Masters of Darkness I: The Third Option

by TheCrY

The first entry in the Masters of Darkness series. Kyle Katarn turns to the dark side, and Jerec has claimed the power of the Valley of the Jedi. They slowly prepare to take control of the galaxy, only a year after the fall of Palpatine's Empire. A new era of darkness will rise, and the Jedi struggle to stop it.

2. Background Knowledge

Dark Forces: Soldier for the Empire 1 BBY
by William C. Dietz

Kyle Katarn is an Imperial soldier, fresh off the academy, when he hears about his father's passing. On his first mission, he encounters a rebel woman, Jan Ors, who he is supposed to kill, but she talked him into letting her go. After receiving the news about his father, Morgan Katarn, Kyle is allowed to go home and grieve. On the transport to Sulon, he encounters the rebel woman again, who tells him that it was not the rebels who killed his father, but that his father was a part of the rebellion, and he was killed by a Dark Jedi named Jerec, governor of Baron's Hed at the time. In time, Kyle earns Jan's trust and she initiates him into the rebellion as well. They fall in love at some point. As a test mission, for Kyle to earn the trust of the other rebels, they travel to Danuta in the Moldy Crow and steal the plans to the Death Star.

Dark Forces II: Rebel Agent 5 ABY
Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight 5 ABY
by William C. Dietz

Kyle Katarn is now set on avenging his father's death. He managed to track a droid named 8t88, who dealt with his father before, and discovers that the droid had betrayed his father in a business deal. 8t88 also warns him that Jerec is not a man to be trifled with, for he is a Dark Jedi on a quest for the legendary Valley of the Jedi. The droid reveals that he has stolen a data disc from Kyle's dead father's homestead on Sulon, but he cannot decipher the code. Enraged, Kyle chases the droid through the streets of Nar Shaddaa and eventually reclaims the disc, but 8t88 escapes. With the help of Jan Ors and the Moldy Crow, they now travel to Sulon. In his father's old homestead, Grave Tusken have raided their home, and Jerec's minions have stolen the map to the Valley, which was hidden on Morgan Katarn's workshop roof. Kyle finds the old family droid WeeGee, who can read the disk Kyle had reclaimed from 8t88, and who hands him the lightsabre of an old Jedi friend of his father's, Qu Rahn. Kyle chases the trail into the city of Baron's Hed, into the Imperial Palace, where he finds the map to the Valley of the Jedi. This is where he meets Yun, the youngest minion of Jerec, who quickly destroys the map, and whom he beats after a short lightsabre duel. Kyle shows him mercy, a concept that Yun doesn't understand, but which makes a lasting impression on him. Kyle and Jan proceed to track 8t88 into a fueling plant, where they eventually manage to board the ship 8t88 was last taken into to receive his 'payment'. Once he located the remains of the droid, Kyle battles two more minions of Jerec, the sithspawn brothers Gorc, the muscle, and Pic, the tiny brain. Kyle beats them after a fight, catches up with Jan, and shows her 8t88's head, which contains the map to the Valley.

Afterwards, Kyle meets Luke Skywalker back in his father's homestead. They agree that Jerec must be stopped, and Kyle suggests he will do it. Luke warns him that a self-taught Jedi is a rare phenomenon, and that revenge should not be his motivation. Following the map, Kyle and Jan are led to the planet of Ruusan, which by that time has already been taken over by Jerec and his minions. Most of the colonists are dead, and Jerec has his men dig a proper way into the Valley of the Jedi, which is an ancient burial ground, which is also the site of a large battle between Jedi and Sith 1,000 years ago. The place now holds enormous power, but it is plagued by spirits of the fallen Jedi and Sith. Jerec tells Yun, Maw, Boc, and Sariss – his last four minions – to chase away the spirits that are bothering his workers. Yun is the only one who finds himself channelling his light side, but makes sure the others don't see it. At one point, during patrol, Yun spots Kyle and Jan, led by their guide Griff, approaching some cliff, but he decides not to alert anybody, as repaying his being spared in the Imperial Palace on Sulon. At this point, Yun hopes that Kyle will win, so he can learn about the light side of the Force.

Kyle, however, meets Maw, a muscled Boltrunian who lost his legs at the hands of Qu Rahn some time ago, on top of a tower ascending to the Valley entrance. Maw had learned a power known as Force Flight, causing his torso to fly. They battle for a while, and Maw manages to taunt Kyle to the extent that Kyle gives in to his dark side.

===here is where the relevant info for my fanfiction ends===