Disclaimers: I do not own The Lord of the Rings and "Star Wars". They belong to J.R.R. Tolkien, George Lucas, and Disney. All canon material belongs to their respected owners. All original material belongs to me, the authoress of this fanfiction story.

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Welcome to the first part in my Maranguan Chronicles fanfiction trilogy. :) We're picking up right where we left off in my fanfiction mini-series, Origin Tales: Parker Dooley. This trilogy will tie in with my other fanfic trilogy, the Rogue Warriors, because they're around the same timeframe. That said, enjoy reading Maranguan's Apprentice. :)

Warning: This chapter is Rated M for intense battle sequences. Read with caution.

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Korriban. Once an ancient home world of the Sith. Now, it was a dune sea with orangish-brown sand and massive statues of dead Sith Lords. The tombs were excavated by Sith Hopefuls, hoping to earn prestige, wherever it come.

This was the place Maranguan, once Parker Dooley, landed his Sith fighter ship. "Ow!" Maranguan cried, feeling his scars return, coursing throughout his thin, muscular red body. His yellow eyes turned red, glowering over his failure to kill Corin, the golden-brown lion who would become his undoing. Maranguan could not afford to fail again in front of the Sith Emperor.

"No!" Maranguan snapped out of his reverie, feeling his scars tread across his black claws, his black scales, his scaly red, muscular body, as well as on his dragon-like head and his short snout, with a tipped end pointed upwards. His medium-sized tail tapped the fighter's metallic floor in pain. Every tap, every step he made, led to more and more agony. This was the choice he made. He killed and fought like a villain. He was a red dragonoid. Every Sith should be proud of him!

So, why was he sent to Korriban? He waited until the landing cycle ended, before turning off the fighter's engine. He opened the hatch, stepping out of the metal, circular pod. The black fins closed on both ends of the ship, making it easier for the scarred red dragonoid to leave it unharmed. He walked towards the academy, determined to meet its Sith Lord.

He was stopped by a Sith Lord alright! and his thugs, all dressed in black robes. Oh great! What did they want? He checked his own white tunic and his pair of brown breeches. It was the very same clothes he wore this morning, right before he turned to darkness. These sorts of clothes meant that he was a hopeful and not a Sith Lord. Yet.

"Ah! The dragonoid Lord Vitiate sent has come!" the plump Sith Lord declared. "I was expecting you."

"I was told to come here," Maranguan said, curtly. He asked, testily, "So, what do I do?"

"Ah! About that!" the Sith Lord said, enraged. He paced back and forth, claiming this spot for his own. "The Emperor didn't instruct you on what was about to transpire here? But how could he when his most prized possession had become his worst failure?!" He laughed. "Coming here, looking like a Sith Hopeful, having just arrived on Korriban is one thing. It is another to prove that you cannot kill the one thing you sought to destroy." He shook his head, his pacing stopped. "Such a pity." He gestured to his Sith thugs. "Kill him!"

"Um…" Maranguan looked, hesitantly. These Sith thugs carried with them shocker sticks. There was no way he could beat that, without being stung. It was in this moment that he learned that he wasn't capable of being a true Sith Lord. Oh, what to do now? He couldn't go back, not to his old life. Maybe there was another way around, to make him invulnerable and dangerous all at once. If he could combat his evil ways, then perhaps he could see through the good in people. He would be invincible!

He smiled, knowing exactly what to do.

"Come and fight us!" one of the thugs said, harshly.

Maranguan sighed. "Oh, very well. I suppose you leave me no choice." He raised his hand, forcing the Sith thug to levitate. The Sith thug choked, doing his best to breathe until the scarred red dragonoid snapped his neck, tossing the thug off to the side like tinfoil.

"Yahhhh!" the second Sith thug lunged at him, pointing the shocker stick towards Maranguan. The scarred red dragonoid dived this way and that, grabbing the thug's hand and twisting it. The thug sprawled on the ground, falling silent, due to the sharp pain. The Sith thug tried to speak, but managed to speak one word, "Why?" He breathed heavily, seeing colors, until he collapsed on the stone floor, unconscious.

"I've had enough beatings in my lifetime," Maranguan said, courageously. He looked at the Sith Lord, clapping his hands. Maranguan picked up a silver hilt from one of the thug's belts. He clicked it on, surprised to see the lightsaber's beam brandishing a reddish color. He chuckled. Somehow, he would have to change that color to silver. "I am neither good nor bad. I am Maranguan, keeper of the light and the dark. And no Sith Lord is going to stand in my way again."

"You have failed to seek out the truth! You will be hunted down before the night is out! Lord Vitiate will hear about this! He – will – hear about your insubordination!" The Sith Lord declared, venomously.

"Well then, I suppose I'll have to take something of his. I hope the Sith Lord won't mind if he's lost one of his servants. His most prized possession," Maranguan chuckled.

"Oh yes. That silly girl Qua'ra's about to take your place as the Emperor's new Sith Lord. You better hurry. You don't want to miss it," the Sith Lord smirked. It was that smirk that caused Maranguan to turn off the lightsaber and stow it on his belt.

"Well then, I'll just have to crash it," Maranguan said, heading towards the fighter.

"Good luck. You'll need it," the Sith Lord said, triumphantly, watching the scarred red dragonoid turn on his fighter. Maranguan flew off into the sky, entering a spinning orange portal and vanishing on sight. The Sith Lord chuckled to himself, "Good luck indeed. Where was I?"

~o~

Dromund Kaas, the home of Emperor Vitiate. The grass was green, as well as the forest. So much life was found on this rainy planet. It was a miracle Maranguan made it to the citadel, with its triangular, and square, walls, decked in grey and black. Red banners hung across the walls with the circular Sith symbol on the front of the banners.

Statues of Emperors long passed lined up the interior of the citadel. But it was the throne room with its two grey stone platforms and wooden throne, with stone basins alight in a fiery glow, standing out in Kaas City, where the Sith and travelers went to buy groceries, sit and talk about their dark deeds, or minded their own business. It was here that Maranguan docked his ship on the docking bay, before tearing off across the balcony and entering the citadel.

~o~

He was seconds away from missing Vitiate's final words to Qua'ra, when he burst in through the automatic door. With a wave of his hand, he snapped the soldiers' necks. He didn't look back as the soldiers' dead bodies crumpled on the floor. Maranguan snickered upon seeing Vitiate, the red-skinned Sith Pureblood, with eyes as black as night, and donned in black robes, stare him down.

Standing on either side of Vitiate's throne were two Sith Lords. One wore a red and black mask, while donned in black robes, as well as black gloves, covering up his hands to his lower arms. The second Sith Lord was donned in red armor.

As for Qua'ra, she was fair-faced with pale skin, brunette hair, and green eyes. She looked at the scarred red dragonoid with a warm smile. It was the most unexpected thing she ever did. Did she think she was taking his title from him?

Maranguan threatened everyone in the throne room. "No one is taking away my position! I mean NO ONE!" He threw his lightsaber around the room. In time, the red beam smacked into the chest of a soldier, before Maranguan extended his hand, causing his new lightsaber to fling back to him. He caught the lightsaber, turned it off, and sheathed it.

"I'm sorry, Parker. You are no longer allowed in this throne room. Leave Dromund Kaas! I will not stand failure unless you kneel." Vitiate warned him, testily. "This is your last chance! Kneel or I will hunt you down!"

"No, you won't," Maranguan said with a snicker. "And my name is not Parker Dooley. That dragonoid is gone. My name is Maranguan, Sith Lord to the Dragonoids." He bowed triumphantly.

"A Sith Lord? You no longer hold that title! From this moment on, you are revoked of all your duties!" Vitiate said, squarely. "I did not send you to Korriban, so you could weasel your way back here!"

"You sent me there to die!" Maranguan hissed.

"Humph." Vitiate grunted. "My first mistake was letting you live!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Guards! Seize this dragonoid. He is no longer welcome in my presence! If he doesn't leave, kill him. If he does leave, let him go. He's of no further use to me." He returned to his wooden throne, watching the action take place inside his throne room.

~o~

Maranguan brandished his new lightsaber. He spun around, inching closer to the black armored soldiers, carrying their purple lightning staffs. No. He wouldn't be taken down by them! He could destroy these soldiers easily! But first, he needed an escape. He looked around, clenching his fist—

SNAP!

Three soldiers fell, limp, on the stone floor. He smirked, liking this game.

"Bring in more guards!" Vitiate cried, annoyed. "I've heard enough."

Maranguan looked at Qua'ra. He had to think of something – wait. He knew what to do. In haste, rushed towards the top stone platform, reached for Qua'ra's hand, and ZAP! He was repelled through the air, forced to release her. The two landed in a heap on the cold, stone floor. His chest throbbed.

"What was – that?" The scarred red dragonoid coughed, shocked by what he saw.

"You need a healer. Someone to take care of those wounds," Qua'ra said, placing a hand on Maranguan's chest.

Maranguan coughed again. He was going to die. He knew it. For once, he was at peace. He collapsed, falling unconscious—

He met Eliza, his brunette-haired wife dressed in a blue, floral gown, in the middle of a meadow. The sunlight was bright here. Eliza giggled, enjoying the warm rays of the sun, as water splashed on her and her husband.

Parker Dooley.

"Parker, come and look!" Eliza said, pointing to their son, Maxin. The blonde-haired boy with rugged features was now a man, dressed in a white shirt, a brown jacket, and brown trousers. Maxin smiled, coming over to join him and his wife. Parker smiled. This moment was too perfect to pass—

"NOOOO!" Maranguan screamed, waking up and finding his wounds healed. He shrieked at the guards. He waved his hand once more, sending a poisonous gas at them, killing them all in seconds. He flung his scaly, scarred red hands into the air, sending a larger dark cloud, filled with purple lightning, up onto the ceiling.

Regret filled him as the cloud passed on. He was broken. He had no friends. No family. He left them! There was only him now. He had only to blame himself for what he'd done.

"Hah!" Vitiate cried out in triumph. He told the scarred red dragonoid, bluntly, "You're no villain. You're not even a hero. You're just broken!" He sneered, telling the red dragonoid, "Go and take Qua'ra with you! I will not have her betray this Empire, too. Form your own empire. You have my permission to do so!"

Maranguan struggled to stand up, in shock over what he heard. "Why? Why would you give me my life back?"

"I turned you evil. Now, you must complete the task yourself. Good luck." Vitiate said, resting a hand against his nose in agony. It had been a long, stressful day. He did not need any more interruptions.

"Come on, Maranguan! Let's go!" Qua'ra said, helping the scarred red dragonoid to his feet. Together, she led him away from the throne room and straight to her ship, Fury, complete with its own black fins and a rectangular frame. A cockpit with wide windows resided in front of the ship. Maranguan looked on as they climbed inside the ship. He didn't bother to stop her. In fact, he let her sit him down.

He was too shocked to think of anything else, other than the lightning blast Vitiate gave to him. Another blow on the dragonoid's part. How could he still be failing? He was a dragonoid, not a pincushion!

Qua'ra closed the ship's ramp. She made her way to the cockpit, turning the ship's engine on. In moments, they flew out of the docking bay and into freedom.

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Thanks for reading. :)