"Retrieve that artefact General Corvus! I will not tolerate failure!" Yelled the Grand Admiral. He shouted with such intensity that Corvus felt like he was actually in front of him in physical form.

"Yes Grand Admiral, It will be done" replied Corvus as the communications ended and he made his way back onto the command deck of the Hammerhead. He accessed the ship's communicator and contacted the operations team on the ground. "Captain, what news of the excavation? Grand Admiral is most displeased with our efforts so far" said Corvus.

"We are almost through the last of the rubble. The sandstorm is slowing us down but we are working through it. We will be done soon" he replied.

"See that you are captain" replied Corvus with the anger and frustration clear in his voice. He wasn't worried about what the Grand Admiral thought he was only concerned that if they were deemed to fail then the grand admiral might show up and that would force Corvus' hand. He had ambitions to rule the Empires Chosen and he could not let anything get in his way.

*

"My Queen, we have now exited hyperspace just outside Korribans system. We have sent our scout ships and they have reported back, as expected, a sizeable fleet above the planet." Said Captain Vox of the Queens Blade, the Republics biggest and most powerful cruiser.

"Thank you, Captain. Take care. I don't want any lives lost needlessly. Master Hira has informed me of Sith activity. Be on your guard." Responded the queen through the communicator.

"The Sith? But I thought they had been destroyed?" he replied.

"As did we all. Be sure you return safely." Asked the Queen

"Yes your majesty" acknowledged Captain Vox. He was a close friend of the Queen. He had supported her before she became Queen and has protected her for as long as he can remember. He was her most loyal follower and friend.

"All ships, this is Vox. Begin charging shields and weapons to full capacity. We will begin our assault soon. Have all starfighters manned and ready" ordered Vox over the communicator. The could have attacked now and still got the element of surprise but attacking with Full shields and the main weapons charged may let them take out a cruiser before the enemy even had a chance to react.

*

"My Lord, we have finished preparations. Ship is at full fuel capacity and we are ready to leave on your orders." Advised one Darth Scath's new Sith guards.

"Then we leave immediately, we do not have time to waste. We must complete this task and return to Korriban before either of our enemies destroy what is there." Said Lord Scath.

The hanger bays began to open, and the pilot initiated the engines for take of as they let out a loud, aggressive roar. The ship began to lift and the pilot pulled the nose upwards and said "Firing main thrusters!" and the ship moved out of the hanger at a surprising speed which cause Darth Luna to comment "This ship is a lot faster than it looks. I wonder what other surprises it holds, if any".

Scath nodded in agreement. He walked off the bridge as the ship entered hyperspace and Darth Luna followed. "Something troubles you. Tell me." Said Scath. He was able to read Darth Luna well. He could tell there was something on her mind.

"How could the Jedi have built such an Order and commanded so much respect when they have lied and destroyed everything that was held sacred to them once. I had always thought that there was something missing from the puzzle. I hacked into the archives a few months back to see if anything was hidden as I overheard a conversation between the three Elders. The had said something about the last text being destroyed. I know now that was an old Jedi text. When I got access to the mainframe I couldn't find anything on the old Jedi. Everything was based on their current teachings. But there were traces of previous documentation, but it looked like someone had destroyed them with a programming code. They weren't good enough though. I was able to find out that the Elder's had been paying Mandalorians to find and destroy books. They must have been the Jedi texts. That's all I was able to get. I should have tried harder thinking back and I may have found out if they had anymore plans." Explained Luna.

"You must be quite the codebreaker fi you were able to hack a Jedi mainframe." Complimented Scath, "But you need not worry about what you couldn't find, and be glad of what you did find - Lies. You know the truth now. How does it make you feel?" he asked.

"Angry. Lies get innocents killed. Deceit gets innocents killed, as you well know. People say the Sith were a scourge. Maybe once they were. But because of the new Jedi order a whole civilisation is living on lies. They act like they are all righteous - yet they are pretenders." Darth Luna scowled as she said this. Clearly frustrated.

"We will have vengeance and we will end the Jedi. You have my word" promised Scath.

He had become very powerful, very quickly but at what cost. He looked intimidating, he looked evil. Long black robes, armoured grieves, gauntlets and spiked pauldrons, all tainted a very deep red. Each time he ignited one of his ancient lightsabers the light they gave off almost looked like they were corrupted themselves. Corrupted from the countless lives each one had taken under their previous masters. Dark energy radiated from him and at times it could be nauseating to those who were not used to it. He may not know it but eventually, if not careful, the mask would end up controlling him and he would effectively become the Lord of Hunger. Jadek San'Ti was indeed dead.

"My Lord" came a voice over the intercom, "We are approaching Malachor V".

Dath Scath and Darth Luna made their way to the bridge. He addressed everyone "When we exit hyperspace, expect the unexpected. This will be dangerous beyond measure but if we succeed then we will be a force to be reckoned with. We will be on our way to becoming the ultimate power in the Galaxy" he said as the crew turned to salute him.

"They have great respect and admiration for you already" said Darth Luna.

"They fear me" replied Scath.

"Maybe so. But you have given them purpose and in a way, inspiration." She said

Darth Scath remained silent but he could see her point.

"My Lord, dropping out of hyperspace now" said the pilot as the ship entered the proximity of Malachor V. In front of them they could see what Malachor V had become. A fragmented planet held together by dark force energy with electrical storms arcing like whips from the planets surface.

"Detecting no signs of activity near the planet. Scanners aren't picking up anything. They likely cannot read properly because of the electrical interference" advised the pilot.

"Do you feel that Lord Scath?" asked Luna. "Dead ahead".

"Yes, Luna. Its there." He replied. "Fire two astral flares dead ahead" commanded Scath.

"Yes, my lord" replied the pilot as he launched two flares simultaneously. They looked to be heading straight for the planet but they exploded of something before they could get there. The impact of the flares caused an energy barrier to reveal a giant cruiser. It was a behemoth. More like a space station than a ship. It was showing a complete tolerance to the electrical energy from the ships surface bouncing of its exterior. It was the pathfinder. Every member of the crew were silent with awe staring at the ship.

"The docking bay is on the port side of the ship. Pull us round but advance carefully. That ship may be able to embrace that electrical energy but this one cannot," said Scath.

"Yes my lord" acknowledged the pilot. He put thrusters at minimum power and allowed the ship to drift closer to the pathfinder as he turned the their ship towards the port side. They were all still marvelling at the sight of the Pathfinder. It was at least twice the size of an old imperial Super Star Destroyer. As they got closer they seen, what looked to be, a docking bay door. It was open but had the usual gravity barriers around it that allowed only ships to enter or leave. It was still active.

"This ship was supposedly operated and piloted by one person, if you were to believe lore" said Darth Luna.

"Lets hope it still operates" replied Scath. It was a long shot. No one knew exactly how long the Pathfinder had been idle for but they would find out soon whether it would be their salvation or their end.

The closer they got to the Pathfinder the more violent the electrical outburst from the planet seemed to be. Almost as if they were protecting the ship.

They were almost there. "Almost close enough to start docking procedures" said the pilot but as he did a huge bolt of electrical energy smashed into the ships hull, shortly followed by another. The impact caused the ship to shake so much that most of the crew fell to the floor. Another bolt hit the ship and the consoles on the bridge started to spark and began to burn. Warning lights were beeping all over. "My Lord, we have completely lost shields and all control!" shouted one of the Sith troops in a panic. There was a huge explosion coming from the rear of the ship. "We have lost engines! We are sitting ducks here!" shouted the pilot.

"Get off this ship! Everyone to the hanger! Get off on the shuttles and head straight for that docking bay. We should be close enough to make it! MOVE!" commanded Scath. The whole crew starting making their way down the long corridor to the ships hanger. There were three shuttles waiting. They ran down the stairs dodging falling debris and fighting their balance from the repetitive lashings from the electrical storm. Darth Scath got to the first shuttle and as more debris started to fall as the crew were heading to him he pushed out with the force and a huge barrier formed around his crew and the ships. "I cannot hold this for long, get into the dam ships!" he shouted.

"You four, on me!" commanded Luna as he took control of one of the ships.

"ill take you four," said the pilot as they boarded another shuttle.

"The remaining troops get on that shuttle!" said Scath.

The three shuttles began firing their engines. Scath lowered the barrier and ran to his ship as they began taking off. They all blasted out of the hanger, dodging debris and fire. They would get into the pathfinder easily from this distance but no one knew what they would find. As all three ships entered the hanger bay of the pathfinder their transport ship exploded as it was engulfed one last time by the electrical storm.

They all powered down their shuttles and left on only the landing lights. Darth Scath stood up. They had survived. They had made it. But what would they find on the Pathfinder? Would it lead them to salvation?

Scath opened the landing ramp and walked down into the ship. "We're here" he said. The other two shuttles opened their landing ramps and Darth Luna with the remaining Sith joined him in the darkness of the Pathfinders hanger.