Tales of Darth Skuldren
Chapter 3:

"Taking an Apprentice"

Once I tried to remedy my solitude by kidnapping Jedi. Now I have an audience of Sith pupils. Darth Skuldren commenting on his Sith Academy on Kajji XII.

This Darth Skuldren must be stopped. A Sith Lord who kidnaps Jedi is bad enough, but now he has killed two Jedi Masters and a Jedi Knight. We must find him and quickly. Jedi Master Sederis urging action on the behalf of his slain friend, Jedi Master Yasmein Wasseur, to the Jedi Council.

On a remote planet in Wild Space lies a towering network of fortresses. From the high walls a visitor can see across miles of open rolling planes. A great river rushes through the green expanses to the Southwest. Yet some thousands of years ago there were battles fought and wars ended at this very spot. All that remains is a hollowed maze of a fortified city. But that will not last long. For nearly two years Sith apprentices have been showing up at this isolated retreat. All of them searching for a fabled Sith Master who knew long forgotten secrets about the force. Most of them were met by a feeble old man who told them bizarre tales of how he had slain mythical creatures. They ignored his ramblings and left irritated beyond measure. A chosen few were revealed the truth. The master they were searching for stood before them. If they wished, they could stay and learn. Beneath the ruins was a reconstructed library filled with priceless works on the force. Several barracks were set up for lightsaber training and combat drills. What seemed to be a mass of rubble was really a fledgling Sith Academy. Its ranks were open only to candidates who fulfilled the necessary requirements.

"And what requirements might those be?" they would ask.

"To be a student of the force and a leader of yourself. Those who seek to be a master over the force will find themselves a servant. Those who seek to be leaders over everyone will be overthrown into the grave. Walk the right path and you will go far," replied Darth Skuldren.

"When can I begin?"

"You already have." And with that he would show them the inner workings of his home.

Times were well for Darth Skuldren, but just over two years ago he almost met his maker…

The Jedi Council was swayed to take action against a rogue Sith Lord who managed to kill three Jedi, including two masters. A Jedi taskforce was formed and led by Jedi Master Jhung Sederis. Time was of the essence. The Jedi had to act quickly while they knew where the base of the Sith Lord was. If they could get there before he relocated his archives they could take him. Of course this was assuming that 

there was something still of worth on Ocaron for the Sith to return. It was a gamble Sederis was willing to take. Besides, it was the best bet he had.

Unlike the other Jedi on the taskforce, this was personal to Sederis. Sure they all felt a loss for their fallen comrades, but during these dark times Jedi where dying everyday. Sederis could not keep himself from forming a bound with Jedi Master Wasseur, even though attachment was forbidden to the Jedi. She was a fluid motion of the force and a wind that would not be still. At least, that is how he envisioned her. Secretly he loved her, yet he would not allow himself to act on it. There was no denying that she felt it too, nevertheless, they agreed to remain in the order and to remain friends. Now that she was dead, his passion for her was inflamed. Emotions swirled inside of him. One thing was for certain, if he was going to take down this Sith Lord, he would need his emotions under control. Supreme control.

Unfortunately for Darth Skuldren matters had become complicated. Priding himself as a master planner he had given thoughts to emergency evacuation plans. The library on Ocaron was too valuable to discard, so he had transferred everything to data cards as a precaution. Now there was no denying the even the slothful Jedi would take action against the deaths of their order. Thus he packed his belongings with the assistance of several servant droids and made haste to leave the planet. That was when he remembered the Jedi he took hostage. When the Jedi captured Skuldren he had simply severed them from the force. He had to kill the two pilots and what a shame. The female showed remarkable strength and character, surely she was a master. Yet the other two Jedi he rendered unconscious, leaving one of them to meet his fate as the ship crashed into a nearby sun. The other was still in the cargo hauler he stole off of Nexus Minor. Should he take the Jedi with him as a bargaining chip? Perhaps he could leave him here and try to sooth things out with the order. No, that wouldn't work. Killing an unarmed Jedi would be meaningless. Best to just leave him on Ocaron. His friends would find him soon enough. Skuldren had more important things to attend to. First he needed to relocate, he also wanted to grab a few old texts out of the library before he left. The loading droids might miss them.

Just as Skuldren disappeared into his library the Jedi arrived. There were eight this time: four masters and four Jedi Knights. In the lead was Master Sederis, his green and gold cloak flowing as he charged. Following behind him was a vibrant palisade of energy blades waiting for action. Darth Skuldren could not detect the presence of the Jedi in the force; his powers were too weak. Caught completely by surprise the Dark Lord was momentarily stunned. Somersaulting through the air Sederis plunged down in a twirling spin attack used in Trispzest, an aerial lightsaber form. Completing the attack, two more Jedi circled around to his left and right. Skuldren was surrounded from all angles. His only reaction was to bow his head in concentration. A red lightsaber ignited just in time to parry Sederis' flying attack. Yet, not only did his attack miss, but it continued a moment too long in the wrong direction. The Jedi Master's blade plunged into the shoulder of one of the Jedi Knights. Meanwhile Skuldren unleashed a wild flourish on the other Jedi. Overwhelmed by the Sith's speed and strength one of the Jedi miss stepped and was split from lower left thigh to upper right shoulder. The odds were changing.

Two Jedi had swept wide paths around the fight in order to cut off any escape, while two more headed straight in. One Jedi Master stood back in reserve. The wounded Jedi managed to get to his feet and pull back out of the fight. Sederis just stood and fumed at the Sith Lord.

"Sederis, come to your senses. Do not let him provoke you. We must stand back and fight as one." Called Jedi Master Rolande as he waited in check.

Coming to his senses, Sederis began giving orders, "Ven, Cal, close in on the right and left, but stay at arms length." "Hagan and Galler, stay back and wait for opportunities. Let me try to press the Sith into a mistake."

Now the Jedi fought with a purpose. Their emotions were controlled and they acted in concert. As one dealt with the blows from the Dark Lord's offensive, another would press the attack from a different direction. Skuldren would have to divide his attention between defense and offense simultaneously. It would not take long for him to become vulnerable.

In a blistering storm of lightsaber blows the combatants swayed and swung. Overhead chops were met with skillful deflections. Each time the Jedi struck, Skuldren's blade was there to block it. Orchestrating their blows Sederis would swing high, while another stabbed low. Yet the Sith would contort his body to evade both attacks. Master Rolande held back in awe. This Sith had mastered the defense of Soresu and somehow combined it with offense of Juyo and Ataru. He was a blur in battle and the Jedi could not keep up with him. How could a Sith attain such speed? Was the darkside truly superior to the light? And then the absurdity of that thought brought him understanding. They were all losing their connection to the force. The Jedi were fighting without enhanced speed, aided maneuverability, or guidance from the force.

Master Rolande shouted from the top of his lungs, "He's using his force powers to sever us from the force! Quickly, we must all attack as one to break his focus!"

With that six Jedi closed in on Darth Skuldren. This would be his end. A glorious battle to the death against a squad of trained Jedi warriors. You couldn't ask for a better death. But what the Jedi didn't realize was that Skuldren didn't need to concentrate in order to sever them from the force. His concentration was merely to maintain his own meager prowess within the force. Of all the hunts he had enjoyed, this was the best. Not even the monstrous heldog could compete with six Jedi warriors. In his head he began a composition, like he always did. He looked out into the battle and scripted every action and reaction. It was a beautiful ensemble, a work of art, and within that second of fore though he initiated his dance of death.

The first to fall was a middle aged Jedi, perhaps a Master. His silver glowing robes were cut in half, from side to side, by a sizzling red wand of destruction. By following through in a half spin he caught a strong blow from Sederis. With some effort Skuldren locked blades and sent Sederis reeling backwards. Swiftly Skuldren pulled around in time to parry a Jedi's stab. The green lightsaber was rolled to the side and dropped to the ground. Its master was run clean through the throat. Two more Jedi squeezed in for an opening, a dark blue Lepi and a Vodran. Pairs, always in pairs, he thought. As a pair he dropped them to 

the floor. First he feinted high and swept low with a dual cho mok, cutting off both legs. Then took the other one down by casting their blade aside in a wide arc. He followed with a reversal toward their head, severing it cleanly.

Again Sederis came back more energized and determined than before. Swinging with utter control Sederis managed to keep up with the Sith Lord's lighting fast attacks. Then an opening presented itself by parrying a sequence of feints. Master Sederis began an exaggerated swing and abruptly stabbed through the Sith's defenses. Skuldren rolled with the stab, enduring a grazing cut to his left forearm. Master Rolande and the wounded Jedi Knight closed in for the kill. They were shocked to see Sederis fall to the ground from a blow with his own lightsaber. The Sith Lord had managed to pull his opponents blade in a dangerous twist that left Sederis' twitching body on the ground. In their moment of shock, Skuldren struck out at Rolande. He was fresh still and had plenty of fight left in him. To take him out, the Dark Lord leapt to the side, rolled in an arc, and came out behind the Jedi Master. So swift was the attack, that Rolande never had the chance to even turn his head.

All that was left was a crippled Jedi Master and a crippled Jedi Knight. Amidst the fight Skuldren's focus began to waver. He was concentrating too much on anticipating his opponent's moves and increasing his speed. Somewhere along the line the Jedi Knight had been building up a massive amount of anger. As each Jedi fell, the anger multiplied. The Jedi Knight did not want to see his masters fall, so to protect them he would unleash the unfathomable powers of the darkside to bring down this abomination. Crackling flares of electricity flowed out of his hands and into the Sith Lord. Though he was able to catch some of it, small tendrils still managed to wrack Skuldren's body.

"STOP! Don't do it. Don't give in to the darkside. It's not worth it!" Cried Sederis.

"He has to be stopped! It's the only way." Replied the Jedi Knight. His face was illuminated by the bright currents of force lighting. "Don't you see! The only way to stop these minions of the darkside is to use their own power against them. The lightside of the force is too weak to deal with them."

Skuldren sat there amongst their debate. They didn't notice that he was using his power to dampen the attack to nothing more than a light show. He put on a good act to amuse them. Curiosity begged him to see this argument to the end. Would the Jedi give in to the darkside or heed his comrade's pleas?

"Now I'll show you what a Jedi using the force can do," he screamed in a youthful arrogant voice.

Lightning continued to pour out in increasing mass, but the show was over. Skuldren had enough. He pinched the Jedi's neck bones, picturing the spine as it stretched up into the skull. Using a firm grip with the force he gave a violent twist. Sederis was shocked to see the man's head spin all the way around. A loud thump echoed in the stillness.

"Now there is only one, a presume you are a Jedi Master?" called forth the calm voice of the Dark Lord.

"You have killed them all. You even killed the one I loved on that starship you broke out of. But I will not loose my control. Even without the force I can defeat you." His voice was as smooth as the Sith's. This was a being of supreme focus.

"I would let you leave. You are a worthy opponent. I once heard there is no honor for the dead," spoke Darth Skuldren. "I don't doubt your skill or determination, it is equal to that of your love. What was her name?"

"Yasmein."

"She was both beautiful and honorable. She died valiantly for a lost cause. Do not make the same mistake." Skuldren backed away a step, shutting down his lightsaber.

There was no reply. Instead Sederis walked forward, both hands holding his saber in a low stance, but with the point held directly at its opponent. It was a rare variation of Makashi. Where Form II was elegant and aggressive, this form, known as Far'totten, was extremely aggressive and swift. It sacrificed defense for offense and put all balance forward in a pressing attack. His strokes were elusive and constant. Skuldren was put off guard. He was slowly loosing his footing. He was on the defensive. Harder and harder Sederis pressed the attack relentlessly. Each dogged attack was followed by three more. One blow slipped past Skuldren's defenses and nicked his face. Then another grazed his injured forearm. Suddenly the blue blade was jutting for Skuldren's face, the Sith Lord went to block and the blue blade dropped. With a sharp crack the blade cut Skuldren's lightsaber into pieces. The blue blade was coming sharply at his throat when it stopped.

"I cannot kill an unarmed opponent, I give you one last chance. You captured Jedi and let them go. That shows that you have some shred of compassion. Surrender. Lay your fate before the Jedi Council. I will defend your case. You would be imprisoned, but you would be alive." With true heart and compassion Sederis, again in touch with the force, sent feelings of kindness and warmth. Skuldren may be a monster, but it was only a shell. Beneath was a human.

"You should not have stopped," was the sharp, criticizing retort.

Out of nowhere emitted a short red beam. In slow motion Sederis reactivated his lightsaber and swung to intercept the crimson blade. The blades made contact, crashing in a burst of static charges. They danced around each other, meeting and parting in a series of circles and swings. The Dark Lord fought close and fiercely. He was fighting on a level beyond what he was capable of. He had reached new heights in order to defeat his opponent. Something struck Sederis as odd. His connection to the force was strong and undiminished. What kind of Sith would fight at the end of his very last thread of hope on an equal footing? All his talking of honor was not just a concept, but a belief. Of all the galaxies, an honorable Sith. It would be the doom of the Jedi Order. BAM! A split second of divided focus erupted into a searing blast of pain and heat. A blue blade still glowed in front of him. The red blade was no more. Standing over his defeated opponent, he said his good byes and left Ocaron behind.

…that was two years ago. Now he had a fledgling Sith Empire hidden amongst the stars. This area of Wild Space was seldom traveled. Sith were quietly leaving Kaan's Brotherhood of Darkness to join a secret sect of philosopher Sith. Yet Kajji needed to remain secret and its members needed to refrain from bringing attention. Still, Skuldren could not shake that feeling he had on Ocaron. He felt confident that he could take on eight Jedi and win. Think of all that would have been wasted and thrown away if he died. A fool wanting one last worthy hunt. No more. Chances could not be taken. One against eight was close. Next time they would send twenty. It was time to take an apprentice.

Excerpt from the recordings of Jedi Holocron 1783-MZK of the Jedi Archives,
Personal Memoirs of Darth Skuldren
Personal Note: Master Fulumn's work was a success. This holocron contains the personal memoirs of the Sith Lord. It is only a matter of time before we uncover the Krudeshi rituals. On a side note, this Sith Lord presents a rather intriguing personality. It is no wonder that Master Rayne wanted the holocrons explored.