Nar Shadaa to Averos seemed like a far shadier version of Coruscant. The difference in this case, is that while Coruscant was run by the Galactic Senate, Nar Shadaa was all Hutt territory. Averos had a nasty feeling about this place, made even worse by his current mission. A republic secret project that disgusted General Var Suthra, code named Power Guard. The Power Guard project was designed to create super human soldiers, with enough physical prowess to combat a Sith. The General explained to Averos that the project was put into place after the Sith sact the Jedi Temple, yet the Power Guard project took people off the streets and implanted them with heavy and extensive cybernetics. Something which disgusted the General, who pleaded with the young Jedi to let the project die, and destroy all the data on it once his mission and recovery of SIS agent Galen.
What scared the Jedi though, was that when he entered the Republic's black site on Nar Shadaa, was the report by the head of the Power Guard project. A Sith had attacked the building sight for the Power Guards, taken all the research data, and even worse Lieutenant Galen himself.
"We can't just sit around here!" Kira growled as she gripped her lightsaber. "We have to go find him!"
"I agree Kira, but try to keep calm." Averos replied, though he wasn't following his own advice. He was gripping his lightsaber so tightly, he was worried it would shatter. Combined with the fact that he was seeing through his brothers eyes at this very moment.
Araxsis had been forced to one knee, and was in a type of pain that was far too intense to describe. Anger surged through the Sith as he looked up into the smug face of an elder Sith, who had unmistakably let himself go.
"Can you feel that?" The Sith said triumphantly. "That is your link to the Force being severed at this very moment. Soon you'll be dead, and the cult will be under my fatherly leadership once again."
Averos snapped out of his brother's mind, with a slight gasp. Which drew the attention of Kira. "Hey are you alright? What happened Just now?"
"My brother is here." Averos said, as he shook his head trying to process what he had just seen.
"And how do you know that?" Kira asked frowning slightly. She had the feeling that he wasn't telling her everything about his brother.
"My brother and I share a Force Bond, yet he's not a Jedi."
"Wait, are you saying he's a Sith?" Kira asked slightly wide-eyed.
"Yes." Averos replied, as he was flashing between his sight, and his brother's.
"Does Master Orgus know about this? Does the council? I mean for all we know, he could be working alongside Darth Angral!"
"Calm down Kira." Averos said, shaking his head once again. "Araxsis was the one who lead us to Tarnis on Coruscant. He also warned me about Angral's assassin on Ord Mantell. And yes both Master Orgus and the Jedi Council know about this Force Bond."
"So what's happening right now? What's going on on his end?"
"Another Sith is attempting to sever Araxsis' link to the Force." Averos replied, taking a deep breath to steady himself.
"That's bad news." Kira said. "If his link to the Force goes, yours could go too."
"We can't really worry about this right now. Lieutenant Galen and Angral's agent take priority." Averos replied.
…
The young Jedi felt his fury boil over. The Sith working for Angral named Darth Sadic had not only taken people of Nar Shadaa off the streets, and turned them into Power Guard soldiers, he had also turned Lieutenant Galen into one of the Cybernetic abominations. It had been one of the most difficult battles of Averos' life, as Lieutenant Galen was incredibly strong due to his intensive albeit invasive cybernetics.
Now the Lieutenant was kneeling at the young Jedi's feet, suffering from horrendous wounds. Wounds that Averos had not inflicted upon him. Galen had resisted heavily against the cybernetic implant that put him under Sadic's control, but in the end was forced to do battle with Averos only to be defeated by the younger man. Though Galen had begged for Averos to kill him, the Jedi had refused to kill an unarmed man. Galen had therefore decided to fight his way through Sadic's base of heavily armored Power Guards, seeking a soldier's death. Which is where Averos had found the dying man.
"Galen, these wounds are extensive…" Kira breathed, horrified at what had happened to the Lieutenant.
"You two wouldn't give me the death I wanted…" Galen groaned, his voice marred by his new cybernetics. "I had to do what you refused me."
"I'm sorry Lieutenant." Averos said. "But you're not going to die today. I informed General Var Suthra, and he's sent an extensive medical squad to our location. They'll be able to remove your cybernetics, and you'll be back in Republic SIS before you know it."
"Why…?" Galen gasped. "Why not let me die…?"
"It's not the Jedi way to let something like this happen." Kira said, helping the wounded man to his feet, as the Republic medics arrived.
"Thank you… But be careful…" Galen wheezed. "Sadic… He's augmented himself… Turned himself into a Power Guard soldier."
"So the monster maker becomes a monster himself." Averos said gripping his lightsaber. "Rather ironic."
"Let's just end this guy." Kira growled.
"Agreed." Averos replied. "Let's end him."
Lieutenant Galen was not exaggerating. Darth Sadic had given himself incredibly extensive Power Guard augmentations. He now towered over the two young Jedi. And though his face was concealed by a mask, Averos just knew that the Sith was smirking. Nobody had time to activate their lightsabers, as all three felt an enormous surge in the Force moments before the door that Averos and Kira had just come through, was blasted apart. A large shape flew past the two young Jedi, hitting Sadic square in the chest, and sending him flying backwards into the opposite wall. Though whatever had hit Sadic, landed in a crumpled heap at Averos' feet. When Averos got a good look at what it was, his stomach jolted in surprise. It was the same overweight Sith that had attempted to sever Araxsis' link to the Force.
"None of you touch him." Araxsis snarled, as he stalked towards the overweight Sith, his blue bladed lightsaber humming menacingly. Averos simply stood there in shock, as his twin raised his blade and cut down the Sith who had attempted to sever his connection with the Force.
"Araxsis…" Averos said in shock.
"Hello brother." The young Sith replied, with his challenging smirk as he brushed his long dark hair out of his eyes.
"This is your brother?" Kira asked, clearly surprised at the incredible similarities.
"Now you know where Averos gets his good looks." Araxsis replied, still wearing his signature smirk.
"Traitor!" A voice marred by cybernetics roared. Darth Sadic had gotten back to his feet, and was glaring daggers at Araxsis. "I know your master boy, and I shall inform her of your betrayal!"
"It's going to be rather difficult for you to speak with Zash, if you're dead." Araxsis replied, activating his lightsaber.
"You've committed crimes so horrendous, you're unworthy of being taken into custody and tried by the Senate. The only thing you deserve is death." Averos growled, activating his own lightsaber, at the same time Kira activated hers.
Darth Sadic was still more than a match for the two young Jedi and the young Sith newcomer. Araxsis attacked Sadic first. Though averos preferred to use Form IV as an attacking style, Araxsis preferred Form II. And for a man as young as he was, Araxsis was quite proficient in Makashi. The blue blade of Araxsis' lightsaber flourished, as it came into contact with Sadic's. However, Sadic was the more experienced combatant, and was augmented by the Power Guard cybernetics. Araxsis may have had the momentary advantage, but when Sadic came back swinging, it was all the young Sith could do to block the incoming strikes, and he was incredibly lucky that he backflipped out of the way of a strike intending to bisect him.
As Araxsis backed away, Averos stepped in readying himself in Form III's opening stance. The Jedi had more luck, blocking and parrying Sadic's incoming strikes, but he was losing ground fast, and he needed to get either Araxsis or Kira into this fight. As he blocked a rather powerful overhead strike, Averos lashed out with the Force. Sadic sailed across the room, landing on his back and sending up small sparks along the floor where his armour scraped across it.
"He's far too strong." Averos panted.
"We'd need somebody else as powerful as he is." Araxsis replied, as Kira began fighting Sadic. It seemed as though Kira had a preference for Form VII, which used the opponent's own anger against them. Kira was the first to have sent Sadic backpeddeling, as his own aggressive feelings were now being used against him.
"Or maybe not." Averos began, but ate his words, as Kira was sent across the room when Sadic planted his boot into her abdomen. "We need help."
"My Dashade is on his way, but there's no way he'd get here in time." Araxsis replied, gripping his lightsaber.
"Alright then. Together?"
Araxsis looked at his twin for a split second, and nodded once. "Together."
The brothers launched themselves at Sadic, in a combined attack of Forms II and IV. Averos flipped over Sadic's strikes while delivering his own, as Araxsis parried Sadic's blade in order to launch his own attacks. Blade's of red and blue hummed and hissed, as they whirled about. The brothers were so in sync, almost as if they had fought together countless times before. Yet it was still not enough to bring Sadic down. Sadic's own blade caught the red and blue ones, as both Averos and Araxsis came down with similar vertical strikes. Despite the man's extensive cybernetic enhancements, the Force was still incredibly strong with him, and the brothers were sent flying back through the air. Coming to a stop close to Kira.
Sadic launched himself into the air intending for a killing blow, but was thrown back when Averos reached out and retaliated for what had happened just moments ago, by blasting him back with the Force. At the same as Averos struck with his Force Push, lightning arced from Araxsis' fingers. Sadic landed in a heap, and was actively struggling to get back to his feet. Araxsis' Force Lightning had shorted out most of Sadic's cybernetics.
"Khem." Araxsis panted, as the young Sith's Dashade had finally caught up to his master. "Use it."
"Of course Master." The Dashade growled, and produced the same cybernetic disruptor they had used against Darth Scotia. Sadic seized up the moment Khem activated the disruptor. Leaving him at the mercy of his now four enemies.
"Now's your chance brother." Araxsis said, his lightsaber humming in his right hand. "End him while you have the chance."
"It might not be the Jedi way." Kira began. "But I agree with your brother. He's way too dangerous to be left alive."
"You're both right. Jedi way or not, he has to die." Averos brought his red blade up, and Sadic's head rolled across the floor, when Averos delivered the killing blow.
"So in the end, sheer dumb luck saves the day?" Kira asked, clutching her right side. Sadic's boot strike had undoubtedly cracked if not broken several of her ribs.
"In the end, a win is a win." Araxsis said still panting, as his blue blade retracted.
"Yet what were you doing here brother?" Averos asked, as he retrieved a data pad that had somehow not been destroyed in their battle from Sadic's corpse. The data pad had all the information on the Power Guard project, and after sending a copy to the Republic medics who evacuated Galen, with the demand they destroy it after removing the Lieutenants cybernetics, Averos deleted everything on the data pad.
"A mission for my Master Darth Zash." Araxsis began, as he had no qualms about sharing the details of his mission with his brother. "She sent me here to retrieve some sort of artifact from that fat waste of a Sith." He pointed to the overweight Sith, who Araxsis had mercilessly ended.
"And while fighting him, he attempted to sever your link to the Force." Averos supplied.
"How did you know that?" Araxsis asked, before his twin tapped his temple with his right index finger, to indicate their Force Bond. "Of course, how could I forget. But yes, I retrieved the artifact for whatever ritual my Master is planning."
"Whatever this ritual is your Master is planning on performing, I don't like the sound of it." Kira said, wincing as her breathing began to hurt. Her ribs were definately broken.
"I don't like the sound of this ritual either." Araxsis replied, as he turned to leave. "But I have very little to go on at the moment. I only hope that when I do find out what Zash is planning, it isn't too late."
"Be safe brother." Averos called after his twin.
Araxsis stopped at the now destroyed doorway, to look over his shoulder at his twin. "May the Force be with you."