Chapter 1

Are you the Apprentice of this Darth Krayt? Surely, he must be seeking to send you to your doom simply to replace you. I, a mere Sith Knight, fell one of the Sith Lords in our first battle. How pitiful. The Jedi must have become extraordinarily weak to have fallen to the likes of you!" the black-hooded man pondered, more to himself than the bleeding Darth Morto. The Knight had bested the brutish Sith in mere moments of encountering one another aboard the Blood River, one of the mysterious Sith starships that had led the force that conquered the planet of Vortex.

"You know nothing about the power of Darth Krayt!" Morto half-coughed, half-roared at the Sith Knight, who merely smiled at the Sith's outburst. Morto staggered and fell to the ground, frustrated with his pain and weakness. He attempted to stand again, but his injuries were too severe.

"I suppose you're right. We don't know a lot about you. But that's not going to be the case much longer. Guards! Bring him to the medical wing! I want to see him in a Bacta tank! Now!" the Sith Knight demanded. Morto lifted his head, confused at the Dark Jedi's order.

"You're healing me?"

"Of course. You're not much good to us dead except as a nifty ornament for my bookshelf, and it has enough trophies as it is, though yours wouldn't mean much in comparison to the others."

Morto tried to push away the soldiers that tried dragging him away with the Force, be he was too exhausted. The most they felt was a slight push, though one had lost his balance because of it and fell onto his rear, causing the Sith Knight to laugh at the man before stalking away.

Darth Morto could not look at his Twi'lek counterpart, Darth Talon, as they met on the windy surface of Vortex. The native Vor scrambled about, trying to appease both Sith parties, but only the Sith Knight that had defeated Morto took up their various offers, finding a measure of ecstatic pleasure in consuming Vorrian cookies. It disgusted Darth Talon how the human Sith Knight stuffed his face with them. It made her feel ashamed to admit that Darth Morto could go toe-to-toe with her if the Togorian Sith had been defeated by such a man. She did sense that the Sith Knight was indeed powerful, and he was well-rooted in the Dark Side, and yet his demeanor was unlike any she'd seen in anyone remotely affiliated with the Sith.

Soon, a woman entered the building, and Talon immediately recognized her power, as well. If the Sith Knight was better than Morto, than she could contest with Krayt himself at his height, though she didn't want to admit that her Sith Lord had been waning in his personal power recently. He was upheld by his Order, and she feared that without Krayt, the Order would fall on top of itself with indecisiveness.

"I am Darth Tessul," the Sith declared. Her voice was smooth and calming, matching her fairness of beauty. Her hair was a natural looking violet, dyed with a rainbow of other, darker colors, with a Sith letter dyed into the front of her scalp. Similar tattoos dotted down her face and neck and probably onto the rest of her body. She wore black robes that covered her whole body and gloves hid her hands.

"I am Darth Talon," the red-skinned Twi'lek replied. She had no taste for diplomacy, but she now saw the wisdom in agreeing to meet with the leaders of this new Sith army. If Darth Tessul was any indication of this military's power, then they were a force to be reckoned with.

"Darth-If you could call him that-Morto has told us about your Order. It is an intriguing concept, and it seems to have worked well enough so far for you. But that is not our purpose here-Technically it is to discuss the return of Darth Morto. What are you willing to give us in return for him?" Darth Tessul asked. Talon felt insulted by the way that she considered the Order as a mere object of curiosity rather than the respect it deserved. Krayt ruled the Galaxy, not they! They can have all the weapons they want, but it amounts to nothing at the moment.

"Darth Krayt has expressed a great interest in getting him back. He knows that he will not receive him free of charge, nor as a sign of good faith, but he does wish to show…Respect to your Order, and so we have brought this, not as payment for Morto, but as homage," Talon stated. Tessul raised an eyebrow as two Sith wheeled in a captured Jedi Knight, naked, tortured, and encased in a Force Suppression field. Tessul smiled at the sight of the incarcerated Warrior of Light.

"I thank you for your generous gift. You must have gone through great lengths to get him," Tessul announced. Talon made a toothy, poisonous smile.

"Not really. In fact, we caught him on the way here and thought he would make an appropriate gift, given our common nature. Now, as for payment, Darth Krayt knows that weapons, money, or the like are useless to you. However, he has been able to capture a few things that you may find to your liking. Five Terenteks. Jedi-killers, bred on Kooriban-"

"I am familiar with the beasts. It is a great offer, but I do not believe your Darth Morto is quite worth five Terenteks," Tessul told Talon. The Twi'lek's jaw dropped at her words and her lip rose in a snarl. Darth Tessul made a quiet laugh. Darth Morto looked at Tessul, his eyes wide in fear at her reaction.

"Two of the beasts will be fine. I do not wish to take more than that. I would feel too guilty. Morto is a prisoner that practically guards himself. Though he is indeed powerful and skilled with a Lightsaber, he is weak in using the Force. He is far too easy to follow. If your Darth Krayt wishes to keep him from being captured in a similar manner, I would suggest that he be drilled better in the near future."

"I'm sure that it will happen," Talon assured Darth Tessul. She glared over to Morto, who shrunk under her scrutinizing gaze, "I'll make sure of it."

Jer-Al.

"Master?" the Jedi muttered. His eyes were closed, but he felt himself being suspended in a liquid and his mouth was covered by something. It felt uncomfortable on his face. In his mind, he saw a blue figure slowly growing, until the physical world was no longer there. He had been unconscious for many hours, and this was the first time he'd experienced anything since fighting a Twi'lek Sith-And losing.

"Jer-Al," his master repeated. A Cathar with a thick mane of hair, once a yellow orange, stood before him, fully dressed in Jedi garb. Jer-Al was shocked to see his Master-And then realized what was before him.

"Master Rasi, have you-"

"I am One with the Force, Jer-Al."

"The Sith will-"

"Jer-Al, do not let your anger-"

"No, I was going to say that the Sith will find my apprentice. Is Tyabacca all right?" Jer-Al asked.

"Oh…She is fine. She is a Wookie, after all, the Sith will not find her for some time, but you must do as I tell you. You must find Cade Skywalker. There is a new threat from the Dark Side, but it is not what you will think it is. There is something darker yet underneath."

"Thank you, Master. I will not forget your tidings."

"I didn't say I was finished!" Rasi declared sternly, scowling as he always did, "Remember your teachings, and do not give into the Dark Side. The Sith will promise you many things. Do not accept them."

"Thank you, Master. Anything else?"

"No, but you still haven't stopped talking back to me, Jer-Al."

"And you still take my words out of context. I have missed you so, Master. I am glad to see you one more time."

"The same to you, my apprentice-You have made me proud. Now, wake up and bring peace to our galaxy."

His master disappeared, and Jer-Al's eyes opened. He was floating in a clear, yet bluish liquid with some sort of mask covering his face. He was in a medical wing of some sort, with white-uniformed doctors wandering about and black-uniformed soldiers carrying blasters he'd never seen before. The medics seemed quite alarmed to see Jer-Al awake so soon, and began to scramble to prep for his release from the Bacta tank. The soldiers backed away from the tank, gripping their weapons tightly, ready to put the Jedi back into the tank or make him one with the Force.

Claws grasps his arms and lifted him out of the tank. He was placed down, and one of the medics held his hand towards an adjacent room. Getting the message, Jer-Al walked into the washing area, where a sonic shower awaited. He would have no privacy as he showered because a guard stood just outside the door, so he made it a quick one, getting most of the Bacta off of his body. He noted several new scars. The events of the battle he had were fuzzy, but they must have been severe to leave scars after a Bacta bath-Even to have been administered a Bacta bath meant he had been beaten pretty badly.

Jer-Al was handed undergarments and black robes, similar to Jedi robes. He considered them, and then decided that it was better than going naked, even if he was among Sith. He emerged from the showering chamber and stopped in his tracks as he came face-to-face with a purple-haired woman wearing an elegant dress. It was a silky black material that was worn almost like a Toga and loosely hung down from her arms. She had a black sash around her waist with a Lightsaber tucked in it. She held Jer-Al's Lightsaber in her hands. The purple-haired woman smiled warmly at him, but there was nothing warm about her to the Jedi. She held his Lightsaber towards him, hilt first, which he hesitatingly accepted.

"Here, nobody goes unarmed," she assured him, "Please, walk with me, Jedi."

Jer-Al hesitated again, and then followed into the hall. The black robes wore just like his normal Jedi robes, but even so, they just didn't feel right to him. Nothing about this ship felt right, it all reeked with the Dark Side. There was something peculiar about her, though, that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Jer-Al saw through physical beauty. There was something about her. Despite being in the Dark Side, he did not sense maliciousness in her. Curious, he continued following.

"Allow me to introduce myself, Jedi. I am Darth Tessul. Welcome to my ship, the Hedonic King. I was never told your name when you were given to us. Might I have it?" she asked. Jer-Al raised an eyebrow-Given to them?

"I am Jer-Al, and I have a number of questions. Would you mind me asking?" he asked. They walked over a hangar, where he saw standard Sith practices at work. A battalion of slaves toiled below, moving parts and maintaining the fighters and ships. Jer-Al watched as one slave was dragged away and shot after a slight, meaningless accident. His lips twitched at the sight of such practices. His apprentice had been saved from slavery, so he had many qualms with it.

"I have no problem with questions. I celebrate questions, ask away," Tessul replied. The view of the hangar disappeared as they entered a hallway. The architecture was bulbous and unfamiliar to the Jedi, but the crew seemed comfortable and used to it. The crew was quite diverse, consisting of many alien species. In fact, humans seemed to be a minority. Chiss were prominent, and there were even Yuuzhan Vong among them.

"Who are you? I have been fighting the Sith for almost two decades. I have never heard of you, nor seen ships resembling yours in any way. You walk among aliens as if they were your brothers, even Yuuzhan Vong."

Darth Tessul smiled, pausing in an intersection of the hallway and she looked to her left, where he saw a Nagai dressed in Dark Jedi robes and a Lightsaber at his side. At the sight of Darth Tessul, the Nagai knelt.

"Rise, Deseyah. Our Jedi guest wishes to know who we are. How would you explain it to him?"

The blue-skinned Nagai considered the question for a moment, in deep thought. He looked at the Jedi and stated,

"We are Sith. There's no other way to explain it."

"Thank you, Deseyah. You are dismissed," Tessul instructed. The Nagai bowed respectfully to both and left their presence. Tessul turned to face Jer-Al.

"As he said, we are Sith. We came here to show the galaxy the true power and capabilities of the Dark Side. We are strong and united, unlike our predecessors. We have united and conquered the Unknown Regions, and we intend to do the same with the rest of the galaxy."

"Standard Sith practices then," Jer-Al scoffed, "Fine. You are Sith. I suppose that you aren't affiliated with Darth Krayt's Sith Order, then?"

"That is correct. We knew that there were Sith in the Galaxy, and we thought that they would be of little concern. It seems that we were correct, though not in the matter that we originally believed. It remains to be seen what we will do with the New Sith Order. You were a gift from them, I suppose an offering to ask us to stop our conquest of their worlds."

"An offering?"

"We captured one of them, and they sought to get him back. They presented us with you as homage. Naturally, a Jedi was an offer that we could not refuse."

"So why are you showing me your ship? Giving me my Lightsaber, touring me around the ship. Why?"

"Because, Jer-Al, you are a Jedi," Tessul began, "All of our Sith Knights were trained by myself and Darth Orexsus, or by their fellow Sith Knights. We have formed a brotherhood because of this, but none of us were ever Jedi. I am offering you a place among us, Jer-Al. The addition of an Sith Knight that had been a Jedi would be a great triumph."

"That is a dangerous thing to admit," Jer-Al observed. Tessul scoffed.

"You don't know the power that we wield," she replied, "Come. You will understand soon enough."

Tessul continued walking through the halls, telling him of the campaigns they led, the discoveries they made, and the empire that they were building. Jer-Al learned a bit about her, as well. Tessul had commanded many of the invasions, but spent most of the time training the Sith Knights with her counterpart, Darth Orexsus. Tessul painted herself as a brilliant commander and a great teacher, but never specified whether she was the Master or the Apprentice, though it was evident that they followed the Rule of Two.

Tessul paused while they were in a hall with rooms set equal distances apart from each other, with Sith Knights wandering about. She turned to one of the rooms and opened the door. They were personal quarters, larger than some of the classrooms in the Jedi Academy that Jer-Al had attended. Decorations dotted the walls and furniture, treasures from their many conquests in the Unknown Regions. The bed was big enough to fit several people, and was probably intended for such.

"These will be your quarters, Jedi, while you are staying here. Attempting to escape would be a very bad idea. This is the Sith Knight wing, and my own quarters are closer than you would think. If you leave your room, we will know," she told him, though not threateningly, "If there is anything you desire, there are ways to contact the slave quarters that you will find."

Jer-Al felt something trying to enter his mind, an unfamiliar presence that he prevented from accessing his thoughts, though Darth Tessul and the Sith Knights seemed to be temporarily frozen because of it. The Sith Knights left their rooms and began wandering down the hall to a common location.

"Darth Orexsus has called a meeting. I would like to see you there-My master has a great knowledge of the Force that even you would appreciate, Jedi," Darth Tessul requested. Jer-Al raised his eyebrow. So Darth Tessul was the apprentice. She could have easily presented herself as the Master. She commanded her soldiers and the Dark Jedi better than Galactic Alliance admirals did their fleets. There was some underlying loyalty to her that he had not seen before, particularly in Sith. Even so, he remembered his Master's warning to him: The Sith would offer him great things, but he must not accept them.

"I would rather not, Darth. I am tired, and I would like to rest for a while."

"Do not presume you can lie to me, Jedi. You just woke up from a three-day Bacta bath. You are not as tired as you claim," Darth Tessul warned, "Darth Orexsus knows that you are here, and we know that you will not join us immediately. He would not alienate you with lessons about the Dark Side. You would learn a great deal."

"It sounds like the decision has been made for me," Jer-Al wondered. Tessul nodded and Jer-Al sighed and shrugged.

"I suppose I could observe if I have no actual choice in the matter," the Jedi conceded. He felt in his gut that it was not a wise decision, but he had no wish to invoke the wrath of the Sith. Not when he was without resources, without a team, and with only the Code to guide him. He could try, but he doubted he would get very far. And with what he could learn of them, he could pass onto another Jedi…

When they arrived at the auditorium, every Sith Knight on the ship was present, and there were holograms representing those that were on other ships, which outnumbered the ones on the Hedonic King. The size of this Sith organization astounded him-There were hundreds, most of them aliens. Officers and off-duty personnel watched from a balcony, and a hologram of Darth Orexsus stood at the front of the auditorium. He had been a bit surprised to notice Darth Tessul's young age-But Darth Orexsus was only a little bit older than his apprentice. Rasi was older than the two of them together! Darth Krayt was almost two centuries old, and yet these two were in their mid thirties.

Orexsus had no tattoos on his face and did not wear any fancy armor. Rather, he wore black robes just as the Sith Knights did. He seemed unremarkable. He wasn't showy or ornate as most Sith were. Orexsus wasn't an imposing figure, just a tall, handsome human in black robes with neat, dark hair. Tessul took a seat at the back of the auditorium, though Jer-Al chose to stand.

"Brothers," Orexsus said. The speakers were clear and echoed through the theater, though speakers at the back made it easier to make out what was said, "We have seen so much in the last nineteen years, forged an empire in space that was unknown to the rest of the galaxy. We have done what has never been thought of being attempted. We have united this region of space. You should be proud!"

The Sith Knights began a united cheer and applause in response that lasted for several minutes before Orexsus held up his hand, causing the applause to cease, though someone yelled "Woo!" after silence befell the room, causing a low wave of laughter, even a chuckle from Orexsus. There seemed to be positive feelings emanating from the audience.

"Indeed. Today a Jedi joins us, one of the first we have ever encountered. He may be surprised to hear that we are honored to receive him," the Sith continued. There was another brief applause. Jer-Al made no signals, just stood there as the hologram changed to one of him, standing in the back.

"As we enter the greater Galaxy, it becomes imperative that we remember who we are. Above all, we are Sith. But we are greater than the Sith of the past. We are not bound to each other by alliance alone. It is not a matter of what we can gain by being part of this. We have formed a stronger bond because we do not rely on previous knowledge of the Force as the Sith of the past, who were simply corrupted Jedi, clouded by standards set before them previously. We are pure, unhindered Sith!"

There was another roar of applause, and Orexsus bade them to silence.

"We will not follow the steps of our predecessors, strait into failure. Though we are strong alone, we can stand alone; we have something that they didn't. We have a common purpose, leaders like no others, and bonds among us that keep us together. We are greater than a pair of Sith promising Sith Knights unmatched power. Through each other, we have power. Not in numbers, but through brotherhood. Any of you could be Sith Lords, but we all set aside such prospects to work as one. And that is what we are. We are the Brotherhood of Sith, something to celebrate."

Orexsus allowed the Sith Knights to cheer a little longer this time. Orexsus retained a smile, which disappeared as the cheers quieted. He finally raised his hand again.

"There is something that we must beware, though. It has come to my attention that we are not the only group of our kind in the galaxy. There are other Sith. Darth Krayt's New Sith Order rules the galaxy. This brings up questions. Should we join them? Should they join us? With their help, we could take over the galaxy in months, not years. The New Sith Order lacks something that we have, though, something that they would destroy if we merged without making them realize it first. And that is our camaraderie. Until they realize it, they will fail just as all other Sith have. They have proven themselves to be powerful and efficient, but they are not without resistance. They probably have things to teach us, but they are not our betters, for we have much more to teach them. We are, and always will be, the Sith Brotherhood."

Orexsus left it at that, with the Sith Knights and the officers cheering and applauding. Orexsus walked away and the hologram and screen went blank. Jer-Al crossed his arms, thinking about the speech. They were definitely impassioned about their organization. They meddled in the Dark Side and certainly acted like it. They seemed more like a cult than classical Sith, which meant that perhaps Orexsus was right-They were a Brotherhood of some sort. But it didn't meant that they weren't just as dangerous as any other Sith Order.

"Do you see a little more now, Jedi?" Tessul asked. Jer-Al looked to the front of the auditorium for a moment before nodding.

"I suppose. I would like to retire now and meditate."

"Of course."

A droid arrived within moments to lead him back to his room, thinking about what he had seen. They were so powerful, so consumed in the Dark Side, but they were not bound by greed, as Darth Orexsus had said. They were a threat to the Galaxy, which he was sure of. But perhaps not as much as Darth Krayt. They had the military, the numbers, the power-They could contend with the Krayt Sith Empire, and they hadn't acted violently to him. Perhaps there was part of the Light Side in them. He could not be sure. All he was sure of was that he had to escape, find Cade Skywalker, and find this darker power within the Sith Brotherhood. When Jer-Al arrived at his room, he began to plan his escape.