Note: I am changing the name of Valkorian's Infinite Empire to Eternal Empire to avoid confusion between the Rataka's Infinite Empire and Valkorian's Infinite Empire. In actuality I had messed up and named Valkorian's non-sith part the Infinite when they actually are called Eternal Empire in lore. My mistake. In lore Valkorian's Empire was actually called Eternal Empire. Which means I now have to confuse Eternal Empire with Eternal Hand, which are not the same thing. I did not do that on purpose when I made Eternal Hand, but is a massive freaking confusing coincidence that is thratening to make this very confusing for me! Gah!


Episode 2 Part 3 - Racing to the End


(Make sure to read 'Note:' section for changes to the story going into effect.)

While Mandalore was in charge of the entire operation, the fleet had grown to such a height that there needed to be an entire cabinet of Generals under him. This is by no means an abnormal practice, it is something done in every war for there to be a chain of command. However what marked this operation as abnormal was the sheer number of generals, high admirals, and ship captains. Mandalore had led meetings with a few generals or fleet admirals before, but this time there were so many of them that the nature of the meeting, and future meetings, would have to be adapted. As such, Mandalore stood in the center of a ring of holographic faces similarly to a holographic version of the Republic Senate. All were silent, listening to the recorded information provided by Darth Nihilus.

The recording had already passed information on Emperor Valkorian, the Sith Empire, the Eternal Empire, and now was continueing with information on further problems they would find themselves facing.

"The assets in which Valkorian employs, is not only sentient, but religious, experimental, and animalistic." Nihilus said via recording. "In my short time under him, I was introduced to the faction you have come to know as the 'Eternal Hand'. Originally it was a religion centered around him and his desire for immortality, but it has evolved in many ways. It acts as a higher tier within all that Valkorian holds in his grasp, as both the Eternal Empire and Sith are subservient to the Eternal Hand. What you have met is but a small part of the Eternal Hand since it, in its most simplest form, acts as Valkorian's personal hand. They are his priests, his assassins, his servants, his most loyal soldiers, his lovers should he ever lower himself to such a base emotion, and his messengers. On the surface, the promise of the Eternal Hand to their zealots is power, wealth, honor, prestige, glory, and most of all immortality. What makes this promise so powerful, beyond promising what all mortals crave, is that it is very real on the surface. When one joins the Eternal Hand and is blessed by the Eternal himself, then he does gain power he does gain wealth. He does gain prestige, honor, and glory when his name is declared across the empires. He does gain immortality. To make this worse for you, Valkorian with his power, immortality, and ability to bless others with the same gifts so easily, his claim of being a mortal god is hard to dispute especially when you take into account how there is no other religion to counter his claim. He times his appearance to lesser races perfectly to maximize the awe of his glory, and he feeds the desperation of the Sith to supporting him and seeing him as a true champion of the old golden age of the Sith. And this would not be a lie either, because that is what he is.

"On the surface, the Eternal Hand is righteous, holy, bright and the imagery where the Eternal Hand prize white clothing helps with making them so but when I looked deeper I found that the promises are fulfilled, but at a heavy cost. It is as Skywalker believes: The zealots, priors, and warriors of the Eternal Hand have their Force essence ripped away and replaced with a speck of his own. This exchange gives Valkorian youth to his already immortal self, and in turn gives him a n empty puppet. Now I don't know how much will the 'recruit' retains after the transformation, but I do know it is very little if any. This applies to the Eternal Hand priests and soldiers, though. The normal every day servants don't have their souls ripped out and replaced. Its simply unnecessary and while the promise of immortality and power is appealing, the Eternal Hand also has a fairly large rank of people who choose to throw themselves at the feet of their pagan god without asking for anything. Nothing more than to be accepted and pleasing to him. In addition there are a few warriors that, while granted power, still retain their will. These would be people that Valkorian believes he can have better use for with them retaining their own minds rather than just being host puppets for him to twist and use as an extension of himself. In the end I believe the deciding verdict for how much will he allows his new follower to retain is based on their loyalty. While all of the Eternal Hand have to be loyal, the ones he allows to stay themselves are fanatically so, to the extent that even if he were to butcher children in front of them they wouldn't bat an eyelash.

"In addition, there is a secondary caste within the Eternal Hand. While what I have described are soldiers and priests who have their souls ripped out and replaced with power to allow him to use, and he has an army of servants and custodians at his finger tips to meet his every need without regard for themselves, these are merely solutions to present problems he faces in his work. He also looks to the distant future. The secondary caste of the Eternal Hand is to allow yourself to be cloned a thousand times over, and for your clones to be placed in stasis until a need for them arrives. This is a caste meant for warriors, and is often granted as a reward to champions, tournament winners, and soldiers who perform remarkably well. Having yourself cloned is a sign of acknowledgement that Valkorian has a use for you, and this is seen a second way of well rather than reaching 'Heaven' but 'Valhalla', if I were to use your myths for an example. It is a form of 'Heaven' for warriors where they are told there is a war for Armageddon and they will play a role in it to protect their pagan god. It is also optional to have yourself placed in stasis alongside your clones, and there are many who go with that option unless they also have a use for him in the present or wish to work their way into the primary caste of the Eternal Hand. Most who are in the primary Eternal Hand caste are also in the secondary caste.

"What this means is that you will be facing a clone army that has been steadily growing in stasis for a thousand years, an army many times larger than your Voda clan. In addition to zealots far more fanatical than the average Sith or Eternal, and entire armies of Force users who had the Dark Side crammed down their throats and pumped up on the Force version of steroids. Armies that, in addition, have no conflicting thoughts but rather a unified hive mind directly under Valkorian himself to be used as puppets. They will not fear, they will not falter, and they will fight in extremely complex schemes without the need to communicate. The only limit to this is Valkorian himself, as being still a mortal god, he is no true god and so probably would have a difficult time using thousands of warriors with his mind alone, depending on how much will he allows them to retain in themselves. Some, like the Dread Lords, have all of their will intact as they are fanatically loyal and are far more useful because of the strength of their will to begin with. There is also Darth Sion, Darth Scourge, and others you wouldn't know of."

The recording ended.

"So not only do we have to deal with the Sith Empire, and the Eternal Empire, but also the Eternal Hand?" Someone said. "As if one nation wasn't troublesome enough!"

"We are already at war with the Hand. This doesn't change anything."

"What it changes is shows how much larger the organization is!"

The general consensus was grim, until another spoke up and said, "Don't exaggerate the situation. This isn't a third independent faction, with its own production and numbers, but is a caste whose members come from the Sith and from the Eternal Empire. For every member of the Hand, that is one less Imperial faction we have to face. The only issue is that the member of the Imperial taken to this new faction has a boost in power and is cloned for future use. At least from what information there is provided. Would Nihilus know if the Hand allows their members to engage in sexual reproduction? Or is their increase in member base solely dependent on cloning and admission of membership?"

Mandalore looked to this last speaker, a man he knew to be highly logical and rational. Grand Admiral Tarken. The man worked for the Old Republic against the New Republic, but was respected enough to be accepted into the new regime smoothly. From what Mandalore recalled being told, the man was the perfect professional. He was similar to a mercenary in that he didn't care who his employer was, but he also refused to change sides. When the Republic splintered, he stayed. With the Republic was remade, he stayed. In whatever form the Republic took, he stayed.

Mandalore didn't like him. There was too much blind loyalty in that for his liking. All the same, Mandalore could appreciate how he was a prodigy of warfare, a practical and hard worker, and refused to fall into the mentality high officers often had of taking their position for granted.

"I do not know." Mandalore answered. "I will pose the question. But from what is described, I do not believe so. It would take away from elitism of the Hand to allow membership to be given on birth."

"The babies could be held to the high standards of his elitism, or would be kept as servants if they failed." Tarken offered. "Whichever it is, we should know. This could help determine their numbers, whether it be by natural means or unnatural or both."

Mandalore allowed the subject to continue on for a short time before moving on.

"It is good for us to go into this knowing what we face, but let us settle this subject for the day. Whatever questions you have for Nihilus, will be passed on to him and answered. Let us move on to the next subject. I believe there is one final assett Valkorian possesses, one Nihilus has not spoken of."

"Is he withholding information?"

"Hard to say, as this one is nothing more than a theory." Mandalore answered. "I will include the theory among the questions posed to him, but first I want to warn you all of it."

Tarken scoffed, "We are better working with facts, not theories."

"After you hear what I have to say, you might find it necessary to prepare for the worst." Mandalore returned. Tarken conceded to his point.

"As you all know, I once worked with Revan against Malak, and soon after worked with Revan in reclaiming the helm of Mandalore before he disappeared to look for the True Sith Empire. During my time with him, I came to learn that in his return as a Sith he had been mentally enslaved temporarily and given the Star Forge by Valkorian himself." This sent waves of astonishment and gasps among them. Valkorian had given Darth Revan the Star Forge he had originally used to nearly conquer a large portion of the Republic.

Mandalore continued, "From discussing with Jedi Master Skywalker, and listening to Darth Nihilus, I do not believe Valkorian hands out power he cannot afford to lose. He is cautious by nature when it comes to the larger galaxy."

"What are you trying to say?" One of the men asked. Others visibly gulped in worry, perceiving a bit what Mandalore was trying to say.

Mandalore looked between them before saying, "I believe Valkorian gave Revan his Star Forge, because he already possessed several and still may."

This idea whether it be revelation or superstition, left the group speechless. A few tried to argue with such an idea, but even they spoke barely above a whisper as the atmosphere had darkened.

The first to recover fully was Admiral Tarken. He offered an idea. "This theory is provable. The ships manufactered by the Star Forge were different on an atomic level. While ships created with machine arms, forges of our technology, and use nails and screws to be held together; the ships created by the Star Forge were found to be almost grown. There is no nails and screws to hold plates together, they are fused together as well as flesh would be. The forging process of the Rakata is far more advanced than anything we have ever seen. All we have to do is find one Star Forged vessel among the enemy and we will know."

Tarkin looked to Mandalore, "And is the possibility of these Star Forges the reason for your war strategy? It is unheard of to gather everything in an attempt to end a war of this scale as quickly as you are attempting."

Mandalore nodded. "It is. If Valkorian truly has multiple Star Forges, or even just one, then a war of attrition would prove difficult. Especially as we do not have a Star Forge of our own. I had hoped to lease it from the Miraluka, but they've lost it and they've declin-"

"I think I can fix that little problem." A voice said from the back.

Mandalore waved his hand, sending the holographic faces to the side to see who spoke. In the back of the room was Jedi Master Skywalker and a soldier. Judging from the special face paint on the soldier's helmet, it was Nihilus. Nihilus had been given very distinguishing armor for them to recognize him. Skywalker looked bashful, not having expected his prisoner to have spoken, while Nihilus walked forward.

"How's that?" Mandalore asked. On the other side of the various screens around him, the generals and captains looked on curiously. They had been briefed that this man was an assett, though only the highest among them knew the true identity behind the mask. Mandalore hoped Nihilus would not say too much for those that were not in the loop.

Nihilus stood in front of him, amidst the array of screens, and said, "You asked how I escaped, and I would not tell you. Now I believe is the time."

"How does this fix the problem of our enemy having or not having a Star Forge?"

"Because I know where Revan's Star Forge is. It was the Star Forge that had freed me. A Star Forge now possessed by Revan's personal assassination droid." Nihilus answered with a hint of pride. He didn't have to use the Force to be powerful. Sometimes his resources and connections alone were all he needed to change things, to shake people, to turn an era to his advantage.


For all things for Cahjinawl to find upon opening the door bubbles was not among them.

The moment she opened the door, after having knocked repeatedly and not getting an answer, bubbles overflowed through the door over her. The bubbles were reaching up to the ceiling inside the room. She could only stand in shock and stare dumbly as bubbles swept over her and enveloped her up to her waist. "What the-"

"Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit!" Someone panicked inside and Cahj'Inawl heard someone moving suddenly.

Cahj squinted her eyes in concern and stepped in. What had caused this situation was beyond her, but clearly someone was there. The bubbles filled the cabin all the way up to the ceiling, but after she had opened the door, some of it had swept out into the hall revealing a cabin that was normally warm and welcoming. Right now it was just bewildering.

"Hello?" She greeted openly into the room.

"Wha- Squirt?" A head popped out of the white foam. Cahj could not recognize the person as her or she was covered in white puff. "Squirt!" The voice gave it away to be Varus. He was ecstatic to see her.

"Uncle " Cahj felt her eye twitch as she put the pieces together. Stuff like this happening was to be expected around him. She should have put the pieces together earlier. All the same, whether to sate her curiosity or perhaps she was just a mashochist, she had to ask, "What happened?"

He stepped through the white foam into the clearing near her and shook like a dog. She tried to shield herself from the soap bubbles, but it only resulted in the bubbles getting all over her arm. As if she wasn't covered enough to begin with. She barely had a moment to recover before she was in a bone-breaking hug. "Don't do that!" She yelled. "You're getting stuff all over me!"

Varus just laughed, refusing to release her just yet. "Sorry, Squirt." He finally relented and let her go. She gasped for breathe. He smiled guiltily and looked to the room. "Yeah kinda a mess now."

"No kidding How did you manage this?"

"To be honest, I don't know. The bubbles came out of the dish washer. But that makes no sense. I scrubbed the dishes in water, then put them into the racks, poured in dish washing soap, and turned it on maximum "

"Idiot." She muttered. "Dish washing soap doesn't go in the dish washer! There is special stuff for that!"

"What?" Varus raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "But it's called dish washing soap! What kind of dish washing soap doesn t go in the dish washer!"

"I don't know!"

"I don't know either it s a stupid name then!"

"You re a grown adult! You should know this bullshit!"

"..." Varus stared at her a moment before yelling, "When have I EVER struck you that way?! You know me better than that!"

"Then you should also know not to do stuff! Didn't you screw up the laundry last time too?! Or the plunging!?" Cahj argued. She felt her eyes twitch. He was exasperating. "Or how about when the pipes burst! Or I don't know the time you got us thrown out of the arcade! Or the waterpark! Or the beach! Or the sport center! Heck, you got us banned from a vacation planet!"

Varus sighed, turned away bashfully, and rubbed his hair. "In my own defense I was left unsupervised."

"Agh!" Cahj threw her hands up in the air as a sign of surrender to the Maker. Varus just chuckled. "Don't laugh!"

"Hey, come on." He continued chuckling. He entered the soapy abyss and disappeared. "You have to admit, it wasn't all on me that we got thrown off a planet. And if memory serves, you had a blast. Koj actually broke a smile. Granted it was a sinister smile while tying kids to a tree, but it was a smile."

Varus returned holding a bottle. "And from the looks of things I probably shouldn't have used half of it."

Cahj sighed and put her head in her hands. "I give up..."

"Admit it! You had fun."

"Yeah. I did." She did admit. "I like to have fun, but right now the sheer stupidity of this is amazing. If you are going to pull something like this, at least do it on purpose." Varus smirked widely. Cahj had a bad feeling about this.

Later Ahsoka stood in front of the ship hold staring icily down at two smiling and soap-covered prisoners. She spoke coldly and with no empathy whatsoever, "So far as I have been told we have a new fountain in the middle of the ship and an entire region of the ship covered in soap." She let her glare pass from one to another. "Care to explain?"

Varus laughed. Cahj smirked widely and said, "In my defense, I was left unsupervised."

Ahsoka pinched the bridge of her nose. "Varus, you are the adult. Is it really so hard to be the mature one?"

Varus and Cahj shared a glance. Both of them equally confused. Cahj yelled, "Mature one? Have you met this guy!?"

"Right, stupid question. Varus, what do you have to say to this?"

"In my defense-"

Ahsoka turned around and walked away. She informed the warden he would be babysitting two children this night. She wasn't buying their bail yet.

"Ashoka!" Varus screamed. He crawled to the edge of the cell and peered out as she walked out the door. "Don't leave me!... Shit."

"Meh, it was worth it."


It was night.

The halls of the palace echoed deeply as the Sith Lord stomped his way through. The halls were absent of light or life. The lights were off while the servants were in their quarters and as for guards There were none. It was something the Sith Lord scoffed at, yet was wary of. Only a fool would have his palace without a single guard and Valkorian was the furthest thing from a fool. Valkorian did not understimate his enemy. He did not trust blindly in his allies. Valkorian had no guards because well, such a contradiction spoke silent words to the Sith, giving a powerful impression of power even when his master was not present. He felt eyes on him with every step he took, though no one was there.

At last, the Sith Lord came to the room he desired. The room was closed by a large double-door, and before it was the sole guardian of this entire facility. The Eternal Hand Speaker, the personal mouth piece of Valkorian in his absence.

The Speaker was one of such vast loyalty that he would act as a living sacrifice. It was the destiny he was born towards, bred for, trained to become, and finally realized. It was a special honor akin to that of a demi-god, or harbinger of a god. The Speaker would throw away his name, his identity, and become one with Valkorian. Valkorian would bond with the man, or woman as the case may be, and allow his personal thoughts and feelings to be heard by the Speaker. In turn, Valkorian would never need to speak, and the Speaker can talk and translate the will of Valkorian in his absence.

This honor gives the Speaker just as much power and privilge in their religion as Valkorian, as every word the Speaker makes is law. Every word the Speaker makes is said only because Valkorian allows it. Were the Speaker to say a single word that contradicted Valkorian, then their master was well within his power, his authority, and means with which to kill the Speaker on the spot.

To the Eternal Empire, it was a living sacrifice, a matryr, an honor akin to being marrying their god.

To the Sith Lord, this one in particular, it looked like a cage.

Of course, he wasn't in any better of a situation himself. As he had his life Force bonded to Valkorian as punishment. The Sith Lord was immortal just as Valkorian now. Whether this was a mercy or damnation, the Sith Lord had learned his lesson.

The Speaker turned white eyes on him and recognized his presence. The Sith Lord threw back his dark hood and bowed in greeting. The Speaker merely nodded. Their presence in the hall was a contradiction since the Speaker wore white and gold, was bald, pale, and with white eyes. He had simple robes and no weapons, foregoing all protection even down to the shoes. His skin was perfect without a single sign of imperfection or wrinkle. The Sith Lord was bald as well, but had blood-red skin, wore clothes and heavy armor of the deepest black, had red eyes with yellow hints, and had numerous weapons hidden amidst his armor with only a lightsaber visibly shown. His skin was marred with scars and imperfections from battle and heavy use of the Dark Side in physically enchancing his body past its limits.

To the Sith's appreciation, there was no use of formality and pleasantry. "Lord Scourge " The Speaker whispered, though with the utter lack of sound it echoed loudly. "What is your purpose here?"

"I wish to speak with Valkorian." Scourge replied. "I was told he would be waking soon."

The Speaker nodded. "He will wake soon, however, I cannot allow you to speak with him until he is ready."

Scourge frowned, "Naturally How long will that be?"

"When he is ready."

"Being?" Scourge pressed.

"When he is ready. Not before, not after."

Scourge grit his teeth angrily and glared down at the man. The Speaker showed no sign of fear. Scourge's specialization was in sensing fear and using it, and yet he felt none in the man. Scourge could probably gut him and he wouldn't bat an eyelash.

The Speaker felt no fear, but that didn't mean he wasn't rational. The white-eyed man raised a hair-less eyebrow, and sighed gently. "Is this a pressing matter?"

"It is imperative to the security of the joint Empires that I bring this matter to his attention."

The Speaker chewed this thought, balancing the value of this statement before resigning himself. "Very well. I will allow you entry. I will begin the process of his waking early so he may hear you and the day may begin for the joint Empires. The condition is only that you do not speak. Do not say a word. Do not make a sound. Do not move. You must be invisible the entire time until he gives you his attention. Do you hear me?"

Scourge scoffed. It would be the best he would most likely get. "I hear you. This isn't the first time I have been in his room while he wakes. I know what he expects."

The Speaker eyed him warily a moment, before turning to the door. Slowly, methodically, he opened the door and entered in. He ushered Scourge in with his hand, and Scourge tip-toed his way in, being careful to not make a sound even with his boots. He was unsuccessful, but it wasn't too loud he hoped. The Speaker flinched with every sound he made as he walked in and stood to the side, but seeing as how the sleeping form on the bed had not moved, he sighed in relief. He briefly glared at the Sith Lord before closing the door.

The instant the door closed all sound ceased. Valkorian couldn't hear his own breathing. His heartbeat pulsed in his ear, but he could not hear it. Whereas before he could hear the wind through the halls, no more. Wheras before he could hear the crackling of torches, no more. Valkorian felt as though his head had been dunked under water, yet unlike water that made sound echo and deeper this was an utter lack of all sound. The floor didn't crackle as he shifted his stance, his armor didn't click nothing.

The room they entered had a number of couches and chairs surrounding an initial table. On the other side had a large bed on a raised floor with stairs descending from it in a circle. Around the platform was four young woman, virgins all. They slept on the floor at their position, keeping a distance from the bed and spread around the room. They wore white robes, just as the Speaker did. To the side of the room was the doorway to another series of rooms. One was a room with tables for games, eating, or study. Another room had a deep bath.

The Speaker strode across the room, and gently nudged the four servant girls into full awakeness. They yawned in complete silence, smiled in greeting to him and each other, and after taking a minute to stretch and finish waking for the door, they set to work. The servants climbed to the top of the stairs atop the bed, and gently touched Valkorian at his shoulders and feet.

The Eternal's eyes opened, and the atmosphere changed. The air felt hot, stifling, stale but it wasn't stale. It was that Valkorian's power alone changed how the air moved. It was written that with every birth he could will a hurricane. With every step, an earthquake. The sun rose with him and descended alongside him. From his hand extended darkness and death, light and life. The coldness of the void or the heart of a burning sun rested in his palm. It was written that Valkorian was a god, though rebels claimed he was but a man with great power.

If only it was a lie.

Scourge knew... he knew the terrible power Valkorian held. Valkorian was by no means a god, but nor could he be described as a man. He was something else entirely. It was true he could will a hurricane or earthquake, but it wasn't done so with will. It was done with a lack of restraint. Valkorian was a being that had to restrain his every step or every breathe lest a colemanite occur. He radiated power to such a degree that it was by lessening his restraint, lowering his barriers, that would cause it. It was as though his power alone was a living thing that he had to keep in a cage. In fact there was only one time Scourge had ever known Valkorian to lessen the cage containing his power all the way. It was but for a moment, but the shockwave disintegrated the ambushing rebels to ash and left a crater. Scourge truly feared what would happen if Valkorian were to ever fight to the full extent of his power, rather than holding himself back at every moment to keep from squashing them puny mortals.

Scourge felt he had to force himself to breathe in 'his' presence.

Valkorian's gaze fell on his servants. After a moment it took to properly transition from the sleeping world to the waking one, he closed his eyes and raised himself up. His servants put their hands on his back to assist him in rising if needed despite his strong back. The sheets fell from his bare chest to the bed, and the servants at his feet pulled them away. Scourge half expected him to sleep in the nude, but no. He wore simple white night clothes. His hair was a whitish gold, straight, and fell to his waist as he rose from the bed perfectly. Scourge wondered if the man was even capable of a bedhead. Without a word or gesture he descended the stairs, and entered the bathing room without so much as a glance towards his guests. The door shut.

It was not long before Valkorian returned adorned in white robes under white ceremonial armor. His long hair was cut to be an inch long from his scalp. On his hip was a cermonial double-edged sword in its hilt. The Emperor glided by them, once more not so much as giving Scourge or The Speaker a glance out of the corner of his eyes, and placed his hands on the double door.

Scourge felt he could breathe again. The sounds of wind returned. What was an empty, haunted palace, was now a bustling one with enigmatic nobles, laughing heroes and champions, well cared for servants, joyful priests, zealots, and focused acolytes filling its halls and chambers. The atmosphere outside the windows gave birdsong, rustling trees, and chatter of the distant marketplace. The sun had risen alongside the Eternal Emperor.

It was day.

Valkorian turned an appraising eye on Scourge, and Scourge had to fight his bodies immediate reaction to flee. He was a warrior, a proud, strong Lord of the Sith. He had great power among his peers. But one of the skills that came with it was the ability to measure the strength of others around him and the power and threat of Valkorian was so large it was blinding. Understanding the depth of it was no help in giving him courage. It only deepened the terror and horror of what this 'man' was.

The Emperor said, "Speak."