Nox strolled leisurely through the halls of the Aurora Cannon facility, surrounded by a full squad of Imperial black ops commandos. The sounds of blaster fire from the vanguard battling the forces of the Dread Guard occupying the cannon echoed from the halls ahead. The sound was almost therapeutic for Nox, bringing his mind into a meditative state, allowing him to focus and collect his most abstract thoughts.

His family had grown the past few months. Through Satele he had managed to create many new "children" and seed them in the ranks of the Jedi, the Republic Military, and even the Senate. They were a small and disparate group...for now, but their numbers would grow as they brought more and more Force-sensitives from all walks of life to him. As long as he was patient, meticulous, and cautious his plans would continue to unfold exactly how he wanted them to, and none would be the wiser.

As he had intended, the ritual had not only made the children embodiments of his will but inextricably linked them to him with a bond stronger than any Nox knew of. He could not only communicate with them telepathically across thousands of light-years, but through the use of another ritual he had recently developed he could tap directly into their very essence through the bond, drawing on their power and even their very life force itself to feed his own strength in the Force, multiplying it many times over.

He had already used this power to accomplish feats of might and sorcery he might have once considered only the ancient Sith Lords to be capable of, and as a result his ambition had become a slavering beast, eager to consume more and more resources and throw caution to the winds in order to acquire more of this power.

But Nox held his own desires in check, knowing that a Sith who did not rule his passions would instead be ruled by them. He had instead turned that ambition and ravenous desire into creative energy which he harnessed to begin plotting the delicate intricacies of his plans, down to the last detail. He had spent many a sleepless night staring at the holoprojector in his sealed office, visualizing scenarios, simulating situations, experimenting with possibilities, and trying to foresee and counter every eventuality. Thus far the simulations proved promising, even the initial failure of one phase of a plan could be steered towards the end goal with a proper course correction.

Before assaulting the Aurora Cannon, he had performed the ritual of Power Transfer in private to ensure that he could complete the mission himself even if all the troops he had brought with him were slaughtered. Thus far the casualties on the Empire's side were minimal compared to the enemy's casualties, but they were still higher than expected. Based on reports of past conflicts between the Imperial forces and the Dread Guard in Section X, there should have been fewer casualties, if any at all. It seemed the Dread Guard guarding the cannon were more focused and coordinated than their fellows out roaming the ruins of the shattered the prison world. Nox couldn't put his finger on it, but he swore he could sense a faint presence lingering in the air. It was similar to the unmistakable presence of the Dread Masters, but it was too faint to be anything but some kind of echo. But it couldn't be possible that the Dread Masters having been here could somehow amplify the abilities of their troops long after they were gone, at least, Nox hoped this wasn't the case.

As they drew closer and closer to the sounds of blaster fire, winding their way deeper and deeper into the cannon facility, Nox could feel the presence growing stronger. He now realized that it wasn't an echo in the traditional sense, but rather a remnant of power bound to an object, or most likely, a being. The Dread Masters had instilled a portion of their power into one of their servants and left the being here to command their troops. It seemed the Dread Guard commander was using a lesser form of Battle Meditation to degrade and erode the abilities and wills of the Imperial troops, the most likely cause of the increased number of casualties and the definite cause of the presence Nox sensed in the atmosphere.

Nox and his escort soon caught up with the remaining members of the vanguard, who were battling valiantly against the guards protecting the Aurora Cannon's power core chamber, despite their losses. The guards were greater in number but their Imperial opponents were far better co-ordinated and trained. The presence was stronger here and Nox could sense it eroding the iron wills of his troops. He gave the order for his bodyguards to join in, and they immediately lined up and began raining fire down on the Dread Guards. With numbers and skill now on their side, Nox's forces won the battle in under a minute. Now the only thing standing in their way of getting inside the power core chamber was the force fields erected in the two doorways that led into the massive room.

Nox scanned the area around the doors for a moment. Seeing nothing, he closed his eyes and extended his Force awareness outward. He soon discovered the location of the generator, hidden behind a false stone in the wall, and blasted the spot with lightning. The generator exploded with a loud BANG and showered Nox and his troops with debris. The force fields vanished and Nox indicated that he should lead the way into the chamber. He strolled in confidently, spotting the Dread Guard commander almost immediately, and activated his lightsaber in a universal sign of aggression. His troops filed in after him, spreading themselves out around him, blasters aimed at the commander more than thirty meters away.

The commander didn't seem to move, it was as if he had not even registered them entering the room. Nox noticed that he wore a golden helm similar to the ones worn by the Dread Masters, but more similar to mere battlegear, as it lacked the ornate crests that made theirs look like crowns.

Suddenly the commander turned around, fixing the gaze of his empty eye slits on Nox. When he spoke, his voice was not his own.

"So you have come," Nox recognized the voice of Dread Master Tyrans, the so-called "Tactician of the Masters". "Your power has grown much since we last met...what is it you seek here, dark lord?"

"What all Sith seek," Nox replied. "Knowledge, power, control..."

"You will find none of that here." Tyrans said cryptically, the red glow of his presence having fully manifested itself around his chosen mouthpiece. "You will find only questions where you sought answers."

"Then perhaps I should seek to take my answers by force, rather than by wit." Nox threatened. Tyrans laughed.

"You can try. You may defeat my game piece, but you will gain nothing of substance from it. You may attempt to extract information or knowledge from him, but you will find he knows only what I wish him to, as do all our servants."

"What are you and the Masters up to, Tyrans?" Nox said, his anger rising. "Whatever ambitions you have gained in the Emperor's absence will be short-lived should he return!" Tyrans laughed once more.

"How little you know, little Sith. Now DIE!" The red glow disappeared and commander drew and ignited a yellow blade, charging at Nox with a roar. The commander was physically imposing, almost a full head taller than Nox with much larger body proportions and very obvious physical strength. Even so, Nox easily blocked the assault, erecting his Force armor just in time to combat his opponent's own Force powers which sought to penetrate both his physical and Force defenses. Whirling around, the commander swung his lightsaber in a savage upper cut that he amplified with Force kinetics. Every trooper surrounding Nox went flying, several crashed into walls, but most just soared through the air before their heavy armor brought them crashing down onto the hard stone floor. More than half of them didn't move, most knocked out cold, a few dead.

The commander swung his lightsaber in savage Juyo strikes, strikes which Nox easily repelled with an almost casual defense. Perceiving the ease with which his enemy defended himself, the Dread Guard commander made his attacks more ferocious and savage, but to no avail. Nox barely noticed, to him it was as if the man was moving in slow motion, he didn't even need his premonitions to see an attack coming, yet they happened all the same and blocking or deflecting each attack was as easy as swatting insects.

Quickly growing desperate, the commander summoned the Force and channeled the raw power of the Dark Side into an explosion of dark energy that detonated on Nox and spread outward like a nuclear dome. Nox however, saw the attack coming and cloaked himself in a Force Shroud moments before the Death Field burst to life. As quickly as it had come the field vanished, its owner unable to sustain it for longer than a moment, and even that moment of channeling had drained him severely. Nox, on the other hand, was no worse off than he had been before the attack. Shrouded in the Force, he had been completely sheltered from the ravaging power of the Death Field.

Taking advantage of his opponent's surprise over the failure of his attack, Nox launched into a series of aggressive Force attacks and lightsaber blows. He alternated between withering blasts of dark energy and bursts of lightning, punctuating them with complimentary lightsaber strikes. With Nox's powers magnified tenfold, the Dread Guard commander found his defenses falling rapidly against the series of impossibly strong attacks. Suddenly Nox felt the inky black darkness rising up from within him, and his hatred became pure power as he unleashed it in a series of powerful lightning bolts that depredated his opponent, the attack pierced his enemy's defenses, allowing Nox to land a sweeping blow to the man's abdomen. His lightsaber blade, amplified by the power of the Dark Side, penetrated his foe's personal shield and robes to leave a long scorch mark across the man's midsection. The commander howled in pain as the smell of his singed flesh reached Nox's nostrils.

Beginning to see the true power of his opponent, the commander responded with a tactic Nox had only half-expected: he turned and ran. Not towards any exit however, instead he dashed towards the one trooper who had regained consciousness first and was slowly getting to her feet. Upon reaching her he channeled his Force grip, lifting the trooper off her feet and a full meter into the air, beginning to siphon her life force directly from her body, Nox looking on in morbid fascination. Like a parasitic monster, the commander drained her body of all life until it was an empty husk, then released the corpse, letting it drop to the floor.

He turned and leaped at Nox, his lightsaber raised above his head to strike. Nox noticed that the long scorch mark on the man's gut had now been completely healed, leaving only the man's pale, sickly flesh where there had once been a grievous wound. Nox blocked the incoming blow and countered with another burst of dark energy and a blast of lightning. His superior speed and reflexes allowed him to land another barrage of lightsaber strikes and unleash another burst of lightning before the commander had an opportunity to counterattack. He followed up with another series of depredating volts that weakened his opponent all the more, even as the darkness unleashed by the attack enveloped Nox, adding even more potency to his Force armor. The Dread Guard commander responded by attempting to channel a second Death Field. Nox, unable to summon the strength to veil himself in the Force as of yet, chose to substitute metaphysical finesse with sheer force of will and raw power. The Death Field damaged his Force defenses considerably, but not nearly enough to change the course of the fight.

The commander fed on the Force energy stripped from Nox by the Death Field, converting it into life force in a desperate attempt to turn the tide of the battle. When he realized he had only delayed the inevitable, he began to channel his Force Siphon. Nox analyzed his opponent's Force defenses, prodding and poking at various points in his metaphysical armor. Finding the weak point he sought, he unleashed a tiny bolt of energy that was half electric, half telepathic. The jolt disrupted his foe's concentration and left him stunned for a brief moment. Nox seized the advantage, raising his weapon over his head in a Force-empowered spinning strike that beheaded the commander, cleanly cutting through shield, armor, and robes to separate his head and right shoulder from the rest of his body.

The two halves of the corpse toppled to the floor, and as Nox sheathed his lightsaber, he noticed that the rest of the troopers were getting slowly to their feet.

"On your feet soldiers!" He barked. "Let's finish the job and be done with it!"

_____________

Darth Raze stood quietly in the center of the bridge of the Starblade, savoring the atmosphere of disciplined apprehension that filled the room. The Starblade, along with the rest of the small fleet under his command, had been a gift from his master. Although he suspected it might be a ploy or part of some larger plot by Darth Nox, he had accepted it anyway - to refuse would have likely been an insult so grievous it would have convinced Nox to accelerate whatever plans he had to betray him. He needed more time to prepare himself for that betrayal. Besides, the warrior in him had long desired such a position, and he was ready to take full advantage of it.

The Starblade was the largest ship in Raze's new fleet. A Terminus-class Destroyer outfitted with as much armament as possible, the Starblade lacked troop carrying capacity but more than made it up for it with exceptional speed, defense and firepower. Also accompanying it were the Delta-class carrier Siege, three light Corvettes and five Gage-class transports, four of which had much of their cargo space replaced with additional armaments - allowing them to serve both as troop transports and battleships - while the remaining one served as full troop transport for the bulk of the fleet's ground forces.

The fleet was moving through hyperspace towards the Jymenian system, where the prominent Jedi Master Selimo Karr was posted in command of a sizable defense fleet to protect the system from Imperial attack. The system was close to Imperial territory but had only seen minor skirmishes throughout both galactic wars, as it was largely insignificant if you disregarded the royal family's connections to the Tion Hegemony. Many times the system's monarch had mediated disputes between the Hegemony and the Republic, saving both factions from costly conflicts that would have left both powers in a significantly weakened state regardless of the outcome.

That debt was being repaid by the posting of Selimo Karr and the accompanying defense fleet. Jymenia held enough power in the Senate to prove an effective hindrance to the Republic should they choose, so when the monarch had requested a Republic fleet to assist in defending the largely demilitarized system the Senate had relented.

Darth Raze however, was not interested in the system or whatever value it held in the eyes of the Republic, he was more interested in Master Karr. A veteran of the previous galactic war, the Twi'lek had risen through the ranks to become a master of the lightsaber, rivaling even some of the higher-ranking Jedi masters in his skills. Raze wanted to test those skills, and his own, and now with a fleet at his command that desire was in reach.

The fleet emerged from hyperspace just outside the system and Selimo's scanning range. Each ship began to check in, reporting their status and battle readiness. Raze gave the order, and the fleet began to close in on the system. Battle alarms sounded and boots rushed to battle stations as they neared the defense fleet's sensor range. Members of the sensor crew drew in sharp breaths as the first signals from the defense fleet came in.

"Nobody told us about TWO Valors!"

"Was Intel sleeping?"

"Silence!" Raze barked. "It doesn't matter what advantages the enemy has, we will prevail in spite of them."

The comms station near him chimed and the ensign reported;

"My lord, incoming transmission from the Republic fleet's flagship."

"Ignore it." He commanded gruffly. "Increase our sub-light speed to 70%." He barked at the officer minding the engines station. "Prepare us for battle, all power to forward shields and ion cannons!" He bellowed to the rest of the bridge crew as they rushed to fulfill his demands. "They've commed us again my lord." The communications ensign reported.

"Ignore it." Raze repeated. "Open fire on the lead ships, all forward cannons!"

The boom of the Starblade's forward ion cannons opening fire was heard even across the hundreds of meters from the forward batteries to the bridge viewport. Raze smiled behind his bone mask as the blasts sank into the shields of the lead ships of his opponent's fleet. The response was immediate, the turbolaser banks and ion cannons from the lead ships opened fire as the remaining ships repositioned themselves to either take on the rest of Raze's fleet or fall back into defensive positions.

The heavy Gage-class transports ravaged their mostly unsuspecting opponents with their unusual amount of firepower, while stray shots that made it through the shields simply bounced off their extra-thick armored hulls. Starfighters were unleashed on both sides and the already chaotic battle became infinitely more layered and confusing. The Corvettes ducked and weaved through the battle, engaging the bigger ships at opportune moments and then running circles around them when their bigger, slower opponents attempted to focus them. Occasionally, when there were no other opportunities, they would target a squad of starfighters, diverting their firepower back towards the larger vessels when an opportunity opened up.

Raze stood on the bridge of the Starblade, stretching out with the Force to attempt to gage the battle and dispatching orders as tactics changed. He perceived that he wasn't making any progress in the engagement. He was holding his own, but other than the initiative he'd gained by shooting first he could discern no way the battle would turn in his favor without direct intervention.

It wasn't even a decision. He turned around and marched down the steps of the captain's platform, heading towards the door. As he left he called back over his shoulder;

"Harkanous, take command, make sure the Jedi don't gain any advantage!"

"As you say, my lord." Came the reply as the second-in-command took Raze's former place on the platform. Within minutes, Raze had taken the turbolift and boarded his personal shuttle. The ship lifted up from the hanger floor and took off, heading for the enemy flagship.

_____________

Raze slipped silently and unseen through the corridors and rooms of the Guardian, the Jedi Master's flagship. He moved past Republic soldiers with careful but rapid movements, making sure to avoid coming within a few feet of them and burying himself deeper in the Force when he felt it was necessary to avoid detection. An eerie calm descended upon him, as it always did when he was engaged in this kind of infiltration. It was the kind of calm that came before the lethal storm of combat, a repression of emotion and sensation that would burst forth with great energy and power in the heat of battle.

Reaching the engineering deck, he sought out the primary power control console, killing the guards with a blast of dark energy that radiated out from him like a nuclear explosion followed by a blindingly fast combination of lightsaber attacks that targeted the weak points in their armor. Too stunned and weakened by the explosion of dark energy he'd unleashed to react in time, the guards were killed in a matter of seconds, and the engineers nearby soon followed them into oblivion with a sequence of quick executions.

Slicing the console, Raze grinned as he found a glitch in the severely outdated system and initiated a default reset to invalidate all the command codes for power allocation. Then he redirected all power from the ship's weapons to its shields, locking in the command so no-one could change it without a hard reset, and only through this console. Then he re-activated his lightsaber and proceeded to destroy the console by making deep gouges into its panels until it smoked and sparked.

Satisfied, he sheathed his blade, reattaching it to his hip as he cloaked himself in the Force once more and moved off towards the bridge.

_____________

Selimo Karr stood solemnly on the bridge of the Guardian, his eyes fixed on the battle outside the viewport, but his mind focused inward. The battle wasn't exceptional, the Imperial fleet was outnumbered and outgunned, but they held their own with admirable skill and perseverance. Still, something didn't seem quite right. The savagery and aggression that had marked the battle's beginning had faded and now the Imperials seemed dead-set on maintaining the defensive. Even when opportunities to aggress onto the Republic forces and seize the advantage had manifested the Imperials had simply used the time to consolidate their defense. It was as if they were stalling, waiting for something, or someone.

Quickly Selimo turned all his attention towards scanning the Guardian through the Force, searching it deck by deck with his mind for any disturbances, but he found none. He still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, it was the same intuition he got when someone was watching him, only more broad and more rooted in the Force than the physical world. He activated his earpiece and opened a channel, the voice of his padawan Reelin coming over the line.

"You feel it too master?"

"I do. Come to the bridge immediately, let no one see you."

"Understood." The link closed abruptly, and Selimo once more turned his senses towards scouring the ship for any disturbances or Dark Side signatures. He was almost certain that a Sith was on board, but he didn't know who, where, or why. Alerting the crew might help flush out the intruder, but not without bloodshed. No, it was better for him to let the Sith come to him, for Selimo was certainly what the assassin was after.

"Master Jedi," the bridge officer said, approaching him quickly. "Our weapons just went offline, all their power was diverted to the shields, and the system has been sliced to prevent us from diverting any more power."

"Can't you override it, Captain?"

"We tried that master Jedi but the intruder performed a hard reset, deleting all the override codes. We're attempting to find a backdoor now but it's going to be some time before we're operational again."

"At least we're not sitting ducks Captain." Selimo reminded him. "Pull back and go on the defensive, we'll maintain command posture for now."

The captain nodded and rushed off to perform his orders. Selimo turned his mind back to seeking out the intruder's Force signature and discovered a vague sense of malice directed towards the bridge. If he wasn't sure the assassin was coming after him before, he was now. Resigning himself to the inevitable, he began preparing for the conflict, slipping into a light trance and releasing his hold on all his emotions. He began to draw more and more focus as the minutes passed, and when he felt he was fully prepared, he signaled for the Captain to come and speak with him.

"Captain," he said when the man was close enough to hear Selimo's lowered voice, "we have an infiltrator heading for the bridge. Prepare the bridge crew, they are not to attack the intruder when they arrive. I will handle it." The look on the Bothan's face suggested he had questions, but he wisely kept them to himself and began moving around the bridge, speaking softly and quickly to the crew.

The bridge doors flew open, revealing a Kaleesh Sith wielding a double-bladed purple lightsaber dressed in purple-white armored battle robes, yet no-one on the bridge reacted. Seemingly stunned by the lack of reaction, the Kaleesh advanced cautiously into the room, the doors slamming shut behind him. A burst of lightning from the Sith's clawed hand fried the door console, triggering the automatic lockdown, sealing everyone inside.

Selimo's lekku twitched as he felt the Dark Side energy emanating from his foe, his bright blue skin crawling briefly with goose bumps, but he suppressed his instinctual fear response and regained his focus, feeling the Light Side surround him once more. He felt the Sith approach and decided to make one last effort at disarming his opponent with words.

"I've been waiting for you, Sith. I felt your presence since you boarded this ship."

"Yet you did nothing to stop me." The Sith sneered, hatred gleaming in his predatory yellow eyes. "Truly you Jedi are as foolish as you are weak."

"I calculated that allowing you to come to me unhindered would result in less bloodshed, a much more preferable option to the alternative. You would have to be insane to come aboard this ship alone without a boarding party unless you were capable of defeating all our security forces by yourself, so I chose to spare their lives and risk my own to stop you instead."

"Which is why the Sith will rule when the Jedi Order lies in ruins." Xalek spat. "The Sith honor and preserve strength, while the Jedi waste it in pointless self-sacrifice."

"Look around you Sith," Selimo countered, gesturing to the bridge crew surrounding them. "Not even you could defeat all these people at once, and especially not after somehow managing to slay me, give up now and I can promise you a comfortable prison sentence."

"You are going to regret underestimating me, Jedi." Xalek growled, adopting a ready stance. Selimo sighed.

"Then so be it."

In a flash, Raze whirled around and unleashed a stream of lightning at the nearby captain. The attack was about to hit him when the volts suddenly wrapped themselves around thin air. In moments the cloak protecting the female Chiss padawan vanished completely as she writhed and screamed in pain. Selimo descended on the Sith, lightsaber ready to strike him down, but he whirled just in time to deflect the blow with his own lightsaber. Selimo attempted a series of quick Ataru attacks designed to throw his enemy off-guard but the Sith managed to defend himself effectively in an excellent display of Soresu.

Reelin had just gotten to her feet and drawn her lightsaber, charging across the deck. Selimo went for a low strike while she came in high but Raze managed to block both with his double blade, following the block with a blast of kinetic Force energy that sent Reelin staggering back and unbalanced Selimo for long enough for Raze to unleash a thunderous blast of power that slammed into Reelin, sending her flying into the navigation console.

Raze managed to turn and block Selimo's next incoming blow just in time, but the follow-up was too complex for him to counter. He took a hard strike to the shoulders, which his armor and personal shield insulated him from, followed by a series of blows to the abdomen and legs, straining his shield, weakening his Force armor and leaving him unbalanced. Selimo attempted to continue his dance of blades, but Xalek loosed a potent bolt of lightning that nearly electrocuted him, leaving him stunned and staggered.

Reelin wisely held back this time, defending herself as well as she could against Raze's brutal and deadly blows. Despite her best efforts he landed some good shots on her, significantly draining her shield and Force reserves and leaving light scorch marks on her robes. Selimo recovered, and the two Jedi threw themselves into the fight with intense co-ordination and renewed focus. Selimo lead the attack, and Reelin supported with both her lightsaber and the Force.

Selimo put Raze on the defensive again with a sequence of fast acrobatic attacks that nearly overwhelmed the Sith, he took more blows to the shoulders and torso, nearly taking one to the arm as well, but still his shield held. An opportunity presented itself, and Raze surged forward, driving the tip of his lightsaber directly into Selimo's gut. The Jedi master's shield, Force armor, and battle armor prevented the blow from being fatal, but it still made full contact with the cortosis breastplate and left a large scorch mark. Selimo responded with a co-ordinated attack that brought his lightsaber in with a chest slash and Reelin's with a leg slash from opposite sides. Raze backflipped up and over Reelin, putting as much Force strength as he could behind his next strike, which drove his lightsaber through Reelin's personal shield, Force armor, and body to emerge from her abdomen. She gasped in shock as Raze pulled his blade out and her failing body dropped to the floor.

Selimo lost the fight to keep his emotions in check.

"You'll pay for that, Sith."

He reached out his hand and Reelin's lightsaber flew from her dying hand into his. He reactivated the weapon, and its green blade shone brightly alongside his own. He advanced on Raze, then sprang into action. His body became a blur of motion, his focus a laser point. He attacked with such intensity and speed that Raze's lightsaber defenses became of little use, only the Dark Side protected him from the Jedi master's storm of blows. He reinforced his Force armor, turning it into a tangible barrier that surrounded him in its protective field. He used the Dark Side to drain Selimo's willpower and connection to the Force, slowing his reactions and sapping his strength. The combination gave Raze the opportunity he needed to disrupt the Jedi's ferocious assault and turn the tide of battle back in his favor.

Deflecting what would have been a critical blow, Raze landed an immediate counter-attack that pierced Selimo's personal shield and struck armor, burning the robes covering it. He pressed the attack with a burst of lightning from one clawed hand that drained the weakening shield even more and drove Selimo into a defensive position. Raze continued his assault with ferocious Juyo strikes that pushed Selimo into a retreat. Suddenly Selimo unexpectedly countered a blow and turned the battle back in his favor, forcing Raze to retreat. With a well-timed dual saber toss Selimo annihilated Raze's shield and sent the Sith staggering, then he leaped into the air with both sabers held above his head, ready to bury them in the Kaleesh's exposed chest.

His face changed from one of intense focus to absolute shock when Raze dodged his attack and swung his lightsaber in a twisting, heavy, over-the-shoulder blow that beheaded the Twi'lek and sent his detached cranium rolling across the deck. Raze turned to face the crowd of shocked Republic officers, and a bloodthirsty smile spread across his hidden features. Then, he simply vanished, leaving the bridge crew's blaster bolts to pass through thin air.

_____________

Darth Skade stepped out of the landing shuttle's open hatchway, descending the ramp to the landing pad where the Prime Minister of Felquarra waited to greet her, flanked by two guards in gold and green uniforms. At the base of the ramp, Skade's own escort of two Imperial soldiers were standing at attention. Skade's outfit was the same one she had always worn since becoming Nox's apprentice, only now it was dyed fully in black. Her lightsabers, whose crystals she had at that time exchanged for synthetic red ones at Nox's insistence, now held purple crystals directly from Ilum. As she approached the statuesque man, dressed in splendid finery, that served as the head of Felquarra's government, she realized she had never felt more comfortable and confident than she did now.

"Darth Skade." The Prime Minister said, bowing his head in what he no doubt believed to be a gesture of respect. Skade couldn't help but feel a little jab of anger at the deed, she was a Darth now, and if any title afforded a being respect other than Jedi Master, it was the Darth honorific. He, a mere political ruler of a largely irrelevant world, should have bowed the knee to her. She squashed her displeasure under a facade of calm cordiality and smiled gently.

"Prime Minister." She said gently, inclining her head slightly.

"May I be the first to say what an honor it is to have you here with us on Felquarra." The Prime Minister said with the soft and arrogant air of a man who had lived a life of privilege and wealth. "We are looking forward to hearing your case for why Felquarra should join the Empire." He turned and motioned for them to walk towards the speeder that awaited them at the other end of the landing pad. His voice is as soft and puffy as he is, Skade thought with some measure of disgust as she walked with him to the speeder and entered it first when the driver held the door open for her.

"I can assure you it will be highly persuasive, Prime Minister." She said aloud. "The reasons for Felquarra to join the Empire are many, and the reasons to remain independent are few."

The speeder whisked them away to a grand palace in the center of the city, "The People's Palace" the Prime Minister called it when she asked him about it. The speeder descended into a beautiful courtyard and released them. They walked to and fro through the beautifully paved paths that wound in between stunning displays of the local flora as they talked, their respective guards following closely behind them.

"When the Republic speaks of the Empire they speak of atrocities and tyranny." The Prime Minister said, "perhaps you might wish to defend yourself from their accusations?"

"In war both sides do what they feel they must to survive," Skade responded. "The Republic is no different. Neither the Empire nor the Republic are innocent with regards to the horrors of war."

"Yes, I understand you completely." The Prime Minister said, stroking his pointed white beard, "However, perhaps you might shed some light on the so-called propaganda machines of the Empire, and how they omit, obscure, or twist the truth in order to manipulate the masses?"

"The Empire only restricts and controls information for the betterment of the populace." Skade said confidently. "Not all beings are possessed of the same advanced mental faculties as the Empire's leaders, thus it is necessary to control which beings have access to what information to prevent chaos and discord. If there is a rebellion based on lies, for example, then without the intelligent control of information the rebellion would spread further and endanger the Empire as a whole."

"Isn't that rather restrictive?" The Prime Minister asked. "Do not all beings deserve access to all the information on a given subject?"

"You have media outlets here, do you not, Prime Minister?"

"Yes..."

"And how often have you or any of your fellow governors repressed or withheld information to prevent widespread panic, rioting, or issues of serious controversy?"

"Occasionally we must resort to such things but surely-"

"Does your administration have classified information, Prime Minister?"

"Yes we do."

"So by your own admission you also restrict and control information, rather than give all Felquarrans access to all the information on a given subject."

"I suppose when you put it that way..." The Prime Minister said slowly.

"The Empire simply believes in keeping a firmer grip on the flow of information in order to preserve order and thus reduce suffering and chaos throughout the galaxy." Skade pressed her advantage, subtly weaving the Force into her words to make them more persuasive. "You can see the consequences of freedom of information in the Republic, which is even now falling back on its heels after the Empire's recent campaigns. By allowing the free flow of information the Republic leaves itself and its member worlds vulnerable to Imperial attack, as the information it does not control often makes its way into Imperial battle plans."

"Yes but in being less restrictive the Republic allows it citizens to make the choice for themselves." The Prime Minister countered.

"And how well has that worked out for them?" Skade asked. "The Republic has long been plagued by separatist movements, divisiveness, and bureaucracy. It has become so weighed down by laws and regulations designed to hold the patchwork of the Republic together that it is only a matter of time before the whole system collapses, with or without the Empire there to pick up the pieces."

"But surely propaganda is not the way." The Prime Minister objected.

"Prime Minister, do you truly believe that the Republic doesn't have its own propaganda machine?"

"Yes, I have seen no indication of such."

"Then allow me to enlighten you. Did you know, Prime Minister, that the top three hundred media outlets in the Republic are all owned by the same seventeen people?"

"Really?" The Prime Minister looked curious now, she was getting through to him.

"Yes, and all seventeen of those people are extremely wealthy humans with an incredible number of ties to and influence in the Senate and nearly all regional governments within the Republic. Imperial Intelligence's archives have records of a multitude of different instances where these media outlets have repressed, twisted, or controlled information to directly influence public opinion, even sway elections."

"How is it I have never heard of this?" The Prime Minister questioned, his brow furrowed with anger and suspicion.

"There are many things the Republic will not tell you, Prime Minister." Skade said. "The Republic and the Empire are not so different, only the Republic is much more insidious and dishonest with its methods of control. If the Empire doesn't want you to do something, it will have the decency and respect to say so to your face. The Republic, on the other hand, will do everything but. They will manipulate you, lie to you, trick you, bait you, anything but approach you honestly and directly. Their entire power structure is based on willful and malicious deception and manipulation. They pretend to have morals and claim to adhere to certain principals only to attain a moral high ground from which they can shame and prod those they wish to enslave into obedience. But once it no longer suits them they abandon those morals and principles and then cover it up through a multitude of words and infinite amounts of procedure and red tape."

The Prime Minister's eyebrows raised and his eyes glowed in recognition. "Yes, I know exactly what you're talking about, but I thought nothing of it until you put it in those precise words."

At that moment Skade noticed a young man flanked by two guards, identical to the ones escorting the Prime Minister, approaching them. When the Prime Minister saw him, he turned to Skade and gestured towards the man. "My son; Governor of Felaq, our capital city."

The young man was handsome, but in an aristocratic way. His skin shone softly in the bright sunlight, his manicured hands and nails looked like they had never seen a day's work, and his robes were in the same style as his father, only less grand and embellished due to his lower station.

"My lord." He said as he approached, bowing to one knee before Skade. "Forgive my surprise, but when I was told a Sith was coming as the Empire's representative I was not expecting one so radiant."

Skade smiled slightly in amusement. "Perhaps you expected some twisted, monstrous-looking creature? Or a withered old mystic with a voice like nails scraping on steel?"

Clearly flustered and embarrassed, the young man attempted to find his mental balance again. "Yes, no, that is...I mean-"

Skade waved a hand in light-hearted dismissal. "It's quite alright, I understand completely. I'm merely teasing you, governor."

The young man looked equal parts staggered and eager. "You are?"

Skade suppressed a laugh at his reaction. "Of course, I'm used to the lies the Republic and especially the Jedi have spread about the Sith. You will find that many of the things you heard about the Sith range from embellishment and exaggeration of personality quirks to outright lies."

"Does that mean everything they say about the Sith is a lie?" The young governor asked with a note of disappointment in his voice.

Skade, discerning what the young man was implying, laughed, allowing a bit of her flirtatious mood to express itself in the act. "No, not everything." She said with a twinkle in her eye.

The Prime Minister opened his mouth to interject when suddenly a clamorous jangle of foreboding erupted in Skade's head and time slowed to a crawl. She whirled around, reaching her lightsabers and igniting the purple blades just as the bolt that would have bored through her head came roaring in towards her. She crossed the blades and flung them outward and apart with perfect timing, sending the bolt flying into the landing pad near the shuttle. She felt it through the Force as the guards on either side of the governor raised their blasters and pointed them at her. The Prime Minister's guards were still in the process of raising their weapons to scan the area for the sniper, they wouldn't see their comrades actions until it was too late.

Skade leaped forward, bringing her blades down on the left guard, splitting his upper body into three pieces in one quick motion. Too fast for the eye to see she moved on the right guard, swinging her blades through his midsection from opposite sides and bringing them up on either side of her head. Time returned to its normal pace and both bodies collapsed to the ground in scorched heaps. The governor and Prime Minister stared at the bodies in shock while one the Prime Minister's guards radioed the Captain of the Guard to inform him of the breach.

After a moment of processing what had just happened the Prime Minister sank to one knee and bowed his head in what Skade had no doubt was an uncharacteristic gesture of humility. "My lord, please accept my most humble apologies! This cowardly act will not go unpunished!"

The governor, who had also dropped to one knee, spoke as well. "My lord please do not let this reflect on your view of Felquarra or its people, these are the acts of traitors, not of the Felquarrans!"

"Then who has done this?" Skade demanded. "Who would do such a thing?"

"The only group who could have attempted such a despicable act is the Gamaik Loyalists, rebels and vagabonds the lot of them!" He spat venomously. "In the past they stuck to covering areas of cities with graffiti or disseminating anti-government propaganda. They supported my rival in the last election."

"Why would they attempt to assassinate me?"

"They call themselves anti-fascists." The young governor replied. "They believe the Republic's lies about the Empire and the Sith without question, and that if Felquarra joins the Empire its people will all become slaves. They used to simply protest government decisions and try to stir up controversy and civil unrest, but after we announced that we were inviting a delegate from the Empire to come and discuss the possibility of joining they became rabid."

"We didn't believe they would stoop to such violence!" The Prime Minister interjected. "Please my lord, believe us!" Skade sensed no deception in his words, so she put on a kind smile and extended a hand to the surprised man to help him to his feet.

"Of course I believe you." She said. "You're an intelligent man who understands full well the consequences of orchestrating an assassination of an Imperial representative. You have nothing to gain by my death, and much to lose."

"Thank you." The Prime Minister said, looking noticeably relieved. Skade extended her hand to the young governor and helped him to his feet as well.

"I didn't catch your name." She said to him.

"Golys." He said, beaming despite his father's look of disapproval.

"Perhaps we should enter the palace." The Prime Minister said urgently as a group of guards exited the spaceport and rushed towards them at a light jog. "It might not be the best idea to remain here in the open, the sniper is still on the loose."

"Agreed." Golys said eagerly. "We don't want to put you in any more danger."

"I can handle myself." Skade said, "You needn't worry."

"All the same," The Prime Minister said soberly. "it might be better to continue our discussion at the ball tonight."

Skade sighed. "Very well, lead the way Prime Minister."

_____________

Nox stood quietly on the plateau overlooking a great forest in the valley below. He could feel the Dark Side welling up within him as he slipped deeper and deeper into a meditative trance, deeper into the well of black darkness in the very depths of his being. As the darkness consumed him from head to toe, he began the ritual. The night sky filled with dark clouds and fierce wind swirled across the plateau, attempting to buffet Nox, but he stood firm, as still as stone. The air vibrated with each crack of lightning and each peal of thunder as a great tempest began to form in the sky above him.

Nox felt the power flowing through every inch of his being, and he felt the temperature drop as the power overflowed from him, filling the air with a tangible energy. The darkness consumed him utterly, devouring his body and spirit and unleashing its full potency through its newfound vessel. Nox began to lose all awareness of the physical storm raging around him. He stood at the eye of the storm, drawing lightning bolts into himself, feeding on them, and then unleashing that power back into the air.

This was how it was supposed to be, all the power and fury and glory of the Dark Side focused in a single point, not diffused and disparate. A cocoon of lightning formed around him, creating a shield of crackling, vibrating energy. He shivered in anticipation and ecstasy before suddenly going rigid, his arms spread out at his sides. Slowly his body began to rise off the ground, levitating meters into the air. He felt the raw power of the Force surging through him, and for a moment he feared it might tear his mortal body to pieces. The lightning cocoon expanded to become a spherical field of energy, a sizzling cage of power, before it suddenly dispersed into the maelstrom.

The storm rolled down over the plateau and rumbled across the forest, a deluge of blistering lightning fell from the roiling clouds overhead, causing the trees to burst into flames like tinder, the inferno spreading itself across the landscape like a ravenous, incorporeal beast intent only on devouring all that it touched. The wave of fire swept outward, consuming vast swathes of the woodland in seconds, and yet still the storm raged. Not a single drop of precipitation fell, yet the clouds looked as black as sin, and as heavy as neuranium. Lightning flashed over and over, splitting the sky with a thousand cracks, as if reality itself were falling to pieces.

Nox was in the eye of the storm, not physically, for the storm had long since moved its fury from the plateau to the forest, but nonetheless he was its center. He could see without eyes and feel without sensation, he sensed the suffering and death of every single thing the storm destroyed, from the largest animals to the moss and the undergrowth that were being incinerated in mere moments by the thousands of hungry tongues of the blazing holocaust ravaging the landscape. The air was shaking, as if in terror of the sheer amount of energy being unleashed upon it. The intense heat of the fire felt like the core of a star, and the air was filled with ashes and sparks.

The storm raged for several hours, sweeping over the land with apocalyptic fury and an endless appetite for destruction. Even after it finally subsided, the flames still burned. Nox watched with fire in his own eyes as the hungry flames consumed every living thing for hundreds of kilometers in every direction. For any lesser Force adept the heat would have been unbearable, but Nox warded off the heat and the flames with the Force, leaving the plateau he was standing on the only green place in a massive field of orange. Nox had no doubt his handiwork was visible from space, and the scars it would leave would remain so for years to come.

The planet was a remote world, lush but uninhabited by sentient life. Its discovery had been made by the Expeditionary Fleet, but the Empire had yet to settle it. Nox wondered what someone might make of the remnants of his experiment, he wondered if they could even comprehend that all this glorious annihilation could be caused by one being. Perhaps they might even mistake his work for that of an orbital bombardment, so great was the destruction.

As Nox watched the flames, he was suddenly transported back to that place he saw only in his nightmares; the door. The face on the door, the horrifying, incomprehensible face of the Dark Side glared at him with the same hatred and malice he felt in the very core of his being, when suddenly it split open, the chains sealing it shut breaking like twigs as the gateway to godhood opened before him. He felt the power of the abyss rushing out like a tide, filling his being, trying to empty him out and replace him with itself.

He fought it with everything he had, but not to repel it, to subjugate it. He summoned all the power at his disposal and seized hold on the intangible essence that sought his soul. They grappled together, one being fighting the infinite power of the Void. Again and again it tried to consume him, again and again he fought to consume it. An eternity passed as they struggled, the Void filling Nox's ears with whispers of lies, half-truths, seductions, and promises. Nox ignored them, focusing all his energy, all his being into subduing it.

"You are not worthy." The voices hissed. "You are weak, mortal. You cannot fight ussss, you cannot resissst." And still he did.

"You will not conssume us. We are eternal, we are beyond you. We devour universess and conssume reality itself, you cannot fathom usssss." Nox summoned all his power, focusing it through the lens of his discipline, directing the entirety of his might directly at his intangible foe.

The thing screamed, countless voices crying out in a horrible howl of pain and hatred formed one monstrous cacophony that would have shook Nox to his very core, were he still mortal enough to have such emotions. Instead he devoured the unspeakable abomination, consuming it utterly, ingesting it into his very essence, not merely bonding with it, but assimilating it. The darkness was now inextricably part of him, and he of it. They were one and the same.

Slowly, Nox began to come back to himself. He began to feel his robes on his skin, his armor weighing him down, the ground beneath his back. He opened his eyes and saw, through the one-way lenses of his helm, the bright blue sky. He shakily got to his feet, quickly quelling his body's unconscious tremors through a mere exercise of will. He checked his chrono and was shocked when he saw how much time had passed.

"Four standard days?" He asked himself incredulously. "I was out for four days?" A small price to pay for opening the way to godhood, he supposed. He signaled his ship's autopilot to bring the vessel in to land. The fires had burned out within the past day or two, as he could still see the coals burning in the blackened landscape all around him. When the ship arrived, it landed and extended its boarding ramp. Nox ascended, turning back one last time to look upon the world that had birthed a god.

Somehow, Nox felt that of all the worlds in the galaxy, of all the places where he could have been born into his new life, it was fitting that the place of his second birth was a nameless little world far from anywhere touched by sentient life. As he ascended the rest of the ramp and entered the ship, he made a mental note to mandate the world's name when he returned to Dromund Kaas. He was going to name it Bogar, for it truly was "the beginning of darkness".

____________

The six-headed Krayt dragon roared as it flew past Nox towards the planet hanging in space. Nox watched as it wrapped itself around the blue and green orb, its claws digging into the land, creating deep scars, the sparks of its breath fell like rain, scorching the planet's surface and leaving pockmarks where they fell. It turned its heads toward Nox and roared again. Nox could feel its power, and he could feel it growing stronger by draining the very life from the world.

The world, Nox realized, looked familiar but he couldn't place it. The dragon breathed fire and Nox felt the flames wash over him, but they did not harm him. Feeling his power rise up within him, he unleashed it in a storm of lightning from his fingertips that consumed the dragon, causing it to screech in pain, it's flesh and bones evaporating, leaving only a red and black pulsing heart. The heart drew closer to Nox of its own accord, and when it came within reach, he took it and stared at it. The thing was still beating, pulsing with power that flowed from it in waves. Suddenly he brought it to his mouth and swallowed it whole. He could feel its power surging in him, giving him strength and knowledge he had never experienced before, and he knew he was unstoppable.

Nox woke with a start, his eyes fixing on the gray ceiling of the captain's quarters. The Midnight Shadow was on autopilot, travelling through hyperspace back to Dromund Kaas. Nox had retired to his quarters for the trip, deciding to sleep the time away.

Denova. He started at the whisper in his thoughts, and he remembered why the planet in his dream looked familiar. Denova, the thought came again, like a whisper from the Dark Side. Nox threw back the blankets and set his bare feet on the cold, metal floor. He spent the next few minutes refreshing himself and getting dressed. When he was finished he entered the bridge and, taking a seat in the captain's chair, told the autopilot to change course. He didn't believe the dream was coincidence, the Force was telling him that something was happening on Denova, something he needed to be there for, and if his hypothesis of the dream's interpretation was correct, then this was an opportunity he couldn't afford to pass up.

____________

The Midnight Shadow landed in a clearing in the forests of Denova, the boarding ramp extending to touch the fertile ground. The ship's engines shut down, and for a long time the ship remained there, seemingly vacant. If one could view it through the lens of the Force however, one could see that it was very much overflowing with power. The Dark Side was immensely strong inside that ship, and the power was growing by the minute.

Finally, after what seemed like a small eternity, Nox disembarked, the power leaving with him, surrounding him in a palpable aura. He looked out over the landscape, remembering the last time he had been here. He had fought the Republic as part of an elite commando squad assembled for the task, their goal to capture a series of turret emplacements set up between two bunkers. But that was history, this time he was going to make a much bigger, more memorable mark on this world. There was something else here as well, something new, a sinister but eerily familiar presence that hung in the air like a miasma. He shrugged it off scornfully, deciding to get to the bottom of it later.

Gathering his power, he summoned it in a whirlwind that shrouded him from view. Lightning flashed unnaturally within the miniature cyclone and in another moment the vortex took off at top speed, heading towards the far away sounds of battle.

____________

Some time later, the maelstrom that Nox had become slowed its pace and dissipated. He was pleased to see he had torn through the enemy lines easily. While he could have simply used his abilities in stealth and his newfound abilities in the realm of Force flight he wanted to experiment with more offensive applications of his new powers. Thus far they were shaping up to be everything he had hoped for.

The reason he had slowed was because he sensed a strong disturbance in the Force up ahead, emerging from the brush he saw that the disturbance was entirely warranted. In a large clearing two massive Drouks, with humongous electric shackles fastened around their wrists and ankles, paced. Nox could feel them through the Force, he could sense their small but focused minds and the unnaturally immense amount of will each of the monstrous creatures possessed. Normally, he wouldn't even try what he was about to do, the chance of failure would be all but certain and the consequences of failure were fatal, but Nox knew he had long surpassed the need for caution.

He reached out through the Force, summoning the Dark Side to bolster his strength. He felt the full extent of his power flow through him, filling him with malevolent energy that threatened to erupt from under his skin and disperse his molecules across the planet. He unleashed his power in a telepathic wave that struck the Drouk's minds, their immense willpower bending beneath the strength of Nox's hurricane-force mental attack. They growled in near unison, a low, rumbling sound that would have made nearby listeners think a groundquake was imminent, and they turned to move in on Nox, ready to tear him to shreds. But while Nox's mental assault battered their psyches with telepathic energy, it also slowed their brain and nervous systems down significantly. As a result the beast's movements seemed slow and ponderous compared to the pace they were actually capable of.

Suddenly, the electric cuffs on their wrists and ankles unleashed a blast of energy into both Drouks, causing them to stand up straight and roar in pain. Nox smiled to himself, their tamer, obviously in hiding, had seen the Drouk's slow advance and interpreted it as some form of disobedience rather than recognizing the enemy was applying the Force against his pets. The pain and shock of the cuffs fulfilled its designed purpose, temporarily distracting and breaking the will of those suffering from it. Nox sensed the weakness that opened up in the armor of the monster's stubborn minds, and he pushed, hard.

The Drouks both roared again and clutched at their heads, trying to fight off the sudden intrusion, but in moments, it was over. Their eyes glowed a faint purple as the Dark Side seized their will and enslaved it to Nox's own. The tamer, a Nikto in full battle armor, came rushing out of his hiding spot, yelling and screaming at the beasts to attack. Nox looked down at him for a moment, then wordlessly pointed at the enraged being. In response the twin Drouks moved in on their now nervous-looking trainer, he turned and tried to run, but it was far too late for that. Zorn, for that was the beasts name, Nox now knew, leapt forward, closing his massive paws around the fleeing Nikto's body. Toth, the other beast, caught up to him just as he was about to drop the screaming tamer into his maw, and indicated that they should share. With an eerie ignorance of the man's cries, the two Drouks split their meal slowly in half, so as to be absolutely fair, and enjoyed the little snack.

Nox looked on with great pleasure, waiting for them to swallow before mentally instructing them to move on into the cave that would lead them further in the direction from which he could sense the Dark Side calling to him.

____________

Toth and Zorn charged out of the forest and across the open plain towards the two tanks raining fire and energy down on them. They pounded their massive fists on the thick armor of the combat vehicles, leaving more prominent impressions and indentations with each blow, even as their bodies were bombarded with extremely powerful and intense attacks. From a safe distance, Nox watched the battle with amusement, the two pilots controlling those tanks were so busy dealing with his two new pets that they would likely never notice him standing here, let alone piece together that simply destroying him would cause the Drouk's savage assault to cease. The irony was delicious, with only a few well-placed and well-timed missile barrages and energy bursts they could solve their problem, yet they remained incredibly ignorant to this despite the fact that Nox was merely eighty meters away, coolly watching the engagement as if it were a simple prizefight.

Within minutes Toth and Zorn had destroyed the guns of both tanks, and were proceeding to toss them around the battlefield like a pair of Zuuku birds trying to crack open some Welycima nuts. When they succeeded in breaking open the cockpits, they each grabbed the pilot of their chosen tank and swallowed the screaming, armored beings whole. Nox could feel the armor and flesh and bones of the pilots being ground between their teeth as if it were him chewing them. He could feel the blood and bodily fluids bursting from the mangled corpses like cream or juice from a tasty candy, and he found that the taste of sentient meat wasn't entirely unpleasant, or perhaps that was just a side effect of binding these monster's minds to his own. Either way, he decided not to take his new pets home, they would be too expensive to feed and too taxing to control in any case, but as long as they continued to be useful here he would use them.

The Drouks finished with their treats and stood awaiting further orders, he glanced at the nearby bunker, one thought echoing through his mind: break.

____________

Nox watched from the top of the wall surrounding Kephess's fortress as the two Drouks engaged the Trandoshan in the courtyard below. The lizardman was in a giant three-legged walker, from the top of which he had proclaimed the glory of his killing of Nox's pets belonged to a group called "the masters" before engaging the beasts. He was accompanied by a small squad of advanced Imperial battledroids, which Toth and Zorn had merely crushed underfoot in their charge. Kephess, it seemed, was the leader of the Trandoshan forces Nox had been plowing through for the past hour or two, and he didn't seem very happy about the two Drouks running amok. He was unaware however, of Nox's presence or role, and was merely fighting what he thought to be two beasts who had killed their tamer and were rampaging across the battlefield, killing everything in sight.

That was about to change. The walker Kephess was in was no mere hovertank that the two Drouks could handle on their own. Turning his focus inward, Nox began to draw on the bottomless well of dark power that lay within him and he felt it rising, filling him with a blackness as dark as space without stars. His hatred became transcendent, and his ire so great he felt he could not contain it. The sky overhead darkened with thick, ominous clouds, and lightning began to flash.

Suddenly a storm of violet lightning bolts erupted from the clouds overhead, striking at the surrounding area with a frequency and fury that easily matched any orbital bombardment. Struck by several bolts of lightning in the space of a few seconds, the walker began to shudder and spark, its movements becoming jerkier and its limbs spasming periodically. The Drouks however, remained completely unaffected, the storm's fury seeming to bend itself around them in a way too unnatural to be coincidence.

The walker finally groaned its last as a massive explosion rocked it and sent it tumbling to the ground. From the wreckage burst a massive Trandoshan wielding twin techblades. Nox realized with some astonishment that he was easily twice as big as Khem Vaal. The last time Nox had seen a Trandoshan anywhere close to that size was on Darth Malgus's space station, and that creature had been the result of Imperial biogenetic experimentation in creating artificial gigantism, how this "Warlord Kephess" had achieved such size and ferocity without outside intervention was a mystery.

Still, despite his large size he was an insect compared to the Drouks, and they sought to use their size against him, ripping apart the walker and tossing large pieces at him, or attempting to seize and crush him. But Kephess knew how to use the size difference to his own advantage, he darted and leaped about like one of the bolts of the storm still raging around him, striking quickly at the Drouk's weak points and then retreating beyond their reach before they could get a hold on him. He even managed to dodge the bolts of lightning pouring down from the now pitch-black sky, his reflexes seeming to be unnaturally enhanced.

Still channeling the power of the storm, Nox noticed a door on the west side of the courtyard open and a large group of Trandoshan mercenaries flood out. He shifted the focus of the maelstrom towards the unlucky lizards and a storm of lightning bolts from the dark violet clouds incinerated their bodies, leaving only charred armor behind. The lightning appeared to have set off everything on them that was explosive, thus the totality of their disintegration. Shifting the focus of the storm back towards Kephess, the Trandoshan noticed the sudden change and disengaged from his Drouk opponents, scanning the area while remaining out of reach of the Drouks, who were taking up pursuit.

Spotting Nox perched atop the wall, he croaked something in his native language and made a seemingly impossible leap that sent him hurtling straight towards Nox in defiance of every law of physics. Combined with the oppressive presence that he had sensed upon arriving on Denova, Nox realized that there was only one way this Force-blind lizard could achieve something like that, even as he willed Zorn's hand to smack the Trandoshan back down onto the durasteel floor of the courtyard. His suspicions were confirmed a moment later when Kephess unleashed a horrifying half-roar half-screech and a familiar aura of dark energy erupted around him. The power was far, far stronger than Nox remembered it, but the intensity only made it more unmistakable, it was the power of the Dread Masters.

Nox watched as Kephess used the power of the Masters to ravage the large Drouks, battering and cowing them despite them being large enough to crush him with a well-placed stomp. Watching the battle play out, Nox knew it would not be long before the two Drouks fell completely to Kephess's power, and despite his recent practice with his new abilities, Nox was entirely unsure as to whether he could defeat Kephess in combat on his own.

There was, however, one way he could end this now and with absolute certainty, and with only a moment of hesitation, Nox took it. He released his hold on the unnatural lightning storm, allowing it to diminish and fade, even as he began to channel that power in a new direction. One by one, he began fulfilling the rites of an ancient ritual he had recently learned, amplifying its strength a thousand fold with his borrowed power. He felt the rites of the ritual lock into place one by one, and when he completed the final rite, he initiated the ceremony.

Toth and Zorn screamed in pain as every ounce of energy in their bodies was suddenly stripped from them and siphoned into Nox. Realizing what his opponent intended to do, Kephess leaped at his foe once more, coming down on Nox just as the dark lord unleashed the ritual's power on him. The Trandoshan stopped in midair, and began to squirm and howl as the power was stripped forcefully from his mortal body. He began to shrink and weaken, his large techblades becoming too large and heavy for him to hold, causing them to clatter to the ground below.

The painful process burned the power right out of him, causing him to scream as the dark energies the Dread Masters had bound to his form were eradicated by the ritual. Suddenly, the ritual structure collapsed and Nox had to put up a solid wall of resistance to keep from being blown off the wall by the Force explosion that resulted. Kephess's seemingly lifeless body was thrown across the courtyard to bounce with several sickening crunches until it finally rolled to a stop, face-up.

Nox leaped off of his perch, levitating to the ground through Force flight and approached his enemy's corpse, reaching for his lightsaber hooked onto his belt. He suddenly noticed a surge in Dark Side energy in the surrounding area, and the light of the day suddenly became a lot dimmer.

"Insects interfere, they do not understand." An ominous voice rang out, appearing to be both in Nox's mind and his ears at the same time. In several flashes of dark energy the shadowy forms of the six Dread Masters appeared before him, their combined aura washing over him in a tide of fear and malice. A lesser being would have been cowed instantly, some might have even died of terror on the spot, but Nox knew darkness that very few had ever known, and he stood strong and defiant in their presence.

"We are the six. The Dread Masters. Heed our warning." The one Nox recognized as Dread Master Raptus said.

"I freed you on Belsavis," Nox reminded him, his tone that of a man speaking to a group of his overconfident, arrogant peers. "You will not tell me what to do, Dread Masters. You have yet to make good on your promise to teach me the ways of terror."

"We do not make promises." Dread Master Bestia hissed. "That which we do not rule we destroy."

"Imprisoned, our power faded." Dread Master Brontes said.

"Now we are free." Dread Master Raptus said threateningly. "Now we are strong."

"Denova was a test." Dread Master Styrak explained. "Weak minds twisted and turned."

"Why do you defy the Emperor?" Nox demanded suddenly. "Why have you turned against the Empire?"

"The Emperor was strong." Raptus said, with what might have been a note of respect. "He spoke to us, guided us."

"Now the Emperor is quiet." Brontes said, crossing her arms in front of her. "None who remain are worthy of our loyalty."

Nox snarled. "I'm a Lord of the Dark Council. I took everything I have through power and cunning, I now wield power equal to none that came before me nor any that will come after me. I'm easily your equal and my power is rivaled by only Vitiate himself, if there is any being in the galaxy you should answer to now, it's me!"

"You are not worthy." Calaphyus said matter-of-factly, and Nox recognized his voice as the one that had first spoken before any of the Masters had appeared.

"Then I will prove my power to you!" Nox hissed, leaning forward in a summoning posture. A burst of dark power emanated out from him, but the Masters extended their hands, palms outward, as one, and a shield enveloped their ethereal forms, the wave of dark power breaking over it like a wave over rocks on the shoreline.

"We care nothing for the Emperor or the Empire now." Calaphyus continued, as if nothing had happened. "We serve a higher purpose."

"Kephess was our tool, our vessel." Brontes extrapolated.

"The vessel is damaged." Styrak said with a hint of condemnation in his voice. "It must be repaired."

"Kephess is ours." Bestia said. "Heed this warning, do NOT interfere again."

"The Dread Masters have spoken." Raptus said with finality.

Then, just as quickly as they had appeared, they vanished, and the oppressive gloom that had gathered dispersed, allowing the sunlight to filter down through the clouds once more. Nox stood there for a long moment, pleased that his ploy had worked. The Dread Masters now saw him as nothing more than a nuisance, a gnat to be crushed whenever it became too bothersome. Thanks to his little outburst they thought him weak and unworthy of their notice, they were severely underestimating him, and that would allow him to continue investigating their activities largely unhindered, while his power grew.

He drew his lightsaber, activated it, and advanced on Kephess's lifeless corpse. Raising the weapon high above his head, he buried it in the Trandoshan's heart.

"Repair that." He spat, as the blade retracted into the hilt. Suddenly he heard a crackling over the comm and the unmistakable noise of an approaching squad of fighters. Using the Force, he cloaked himself and took off, shooting into the sky like a bolt from an anti-air cannon. He turned back to watch as the squad of bombers rained fire down upon the now empty fortress, and a malicious smile touched his lips.

____________

Raze walked down the long hall towards the throne room of the fortress on Deriada Minor. He had returned here to meditate in absolute solitude so he could clearly analyze his circumstances and formulate his plans for the future. Nothing disturbed him as he walked, the nightmarish shadow entity that had attacked him on his first visit was gone, its power now bound to him after their last encounter, and its consciousness annihilated as a result.

Reaching the throne room, he swung the doors open, walking through them and into the hollow expanse of the chamber. Behind him, the doors swung shut, leaving him alone in the room. A beam of red-tinted light filtered down through the skylight, illuminating what would have seemed like an empty void in the absence of any light.

Approaching the dais, Raze mounted the few steps of the platform and seated himself on the throne, activating the control console. In a few minutes he had the schematics, blueprints, and specifications for the fortress in front of him. He sifted through them carefully, absorbing as much basic information as he could to get a more intimate understanding of the stronghold's inner workings, after nearly a standard hour of intense study, he found the solution.

"Harkanous." he said into the comm.

"Yes my lord?" came the instant reply.

"Do we have several X-35T backup generators on board any of our ships?" There was a slight pause, then:

"I believe so Darth Raze, if you'll give me a moment to confirm."

"Do it." The channel cut out, only to come back on in a few minutes.

"My lord, I've confirmed that were are in possession of five X-35T's."

"Good." Raze said. "I want them brought down to the planet at the same landing coordinates as my shuttle."

"We'll get on that right away my lord, but it will take some time."

"Understood, I'm sending you a map of the fortress your men will see upon their arrival, with the spots where I want the generators installed marked. Tell your engineers to work as cautiously as possible, take extra time if necessary, but I don't want any mistakes."

"It will be done, my lord."

"And one more thing," Raze added, "I wish not to be disturbed unless an issue of the highest priority arises."

"As you say." Commander Harkanous assured him and Raze closed the channel.

Leaning back in the throne Raze stared up at the red sky he could see through the skylight, allowing his thoughts to wander as he slipped into a light meditative trance. His battle with Master Selimo had proven what he had suspected to be true; his power was growing, his skill increasing. The trials of his past missions, and possibly his exposure to his master's power, was strengthening him. Still, he held some doubts that he had surpassed Darth Nox, despite his master's apparent fear and slothfulness.

Fear was, after all, the only explanation for Nox's betrayal of him. Raze knew he was far too valuable to his master for Nox to simply discard him like a used up tool. His many successes and his abundant loyalty made him unique among Sith, his master was not blind, surely he could see the value in keeping Raze at his command? Yet it seemed his master's fear of him, of his growing power, had completely overridden the notions of logic and reason, driving Nox to such ends as betraying his most powerful and valuable apprentice. The thought disgusted Raze, his master should have known better, Raze had been very open about his adherence to the way of the Sith, particularly the part that demanded the apprentice one day kill and replace the master. Darth Nox had known what he was getting into from the start, which is what made this apparent paranoia so out-of-character.

Raze frowned, could the artifact have been deceiving him? Seeing the future, was, after all, never a sure thing. Even the most clear and accurate visions were only the most likely possibility, rather than a certainty. But the cost was too great anyway, he could not afford to assume that the vision was false, or it could cost him his life, a life he couldn't afford to lose, not yet.

But what to do? He couldn't challenge Nox openly, not now. His master was too influential, and likely wielded as much power as ever, despite his reluctance to use it decisively. If Raze wanted to challenge Nox on equal terms, he needed to expand his powerbase as quickly and discretely as possible. His master had eyes and ears everywhere, so there was no telling what kind of information could work its way back to him.

Raze settled more comfortably into the seat and began to meditate intensively on the problem. After nearly an hour of brainstorming and internal deliberations he had a plan; If he couldn't stop word of his actions from reaching his master's ears, than he would have to hide his true motives in plain sight, behind a facade of bloodlust and militarism. A string of campaigns against rival Sith resulting in the takeover of their power bases and seizing of their resources would be seen, not just by his master, but by all witnesses as a blatant power grab, whereas a string of campaigns against Republic systems and the seizure of Republic territory, resources, and property would simply be seen as claiming the spoils of war. One method would invite scrutiny and suspicion, the other would barely even register on the radar of most observers. It was obvious which path he should take.

He activated the commlink in his ear and the voice of Commander Harkanous answered immediately; "My lord, what is your desire?"

"Are the installations finished?" Raze demanded.

"They should be done soon my lord, most of the teams are simply running the standard double-checks, making sure everything is in place."

Raze activated the holographic console, and found that three of the five generators were operational, the facility had enough energy to be rebooted on full power. With a few keystrokes, Raze activated the fortress's main power grid and suddenly the throne room was bathed in red light. The hundreds of small illuminators situated in tiny alcoves around the room blanketed the chamber in a low, sinister crimson hue, providing enough light to cast shadows in every corner of the room.

Behind his mask, Raze smiled. He would build a power base that Darth Nox wouldn't believe him capable of, and that started right here, right now.

"Commander." He said into his commlink. "Prepare for my return, I want to be ready to jump to hyperspace by the time my shuttle enters the hanger bay."

"Right away Darth Raze." Harkanous said with crisp professionalism. Raze deactivated the commlink and stood to his feet, walking in measured stride towards the huge double doors. He vowed that his legacy would begin right here, right now, and that no-one, not even Darth Nox himself, would stop him from achieving his destiny.

_____________

Nox was walking nonchalantly past the Midnight Shadow's holoterminal when it detected his presence and beeped in an attempt to get his attention. Turning at the sound, Nox strode over to the control panel and noticed that he had a message in his inbox. Opening it, he stepped back as the recording began to play.

"Darth Nox." the young man in the recording bowed, "Colonel Jadick, Imperial Reclamation Service reporting. We're having a first-contact scenario with a primeval species. General Threnoldt's made his report to the Dark Council, and they've surrendered the situation to your jurisdiction. When I say these beings existed eons before the Rakata Infinite Empire, I'm not exaggerating. I'm doing my best to communicate but you...you'll want to be here."

The image faded, and Nox moved in to dial the call-back number attached to the message. When the image of Colonel Jadick flickered to life, the man bowed, as if imitating his own recording. "Darth Nox, it's always a pleasure my lord."

Ignoring the abasement, Nox addressed the young human with simmering anger. "General Threnholdt should have made his report to me directly, I don't appreciate my underlings going behind my back to the Dark Council."

"You could not be reached my lord, and time was an extremely urgent factor. The general did ensure that authority in the matter would ultimately fall to you."

Nox was reminded of his recent experiment on Bogar and the battle on Denova. He had been out of contact, and Threnholdt had genuinely followed Imperial procedure to the letter, but he still didn't feel placated. He buried his resentment and anger under layers of rationality and pragmatism, returning to a more calm demeanor, even as the storm of emotions ravaged his insides.

"Very well, what exactly is so urgent?"

"My lord," Jadick said as a second image, this one far from humanoid, flickered into existence beside him. "May I present Administrator General Lalat'k of the Gree Enclave." He immediately turned to the Gree. "This is the black bisector I was telling you about, he is red obtuse, I assure you."

"Fledgling species, find attentiveness!" The Gree trilled in his alien tongue. "Urgency is requisite. We must align purple parallel before more yellow concave actualizes." Nox knew enough Gree to understand what the Administrator General was saying. Even if the language was impossible to vocalize without being a Gree it was still possible for a humanoid to understand it. He felt inclined to ask what "yellow concave" had Lalat'k so worried, but the tentacled alien expanded upon his assertion before Nox could speak. "After exponential solar cycles, a grand hypergate has opened! Green perpendicular flows freely from it!"

"Green perpendicular?" Nox said in momentary confusion. He knew, in the mathematical language of the Gree, that "perpendicular" meant something hostile towards or opposed to you. But he thought green indicated something good...

"Green is an expression of severity my lord." Jadick said, unknowingly reminding Nox of the colors meaning to the species. "A green perpendicular would be either a powerful enemy or a devastating conflict. In this case its likely both."

"Ah yes, thank you Colonel." Nox felt briefly ashamed of himself. He'd allowed his own conceptions about colors and their meanings to infiltrate his interpretation of the Gree language. While to most species green was a pleasing or soothing color indicating success, permission to do something, or an indication of progress, to the Gree it was an expression of the negative.

"I live to serve my lord." Jadick said humbly.

Nox turned to Lalat'k, "How did this happen? What caused the hypergate to open?"

"Invaders!" The Gree spat, as well as he could without anything that could really be called a mouth or saliva glands. "Foolish foreign species attempting thievishness no doubt. Assurances were produced that Operator droids provided necessary defenses. Produced statement tested false. The grand hypergate must evolve blue octagon...purple concave if inevasible. Else our galaxy is doomed to endless yellow concave. Republic allies have failed to obtain orange equilateral. If Imperial allies can process a blue octagon, the Gree enclave will actualize gratitude."

"Actualize it in what form?" Nox asked in interest.

"If Imperial black bisector evolves a purple parallel, Empire researcher caste may query Gree purple acute."

"My lord-!" Colonel Jadick gasped. "He-"

"I heard him, Colonel." Nox said sternly. "Is this your only condition, Lalat'k? Or do you have more demands?"

"Imperial black bisector is also red acute, I was right to seek purple parallel here." Lalat'k said, obviously pleased with himself and the progression of the conversation. "In return for Gree purple acute Empire warrior caste will enforce Administrator authoritativeness. That Operator droids were rendered yellow concave is purple tangent, such yellow obtuse makes thorough Administrator oversight requisite."

Nox nodded his understanding. "You and I are red parallel, Administrator. Authoritativeness is always purple acute when evolving a black sphere to orange parallel. We have a deal."

"I am hopeful Imperial Operators will exceed predicted results." The Administrator said.

"Administrator Lalat'k has provided optimal hyperspace routes to the grand hypergate's location on Asation." Colonel Jadick said, addressing Nox as he pulled a datapad out of his back pocket and began typing. "I'm sending them to you now." The holoterminal chimed as the data came in, and Nox set to uploading it to the ship's navigational computer. "May the Force be with you my lord." Colonel Jadick said as the holo-images faded into nothing, and the Midnight Shadow dropped out of hyperspace.

Several minutes later, the ship's hyperdrive once more reactivated and the vessel vanished into hyperspace.

_____________

The Midnight Shadow swooped low over the Gree fortress that guarded the hypergate, countless sliced weapon emplacements opening fire at the vessel as it passed overhead. The weapons were sophisticated and powerful, being of Gree design, but the Shadow was equipped with the best weaponry and shielding the known galaxy had to offer. As Nox unleashed a salvo of missiles that annihilated a set of gun emplacements and peeled off, he thanked the Force he had given Andronikos an unlimited budget when he had asked him to make the Midnight Shadow the toughest, fastest, most devastating ship of its class in the galaxy. The pirate had sought out and installed the best possible weaponry and shielding, both in regards to potency and efficiency, and it was paying dividends.

Despite the intense fire from the commandeered fortress's weapon emplacements, Nox was managing to obliterate the enemy weaponry before it pierced his shields, thanks both to his vessel's advanced upgrades and his own Force reflexes. Despite his great power in the Force, now amplified once more by the ritual of Power Transfer, he couldn't match Andronikos's skillful flying. No amount of reflexes could truly compensate for whole decades of experience. Even so, Nox performed quite well, dodging enough salvos to keep the shields active in the face of the powerful blasts unleashed by the Gree cannons below.

Coming in for another run, Nox destroyed even more gun emplacements with a mixture of blaster cannons and missile fire. With each pass he made more and more emplacements go up in flames and the Midnight Shadow's shields simply regenerated to full capacity on the out swing, allowing him to brave enemy fire again and again. When Nox had finally destroyed enough emplacements, he took to circling the fortress, taking sustained enemy fire in order to purge the fortress of its defenses in a rain of plasma. Finishing the job, Nox pulled out and began to loop around for a final pass. Moving quickly, he put the ship in autopilot, programming it to stay within comm range, and moved to the exit, the airlock sliding open and the ramp extending while the ship barreled down on the burning fortress.

Nox waited until he sensed the hypergate rushing up to meet them before leaping from the extended ramp. The ship automatically sealed itself and took off into the sky as Nox landed lightly on the solid metal floor of the outdoor space that preceded the hypergate and its control console. Straightening up, Nox was shocked to see a massive creature roughly two or three times the size of the average Gundark hunched over the controls, tapping away with its clumsy fingers, the stink of the Dread Masters emanating from it like a miasma.

"What was sundered will be made whole. You cannot stop it." The ominous, disembodied voice of Dread Master Calaphyus boomed.

"Just watch me, you insignificant worm." Nox muttered under his breath.

"Our vision transcends the dark of space." Calphayus continued, as if he hadn't heard Nox. In all likelihood, he hadn't. "Soon our reach will span the stars. "Vessel," He said to the creature. "open the way."

The monster finished a series of rapid movements interacting with the hypergate's holographic control panel and stood back to admire it's handiwork as the gate flared and increased in size and stability.

"Full power to the hypergate!" The monster hissed in triumph as energy flowed into the gate, widening the breach in spacetime. He whirled on the approaching Nox. "Too late. Too late, little insects. It is time that I thank you for shattering that weak body so I could be reborn!"

"Reborn?" Nox asked quizzically, "what are you talking about, beast?"

"Look upon the chosen!" The creature hissed. "See what death could not claim!" With that, the creature charged, its massive bulk barreling towards Nox. Feeling his hatred rise up within him, Nox unleashed it in a thick river of hungry lightning bolts that eagerly wrapped themselves around his foe, siphoning his life force even as they scorched and burned the scaly skin.

To the beast's credit, it didn't even slow down. It reached Nox in seconds and raised a fist to crush him, only for the clawed hand to sink into the metal floor with a loud thud. Nox was already on the move, circling around to blast the monster from behind with another burst of violet lightning. Responding to the provocation, the brute turned and lumbered after his tormentor with surprising speed.

"Today I feast!" He growled as he closed in on Nox. But the Dark Lord was too quick, and once again the being's fists met the unnatural surface of the ground. Nox blasted his foe with more lightning, but this time the monster stood still. Suddenly, a bolt of power launched itself from one of the many hypergate towers surrounding their battlefield, striking the massive cybernetic implant Nox had seen on the creature's back. At first Nox waited for the creature to cry out in pain, but instead, the hissing, growling voice of the beast reverberated across the landscape in triumphant ecstasy.

"My blood boils! I can feel the power, it wants to be free!"

Nox quickly deduced that the strange lightning strike was not a random occurrence but the creature charging some kind of weapon system. Seeing the strange implant on the monster's chest beginning to glow, Nox quickly realized what was about to happen and moved with preternatural speed, ducking behind the nearest hypergate tower, just as the beast turned and unleashed its devastating blast on him. The heat was nearly unbearable, and the energy sheared into the pillar that was supposed to be sheltering him as if it was made of water. Nox had to summon far more strength than he liked to prevent his atoms from flying apart like Peyko bugs in a strong wind. He quickly erected a Force Barrier around himself before the second blast came, and he weathered the ordeal far easier.

"Cower and die!" The colossus growled before he unleashed a third blast at Nox, now nearly completely exposed behind the remnants of the hypergate pillar. His Force Barrier protected him well, and the instant the blast ceased and the giant reptilian lumbered towards him, Nox let the barrier collapse into Force armor and drew his lightsaber, running to meet the leviathan's charge. At the last second he slid beneath the beast's grasping swipe and in between its legs, his lightsaber carving light scorch marks into the creature's skin.

Snarling, the monster whirled on him, but he had already leaped atop it's back and plunged his lightsaber into one of its implants, causing the beast to howl in pain. It shook him off, causing him to fly through the air to land on his feet several meters away. Roaring in abject rage, the brute charged him again, trying to pummel him with its massive fists, but still the Dark Lord was too quick. Moving like a wraith, he scarred and scorched his foe's scaly skin with hundreds of lightsaber blows, damaging several of the beast's cybernetics and enraging it further.

"There will be no return for you. Only broken bones and spilled blood!" The mammoth reptile roared as another bolt of lightning launched from one of the pillars into his back. Nox quickly disappeared behind another pillar as the blast tore into the pillar behind where he had been standing. Re-orienting himself, the beast unleashed a second blast at the pillar Nox was behind. The energy tore through the pillar, only to reveal that Nox was no longer there. A flash of purple light at the edge of the creature's vision caused it to turn and release the third blast at the place, only for the energy to incinerate another of the hypergate's pillars.

The vortex swirling beyond the control panel was beginning to waver and its growth rate was beginning to slow. Each pillar destroyed caused a minor fluctuation in the gate's power grid, but the creature was too busy to notice.

Nox, however, noticed very quickly how each pillar's destruction affected the gate, and an idea began to form in his mind. He stopped in his tracks and began channeling his full power. The heavy grey clouds that always filled Asation's skies suddenly became black and the air was charged with electricity. Lightning bolts began raining down from the sky, enveloping the battlefield in pure, destructive energy. Multiple bolts struck the remaining hypergate power pylons in rapid succession, as the scaled titan tried to shelter himself from the fury of the storm.

"I have seen beyond death. You think I fear you?" He challenged Nox, still bold despite the awesome display of power Nox was providing him.

All the pylons began to glow, and with an explosive tremor in the Force, they self-destructed, unleashing a wave of unnatural energy that simply passed over Nox but struck the beast from all sides. Roaring in pain, the monster dropped to his hands and knees, struggling to stay conscious. Nox unleashed a river of dark lightning at him once more, eagerly sapping his vitality and using it to feed the growing darkness that writhed throughout his entire being.

Suddenly, the fiend threw himself to his feet, throwing his head back and unleashing an unholy screeching howl before launching himself an impossible distance into the air to land on one of the remaining hypergate control pylons. Larger and better insulated than the power pylons, these control pylons were the only thing in the immediate area besides the hypergate that had survived the storm.

"I am above pain! I am above fear! I am death given form!" The titan roared before launching himself off the pylon and coming crashing down not five meters from where Nox was standing. Nox threw up a kinetic barrier to block the shockwave, but despite his efforts he was thrown back several meters. Back flipping to land on his feet, he landed just in time to see that the impact had disturbed the very ground itself and a physical shockwave of earth and metal was radiating out towards him. He backflipped once more to dodge the wave just as the brute slammed his fists into the ground, creating another kinetic shockwave that struck Nox in mid-air and knocked him back and to the ground, temporarily disorienting him.

Getting to his feet, Nox cursed himself for allowing this Sithspawn to get the better of him. The aforementioned Sithspawn bore down on him now, screeching a battlecry: "Rrraugh! Die!" Weakened and enraged, he was lashing out like a cornered animal. Despite the added viciousness this berserker rage entailed, Nox was fine with it. Scared and angry beasts made more mistakes.

Suddenly Nox felt something was very wrong. He barely dodged a two-fisted slam attack by his opponent and resorted to further defensive maneuvers as he slipped deeper into the Dark Side to determine the source of his unease. Looking through the Force, he detected microscopic intruders in his body, damaging his cells. He couldn't sense them through the Force, and on a hunch he unleashed a burst of lightning into the air. The lightning seemed to fry the very air itself, and when Nox noticed specks of fine black dust dropping to the ground, he knew his suspicions had been confirmed.

Nanites were attacking his body. Released from the leviathan's cyber implants they were attacking his cellular structure in an attempt to undermine him. Reaching out to the Force, Nox rallied his body to the defense. His immune system kicked into overdrive, cells and their organelles began multiplying and attacking the invaders with unrivalled efficiency. Nox felt his strength returning as the invasion of his body was crushed beneath the might of the Force.

The brute leaped at him, his massive bulk aiming launching itself into the air in defiance of physics. Nox slipped several meters to the side to avoid the impact and the shockwave that followed. He immediately counter-attacked with his lightsaber, moving like a phantom, forever just out of reach of his foe's grasping claws.

The beast growled, snarled and howled as Nox landed blow after blow on his opponent. The creature's scaly skin protected it from being sliced into a thousand pieces, but not from being peppered with an insufferable amount of gashes and cuts. Nox unleashed withering bursts of darkness and lightning as well, complimenting his Force attacks with quick lightsaber strikes, even as he thwarted the monster's efforts to pummel or crush him.

Nox felt the darkness rising within him, gnawing and hungry. He unleashed it in several blasts of depredating volts that slammed into his weakened enemy ravaging the colossus's body inside and out. The darkness wrapped itself around Nox, strengthening his Force armor as it made him its vessel.

The Sithspawn howled; "Masters! The power wanes! I crave more!"

The voice of Dread Master Calaphyus boomed in disdainful response. "We have no use for a tool that continues to break. Your purpose is fulfilled."

Roaring in pain and rage, mortars began to launch themselves from many of the strange cybernetic implants throughout the creature's body as the power of the Dread Masters began to unleash itself from the creature's form in waves. Nox ignored the firestorm and maelstrom in the Force, simply moving in to battle his opponent, his enhanced Force armor sheltering him from the explosions all around him and the waves of dark power crashing over him. By now the creature's carapace was little more than scar tissue, and it gave way easily before Nox's lightsaber, allowing him to damage the soft flesh beneath.

Lost in a berserker rage, the monster attempted to ravage Nox with his fists, but the darkness was so strong in him that the beasts attacks had absolutely no effect on him, as if Nox's density had been multiplied a thousandfold, preventing him from even being moved by any application of kinetic force.

Nox continued to tear apart the titan's failing body, finally finishing the beast with an upward leap that split its belly clean open then immediately following that up with a decapitating sweep. The headless body toppled over, the head bouncing and rolling to a stop several meters from the hypergate console.

Nox looked down at his headless foe's corpse, the last words of Dread Master Calaphyus echoing through his mind: a tool that continues to break...what did he mean by that? The words of the monster himself came back to him then: I have seen beyond death. You think I fear you? There will be no return for you! Thank you for shattering that weak body so I could be reborn!

The pieces began to fall into place, but the picture it created was one too incredible to believe. The Sithspawn was Kephess? The same Kephess Nox had killed only days earlier on Denova? It seemed impossible, absolutely ludicrous, but no other answer made any sense. Nox supposed the only method of resurrection that made such a miracle possible was using the ritual of Essence Transfer on the dying Trandoshan and placing his spirit into a new, stronger body created by Sith alchemy and cybernetics. Although the fact that the Dread Masters had somehow managed to do so within the space of a few days and dispatch the lizard immediately on another mission was astounding.

Just what kind of power of the Dread Masters really have? Nox asked himself as he walked towards the hypergate console. Am I underestimating them? If I didn't see this coming what else might I miss until it's too late? I need to be fully prepared for a confrontation, he decided. That means research and preparation. I will need to investigate all their future activities and prepare myself accordingly.

Reaching the console, he began interacting the with holographic display in an attempt to shut the hypergate down, but the gate had already received too much power, even before the destruction of the power pylons, and the storm Nox had unleashed appeared to have damaged the control pylons, meaning the conventional avenues of controlling the hypergate were inaccessible. The gate opened wider and began to suck in objects in the near vicinity. Seeing this, Nox sped up his efforts to close the gate, his hands and fingers flying across the display.

Suddenly, an incorporeal tendril shot out from the hypergate, wrapping itself around the headless corpse of Kephess and beginning to drag him towards the gate. Nox allowed himself to be distracted by the strange spectacle for only a moment before returning to frantically trying to close the hypergate.

Just as a jangle of foreboding rattled its way into his skull, he felt something ethereal wrap around his ankle. With a quick yank, he was knocked to his feet and dragged to the edge of the console platform, only managing to grab onto the edge at the last second. For a moment he hung there, battling with the tentacle to see who was stronger, then he was pulled free of the platform, and flew through the air into the yawning maw of the hypergate.

___________

Nox felt as if he were nowhere and everywhere at once. His perception was scattered and confused, he felt strangely dislocated from the notion of space. Looking around him, he could see that he was floating in what he recognized as hyperspace. But that was impossible. Any organism unlucky or foolish enough to somehow become exposed to hyperspace during a jump was disintegrated by the alien winds of the strange dimension, their very atoms ripped apart from each other and scattered across space, never to be reunited again.

Yet somehow, Nox was simply floating in it, watching the strange energies swirling all around him. Something moved at the edge of his vision, and realizing he was not alone, he turned his head to see what it was that was in here with him. When he saw it he nearly went mad. A tangle of tentacles writhed before him, a body structure from which they might originate seeming to be non-existent. The thing's entire mass seeming to be composed of tentacles that sprouted from each other, with each off shooting tentacle being smaller than its originator. On all of the limbs were small groups of sentient but empty and soulless eyes that spoke of a consciousness completely alien to anything Nox had ever encountered, a mind that thought in unrecognizable patterns.

The creature was massive, the wriggling heap of oily appendages seeming to stretch out for an incomprehensible distance in every direction, and Nox found himself wondering how he had even failed to see it in the first place. With growing horror, Nox began to see gaping wounds in its flesh ringed by what could only be teeth. The mouths gnawed and hissed, strange-coloured slime dripping freely from them like drool.

Many of the creatures seemingly countless eyes fixed themselves on Nox, the tentacles they were on twisting and contorting themselves to put him view, and many of the mouths opened wide and roared. The terrible screech caused Nox to reach up and seal the auditory inputs on his helm in an attempt to stop the terrible sound from driving him further towards insanity, but with terror he soon realized that the scream was as much in his mind as his ears. He clutched his head in his hands, trying to cling to his will as the attack desecrated his reason.

Then, mercifully, it ended. Nox relaxed his concentration and for the first time, felt the beast's Force aura wash over him like a stench. It reeked of the Dark Side. Whatever this abomination was, it was deeply attuned to the Dark Side of the Force, and Nox could feel its hatred and desire to devour and destroy. Whatever nightmarish dimension this creature had come from, it certainly couldn't be anything Nox would find familiar or comprehensible.

Nox began to gather his power in preparation for the fight, he could feel the creature's malice and ironic abhorrence of him, but suddenly the anger and hatred of the monster vanished, replaced by acknowledgement and something that might have been fearful respect. All but a few of the eyes turned away from him, and the creature seemed to relax back into a more passive state, its mouths closed or chewing and gnawing quietly. Nox was confused at first, before he realized that the monster had reacted to his power. Sensing its kinship with him through the Dark Side of the Force, it had recognized him as an equal and decided not to attack him.

Then Nox felt a slight prick on his mental defenses, nothing like the mind-shattering screech the abomination had unleashed earlier. Where that attack could have been considered breaking down the door, this was more like knocking politely on it. Tentatively, Nox opened his mind just a little, allowing a small fraction of the creature's simultaneously fascinating and horrifying consciousness to enter the courtyard of his intellect. Their minds grazed against each other, and Nox would have gasped at the sheer oddity and upside-down nature of the being's thoughts had his mind not become completely disconnected from his body by this point.

Millions of indiscernible and incomprehensible thoughts and sensations flew through Nox's mind as they both opened their minds more and more. He could sense the creature was having the same reaction to his own mind and thoughts, although with markedly more curiosity and eagerness. Out of the swirling fog of chaos that was the being's mind, Nox began to perceive and identify recognizable concepts. As he discovered more and more of that information, he began to piece together what the creature was.

Originating from another dimension entirely, one filled with many more creatures that were incredibly diverse in their forms, shapes, and capabilities, the monster was one of those powerful enough in the Force to breach the barriers between dimensions and explore existence beyond the confines of its realm. The closest concept Nox could think of to accurately describe the creature's role in its home universe was that of an explorer, discovering new universes and dimensions and bringing what it learned back to share with those amongst its own kind that were believed worthy of the knowledge.

Through its eyes, Nox could see many of those it consorted with. There was a beast resembling a humanoid invertebrate with wings, facial tentacles, rubbery and oily black skin, and shining yellow eyes filled with hatred and rage. The creature's name, or at least the concept that the monster Nox was communicating with used to identify and differentiate it from the others, was unpronounceable, but bore a terrifying resemblance to countless names used by the ancient ancestors of various species to identify a horrific beast with godlike powers that was said to dwell in the deepest depths of the deepest ocean on every world.

Another beast was a shapeless yellow blob of octopi-like appendages that were in constant, writhing motion. Yet another was a great mouth surrounded by a similar morass of tenticular appendages. The third entity was a massive, humanoid frog-like creature with a single cyclopean eye, many clawed hands, and a vertical, lipless mouth. The fourth was an amorphous behemoth so hideous and revolting with a Dark Side aura so strong that Nox had no doubt the only thing protecting his mind from being irreparably damaged at the mere sight of it was that he was viewing it through this creature's memories and not in person.

Eagerly turning away from the collection of memories, he moved more towards the recollections of the creature's past interactions with dimensions and universes similar to his own. There he found memories of the creature's interactions with other sentient species. It had encountered the Gree in the far distant past, when their civilization was still young, and through trying to study them had become known as an enemy and aggressor. Even now its spawn had been unleashed through the hypergate, dispatched by the abomination to gather information and transmit it back through a psychic link, the monsters unwittingly inflicting terror and suffering on all who encountered them. The Gree no doubt had recognized the creature's spawn from ancient records and thus identified their progenitor.

He found more memories of experiments of social, psychological, and biological natures conducted on humanoids and similar sentients from countless universes similar to his own. Some experiments were quite fascinating and inspired, others even Nox found sickening or revolting. But there was never any emotion attached to them. The monster had conducted each experiment with absolute objectivity, ruled more by curiosity and an insatiable hunger for knowledge than anything else. Many times the creature had taken the form of the alien species in question and manipulated entire societies and empires to the heights of power or brought them crashing down in a blaze of suffering, betrayal, and destruction. Other times it had driven entire worlds mad, then unleashed them on nearby worlds and observed the reactions, behaviors and in some cases adaptations of all involved. Still other times it had transformed beings into monstrosities like itself through eldritch powers that made Nox shudder just to think about, but forced them to retain their original consciousness to drive them insane in as tormentous a way as possible and observe their strength of will. Many of those beings, Nox discovered, still served the creature and were even now among the probing invaders it had sent on ahead through to the other end of the hypergate.

Suddenly, Nox found himself drawn to a specific set of memories. He quickly realized that the creature was drawing him there as if to show him something specific. Memories from his own universe. These recollections were far, far older than the beast's interactions with the Gree. In fact its initial interactions with the Gree had been the result of its efforts to track down the beings it had encountered in these memories. The entities the monster had encountered were glorious, filled with the power of the Force to an extent that made Nox incredibly envious. They were so attuned to the Force that they could move planets, re-organize star systems, and create life with the same ease with which Nox might create a holocron or construct a new ritual.

From the creature's impressions, Nox could detect that the beings were aligned with neither the Light nor Dark Side of the Force, but simply aligned with the Force itself, as if they were manifestations of that great, all-encompassing power that bound the cosmos together. Some exchange of information had occurred, although the beings, sensing the abomination's alignment with the Dark Side of the Force, had refrained from sharing anything more than was acceptable or polite to do so. The entire encounter had not lasted long, but it had left a hunger within the monster to seek out those entities and other beings like them in an attempt to further its connection to Dark Side and expand its knowledge of existence.

Being drawn back to the forefront of the creature's mind, Nox sensed that the creature saw him as progress along this path, discerning something in him that excited it and made its resolve to find the luminous beings even stronger. The creature gladly revealed what it had learned and studied from Nox's own mind: his childhood memories of suffering and powerlessness, his rise to power, his study of and dedication to the Dark Side, and his plans for the future. The creature's mind was flooded with another emotion that took Nox off-guard: approval. The abomination was pleased to have discovered a being it considered to be the perfect bridge between itself and its own kind and the ancients it had encountered so very long ago in Nox's own universe.

Suddenly, Nox felt a great influx of knowledge rush into his brain. Images, sensations, ideas, and emotions flooded his perception in an ecstatic deluge of information. When it was over, he felt the eldritch knowledge festering in the back of his mind, calling on it, he perceived it to be a Force ritual of some kind. An invocation...or an invitation. The only thing Nox could possibly compare it too were certain variations of Dark Side Sorcery involving the summoning of mysterious powers, such as those used by the Tetsu Sorcers of Tund and the Dathomiri Nightsister Covens. An idea of what it could be sprouted in his mind, but he resolved to leave the speculation for later, when he felt the psychic link between them sever.

He found himself back in his body, still floating in front of the unspeakable horror, and he realized he found the monster all the more terrifying now that he knew its intellectual capabilities. The monster began to retreat, seeming to simply shrink as if it were vanishing into the distance. Suddenly Nox was blown back, as if by an impossibly strong wind, and felt nothing for a moment before he was suddenly catapulted from the hypergate at a dangerous speed. He managed to backflip and land on his feet, looking up to see the hypergate beginning to flicker and shrink. After a few seconds, it closed. Vanishing into a singularity that winked out of existence.

For a long moment, Nox just stood there, trying to process what had just happened. He eventually used the com-link to order the ship to come and pick him up, sitting down cross-legged to meditate and pour over all the information he had just absorbed from the encounter, forever engraving it into his mind. When the ship arrived, it rotated and landed in front of Nox, the ramp extending to welcome him aboard. With a final look at the now empty hypergate, Nox climbed aboard, and the Midnight Shadow turned and accelerated into the cloudy gray sky.

____________

The banquet hall of the People's Palace was bustling with members of the wealthy world's political class. Colorful costumes and finery clothed the ball's participants, and the buzz of many quiet conversations all happening at once was underlain by the soft music being played by the live band. There was the clinking of glasses as small, personal toasts were exchanged and titters of laughter would arise here and there, like invisible butterflies taking wing without warning.

There was a sudden, sustained dip in the ambient noise when the great doors swung open to allow Ashara to enter. Many a gaze, both male and female, turned to take in the sight. A shoulderless brilliant sapphire gown of luxuriant shimmersilk outlined her shapely form in a way that somehow managed to be alluring while being precisely as modest as was appropriate. On her wrists were bracelets of gold set with sapphires and lapis lazuli with earrings to match. Draped with care and style upon her montrals were various kinds of jewelry made of the same quality gold as the jewelry that adorned her wrists, likewise studded with brilliant jewels of every shade of blue that brought out her piercing azure eyes. The true treasure though, was around her neck. An intricate and ornate necklace made of twenty four karat gold with jewels of every shade of blue imaginable.

She could feel all the gazes on her as she glided towards the Prime Minister. Male gazes filled with awe and desire, and female gazes filled with jealousy and envy. It pleased her well.

"May I say, Darth Skade, that you look positively angelic tonight." The Prime Minister said with a decorum and composure that most of his male colleagues seemed to be lacking at the moment.

"Thank you Prime Minister." Ashara said softly, smiling with both her mouth and her eyes. Through the Force she could feel nearly every male in the vicinity catch his breath, most unwittingly, and she couldn't help but smile even bigger.

"As far as making a convincing case goes, Darth Skade, you are off to a very strong start." The Prime Minister said with the hint of a smile touching his aged lips.

"As much as your compliments please me, Prime Minister," Ashara said "I hope it will be my arguments that convince you, rather than my fashion sense."

"Indeed." The Prime Minister chuckled, and he immediately performed a round of introductions, introducing her to his inner circle. The discussion moved into questions, with each of the members of the Prime Minister's cabinet being given multiple chances to ask the lovely young vision in their midst questions about the Empire. She responded with subtle charm and persuasive grace, never once losing her composure. Other members of government took opportunities to casually slip into the conversation, proceeding to ask a few questions or make polite comments before fading out again. Many of the men did this merely to talk to Ashara, or to attempt to stand out by trying to be witty, perceptive, or in some cases sycophantic.

She took it all in stride, graciously accepting compliments, laughing at jokes or wordplay, and commending attempts at being insightful or observant. Even the women, who inserted themselves into the conversation mostly to try and outshine her, didn't shake her good form. Instead of competing with them directly, she paid them strategically placed compliments at the exactly right moment in the conversation with the exact tone of voice that would come off as completely genuine and harmless, while actually embarrassing and calling out the jealous vixens. The end result often turned out to be that the attention would turn back to her, while the woman would fade into the background.

Reveling in the defeat of her rivals and the attention of her quarries, Ashara was nonetheless disappointed with the apparent outcome of the conversation nearly an hour later. While many of the lesser and younger politicians had eagerly lapped up her arguments and points, the older gentlemen, particularly the Prime Minister and his cabinet, were still very much in the gray. Being much more experienced in the game than their younger and less influential counterparts, they were keeping a tight reign over themselves and thus were not so easily charmed.

Several times she had been forced to concede points to avoid losing any charm or apparent grace, which hurt her case somewhat. By the end of things, she felt no closer to her goal than she had been before the ball even started. Somewhat frustrated and tired, she found a way to politely excuse herself and retreated to an open balcony to watch the stars.

"Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful." She turned to see Golys looking straight at her, a soft, beaming smile on his smooth face.

"The view is quite exquisite." Ashara replied as he approached to lean on the handrail beside her.

"I wasn't referring to the stars in the sky." He said, still smiling, "but rather, the ones that seemed to have abandoned their posts to take up residence in those bewitching eyes of yours."

Ashara giggled quietly, "You are quite charming yourself governor, you certainly are your father's son." The young man smiled, although there was a hint of something mournful in his eyes.

"Thank you, Darth Skade. I can only hope I live up to his example."

"It seems to me you are already well along that path." Ashara said in a slightly flirtatious tone. "Although, if you don't mind me asking..." The young governor perked up at the trailing off question.

"Ask away, Darth Skade. I will be more than happy to share what I know."

"I'm simply curious as to where the Prime Minister's wife is. I have yet to meet her."

Golys's face fell, almost imperceptibly, but not enough that Ashara missed it. "I'm afraid my mother is...no longer with us."

"I'm sorry." Ashara said, reaching out and touching his arm gently. "I didn't know. I didn't mean to offend you."

"You've done nothing of the sort." Golys said, although the sadness in his tone persisted. "You couldn't have known, she passed on before my father became Prime Minister. Their marriage is not a highly advertised fact."

"Still," Ashara insisted. "I should not have been so careless Golys." She smiled inwardly at the affect on mood and body language using the young man's name had on him. "I can see I've caused you at least some measure of distress, please accept my apology." He turned to take her hand, which was resting on the railing near his arm, before he replied.

"I humbly accept your apology, and I forgive you completely." He said, smiling into her eyes.

Ashara suddenly started as the band began playing an upbeat song, and her eyes lit up in recognition. "Oh I love this song!" She turned to Golys with a mischievous smile in her eyes. "May I have this dance?"

Taken utterly aback, the young man's composure vanished for a moment before his political training brought it back into place. "I would be honored, my lord." He said as she grabbed his hand and pulled him back into the ballroom and onto the dance floor. In moments they had swung into the rhythm and were gliding across the room artfully. Golys was a surprisingly good dancer, easily keeping up and even intuiting several of her moves before she performed them. She couldn't help but smile as she threw herself gracefully into the music, Golys making every effort to support and enable her enthusiasm. When the song finished, they moved directly into the next one, and before either of them had noticed, a few hours had passed. The ball was winding down and they were one of the few couples still on the dance floor as the band played a slow and ponderous song that saw them dancing much closer to each other than either of them had expected to get as they gently swayed to the unhurried, leisurely tune.

"That was quite enjoyable." Ashara said softly so only he could hear.

"I quite agree." Golys said with remarkable calm despite how hard and fast his heart was pounding. "You are full of surprises my lord."

"Please, call me Skade." Ashara said.

"With pleasure, Skade." He said with a smile in his voice.

"It's rather a shame it was over so quickly." Ashara sighed in resignation. She couldn't believe she'd spent so much time dancing, she hadn't done something like that in a long time. She'd also never had so much fun in a long time either.

"The night doesn't have to end just yet." Golys said roguishly, and Ashara pulled away to look at him askance, a half smile playing across her lips.

"What do you mean, governor?"

"You haven't had a tour of the palace yet have you?" He asked.

"No, I was planning on getting one soon enough."

"There's no time like the present." Golys offered. "I'd be more than happy to show you everything."

Ashara smiled as the song came to an end. "Then lead the way, governor."

____________

"And here is the observatorium," Golys said as he lead Ashara into a large room whose ceiling was a domed holoscreen providing an image of the night sky above them. "From here you can view the entire sector." He motioned with his hands, and the ceiling responded by zooming in on one of the nearby systems, then with another motion the view switched to a view of a nebula on the other side of the sector.

"Amazing." Ashara said, "the whole sector?"

"Anything you want to see, you can see from this room." Golys said, smiling at her. Ashara moved her hands, and the view zoomed out once more. She slowly made her way across the sector, stopping at various star systems and space phenomena to ask questions or admire the sights. Eventually she came to a certain system not too far from the Felquarran system. She noticed a heavy concentration of armed starships in the area.

"What's going on here?" She asked curiously. Golys's face fell slightly, taking on a somewhat more serious demeanor.

"That is the Gam'Tuak system." He said solemnly.

"Why do they have so many armed vessels?" Ashara asked, continuing to gently press him for information under the guise of an inquisitive intellect.

"They are a very territorial species, and very loyal to the Republic." Golys said. It was obvious he was trying to hide something from her. "When we left the Republic they became even more hostile than usual." Ashara sidled up to him, putting a sympathetic tone in her voice.

"Golys, I can tell something's bothering you. What is it? You can trust me." Golys looked hesitant, so she pressed him further, putting just the slightest hint of the Force into her words.

"It's alright, Golys, you don't have to be so secretive and closed off with me. If something is bothering you I want to help."

"We're in the middle of a cold war with them." He finally relented. "It's been going on for years, and until recently the only thing preventing them from attacking was the threat of Republic intervention. When we decided to secede from the Republic, they immediately began accumulating ships and weaponry, concentrating it around their system."

"Well," Ashara said smiling, "just another reason for Felquarra to join the Empire. With the Empire backing you they wouldn't dare attack."

"They don't dare attack anyway." Golys said with some pride in his voice. "Our system's defense network is one of the most sophisticated and efficient in the known galaxy. They dare not strike at us until they've figured out a way to neutralize it, and with our brightest minds constantly working to make it more advanced and effective, they don't have a hope of doing that." Ashara raised her eyebrows.

"A system defense network? Of what sort?"

"It combines almost every conceivable weapons technology available to turn our system into a death trap for any invading force." The pride in the young governor's voice was apparent now. "No army can set foot in our territory without our permission."

"So that's why I had to receive clearance codes before entering the system." Ashara said, thinking out loud.

"Yes," Golys confirmed. "Without those codes you would have been blown to pieces."

"And what if a mistake had been made?" Ashara asked, once more shrouding her interrogation in idle curiosity. "What if you needed to deactivate the whole system in order to save me?" She moved even closer to Golys, making sure he could feel every inch of her body pressing up against him.

"Then I would enter the master codes and shut down the entire system," Golys said, looking her in the eyes. "and you would be safe again."

"My hero." Ashara whispered. They both felt it at the same time, and in unified motion, they moved in towards each other. Their lips met in sweet passion, and Ashara felt her body beginning to stir itself as waves of arousal began to sweep over her. They savored the experience before she began to pull away, and Golys followed her lead, smiling at her with the eyes of a lovestruck puppy.

"Most exquisite, my lord." He said softly.

"Not entirely unpleasant." She smiled back suggestively.

"Shall I escort you to your room, my lord?" He asked in a gentlemanly manner.

Ashara smiled. "I would appreciate your company, governor."

____________

Later that night, Ashara moved swiftly and quietly through the halls of the People's Palace, moving from shadow to shadow and avoiding the security scanners and cameras with a skill and finesse that showed she had been well-trained. She was once more dressed in her black, cortosis fiber, armored jumpsuit and was sneaking through the grand halls in search of the primary interface for the system's defense network. After Golys had escorted her to her room and they'd said goodbye, she had sliced into the Palace's own network, copying and memorizing it's blueprints. She'd seen no indication of where the primary interface might be, but she had a few good ideas.

She reached an intersection and sensed a pair of guards on duty at a nearby door. Increasing her concentration, she cloaked herself in the Force and moved across the opening in full view of the guards, the security scanners, and the cameras, yet nothing happened. She reached the other side and was only a meter or so down that hallway when he cloak lapsed and she once more became visible. Unlike her master, who had a natural talent for cloaking himself, Ashara's abilities lay more in the martial direction. Even so, with his training she had been able to develop a sort of Force camouflage which allowed her vanish from sight and the Force perception of others for a brief time. And whereas Nox could summon his powers of stealth on demand, she was limited to only being able to call upon them after a short period of recovery.

Continuing down the hall, she was nearly discovered when a pair of patrolling guards came around the corner up ahead of her. In a split second she leaped upward, clinging to the ceiling like a spider as the oblivious guards, engaged in an intense conversation, passed below her. Once they had rounded another corner farther down the hall, Ashara dropped to the ground and moved as quickly and stealthily as she could to the next intersection, breathing a sigh of relief when she finally turned into the other hall.

After a half hour of infiltration, she finally reached the lower levels where she believed the primary interface to be. After another few minutes of searching and avoiding patrols, she discovered two guards around a corner, seemingly guarding something. After taking a cloaked peek around a corner, she saw the two guards she had sensed were guarding a thick durasteel door with a keypad and scanners for fingerprints, retinal scans, and voice code. A complex system no doubt, but still something she could slice, thanks to the technology being old Republic security tech which she had been trained on. She used the Force to dazzle the watchful camera, freezing the image of the guarded and locked door. The only thing to do now was take care of the guards.

The minute they saw her, they would be alert, their disciplined minds closed and focused, impossible to control. But she was not skilled at the art of mind control, and especially not without eye contact, and even less so with multiple people. She could try to lure one of them away, then take him over and use him, but that would still arouse suspicion and leave memories she couldn't erase. There was no other way, she would have to try this the hard way.

Stilling herself, she began to draw on the Force, building her concentration over a period of minutes. When she felt ready, she reached out with the Force, attempting to take over one guard's mind first. When that was successful, she attempted to split her concentration and take over his comrade's mind as well while still maintaining control over her original victim. Unfortunately, every time she tried this her grip on the other guard's mind slipped, and she found herself unable to hold onto both minds simultaneously. After repeated attempts, she grew frustrated. And after even more failed attempts, she became angry.

"You ok?" She heard one guard ask the other.

"Yeah," the other one replied. "Just feelin' a bit sleepy."

Ashara's rage at her own powerlessness became a fire that burned in her core, spreading throughout her body like wildfire. She felt the power rising up within her, and she unleashed it as she reached out once more to seize her victim's minds. With triumph, she felt her mental grip clamp down on the two men's thoughts, and grinning in vindictive euphoria, she put them to sleep. The sounds of the guards falling back against the wall pleased her to no end, and she moved hurriedly to the doorway, spending the next few minutes slicing into the security locks. She had to be quick about this, the next patrol would be coming around in eight minutes or so.

Opening the heavy door, she slipped inside to see exactly what she was looking for: the Felquarran Defense Network's primary interface. Approaching the console, she was able to slice in and immediately began searching for the master codes. She found them, but was blocked from accessing the file by a demand for a password. She attempted to slice in, but soon found that the security on this particular file was far more advanced than all of the previous electronic security she had encountered.

Stepping back from the console, she began to rack her brain for an answer, struggling to not let panic sink in. What kind of password would be placed on the master codes? Looking back through her memories, she remembered the conversation with Golys about his departed mother, then she remembered his response to her hypothetical situation that he would input to master codes in order to save her. That might mean he knows the master codes, she thought, which would mean either he or his father made the password for this file, which means...her fingers began to fly across the console as she used it to access to holonet. After some quick digging she found what she was looking for: a marriage certificate for the Prime Minister and his wife Lylis.

She quickly entered "Lylis" into the password field, but a notice popped up: "Access Denied". Still resisting the urge to panic, a puzzled frown spread across Ashara's face, then she flipped back to the certificate and looked at the date. On her second try she entered Lylis's name with the wedding date after her name, "Access Denied". She tried again, with the date coming before the woman's name, "Access Denied". Wanting to slam her hands down on the console, she resisted the urge and reached out to the Force for answers. An idea came to her surprisingly quickly, and she typed in the woman's name with each letter being separated by one number from the date, and the whole word being capped by numbers on either end, "Access Granted".

Releasing a silent cheer, Ashara hastily copied the master codes onto her datapad and logged out of the console. Closing the door behind her, she rounded the corner, roused the guards from their induced slumber, and returned the camera to working order. She vanished just as the patrol rounded the corner, slipping past him and melding with the shadows.

____________

Nox kneeled on a rock outcropping overlooking a seemingly forgotten section of the Kaas jungle that was riddled with winding trails long abandoned. The Dark Side emanated from Nox, surrounding him with a black aura. His eyes glowed purple, even through the lenses that were supposed to obscure them. The power in him was palpable, and any creature who came within twenty meters of him suffered the consequences without Nox having to so much as lift a finger. As such the predators of the Kaas ecosystem gave him a wide berth. Only several Gundarks and a few lethargic Sleens, who were now drinking from a nearby spring, remained in the area.

As he savored the taste of the Dark Side coursing through his body like blood through veins, Nox allowed himself to be caught up in the aura of the planet. Dromund Kaas boasted an incredibly strong Dark Side aura, due to being the capital world of the Sith Empire for more than seven hundred years. The near-constant presence of the most powerful Sith Lords coupled with the constant ebb and flow of many, many weaker Sith combined with the planet's natural dark aura to create an atmosphere of immense power. The Dark Side covered everything on this world, each beast and plant a note in the symphony that was the heartbeat of the world.

Nox enjoyed listening to that symphony, feeling it in every molecule of his body. It was in moments like these that he received his most insightful revelations, his most inspired ideas. Dwelling in the darkness that surrounded him, he turned his thoughts toward the objects of his mediation: The Dread Masters.

Thanks to his interactions with them, they now believed him to be nothing but a nuisance, an insect to be squashed at will. That was good, that was exactly how Nox wanted to be perceived. They were underestimating him, and would therefore not see him for the threat to their power and continued existence that he truly was. They had fallen into the same trap as many of Nox's previous rivals had. By underestimating him they would expose their flank, giving Nox even more of an advantage than he already had.

But it still was not enough. Even with all the power he had acquired through his Children, even with the advantage he had gained by convincing the masters of his harmlessness, he knew that he still didn't have the power to break them, not yet. The Dread Masters were as old as the Empire itself, and had spent their centuries in seclusion, learning about and studying the Dark Side unhindered by the concerns of the mortal realm, as Nox and his compatriots on the Dark Council were. They had been free to experiment with whatever ideas and devices they wished, free to learn together and grow strong. They had been gathering their power largely unchecked for seven centuries, there was no way Nox could defeat them yet, even with the immense power at his command.

Then a thought came to his remembrance. Victory was not merely a case of overpowering ones opponent. Defeating an enemy could be accomplished by skill and cunning as much as by raw power. Still, his lack of power did present something of a problem, even if he intended to destroy the Masters through wit and deception, being unable to at least hold his own in direct combat against one or several of them was an issue. His Children would need to increase their efforts to bring more Forceful beings into the fold, and he would need to focus more on his studies of the Dark Side and the Dread Masters in particular.

He already had learned much about them in his past encounters. The events on Denova were an example of their ability to manipulate entire armies into executing their will, and the follow-up events on Asation was a clear demonstration of both their power, knowledge, and finesse in the arts of Sith Alchemy, Ritualism, and Sorcery.

Briefly, Nox's mind flickered back to the ritual he had received from the monstrous terror in the hypergate. After studying the ritual further he had determined it to be a method of creating a small dimensional breach. Careful experimentation had revealed that the breach it created bridged Nox's reality and the universe from which the horror had originated. So far Nox had only summoned small abominations, creatures of simplistic intellect and with little real power. But the implications of success were intoxicating to him. If he could master the ritual further and empower it, he might one day be able to summon abominations beyond his enemies comprehension, some day in the far future he might even have that creature and its allies at his beck and call.

But Nox was no fool. He was not so short-sighted as to tamper with powers beyond his ability to control, he knew full well what kind of fate was awarded to beings who succumbed to such avarice. So for now he would continue to experiment and study, growing his knowledge and thereby increasing his power. In any case, such power might not help him against the Dread Masters, not directly at least. The fact that the Masters had known, or seemed to have known, what manner of creature might emerge from the Grand Hypergate was indicative of their experience with such matters. Perhaps they had also had some interactions with the inhabitants of the strange dimension, and if that was true they likely knew far more about the subject than Nox currently did. So for the most part he would restrain utilizing his knowledge directly and instead use it to combat whatever abominations the Masters could throw at him.

Returning his mind back to its original track, Nox once more contemplated how he could go about destroying the Dread Masters. Given their power it was unlikely they would simply succumb to death upon the destruction of their physical bodies. Even if Nox were to disintegrate their carnal vessels completely, down to the last atom, Nox doubted that they would vanish into the void, they had lived too long and were far too powerful for it to be that easy. But surely, he thought to himself, there is a way for me to be rid of them without all that power and knowledge going to waste. Seven hundred years of knowledge, learning, and experience is far too much to simply allow it to disappear.

Once more, an idea sprang into his consciousness. Of course! As always, the simplest solution proved to be the best. The Dread Masters would, in all likelihood, survive any attempt at destroying their physical bodies. They were Sith after all, and Nox knew full well how much Sith feared death. If it was within their power, and it likely was, they would avoid death at all costs. But their fear of death only made the whole affair easier for Nox. Provided their method for cheating death was the one he thought it was there was a very simple and very profitable solution to the problem of ending the Dread Master's existence without sacrificing their knowledge and power to the void along with their spirits.

Still, he would need to work, and work tirelessly. The time between now and the final confrontation was going to filled with sleepless nights and days spent in seclusion and study. He wasn't fully prepared to face the Dread Masters yet, but they seemed to be accelerating their own schedule, and time waits for no man.

As Nox began the long walk back to Kaas City, he hummed an Imperial marching tune in perfect time with the pulsing of the dark energies that surrounded him.

____________

Jay-Li leaned over the holoterminal in the Jedi Council chambers, hanging on the every word of the Weequay Jedi Master in command of the fleet Jay had dispatched to the newly discovered base of the Dread Masters on Oricon. Jay wore a hooded thermoweave robe of white with gold trim and designs, a garment more suited to his position as Jedi Grandmaster. On his hands he wore golden gloves with white trim, made of the same thermoweave material as his robes. Around his waist sat a dark gray metallic belt with glowing blue lights on and around the rectangular cinch.

He had grown a beard in the past few months, and the dark, neatly trimmed mass of blonde hair covered his lower face with near-perfect symmetry to the ornate gold and white mask that hid his eyes, cheeks, forehead, and the bridge of his nose. The twin visors that covered his eyes were one-way lenses that made him seem almost like a droid if you forgot everything else about him. Only his lightsaber was the same as it had been before, except that he had replaced the green crystal with a blue one.

"We're approaching the Oricon system." The commander said, a note of tension creeping into his voice. "Preparing to drop out of hyperspace." After a few seconds of silence, Jay heard the hyperdrive of the ship deactivate, and the commander and Jay both listened as bridge officers reported that the rest of the fleet was checking in.

"We're all here." The commander said. "Let's move in on Oricon, battle stations people!" Alarms sounded and Jay was struck with a sudden, powerful premonition of doom and danger.

"Commander! Hold position!" He ordered.

But the commander was no longer listening. He was staring straight ahead in wide-eyed, slack-jawed horror at something in front of him. Jay could hear the cries of fear from various bridge crew members, and was just about to attempt to reach out through the Force to try and help the commander when the signal cut out and static replaced the image of the commander.

Returning to his full height with a gesture of frustration, Jay turned his head away from the empty holoterminal briefly before reaching out to shut it off. Suddenly, the image of Supreme Chancellor Madon appeared in the space, accompanied by Supreme Commander Maxxor.

"Master Kenobi, what just happened?" Maxxor demanded. "I just lost the signals of the entire fleet of ships you commissioned ten hours ago."

"I would like to know what is going on as well." Madon added. "As soon as the Supreme Commander invited me to this call I knew something was wrong." Jay sighed inwardly.

"I'm afraid I just lost contact with the Oricon Task Force." Jay said in reply. "They had just entered orbit over Oricon when they began experiencing...hallucinations of some sort, and they appear to have been of the particularly unpleasant kind. I was attempting to assist when the signal was lost."

"An entire fleet." Maxxor grumbled. "As if we weren't shorthanded enough after the Empire's recent offensives."

"What does this mean for the Republic?" Madon asked.

"I don't believe the entire fleet has been lost." Jay interjected. "If our intel on Oricon's orbital defenses was correct, then I believe there might actually be some survivors on the surface."

"But Master Kenobi, you saw for yourself the kind of power these Dread Masters have. If they can destroy the minds of an entire fleet's worth of hardened Jedi and soldiers, how do you expect to be successful with a second attempt? I'm afraid the Senate cannot authorize a second attempt after such a complete failure."

"I wouldn't authorize it in any case." Maxxor added. "I'm not sending more of my men to die needlessly in such a gruesome manner."

"You needn't be concerned gentlemen." Jay said in what he hoped was a calming tone. "I do not intend to take anyone with me. I will go alone."

"Alone?" Madon exclaimed. "Master Kenobi please don't be so rash! The Jedi only just lost their Grandmaster, they don't need to lose another one!"

"Calm yourself, Supreme Chancellor." Jay said, placating him. "I know many potent techniques to ward off such invasion of the mind, whereas it most of the crew aboard those vessels did not. We did not expect the Dread Masters to be so powerful, but I have no doubt that Master Ogan-Dei and the other Jedi were able to protect some of the crew from the mental assault and ensure that some survived the landing after the ships were shot down by Oricon's orbital defenses. I will sneak past the orbital defenses on my personal ship and gather the survivors to either attempt an extraction or, if possible, complete the mission."

"Wasn't the original mission to bombard the moon from orbit?" Maxxor asked. "How do you intend to do that without a fleet?"

"The intent of the mission was to kill the Dread Masters and end their threat forever." Jay responded. "If there are enough survivors and the opportunity presents itself, I will commandeer the task force to attempt to accomplish this goal."

"This still seems very risky." The Supreme Commander said, crossing his arms. "Assuming you are successful, how do you suggest we facilitate a rescue?"

"I will assemble a list of names of Jedi Masters who are knowledgeable in defending themselves and others from this kind of attack. I will contact them before I leave to recall them to Coruscant immediately to prep for the mission. When you receive my all-clear signal, that will be an indication that I have disabled or destroyed Oricon's orbital defenses enough to allow you to evacuate the survivors while the Jedi protect everyone from the Dread Master's influence."

Madon and Maxxor looked at each other briefly before turning back to Jay. "Well," Maxxor said finally. "It seems you've made up your mind about this, and organized a workable plan. It's not like we have any other options except to abandon our people to those monsters."

"I think I can convince the Senate that this is appropriate military action." Madon said reassuringly. "They might not be happy about this whole affair but I think at least they won't seek reparations of some kind."

"That is comforting to know, Supreme Chancellor." Jay said bowing his head in gratitude. "Sometimes it feels like the Senate only gets in the way of doing what needs to be done."

"Believe me, I know that feeling better than anything else Master Jedi." Madon said mournfully. "But without the Senate we have no democracy, and that means we aren't any better than the Empire or these Dread Masters."

"True." Jay conceded.

"In any case," Madon continued. "I will personally sanction this rescue attempt."

"As will I." Maxxor said. "Be careful out there Master Jedi. If any of the accounts of interactions with them are to be believed, these Dread Masters are dangerous. With the Emperor gone, I might even say they're the most dangerous beings in the galaxy right now."

"Your approval and concerns are appreciated." Jay said. "But I encourage you to trust in the Force gentlemen, as I do."

___________

Andronikos deftly piloted the Midnight Shadow through the asteroid field surrounding Darvannis. Not a single one of the larger asteroids so much as brushed the vessel's shields.

"We'll be entering atmo in about five minutes." Andronikos reported to Nox, who was sitting behind him in the captain's chair.

"Excellent," Nox replied. "Make sure you keep us off their scanners, I don't want any delays."

"Roger." The ex-pirate confirmed, and Nox returned his attention to cloaking the ship and its two inhabitants in the Force as they approached the planet. Five minutes later, just as Andronikos had said, they entered the Darvannis atmosphere. Ten minutes later they landed in a hidden canyon a fair distance from Nox's destination. They were just far enough away that there was little risk of patrols stumbling on the vessel, but close enough that Nox wouldn't be forced to trek through large swathes of the Darvannis desert to reach his goal.

Exiting the ship into the dust storm raging outside, Nox activated his com to relay his final orders to Andronikos.

"Make sure that this ship is the last thing anyone who finds it sees."

"Understood. Good hunting." Nox smiled at that.

"Indeed." With an abrupt click, he switched off his com, entering radio silence in preparation for his infiltration of the fortress in which Dread Master Styrak was holed up. Nox knew, despite official Imperial reports, that the Dread Masters were behind the sudden increase in the Hutt Cartel's militancy. The reports of his own spies combined with his forays into the Force to determine the Dread Master's current activities had revealed this to him, and that one of their number had separated himself from the rest and taken a more hands-on approach to their conquest of the galaxy. A decision that would be his doom.

Striding unaffected through the roaring winds and haze of sand, Nox followed his instincts into a cave in the nearby cliffside. Entering, he moved deeper and deeper until it became apparent that the cave was not a natural formation, but had once been part of the tunnel network of a Guruniu, massive worms that prowled the planet's underground millions of years ago, before the introduction of the Krayt dragon into the ecosystem via space travelers had rendered the massive invertebrates extinct.

Who had brought the Krayt dragons to Darvannis and exactly why was unknown, but evidence showed that the immigrant population of giant lizards had been completely wiped out not long after their extinction of the Guruniu by a virus native to the planet that their physiology had no defense against.

As a result, massive networks of underground tunnels, some running several miles deep into the crust, were scattered throughout the barren landscape. This particular tunnel network, Nox had discovered, had several tunnels that nearly intersected with some of the massive geothermal power lines that allowed for the fortress to feed off of the natural energy of the planet's core. Regular bursts of superheated plasma roared up the large metal shafts on their way to power the geothermal cores above, so once Nox found the right spot, he would have to wait for the next flare before attempting to enter the tunnel. There were only twenty minutes between each flare, so if he managed to cut through the rock wall of the tunnels he was in now and the metal walls of the geothermal power line in eight minutes or so, he would have twelve minutes before an unstoppable wall of superheated matter came rushing up the tube to incinerate everything but the heat-proof walls. No pressure.

After roughly a half hour of exploration, Nox began to feel the vibrations of the geothermal flares in the distance. Another half hour brought him to a spot in a tunnel where he could feel the heat emanating from the wall that was right up against the geothermal power line. After a few minutes of patient waiting, he felt the rumble from deep below, and felt the wave of scorching plasma rush past him on the other side of the wall, causing the tunnel to heat up even further. The temperature was already hot enough to make most sentients faint, but Nox easily warded off the heat with the Force and drew his lightsaber, activating it.

He thrust forward, burying the blade in the stone wall, feeling the resistance melt away. The rock was already soft enough from the intense heat that he cut through it easily, and in a few minutes he had removed a circular portion of the wall to reveal the metal surface of the heat-proof, plasma-resistant pipe that guided the plasma to the surface.

This was going to be tough, these materials were literally made to resist the substance of the weapon he was holding, only in much larger quantities and with more intensity. He reached out with the Force, poking and prodding at the metal with metaphysical fingers, searching for any weakness...there! He thrust forward, both hands on the hilt, and grunted in shock when his lightsaber barely broke through. It felt like trying to cut raw Wookie meat with a fingernail. Gripping the handle tightly, he began to drag it towards the edge of the circular hole he had created, and growled with effort when the metal became even more resistant as he left the area of the structural weakness and encountered the full resistance of the alloy. It got to the point where Nox felt like his lightsaber wasn't even moving, and he screamed in exasperation, knowing that precious seconds were ticking away while he fought this hunk of metal. He could work until the next flare came of course, and hope that the structural damage he had inflicted would combine with the flare's heat to further compromise the alloy's resistance. But it was very likely that the heat exposure would either severely weaken or possibly even kill him. The latter was unacceptable, leaving him alone and weak to the point where several flares would gradually incinerate his body, leaving nothing for his spirit to remain bound to, nothing to protect it from the void...but even the former meant he would likely end up being so weak that he couldn't cut open the softened metal and make to the top of the power line in time to avoid getting caught in the next flare, which would incinerate him outright, leading back to problem number one. If he didn't make this cut in time, he was in really, really deep trouble.

His fear strengthened his resolve and brought new strength to his muscles. Roaring in sheer exertion, he managed to drag the blade of his lightsaber to the edge of the circle and begin cutting around it. After several long minutes that left his muscles screaming for mercy and his breath coming in panting, ragged gasps, he used the Force to violently push the circular piece of metal into the stifling abyss beyond. Stepping into the opening, he looked down over the edge, and was struck with an unfamiliar sensation: Vertigo. He had to grip the smoldering edge of the opening with Force-enhanced strength just to keep from tumbling helplessly into the fiery light burning brightly miles and miles below him. Closing his eyes and calling on the Dark Side, he steadied himself and brought his thoughts and sensations back into focus. He gathered his power and leaped into the air. For a moment he hung there, suspended in space for a split second before gravity latched onto him and began to pull him downward to an infernal demise.

Summoning his power, Nox channeled it into kinetic energy and used to send himself rocketing up the chute, propelled by the power of Force flight. He flew as straight as a blaster bolt and just as fast, and the blackness of the tube above him began to draw closer and closer. Suddenly though, it stopped, and at first Nox thought his eyes must be playing tricks on him. Perhaps his focus on using Force flight was lowering his guard against the intense heat allowing it to affect his mind and senses...then with dawning horror he realized what was happening at the same moment he felt the rumbling deep below him.

He looked down to see a burgeoning tsunami of raging plasma racing up the tunnel after him, in all its hellish glory. At first he thought he might outrun it, but as the darkness above him shrank away, as if abandoning him to his doom, he realized there was no hope of that. It was too late. His mind raced with a thousand different possibilities as one, panic-stricken thought repeated itself over and over, drumming itself into his skull.

I'm going to die.

Then an idea blossomed in his mind, spreading its petals of desperate hope across his lobes, and he found himself actually considering it. This is crazy, he thought to himself. Completely crazy, there's no evidence that it will work and no time to consider any evidence even if there was any. I'll probably die trying, but it seems I'm going to die anyway...so what do I have to lose, really? It only took a moment to consider his options, there was no other choice.

Ceasing to channel his Force flight, he redirected his power into forming a shield around himself as he dropped like a stone into the ravenous inferno below.

___________

Nox slowly emerged from the darkness of unconsciousness and gingerly lifted himself up off the floor. He was equal parts surprised and relieved to find he was intact and undamaged, apart from the splitting headache pounding a tattoo into his braincase. He remembered straining to hold the Force barrier while immersed in the plasma jet, using a final burst of kinetic power to launch himself out of the jet as soon as he sensed the jet had left the shaft and was rocketing into the reactor. Such a feat of timing would have confounded any who were not highly attuned to the workings and nuances of the Force, thankfully Nox was not in that group, and thus he had been successful.

Getting slowly to his feet, he took a moment to steady himself on shaky limbs before looking around the power core chamber. It was empty, rightly so, as normal beings would require heat protection gear to even survive in here. The fact that Nox had not been roasted alive while unconscious was a testament to the strength of his connection to the Force, which had protected him without his conscious direction.

Having regained his composure, Nox knelt on the ground and began to go through the rites he had completely memorized by now. He had infiltrated the fortress before using the ritual because he had been concerned that afterwards there would be no way to hide his power from Styrak, which would have made infiltration much more difficult, if not impossible. Now that he was inside the fortress however, that didn't really matter. His proximity to Styrak would make it difficult for the Dread Master to determine the exact location of the source of the immense power, allowing Nox to move about the fortress in stealth. Had he used the ritual outside the fortress, the distance would have allowed Styrak to use Nox's own power like a beacon indicating his general location, allowing the Dread Master to discern where Nox was and likely stop him from entering the stronghold by any means, stealthy or otherwise.

As the connections between him and his children firmed and the channels opened, Nox felt the familiar rush of anticipation. Then the power came, it flowed in like a great tide, pouring into him until he felt like he was full to overflowing. The darkness within him rejoiced, burgeoning and surging with the influx of violent energy. When Nox rose from the floor, he was a vessel of raw, dark power, a violet aura surrounding him as the energies contained within his form energized the very atmosphere around him.

He cast his gaze around the chamber, searching for the exit. Finding it, he quickly sliced the lock and stepped out into passageway, closing the unlocked door behind him. With an arcane motion, he vanished from sight, the only evidence that he had once existed there being the incredibly minute disturbances in the Force that he left behind, like ripples in a pond, and soon enough, they too faded.

____________

With a tremendous boom, the double doors leading to Dread Master Styrak's chambers flew open. Ripped off their hinges, the doors flew past the small army of Dread Guard standing ready between the door and the throne, slamming into the walls on either side of the dais upon which Styrak stood with a massive Kell Dragon, before falling to the ground in like manner.

"The warlords defeated, their armies in tatters. You think you've won." Styrak said, his voice resonating through the chamber, each syllable laced with the power of the Dark Side to intimidate and inspire terror.

"I don't think I've won." Nox said, his own voice brimming with power as he walked into the chamber, lightsaber bared. "I have already won!"

"These riffraff were brought together for a purpose-our purpose." Styrak declared. "They are but clay, and we the sculptors. They will serve even in defeat." He asserted, finishing his say. Speaking to the army of Dread Guard before him he bellowed: "Attack the intruder! Bring me his head!" As one the mob of lightsaber-wielding guards charged forward to obey his command, their weapons raised and ready to cut him down. Nox responded by leaping into the center of the mob, building Force power during the leap, and unleashing it upon impact, creating a Force shockwave that lifted the guards off their feet and sent them flying backward.

Summoning the Dark Side, Nox unleashed a massive Force storm in the chamber, raining lightning bolts down on his helpless enemies as they writhed and screamed in agony. When Nox ceased the channel, only four of them remained. Obviously the strongest of the rabble, two of the four had taken up postures of focus and mediation while the other two, their power amplified by their comrades, charged at him.

"Your power...it has grown since we last met, far more than we expected." Styrak mused. "Perhaps it would be better to have you serve us. Do not fight. Do not resist. Give yourself over now, or be destroyed."

Laughing maliciously at the hopeless naiveté of his respective foes, Nox took to the battle, unleashing an unstoppable barrage of withering dark energy, lightning bursts, and lightsaber attacks on the first Dread Guard to reach him. Driven back by the assault, the man tried desperately to defend himself while his companion attempted to attack Nox's flank. Nox easily deflected the pathetic assaults with the Force while he focused on his primary target.

Feeling the darkness building, Nox executed his enemy with overhead spinning slash, then whirled on his other opponent. Suddenly cowed, the man tried to erect a Force barrier strong enough to withstand the coming attack, but failed miserably. The salvo of depredating volts that slammed into him broke through his shield as if it wasn't even there and ravaged his body, leaving him convulsing and spasming. Nox felt the darkness enshroud him, wrapping him in its terrible embrace, making him invulnerable, and he laughed in malevolent ecstasy.

Already the two remaining guards, foolish as they were, had ceased their feeble attempts at battle mediation and were charging forward, believing Nox to be vulnerable while channeling his attack. They found out how wrong they were when one of them tried to slice Nox in two at the waist, only for his lightsaber to bounce off the barrier of Nox's Force armor. The second attack, an attempt at decapitation, failed just as miserably, rebounding off of the shadowy carapace as it were a stick hitting a rock.

With a final blast, Nox finished the channel and charred the dying man to a crisp, whirling on his attackers with a visible aura of darkness surrounding him. Beginning to spin his lightsaber, he moved in on them as they slowly began to back away, their fear blossoming into full-blown terror as they perceived their demise approaching. Then, with sudden ferocity, Nox launched himself at them, his spinning blade never losing momentum as it spun and cycled around his body in a deadly tornado of violet plasma. In seconds the two men were nothing more than a series of charred pieces and body parts lying on the floor.

"You choose destruction." Styrak said with a glimmer of disappointment in his voice. "So be it."

The Kell Dragon leapt from its place beside Styrak and charged Nox. Dodging the massive beast's snapping jaws, Nox harried its flank with a series of Force lightning attacks. Whirling on him, the beast tried to seize him in its jaws once again, but he was too fast for it. The dragon spit at him, its acidic saliva creating a steaming, foul-smelling spot in the sand which Nox easily avoided. Frustrated, the beast curled up into a ball and rotated on its side, sending the detachable spines on its back flying outward in all directions. Nox stopped moving to shield himself from the attack, the arms-length spines bouncing off his erected Force barrier. Finally ceasing the attack only to discover that its prey was still alive, the monster advanced on him, attacking with its massive claws and deadly jaws.

Nox easily evaded the dragon's clumsy attacks, his dark Force armor protecting him against glancing blows and stray projectiles of spittle as he attacked the monster with the Force and occasionally his lightsaber. When the dragon began to weaken, Nox heard Styrak's voice boom from the dais once more.

"Obey me, beast. Fight on!" he commanded. In response the dragon's attacks grew more and more ferocious and desperate, with no noticeable increase in its success battling Nox. When the monster finally collapsed onto its side, dead, Styrak's voice came again, full of anger and laced with a hint of sorrow.

"A beautiful creature. It will be avenged!"

A Force storm erupted throughout the chamber, covering the entire area in lightning. Nox readied himself for the battle ahead, the Force racing through his veins, his Force armor shielding him completely from the storm. Styrak drew a single-bladed purple lightsaber and leaped into the air, the blade raised high to strike. He came down on Nox with Force-amplified might, and Nox had to summon a considerable portion of his own amplified strength in the Force to block the attack.

Styrak laid into him with a series of vicious Force-enhanced lightsaber sequences from Juyo, all of which Nox successfully defended against, but not without effort. Their blades moved like phantoms, seeming to stretch as they struggled to keep up with their wielder's demands. Nox maintained his tight, Soresu-inspired defensive stance, mixing his momentum-preserving lightsaber movements with Force lightning attacks and entropic bursts of dark energy. Styrak, realizing the lightsaber battle was only serving to feed Nox's Force abilities, suddenly vanished from sight, a massive apparition of him appearing in the center of the chamber.

"Now you'll see real power." Styrak bellowed, his disembodied voice echoing throughout the chamber. Four smaller apparitions also appeared on the edges of the chamber, glowing with power as they channeled energy into the larger specter, which was growing bigger by the moment. Focusing his power, Nox charged and unleashed it in a thunderous blast of energy that slammed into the shade, causing it to waver and become somewhat unstable. He followed it up immediately with a chain of lightning that struck the apparition and then launched itself from its original target to the other apparitions in the far corners of the battlefield.

The massive burst of energy diffused all the phantoms, and Styrak appeared in the flesh once more, unleashing a telekinetic attack that constricted Nox, attempting to lift him into the air and crush him while simultaneously electrocuting him by charging the atmosphere around him with electricity.

"Mere smoke." Styrak declared. "Now taste fire!"

Nox channeled a significant amount of his power into resisting the attack, but such was its intensity it took all his concentration just to fight back. He and Styrak stood there, immobile, as each tested the other's will. The stand-off seemed to go on for whole minutes, until Styrak suddenly relinquished his grip and attacked with his lightsaber, hoping to catch Nox off guard.

"You will fall." He stated with finality as he renewed his ferocious assault on the stalwart Nox. During the standoff Nox's dark Force armor had faded, making Styrak's Force-enhanced saber blows even more dangerous. But as he put up a solid wall of defense and eroded his opponent's own defenses with the power of the Dark Side, Nox began to feel the darkness rising in him once again. He felt it begin to consume him, claiming him as its vessel even as he beckoned it to his aid.

When the darkness reached its zenith he unleashed it in the familiar form of ravaging bolts of energy that slammed into his foe. With each bolt that struck Nox felt the dark wrapping itself around him again, shielding him and encasing him within an impenetrable cocoon of telekinetic armor as Styrak fought to defend himself from the blasts.

"You think you can defeat me?" He roared a challenge to Styrak. "I am the Dark Side incarnate!"

Styrak's only response was to briefly channel then unleash a thunderous wave of power that struck Nox like a wave striking a rock. The energy dispersed around him with no visible effect whatsoever. Both combatants knew the attack had affected Nox, but only in regards to his Force defenses and not nearly as much as it should have, thanks to the dark power protecting him.

"You are nothing." Styrak hissed with contempt.

And suddenly, Nox found himself somewhere else entirely. He was in a small room with no apparent entrances or exits of any kind. And standing on a raised portion of the room, lightsabers drawn, was Ashara. Nox froze. Ashara? What was she doing here, how... His thoughts broke off as she attacked him, her twin sabers moving with deadly grace and speed. Nox tried to defend himself, but she seemed to know all the weaknesses in his technique, and his limbs moved sluggishly, as if through mud. Nox could feel the temptation to give into blind anger growing, how dare she attack him! After all he had done for her! After the moments they had shared!

"Are you ready to obey?" Styrak's voice taunted him, seeming to come from nowhere and everywhere at once.

Suddenly, realizing that this was impossible, Nox concluded that Styrak must have launched some sort of mental attack on him, this was just a nightmare. No doubt it was taking all of his opponent's strength and concentration just to hold him here, otherwise Styrak would have undoubtedly cut him down by now. But I can fix that. Nox thought to himself with a smile.

Stretching out a hand, Nox bellowed a single word at the vision before him, putting all of his mental focus into that one utterance. "Stop!" To his surprise, the fake Ashara actually froze in place, and Nox turned his thoughts in an entirely other direction, focusing them on the fake Ashara. Slowly, the mental construct sheathed her lightsabers, hooking them onto her belt as she approached him. His helm suddenly vanishing with a thought, Nox extended his arms, embracing the vision as their lips met in fiery passion.

With a start, Nox found himself back in the throne room on Darvannis, a shocked-looking Styrak standing not far away, his body just relaxing from the summoning posture he had adopted. Nox laughed.

"You cannot defeat me with my own thoughts." He shouted, unleashing a stream of Force lightning at his foe. Styrak vanished and the hungry volt passed through thin air to slam into the steps of the dais with an explosion.

"You cannot fight forever..." Styrak's bodiless voice responded, and Nox thought he detected the first sliver of doubt in the Dread Master's tone. Suddenly four specters of Styrak appeared at the four sides of the room and began to channel Force lightning, their individual streams converging on Nox, wrapping him in a voltaic embrace.

Nox's dark Force armor protected him from the worst effects, but even so he knew he couldn't take this forever. Gathering his power he summoned another Force storm like the one he had used to incinerate the Dread Guard.

"Gaaagghh!" Styrak's scream of rage and shock was music to Nox's ears. Caught in the storm, the Dread Master's channeling of the illusions had been interrupted, and the phantoms vanished. Charging forward, lightsaber at the ready, Styrak unleashed a war cry as he assaulted Nox with renewed vigor brought on by his rage.

Nox actually had difficulty defending himself, and a few of Styrak's force-enhanced lightsaber blows actually landed, weakening his Force armor and forcing him to allocate more power to restoring the strength of his defenses. Nox could sense Styrak's fear growing, but the Dread Master was harnessing it to increase his power, rather than letting it consume him.

Suddenly Nox felt Styrak attempt a powerful Force push, and he put up a solid wall of resistance. Instantly however he felt an explosion of pain erupt in his mind, and with his guard momentarily lowered, he was hurled across the chamber to slam against the wall. He dropped to the ground and was just steadying himself when a wave of power slammed into him. Fortunately he had regained some of his composure and his dark Force armor was still protecting him, but even so the attack knocked him off balance again, while Styrak channeled a thick stream of Force lightning at him. Nox nearly buckled under the metaphysical weight of the combination attack, and Styrak laughed.

"Even the Force obeys the call." He said, chastising Nox.

Suddenly possessed of a deep rage, Nox summoned the Dark Side to his aid and a Force barrier sprung to life around him, shielding him from the ravages of the Dread Master's power. Ceasing his channel, Styrak charged, ready to engage his foe in melee combat and beat down the barrier with raw power.

Allowing his Force barrier to collapse into reinforcing his Force armor, Nox charged as well, his lightsaber at the ready. The two met, and waves of power emanated from the point where their blades impacted each other, as the Force power each had placed behind their strikes clashed. They moved with superhuman speed and grace, each movement flowing into the other. Styrak, now mixing forms, combined the savagery of Juyo with the domineering style of Djem So. Nox stuck to his tried and true Niman variant, now in full defensive mode relying solely on Force attacks to whittle away at his opponent's defenses. Despite Styrak reinforcing his Force defenses, Nox's attacks were still too potent, and the mask of determination he had erected was beginning to slip, revealing the desperation and fear beneath.

"Brothers and sisters," he pleaded, the desperation apparent in his voice. "grant me power!"

Nox felt a surge of Dark Side energy burgeoning up in his enemy, and he prepared himself for the final assault.

"This broke the beast." Styrak said, his fear becoming hatred. "It will break you." Suddenly, the nearby corpse of the massive Kell dragon began to move, and to Nox's surprise and dread, rose to its feet. The beast's eyes were hollow, but its movements were every bit as quick as they had been before. Styrak suddenly grew to immense size as he channeled the power his comrades had granted him.

"Submit or die!" He screamed, as waves of dark power began to emanate from both him and the Kell Dragon, which was closing in on Nox. With his enemy's power utterly devastating his Force defenses, Nox decided it was time for the final push. Gathering a large portion of his remaining might, he focused it into a single Force attack and unleashed it on the reanimated beast. The dragon howled as the Dark Side began to consume its body, and Nox pushed harder as Styrak's attack intensified in response. The creature's flesh began to decay, its scales rotting and its skin succumbing to entropy. As the monster dissolved, it unleashed one final roar before its tongue wasted away in its mouth and its vocal chords broke down. The rotting carcass of the beast collapsed in on itself, leaving a broken husk.

Styrak, now easily as large as the beast had been, hurled his now massive lightsaber, which was bigger than Nox, at the Dark Lord. Leaping over it, Nox charged his foe, determined not to lose in the final moments of the battle. Moving all of the preternatural speed he could muster, he managed to stay one step ahead of his foe as the Dread Master sought to use his sheer size to attain a fatal advantage, bringing his blade crashing down on Nox, or swinging it in wide, sweeping arcs. Occasionally when Nox retreated he tossed the blade at him, turning it into a plasma saw that threatened to cut Nox in two.

Nox barely managed to stay ahead of Styrak, leaping and dodging like a hyperactive particle. He managed to land powerful Force attacks on the Dread Master's dwindling defenses, and even succeeded in landing a few saber blows, although these were mostly attacks on the man's massive arms and chest while evading the attempts to brush him off.

And then, it came, the moment of weakness. For just an instant, Styrak's Force defenses vanished. It was only for an instant, but that was enough. Receiving the precognitive vision of the event before it happened, Nox began building his power seconds before it occurred. When the Dread Master's defenses dropped, he unleashed it in a stream of violet-tinged Force lightning that struck the giant in the chest and spread throughout his massive body. Roaring in pain, rage, and despair as his body failed him the Dread Master convulsed, his lightsaber dropping from his grasp, shrinking so that it was normal-sized by the time it hit the sand.

When Nox sensed the last vestiges of Styrak's life force fade to a glimmer, he ceased his attack, allowing the still colossal form of the Dread Master to fall over into the sand.

"One lost...five remain. It will be enough." Styrak croaked as his last glimmer of life winked out. Suddenly, Nox felt a great disturbance in the Force, and looking around saw gigantic apparitions of the remaining five Dread Masters standing around the chamber. They all stared, seemingly in shock, at the prone body of their former comrade lying in the sand in the center of the room. It seemed to Nox as if they were in a daze. Then Nox felt a second disturbance, and he sensed Styrak's spirit leaving his body. his attention now fully on the fallen Sith, Nox waited with baited breath, constantly monitoring the situation through the Force. His hypothesis was about to be proven right or wrong in the next few seconds.

He sensed the void drawing closer, and for a moment he thought Styrak would be swallowed by it, as all Sith were upon death. But that never happened. Instead, Styrak's spirit simply vanished into the Dark Side, like a sea-dwelling creature submerging itself in the ocean. Finding no spirit to consume, the void seemed to shrink back, retreating into the place beyond reality where it resided, and all at once Nox felt the presence of Styrak and the remaining Dread Masters disappear.

Approaching the body, Nox knelt down on one knee and examined the golden helm, almost as large as his entire torso, that covered the cadaver's head. It was grooved and the grooves formed a certain pattern, while the crests that sprouted from it seemed to make the piece of armor almost crown-like. Nox could feel the Dark Side in the item, and he knew that it had been the subject of many rituals over the centuries aimed at enhancing it to increase its wearer's power. For a moment he considered taking it with him, but realized immediately that it would be impossible to remove it from the fortress stealthily, and an Imperial invasion force was no doubt already breaching the stronghold in an attempt to stem the Cartel's growing army of mercenaries, unaware of the true cause of the Hutt's militancy.

Standing to his feet, Nox turned to go. His theory about the Dread Masters had been proven correct, and that meant he was on the right track with his current plan for their destruction. But there was still much work to do, and with the Dread Masters now fully aware of the threat he presented, time was short. But he would succeed regardless, his will would triumph. In the end, all would bow to him.

____________

Jedi Master Tyke Fisto stood as still as stone on the bridge of the Star of Alkidus, the flagship of the Damerok system's Republic defense fleet. He was focusing on the Force, feeling its currents move around him like intangible winds. Only these currents bore a strong scent from the near future, the stench of hatred and violence. An attack was coming, the Sith were coming, he could sense it. Centering himself, he began to commune more deeply with the Force, surrendering his emotions and mundane concerns in exchange for the eternal solace of the Force.

The calming energy of the Light swept through him, removing all doubts, fears, and apprehension. He felt deep peace, and he knew he was prepared for the battle to come.

"Captain." He said to the man standing two feet away from him. "The Empire is going to attack sometime in the next ten minutes. Prepare the fleet."

Registering some surprise, the captain nonetheless obeyed without question. He had worked with enough Jedi to realize it was usually foolish to doubt their predictions, even dangerous. The fleet began to take up defensive formation, and just as the last few ships were moving into place, an Imperial fleet emerged from hyperspace just inside of scanner range.

"Telemetrics coming in sir." An ensign reported to the captain. "The fleet is not a recognized Imperial battle group. The only recognized vessels are the Siege and the Starblade. No updated information on either."

"A black ops fleet?" The captain mused.

"Unlikely." Master Fisto replied. "I can sense the Dark Side emanating from the Starblade. I believe we may be dealing with a Sith."

"What should we do sir?" The captain asked.

"Engage them when they enter weapons range. I don't believe they will be at all interested in negotiation. Prepare a boarding team as well. I intend to lead a vanguard onto the Starblade once they're within shuttle range."

"Right away sir." The captain said, turning to begin barking orders at the bridge crew and over the com to the rest of the fleet. Fisto turned and left the bridge, Damerok would not fall, he resolved. Not if Tyke Fisto has anything to say about it.

____________

"Enemy is firing." The ensign monitoring the Starblade's defense console said. "Shields are holding steady."

"Turbolasers engaged." The artillery ensign chimed in. "Fighters launched, combating enemy fighters."

"We will be within shuttle range in a few minutes, my lord." The communications officer advised. "Would you like to dispatch boarding parties?"

"No." Raze said with eerie calm. He could sense him, the aura of peace and tranquility he emitted enraged him to the point where he felt his blood boil. He could sense the aura growing stronger. His enemy was coming straight to him. "Prepare all troops to intercept the enemy boarding parties, we'll break the spear head of their attack." Raze ordered. The crew rushed to obey his commands, and Raze's eyes narrowed as he stared out at the battle unfolding before him. His foe was formidable, but not invincible. He would break him.

Whooping alarms sounded throughout the bridge. "Enemy vanguard has arrived!" The communications officer shouted about the cacophony. "All crew members prepare to receive boarders, I repeat-"

Raze turned and walked down the aisle towards the bridge exit. He could sense the Jedi on his ship now. His Force senses were alive with bloodlust, like a predator's nose agitated by the scent of fresh prey. His focus became laser-like as he locked onto his target through the Force. The hunt had begun. Entering a turbolift, the doors closed behind him as a group of soldiers rushed to their battle stations.

The turbolift deposited him on the hanger deck, and he stepped out to see the hanger engulfed in a fierce battle. The stench of the Light Side filled the entire space, nauseating and enraging Raze. His predatory eyes locked onto the Nautolan dual-wielding twin blue lightsabers as he carved Imperial troops to pieces. His fluid grace and deadly precision were informed by the Light Side, even though his expression didn't even flicker as he mowed men and women down like a killing machine.

Drawing his lightsaber as his walk turned into a run, Raze felt his adrenaline surge as he charged into battle, unleashing a Kaleesh warcry. His opponent turned at the sound, and, seeing the Kaleesh charging towards him, turned from the corpses of the squadron he had just slaughtered and rushed his foe. The two met in a flurry of clashing blades, and Raze soon found himself nearly overwhelmed by the Nautolan's Ataru style. The Jedi somersaulted over him, his blades extended and slashing at Raze repeatedly as their wielder balled himself up and spun in midair. This was followed by a series of spinning attacks and overhead leaping strikes that made utilizing his favored Juyo form very taxing for Raze. Falling back on Soresu, Raze defended himself as best he could from the assault, keeping his blade moving and spinning to avoid losing momentum. The Nautolan attacked him furiously and from all sides, seeming to wield four blades instead of two. The speed and grace with which he executed his assaults was almost breathtaking.

The battle dragged on for half a minute, and the Jedi's attacks grew more intense as he neared the end of his reserves. Realizing he couldn't just play hard-to-get and expect to win, Raze took a more proactive approach, giving ground before the Jedi in apparent retreat. He led his enemy by the nose up a ramp and into the hanger control room. So focused was his opponent that he failed to notice what Raze was actually doing, and after a throwing himself at Raze in a spinning charge, he nearly ran into the opposite wall when Raze sidestepped the attack. The near-collision threw him off balance, and Raze was on him like a Vornskr. His savage slashes and brutal combination attacks left the Jedi Master scrambling for space. But when he attempted to leap out the window into the hanger, a quick use of Force telekinesis by Raze activated the emergency force field on the pane, causing the Jedi to crash into it and fall to the ground. Raze moved in for the finishing blow but the Jedi turned his fall into a roll, forcing Raze to jump to avoid having his legs knocked out from under him.

Whirling around just as the Jedi leaped to his feet, Raze charged him again. This time the Nautolan attempted to make a break for the door, but once more Raze used his mind to remotely activate the emergency force field, sealing them both inside.

"You can't escape me, Jedi." He hissed, and attacked with savage fury. Unable to use Ataru to its full extent within the enclosed space without putting himself at even more of a disadvantage, the Jedi resorted to Makashi, expertly defending himself from Raze's attacks with minimal strain on his Force abilities, relying instead on his footwork and balance to outmaneuver his opponent. His skills however, were not good enough, and Raze continued to hold the advantage, constantly backing his foe into a corner until the Jedi took advantage of an opening to escape the closing trap. They circled around the chamber, the Jedi's energy slowly draining under the sustained assault of his seething foe. Xalek was as strong and as fresh as when the battle had started, constantly feeding off of his bubbling hatred and unquenchable rage to sustain him and renew his strength, while the Jedi was growing slower and weaker, exhausted by his initial burst of action at the beginning of the battle.

Suddenly seeing an opening, Raze stabbed forward with his lightsaber, attempting to impale the Jedi where he stood. The dexterous Nautolan however, slipped elegantly to the side and Raze's blade sank into the wall behind where the Jedi had been. There was a loud sizzling noise, and sparks flew from around the blade. The sound of a generator shutting down emerged from the din, and the force fields trapping them both inside the control room deactivated. The Jedi leaped through the window, crashing through the glass in a curled up ball and landing nimbly on the floor of the hanger far below. He dashed towards the shuttle on which he had come, the surviving troops he had brought with him covering his retreat.

Standing in the window, Raze reared back and hurled his lightsaber at the escaping Jedi, the blade spinning like a plasma saw as it hurtled across the hanger towards his fleeing enemy's back. Suddenly, another spinning lightsaber appeared out of nowhere, impacting Raze's own and sending it off-course. Raze recalled it to him and followed the other blade's path with his eyes as it circled back to its owner. A black-robed human caught the crimson double-bladed weapon much as Raze had done, and realizing his new enemy was a Sith, Raze felt his anger increase tenfold. Leaping from the window, he watched in frustration out of the corner of his eye as the Jedi's shuttle took in the last surviving troops and rocketed out of the hanger bay.

Raze moved towards the Sith who had robbed him of his victory at a fast pace, leaping over obstacles as he closed in on his quarry. Back flipping up onto catwalk to escape his pursuer, the black-robed sith called out to Raze.

"Fisto is mine, if you know what's good for you run home to whatever master you serve."

Raze snarled. "The Jedi's life belongs to me fool. I won't let some upstart steal my glory."

"I am Darth Onakk. I'm the personal assassin of Darth Rictus of the Dark Council. Stand down, Sith. The Jedi is mine."

"I don't care who you are." Raze replied. "That Jedi was mine the moment he stepped onto my ship. I will be the one to kill him."

"Very well then, you can have him - if you get to him before me." Onakk said with a haunting laugh as he vanished into thin air.

Raze looked around the hanger for a working shuttle, finding one, he climbed aboard and started it up, blasting out of the hanger bay just as another shuttle's engines began to lift off the hanger floor.

___________

Raze heaved, exerting all his strength in the Force, and the door to the bridge of the Star of Alkidus burst inward. He walked through the jagged opening and saw Master Fisto standing at the front of the bridge with lightsabers already drawn. The bridge appeared to be empty, apparently the Jedi had been expecting him. With a running start, Raze closed the gap between them with a leap and drew his lightsaber. His foe fell into a ready stance.

"Surrender Sith, and I promise you fair treatment." Fisto said.

In response Raze attacked, his blade moving in swift, vicious movements. Fisto responded with the speed and grace of a dancer, the Force animating his body as he leaped, flipped, and twisted around his enemy's attacks. Raze unleashed a burst of lightning from his clawtips that the Jedi couldn't quite dodge, and the Nautolan's teeth gritted in pain. Seeing his enemy's guard was down, Raze moved in to press the advantage with his lightsaber. Their blades met, and the Jedi was forced on the defensive, once more adopting Makashi form to preserve his life. Raze unleashed a devastating series of lightsaber sequences followed by a well-placed blast of Force lightning that left the Jedi Master staggered and unbalanced. Moving in for the execute, Raze was forced instead to cease his final attack and dodge the crimson, double-bladed lightsaber that sailed through the air where he had been standing. The blade returned to the hands of its owner, and Onakk's voice echoed throughout the bridge, bringing Raze's seething rage to new heights.

"I told you the Jedi is mine, Raze." Onakk said. "If you don't stand down I will have no qualms about killing you too."

"His life belongs to the first one to drive their blade through his chest." Raze replied, already moving to assault the recovering Jedi. In a flash, Onakk crossed the distance, and the two Sith attacked the Jedi at the same time. Adopting some elements of Soresu into his Makashi form, the Jedi made use of both lightsabers to defend himself from the four deadly blades spinning and cutting through the air.

Raze attempted to stab the Fisto with a powerful thrust, but the Jedi turned his blade aside with an elegant parry, deflecting it so that it struck Onakk's blade, which had been coming in with a sweeping blow from the other direction, and sent the strike wide. Onakk attempted to recover by turning the deflection into a build up for his next attack, but Fisto dodged the attack expertly, causing Onakk's blade to nearly drive itself into Raze's abdomen, forcing the Kaleesh, who had been just about to take advantage of Fisto's temporary exposure, to parry the incoming blade with his own weapon, allowing the Jedi time to re-orient himself.

The battle continued like this for almost a full minute, the with the two Sith attacking at cross-purpose to each other and the Jedi playing them off against each other, turning their attacks on him into attacks on the other. Eventually, Raze began to realize that his fleet was losing the battle, and that if he didn't end this duel soon, the battle was going to go very badly. Unfortunately, with Onakk here, he couldn't hope for a quick resolution to the fight, and once more, 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."

Onakk's next strike came swiftly, and Fisto barely managed to redirect it towards Raze...only Raze wasn't there. Suddenly, a heavy blow came down on Fisto's left flank, at an angle that made it impossible for Fisto to redirect or parry the attack towards Onakk. Forced to block it, Fisto was nearly struck by Onakk's next attack, which was far too powerful for him to deflect using a single lightsaber. Slipping past the attack and out from under Raze's squeeze play of a strike, he danced away in an attempt to recoup, but the two Sith didn't give him the chance. Now working in eerie tandem, they assaulted him from every angle, with each one filling the holes in the other's offense, forcing Tyke Fisto into full defensive mode.

Despite his best efforts however, they pierced his defenses and showers of blows rained down on him, draining his personal shield and Force armor to critical levels in a matter of moments. Now attacking from either side, encompassing him in a virtual storm of plasma, they battered him with a fierce intensity that left him unable to do anything but desperately defend himself as best he could, trying to stave off the inevitable.

Finally, his personal shield collapsed, and, with a concentrated burst of Sith lightning, Raze dissolved the last of the Jedi's Force armor, leaving him exposed with nothing but his cortosis armor protecting him. The Jedi used his telekinetic powers to rip nearby consoles out of the floor and hurl them at his opponents, trying to crush them beneath the intense weight and end the battle right then and there. Instead the two Sith nimbly dodged the deadly projectiles and proceeded to strike at his exposed face, forcing him to once more engage them in saber combat. Their deadly strikes began to wear away at the armor on his chest and arms, and finally, after a prolonged barrage of successful sequences, their blades pierced his chest at the same moment, Raze's blade penetrating his left pectoralis major from the front, while Onakk's pierced his right pec from behind. The Nautolan's final gasp left his lips, and when the two Sith withdrew their weapons the body collapsed to the bridge floor.

For a moment to two Sith simply stared at each other, animosity still simmering between them. It was Raze who broke the silence first.

"This was a tie."

"Yes." Onakk agreed. They continued to stare at each other for another brief moment before they simultaneously sheathed their weapons.

"The next time we meet, it won't be as allies." Raze promised.

"We won't meet at all." Onakk replied. "You won't even see me coming."

And with that, they both turned and left the bridge, each heading for the separate hanger bay in which their shuttle was parked while the battle raged outside.

____________

Darth Marr was angry. He had good reason to be, many reasons in fact. Despite the recent success of Plan Omega and the subsequent invasion of the Core, the Republic was fighting back and the Empire's front lines were beginning to falter. After the damage caused by Malgus's revolution and the constant infighting between the other lords of the Dark Council, the only thing keeping the Empire in the fight was the recent establishment of a top-secret Isotope-5 mining project on Makeb. He had been right to call on the Imperial Ghost to accomplish that objective. The former Cipher Nine had completed the task with the same ruthless and meticulous efficiency with which he had completed the destruction of the Eagle's terror network and disassembled the Star Cabal.

Even so, the Empire was already in a grave situation before this had happened. He snarled at the datapad displaying the report he had been sitting on the bed reading and tossed it against the wall. The device shattered, pieces flying across the captain's quarters. Marr let his masked face sink into his gloved hand, allowing a half-growl, half-sigh of exasperated frustration to escape his lips. He was getting too damn old for this. Not for battle, or the war, those things he knew and loved. Physical combat re-energized and revitalized him, renewing his spirit and making him feel young again. What he was growing tired of was managing and dealing with the constant betrayal, the constant treachery and lack of unity among the Sith. It gnawed at him like a swarm of insects eating him from the inside out, slowly decaying the Empire he was fighting so hard to preserve.

He was only one man, how could he be expected to bear the entire burden of the Empire squarely on his shoulders? A thought came to him. And where was the Emperor? Normally it was in times like these the Emperor had emerged from whatever solitude he had placed himself in to bring direction, purpose, and order back to the fractured Empire. If there was any time that the Emperor's authority and wisdom were needed, it was now, and yet the ancient ruler of their society was nowhere to be seen. Not even the Dark Council had heard directly from the Voice in a long time, and for a while Marr had begun to wonder if what the Jedi had originally claimed was true: that the Emperor was dead. Then the Dark Side had informed him differently. Through spending several days in deep meditation he had discovered that the Emperor was still alive, though in what state or form he couldn't discern. Still, the Emperor's silence was deafening. It was beginning to seem as if he had abandoned the people he had led for nearly a millennia, a thought Marr found equal parts terrifying and infuriating.

He couldn't do this alone, that he knew. As powerful and devoted as he was, he wasn't strong enough to bear the burden of leading the Empire through this time of crisis. But the Dark Council was full of self-interested fools and tyrants, interested only in power and control. They each sought to fill the vacuum left by the Emperor's strange absence, completely oblivious of their inability to wield that power and authority. They were all useless, every one.

No, Marr corrected himself. There was one among them whom he had hope for: Darth Nox. As ambitious and self-interested as the Zabrak was, Marr had seen more than enough examples of the young man's insight into the value of patriotism and putting the Empire above oneself. Time and again Nox had advanced his own and the Empire's causes simultaneously, often doing the field work himself instead of sitting around playing power games and dispatching minions to accomplish his work. The man never seemed to be very comfortable remaining in one place for long. He had only been on Dromund Kaas several times since his ascension to the Dark Council, and most of those times were for Dark Council meetings. Most of the time he seemed to be flying about the galaxy, winning battles, forming and strengthening alliances, acquiring resources, and co-coordinating operations. Nox, Marr believed, might one day be a suitable replacement for himself. With the Zabrak's talent for inspiring loyalty, a talent Marr somewhat envied, the old Sith had hope that, when his time came, Nox might prove to be the only being in the galaxy truly capable of unifying it and bringing victory and prosperity to the Empire and its people.

Marr stood up and crossed the room to the holoprojector. He switched it on and hailed Nox's public frequency. In moments the image of the Dark Lord, clad in his armoured robes with his signature skull-like helm obscuring and protecting his face, materialized.

"Darth Marr." Nox said with some surprise. "I wasn't expecting a communication from you."

"And I was not expecting to make contact you with you until a few moments ago," Marr replied, attempting to keep the anger out of his voice so as not to cause his ally unnecessary concern. "but in any case, I do not have time for politics and pleasantries today. My time is too short." Nox gave Marr his full attention as the elder Sith continued.

"Too many betrayers have attempted to seize power of late. Darth Malgus's men are finished, but the Dread Masters endure. Since you freed them on Belsavis their madness has driven them to conquest. One of them was slain by unknown parties on Darvannis, yet five remain."

"I take it something has changed?" Nox asked, and Marr thought he sensed a slight measure of amusement coming from the Zabrak, and for a moment he wondered if he had been wrong about him. But the feeling vanished as soon as it came and Marr dismissed it as a passing notion.

"They were the Emperor's favoured servants," Marr said, a hiss of anger creeping into his voice. "yet idolized fear above the Empire. Now we have found their fortress on Oricon, a remote moon."

"Their betrayal was inevitable." Nox said, speaking directly to the heart of Marr's anger and hatred. "Power such as theirs cannot be contained. It rises until it consumes everything or is obliterated, as you well know." The ease with which Nox had discerned the source of his frustration unnerved Marr, enough to temporarily push him over the edge.

"Their insanity goes too far." He snarled. "It breeds destruction, not glory!" His outburst finished, he brought himself back under control and attempted to continue the conversation in a more civil tone.

"The Republic moved before we did, sending a full fleet to Oricon. Its armada was undone by the Master's power over fear and madness. Our task force followed-a rapid strike deployment led by one Lord Hargrev, upon the insistence of Darth Rictus. Hargrev is a braggart and a sadist, but he has studied our foe. he believed that he and his acolytes could shield our task force from the Master's power."

"Let me guess," Nox said, "he was wrong."

"We lost contact soon after Hargrev's ships arrived in-system twelve hours ago. Either his forces were defeated...or Hargrev has betrayed us. Either way the Dread Masters will sense weakness and counterattack. I have no forces to spare-you represent our last chance to stop them."

"I might remind you that we are equals, Marr." Nox said with infuriating smugness. "What if I have other affairs to attend to?" Barely able to keep the anger out his voice, Marr hissed a reply.

"These matters threaten our very survival. But," he added, "if you aren't interested in uncovering the Master's secrets, I'm sure I can find another Dark Council member eager to do so..."

"Alright," Nox acquiesced, "alright, you've convinced me." His irritated tone brought more satisfaction to Marr than it probably should have.

"Even you cannot slay the Masters singlehandedly." Marr asserted, and for just a moment he felt that same flash of amusement coming from the Dark Lord, and once again he wondered if he had misjudged the young Zabrak. Was he truly so arrogant to believe that he could defeat the Dread Masters alone? Filing the thought away for later consideration, he continued. "If you can reach Oricon, however, you may find some remnant of Hargrev's task force. If all else fails send any warning you can of the Dread Master's strengths. Perhaps then we can limit our losses to mere sectors."

"Rest easy, Darth Marr." Nox said with a cool, collected calm that Marr found worrying. "The Dread Masters will not leave Oricon alive. Defend the Empire from its enemies without," he said, a note of insidious menace entering his voice as he spoke his next words, "allow me to deal with our enemies within." The transmission cut out, and Marr stood in silence for a moment, reflecting on what the growing sense of unease in his gut could possibly herald.

___________

The Midnight Shadow dropped out of hyperspace near Oricon, just out of range of any anti-orbital weaponry. Nox, seated in the captain's chair, immediately felt the presence of the Dread Masters emanating from the moon in palpable waves.

"Our scanners show heavy defenses all around the moon," Andronikos reported from one of the two pilot seats. "We can put the ship down but she'll be vulnerable to any planetary defenses, and based on the amount of anti-orbital weaponry we're picking up, any level of orbit won't make a difference."

"Put me down with a landing beacon," Nox said absentmindedly as he stared at the glowing, reddish-brown ball of fire and rock that was centered in the viewport. "then take the ship out of orbit. I'll activate the beacon when it's time to depart."

In a matter of minutes, thanks to the new cloaking device Andronikos had recently installed and Nox's own efforts to keep them hidden in the Force, the ship hovered above a portable landing platform installed by the remains of Lord Hargrev's task force, which were waiting as the boarding ramp lowered to allow Nox to drop the remaining five meters to the ground. He was quickly followed by HK-51 and Khem Vaal, both leaping off the lowered ramp to land on the metal platform. As soon as he breathed the atmosphere, Nox felt the wiggling worm of fear slither into his brain, and when he feet touched the surface, the worm suddenly became a whispering serpent, infecting him with its toxic lies, attempting to poison and twist his mind into a paranoid, writhing mess.

If the natural aura of this world creates this effect, Nox mused to himself, it's no wonder both task forces were lost. Glancing around the camp, Nox also noticed that almost everyone seemed to be on their guard, staring out into the distance as if expecting a great army to suddenly emerge from thin air and swarm them. A few guards, both soldiers and Sith, were talking, but seemingly only to confirm that the other was still there, or perhaps to try and take their mind off of the unnerving atmosphere the moon created. The Midnight Shadow, it's cargo deposited, roared up into the sky, Andronikos quickly reaching the vessel's top in-atmo speed to try and outrun the Force senses of the Dread Masters and their minions. It appeared to work, and the ship soon vanished into the sky.

"You have come far too late." The deep voice of Master Tyrans rumbled over the landscape. Nox's gaze flew over the surroundings, searching for any hint of the Dread Master's physical presence. No one else seemed to notice the voice, but Nox heard it clear as day.

"By Oricon's next sunrise your worlds will burn." Dread Master Raptus's hypnotic intonations echoed, weaving a symphony of emotion in Nox's brain, a symphony dominated by the clear, strident chord of profound dread. With growing apprehension, Nox realized that the Dread Master's powers were strong here, seemingly amplified by the moon's own unique aura. Even he could not fully resist their influence, he would have to fight it for as long as they endured.

"Declaration: The area is secure." HK said as he finished scanning the immediate area without finding any discernible threats to his master's safety. The droid had been significantly upgraded since Nox had retrieved it from the Fatality. HK-51 now sported a brand new chassis designed specifically for advanced recon, along with an entirely new series of protocols to match. Nox was quite pleased with the end result, HK was now fully equipped to perform all manner of stealth, infiltration, and assassination missions with proficiency and skill that nearly rivaled Nox's own. Unfortunately, this also made the droid less effective as a bodyguard, which was why Nox had also brought Khem along. The Dashade's inherent Force resistance made him as valuable as HK on this mission, although in a different way. HK relaxed his stance of focused vigilance and turned towards Nox. "Complaint: Master, did we have to bring the brainless monster with us? I assure you that I could more than compensate for whatever benefits his presence here might provide you."

"Dolnei akuchiy volusae meega akibuun." Khem Vaal said, clenching his fists as he adopted a threatening posture and turned to face the droid.

"Threat: It will be difficult to disassemble anything with thirteen blaster holes in your chest cavity." HK responded, brandishing his rifle menacingly.

"Enough." Nox commanded, the authority in his voice more than enough to make both droid and Dashade adopt less confrontational postures. "HK you will not question my decisions unless I request your input, and Khem?" The monster raised his head slightly to demonstrate his attention to his master's orders. "Ignore the droid unless I say otherwise."

"Doemi na wayzu." Khem said submissively, bowing his head.

"Atonement: My most humble apologies master." HK-51 said, inclining his head and returning his rifle to the magnetic holster on his back.

Satisfied that his companions would be on their best behaviour, Nox moved up the hill to the portable command center that had been erected near a group of large supply crates, Nox approached a woman in Imperial uniform and a Sith who Nox guessed was Lord Hargrev.

"Three more gone, my lord. Two commandos took knives to one another-hallucination induced psychosis, apparently-and Major Strix fled camp."

"Stupid, stupid..." The Sith said, exasperation and desperation leaking from his every pore. "Knives? They can't even resist carving one another like roasts?!" He paused to catch his breath and steady himself. "I'm sorry." He apologized, and for a moment Nox wondered if Hargrev had died and this Sith was merely a second-in-command who had taken over in his absence. "I know the things they saw... I can feel the Dread Masters, I can push them, but I can't stop it all. I'm so sorry Maiya..."

"Are you Lord Hargrev?" Nox asked the apologetic Sith. "Darth Marr asked me to find you."

"What?" Hargrev demanded, turning from his conversation with the woman, his brow furrowing in irritation.

"We're the remains of the task force, yes." The woman spoke quickly so as to explain before Nox could electrocute the Sith for being so brusque towards him. "You'll have to forgive us-Lord Hargrev is shielding our minds from the Masters, but it takes a toll."

"You know who I am." Nox asserted. "Whoever you answered to before you now serve me."

"My oath is to Lord Hargrev." The woman said, and Nox felt the urge, much more powerful than usual, to viciously punish her on the spot. But of all the soldiers and officers in the camp, she appeared to be the least affected by Oricon's unnerving atmosphere, a trait likely due to the same stubbornness that was currently offending Nox, so he stayed his hand.

"And your feeble-minded loyalty is appreciated, " Hargrev assured her. "but we can make an exception in this case. Fill our new leader in."

"Between their mental dominance and orbital weaponry the Dread Masters managed to annihilate our ships." Maiya said, flashing Hargrev a worried look as he put a hand to his forehead. "The survivors regrouped here. Our hope was to make one, final push to the Dread Master's fortress, but the Dread Guard have us trapped. We don't need firepower-we need manpower to break out."

Briefly turning to look out at the nightmarish landscape, Nox turned back to the officer. "Are there other survivors who can reinforce you? Give you the manpower you need?"

"The Republic." Hargrev said, breathing heavily as if he was being stifled. "They came to Oricon too-I can feel their soldiers out there, trapped and afraid."

"Then one way or another they will serve us." Nox said confidently. "I will acquire these Republic troops and persuade them to assist us. Hargrev, you and your acolytes focus on shielding the task force, don't be concerned with me or my companions. I will return momentarily."

"It's murder out there." Maiya warned. "The Dread Guard have machine support-enough to cut our reconnaissance into pieces."

"Thank you for the warning." Nox replied, turning to Khem. "Khem, you are to stay here and protect everyone in this camp as much as possible. However, Hargrev and his acolytes are your priority, understood?"

"Seiyma okidus heggibao." Khem replied, bowing his head in acknowledgement.

"HK," Nox said turning to the droid, "you're with me."

"Exclamation: Murder and mayhem await!" The droid said enthusiastically, following Nox as they moved towards the camp's forward entrance. Upon passing the turret-mounted guards, Nox waved his hand and vanished from sight. With a soft hiss HK-51's portable stealth generator activated, and he followed his master into the hellscape of the corrupted moon.

After a few minutes of careful scouting, they encountered a crashed escape pod surrounded by a small platoon of what could only be Dread Guard. The Nox remembered from his research that the yellow and black armor they wore was an indication of their role as the scouts for the Dread Host. Accompanying them were twin probe droids of Imperial design. With a brief series of hand gestures, Nox indicated to HK that he should find a good vantage point from which to provide cover fire. With a nod of assent, HK moved off, still under cloak, and began mounting a nearby rise. When he reached the top, he stabilized himself and signaled his readiness.

With the slow, deliberate movements of a predator stalking its prey, Nox moved towards the group, who were currently trying to cut open the sealed escape pod with a plasma torch. Nox could sense the terror of the man trapped inside, and he fed on it, using it to fuel his power, even as he summoned the Dark Side to his aid. Reaching the center of the gathering of brainwashed soldiers, Nox decloaked at the same time he unleashed a wave of withering energy that swept over the soldiers, slowing their reactions and temporarily sapping some of their strength. Twirling his blade in a dizzying pattern, Nox began to whirl around in place, his lightsaber becoming a deadly vortex of plasma that seared armor and deflected blaster bolts.

A sniper bolt suddenly sank into the back of the head of one of the Dread Guard, causing his body to go completely rigid and topple over, his weapon clattering to the ground. The second soldier was moving away from Nox, his damaged armor smoking and his weapon flailing this way and that as he searched in vain for the sniper that had killed his comrade. A second bolt struck his already damaged armor and ripped clean through it, leaving a smoking hole over his heart, he dropped like a stone. The third soldier had been charging Nox, wielding a large vibroblade in his hands when the Dark Lord had unleashed his lacerating attack and the sniper volleys took down his partners. Having witness the battle go from a fair fight to an utter failure in the space of two seconds, the man paused in both shock and in an attempt to process what had just occurred. Nox didn't give him the time to.

He unleashed a burst of lightning from his fingertips, the energy shocking the soldier and leaving him convulsing and spasming. With a quick flourish Nox beheaded the man, his lightsaber slicing through the unshielded, cheap armor like a knife through butter. At the same moment two tiny blaster shots, launched in near unison, impacted the probe droids and sent the machines skittering across the rocky ground.

Sheathing his lightsaber, Nox turned briefly to regard HK as he descended the hill to rejoin his master. After noting the droid had suffered no damage of any kind, Nox moved on to the escape pod, from which pure terror was now emanating in waves. Placing one hand on the escape pod's sealed door, Nox reached out with his mind, seizing on the young man's thoughts and calming him forcefully. Taking control of the man's mind, Nox instructed his new slave to unseal the door, which he did in short order.

"You are to go to the nearby Imperial camp and surrender yourself." He instructed the Republic soldier, who stood stiffly before him, as if in a trance. "Tell them I sent you, and that more reinforcements are on the way."

The human's weak, enslaved mind accepted the orders without question, and moved off in the direction Nox had come from at a steady run. Nox watched him go, and the voice of Dread Master Brontes resounded across the landscape.

"Abandon your cause, there is only despair here." She said, her words producing chills that ran up and down Nox's spine. It took a great effort of will to suppress a physical reaction. It's this damn moon, he thought. It's making me vulnerable to their suggestion and mind control. If I don't weaken the effects of the aura I could end up succumbing to their madness.

Brushing aside the thought and mentally hunching his shoulders, he steeled himself against the growing loss of control he felt building in his mind and slipped into stealth, the hiss and pop of HK-51's stealth generator following close behind.

_____________

Jay-Li stood with his hands up in a posture of harmless submission as the female Sergeant waved her gun at him, her eyes wild and terrified, the wreckage of a droid laying not far behind her, filled with blaster holes.

"Sergeant Trila, I need you to calm down." He pleaded as steadily as he could.

"No!" She screamed. "Lies! I won't let you take me, you hear me! I won't go back! I won't go back! You can't take me!"

"Sergeant!" Jay said, worried he would have to resort to violence to pacify her. "Sergeant its alright, I'm a Jedi, I'm here to help."

"You see salvation, when in reality, an enemy comes." The insidiously seductive voice of Dread Master Raptus boomed in their minds. With a start, Jay realized his own empathic abilities were allowing him to hear the thoughts the Dread Masters were planting in the Sergeant's mind. Considering the force of will he had to apply to resist the intense persuasion, it was a wonder the woman wasn't stark raving mad yet. Although by the look of her she would reach that point soon enough.

"Your eyes lie." The succulent tones of Dread Master Brontes slithered like serpents up the back of Jay's spine and into his brain, pumping their venom into his mind, trying to corrupt his will and twist his intentions and thoughts. "Fire." Came the command, "Kill."

"Ruuuuuaaaaaaagghhh!" Trila screamed, pointing her weapon at Jay and opening fire. In a flash Jay drew his lightsaber and deflected the shots, following the deflection with a quick hand gesture that caused the Sergeant to clutch her head as Jay bedazzled her brain through the Force, stunning her without really harming her. In a series of movements, Jay performed the physical and metaphysical actions that only he, of all the living Jedi in the galaxy, knew. The shield wrapped itself around Sergeant Trila in an aura of white light, and she collapsed to the ground, panting, struggling to resist the Dread Master's control even with the unique Force shield protecting her from some of the Dread Master's influence.

"Tanye." Jay said, in a tone bathed in calm, soothing succor. "Tanye, focus on the sound of my voice. You're going to be alright. I promise. Just focus on my voice, follow it out." The light of sanity came back to the woman's eyes, and Jay felt her shake off the last of the Dread Master's influence.

"Where...?" She asked, as she got unsteadily to her feet. "What...happened?" She put a hand to her head, and her eyes finally settled on Jay. "Grandmaster!" She said, surprised. "What are you doing here, and why do you-why do you look so weak?"

"I added my strength to yours, to help you resist the Dread Masters influence." Jay said.

"Oh, no-Master Jedi you're-" Jay held up a hand to stop her.

"Everyone here is important." He said. "I cannot face the Dread Masters or their servants alone. Now Tanye, I need you to take me to Master Ogan-Dei."

"I can do that, but he won't be of much use." The woman said. "He's in a trance with most of the other Jedi to protect us from the Dread Masters, and it's still not enough." Jay thought for a minute, his hand resting on his beard.

"Bring me everyone in the camp, start with those in the worst shape."

"Master Jedi," Trila said, "don't tell me you intend to..."

"I do, Sergeant. Now follow my orders, quickly. We don't have the time for insubordination."

Wordlessly, Sergeant Trila left to obey his commands, and Jay prepared himself for the trial to come.

____________

Jay felt the strength leave his body as the last soldier in the camp was enveloped by the special Force shield. When he finished, he nearly collapsed face-first on the ground. Master Ogan-Dei caught him.

"Easy, Master Kenobi." He said, his strong arms helping the utterly exhausted Jay to the nearby medical tent, where he lay down one of the few beds that wasn't covered in blood and vomit. The stench of the mess didn't help though, and Jay started to feel a bit light-headed. He suddenly felt the soothing embrace of the Force, and turning his head he saw that Master Ogan-Dei had adopted a meditative pose, and was channeling healing energies into him. He tried to move, but the Jedi Knight near him reached out and stopped him.

"Save your strength Grandmaster, we need you alive. You saved everyone else, now it's your turn." Jay groaned as a healing sleep overtook him, and he faded into the blackness of unconsciousness.

___________

Jay awoke to the sounds of the busy camp. Soldiers were rushing about, gathering supplies and weaponry, while military officers and Jedi barked orders. Slowly, gingerly getting out of bed, Jay stood to his feet on shaky legs, and slowly made his way towards the open-air command tent. Master Ogan-Dei and Sergeant Trila were surrounded by several other officers and Jedi, discussing what was likely battle plans.

"Master Kenobi!" A voice cried out behind him, and Jay turned to see a man in a medic's uniform rushing towards him, looking flustered and worried. "Master Kenobi you aren't supposed to be out of bed!" The medic reached him and gently took his arm. "Come with me, Master Jedi, please, you need as much rest as you can get."

"I'm fine." Jay said, struggling to keep his knees from buckling. He managed a weak smile. "I'm a Jedi, we recover very quickly you know." The medic shook his head furiously.

"Master Ogan-Dei and every other Jedi in the camp assured me you shouldn't be moving for at least three days after what you did. It's a miracle you aren't dead."

"They're just underestimating me." Jay said, trying to brush off the medic with as much success as a leaf trying to brush off a caterpillar. "I'm much better than I look I assure you." He returned to slowly making his way towards the command tent, with the medic trying to pull him back towards the medical tent as gently as possible. "Please, Master Jedi." The man pleaded. "I'm afraid I must insist!"

"As must I." Jay said determinedly. "I'm needed in the command tent."

"The other Jedi have the matter well in hand." The medic argued. "You've done more than enough, more than anyone else was capable of, now you just need to rest and recuperate."

The scene caused the beings in the command tent to look up from the table and see what was going on. When they saw Jay, Ogan-Dei scrambled to aid the medic in convincing Jay to return to the medical tent.

"Grandmaster," he said in his gravelly tone. "You should not be up and about. You're extremely weak and vulnerable."

"I keep telling everyone I'm fine!" Jay insisted. "Why does no-one believe me?"

"With all due respect Grandmaster." Ogan-Dei said. "I've never seen any Jedi do anything like what you just did and survive. None of us want to take any chances."

"I've done this before." Jay insisted. "The weakness won't kill me unless I extend myself like that again. I'm perfectly capable of serving in a command capacity." Master Ogan-Dei and Sergeant Trila exchanged looks, and finally Ogan-Dei reluctantly relented.

"Very well Master." He said. "But the medic will remain at you side at all times and monitor your situation, at the first sign of your condition worsening we will return you to the medical tent for care."

"Agreed." Jay said, before the Weequay could change his mind. "So what's currently on the table for discussion?" He asked as he and Ogan-Dei made their way back to the command tent.

"Defense of the camp." The Jedi Master replied. "The Dread Guard is closing in on our position and we don't have the manpower to organize an adequate defense."

"What have your scouts reported?" Jay asked as they reached the strategy table. He was relieved that he had an excuse to lean on it, although his arms barely had enough strength to support his body without shaking.

"The Dread Guard's positions are marked." Ogan-Dei said, indicating on the holomap. "They appear to be boxing us in as if to drive us into the lava sea." He continued, indicating the dispersal of the Dread Master's forces. Jay stared at the holomap, forcing his tired eyes and lethargic brain to process the information. Every so often he would indicate a spot and someone would move the holomap to accommodate him. After what felt like a good few minutes, he shook his head.

"No. they aren't boxing us in, they just want it to seem that way."

"I'm sorry Grandmaster," said Ogan-Dei, looking a little surprised. "but could you explain?" Jay indicated several spots where the Dread Guard were clustered. "See how they gather in higher concentrations in the open areas with softer ground? That's because they're looking for something in those spots."

"This is their moon," a Jedi Knight asked. "what could they possibly be looking for?"

"Survivors." Jay said grimly.

"Survivors?" Sergeant Trila exclaimed. "You think there were survivors of the crash?"

"Most likely." Jay said. "The Dread Masters would have ordered escape pods to be left alone for this very purpose. After the crash they would dispatch the Dread Guard to capture the survivors and swell their ranks."

"But why go to such effort to swell their ranks?" An officer asked. "That's a lot of troops and resources to deploy just to capture a few people."

"It's not just a few people." Jay said. "Most of the crews likely survived the crash if the recovery operations are this well organized. The anti-orbital weaponry was likely used in such a way as to crash the ships with minimal casualties to allow for as many potential recruits as possible. They're swelling their ranks in preparation for something."

"Like what?" Sergeant Trila asked, her tone indicating she didn't really want to know the answer. Jay thought for a minute before replying.

"I believe they intend to counter-attack."

"How?" Master Ogan-Dei asked. "They don't have any ships, there's no way they could assemble a fleet in time to launch a surprise counter-attack." Jay shook his head.

"I don't know how either." He said. "But I'm sure that this, or something similar, is what they're planning. In any case, the next move we need to make is clear. We have to send out well-armed search parties to recover as many survivors, Imperial and Republic, as we can."

"Even the Imperials?" Sergeant Trila asked incredulously. "We don't have the resources to keep that many prisoners."

"I wasn't suggesting keeping them as prisoners." Jay said, aware the implications would shock, or even anger, many of the people around him. It took a moment for the reality of what he had said to settle in.

"You're suggesting we ally with Imps?" An officer asked, disgust and anger radiating from him.

"We don't have a choice." Jay said softly to hide the fact that his voice was growing weak and strained. "Every Imperial survivor we bring back to our camp as another soldier snatched from the hands of the Dread Masters, and as the Sergeant said, we don't have the manpower to keep prisoners."

"Why don't we just kill them?" A corporal in the back piped up.

"Because that too, would be a waste of resources." Jay said. "We need every blaster bolt and every able body to fight the Dread Guard, down here it doesn't matter who's Imperial and who's Republic. All that matters is survival."

"The Grandmaster speaks the truth." Ogan-Dei said after a moment of silence. "I don't like it anymore than any of you do but we have to face it. We won't survive without every advantage we can get our hands on. As of this moment, the Grandmaster's observations have become orders. Prepare for rescue operations everyone." There was some grumbling, but mostly stunned silence as everyone departed to take the orders to what remained of their teams and prep for the operation. Jay turned to Ogan-Dei and Trila.

"Can we set up a transmission beacon?" He asked.

"We can," Ogan-Dei confirmed. "But it will take time to break through the signal jamming the Dread Guard are blanketing the area with."

"How much time?"

"We have no way of knowing." Ogan-Dei said sadly. Jay sighed.

"Try anyway. We need to get through to High Command, or all our efforts here are in vain." Ogan-Dei nodded, and he and Trila moved off to follow their orders. Jay turned his head and stared out into the twisted hellscape. At the edge of his severely weakened Force perception he could sense the same darkness that had vexed him since those visions he'd had long ago, warning him of the galaxy's future. The implications of the dark presence being here disturbed him deeply, and he wondered if he might be going crazy.

___________

Ashara sat quietly in the meeting hall of the People's Palace where the many members of the Felquarran Parliament were discussing the proposition to join the Empire. The debate had carried on for two hours already, with only some small progress towards the outcome Ashara had hoped for. The Prime Minister was doing his best to keep up the appearance of being impartial and unbiased, but when many of his closest friends, advisors, and cabinet were skeptical, it has hard for Ashara to believe that he didn't have strong doubts as well.

"The Empire has a long and well-known history of war crimes, atrocities, and genocide!" A pro-Republic Minister named Willerk Byusi was saying. "Their heinous reputation is well-earned, not a product of Republic propaganda."

"So you admit, Minister Byusi, that the Republic does indeed have and make ample use of propaganda machines." Came the cool, calm voice of Minister Ryhelm, an advocate for Imperial rule.

"Nay, Minister Ryhelm." Byusi replied, and Ashara could tell he was struggling to keep himself calm in the face of his challenger's accusation. The irony of an elderly man losing himself in his own passions while debating a calm and collected young man easily less than half his age was not lost on Ashara, and she allowed herself a quiet chuckle at the optics. All the average Felquarran watching at home would see was a group of tired, old conservatives desperately trying to avoid nationalization so they could keep taking bribes from big companies in exchange for loosening legal restrictions on big businesses, while their opponents used cool logic to deflate their arguments and advocate for what was obviously in the people's best interests.

The thought reassured her that the move she had made was the right one, and that the result would be met with public support. The removal of democracy would be seen as the toppling of a tyrannical dynasty of greed and corruption by the general public, and the example set by Felquarra might convince other worlds to follow.

"So what you're saying, Minister Lok'Tual," boomed a large, strapping young man with a stern face, "is that while the Republic is guilty of many, if not all, of the same crimes as the Empire, we should ignore such facts and focus on the Empire's travesties out of misguided tribalistic loyalty."

"If you were listening, Minister Valghii" came the reply from a hawkish-looking man in his late forties. "you would have heard the good Minister from Chuyuuma state that the Republic's crimes should not be ignored, but that in the Empire such transgressions are committed without any chance for justice or recourse!"

"On the contrary," came the voice of Minister Whesigal, "in the Empire the ideal of justice is actually upheld, whereas in the Republic it is merely a tool of convenience used by the powerful to extort and oppress the weak."

"As if the Empire doesn't oppress the weak." Minister Ladiis chuckled, her wrinkles showing around her eyes and mouth, and scorn taking over her face.

"Do not confuse law and order with oppression, Minister Ladiis." A tall, willowy woman replied with cool detachment. "The Empire has laws, and unlike the Republic, they enforce them on everyone."

"Except the Sith." Snarled Minister Tyqez. "They're allowed to run rampant, murdering and pillaging on a whim!"

"I would advise you to watch your tone, Minister." Said Valghii. "Especially considering that we have a member of the order you are accusing in these very chambers. In response to your question, let us entertain, for a moment, the notion that this accusation is true. How can you explain the fact that you are still alive and not, say, being Force-choked to death by our most esteemed guest? Most beings accused of such things as you accuse the Sith of would react quite badly, and if the Sith are truly as depraved and violent as you claim, then surely none of them could ever allow you to live after offending them in such a manner?"

"Do not be so foolish, Minister Valghii." Minister Tyqez replied, anger in his voice. "They show us what we want to see to lure us in, before striking from the shadows. They're a bunch of murderous, deceitful cowards!"

"It would be good for the assembly to be reminded," Minister Valghii said when the collective gasp of surprise and murmurs of agreement or dissent had died down. "that Minister Tyqez had a daughter among the Jedi, and a son who was a soldier in the Republic military, both of whom were killed by the Sith."

"That doesn't change the facts!" Minister Tyqez burst out.

"What do you know of facts, Minister?" Came the response from another minister in the crowd. "Unlike you we don't change the facts to suit our personal feelings!"

"Order! Order!" The Prime Minister bellowed when the hall erupted with shouted arguments and insults. The hall quickly quieted, and the Prime Minister spoke.

"Let us remember, ladies and gentlemen of the assembly, that while this is a place of free speech and free expression, the members of the assembly are expected to conduct themselves in a manner befitting their station, regardless of personal convictions or feelings. Arguments are welcome, insults and slander are discouraged."

"If our opponents cannot make their arguments without hurling slanderous accusations at us or the Empire," Minister Whesigal said, as a man approached the Prime Minister and whispered something in his ear "then it seems obvious to me which side has won this debate."

Minister Byusi opened his mouth to reply, when the Prime Minister, his face as pale as a ghost cut him off.

"Ladies and gentlemen I'm afraid this debate must be put on hold until the current crisis is resolved." He said, and murmurs of concern swept through the crowd. The large holoprojector in the center of the hall activated, and the image of the Gam'Tuak fleet in orbit over Felquarra turned the murmurs into outright cries of alarm.

"Mere minutes ago the Gam'Tuak fleet arrived in-system and blockaded Felquarra." The Prime Minister said gravely, his face drawn. "They've issued an ultimatum. We are to stand down immediately and deliver the Imperial ambassador to the Gam'Tuak commander of the invading force. We have twenty four hours to respond or face a full-scale invasion."

The hall was now dead silent. Everyone stared at the holo image with looks of fear and horror on their faces. Normally, Ashara felt sick whenever she sensed fear in another being. That feeling had often driven her to action to reassure those afflicted by it, but now, looking at the image of an alien fleet in orbit, knowing that she had brought it here to fulfill her purpose, and sensing the fear these people had for the tool she had chosen accomplish her will, she couldn't help but feel elated. These people feared her. They didn't know it, and they likely never would, but in this moment, without saying a word, without raising a weapon or giving an order, she had instilled fear. The euphoric rush as she fully realized her own power invigorated her. She drew on the fear of those gathered in the hall, and she found it no longer sickened her, but nourished and strengthened her. Yes, they were right to fear her, they were right to fear what she could do. They would be wise to bow in absence...but that would not happen, not yet. Her squeeze play was not yet complete, but one way or another, it soon would be.

"This assembly is dismissed for a three hour recess." The Prime Minister said. "We will reconvene to begin discussion of how we will answer the ultimatum." Quietly, one by one, each member of the Felquarran parliament rose to their feet and began a stunned shuffle towards the exits. Ashara, pretending to have spaced out staring at the holo image, waited until the majority of ministers had left the hall. When there was only the Prime Minister, his cabinet, a few close friends and advisors, and the occasional straggler left behind, she rose to her feet and left. There was one more thing she had to do to tip the balance in her favor, and with any luck, it would make all the difference.

__________

Nox strode back into the Imperial base camp, HK-51 trailing behind. The brainwashed Republic soldiers he had acquired were already there, being treated for their injuries and resupplied. They obeyed every order from a Sith or Imperial without question, and Nox noticed a cadre of four Imperials ordering a group of the mind slaves perform humiliating or amusing acts for their entertainment. Nox gestured to HK, and the droid moved off and took up a sentry position just outside the camp's borders, ready to pick off any incoming enemies with sniper fire.

Without a word, Nox walked up behind the group of Imperials, drew his lightsaber, and began cutting them down one by one. Their cries of shock, anguish, and suffering immediately drew the attention of every being in the camp, and the rest of the task force watched wordlessly as their slothful comrades were slaughtered, the atmosphere of fear that permeated the camp growing stronger. When all four bodies of the indolent soldiers lay in pieces on the ground, Nox sheathed his lightsaber, turned on his heel, and stalked over to Lord Hargrev.

"I've recovered about twenty Republic assets and ten Imperial ones." He stated, his voice as calm and relaxed as if he hadn't just butchered four men mere seconds ago. "I trust they are being prepared for the assault to push back the Dread Guard?"

"Of course, Darth Nox." Hargrev said, seeming to be struggling to keep himself calm and composed. "All eighteen of the Republic soldiers and twelve of our own that you recovered will be battle-ready within the hour." Nox nodded in approval.

"Continue monitoring the preparations, I will not tolerate languidity. No-one here is irreplaceable."

"As you command, my lord."

"Oh and see that I am not disturbed as I meditate." Nox indicated the spot he had in mind, a sizable rock outcropping overlooking the lava sea, and far enough from the camp that the noise of the lava would drown out most of the ambient noise. "I sensed two sources of dark power outside the fortress during my roving, I intend to locate their exact locations and move on them before or in synch with the attack on the Dread Host."

"It will be done, Darth Nox." Hargrev said, bowing his head in fearful respect and obedience. "Take as much time as you need, I will ensure nothing disturbs your concentration until we are ready to launch the assault."

Satisfied, Nox turned and leaped across the camp, landing atop the rock outcropping more than twenty meters away. Walking to its most distant edge, he seated himself in a kneeling position and began to call upon the Dark Side. He could feel them out there, like two pulsing hearts of dark power they drummed out a beat that left ripples in the Force, their metaphysical percussion creating a dark symphony in the mind that permeated the land and air.

Reaching deeper into the Force, Nox perceived that while the twin heartbeats were the source, their influence was spread out over the rest of the terrain separating the Empire's camp from the Dread Fortress. Nox reflected on his journeys, he remembered that as he had sought the Republic survivors he had spotted strange devices mounted on three metal legs, surrounded by members of the Dread Host engineering corps, easily identifiable in their purple and black armor and by the aura of dark Force energy that surrounded them at all times. Each member of the corps was a minor Force user and was trained as a Sith trooper, but the more powerful members wielded lightsabers and were referred to as "Corrupters", overseeing the recovery and application of Force artifacts and ancient technology.

He also remembered seeing packs of heavily mutated Tukata roaming near the forces of the Dread Guard, but simply ignoring them, as if they were used to the presence of so many sentients, as if they had been trained... These were clues, of that he was certain, but there was no way to know what they were hinting at without investigating. This area was so saturated with the Dark Side that he could not determine more than a very general location of the two sources of dark power, so he would have to do some exploration to determine their precise coordinates.

Rising to his feet, he felt his connection to the Dark Side slip away until he called on it again, and after a moment of consideration, he chose Khem to accompany him. The two assassins slipped into stealth, making their way towards the power source in the south. Eventually they began coming across those strange, three-legged structures, being guarded and maintained by squads of Dread Host soldiers, who were often accompanied by repair droids and the occasional Corrupter. Upon closer inspection of one of the devices, Nox discovered that the device was channeling Dark Side energy into the ground. He also discovered that the innate fear the moon itself seemed to cause grew intensely stronger the closer he got to the device. Setting Khem on the guards, Nox studied the thing while Khem defeated and devoured his foes one by one, leaving the Corrupter for last. With an outstretched hand and a burst of Sith lightning, Nox overloaded the strange machine and it broke down with a small explosion.

Nox immediately noticed that the fear-inducing effects of the moon weakened almost instantaneously, and with a start he realized that these Force manipulating machines were terraforming devices, or rather, terror-forming devices. He smiled at his own joke, and looked up just in time to see Khem devour the screaming spirit of the Dread Guard Corrupter and sheath his massive vibroblade.

"Come on Khem," He said rather cheerily. "We have to destroy every single one of these!"

An expression that could have passed for excitement crossed Khem's usually unchanging face, and the hunger in his beady orange eyes was evidence enough as to why.

___________

Nox unleashed a burst of lightning that fried the last of the terraforming devices, and turned to see Khem locking blades with the only survivor of the four-man squad of Dread Guard that had been protecting the apparatus, a Corrupter. The man's purple blade moved in simple, broad strokes as he defended himself from Khem's blows and struggled to land some of his own. He seemed to be a Form VI practitioner, and a bad one at that. Reaching out with the Force, Nox plucked his foe from his position, pulling him through the air with an invisible hand, and plopped the surprised Force user directly in front of him. Immediately Nox went on the offensive, showering his shocked and off-balance opponent with strikes and blows meant to be unpredictable and difficult to defend against, but that were also well-balanced, so that any attempt at retaliation could be parried or blocked. Nox effortlessly mixed bursts of lightning into his sequences, and his enemies defenses fell quickly. By the time Khem reached them, the Sith was so weak he couldn't even parry the Dashade's executioner's blow in time, and the vibroblade cleanly decapitated him.

Returning his lightsaber to his belt, as Khem sheathed his vibroblade, Nox found he could think much easier now. The serpentine voices that had been dripping psychic poison into his ears since he arrived on planet were not gone, but their power was less irresistible, and Nox found it easier to squash the bouts of paranoia that threatened to overtake him periodically.

Signaling to Khem to keep watch, he kneeled in meditation, and when he opened himself up to the Dark Side, he could perceive the location of the dark power source much more easily. Pinning down its location to a cavern on the southernmost shore of the lava sea, he rose to his feet and began to move in that direction, Khem following close behind as Nox cloaked them both in the Force.

Within minutes they arrived at the cavern, and sneaking past the guards spread out on the carved steps leading up to it they entered. Nox felt the disembodied voices regain their strength, and he steeled himself for whatever he might find at the other end of the long, winding tunnel they were following. When they reached a large cavern, Nox immediately saw the final terraforming device, also of interest though, was the absolutely massive, mutated Subteroth bound between twin energy generators by two ropes of crackling energy.

Sensing the connection between the generators, the Subteroth, and the final terraformer, Nox walked up to the machine and unleashed a blast of lightning to destroy it. The contraption exploded, and Nox instantly felt the energy in the room shift. Turning towards the Subteroth, he saw the generators shut down from the feedback overload, releasing the gargantuan creature.

At first, the beast looked stunned and disoriented. It moved its head from side to side and pawed at the ground as if trying to regain its bearings. Nox had to wonder how long it had been used as a battery for Dark Side energy, then decided he didn't want to think about it.

Gesturing to Khem, Nox moved off to a distant side of the cavern and signaled his Shadow Assassin to attack. Drawing his vibroblade, the crimson Dashade leaped at the subteroth, striking the surprised creature with a blow across the chest. It barely scratched the thing, but the beast reared up and roared angrily, immediately leaping at Khem with claws ready to rip and shred. Khem was too quick, however, and easily dodged the monster's clumsy efforts, even managing a counter attack.

Nox was about to charge in when he suddenly felt an explosion of Dark Side power within the monstrosity. Through the Force he saw the surge of dark energy rejuvenate and empower the creature, making it invulnerable to pain and healing its wounds instantly. For just a brief moment, Nox thought the Dread Masters had succeeded in creating some unstoppable beast, but then he saw the energy begin to fade away and he realized the effect was only temporary. Even so, with the last of its newfound unnatural strength the subteroth ripped a chunk out of the dirt-and-stone floor of the cavern the size of its torso and hurled the huge projectile at Khem.

Khem avoided being crushed like a Pelko bug by diving to the side, all the same the force of the impact shattered the boulder into fragments that nearly finished Khem off, and almost hit Nox clear across the cavern. Deciding it was time to intervene, Nox discharged a precisely calibrated burst of lightning that stunned the subteroth, leaving it nearly helpless. Then he erected a Force bubble around Khem, who was just now getting to his feet, and harried the beast with a constant stream of lightning from his fingertips. Battered and sliced by Khem's vibroblade, and ravaged by Nox's Force lightning, the monster's already fading defenses and strength nearly evaporated. In moments it collapsed to its knees and, with a final roar, fell flat on its face.

Approaching the corpse, Nox examined it briefly, before taking notice of the control console behind the platform upon which the monster had been imprisoned. Reaching it, he found it wasn't even so much as password protected, and he shut down the terraformer system, ensuring the Dread Host couldn't reactivate it for a good long while, enough time to deal with them and the Dread Masters.

His work here accomplished, he turned and exited the cavern, heading back into the tunnel that lead to the surface. Noting Khem's injuries and weariness, he channeled his powers of corruption as they walked to heal the Dashade's wounds and restore his strength. By the time they reached the mouth of the cave, Khem looked like he hadn't been in a fight at all.

Reaching out into the Force once more, Nox sensed that his next target lay somewhere to the north, beyond the strange tower rising up out of the landscape in distance. Smiling to himself, Nox waved a hand as he took a step forward, and vanished into the shadows.

____________

Ashara knocked on the door of Golys's office in the People's palace. The door swung open to reveal Golys himself, looking understandably stressed.

"My lord!" He exclaimed in surprise, trying to fake a smile. "I was not expecting to see you."

"Can I come in?" Ashara asked politely.

"Of course, of course." He replied stepping out of the way and opening the door to allow her passage. She stepped into the room and was surprised at how tastefully decorated it was. Paintings and sculptures from all over the galaxy adorned the office, even the furniture seemed to be works of art.

"Please, sit." Golys said indicating one of the high-backed chairs that looked more like a sculpture than a seat. "As you can understand my mind is very occupied right now, but if there's something I can do for you..."

"Golys," Ashara said softly, "I would ask nothing of you at a time like this. I've come here with an offer."

"An offer?"

"I'm authorized by my superior to grant Felquarra imperial sanctuary should the need arise," She paused. "And I think we can both agree that the need has definitely arisen."

"Imperial sanctuary?" Golys asked, puzzled. "I'm afraid I'm not aware of what that entails, Darth Skade."

"It means that the Empire treats the sheltered world as if it were one of its own, but not for free, as I'm sure you can imagine. The protection comes at a cost."

"That cost being...?" Golys asked.

"That the world must join the Empire within six months of receiving imperial sanctuary, or face very heavy fines. The kind that ruin a world's economy."

Golys sat back in his seat, seemingly stunned. "Darth Skade this is...I'm sure you can imagine that we need the Empire's protection right now but, to join the Empire in such a way..."

"I understand." Ashara cooed. "You're worried about public opinion of you and your father after joining the Empire. But there's no need to be concerned, the Empire chooses its leaders based on competence and capability, not popularity. We promote the people who are willing to make the hard choices that come with the responsibility of leadership."

"But what about democracy?" Golys asked. "What about letting the people choose who rules over them?"

"Most Felquarrans, like most sentients in the galaxy, are too ignorant about politics to be anything more than a ballot in the hands of a more intelligent and capable being." Ashara said with a softness that belied the harshness of what she was saying. "They only serve as a useful idiot in the hands of the greedy and narcissistic psychopaths that inevitably end up at the top of a democracy. They need direction, they need guidance, they need leaders, not representatives. They need someone to tell them what's good for them, because despite how much they think they know and how intelligent and perceptive they think they are, the opposite is true."

"My lord, forgive me." Golys said in dismay. "But I cannot believe that the Felquarran electorate is as ignorant as you claim." Ashara smiled.

"Governor." She said leadingly. "The case of your mother's murder, why did it go unsolved?" Golys fell back in his chair, looking at her with equal parts shock and suspicion.

"How do you know about that?"

"I always do my research, governor." Ashara said, placating him. "I knew that your mother was murdered the night that you told me she was dead. After you escorted me back to my room I did some simple holonet research and discovered the truth."

"I see." Golys said, still not fully satisfied with her answer. "My father and I worked hard to bury that story, we didn't want it being used against us in any way." Ashara smiled again.

"And with that statement you've just confessed to already believing what I said about the electorate." Golys looked at her, puzzled, and with a touch of anger on his face.

"How do you mean?"

"You said your father and you buried the story because you didn't want any of your opponents to find a way to use it against you. Answer me this, if the electorate was as perceptive and intelligent as you claim to believe, then would they not see through any attempts by your opponents to use it to hurt your campaign, thus making your concerns completely unfounded? Furthermore, if you truly believed that the electorate was so enlightened, why would you and your father have buried that story? Wouldn't you have left it out in the open, trusting the electorate to see through the lies and slander of your enemies?"

Golys was silent for a long moment, and Ashara could tell he was considering her words very carefully. At long last, he spoke.

"You are right, of course, Darth Skade." He said in solemn resignation. "I'm so used to the democracy-worshipping culture of the Republic that I failed to see the hypocrisy in my own actions. Now I see that the Republic only engenders such hypocrisy by making it necessary in order to participate."

"Then you are well on your way to true enlightenment." Ashara said reassuringly. "It isn't that long ago now that I was where you are, until my master showed me the truth." She snorted in disdain. "You know, it's funny. The Jedi preach so much about truth, while the Sith say nothing of it. Yet the Jedi are the ones who live in a world of lies, while the Sith are immersed in truth, merely as a consequence of their beliefs."

"I believe I'm beginning to see that." Golys said with increasing conviction. "But on the original topic of conversation, what did you come to me about this for? I'm merely the governor of Felaq. My father is the only one who can accept your offer." Ashara nodded.

"Indeed. However, I believe he will not accept the offer. Not if I approach him first that is."

"Just what are you getting at Darth Skade?"

Ashara mentally steadied herself and began to weave the Force into her words, gently pushing Golys's mind towards openness, making him more receptive to her words. "Only that we utilize political astuteness to remove your father's inherent biases from his decision-making process."

"How so?"

"I want you to approach him and inform him that I, as the Empire's representative, am more than willing to provide Felquarra with imperial sanctuary to protect it from the Gam'Tuak. Inform him of the cost, and then if he protests joining the Empire under such circumstances, recount the conversation we had about your mother's murder." Golys looked to be considering it.

"So you propose that I approach him instead of you, to remove any anti-imperial bias he might have."

"Exactly. Coming from me, a Sith, those words might seem to be whispered seductions to lure Felquarra into coming under Imperial rule, but coming from his own son-"

"-they will at least seem reasonable and fair-minded." Golys finished. "Yes, I can see where you're coming from Darth Skade." Ashara gave him a warm smile.

"Then its settled. I trust you will see him before Parliament reconvenes?"

"Of course. I'll go see him right now." He said standing up and rounding the desk.

"Good luck." Ashara said softly, sidling up to him as he came close to her. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her curvaceous body against him, kissing him passionately on the lips. When she pulled away, his smile was as big as starship.

"That's all the luck I'll need."

____________

Nox slipped stealthily across the rocky landscape of Oricon. Unseen and unheard, thoroughly cloaked in the Dark Side, he and Khem were little more than ghosts navigating the haunted terrain, slipping past or through Dread Host patrols with casual ease. Reaching the other side of the strange watchtower, Nox noticed a large pool of bubbling lava with a natural stone bridge rising up out of it, providing a way for the Dread Master's minions to reach the steps of the tower, which he could see across the pool, from here.

Also on the other end of the bridge was a human woman. Her bald head gleamed in the orange light of the lava pool below, and her sunken orange eyes spoke clearly as to the nature of her connection to the Force. She had a Sith tattoo on her forehead, and she appeared to be dressed in the robes of an ancient ritualist, the style of which would have been unfamiliar to anyone but Nox. The robes were, as best as he could tell, replicas of the robes Rakatan Force-using acolytes were said to have worn for rituals and other situations where battle armor was not necessary.

An acolyte of the Masters? Nox wondered. It was possible, the Dread Masters had, after all, once offered him the opportunity to learn their dark arts, it was likely this woman had been given the same opportunity. Perhaps she was being groomed to become an elite servant of some kind, perhaps a commander of the Host, or someone to assist the masters in their studies of the Dark Side.

It didn't matter anyway though. her journey ended here and now. Nox needed information, and by the looks of this woman she could provide it. Whether she did so willingly or not was of no consequence. With a series of hand signals, he ordered Khem to move in on the Dread Acolyte while he took up a position near the far corner of the bridge, far enough away that the acolyte's attacks would have little to no effect on him, but close enough that he could still support and strengthen Khem through the Force, and even attack the acolyte if he so wished.

With a sudden leap and a roar, Khem broke from stealth and nearly landed on top of the acolyte. Had he succeeded, she would have been hurled into the lava by the sheer force of over three hundred pounds of raw muscle slamming into her at incredible speed. Instead, she foresaw the attack moments before it happened and raised a Force barrier that Khem slammed into full force. The barrier shattered, but Khem's momentum was lost and he only barely managed to stay on his feet.

Laughing manically, the acolyte drew and activated a purple, double-bladed lightsaber, charging at the Dashade, who was still a little off-balance. With an outstretched hand and a thought, Nox erected a Force bubble around his assassin, sheltering the Dashade from the first few blows of his opponent's lightsaber, and by then Khem had regained his balance and had assumed a defensive stance. The hulking monster's ancient vibroblade, specially treated by Tulak Hord's Sith alchemy to deflect lightsaber blows, proved a valuable tool for Khem to defend himself from the acolyte's ferocious assault. The broad side of the blade allowed him to swat away his opponents weapon with enough force to momentarily unbalance her, while the sharp edges allowed for deadly strikes that forced her to expend as much energy defending herself as attacking her foe.

Realizing she couldn't overpower her enemy with martial skill alone, the acolyte stretched out with both her hand and the Dark Side, attacking Khem through the Force with her sorcerous powers. Nox, not one to be outdone, used his own knowledge of Sith Sorcery to cleanse the spiritual infection. At this point, the acolyte was so engrossed in her battle with Khem that she hadn't even seen him, and didn't realize that the Sith Sorcery combating her own Force powers did not belong to the Dashade. She used balanced blade work mixed with Force attacks in an attempt to keep up with Khem, and Nox realized she was a Niman user and, although far less adept than him, her skills were nothing to sneeze at. Still, she was having some trouble against Khem's use of Djem So, and it was slowly becoming obvious who was winning the fight.

As her strength ebbed and Khem fed on it to become stronger, her desperation grew, and suddenly she leaped straight up into the air, the Force building inside her through two forward somersaults before she slammed one fist and one knee down onto the unforgiving stone with enough force to shatter half the bones in her body. The kinetic energy however, simply dispersed upon impact, allowing her to land as softly as a feather while a wave of pure power blasted out from her, lifting Khem clear off his feet and sending him flying in a lazy arc into the hissing lava below. The acolyte, having finally noticed Nox, charged, an insane cackle wafting from between her lips as she prepared to assault her true foe.

Thinking quickly, Nox extended his hand, reaching out with the Force as he did so, and plucked Khem from midair, pulling the Shadow Assassin towards him even as his other hand reached out towards the Dread Acolyte and unleashed a bolt of incapacitating electricity. The Force pull plunked Khem onto the edge of the bridge less than ten meters from Nox, but the bolts that were meant to stun the acolyte seemed to have no effect, the woman merely laughing all the louder as she took the first swing. Nox immediately erected an impenetrable Force Barrier, and her lightsaber bounced off it. Just as she hit it again, Khem, who had gotten to his feet, came barreling towards her, vibroblade ready to slice her in two, and the battle once again took the form Nox desired.

Nox savored the spectacle as Khem slowly fed on the Force within his opponent, as if he were eating her alive, piece by agonizing piece. When Khem finally knocked the woman's lightsaber out of her hand and was about to go in for the kill, Nox stopped him with the Force.

Approaching the defeated foe, Nox signaled for Khem to stand back, then used the Force to lift his enemies chin so he could look her in the eyes.

"Now, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way." He said. "Tell me what I want to know and I'll give you a swift and relatively painless death. Resist, and I will savor every agonizing moment." She laughed again, the expression marinated in insanity and masochistic joy.

"Never! You don't know, you don't know!"

"What don't I know?"

"The Masters, you don't know the Masters! Ohhhh but you will, you will! They have such big plans for you!" Her voice rose to a shrill squeak, and she dissolved into laughter again. Nox sighed.

"The hard way it is." Extending his hands towards her, he penetrated her mind with ease, her once formidable willpower, which had allowed her to resist being incapacitated by his Sith lightning, literally devoured by Khem during their battle. Rummaging through her mind with a level of apathy clearly displayed by his lack of reaction to the woman writhing and screaming in pain on the ground in front of him, he found the information he sought, and when he had acquired it, he released his hold, and the woman went still, breathing shallowly and groaning softly, barely conscious.

Backing away, Nox gestured to Khem, and the Dashade approached, seizing her by the shoulders and hauling her to her feet, holding her up with his three-clawed iron grip. Opening his mouth, whitish-gray, ectoplasm energy began to emanate off the woman's body. The sight resembled a massive star being slowly consumed by a black hole, and the energy rushed into Khem's maw, a final telepathic peal of unhinged laughter echoing through the Force. Khem let the carcass drop to the stone, and followed Nox as the two of them vanished into thin air.

_____________

Raze sat cross-legged in the center of his mediation chamber aboard the Starblade. Feeling the Dark Side ebb and flow around him, tasting the fear, terror, and despair of the beings on the surface of Damerok far below him. His fleet had conquered the remainder of the system after destroying Jedi Master Tyke Fisto's defense fleet, and now a blockade of the system's capital world was in effect, and a full-on invasion was about to be launched.

Raze felt pride swell in his chest, he was growing stronger every day, he could feel it. As his strength in the Force grew so too did his power base. The conquest of the Damerok system would be his first major political acquisition. Although the move would expose him to his master's enemies, it would legitimize him as a true Darth. Normally, he would have balked at betraying his master like this, but since his revelation on Vlestakk he no longer truly cared what his master's desires were. He would serve him only until he had surpassed him, then he would replace him. It was the way of the Sith, the way of the Dark Side.

He suddenly felt the presence of someone outside the chamber, and with a thought, he unsealed the door to allow them to enter. Commander Harkanous walked stiffly into the chamber, his exterior the perfect picture of discipline. He approached Darth Raze and bowed low.

"My lord, are you ready for the briefing?"

"Yes." Raze said, getting to his feet and turning to face the commander, hands held behind his back. "Begin, commander."

"As you wish." Harkanous said, activating a portable holo-projector that displayed various images of buildings, fortifications, and individuals that were involved in the invasion plans. Raze had assigned the actual planning to the cadre of commanding officers that ran his fleet, but before they would enact it, he had to approve it. Harkanous spared no detail, and Raze paid attention carefully to everything he said, despite the mounting bloodlust that drove him to simply approve the plan, end the briefing and order the invasion. He could not afford for this plan to have any mistakes or weaknesses the enemy could exploit. If he failed here, not only would his master realize what he was doing, but the failure would prove him to be an unworthy successor.

So he listened, as each minute dragged by he forced himself to wrap his brain around the invasion plans and tactics, analyzing them both individually and as a whole. Several times he had to ask Harkanous to go back and explain a specific part of the plan to him with greater simplicity and directness. The commander dutifully obeyed, his voice, face, and mannerisms never betraying even a hint of disrespect. A minor feat in its own right, one that kept many an imperial officer alive long enough to be promoted to Moff.

"And now we come to the crux of the entire plan." Commander Harkanous said, and Raze's pointed ears perked up. The image of a big hulking brute, clad in heavy armor from head to toe, and equipped with a top-of-the-line jetpack with a rather large and dangerous-looking blaster pistol in his hand, appeared above the holoprojector.

"Is this image life-sized?" Raze asked.

"Yes, my lord."

"Who is he?"

"His name," Harkanous said, gesturing to the image, "is Hydrax. He's a bounty hunter who is rather famous for his brutality and ruthless pursuit of his targets. He has yet to fail a single mission, or return any of his marks alive."

"Why does his name sound familiar?" Raze asked absentmindedly.

"He's named after a being from ancient Rattataki legend, my lord." Harkanous supplied. "Apparently the Hydrax of legend was the jailer of the underworld, armed and tasked by the gods to ensure those imprisoned there never escaped, or that if they did, it was never for long."

Raze nodded in understanding. "Yes, I remember hearing that legend during my days back at the Academy, so what is his role in this?"

"We've received information that Hydrax was hired by the Damerokian military to protect the monarch, King Lareesh." The image of the massive, well-armed warrior vanished, to be replaced by a slightly handsome, elderly human male. "The king is your target, my lord."

"My target, commander?"

"Yes, we thought it a gross waste of resources to keep you out of this battle. You are, after all, our greatest advantage."

"Naturally, continue."

"The mission we devised for you is to infiltrate the royal palace using the invasion as a cover. Then you can kidnap the king and return to the Starblade with him in your custody. Whereas an actual invasion would take weeks to give us the planet and legitimize our control over the system, this way we can win with only one battle. With the monarch in our custody we can force him to sign a treaty dictating the terms of Damerok's surrender."

"A well-devised plan." Raze said, meaning every word. For a while there he had been worried that the invasion would indeed take weeks, and that he would have to listen to hundreds more briefings like this one on a regular basis. If he could pull off this mission, he could skip all that and move straight to victory, just like in a game of Sakash Serpents and Steps, but with much more bloodshed and battle. "Very well commander, begin the invasion."

"As you command, Darth Raze." Harkanous said, bowing low once again. "You shuttle will be prepped and ready for takeoff in fifteen minutes, you can depart at your leisure once the invasion has begun."

"I will depart as soon as possible, as always." Raze assured him.

"Then good hunting to you my lord."

_____________

Nox awoke, slowly emerging from the dark fog that clouded his mind, obscuring his thoughts in shadow. Instinctually, he raised his head to look around him, and was startled when he realized he couldn't see anything. The darkness seemed as black as the void, and for a terrifying moment Nox thought he was dead. Then he saw the eyes. They stared at him with the wide, glassy gaze of an abomination, a deep-sea creature that had never seen the light of day. Their eerie orange glow seemed to penetrate him, seeing into the depths of his being with the clarity of a god. But as his Force senses came slowly back to him, he realized they weren't eyes, they were merely the strange, glowing orange spots he had seen on the roots on Oricon.

Oricon! He thought, panicked. The Dread Masters! What happened? He suddenly realized he couldn't remember anything after killing the Dread Acolyte, whenever he tried to call up those memories they stubbornly stayed cloaked in the strange dark fog clouding his mind. Whatever had happened somebody or something didn't want him remembering. The Dread Masters? They seemed the most likely culprit, but he had thought they didn't consider him a threat. This kind of direct attack made no sense if that was true. Suddenly, one of the "eyes" moved. It was only slightly, barely noticeable, but Nox's senses were on high alert, and he suddenly realized that he could sense the presence of something living all around him. With mounting horror, he realized that even the bindings holding him in an upright, spread-eagled position were alive. Extending his Force awareness, he found Khem, similarly interred, only a few meters from him. Extending it further, he found that the "roots" were not plant life at all, but something else entirely. Harnessing the fear-based emotions rising up within him, turning them into anger and hate, Nox stretched out farther, simultaneously using the Force to dispel the brain fog and clear his mind.

Then suddenly, something broke, and it all came back to him in a rush. A flurry of images, sounds, smells, and various other pieces of memories flooded his consciousness, and he remembered. He had traveled further north, following the stolen memories of the Dread Acolyte he had just killed towards the cavern entrance on an island linked to the mainland by a natural stone bridge to the south, and a particularly strong and thick "root" to the east. Along the way he had observed roving packs of mutated Tukata being corralled by the Dread Master's beast handlers, whom he had also noticed seemed to be studying the strange vegetation that the Acolyte's memories told him were somehow linked to the source of Dark Side energy that he was after.

Upon arriving at the cavern's mouth, he had entered and begun winding his way down the long passage as it spiraled into the depths of the island. His and Khem's progress had remained unhindered, although the root-like plants grew so thick here that they nearly covered all but the floor of the tunnel. They had gone deeper and deeper, until they had been attacked. The root-like vegetation had unexpectedly come alive, the only warning being a sharp, clear premonition mere moments before the attack itself. They had seized the unfortunate Khem immediately, dragging him deeper into the cave, and surrounding Nox like a thicket.

He had tried to escape, first with a large expulsion of Dark Side power, then with summoned lightning, but the roots had expelled some kind of terrible gas, filling the enclosed space with the odd-smelling substance until Nox felt his attacks grow weaker and his thoughts beginning to slur and fade. He held his breath, but it was too late. The gas had already entered his system, and was already working to quell his ability to call upon the Force, preventing him from purging the poison with the Dark Side. The last thing he remembered was being swallowed up by a hazy dark fog, the same fog from which he had emerged.

His Force senses now fully aware of everything in the cavern, Nox started when he realized that the pulsing source of dark power, the second dark heart, was behind him. The bonds that held him fast were its appendages, as were all of the root-like tentacles, not just in this cavern, but all across the area around the Dread Fortress. The bark-like skin was camouflage, and the orange "eyes" were merely sensory organs that detected movement and light, but not much else. Instead the creature relied more on touch, on the vast nervous system that covered miles and miles of the planet's surface.

Suddenly possessed of an immense rage, Nox twisted his wrists to grab a hold of the tentacles binding his arms, and unleashed his hatred in the form of crackling energy. The voltaic ropes wrapped themselves around the tentacles, feeding back through the incredibly delicate and sensitive nerves, reducing the first few feet of the tentacles to ash, and horribly charring another few meters after that. Nox heard a psychic scream of pain and rage, and he dropped to the ground as the tentacles holding his feet released him to thrash about wildly. He landed in a pool of water about ankle deep, and quickly made his way to shore, half stumbling in his mad scramble to put some distance between him and his captor. He heard the loud splash of Khem hitting the water face first, and he prayed that the shock would jolt his morose monster awake. He didn't like the idea of facing this thing, whatever it was, alone.

Reaching the filthy shore, he clambered up onto it, and whirled to see what manner of creature his captor was. He expected something like what he saw, but even so the sheer perverseness of the thing left him in shock. It was a massive trunk, seemingly formed of many of the root-like tentacles all wound around each other. There was also one particularly large, glowing sensory organ a little off to the right from the center. The countless tentacles thrashed wildly, flailing and shaking, as the monstrous living tree bellowed its pain through the Force.

Nox briefly noticed Khem getting to his feet, and he reached out with his Force grip and plucked the Dashade out of harm's way, depositing him a few feet from him, already beginning to channel his powers of corruption.

"Khem!" he shouted, trying to be heard over the roaring in their heads. "Kill!"

Thankfully, that was all Khem needed. He drew his vibroblade and charged. The thing failed to notice him until he had started hacking and slashing at its trunk. Howling, the tree brought its countless tentacles to bear, all of them rushing towards Khem to constrict and crush him. Reaching out with Dark Side, Nox erected a Force bubble around his Shadow Killer, and the tentacles crashed against the barrier, continuing to batter the protective field in an attempt to break it.

Nox reached deep into the creature's unguarded, unfamiliar mind, and was staggered when the vastness of its consciousness opened up before him. The living tree was one of many, spread all across this world, each one a single, simple mind, but together, they formed a living consciousness greater than anything Nox had ever encountered since that day on Asation. He realized that now, every one of them was aware of him. Even if he were to kill this one and escape, every single one of these abominations would hunt him down, literally pursuing him to the ends of the planet. There was only one thing he could do now.

Summoning the Dark Side, he felt the void, black and pulsing, emerge from its slumber. It filled his body, and his being melded with the void as he called upon the arcane energies he required for this act of profound destruction. The knowledge possessed him, and his body and spirit acted it out, fulfilling the rites even as the Force burgeoned within him, rising like a great, slumbering beast, terrible in its wrath, and finally awakened. He completed the last rite, and he felt the power burst out of him. The Dark Side energy pierced the living tree, and a horrible cry, more haunting than any unleashed by the thing before, echoed across Nox's mindscape. The tree began to turn black at the core, and the darkness swept outward over the massive thing, spreading to the twitching, writhing tentacles, as the infection consumed the abomination. One by one the orange "eyes" dimmed, and the thing spent its final moments in silent agony.

Through the Force, Nox could sense the other trees, even though they were miles away, and he fed on their primitive, animalistic shock and horror as they felt the infection, transmitted through the Force bond they all shared, spread like a viral contagion. Above it all Nox could sense the great consciousness of the planet-wide collective, and savored its more deep and profound sense of terror and loss as it slowly degraded with the death of each of its nodes. The mind that had once spanned an entire planet, comprehended the universe in only the grandest of scales, was dying. Having never had to contend with a death so complete, with an annihilation so utter, it felt only the deepest terror. The terror that only an immortal god felt when facing oblivion. Nox drank in every moment, feeding on the suffering of the planet-wide consciousness until the very last spark of life winked out.

Khem, who had been caught by the tentacles after they pierced Nox's barrier mere moments before Nox had unleashed his ritual on the creature, was getting to his feet after being dropped into the water once more. He made his way over to Nox, who was standing there, staring at the dark, empty husk of the dead tree.

"Ghuulhaben, jokiney ekidiess?" Khem asked. Nox didn't reply.

"Ghuulhaben, jokiney ekidiess?" Khem asked again. "Doshinaa yamea sinawaizuu?" Nox finally turned his head to briefly regard Khem.

"No, no I'm fine Khem."

"Jayleena zumeek ochiboun." Khem said, trying to hide his impatience.

"Yes, yes lets go." Nox said, turning his back on the empty shell, and heading towards the caverns only exit.

___________

"I've dealt with the threats and the Dread Master's technology." Nox said as he approached Lord Hargrev, who was turning from his conversation with Maiya to face the Dark Lord.

"Thank you my lord." Hargrev said, and Nox noticed his shoulders weren't as stooped as they had been, and the panic that had once lurked behind his eyes was now greatly diminished. Nox too felt as if a great weight had been lifted from him. The formerly oppressive presence of the Dread Masters that had permeated the atmosphere was much lighter, making the air seem more breathable and Oricon's gravity much weaker.

"I want you to prepare small teams to salvage some of the technology to the south," Nox added before Hargrev could continue. "It would be remiss of us to let any of the Dread Master's knowledge and skills go to waste."

Hargrev looked as if he wanted to say something, but he bit his tongue and simply nodded. "As you command my lord. It shall be done."

"By the way," Nox said, turning to Maiya, "how are preparations coming for our assault on the fortress?"

"The troops are almost ready." Maiya said, "we can secure a route to the fortress and protect your flank if you act as a vanguard." She paused. "But we still need a way through the fortress gates. According to our recon data they're built with highly dense materials, impenetrable considering our resources, or rather our lack thereof."

"Can we circumvent them?" Nox asked. "How are they controlled?"

"There's an outer watchtower with command of the gates." Hargrev said, suddenly speaking up. "It's computers are built with ancient Rakata and Sith technologies, we scanned it from orbit. I know the Dread Master's designs-if you can seize the machine core, I can extract the codes needed to attack the fortress."

"That won't be a problem." Nox said with confidence. "That core is as good as ours."

"We'll have the troops begin moving on the fortress." Maiya said. "Once you bring back the core they'll strike at your command."

"Turn your terror into hatred." Nox said. "Set your nerves of cortosis, the time for the final confrontation is drawing near, I can sense it in the Force."

"We are ready." Hargrev said, his voice filled with a conviction and savagery Nox hadn't seen in him until that very moment, and he smiled as he realized that Hargrev's old nature was beginning to show through.

"Then the Dread Masters are doomed."

____________

Nox slipped unseen into the command center of the Dread Guard's watchtower, with HK-51 not far behind him. The infiltration of the tower had been incredibly easy, almost laughably so, despite the immense presence the Dread Host had here. The number of guards and tamed beasts accompanying them was more than enough to protect the tower from a frontal assault, but fortunately Nox's powers of mind control and stealth were more than enough to sneak him past even the most alert of their Force-sensitive overlords, who all wore double-bladed lightsabers on their hips and bore skull-like helms of Obroan design.

Ascending the ramp, Nox entered the main room of the command center, and the first thing he noticed was the computer core. It hovered above a pedestal in the center of the room, rotating and tumbling in slow motion as dark energies emanated from it like a strong smell. Two red force fields, one around the pedestal and one around the platform both pedestal and computer core sat upon, surrounded it. Looking past the hovering cube, he saw a computer terminal in a large alcove behind the pedestal and its raised dais. On either side of the terminal were droid assembly chambers, seemingly dormant.

Glancing around Nox noticed two more terminals on the other two walls, each on its own raised platform with steps leading up to it, and flanked on either side by more droid assembly chambers. He quickly surmised that the terminals were likely for accessing and deactivating the security systems protecting the core, and he knew that without the proper access codes it was likely he would trigger the alarm if he tried to turn off the security measures that were in between him and his goal. The droid assembly chambers would quickly create guards to fight him while reinforcements poured in from outside.

For a moment, Nox stood there, considering his options. When he finished his deliberations, he'd arrived at the only correct conclusion. It felt like a waste of time, but it was better than having to fight the entire tower's worth of enemies he had just sneaked past. Turning to go, he checked to make sure HK was following him, before continuing out of the command center and back onto the outside of the tower. At one point during his ascent he had reached a fork in the path, and now he knew it was likely that the being he sought was at the end of the other path. Once he acquired to codes he would have to move quickly, otherwise he would simply receive the exact result he was trying to avoid.

Reaching the fork, he scurried down the second pathway and around a corner. He passed down the long stretch until he reached an open platform overlooking the landscape to the southwest of the Dread Fortress. Standing there on the edge of the platform, leaning on the waist-high wall that bordered the space, was a humanoid dressed entirely in red and black. Nox had never seen armor quite like what the man was wearing. It seemed flexible yet solid, and he had no doubt the strangely-styled rubbery material coating the man's shirt was nearly as resistant to plasma as the large cortosis armor plates that guarded his upper arms. His pants were black with strange red veins traveling down them to his boots, which were armored and covered his shins with thick fabric that probably made them fit more comfortably. On his head he wore a familiar helm. Nox recalled seeing holo images of Darth Jadus, and remembered him wearing a helm of similar form and design. Like his armor, the helm was also red and black, but only on the front. An odd "V" shaped design stretched across its smooth, featureless face.

Nox noticed the double-bladed lightsaber on the man's waist, and he knew this was the being he sought. Based on how he was dressed differently from the other Force-sensitive commanders patrolling the tower, it was likely this man had what Nox wanted. Communicating silently with HK, Nox laid out a brief plan of attack, and when HK had taken up a suitable position, he moved in on his prey.

The Dread Guard commander sensed the attack mere moments before it came, even so, he was nearly too late. His purple-bladed saberstaff sprang into his hand and activated with a crisp, clean hum, nearly in sync with the hiss of Nox's own blade activating, and the two weapons clashed with a screech. They threw themselves into the battle, Nox using his array of Dark Side powers to harry and oppress his opponent while maintaining an impenetrable defense, while the commander mounted a formidable offense, merging Force attacks with dizzying lightsaber sequences. He threw his blade around the battlefield, telekinetically manipulating and guiding it so that it seemed to take on a life of its own. He used the Force to create a temporary vacuum around himself, creating a strong current of air that nearly dragged Nox into close quarters, before he released the vacuum and the air he had sucked in exploded outward with a loud bang, nearly knocking Nox over. As it was, the attack caught Nox by surprise. He'd never seen that ability before. It was nowhere near deadly or threatening in itself, but the element of surprise briefly gave the commander the advantage, and he harried Nox with a blinding flurry of blows that Nox nonetheless repelled with his spinning blades.

HK-51 fired a deadly series of precision shots at the commander, forcing him to divide his attention between his two enemies to avoid being shot full of blaster holes or losing his limbs to Nox's lightsaber. Nox was careful, however, to use his mind control to keep the commander's focus and hatred purely centered on him, allowing HK to fire on the man unmolested.

The battle carried on this way for thirty seconds or so, before Nox had finally worn his enemy down enough that he made a mistake. He left himself open in between sequences, and Nox rewarded him with a burst of electricity that staggered him and left him all but defenseless against the swing from Nox's blade that severed the man's weapon arm at the elbow, leaving the limb and the weapon to clatter to the ground. The lightsaber deactivated upon impact. Crying out involuntarily, the commander attempted to unleash lightning on Nox, but the Dark Lord absorbed it with an upraised hand, turning it back on its wielder with a malicious cackle. Enveloped in his own lightning, the man screamed through gritted teeth, and when the attack ended he slumped over, clutching his charred stump of an arm.

The air shimmered, as an invisible energy field emerged from the small, round device HK had placed on the ground. The noise-dampening field generator was an essential tool in any professional assassin's kit, and HK had only top-of-the-line equipment. The device would easily mute and muffle anything less than a Nexu's roar, perfect for Nox's intentions.

"If you think that was painful," Nox said, violet-tinged lightning beginning to crackle and form balls in his hands, "Just wait till you get a taste of mine!" He unleashed the energy at his defeated foe and the man screamed loudly. The electric serpents snaked around his spasming, twitching form, and he collapsed onto his back, writhing in absolute agony. Nox ceased the channel and moved closer to him.

"Now, unless you want me to wear you down like this until I can reach into your shattered mind with no resistance and take what I need, I suggest you tell me what I want to know. What are the watchtower's security access codes?"

Silence.

Nox sighed. "Very well." And with a snarl of hatred, he unleashed his power on his helpless foe again, savoring his victims screams, drinking in his suffering, feeding on his pain.

__________

Nox, armed with the knowledge of the access codes, slipped stealthily into the watchtower's command center once more. In a matter of minutes he had deactivated the force fields and alarm systems, and as he approached the core, he felt a slight uneasiness. Brushing the feeling away, he reached out to claim his prize, and immediately received a vision of the future. He could see and feel the tall man in blood red robes, wielding twin lightsabers, one purple and one red, behind him, swinging them to take off his head. Operating on instinct, he ducked and the twin sabers sailed through the empty air where his neck had been. Whirling on his foe, he drew his own weapon as a barrage of high-powered blaster bolts were unleashed from the barrel of HK's sniper rifle, forcing the robed man to bend, twist, and contort himself to dodge and deflect the shots. Nox attacked his foe with his full fury, enraged at having been deceived. He had allowed himself a moment of weakness and vulnerability, and it had nearly cost him everything.

Wielding his blades in the deadly Juyo form, while also adopting the Jar'Kai tactic, the opponent unleashed a flurry of blows upon Nox that were as alien as the strange, spiked mask he wore over his face. The unpredictability of the attacks made them exceptionally hard to defend against, and if it wasn't for Nox's advanced precognition abilities he might have lost the battle in the first few seconds. Slowly however, the assailant settled into a pattern of attack, and Nox began to see and analyze the new style, gathering the Force to his aid, summoning the Dark Side to renew the strength and energy he had so desperately expended in the first moments of the battle.

Suddenly whirling on HK, the attacker hurled both of his lightsabers on an angle perpendicular to the ground. The two whirling blades nearly sliced the assassin droid into three pieces, but the automaton's finely honed reflexes saved him. He dodged to the side while simultaneously activating his cloaking field. Nox took advantage of his opponent's distracted state to unleash a burst of electricity directly into the man's nervous system, piercing his personal shield with the bolt like an arrow sinking into flesh. Stunned by the attack, only the man's instincts and unconscious use of the Force saved him from death, as his personal shield and Force armor absorbed the incoming bolts from HK, while his survival instincts drove him to stumble away from Nox, desperately putting distance between him and his would-be killer. With outstretched hands the man recalled his weapons to his hands, and they activated with a clean hiss. Turning, he whirled them in front of him to form shields of plasma to deflect the blaster bolts from the assassin droid, who was now positioned near one of the droid assembly units.

Nox reached into the man's mind with snaky tendrils of dark thought, drawing the man's murderous attention back towards him and away from the droid that was the true threat. With a roar, the man leaped at Nox, bringing both blades crashing down on Nox's purple blade, raised in a defensive position. Only the Force kept him on his feet and prevented his own weapon from slicing through him as his opponent brought his full weight crashing down on the defensive block. With a burst of power he threw his foe off of him and unleashed the rising darkness bubbling up within him in the familiar salvo of depredating volts. Each one that slammed into the enemy's personal shield and Force armor rattled him visibly, but despite it he advanced on Nox, raising his blades to strike him down.

Finishing the attack, Nox got his blade into position in time to parry the attack and deflect the follow-up. His ire rose as his foe continued to deflect, block, absorb, and parry HK's attacks while continuing to mount his assault on Nox. This fight had gone on far longer than it should have, his foe was more formidable than he had expected, but it was time to end it.

"HK! Attack pattern C7 Aurek!"

HK-51 unleashed a storm of continuous fire while Nox erected a Force barrier to protect him from the plasma. The dual-wielding saber master stopped attacking Nox and focused entirely on defending himself from the unexpected hail of bolts. Normally such an attack pattern would have been reckless, but thanks to the hyper-precise programming of HK's assassination protocols and Nox's own Force abilities, the maneuver worked perfectly.

HK suddenly stopped his sweeping salvo mid-burst and unleashed a perfect bolt aimed directly at the robed assassin's chest. The bolt bore through shielding and Force armor, burning a hole into the man's left pectoral and short-circuiting his personal shield generator. He didn't even have time to scream, as HK was already gone, cloaking himself for the half-second that it took for him to close the distance and slam the butt of his rifle into the masked marauder's face. The man stumbled back, and HK launched an electro dart into his chest, near the smoking hole, and the man convulsed and spasmed as he tripped on the step of the computer core's platform and tumbled flat over onto to the ground. Nox approached, whirling his lightsaber above his head for a moment, before bringing it down and impaling his enemy.

Silence fell over the room, and Nox deactivated his lightsaber, while HK holstered his rifle. Nox glanced up at the computer core. It was still there, hovering, creating a soft humming noise that made the air in the chamber seem to vibrate.

Suddenly, the chamber grew darker. It was a subtle shift, one that you might not notice if you weren't paying attention, but with the darkness came that same unmistakable presence, like a smell from a childhood memory that you couldn't forget, no matter how hard you tried.

"Long ago, we learned of your abilities in the Belsavis prison." The voice of Dread Master Tyrans echoed off the walls of the chamber.

"Since then you have grown." The voice of Dread Master Calphayus said, a note of approval in his voice. "In mind and body; in skill and in spirit. A darkness roils inside you now, like the beast of entropy. Hungry, awakened after countless eons of slumber..."

"You delivered death to Lord Styrak and ripped him from our union." Dread Master Raptus accused, his voice yet laced with that insidious power that caused a twinge of guilt of wriggle its way up Nox's spine. He banished it immediately, but it persisted, rooting itself in his chest like a stubborn parasite. "You proved yourself worthy of our notice."

"But from our wound bleeds our memories; our names; our ambitions. We have tasted oblivion and it drowns us. Like you we are changing." Dread Master Bestia said.

"I believe I can help with that." Nox said. "Surrender yourselves to me, allow me to kill you and bind your spirits, your power, to myself. I will be your anchor to the physical realm and in return you will give me all your power."

"You do not comprehend." Calphayus said, his disapproval clear.

"Once we desired an empire." Dread Master Brontes explained. "Now with the death of Lord Styrak we are going mad."

Nox suddenly found himself transported into a vision. He stood in the midst of a roaring inferno, surrounding him in the flames, forming a circle, were the remaining Dread Masters.

"The wound must be healed." Calphayus stated definitively. "Our union requires a sixth-or there will be only chaos."

"You of all Sith know power and darkness and secret terror." Raptus said in a surprisingly genuine tone. "Once a slave, you became a being worthy of worship. Now you will join us... and we will feast upon each other's dreams as we grow strong together!" He finished, clenching his fist for emphasis as ambition and desire dripped from his words, inspiring a similar emotional reaction in Nox.

"If I were to accept your offer," He began, "how would we begin? How would I join your union?"

"You must first be degraded." Brontes said, adopting an arrogant pose, lording over him. "You must be humbled and humiliated, stripped of all but fear."

"You can promise power," Nox warned them. "But I will never be a slave again."

The vision vanished and Nox was back in the computer core chamber.

"Even now, our ships prepare to launch and deliver our devices to other worlds-Dromund Kaas, Nar Shadda, and Coruscant." Raptus declared.

A loud noise, like the hollow beating of an ancient, propeller-using aircraft's rotors filled the room, and Nox could not suppress the sudden terror that arose in his mind. He knew that noise. It was the sound of death, the heartbeat of the void, the sound of the Reaper breathing down his neck. He didn't know how he knew this, it was instinctual, like repressed knowledge released from deep within his being. He could feel it, death was near.

"Populations will be infected, and planets overgrown." Calphayus snarled, his voice filled with hatred and malice. "Mothers shall kill daughters as soldiers weep in terror!"

"All you love and prize, will fall." Dread Master Tyrans stated, his voice betraying not hint of uncertainty or deception. "You will try to stop our ships and fail. Then-you will be ready to join us."

The noise, and the presence of death in the room vanished, as did the voices of the Dread Masters. The computer core suddenly deactivated, ceasing to glow and dropping to the pedestal like dead weight.

For a moment, Nox just stood there, thinking. He realized now that the presence of death had been an illusion of the Dread Masters, they had conjured up a shadow of his worst fears and used it to seed terror in his mind as an example of their powers, but even so it had shaken him to his very core. He had no idea why he associated that noise with death, but it had come from somewhere very, very deep inside him, from the darkest corners of his mind where his secret nightmares lurked. The terror it caused had been irresistible and had swept throughout his whole body in an instant, paralyzing him. He would swear until his dying day that at that moment he had felt a bony finger tap him on the shoulder, and felt a cold, stinking breath that chilled him to his soul on his neck. He had been absolutely terrified to turn around, knowing that if he did he would have been staring into the black, empty eye sockets of a face that his own helm, he now realized, was a crude mockery of.

But that feeling was gone now, and he was a Dark Lord of the Sith. He would not bow down and submit, not to the Dread Masters, not to the Emperor, not even to Death itself. He would master death, he would enslave it to his will. The Dread Masters were merely another obstacle in his path.

As he reached for the inactive computer core, Nox turned his fear into hatred, and as he felt the darkness answer his summons he smiled. The door was open, and step by step he was walking over the threshold.

___________

The skies over Damerok were awash with the colored streaks of plasma bolts from the two fleets battling in orbit. The Damerokian defense fleet was small but determined, and no quarter was given or taken. Anti-orbital weaponry fired on Raze's ships from the surface, inflicting significant damage but not enough to turn the tide. Through the chaos flew Raze's personal shuttle, dodging and weaving through defense formations and debris fields left by destroyed vessels. Upon the arrival of Raze's fleet in orbit, Damerok had recalled every single one of its ships in the system, and was desperately trying to draw out the battle into a siege, so that Republic reinforcements would have time to arrive, if they ever did.

But if Raze succeeded in his mission, not even the Republic could get here in time. It would take several days for a sizable enough fleet to be assembled and dispatched to Damerok, and he was confident that by that time the treaty would have already been signed, making Damerok officially Imperial territory. Momentarily distracted by a squad of fighters that nearly collided with him, he failed to evade a strafe from one of the enemy ships and was hit. The shuttle bucked and shook as the cloaking device shorted out. Cursing, Raze was forced to immediately dodge a follow-up strafe launched by the fighters who had just passed him. Seeing him appear suddenly on their scanners, they had done a prompt about-face and were now bearing down on him, eager to blast him out of the sky.

Raze took evasive action, using the debris as cover for his escape and purposefully flying through hot zones in an attempt to lose his pursuers. He managed to lose three of them by the time he emerged from the other side of the battle an entered the atmosphere, but two of the determined pilots were still hot on his trail. Launching a compliment of missiles, Raze grunted in approval as two of the projectiles caught out one of the pilots and destroyed his vehicle mere seconds before he ejected. Suddenly a lucky series of shots by the final pilot hit his engine and left stabilizer. The engine was still working, but barely, and the destroyed stabilizer made steady flying impossible. Realizing the shuttle was going to crash just as he broke through the clouds over Seelar, Damerok's capital city, Raze aimed the shuttle for an industrial sector and unfastened his harness, rushing to the back of the shuttle to make his timely escape.

With a Force push, he blew out the docking ramp and leaped out, landing on a rooftop and turning to watch his shuttle crash into a power plant, exploding in a spectacular fireball. Hearing the distant whine of another aircraft, he turned to see the fighter that had been chasing him. Concentrating, he reached out with the Force and seized the fighter in his telekinetic grip. The pilot struggled to break out of the hold by attempting to swing the fighter violently from side to side, but Raze's grip was like iron, and he drove the fighter directly into the inferno that had replaced the power plant. The explosion that followed was all he needed to confirm his enemy's death.

Turning dismissively away from destruction he'd left in his wake, he decided it was time for an audience with the king.

__________

Hydrax walked briskly down the hallway towards the throne room, swinging open the massive double doors and entering the chamber. He continued to walk towards the throne as he spoke.

"Your majesty, we need to leave."

King Lareesh looked up in surprise and stood to his feet, shock and anger beginning to show on his countenance.

"Hydrax, what is the meaning of this?" Reaching the foot of the dias leading up to the throne, Hydrax stopped.

"They've sent someone after you. We need to move you to a safer location, now."

The king sniffed. "So let them come. That's what my guards and you are here for, to protect me."

"None of us can protect you from a Sith, my liege." Hydrax said pointedly.

"Sith?" The king looked visibly shaken. "They sent a Sith?"

"Yes, that's exactly why we need to move you out of reach."

Lareesh appeared to consider the situation for a moment before finally answering.

"Alright," he said suddenly, turning to the two guards stationed on either side of the throne. "Jenkins, Argyle, you're coming with us." Hydrax shook his head.

"They'd only slow us down m'lord."

"They're coming with us and that's final." The king declared, challenging Hydrax to disagree. He didn't.

__________

Raze slipped like a phantom through the halls of the royal palace. Armed guards were everywhere, but with Raze's Force cloak shrouding his form and silencing his movements, he was like a small breeze, weaving and winding his invisible way through the morass of the king's protectors. Some protectors they are, Raze thought. An intruder is right within their midst and they don't even know. Then again, what was the loyalty and vigilance of mortal men compared to the power of the Force?

Eventually Raze successfully navigated his way to the throne room, and it was then he discovered he had a problem. There was an entire platoon of armed guards keeping watch over the huge double doors, he couldn't open them without informing the guards of his presence, and subsequently setting off the alarm. Moving quickly, he scoured the surrounding area looking for anything that he could use. In a few minutes, he found it. A ventilation duct that seemed to run directly towards the throne room, and it was just large enough for him to fit into.

"Herein lies the problem with having large ventilation ducts." Raze mumbled to himself, as he pried the grill off of the opening. Looking inside, he discovered that the duct was actually riddled with security devices. Pressure sensors, motion detectors, microscopic cameras, and immediately he regretted his hubris. Reaching out with the Force, he dazzled the first security cam, freezing the image of an empty duct, and clambered in. Using the Force, he levitated the grill off of the floor of the room he had just left and brought it back into place, then turned his attention back towards the task ahead of him.

Many agonizing minutes later, Raze kicked out the grill of the ceiling mounted ventilation shaft and dropped to the floor of the throne room, instinctively reaching for his lightsaber as soon as his feet hit the ground. To his surprise, he found the throne room completely empty. Had they known he was coming? No, if they had discovered his presence in the duct he would have been surrounded by guards right now, there was some other explanation.

Settling himself on the throne room floor, Raze sat in a cross-legged meditation pose and surrendered his thoughts to the Force. He could feel the ebb and flow of its currents around him, and as he focused, he saw back in time to the King's hurried departure. The bounty hunter, the one called Hydrax, had intervened, escorting the King out of the throne room and likely out of the palace. There had only been a few minutes since the event, he could still catch them if he hurried.

Rising from his spot on the floor, Raze dashed to the door near the throne that his quarry had exited by, throwing his Force cloak around himself as he flung it open and ran down the hall beyond.

____________

Hydrax lead the group through the palace at an urgent pace, avoiding main thoroughfares and sticking to the winding and complex back corridors. They passed several patrols which often stared at the sight of the King skulking about the palace with such a heavily armed escort. Eventually they reached the lower levels and the corridors became more run down and in need of care. Hydrax lead them to a door that looked as old as the palace itself and quickly picked it with an extendible tool that sprouted from the fingertip of his gauntlet.

"This way your majesty."

"Where are we going? What's down there?"

"This is a network of caverns meant to be used as a hideout or means of escape." The massive bounty hunter said. "It's the only way to get you out of the palace safely."

"How did you even know this existed?" King Lareesh asked worriedly. "No-one outside of the royal family and the elite guard is supposed to know about it."

"I always do my research." Hydrax replied. "Now are we leaving or would you rather stay and find out what the Sith has planned for you?" After a moment of indecision, the King entered the dark passageway beyond the threshold, and his two guards followed, with Hydrax bringing up the rear and locking the door behind them.

They descended down a long flight of stone steps until they reached a carved cave tunnel at the bottom, following it they passed through several forks with the King leading the way. Eventually they reached a large, open cavern with five other tunnels leading off of it.

"Now, if I remember correctly," the King mused, "the second tunnel from the middle is-" he was cut off my the sound of a heavy blaster belching twin bolts of plasma into the backs of the two guards, Jenkins and Argyle. He whirled to see Hydrax holding his huge blaster, its barrel still smoking a little.

"You traitorous scum!"

"I tried to convince you to come alone." Hydrax said, his voice never wavering, much like his blaster, which was aimed squarely at King Lareesh's forehead. "But you insisted they come with us. Their fates were sealed in that moment, you killed them, not me."

"You have the gall?!" The King spouted furiously, seeming to forget that Hydrax was holding an enormous blaster on him. "You just shot them dead in the back and you accuse me of killing them?"

"They wouldn't have had to die if they weren't here." Hydrax pointed out. "No one had to die because of this, but you made that impossible. Now shut your mouth before I decide this gamble isn't worth the risk and just shoot you."

The king seemed like he was about to say something, but reason caused him to bite back whatever he was about to say. Hydrax used his voice activated comlink to open a channel.

__________

"Greetings, my lord." Came an unfamiliar voice over Raze's com. The sound caused him to stop dead in his tracks.

"I know you're here, in the palace. Don't worry, I'm not going to out you to the royal guards. Instead, I want to make you an offer."

"Who is this?" Raze demanded, finally finding his voice after the shock of realizing his personal comm channel had been sliced.

"Hydrax the Relentless, my lord." Came the gravelly voice again. "I'm sure you've heard of me. The Mandolorians tell stories about me, or so I hear."

"How did you get into this channel?" Raze demanded. There was a sound that might have been a sigh on the other end, then Hydrax spoke again.

"I've got a friend back on my ship, one of the best slicers in the quadrant, don't blame your personnel, they didn't have a chance at keeping him out."

"Speak your offer." Raze replied.

"Well, let me put it this way," the sound of a blaster being cocked could be heard on the other end of the line. "What's this world worth to ya?"

Then Raze realized what was happening. Hydrax, for reasons unknown, had decided that protecting King Lareesh was no longer as profitable a venture as it might have seemed. He had correctly deduced that facing off against Raze would likely put him six feet under, and had instead decided to sell out a world to save his own skin, and make a friend in the Sith Empire. Raze wasn't a haggling man, but even if he had been he would have been in no mood to haggle. He had to make an offer good enough that Hydrax would accept without a second thought, otherwise the hunter might opt to simply kill the king and vanish. Raze mentally reviewed his stipend and resources, calculating how much he could afford to offer.

"Three million credits." He finally said. "Paid upon safe delivery of one living King Lareesh to my flagship in orbit."

"You're straight to business," Hydrax remarked. "I like that. I have a feeling this relationship is going to be very profitable, for both of us." The comm channel cut out.

"Alright your majesty," Hydrax said, waving his gun in the direction of the second tunnel from the middle. "what was that you said about the way out?"

__________

Two hours later, Raze, escorted by Commander Harkanous, approached Hydrax's ship, the Spinax, as the boarding ramp extended to allow the bounty hunter, still holding his captive at gunpoint, to descend into the hanger bay. When they reached the bottom of the ramp, Harkanous stepped up and slapped stun cuffs on King Lareesh.

"Your accommodations are this way, your majesty." He said with just a hint of a sneer, eliciting a chuckle from the honor guard of Imperial soldiers. He took the king away, while Hydrax holstered his weapon and turned to Raze.

"And my payment?"

Raze wordlessly took out a datapad and pressed a few buttons on the touch screen. Hydrax immediately received a notification on his wrist computer, and when he checked it, he actually chuckled to himself.

"Not bad for a day's work."

"There is much more where that came from." Raze replied. "I have need of someone with your skills, if you are so inclined to offer them."

Hydrax entered something into his wrist computer and a message appeared in Raze's inbox.

"That contains my contact information, as well as protocol for contacting me in an emergency." Hydrax said. "I don't give out that info lightly, only to my best customers." Raze smiled.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Hydrax."

__________

"My lord, one of your acolytes has gone mad." Maiya said hesitantly to Lord Hargrev. "Your protection may be...wanting."

"I am concentrating! I'm trying to focus-" He turned at the sound of Nox's approaching footsteps. "What?!"

Nox nearly electrocuted him for the disrespectful, rebellious tone in his voice, but recognizing that wouldn't help anyone he gritted his teeth and stayed his hand.

"We don't have much time." He insisted. "I've recovered the computer core but the Dread Masters are launching an attack on the Empire."

Hargrev whirled around and slammed his fist on the screen of the portable console behind him. "Blast it all!"

"That explains the signals we're picking up," Maiya said, glancing at the now cracked screen. "hyperdrives coming online in the Dread Fortresses outer courtyard."

"Get the gate codes off the computer core, we're invading the fortress next." Nox ordered.

"Yes, of course." Hargrev said. "But please-do not let the Dread Master's ships reach our worlds." Hargrev begged. "What they would do is...unthinkable."

Nox suddenly felt every alarm in his brain go off, he heard that terrible sound again, accompanied by a deep rumbling and the same two familiar presences; that of the Dread Masters, and that of Death.

"Hurry as you wish," the voice of Dread Master Tyrans boomed. "but you will watch your planets burn."

____________

Swiftly and silently, Nox and HK moved through the Dread Fortress's heavily guarded outer courtyard. The layout was seemingly designed to confuse, with countless walls separating the wide open space into loosely connected sections with each one usually dominated by one or several of a large takeoff platform upon each of which an imperial-style red shuttle sat, being prepped for launch and guarded by entire platoons of the elite Dread Guard.

Slipping through a large group of the aforementioned guard, Nox descended a small flight of stone steps into a much larger section than the one he had just left. The first thing he noticed was the three shuttles on raised platforms, with guards and pilots milling about them, and perched on a raised section beyond, overseeing it all, was a blue-skinned female Twi'lek. She paced back and forth anxiously, her lekku tips flicking and twitching with stress. She was dressed in a form-fitting jumpsuit with no stomach, and in her hand she clutched a double-bladed lightsaber. She was obviously the commander overseeing this section, and Nox realized that he would have to take her out first so she couldn't stop him from sabotaging these shuttles.

Signaling to HK, he sent the droid off to take up a position atop one of the shuttles and prepare for the fight, Nox prepared by projecting an aura of distraction and absentmindedness as he moved through the assembled troops. It was a variation of several mind control techniques that allowed him to briefly muffle all external stimuli outside of ten meters from the affected. Despite the distant sounds of battle one hundred, fifty, or even twenty meters away, the soldiers would remain distracted and distant, each of their senses temporarily afflicted with its own equivalent of near-sightedness. The effect was only temporary and would wear off in a few minutes, which was why Nox had to move quickly. If the affect wore off while he was still battling the commander, he might suddenly find himself swarmed by near endless waves of Dread Guard, and without the godlike might the Ritual of Power Transfer afforded him, he would be vulnerable and exposed.

Reaching the steps up to the commander's platform, he placed the numbing daze on the nearby guards and moved in on the commander, sinking deeper into the Dark Side even as he summoned it to prepare for battle. The Twi'lek, despite her paranoia, never saw him coming until it was almost too late.

She barely dodged Nox's attempt to skewer her through her exposed stomach, but quickly recovered, bringing her own double-bladed weapon to bear against her attacker. Nox immediately erected his signature impenetrable defense and unleashed the full oppressive power of his dark Force presence on her, perfectly blending his use of the Force with lightsaber techniques to make himself invulnerable. He unleashed bursts of lightning and dark energy in jolting staccato rhythms that culminated in the familiar salvo of depredating volts. She responded with dexterity and grace, artfully dodging his attacks or blocking them with either her lightsaber or the Force. She was surprisingly skilled at creating and exploiting holes in his defenses. Her lightning fast Ataru strikes quickly began to wear Nox down, and the holes she created in his defenses with double and triple feints grew larger and larger by the second. Still, her progress was frustratingly slow. It seemed she was used to most opponents having collapsed by now, and it was only ten seconds into their duel. Her speed and reflexes increased, the frequency of her attacks multiplying exponentially as she dipped into her deepest energy reserves. Nox was now focused solely on defense, utilizing the Force to harry and slow her reactions while using his weapon to parry, deflect, or block her attacks with insane speed and accuracy.

Growing desperate, his opponent dug down deep, and summoned the very last of her reserves in an effort to end him before she exhausted herself, but it was already too late. Nox felt her willpower break under the effect of his stifling presence and saw her focus completely shift to ending him. She was vulnerable. For a split second he shifted his focus, reaching out with the Force across the courtyard, causing a small piece of broken metal sitting atop the shuttle upon which HK-51 was perched to lift up and clatter back down. A millisecond later, almost in the same instant, the shot HK had been charging was launched from the barrel, burning through the air with a speed that seemed supernatural, burying itself in between the Twi'lek's exposed shoulders, punching through her drained personal shields and Force armor like it didn't even exist. The Twi'lek went rigid, standing perfectly frozen for one breathless moment, then collapsed to the ground like a sack of meat.

Sheathing his lightsaber, Nox cloaked himself in the Force and moved towards the now also cloaked HK, who leaped from the top of the shuttle and activated a detonator moments after landing. All the shuttles in the area exploded into roiling balls of flame, and immediately every guard in the vicinity whirled to gaze at the sudden spectacle, the spell Nox had placed over them shattered. Smiling to himself, Nox met HK in an unoccupied corner of the courtyard.

"Can you finish things here?" He asked the droid in a low voice.

"Affirmation:" HK whispered. "Absolutely master! Clarification: would you prefer I enact chaos, genocide, or infiltrator protocol?"

"Chaos." Nox responded. "The confusion will assist me in accomplishing the rest of my mission."

"Recommendation: I suggest you eliminate all your targets with extreme prejudice master."

"Thank you HK, I will do just that."

__________

Nox approached the bare-chested, dual-wielding Dread Guard commander at a hurried but measured pace. Khem Val was standing hunched over right beside the tall human, cloaked in the Dark Side as Nox was, waiting for the signal to strike. After casting the perception-muting spell on the last and nearest group of guards, Nox took up a strategically hidden position by an obelisk and flashed Khem a hand signal. The Dashade dropped his cloak, raising his blade to strike down his surprised next meal. The marauder blocked the monster's vibroblades with crossed lightsabers and threw off the crushing attack with surprising strength. He ferociously attacked Khem, utilizing the Ataru form with much the same mastery as his Twi'lek comrade.

Khem, to his credit, stood his ground, but he was not as skilled as his opponent, and his personal shield and body both took consistent damage from his opponents hundreds of stabbing, thrusting, and sweeping attacks. Nox kept himself busy by keeping a steady stream of Force corruption flowing into the Dashade, healing his wounds almost as fast as they formed and lessening the physical damage by maintaining a shell of Force energy around his Shadow Killer that acted as a second layer of energy-based defense. Nox could sense Khem employing his dreaded ability to consume the Force energy of his prey, and he could feel the commander's growing fear, which he was directly converting into rage. It became a contest of which would win out in the end, Khem's ability to devour Force energy, or the commander's ability to create more through his fear and anger.

Suddenly, the commander pierced Khem's blade defenses with a sweeping and dizzying array of attacks. His lightsabers ravaged and then broke his enemy's shields and struck flesh. Khem let loose a low bellow of pain, and Nox was grateful that he had made sure the Dashade had placed a noise-dampening field generator nearby, otherwise the sound might have broken the tenuous hold Nox's spell held over the nearby guards. Horrible scorch marks on Khem's chest and shoulders smoked and crackled as the enraged beast responded to his attacker's brutality with some of his own. His Force-consuming abilities amplified by his hatred, the beast began to suck the very life essence out of his foe, even as he brutalized his defenses with his blade.

Nox reached deep into the dark well in the core of his being and summoned dark, swirling energies that gathered in a writhing ball in his hands, focusing the darkness, he then unleashed it into Khem's ether body, accelerating the monster's own cell regeneration to biologically impossible rates. The grievous wounds began to heal before the commander's very eyes, and with disappointment, Nox realized what was going to happen next. The commander reached out with the Force, summoning a swirling, localized tempest that kept Khem trapped in a tiny vortex of wind and power. Turning and locking on to Nox with surprising efficiency, the commander leaped off of the balcony and came crashing down on Nox's raised Force barrier. The man continued to savagely beat on the somewhat opaque force field, but a continuous flow of dark energy from Nox's raised hands to the inside of the barrier kept it stable and unbreakable.

For about ten seconds the bare-chested human threw himself against the unyielding wall of Nox's will again and again, until the whirlwind occupying Khem faded and dispersed, and the raging monster sent his own massive bulk hurtling through the air, coming crashing down on the man, nearly catching him off guard. The commander continued to try and break Nox's barrier, even as Khem drained his Force energy and attacked him with all the strength he could muster. Nox actually laughed at the man's sheer desperation, and ceased to channel the barrier, taunting his enemy. The marauder went berserk, striking savagely and with little thought, sparing only some of his energy for defending himself from Khem's most damaging or fatal blows. When he saw the barrier beginning to weaken and waver, his desperation blossomed into triumphant determination, and he began utilizing positioning, footwork, and artful dodging to avoid Khem's attacks, saving all his offensive energy for attacking Nox.

"Pathetic!" Nox spat, stretching out his hand just as the Force barrier collapsed. A bolt of lightning spiraled down his arm and unleashed itself from his fingertips in a split second. It pierced his enemy's Force defenses and shocked him out of his berserker rage, causing him to briefly lose his coordination and dexterity, allowing Khem to slice off one of his arms with an opportunistic strike. The human howled in pain, and Khem moved in, slicing off the commander's other arm at the elbow, both stumps now bleeding freely. The Shadow Killer reached out with one, three-taloned claw and seized the agonized man around the neck, raising him high up off the ground so that his booted feet kicked helplessly at Khem's armored knees. As Khem choked the defenseless human, he opened his mouth and white tendrils of energy began to drift out of the human's skin, falling into Khem's gaping, lamprey maw like energy being sucked into a black hole. Nox savored the man's death through the Force as Khem slowly, agonizingly devoured his soul, piece by piece. To the victim, it felt like he was being eaten alive but on an entirely different level, the agony was transcendent rather than carnal, meaning there was no hope of even the sweet mercy of unconsciousness. He would experience the entire event in all its terror and suffering. His last moments were a literal hell.

Khem finally dropped the empty corpse to the ground, and turned to his master.

"Dushaneey wauss, Ominei demou shulna apybaun."

"I enjoyed it too, think nothing of it." Nox said, the tone of his voice reminiscent of a man who had just had a particularly satisfying sexual encounter. A light haze covered his thoughts like newly fallen snow, and he felt satiated in a way he couldn't quite describe, despite it being familiar to him. Ever since meeting Khem all those years ago, he had found that empathically experiencing the devouring of his enemies' souls at the hands of his morose monster to be an immensely satisfying experience that easily rivaled the decadent pleasures that many Sith, including himself, indulged in. It always struck him as a perverse miracle, and more than once he wondered if the pleasure that Khem inadvertently brought him through simply doing what nature had decreed his species must do to survive was clouding his judgment regarding the Shadow Killer, in much the same way that his childish crush on his master, Darth Zash, had nearly blinded him to her treachery.

"Deshalii sabuun ominei mau duusc." Khem said. "Shalrey teemun sulii meenau voos."

"Just finish up here," Nox said glancing around to see the first signs that the spell was starting to wear off. "You know what to do, stay hidden and use the chaos to your advantage. When you're done meet me in the main thoroughfare of the fortress for your next orders."

"Saibuna tuminay sumak cheiss." Khem affirmed, before raising his Force cloak and vanishing to do his master's will. Nox too, cloaked himself in the Dark Side and departed to accomplish the final part of his mission, which would drive the final stake through the heart of the Dread Master's plans.

___________

When Nox arrived in the main thoroughfare, he was not surprised to see entire squads of Imperial troops battling the two remaining Force sensitive commanders of the launch. The short, squat commander in arcane robes with a strange helmet was pummeling men to death with pieces of the fortress itself ripped from the walls and ground and levitated by his telekinetic power, while his tall, battle-armored companion was alternating between masterful use of Shien to combat the ranged troops and Djem So to beat down the vibroblade-wielding soldiers. Still under cloak, Nox observed the large number of dead bodies in the area, most of them Dread Guard. It seemed the invasion force sent to hold his route out of the fortress had seen great success, until they encountered these two.

Turning his attention back to the two Force users making a mess of his men, Nox dropped his cloak and unfurled the full weight of his dark presence, simultaneously alerting both the enemy commanders and his men to his presence on the battlefield. The men couldn't help but cheer and roar with triumphant battle lust as they felt his power flow into them, bolstering their reflexes, strength, resolve, and morale. Nox's eyes glowed purple, the one-way lenses of his helm failing to hide his power. A visible aura of dark Force energy surrounded him, and five orbs of dark energy could be seen orbiting him like satellites.

Drawing his lightsaber, Nox activated it, waiting for the enemy to make their move. He didn't have to wait long. One of the fools, the helmeted one, tried to pick up Nox telekinetically and toss him around like a toy, only to find that he couldn't even budge him. So instead, he turned and gestured towards a small group of soldiers, levitating them off the ground and pinning them in midair, helpless. He then turned back to Nox just as his companion charged the Dark Lord with a Force-imbued leap.

Nox could sense that both of his foes were strong willed, the truth of it proven by the fact that they continued to fight even after his appearance on the battlefield. Now they weren't just outnumbered but outgunned, yet still they fought on, their conviction like durasteel in their veins. Still, Nox could also sense that conviction, and their willpower, wavering under the oppressive weight of his dark power, and the renewed ferocity of the soldiers they had believed to merely be target practice. It wouldn't be long before they both lay broken and defeated at his feet.

The tall, armored brute was a skilled Djem So duelist, and he put his skills to work trying to bully Nox into retreat, while the helmeted kinetic tried to keep the soldiers busy while also unleashing barrage after barrage of debris at Nox. Nox felt several shots of kolto beams strike him on the flanks, and he spared a moment to realize that the squad medics had taken up support positions around him and were channeling their kolto shots at him, recognizing his life as the key to their victory. Encouraged by their loyalty, Nox reached out with the Force, planting the seeds of hatred and rage in the kinetic commander's mind, easily slipping past the man's wavering mental defenses.

Possessed of a sudden rage, the robed man stopped focusing on the soldiers and turned his wrath entirely on Nox. He unleashed thick streams of Force lightning at him, which strained Nox's Force armor and personal shields, but shots of Kolto from the imperial medics kept Nox's energy reserves high, while his foe's power and resolve continued to wane under the relentless assault of the troopers. The duelist commander ran through a staggering variation of sequences and angles of attack with limited success. He could occasionally create and exploit holes in Nox's defenses, but Nox was always carefully limiting the amount of damage he could do by balancing his Force and lightsaber defenses so that they complimented each other, even while he battered and weakened his opponent with both his martial skills and the Force. At the peak of the battle, Nox truly was like a Rancor, equal parts an unstoppable force and an immovable mountain. He crushed and brutalized his two foes with his overwhelming power and unrivalled skill, while also simply taking their strongest attacks in stride and continuing to beat them into submission.

Eventually, a dark shadow emerged from thin air and nearly managed to sever the armored man's head with its massive vibroblade. The armored man whirled just in time for his blade to catch the assailant's blow and parry it, but now he found himself facing off against a terrifying-looking monster that was easily as big as he was, and seemed near his equal in Djem So. The kinetic soon found himself under fire from atop a pedestal midway down the long thoroughfare, as blaster bolts were launched with inhuman accuracy and frequency across what was likely over sixty meters distance. The kinetic raised an impenetrable Force Barrier much like Nox's own, channeling dark energy to constantly reinforce it underneath the constant and overwhelming barrage of fire from both the soldiers and the distant sniper. The duelist was so focused on his battle with the Dashade and deflecting incoming fire that he seemed to have completely forgotten about Nox.

Moving to a spot directly in the middle of his two enemies, Nox began to draw on all the power that he could, summoning it from deep within the dark well at his core. He could feel his hatred and anger rising, increasing his power exponentially, and he let it consume him. Unleashing a roar of triumph, he reached out his hands and threw his head back, yanking his two enemies from their positions with the Force and depositing them only a few meters away from him. Almost instantly, the power he had summoned unleashed itself in a spectacular explosion of dark energy, it swept over his disoriented opponents, knocking them prone. Immediately following the explosion, a lightning storm about fifteen meters across appeared out of thin air, summoned by the Dark Lord's own power. Appearing out of thin air a few meters above the ground, the vulnerable Dread Guard commanders were caught in the unnatural maelstrom and were left writhing and convulsing on the ground as Nox poured out his wrath.

Nox laughed, a joyfully maniacal and unhinged sound. He laughed as the power filled him to overflowing and his entire being felt hyper-energized by the sheer volume of energy passing through him and exploding out into the material world in a storm of fury. He laughed as he drank in the suffering and agony of his dying, despairing foes, and he laughed as the orgasm of destruction and suffering reached its transcendent peak.

When the last burst of power left his body, he fell to the ground and collapsed onto his hands and knees. It was then he realized he had been hovering several feet above the ground and he hadn't even noticed. The energy storm had taken all of his remaining power to summon, but it had done the job spectacularly, and while his power was now exhausted, that was merely a drop in the bucket compared to what he could summon when the time to face the Dread Masters finally came. As he got to his feet her realized that all the imperial soldiers were staring at him. Some in shock and awe, and others in terror.

"Well? Get to your posts men! I need this thoroughfare kept clear of scum for when I return!" He barked.

As if jolted from a daze, the soldiers rushed off to take positions along the boulevard that lead to the gates of the Dread Fortress, and Nox turned to begin making his way up the distant, massive set of steps that lead up to those gates, which were now open and waiting, courtesy of Hargrev and Maiya successfully slicing the stolen computer core.

That horrible, chillingly familiar noise suddenly came from behind him, and Nox once more felt the cold breath of the void on the back of his neck. Temporarily paralyzed with terror, he felt another familiar presence wash over him, and the ground trembled violently, as if seized by terror as well. The golden mask of Dread Master Tyrans appeared before him, and a ring of fire sprung out of nowhere, surrounding him completely and bringing with it an oppressive heat that provided a startling contrast to the abyssal chill sweeping over Nox's petrified body.

"Not enough." Dread Master Tyrans booming voice echoed in Nox's head as the dark and shadowy forms of the other Dread Masters stepped out from behind him while he unleashed a wave of dark energy and madness that slammed into Nox's mind with the force of a starship, actually making him stumble back a few steps as his hands instinctively flew to his head. The attack didn't pierce his mental defenses, but the same was apparently not true for everyone else. The entire legion of soldiers clutched madly at their heads, some rolling around on the ground screaming in pain, while others unleashed the tortured howls of beasts and madmen as images, false memories, and terrifying delusions instantly crushed their spirits and broke their wills. Even Khem Val seemed dazed and out of it, staring off into space for a few seconds before shaking his head as if to clear the cobwebs in his brain, only to stare off into space again.

Surveying how easily the Dread Masters had crushed the minds of his troops, Nox decided his initial plan was the best option, whatever the Dread Masters had planned for him, he would face it alone. Turning back to the Dread Masters, he was hit in the face with Raptus's shocked and angry accusation.

"You dared to stop our launch! For every Dread Guard killed we will destroy one of your soldiers."

"Unless..." Dread Master Brontes said with her signature haughtiness, "you wish to bargain."

"Tell us a secret," Dread Master Bestia said, her tone that of a traitorous lover trying to pry information from her beloved's lips. "tell us what you fear and we will spare your servants."

"Stop it!" Nox demanded. "You want to know something I'm afraid of, I'll tell you!"

"Speak!" Raptus commanded, pointing at Nox. "Name your fear!"

"I've been a slave, an apprentice, and a collector of dark spirits." Nox said, barely suppressing the emotion in his voice as he worked himself up to speaking his worst fear aloud. "I have claimed power from nothing and conquered the Force itself, yet Death still pursues me. It haunts my dreams and stalks my every waking moment. It plagues me night and day and takes a thousand different forms to try and catch me unawares. It comes as my enemy, my ally, my servant, and my master. What I fear most, is that one day it will come, and I will be caught unprepared."

A low chuckle came from Raptus, but rather than him it was Dread Master Brontes who spoke next.

"Let that thought suffuse you."

All the Dread Masters raised their hands towards him and swirling vortexes of red and black energy swirled around their wrists. Nox heard that same hollow, rapid beating sound behind him, as if the spectre of death was drawing closer, until it was right behind him. Despite the heat of the flames, Nox felt as cold as if he were in the deepest depths of void, he couldn't feel the heat at all and darkness began to drown his vision. In pure panic, he thought he was going to die, right here, right now. He couldn't stop a stifled cry of protest from escaping his lips, and with that the experience ended.

"Enough humiliation." Dread Master Bestia said. "You will join us soon."

With a swirling of dark energy and a flash of light, the specters of the Dread Masters vanished, leaving Nox standing alone. Behind him, the soldiers began to come to their senses, and Nox turned to them.

"This will all be over soon," he promised. "All I need from you, is to keep this passage open. Once I return with the Dread Masters heads, we can all go home."

There was no verbal reply from the men and women before him. They were too shaken and stunned to process what he had said right now.

"Khem," Nox said, turning to the now fully alert Dashade. "I want you and HK to assist these troops in defending this avenue of escape, lead them in battle if you have to, but do not let this position fall to the enemy."

"Dashade nou weizu." Khem said. The response translated to: "I will not fail." although the use of the species name, rather than his own name or the Dashade's word for "I" carried a sense of racial honor. If Khem failed to deliver his oath, Nox had permission to dishonor all other Dashade's in his place. It was an oath not ever used lightly, and was typically used when the one swearing it did not expect to survive.

"Then do your people, and mistress Death, proud Khem Val." Nox exhorted him. "Die with honor."

"Mortei nu halabas." Khem repeated in his own language.

Leaving the Dashade, Nox turned and began ascending the massive flight of stone steps leading up to the gates. When he reached the open gateway, he kneeled down and began to focus. He felt the dark minds of his children come alive at his telepathic touch, and each mind responded in one way or another. Some with acceptance, others with requests to wait. As he waited for the remaining children to create alibis for the event that was about to occur, Nox drew power from the ones who were ready. As the dark tide of energy rushed into him, filling his being, he experienced the welcome ecstasy that always accompanied this rush of unfathomable power. The darkness inside his soul grew and multiplied, and a palpable, visible aura of darkness and power swirled around him, making him the nexus of a vergence in the Force. Then, as each child signaled their readiness, he drew the final bouts of power from them, and when the last drop of it entered his being, he once more saw the door, flung wide open with the power of the abyss flowing freely out. The darkness rushed over him like a tsunami, thousands of whispers filled his ears and he felt dozens of unfamiliar limbs comprised of ethereal matter with non-Euclidean geometry curl around him. He felt the darkness swallow him up, but he was not dissolved, instead he became the darkness, one with it, bound to it. He was its embodiment, its chosen avatar through which it could interact with existence. He felt the power of a god flowing through his veins.

Standing to his feet, Darth Nox strode through the gates of the Dread Fortress, the very embodiment of the Dark Side, and across the galaxy, all who were exceptionally strong in the Force raised their heads, as a great shift, one the likes of which would not be felt for another three thousand years, rocked the galaxy.

____________

A silence as deep and dark as the shadows filling the massive, spherical chamber hung stagnant in the air. The smell of death, rot, and stale air filled the space, even though all organic beings in the room were technically alive. Seated on their ascended thrones sprouting like insidious plants from the room's central platform, the five Dread Masters watched in mute fascination as the vortex of Force energy that Nox had become entered the gates of their fortress. The voice of Dread Master Tyrans broke the deathly silence.

"We expected this, and yet he exceeds our expectations."

"We were foolish to discount him on Belsavis." Bestia said with a level of admiration in her voice. "We haven't seen this level of ambitious competence since Darth Revan, or perhaps the Emperor himself."

"His power is formidable," Raptus said, voicing what they were all thinking. "He has reached a level closer to us than anyone in our lifetime, left to his own devices he might well exceed us."

"Then let us harness him," Calphayus suggested. "latch onto him like Suulwari leeches and ensure that power is shared among us, instead of focused in a singular vessel."

"There is no alternative." Brontes affirmed. "Without a sixth we will inevitably lose our hold on sanity and surrender to the void, and he is the most suitable candidate who just so happens to be delivering himself right into our hands."

"The promise of greater knowledge and power is more than ample bait." Raptus added. "As powerful as he is we possess secrets and knowledge that would allow him to refine that power and put it to proper use. He will come to us, he will face our trials."

"And should he prove to be worthy," Tyrans continued, "We will have a more than suitable replacement for Styrak."

"Who will oversee the first trial?" Raptus said. "And what should that trial be?"

Brontes rose to her feet. "Now that we see his true power, I think we would be remiss not to test it. The first trial should be trial by combat."

"And you intend to carry it out?" Raptus asked rhetorically.

"Of course," Brontes said, as six golden tentacles, forged of the same material as the crown-like crest atop her head, slithered out from behind her back, twitching and turning their tips like the heads of strange mechanical serpents. "I have the matter well in hand."

__________

Nox strode confidently down the avenue leading from the outer gate deeper into the fortress. As he walked he tuned his comlink into the Dread Host frequency, and was immediately blasted in his ear by a harsh, commanding voice.

"This is Gate Commander Draxus, the intruder has breached the outer gate and is approaching the Gatekeeper, all forces on alert!"

They have a gate commander, Nox realized. Another obstacle he would likely have to remove. As he began to draw near to the walled courtyard at the other end of the boulevard, his eyes and Force sense suddenly picked up some aberrations just inside. Through the Force, the beings looked like shimmering, multi-colored gems of Force energy with an unmistakable dark taint. From what Nox could see of their physical forms, it became clear that these beasts were not products of natural evolution, possibly not even native to this universe.

Most of them were large humanoids covered in black armor which had lustrous, opaque red orbs embedded in places like the chest plate and shoulder plates. They all had hairless skin as black as their armor stretched over tight, thick muscles. Some of them were top-heavy armored cyborgs that were easily ten feet tall and walked on four-taloned feet set in a cross formation with a sole tentacle replacing each of their arms. Others resembled armored quadrupeds that had been forced to walk on two legs. They shambled along uncomfortably on the crooked, backwards-bending limbs, which in conjunction with their massive, clawed paws and mouth full of huge, thick fangs spoke to a canine past. These canine monsters were fifteen feet tall if they were a foot.

Scurrying about the area in droves were strange, twisted little humanoids with skull-like faces. They moved with the nimbleness and speed of insects, yet their climbing style and hunched posture pegged them as primates. Each one likely stood about eight feet tall at full height, mostly thanks to their elongated, serpentine necks which they instead used to place their heads out in front of their bodies, allowing them to see past the overly large shoulder pieces of their exoskeletal armor that protected their long necks from decapitating swipes when fully erect. Their bodies appeared as skeletal as their faces, and even their armor reflected this, the chest giving the rough appearance of a rib cage and vertebrae, enclosing their unfathomably long and thin torsos. At the end of their long and thin arms were five-fingered claws, each talon as long as the finger it sprouted from, and each creature balanced on the balls of its clawed, thumbed feet, allowing them to move quickly and nimbly across the courtyard, the clawed thumbs of their feet allowing for extra dexterity while climbing.

As Nox drew closer to the courtyard's entrance, two of the canine abominations noticed him and unleashed a bone-chilling sound easily interpreted as their version of howling. Dropping onto all fours, they charged him, their massive bulk racing towards him with astonishing speed, claws reaching for him, toothed mouths slobbering red saliva, yellow eyes seething with primal malice and hunger. In a blur, Nox moved past them, racing in between them with such supernatural speed that he was already standing in the center of the courtyard by the time they even realized he was gone. Nox paused, allowing his presence to settle over the area like a miasma, letting the darkness draw his foes to him. One by one the twisted beasts perked up and began to notice him, and as they did, they began to close in on him. Nox counted four of the canines, six of the claw footed creatures, and roughly fourteen of the skull-apes. Dangerous numbers to be facing when he didn't know what precisely it was he was facing, but nonetheless he was confident his power would more than suffice.

He called to the darkness, and felt it answer. The air became charged with electricity, and as the now galloping horde of monsters bore down on him, that power reached its peak. All of a sudden, a lightning storm erupted in the courtyard. The entire space was filled with thousands of lightning bolts that appeared seemingly from the thin air above the battlefield and poured their voltaic wrath out on the legion of mutants below. Most of the skeletal primates were electrocuted immediately, while the survivors writhed and thrashed on the ground, their screams resembling the sound of laughter more than the sound of beings in agony. The Claw Feet curled themselves up into balls, screeching in pain, their tentacles barely managing to stay wrapped around themselves due to the electric current that caused them to constantly twitch and spasm. The massive canines were slowed and weakened by the liquid agony coursing through them, but impressively they seemed resistant enough to the power that they could continue to slowly crawl towards their prey.

Nox hovered in the air, channeling the storm and feeding on the deaths of those who died in it to fuel his power, until the massive Dread Hounds had come close enough that a few more steps would allow for a direct attack with their massive claws. He allowed the lightning to subside, leaving behind the smoking ashes of the skull apes, and the charred corpses of five of the Claw Feet. Released from the debilitation of Nox's lightning, the Dread Hounds pounced, only for Nox to slip out from under them with the same preternatural speed he had used to enter the courtyard.

The two hounds crashed into one another with the sound of ringing metal, and the two dogs that had charged Nox outside the courtyard leaped over their stunned comrades to continue charging him. Nox unleashed a powerful kinetic wave that sent them both flying onto their backsides, and then he was gone, moving across the yard in seconds and drawing his lightsaber as he bore down on the one remaining Claw Foot that had finally struggled to its feet and began to move in on him. In a series of movements too fast to see, Nox cleanly sliced off both of the creature's tentacles, causing it to scream in pain. He then proceeded to begin severing the tubes connecting the beast's armored mask to a strange device on its back. The creature's cries quickly became strangled, and it fell over face first, its body shuddering and jerking as it gasped for breath, suffocating after being cut off from its air supply.

Turning back to the two canine monstrosities bearing down on him, Nox took off towards them at impossible speed, dodging their swiping claws with the dexterity and speed of an insect dodging swatting hands or stomping feet. Nox utilized his lightsaber to deadly effect, repeatedly striking at unprotected areas such as the lower neck and jaw, or the hind feet and toes. One of the Dread Hounds was already dead by the time the remaining two caught up to the battle. Roaring with rage, the three beasts tried to overwhelm Nox, but to him it seemed as if they were moving in slow motion, and with his constant and clear premonitions of each second of the fight moments before it happened, he knew exactly when to dodge, when to strike, and where to move. The fight had been over from the moment it had begun.

Slicing open the last hound's neck and using the Force to rip out the suffering monster's vocal chords, Nox sheathed his lightsaber as the abomination collapsed to the ground, thoroughly dead. Turning away from the corpse, Nox moved towards the steps leading down into a lower courtyard, where another abomination at least eighty feet tall stood, twitching impatiently. It seemed not to have seen or heard Nox slaughtering its compatriots hundreds of meters away despite its great height, so Nox guessed it was near-sighted with not very good hearing or smell. The beast was the most humanoid of all the abominations he'd seen thus far, despite its four arms and hideous face partially hidden behind an armored mask. The armor plates on each of its four shoulders and the backs of its four hands, as well as those covering its pectorals, abdomen, and groin were embedded with the same crimson spheres as the smaller creatures, with long claws sprouted from its gauntleted hands. It's armored feet appeared more like hooves, but it seemed to have no trouble balancing its large, top-heavy body on them.

Nox felt the presence of Dread Master Brontes wash over him, and her voice echoed in his head:

"Nefra will collect her toll, and it will be paid in blood."

Almost as if she had heard her master's voice and taken it as a command, the monstrosity spotted Nox and began to lumber forward, her four clawed arms ready to seize and crush and eviscerate. Sensing her bestial mind, Nox reached out with his will, summoning the Dark Side to his aid as he attempted to crush the behemoth's will and bend it to his own. To his surprise, the creature's will wavered and shuddered under his mental assault, but held firm.

"She does not fear you." Brontes said, amusement and derision both prevalent in her tone, "Only us."

Ceasing his mental attack, Nox instead lifted off the ground through the power of Force Flight, darting in and around Nefra's multiple arms while unleashing salvo after salvo of Force lightning at her. She howled and tried to swat at him or snatch him from the air, but her efforts were futile. Nox avoided her attacks with unnatural precognition and speed, buzzing around the mammoth monster like Turanian blood fly, the stinging bites of his lightning wearing her down slowly but surely.

"Send in reinforcements! The Gatekeeper is under attack!" The harsh voice of the gate commander barked in Nox's ear. Taking one precious moment to scan his surroundings with the Force, Nox determined that a several squads of Dread Guard were closing in on his location from the courtyard behind him. Narrowly avoiding a vicious swipe of one of Nefra's claws, he turned away from her, swooping down towards the shocked Dread Guards who immediately opened fire on him.

Deflecting their blaster bolts with his lightsaber, Nox moved through the squads like the Reaper, his twin bladed lightsaber whirling and twirling in a storm of death. When the reinforcements all lay in pieces on the ground moments later, Nox turned his attention back to Nefra, who had begun lumbering across the courtyard to continue attacking him.

"Predator. Prey." Brontes mused in his thoughts. "Fear can drive both."

Crushing the unease that threatened to take root in his being and paralyze him, Nox instead harnessed it and turned it into hatred, hatred of Nefra, for not bowing to his will and obstructing his progress towards his goal, hatred of Brontes for idly watching while they fought and continuously spouting her inane observations in his head, and hatred of the Dread Masters for putting him through these motions, for doubting his ability and power. The hate suffused him and strengthened him, and his lightning blasts became more powerful, and he began casting ball lightning from his hands at his foe, hurling them like they were physical objects. The spheres of bright energy rained down on Nefra like hail. Roaring, she tried to use her four arms to shield her face and upper body from the painful orbs as they battered her mercilessly.

"More blood must flow." Brontes said in a tone that somehow managed to be demanding without being deprived of her typical sense of emotional aloofness. In response, Nefra suddenly lashed out with impossible speed, using an arm to send Nox flying across the yard and into the far wall. If he hadn't erected a Force barrier in time, he likely would have been seriously injured, his Force armor, physical armor, and body shattered and broken by the impact. As it was the impact was jarring enough, and Nox dropped to the ground, unable to maintain his Force flight. Nefra barreled across the yard, her long legs eating up the space between them, hooved feet big enough to crush him thundering against the stone floor with every step.

Nox was just recovering his bearings when she suddenly seized him in one, clawed hand, bringing him close to her eyes. In them Nox saw there was more to her bestial mind than he had first believed, there was an intelligence there, the capacity for a hatred beyond that of an animal, and that was when he felt the intrusion in his thoughts.

It wasn't Brontes, it was Nefra. She had some sort of power over the minds of those within close proximity to her, allowing her to bypass their mental defenses and force herself on them psychologically. Revolted by the intrusion into the most intimate parts of his psyche, and bewildered as to how it could have happened so easily, he was jarred back to a semblance of awareness by the voice of Brontes once more infecting his thoughts.

"I have changed her, as she will change you." Brontes stated flatly. Capitalizing on his shock to jolt him out the light trance Nefra's power had placed him in, he realized what was going on. The reason Nefra had been able to penetrate his mental defenses so easily was that part of her power was biological, rather than purely mental. Turning his Force sight on himself, he discovered that he was infected with pheromones Nefra was releasing, lowering his mind's ability to defend against her intrusion, allowing her to dominate his mind as if he was her offspring locked in a psychic link with her. He quickly understood that this was how the Dread Masters controlled such a vast army of abominations, merely by controlling one monster that could control the others.

Turning his disgust into hatred and rage, he felt it spread throughout his body, the fire of the Dark Side burning away the pheromones and allowing him to reassert control over his own mind. Nefra screamed in frustration and tried to push harder, but she was unaware had lost her only advantage and that brute force would no longer help. Reversing the connection, Nox began to try and dominate her will. Finding himself unable to do so, due to the creature's deep-seated fear of what her masters would do to her should she fail, he instead focused on tapping directly into her neurological network to cause her pain by directly triggering the appropriate neurons.

"The creature's pain will only drive it further." Brontes asserted, her disdain at his less than subtle approach to accomplish what she perceived to be his goal apparent in her inflection.

What she didn't realize was that Nox did not intend to break the beast's will with pain, he intended to simply win. With one final push he set off a series of explosions of agony within Nefra's mind, and with a final howl, the monster fell unconscious, collapsing onto her back and releasing Nox from her grasp as she lapsed into a coma.

Landing nimbly on his feet, Nox stared at the still and silent creature, registering a low and soft pattern of breath making her chest rise and fall. For a long moment he considered mounting her torso and severing her head to kill her. But as he reflected back on the fight, and on what he had come here to do, he decided that it was best to leave her alive. Based on the wounds he had inflicted on her and the depth of the coma she was now in, it was unlikely she would be a threat for several weeks, even if she was to awaken soon.

Turning away from Nefra's unconscious form, Nox moved up a set of steps and through a portcullis into the outer lobby of the gatehouse, contingents of Dread Guard rushing in from the other three corridors, the portcullis of each one slamming down behind them. Nox smiled, it looked like the fun was just beginning.

Several minutes and several hundreds of slain Dread Guard later, Nox arrived in the inner lobby of the Gatehouse, where an exceptionally large humanoid dressed head to toe in a set of armor Nox found absolutely fascinating stood defiantly. The red armor suit appeared to be repurposed Rakatan tech with very thick, heavy plates that gave him the appearance of a heavily armored, humanoid insect. Glowing purple lines ran along the large pauldrons protecting his shoulders and upper arms, while a series of sequential purple lights in the center of his chestplate, and panels of the same light on the crests of his boots glowed softly.

On his head was an Obroan style helm with no crests or flair of any kind, except for the eyes, which glowed with the same purple light as the other luminescent parts of the suit. The entire set of armor seemed to vibrate and hum, releasing waves of energy through the Force, and it took Nox a moment to realize that the suit was storing and conducting Force energy like a battery, and it was at that moment that Nox decided he could not let any of the Dread Master's treasures fall into Imperial hands. He would have to ensure that they merely got the crumbs, while he saved all of the best for himself. The man cocked his blaster rifle, which resembled schematics Nox had seen of Rakatan beam rifle technology, only this one looked like it had been heavily modified and upgraded.

"Destroy the intruder! The Master's demand it!" The man screamed, and as if on cue waves and waves of Dread Guard and skull apes began to pour into the space from all six of the open entrances, with the entrance behind the man in the strange-looking armor blocked by a lowered portcullis. With a dreadful smile, Nox spread his arms wide, and let the power flow.

__________

With a thunderous explosion, the gate barring entry into the Dread Forge flew inward, crashing to the ground in a broken and twisted heap. The tall, red-skinned, black-armored, six-armed creature turned at the noise, its huge, reptilian maw releasing a low, threatening growl. The beast stood one hundred feet tall, clad in heavy black armor with four purple spheres imbedded in a square formation in its chest. Its six muscular arms ended in clawed hands, and its five-toed feet were also equipped with deadly claws. It's hatred-stained yellow eyes fixed on Nox, and its square jaw lowered to unleash a bellowing roar.

"Science. Technology. The Force. Life. All can be turned to our purpose." Brontes said, her grandiosity irritating Nox to no end.

The beast charged, clawed hands reaching for him. He dodged and slashed at the monster's bare arms with his now drawn lightsaber, only to find that the plasma blade barely broke skin. The creature followed up by pounding its fists into the stone floor, attempting to pummel him to death, roaring in anger, but Nox quickly put some distance between them, darting across the forge faster than the beast could follow.

"Grob'thok is angry you hurt Nefra, his mate." Brontes scolded, as if she were speaking to a misbehaved child. "Perhaps I will let him throw you into the forge, like he does with everything we give him."

Suddenly Nox heard the sound machinery coming to life, and he looked up to see a large crane magnet hanging from the ceiling moving towards him. He heard the sound of the electro-magnet turning on, and went on the run, the magnet and Grob'thok chasing him around the very large room. The tremors from Grob'thok's thundering gait caused fissures to open in the floor, with lava bursting out in spurts and jets, making it harder for Nox to navigate without stepping into puddles of bubbling magma.

Suddenly, Grob'thok stopped chasing Nox, reaching instead for a nearby junk pile and seizing a large piece of pipe that he gripped with two of his right hands. He brought the pipe up and then crashing down, trying to crush Nox beneath it. The impact was like a metal tree hitting the floor, and the ringing briefly disoriented Nox despite his subconscious sensory protection. Grob'thok raised the pipe to strike again.

"Embrace death," Brontes cooed in his head. "as all things must."

The resounding crash of the pipe didn't stun Nox so badly this time, now that he was prepared for it, and as he moved about the Forge, dodging both the crushing blows from the pipe and the powerful force of the magnet, he got an idea. He started hanging around closer to Grob'thok, making sure to stay out of reach of the creature's other four arms and avoid being caught by the magnet or crushed by the monster's stomping feet. The next time Grob'thok raised the pipe to strike Nox moved in closer to him, running directly between his legs. Grob'thok tried to slam the pipe down, only for it to get caught on the magnet, the powerful machine holding the pipe in a vice grip as firm as Grob'thok's.

The massive beast turned his attention away from Nox for the moment, placing all six of his powerful hands on the pipe, and pulling it down with all his might. There was a great, terrible screeching noise, as the metal holding the heavy magnet up strained and complained about the stress. Roaring with the effort, Grob'thok pulled harder, his muscles clearly straining beneath his deep red skin. Then with a thunderously loud cracking and metallic tearing noise, the pipe came free, along with the magnet. The improvised mace slammed into the ground, releasing shockwaves that would have knocked Nox off-balance if he had still been on the ground. Instead, he was busy clambering up Grob'thok's armored back, heading towards the monsters helmeted head.

Grob'thok picked up his newly upgraded weapon with all six arms, and began looking around for his opponent, when he couldn't find the little pest, he began searching in earnest, his head turning every which way as he shifted his feet and examined the space around him, so he was totally unprepared when a figure suddenly appeared directly in front of his left eye and the next moment it erupted in searing hot pain. Howling in rage and pain, Grob'thok dropped the pipe and clutched at his now ruined eye with four hands. Nox pushed himself off the giant lizard-like muzzle just before all four hands came down on the eye and backflipped twice before landing on his feet in a crouched position, watching as the tormented monster crashed into walls and junk piles, screaming and roaring its suffering at the world. Nox began to gather his power to take further advantage of the beasts agonized distraction, when the voice of Dread Master Brontes once more resounded in his inner mindscape.

"Fear can unite all things." She warned, as the pealing squeals and grunts of a legion of Ugnaughts poured out from hiding and charged towards him. Annoyed at the distraction, Nox turned his gathered power on them, unleashing rivers of chain lightning that electrocuted dozens of the squealing, pathetic creatures. The survivors were met with explosions of Dark Force energy that sapped their very life force out of them and channeled it into Nox. By the time Grob'thok had recovered and found Nox again, all the Ugnaughts were dead, either charred husks, or empty ones.

Roaring in unadulterated, abject fury, Grob'thok bore down on his prey, determined to rip the tiny little insect apart. That was the moment however, that the insect took off and started buzzing around his head, stinging him again and again with thick streams of lightning and blasts of dark power.

Grob'thok roared and swiped at Nox, but no matter how many of his arms he employed, Nox slipped through his grasp every time and continued to harry the massive beast. Slowly, Nox could feel the monster's strength fading, despite its anger.

Backing off and flying across the forge, Nox began to enact a ritual to finish the monster. By the time it fixed its one-eyed gaze on him and started barreling across the room towards him, he completed the last rite. The ritual unleashed a stream of black mist from Nox's chest, which struck Grob'thok in his chest, stopping him in his tracks. He roared in pain as the ritual stripped him of his very being and converted it into raw energy that Nox devoured and absorbed. As piece by piece of the creature's very essence poured into him, Nox savored his foe's agony and suffering as much as the surging influx of power that restored his reserves.

When the ritual completed, the deep red skin of the enormous Forge feeder had turned rather grayish and pale, with blackened veins showing underneath the partially translucent skin. The purple orbs on its chestplate that had once been lustrous and vibrant, now looked dark and drained.

"Our creations are legion." The voice of Brontes echoed angrily, "You don't yet know the danger that you face. So many new fears await you."

Ignoring her, Nox landed and approached the body, his gaze locked on the purple orbs. Their change in color seemed to have been a consequence of him using the Force to drain the creature's spirit and Force energy, as if they had been somehow connected to their wearer's spirit. Fascinating. It seemed that the armor that all the Dread Master's monstrosities had worn so far were somehow able to enhance the bearer's strength in the Force, or perhaps they allowed the user to subconsciously utilize the Force to a greater effect without any need for sentience let alone training...

Thinking back to his confrontation with Gate Commander Draxus, Nox realized that his armor must work on the same principle, the glowing purple lights being an indication of the armor's Force-enhancing abilities being active, just as the purple orbs in Grob'thok's armor and the crimson orbs in the armor of Nefra and the other creatures were indicators. Truly intriguing technology. Nox reached out to touch one of the orbs, and pulled his hand back as soon as it hit the glassy surface. In the instant he had physical contact with it, the orb had somehow siphoned power directly from him!

So they don't just act as indicators, Nox thought to himself. They can also be used to drain power from other sources. Getting to his feet, Nox dusted himself off, and began to move deeper into the fortress.

_______________

As soon as Nox entered the courtyard with the cross-shaped paths he knew he was in for a real fight, and the tinny voice of the unseen commander droid confirmed it.

"All units, engage carnage protocols!"

Suddenly, a massive droid, a larger, white-painted version of the droids he had seen on his ascent of the watchtower wearing a black cape dropped seemingly out of nowhere, landing in front of the small army of similar droids whose weapons were all cocked and aimed. The commander droid rose to its feet and pointed one metallic finger at him.

"You dare invade the residence of the masters. You will be crushed for your insolence, organic!"

"What is your designation droid?" Nox asked.

"I am Corrupter Zero. I am the master's first and greatest technological creation, and I will not let you harm them!"

"I'm here to save your masters." Nox replied evenly. "Without me they are doomed."

"You lie!" Corrupter Zero snapped. "And now I will show you what happens to trespassers. This is the end of the line. The end of your life!"

Nox threw up a barrier just as the legion of droids opened fire on him. The sheer volume of plasma might have overwhelmed him in any other situation, but thanks to his immense power it just felt like someone hammering on his barrier with their fists.

"Is this all you have?" He taunted Corrupter Zero. "I'm growing bored!"

Corrupter Zero touched a button on his wrist, and immediately the doors on the east and west ends of the courtyard opened to allow more droids to pour out.

"Fear my army organic!" Zero spat, as he touched another button and took off, his jetpack propelling him high into the air. Hovering at a certain height, he began to rain down salvos of missiles on Nox, forcing the Dark Lord to go on the move.

"More units! More! Go forth and dismember!" Zero howled as droids continued to flood out of both doorways, filling the air with blaster fire and surrounding Nox on three sides. Nox moved through their ranks like a deadly wind, slicing and dismembering them at breakneck speed. Yet still, every time one fell another droid stepped up to take its place, the never-ending stream of reinforcements filled their ranks as fast as Nox could deplete them.

"All units: annihilate." Zero ordered, and instantly the squad of droids Nox was in the process of destroying started to twitch and shake. Sensing what was about to happen moments before it did, Nox barely had any time to escape the blast radius before the entire squad of droids self-destructed, creating a blast that temporarily deafened and staggered Nox. He instinctively erected a Force barrier to protect him from incoming fire, but not before a few shots found their way to his shoulder and hip. Thankfully his natural Force armor and the cortosis armor woven into his robes protected him, but the blasts left black scorch marks on his otherwise intact equipment.

Together, my army is invincible!" Zero crowed in triumph as Nox hunkered down behind his Force barrier while endless streams of plasma and countless salvos of missiles rained down on him in a deluge of fiery death. Nox could feel the power building inside him as his rage and hatred grew. He reached deep down into the well of infinite blackness and brought the power to the surface. A massive wave of Force energy erupted from him, sweeping outward like a crystal clear nuclear dome. The army of droids was blasted back into the walls of the courtyard, shattering like toys. The blast overloaded the safeties on the door panels, and the doors of the east and west passages slammed shut, locking themselves in accordance with lockdown protocols.

Corrupter Zero landed in the courtyard's center within arm's reach of Nox, drawing the twin vibroblades he had on his back.

"You are about to experience true agony, I will disassemble you!" He snarled, advancing on Nox, huge weapons swinging. Nox slipped to the side, avoiding the crushing blow of one of his foes blades, then retaliating with a flurry of strikes that did little more than deal superficial damage. The droid's armor was pure Beskar. This thing was made to fight Force-users, Nox realized.

Slipping under another of Corrupter Zero's assaults, Nox tried to strike at perceived weak points, only to find that those places were protected by miniature shield generators that boosted the strength of the droid's personal shields in a localized area. Parrying a strike from the large automaton, Nox realized he was going to have to try something else.

"My masters love to hear your screams!" Zero taunted him, as he aggressively battered Nox with a series of heavy-handed blows from Djem So. Nox responded by leaping backwards and unleashing a thick stream of lightning at his foe. The droid's charge, which it had initiated to pursue him, slowed to a crawl as its systems struggled to maintain its personal shields under the intensity of Nox's Force Lightning. Nox amped up the voltage, and Zero's advanced slowed even further, as the stream became a river. A shimmering aura of purple surrounded Nox and emanated from his eyes as he channeled the Dark Side into sheer power. All of his concentration was focused on bringing his enemy down, and his efforts were rewarded when, one by one, he sensed the droid's shield generators overloading.

Noticing this as well, Zero suddenly stopped his advance and activated a concussion pulse. Nox clutched at his head, releasing the droid from his electric assault, as the pulse sparked nearly every pain receptor in his brain momentarily. The agony was like a flash grenade going off inside his head, and by the time he had recovered, Zero was gone.

"Engaging offensive weapons level: Omega!" Came the droid's tinny voice from across the yard. Nox looked towards where the voice had come from, and with a start saw Zero standing in front of the northern doorway, his chest panel having opened to reveal a large barrel from which was emanating a brilliant red glow. In a flash, Nox moved into the east-west corridor just as a massive beam of crimson energy blasted down the north-south corridor. Feeling a tremor in the ground only seconds after, Nox glanced down at the eastern doorway to see Zero had relocated, and was charging for another attack.

"You will not win. You are not allowed to win!" The droid said, and Nox briefly wondered how the Dread Masters had managed to program such realistic arrogance into a verbobrain. The moment of distraction nearly killed him. At the last second he managed to erect a Force Barrier that protected him, the energy flow breaking against it like water breaking over a rock. The attempt took a lot more effort than Nox was willing to continue expending, and he decided he was going to end this now.

Zero began charging his beam again, and Nox bore down on him with reckless speed, not even bothering to defend himself from the impending blast. Instead, he drove his lightsaber blade down into the barrel of the droid's chest cannon until he felt it pierce something, then he retracted it and took off straight into the sky, his Force Flight carrying him away from the now imminent explosion.

He felt it rumbling up beneath him, and when the shockwave reached him, he was lifted like a bird in the wind. When he finally stabilized himself and descended back on the courtyard, he saw the blast had left a crater in the spot where the droid had been standing. Approaching the crater, he looked down into it. Nothing. The droid had been atomized.

A loud clattering noise caused him to whirl to see what had made the sound. At first he didn't see anything, but then he noticed the scorched and blackened head of Corrupter Zero lying the courtyard like a piece of refuse. Approaching it, he turned it with his foot to examine the droid's eyes. Miraculously, there was still a glow coming from them. The ruined vocabulator sparked and hissed as the automaton's last words were spoken.

"My masters will see you pay for this affront...." Then the light in the droid's eyes winked out.

_____________

Nox walked down yet another unoccupied hallway. The mysterious absence of any guards or Brontes incessant goading was beginning to worry him. Was she really all out of minions? Or did she have something else planned for him now? Turning a corner and ascending a rise, he reached a partially open set of double doors and stopped as he tried to process what exactly he was seeing.

Dread Master Brontes was hovering in mid-air in the center of the room, overtop a large ventilation shaft that no doubt led to the fortress's geothermal power core. Six golden tentacle arms, composed of the same substance as her helm, sprouted from her back and hung suspended in the air, like the wings of a fallen angel. Her head was tilted back, looking up towards the heavens as if in rapture. The entire picture struck him as the scene depicted in a great work of art, such as Rushilea Tukari's "The Angel" or Gemorri Vosa's "Ascension".

"Yes..." She said in a tone more succulent and seductive than any she had used up to this point. "Come closer...closer...." Her tone, like a beckoning finger, was reminiscent of a lover calling to her mate, inviting him into her sweet embrace. Despite himself, Nox felt his primal instincts briefly take over, and he began to walk towards her. Her head lowered to gaze at him as he approached, and she leaned down, extending a hand towards him, as if to lift him up off the ground with her. Barely knowing what he was doing, Nox's own hand extended, reaching for hers. Just before their fingers would have touched, Brontes disappeared, her echoing laughter filled with arrogance and scorn.

Nox felt his anger and hatred bubble to the surface. She had hypnotized him, entranced him. His moment of weakness, of being taken off-guard, had allowed her to put him in her sway. The doors on each side of the room suddenly opened, and hordes of the Dread Master's armored monstrosities began to pour in, howling and screeching as they bore down on him.

Nox unleashed his hatred, and the room erupted into chaos.

___________

Nox walked swiftly down the long corridor leading to where Brontes was waiting. He knew she was on the other side of the door ahead, he could sense her. Her presence in the Force was like the scent of a rotting corpse, a pervading, unmistakable stench that was at the same time, somehow as captivating as the scent of the most beautiful perfume, it attracted him as much as it repulsed him. Nox had never been in Vitiate's presence, but if this was what the physical presence of a Dread Master felt like, he could only imagine what it felt like to be in the same room as the Sith Emperor.

"Your future is here." Brontes said, her intonation equal parts haughty and inviting. "Your body will be ours to mold, our minds will be as one." Nox's instincts threatened to take control once again, but a supreme effort of will crushed them into submission and forced his body to obey his will. His steps towards the door remained measured and steady, and when he reached it, it opened seemingly of its own accord.

He walked into what was probably the largest courtyard in the fortress next to the one in which he had fought Nefra, and immediately noticed Brontes in the center-north area, hovering above the ground, her golden metal tentacles spread wide like spider legs.

"You are a fascinating specimen. Let's see what you're really made of shall we?" She said, genuine curiosity and anticipation in her voice. Nox drew and activated his lightsaber.

"Then let's begin."

He charged. Brontes moved towards him, using four of her tentacles as legs, with the other two telescoping to reach for him, ready to impale and electrocute him. Nox repelled her first assault with a spinning parry and moved in to try and strike at her directly, but her two middle tentacles took turns parrying his blows along with the top two, so that she was always standing on at least three of her metallic limbs.

Nox fell back into a ready position to recoup for a second attack, and Brontes took advantage of the opportunity to taunt him.

"Submit. Let yourself be unmade." She cooed, her invitation equally tempting and enraging Nox. The temptation stemmed from his body and mind betraying him to power to manipulate thoughts and compel impulses and emotions, but the rage came from his own hatred of her for attempting to control him. He had sworn he would never be a slave again, not to anyone or anything. Yet this Dread Master compelled his own body to betray him, and it was only through his own exertion of willpower that he maintained control over it.

"Flesh is insufficient. You must discard it." Brontes scoffed, and suddenly her top two tentacles unleashed twin streams of electricity straight at him. Snarling, Nox extended his hands, absorbing the energy as his eyes glowed violet. Brontes was taken by surprise, and barely managed to deflect her own reflected blasts that Nox launched at her. Nonetheless she moved on him immediately, three tentacles thrashing and stabbing and whipping themselves at her foe, while she stood mounted on the other three like some kind of monstrous arachnid mutant.

Nox leaped backward, calling on the power of Force Flight to carry him to the wall behind him and then shot up it, hurling ball lightning at Brontes. Unwilling to let him put distance between them, Brontes pursued, using four of her tentacles to scale the wall after him by stabbing them into the stone, while the other two batted away or dispersed his ball lightning and responded with energy blasts of their own. Just as Nox reached the top of the wall and was about to fly over her and unleash a barrage of lightning upon her from behind, one of her tentacles slipped past his guard and wrapped itself around his waist, hurling him back into the center of the courtyard, where he managed to land on his feet, skidding to a stop.

"You can become so much more." She promised him. "But first your limitations must be explored."

Suddenly loud howls and snarling yelps came from all around. Nox spared himself a moment to look around and see that several packs of Dread Beasts were pouring into the courtyard from all sides. The red orbs in their armor gleamed under the torchlight and the reddish glow of Oricon's sky as they loped, bounded, and shambled their way towards him. There were four Dread Hounds, their huge claws scraping on the ground and massive fangs snapping as they ran. Behind them were too many Claw Feet to count, although it couldn't have been more than ten. Scampering in behind the hulking monstrosities were several packs of Skull Apes, their battle cries sounding like eerie laughter as their skinny limbs ate up the ground separating them from their prey. Laughing, Brontes suddenly threw herself off the wall and took off into the air, hovering in the very center of the courtyard quite far off the ground.

"I will know what you are truly capable of." She taunted him. Four of her tentacles came together in front of her, their tips almost touching as they charged up with energy. Sensing what was coming, Nox sidestepped the beam of raw power that slammed into the ground where he had been standing.

"Hmm, your reflexes are slower than expected, further research is required." Brontes said mockingly. This time all six tentacles came together and charged up to unleash electric blasts. Nox went on the move just as a much larger and stronger beam of energy literally ripped the ground to shreds beneath him, vaporizing the stone floor and the dirt beneath it. The beasts that had been unleashed chased after him as he moved around the yard, trying to outrun the massive beam.

Brontes ceased to channel the beam, and Nox turned to unleash his own attack on her, when he noticed that she was surrounded by a Force Barrier, and more importantly, simply pausing to charge up her next beam attack.

Suddenly Nox had an idea, and just as Brontes unleashed the energy beam, he turned and ran directly towards the horde of monsters she had summoned. The beam slammed into the ground just behind him as he moved through the ranks of the monsters with preternatural speed. Both him and the beam chasing him moved so fast that the monsters were completely vaporized before Brontes could even register what had just happened, leaving nothing but a smoking furrow behind.

"Ugh!" She hissed her disgust at his success in baiting her. "I am..." she paused. "Impressed." She said the word out begrudgingly, reluctant to recognize that she had been outwitted.

She remained in the air however, and Nox noticed a black aura beginning to encompass her as the eye slits in her helm glowed a deep violet.

"Witness the potential of perfection." She said, and Nox heard the calls of more Dread Beasts as another horde, even larger than before, flooded into the yard. Brontes was channeling her remaining power, so there would be no helpful beam to vaporize them this time, he would have to rely on his own strength to eliminate these creatures.

Summoning the darkness, Nox felt it fill him like a vessel, taking root in his very being and building to crescendo. He'd never tried this before, but there was no time like the present to try. When he felt the dark power within him reach its peak, mere seconds before the beasts would be upon him, he released it. A dome of darkness exploded out from him, instantly turning everything living thing it touched to dust. Flesh and bone had the Force stripped from them instantaneously, the energy drawn back into Nox to add to his already vast stores of power. In a single moment the massive Death Field devoured the life of every beast Brontes had summoned, wiping out the entire legion of mutants and feeding their Force energy to Nox. The only things left behind were the pieces of their armor, the once gleaming orbs now dull and drained.

Surveying the damage his amplified Death Field had caused, Nox was immensely pleased. He could feel the power that had once been housed in his victims surging within him. Between this and Grob'Thok he had gained back most of what had been spent.

Just then he felt a great disturbance in the Dark Side, and he whirled to see the Force Barrier surrounding Brontes fade away. The black aura seemed to have swallowed her entire form, her eyes shining with dark power.

"Now, share your true strength." She demanded as she descended on him like a fallen angel, using the power of Force Flight as easily and instinctually as walking. Nox moved like an acrobat, leaping, twisting, and dodging as her tentacles speared the ground like striking serpents, determined to impale him. She moved in impossible speed, but Nox was still faster, still quicker to react. What he couldn't dodge he deflected with his lightsaber, but he was on pure defense now, trying simply to avoid getting hit.

Her tentacles were everywhere, shrouded in the same black aura as her body, they struck with unimaginable speed and accuracy, predicting Nox's feints and ruses with uncanny certainty. Every second they came closer and closer to catching him, and Nox realized if he didn't end this fight soon, it would end him.

Faster than he could blink, one of Brontes appendages knocked his lightsaber out of his hand, and it clattered to the ground halfway across the yard. Nox turned and twisted himself in mid-air to avoid being impaled by two separate tentacles, then took off as fast he could go straight for Brontes. The other four tried to stop him, but he whirled and twisted and rolled like he was born flying, slipping through her metallic grasp with the dexterity and agility of one of the flying Tirol serpents of Geenihar. He extended his hand, and his lightsaber flew across the space in an instant. He felt it sink into his palm, and thumbed the activation switch.

____________

Brontes gasped in complete surprise as she felt the plasma blade pierce her chest and go straight through her heart. She opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a scream as Nox channeled his dark power directly through the weapon into her body. In a panic, she realized he wasn't trying to kill her directly. He was channeling an anti-spell from Sith Sorcery directly into her body, using his lightsaber as the conduit. She could feel the ritual and alchemic binding spells she had placed to keep her power in check and prevent it from totally consuming her evaporating. For the first time in centuries, Dread Master Brontes felt something she had believed she would never feel again: Terror.

As she looked into the black, empty eye sockets of her foe, she understood now why he wore that helmet. At this moment in time, all she could see was the cold gaze of death staring back at her. In them there was no pity, no hatred, no anger. Only a cold, insatiable hunger.

"You have destroyed much, but not all." She managed one last taunt. "This is not the end of your trials, only the beginning."

As her own power devoured her flesh, Brontes felt the pull of the void, and her heart trembled like a little child as she felt death opening its maw to swallow her up. Then, all became blackness.

___________

Nox deactivated his lightsaber, hovering in the air. Brontes was defeated, but at the last moment he had felt her spirit escape the jaws of the void, propelled or pulled somewhere. As if she was still bound to this plane of existence.

The air around him grew dark, the world seemed to dim and the shadows lengthened. The four specters of the remaining Dread Masters appeared in the four corners of the courtyard, looming over him like a council of gods.

"You killed her." Dread Master Raptus accused. "Now you will descend into madness with us."

"Your soul will be forfeit, as ours also are." Tyrans threatened.

"We will have our revenge." Bestia said. "If we must die then the galaxy dies with us."

"I have a different plan." Nox said. "Surrender yourselves to me, and I can cure you of your afflictions. You will live on and your power will shape the nightmares of countless generations from now until the end of time."

"Fool!" Snapped Calaphyus.

"We are not so easily led." Raptus said hotly.

"It does not matter if you come to us or flee." Tyrans growled. "Your fate will be the same." The specters vanished, but the gloom remained.

"We will be waiting." Raptus said, and then the presence of the Masters faded.

____________

Nox strode through the darkened hallways of the Dread Palace, the very air around him vibrating and pulsing with the power of the Dark Side. In the fortress outside it had been a kind of lingering presence, like a scent carried on the wind but here, that presence had become an overwhelming pressure. He felt like he was at the bottom of an ocean of Dark Side energy, and that the only thing keeping his mind and spirit from being crushed was his own power pushing out from his core, combating the overwhelming pressure.

As he climbed a large staircase leading up to the place where the Dark Side was stronger, he noticed that the shadows, deep as they were, seemed to grow larger and thicker, despite the soft red glow coming from wall-mounted illumination crystals. Reaching the top of the staircase, he entered a dark foyer with a central path leading to another staircase on the opposite side of the room, which had six paths leading off of the main one and into dark tunnels in the left and right walls of the chamber. Nox could feel the presence of the remaining Dread Masters wafting out of four of the tunnels, and he decided to enter the closest one.

He entered the tunnel and followed it as it wound its way down into the depths of the palace, the tunnel becoming more and more like the lair of some beast rather than the sanctuary of a master of the Dark Side. Finally, he entered an expansive chamber with a throne in the center. The chamber was filled with strange and disgusting objects. There was a lot of the strange root-tentacles Nox had discovered were the limbs of the living trees outside the fortress, but these roots seemed to have not been affected by Nox's ritual. Gathered in large clusters on the room's edges were some kind of bloated, liquid-filled flesh bubbles that were larger than your average humanoid. If Nox had to guess he would have assumed they were the eggs of some deep sea creature from another planet, and that hypothesis became a little more believable when he thought he saw movement inside one of them.

Embedded in the walls were more of the flesh-bubbles, only these were much larger, and the murky red liquid inside kept any potential movement obscured. The floor was littered with corpses, human and alien, most curled up near the mysterious "eggs" lining the chamber's edges. As Nox walked towards the throne sitting on a raised dais in the center of the room, he noticed that the murky water covering the rest of the room's floor seemed to occasionally stir and ripple, as if something was moving underneath the surface.

He reached the steps of the dais, and stared at the empty throne for a moment, contemplating whether he had made a mistake and chosen one of the abandoned chambers.

"You come bearing your sin proudly, and like a pack of vipers it swallows you whole." Dread Master Bestia said, her voice seeming to come from nowhere and everywhere at once.

"Show yourself." Nox's voice was low and threatening. There was no anger in his tone, only authority.

Bestia released the veil in the Force she had been using to mask her location, and descended from the spot near the ceiling where she had been hovering, lowering herself to the path that Nox had just traversed to get to the center.

"You have come through fire and pain, my sister and brother tasted your strength and were given death in return." Bestia said, an undertone of animosity, contradicted by the apathetic amusement in her voice, giving weight to her words.

"Surrender to me, or I promise to give you the same." Nox said, his voice low and steady.

"I think not." Bestia said, turning to pace away from him. "You have come through many trials already, but your true evolution hasn't even begun. In order for you to become the perfection you seek to embody you must be born anew. Your past wiped away, your body reforged into a vessel for true power. The changes that you made on Belsavis with the help of the Mother Machine were a start, but they will not be enough."

"I know what you're doing because I've done it myself." Nox stated flatly. "Don't think to manipulate me with promises of power, I'm well aware of what is required."

"Are you? Are you truly?" Bestia asked, turning to face him once more, the soft red glow of the few illumination crystals mounted on the ceiling and walls making her golden helm gleam softly.

"Yes. I will be reborn, but on my own terms." Nox replied firmly. Bestia laughed.

"You cannot achieve rebirth on your own," She said with scornful amusement. "anymore than a fetus can decide when to be birthed."

"A god decides not just where he goes, but when he goes." Nox responded. Bestia laughed again.

"So you fancy yourself one of us already?" She cackled. Red, shadowy energy began to gather around her hands, and a crimson Force barrier sprang to life around her.

Suddenly nearly every one of the fleshy "eggs" ruptured, blood-red liquid spilling out into the water. With growing disgust, Nox could see white, pale, wormlike creatures with tenticular limbs and large, lipless mouths full of sharp teeth slithering out. As he watched, he saw several of the creatures feel their way to the nearby corpses, and enter them through the nearest orifice. He could hear the creatures chewing, and watched in horror as the bodies literally deflated as they were hollowed out by the newly born larvae. Just then, the wall-mounted eggs ruptured, and the lower portions of the room were filled with the crimson amniotic fluid. Out of the broken remains of the strange wombs came large monstrosities with teeth, tentacles, and fields of eyes. One of the beasts was obviously a Dread Hound without armor, but much larger than any of its kin that Nox had fought. The second beast was a massive, slug-like creature with a body made of pale ooze, eight eyes, and two fleshy antenna atop its bulbous head.

The third beast was a lizard that walked on two, hooved legs, had a lipless mouth filled to the brim with impossibly long teeth, and two long arms tipped by hands that boasted claws even longer than its teeth. The fourth and final beast, for all intents and purposes, seemed to just be a mass of slithering tentacles that slithered out of its former incubation chamber like a nest of snakes. Only when it had moved its full bulk out of the womb did Nox realize it had a body in the center of that mass of tentacles.

"Do you like my corruptions?" Brestia said laughing maniacally. Nox did not speak, but simply drew and ignited his lightsaber.

"You seek true pain." Bestia noted. "It will be given. Children, consume him!"

The four Dread beasts attacked. Nox moved quickly to dodge the leaping charges of the Dread Hound and the hooved lizard, but was nearly hit by the slug's stream of sticky white paste and the tentacle beast's thrashing limbs as a result. With quick slashes of his lightsaber he sliced off the tips of several tentacles and managed to contort his body to avoid being hit by the white stream, which struck the floor behind him and almost instantly solidified into a rock-like coating.

Moving with blinding speed, Nox landed a series of savage blows on the Dread Hound and hooved lizard, before moving past them towards the tentacle monster. He dodged, slashed, and hurled his lightsaber around, using the Force to guide it as it flew through the air like a laser saw. He grew close to the creature's main body and began moving with godlike dexterity and alacrity between its thrashing limbs, slicing many of them off close to the base. He saw that the creature's body was little more than a mound of flesh, with no sensory organs to be seen other than its tentacles, and a gaping mouth that looked like it belonged to a Syrox. With hateful vehemence, Nox unleashed a burst of lightning into the creature's maw, causing it to howl and screech in pain. Nox continued to sever tentacles as they came near him, interrupting his pruning to occasionally send another blast of lightning into the yawning chasm of the monster's maw.

Suddenly two pairs of claws came slashing at him, and Nox had to cease his attacks on the tentacle beast to dodge them, realizing that the other beasts had now turned and were attacking their own sibling in order to get to him. The slug was pinning the tentacle beast's limbs to the walls and floor with its solidifying goo, allowing the others to slash and claw and snap at Nox without too many limbs getting in the way. Leaping up and spinning like a top, Nox hurled his lightsaber in an expanding circle around him while hurling lightning spheres in all directions. The Dread Beasts fell back, and even the slug contracted itself, shuddering and quaking whenever some of the balls of energy struck its slimy body.

Nox landed, and once more began attacking and slashing at the two melee beasts, while dodging the blows from the enraged tentacle monster and the insidious slug. Suddenly he felt the Dark Side building around him. Realizing what was about to happen a split second before it did, he shrouded himself in the Dark Side. The Death Field erupted a mere half-second afterwards, the energy tainted red instead of purple. Nox deftly slipped under a sweeping strike from the Dread Hound, slid between the legs of the hooved lizard, and exited the Death Field's area of effect before his shroud evaporated. The two beasts weren't so lucky. They howled in agony as the field of pure Dark Side energy consumed the flesh off their bones. The field lasted for a few seconds, which in itself was an impressive display of Bestia's power. But even more impressive was the fact that the creatures did not simply evaporate in the space of a second under the field's effects. Though they were much the worse for having suffered under it.

Bestia's laugh echoed through the chamber. "You think you can win? Fool! My pets are legion, behold!" At the sound of her voice, nearly every corpse in the room rose to their feet. Their eyes pure black, and their forms resembling nothing more than skin stretched over bone. With a chill, Nox realized where the Skull-apes had come from, they were likely the fully matured form of those worm-like creatures, who by that point in their life cycle had probably merged with the corpse they animated to an extent. Beneath the skin of each cadaver, Nox could see the rippling of the tentacled worm's muscles as it moved the skeleton like a macabre puppeteer. One corpse opened its mouth, revealing it was now where the worm had placed its own fang-filled maw, and unleashed an unearthly howl. As one the entire horde of animated corpses descended on Nox, forcing him to go on the move, hacking and slashing his way through their massed ranks. Nox realized that he had a long hard fight ahead of him, one which would likely cost him more power than he could afford to lose, unless he found a way to completely flip the tables.

"That's it children," Bestia cooed as her monstrosities pursued him. "tear him to pieces, and bring me his heart."

Suddenly, an idea sprouted in Nox's brain. This was supposed to be a trial, granted Bestia was likely trying to kill him in her own madness, but it was still likely a trial of some sort. He had already faced Brontes in a trial of conquest and combat in the fortress, so there must be more to this trial than simply fighting off a horde of abominations. The whole fight Bestia had done nothing but encourage and command her "children", so the trial likely involved them somehow-

He was forced to break off that train of thought as one of the previously inactive root-like tentacles under the water suddenly wrapped itself around his leg just as the Dread Beasts pursuing him launched a particularly well-co-ordinated attack. His surprise at the sudden intervention of the last remnants of the Dread Trees nearly cost him, as several of the Skull Apes attempted to bite off his limbs and head, his Force armor and personal shield protecting him. What nearly killed him however, was the simultaneous attack from the four large Dread Beasts, who attacked in eerie unison.

The Dread Hound and Dread Lizard attacked from opposite sides, while the slug shot a stream of its paste over his head to prevent him from escaping with a leap, and the tentacle beast surrounded him and cut off other escape routes with its long reach. Instead of dodging, Nox summoned all the power he could muster on such short notice, and unleashed it in a wave of power that was part Dark Side energy, part kinetic energy. The powerful wave was strong enough to send every Skull Ape around him flying, while knocking back the hound and lizard as well as temporarily unbalancing and disorienting the slug and tentacle beast.

With the moment of reprieve this afforded him, Nox connected the last few dots in his head and had an epiphany. The Skull Apes had gotten to their feet and were charging at him, followed by the now-recovered Dread Beasts. Nox stood perfectly still, preparing himself, then he unleashed a powerful wave of psychic energy. Every Dread Beast in the room stopped cold, their feeble, pitiful, savage minds filled with Nox's brilliance and intelligence. Through the psychic wave Nox had given every monstrosity in that room a glimpse of him as he truly was. A glimpse of his desires, his goals, his plans and the plans he had within plans. They saw, although they could never truly comprehend, the depths of his intelligence. They saw his power, and what he had done and fought against to gain it. They saw him for what he truly was. As far as simple beasts like them were concerned, he was a god.

Slowly, one by one, each beast lowered itself into a posture of submission and deference. The hound and lizard lowered themselves to the floor, their muscles relaxed. The tentacles beast stopped thrashing and curled its tentacles in around itself, while the slug quivered and retracted its antennae into its head.

"No!" Hissed Bestia. "Children, I am your mother! Obey me! Destroy him! Destroy him now!"

None of the creatures moved. Nox waited a while before speaking.

"You may be their mother, Bestia. But without a father, these creatures are little better than mindless savages who can never accomplish anything of value."

"Lies!" Bestia howled. "Children, obey me!" Her voice had become a harpy-like screech, and Nox could tell her already fragile psyche was beginning to crack.

"They obey the one whom they respect, and they respect true power." Nox replied, his voice as firm and steady as it had been before the battle. "Children may love their mother," He said, lifting a hand towards Bestia. Her barrier, made fragile by her distraction, instantly collapsed and she was flung to the floor into a posture of complete abasement. "but they respect and fear their father!" He said authoritatively. Bestia howled and thrashed against her invisible bonds, attempting to summon enough of her own Force power to break them, but Nox's hold on both her physical body and ethereal one were too strong, and she couldn't summon enough will to break free of his stranglehold.

"Now, submit!" Nox's voice boomed, as he increased the pressure on Bestia.

"Never!" She screamed in helpless fury.

"I said SUBMIT!" Nox repeated, lacing his words with dark power. The creatures trembled as the wave passed over them, and Bestia squirmed in pain when it touched her.

"I WILL NEVER SUBMIT TO YOU!" Bestia screamed, and in a flash, Nox felt the power of the other Dread Masters surge through her, and he instantly prepared himself for battle. It was unnecessary however, as Bestia simple vanished without a trace, as if she had never been there in the first place.

"Enjoy this moment of victory." Bestia's disembodied voice advised. "It will be your last."

_____________

Nox walked into the chamber at the end of the long, descending staircase that led to it. Mere seconds after he entered the room, a wall of fire erupted from the threshold, sealing off the doorway. Turning back to glance at the flames, Nox heard the voice of Dread Master Tyrans boom through the wide open space.

"So you come, like a lamb to the slaughter."

Nox turned his head back to the far end of the room, where the voice had come from. There, standing just in front of a throne raised a full meter and half off of the floor, was Tyrans. With a casual air, Nox's opponent stepped off of the throne's platform and landed easily on the floor below it. It was only then Nox realized that the chamber was far longer than it was wide, and the floor was comprised of massive tiles. Hanging from the ceiling, like a morbid chandelier, was a red, inverted pyramidal holocron, casting its soft red glow through the room.

"Are you prepared?" Tyrans asked. Nox felt like laughing.

"Ask Styrak and your sisters." He retorted.

"However powerful you may be," Tyrans replied. "you are still just an insignificant Sith. A speck."

With that, walls of fire erupted from the cracks between the tiles, turning each one into a island in what seemed a sea of flames. Too late, Nox felt the grip of the Dark Side on him, and realized what Tyrans had done.

"You performed the ritual of Kalabaan."

"Correct." Tyrans said, his voice betraying not even a hint of his emotions.

"Now neither of us can leave, until the ritual is complete, until the game is won." Nox said, as if by wrote.

"Then let us begin." Tyrans said, raising his hand, palm facing directly outward. Nox followed suit, and in a burst of dark energy, the ritual siphoned their power, converting it into raw energy, and giving it form and substance.

In the center of each tile there appeared a person or creature. Only the center row of tiles was left vacant. Tyrans side of the room was populated by simulacrums of members of the Dread Host, not unlike the ones Nox had encountered or seen outside the fortress. His front line was composed of Dread Guard soldiers, their weapons cocked and at the ready, and Dread Guard acolytes, with their skull-faced masks, red, white, and black armor, and glowing yellow lightsabers. His second line contained two Sorcerers dressed in Dread Guard robes, wearing Obroan-style skull-like helms, and two Dread Guard Marauders wielding a lightsaber in each hand. His third and final line, just in front of him, had two Dread Guard Enforcers on either end, each wearing heavy armor and wielding a heavy assault cannon. On the center two tiles stood both a Dread Guard Corrupter like the ones Nox had fought when he destroyed the terraforming machines, and a tall Dread Guard Overlord like the ones Nox had seen guarding the watchtower outside the fortress, wearing the same robes and ornate Obroan helm.

Nox's front line was composed of both soldiers dressed in armor identical to the Dread Guard on Tyran's side, and black-robed acolytes that looked fresh from Korriban. The soldier's armor differed from the Dread Guard only in that it was purple and black instead of red and black. The second line of Nox's army was comprised of two Sith juggernauts resembling Lord Demise, with purple blades and helms nearly identical to Nox's own, and two dark-robed assassins with double-bladed violet lightsabers and malicious smiles peeking out from beneath the cowls of their cloaks. The third line had two massive Terentateks on either end, with spitting images of Darth Skade and Darth Raze between them.

"As the defender, I reserve the right to make the first move." Tyrans said. At the sound of his voice the Dread Guard Overlord began to glow with a red aura, which soon appeared around all the other members of Tyrans army as well, with the exception of the two Enforcers. "I move my Dread Acolyte on the right forward two spaces." The walls of fire blocking the way vanished, leaving the acolyte in question a clear path to his target, one of Nox's soldiers. Charging forward, the acolyte deflected the soldier's blaster shots, and executed his enemy with a leaping strike.

"I also move my other Acolyte two spaces forward." Tyrans declared, and the scene repeated itself with eerie accuracy, only this time it was another of Nox's soldiers that fell. "I move my right-side Dread Guard to attack your Dark Acolyte." Tyrans said, and this time the soldier on the far end of Tyrans front line charged forward, the flames vanishing to allow him to pass. The battle ended as quickly as the others, with Tyrans minion standing triumphant, while another member of Nox's front line vanished like a spectre. "And now, for the final strike." Tyrans said, gesturing. The last remaining soldier of his first wave descended on the last of the Dark Acolytes, and with that, Nox's front line was gone.

"Already your demise manifests itself." Tyrans gloated. "In my first turn I've already crushed your first line of defense."

"But will that be enough I wonder?" Nox returned the jab.

"We shall see." Tyrans said as he directed the remainder of his forces to form an inverted T-shaped formation behind his unbroken front line. "I end my turn."

The soft blue glow surrounding the simulacrum of Darth Skade grew brighter at the declaration, and Nox raised his hand to point at the Dread Guard acolyte on his right. "I attack your second Acolyte with my second Assassin." He declared, and in a blur of movement the black-robed pawn descended on the unfortunate acolyte with incredible speed. In a single strike the acolyte was impaled and collapsed to the ground, vanishing not long afterward. "Next is your marauder." Nox said, even as the assassin flew at his new target. The Dread Enforcers, which were positioned just behind the marauder, opened fire on the assassin, but he was too fast to hit.

"I think not." Tyrans countered, and suddenly the Dread Overlord performed a quick series of hand motions, unleashing a burst of power into the Dread Marauder with a combat ritual. In burst of speed and strength, the marauder engaged Nox's assassin, who missed the killing blow and was given two lightsabers through his chest in return. The dark figure collapsed to the floor and faded into nothing. The Marauder however, seemed to be all the stronger for the battle. His rage manifested around him in a palpable aura, no doubt increasing his strength and speed.

"Like a blunt instrument, you strike blindly out of fear." Tyrans taunted him.

"I'm not finished yet Tyrans." Nox replied. "I'm also attacking your other marauder with my other assassin." At his word the remaining assassin disappeared from sight, leaving the path that opened empty except for the one remaining Dread Guard Acolyte and the Dread Marauder behind him. Tyrans gestured, and the Dread Guard Overlord repeated the combat ritual, imbuing the marauder with power. The Enforcers behind him cocked their weapons and prepared to open fire. Suddenly, the marauder dodged and twisted just as a violet lightsaber blade blossomed from thin air and would have ran itself through him. Instead it only grazed him, leaving the now de-cloaked assassin vulnerable to a decapitating strike.

"Is this what you call strategy? " Tyrans laughed. "Over and over, you try and you fail."

Nox said nothing, merely pointed at the marauder he had just attacked. "My right-side Juggernaut attacks." With a massive leap, the juggernaut covered the distance between them. The Dread Enforcers opened fire on the airborne warrior, but the Force gathered around him in an unbreakable shell and deflected the blaster bolts. The Juggernaut brought his lightsaber down in a crushing overhand strike that drove the Marauder's own lightsabers, crossed in front of him in defense, back into himself. The illusionary corpse collapsed and vanished.

Nox indicated the image of Darth Raze as he declared his next move. "I use Darth Raze's Talent to attack your last marauder." Darth Raze vanished, much as the previous assassin had, and for a moment everything seemed still. Then the last Dread Marauder grunted as Raze's blade impaled him from behind. The Dread Enforcers opened fire on Raze, only for him to deflect their attacks until the walls of fire reappeared, preventing them from continuing the assault, an aura of power surrounding him as he fed off of the death of his victim.

"Next he's going to eliminate your final Acolyte." Nox declared, and the flames separating Raze from the unfortunate peon disappeared. Raze made short work of the acolyte and took his place, the flames returning to seal him off as his dark aura intensified from the slaughter. "I end my turn." Nox declared, moving Darth Skade, who's own bluish-white aura had grown stronger at his declaration, and his right-side Terentatek into a defensive formation beside the other one as he did so.

"My rightmost Enforcer attacks that Juggernaut." Tyrans said, pointing to the warrior that had eliminated the marauder last turn. The protective flames disappeared and the Enforcer opened a hailstorm of blaster bolts up on the Juggernaut. The armoured warrior deflected them with his lightsaber, but a few broke through his defense and scorched his armor. In a quick leap, he closed the distance and came down on the gunner, but his foe activated his shield at the last second. The staggered Juggernaut was immediately hit by a kinetic pulse that sent him flying back onto his own tile, and with a signal from Tyrans, the Enforcer opened fire again. This time, the bolts flew past the stunned warrior's flailing weapon, piercing shields and armor and leaving his corpse full of holes.

Tyrans laughed. "Looks like the odds are beginning to stack against you, little Sith."

"There's no such thing as luck in Kalabaan," Nox replied. "and we both know it. The victor will be the one who truly deserved to win."

"That will be me." Tyrans said, extending a hand, palm outward, towards his Dread Guard Overlord. "Asuuley tuuni verikas." He recited, and a brilliant red light began to encompass the Overlord. When the light faded, the Overlord was gone, in its place was the image of the Watchtower commander with the featureless oval helmet. "Asuuley tuuni verikas." Tyrans repeated, duplicating the process with the Dread Corrupter, who transformed into a simulacrum of the red-robed commander he had fought in the Dread Watchtower's control center.

Tyrans took a moment to analyze his next move. He regarded Nox's formation, probing it for weaknesses with his gaze. It was only after a minute of hard analysis that he realized there was none. No matter what angle he attacked Nox's forces from, no matter what units he used or in which order he used them, no matter what Talents and Skills he utilized, it would all end the same: with him at a severe disadvantage. However, he soon realized that doing nothing would place him in a very similar position. Either option would allow Nox to tip the balance and gain an unacceptable amount of momentum.

No, he thought to himself, it can't be. There's no way he could have defeated me already, not in his first turn, and not after losing so much ground!

"Any problems Tyrans?" Nox's smug voice asked from across the chamber. Tyrans gritted his teeth, enraged by his foe's arrogance and his own helplessness.

"Do not attempt to comprehend my methods." He snapped.

"I wouldn't dare dream of it." Nox's smug sarcasm was dripping from his voice, and it took great effort for Tyrans to keep his cool.

"I move my other Dread Enforcer one space forward." He said, trying to project confidence and certainty. If I can draw him into a position where he exposes himself, I can give myself a chance to at least even the score, maybe turn things back in my favor. He moved both of his new commanders and the Sorcerers right up behind the advancing Enforcers in an unbroken line before declaring "I end my turn."

Skade's already brilliant aura grew brighter, her Force power continuing to build with each passing cycle. Nox indicated Raze, "I use Raze's Talent." Darth Raze vanished from sight, and Tyrans braced himself for what was about to happen. Raze's blade sprouted from the Dread Shadow's chest, and a second later, the Enforcers whirled to open fire on him. The body of the Dread Shadow toppled over, and Raze barely managed to defend himself from the two streams of plasma until the fire barriers reappeared. By the time they did, the simulacrum of Raze looked battle worn. His armored robes were scorched in places, and he gave the appearance of being exhausted, despite being merely an illusion of Sith Sorcery.

"Now Tyrans," Nox taunted him. "let's see how you deal with being outmaneuvered by a real strategist." He extended his hand, palm outward, just like Tyrans had done during the previous turn. "Asuuley tuuni verikas." Nox chanted, and in a flash of light, Raze was transformed. The being that stood in his place was one that Nox knew very well, but that Tyrans had only heard described once before.

"Darth Andru..." Tyrans said, with growing horror as the realization of what was about to occur slowly dawned on him.

"Well, well." The apparition spoke, shocking both players into awestruck silence. "I never expected to see a game of Kalabaan from this angle." The pale, wiry Sith drew both of his lightsabers from his belt and thumbed their activation switches. "But I suspect it's going to be a lot of fun!"

The first to shake off his surprise, Tyrans practically shouted his response. "I use Dread Sentinel's Talent!" The blood-robed commander on the tile right next to Darth Andru vanished immediately, reappearing seconds later in the far corner on Tyrans side of the board. Tyrans allowed himself to feel a small measure of relief. He'd saved his last remaining commander, but from what he knew of Andru's capabilities, he was pretty certain he wasn't going to like what was about to happen.

Finally having recovered from his initial shock over what he had thought to be an illusion exhibiting signs of intelligence, Nox finally declared his next move. "I use Darth Skade's Talent." He said, and the illusion of Ashara used her accumulated Force power to form Force armor around each Terentatek, granting some to Darth Andru afterward. "Now, for the final nail in your coffin." Nox said with hateful glee. He extended his hand towards Ashara, "Asuuley tuuni verikas!" In a familiar flash, Darth Skade vanished, to be replaced by a dark-skinned, tattooed Sith with a deceptively calm face.

"So, you finally decided to let us out hmm?" Lord Ergast said, turning to Nox. "Did it have to be in a game of Kalabaan?"

"I'd watch your tongue if I were you Ergast." Nox retorted. "That goes for both of you." He said to both his new commanders.

Andru growled. "Normally I'd kill you for giving me an order little snake, but since these riff raff are within reach I think I'll take my anger out on them."

"Which I was going to make you do anyway." Nox said. "Ergast, use your Talent before Andru jumps the blaster."

"As you command." The Sith Lord replied bitingly. He channeled his power, then unleashed it in a series of brief hand motions, causing all of Nox's army to glow with a soft aura of power.

"Andru," Nox ordered, indicating the figure on a left diagonal from the cloaked and armored Sith "Attack that Sorcerer."

Andru grinned despite himself. "With pleasure." He hissed, and as the walls of fire came down, he descended on his victim with unnatural speed and agility, easily dodging and deflecting the bolts that the Dread Enforcer beside his target unleashed on him. In seconds he tore through his victim's defenses and sliced the illusion into pieces which dissipated before they hit the ground. Andru's dark aura grew more potent as he fed on the energies released by the simulated death, growing stronger.

"I activate Darth Andru's Talent." Nox declared, confirming Tyrans worst fears. Andru's dark aura became a bright red glow, and his rage became palpable as well as visible in the air around him. "Kill everything in your path Andru." Nox ordered.

With that, the dark-armored Sith became a ravenous beast. He tore through both the Dread Enforcers, taking their salvos as direct hits with batting an eye, eviscerating them like zucca pigs, and absorbing the Force energy they were made of. Without even pausing, he was on top of the Sorcerer and the Dread Guard soldier at the other end of the battlefield before they would have knew what had hit them, their dissolutions strengthening him all the more.

When it was all said and done, Andru looked all the stronger for the battles. Other than some cosmetic damage to his cloak and armor, he looked like he could have kept going until every last one of Tyrans minions was reduced to Force energy, had any been within reach.

"I move my rightmost Terentatek right one space." Nox said, directing the massive beast with his will into a tile diagonally adjacent to the seething, raging Andru. "I'll also move Ergast and the other Terentatek over one space as well, then end my turn."

Lord Ergast's previously diminished Force aura grew brighter as his power regenerated itself, almost as if signaling the start of Tyrans turn. Looking at the board, Tyrans knew he was in dire straits. He'd lost nearly his entire army, except for one commander and a pawn, so now his only choice was to play defensive and hold out while he waited for his opportunity to strike back. It would come, but only if he kept his last commander alive long enough...

"Asuuley tuuni verikas." He ordered, and when the flash of light faded, the image of Banok Ral, one of the commanders of the outer fortress, had replaced the Watchtower commander. "I use Banok Ral's talent," he said as the simulacrum cast a Force Barrier around itself, "and move it two spaces to my right." He glanced quickly at the board, and seeing a faint glow surrounding his last Dread Guard, he decided there wasn't any harm in risking it.

"I attack your last Juggernaut with my last Dread Guard."

"Cut off the nose to spite the face?" Nox quipped as the wall of fire separating the two combatants vanished, and they engaged in battle.

"I'm simply making use of the tools at hand." Tyrans replied as their minions continued to fight.

"Is that what you call making use?" Nox asked mockingly. Tyrans said nothing as both minions, exhausted, backed off and the wall of fire rose between them once more. Neither one had expired, but they had both suffered damage.

"I end my turn." Tyrans said. Now, he thought, it will be decided.

Ergast's dark aura grew more intense, signaling the beginning of Nox's turn. "I activate Darth Andru's Talent." He said, and once again Andru's aura transformed into a red glow of palpable rage. A pathway across the board leading directly to Banok Ral, opened up, and Andru barreled down it as his opponent readied himself. Andru attacked Ral's Force Barrier with a savagery and fury that seemed to go beyond human capacity for emotion, but the barrier seemed to hold firm. Nox felt a flicker of concern as he realized he might have just risked his advantage in a reckless maneuver, but then the barrier suddenly collapsed, leaving the enemy commander defenseless.

Unfortunately, Andru appeared to have expended all his energy in the attack, and the simulacrum of Ral took advantage of that by unleashing a blast of lightning at his foe in a counterattack. The blast made Andru stumble back, just as the wall of fire raised itself to end the battle. Determined to finish off his foe while he still had a chance, Nox gestured at Andru as he spoke the words that he hoped would be his redemption.

"Asuuley tuuni verikas." The burst of light replaced Lord Ergast with the spectre of Kalatosh Zavros, and the second burst replaced Darth Andru with the towering form of Horak-Mul.

The two quickly noticed where they were and what was going on, and Kalatosh whirled on Nox. "Really?" He questioned. "This is your legacy? Playing games like children? Whatever happened to Sith fighting their own battles?"

"Watch your tongue." Horak-Mul threatened him. "Kalabaan is no mere game. It is the greatest contest of wits ever devised, something I doubt you would understand."

"What I understand is that we've graduated from being prisoners to game pieces!" Kalatosh retorted. "First he binds us, then he traps us, now he's using us for amusement!"

"Kalabaan is not for amusement." Horak-Mul said gravely. "It is the highest form of contest known to the Sith. Engaging in a game of Kalabaan is to put not just one's own life or soul at risk, but to risk being responsible for the elevation of your foe. If he had the courage to accept the challenge then we should do our part gladly."

"But don't you know what that means if he loses?" Kalatosh nearly screamed. "If he loses we get turned into raw Force energy, no more him, no more afterlife, no more us!"

"I would think that would be all the motivation you need not to lose." Horak replied.

"Not that either of you could disobey me anyway." Nox added.

"Damn you! Damn you all!" Kalatosh raged.

"I attack your last Dread Guard with my last Juggernaut." Nox said to Tyrans, as the wall of flames came down and the battle began again in earnest. Bolstered by the Force presences of both Kalatosh and Horak-Mul, Nox's minion had the clear advantage and crushed the soldier easily. Kalatosh's Force aura grew brighter as Nox declared the end of his turn.

Tyrans couldn't help it. He began to laugh. "Fool!" He spat. "Witness my mastery!" Darkness began to shroud the Dread Master's form, and his laugh became an echo. Suddenly, a cloud of dark smoke surrounded Banok Ral, and malevolent energy began to build in the vortex. Then, with an explosion of energy, the smoke dispersed, and Tyrans stood where Banok Ral had been. The Dread Master's booming laugh echoed through the chamber, and his eyes began to glow a brilliant red from the darkness behind his eye slits. Horak-Mul, his face twisted in both disbelief and fear, stood frozen as the strength was drained from his body and the courage from his heart. The wall of fire separating them collapsed, and Tyrans attacked.

Horak-Mul tried to defend himself, but under the effects of the Dread Master's overwhelming power to inflict terror and the potency of his sorcery, the pureblood Sith's defenses were practically non-existent, and his counterattacks were useless. Tapping into the bond between them, Nox took over Horak-Mul and summoned all the power the ancient Sith Lord could muster. Horak-Mul's eyes and hands began to shine with electric energy as Nox tapped into the Dark Lord's command of Sith Lightning. He unleashed it in a massive blast that thundered towards Tyrans like a raging river of power. Tyrans raised a hand, and a Force Barrier sprang to life around him. The deluge of lightning didn't break over the shield like water over a rock however, it clung to the barrier like a static charge. Individual volts finding weaknesses and holes, slipping through to shock Tyrans even as he struggled to maintain his concentration against the burgeoning power.

In the end, Horak-Mul didn't have enough power to break through the Dread Master's defenses, and the lightning storm faded as Horak-Mul dropped to the ground exhausted and drained.

"Promise me, Nox." He said urgently in a hoarse, raspy voice as Tyrans approached his prone body. "Promise me you'll win!"

"You have my word." Nox promised. The ancient Sith closed his eyes, and Tyrans drove his lightsaber through his chest. With an explosion of dark energy, the body disappeared, Tyrans feeding on some of the residual energies to strengthen himself.

"You have no hope now." Tyrans taunted him.

Nox smiled darkly, "I've never needed hope." and Tyrans noticed a dark aura beginning to form around Nox.

"Impossible." He said incredulously. "You know-"

"I know more than you ever will." Nox replied, as the darkness began to swirl around him, forming a vortex much like it had with Tyrans. The same aura formed around Kalatosh, and with an explosion of dark energy, the other Sith was gone, and Darth Nox was standing in his place.

"Now it's you and me Tyrans." Nox asserted, his eyes glowing with violet light as the Dark Side swirled around him. "Looks like we really are going to fight after all." A path opened before him, and he advanced towards Tyrans, stopping two spaces away from the Dread Master. "Now come and get me."

Tyrans laughed, and Nox felt a familiar shift in the Dark Side as Tyrans summoned the power of the other Dread Masters to add to his own. "Your ambition will be your downfall." Tyrans said as his body was enveloped in a red and black aura. His booming laugh once more began to echo, as his form became shrouded in a red and black mist that seemed to have manifested itself from nowhere.

Abruptly, the sphere of pure Dark Side energy unleashed a wave of power that annihilated every illusion in the room, leaving only Nox and the sphere of energy behind. Nox felt a sudden overwhelming terror begin to swallow him up, and heard Tyran's voice echo in the corridors of his mind. Give yourself to oblivion.

That sound, that dreadful, terrible sound filled his ears again. He felt the ice-cold breath on the back of his neck, cold as the abyss, and felt the harrowing presence of Death fall over him. His legs went rigid and his body froze in place. The sphere of power that Tyrans had become floated towards him, tentacles of dark energy reaching out to wrap him in their entropic grasp and drain him of his power, his life, his very being. He felt like he was in a nightmare, only this was real. He couldn't move. He tried to turn and run but his body and mind both betrayed him, remaining frozen.

Is this how it ends? He thought as he felt a skeletal hand rest on his shoulder. Do I die here? Having come so far only to fall to that which I have devoted my entire life to escaping? He lost all sensation of the world outside himself, and felt only the cold embrace of the void. Floating in the endless black, he felt his thoughts and memories slipping away, replaced by a strange kind of peace. The utter stillness that came with absence and emptiness. Who was he? What was he? He knew he had something important to do, something he had to remember...but what was it?

He didn't know how long he stayed like that, but suddenly he remembered something.

Peace is a lie.

He grasped at the thought, like a drowning man reaching for an object to hold on to.

Peace is a lie.

Yes, he thought, Peace is a lie.

Peace is a lie!

He forced himself to finish the thought, reciting the words that he had carved into his very being since the day he first heard them.

Peace is a lie. There is only Passion.

Through Passion I gain Strength.

Through Strength I gain Power.

Through Power I gain Victory,

and through Victory my chains are Broken.

The Force shall set me free.

The Force shall set me free.

The Force...shall set me...FREE!

_______________

Tyrans, immersed thoroughly in the sphere of dark energy surrounding his physical form, regarded his helpless prey as he closed in. Darth Nox had gone rigid like a corpse, his mind and heart frozen by the overwhelming power of terror. Despite the Dark Lord's might, he was no match for the combined powers of Tyrans and his brothers and sisters. As he closed in on the petrified Nox, Tyrans extended his Force reach to seize upon his foe's mind and unravel it in the abyss he had crafted from the Dark Lord's own deepest and darkest fear. Death.

Suddenly, he felt something. Something, odd. It was a shift in the Force, but like none he had ever experienced. It wasn't so much like a tectonic shift, as most shifts were. Instead it was more like something new had simply appeared, a deeper, darker vacuum within the void of the Dark Side that displaced the Dark Side itself. In that moment, Tyrans felt the first flicker of doubt. Then he saw the purple glow alighting in the still petrified Nox's eyes, piercing his helm's one-way lenses from the inside, as an ominous aura of inky black darkness began to shroud his enemy's form. The darkness quickly became a whirlwind of living shadow, and Tyrans realized with growing fear that something horrible was happening. Something he didn't understand, something he hadn't even thought to plan for.

He became the petrified one, as the vortex of darkness grew larger and began to batter the opaque sphere of dark energy that surrounded him. The darkness surrounding his former prey didn't feel so much dark as it felt black. It felt like standing on the edge of the abyss, staring into its depths, unable to look away. He felt every fiber of his being, whether mundane or ethereal, shudder involuntarily as the fear he had sought to inflict suddenly blossomed in the now fertile ground of his own heart.

With mounting horror, he saw a pair of glowing purple orbs alight within the depths of the swirling black tornado. They were spaced too far apart and were too large to be Nox's eyes, or the eyes of any being or form small enough to be hidden by the vortex. Yet Tyrans knew they were staring at him, that they didn't just see him but saw through him, and the fear that had sprouted in his soul blossomed into the fully-formed flower of terror.

"Who are you!?" He demanded, his voice for once losing its deep bass and becoming a terrified baritone.

I am Death.

The voice spoke purely in his mind, except it wasn't mere telepathy, but rather a transfer of knowledge from one ethereal being to another. The words pierced his mind and soul, rooting themselves in his very essence, corrupting it by their mere presence, and forcing his powers to abandon him, as if in flight.

The dark vortex suddenly began to expand rapidly, tearing through the ball of dark energy that surrounded Tyrans and encompassing him in seconds. He tried to scream as the darkness began to devour the flesh from his bones, erasing his body from existence like a swarm of locusts devouring a field of vegetation, but he heard no sound. Nothing but the hollow roaring of the dark winds that were wiping him from the galaxy. Just before he lost all sense of himself, he felt a tug, like a hand grabbing him by the collar and yanking him backward, and as he felt the corrosive touch of the darkness consuming his body fade, he managed to breathe out a single parting sentence.

"This was but a game. The true test is yet to come..."

_____________

From the moment Nox entered the chambers of Dread Master Calphayus, he knew this trial would not be like the others.

“You’ve arrived.” Calphayus said, raising his head from its bowed position and dropping his clasped hands to his sides. “Then you have survived your previous trials as I foresaw.”

“And just what do you have in store Calphayus?” Nox asked, taking on a remarkably civil tone.

The Dread Master gave a sinister chuckle in reply. “You cannot receive insight so easily, you must earn it.”

“Then perhaps we should dispense with these riddles and nonsense and get down to it.” Nox said, his civil tone vanishing to be replaced by frigid airs.

“Do not make light of this.” Calphayus scolded him. “I see you. I see your true self. I see your future, your past, your doom!” His hands shot forward in a summoning posture, and he became cloaked in an aura of power. Taken by surprise, Nox felt the world spin around him, then vanish into the depths of the vortex in which he now found himself. Just before he lost consciousness, he wondered if he had made a terrible mistake.

____________

Little Teri stood shivering in the cold winds of Skull Grotto. The filthy rags wrapped around his small frame did little to protect him from the chilling bite of the air currents as they sapped the warmth from his body. In front of him, rising into the sky like a monument to fear and death, was The Skull: A large rock formation that looked harrowingly similar to its namesake, and served as the entrance to a vast network of caves that burrowed deep into Dathomir’s surface. It was also home to a monstrous creature older than the rocks themselves, a beast born of nightmares and hate.

Teri had come here with his mother, she had told him to wait outside while she went in to get whatever it was they had come here for. That had been at dusk, but it was night now. Teri had been standing in the cold for what felt like hours, staring into the impenetrable darkness filling the gaping, yawning maw of The Skull, waiting to see his mother emerge, but she never did. The thought that maybe the Beast had gotten her flashed through his mind, but he shook his head to banish it. His mother was strong, she would never fall to such a creature, she would never leave him alone in the world, she-

His thought was cut off by the very loud, very deep growl that suddenly came from somewhere behind him. Teri stood stock still and stiffened like a corpse, his little ears listening as intently as they could as his panicked mind raced through possibilities at light speed. Being a child of almost 3 years, his imagination was more than developed enough to present him with a series of possibilities, each more terrifying than the last. He wanted to turn around to put all his fears to rest and assure himself there was nothing there, but his body was petrified with fear, and the only thing he could do was stand as still as stone, hoping that he was just imagining things.

He felt a dark presence sweep over him, and his fear blossomed into terror. He felt the source of the presence drawing closer, approaching him from behind, and tears began to stream silently down his face as he soiled himself. Suddenly, he felt a cold breeze on his neck, colder than any of the winds that been howling through the grotto minutes earlier. The chill made his skin feel like ice, and he felt the call of the abyss.

Unleashing a scream, Teri took off blindly at a full run. So terrified was he, that he didn’t notice or care that he was running straight into the mouth of The Skull, straight into the darkness.

____________

Teri trudged along in the dark. His eyes had adjusted to the deep darkness long ago, but that still didn’t help him figure out where he was or how to get out. He felt like he’d been walking for hours, a fact his feet reminded him of with every step. He wanted to lay down and rest, but the thought of that icy breath on his neck gave him a new dose of adrenaline. He was tired, terrified, and miserable. Tears fell continuously down his face, but he released no sobs or hiccups. There was no noise except for the sound of his feet hitting the stone floor, and a low, continuous, hollow roar, like the howling of spirits, that always seemed to be coming from deeper into the tunnel, no matter which way he turned or what tunnel he took. He’d already passed through several forks and intersections, and there was no telling how many he had passed through when he was running from the Beast. He was thoroughly and utterly lost.

The tunnel finally opened into a much wider, more cavernous tunnel, where fields of stalagmite formations with a hole in the top of each of them covered the majority of the floor and walls. The new tunnel was softly lit by glowing blue moss that formed colonies on the strange formations. As Teri continued along the path that seemed to have been worn through the strange landscape, he suddenly heard a noise coming from one of the larger formations nearby.

Overcome with relief, he scrambled over the few stalagmites in his way to reach the one from which the noise had come. “Mommy?” He called out. “Mommy, it’s me!” He reached the structure and mounted it so he could peer into the sizeable hole. “Mommy?” The darkness inside remained still and silent, that is, until a pair of tiny, glowing red slits opened and glared directly at him. Teri was frozen in fear, and watched petrified as more red eyes materialized in the darkness, filling the void with the angry glares of a thousand demons.

In an explosion of beating wings, the creatures flew at him, biting, scratching and clawing at his eyes and face. When he threw up his hands to try and beat them off, they gnawed and grasped at his fingers and arms, teeth and claws digging into his flesh and leaving deep, bleeding furrows in his skin. Teri ran down the path to try and get away, his teeth clenched and his hands flying in every direction as he tried in vain to beat them off. His tired legs and worn feet burned with pain, but he didn’t even notice. He ran blindly, occasionally stumbling and tripping in his mad dash to escape his furious tormentors.

Then he felt his heart stop when his next step didn’t touch the floor, and for a moment he felt himself tumbling down, down into the dark abyss, into the waiting jaws of the Beast. Then he hit water, and with it came sweet relief. Unwilling to follow their victim, the winged residents of the caves had ceased their assault. For a moment, Teri considered staying underwater for as long as possible, but then his lungs protested, and he burst to the surface, gasping for air. He swam to the edge of the pool, clung to a ledge that jutted out from the rock wall, and stayed there, shivering.

His legs and feet hung uselessly in the water behind him, and he took the moment to enjoy the rest, despite the piercing cold and the realization that he no longer had any clothes. The rags he had been wearing had been so scratched and torn by the winged creatures that had attacked him, that when he hit the water they must have slipped right off and sank to the bottom.

At least he was safe here. The creatures from before hadn’t followed him down here, and the Beast…the thought trailed off as he realized he was a sitting duck. If the Beast found him here, there was nowhere to run or hide, he would be trapped. Panic gave him new energy, and he quickly began moving around the edge of the pool, searching for a way out. His heart flooded with relief as he found a path, seemingly carved out of the stone, spiraling up to the top.

In a few minutes, Teri was once more walking down a tunnel, naked and shivering but alive. He had to find mommy. That was his only hope. If he could find her, she could protect him from the Beast and they could go home together. Without her, he would wander down here, trapped, until either the Beast or hunger got him. He had to keep moving, he had to find her.

As he walked, he forced his voice out from between his trembling lips in a low call that echoed softly and eerily down the tunnel: “Mooooommmyyyyyyy…” He listened intently, hoping against hope for a reply. Nothing. He tried again, this time slightly louder: “Moooooommmyyyyyyyy”. Listening to the echo, he realized it sounded like the haunted call of the spirits he had seen Mommy and the others summon back in the village, and the thought brought back the memory of the Beast, and of its chilling breath on his neck.

The tunnel eventually opened into a large cavern with no floor. His only way forward was a path carved into the stone wall that ran left of the tunnel he had emerged from. Thick steam was rising from the dark abyss below, and Teri could feel the heat it brought. The change in temperature relieved him of his chills, but for some reason, Teri felt more afraid. The moment he stepped into the cavern, apprehension rooted itself in his brain and he felt like he was being watched. Trying to ignore the feeling, he turned and began to walk down the pathway away from the tunnel, softly calling out to his mother to comfort himself with the sound of his own voice. His fear made him stutter, and even as he spoke, he thought he heard the same low growl he had heard outside The Skull. Every hair on his body stood up and goose bumps spread across his flesh. On instinct he whirled around to look behind him, and saw…nothing.

His fear was not satiated however, and even as he turned back and continued on his way, he still felt like he was being watched. What little Teri hadn’t seen was the malevolent, inhuman face sneering at him that had formed out of the steam, vanishing just moments before he had turned to look back.

_____________

After reaching the end of the path carved in the wall of the steam-filled cavern, Teri had once more found himself faced with the deeper darkness of another tunnel. He had been traveling through it for a while now without encountering any forks or intersections. The cuts on his arms, face, and hands had already started to scab over, and the blood surrounding them had started to dry. They still stung however, and his feet and legs were beginning to feel tired again.

He entered a large cavern that looked normal compared to the ones he had passed through before, but once his eyes adjusted, he could make out a strange silhouette standing in the center. As he looked harder, he realized it has a humanoid form, and a thought possessed him. “Mommy?” he called out. “Mommy!” He cried, running to his mother. Her back was turned to him so he couldn’t see her face. “Mommy! It’s me, mommy!” He grabbed her hand when he reached her, and felt chills sweep over his body. It was ice cold.

Slowly, she turned to face him, and horror overcame him. Her face was gone. In its place was a mass of rotten flesh barely covering an exposed skull. Maggots crawled in and out of her empty eye sockets and nostrils, and her mouth was a skeletal grimace.

“What’s the matter Teri?” She asked, her lipless, mouth opening and closing as she spoke, revealing her decaying, maggot-infested tongue. “Aren’t you happy to see me?”

Teri tried to scream, but the sound caught in his throat. He could only stare at the horrifying creature as it leaned over him.

“Come on Teri.” His mother said, “Let’s go home together.”

Just then, Teri saw it. Behind the abomination that may or may not have been his mother, was the Beast of The Skull. It was massive. Its body was made of living shadow that moved and rippled like a liquid. Its eyes were slanted, evil red slits on a face that was nowhere near human. Its gaping maw was a cruel muzzle with massive, sharp teeth that resembled huge ritual knives. Its long, bone-skinny limbs, of which there were six, ended in oversized talon-like claws just as long as its teeth. The dull, hollow roar Teri had been hearing in the tunnels, and had gotten so used to, was emanating from it.

In that instant, Teri knew he was going to die, and that’s when everything clicked. He remembered who he was. He was no longer the terrified boy who had gotten lost in those caves so long ago; he was no longer the weak, mewling little lamb that had been terrified of his own shadow. He was no longer weak, he was no longer afraid, he was fear. His anger, his fury, his hate, they all came rushing back to him, filling him with strength and power. Suddenly, he was no longer two feet tall, but six. He was no longer naked, but wearing his familiar armor and skull-faced helm, with his lightsaber clipped to his belt. He was no longer cold and afraid, but filled with the infernal heat of rage.

He drew his lightsaber just as the beast lunged, and impaled the reanimated corpse of his mother through her gut. The Beast stopped cold, and then unleashed a howl of agony.

“Enough, Calphayus!” Nox bellowed, his voice echoing throughout the vision-world. “I’ve passed your test!”

Calphayus’s familiar, sinister laughter was his response, and Nox noticed that it was coming from the impaled illusion of his mother’s corpse. Her rotting face was thrown back in laughter, her grimacing mouth thrown open.

“Oh no, Teridax.” Calphayus said with obvious glee. “The true test has only just begun.”

Everything around Nox began to waver and shift. The Beast evaporated as his mother’s corpse dissolved into dust. The cavern began to wobble like a sheet of flimsy being shaken by a child, then the floor gave way, and Nox found himself plummeting into unconsciousness.

_____________

When he awoke, he found himself lying face-down on the rocky ground. Getting to his feet, he took stock of his surroundings. He stood on a wide, level platform of rock that seemed to be a natural formation. The area was brightly illuminated, but not by the piercing golden light of a star, rather by the soft light of a moon. Nox glanced up at the brilliant white orb shining down on him from the night sky, and a chill ran down his spine.

There were no stars. Other than the incredibly large moon, the only objects in the dark and dusky sky were several dark clouds that moved steadily despite the noticeable lack of wind. Possessed by an apprehensive curiosity, Nox approached the edge of the platform, and peered over. Vertigo and primal terror mingled in his cortex as he stared into the bottomless abyss that was a mixture of very dark blues and dull greens, mimicking the sky on a planet where the sun had slipped below the horizon enough to shroud its natural light from view, but not so much that it left the sky black. Pulling back from the edge and backing away, Nox tried to organize his thoughts, and failed.

Wherever he was, it was not anywhere in the universe he recognized. It reminded him more of the strange universe he had glimpsed through the eyes of the strange abomination he had encountered in the hypergate on Asation. The coloration of the “sky” made no sense, as did the presence of a lunar satellite in the absence of any landmass besides the floating platform on which Nox currently found himself. The thought that the landmass on which he stood might, at any moment, plummet into the depths of-of-wherever this was threatened to flood his mind and body with fear.

He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. The platform, much like the rest of this place, seemed perfectly capable and content to defy any law of gravity that existed here and continue floating, despite Nox experiencing no noticeable change in the gravity he normally experienced. Wherever this place was, it defied all natural laws and laws of physics, which meant he had to be ready for anything.

Looking straight up, he saw the sky became a progressively deeper blue until, at the point directly above him, it seemed to become pure black. While he pondered what this could mean, he heard a voice he never thought he would hear again from behind him.

“Beautiful, isn’t it apprentice?”

Nox whirled to see his old master, Darth Zash, standing behind him. However, he immediately noticed that something was off. Her skin was a blackish- gray, and the more he looked at her the more it seemed less like skin, and more like solid shadows. Her robes were a much darker black, and her hair was a lighter gray than her skin. What struck him most were the eyes. They weren’t normal, they weren’t even human. They looked more like the eyes of a Chiss, except they glowed with sinister intent, and she was cloaked in an aura of shadow, as if her body was composed of dark flames.

The shadowy imitation of Zash put her hand on her hip. “What’s wrong apprentice? Is that any way to greet your old master?” Her voice was familiar, but the tone was mocking.

“You always did need a lesson in showing the proper respect.” Came yet another voice Nox had feared he would hear. He turned to see a shadow version of Thanaton standing off to the side. Nox could have sworn he wasn’t there before. “Perhaps we shall have to teach you.”

“Yes!” Came a voice that surprised Nox more than either of the previous ones. “Teach him a lesson!” Nox turned once more to see a shadow of Rylee Dray. Now he was surrounded on all sides, with his back to the edge. “Teach that no-good traitor that he can’t just get away with everything he’s done!” The voice was unmistakably Rylee’s, but Nox had never heard it tainted with such venom and hatred before.

“Did you know this would happen?” The shadow of Rylee glowered as she and the others began to close in on him. “Did you know when you abandoned us to those charlatans and thieves on Nar Shadda that I’d find you and seek revenge? Would you still do it?” Her words were brimming with animosity and her eyes almost seemed to be on fire.

“I made a mistake.” Nox admitted.

“Gods don’t make mistakes!” Rylee yelled. “What kind of god abandons his own people? His own faithful?”

“You’re no god.” Thanaton said derisively. “You’re just a pretender and a false Sith.”

“You couldn’t even get rid of me.” Zash accused. “You locked me away because you were too weak to kill me once and for all!”

Nox clasped his hands over his ears, but it did nothing to block out their voices.

“You were a failure as an apprentice.” Zash mocked him.

“You bring nothing but shame to the name of Sith.” Thanaton denounced.

“You’re no god.” Rylee accused. “You’re nothing but a pathetic failure.”

“SHUT UUUUP!” Nox screamed. A blast of Dark Side energy exploded out of him, wiping away the shadows as they unleashed haunting screams of hatred and frustration. Nox stood there for a moment, panting heavily as he tried to gather himself. When he could finally think straight, he stopped and took another look around. He noticed there seemed to be another floating island off in the distance. When he moved towards the edge of the platform, rocks suddenly appeared from below, forming a broken path across the void to the other island.

Nox only hesitated a moment to test whether the path would support him and not collapse the moment he put his weight on it. When it held, he stepped out onto the unnatural bridge and began making his way across. As he drew closer to the island, he noticed it was covered in trees and vegetation. It also seemed to be significantly bigger than the one he had come from. When he reached the island, he stepped off the floating path, and it collapsed, vanishing below.

Nox stood there for a moment, regarding the completely silent forest in front of him. Illuminated by the unnaturally bright light of the large moon, but vacant of any movement or noise indicating the presence of life, the forest seemed eerie and eldritch rather than normal. Steeling himself, Nox entered, making his way through the perfectly still trees, the foliage casting long shadows on the forest floor. It was so picturesque it might have been beautiful, were it not for the current situation. It was a few minutes later when Nox realized that he should have reached the other side of the island by now. Turning back, he couldn’t see the edge he had arrived on, only a seemingly endless forest.

Squashing the growing sense of unease that tried to wiggle its way into his brain, Nox continued on. Not long after, he arrived at a rather primitive-looking domicile. It seemed to be made of wood and some kind of bleached, solid stone similar to permacrete. Despite the dwelling’s simple design, it had an extremely rustic sort of charm. It looked very…homey.

“Daddy!” He heard a child’s voice call from behind him. He turned in confusion, and saw two children, a boy and girl rushing towards him with the most excited looks he had ever seen on two children’s faces. The girl was a Togruta, and the boy a Dathomirian Zabrak. Nox did a double take, and realized something that served to confuse him even more. The girl looked a lot like Ashara, different in subtle ways, but it was obvious who her mother was. The boy was the spitting image of Nox. Other than having different tattoos he had the same lean build, the same piercing eyes, the same formation of horns…

For a moment Nox struggled to process what he was seeing, then he realized why the children were running towards him. I’m…their father? The notion seemed ridiculous, yet he couldn’t deny the genetic similarities between these younglings and him and Ashara.

“Daddy! I’m so glad you’re home!” The little girl squealed, attacking his legs like a hungry K’lor’slug, wrapping her tiny little arms around him.

“Dad, can you teach me some new staff techniques?” The boy asked, his wide eyes looking up at Nox with a mixture of anticipation and hope. “I’ve been practicing the stuff you taught me, and I’m ready for some new moves!”

Nox’s confusion had morphed into determination, and he decided it best to play along to get what he needed.

“Actually I was looking for your mother, do you know where she is?”

“Mommy went up to the clearing to watch the moon.” The little girl said. “She told us to tell you to come and see her when you got back.”

“Then I’ll do just that.” Nox said, untangling himself from the persistent embrace of the young girl. “Although, I seem to have forgotten which way to go.” The girl giggled.

“Silly daddy. You just go that way.” She indicated the proper direction, and Nox reached down and rubbed her headtails as thanks. “What would daddy do without you?” He pretended to tease her, thankful that his ancestor’s mask hid his expression.

The girl giggled again, and the two younglings scampered into the house as Nox departed in the direction he had been told to go. After less than a minute of travel, he started ascending a hill, the brilliant light of the moon shining down from the top. He had no doubt the view of it from the top would be rather spectacular.

He was not disappointed. Upon reaching the summit and entering the clearing that was his destination, he was greeted to the sight of the immense white orb showering the clearing with its soft white beams. The scene seemed downright magical. He was so caught up in the sight that he failed to notice Ashara standing in the center of the clearing until she spoke to him.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” She asked, causing Nox to stop a few meters from her.

“What’s going on Ashara?” He asked in a deeply serious tone. “What is this place? Why are our-” he paused, struggling to get the word out “-offspring running about that primitive construct?”

Her head, which up to that point had been tilted back staring at the moon, fell into a lowered position. Nox recognized the movement as an indication that she was trying to suppress her emotions. She turned to face him, the moon clearly illuminating her from behind.

“Because Teri,” she said. “this is our life.”

“I don’t remember this part of the plan.” Nox said. “Nowhere in our plan to rule the galaxy as Emperor and Empress do I recall us living in a makeshift hovel.”

Ashara shook her head, biting her lip in repressed exasperation. “We gave that up a long time ago, don’t you remember?”

“No.” Nox stated flatly, “I don’t.”

“We realized what that power would do to us.” Ashara said, as if this had all happened not too long ago. “We realized that if we continued down that path, we would become nothing more than the tyrants and monsters we sought to liberate people from.”

Nox couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He’d always feared that one day Ashara’s conditioning would break and she would realize that she was going down the path to the Dark Side, but she seemed to be implying that he somehow agreed to this, this peasant’s life.

“When I confronted you about it, you saw the truth I did, and we left the Empire and our old lives behind forever. We settled on an Outer Rim planet, built a home from almost nothing, lived off the land, and then…” She paused, as if hurt by his lack of reaction, “then a miracle happened, two to be exact. When I got pregnant with Ashatta I couldn’t believe it at first, but eventually I knew. Then, not a year later, Zaalix came along. The Force blessed us with children, despite it being impossible.” Thanks to the moonlight streaming down from above, the subtle glint of tears could be seen in the corner of her eyes. “Are you telling me you’ve forgotten the births of your own children?”

“I haven’t forgotten,” Nox said coldly. “because those children don’t exist.”

The look of horror and shock on Ashara’s face stung him. More intensely and more deeply than he would have believed possible. She stood in heartbroken silence, tears streaming freely down her face, her mouth open in a permanent expression of horror at his statement. When he didn’t react, she lowered her head and covered her mouth with a closed fist.

“It’s not too late.” She said in a barely audible whisper.

“What?” Nox asked in genuine confusion.

“It’s not too late.” She repeated. “We can still have this, you don’t have to do this.”

“Do what?” Nox pressed her. “What are you talking about?” Ashara pressed her hands to her temples, her breath coming sobbing gasps and her moist cheeks glistening in the moonlight.

“PLEASE, DON’T DO THIS!” She screamed, her sobs forcing her to gasp for air. “CAN’T YOU SEE WHAT’S HAPPENING? CAN’T YOU SEE HOW THIS POWER IS CORRUPTING YOU???”

“Power is all that matters.” Nox replied, the fires of his fury slowly building. He was angry, at himself for allowing things to get this far, for allowing himself to have genuine feelings for her, and at her for being so stubborn and strong-willed.

“Please.” She said, raising her head to look him in the eye, “Please Teri, don’t do this, can’t you see the monster you’re becoming?”

Suddenly, Nox felt as if he were no longer in control. His own voice spoke, yet he hadn’t thought the words, or willed his mouth to say them. “All I see is a chain that needs to be broken.”

Ashara’s pupils dilated and she froze, letting out a single breath as a squeaking sob. Then, when she felt the fist go through her abdomen, she opened her mouth to try and gasp, but only a trail of blood came out, trickling from the right corner of her mouth down to her chin. She tried to speak, but only empty hiccups came. She turned her head to look Nox in the eyes, her own filled with more suffering, shock, and betrayal than any Nox had ever seen.

“Why…” She gasped as he withdrew his arm from her and she collapsed to the ground. For a moment, Nox just stood there; staring at the blood-soaked arm that he had driven through the only woman he had ever truly loved. It was only after a few moments of staring at it that he realized it wasn’t the arm he recognized. It was much thicker, more muscular, and covered in black scales. The hand was a claw, with sharp talons for fingernails. His gaze travelled over the rest of his body, and he realized it was not the one he recognized. The entirety of his form was covered in black scales just like his arm. His torso was still humanoid, but his legs, while thick and muscular, ended in a four-toed claw-like foot. Feeling something on his back, he shifted his shoulders and felt something move. When he flexed his back muscles, he felt a disturbance in the air around him. He quickly realized he had massive, leathery wings. Reaching up to his head, he felt a pair of curved twin horns protruding from his forehead.

Slowly, he turned his attention from his own monstrous form, to the broken form of his former lover, and it began to dawn on him what he’d done. He reared back his head and roared in anguish. The sound seemed to split the sky, rising into the infinite heavens like a beacon, carrying his rage, his sorrow, his regret, his suffering with it. Not even thinking, Nox crouched down and leaped straight up into the air. His wings unfurled themselves and bore him up, a strong wind rising out of nowhere to give him height and distance.

He flew. He knew not for how long. He didn’t care. All he wanted was to outrun the memory of what he’d done. But he couldn’t, it kept pace with him as if it were the wind itself. Eventually he saw another floating island, this one adorned only with a crystal clear pool of water that reflected the luminous moon on its glassy surface. Landing next to the pool, he dropped to his hands and knees before it, staring at his demonic reflection in the makeshift mirror. His new visage made a mockery of his old one. The horns that other species might have referred to as “demonic” were gone, replaced with the thick, twisted, deadly-looking pieces of bone that sprouted from his forehead and curved up and back. His face was also covered in black scales, with intense purple eyes set deep into his brow. His nose was flat and wide, and a beard of bone spikes emerged from his chin and jaw line, while his brow was slanted so that he always look at least slightly malevolent and sinister.

“What have I done?” He said, staring at the monster in his reflection. “Oh Force what have I done?” His mind was a storm of emotions that consumed him, preventing him from forming any coherent thought other than that of Ashara’s broken body lying in the clearing, illuminated in grisly detail by the moonlight. He wanted to weep, but tears wouldn’t come. Being unable to properly express his anguish and sorrow made it all the more intense and painful. It became so bad he couldn’t stand it.

“Look at you,” a dark voice said, thick with revulsion. “mourning for the chains you have broken. Your weakness disgusts me.”

Nox’s head shot up to see who could possibly be speaking to him. He was shocked when he saw a face much like his new one, only the eyes held nothing but contempt and pride. The being was like him in almost every way, except below the waist his body dissolved into shadowy tendrils that trailed behind him wherever he moved. Although his wings were extended, they didn’t seem to facilitate his flight. He moved as a spirit, unencumbered by a physical form.

“You behave like a lost child who has broken his favorite toy,” The entity sneered, his voice hauntingly familiar. “how despicable.” Nox growled.

“Silence your tongue.”

“Or what?” The dark being said, his lip curling in clear derision. “You’ll rip it out? Like you did to poor Ashara’s insides?”

Nox lunged blindly, his massive claws grasping for the smug entity’s neck, but with an outstretched hand, the entity unleashed a storm of pitch-black lightning that knocked Nox back on his haunches and left him screaming in pain. The agony was like nothing he’d ever felt before, it could only be described as transcendent. His mind started to go blank from the sheer overload, when the pain mercifully stopped. It took him a moment to realize it was because the entity had ceased to channel the black lightning.

“If we are to become what destiny has ordained us to be,” the being lectured, as if Nox was nothing more than a mere apprentice, and it his master. “then you must learn to access the source of true power, and forsake all the vices of mortality.” Finally catching his breath, Nox snarled.

“Do not presume to lecture me about pow-aAAGGGGHHHH!” his retort was cut off when he was once more enveloped in black volts of energy. The entity let him suffer for a few moments to reinforce the point, then ceased.

“You must learn to not merely hate individuals, systems, or societies. Even hating entire galaxies or universes full of sentients is not enough. You must learn to hate existence itself.”

Nox felt the urge to say something, but when he remembered the pain of the entity’s lightning he restrained himself.

“The seed must be planted,” The entity continued. “but that cannot happen until you suffer.”

The black bolts of energy wrapped Nox in their agonizing grip, and he screamed.

“Remember,” the entity sneered. “you killed her. You broke her heart, shattered her soul, then drove your fist through her, through the very same place where she had felt your love so many times before.”

At those words, something snapped inside Nox. He no longer felt the pain, and he rose to his feet as the surprised entity turned the storm into a sphere of black energy. For a moment Nox was encompassed, then a purple glow broke through the black. The shadow energy began to fade as Nox absorbed it, his eyes shining like purple stars, violet lightning gathering in them and around his arms and hands.

Nox unleashed his might on the shadow entity, and when the torrent of energy struck the spirit it dispersed, the shadows it dissolved into melding with Nox. Nox could feel the shadows rooting themselves deep inside him, and as he stood to his full height, for the first time he felt truly liberated. There was nothing holding him back. Just then, he perceived that he was being watched. Lifting up his eyes towards the moon, he saw something that made him blink and look closer.

Hovering in front of the brilliant white orb, silhouetted against it, was a being of vaguely humanoid shape. It appeared to be a humanoid with an extremely slim build and narrow shoulders, dressed in a heavy, dark, hooded cloak that was far larger than it and that seemed to have no sleeves. Even at this distance, Nox knew that there was nothing underneath that hood, nothing but an empty, black void. At the end of the cloak, where one might expect to see legs, there were instead a spread of tentacles too numerous to count. As Nox stared at the thing, he could feel its gaze on him. It knew he was watching it, it knew him as intimately as if it could see into the depths of his soul, see his every secret, his every thought, his every motivation and belief laid bare. Nox could feel its gaze pierce his form and see him for what he truly was. The experience was harrowing beyond words.

The world started to spin, and the last thought Nox had before he lost consciousness was that he had just come face to face with something no sane being would ever wish to.

_____________

Nox came to with a start, and seconds later his feet slammed into the ground and he crumpled onto his hands and knees while he got his bearings. When he stood up and looked around Calphayus’s chamber, he realized that the Dread Master was gone.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, he heard Calphayus’s voice whisper in his head:

“My visions are unchanged. Destiny awaits you.”

_____________

When Nox entered the chambers of Dread Master Raptus, he instantly felt the mesmerizing presence of the de-facto leader of the Masters sweep over him. It was like the urge to sleep, only hundreds of times more potent, and Nox had summon the power borrowed from his children just to keep his eyelids from fluttering closed. “Such a mind.” Raptus exclaimed. He was seated comfortably on his throne at the far end of the room. He looked for all the world like the god of nightmares that Nox himself was named after. “Such fertile ground for terror.” Raptus continued, standing to his feet. Every word from him was like a dose of a powerful sleep drug, and when the Dread Master spoke Nox found it increasingly difficult to stay conscious and keep control over his mind and body.

“Why did you and the other Masters seek power Raptus?” Nox asked, his words slurring slightly. “You must have known that whatever gains you would make would merely draw the attention and ire of Vitiate, so why risk it?” Raptus chuckled.

“Do not seek reason.” He said with a hint of scorn. “You cannot comprehend.” His voice, laced with the immense hypnotic power of the Dark Side and coupled with his presence in the Force, wormed its way into Nox’s mind like an alien parasite. The Dark Lord summoned his full power to purge himself of the steadily growing influence, and the act temporarily returned Nox to a more coherent state of mind, but he was only delaying the inevitable.

“I comprehend madness well enough.” Nox retorted. “Let me release you and your siblings from your suffering and return order and sanity to your union.”

“Sanity is a prison.” Raptus admonished. “Let madness release you.”

He raised his hand, and a black and red aura surrounded it, swirling as he brought his full power to bear on Nox. Weakened by his previous trials, Nox actually struggled to resist the imposition of the Dread Master’s will, and the mental battle intensified.

“You seem to want to die.” Raptus said in annoyance. “I can assist you.”

“I won’t fall to the likes of you.” Nox declared, his eyelids half-closed.

“By resisting, you bring this on yourself.” Raptus replied, as if speaking to a child he was about to discipline. The psychic pressure suddenly increased, and Nox felt himself losing control. Desperate, he clung to consciousness with the fervor of a drowning man, put he continued to slide slowly into the abyss.

Suddenly, his grip on his own mind slipped entirely, and he began falling down into the vortex that had formed in his subconscious. The last thing he heard was the irresistible voice of Raptus echoing in the void, drawing him down into the dark like the currents of an unseen sea.

“Spin, ever downward. Fall. Disappear…”

____________

The grey sky, choked with lethargic clouds, hung solemnly over the stony and barren landscape. The ground was littered with the bones of all manner of creatures, both massive and small. The remains of the more massive creatures formed odd formations that emerged from the land like gateways or ancient animal traps, while the remains of smaller beings formed piles or were spread haphazardly around, as if they had simply fallen here and there. Most of the bones were neither brown nor white, but seemed as grey as the murky sky above and the stones upon which they lay. Other than their strange shapes and formations, at first glance one might not differentiate the bones from the stones.

A dreary wind blew dust across the gloomy landscape as it moved the clouds across the sky. The air tasted stale, as if it too were grey and lifeless. Beams of weak sunlight managed to pierce the cloud cover in certain spots, allowing for some light to illuminate the barren world, but most of the light was blocked and muted by the thick mantle of the smoky substance polluting the upper atmosphere. A persistent, thin fog that had no moisture whatsoever clung to the ground, rippling and flowing in and around the broken skeletons scattered across the horizon.

Nox’s unconscious body, bare-chested, and dressed in nothing more than filthy rags, lay face-down and covered in a thin layer of dust. He stirred as the dry wind swept over his exposed skin, and opened his dust-coated eyelids to see the world around him as memories brought themselves to the forefront of his mind. He had been somewhere, fighting something or someone. He couldn’t recall details, but he somehow knew that he had not been here before he woke up. Turning himself over onto his back, he looked up at the thick layer of clouds blocking out more than half of the sunlight for a moment, before a thought came to him. But where is here? He sat up, looking around at the dismal landscape in bewilderment.

The world around him was a graveyard in the most primal sense of the word. There was nothing here but the hollow, lifeless atmosphere of a dead world. Everything about the environment whispered of death and slow decay. In a way Nox supposed it was a microcosm of a dying universe, nothing here would vanish tomorrow or the day after or millennia after, but one day, after countless thousands of years, this would all just be an ashen, sunless world of dust and clouds.

A soft glint just inside his peripheral vision caught his eye, and he turned his head to see a familiar cylinder: his lightsaber. Reaching for it, he picked it up gently, turning it over to inspect it for damage. When he found none, he thumbed the activation switch. Nothing. Puzzled, he tried again. Still nothing.

Concern and just the tiniest bit of fear blossoming in his heart, he gingerly disassembled the weapon into its separate components. When he finished he found the problem. The lightsaber crystal inside had dissolved into dust. How long was I asleep? Nox wondered as he watched the wind blow the remains of the crystal off into the barren wastes. I couldn’t have slept for millennia, surely… his thought trailed off as he struggled to make sense of his current situation. He found he couldn’t, not through any traditional logic or reasoning anyway.

After a few minutes of simply sitting there, wondering what to do next, he noticed another dull glint coming from not too far away. When he investigated, he discovered an ancient, rusting blade poking out from underneath a pile of bones, with a piece of ancient, primitive armor lying near it. An idea came to him, and he set about searching his surroundings for blades and leather armor straps. After what seemed a good deal of time searching, he found the materials he needed and got to work. After several minutes, he had finished tying the blades securely to the pommel of his lightsaber. He tested the new weapon several times by slamming it into the largest and thickest bones of the massive skeletons lying around, and when the straps failed to keep the blades strapped as securely he had thought they would, he inspected the materials and tried again. This time the straps held the blades firmly in place, and with his new weapon complete, Nox decided to make a strap to hold it to his back so he didn’t have to carry it in his hands all the time.

After finding usable pieces of leather strap, he tied them together to form two pieces of strap the exact length he needed to keep the double-bladed warstaff firmly on his back. Then he tied the ends of each together in a loop, and placed them crossways over his shoulders to form an “X” on his chest and back. He slid the warstaff into the X so that one blade and a portion of the handle emerged from behind his left shoulder, pointing to the sky, while the other blade poked out from behind his right hip. It would be relatively easy to draw the weapon, and the blades wouldn’t cut into his flesh this way.

Surveying the landscape, Nox found himself once again lost. He didn’t know why he was here, how he got here, or where to go. Now that he’d finished his self-assigned task, he was completely clueless as to what he should do next. The wastes just seemed to go on forever in all directions. Finally, Nox decided that if this was true, it didn’t really matter which way he went. So he merely began walking in one particular direction, pushing all doubts from his mind for the sake of what little practicality he could retain in such a situation.

After walking for an inordinate but indistinct amount of time, Nox saw nothing of interest, and no signs of the landscape changing. He realized he could probably go on for days or even weeks with no visible changes to the environment, and he started to wonder about supplies. There was no food or water here; at least none that he could see or detect. Everything was dead and dry. Even the Force itself seemed hollow and empty. The whole experience was similar to a legend he had read of a Sith Lord who had stood on the surface of Nathema and returned to tell the tale. It unnerved him, but not to the extent that the writer had claimed.

Struck by a sudden thought, Nox stopped dead in his tracks and picked out a skull that was sitting on top of a nearby bone pile. Once he had the object in his mind, he tried to lift it with the Force. To his shock and mounting horror, nothing happened. Extending a hand to mime the motion he was trying to make in the Force, he attempted to lift the skull a second time. The object didn’t budge. His fear blossoming into full-blown terror, Nox extended both hands and desperately tried to lift the skull from its perch. The object shuddered slightly, but didn’t move. Nox increased his focus, trying to feed off of his fear and anger, and managed to lift the skull an inch above its perch, before the strain of the effort required to perform the feat brought him to his knees and the skull dropped back onto the pile.

Kneeling there on the ground, panting with exhaustion, Nox took stock of his situation. He was alone in a desolate wasteland with no idea how or when he had gotten here, no idea how to escape, and no food, water, or civilization in sight. His weapon was all but useless against any serious enemy he happened to encounter, and his ability to command or even feel the Force and its subsequent absence was greatly diminished if not all but non-existent.

The fear of his imminent death clouded his mind, and he found himself swept up in a storm or grief and despair. Is this how it ends? Wandering in this hellish waste like a little lost nerf until thirst, starvation, or some as yet unknown enemy kills me? How am I supposed to get back to where I came from when I can’t even remember where that is? But his despair became frustration, and his frustration quickly morphed into anger and fury. He unleashed a primal roar and began pounding his fists on the cold, hard, unforgiving stone. His knuckles began to bleed, and the pain washed over him, clearing his mind and sharpening his focus.

He continued to attack the ground until his hands were bruised and bloody and the pain finally overrode his anger. But he was no longer lost in his own despair and hopelessness. His suffering had given him renewed focus and determination. He may be trapped here but he would not remain here. No matter if it took him all eternity to escape this endless waste, he would spend that eternity bathing in his own suffering, hatred, and rage. And when he finally did escape, he would unleash all that fury tenfold on the being or beings responsible for putting him here.

Rising to his feet, he began walking once more, his wounded knuckles leaving a trail of blood behind him. He kept walking. He didn’t know for how long, time seemed to have no meaning here. At no point did the scattered beams of sunlight ever vanish, and night never descended on the Bonelands. No creatures emerged from hiding underneath the bone piles or the sands. The dead world seemed to be stuck in an eternal twilight between light and darkness. The winds themselves seemed to carry an atmosphere of despair, and the surroundings just became blurry and indistinct. Nox couldn’t recall ever being so bored.

The next most notable event that brought him back to himself was when he noticed that his knuckles were scabbed over. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t recall the moments that they had stopped bleeding or that the scabs had formed, and he then realized the full effects of there being no way to determine the passage of time. At no point in his journey thus far had he felt hungry or thirsty, and no part of his body other than his damaged hands felt sore. The thought that he might very well wander this place until he died of old age, rather than hunger or exhaustion flashed through his mind, but he roughly pushed it out.

The next notable event was when he began to notice that the smaller bones became fewer in number as the amount of dust increased. Once again he had no idea how much time had passed, or how much distance he had covered, and he seemed to notice the land’s transformation halfway through. As he continued walking, even the larger bone formations became smaller and seemed to be vanishing. Eventually, it reached a point where there were no small bones at all, and the ground was completely covered in grey dust. The remaining large skeletal formations were thinner and seemed to be decaying into the same grey dust that blanketed the world.

After another inordinate amount of time, Nox reached a massive stone monolith emerging from the dark sands. Up ahead he couldn’t see anymore bone formations, and he realized that he seemed to have escaped one hell only to walk right into another. Deciding to inspect the monolith more closely out of curiosity, he discovered words carved into it. At first the language seemed to be unlike anything in the known galaxy, but the longer Nox stared at it, the more it slowly seemed he could understand it.

Pay heed, damned soul

If thou wouldest traverse the Dead Sands

Wherein the Wurm Dieth Not

Thou dost take thine own soul into thine hands

Suleh Muukinuu Ashuwai

Nox stared at the last line, but it remained stubbornly incomprehensible. He turned his attention to the third line instead, pondering the significance of the capitalized letters in the last three words of the phrase. The name of this desert of bone dust was obviously “The Dead Sands”, but what was the Wurm? And why wouldn’t it die?

Deciding he wasn’t going to accomplish anything by staring at a stone monolith, he abandoned it and struck out further into the wastes. There were no large dunes in the Dead Sands, and the sand-like dust simply rose and fell in small waves, as if it had once been a grey ocean that had been frozen in time by some apathetic god. After yet another eternity of walking, he was brought back to his full awareness by a distinct murmuring in the barely detectable hum of the Force. He suddenly felt vibrations beneath his feet, and in the split second before the sand exploded beneath him, he leapt as hard and as far as he could to the side.

He turned back just in time to see a great, grey cylinder in the process of emerging from the sand, but it was only when the cylinder began to curve and arc itself in order to dive into the sand that he realized with horror and fear what it was. It was a great worm. One glance was more than enough to tell him why it was “The Wurm that Dieth Not”. It’s easily two hundred meter length was covered in scaly armor plates, with the only unarmored part being the edges and inside of its mouth. However, the mouth was lined with rows and rows of sharp teeth made for grinding and stripping flesh from bone. He watched the creature’s length emerge from and disappear into the sand from its exit and entry points for a few precious seconds, before scrabbling to his feet and going on the move. He probably couldn’t outrun it, but he could evade it until he found a weakness, provided it had one.

The sand behind him exploded, and he threw himself hard to the left, rolling when he hit the ground to maintain some momentum, then sprang to his feet and took off, not even bothering to look back at the worm, which was once more diving into the sand. After a few minutes of running, he felt the vibrations, and this time he waited until he could practically feel the horrific maw of the worm opening to swallow him up from below before he threw himself backward as far as he could go.

The worm burst out of the sand, and Nox was raised up on the creature’s back. Finding the scent of its prey tantalizingly close, but unable to detect its movements, the worm thrashed its head about in an attempt to locate its would-be meal. Nox had to draw his blade and jam it in between the plates of the worm’s strange exoskeleton to stay mounted. Suddenly feeling the rusty blade between its armor plates, the worm tried to bend back on itself to pluck the annoyance from its back and devour it, but Nox used the opportunity to remove his blade and then drive it into the gums of the cavernous maw lined with sharp teeth. The stinking mouth closed briefly, and then the worm reared back its head and screamed. Nox’s blade flew from its jaws, doused in black blood.

Summoning all the strength of will he could muster, Nox drew the heavy blade back to his hands as it soared into the air, then ran up the rest of the creature’s writhing length towards its head, struggling to keep his balance without the aid of the Force. When he reached the beast’s gaping, screaming jaws, Nox was nearly overcome by the intense stench of rot, death, and decay coming from the monster’s insides. He didn’t want to imagine what it would be like inside. He drove his dull blades into the soft flesh surrounding the creature’s mouth while he braced himself against its armor plates to keep from being shaken off by the worm’s convulsions.

The worm howled even louder and began to whip about violently, tossing Nox clear and sending him flying tens of meters away. He bounced several times when he hit the sand, spinning and rolling as he went. When he finally stopped, he saw the worm tunneling into the sand once more. He forced himself to his feet, despite the aches and bruises he had suffered screaming in protest, and took off running again, trying to draw the beast into attacking him. Running helped him build momentum for when he needed to dodge the beast’s attack, but it would also make him a target. Sightless as it was, the worm no doubt located its prey by vibrations, such as those caused by movement and feet impacting the sand. Running made him an easy target, bait too good to be resisted.

He almost wasn’t ready though, when the worm’s next attack came. The ground in front of him erupted, the gaping hole of the worm’s mouth emerging from the sand to swallow him whole. Nox threw himself to the side and slightly forward, slipping past and under the attack, rolling in a somersault and springing to his feet. The worm didn’t return to the sand however, and instead it slithered along on top of it, gathering itself in coils like an armored, headless snake and raising itself up to open its maw and roar at him. The sound was filled with hatred and primal rage, and the expulsion of air from its depths sent flecks of its dark, oily blood flying. Nox, his warstaff in hand, charged the beast, answering its challenge with a roar of his own. The worm reared back and pounced, Nox slipped to the side, dodging the attack and landing a counterattack on the fleshy parts of the outer mouth.

The monster reared back up and howled in pain and frustration. Nox took to opportunity to strike at the flesh visible from between its scales, causing it to thrash about even more. A few scales broke off the monster under his assault, and Nox eagerly attacked the exposed flesh, leaving deep, bleeding cuts that released the creature’s bubbling black blood. The worm began burrowing into the sand again, and Nox broke off his attack and started running again.

This time when the worm emerged to swallow him, Nox managed to leap onto it and use his warstaff to break off a few more of the beast’s scales before it vanished back underground. After repeating the lengthy process enough times, the area around the worm’s head was largely exposed. Nox turned his efforts to making mincemeat out of the worm’s unprotected flesh, running away whenever it returned to the underground, only for the monster to inevitably emerge again and try to devour him.

Eventually, Nox began to tire. His adrenaline was keeping him mobile, but even it was starting to fade. His paltry strength in the Force left almost nothing in reserve for him to draw on, but the worm showed no sign of ceasing its attacks. Nox once more turned his efforts to breaking off more scales, these ones closer to the center and tail of the beast, to open up even more freely-bleeding wounds. These seemed to have more of an effect on the creature, and once Nox opened up the fifth gaping wound in the worm’s flesh, the creature stopped burrowing below ground altogether, and merely emerged from the sand like a living pillar, striking at him like a serpent, or attempting to crush him with its body weight.

The beast was getting desperate, and the blood loss it had suffered was affecting what little judgment and instincts it had. Its own rage and hatred of its prey were overriding its survival instincts; it seemed entirely focused on killing him, even at the risk of its own life. Now that it wasn’t disappearing below the sand, Nox took to circling the beast, using his warstaff to break off its scales and spill more of its blood onto the grey sand, which soon became stained black due to being soaked through with the viscous substance. The worm did not simply let him do this however; it continued its attempts to crush him by slamming its body down on him or by bending its surprisingly flexible form to attempt to swallow him. When the creature’s body became too exposed, it would pull itself deeper into the hole to protect the exposed flesh, at which point Nox had to start all over again with a new set of scales from further up the monsters body, now at ground level, while still dodging the worm’s attacks.

Finally, only a relatively small portion of the beast’s body remained above the sand, the rest was a bleeding mess hidden beneath the surface. The monster was noticeably slower, weaker, and lethargic; the blood loss was taking its toll. With the last of its strength, the creature let loose a haunting death cry, and then crashed to the sand.

After checking to make certain the beast was dead by breaking off a few more scales and opening deep gashes, Nox walked to the front of the dead worm and sat down beside it, staring at the once great beast he had just slain. Blood was pouring from its countless wounds, and when he examined himself, he found he was covered in it quite generously. He spent the next twenty minutes or so trying to clean himself as best as he could without water, but there was nothing he could do about the rags he had for clothes, which were stained permanently black.

After having rested enough that he felt like he had recovered his strength, Nox took one last look at the worm, before heading off in the direction which the dead creature’s head pointed to. He was once more consumed by the unending monotony of the Dead Sands, and the passage of time ceased to have meaning. By the time he saw the strange dot on the horizon, the battle with the worm felt like another life. By the time the dot became a ruined castle, he couldn’t even remember fighting the worm at all.

Entering through the ruined portcullis, Nox examined the surroundings. The shredded tatters of ancient banners, their color and symbols devoured by the ravages of time, hung from the ruined and broken walls. The courtyard was littered with bones and ancient armor composed of leather and primitive metals. Broken and shattered pottery lay strewn as haphazardly as the bones and other refuse, and here and there small scraps of cloth or similar materials could be seen. Suddenly he felt a dark and sinister, but tantalizingly familiar presence sweep over him. Then when a voice came from a hole that had been made in the wall of one of the stone towers, and he turned and saw a being standing there, and he realized why the presence was so familiar: the voice was his own. Standing there was Darth Nox, in all his dark glory. The helm of Lord Kallig covered his head, its empty eye sockets like the gaze of death itself. On his hip was the familiar form of his lightsaber, and he was dressed in the armored robes that Nox had started wearing after his ascension to the Dark Council.

“You should not have come. Now your fate is to rest forever among these bones.” The duplicate said, gesturing at the ruined courtyard and the bones scattered within.

“What is this place?” Nox asked the copy, trying to pry answers of any kind from the being he suspected would become his opponent.

“This is your domain.” The clone replied. “The kingdom ruled by hate and fear will always come to ruin, and in the end you will find the hell you never wanted, but always sought.”

“Cease your riddles!” Nox demanded. “Give me a straight answer.”

“You will learn, either now or then.” The other Nox said. “But if you refuse to see now, you will beg for what you once feared most, only to find that it too has abandoned you.”

“Enough!” Nox said, waving his hand for the imposter to be silent. “Speak plainly or do not speak at all!” The imposter unhooked his lightsaber from his belt, and thumbed the activation switch.

“Can you see?" He asked, and then he leaped from the hole down into the courtyard. In a flash, he attacked Nox, his violet blade buzzing through the air. Not knowing how, Nox actually managed to dodge his clone’s attack, despite the imposter’s Force-enhanced speed. Nox danced out of the way of the follow-up strike, putting a few meters distance between himself and his opponent.

“You cannot change what is to come.” The clone said, before he rushed Nox again it blinding speed. Nox once more managed to defy logic and remain untouched by his foe’s blade. He quickly drew his own staff with the few seconds that his evasive maneuvers bought him, and managed to avoid getting his head and legs separated from his body when the copy attacked him again. This time, Nox used those precious seconds after the attack to counterattack, feinting to draw his opponent’s attention away from his target, then changing direction at the last second to drive one of his blades into his enemy’s left leg.

The clone stumbled back. Thanks to his armored robes the rusty blade hadn’t reached bone, but the robes were designed to absorb energy, not protect from physical weapons. The rusty blades had pierced the fabric and penetrated skin and muscle, and the wound was bleeding. Unleashing a growl of pain and anger, the imposter was suddenly enveloped in a dark aura, and his eyes glowed purple with dark energy. Suddenly, Nox heard an unholy noise coming from one corner of the courtyard. Not a moment later, the noise came again from a place across the courtyard from where the original sound had come from. Then the noise began to come from everywhere at once. As Nox watched in growing fear, the bones that were scattered around the courtyard began to coalesce into recognizable forms. Femur and leg bones came together, arm bones attached themselves to armored, skeletal torsos, and skulls perched atop the ghastly ensembles like morbid birds.

In a matter of moments, the courtyard was filled with undead. From their empty jaws echoed harrowing and ghostly howls of pain, suffering, and rage, the call of the damned. As one, they converged on him, screeching, hissing, and bellowing their hatred. Hundreds of voices, unrecognizable and horribly distorted, hurled judgments and accusations, or called for blood.

“You did this!”

“Attack!”

“He is flesh.”

“Kill him!”

“Tear out his heart!”

“Make him scream for mercy!”

Nox could feel their hatred wash over him like a tide as the horde converged on him, and he felt something stir deep inside him, giving him an uncanny confidence. He quickly picked out the closest two undead warriors, and attacked. In a series of rapid strikes, he knocked them back, and then followed up with a series of wide sweeping strikes that drove back the rest of the undead mob that was converging on all sides. Acting on instinct, he threw his blade in a spinning throw that should have sent it flying off to the right. Instead, felt the Force surge within him, and he reached out with his telekinetic grip to seize the blade and send it spinning in a wide circle around him, slicing through countless skeletons and reducing them to piles of sliced bone. When the blade completed a full rotation, he recalled it to his hand and launched another assault on the two warriors he had originally attacked.

They didn’t stand a chance. Nox reduced them to dust and bone splinters and before long was carving his way through the crowd, crushing any of the mob who came within reach of his thrashing, spinning blades. So lost in his bloodless massacre was he, that he was nearly caught off-guard when the imposter materialized out of the undead horde and descended on him. This time, he wasn’t so lucky. Between the legion of undead surrounding him, restricting his movement, and the imposter’s speed and accuracy, he was hit by a glancing blow from the enemy’s blade, which left a sizzling scar on his left shoulder.

He howled in pain, but channeled his suffering into strength and speed, dodging the follow-up and responding with a heavy blow to his foe’s helmeted head. Temporarily stunned by the attack, the imposter staggered backwards dropping his guard enough to allow Nox to land a solid kick to his opponent’s chest, sending him sprawling. Nox drove the tip of his blade into the clone’s ankle, causing it to scream in agony. Nox suddenly found himself flying through the air, and braced himself for the impact he knew was coming. He slammed hard into the stone wall of the keep, and felt the wind get knocked out of him. He slumped to the ground, his bruised muscles and battered bones screaming. He quickly got to his feet, and saw that the imposter had unconsciously released a wave of kinetic energy that had blown away all the undead.

The imposter however, was once more surrounded by a dark aura, and Nox could feel the Dark Side gathering around his foe in a swirling vortex of power. Then the power was released, and two black portals opened in the ground. Out of the portals, moving as if they were crawling out of quicksand, came two shadowy beings. At first Nox couldn’t recognize them, but once most of their forms emerged, a chill went down his spine.

The two beings were made of living shadow, and the forms they had taken were that of Ashara and Xalek. Once the shadowy apprentices emerged from the gateways, the portals collapsed into nothing, and to Nox’s horror, they both ignited lightsabers. The three lightsaber-wielding beings converged on him, and his entire focus became staying out of the way of their sizzling, crackling weapons. In the first few seconds his improvised warstaff was sliced into useless pieces, leaving him weaponless against three foes that launched constant, coordinated attacks.

He somehow managed to keep from being eviscerated, but not without suffering multiple wounds from glancing blows or close calls. The pain of the burns fueled his hatred, and he felt the familiar black tide bubbling up inside him again. When his hatred reached a fever pitch, he unleashed it in the form of a wave of lightning and kinetic energy that sent his foes flying back from him. In the split second that afforded him, he charged forward and drove his fist through the shadow of Xalek. His eyes glowed violet, and the shadow screamed as Nox absorbed it into himself. The saberstaff it had wielded fell from its grasp, but Nox used the Force to pull it to his hand and switch it on.

He whirled just in time to engage the Ashara clone and his own copy, who descended on him in an intense dual-pronged assault. Now that he had a weapon to defend himself with, the fight became a very different story. While both his own copy and the Ashara shadow clone were duplicating his and Ashara’s fighting styles and techniques very well, they were imperfect. The shadow of Ashara was the next to fall, with Nox disarming and absorbing her.

With both his shadowy companions gone, the imposter seemed to fight that much harder. The battle now became a true duel, a test of skill, finesse, and mastery. Nox began to slowly gain the upper hand as the battle of attrition dragged on, but just when it seemed that the fight was drawing to its conclusion, the clone hit Nox with a Force push that sent him flying through the open doorway of one of the keep’s ruined towers. The clone rushed to block to door, aiming to take the fight into an enclosed space in an attempt to gain back the advantage. Reaching the door before Nox, the clone used the Force to collapse the part of the winding staircase above it, sealing off the exit.

The two Sith flew at each other, abandoning their defensive postures for aggressive maneuvers. At one point, the imposter leaped up and over Nox to land on the staircase above, hoping to buy a brief respite. Nox, determined to keep the pressure on, followed, forcing the clone to leap to the staircase on the other side of the tower. They began working their way up the tower, leaping from staircase to staircase, back and forth across the tower. They would often pass close to each other mid-leap, and used the opportunity to attack the other while both were still in mid-air. The sound of their clashing blades echoed up and down the hollow stone spire, and eventually they arrived at the top. The imposter was the first to emerge out onto the tower’s roof, but Nox was close behind him. They battled furiously, each trying to use the small space to their advantage by driving the other close to the edge.

The duel became a flurry of light, sound, and movement as both combatants dug deep into their reserves, struggling to outperform each other. Suddenly, an opportunity presented itself, and Nox seized it. With a flurry of feints followed by a kick to the left knee and a blow to the head, the imposter was sent reeling, and Nox disarmed him by severing his weapon hand.

Crying out in pain, the false Nox clutched his blackened stump to his chest and bent over. Nox shoved him to the ground and pointed his weapon at his foe’s neck. For just a moment, he allowed himself to savor his moment of triumph, and then he raised his weapon, seizing it in both hands, and drove it into the enemy’s chest.

The clone grew still, and Nox withdrew his blade, switching it off. He watched as the corpse turned to ash, dissolving as a stiff wind rose out of nowhere, carrying the ashes away on the breeze, off into the barren wasteland. Nox watched them go as he stared out at the desolate world, and he remembered what the imposter had said: This is your domain. The kingdom ruled by hate and fear will always come to ruin, and in the end you will find the hell you never wanted, but always sought.

He continued to gaze on the dead world as he pondered the deeper meaning of the clone’s words, but suddenly it all vanished, and he found himself lying on the floor of Raptus’s chambers, staring up at the ceiling. The words of the Dread Master echoed in his mind as he stood to his feet.

“Your mind is strong. But not strong enough…Come, it is time.”

______________

From the moment Nox entered the Dread Council chambers, he felt the true power of the Dread Masters wash over him. It was only then he realized that the Dread Masters he had fought in their personal chambers were merely projections, these were the real thing.

The Dark Side was alive and pulsing within the giant stone sphere that served as the Dread Master’s gathering place. Nox could swear he could feel the vibrations of a powerful heartbeat as he walked down the long pathway from the double doors that accessed the chamber towards the circular platform that was situated in the center of the room, held aloft above the floor twenty meters below. In the center of the platform was an exceptionally large pyramidal holocron, and the seats of the Dread Masters seemed to sprout from the platform like stone plants, with the flower being the thrones upon which they sat.

When Nox reached the platform, he quickly noticed something that chilled him to his bones: There were six Dread Masters, not four. Brontes and Styrak sat on their thrones along with the others, and it was only when he felt the pull on his spirit that Nox realized they were no longer alive, but merely Force Ghosts.

“You have passed our trials.” Raptus said.

“You performed unexpectedly well.” Bestia added.

“We will make you one of us.” Tyrans continued. “Then we shall bathe the galaxy in fire and blood together.”

“This is your last chance.” Nox said firmly. “Surrender yourselves, and I will save you from this madness.”

“We do not fear you.” Calphayus said. “We do not fear death.”

“Our union transcends death.” Raptus declared. “Abandon your mind, become one with us, let us fulfill our destiny together.” Nox sighed and shook his head in exasperation.

“Very well, if you will not surrender, then I will take you by force.”

“Your time is over,” Calphayus scoffed. “You cannot defy our will!”

“Victory will be ours alone.” Tyrans said, standing to his feet as he spoke. The rest of the Dread Masters followed suit.

“Let us begin.” Bestia said, and with that all six of the Dread Masters leaped from their thrones and landed in a circle around the holocron in the center of the platform. They all adopted channeling poses and their physical bodies appeared to double and then triple in size. They became shrouded in an aura of darkness and their eyes glowed red. Waves of Dark Side power began to emanate from the holocron, crashing over Nox like tidal waves.

Realizing his time was short, and that the ritual the Masters were conducting could not be stopped, Nox began casting a ritual of his own, the ritual he had been long preparing for this exact moment. His body became enshrouded in a familiar dark aura, his eyes glowed a brilliant violet, and he spread his arms outward as his head fell back and he began to rise into the air. He lost all feeling and perception of the outside world as the darkness within him consumed him from the inside out.

In a few moments, he was standing in a place of living darkness, and standing before him were the four Sith spirits he had bound and the one additional Voss spirit that he had bound while searching for a cure for the effects of the Force Walk ritual.

“Why have you summoned us?” Kalatosh demanded.

“What is this, what is happening?” Ergast echoed.

“To say goodbye.” Nox replied.

“What? What is that supposed to mean?” Kalatosh replied, his anger increasing with every word.

“The treacherous little snake betrays us!” Andru hissed, pointing an accusatory finger at Nox.

“You shall suffer for this.” The Voss spirit warned. “So blind, so arrogant. Your fall will come quickly.”

“Is this true?” Horak-Mul asked Nox directly. He was surprisingly calm given the implications of the accusation, but Nox could feel the Pureblood’s hatred and rage simmering beneath the placid exterior.

“Yes.” Was all he said, before he took one step forward and raised his hands, lifting all of them into the air, clutching at their throats as Nox took hold of their very essence. One by one, the ghosts began to dissolve, screaming in agony as they did so. When only Horak-Mul remained, the Sith Lord began to glow with power, and with an exertion of force, he managed to break free of Nox’s grasp in order to spit out one last curse.

“May your blood betray you, may your plots be foiled and exposed, may your enemies outlive you, and may the Force forsake you!”

Nox summoned a surge of power, and with a gesture he seized hold of Horak-Mul once more, dissolving the Sith spirit as he had done to his brethren. Horak-Mul screamed as his consciousness was deconstructed, his essence converted. When it was finally done, Nox allowed the Pureblood’s final screams to fade, before he lapsed back to consciousness, his body, mind, and soul alive with power and intent. The thought of what he was about to do invigorated him, and when he returned to his body, it released a shockwave that disrupted the ritual of the Dread Masters.

“This is unexpected.” Bestia said in bewildered surprise.

Nox gathered the Dark Side to him, and became engulfed in the swirling vortex of power that formed around him. The Dread Masters, having ceased their ritual out of shock, made attempts to shield themselves from the effects of the Dark Side storm forming in the room. Unfortunately, nothing could protect them from what Nox was about to do.

Tendrils of darkness launched from the vortex, striking each Dread Master square in the chest. They howled in pain as the tendrils pierced their bodies and attached themselves to their minds and spirits. Their howls became wails and screams as the tendrils began to siphon their essence directly from them.

“This cannot be!” Calphayus exclaimed.

“How, how can you do this?” Raptus gasped through the agony.

“Ugh…Impossible…” Styrak protested, as his ethereal form began to disappear.

“Death…I feel it.” Bestia said in rapt wonderment.

The building power reached its peak, and in a destructive burst the vortex dispersed, casting the bodies of the formerly living Dread Masters to the floor. Nox descended, lowering himself to the ground like a god descending from the heavens. He shone with dark radiance, and his presence filled the massive room.

One of the bodies on the ground stirred, and Nox approached it. It was Calphayus. The Dread Master seemed only stunned, for he slowly got himself to a sitting position and shook his head as if to clear it. It was then he felt Nox’s presence sweep over him and he remembered where he was and what had happened. He immediately looked up at the approaching Nox and began to scramble away on his hands and knees. Nox pinned him to the ground with a thought, and drew his lightsaber as he reached the helpless man.

When Nox released his Force grip on Calphayus, the Dread Master scrambled to his hands and knees, prostrating himself before Nox in desperation.

“Please Sith’Ari, please spare me!” Nox stopped.

“What did you call me?”

“I see it now.” Calphayus replied. “You are the successor, the one who will take the mantle from Vitiate.”

“I do not desire his throne.” Nox replied.

“I speak not of the throne.” Calphayus replied hastily. “I speak of his mantle. The mantle of Sith’Ari. I see it now, you will become the perfect being that will lead the Sith to glory!”

Nox stood still, lost in thought. It was in that moment that he realized something. Calphayus had survived his ritual somehow, and he seemed to have been freed from the union that had once existed between the Masters, and now bound those same beings to Nox. The same strength that their union had once had in life, now bound their spirits to Nox in death. There must be a reason Calphayus was not affected, Nox wondered. Whatever it was, the reason eluded him for the moment, but this development brought to light a new thread weaving its way through the tapestry of his Grand Plan.

He needed a tool he could use to accomplish his plans, a hero to stand against the threats to galactic security he would create, but there was always the chance that his chosen vessel could stray from the path he intended it to take. For such emergencies, he needed a way to ensure some kind of more direct control over this vessel, and now Nox realized that that method of control was kneeling before him, begging for his life.

“I will spare you, Calphayus.” Nox said, sheathing his lightsaber as the former Dread Master looked up in surprise. “But you may come to wish I hadn’t.”

The Dread Palace was silent except for the piercing wail of Calphayus’s screams.

____________

Jay-Li was hunched over the attack plans for the assault on the Dread Fortress when he heard a disturbance coming from the camp entrance. Looking up from his work he walked over to where a crowd of soldiers and Jedi were gathering around something. He pushed his way through the crowd and was shocked when he reached the center. There, sitting on the ground mumbling to himself, was a Dread Master without his golden crest. His face looked ancient and weathered beyond belief. Such a visage might have been more suitable for a corpse. His eyes were vacant and he was constantly twitching and moving, making all the soldiers pointing their weapons at him jumpy.

Peering into the man, Jay was surprised to find no mental block prohibiting him from gaining access to the man’s mind. It only took a few moments to confirm what Jay already suspected.

“Lower your weapons!” He ordered those around him. “It’s Calphayus. He’s beaten and harmless.”

“My death never came.” Calphayus murmured. “I am nothing now.”

“That isn’t true.” Jay said, approaching him slowly, as if he were a wounded animal. “We all have a place, a purpose to serve.”

“Serve…yes.” Calphayus mumbled. “The fear…the fear gave us rage, and the rage gave us strength. We were chained to one another, servants enslaved to a higher purpose…” He looked up at Jay. “Tell me, how does a man walk without chains to uplift him? How do you endure?”

“I don’t think this man is any threat.” Ogan-Dei said, his eyes wide with shock at seeing a former enemy so broken and humbled.

“I had a wife once,” Calphayus said. “I…I didn’t fear her.” His voice and eyes, for just a moment, seemed to reflect something like affection and peace.

“Master Jedi!” Cried Sergeant Trila, “We should kill him before he recovers!” Cries of assent came from many of the assembled soldiers. Jay could feel their anger and hatred towards Calphayus, and he sighed inwardly.

“Look at him.” He commanded, turning to face the crowd. “Look into his eyes and tell me he is not broken, lost, confused, and scared. What are we if we execute him when he is so helpless? We are no better than he was!”

Dead silence. Jay could feel the invisible battles going on inside each and every individual, as their lust for revenge fought their sense of justice for control. Master Ogan-Dei broke the silence by stepping forward to help Calphayus to his feet.

“I will see that he gets some medical attention.” He said, throwing the former Dread Master’s arm over his own shoulders.

“I will assist you, Master Ogan-Dei” Jay said, stepping forward to do the same.

The crowd slowly dispersed, some individuals muttering and grumbling under their breath, but none dared to openly object. The two Jedi helped Calphayus over to the medical tent, where a doctor came rushing out to meet them. When he saw the robes of the being draped between them, he stopped cold, shock showing clearly on his face.

“Master Jedi, are you…are you sure he is safe?”

“We’re sure, doctor.” Jay reassured him. “Can you see to him?”

“If he has any physical injuries yes,” the doctor said, “but I’m not sure about his mental state.”

The two Jedi led Calphayus to one of the few unoccupied beds that wasn’t covered in blood, vomit, and excrement. Jay couldn’t help but grimace as he laid the Dread Master down, the bed may have been clean, but it stank horribly nonetheless.

“Darkness…” Calphayus murmured, his eyes closed, his head moving slightly from side to side, as if he were dreaming. “Darkness…coming.”

“What is he saying?” Master Ogan-Dei asked Jay.

“He said darkness is coming.” Jay replied. Suddenly Calphayus sat straight up in the bed and seized Jay’s robes, his eyes wide open and full of fear.

“The darkness,” he hissed loudly, “it’s coming, it’s coming for you! It wants you, it needs you! You cannot escape!”

“Doctor, some sedative!” Ogan-Dei called out, drawing his lightsaber. Jay held up a hand, indicating he should let events transpire.

“What is the darkness, Calphayus?” Jay asked.

“Not what,” Calphayus said, his voice shaking with terror, his eyes filled with fear. “who.”

At that moment, the doctor plunged a needle into his arm, and the powerful sedative began to work immediately. Calphayus’s eyes closed and he fell back onto the bed. In moments he was deeply unconscious. Master Ogan-Dei looked down at the slumbering Sith, and sheathed his weapon.

“What did he mean, Master Kenobi?” Jay was staring down at the sleeping man, asking himself the same question.

“I don’t know.” He said finally, then turned and walked out of the tent. He reached the middle of the camp when a dreadfully familiar sensation blossomed in his cortex. He stopped and turned his head to look at the Dread Fortress in the far distance. The once overwhelming power of the Dread Masters that had emanated from the structure was fading. It was still potent, but definitely weaker than before, but that was not what had caught his attention. Now emanating from the fortress, barely perceivable through the now fading aura of the Dread Masters, was the same dark power that had haunted his visions of doom for the galaxy.

As a chill ran down his spine, he couldn’t help but wonder what forces they were dealing with. If the rising darkness was somehow responsible for the apparent demise of the Dread Masters, there was no telling what horrors that heralded for the galaxy.