Aftermath of Betrayal
Ten Years Ago
She had done it. Taken the step further in pursuit of her own goals. She had gone past redemption and hope. She will not have it any longer. She will not submit to anyone. She will not be betrayed by anyone. She controls her own life, and her own destiny. And only she will remain standing after all this is done. She gazed down at the helpless planet below. Its people were probably frantically trying to hide or run. She had already rejected their pleas for mercy.
They had their chance, but chose to reject her offer to join her as slaves. Well, now they will learn. They chose to fight against her, and only send a pitiful resistance to stop her armada. Pathetic, and pitiful. Looking back, how many planets did she raze? She didn't bother to count. It was troublesome anyway. She sensed someone approaching from behind, but knew who it was, so paid him no mind as he snapped a salute.
"My Lord, the fleets are in position."
Admiral Threl reported. The admiral was a well-groomed man, though his looks had hardly to do with his capabilities as a commanding officer. In fact, his capabilities as an officer far exceeded anything else he did. He was good. Too good. But she knew that his loyalty was also unquestionable. Unlike his eleven predecessors who were all incompetent, Threl showed the tactical genius and flair that was rare. She would let him live, as long as he didn't do something overly stupid.
"Very good, admiral. Prepare for planetary bombardment. Wait for my orders."
"As you wish, my Lord."
She turned, and eyed the admiral carefully from under her hood. He showed some fear of her, which was good. But maybe his fear of her would undermine his tactical thinking, which would cause problems.
"... Show me what you can do, Admiral Threl, and do not fail me."
"Yes, my Lord."
She left the bridge, smiling slightly. She reached her quarters, and upon stepping inside, she sat down on her bed. Her quarters was large, and quite lavishly furnished, though it was mainly on the part of the officers who wished to please her, and nothing to do with her own personal tastes. Not that she cared or anything. She rubbed her temples, feeling her mind slightly disorientated. She knew what would happen next. She was prepared for it. She activated the communication module to the bridge.
'"My Lord?"'
Admiral Therl's voice responded her call.
"You have your orders. Do it."
'"At once, my Lord."'
The link was cut off, and she closed her eyes. It wasn't long before she was hit by it. Cries and screams. All from the people below. Wave after wave of suffering and despair pounded in her head. It felt like a giant amplifier was installed in her and a hyperdrive was blasting in her head. It was hard to contain, and was straining her mind. She felt as though her mind would burst.
'Stop'
The cries of children burning in the incinerating flames.
'Stop'
The screams of the men and women, running from the blasts of her ships.
'STOP'
They will not stop. The echoes and screams rebounding through her head.
'STOP! STOP! STOP!!!"
She suddenly found herself screaming it out loud, instead of mentally controlling it. But for now, it has stopped. The only thing that remained, was the deathly silence of the darkness. She brought a gloved hand to her wipe her eyes, and looking at her glove, she saw the one thing she thought could no longer produce. Tears.
Jaden Korr was a Jedi Knight, and one who was strong with the Force. She was a gifted student, with special abilities, and while she trained, the Jedi Masters would be hopeful of her success. Born on Coruscant, Jaden lived the life of an unknown child, till she managed to build her own lightsaber, without knowledge of the force, or aid from it. It was a strange occurrence, and once she was discovered, Luke Skywalker invited her to the Jedi Academy on Yavin IV.
There, she met Kyle Katarn, the famed Jedi Master who overcame many obstacles and defeated countless Sith, as well as being a hero of the rebellion. And she also met Rosh Penin, the man who eventually became the start of Jaden's fall. Rosh betrayed Jaden not once, but twice, and that caused her to turn. It was because she couldn't take the betrayal well enough, that she turned bitter and angry.
Betrayed numerous times as a child, she became weary and over cautious. But she still held onto hope. She would not be betrayed again. Jaden was a brilliant student, with her knowledge in mechanics being only one, she learned and grounded the basics of the core Force uses, and later learning the force powers of both Light and Dark side, since her master, Kyle Katarn, also utilized both sides.
However Jaden took it further than her master. She studied the force thoroughly, and trained hard, eventually becoming strong enough to stand up to Luke Skywalker, though Luke was still stronger in terms of experience. Jaden also trained in multiple forms of Lightsaber combat, and the usage of different weaponry.
She was also a fairly good pilot, since she likes the vase open of space. She was a near perfect Jedi, till Rosh's betrayal became too much for her to bear. In her rage, she struck down Rosh when he tried to plead for mercy. She struck down Alora without even breaking a sweat, before flying to Korriban, where she murdered Reborn and Jedi alike, leaving in her wake a field of bodies.
She killed Tavion, and bested Kyle in a duel, before taking the scepter of Ragnos and fleeing. She took command of the imperial star destroyer that was in orbit of Korriban, and fled. Jaden went all the way to the outer rims, gathering the imperial remnant from all over under her. Tavion was too weak to stand up above to command, but Jaden was different. She used the sceptre's power for herself, infusing only her with the powers that it kept.
Unlike Tavion, who used it to create troops, Jaden used it to strengthen herself further. Jaden knew that creating troops with such power was pointless. Though you would have more troops, they were only artificially infused with the force, and therefore weak. Sure, a reborn would be on equal par with a Jedi, but the Jedi were not to be underestimated. They could be more than a match for a reborn if pushed too far. Instead, Jaden focused on rebuilding the imperial fleets.
By chance, she encountered a cluster of planets that had the resources and labour to build her fleets. The creatures were almost sentient, but not intelligent, and it did not take long for her shipyards to be up and operational to build ships. Soon, Jaden had her fleets. Fifty fleets boasting five hundred Star destroyers, a hundred super star destroyers, and about a thousand cruisers. Standing at the top, Jaden Korr renamed herself Darth Keldran.
Keldran's campaign started from the outer rims, and pushed inwards, enslaving or razing planets as they go. Those who would not join her, would die. It was simple, and efficient. Many were afraid, and flocked to her side, further expanding her forces. It seemed impossible to stop her. Some planets tried to appease her by sending offerings and gifts, and it was laughable at what some planets actually sent.
Maybe it was because she constantly kept her face hidden under her hood, and that many do not actually see her face to face, that a good majority of gifts, were young women. Did the Sith really seem like the type who would take pleasure in the body? While Keldran did get a good laugh from all of this, and some of the officers were actually happy about it, she did feel something from some of them. Seventy of them, to be precise.
They were special, and Force sensitive. Keldran knew this as she was particularly sensitive about these things. Even before she was a Sith, as a Jedi, Jaden was gifted with the ability to sense others. She could sense their presence clearly, and even about their condition. She was so sensitive, that she could tell exactly who was injured, and where from five systems away. Her powers in that field was even better than Luke Skywalker's.
As a Sith, with her powers boosted, and also powered from the sceptre, Keldran knew a lot about these young women, and the two men who were chosen as well, just by looking at them. She wouldn't infuse them artificially with the power of the sceptre, since it would be pointless, and the sceptre no longer held any power, since Keldran took it all for herself. It simply sat in her quarters, now nothing more than a plain stick. Keldran knew the risks of training an apprentice. Siths who chose to abide by the 'rule of two' would eventually come to face off against their own apprentice.
Siths were ruthless and cruel, so it wouldn't surprise Keldran if her apprentice would try to kill her, yet she would not have it. She cannot die till her goals were complete. Still, training these young ones, all of them only four or five years younger than herself, would prove to be interesting. Keldran focused on expanding her forces, and her push towards Yavin IV, the place where the Jedi Academy was, while training the young chosen slaves.
They were kept separate from the others, and placed in special quarters that were close to hers, and also closely guarded. The children learned quickly, much to her surprise, and more than half of them were able to manipulate the Force to do basic things, like moving objects, within two months. Ten of them managed to build their own lightsabers. Keldran did not want them to kill off each other, and so gave them each a room.
She would not have a single apprentice, but rather, a group of Siths who would follow her where ever she went. But she knew the risks. If they all decided to rebel against her, it would be problematic. Not that it should be. Keldran was after all, very powerful. Her powers stemming from her training as a Jedi, then with the conversion into a Sith, and with the bonus of the powers from the sceptre.
Her battle experience was also impressive, fighting numerous reborn, killing Tavion, defeating Kyle, and even fighting the famed Jedi-Killing bounty hunter Boba Fett. The only person she would actually be serious in fighting, would be Luke Skywalker. But even though Keldran was powerful, and the children she taught were progressing rather quickly, she was a rather bad teacher. She tended to hesitate a lot.
This all comes from her ability to sense the life force in people. As she became extremely sensitive, she began to 'feel' the pain of those around her, and even those who were far away. She would pause, sensing the pain from the young children whom she trained. All in all, she wasn't suited to be a Sith, but she did have the resolution, and her powers were more than enough to redeem herself. It would be five years after her rise to power, that Darth Keldran would face her decisive battle.
Darth Keldran stepped out from the training hall after a session of training the young ones. Things were going smoothly as always. Still, for those kids to be able to learn so quickly within a year, it was certainly astounding. But now she needed to meditate, and rest.
Siths rarely meditate, as it would usually calm their hatred, but Keldran found the need to meditate often. It was the only thing that was keeping her from destroying everything in her sight. An officer approached her from behind, and though she knew, she did stop her pace.
"Make it quick."
She was feeling tired and needed to rest. The officer was clearly nervous, as he tried to keep in step with the dark lord.
"Intelligence has reported... that a large republic fleet has amassed, and approaching our position."
She stopped walking after hearing the news. Not a good sign for the officer, who ran a finger around his collar to make sure it wasn't tight. She glared at him from the edge of her hood, which sent shivers down the man's spine, even though he was a head taller than her.
".... How far are we from our next target?"
"Two Li-light years, my lord."
The officer was, if ever possible, as straight as a door. He must be losing a good decade off his life-span.
"... Maintain speed. We will discuss this in the next strategic meeting. I will call for one when the time is right. Now go, and leave me be."
"Y-yes! My lord!"
The officer snapped a salute, then turned and almost ran off, but since he mustn't 'look' like he was running away, he went for a quick walk. While Keldran would normally laugh inwardly about such odd behaviours, the current news was troubling enough to cause her to furrow her brows.
The republic has finally gathered its forces to stop her. It was about time. Surely the Jedi had sent their own fleets to join them. Keldran stopped, as an image of her former master, Kyle Katarn, floated into her head. She shook her head, dismissing the thought. No matter who, she will cut down those who stand in her way. No exceptions. None.
'Jaden'
She looked up at the call of her voice. That voice. It was Kyle. He was still trying to reach out to her after all this time. She shut off her mind, refusing to listening. There was no point in negotiations, or talk.
She stepped into her quarters, and was about to pull back her hood when she stopped. She raised a hand to the side, and her lightsaber from her belt flew into her hand, activating its dark red beam. Her eyes narrowed at the dark corner of the room. Someone was there.
"Show yourself."
She commanded. Still, the presence would not move, nor would it disappear. Keldran would normally feel agitated, irritated that someone would be in her room without her knowledge. Yet she could not bring herself to strike whoever stood there. Because in her heart, she knew she couldn't. There was no one there.
She deactivated her saber, clipping it back onto her belt, where her old saber from her Jedi days, and another staff saber were clipped onto as well. She sighed, sitting down in her chair. She stared at the dark corner, with the mysterious presence still lingering. No, it wasn't mysterious. It was familiar. She pulled back her hood, a weary, tired and sad smile forming on her lips.
"... I'm sorry... Rosh."
