Starwars: The Old Republic: Tiamat

by JohnnyReb

The Battle of Coruscant is only two weeks away. But before the great offensive can commence, the route must be made secure by selected vessels within the Imperial Fleet. Here is the tale of one ship and her crew, overseen by a Sith knight who is plagued as much by his past as he is by the Republic fleet.

1. Chapter 1: Tiamat

Starwars: The Old Republic: Tiamat

By JohnnyReb

Five months prior to the sacking of Coruscant by the Sith Empire.

Sith knight Varixx Tarnock slowly paced back and forth across the long metal catwalk that extended out almost three meters above the shallow crew pit on the bridge. Below, military personnel worked diligently to operate the computers that controlled the Imperial heavy destroyer Tiamat. His metal-plated boots created a rhythmic clank as he watched the crew below, pacing with short methodical strides like a caged rancor.

The Sith listened to the groans of the ship around him as the battle kicked off with fatal intensity. He felt the metal hull protest as the three Republic cruisers opened fire, spreading into a classic attack formation and enveloping the lone Sith warship on three sides.

Alone on a recon mission, the Tiamat and her crew were now trapped within a pincher maneuver in the middle of the void. The Republic ships had dropped from hyperspace several minutes ago. Their delayed response in attacking showed that the trio of ships appeared to be as surprised as those about the Tiamat.

The cacophony of battle brought on by the chance meeting in space filled Varixx's senses. One particularly close laser blast on the bridge shield sent several technicians below falling to the ground as the instrument panels they'd been working on erupted with sparks. An alarm klaxon sounded off, blaring throughout the confines of the bridge. The irritating noise stood in contrast to the quiet resolve of the bustling crew below, serving as a testament to their discipline and resolve.

Equally calm yet inwardly agitated, the Sith warrior continued to pace. It wasn't out of fear or nervousness, but rather frustration. Every cell in his body felt the fight in space and he yearned to take part on a physical level. For a moment he entertained the fantasy of personally leading a boarding part onto a Republic ship and cutting down the crew with personal ferocity. Unfortunately for the eager knight, one of his superiors had noticed a fair level of tactical skill and leadership potential within him. As a result of these attributes, Varixx had been trained and assigned the position and rank of captain and given command of the almost brand new destroyer on whose bridge he now paced.

In the beginning his orders had been simple: join the Sixth Fleet in its expansion campaign with the goal of encroaching on the Republic core worlds. This task he had thus far carried out to the letter.

The crew of the Tiamat had lost their green status during the ferocious space battles and naval blockade assignments following the destroyer's arrival within the fleet. These strings of victories further expanded Sith influence across the galaxy and improved the crew's moral substantially. It did not take the use of the Force for Varixx to feel the pride his crew shared at having been a part of such a monumental series of accomplishments.

Varixx's immediate superior, Darth Trevell had given him another assignment shortly thereafter. The Tiamat was to jump ahead of the fleet and screen the hyperspace lanes for possible ambushes and, more importantly, mine fields or other obstructions that would slow the fleet's forward advance.

Now on the second day of the mission, chance or the Force, depending on what one believed in, had led the destroyer into a battle against a small Republic fleet with a similar mission.

Now all that had been peaceful and quiet out in the shimmering pitch was chaos and turmoil.

Intense turbolaser fire fell against the destroyer's shields like a torrential rain. The Tiamat stood resolute against the barrage; her furious counterattack ensured she put up a deadly resistance. All weapons were online and the almost pristine ship prepared for a true test of her full capabilities at last.

Varixx fought down the frustration that came with direct command and struggled to maintain a status of patience as the three Republic ships worked in conjunction against his destroyer. He didn't have to give the call for battle positions throughout the ship; he'd trained his crew for months and they all knew what to do under fire. Their relative calmness in this battle, the eighth they'd experienced since he'd taken command, was a source of pride in the warrior and he smiled softly as he paced, his black ankle-length cloak snapping behind him as he turned.

"Sir," the deck officer below called up, coming to attention at the base of the catwalk and interrupting Varixx's thoughts. "The XO reports that he's in position on the auxiliary bridge with his staff."

As per Sith Empire regulations, the captain of a ship and his executive officer positioned themselves on opposite bridges. If the bridge or auxiliary bridge was taken out, the survivor could resume command and carry on the fight.

Explosions continued to erupt across the breadth of the ship. The Tiamat wasn't a giant ship so much as it was powerful, bristling with new angled armor and two shield generators on each side of the vessel that could provide overlapping coverage. Larger than a dreadnaught but smaller than a capitol ship, Varixx's ship was still a powerful adversary, even outnumbered.

With deadly accuracy, the heavy gun crews as well as the smaller, automated guns replied to the Republic harassment, opening up on the three ships in retaliation. Boasting more guns than two of the Republic vessels put together, the destroyer wasn't about to be overtaken quickly or without a fight.

Varixx continued to pace back and forth, still not taking so much as a glance outside of the viewport as the Republic ships scurried into attack formation. The Tiamat buckled as pelting laser fire intensified and the deck officer struggled to remain standing, waiting for his superior's command.

Without preamble, Varixx stopped in mid pace and jumped down onto the main deck just several feet away from the deck officer. His armored body landed heavily as the leather and metal boots absorbed the blow of the impact, sending waves of pain screaming up his legs and throughout his body. He accepted and endured the pain with a slight smile, rising to his full height and exhaling slowly through the ventilators of his mask. Moving at last to gaze out at the battle going on before him, he took in the spectacular sight of naval combat, watching without visible emotion as small shapes started to move away from the enemy ships like a mad swarm of insects.

The deck officer moved to stand at Varixx's side, folding his arms behind his back. He cleared his throat. "Sir, do you think this is the vanguard of the Republic fleet looking to increase the gains they made in their victory against the Second Fleet in the Roche sector last week? Perhaps they might try and push the 6th fleet back out of the Inner Rim next?"

Varixx studied the ships for a moment before shaking his head. "This is just a small scouting fleet. Their orders were probably to probe and see if our forces planned to strike down the Perlemian Trade Route towards the Kuat Sector or move against Coruscant itself. Are we jamming their communications?"

"Yes sir, just as they are doing to us."

"Good. We don't want any more unexpected company dropping in. Concentrate all guns that can angle to that trajectory and fire on the ship to our front. The right and left flank guns and big cannons are to focus on the shields of other two. If they intend to flank us, then we can at least make them pay for it. I want all proton torpedoes and ion missiles held in reserve for now."

"Fighters away!" one of the bridge members called over, looking up from his instruments.

Varixx turned and pointed at the human who'd just given the call. "The priority targets are the Republic bombers. Instruct our pilots to ignore all enemy interceptor fighters no matter the cost. If even a few of those bombers reach this ship then it could change the odds of victory drastically against us."

The ship shook again but this time it was as a result of the big cannons opening up as the two flanking Republic ships came into firing range on either side. The recoil of the two meter wide heavy laser cannons jarred the deck as beams of energy impacted against the shields of the smaller enemy ships.

The deck officer cleared his throat nervously. "What are our chances, sir?"

"It's an even fight, Savin," Varixx muttered, running a hand over the top of the metal mask that concealed his face from view. "At least for now. At a glance, they do have a quarter more fighters and guns than we do, but our armor and shields are more advanced."

He absorbed the tactical data with a muffled chuckle. "It's going to take some creative work to win this one."

Savin nodded. "Perhaps we can persuade the enemy to retreat."

Varixx entertained the idea for a moment. "We'll see. It depends on just how-"

A light in the distance caught his eye and he lifted his gaze to the Republic ship straight ahead. From the belly of the ship, a dazzling light was growing and bending inward on itself, magnifying with intensity. Varixx watched for a second longer, a cold fist gripping his gut as it dawned on him what was going on.

He whirled to face the navigation team at the front of the bridge. "Evasive action! Hard to starboard! Get the bridge out of the line of fire! Now!"

The Tiamat lurched to the right as the navigation personnel worked quickly to comply. The ship began a hard turn, emergency thrusters firing to push the bulk of the destroyer to a different angle. Fifteen seconds later a beam fired from the Republic ship, vaporizing several Sith interceptors as it cut along the flank shields of the Tiamat rather than strike the bridge head on as had been intended. A few seconds later, a second Republic ship adjusted its line of fire and opened up along the same as the first, this time cutting through the shields and into the armor of the port side like a vibroblade through Naboo'an tall grass.

If it hadn't been for the overlapping shields, the destroyer would have lost its entire right wing. As it was the blast cut a huge hole, triggering a series of subsequent explosions along that side of the ship.

The shockwaves slammed across the ship as the persistent energy beam vaporized all metal and organic life that it came in contact with. The entire ship lurched in distress as hull armor shrieked, tore, and gave way. Varixx was picked up off his feet and slammed backwards against a computer terminal arranged against the far wall before he could summon the Force to shield himself. His armor saved him from serious injury, but the impact knocked the breath from his lungs as his frame dented the metal structure. Slumping to the ground on his rear, the knight's head rang and he dimly gazed at his own hand and instead saw three.

Breathing became the most important job in existence as he labored in a hunched over heap, trying to summon the power to call out orders. He almost passed out before his stubborn lungs decided to cooperate. With his vision still clouded, his mind swam in a confused sea of chaos, the shouts of the bridge crew and the alarms of the ship fading to mere ambience.

"Varixx?" A faint chuckle. "Hey, you awake?"

Looking up with eyes that wouldn't focus correctly, the only thing he could see with crystal clarity was her. She bent over, her face just out of reach of his fingertips, and gazed at him with an expression that almost looked hopeful. "Did you give my idea some consideration? We can go anytime, you know. We can get away from this war. Together."

Varixx tried to pull his mind away, tried to shake the painful memory that was all too clear. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the hallucination and part of him didn't want to. Her beautiful face could calm the stormy skies of Kamino with but a simple pleasant smile. Yet here she gazed at him softly, twin lekku bordering her face. Even in his memories her small frame clad in those simple Jedi robes radiated a confident energy that complimented her strong personality and made her look every bit as professional and attractive as she'd been the day of her departure from his life.

"You don't have to answer right now," the memory continued on. "We have a little bit of time to decide later. But promise me that you'll consider it, ok?"

He shook his head again, vainly trying to clear it. Wonderful times with her, missed opportunities, and bad decisions tormented and assaulted his mind. He sought to steady himself and retreat from the pain. As much as he loved her, more than life itself, the agony inside was more than he could endure on a good day, much less in the middle of a combat operation.

The image shifted and then she fixed him with a soft smile. "I better get back to work or the troops will wonder what happened. We'll talk more about it later, ok?"

No, Varixx thought desperately, trying to reach out to her. There won't be a later. Don't go. Please!

The unrelenting pain worked itself into his mind and he submitted, losing himself in its sharp currents. He struggled not to overcome what he was seeing but rather to alter it, to somehow alter a past that had long since played out. In this state of absolutely distress and confusion he forgot that what he was witnessing wasn't reality. Raising his hand, he tried to reach out for her as she turned around, desperate to stop her from leaving. His voice failed; his mouth wouldn't convey what he so desperately wanted to tell her. His body wouldn't let him move or show how much he still wanted and needed her.

Her figure walked away without a glance back, slowly disappearing from his vision. He screamed a single word. A word so futile yet absolutely center to his existence. "No! Ver'ola!"

A howl of dark side-fueled anguish as well as the nearby shout of one of the crewmembers snapped Varixx back to his senses. He raised his head with a start, gasping loudly. After taking a moment to gather his senses, a quick look at the chrono built into the armor on his wrist told him that only several seconds had passed even though it had felt like several minutes. Trying to catch his breath, he brought his now responsive hand to his face, quickly wiping away sweat and the subtle hints of forming tears as he struggled to regain his composure.

"Third shot incoming!" one of bridge crew called out in distress, clinging to his seat. "Brace for impact!"

The third enemy ship lashed out with its super weapon, but the intact shields on the starboard side staved off the assault, dispersing the beam. Regardless, the toll was heavy and the shield generators groaned with duress, threatening to shut down due to energy backlash.

Gazing at the view screen, Varixx and his crew watched black smoke, wreckage, and bodies spill into space from the damage taken to the port side. Impact alarms resounded throughout the halls and corridors of the ship and pounding through the Sith warrior's already smarting skull.

Climbing to his feet with a groan, he rubbed at a cut on the back of his head, wiping away a trail of blood. "Damage report!"

The Twi'lek damage control officer stood up to face him, her lekku twitching nervously. "Sir! Two of the five starboard cannons and twelve of the turbolaser batteries have been utterly destroyed. Our tractor beam is also disabled. Starboard decks eight through twelve have sustained heavy damage. We estimate at least one hundred dead. Fire fighting teams are already responding to put out the fire and search for survivors."

Varixx nodded, still struggling to focus on the task at hand and not on the haunting face of his lost love. "Yes…" He cleared his head, using the Force to steady his resolve. "Those must be those new gravity cannons the intelligence department had been investigating. If it hadn't been for our new overlapping shield generators they would have cut this ship in half."

He leveled his finger at another crewmember. "Defensive Operations! What's the status of our shields?"

The Zabrak officer in question rose to attention, his ritually tattooed green and black face gave him the appearance of some mythological warrior lost to the pages of history. "We've already restored the shields to cover the damaged starboard part of the ship. But frankly sir, we cannot take another round of those attacks. Two more blasts like that will fry the shield generators and completely eat through our armor like it wasn't even there. Turbolaser fire we can handle… technology bordering on super weapon status is another matter entirely."

The bridge crew exchanged nervous glances as the horned officer continued his report after clearing his throat. "Thankfully though, it seems that the Republic ships will need considerable time to recharge those weapons. Judging by the weakened potency of their turbolasers, I think those cannons are directly linked with the combat energy reserves and possibly the life support systems. If my information is correct, their shields should also have been affected. In short, those Republic ships should be more vulnerable to a counterattack."

Varixx nodded, using the Force to gently push smoke away from him with a light nudge of his hand. "That was supposed to be their ace in the hole. I wish I could see the look on the fleet commander's face right now. Too bad for them. Now they'll face our teeth and claws in retaliation."

He squared his shoulders, taking a deep breath. "Helmsman, return the ship to its original position."

"Yes sir!"

He paused for a moment as his eyes opened wide, like he'd just been hit by an unexpected surprise. Gently, he turned and placed his open hand on the durasteel hull that bordered the viewing port, stretching out with the Force. The bridge crew watched him curiously, some leaning over their terminals to stare at him in curiosity.

Suddenly Varixx spun around to face them, again smiling most jovially and gesturing to the battle going on furiously behind him. "There are Jedi in that fleet."

One of the enlisted crewmembers paled visibly and looked around uncertainly at his comrades. He licked his lips nervously. "Jedi, sir?"

"Two to be exact. What's more, they know I'm here." Rather than sound concerned, the Sith warrior seemed rather pleased. "They'll be coming here." He gave a short laugh. "If there is one thing a Jedi has to do above all things is obey the time honored tradition of bringing evil to justice."

Varixx pointed. "Deck officer Savin, I want you to manually eject all escape pods."

Savin did a double take. "Sir?!"

Ignoring him, Varixx walked up to the communications console and reached over the enlisted human sitting there, flicking a switch to the intercom setting and leaning towards the controls. "Crew of the Tiamat, this is your commanding officer speaking. I will make this brief. We are in a fight for our very lives and there will be no relief coming."

He gave a short pause to let his words sink in. "If we are going to survive, we will have to fight to save ourselves. Therefore, I have just made the decision to eject all escape pods. Our collective back is to the wall and there will be no escape for any of us except through victory. Join me in vanquishing our foe or help lead us to defeat. These are the own only two paths we can choose from.

"I know your caliber and I also know this is the finest crew in the Imperial fleet. Stand resolute and we will be victorious. That is all."

Looking up, Varixx moved to stand by the view port. Deck officer Savin cleared his throat, flicking a switch on a nearby console. "Ejecting all pods… ah… as ordered, sir."

Varixx patted the man's shoulder disarming, scanning the furious battle with eager anticipation. "It is moments like this that makes life truly worth living, Lieutenant," he consoled. "We will not lose."

"Sir," the radio operator said, looking up from his instrument panel. "The port side enemy ship is moving to engage us directly, probably in an attempt to cause further damaged to the section of the ship damaged by the super laser attack."

A predatory gleam flickered across Varixx's eyes. "Their turbolasers lack the punch to be effective at so great a distance thanks to that weapon gambit they tried. A broadside run on our damaged flank is probably the only way they can take our ship down with relative little cost in return. Prepare the short range cannon crews. They'll be aiming to cripple us with a broadside run. I want to give them hell for it."

Tense moments passed and the call for direct combat was put out across the intercom system, preparing the crew for direct ship-to-ship combat. The tangible fear of the service men and women was well known to Varixx, as was the quiet resolve that held that fear in check. Moving to the center of the room, he leaned forward against the central display computer that broadcasted a holographic image of the battle going on around them. He watched the port side Republic cruiser maneuver into position and prepared for its attack run.

The back of his head still ached. Blood matted his dark hair and he cursed softly, trying to ignoring the pain. He wondered how bad the damage would have been had he not been wearing a mask.

The radio operator opened a com throughout the ship. "The enemy cruiser is starting its broadside run! Distance fifteen hundred meters! All hands, brace for close quarters combat!"

Varixx folded his arms, scanning the battlefield. "I want all portside proton torpedoes and ion missiles fired when the cruiser comes completely within range. Defensive Operations! Cut the energy powering the shields covering our engines as the Republic cruiser passes and reroute it to strengthen our port shields. I don't want their broadside run to inflict any more damage to the wounded part of the ship."

The Zabrak cleared his throat nervously. "Sir, if we cut the power to the shields… if they get so much as one direct hit on our engines, we'll be-"

"Sitting dead in space," Varixx finished, turning to bear down on the increasingly nervous officer. "It's a gamble, true enough. But in war, what isn't? Carry out your orders or you will be replaced." A slight edge put into the word replaced was all Varixx needed for the officer to redouble his efforts.

"Yes sir! Right away!"

The opening salvos began and the remaining three cannons on that side of the ship began to fire short charged bursts, punishing the enemy cruiser at closer range. Hatches along the side of the Sith destroyer opened up and crews wearing combat space suits prepared portable cannons, firing laser salvos that the Republic ship's shields greedily soaked up. The two ships began a slow dance of destruction, floating past each other as point blank fire spat out between them. For almost five minutes, Varixx and his crew clung tightly to their work stations as the deck shook. On the port side of the ship, automated turbolaser emplacements spewed a constant stream of fire, complimented by the heavy and light cannon salvos.

Varixx listened without expression as the Twi'lek officer called out casualties and further damage to the ship. Fortunately, the shields held true and any structural damage the Tiamat endured was minimal. The same could not be said for her weapon systems however.

"Sir," the fire control specialist called over. "Two of the three cannons on the port side are reaching critical endurance. We must cease fire or we'll lose those guns. At this rate of fire they'll overheat, melt down, and cease to function in just over a minute!"

Varixx clenched the console hard. "Keep firing. Burn the guns out if you have to. I want that ship's shields down before it passes out of range!."

The intense fire continued and he watched on the display as the blue shimmer around the Republic cruiser started to wane on its starboard side. Even with all shields rerouted to that side of the ship, there wasn't enough power to hold off the heavy and light cannons as they targeted the center of the ship.

"One more salvo should do it."

The fire control officer clicked on a warning message that appeared on his terminal. "Sir! Cannons one and four are out of commission. The barrels have melted. Cannon six isn't far behind."

Varixx growled in frustration. At this rate the enemy ship was going to move out of effective firing range completely unscathed. "How many more rounds can that cannon fire?"

"Two or three at the most, sir."

Varixx stepped away from the center of the bridge and turned away from the crew, taking a firm stance with his feet shoulder-width apart, facing the current engagement. Bringing his hands up to his side and clenching them tightly into fists, he took a long deep breath. "Restore the shields to our aft sections. The danger to our ship on this end has passed."

He leveled a finger to the fire control officer. "Switch to manual firing, Ensign. You will fire when I give the command and not a second before. Is that clear?"

"Y-yes sir!"

Using the frustration at possibly losing his current prey, Varixx submerged his consciousness into the Force, letting his anger rise to the surface. Stretching out, he traveled through the ship and became the cannon feeling the harsh contrast between the cold metal and the searing heat of the almost burnt out barrel. He concentrated on the energy coursing into the gun and held it in place, collecting and intensifying it.

Every trained Force user, Jedi or Sith, master certain skills. All are proficient at certain attacks and weaker than others. Varixx's weakness was his inability to harness Force lightning. The swift corruption such a technique could have on the physical body wasn't to his liking anyways. His strength and the source of his pride, was the ability to push or hurl objects at a high rate of speed with far less preparation time than all but the most skilled of the Sith lords.

With the Force acting as his hands, he held the condensed energy in the barrel when it otherwise would have been discharged, collecting it and holding it like a ball as he felt out the cannon's structural limits. On the bridge, the Force distorted the air around him as he concentrated, blackening the area until it was visible to the naked eye.

Varixx lowered his head, feeling the moment approach as his heart race increased to match the raging storm of adrenaline that screamed through his veins. "Fire."

At the same time that the ensign clicked the button to fire, Varixx snapped his head up and pushed with the Force, thrusting his open palms out straight in front of himself. Holding tightly to the ball of energy, he felt it scream out of the cannon and with the Force giving it even greater velocity, felt the energy slam into the Republic cruiser. As the energy dissipated, it took the shields away with it.

"Their shields down!" Savin called over. "The enemy ship is powering up their engines to full. They'll be out of range in one minute."

Varixx responded quickly. "All remaining port cannon crews open fire on their engines! The same goes for all automated port turbolaser emplacements. Can that cannon fire one more shot?"

"I believe so, sir. But I doubt it will hold after that."

Varixx turned his head, popping his neck and settled back into the same stance as before. "Again then. Fire on my command."

He stretched out with the Force, feeling out the fear in the enemy crew and drawing strength from it. He saw the enemy ship's captain, a slightly heavyset man in his late fifties perhaps, shouting and giving commands as he tried to return his ship to relative safety. Varixx felt rather amused at just how unaware his enemy was of the death that was imminently being prepared for him and his crew. He felt no remorse, no pity, or inclined to any sort of mercy. They were all soldiers, Jedi and Sith armies alike. With the job came the risk of death. The ship's captain had gambled on the broadside run attack. Now he and his crew would pay for that mistake with their lives.

Varixx felt the front end of the cannon start to melt and he pressed on, quickly gathering the energy as power cables fed the weapon system. With the Force he shaped that power and expanding it. The enemy cruiser moved swiftly and the cannon rotated to track it. Submerging himself to the powerful fury of the Darkside, the Sith knight growled deep in his throat, straining to contain the lethal energy and struggling to overcome the desire to unleash death too quickly. The desire was there, a dark glee that whispered for destruction.

He felt resistance and suddenly another presence was trying to rip control of the energy away from him. For a moment, the presence almost succeeded. Only by diving completely into the depths of his anger and calling on painful memories from the past was Varixx able to hold on.

Jedi!

Desperate times called for desperate measures. Varixx did not particularly like to fully give in to his rage to handle a situation but the current predicament left him with little choice. With a scream of rage from the Darkside, he batted the other presence away like a Galmorrean pond fly, redoubling his efforts and wrapping the claws of the Darkside around the sphere of energy, rendering any further attempts at sabotage impossible.

The structure of the two meter wide cannon began to reach critical mass and to Varixx it felt like a part of himself was on fire. He endured the agony, never daring to lessen his hold on the charging energy for even a second. The sphere of energy expanded until it brushed against the walls of the cannon and he condensed the energy within itself, doing so over and over until he could do so no more. When the charged energy soaked up enough energy to once again brush against the walls of the cannon, Varixx raised his head.

"Fire!"

This time, the ball of energy fired, but doing so shattered the cannon. Bits of metal shot off into space in all directions as the energy shot tore through the resulting smoke and punched into the Republic cruiser at almost dead center. Controlling the energy shot, Varixx spread his arms out wide and the projectile was finally allowed to explode within the center of the ship, tearing through decks and compartments, equipment, and personnel. It shredded the ship from the inside out as the hull collapsed inwards, almost tearing the ship into two.

The husk of the ship sprouted great plumes of smoke as fires raged within that would most likely burn for hours, venting smoke and debris into the pitch of space. Secondary explosions cooked off the ships ordinance as stocked turbolaser power cells and missiles fired off in all directions, taking out a few unlucky Republic fighters unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Still submerged in the Force, Varixx felt the screams of his enemies and the resulting destruction. Gasping for breath, he pitched forward onto one knee, regaining his senses and warding off Savin's well intended aid to bring the knight back to his feet. Taxed, he simply knelt there, bowing his head and gasping for breath.

"What's the status of the enemy cruiser," Savin inquired.

"Dead in space, Sir," the tactical radar crewmember called, his words accompanied by a loud cheer from the rest of the bridge. "All systems are offline and life support is sporadic at best. I estimate at least three quarters of the crew is dead."

"Have all… automated turbolasers target intact sections… of the ship as well as any escape pods," Varixx whispered, straining to be heard. "I want no survivors left alive. I want… all portable cannons and their crews moved to the starboard side to deal with the Republic ship coming from that direction."

"Were either of the Jedi on board that ship?" Savin didn't even try to hide the hope in his voice at such a prospect.

Varixx took a deep breath and rose shakily to his feet. "No, but at least one of them did try to interfere. It took more control and strength than I'd wanted to use in the attack."

Still catching his breath, he again moved to lean weakly against the central display terminal at the center of the room. "We aren't out of this yet. Stay sharp. Communications, how are our fighters holding up?"

"Fairly well for being outnumbered, sir. Your orders are being obeyed to the letter. However, as a result we've lost two of our six squadrons. Furthermore, Malice Squadron leader reported something odd while you were conducting your last attack. He's reporting that the enemy bombers are behaving strangely."

Varixx looked at the man. "Define strange."

"Well… from what he says, the bombing squadrons have been trying to get through our defenses but… their maneuvers are sluggish, even for bombers. He reports that it's been a shooting gallery out there, even with the enemy fighters flying support."

The warrior captain narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Lock sensors onto one of those bombers and scan it."

The radar officer signaled to his staff and they complied with trained diligence and speed. A moment later, after the findings were transferred to his terminal, the human was on his feet. "That can't be right! Check it again! Check all those bombers! Hurry!"

A minute later, having scanned his screen again, the officer spun to face his commander. "Sir! There are no life signatures onboard any of those bombers!"

"Dammit…" Varixx muttered. "Of course. Automated pilot. Those Jedi are clever."

He turned to face the bridge crew. "Take out their remaining bombers. They may be part of a greater distraction, but that doesn't change the fact that they may be programmed to ram our ship. Order all fighters to maintain a screen around our starboard and aft sections. We don't need any surprises getting through."

The radar officer nodded. "Scanning the battlefield now! We'll find out what they are up to!"

The officer had no more than sat down then he was calling out again. "Multiple contacts sir! Ion missiles and proton torpedoes inbound! At least twenty! Impact in fifteen seconds!"

With no time to evade, the Tiamat took the punishment from the remaining two ships. The shields weakening as each missile impacted all across the ship. Varixx instructed the defensive operations officer to weaken the shields on the damaged starboard side to just twenty percent capacity, where the husks of the cannons still smoked, and reroute the remaining power to the areas that were still being peppered by ship-to-ship turbo laser fire and the missiles.

The radar officer proceeded with a follow up report. "Sir, we believe enemy proton torpedo reserves have been depleted. However…" an alarm from his console grabbed his attention for a moment. "Twelve more ion missiles on the way, sir! These seem to be converging on a single point."

Feeling some of his strength returning at last, Varixx straightened up. "Which point?"

"Our damaged starboard section sir! The area where we just rerouted much of our power away from!"

The defensive operations officer responded in turn, rubbing away a gleam of sweat from his horned brow. "This will bring the shields down for at least three minutes as the shield generators try to restore power."

Varixx's hand tightened into a fist. "I want fighters covering the starboard; order them to break away from combat if they must."

"Sir, Malice Leader just chimed in again," the female communications officer cut in. "Four signatures are coming in just behind the missiles. He believes it to be troop transports! Unfortunately, he cannot engage before they lock onto our ship."

Once again, when the crew braced themselves for an angry Sith outburst, they encountered only a pleasant chuckle. "This is a brilliant Jedi indeed! Prepare quick response fire teams and pinpoint where the incursions are most likely to occur."

Gently reaching out with the Force, he felt throughout the speeding transports, searching. What he sensed caused that smile to widen. Suddenly he was moving towards the exit to the bridge with a purpose.

"Savin, inform the executive officer that he has command of the ship until I return. Keep all fighters away from those transports and deactivate all automated batteries. These brave Republic soldiers are to dock un-harassed. I'm going to handle this matter myself."

"Sir," Savin began to protest, "Imperial naval regulations state that you shouldnt-"

Varixx turned around, his eyes blazing from behind his mask. "Regulations don't cover how shock troopers are supposed to hold off and defeat Jedi incursions. In this case, we are about to have both of them onboard. The only one who can deal with them is me."

Savin paled, recovered, and saluted. "I understand, sir."

"Keep a strong reserve of proton and ion torpedoes in reserve, just in case." Varixx turned and the bridge doors shut tightly behind him.

---

Still smiling, Varixx traced his fingers along the lightsaber hilt at his side and strode with a purpose to the hover transit platform several hundred feet away. Thankfully, the transit hadn't suffered any visible damage and still looked to be acceptable for transportation. Using his security override code, the knight instructed the tram to make no stop other than to his destination. That accomplished, he stepped on the flat tram pad and held onto the rail as it carried him across the vast reaches of the ship from the bridge to the starboard station in a matter of minutes.

In contrast to the stark professionalism of the bridge crew, the starboard station was in a state of near pandemonium. Shock troopers and regular ship personnel stood in position, but that was as far as the discipline went. Firefighting teams were still on the scene, trying to put out the last remnants of the fires caused by the Republic's gravity cannons. Smoke and twisted metal debris littered the deck and twisted pillars of half collapsed decks jutted towards the ceiling like morbid pieces of architecture.

To these grunt and elite soldiers alike, this ship was their existence while out of port. It was to be expected that there would be a fair amount of confusion amongst the ranks. Without being able to see the battle going on around them, these soldiers were dependant on the bridge for all their information. Still, not all the soldiers were panicked by the lack of information. There was some excitement as well. Some of the soldiers who had their nerves frayed by the space combat going on around them looked forward to finally having the opportunity to vent with direct combat.

The battle sergeant in charge of the nearest platoon saw him step off of the hover platform and came to attention. "Commanding officer on deck!"

All talking ceased and every soldier rose to attention as Varixx moved through their ranks and came to stand on the other end, turning to address them. "Stand easy, all of you. Here's the situation. We have four enemy transports that are docking with this ship as we speak. Soldiers, this is our mission. Not one enemy combatant is to reach this spot where we are standing. If they get to this rail center, they'll have access to anywhere they want to go inside this ship, including the bridge. If the enemy makes it there they will take this ship out of the fight and capture it and us intact. I know your caliber and I know you won't let these Republic soldiers to succeed or leave here alive!"

A chorus of cheers accompanied his words and he stretched out with the Force, feeding on their desire for bloodshed and intensifying it. These soldiers came from all walks of life and had signed up for as many reasons as there were stars in the galaxy. Diverse as they were the common theme of kill or be killed kept all of them close knit and strong.

"There are two Jedi among these enemy soldiers." He put his hands behind his back and smiled, allowing his words to sink in. At the very mention of Jedi some of the soldier paled and licked their lips, looking around nervously at their comrades.

"You are not to engage them," Varixx continued, his order accompanied by sighs of relief from more than one battle-hardened trooper. "Run if you have to. They are my prey and my responsibility to handle. Everything else is fair game."

"Sir," Savin called over the loud speakers. "The enemy is cutting into the ship! Compartments three, six, two and eight are about to be compromised."

"It's time for action!" Varixx shouted. "Two platoons per compartment. Kill them all!"

A shout came up from the soldiers and they dispersed. Varixx led the troops attending to the compartment six breach. The Force was conveying a jumble of emotions and it was impossible for him to tell exactly where the Jedi would attack from. That left him with no option but to guess. Unhooking his lightsaber and holding it firmly in one hand, he strode forward ahead of the troops.

He smiled softly. Again he was in his element and the role of ship captain was tucked into the back of his mind. For a while at least, he could become the hunter again and fight for the right to exist as a worthy enemy fought for the same thing. So long as he could swing his saber the painful memories, the mistakes of the past, and the agony that resulted, could be held at bay.

So long as he worked towards his goal and fought to survive, he would. This was all that was needed to sustain the Sith knight.

The sound of approaching boots alerted him that battle was about to commence. Signaling for his soldiers to crouch or take cover, he stood in the middle of the corridor, and a few seconds later heavy Republic troops in full environment gear rounded the corner. Before his troops could open fire or the republic troops knew what happened, Varixx used the Force to push the first few soldiers into the durasteel wall hard enough to break every bone in their bodies. As their corpses settled the ground with a sickening slap, more soldiers came, and the Sith soldiers opened fire as Varixx activated his red saber, deflecting shots with precision and aiming the blaster bolts back at the unfortunate warriors.

Heavy Republic troops rushed around the corridor, past their crouching comrades and fired heavy pistols into the Sith soldiers, dropping a few as they backpedaled in surprise. Two squads of these heavy troopers rushed past as one stopped to engage Varixx, activating a vibro blade on his left wrist and using it to push the knight's saber down and to the side. At the same time, the hardened trooper brought his blaster up, pressing it against the Sith's chest.

Throughout his lifetime, Varixx had engaged a variety of enemies. Years of experience had taught him what kind of a warrior would fire first and who would hesitate. Realizing that this trooper carried himself as a fire first, ask questions later sort of person, he brought his free hand up and touched the barrel of the blaster gently with his fingers, using the Force to crush the weapon and hand holding it. Screaming in pain, the trooper stumbled backwards. Varixx made no advance and patiently allowed the man a chance to gather his senses from the pain of having one of his hands ground into paste.

Snarling in rage, the trooper came at him again with his vibroblade. Varixx ducked down a swing that would have taken off his head and spun around in a circle, his own saber cutting the unlucky soldier neatly in half along the waist line.

More troopers came and Varixx hurled the two halves of the heavy trooper at the group of soldiers, bowling some over before he leapt forward, turning in mid air, slashing and deflecting blaster shots as he landed amongst them. Summoning the Darkside, he infested the minds of the soldiers, playing upon their fear as he methodically began cutting them down one at a time.

One survivor began to turn tail. "A kiffing Sith knight! W-we can't match that! F-fall back! Fall back!"

Varixx slowly rose up straight and nodded his head approvingly. "Flee."

The survivors began to back away and then routed completely, running back down the stark corridors they'd previously come from. Moving past him, Sith soldiers gave pursuit as Varixx leisurely lowered his weapon, letting the pawns fight the pawns. Firing into their backs, the Sith soldiers gave a triumphant cheer and followed hot on their heels.

He nodded his head, turning around so that his back was to the distant firefight, pleased with the progress of the containment but concerned that he hadn't found the Jedi prey yet.

There was nowhere for the Republic troopers to go. Their backs were to a wall and even if they decided to retreat into their shuttle and make a break for it, the guns of the Tiamat would destroy them. The only chance the poor fools had were the Jedi and it was finding them that Varixx would focus his attention on. The Force was jumbled with the sensations and emotions of death going on all around this area of the ship. As a result, it was very difficult to try to pinpoint the exact location of his prey.

Curses and screams resounded off the walls behind him and he turned just in time to see his men doubling back towards him, rounding the corner as a Jedi pushed a Sith soldier into the wall. The trooper fired quickly only to have all of his blaster bolts reflected back, the bolts searing into his flesh, punching holes through his armor and body. As the Jedi turned from the crumbled soldier, Varixx turned to the middle of the hall as his heart rate started to climb.

"At last…"

The Jedi turned to face him, bringing his lightsaber up high as he noticed the new threat. Varixx took a few steps forward, motioning to his soldiers. "Ignore the Jedi, I will handle him. Return back down that corridor and finish off the Republic soldiers."

Hugging the walls, the Sith soldiers started to move nervously past the Jedi. He wasn't about to let them pass without incident. As he turned to cut down the nearest Sith troopers, Varixx grabbed the Jedi with the Force and yanked him closer.

Startled, the human still managed to break the grip and land gracefully a meter or so away from his Sith opponent, slowly rising up and taking a defensive stance with his blade at the ready. Now unimpeded, the soldiers breathed a collective sigh of relief and rushed off to finish their task. They knew that the corridor wouldn't be nearly enough room to contain the furious battle that was about to be unleashed.

Taking a good look at his opponent, Varixx's excitement faded as he saw the familiar sight of a braid dangling down to the boy's shoulder. "A padawan? What are you doing in a combat zone? Shouldn't you be studying on Coruscant?"

The indignant youth grit his teeth but stood his ground. Outmatched as he was, the sensible boy knew that it would be far safer to let his opponent make the first move. Varixx obliged, moving in and activating his saber at the last second, delivering strikes that could be easily parried, testing the youth's reflexes. The boy gave ground with quick footwork, caught off guard by the flurry of strikes, blocking smoothly and countering with a wide chest-level swing of his own. Varixx arched his body away from the attack, lowered his saber and began pacing around the youth in a slow circle.

"I know there is another Jedi on this ship," he said casually. "Your master, I presume?"

The youth nodded, making sure to keep his front to Varixx at all times. They began to turn in unison, like twin gears moving in rotation.

"A knight or a master?"

"A knight. But it wont be long until he is a master," the boy responded shortly.

Varixx stopped pacing and lazily ran his free hand against the blaster-scorched bulkhead. "An experienced knight brings his padawan on a potential suicidal mission onboard an enemy ship with a confirmed Sith knight stalking the corridors?" No. That's not something a sensible knight would do, not even in this war."

"It wasn't like that! Master Aki'ven didn't…"

Varixx nodded smugly. "He didn't know you snuck onboard one of the vessels. Yes, I know. If he had wanted you to tag along he would have made sure you stayed at his side. Padawans aren't suited to lead their own operations. Your rashness will cost you, I'm afraid. You are alone in an isolated corridor with a Sith knight who possesses far more skill and battle experience than you do. Knowing that, what do you intend to do?"

The boy swallowed visibly as a specter of uncertainty crossed his face before he clenched his jaw and angled his saber forward. "I'll defeat you or die trying! It's my duty as a defender of the Republic!"

Varixx nodded in approval. "You have spirit and determination. Good, very good. I'm ready if you are."

Moving forward with visible recklessness afforded to his lack of age, the boy attacked. Varixx had to quickly dodge an attack that would have otherwise scored a lethal blow to his chest. What he lacked in skill, the boy made up for with determination and zeal. Amused and pleased, Varixx played along, treating the battle more like a sparring match. When the boy became so engrossed with trying to break through his defenses to land a solid saber strike, the Sith warrior just used the Force to push the youth away.

Undeterred, the boy kept coming. Varixx chose to pelt his body by ripping various objects out of the wall and hurling them at the padawan. His lack of experience became more and more apparent as each object struck tender flesh without resistance. It was almost sad.

The young Jedi-in-training pressed on despite the pain, driving Varixx back down the hallway with a fairly well coordinated series of blows aiming at his legs and shoulders. Back-flipping, Varixx found himself standing with two doors to his flanks, a storage room and an armory that were currently closed off by blast doors that activated automatically during naval engagements.

Spaced apart by over eight meters, the two Force users gazed at one another. The painfully young looking boy responded first by throwing his saber, using the Force to guide its trajectory. It was clear he didn't have the control necessary to return it directly back into his hand at so great a distance and his control on the traveling saber was sloppy at best.

Deflecting the saber with his own and sending it skidding against the opposite wall, Varixx was more than a little surprised when the boy ran forward and instead of retrieving the saber, fired a burst of Force energy that slammed into Varixx's body and sent him flying backwards. He barely had time to cushion himself from the blow with the Force before his body crashed into and through the blast door. The door caved inwards and the startled warrior found his body embedded into the next wall as the boy retrieved his saber and cut a bigger hole to step through into the room.

Varixx grunted, chuckling as he struggled to free himself. "Well… that was impressive."

The green saber appeared inches in front of his face and the smug padawan learner smiled triumphantly. "Give up and I'll take you into custody rather than take your life."

Varixx would have thrown his head back and laughed raucously if the wall would have let him. "You were creative and you deserve credit for that! Most Jedi aren't quite as… unorthodox as you are. Don't let their rigid training methods breed that out of you. However, I wouldn't entertain the idea that you've won this battle if I were you."

Calling on just a bit of the dark side, Varixx grit his teeth and growled, flexing his body as the dark current of power pushed the saber away and bent the metal wall that contained him backwards. Metal shrieked and the Sith gained his freedom of movement.

Propelling himself forward, he delivered an overhead swing that the surprised boy barely managed to block. The strike knocked him to one knee and Varixx's leg followed up, ramming into the boy's ribcage, knocking him over.

Rather than continue and press the advantage, he stood his ground and let the wounded boy rise to his feet without harassment. "If you had been fighting anyone else you would be dead by now, boy."

The human's face was a mask of rage. "Quit toying with me! My name is Trynil!"

Varix rolled his shoulders back, relaxing his stance. "I'm not toying with you, padawan Trynil. I'm being merciful. You have such talent and I would hate to see it and your life wasted so recklessly."

He thought for a moment. "Unfortunately, this offensive of yours cannot be allowed to succeed. I'm afraid I'm going to have to be a bit rough on you, loathe though I am to do so. Unless your master senses the currents of battle through my dark side energy and the echoes of your pain, there's no guarantee that I can lure him away from his mission of taking the bridge of my ship."

Varixx went very still for a moment, lowering his head to face the deck. A second later, before the inexperienced young Jedi apprentice could even utter a surprised sound, the Sith was in front of him, rising over the boy and delivering a right hook across the jaw line with his free hand rather than strike out with his blade. Trynil found himself flying backwards, the bulkhead pressing into his back.

"Call out to your master in the Force, Trynil," Varixx said with a twinge of regret in his voice. "Draw him here and we can end this."

Like a round of Sullustian pinball Varix gripped the padawan within a Force hold and slammed the young Jedi into the different walls of the room as well as the ceiling and the floor. He pulled his punches however, inflicting just enough harm to keep the padawan from being able to use the Force to free himself. The boy cried out and eventually Varixx took pity, letting the youth down to just a few feet off the ground before releasing his hold with the Force.

Dazed and battered, Trynil took a minute to stand again, testing out his shaking legs. Varixx waited for the youth to catch his balance before diving in to attack again.

His saber was everywhere. Lashing out, he drove the boy back and away from the hole in the wall, cordoning off any chance of escape from the storage room.

Hanging on with grim determination, the out-classed novice fought as best he could. To his credit, more than one counter-attack required Varixx to react quickly or risk losing a limb or his head. Switching to an even more aggressive stance, Varixx added more saber flurry to his chain of attacks, distracting Trynil and delivering painful hand-to-hand attacks, all the while swatting away any lightsaber counterattacks with his own twirling blade.

Bleeding from his nose and mouth, Trynil grimaced and wiped his face on the back sleeve of his robes, fixing Varixx with a look of total rage. "Kiffing Sith scum!"

Dark power began to flicker in the air around him as desperation strove to rob the lad of his reasoning. Bright blue eyes flickered yellow and the boy began to fall into darkness.

Varixx shook his head and deactivated his saber, tapping the cylinder against his shoulder. "Control your rage, Trynil. You won't be able to win this fight regardless, much less with a head clouded with rage."

The boy once again blinked in confusion at his opponents' actions, his quick flirtation with the dark side fading away as quickly as it had come. "Shouldn't this be the part where you try to lure me to the dark side and the Sith cause?"

Varix gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "I prefer opponents to remain true to who and what they are. Otherwise there is no honor to be had in battle. Now then…"

Force jumping upward, Varixx somersaulted in mid-air, activating his blade. Reaching out with one hand, he fired a concentrated blast of energy that the youth remarkably caught and scattered, but at a price. In the split second that he spread his arms to dissipate the Force attack, Varixx landed and struck, cutting through the hilt of the padawan's green blade, destroying the weapon.

"Argh!" Trynil's surprise gasp was choked off as Varixx physically grabbed the boy by the throat and with the assistance of the Force, raised him up high and brought his blade to within inches of the boy's neck, watching the red illuminate the look of terror on the padawan's face. Varixx stood there for a moment; his expression was unreadable as his prey squirmed but refused to cry out in fear. If nothing else it was a true testament to his bravery.

"Trynil!"

Varixx turned his head to see an older Jedi standing in the makeshift doorway. The two locked eyes and the Sith knight noted the concerned look of the Jedi Knight as he saw his student dangling in the air with a saber hovering no more than a few inches from his throat. Nodding, Varixx deactivated his saber and released the boy, hitting him in the chest with a Force push attack before his boots hit the ground. The youth struck the far wall and crumbled to the ground in an unconscious heap.

Turning around, Varixx nodded again. "Jedi Knight Aki'ven, I presume?"

The knight nodded guardedly, refusing to deactivate his own blade. He stepped into the room, leveling his blade at Varixx and standing firmly in place, his mouth a thin line of determination.

"I've been waiting for you," Varixx continued, almost jovially. "Your tactics on the battlefield are solid and brilliant. I would even go so far as to say refreshing. But in the end, you Jedi behave exactly as expected. I knew that you could never overcome your instilled sense of compassion for your student, not even for the sake of the mission that brought you here."

Aki'ven scowled. "So you decided to amuse yourself with the torment of my padawan while waiting for me?"

Varixx shook his head. "He attacked me first. I wanted no part of a battle with him once I saw he was only a padawan."

The Jedi's hard look waivered in confusion. "What? Why not? Surely he'd have been an easy kill. Yet you did nothing. You could have taken his life just now or a dozen other times before I arrived. Why did you spare him?"

Varixx nodded at the visible confusion etched onto his opponent's face. "That's easy to answer. The boy has fire and spirit and more than a little potential. But just between us, I don't kill padawans. There's no honor to be found in that."

Aki'ven rose up to his full height, slowly lowering his saber. "Honor?" His voice trailed off and suddenly the stern warrior was quite perplexed indeed. "Are you sure you are a Sith?"

Varixx's reply was a chuckle of genuine amusement. "Unless you think these trappings are just for show, Jedi."

The knight covered his embarrassment with a question. "What is your name?"

"Varixx Tarnock."

Aki'ven brushed a lock of long black hair from in front of his face with a free hand. "You are unlike any Sith I've ever met before. No Sith I've come across has ever spared a padawan on the grounds of honor. You are quite a unique spectacle to behold. What do you intend to do now?"

"Fight you," Varixx replied bluntly. "I'll try to kill you as you try to kill me. That is the song our two sides dance to, is it not? You still look perplexed. Don't mistake my honor for weakness. Above all else, I relish the chance to fight against opponents of equal or greater strength."

The two squared off, turning in a half-moon as they paced around each other. The Jedi once again raised his sword. "A final question, Sith. What do you intend to do with my padawan?"

Varixx raised an eyebrow. "Do with him? Treat his injuries and make sure he arrives safely back in the hands of the Republic. That's what I intend to do. He's too young to lose his life for the sake of the misguided Republic cause."

Aki'ven nodded but still looked more than a little perplexed. "I do not sense that you are lying. I can fight without worry then."

Varixx nodded, finally reactivating his saber. "That's good, because I don't want you to lose on account of worry. I and my saber are the only things you should be thinking about."

Submerging himself into the currents of the Force, Varixx was upon Aki'ven in an instant, swinging his saber sideways towards the Jedi's head who, with a look of pure concentration, met the blow with his own raised blue blade. With just enough swinging room between them, they attacked and parried. Their blades crossed and each sought to overpower the other, angling for a single strike that could end the fight in as short a time as possible.

The crackling sound of resistance as the two blades crashed filled the room and the hallway beyond as the Jedi and the Sith continued the struggle started thousands of years before either of them were born.

It didn't take long to see that this jedi knight was far superior to his padawan. Giving ground, Varixx wasn't ashamed to admit to himself that their skills were practically equal.

Aki'ven jabbed his saber forward, forcing his adversary backwards again before he could be impaled. "Curious. You have no hatred for the Jedi Order. If you had, you'd be using that hatred to fuel your attacks, as other Sith I've faced have done."

Varixx ran forward again, skidding down and attempting to scissor the Jedi's legs out from under him only to meet air as his opponent leapt away towards the other end of the room. Flipping to his feet, the thwarted Sith raised his saber.

"The philosophy of the Jedi drove your people into exile," Aki'ven continued earnestly. "You do not hate us for past grievances?"

Varixx snorted. "I don't hate the Jedi at all. Holding on to past historical grievances real or imaginary? How infantile."

Down the Jedi came. Varixx back-flipped away as Aki'ven hit the deck where'd he'd just been standing. The blue saber sank deep, melting a small section of the metal floor until he deactivated it, retracting the saber hilt. Rising, the two opponents stared at one another and engaged again, their sabers clashing with unparallel ferocity even as the fighters themselves retained a neutral air about them.

Their dance of death extended across the room, one pressing the advantage only to be checked and counterattacked. Aki'ven noticed that Varixx always avoided taking the fight anywhere near where the padawan lay unmoving on the ground. Once again he fell into confusion. Refusing to strike at a downed enemy? No normal Sith behaved in such a fashion. This dark warrior, this quagmire, was something he couldn't understand. It affected his ability to fight and brought a frown to his long face.

Varixx's expression changed to one of predatory glee as he lashed out again like an angry Krayt Dragon. His saber was everywhere, cutting through the air and lashing out with murderous intent. The Jedi blocked, parried, or dodged these saber thrusts with speeds just as impressive. He brought his booted foot up and struck the dark warrior in the chin, knocking him off his feet.

Caught off guard, Varixx had just enough time to gather the Force about him as the Jedi lunged. Pushing up from his position on the ground, he hurled the startled knight up into the ceiling of the room, denting it before he fell back to the ground, landing in a crouch at the last second.

He did not did not move in to capitalize on the Jedi's momentary weakness. Straightening, Aki'ven deactivated his saber and a moment later, Varixx did as well. The knight came forward a few steps, mild irritation and confusion creasing his ruggedly handsome face. "That settles this. There is no way you are a Sith. You have the trappings of a Sith but not the hatred or anger to match. It makes it very hard to fight you. Just what are you anyways?"

Varix shrugged. "I am what you see and nothing more."

"Yet you lack the cold and tyrannical lust for power common among your kind," Aki'ven retorted. "You have to have some kind of hidden motivation or agenda to throw your lot in with the Sith Empire. That's the only thing I can figure."

"What I seek is no great mystery at all. I only desire justice."

The Jedi blinked. "Justice? Bring what to justice?! The Republic? The Jedi?"

Varixx waved his hand dismissively. "The Jedi are merely the unfortunate tools of the Republic. It's the government itself that needs to be replaced."

"The Republic stands as a symbol for freedom from oppression and-"

"And is controlled from within by corruption," Varixx finished abruptly. "The very senators who run your 'symbol for freedom' distribute favors for credits and conduct other nefarious underhanded dealings. Corruption has spread throughout many Republic worlds like a cancer. Money talks and there is little in the way of 'justice' for those misfortunate citizens. Take the lower levels of Coruscant for example. Mere miles away from the Galactic Senate dwells some of the most lawless and ruthless regions in the entire galaxy. What this region and the galaxy at large needs is order."

"I see." Aki'ven pursed his lips. "So you believe that the Sith Empire will bring about this order?"

Varix shrugged. "I'm willing to give it a try. The Sith control their galactic affairs with an iron grip and a watchful eye. It's that kind of structure that the galaxy needs the most."

"What if the Sith mismanage as well?"

"Well," Varixx said with a smile, reactivating his saber and running forward. "Best to leave the uncertainties at bay and handle them when and if the time comes!"

Aki'ven ignited his own blade and blocked Varix's overhead swing, their blades crackling, struggling to separate as small bolts of energy played out across the length of the blades. Drawing on Soresu, the third lightsaber form that focuses almost entirely on defense, the Jedi submerged himself into the current of the Force, searching for the clues that would allow him to defeat his enemy. As Varixx relentlessly attacked, his blows were parried with the slightest of effort.

The Jedi reached deeper into the Force, studying the scene, searching for weaknesses to exploit, watching the combat unfold as if it was being conducted by someone else. It was a passive technique, ill-suited to a Sith warrior.

A moment later Aki'ven snapped out his trance and smiled victoriously, dodging a forward saber thrust and spinning behind Varixx, kicking him in the spine. The Jedi and the Sith both began to turn, in opposite directions. As Varixx about-faced to strike back, his opponent's counter turn brought the blue blade against Varixx's right shoulder, cutting deeply into the meat.

Crying out in pain, Varixx jumped back, his arm only half responding as he inspected the cauterized wound. Looking up in shock, he watched his Jedi adversary walk forward, taking no pleasure in his successful attack. His outline shimmered with the light side, distorting the air around him.

"There is hate within you, Sith. I had to dig deep to find it though. How fascinating to encounter a dark Jedi who actually wants to hide his anger instead of feed on it. No matter. Now that I know its there, I can predict your attacks and movements through the currents of the Force."

Varixx came at him again but his hurt arm, his saber arm, refused to cooperate. Jabbing with controlled finesse, Aki'ven's saber pierced Varixx's side and drove deep into his flesh, charring and cauterizing this second wound as well.

Pain roared through his consciousness and Varixx fell to one knee. He almost dropped his saber as his injuries shot spasms of pain throughout his nervous system. Gritting his teeth, he grunted low in his throat, wishing more than anything for a spare Bacta patch to alleviate the sharp torment. The largest disadvantage to being a Sith was the lack of healing arts available to his Force techniques. Normally, Sith drew strength from pain brought on by injuries and as such, did little to avoid it from occurring in battle.

Aki'ven's blade came within inches of his chin. "It is time to yield, Sith. I promise you a fair trial and hospitable treatment on our return to Coruscant. You have my word."

Varixx sighed long and deep as he stared at the ground from his kneeling position. He spoke a moment later, his tone coming in as little more than a whisper. "Do you… want to know why I chose to join the Sith path over the Jedi?"

Aki'ven towered over Varixx, looking down at his fallen foe with a cocked eyebrow. "If you wish?"

Varixx's tone belayed pain and suffering. "Peace and tranquility have never much been a part of my life. I worry too much… and am very much a creature of passion. The Jedi lifestyle wouldn't mesh very well with my innate Force talent. That left only one side to pick."

"I fail to see how this relates to the situation at hand. Now then, your saber please."

Varixx continued on. "Your skills are commendable, Jedi. There is indeed hatred locked within my heart. I really wish you hadn't forced me to unleash it. I hate doing so."

He looked up suddenly, allowing tormenting memories that he tried to keep at bay to invade his conscious thoughts directly. An expression of absolute anguish distorted his face as the assault on his feelings brought on by the memories of an ill wanted past become all but unbearable. He threw himself into the maelstrom of emotion as the pain cut through his heart like razor blades.

Dark brown eyes shifted to a sickly golden hue and a shockwave of Force energy pushed Aki'ven and the offending saber he carried back across the room. Slowly rising to his feet, Varixx seethed with quiet rage as his soul spoke for him, howled through the dark side and shredding through the air around him.

Dark corruption touched his normally impassive features hidden by his mask and there were tears in his eyes, hot and angry. They fell like broken waterfalls on either side of his clenched teeth that ground together hard enough to draw blood down his lip and chin.

Taking no further notice of his wounds, Varixx gripped his saber and took a few steps forward. His profile flicked and broke as visible distortions in the air caused by the tempest whipping about erratically.

Aki'ven felt a cold sweat break out across his brow. What have I unleashed!?

For all the dark power he was witnessing and the apprehension he felt in its wake, there was an equal amount of pity for the creature standing before him. The Force conveyed waves of pain and sadness and a hatred that he couldn't find the source of. The Sith warrior might have thought that such pain was worth the price of great power, but all Aki'ven felt was closely guarded pity.

"You poor creature." He brought his saber up high as his long black hair whipped around in the frenzy created by the backlash of energy. "You've suffered too long and known such anguish. I will end your pain and return you to the Force. To take you into custody with these emotions tearing you apart inside would not only be cruel, it would also be absolutely inhumane."

Varixx lost control of his senses. In the blink of an eye, the Jedi was gone. His lost love stood at the far side of the room as she fixed him with the same sad expression he'd last seen her wear. Like a broken dam, the last vestiges of his closely guarded pain and the power it courted released throughout his body like a super nova.

He took a hesitant step forward, lost to the world. I was such a fool.

The image took a few steps back away from him and he raised his hand, reaching out to her pleadingly. I love you. I need you! Please… Ver'ola.

Again the vision in his mind turned, shedding tears as she walked purposefully away. His pain and his heartache became too much to bear. Like the claws of some savage beast, the periodic ritual of reliving the pain from his greatest mistake, the mistake of driving away his one true love became absolutely unbearable. Pain was all he saw and knew.

Varixx howled.

This action served to bring him back to reality and his vision cleared, leaving only a bewildered Jedi Knight in his path. In the embrace of rage and hate, Varixx rushed forward and forced Aki'ven to give ground under a hail of hate-infused saber swings. Like the claws of an enraged Gundark, Varixx lashed out, his grevious wounds forgotten. With the dark side as his ally, he gave the battle his full strength. Aki'ven stood resolute, blocking the multitude of attacks as the two combatants renewed their deadly dance. Near misses almost lead to the loss of limbs and the Force aided them both, putting the contest in a state of limbo.

A flurry of red lightsaber swings and twirls brought Varixx's blade down toward Aki'ven's shoulder, a move that would have almost bisected the Jedi if he hadn't raised his saber parallel to his shoulders and locked his legs and arms against the power of the strike. Using the Force, Varixx jumped into the air and angled his descent to press his blade down hard on Aki'ven's and tried to force the Jedi into a position where he cut himself with his own blade.

As a true testament to his prowess, the strength in his arms and the skill with the Force kept the fortunate Jedi from falling into Varixx's trap. His blade did dip a little under the pressure but failed to inflict a grievous blow. As the armored shadow landed and pulled back, his blade fell atop his foe's other shoulder, cutting down into the meat and tissue.

Aki'ven grunted but gave no other sign of distress as Varixx backpedaled several more feet, stalking around in a half circle. Gone was his look of satisfaction. Apparently having to use the true nature of what he was robbed the fight of any thrill or satisfaction.

"Such a passive look for one who was just cut so deeply," Varixx snapped. "I would have expected you to show some kind of emotion. A scream, a cry, something."

"There is no emotion, there is peace," came the even response.

Varixx chuckled without humor. "Peace is a lie. There is only passion."

"I think just about all of your passion died away in some unfortunate event given your tears that still fall freely," Aki'ven retorted. "Your mask does not hide all, Sith."

Surprised, Varixx froze in place. This turned into embarrassment and then to rage. "How dare you!"

He sped forward like a gatecrasher and Aki'ven dodged to the side, pushing with the Force and propelling Varixx into the wall. Dazed, he recoiled and stumbled backwards a few steps as Aki'ven raised his sword parallel at chest level, preparing to finish off his erratic foe once and for all. Forward he went, angling his blade skyward, aiming for the top of Varixx's head.

The troubled Sith had about three seconds to react. One was spent turning his head and becoming aware of the impending danger. The second was to turn his blade around towards his own body. The last was to drive the blade through the existing wound on his side, angling the blade up. The actions happened so fast that Aki'ven impaled himself moving in for the kill and the blade sunk into his middle torso like a Mynock through power cables.

Disbelief clouding his eyes, the Jedi Knight stumbled backwards, his free hand touching the hole on his chest. "What…?"

De-activating his own blade, Varixx gasped in pain, hunching forward yet holding tightly to all the hate that still circulated in his heart. Spinning around, he reactivated the blade and threw it, spearing Aki'ven through the chest a second time. With a final hard push of the dark side, the shocked Jedi soon found himself pinned to the far wall, unable to move.

Half gasping, half grunting, Varixx stumbled forward, weakly using the Force to deactivate the blade and recall it back into his grasp. His control failed halfway through the recall and his blade fell to the ground and rolled off to the side of the room. Freed, Aki'ven skidded down the wall and crumbled into a heap on the ground.

Varixx made it a few more steps before he also fell and the two of them just stared at each other a moment. Aki'ven felt the pain, but it started to fade as did the clarity of his sight around the corner of his eyes. Perhaps it was his imagination but as Varixx stabbed himself he swore he'd heard a woman's voice crying out in distress.

Realizing that he was mortally wounded, he whispered out a question. "To injure yourself in order to achieve such a surprise attack… That requires a level of hatred I… didn't think possible. Tell me… who do you despise so much… that you found the will and… resolve to… maim your own flesh? Who… is the focus of your… hatred?"

Varix answered, staring directly into his eyes. "I am."

Aki'ven nodded slowly, the action of doing so almost too much for him. "I see. I pity you, Sith. I fear your agony will only continue to grow."

"You were the latest obstacle to ending my torment," Varixx responded, grunting and clutching at his side. "One day I will join her, and I will make things right."

"I see. So that explains-" a terrible hacking cough interrupted his thoughts. Another question followed. "Will you hold true to your…word? Will you see to it that… Trynil lives?"

Varixx looked over at the younger Jedi still lying out on the floor and nodded, grunting in pain from that simple movement alone. "He will live to see another sunrise on Coruscant. You will be given a proper cremation, with honor, and your blade will be taken to my superiors as a trophy of war."

Aki'ven closed his eyes, not even having the strength to hold them open anymore. "There is… such… honor in you, Sith. A shame… A shame your path is not one of the light…"

With a long, lingering sigh the valiant Jedi Knight expired and lay still.

Varixx watched him for several long minutes before he gingerly started crawling towards the wall to use it as leverage and rise to his feet. This simple task took several more agonizing minutes. As soon as he was on his feet and clutching hard to the wall, he heard the telltale sounds of boots on the deck and turned his head to look to the improvised doorway.

Prim and properly dressed even in this crisis, Savin and a squad of soldiers came into the room, a medical unit following closely behind. The soldiers examined the corpse of Aki'ven then turned their blasters on Trynil when their sensors showed that he was still alive.

"Do not shoot!" Varixx moved to stop them but almost fell over in the process. A timely grab by Savin kept him on his feet but he still reached out, fighting the pain and raising his voice. "That's an order! The Jedi is not to be harmed!"

His men turned and looked at him in confusion but stood down as per his orders. The medical team swarmed around him like helpful parasites, but he waved off their attempts to get him into a nearby hover bed and hauled off to the med bay. Around them, the ship shook as the two remaining Republic cruisers reminded everyone on board that the battle was not over.

"I will not relinquish command for medical treatment until this battle is decided. I always finish what I start." His tone was thick with pain as he slowly reattached his saber hilt to his belt and clutched at his terrible side wound.

Waving to the Jedi padawan he leaned heavily on Savin, fighting back exhaustion. Using such feats with the Force and fighting two Jedi back-to-back had taxed all of his reserves. It was a wonder he could even stay on his feet at all.

The medical team needed no further instructions. Two gripped the youth and lifted him into the hover bed, strapping down his arms and legs and administering a shot that would ensure his continued slumber. That accomplished, the medical team lead soldier turned and looked at Varixx questioningly.

Varixx nodded. "Clear out. Medical teams assist our wounded. Soldiers, I want this hallway secured and held until further notice."

When they were left alone in the room, Varixx weakly turned his head to look at his subordinate. "Savin, what is the status of things aboard my ship?"

"There remain pockets of resistance, but with their leader dead and their teams scattered… well, it shouldn't take long to finish mopping things up, sir."

"Order a fighter or two to blow up two of the three boarding craft. I want all the enemy soldiers executed save a single individual who can pilot the last ship."

"Certainly sir. Whatever for, if I may ask?"

"That young Jedi is going home alive and in one piece. I gave that knight my word of honor and I intend to keep it. But first, we have to address the matter of those two cruisers before they blow us out of the sky. Help me get back to the bridge."

The hovercar transit back to the bridge was painful but mercifully short. Each direct hit the Tiamat took rocked her hull and sent painful vibrations screaming up Varixx's body, irritating his already painful injuries. Savin did not inquire about the wounds directly and held his peace.

Jedi battles, he wisely concluded, were simply above his pay grade.

The doors to the bridge opened up and upon seeing him, the bridge crew expressed first elation at the survival of their leader and then concern when they noticed his injuries. Un-wrapping his arm from around Savin's neck, Varixx slowly shuffled over to the main display terminal, clinging to it for dear life as he gasped with exertion.

"Status report," he called out, almost too weakly to be heard above the concerto of battle raging in space around them. The crew responded in turn and with discipline.

"Seventy percent of our fighters are gone to the enemy's ninety percent. All enemy bombers have been annihilated. Expected completion time on ship-to-ship mop up operations is ten minutes."

"Both Republic cruisers have closed in to bombard us directly. Our shields are holding, so far. Sixty percent of our automated and manually operated gun stations have had to shut down on account of overheating."

"Damage report?" he inquired, looking up out the vast viewport into the depths of space and attacking ships.

"Sir! No new structural damage. One of our two shield reactors is offline. However, tech teams believe it to be repairable. We are currently running on one shield generator and our shields are falling quickly."

"Then we haven't much time to get things done, do we?" Varixx quipped. "Were my orders to keep a number of proton torpedoes and ion missiles in reserve carried out?"

The weapons control officer nodded. "Yes sir. Twenty of each. However… that isn't enough to deal with both ships."

"We aren't going to deal with both ships, just one. Target the ship on the left and bring us up to two thirds speed. I want the Tiamat within effective turbolaser range and launch all twenty Ion missiles as all available guns engage."

"Yes sir!" Savin turned to the pilots. "Speed ahead two thirds. Angle left thirty degrees."

Still venting some smoke and debris, the wounded destroyer closed in on its smaller prey, weathering the hail of turbolaser fire as the remaining enemy fighters nipped at her shields, dodging attempts by Sith interceptors to pick them off in kind. As damage response crews and tech crews rushed through throughout the ship to handle repairs, the remaining gun crews calibrated their weapons and the automated turrets swiveled and locked onto the nearest cruiser, awaiting the order to fire.

Feet planted firmly shoulder width apart, Varixx tried to ignore the immense pain at his side. "Fire ion missiles."

Twenty ion missiles screamed out amidst accompanying laser fire, peppering the cruiser's shield array. The missiles impacted all along the hull, and the shields came down with the barrage leaving the ship naked and vulnerable. It was a temporary effect, but one that Varixx planned to take advantage of.

He clenched his hand into a tight fist. "Launch all remaining proton torpedoes. Cannon and turbolaser emplacements are to concentrate on a single section. Tear that ship apart!"

The torpedoes screamed out into space and hit the naked cruiser dead on. The bridge and the armor around it evaporated under a direct hit and subsequent explosions tore the ship in half with a blinding chain of flashes. Turbolaser fire blasted holes into the armor of the two halves as bits of metal pelted the shields of the last remaining Republic ship.

The defensive operations officer called over. "All missiles and torpedoes have been expended. An additional ten turbolasers have had to shut off for cool down."

"Enemy life pods ejecting from the doomed cruiser," the radar officer announced.

"Have the fighters mop them up," Savin ordered."

"Communications," Varixx called, attempting to stand up straight. "Cease fire and hail the surviving enemy vessel on the short band. I want to talk to their commander."

"Yes sir. Attempting to hail."

The enemy guns went silent in retort. A moment later a large holo of a middle aged Bothan female appeared before him and Varixx did what he could to hide his injuries and give off an image of strength. With all of his strength, he stood up fully erect and clasped his hands behind his back.

"I am Sith Knight Varixx Tarnock. I assume you are the captain of that vessel?"

The woman nodded gravely, her brown fur rippling with nervous energy. "Captain Merilsa Jerache."

"I'll get straight to the point, Captain. My ship is damaged and I lack the ability to finish you off with conventional methods. In turn, your ship lacks the firepower to overtake mine. As things stand right now, we've reached as stalemate."

"What of the two Jedi?" she asked, bearing her fangs.

"Knight Aki'ven is dead at my hands." Varixx held up the Jedi's saber and activated it for her to see. "His padawan remains restrained and in my custody."

There was silence for a moment before Merilsa leaned forward, folding her hands in front of her. "I cannot and will not allow this ship to be taken prisoner."

"Might I remind you as to the size difference of our vessels, Captain?" Varixx said. "If you continue to attack I will ram your vessel. You can always flee… but that would leave your remaining Jedi in my hands."

"So what do you propose?"

"I will hand over your second Jedi, alive and intact. Then we will both go on our separate ways un-harassed."

Merilsa blinked. "You would end the battle just like that?"

"My mission wasn't to engage in a full on battle. I've successfully completed my objectives, killed a Jedi knight, destroyed several squadrons of fights and bombers, and destroyed two enemy vessels. I think that is enough for one day."

She nodded. "As a sign of good faith, our turbolaser batteries will remain on standby and remaining fighters will be recalled. How will you go about delivering the padawan to my ship?"

"One of your transport vessels remains intact. I'll allow one of your remaining soldiers to bring it and the Jedi back. You can pull the ship in via tractor beam after that."

Merilsa nodded. "These are acceptable terms. It is refreshing to deal with an enemy who can be… reasonable."

"Expect your transport in ten minutes." Varix deactivated the holo communication.

"What will you do now?" Savin asked, coming to stand up beside him.

"Carry out my promise. Load the Jedi onto that ship and deliver it. Then calculate a jump the enemy cant track that will lead us back to the fleet. I think we've earned a bit of rest and repair time."

"Darth Trevell will want a full report," Savin cautioned.

"He will have his report, and the Jedi's lightsaber."

"He might order us to hand over our recorded vid feed in light of the battle onboard our ship. If he gets wind that you let the padawan leave unharmed…"

"I will take my chances," Varixx answered. He didn't say it, but he knew his future was looking potentially dim.

Savin straightened, thought for a moment, and then took a deep breath. "Unfortunately sir, it is my duty to inform you that during the attack, the vid recording system throughout the ship was damaged. During the bombardment, I imagine. As such, we have no available data to hand over with the report."

Varixx looked at him in surprise, knew he was lying. He was touched by the show of loyalty. After all, it wasn't just the dark Jedi who were ruthless. Ambitious military personnel were a credit a dozen in most cases.

Savin met his gaze and smiled. "Such things happen in battle from time to time. My apologies, Darth Varixx."

"I think I can overlook-" A spasm of pain shot out across Varixx's body and suddenly the ground rushed up to meet him. Looking up with a dazed expression, he saw concerned faces peering down at him and he laughed softly. "Alright. It looks like its time for rest. Carry out my orders and get us out of here."

Dimly he heard the intercom activate as Savin called for a medical team on the bridge. Closing his eyes, all he saw was her face as he slowly slipped into the binds of unconsciousness. Dimly he heard one of the bridge crew ask another if Varixx was going to die.

Laughing inside, his last remaining thought burned strongly in his soul as he surrendered to the darkness. I will not die. Not yet.

Unbeknownst to any of the bridge crew a twi'lek girl invisible save to the one who now rested on the floor watched over him protectively from the depths of the Force, her form bathed in a brilliant blue. Sighing softly, she pressed her hand against his cheek. Even after Varixx was taken to the medical bay she was with him, as she had been since the day she died, watching over him and his struggle.