystem through the Force. Pulling out his datapad, he checked the map of the area he had scanned while coming in to land. The Jedi Temple was a few klicks away, but there was more than enough time to get there as long as he hurried. Returning the datapad to its place, he waved his hand in an arcane motion, and he and Xalek vanished from sight.

Invisible, Nox and Xalek moved through the forests of Tython with swift urgency. After about ten minutes of navigating the trails, they reached the temple grounds. The courtyard was as still and quiet as the grave; the landing parties apparently hadn't reached the Temple yet. But as Nox and Xalek drew closer to the temple, they could sense faint vibrations in the Force, the result of many Force users in close proximity to one another cloaking themselves in the Force. Nox was very careful entering the Temple's main entrance, and had his suspicions confirmed when he saw the faint glimmer of a Light Side Force Cloak out of the corner of his eye.

Once inside he and Xalek hugged the walls, hoping to avoid detection by other Jedi lurking in stealth. They crept past multiple groups of Jedi who either stood in guard positions or patrolled the halls with meticulous vigilance as they wound their way deeper and deeper into the Jedi Temple. Nox knew where they were going, but despite this he still felt somewhat lost in the confusing maze of the Temple's lower halls. Finally reaching the spiral staircase he sought, he signaled to Xalek that the target was close and together they began descending the stairs.

The staircase seemed to go on forever, and Nox couldn't help wondering why there were no guards here. Having to battle their way down this staircase would have given the Jedi plenty of time to respond, but they didn't run across a single guard on the whole trip down. After a while, Nox realized that the probable reason was that the secret mediation chamber that was supposedly at the bottom of this staircase was not intended to be a bunker, but a hiding place. Guarding it would be akin to putting up signs to lead enemies directly to it. He allowed himself a small chuckle at the irony of the situation, the Jedi had intended to protect their Grandmaster by hiding her, and yet they had only succeeded in isolating her for Nox to prey upon.

Finally, they reached the bottom of the staircase and entered a large, open chamber that was decorated in typical Jedi fashion. The gold and whitewashed permacrete was illuminated by ambient light sources in the ceiling, and at the far end, seated cross-legged on a raised dais, was the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order: Satele Shan. Satele's bowed head raised as Nox crossed the threshold;

"I can sense you." She called out boldly. "Show yourself." Sensing the truth of her words, and realizing his advantage of surprise was gone, Nox dropped the Force Cloak and continued to walk towards Satele, who was getting to her feet and turning to face him. "You were foolish to come here Sith, The Republic is already on its way to reinforce us. Your fleet will be stopped, and you will be defeated."

"Now where have I heard that before?." Nox asked himself rhetorically. "Oh yes, the incident that ended with a dead Imperial general and Jedi Padawan, what was her name again? Yadira...something." Master Satele's face registered no surprise, but Nox sensed the brief wavering of her emotions at the mention of the name.

"So that was you." Satele said in a soft tone. "You haven't changed at all, you're still as reckless and foolish as you were then." Nox snorted.

"Are you Jedi really that blind? Do you not remember what I did to the Brentaal Star? Are you not aware of the planets I've razed and the foes I've destroyed? Have you no idea how many of your kind, that are now dead and gone, stood where you stand now? I am Darth Nox, a member of the Dark Council, and I've defeated countless foes who thought themselves stronger! Can you not feel my power?"

"Power is nothing without control."

Nox laughed, the harsh booming of his malicious guffaws echoing off the gilded walls. "Then let's just see how much control I have, shall we?" With that, Xalek drew his lightsaber and leaped forward, his master's presence granting him preternatural speed, dexterity, and strength beyond what the Force naturally imparted. In a flash, Satele's saberstaff was in her hand and she expertly deflected Xalek's overhead leaping strike. She attacked with supernatural focus and precision, expecting to run the stumbling Kaleesh through, only to find that he wasn't caught off-guard and easily slipped out of the way of her thrust, countering with his own spinning strike. She deflected the blow easily, only to find her counter strike was avoided again.

The Kaleesh's skills were raw and unfocused, but his power in the Force and ability to call upon it seemed to be another matter entirely. She could feel Darth Nox's unique Force Presence, like living darkness, roiling and crashing all around her, but her mental defenses were more than enough to resist the darkness that threatened to crush and consume her, devouring her strength, her will, and her connection to the Force. She attacked with a smooth, focused combination of swinging strikes, rapid jabs, and spinning assaults, calling on the Force to grant her speed and strength. The Kaleesh responded by defending himself, rather amateurishly, but with surprising speed and accuracy. Satele stepped up the frequency of her attacks, surrendering herself to the Force as she spun her blades in lightning-fast combinations of Ataru, leaping and darting with incredible speed, pelting the young Sith with a flurry of ferocious and masterful strikes. He held his own, barely, but valiantly. He was focused solely on defense and yet barely holding on, and Satele knew the end was near.

She ended her sequence and was about to launch another, final series of attacks when she felt her strength and life force beginning to drain from her body. She cried out in pain and Nox laughed in malevolent triumph. He was standing in a summoning posture with a black cube carved all over with glowing red Sith runes hovering, tumbling in midair between his hands. Satele could sense her life essence being ripped from her body and drawn into the dark artifact, where it was converted into Force power and absorbed by Nox. She saw the apprentice approach her, raising his lightsaber to perform an executioner's swing, and she summoned the will to resist the drain on her strength. She felt the vacuum of the siphoning spell slow from an open flow to a trickle as the Light Side shrouded her body and spirit. She brought her saberstaff up in time to block his killing blow and they locked eyes as their sabers crossed.

With a sudden burst of energy, Satele sprang to her feet, putting all her unnatural strength into thrusting off the young Sith's crushing attack. He staggered back, temporarily unbalanced, his guard lowered, and she took the opportunity to reach out with the Force, using his moment of weakness to lift him up off the ground and toss him straight up into the air. Stunned by the odd tactic, the apprentice could only watch as Satele took a running start and leaped up towards the falling Kaleesh. She put her forward momentum into a two-footed kick that sent her opponent flying into the far wall and allowed her to perform a backwards somersault that saw her land on one knee in the same spot she had taken off from.

Despite his impact with the wall, the Kaleesh seemed stunned but not harmed. Satele once again reached out with the Force, seizing a piece of one of the supporting pillars and ripping it out of its place. She hurled it at her foe and the impact caused the entire room to shudder. The room seemed to be silent for a moment. Then, Satele's heart quivered with a slight tremor of disbelief when she heard the sound of a lightsaber re-activating and saw the purple glow of her enemy's blade through the thick cloud of dust. A disturbance in the Force caused her to turn and see Nox facing in the Kaleesh's direction, his arms outstretched, his fingers splayed, with tendrils of dark energy erupting from their tips and spiraling towards his apprentice. Seizing the opportunity, she charged him, blade raised high, only to find her strike blocked by the apprentice, who seemed to have crossed the distance from the far end of the room in mere seconds.

Satele could already sense the young Sith's power, burgeoning from his Master's support through the Force, rising to meet her own. She could feel his hatred and rage rising within him, and she knew if she didn't end this quickly, she might find herself in a very undesirable position at the end of this battle. She couldn't call for backup with her comlink, she'd be cut down the moment her guard relaxed, and she couldn't defeat the apprentice with his master augmenting his powers and healing him of any injury. She needed to cut off the head. It was then that Nox adopted a focusing posture, positioning his hands if he were holding something spherical, and Satele saw dark energy gathering in the empty space between, writhing and growing. With desperate speed, she darted past the apprentice and made a beeline for the seemingly vulnerable Nox, her blade poised to impale him.

____________

Demise clenched his fists, summoning all his strength in the Force, then lashed out with violent exertion. The thick, reinforced durasteel door of the Command Center exploded inward, unfortunately killing no one, as the commanding officers had been smart enough to place their soldiers on either side of the door rather than in front of it. The blaster bolts began flying, and Demise drew his lightsaber, leaping into the fray with the fury of a vornskr.

He hewed apart soldier after soldier, deflecting their blaster bolts before he cleaved them in two or impaled them on his violet blade. He crushed some of their windpipes with the Force or hurled them into walls, he was a hypnotic blur of death and violence. Torn between attacking him and defending themselves from the onslaught of bolts raining down on them from the Imperial commandos outside, the soldiers quickly became disorganized and divided. They were easily torn apart by Demise and his squad, after which Demise continued deeper into the base, hewing and hacking apart all resistance as the commandos struggled to bring up the rear.

Eventually they reached the command bunker, and with a gesture Demise sent the door flying inward to crash into the screens on the opposite wall. He stormed into the room and brought his lightsaber up, barely in time to deflect the steady stream of bolts that were aimed at his upper torso. He felt the strain of resisting the constant pelting of the bolts creeping up his arms but he summoned the Force to renew his strength and he held fast. The man firing on him was obviously the new Supreme Commander: Jace Malcom. His face was horrifically scarred on one side, and he wore a battle scarred but sturdy-looking suit of white and red armor. He wielded a red and white Besh assault cannon which was even now belching a stream of plasmatic death at the Emperor's Wrath. His mouth was open in a battlecry that was drowned out by the roar of the cannon and the scream of the bolts striking Demise's blade.

Just then, Pierce and the squad of commandos burst in and, seeing Demise otherwise occupied, they turned and opened fire on his attacker. Their bolts struck the personal shield protecting the commander, causing it to flash and waver. Ceasing his barrage, Jace released the front grip of his weapon and reached for his other wrist, Demise leaped forward, blade raised, to try to put an end to the soldier, but Jace's finger reached the button first and the blue energy shield hummed to life around him. Demise hit the shield hard, and only his personal shield and the Force protected him from serious injury as his momentum crushed his body against the unbreakable barrier. He staggered back, and Jace reached to his belt, seized a plasma grenade, and lobbed it at the Pierce's squad. The commandos dived in all directions trying to avoid the projectile, but not all of them were lucky enough. The screams of those caught in the blast brought Demise back to full awareness, and through the Force, he felt their flesh burning off their bones, their armor melting and fusing to their skin, their dying brains exploding with transcendent pain, then the rage came.

He felt it rising up from deep within him, an unstoppable crimson tide that consumed him, filling every last inch of his body. The very air around him began to tremble, and his eyes glowed red behind the lenses of his helm. Jace unleashed a spray of bolts across the chamber, aiming to spread death to the survivors of the blast, his bolts struck many of the remaining soldiers, first piercing their shields, then their armor, then their bodies. Pierce managed to activate his energy shield in time, but his comrades were falling, one by one, under the hail of bolts. Demise however, stood as still as stone. None of the bolts even so much as hit his personal shield, they simply evaporated upon entering the trembling aura of power the surrounded him. Jace's energy shield began to stutter and waver, and there was a vibration in the Force that caused everyone left alive in the chamber to pause in sudden fear or awe to process what was happening. Jace looked in shock at his wavering shield, and his eyes darted around, looking at thin air, as if the atmosphere itself was conspiring against him. Realizing what was happening, he dropped his cannon and, with a hidden motion, grabbed a plasma grenade from his belt and charged Demise with a roar. Suddenly, as if by divine intervention, he was thrown to the floor. He struggled to move but his limbs were pinned by an invisible hand. Demise began to walk slowly towards his helpless foe, his body a nexus of Dark Side energy as he channeled his awesome rage into an unstoppable weapon. Jace grimaced and shifted the fingers of his hand so that his thumb hovered over the trigger of the grenade, if he was going down, he wasn't going alone.

Demise slowly approached his helpless prey, savoring every step, tightening his grip on his blade as he prepared to impale the human. A jangle of foreboding suddenly ripped through his skull, and his eyes were drawn to the commander's right hand just as the man's thumb pressed the trigger. Without even thinking, Demise used the Force to rip the grenade from the commander's hand and send it flying across the room, where it exploded against the far wall, creating a miniature nova that Demise had to shield himself from with the Force. By the time he recovered his senses, Jace was on his feet and charging towards him, a bowie knife clutched in his upraised hand. Demise took a step forward towards the charging soldier and leaned in, extending his lightsaber to impale Jace in the gut. The purple plasma blade, its penetration power amplified by Jace's own momentum and Demise's unnatural might, pierced Jace's personal shield, then his armor, and continued travelling through his body until it emerged out the other side.

Despite his imminent death, Jace actually ignored the blade in his gut, allowing his momentum to carry him down the blade's length to the hilt, where he reared back his knife and drove it through the lens of Demise's helm and into his left eye. Pain shot through Demise's skull, not nearly as severe as it would have been had his eyes still been organic, but it was still intense. Growling in anger and pain, he used the Force to send Jace flying against the far wall. The commander slumped to the ground, managing a weak chuckle.

"Something to remember me by, Sith."

Demise approached him, reaching up to his neck to trigger the collapse of his helm into its place inside the small container on the back of his neck. He reached the dying man and leaned down on one knee so his enemy could see the extent of the damage. Jace's foggy eyes widened slightly as he saw the sparking wires and shredded metal and glass of Demise's artificial oculi.

"You're just another body on the pile." Demise said, his voice hollow and cold, yet filled with hatred and rage.

The dying man seemed to be struggling to say something, but his dying body refused to move his lips to form the words. With a last, strangled gasp, the light faded from his eyes...and he was gone.

____________

Satele felt the pain and sense of loss overtake her, even as she closed in on her target. The sudden, overwhelming grief that struck her as she felt Jace die made her hesitate, as disbelief and anger warred within her for dominance.

Sensing her hesitation, Nox ceased his channel and, in a blur of motion, outstretched one of his hands towards her. She saw it coming too late to avoid it. A bolt of lightning leaped from his outstretched fingers and penetrated her chest, overloading her nervous system in an instant. She spasmed and tripped over her own feet as the spike of electricity made her body unable to coordinate her movements. Pain suddenly overwhelmed her body as a storm of lightning launched from Nox's fingers enveloped her like a pack of vipers, stinging her with their voltaic venom. She screamed as thousands of volts ravaged her nervous system, desperately fighting to stay conscious. Behind her, Xalek outstretched his own clawed hands, letting the energy erupt from the tips of his claws, piling his own, amplified dark powers onto those of his master. Satele didn't even notice, her body was already in too much pain to detect the increase in voltage.

She felt like she was dying, and with the sensation came a sudden clarity, an eye in the midst of the storm. She felt as if she was liberated from all physical constraints, and the pain while still present, was severely dulled. She opened her eyes to see Darth Nox through the haze of electricity flashing across her vision. He was standing with his arms outstretched, leaning forward, both hands belching lightning like twin dragons breathing fire. The sheer amount of electrical energy he was unleashing was astounding, it looked almost like a stream of raw power, yet Satele felt nothing. She began to walk towards him, slowly, surely, putting one foot steadily in front of the other. To his credit, Nox noted the change with surprise, causing his stream of Force Lightning to waver briefly, but he hunched his shoulders, and the stream suddenly exploded into a raging river.

Satele was stopped short by the burst of energy, and she felt the pain beginning to return, but she called upon her discipline, harnessing the Force to bring her mind back into that state of intense focus. She continued her slow and deliberate approach, she was only six steps away now...four...three...two...she reached down to call her lightsaber to her hand, struggling, not against pain, but against the exhaustion that was sweeping over her body, mind and spirit. She sensed, rather than felt, the hilt of her blade sink into her palm and her fingers reflexively closed around it. She thumbed the activation switch as she took her next step towards Nox, who had stopped channeling his lightning and was reaching to his belt, where his silver saberstaff rested. Satele pivoted ninety degrees on her next step, bringing her lightsaber around so that she could grip the hilt in both hands. her next step she took backwards as she continued pivoting, Nox's supernatural speed still leaving him behind now that she was no longer encumbered by the intensity of the two Sith's Force lightning. Xalek was charging towards her, drawing his own lightsaber, about to hurl it in a spinning arc that would cleave her in two and leave Nox unharmed, but he wasn't fast enough either. Satele pivoted again on her next step, bringing her blade around and up to crash into Nox's personal shield. While the shield protected him from being sliced in two, the impact of her blade on the shield acted like the impact of a full-body uppercut with the strength to lift him high into the air and send him flying back to crash into the ground several yards away.

Satele was moving in to drive her lightsaber through his chest and into the floor when she was forced to duck and slip quickly to the left to avoid being beheaded by Xalek's sweep. She brought her lightsaber around to slice off half of the Kaleesh's head, which he blocked. She followed up with a set of fast and furious Ataru sequences, her lightsaber in constant motion as she easily backed the apprentice into a corner. Despite his amplified Force reflexes and awareness, the Kaleesh was once again struggling just to stay alive against the Jedi Grandmaster's focused onslaught. Satele felt the darkness of Nox's presence growing stronger, and in a whirling back flip that vaulted her over her opponent, she caught a glimpse of what he was doing. Darth Nox stood with feet spread wide, one artifact in each of his hands. The one in his right was the same red-black cube she had seen before, but the other was a crimson sphere shot through with shadowy wisps that moved and coiled as if they were alive. Satele landed, and threw herself back into the fight with Xalek, Every time she tried to make a move on Nox, the Kaleesh would interpose himself in her way, defending not just himself, but his master too. Try as she might she could not get to Nox, and despite his lack of skill and finesse, the Kaleesh was no amateur, he knew how to preserve his life against a superior combatant.

Nox's head fell back, and the artifacts were levitated out of his hands by the power of the Force and began rotating around him like planets around a star, their orbits polar opposites of each other. Nox's hands were now raised to shoulder height, his palms upturned. The artifacts began to rotate faster as his feet left the ground, and he ascended into the air, his body bathed in an aura of pure darkness. Satele felt the Kaleesh's speed, strength, and reflexes increase as the darkness grew, and she could swear the chamber itself was becoming dimmer. Her opponent was no longer struggling to keep up with her in order to defend himself, rather his strength increased while hers simultaneously diminished. Despite her best efforts, she felt the darkness of Nox's Force presence beginning to gnaw at the edges of her mind, eroding her resistance and mental fortitude, while sapping her physical strength. She tried to summon the power of the Force to give her strength and resolve, but instead of the cleansing rush of renewed focus and peace, she received only a thin, small trickle of the Light Side's power.

She felt her limbs grow sluggish and her thoughts become foggy and diffuse. She could no longer execute her sequences with the smooth, focused efficiency that she was used to and she found herself falling back on the defensive. Soon she was the one struggling to keep up with the Kaleesh's heavy-handed blows and brutish aggression. Her limbs felt weak and numb, her mind could barely stay conscious, and she began to lose track of where she was and what was going on. She was in a fight for her life, that much she knew, but she couldn't remember why, or who exactly her enemies were. She wanted to just lay down and sleep, her body was so tired, and her mind was drifting slowly into darkness and absence. She felt a strange, almost foreign presence inside her mind, and a chorus of voices began whispering to her, telling her dark and mutinous things. Even as she continued to struggle to defend herself from her enemy's vicious offense, the voices became more and more obstreperous.

She suddenly lost her footing, stumbling back and falling flat on her backside, her lightsaber skittering out of her hand and across the floor. Her enemy approached, with no mercy in his blazing, slitted yellow eyes. She tried to force her body to move and propel her away from the approaching predator, but her limbs, completely robbed of their strength, only thrashed uselessly. Her upper body fell back onto the cold, hard floor, her muscles no longer able to even keep her upright. The last thing she saw before everything went black was the pointy-eared, violet-skinned, skull-faced demon standing over her, his demonic gaze searing itself into her nightmares.

____________

Satele woke to find everything was dark, cold, and wet. The air felt moist and stale, and the darkness was seemingly pitch black. She tried to move, only to find that her wrists and ankles were secured in some kind of shackles that pinned her spread-eagled to a metal slab. She tried to form a coherent thought and focus on the Force, only to find that she couldn't. Her thoughts didn't stay gathered for longer than a moment or two before they scattered in all directions, like vermin fleeing a light source. She realized, despite the mental fog occupying her brain, that she'd been drugged. The drugs would prevent her from calling on the Force to free her from her prison and had the unfortunate side effect of preventing her from forming a plan complex enough to escape.

As she looked around in the darkness, her eyes began to grow adjusted to the deep blackness that surrounded her. She was able to barely make out the cell walls, and could see darker splotches where moss or some similar form of plant life was presumably growing. Just as she came to that conclusion however, the thought slipped away, and she found herself wondering what she had just been thinking about. Her gaze fell on another dark patch, but this one was too square and well-defined to be some kind of growth, of course Satele didn't remember the moss, and thus spent a good long moment staring at the shape before she realized it was probably a door. The thought vanished though, and she stared at the unfamiliar, rectangular shape in the darkness, wondering what it was. Suddenly, a loud screech pierced her ears, and she attempted to recoil in terror, as a sliver of light appeared to the side of the dark shape. The sliver grew wider, and Satele realized that she had been staring at the door to her cell, and that it was now opening.

A dark shadow appeared in the pool of light spilling out from behind the opening door, and a shiver went down Satele's spine. She turned her head and closed her eyes, as the door opened fully, allowing the light of the hallway outside to blast into the small, dark cell. She heard footsteps as the being who had cast the shadow walked into the room, and she sensed another kind of darkness fall over her despite the physical light coming in from the corridor. Hesitantly, she turned her head back towards the door, her heart pounding, and cracked open one eyelid. The light seemed to sear her cornea, but she reluctantly held it open, glimpsing the silhouette of her captor through the blinding light. Slowly, she opened her other eye, and as they began to adjust to the glare, she began to see her enemy in detail, illuminated by the light streaming from behind him.

The first thing she noticed released a tremor of fear, the being before her had a skull for a face. It's empty eye sockets as black as the darkness that had preceded the light. After a few moments though, she realized it wasn't an actual human skull, but rather her abductor's helm. She noticed too, the semi-armoured robes he wore, and he struck her as familiar somehow. Then, suddenly, the memories came to her, her parched and trembling lips struggled to form the word.

"You..."

"Yes Satele, it's me."

"What? Where am I? What have you done Sith?" She asked, her words slurred by the drugs coursing through her system.

"I've made you my property." Came the cold and menacing reply.

"What-"

"Never mind that now." Nox cut her off. "You will understand soon enough." He clasped his hands in front of him, and Satele could feel the power building within him.

"No!" She said pleadingly, confused and afraid. "Don't-" She was cut off by a sharp pain in her head that drove her to thrash in her restraints, crying out with discomfort. The pain faded, but Nox remained as he was. Satele opened her mouth to speak again, but another wave of pain hit her, and only a gasp came out.

The pain came in waves after that, and she soon realized that Nox was causing it. He was releasing dark energy in bursts, bursts that slowly wore down Satele's mental defenses, and caused her to feel even weaker than before, and somehow more hollow inside, as if bits and pieces of her were being stripped away, like pieces of sediment being eroded from a rock exposed to the tide. Soon Nox began performing arcane and obscure movements with his hands, then his feet too, and finally his whole body. He moved around the chamber with an eerie grace, his movements dramatic and flowing. Now and then he would gesture in her direction or perform a certain movement and Satele would feel another sharp spike of pain. She could feel the darkness growing, it was as if the very shadows of the cell came alive and began closing in on her. Suddenly the light of the outside seemed very, very far away.

Nox stopped in between her and the light, his silhouette appearing much larger than it should have been. He placed both feet in a firm stance, and leaned forward, extending both his hands in a channeling pose. Satele screamed as she felt a foreign presence pierce, not just her mind, but her entire being. She felt wholly violated, is if her very soul was laid bare, exposed. The pain was unlike anything she'd ever felt before, it wasn't just intense, it was an otherworldly pain, a pain borne of ethereal suffering rather than physical or mental torment. In an attempt to hide from the agony and shame, she retreated deep into the darkest crevices of her mind. With no ability to form a coherent thought or coalesce her own memories, she repeated one simple phrase over and over and over. Clinging to it like a drowning woman to a lifeline: Theron, help me. Theron, help me. Theron, help me. Theron, help me...

____________

Jay-Li walked to his ship's holoterminal and turned it on. The ringing notifying him of the incoming call stopped, and the image of Vice Chancellor Madon flickered into existence.

"Vice Chancellor." Jay said, inclining his head in respect. "What is it I can do for you?"

"Master Kenobi! I've been trying to reach you for the past several hours!"

"We were passing through a nebula, Vice Chancellor, the background radiation interfered with our communications arrays. What's going on?" Jay-Li had seen the fear and concern in Madon's face and was trying to contain his own apprehension.

"Coruscant and Tython have been attacked." Madon replied, and Jay-Li felt his blood grow cold.

"When?"

"Roughly six standard hours ago." Jay-Li paused for a moment as a thought suddenly came to him.

"Vice Chancellor, is there a reason you're contacting me instead of the Supreme Chancellor?" The older man nodded, a sad expression taking over his features.

"Yes. I am now the acting Supreme Chancellor. I'm afraid, master Jedi, that the former Supreme Chancellor is dead." Jay-Li turned his head away and closed his eyes, observing a moment of silent sorrow for her passing. "She's not the only one either." Jay-Li's eyes snapped open and his gaze shot up to the Vice Chancellor.

"Who else?"

"The Supreme Commander of the Republic Forces has also been reported as dead," Madon said mournfully. "and..." Jay-Li bristled at the man's hesitation to say what he had been about to say.

"What? Who else was killed Madon?"

"And I'm afraid that Grandmaster Satele is reported missing."

"Missing?"

"She is presumed to be dead." Jay-Li shook his head in vehement disagreement with the statement.

"If she was dead Supreme Chancellor, I would have sensed it, as would every Jedi Master in the order. I'm assuming you didn't find a body."

"No." Madon replied with certainty.

"Then mark my words, Satele Shan is not dead."

"I believe you, Master Jedi." Madon said in agreement. "That is a relief to hear, however, it does not change our current situation."

"And what situation is that precisely?" Jay asked.

"That every leader of the Republic has either been killed or cut off from us. I'm afraid that as of this moment, you, me, and acting Supreme Commander Maxxor are the new leaders of the Republic." Jay stood in stunned silence for a moment, as he processed what Madon had said. As he stood deep in thought, the holoprojector buzzed and a second eidolon flickered into existence. The newcomer was clad in high-quality white and gold trooper armor. A strap across his chest held several power packs, and a utility belt around his waist held more ammo and even a few plasma grenades. On his left shoulder was a protruding shoulder pad with the insignia of Havoc Squad emblazoned on it in gold. On his head he wore a bucket helmet with a T-shaped visor, the bottom of which was cut off by an air filter which doubtless allowed the man to breathe under even the harshest conditions. The thing that really drew Jay's eye however, was the massive assault cannon attached to the large man's back, it looked like it weighed as much as he did.

"Master Jedi." Supreme Commander Maxxor said, bowing slightly at the waist. "It's an honor to make your acquaintance."

"Ah." Said Madon as he turned and noticed the new addition to the call. "Supreme Commander, we were just talking about you."

"We're holding together on the western front." Maxxor told Madon, and Jay thought he heard a distant explosion in the background. "The imps are starting to pull back, I've sent a few scouts out to survey the landing sites."

"You think it's over?" The Supreme Chancellor asked, a note of relief and hope creeping into his voice. The Supreme Commander nodded.

"They don't have the numbers for a full-on occupation, and my predecessor already summoned every Republic fleet in the Core to descend on Coruscant. It'll be hours before they get here but the imps aren't stupid, they know were not just guna sit here and take it."

"How did this happen?" Jay asked Madon.

"Reports are sketchy," Maxxor replied in the Supreme Chancellor's stead, "but apparently the Empire seized Alderaan without us knowing about it."

"How is that possible? Last I heard Organa and her allies were winning the war." Jay said, still confounded by the magnitude of the disaster.

"It was a trap set by the imps," The Supreme Commander supplied, "They let Organa think they were winning to lure them into a trap, then right before they sprung it, they took out all planetary and exo-planetary communications. It threw Organa's forces into complete chaos, but the Thuls all knew what to do, and the planet was theirs within a matter of hours. With the communications blackout nobody on-world could tell us what was going on, and with Thul restricting all travel off-world, nobody in orbit knew anything until the Thuls took over our space station and faked the all-clear signal. From there, they used Alderaan as a staging point to launch their fleets."

A third image suddenly shimmered into view next to the Maxxor. "Supreme Commander, we have an emergency!"

"Director?" Maxxor asked incredulously. "What is it?"

"Is this connection secure?" The Director asked hurriedly, Madon nodded.

"I'm using my personal encryption key, we're as secure as can be."

"We've intercepted Imperial transmissions, the attacks are just the beginning, they're planning a full scale invasion of every major system in the Core!"

"WHAT!!!" Maxxor roared.

"It's true, I'd stake my life on this." The Director replied.

"That may be what you've just done, but not just your life either. If what you say is true trillions will die!" The Supreme Chancellor exclaimed.

"I suggest we focus on protecting the most critical systems, starting with Duro."

"Duro?" The Supreme Commander asked incredulously. "I thought you just said we should focus on protecting critical systems. Duro is heavily populated, but it's not Kuat or Muunilinst." The Director shifted uncomfortably.

"A report from one of my field agents indicates that the Ascendant Spear is on its way to Duro to raze it to the ground as we speak. We-that is I and the previous Supreme Commander-had planned to ambush the Spear at Duro and destroy it, it's called Operation Endgame." Jay sensed the man was covering something up, but considering the man was the Director of SIS, Jay decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"And now the whole operation is about to fall apart if you can't get a big enough fleet together." Supreme Commander Maxxor said, finishing the thought.

"Yes." The Director replied solemnly.

"Well we can't very well throw away an operation in progress that could be so critical to the Republic war effort, especially at this juncture." Maxxor said affirmatively.

"Now hold on just a minute!" Madon spoke up. "We can't very well abandon all the other worlds that are being invaded!"

"We can afford to lose a few key worlds if we destroy the Spear." The Director countered.

"Director!" Madon exclaimed, horrified.

"The Director is correct sir," Maxxor assured him, "If the Ascendant Spear is taken down we will be in a far better strategic position than we would be if we focused on protecting the targeted worlds."

"But all those people..." The Supreme Chancellor seemed shell-shocked. "Surely you don't agree with this Master Jedi?" Jay was quiet for a long moment as the three awaited his answer.

"Supreme Chancellor," He said, finally speaking, "You are correct in stating that we cannot simply allow the Empire to invade our worlds as they choose." A look of relief crossed the Chancellor's face, only to quickly morph back into apprehension when Jay continued; "However, we also cannot walk away from the threat of the Ascendant Spear."

"So what do you suggest, Master Jedi?" Maxxor asked.

"That you contact every Republic ship in the navy commander, and allocate the largest fleet to Duro, while dividing the remainder of available ships as they are needed among the ailing worlds."

"We'll still be shorthanded for the battle against the Spear." The Director protested. "You don't know how dangerous this ship is Master Jedi, it has dispatched entire planetary defense fleets on its own!"

"They won't be shorthanded." Jay said firmly, "Because I'm going with them."

"With all due respect," The Director said, "I'm not sure one Jedi, however powerful, is enough to turn the tide." Jay smiled.

"True, but I won't be the only Jedi there."

"What do you mean?" Maxxor asked.

"I'm going to send you the coordinates for the rendezvous point," Jay said, typing them into the holoprojector's input pad. "Have the fleet bound for Duros meet me there, me and ten other Jedi ships."

"Just what are you planning?" Madon asked curiously.

"Have faith in the Force." Jay responded cryptically. "The Spear will be broken, the Republic will survive."

"Then may the Force be with us all." The Supreme Chancellor said, as one by one the three beings terminated their connections.

______________

Nox brought his saber up to block Satele's attempted decapitation, he responded preemptively to her rapid series of blows and strikes with a smooth and efficient defensive sequence from Soresu, responding to a brief hesitation on her part with a blast of Force lightning that staggered her. She growled in pain and anger, glaring at him with a mixture of bloodlust and hatred. She came at him again, her impossibly fast sequences easily blocked by Nox, who seemed to know her every move before she even made it. Her guard dropped for an instant and Nox struck her temple with the hilt of his saberstaff, causing her to lose her balance, stumble, and fall, her own saberstaff clattering out of her hand. Nox approached her, but she made no move to flee. Upon reaching her, he extended a hand. She took it and he hauled her to her feet.

"Well done my child." He said, his cadence deliberately slow and drawn out. "You are truly worthy of being my firstborn."

Satele knelt down on one knee and bowed her head. "I live to serve you, father."

"And so you shall." Nox said, and Satele rose to her feet. "There is one last test for you to complete." Nox continued. "You will create your own synthetic crystal using the power I have given you. It will be a reflection of your true nature."

"As you command, master."

"Come." Nox turned and walked towards the elevator that lead up to the secret stronghold's ground floor. Satele followed him, and in minutes they were stepping out into the ancient ruins of Taris. They continued walking in silence for half a standard hour until they reached the entrance to the Rakghoul tunnels that lead into the abandoned transport system of the former ecumenopolis. "Descend into the depths, child. Take this," He held out his hand, revealing that he was holding a rare, white lightsaber crystal, an ultimate expression of the Force's purity. "Take the crystal into the depths of the tunnels, and perform the ritual. I will guide you from here, then you will return to me with the crystal, your rebirth complete."

"I understand master."

"Then go." Satele reached out and took the crystal from her master's hand, then headed into the darkness of the caves. As she went deeper and deeper into the network of tunnels carved by the foul creatures that dominated the ruined planet, she began to sense more and more rakghouls, and the miasma of death and decay became thicker and stronger. In her past life, Satele might have balked at the assault on her senses or tried to stabilize her emotions by connecting with the Force, now however, she drank it in. She fed off of the atmosphere of entropy that permeated the underworld, drawing strength from it, using the power it gave her to stave off the hungry, eyeless predators lurking in the shadows, starving for a taste of flesh.

She felt her master guiding her, felt his presence in the back of her mind, directing her steps and steering her sense of direction. He lead her to a large, open cavern with one other passage leading to it, besides the one she had emerged from. She could feel his will and knew that this was place where she was to conduct the ritual. She walked to the center of the cavern and placed the crystal and her lightsaber on the ground. Then she sat down cross-legged, closed her eyes, and entered a meditative trance.

The crystal began to levitate off the ground, tumbling end over end. Satele could hear the darkness whispering to her, guiding her thoughts as she felt it enter her and attach itself to the pure Force crystal. The dark energy in the cavern began to grow, and Satele felt the beautiful darkness beginning to consume and corrupt the crystal through her mind. Internally, she rejoiced as the dark tide swelled within her and she felt the light of purity fade to nothing more than a faint glimmer, then vanish.

She levitated her lightsaber next, disassembling it in midair to reveal the blue crystal inside. She let the crystal drop to the ground, and moved the newly corrupted purple crystal into its place, reassembling the lightsaber around it. Having finished the ritual, she felt a surge of depraved joy and reveled in the dark energies her weapon was now exuding.

Suddenly she heard an ear-splitting roar that jerked her from her trance, and the far wall of the cavern exploded in a storm of rock, dirt, and filth. Out of the cloud charged a sanguine rakghoul as big as a rancor, howling and snarling as it bore down on her. She leapt to her feet and activated her new lightsaber, the violet blade shining brightly in the darkness as she charged forward to meet her foe.

____________

The Republic fleet that emerged from hyperspace over Duro quickly discovered they had flown straight into a one-sided battle. The Imperial invasion fleet attacking the planet, while small, still far outgunned the world's emergency defense flotilla, which was in a very bad way. Only two of the five capital ships remained, and most of the fighter and interceptor-class vessels had been crippled or destroyed. Imperial forces had already begun bombardment of the orbital cities and shipyards, and the fighters, boarding shuttles and interceptors launched from the bays of the newly arrived Republic ships hurried to run them off.

The battle remained one-sided, the only thing that changed was the side that was winning. The Imperial fleet quickly found itself fully on the defensive, as the sheer number of Republic vessels and the magnitude of their firepower overwhelmed them. In the depths of the flagship, the Star Aegis, Jay-Li gathered with ten other Jedi knights and masters he had specifically chosen for this mission.

"Are we ready?" he asked.

"As ready as we could ever be." Master Lor'ek replied.

"Are we certain this is the correct course of action?" Jedi Knight Gerdon inquired. "I understand times are desperate, but surely no ship can stand against the might of the fleet assembled here."

"We're here to make certain of that." Jay responded with calm assurance. "We won't begin until we receive the signal from Commander Prake."

"I think you underestimate the power of the Ascendant Spear Gerdon," Jedi Knight Ferek spoke up. "it has taken down fleets more than half the size of this one on its own."

"I sympathize with Gerdon's sentiment." Master Jee-ra said. "This is not a casual undertaking and it should be taken very seriously."

"Which it is." Jay affirmed. "I would not have called you all here to do this if I did not believe that it was entirely necessary."

Outside, the battle was beginning to end as the Imperial Forces tried desperately to retreat. One group of ships, a Star Destroyer and a few frigate-class cruisers managed to break away from the battle and began firing up their hyperdrives, dropping their shields to do so. In a flash, The Ascendant Spear appeared from hyperspace not far from them and, in the space of a mere second, unleashed a barrage of perfectly-aimed shots that struck every ship in the escape group, ripping through their shields and causing them to explode in one massive nova. On the bridge of The Star Aegis Fleet Commander Prake turned his head towards the young Selkath seated at navigation when she exclaimed: "The Spear has arrived!"

"More power to weapons!" Prake barked, then he spoke into the channel connecting him with the rest of the fleet. "This is Fleet Commander Prake, all vessels converge on the Ascendant Spear and prepare for battle!" He switched over to the private channel that gave him a direct line to Jay-Li. "It's time Master Jedi." He said grimly, "We're moving in on the Spear as we speak."

"Roger." Jay said, and he closed the connection. He and the others would need complete privacy and solitude to perform what they were about to. He sat down in a cross-legged meditative pose and, taking the hint, his colleagues followed suit. They were sitting in a circle, each one relinquishing his thoughts and focusing solely on the Force. Their minds began to overlap, their wills merging into one as they surrendered themselves to the Force. Then their combined consciousness began to extend outward, expanding like an invisible bubble over the entirety of the Republic fleet. The minds of every crewman on every ship in the Republic fleet became linked, from the pilots of the fighters and crewmen of the light corvettes to the commanders of the massive Star Destroyers, every mind became synchronized to each other. The vessels moved with organic unity, each crew member operating in perfect sync with every other crewman in every other ship on the fleet.

The fleet moved in on the Ascendant Spear like a single organism, an amoeba encircling its prey. With its longer range giving it the initiative, the Spear opened fire first, unleashing multiple salvos and utilizing much of its arsenal in wild destruction. Some of the shots struck their targets, annihilating countless fighters, destroying the smaller capital ships in one shot, and heavily draining the larger vessel's shields. But many of the shots simply went wide, missing their targets and most other vessels by miles. The result was that the Republic fleet only suffered minor losses and managed to get in close enough to return the favor. As one the ships began to open fire, pelting the Spear from all sides. Even with the extraordinary vessel's exemplary shielding capabilities, the sheer scale of the bombardment was enough to make the shields waver for a few moments.

The Spear peeled off and began to charge for an opening in the fleet's encirclement left by some of the ships it had successfully destroyed. The Republic ships couldn't keep pace with the seemingly fleeing vessel as its superior speed allowed it to slip through the gap before the surrounding ships could close it. Immediately after passing through the gap, the Spear unleashed another barrage at the ships surrounding the hole. Some of the shots struck their intended targets, destroying them with sheer firepower, but again, many of the attacks went wide. Regardless, the ship continued fleeing the Republic fleet, firing back at them in retreat. The escape from the three dimensional encirclement trap the Republic had attempted had effectively cut the pressure from enemy attacks down by two thirds or so and relegated the attacks to the aft shields, which Darth Karrid was obviously shunting power to.

The ships on the other side of the half-spherical formation were beginning to relocate around their allies, even as the ships firing on the Spear tightened their formation to allow for more of the ships behind them to release their firepower in shorter order. The synchronicity with which the maneuvers were performed was eerie yet deadly, being reminiscent of the presence of a hive mind or some other collective consciousness. The maneuver proved to be detrimental however, when the Spear suddenly turned hard to port and unleashed a devastating salvo that decimated the central formation. This time, each shot hit its mark directly, with an accuracy as uncanny as the unity with which the Republic fleet acted. The central formation began to disperse, as the remaining ships took evasive action.

The Spear continued its course, coming about in a full 180 degree rotation and seizing on the advantage, raining fire down on the ships as they attempted to escape its weapons and regroup. Two more capital ships exploded, taking thousands of fighters with them. The Spear's shields continued to take a beating from many of the remaining ships but they showed no sign of failing yet. Suddenly, the shields vanished, and the plasma bolts and ion blasts sank into the hull of the Ascendant Spear, causing thousands of tiny explosions and creating hundreds of hull breaches. The vessel seemingly began to fire wildly, as if it were shooting blind, but it seemed to quickly regain control, its attacks became focused and direct. Two of the Hammerheads got caught in the ship's salvo and had their shields torn apart by the intense barrage, leaving them crippled and limping. The Republic fleet returned fire, but their attacks were once again deflected by the Spear's shields, which were back in operation.

The ships that had escaped the carnage reformed and began focusing their fire on the upper starboard bow. The deflector shields flared as they repelled the attack, with a significant power drain. Suddenly a second salvo of fire struck the bilge amidships, as a two corvettes and a legion of fighters took advantage of the power reallocation to severely weaken the lower shields. Other ships began to join in pelting the Spear from random directions, moving erratically yet in perfect conjunction. The Spear's guns tried to keep up with all the moving targets, but it soon relegated itself to attacking and focusing on individual ships, eliminating them one at a time.

In the middle of chasing down a Corvette, the Spear suddenly slowed, and its shields weakened noticeably, as lone blasts began to strike the hull in the more vulnerable areas. With the timely intervention of another Corvette and a Hammerhead, the Spear's prey managed to escape. Turning to assault the ships who had robbed it of its target, the ship revealed the extent of its lost speed. The deflectors suffered an unusual amount of strain before it managed to get off a salvo that drove off the two capital ships. Despite the loss of response time, the Ascendant Spear still held a tremendous amount of firepower, more than enough to engage the Republic fleet.

Out of nowhere however, the Spear suddenly stopped attacking. It slowed to a crawl and simply took the incoming fire from the remains of the Republic fleet. The deflectors began to waver, then collapsed under the pressure, thousands of explosions rocked the vessel, and it began to list under the constant bombardment. Escape pods jettisoned from every side of the vessel, even as the ship began to fragment and fall apart. The fleet continued to bombard the Spear even after the escape pods stopped launching, and after a few full minutes of the constant onslaught, the ship's now unstable power core began to overload. The ship suddenly erupted in a fireworks display of explosions, each one seemingly brighter and larger than the last, and then, the vessel was consumed in a brilliant white flash punctuated by the rapidly expanding ring of glowing energy that characterized a massive hypermatter explosion.

A spirit of jubilation spread across the remainder of the Republic fleet, as the Battle Meditation of the ten Jedi faded, it was replaced by an intense feeling of inspiration and outright joy. Crew members hugged each other, high-fived, or jumped up and down, pumping their fists in the air and whistling. The euphoria of victory filled the atmosphere of every vessel, momentarily unfettered by the pain of the losses they had suffered. On the bridge of the Star Aegis, the scene was no different than anywhere else in the fleet. Commander Prake enjoyed the atmosphere of triumph as he watched his subordinates celebrate. By chance, his eyes happened to glance over at a nearby, abandoned terminal, they were being hailed. Patching the ship's comms into his own personal communicator, he answered the hail.

"Hey Aegis," A strange voice said in his ear. "Any chance me and my Jedi friend here can hitch a ride?"

"Who is this?" Commander Prake asked with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity. There was a pause that went on for a while, then:

"This is SIS agent Theron Shan, I'm here with Jedi Master Gnost-Dural. We were on board the Ascendant Spear trying to sabotage it, and we got away in an escape pod"

"Sabotage? Was that you that messed with their shields and targeting systems?"

"You can thank us for it later, preferably in person." Commander Prake smiled.

"Son, I'll do a lot more than that. I'm putting you in for as many commendations as I can, our losses would have been far more severe without your help."

"Always a pleasure to serve the Republic, Commander."

"Make for launch bay eight, welcome home heroes, welcome home."

___________

Ten minutes later, Commander Prake and Jedi Masters Jay-Li, Lor'ek, and Miina stood in the launch bay in front of the escape pod, along with another 20 members of the Star Aegis crew. The escape pod door popped open, and Theron and Gnost-Dural exited the craft as everyone assembled broke into a spontaneous round of applause and cheers. Even Jay joined in, clapping his gloved hands together rather enthusiastically for a Jedi.

"Welcome back." Commander Prake said when the two heroes reached him, snapping off a sharp salute.

"Looks like everyone showed up to say hi." Theron commented as he looked around at the assembled crew. It was Jedi Master Miina, giggling softly, who finally asked what everyone was thinking but didn't have the courage to say.

"Why are you two naked?"

"It's a long story." Theron said as the cheers and applause were interrupted by raucous laughter. Commander Prake signaled for the crew members to leave, which they did, but not without leaving Theron and Gnost-Dural with some hearty backslaps and handshakes. Prake indicated to one officer that he should fetch the two heroes some clothes to wear, and the man scurried off to do just that.

"Theron Shan..." Jay-Li mused as he clasped the young man's hand in a firm handshake, "Any relation to Satele Shan?" Theron sighed and shook his head.

"I told them I needed a codename." He muttered under his breath.

"Master Gnost-Dural." Master Miina said, bowing in greeting. "I didn't realize you found clothing uncomfortable." She teased.

"Less uncomfortable than dying." Gnost-Dural said, trying to ignore the jest, even though his cheeks were flushing a deeper orange. "I didn't have the time to grab anything on my way out."

"So..." Theron said hesitantly. "Where's my- I mean, where's the Supreme Commander?"

"What?" Commander Prake asked in bewilderment. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing," Theron corrected himself, shaking his head in what seemed like anger. "Nothing, forget I said anything."

"The Supreme Commander is on Coruscant, Theron." Jay-Li informed him, "He's fighting off an Imperial invasion."

"What?" Theron exclaimed. Gnost-Dural looked equally shocked. "I spoke to him only eight hours ago, when did this happen?"

"Ah." Master Lor'ek spoke up, shaking his head, making his lekku sway. "Then you spoke to the previous Supreme Commander before he died."

"Died?" Theron asked, his eyes glazing over, making him look like he was in a daze.

"Yes, truly a tragedy." Jay-Li continued, "But I'm afraid that's not the only bad news Theron."

"There's more?" Gnost-Dural asked with notes of dread and exasperation in his voice.

"Yes." Jay replied. "The Jedi Grandmaster Satele Shan...I'm afraid she's gone missing."

"Missing?" Theron asked. "Do you mean dead?" Jay shook his head.

"No. She's alive, just hidden from us. If she had died we would have sensed it."

"Get me a ship." Theron said, his tone indicating that he wasn't going to be talked out of it. "I'm going after her."

"Hold on a moment Theron." Jay said, slightly puzzled at the man's apparent overreaction.

"No. Get me a ship, I have to get out there."

"And just how do you expect to find her?" Jay asked.

"I'll think of something." Theron replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

"She went missing during a time of crisis with no evidence to go on." Master Miina pointed out. "How do you expect to find her without a trail to follow?"

"I-" Theron paused as he reluctantly came to the logical conclusion. "I guess you're right. Forget about it."

"We don't have to." Jay said, and Theron gave a sigh of exasperation. "Will you make up your mind?"

"My mind is irrelevant." Jay-Li said. "Yours on the other hand could lead us straight to her."

"What do you mean?" Theron asked suspiciously.

"I mean if you have some sort of personal connection to her, a special bond of some sort-"

"No." Theron said, a little more abruptly and firmly than he intended. "The Grandmaster and I know each other that's all. There's no special bond or anything like that."

"Still," Gnost-Dural said. "Your expertise could prove valuable in the search for her."

"Like you guys said." Theron replied. "If you can't find her how am I supposed to help?"

"That is exactly the point." Jay-Li said. "We cannot locate her through the Force, and while Master Miina is correct about there being a lack of evidence, We know what her last location was, and there were signs of a struggle, so it is reasonable to believe she did not go willingly, in which case-"

"-there's likely to be some clues left behind." Theron finished the thought. "Alright, so when do we leave?"

"As soon as you two get dressed." Jay said, as the officer returned with their change of clothes.

____________

Satele sat cross-legged in the center of the circle of light filtering down from above. All around she was surrounded by pitch-black darkness that was as deep as the void. She was attired in the same robes she always wore, only now they were black with purple trim. Her hair, once pulled back in a tight bun, now flowed freely down the back of her neck, its silver color reflecting the light coming down from overhead. Her brow creased in concentration as she tried to expand her awareness, then suddenly she leaped to her feet, igniting her lightsaber just in time to block the incoming blow. Nox had struck at her from the darkness, seemingly emerging from it as if he had been formed of it. Their blades clashed, violet against violet, then, as fast as he had appeared, Nox vanished into the darkness again, seemingly melting into it.

Satele stood in ready stance, waiting for the next blow to come. She barely sensed it in time to parry it as it came from behind her, and her counterattack came too little too late, as Nox was already retreating, fading into the shadows.

"Do not trust your eyes, child." Came his disembodied voice out of the black. It seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once, perhaps it was just in her head. "They are too easy for the darkness to deceive." She almost didn't catch the next attack in time, because it came quickly after he finished speaking, too quickly. "Do not trust your ears," he admonished her, "the silence of the void will whisper lies to you if you listen too closely." She managed to dodge his next attack, an eerily noiseless overhand leaping strike, and attempted a counter attack, only to find him already gone, having vanished back into the darkness. "Do not trust your mind, for it will conspire against you with the dark." She waited for the attack this time, steeling herself for it, but it never came, there was only darkness and silence.

She heard the hiss of a lightsaber activating, looking down, she saw the purple blade had impaled her abdomen. She gasped in horror, preparing herself for the pain. Then the lightsaber blade vanished, the hum of the magnetic field disappeared without an deactivation sound, and she saw that her body was whole and uninjured. She realized it had been an illusion. Suddenly the hiss of a real lightsaber blade reached her ears, and she looked back up to see Nox standing in front of her, pointing the tip of his blade directly at her face. This was no illusion, she could feel the heat of the plasma and see the currents of energy roiling beneath the weapon's magnetic wall. She stared into the cold, black eye sockets of her master's helm for a long moment, then he deactivated his lightsaber and she bowed in acquiescence.

"You are not trying, daughter." He accused.

"I am father, please believe me!" She said as earnestly as she could.

"Did you think that replacing your lightsaber crystal and changing your robes made you worthy?" Nox hissed.

"No master, I do not!" She protested, attempting to placate him.

"That rite of First Blood was merely the final step in your initiation. If you are to carry out my will, you must be strong enough, fast enough, cunning enough..." he paused. "and ruthless enough." He nodded his head at something behind her. Satele turned her head and saw, to her shock, her son. Theron was kneeling at the very edge of the circle of light, his face was bruised, cut, and scorched, and there were many places where his clothes were torn or seared through, revealing burns and bleeding wounds. He looked up at her, his eyes full of pain and questions.

"Why mom?" He asked in a gasping, breathless voice. "Why did you do it?" Satele stood perfectly still, staring at her son.

"I had him abducted especially for you." Nox said from behind her, his tone deceptively soft despite the underlying hint of malice to it. "I tortured him to soften him up for you."

"WHY?!" Theron yelled at her. "Why did you do it!? Why did you leave me?! You abandoned me!" He looked at her lightsaber. "And now you're about to do it again, for good this time."

"Kill him." Her master demanded. She hesitated. "KILL HIM!" Nox bellowed, his voice echoing in the darkness. Satele began to slowly walk towards her helpless son, gripping her saberstaff tightly. When she reached him, she reared it back in an executioner's swing. She caught his gaze, and she saw everything in his eyes; his resentment, his pain, his long-dead affection for her, his fear of death, and she understood. He hated her, for leaving him as an infant, for never being a mother to him, even when she had the chance, for denying them the close relationship they should have had. He would never forgive her, ever. She swung, the blade sliced through flesh, and Theron's headless, now lifeless body toppled to the floor, the head rolling away out of the light.

"Good." Her master praised her, as he slowly stepped back into the darkness, vanishing into it. "You are learning."

______________

Jay-Li, Gnost-Dural, and Theron made their way through the wilds of Tython, following a trail that had been forged very recently, leading from the Jedi Temple up into the mountains. They'd only been following the trail for twelve minutes when Theron called to the two Jedi from up ahead. Rushing to catch up, they burst into a large clearing to see Theron squatting on the ground, looking at something. He spoke to them as they approached, standing to his feet.

"The trail ends here." He said. "There was a starship parked here, big, heavy, almost capital ship size." Jay looked around. The clearing was only large enough to accommodate a ship shorter than 120 meters, there weren't that many ship models in the either the Imperial or Republic fleets in that size range, and considering that at least one, if not more, of the ship's crew members defeated the Jedi Grandmaster in combat, there were very few ship models that were potential suspects.

"We're looking for an Imp VIP." Theron said, giving voice to Jay's thoughts. "Most likely Sith."

"So the Sith have the Grandmaster." Gnost-Dural said, an unusual amount of discomfort and concern underlying his voice. "That isn't good."

"So we know it was a Sith." Jay said, "The question is, which one?"

"They'd have to be powerful enough to take on Grandmaster Satele," Gnost-Dural mused. "Either in single combat or with some assistance."

"What about multiple attackers?" Theron asked. "It could have been an entire squad of commandos, this could have been an Imperial military operation."

"Unlikely." Gnost-Dural said. "I sensed the residual Dark Side energy along the trail, if the Sith weren't directly responsible, then they were at least involved. They also couldn't have gotten a large number of combatants into the Temple and down to the secret meditation chamber without at least one of them being discovered, so there must have been no more than three or four combatants."

"So we're looking for one or more powerful, high-ranking Sith who could possibly defeat the Grandmaster." Jay-Li affirmed.

"My first guess would be Darth Rictus." Gnost-Dural said. "As the head of the Sith's official order of assassins, he would be our most likely culprit."

"But Darth Rictus would have killed her, not kidnapped her." Jay-Li pointed out. "The Sith who took her had a reason for doing so, he likely has plans in the works, and he needs her for some reason."

"That's actually a good point." Theron said, and Gnost-Dural relented.

"Then who else could it be?" He asked, partly to himself.

"What about Darth Vowrawn?" Jay-Li asked. "He's supposed to be in charge of the vast majority of the Empire's slave trade."

"But why go to all this trouble just to kidnap the Grandmaster?" Gnost-Dural rebutted. "It's a waste of time and resources for what could only be a vain trophy. From my studies of the Dark Council I can assure you that Darth Vowrawn is many things, but he is not vain to the point of insanity."

"Maybe we should return to the Temple," Theron suggested. "We can research the SIS database and Jedi archives to try and determine who the culprit might be."

The two Jedi exchanged glances, then nodded their assent, and the three of them headed back down the mountain.

_____________

Satele stood naked, covered head to toe in rakghoul pheromones, and unarmed, watching in rage as a small horde of rakghouls scrambled across the main chamber of the complex, snarling and growling. She reached out with her mind, and summoned the power of the Dark Side, seizing the minds of the simple creatures, crushing their wills, until they all finally stopped and awaited her mental commands. She turned her gaze on her master, and sent the creatures rushing to assault him.

Her master stood perfectly still, until they got within ten meters of him, then he held his left hand out as it crackled with raw energy. He suddenly moved it in a large, exaggerated sweeping motion, creating a wave of electricity that instantly fried the rakghouls and struck her. If she hadn't shielded herself, it would have injured her too, instead it sent her flying back a few meters to land on her backside, the filthy durasteel floor scraping against her slime-covered skin.

She scrambled to her feet, preparing herself for the next round. Her master held up a single-button remote, and pressed it. The next group of cages opened, and a fresh wave of rakghouls attacked.

______________

The two Jedi hovered over Theron's shoulders as the three of them examined the SIS and Jedi profiles on the current members of the Dark Council at one of the few terminals in the Jedi Archives that was still functioning. The Archives themselves had been protected well enough, but the Sith had been able to disable most of the power lines, leaving only the emergency terminals, which ran on battery power, working. The newest members, of which Darth Karrid had been one, had rather scant amount of information on them. They hadn't been on the Dark Council nearly long enough to be accurately profiled, and they had been in the upper ranks of the Sith long enough to have avoided close examination by the various SIS and Jedi "assets" within the Empire's ranks. Sith, especially Darths, were entitled to privacy and secrecy, so it took time to gather even small amounts of information on high-ranking members of the order.

"What about Darth Nalik?" Gnost-Dural asked. "I've seen his kind before, perhaps he plans to attempt to study Grandmaster Shan in an attempt to further his knowledge of the Dark Side."

"Nah, his whereabouts are accounted for during the battle." Theron pointed out. "As are the whereabouts of the other two besides Nalik and Karrid."

"Which ones were seen during the attacks?" Jay-Li asked.

"Umm..." Theron said, scrolling down to find the list. "Ah, here we go; Darth Mortis, Darth Ravage, Darth Aruk, Darth Marr..."

"Look at the ones that were unaccounted for," Gnost-Dural said, pointing at the spot. "Darth Vowrawn, and Darth Nox." Jay felt his blood grow cold.

"Nox?" he asked. "Are you sure?"

"It says his personal flagship, the Black Hole, was present during the attack on Tython," Theron said, reading from the page. "But the transmissions intercepted during the battle show no sign of him personally communicating with anyone." It took a moment, but the same realization that had descended on Jay settled on Theron and Gnost-Dural, as they started to put the last pieces of the puzzle into place.

"Theron, was Darth Vowrawn's flagship seen in either of the battles?" Gnost-Dural asked.

"No." Theron said blankly, staring at the screen with a hollow look in his eye. "All intel from the Black Cipher indicates he was held in reserve for the follow-up invasions."

"Then we have our culprit." Master Gnost-Dural said, his voice hardening with resolve.

"We can't waste any time." Theron said with sudden conviction. "We have to find out where he's keeping her."

"Then let's start by locating his nearest known hideout." Gnost-Dural suggested. He glanced over at Jay, who was staring ahead like he was in a daze. "Master Jay-Li, are you alright?" Jay shook his head to clear it, then he pulled a data stick out of a pocket in his robes, handing it to Theron.

"Here," he said, "use this."

"What is it?"

"It contains a profile of Darth Nox I downloaded from the Jedi Archives several months ago." Gnost-Dural and Theron turned to regard him.

"You have some experience with this Sith?" Gnost-Dural asked hesitantly.

"Yes." Jay replied gloomily. "And rest assured that if he has Satele, she is in danger of suffering a fate far worse than death."

_____________

Satele screamed as the lightning enveloped her, searing her clothes, burning her flesh, and overloading her nervous system. Her master ceased his persecution of her, not even allowing her a moment to catch her breath before he continued speaking.

"So if you one day hope to utilize true Sith lightning, you must first be a victim of it." He unleashed another stream of the torturous bolts and she screamed again as the pain exploded in her skull, but she hung on. Every time she had passed out during the previous attempts at this lesson he had forced her to take a few hours of rest before they would do it all over again from the beginning. The stream lapsed and Nox began speaking again.

"It will change you, in both body and mind." He said, punctuating the statement with another round of the painful volts. "But remember..." he said when he allowed it to subside, "that Sith lightning, like the Dark Side, does not debilitate the practitioner as much as it debilitates those who lack it." Satele gasping for breath, took his hesitation in renewing her torture as a possible indication that she had completed the lesson.

"I-understand, master." she gulped.

"Gooood." He replied, before unleashing his power on her again.

_____________

Jay-Li's personal starship, the Beacon, dropped out of hyperspace near Taris. For days the three men had been locating and infiltrating the various hideouts of Nox's that were known to the Jedi and the SIS. They were about halfway done, and tensions were beginning to wear thin. They slept in shifts, taking turns having one person pilot the ship through hyperspace to the next planet while the other two slept. Then on the next two trips, that person would get to sleep while the others took their turns piloting. They'd been able to go on this way for almost a week but the exhaustion was starting to get to even the Jedi.

Theron took the ship into an approach vector, careful to keep the planet situated as much between him and the two Imperial space stations in orbit, one of which had once belonged to the Republic, as possible. Master Jay-Li walked into the cockpit a few minutes after they started breaking atmo, and Gnost-Dural followed soon after. Together, they watched as Theron took the ship into a low-flying position to avoid detection, until they found a place big enough to land the 94 meter-long ship relatively near the target coordinates.

After several minutes of creeping through the jungle, cloaked with the Force and stealth technology, they arrived at the entrance to the enemy's hideout. There were no guards or detectable traps of any kind, nonetheless they moved carefully. Finally reaching the passage leading into the underground fortress, they continued their cautious progress. Chamber by chamber they searched the premises, finding nothing but the signs of recent habitation and the aroma of the Dark Side. Following the scent, the two Jedi lead Theron deeper into the complex, until they arrived at the deepest chamber. As soon as they turned the corner, they saw what was causing the disturbance in the Force. A lone figure, wearing a long, black robe and shrouded in a visible aura of darkness, kneeled in a meditative pose facing away from the door. The being was on a platform on the other side of a metal bridge that passed over what seemed to have once been a track for the old transport system, which was now completely covered in dirt, with both of the tunnels on either end of the room blocked by ancient cave-ins.

The three of them crossed the bridge and decloaked once they reached the platform on the other side, Theron was the first to train his weapon on the figure. "Hands where I can see 'em, now!" He barked.

"Is that any way to treat your mother?" A voice he recognized asked in a tone that he didn't.

"What?" Theron gasped, staggered by the remark. The figure stood up and removed its hood, revealing shoulder-length silvery hair. She turned around and Theron nearly dropped his blaster when he saw who it was who was standing before them. "Mother..." he whispered, his voice shot through with shock and horror.

"Grandmaster Shan," Master Gnost-Dural said, his voice a mixture of sadness and dread, "What did he do to you?"

"He showed me the way." Satele said.

"Where is he?" Jay-Li asked, a hint of eagerness and desperation in his voice.

"You won't stop him." Satele said matter-of-factly. "He controls everything, has a contingency for every failure, a plan for every situation. He's already gone, he'll escape this planet and you will never see him until it's too late."

"Is "he" Darth Nox?" Master Gnost-Dural asked.

"Of course." Satele said, as if it was a stupid question. "My master is darkness incarnate," she said, drawing her lightsaber, "and I am his loyal servant." She activated the blade, revealing the violet color. "Now, Republic filth," she said, gripping her lightsaber in a ready stance, "defend yourselves!"

_____________

Theron watched as Satele Shan, his mother, attacked Jedi Masters Gnost-Dural and Jay-Li. Despite the skills of the two men, Satele managed to stand her ground with a combination of Force-assisted acrobatics, defensive lightsaber sequences, and potent shots of Force lightning. Theron made a break for cover, taking a few shots at her lightsaber and limbs, hoping to disarm her or, at the very worst, cripple her. But she easily deflected his bolts right back at him, and they scorched the ground moments after his boots left it as he dived behind a set of crates. She leaped up and backflipped over the two Jedi to land squarely on the railing of the bridge. The two Jedi Masters followed suit, each one leaping onto the railing to stand on either side of her, and they continued the battle on the virtual tightrope of the railing top.

Satele managed to land a kick to Gnost-Dural's chest, and he staggered back, losing his footing and falling into the dirt-filled track hole below. She leaped off the railing, her lightsaber poised to impale him, but he rolled to the side at the last minute, used the momentum to propel himself to his feet, and engaged her once again. Jay-Li leaped off of the railing, somersaulting over Satele's head, the spinning green blades of his saberstaff threatening to split her skull. She deflected the airborne attack and continued to engage the two Jedi, while deflecting Theron's shots back at the crates he was using for cover.

Theron kept taking shots, ducking behind cover whenever Satele managed to deflect a few back in his direction. The two Jedi Masters were keeping her busy, but she more than held her own, leaping, somersaulting, and darting in circles around them like a ghost. Jay-Li held a steady, Soresu defense that focused on harrying Satele with entangling sequences and burdening her through the Force, while Master Gnost-Dural utilized the semi-defensive patterns of Djem So to turn the Grandmaster's strength against her and take advantage of openings with immediate counter-attacks. Satele somehow managed to stay ahead of them both, despite Ataru's inherent weakness against multiple opponents, she was simply too fast and nimble for them to seize any real advantage.

She landed a Force Kick on Gnost-Dural that sent him flying several meters backward to roll and unceremoniously come up on one knee. She turned on Jay-Li with inexorable fury and astonishing speed, unleashing an impossible barrage of attacks that only Jay's efficient and unnaturally accurate parries and blocks managed to stop. She came in with a sweeping decapitation slash, and Jay parried it with a spinning motion. She followed it up immediately with a jagged double strike at his shoulder and thigh, which he blocked with astounding foresight. She executed a front flip over his head, striking with her lightsaber even as she sailed over top of him, and deflecting a few shots from Theron, but Jay still managed to defend himself from her airborne assault.

She landed, and extended her hand, palm outward. A wave of Force power slammed into Jay with the power of a starship. He managed a brief moment of resistance before the sheer power of the attack sent him flying back just as Gnost-Dural leaped at Satele, his lightsaber poised to cleave her saberstaff in half if she tried to block his strike. Instead, she moved with preternatural speed, slipping under him and charging straight for Jay. The Jedi Master barely managed to get his own saberstaff into position in time to deflect the incoming flurry of blows, even so, he was driven backward by the sheer intensity of the attack. Gnost-Dural rejoined the battle with a set of twin strikes meant to force her to defend herself, but instead she melded her attack with a series of acrobatic movements that allowed her to dodge his strikes while continuing the assault on Master Jay-Li.

The two Jedi Masters attacked her from both sides, forcing her to defend two fronts simultaneously, but she took to the situation in murderous stride. Her offensive sequences were not interrupted by their attacks, rather she melded defense and offense perfectly, every dodge became a counter-strike, and every attack forced the victim to defend themselves in such a way that a counterattack would expose a weakness in their technique. Theron watched the battle closely as he took shot after shot at Satele, despite the fact that all three Jedi were mostly a blur, even to his technologically enhanced vision, he could tell that the Jedi were more concerned with defending themselves and harrying the Grandmaster than actually winning the fight. He began to wonder if they had given up and were merely hoping to survive the encounter rather than succeed in the mission, but that didn't fit with what he knew about either of them, or about Jedi in general. Jedi had very little fear of dying in his experience, due to their belief that death wasn't an ending, but the beginning of a new kind of existence. If Gnost-Dural and Jay-Li were playing it safe, there had to be a reason for it, some strategy they were working on.

Theron racked his brain as he poked his head over the metal crate he was using for cover to take a few more shots at Satele, sifting through his knowledge of the various factors involved in Jedi strategy and tactics. Suddenly, his eye caught sight of an access terminal a few meters away, and he holstered his blaster and scurried over to it, slicing it in a matter of seconds and searching the ancient mainframe for the systems he was looking for. He couldn't hope to help the two Jedi subdue Satele with the peashooter on his hip, but he had other talents that could be far more useful, if only he could find the right network...

Satele pressed the attack on Master Jay-Li, forcing him to retreat, even as Gnost-Dural chased her, trying to attack her from behind. She skillfully turned her attacks on Jay into parries of Gnost-Dural's strikes by twisting and turning as she pursued her prey. She punctuated a mid-air half roll half spin with a Force shockwave upon landing that blasted both Jedi Masters back several feet, it was at that moment that Theron's voice came through both Jedi's earpieces in a loud, harsh command that prompted an instinctual response from both of them.

"Shield yourselves!" Theron said as he pressed one final button on the access console. Jay-Li raised his hands as if placing them on two pillars on either side of him, spreading his feet in a wide, immoveable stance, and a transparent, gold-tinged barrier of shimmering energy radiated out from his center until it surrounded him completely. Gnost-Dural placed his own hands against an invisible barrier that quickly materialized, and a second later, the entire chamber was filled with a storm of energy as the various hijacked systems of the ancient transit station unleashed every last bit of power that remained. Satele was immediately caught in the maelstrom and screamed as the electricity flowed through her. Were it not for her innate and unconscious Force defenses she likely would have been killed instantly, as it was she survived the brief flash of energy, but was momentarily stunned by the experience.

With a flourish, Gnost-Dural extended his hand, and the dazed Grandmaster was sent flying back into the rocks blocking the far entrance to the station. She growled, straining against his will, and slowly began to peel herself off of the makeshift wall. Jay-Li stepped forward, cupping his hands as he extended them out towards her, a white and gold aura of energy forming around them. A similar aura formed around Satele, and the twin energy fields glowed brighter and brighter in response to each other. Satele staggered, clutching her head, trembling uncontrollably, and crying out in pain. The auras faded, and because Master Gnost-Dural was no longer holding her back with his will, she stumbled freely forward. Theron, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, caught her before she could hit the ground.

"Will she be ok?" He asked Jay as the Jedi Master leaned over, supporting himself with his hands on his knees, breathing heavily and looking pale and weary.

"Yes." Jay managed to breathe the word.

"Let's get her back to the Beacon." Gnost-Dural said, "She needs rest and comfort, and possibly medical attention." Theron looked down at his mother's face as he reached down and swept up her legs, carrying her small body, which seemed all the more tiny and fragile now, into his arms.

"Yeah." He said. "Let's get out of here."

____________

Satele woke to a startlingly bright light glaring into her eyes. She bolted upright in the medbay bed, her eyes darting around the room, not landing on Theron before he seized her wrist. She reflexively moved to twist out of his grip and attack him when his familiar voice broke through her panic.

"Mom! It's me! Relax." Satele felt the fear and tension drain out of her body in an instant. She collapsed back onto the pillow, and turned to regard her son, who was now leaning over her.

"Theron," she breathed, "what happened? Where am I?"

"You're in the medbay of the Barsen'thor's personal starship." He said immediately, then he added, "The rest is...a rather long story." He shifted uncomfortably, as if trying to ward away a painful memory. It was then that Satele noticed the quiet hum of a hyperdrive and the distortion in the Force that always occupied her mind when she was in hyperspace.

"Theron I need to know what happened." She said, trying to keep her voice low and calm.

"You were kidnapped," He relented. "by a member of the Dark Council named Darth Nox. He...did things to you."

"What kind of things?" Satele's voice rose despite her best efforts.

"When we found you, you weren't yourself." Theron explained. "You were somebody else, a very dangerous somebody."

"What happened?"

"We subdued you, Master Jay-Li, Gnost-Dural, and I. Then we carried you back to the ship, and now we're heading back to Tython." Satele noted the slight tremor in the Force when he said that they had all carried her that suggested the statement was a partial lie. It only took her a few seconds to deduce that he must have been the one to carry her all the way to the ship, but she let the matter slide with only a slight, hidden smile passing across her lips.

"Thank you." She said, briefly placing a hand on Theron's own. A sudden realization came to her, "You called me mom." She said surprised.

"Yeah, about that." Theron said, his voice taking on a firm, determined tone. "I can't do this anymore."

"Do what?"

"This." he said, moving his index finger from pointing at himself to her and back again. "This weird relationship we have where treat each other like strangers or at best, colleagues."

"Theron, you know attachments are forbidden."

"And yet here I am." He said pointedly. Satele turned away.

"I lost my father before I even got the chance to get to know him better," Theron said. The statement brought the memories of Jace's death rushing back to her, and she closed her eyes in an attempt to stem the emotions welling up in her. "I'm not going to let that happen again with the only parent I have left."

"Theron..."

"No, don't, you are not shutting me down."

"This is-"

"I don't care what it is!" He said, rather loudly. "I'm done being angry, I'm done being aloof, I'm done being stoic." Realizing he was shouting, he paused and lowered his voice. "I want us to be the family we should have been." He took her hand in his own. Satele took a deep breath, withdrew her hand from his, and spoke cautiously.

"Theron, you know the Jedi, let alone the members of the High Council, are forbidden to have attachments."

"And yet here I am." Theron repeated his earlier statement.

"What happened with your father was-"

"Was what, a mistake?"

"No!" She protested. "It was in defiance of the Jedi Code, it was the result of my own rebellion and stubbornness."

"I don't believe that." Theron said softly. "You know what I think? I think it was the result of two people following their hearts, and doing what is only natural." He paused for a moment before continuing. "I think it was the result of one woman realizing that the Jedi Code wasn't right about everything, and that some parts of sentient nature are non-negotiable. Holding back your emotions? Denying yourself the right to feel? Suppressing your feelings every moment of every day? There's no way that's healthy and you know it."

"And what happens if I do die?" Satele asked, as calmly and coolly as she could, sitting up in the bed to look him directly in the eyes. "What will you do then?"

"I'll miss you." Theron said, with equal calm but firm conviction. "But I won't levy unnecessary punishment on any of those responsible for your death. I'll seek justice, not vengeance." Satele shook her head.

"You may think that now," she said, "but your mind will change when you're confronted with a real situation."

"Attachments aren't evil." Theron said with vigorous passion. "It's not about never becoming attached, it's about learning to let go when the time comes."

"But not everyone is strong enough to deal with the pain of loss." Satele rebutted, struggling to hide the emotion threatening to creep into her voice, as the conversation brought painful memories flooding back.

"Which is why you share that painful burden with others who care about you." Theron replied. "Besides," he reached for her hand again, sandwiching it between both of his, "you're one of the strongest people I know." Satele tried to hold back the passions welling up inside her, but the willpower she had used countless times over the decades to suppress her emotions was suddenly gone, as if it had deserted her. The cool detachment she normally felt had completely vanished, and she was now fighting alone against years and years of pent-up emotion, an unstoppable tide that crashed over like a tsunami.

"I'm sorry." She said, as a single tear, then another, and another, began to fall down her cheeks. "I'm sorry." Theron embraced her, and the moment her face touched his shoulder she felt the dam burst, and she wept for the first time in thirty years.

_____________

Jay walked down the aisle towards the stage that had been set up in the Avenue of the Core Founders, all around him were crowds of people, Jedi, military, and ordinary citizenry cheering loudly and boisterously. As he approached the stage he saw acting Supreme Chancellor Madon and Supreme Commander Maxxor standing with several members of the Jedi High Council. They were all applauding him and smiling. It had been one month since the attacks on Coruscant and Tython and the subsequent invasions of various planets in Republic space. What the Empire hadn't conquered and annexed they had ravaged and destroyed. Entire systems lay in ruins due to the Empire's merciless assaults on the Republic, and it had gorged itself on as much of their resources as possible, recouping its losses of the past year in matter of mere weeks. Because of this, it was almost alien to him to see Republic citizens so enthused and excited about anything.

He mounted the stage via a small set of steps and approached the podium, but upon reaching it he found he didn't know what to say. The cheering continued for quite a while, and he noticed his beloved wife Nadia applauding in the front row, with a smile as big as star system. He smiled at her before forcing himself to look away and scan the massive crowd that had gathered for the ceremony, it was much bigger than he anticipated. Finally he realized that the applause and cheers were beginning to die down, and so as not to seem prideful or full of himself, he signaled for quiet. When the crowd began to obey, he found himself racking his brain for what to say, when the words of Yuon Par came to him: The Force is our help in all things Padawan, not just in combat or pursuit. It can help us do with our words what we could never do with our lightsabers. He mentally steadied himself, forcing his mind to become calm, composed, and organized, then he let the Force flow through his thoughts, and the words came as smoothly and easily as a babbling brook.

"My friends, my colleagues, comrades, and fellow citizens of the Republic." He began. "We have been dealt a great blow by our enemies, of this there is no doubt. They sought to take away our homes, our families, our loved ones, and our belief in a better, freer future. I am here today to tell you that they have failed! The Empire's vicious attack on our home worlds may have broken buildings, destroyed livelihoods, and even hurt many of our friends, neighbours, and loved ones, but despite what they have taken from us, they have not, nor will they ever, take away the things which we value the most: our love, our unity, our hope, and our freedom. I come before you to ask who among you will stand with us, as we bear each other up, rebuild what has been broken, retake that which we have lost, and show our enemies that we will not be bowed, we will not be broken, and we will not surrender!" A great cheer rose up from the crowd as appendages of all sizes, colors, and shapes pumped the air or waved Republic banners. Jay-Li stepped to the side and turned to face Master Bela Kiwiiks as she approached the podium and stood on the opposite side of it, facing him as well.

"Jedi Master Jay-Li, Barsen'thor of the Jedi Order, and member of the Jedi high Council," She began. "Your service to the Order, the Council, and the Republic has been nothing short of exemplary over the past three years. You have proven yourself at every turn to be loyal to the Jedi Code, and a dutiful servant of the Republic. If not for you, The Jedi Order would be shrouded in darkness, and the Republic would be weakened and splintered. Your service to this council over the past year has been nothing short of astounding. Your leadership, your humility, your compassion, and your willingness to serve the greater good have been second to none. In light of this, the council has offered you the position of Grandmaster of the Jedi Order. Do you accept?" Jay felt time stop, and a disturbance in the Force penetrate his awareness. His eyes briefly flicked past Master Kiwiiks and spotted two men, both as pale as apparitions and rather translucent, standing at the far edge of the crowd. with a start he realized he was seeing Master Rajivari and Master Syo Bakarn, standing side by side, watching him with unmistakable looks of sorrow. Suddenly they vanished, and his eyes snapped back to Master Kiwiiks, who was still staring straight at him.

"Yes." He said, and the whole crowd erupted in cheers and celebration. Jay shook hands with everyone on the platform before taking a seat on the stage among the members of the council. The Supreme Chancellor and a few Senators spoke, but the ceremony ended not long after. As people began to approach the outdoor banquet prepared for the occasion, Jay went to the spot where he had seen his two teachers standing. As he stood there, staring at the spot, he felt a hand fall on his shoulder, and he whirled around in surprise to meet the kind, green eyes of Master Yuon Par.

"Hello, Grandmaster." She said, beaming with pride.

"Master Yuon!" Jay-Li exclaimed, embracing the slight elderly woman in a fierce hug. "It's so good to see you."

"Be careful young one." She said in a bemused tone, "I'm not as young as I used to be." Realizing she was talking about the intensity of the embrace, Jay released her and apologized profusely.

"I'm so sorry Master," he said apologetically, "today I'm just..."

"Yes, I can only imagine." She said empathetically. "There is a lot of responsibility on those broad shoulders now." She said placing her hands on the aforementioned shoulders. "But I know you are up to the task, my old padawan. Oh it seems like only yesterday we were seeking the First Blade on Tython." She sighed mournfully. "Why must you young ones always grow up so fast!"

Jay-Li chuckled softly. "So that we can make enough mistakes to become wise old Jedi Masters."

"Well I don't know about wise..." She said with self-deprecating humor, "but I certainly am old."

"And yet you are no less vibrant, energetic, or intelligent than you were in your youth." Jay said honestly. She gave him a playful slap on the shoulder.

"Come now, padawan, don't flatter me. I'm old not witless."

"It's not flattery if it's true Master." Jay said. "I will need your council in the coming years, so I need you to stay young enough to outlive me, otherwise I'll never been any good to the Jedi or the Republic as Grandmaster."

"Now see here!" Yuon Par declared emphatically. "You are every bit capable of being a fine Grandmaster on your own! You don't need someone, least of all me, to tell you what the right thing to do is, I trained you well enough to know that!" despite the scolding, Jay didn't want to concede the point just yet.

"I just don't think I can fill Satele's shoes." He protested. "She was a legend long before I even joined the order. I've only been a full-fledged Jedi for three years and a Jedi Master for two, how am I supposed to live up to the legacy her and her predecessors left behind."

"Jay," Yuon said in a soft, motherly voice, "you don't have to live up to a legacy, that isn't your job. It's not your fault Satele abdicated her position and left the Temple, and it's not your fault the Council chose you to succeed her. What is your job is to do the very best you know how to do. Don't try to live up to anyone's legacy, create your own legacy. Do what Grandmaster Jay would do, not what Grandmaster Satele or Grandmaster Zym would do." Realizing she was right, Jay conceded.

"You're right," he agreed, "but even so I want you to stick around a good long time Master Yuon."

"Ooooo, come here!" She said, embracing him in a hug as fierce as his own had been several minutes ago. "You'll do just fine." She said into his ear in a soft voice. They released each other and Yuon noticed Nadia waving them over to the celebration. "Now come on," she said, tugging on his hand. "We can't keep your wife waiting." Jay stopped dead in his tracks.

"You know about that?" He asked, fear and apprehension creeping into his voice.

"I'm old, not blind." Yuon said with a laugh. "You can't hide these things from me young one. I know how the Council would react so I'm not going to tell anyone," her face grew momentarily solemn and serious, "but I will warn you that if you don't learn how to let go of the people you love when the time comes, it will cause more suffering and pain than you could ever imagine." She spoke with the heaviness of someone who knew from experience what exactly she was talking about. Jay's mind was awhirl, but Yuon set it back on track. "Now come young one, introduce me to your wife and lets catch up, it's been so long since I've seen you and the Grandmaster has to make appearances at these things." She pulled him towards the celebration, linking her arm with his so he couldn't slip away, and they left the site of the apparition appearances, still vibrating softly in the Force, behind.

_____________

"My lords." The young human female bowed before the Dark Council after the black-clothed pureblood standing beside her confirmed Nox's prior suspicions regarding the existence of the organization known as "The Emperor's Hand" by claiming to be a representative of the Emperor and introduced the young woman as Darth Acina, the Emperor's chosen candidate for the now empty seat of Darth Karrid.

"Darth Acina," Marr replied, "if the Emperor has tapped you to replace the late Darth Karrid I'm sure you will make a fine addition to the Council."

"Thank you, my lord." Acina said with what sounded like sincere gratitude.

"You may simply refer to me as Marr." The Dark Council member corrected. "We are peers now, as is everyone in these chambers."

"As you say, Darth Marr." Acina complied.

"You may take your seat." Darth Marr advised, nodding towards the empty chair, and Acina ascended the dais and took her seat with a remarkably restrained professionalism Nox found both enlightening and concerning. This one is composed, disciplined, he thought to himself. I won't be able to manipulate her as easily as I could have manipulated Karrid, and she might prove hard to conceal things from. I will have to watch her closely.

"The Emperor congratulates you on the significant progress you have made in humbling the Republic and restoring the glory of the Empire, members of the Dark Council." The representative said in what appeared to be his departing statement. "He knows you will capitalize on this success and turn it into the momentum necessary to finish this war."

"And what would he have us do about the rumors of his death that are spreading like a cancer through Imperial society?" Darth Aruk asked.

"As always," the servant replied, "do what is best for the Empire." Satisfied, Aruk sat back in his seat. Nox knew what Aruk's solution to the problem would be, no doubt he had only sought an answer from the Emperor as permission to do what he wanted to do. Nox also knew that Aruk would take that license way too far, using it as an excuse to further oppress and enslave any who posed a threat to him. Briefly, Nox was thankful his status made him immune to such programs and tactics, and that such behavior by Aruk would only make him less and less popular with Imperials at all levels of society, something that would help greatly when Nox eventually sought to remove Aruk from power.

The meeting moved on to other, important matters but Nox barely listened. He was too busy going over the events of the past month in his head. He had sensed the arrival of Satele's allies on Taris and had escaped in time, leaving Satele behind with orders to be "found" and "rescued." The bond between them, forged by the dark ritual he had conceived, had allowed him to monitor the situation through her eyes and ears, just by focusing on her. Even now, despite the vast distance between them he could sense her consciousness in the back of his mind, perceive her foremost thoughts, ideas, and emotions. She had no idea of course, at least her original personality didn't. There were now two Satele Shan's living inside her body, one ignorant, and one enlightened. The dark Satele could see, hear, and perceive the environment through the light Satele's senses and take over her body at will, forcing her light persona into a temporary coma. Once her dark persona relinquished control and she awakened however, her own mind, with help from the dark persona, would fabricate a series of false experiences to close the memory gap and leave her none the wiser.

Primarily, her light persona provided a cover for her true nature. It concealed the darkness that hid within her with remarkable effectiveness, largely because of how completely unaware she was of the second persona lurking within her. As long as her dark persona remained hidden in the back of her mind, no Force user would be the wiser. This somewhat limited Nox's ability to use her to manipulate others, but several experiments had shown that her dark persona, either acting on his orders or on its own, could subtly manipulate her thoughts and feelings by tapping directly into her subconscious. Given time and used sparingly with meticulous caution, this could be used to manipulate her into unwittingly manipulating others, although Nox was determined not to rely heavily on this to avoid alerting Satele to the existence of her second persona. Besides, it would only be a matter of time before he finished the ritual he was currently working on that would allow Satele to not only cloak her true nature while the dark persona was dominant, but to cloak others as well. The information had been a part of the data he had downloaded directly into his brain from the datacron in the Emperor's library on Yavin IV, but due to the already unstable nature of the Dark Child ritual, he had been forced to exclude it and was now formulating a separate ritual for the purpose. In the meantime, he would allow Satele to rest and recuperate from her ordeal and simply be his eyes and ears in the Jedi Order.

Considering the distance between them, Nox found it staggering how easily and naturally he could maintain the connection with her. Having another presence constantly lingering in the back of his mind was rather unsettling at first, as it reminded him too much of his experiences with the four Sith spirits before the Voss healing ritual, but with the presence at his command and under his control, the experience was much less disturbing and more palatable.

From discussions and conversations Satele had participated in within the past few months, Nox knew that the Jedi now believed that the crisis was over. He knew they had sensed his growing power and influence and, very vaguely, his role in future events, but now believed that Plan Omega had been the crisis point. They foolishly believed that the worst was over and that the rising darkness they had perceived in the Force was a symptom of the resurgence of the Empire and the Sith, they were only half right. Plan Omega had intentionally been a misnomer, it was not the end, merely the beginning.

Satele, or rather her light persona, wasn't making it easy on him, unintentionally of course. Recognizing her new, emotionally vulnerable state, she had abdicated her position as Grandmaster and left the Jedi Temple, retreating into the Tythonian wilderness to meditate and attempt to disconnect from her emotions. This had annoyed Nox, as he had enjoyed the thought of using her to lead the Jedi down the road to ruin, but he had quickly adapted his plans to fit the situation. Some Jedi, particularly old friends and young padawans undergoing their trials, still came to see her at her humble hut in the mountains, and Nox knew this would provide him with an opportunity to subtly influence and infiltrate the Jedi Order from a distance. As compelling as it was to have direct control over the leader of an organization, Nox knew that a skilled manipulator could do far more harm with far more impunity acting from a lower rank than a higher one.

Her successor, Jedi Master Jay-Li Kenobi, was of equivalent interest to Nox. His role in Satele's rescue had brought him up to see the former Grandmaster several times, looking for advice and inquiring as to her wellbeing. Nox knew that once he had managed to formulate the concealment ritual that would allow Satele's dark persona to remain undetected by even the most perceptive and powerful Force users while fully active, he would be able to use this link to push and prod the now newly appointed Grandmaster in the direction he wanted him to go, and this put Jay in the perfect position to be the counterbalance Nox had been seeking. If his true plans were to succeed, he needed a hero to stop the not-so-bogus threats to galactic security that he would create, and Master Jay-Li was now in the perfect position to fulfill that role, with Nox guiding him. With both sides of the conflict being managed, Nox could orchestrate a performance so astounding that it would draw the eyes of every being whether rich or poor, bond or free, Jedi or Sith, and distract them so thoroughly that they would never see the true threat. Moreover, these threats would lead their minds down the socio-political roads that Nox wanted them to travel, and make them ripe for his manipulation.

As the meeting was adjourned and Nox filed out into the hall with the rest of his confederates, he couldn't help but smile behind his helm. The future had never looked better.

______________

Jaesa turned the corner of the passage and began to descend the large flight of stone stairs into the depths of Tulak Hord's tomb. Her master had instructed her to meet him in the tomb of the ancient Dark Lord for a private meeting, where they could converse freely without fear of being watched or eavesdropped on. Her blood rushing through her veins and her heart pounding, she allowed her wildest aspirations and deepest held desires to run wild through her imagination. Perhaps he had finally grown tired of that Twi'lek and wanted her back. The thought of being with him again gave her chills, and she quickened her pace. Perhaps he also wanted to reward her for her dutiful service and undying loyalty, perhaps with a powerful artifact or new weapon. Besides the lightsaber on her hip, she had an arsenal of melee weapons of all kinds from all across the galaxy, having become something of a collector once Lord Demise had presented her with her first protosteel blade years ago.

Her anticipation grew as she reached the bottom of the steps and saw Lord Demise standing on the raised platform at the far end of the chamber, his back to her and his hands clasped behind his back. Pieces of droids that had remained undisturbed for years lay scattered around the chamber, near the bones of what might have been their former controllers. Jaesa crossed the sand-covered floor to the steps of the platform and dropped to one knee before her master.

"My lord, I have come."

Demise said, turning slowly around to face her, his arms dropping to his sides and the seemingly hollow eye sockets of his skull-like helm, so much like Darth Nox's, boring into her with great intensity. "Lord Willsaam," he said solemnly "This has been a long time in coming."

Jaesa's heart raced, was this it? Were her desires about to be made manifest? Adrenaline surged through her and brought with it passions so intense they blurred the edges of her vision and made her breath come heavy.

"Jaesa Willsaam," Lord Demise said as he descended the steps towards her, "As of this moment, by the power and authority invested in me by the Sith Emperor and the Dark Council, I hereby proclaim you Darth Salis." He reached the bottom of the steps just as he finished his proclamation. "Rise, Darth Salis." He commanded. Her heart skipped a beat when she took in his familiar scent, and as she rose to her feet she felt the sensation of his proximity wash over her like a wave. The full impact of his words finally struck her, and she felt her excitement become amplified. She'd never expected to receive such an honor, and if he said what she hoped he was going to say next, that honor was only the door prize. His next words, however, dashed her hopes into a million pieces and brought the phoenix of her anger and hatred rising up inside her, filling her from head to foot with its burning fire.

"As of this moment you are also transferred into the Sphere of Sith Philosophy, and will now report directly to Darth Aruk."

Her mind screamed at her to bite her tongue, but the word burst out before she was able to stop it, full of shock and pain: "Why?"

As if he had been expecting the question, Demise answered almost immediately. "Because you cannot reach your full potential while you continue to serve in my shadow. You have a great gift, Jaesa, a gift I will not see squandered because you lack for opportunities to develop and cultivate it."

"But master-" she began to plead, the desperation apparent in her voice. Demise held up a hand to silence her.

"There is no debate, Darth Salis, everything has already been finalized. I am no longer your master."

Rage, betrayal, and pure, raw hatred coursed through her veins like liquid fire. Her outrage threatened to overwhelm her and spill out from her fingertips in a storm of fury, but she held it back...barely.

"As you say, Lord Demise." She said, bowing her head as every muscle in her body screamed for her to attack her betrayer. "I will report to Darth Aruk immediately."

"All your belongings and personal affects have been moved to your new ship, it is waiting for you in the orbital station, docking bay eight." Demise said, no hint of emotion in his tone. Jaesa wanted to rage at him, to scream and cry and batter him with her fists, cut him to pieces with her lightsaber. She wanted him to feel as broken and in pain as she did. But she did none of those things, instead, as if she was watching from outside her body while someone else was at the controls, she nodded in acknowledgement. Demise turned and walked back up the steps onto the platform, once more clasping his hands behind his back, she had been dismissed.

She turned as if in a daze and walked back towards the large flight of steps that would take her back onto the main level of the tomb and out into the courtyard, her mind set alight with the flames of anger and hate. How dare he, HOW DARE HE! How dare he reject her so completely, dismiss her so utterly, dispose of her so coldly and without regard or respect for the years of devotion and service she had given him. How dare he act like what they had shared didn't matter, what gave him the right? Seething with indignation, she left the dark passages and emerged into the scorching Korriban sun. She didn't even notice the heat bearing down on her, so intense was the boiling of her blood.

She would make him pay, she would make him suffer, this she swore. She would show him what pain he had inflicted upon her and then some, he would regret casting her aside, she would make certain of it. She didn't know exactly how she was going to accomplish this, but she knew that it would come to pass, Darth Salis would make it so.

_____________

Nox walked into the vacant office that had once belonged to his former master Darth Zash, and before her, Darth Skotia. The expansive space occupied a place of honor in the citadel, mere steps from the offices of several members of the Dark Council. As his gaze travelled around the room, the memories of the battle he had fought here came rushing back to him. He remembered the sound of Khem's vibroblade clashing with Skotia's crimson lightsaber, he remembered feeling his simple black robes being burned through by the red plasma to scorch the skin beneath. He remembered the anger, the fury, the deep black hate that had roiled up within him. That had been his awakening, that battle had been the moment he realized the true scope of his destiny.

Zash hadn't believed he could defeat Skotia in and of himself, and had sent him to retrieve a device that would neutralize the cyborg's mechanical elements. Nox hadn't even bothered to use it. The rush of passion and exhilaration when he, under his own power, had felled Darth Skotia had been glorious. Ever since then Nox had experienced many pleasures, but none compared to the feeling he got from proving or increasing his power.

He stirred from his reminiscing as he felt Ashara's presence enter the room, he turned to see that it was indeed her. She approached him and genuflected, bowing one knee and tilting her head in a sign of respect.

"My lord."

"Lord Zavros, I'm glad you answered my summons."

"How could I do otherwise my lord?"

"Indeed. Kneel once more, Lord Zavros."

She did as instructed and Nox approached her until he was standing less than a meter in front of her, he extended his right hand in a blessing, and spoke in a loud voice that boomed off the walls of the expansive chamber.

"Lord Zavros, in the name of the Emperor, and by the power invested in me by the Dark Council, you shall forevermore be known as...Darth Skade."

Nox detected a surge of joy and pride in his lover that she barely contained, all that escaped her discipline and self-control was a twitching smile and a small shudder.

"Rise, Darth Skade." She rose to her full height and bowed her head in deference.

"Thank you my lord."

"Use your new power wisely." He cautioned her. "We must be as cunning as serpents if we are to succeed in our mission." A spark of ambition and zealotry ignited in her eyes.

"I will, master."

______________

Nox stood near the far wall of a large open cavern, bathing in the dark energies that permeated the place. In the distance he could sense his apprentice Xalek drawing closer, fighting his way through the hordes of beasts, twisted by Sith alchemy and the Dark Side, that populated the underground. In the center of the cavern stood a massive monstrosity, a Sithspawn that had once been a Rancor, but was now a thousand times stronger and more frightening. Hidden by his Force Cloak, Nox was safe from the beast, but it could sense his apprentice through the Force and it was hungry. There was a rush of fresh Dark Side energy as Xalek burst into the cavern, his purple blade glowing in the near-darkness. The Sithspawn roared a terrible roar and lunged.

The Kaleesh dashed through the monster's ravaging claws and in between its stubby legs, slashing at them as he went. The sithspawn howled in pain and tried to turn itself around to attack its slippery foe, but Xalek had already leaped onto its back and was scaling it with preternatural speed and agility. The sithspawn clawed at its back, trying to grab the pesky warrior and crush him in its grip, but Xalek was too fast. He even managed to carve deep gouges in the monster's back and arms with his lightsaber as he scaled the massive creature. Reaching its head he carved deep furrows into its scaly flesh and armored skull before plunging his blade to the hilt into a spot in its cranium right between its horns. The monster howled in agony and clawed at its head, this time managing to seize upon Xalek and toss him across the cavern. Instead of slamming into the wall, the Kaleesh bounded off of it and somersaulted several times before landing on his feet like a feline.

The raging monster fixed its bleary, hateful gaze on him and charged, loping across the cavern with astonishing speed and dexterity. Xalek unleashed a thick stream of Sith lightning that slowed the already dying beast, and when Xalek sensed that the monster was near death, he ceased to channel the lightning and instead built it into a ring of power that he unleashed in a thunderous blast that struck the creature dead center. The kinetic force of the attack sent the already staggering creature tumbling onto its back, its massive horns sticking straight up into the air, its bioluminescent skin patches still glowing a fiery orange. It's last dying breath left with a terrible shudder, and then it was still.

Nox dropped his Force Cloak, allowing Xalek to see and sense him, and he waited for the Kaleesh to approach him and sink to one knee.

"Master."

"Lord Xalek, once again you perform admirably."

"Only thanks to your teaching and guidance, my lord." Xalek replied sincerely.

"Indeed, and as your teacher, I recognize when my student has completed his education." Nox said, outstretching his right hand in blessing. "Lord Xalek, from this day forward you shall be known only as Darth Raze. Rise." Xalek did so, and Nox smiled at the rush of emotion that overwhelmed the young Sith. "You now have more authority than ever, it is a sign of your power. Use it to vanquish your enemies, destroy your rivals, and increase your might. Continue to serve me well, and you will not lack for fresh enemies, glorious battles, or honors of the highest order."

"I will serve you even unto death, Master." Xalek said.

"Indeed you will, Darth Raze. Indeed you will."