Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars

Fate of the Force

The ship came to a stop at the bottom of a large slope that led up to the tall, imposing fortress, where Darth Andeddu had spent the last of his days. Luke didn't like this one bit. The dark side aura of the world, while not as potent as that of Korriban, was still incredibly powerful, and it was with a wary eye that he was looking towards Jacen cautiously. Something about this world just didn't feel right, and with everything that had happened in the other timeline, he wasn't going to take any chances. Placing one hand on his lightsaber, he headed towards the hatch, not noticing the annoyed, hurt look that his nephew sent him. Luke was slightly appeased by the fact that Lumiya wasn't coming with them. He didn't like the thought of her being on any Sith world, it just gave him a bad feeling, finding her in a dark side infused asteroid was bad enough. The idea of being in place on top of a dark side nexus, the thought gave him the creeps. Lumiya's warning was echoing in his head 'mind your emotions'. She, before he had shooed Alema towards the ramp, had warned him that his hidden and suppressed emotions could betray him. After sending her a disdainful glance he had went to join the others.

"Alright let's go. Come on Alema." He said, guiding the Dark Jedi down the ramp.

"I can walk myself Master." She said scathingly, making Mara smile in amusement as the mutilated Twi'lek lumbered down the ramp, leaving Luke a little taken aback. Beckoning to the others, they headed out of the ship, clustering together for warmth and protection to avoid the gusts of sheer wind that rocked the mesa.

"Be careful!" Han called as he closed the ramp behind them, leaving him with Lumiya and the droids while the three of them went about repairing the ship, and she did her meditation.

Within the ship, Lumiya, in deep meditation, stretched out with her feelings, and touched something she didn't expect. She smiled. Yes, this would be an interesting field trip.

The group advanced forward, Luke keeping an eye on the way ahead and on Jacen, while Mara watched Alema and kept a protective eye on Ben as they walked up the slope to the dark, jagged fortress that the Sith seemed to favour over the curves and gentle lines of the temples the Jedi inhabited.

"I can feel the dark side here. It's strong, but in some way, diluted." K'kruhk said, lighting his saber as they got to the door, a massive pure black edifice that looked incredibly heavy.

"Diluted how?" Leia asked, peering worriedly up at the darkness of the fortress' spires and sharing a worried look with Alema, who was looking at it with equal parts fear and awe.

"Difficult to say..."

Mara looked up at the fortress. She had a bad feeling about this, not that she would admit it, after all, any time someone did everything went south.

"Alright, let's get this damn door open, if only so we can get out of this wind. It's like Hoth all over again." Luke grumbled, and stretching out with the Force, he prised open the door enough for all of them to get inside.

The fortress itself was dark, and stale. Dust swirled around in clouds as they entered, but it was a relief to be in from the cool wind. Alema looked up at the battlements and cocked her head curiously as she watched the shadows play across the wall.

"There are others here..." she whispered to herself.

"What was that Alema?" Jaina asked in what she clearly hoped was a kind voice, and Alema turned to her disdainfully.

"None of your business. Remember, I'm only here to affect the Balance." She said proudly, and Jaina rolled her eyes, before the door suddenly slammed shut behind them, the clanging reverberating throughout the entire passage.

"You think that was meant to happen?" Jacen asked in a slightly higher voice than usual, having got a fright when the door had slammed and had lit his lightsaber in a panic, something that was giving Ben an annoyingly superior smirk on his face.

"Keeps out a draught I suppose." Mara reasoned, patting Jacen on the shoulder as she lit her own saber to give them a little bit more light.

"Dad..." Ben said softly, pointing to the floor.

Luke knelt to the ground to see what his son was pointing at, and frowned.

"Footprints. A set of big footprints." Leia elaborated as she looked at the evidence lying in the dust, then looked down the dark passageway, frowning slightly.

"They can't have been here for that long. A week in this place and no one would know anyone had been here, so it has to be less than that." Jaina reasoned.

"Yeah, but there aren't any tracks leading away from the centre of the fortress. So, what happened to him?" Jacen asked darkly, and then twirled as he thought he heard something.

"Boy you're jumpy." Ben said, looking up at his cousin worriedly, as Jacen scoured the rafters, noting that the high ceilings and the stone work could give any number of enemies any place to hide.

"Yeah...I don't know, I just have this horrid feeling that, we're being watched." He said, raising his saber a little higher so he could see a bit further but due to all the shadows, he couldn't see anything.

"Strange. I feel a familiar presence again..." K'kruhk stated, looking at the prints musingly, then beckoned them all forward.

"What happens if we find the dude who came here before us?" Ben asked quietly as they advanced down the dusty corridor.

"We hope he's in one piece." Jaina said bluntly, and then she came to a sudden stop, making Alema bump into her, and she narrowly avoided the vibration of the impact.

"Crazy bugslut, you could have taken my eye out!" Alema whined.

"No one would notice. Uh, sorry." Luke said, looking away in embarrassment as Alema glared, and making Jacen smirk in amusement.

"What is it sweetie?" Leia asked, raising her own saber.

"Up there, there's things hanging from the rafters..." she said softly, and the next thing they knew, the said things unfurled their swings and swooped down at them, giving screeching noises as they did so.

Jaina yelped as the things dove down at them, sharp lashing teeth biting and snipping at them. They began slicing upwards, cutting through the winged pests as they swarmed all around them, their screeching noises hurting their ears as they fought in the dark corridor, the creatures flapping all around them, leading Ben to close his eyes, collect his power and let it out in a massive Force shove that knocked the things backwards. While Luke and Mara looked at their son in surprise, K'kruhk, Leia, Jacen and Jaina, three different colours of saber flashing, cut the last of their winged attackers to pieces, while Alema picked one up with her remaining arm in order to study it.

"What is it?" she asked jiggling it about so that it fluttered limply.

K'kruhk inspected it, frowning.

"A shyrack I believe. Usually found on Sith worlds, cousins of the mynock. Relatively harmless all things considered but can still leave a nasty bite. Is everyone alright?" he asked, and seemed content when everyone gave an affirmative.

Luke used the lull to turn to Jacen, his face demanding an explanation, which Jacen rolled his eyes at and turned away from his uncle.

"Don't start uncle Luke." He growled, stalking forward, while Luke's face turned cloudy.

"Dad, it's fine. He taught me it, and I reckon it's a pretty handy thing to know don't you?" Ben piped up, but Luke shook his head.

"Ben, you're too young to know this sort of stuff! Some advance masters have trouble with Force blow, and you can perform it as a natural." Luke said, while Jaina could feel her twin getting angrier through their twin bond.

"So isn't it good that Ben can do it then? After all, if it helps him kick butt then why bother to complain?" she asked, coming to her brother's defence.

"Because he is too young to know it!" Luke argued, and Ben rolled his eyes.

"Dad! Get it into your head! I'm not a little kid! And Jacen's my master, not you!" he snapped, and to prove his point went to stand beside his cousin, who gave him a small half grin.

"Luke...leave it." Mara said firmly, glowering at her husband as she followed her nephew and son.

The group went quiet, K'kruhk frowning as they progressed. He thought Luke had dealt with this, given Jacen full leave in whatever he taught Ben. He could understand Luke being annoyed if it he had taught Ben Force lightning, but this was hardly something to get worked up over. Telekinesis was part of a Jedi's basic defence (unless you were Corran Horn or his kids but that was just their bad luck), so why was Luke getting so wound up? Either way, it might be best to end their business here quickly, as he could feel the dark side pall was beginning to get to them.

As they went along the passage, Luke frowned, pondering. He just couldn't explain it, but Jacen having taught Ben so much was annoying him immensely. But he didn't know why. He knew Jacen was Ben's master and he accepted that. But he still had a bad feeling in his stomach that he couldn't explain. He chanced a look at Jacen, and noticed that Ben was sticking close to him, and he knew that this was something he couldn't intrude on. The two of them were so close, why did he keep forcing himself between them? Sighing, he resolved to make it up to Jacen later. But still, he couldn't shake the feeling that something would go wrong, and it was linked to the two of them. And all he could do was watch. Grunting in frustration, he sent another look to his nephew and son and wondered how he was going to make it up to the two of them.

Jacen sighed. He knew part of Luke's problem was that he felt excluded by Ben, and he got that he really did. He knew that Ben still had daddy issues, that he was in someways still slightly scared of his famous father and intimidated by his legacy. After all, Ben, like Jacen, had always been a mommy's boy, and it was slightly hard for him to be as close to Luke as he was to Mara. But there was still some stuff that Luke hadn't dealt with yet. Namely him being Caedus in another timeline and the fact that he was afraid Jacen was coming in between him and Ben. Why couldn't he just trust him like he used to? Looking down at the ground he began scuffing his feet in annoyance.

The group was silent as they progressed down the corridor, although the silence was broken when Alema started humming to herself. As they got further down the passageway, heading towards the centre of the temple, Ben started to press close to Jacen, as he too began to feel that they were being watched.

"There's something in here isn't there?" Ben asked his cousin, whose mouth was set in a grim line.

"Yeah. Stretch out, see if you can't identify them." Jacen said as they came into a cross shaped room. One stem led back the way they had came, and there was a dip heading downwards straight ahead, and to the left and right were passages leading elsewhere.

"Which way?" Jaina asked, but stopped when Mara held up her hand, pointing to a misshapen lump.

She walked over and knelt down beside it, using her saber to illuminate the carcass. It was relatively recent, but not fresh. The beast was canine like, with long claws and teeth.

"A tuk'ata, a guardian of the tombs of the Sith. You reckon it was our mystery guest?" K'kruhk asked her, and she nodded grimly.

"Not long, maybe a week, definitely establishing the time frame. And look at what killed it." She ordered grimly, and Leia gave it a once over. She had seen that sort of wound, in the other timeline, on the body of Darth Caedus and she shuddered, earning her a strange look from Jaina as she did so.

"Lightsaber wound?" she asked, and Mara nodded.

"Yep. So, suggestions people?" she asked to the group in general.

"Jedi?" Alema asked hopefully, not particularly inclined to run into another Sith. Lumiya, while she could be nice enough to her when she put her mind to it to the extent that they actually managed to get on, she was still a belittling sarcastic old witch. Mind you, she was like that to everyone.

"That would be easy enough to check, but why would a Jedi be this deep in the core?" Luke asked, trading concerned looks with Mara.

Ben then turned away from the corpse of the Sith hound.

"Um, mom? We're sort of surrounded..." he whispered.

Mara barely had time to turn around before about twenty tuk'ata stampeded at them, roaring and barking, their teeth and claws flashing, their red eyes flashing. Their lit their sabers, cutting into flesh and bone as they were beset by the pack. K'kruhk tried to Force push them away, but it was to no avail, if nothing else it seemed to make the beats angrier, with one leaping for his head. Mara cut down the one that was going for Luke's neck before having to be saved from the jaws of another by Alema, who then gave a scream as one bit down on her remaining lekku. Jaina cut the beast in half, turning to skewer the one that took a clawed swipe at her before dancing away from another two. Leia winced as Jacen stabbed down into one's head, remembering the time when he could bond with almost any animal. Lamenting those times, she turned to see a larger tuk'ata standing atop a pedestal, giving different sounding barks from the rest. Larger and with its poisonous tail arched as if ready to pounce, Leia threw her saber across the room, slicing it in half right down the middle, making it howl in pain as it was cut in two. Luke then sliced the head off another, wincing as a claw cut into his leg. Jacen then cut down the next two and Ben and K'kruhk went back to back, fending off the beasts one at a time before the last of them fell to Ben's blade.

"Aww poor doggies." Alema lamented sadly, stroking her sore lekku, while Jaina and Mara looked at her incredulously.

"Didn't one...?" K'kruhk asked, and Luke shrugged.

"If she doesn't remember, better for us, she can't moan about it." He reasoned.

"Alright, no more sight seeing. Which way K'kruhk?" Leia asked, taking charge, because she didn't particularly want to encounter any more nasty beasties.

"Down deeper, we should be close to his tomb." He said, and they headed down the gradual slope.

"Right, now who's watching us?" Jaina asked quietly as they came close to a large set of ornate doors.

"They aren't animals are they?" Ben asked and Jacen nodded in approval.

"No they aren't. We've got company. Sentient company at that."

"What about the footprints?" Alema asked curiously, limping along beside them.

"Something makes me think they don't belong to whoever is watching us." Mara said dryly.

"Great." Ben summed up sarcastically as Luke and K'kruhk opened the large, ornate doors to reveal the room beyond.

It was mostly derelict. Unlike the rest of the tomb they had been in so far, which was mostly intact, this room was not. The ceiling had caved in, large pillars and columns had toppled in on themselves, webs hung from the rafters, piles of rubble littered the floor and dangerous looking wires hung down from the roof. This had clearly been the site of a battle in days gone by.

"Anyone else suddenly got a bad case of the creeps?" Ben asked, looking around the ruined chamber, where shadows hid everything.

Luke stretched out with his feelings, frowning. All he could hear was the word 'intruders' over and over again, like some sort of dark echo. Luke lit his saber and called out to the room.

"We have no wish to harm you." He called loudly, his voice echoing in the destroyed chamber.

And all of a sudden, they were bathed in a sea of red light, as around fifty red lightsabers sprung to life. Looking around he saw bony, malnourished humans of all ages, some old some younger, all pale skinned, wide eyed and nasty looking, crawling out from the shadows, jumping down from the ruined roof or coming up from cracks in the floor. The others all raised their lightsabers and they formed a circle of defence as the saber wielding humans surrounded them. The stench was unbelievable as they approached, and Luke noticed that many of them had either green or yellow tints to their skin, a sure sign of disease.

"Intruders! You may not wish to harm us, but we wish to harm you, hee! We are the Malevolence, and you disturb the tomb of our lord and master Darth Andeddu! We shall not let you pass! I, Morlok of the Malevolence, declare it so!" the leader, who was crouching above them leering down at Jaina excitedly crowed.

"Darth Andeddu is long dead!" K'kruhk called, and the Malevolence burst into cackling, mocking laughter.

"But his legacy remains intruder! Yours, sadly, will not! Recently we were more, but there are still enough to kill all of you!" the leader boasted, and they all leapt at the group, their sabers going straight for the kill.

XX

While Han and the droids tinkered away with the ship, Lumiya updated all her orders, receiving the news that Cronal had apparently returned, and an update on the Tavira situation. As to the first, that news was most useful. She expected the withered old toad to be dead by now, but apparently he wasn't, and as such his reappearance was quite interesting. And as to Tavira, who had annoyingly won over her stormtrooper commander, she had apparently been busy and had been accepted by Collonzas, which bared watching. After she had done that, she had gone deep into meditation, and found the centre of dark power she was looking for. Reaching into the Force, she saw that the group had just encountered the guardians of the tomb, the Malevolence. She had known they would be there. Frowning slightly as she mentally traced their progress, she thought that there would actually be more of them. No matter. The fanatical cult, rather reminiscent of Krayt's Sith she thought bitterly, would be no match for them even if they did outnumber them. But, the group would be a match for each other.

Centring herself in the dark side, she drew on the power of the planet. Smiling smugly, she drew on the great power that Andeddu's final resting place afforded. Her power of illusions grew, her control getting stronger, strong enough so that they would eventually be supported on their own. While she did that, she probed the thoughts of the group, and found what she needed. Insecurity. Resentment. Excellent. Waving her hands and drawing on the power of the dark side, she made her move.

XX

Luke cut down three with a wide stroke of his saber, while Alema gave an insane war cry, spiralling through the air and taking the heads off another three. Jacen and Jaina were back to back, keeping the Malevolence off balance with their team work, with Jacen defending and Jaina attacking and then vice versa as they battled. K'kruhk was holding off about six on his own, his Whiphid brute strength easily overcoming the weakened muscles of the cultists, his saber cutting apart two of his attackers who's guard he just ripped down. Ben was on his own but was holding well, keeping them all at bay and attacking when he gave himself an opening. Leia was up in the rafters, taking the fight to them, pushing onward like a juggernaut, scattering them and knocking a few off to their deaths. Mara meanwhile was violently attacking, her saber a blur as she cut through the Malevolence cult. Morlok then leapt down, his saber slamming into Luke's. Luke rolled his eyes, blocking the swing and turning deftly, before flipping over Morlok, kicking him to the ground as he went. Ben jumped to the rafters and sent several piles of rubble into the group that leapt up after him, allowing him to cut three of them in half. Jaina was now on her own, using heavy handed attacks, batting away at her foe's defences and slicing through bodies as she went. Jacen meanwhile was a blur of energy, using slabs of stone both as a shield and as a weapon, which he then blasted outwards, crushing his opponents, before reversing his blade and stabbing the two who tried to surround him. Luke caught Morlok's blade on his own and with his one handed grip, spun it out of his foe's hand and took Morlok's head.

Over in the corner, a young Sith boy by the name of Zekar watched as the group decimated his kinsmen. Feeling saddened, he felt his attention drawn to the young boy with them, a boy much the same age as he was. Zekar had always been good at foreseeing things. And what he foresaw for this one pleased him immensely. Staying in the shadows, he watched as his wicked uncle, Lioat, ran further into the temple. Knowing what the fool intended to do, he got further back and hoped the group would survive their coming trial.

Mara dissected the last of the Malevolence and panted deeply. For malnourished little gnaffs, they had put up a considerable fight. But it appeared as if their fight wasn't yet over. Turning, she saw the Emperor approaching her, his face a mask of fury and betrayal. Fear gripped her. "You can't be here, you're dead." She said worriedly, as the Emperor did something he rarely did, as a platinum encased lightsaber appeared in his hand.

"You have failed me. You have betrayed me. You will pay for your treason. And then I will take your dear little boy and make him the new Vader." The Emperor spat maliciously.

Fury roared through Mara, and her saber sprung to life.

"NEVER!" she yelled and sprang at the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Luke turned to see Jacen place a hand on Ben's shoulder, and it was with a flash of alarm that he finally saw the truth. Jacen had become a Sith. His hair had gotten darker, his eyes had gone the sickly Sith yellow, and his clothes had become a jet black jump suit.

"Get away from my son." Luke commanded, lighting his saber, and Ben looked at him curiously. Was it Luke's imagination, or could he see Ben's eyes start to go yellow too?

"Dad..."

"Uncle Luke. I knew it would come to this." Jacen growled in a coarse voice that wasn't his own, and lit his own red saber.

"I won't let you hurt him. You won't take my son to the dark side." Luke vowed, and launched himself at Darth Caedus.

"Well done Ben." Jacen said proudly, and Ben grinned up at him as his cousin ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Get away from my son." Luke said suddenly, and Jacen rolled his eyes at Ben before turning to face his uncle.

"Alright uncle Luke, what's your problem now?" he asked, and then took a step back in surprise as Luke lit his saber.

"Dad, no!" Ben protested angrily, standing in between his father and his cousin, but Jacen pulled him back and gently forced him behind him.

"Uncle Luke, whatever's eating you, stop. You're frightening Ben. And me too if it comes to that." Jacen said nervously, his own saber in his hand but not lit.

"I won't let you hurt him. You won't take my son to the dark side." Luke swore, and leapt at Jacen, his green blade going straight for Jacen's head. Jacen shoved Ben back out of the way, getting him out of harm's way while he backpedalled, barely getting his saber up in time before Luke was upon him. Ben looked on at the scene in fright as he watched Jacen struggle to defend himself, all because he'd taken care to make sure Ben was safe first.

"Jacen don't!" Ben yelled as Jacen angled his blade a bit better.

"Alright. You've been asking for this." Jacen snarled, and he punched Luke in the nose, sending the Grand Master staggering.

The sound of a lightsaber igniting alerted K'kruhk. Turning, he stopped short. The bald headed assassin, marked with tattoos. Asajj Ventress. One of Dooku's most lethal servants, she was here. On Prakith. Once again threatening the lives of those he cared about. The last time he had encountered her, she had nearly killed Jeisel. Not this time.

"No Ventress. It's been some time. But I'm stronger than you. Away assassin!" he roared, blocking her swing viciously.

Leia leapt down from the rafter, tired from the battle. But then, she saw a face she had never expected to see again. Nom Anor. The Vong agent who had infiltrated the galaxy, poisoned Mara and who knows what else, was right in front of her.

"Anor! You should have stayed dead." She hissed, her saber blazing to life once more.

"Come and get me Leia. Then I will take away your precious twins, just like we took away baby Anakin." He gloated and Leia roared, going for his throat.

Jaina looked around. And to her great surprise, she saw Tahiri, who was looking down at the floor.

"Tahiri, what are you doing here?" she asked in surprise as she saw her friend.

Tahiri then looked up, and Jaina flinched as she saw her eyes. Sith eyes. And an evil smile to go along with it.

"I've come for Jacen. For Lord Caedus. He belongs with the Sith. Not with his wimpy sister." She taunted in a voice horribly unlike her own.

"You aren't making Jacen evil, you won't do to him what Caedus did to you." She said, her voice shaking.

Tahiri gave a loud, cold laugh.

"He did this to me? No dear Jaina. I turned him, he fell for the wrong woman. I was always a Sith. It's quite fun you know, seducing Solo boys." She taunted, and Jaina snapped, launching herself at Darth Tahiri.

Alema looked on in surprise and mild curiosity as Luke fought Jacen, as Mara duelled K'kruhk, and as Leia battled Jaina. This was brilliant, if they all killed one another, it would definitely righten the balance. Looking over she saw to her surprise that Ben wasn't fighting anyone and was desperately trying to stop his father and cousin fighting. Figuring he'd be mad at him, as she rather liked him, he suited her dark humour and wasn't that important to the Balance, she decided to make him think she wasn't watching and revelling in the little scene before her. Lighting her saber, she started to taunt an invisible opponent.

"Come on then!" she called, and then started duelling with mid air.

Smiling as she saw Ben send an exasperated look in her direction, she went on the defensive with her foe and moved to block his lightsaber swing, all the while watching the others duel to the death.

XX

Han frowned as Artoo tweetled at him.

"Well there has to be records of it somewhere, check it again." He ordered, and the droid beeped an affirmative.

"If I may say Captain Solo, it would seem as if all records of any such calls have been erased. Personally, I would say that it looks deliberate, wouldn't you?" Threepio asked, and he did have to hand it to the droid, he had a point.

It wasn't so much the absent calls on the log that bothered him. No, it was the small pulse transmissions that Artoo kept picking up, he didn't have a clue what they could be. Either way, he was pretty sure that it had something to do with the resident Sith Lord. Resolving to ask her about it once the others got back (not that he was scared of her or anything), he was about to go to the cockpit when Artoo started to beep wildly, his little lamp coming on and shining outside.

"What is it short stuff?" Han asked, as the Sith in question arrived, a frown showing from above her veil.

"He says he saw something moving in that outcropping." Threepio elaborated, and Han and Lumiya both got there in time to see a long, thin pincer like leg retreat into the outcropping and disappear.

"What do you reckon that was?" Han asked, his hand going for his blaster, just to assure himself it was there.

Lumiya looked out at where it was, pondering. It could just be a local animal and they were being jumpy, but something told her that it might be a gift left by Lord Andeddu to guard his tomb.

"Artoo, would you perform a geo scan on that outcropping? I want to know where it leads." Lumiya said as she went and fetched Andeddu's holocron, getting a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"What is it?" he asked, concern growing in his gut.

"The ancient Sith usually had such unsavoury creatures as tuk'ata and shyracks guarding their tombs, however a few of the nastier and more powerful Sith Lords had worse things than them guarding their tombs. Naga Sadow had terentateks guarding his tomb on Korriban," she began, but was cut off by Han.

"What's a terentatek?" he asked, not at all liking the look on the Sith's face.

"Think rancor but smaller, deadlier, meaner and a whole lot scarier. Anyway, we can rule them out, Exar Kun only created them in the Great Sith War,"

"So how did they get in Sadow's tomb? He was the Great Hyperspace War wasn't he?"

"They moved there, knowing they were being hunted in the Great Hunt. Didn't do them any good, Revan killed them forty years later, now will you please stop interrupting? Point is, Darth Andeddu was incredibly powerful so I am willing to bet that there could very well be something nastier than the traditional guardians here on Prakith, and if so the others could be in trouble." She elaborated, as she accessed the part she was looking for, her green eyes narrowed.

"Well?" Han asked urgently as she scanned the info.

"'Of the many fearsome beats I brought with me to my new palace, none attract my favour such as the silooth. How quaint it is to use the teachings of that conceited fool Muur to create something so wonderful. His poisons and toxins, combined with whatever experiments that twisted wench XoXaan performed on my dear pet, have made him lethal in every way shape and form. My dear pet, he will live for an eternity, as a last resort to defend my tomb. Ah my dear silooth.'" Lumiya finished the anecdote and turned to Han her face pale.

"What is this thing?"

"A creature that the Sith mutated, making it ten times bigger and a whole lot more dangerous. However, that isn't what worries me. If Karness Muur had his hand in the creation of the tomb's silooth, it may be able to poison them, infect them so that they turn into other Sithspawn! So unless you want your family to get eaten by a giant bug, you better come with me!" Lumiya said, as she looked at the holomap Artoo was displaying, showing that the thing was definitely heading to where she had set the visions on the group.

"Keep looking Artoo. And keep an eye on things, any sign of trouble and get the ship out. Wait a minute, did you say bugs? And why do you care?" Han demanded as he ran after Lumiya, who was putting the holocron into a slot on her arm.

"Yes, it's a giant beetle thing. And I care because if they get infected, one we stand less of a chance of destroying Abeloth and two I don't want a bunch of Sithspawn running around the ship, it barely flies as it is!" she yelled tartly and Han glowered at her back as he hurried after her.

XX

"Will you all just stop?" Ben roared furiously, aiming a Force push at Leia and Jaina, but it was to no avail, the two duellists simply flipped up into the rafters to continue their fight up there.

Mara and K'kruhk's fight was in full swing, and it was with a flash of alarm that Ben saw that his mother was beginning to be pushed back. He couldn't bear the thought of losing her in this timeline like he apparently had in the other. He was about to go and help when he saw an increasingly angry Jacen kick Luke in the chest, yelling for his uncle to stop, but Luke wasn't listening to him, he kept attacking, believe Jacen had become Darth Caedus.

"Dad, leave him alone!" Ben yelled, panicking slightly as Luke kicked Jacen in the gut, making his cousin stagger back. Ben gave an angry yell and flipped over to the middle of the battle, coming between Jacen and his father.

"Dad, snap out of it!" he shouted, but to his great surprise, Luke swung his blade once again.

Jacen however was quicker, and Ben felt himself thrown away from the battle as once again Jacen got him out of harm's way, and Luke's blade cut through where Ben's head had been seconds before. Jacen then slammed his blade into Luke's locking their blades.

"Luke, get over yourself! It's a vision or something, I'm not evil and I'm not turning Ben!" Jacen growled, his strength prevailing over Luke's.

"I won't stop until you're stopped, Sith." Luke said harshly, and Ben saw a flicker of pain in Jacen's eyes, and Luke exploited it, shunting Jacen back and bringing his blade back in order to take Jacen's head.

"NO!" Ben yelled, trying desperately to think of something to stop them.

"ENOUGH!" a harsh, female voice barked, and suddenly all of the combatants were knocked hurtling away from one another, slamming into walls or thudding to the ground.

Ben turned and with great relief he saw a furious Lumiya, her hand high in the air clearly having let out a Force shockwave, and a disbelieving Han running towards them from the passageway. Alema meanwhile was still swinging her lightsaber, fighting herself happily, at least she was until Lumiya summoned the saber from her hand.

"What the hell has been going on?" Han demanded of Ben, while the others all sat up, looking dazed and confused, aside from Jacen, who just glowered at Luke.

"I don't know, they all just started fighting each other! Dad was saying stuff to Jacen though, stuff about him being Caedus, but I don't know what the others were doing, and I reckon Alema was just fighting herself, she's weird that way." Ben concluded as he looked at the mutilated Dark Jedi, who looked vaguely put out.

Han turned to the others and Leia went pale as she saw who she had been fighting.

"Jaina, I'm so sorry, I thought you were Nom Anor! I couldn't stop myself..." Leia said, and Jaina shook her head.

"It's ok mom, you were Tahiri, you were taking Jacen to the dark side..." she said, then flinched as her twin shot a surge of red hot anger through their bond as he got to his feet.

"I'm guessing you weren't the Emperor." Mara said sheepishly, helping K'kruhk to his feet, and he shrugged.

"I thought you were Ventress, fair exchange I suppose. I'm sorry my dear." He said patting her on the shoulder.

Luke looked over at Jacen.

"Jacen, I..." he began awkwardly.

"Save it." Jacen ground out angrily, turning his back on his uncle, though it was with smug satisfaction that he saw he had bloodied Luke's nose when he had punched him.

Luke took a step towards him, but Ben stood in his way.

"Leave it. And I'm not talking to you either and not because you nearly diced Jacen. You nearly decapitated me!" he shouted at his father, who took a frightened step back.

"Excuse me?" Mara demanded angrily, her furious gaze turning to her husband as Luke looked aghast.

Lumiya then stood in front of them all and glowered at them all imperiously.

"I warned you didn't I? I told you, before you went out, that the tomb would play on your fears, your insecurities, your resentment, but no, you all too perfect Jedi were too good to listen to me! Did it never occur to you that I might be warning you for a reason? Honestly! Dark side tombs are very dangerous for Jedi, especially ones that are so centred in the light side as you lot! And unfortunately for him, because Jacen is more ambiguous than you lot are, he wasn't affected by such dark mind altering illusions and as such can fully remember his uncle trying to kill him! Why don't you people never listen?" she stormed angrily, stamping her foot in rage.

All of them looked down, ashamed of themselves, and rightly so, Lumiya thought bitterly. Her plan, which was to weaken the bonds between them and show them that just because they were Jedi did not make them superior too her, had worked a little too well. They were all certainly shaken, and she had outed the fact that Luke had still not dealt mentally with his issues regarding Jacen's fall in the other timeline or that he was teaching his son, undermining his authority, and while she had certainly frightened them all and due to her little rant had got them wondering if it was not their opponents they resented, increasing their self doubt, it had put her plan into a lot more danger than she had anticipated. While she had hoped that they would accidentally lose one of their group, (preferably Jaina, she was driving her mad with her moping about Jag), she had nearly lost Ben which would be the undoing of her entire plan. Cursing herself and her nearly all too clever plan, she turned, and softened her voice while the group avoided eye contact with each other, aside from Mara and Luke, with Mara glaring at her husband, and Jacen and Ben, with Jacen ruffling Ben's hair affectionately.

"How come I wasn't affected?" Ben asked curiously.

"You're young, a teenager, and if you didn't have a stubborn old git for a father you wouldn't have any worries at all bar helping avert the apocalypse." Lumiya said, edging to the side of the room, while Ben shot a dirty look at his father.

She saw the dark shadows and called out.

"Come out child, we won't hurt you!" she called, and to their great surprise a young member of the Malevolence edged out of the shadows.

Like the rest of the Malevolence, he was pale skinned and emaciated, but, being younger than those they had encountered, probably around Ben's age, he still looked relatively young and fit. His eyes were wide and black, but his face was kinder looking, less worn by the harshness of the environment they were in. He also had most of his hair, worn short true but he didn't look like a convict at least.

"I'm, I'm Zekar." He said by way of greeting, coming out with his hands up, which Leia waved down as the boy approached.

"You've been there all this time? Where were you when the others attacked us?" Jaina asked worriedly, afraid they'd traumatised the kid, because while he did have a lightsaber and the look that identified him as part of the Malevolence, he didn't feel dark at all.

"I've always lived here, I was born part of the Malevolence group. I was left behind when the others were taken..." he explained, and Alema cocked her head and gave him a funny look.

"Who took them?" she asked curiously, wondering if someone else was about to effect her plan for the Balance.

Zekar looked at K'kruhk.

"A man, nearly as big as you. He was covered in armour, and he was dark, like you," he said to Alema, then looked at Lumiya, "but not as dark as you. He had two lightsabers too, and he claimed that he was the ruling Dark Lord of the Sith."

The effect of this simple sentence on the rest of the group was astounding. Jacen and Jaina both rolled their eyes and shook their heads, Ben sighed in exasperation, K'kruhk's eyes widened in shock, Alema started to cackle, and Luke, Han, Leia and Mara all levelled their weapons at Lumiya, who was quivering in anger. She turned to them all and held up her hand, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"Wait." She ordered, and she stomped off into the shadows, where she let out a scream of fury and annoyance before trotting back, looking very grumpy.

"Did I say something wrong?" Zekar asked Ben, and Ben grinned at the Sith boy.

"Nah, but you have successfully annoyed our resident Sith Lord, so well done!" he said brightly, clapping him on the shoulder, and Zekar smiled awkwardly.

"Another Sith?" K'kruhk demanded in astonishment.

"Yes, another bloody Sith." Lumiya said, hate and disdain colouring the statement.

"Friend of yours Lumiya? Former apprentice maybe?" Jaina asked coolly, her eyes narrowed, and Lumiya arched her pencilled eyebrow at the girl.

"No, certainly not. My last male apprentice died before the Bastion Accords. Male apprentices are...unreliable. And they leave the toilet seat up. No, this Sith..." she said, but looking at their faces she knew she had no choice but to give Krayt away. Ah well, she didn't owe him anything, and it wasn't as if they could do anything about him anyway. "This Sith is called Darth Krayt. He has started a new Sith Order and is in opposition to my faction of Sith. He is nothing but a rank amateur, an opportunist with an overinflated view of his own skill, power and importance, and ever since he appeared with his heretical vision for a new dark order, he has been nothing but a thorn in my side!" She ranted harshly.

Luke frowned.

"Another Sith Order? But how...?"

"Been sleeping on the job haven't you?" Alema taunted, and Lumiya smiled indulgently.

"But that's impossible! We'd have sensed it..." Luke protested and K'kruhk shook his head.

"Doubtful. Only knowledge from the other timeline gave me any clue as to where Lumiya was. And Darth Sidious and Darth Traya were both surrounded by Jedi at nearly all times, and they weren't discovered until it was too late. And it is more difficult to identify Sith from great distances. Where are they?" he asked Lumiya, who snorted.

"You expect me to tell you that? I may detest Krayt but he is still a Sith and therefore useful. You'll find out in due course." She said tauntingly, and the Whiphid shot her a dirty, grumpy look.

"Never mind where they are, how many are there? Just one or two like you?" Jacen asked hopefully, and she smirked.

"No. Didn't you hear me, he leads a new Sith Order. According to what I know of him, and he's been on the go for at least twenty years, he could very well be equal in number to your lot. He believes in the Rule of One, his will unites all the Sith under him, and as such by his reckoning they shouldn't have any power struggles because they are all fanatically devoted to him and his will." She explained smugly, and Mara swore.

"Great. We have a super powered thing in the Maw, a nut job Dark Jedi, a bitchy Dark Lord of the Sith, a rogue Yuuzhan Vong woman and to top it all off a new Sith Order nearly the same size as the Jedi who are sitting in the dark and laughing at us, led by a fanatic! There's day I really wish I stayed in bed." She grumbled.

"When you say they were taken?" Luke asked Zekar, who looked down at the ground in shame.

"He said I wasn't strong enough to join him. He took over one hundred of us, that's why there's so few of us. And he took most of the women and girls too, only leaving a few behind, who you lot all killed." He said sullenly, and Han looked to Lumiya curiously.

"What's he up to?" he asked, and then her eyes widened in realisation.

"Oh Krayt, you have been clever. He took them so he can add them to his own forces, making more new Sith Lords, with a minimum of training, and with the women he ensures that they have access to more generations. Cleverer than I expected of him actually." She mused.

"Great. He's building an army of Force sensitives. Which is just what we need." Jaina said with a scowl.

Luke was about to ask something else when there was a massive roar from behind them, and a loud, deep laugh.

"Stupid nephew! You will pay for consorting with these vermin who would despoil the tomb of Lord Andeddu! Behold the silooth!" a man, who they could just vaguely make out standing on top of a raised walkway crowed.

"Who's that?" Ben asked, as Zekar lit his red saber and he followed suit.

"My uncle, Lioat. He's evil, even by our standards. But he's released the beast!" he said in panic, and the entire group readied their weapons, and went pale as they saw the silooth emerge from the depths of the shadows.

It was massive, taking up the entire height of the cavern, and Han reckoned it was easily the size of the Wild Karrde at least. With eight long, armoured legs ending in vicious pincers, it only got worse. The entire body was covered by a hard carapace, marked with deadly looking ridges and spines emerging from it. Its head, probably the size of an X-Wing, was a ferocious, ugly looking thing. A large horn jutted up from its head, coming down in a vicious point that hung before its bright, pupil less yellow eyes. It had massive teeth, jagged and lethal looking, and an upturned horn protruded from just above its mouth. At the side of its head were two tusks, and two of the teeth had also grown into tusks. Seeing its prey, it gave a roar, and the putrid breath of the creature was enough to make them all waver, and acidic spit flew out of its mouth, landing and burning holes in the columns, floor and walls.

"I'm going to be the first to say I have a very bad feeling about this." Ben murmured, and the beast charged, while Lioat laughed gloatingly.

It swung a deadly limb towards Jaina, who backflipped out of the way, barely avoiding the cut. Lumiya cracked her whip against its shell, but all it did was give an angry growl and smack a leg into her, sending her crashing across the room. Zekar and Ben leapt at it, their sabers plunging down towards its neck as they leapt. The two boys landed, but their blades barely scuffed the hard armour, and the beast reared, sending them sprawling to the floor. Luke and Mara then flung larges pieces of rubble at it with the Force. The silooth turned, and a jet of lucid green acid leapt from its mandibles, melting the rubble as it flew through the air. Jacen and K'kruhk saw this, and had to duck to the floor to avoid another swipe. Jacen rolled under the beasts belly and stabbed upwards, but all that served to do was irritate the creature. Giving a rage filled roar it started stomping its eight legs, knocking more and more rubble down from above and toppling the few remaining standing columns. Alema gave a ferocious war cry and landed on its horn and with a vicious cut with her single arm, she took out the creatures eye. The silooth roared in pain and shook its head, sending the Twi'lek crashing into a pile of rubble. Han then opened up with his blaster, while Jaina, Ben and Zekar threw their sabers at the beast. However the armour was far too durable, making Han's bolts ricochet off them, leading to Luke having to block them with his saber, and the three lightsabers barely scratched the beast before it dashed after its assailants, spurting acid at the three of them. Lumiya raised a hand, and with a great deal of effort, she deflected the acid back towards the beast, but it pulled itself into its carapace, and it slammed against it uselessly. It then tried to snap its jaws around Lumiya, who gave curse and jumped up into the rafters along with Jacen. He reached out with the Force, trying to calm the beast but it was to no avail, and it reared up, splitting their beam in two and spilling Lumiya and Jacen to the floor. Zekar fired a small burst of lightning at the creature, which simply shrugged it off and it again charged for him and Ben, spraying acid at them both, forcing them to leap behind a pillar for safety. K'kruhk then reached out, and lifted a fallen pillar with an effort, which he threw at the silooth. The column slammed into the beast, knocking it off its legs, and to their great relief, it finally cracked the beasts armour. Jaina and Leia then jumped out of the shadows, and while Jaina was knocked hurtling away, Leia sunk her blade through the crack into the flesh interior of the beast. It gave an infuriated roar and sent Leia sprawling, to which Han responded by firing several bolts into the exposed wound, melting some of the armour around the wound. Jacen then centred himself in the Force, and with a heave of effort, found the shatterpoint, and applied a subtle Force push. The armour shattered and fell to the ground as the beast got to its feet, but it had had enough, and spurted acid all over the room. Luke pulled Mara and Lumiya to the floor, while Mara covered the three of them with a Force shield. Jaina Force pushed her father out of harm's way while she flipped up to the rafters, and Jacen and Alema darted into the alcove Zekar had been hiding in. Ben tackled Zekar to the ground and they rolled beneath the beast while K'kruhk leapt to the beasts back. Zekar then poured lightning into the wound, while Ben shoved his lightsaber through, but the beast gave a jerk, the momentum of which sent Ben flying across the room. Zekar had to move to avoid the stomping feet, and K'kruk was jerked off, sending him crashing into Lioat, who hadn't stopped laughing. K'kruhk growled and took the cultists head, and sent a flash of thought to the others. As one they all grabbed a pillar or a piece of rubble and sent it crashing into the beast, creating more cracks in the armour. Zekar then let loose with lightning, and Han bulls eyed a couple of the cracks, exposing more flesh, as the beast started spraying acid everywhere again. The vibrations were beginning to bring the room down on top of them all, but before the beast could do anything, Alema flicked over the room, and plunged her blade through a crack on its neck, plunging her saber down, and with a last mournful keen it gave a feeble roar and collapsed to the ground, its legs sliding out from under it as it came to a stop.

The group then came out of hiding, avoiding the parts of the floor that were bubbling or the bits of roof that were falling.

"That was far too close." Jaina breathed as Mara hugged Ben in relief.

"Well done Alema." Lumiya said, nodding thankfully to her, and Alema shrugged at her, then started singing to herself, making Lumiya sigh.

"Is everyone alright? Jacen?" Luke asked, and was rewarded for his effort by a slight smile from his nephew.

"Right, I for one am all for leaving this place. Zekar, can you get us down to Andeddu's tomb before any more of your friends set a millennia old beastie on us?" Leia asked, and the Sith boy nodded eagerly.

"Sure, follow me!" he said brightly, and the group began to follow him, avoiding the dead body of the silooth.

"He's alright, for a Sith." Jaina commented to her brother as Zekar led them past his uncle's dead body and opened the door he had been standing in front of.

"Yeah he is actually. What do you reckon we're going to do with him?" Jacen asked curiously.

"Well he can't stay here on his own, we could drop him off at the city or something." She said, eyeing her brother, who rolled his eyes.

"Jaina, I'm fine. I'm just mad at uncle Luke that's all."

"You two need to sort this out."

"I thought we had! But then he goes all insane and tries to kill me and nearly takes Ben's head off in the process! I don't know sis, he's just so set against me teaching Ben. It's not as if I'm going to turn him into a Sith when his back's turned, in case he hasn't noticed we have a resident Sith on board who's more dangerous than me! I just wish he'd get over himself." Jacen grumbled as they followed the bobbing torch that Zekar was carrying.

A little ahead, Mara overheard the twins and turned to her husband.

"They are right you know." She whispered and Luke sighed.

"I know. I'll make it up to Jacen when we get off planet. It's just...I'm afraid he's coming between me and Ben, and I don't know, there's still something off about Jacen, I can't put my finger on it. With what we know of the other timeline, I feel that I'm just waiting for Jacen to trip up, one morally ambiguous act and I'll be on him. And there is more darkness in him than there is in the rest of us, even you." He explained, and Mara narrowed her laser bolt like eyes.

"Did it occur to you husband mine that the problem could be the fact that you aren't getting off Jacen's back? Look, so what, Ben knows a couple of advanced Force powers. I don't see any harm in that. It's not like he's teaching Ben how to conjure Force lightning, flow walk or anything, he's teaching him basic stuff and giving him stuff he reckons Ben will be able to make the most use of. And Jacen is less in the light side than the rest of us, true, but I reckon that might be useful, because it gives Ben more perspective. And I know Jacen has done some questionable stuff, true, but then again, so have you. Remember the argument you and Ben had last year about killing the enemy? He rightly pointed out that you killed millions when you destroyed the Death Star, and that you ruined trillions of lives when you redeemed Vader and helped him kill the Emperor. From a certain point of view that could be morally questionable. Your experiences are moulded by the fact that you had two wise and enigmatic Jedi masters training you. Jacen isn't quite so mystical, and Ben, being like me, wouldn't have much patience for that sort of teaching anyway. There are other ways of becoming Jedi than the Obi Wan and Yoda approach. Look at Jaden Korr, he wasn't trained conventionally, for that matter neither was Kyle, and they've both turned out into two of our best Jedi."

Luke looked at his shoes and grinned a little at her.

"So basically you're saying Jacen has to follow his own path to mastery and Ben has to follow his own path to knighthood and until such a time as something does go wrong, I should just back off, keep my nose out of their business and shut the hell up?"

"In a word: yes." Mara said with a slight smile, and Leia, in front of them, turned away from her chat with Lumiya to fix her brother with a steely glare.

"And if you want to avoid a repeat of Caedus, I agree. Back off, or his sacrifice this time will be you. And I never actually explained this...but the reason Jacen turned dark was to stop himself having to fight you and losing you. You might want to take that in consideration." She said tartly, and Lumiya winked at her. She then looked up at the sloping spiral staircase ceiling and commented loudly:

"Bet you feel like rancor spit now!"

Luke glared at the back of her head and Han and K'kruhk sniggered behind him, and he did feel ashamed. And after all, aside from teaching Ben a few more eccentric or advanced powers, Jacen was a good master for Ben. And he knew that. Perhaps the problem was Luke didn't trust himself. He didn't trust himself to trust Jacen's tutelage of Ben, afraid that one or both of them, kids he loved, would turn out like Gantoris, or Kueller, or Alema. It meant that two of the most potentially powerful Jedi in the Order weren't constrained by traditional teaching, or where he could keep an eye on things. And it bothered him. Sighing, he resolved to talk to Jacen properly, apologise for trying to kill him, thank him for giving him a well deserved smack on the nose (which still hurt) and then sit down and find out exactly what Jacen planned to teach Ben, without making it sound like he was checking up on him, because that would just annoy the two of them. And, from the looks his irate wife was giving him, he would also have to grovel to Ben and apologise for nearly decapitating him, which he supposed wasn't on the good father's to do list. And if he dropped a hint of how proud he actually was of Ben, because he was, he was proud of him and Jacen, that might not go amiss.

K'kruhk watched happily as Ben and Zekar chatted, heading down the stairs. It was good for him to have someone else his own age to talk to for a change. And considering he was a Sith, he wasn't that bad, he'd helped them out in the battle and seemed more than willing to help the group. Which of course presented an interesting question of what to do with the lad.

"Really? Cool!" Zekar exclaimed as Ben explained what he had done on Tatooine to bring down the skyhopper.

"Teenagers." Han said in amusement, and K'kruhk cocked an eyebrow.

"Indeed? I heard rumours about you when you were a young lad, with a Wookiee called Dewlanna and a man named Shrike..." he said enigmatically, and Han glowered.

The boys continued chatting, showing off to each other as they reached the bottom of the spiral staircase, revealing two large doors set into the floor.

"How do we get in there?" Alema asked, knocking on the door.

"We've never been in, to go in is an act of desecration! Besides, I think we need the holocron." Zekar explained, and looked on in awe as Lumiya pulled it from her compartment.

"Wow. They wouldn't have killed you if they saw you with that, that marks you as the true Dark Lord of the Sith according to our myths." He said, impressed, and she activated it.

"Ah, child, you seem to have survived the trials of my tomb. I am impressed." The holo of Andeddu greeted.

"We have. Now Lord Andeddu, speak the words and open your tomb!" she commanded.

"As the reigning Dark Lord commands." Andeddu responded, and the holo muttered something in Sith, and the great doors swung open, revealing a dark room below.

"Now what?" Han asked, peering into the tomb hesitantly.

"We go in." Lumiya said, and shoved him into the tomb, making him yelp in surprise, as the others all leapt down into the dark tomb.

Zekar began lighting the torches along the wall, revealing the state of the tomb. Cracks riddled the floor, with thin rivers of lava flowing by beneath them. Around the edges of the wall were hundreds of books, scrolls, tablets and talismans, all of which could be very useful in their search for Abeloth, and to Lumiya. In the centre of the room was an ornately carved tomb, a large black edifice marked with a face on two sides, and an emblem on the front.

"Darth Andeddu. Alright, let's see what we have." K'kruhk said as he and the others, Lumiya and Alema looking at the room greedily, got to work.

Ben and Zekar looked at the tomb curiously. There was something fascinating about such things to kids of their age after all.

"It's weird to think that he's actually in there." Ben said curiously, walking around the tomb, while Lumiya and Luke argued about a scroll she wanted to take.

"Yeah. My whole life, my whole cult's life, was dedicated to keeping him safe. Weird huh?" Zekar asked, and his hand ran over a slight dip in the emblem of the tomb.

"What's that for?" Ben asked curiously, as he fiddled with Andeddu's holocron, which he had picked up when the others hadn't been looking.

"Don't know. Maybe it's for the holocron?" Zekar supposed, and Ben shrugged, and getting fed up of holding it, put the holocron into the lock.

"BEN! NO!" Lumiya screeched in horror.

There was a loud clunk from the tomb.

"Uh oh..." Ben said, as he backed away from the tomb.

Then suddenly a skeletal arm, ringed with emaciated flesh, erupted from the tomb, and grabbed hold of Zekar's neck. He cried out, and suddenly red energy streamed from his eyes, nose and mouth, and then wrenched Zekar's neck, and with a sickening crack his body fell to the floor. The door of the tomb then crumbled, shattered, and the pieces were blown outwards, forcing them all to duck.

Ben looked in horror at Zekar's crumpled body, and then his insides froze as he looked at the tomb. The thing that had just sucked the life out of Zekar was standing up. Darth Andeddu had risen again.

He was still skeletal looking, his body much like that of the cultists. A tattered robe hung around his midsection, embossed with a metallic emblem. In his hand was a large sceptre, topped with a large red crystal. Andeddu's face was also sunken and skull like, wrapped in a hat, and his eyes were a glowing red.

"Ah, so these are the fools who have discovered my great secret." He purred, his voice dry and thin, but full of malice.

The group all came to the front of the tomb, their sabers igniting, while Jacen turned in exasperation to Ben.

"How many times have I told you? Don't touch!" he said irritably as he helped Ben back to his feet.

"Darth Andeddu." Lumiya said in wonder as she observed what Ben and Zekar had inadvertently unleashed.

Andeddu looked at them all in disdain.

"But how?" Han demanded, his blaster pointed at Andeddu.

"His essence was within the holocron. When it was placed on the tomb, it went back into its master, returning him to life once more." K'kruhk explained and Andeddu gave a mirthless laugh.

"Indeed Jedi. Why are you robbers looting my tomb?" he demanded, tightening his grip on his sceptre.

Lumiya narrowed her eyes angrily.

"There is a threat loose in the galaxy. An ancient evil coming from the Maw, and we must find how to destroy it before it destroys the entire galaxy, Jedi, Sith, life itself."

Whatever the long dead Sith Lord had been expecting it hadn't been that. He looked at Lumiya, his red eyes glowing brighter.

"The Demon of the Dark...it is but a tale to frighten the Massassi into obeying, promises of what would happen if they ever betrayed us, they would be destroyed by her. The sect that worshipped her was destroyed before I left Korriban." He hissed, and Luke stepped forward.

"You know what she is?" he demanded of the zombie, who surveyed him, as if sizing him up, then agreed to part with information.

"A group made it out to a sea of holes in space...there they learned of an ancient and powerful creature, supposedly stronger than any Sith Lord, than myself, than Muur, than Dreypa, than XoXaan. Their group, led by that heretic Ajunta Pall, returned, speaking of this dread power, saying she had powers beyond any Sith, claiming this dread creature could perform feats detailed in some of my scrolls by others during the schism. He was recycling all the tales of the masters of the Legions of Lettow, rallying people to his cause, as many of our dim witted Massassi started to believe in this creature, fearing that he could command this great power, beyond even that of their masters. Obviously, we couldn't allow this, and agreed that he had to be stopped before his heresy started a revolt against our power. Gathering together, we destroyed him. I myself sliced his head from his shoulders." Andeddu said with relish.

"But you admit she might exist?" K'kruhk asked, and Andeddu laughed, a horrible throaty noise.

"Jedi fool! She was just a tale Pall started to try and take control of the Sith! And if you believe there is much of use here, aside from records of Pall's movements and records of the Legions, your trip was wasted. As were your lives!" he roared, and with no warning at all Andeddu sent a powerful stream of Force lightning at K'kruhk.

K'kruhk howled as the pain racked his body and he was thrown across the room, slamming to the ground heavily, moaning weakly, his robes and fur smoking.

"Lord Andeddu..." Lumiya snapped, but he looked upon her with disdain.

"You proclaim yourself a Dark Lord of the Sith child, but compared to me, you are nothing!" he sneered, looking at her metallic limbs.

Lumiya narrowed her eyes, drawing her whip.

"I am the true Dark Lord of the Sith." She said spitefully, her whip springing to life.

Andeddu scoffed as Luke lit his saber.

"And I am the Grand Master of the Jedi." He sneered, and Andeddu laughed.

"Puny Jedi, your powers are nothing compared to mine. All the knowledge within this tomb, all the power...it is mine! The Sith's secrets are mine to command, to control. I have knowledge of powers and rituals that would make your head implode...if I were to share any. But knowledge is power, and a true Sith does not share power!" he snarled and leapt to the top of his tomb while the group rallied against him.

"Alright bub, we have enough Sith going, so just get the hell back into your crate." Han said, raising his blaster.

Andeddu gestured, and a wreath of flame leapt out from one of the torches, smacking Han in the chest and dropping him beside K'kruhk, his chest smouldering and groaning slightly.

"Han!" Leia said in shock, then panicked as she saw Jaina and Jacen both spring for Andeddu, who laughed. He gestured again, and dark tendrils emitted from his hand and they entered Jacen's head through his ears, eyes, nose and mouth. He screamed in pain, and a second later the tendrils dropped him, and Leia was shocked to see that his eyes had gone pure white, no irises or pupils at all, and Andeddu then blasted him over to lie with Han and K'kruhk. His tendrils then wrapped around Jaina, pulling tight, and then he slammed her several times into the ground, before he threw her across the room to join the pile of defeated combatants.

"If this is what the Jedi of this time have to offer, the Sith have nothing to fear." He taunted.

Luke, Mara, Leia, Alema and Lumiya all exchanged worried glances. Andeddu then turned his attention to Ben, who was coming round behind him, trying to stick his saber into the Sith's back.

"Nice try boy." He sneered, and a pillar of lava shot up from the cracks in the floor, and with another gesture he crashed Ben into the wall and rapidly cooling lava turned into magma manacles, pinning Ben to the wall to watch what was about to happen.

"Ben!" Mara yelled in a panic, and dashed to her son, but the next thing she knew, the shards from the tomb had surrounded her, knocking her blade from her hand and imprisoning her in a cell of rubble.

Alema then fired a poison dart at him, but Andeddu gestured again, and this time dark energy spilled from each of the wounds she had sustained, making her scream in pain, and Andeddu smiled smugly as she dropped to the floor writhing, and he sent her over to the others.

Luke, Leia and Mara readied themselves, but the next thing Leia knew she was flying to the others, and suddenly found herself unable to move, trapped in some strange purple field. Andeddu laughed cruelly.

"Aunt Leia!" Ben wailed, trying to free himself, knowing he had gotten everyone killed, but it was to no avail, the magma preventing him from moving, and his mother also unable to move.

Andeddu then hopped down from his tomb, leering at Luke and Lumiya.

"Let us match the power of Darth Andeddu, Immortal God-King of Prakith, against the vaunted powers of the Dark Lord of the Sith and the Grand Master of the Jedi!" he said and abruptly, the room around them disappeared.

Leia and the others were all gone. Luke and Lumiya stood on a small island of rock each, while Andeddu stood on a slightly bigger one where his tomb had been a moment before. All around the walls, his books and scrolls were still there, dark knowledge he could call on at any second.

"What the hell?" Luke asked, looking around, and then looking at Lumiya in surprise as she shut down her whip.

And then, abruptly, he felt her voice in his head.

"He isn't interested in a physical battle, a battle of swords. He wants a battle of minds. He attacked the others with Force attacks, not his sceptre or a lightsaber. He's like a Jedi Consular, he focuses more on the mind and the Force than on the saber and battle. This, I'm willing to bet, is an illusion. All we need to do is use it against him." She explained, and Luke too shut off his saber.

Just as Andeddu blasted a stream of lightning at him. Luke easily caught the attack on his hand, and reverted it back towards its master, who deflected it into the steaming lava, and he nodded in approval.

"You are powerful Jedi, but I am the true Sith here! You are a slave to the light side, and you could be so much more!" he crowed, and abruptly, a silooth composed of lava emerged from the river flowing beneath their feet.

Lumiya moved, summoning two large rocks that she crushed the silooth's head between. She then shattered the rocks and sent the pieces hurtling at Andeddu, who looked at her with a new found respect.

"I underestimated you child. Your powers are great for one so maimed. And I sense the true heart of a Sith. Join me child, and together, we will rule the galaxy." He said, his voice hypnotic, even so that Luke felt slightly sleeping upon hearing it.

Shaking his head, Luke stretched out with the Force, crushing the stand Andeddu was on. Andeddu cursed, and the next thing they knew, they were trapped in a maelstrom of flying fiery rocks.

"You both have doubts, and that is your weakness! You Jedi, doubt your ability to lead, your ability to trust, the ability of your son and nephew, and that weakens you! You fear the dark side, when you should look into it for strength!" Andeddu roared, and Luke came to his knees as he felt a terrible clawing pain in his skull, his doubts trying to break free.

"And you girl are slave to an outdated dogmatic code! You doubt your ability to hold on to the throne, fear the usurper and the alien will topple you!" he barked, and Lumiya screeched in pain as she too sunk to her knees. The rocks they were on began to melt, and it was the fear of imminent death, the fear of not being able to see Mara and Ben again, that spurred Luke to his feet.

Gathering his strength he unleashed a mighty Force push, which Andeddu countered with one of his own. An orange beam of energy then lanced from his hand, headed straight for Luke, but Lumiya, recovering, summoned it to her where it diffused against her metallic limb.

"Impossible...the life should have drained from you." Andeddu said in wonder.

"Can't drain what isn't there." She gloated, and he unleashed a massive Force storm, lightning cracking, and hurled it at her.

Luke then fired a burst of Electric Judgement, his green sparks, colliding with Andeddu's chest. He gave a roar, which made Luke grab his ears in pain, and Andeddu laughed. As the noise dimmed, he heard Andeddu cackle insanely, and a wet plop.

"You are all alone now Jedi! Your Sith friend is dead!" Andeddu scoffed, and Luke whirled around to see that Lumiya was indeed gone.

A strange sensation filled Luke. Horror, shock...and remorse of all things. But then, the lava parted, and Lumiya was there, right as rain and was walking calmly towards a disbelieving Andeddu.

"No! That's impossible! You are dead!" he said, and there was a definite trace of fear in his voice.

"Apparently not. You want to know what I think your highness? I think you're a coward." Lumiya said, and she leapt up onto Andeddu's platform, her metallic hand heaving him up by the neck.

"You fled from Korriban, and here, you hid from your servants, cowering in the dark." Luke said, and he seized Andeddu in a Force grip, and the Sith Lord was kicking and screaming, trying to free himself. He fired jet after jet of Force lightning, but Lumiya calmly used the Force to turn them back on their owner, shocking him instead.

"You are a fearful, pathetic fool Andeddu. I am the Dark Lord of the Sith now." Lumiya gloated, and she used the Force to gather all the scrolls, tomes, tablets and all the other knowledge he had accumulated into the air.

"No, my stores! You need that, you need it!" Andeddu cried in a panic.

"Nah, I don't think we need anything from you, not such a lowly and cowardly Sith Lord. You make Kaan look brave." Luke said, flicking the holocron into the lava.

"NO!" he screamed.

"I will remove all trace of you from the Sith, while Luke deals with the Jedi. You will be nothing more than a memory, and when we all die, no one shall remember you!" Lumiya crowed, dropping the collected knowledge into the lava.

"You fool! What have you done?" Andeddu wailed in terror as his works disintegrated.

"This." Luke said with a sort of finality, and he dropped a screaming Andeddu into the lava, his hands still firing lightning, and with one electrified bubble of lava, he was gone.

And suddenly the room returned to normal. Luke and Lumiya turned to see the others, and the magma chains broke, allowing Ben to drop to the floor. Mara's prison collapsed, and Leia was freed from stasis. K'kruhk heaved himself up, still slightly singed, while a burnt Han was helped to his feet by a battered Jaina. Jacen's eyes went back to normal he got Alema back on her feet too.

"Where's Andeddu?" K'kruhk asked weakly, and Luke pointed to the millennia old skeleton.

"He believed a little too strongly in his own illusion." Lumiya explained, pointing to all the knowledge Andeddu had stored, all unharmed in reality, just destroyed in the illusion.

"It was too much for him, then I took great delight in dropping the cowardly bastard in the lava!" Luke said brightly, and he was shocked when Jacen hugged him, but happy.

"No one beats uncle Luke!" he crowed cheerfully.

"Damn right." Luke said, winking at Jacen, whose face went grim and he went over to kneel beside Ben, and gathered him into a hug.

"Shh, it's ok, you couldn't have stopped it, you weren't to know." He said soothingly, while Ben tried to hide the tears of shock and remorse from the others.

"How am I not dead?" Han asked, his chest burning hot but not actually harmed, and that sensation itself was beginning to fade.

"Because, aside from the lightning and the tendrils, most of his attacks against you guys were illusions. Now he's gone, they're disappearing." Luke explained.

"Extraordinary. You two have just destroyed a millennia old Sith Lord. You make a good team." K'kruhk said, earning him a reproving glare from Mara.

Lumiya winked at Luke, making his wife further annoyed.

"Alright, let's get out of here. Comm the droids and have them bring everything here, I'm fed up of this rotten place." Leia said, looking at her upset nephew and sighing.

Would he never be able to find anyone his own age he could just be himself with? Sighing again, she started collecting the things Lumiya had earmarked for taking with them.

XX

The ship had left Prakith, and was now in low orbit. After a long talk with Jacen, in which Jacen had tried to convince his little cousin that Zekar's death was an accident and that there was no way it could have been prevented but Ben still blamed himself, both for Zekar's death and for Andeddu nearly killing the others, and had cried himself to sleep, his dreams haunted by dreams of Darth Andeddu rising from the tomb and his father and Lumiya fighting him. After Ben had went to sleep, Jacen had sat and talked for ages with Luke, with Luke promising, after Jacen went over the basics of what he planned to do with Ben, to back off and leave the boys alone, apologising for his actions and for fighting Jacen. The two of them had then started talking like they used to, but Luke noted with amusement that Jacen didn't apologise for punching him in the nose. After all, he had deserved it. Meanwhile, Lumiya, Alema and a singed K'kruhk looked through the scrolls and books that they had accumulated. Han and Leia meanwhile were in the cockpit, doing something that would make Jaina go red with embarrassment if she saw them at it, but they were quite safe as she and Mara were playing dejarik. Artoo and Threepio however, were on the edge of a breakthrough.

"A small burst transmitter on board you say? But how?" Threepio asked, and his counterpart whistled at him.

"So it both receives and sends communications, but is so small it doesn't register, and they are simply log entries that are transmitted? Intriguing. Come along Artoo, we must alert Captain Solo." Threepio ordered bossily, and Artoo beeped urgently, and the protocol droid looked at his counterpart.

"You suspect it belongs to Mistress Lumiya? Oh dear oh dear, they won't be happy about that." He said woefully, and then he was taken aback as Artoo trundled along to the cargo hold, which was where Lumiya and the others were.

However, Lumiya was not in said cargo hold. She was actually in the loo, and her earpiece was chirping bloody murder.

"Alright, what is it?" she hissed quietly.

And to her great annoyance, Krayt's voice came over the channel.

"Guess what I have just found." He said smugly in a sing song voice, and Lumiya, in no mood for guessing games, grunted in irritation.

"A brain with any luck. You might try and cover your tracks a bit better you idiot, I had to reveal to the Skywalkers about your existence." She snarled, and that shut Krayt up at least for a moment.

"You did what? Lumiya..." he barked, and she could feel her nostrils flaring angrily.

"I had no choice. And let me guess, you've found some other dark side group that you have recruited to join your faction of heretics." She said disdainfully.

Krayt laughed softly.

"Oh yes. Have you ever heard of the planet Kesh?" he asked.

Lumiya racked her brains, but had to admit, the name didn't ring a bell.

"No, should I have?" she asked, and Krayt laughed harder.

"We both should have. You see, Ship said he could feel a group of Sith rising in power, and it wasn't Korriban, so I had him take me there. And he brought me here, to Kesh. An undiscovered planet. Which is full of Sith." He said greedily.

"What do you mean?" Lumiya asked breathlessly. If he had found a planet, full of Sith from whichever era, not only could it upset her plan, but it could also give him a lot more power and make him a lot more difficult to destroy when the time came. But then again, the fact that he had seen fit to tell her, even if it was to gloat, did point to the fact that he didn't fully know what to make of his discovery, and that too could be used to suit her ends. And still, a discovery of a planet full of Sith could be very interesting from a Sith point of view, very interesting and useful indeed.

"A race of Sith. Apparently, a warship crashed here during the Great Hyperspace War, and they got stranded here. They subjugated the local populace, and now they are basically a theocratic society, with the Sith at the top calling all the shots. There could be as many as three million here, and that's just the descendants of the Sith, never mind the native species, the Keshiri, which are all fairly Force sensitive. A bunch of human Sith, waiting for us." Krayt gloated, and Lumiya was torn between screaming in vexation or whooping for joy. An entire planet full of Sith, well this was momentous news!

"And that isn't all. Apparently, a couple of years ago, a ship landed here to affect repairs. They killed the crew and have been poaching ships ever since, and now they have a rather sizeable armada. I've recruited them into my Sith, but their beliefs aren't like yours or mine, they follow the rule of a Grand Lord, their system is rather like the Jedi, the Grand Lord calls the shots, and it's quite clear he holds himself as an equal ally rather than a subservient, despite me being the Dark Lord of the Sith." Krayt explained, and Lumiya was so taken aback by all this news, that she didn't even bother to correct him.

A planet full of Sith. With a fleet, and the majority of them able to use the Force, and would have a hatred for the Jedi. It was like the clone army during the Clone Wars, there when you needed it without anyone being any the wiser beforehand. Only this wouldn't bite the ones using it on the ass. She would make sure of that.

"Well done Darth Krayt." She said, the first time she had ever used his full title.

"I'm flattered. I'm sending you the coordinates now. Vol has rallied most of the armada to us, but it's clear that he wants to do his own thing, which could prove detrimental but if you wish to explore the world for yourself..." Krayt said, a hint of malice in his voice, one that Lumiya failed to notice.

"Thank you Krayt. You have done well." She purred, and the communication dropped.

A planet full of Sith. A Lost Tribe, waiting in the shadows to be discovered. Why the hell hadn't she taken Ship when she had found him and travelled the galaxy looking for dark side groups? Typically, it was because she was busy setting up her plan, making links, amassing funds and resources. And now Krayt had his hands on the Tribe. However, no situation lasted forever, and she was nothing if not adaptable. She would find a way to make this work to her advantage.

She opened the door, to find Luke, Mara and K'kruhk all waiting for her, sabers drawn, with Artoo beeping triumphantly beside them and Threepio hovering nervously behind him. Alema was also there, but all she did was shove past Lumiya and enter the loo herself, sighing in relief as she did so.

"Artoo has picked up a burst transmission, and we know it's coming from you. Who are you communicating with?" Luke demanded, and Lumiya shot a look of pure venom at Artoo.

"I might have known you would throw a spanner in the works, you stunted, rusty, beeping little can opener!" she hissed, and Artoo beeped at her, a clear astromech laugh.

"Lumiya..." Mara said sharply and the Sith hissed.

"I suppose he picked up the burst transmission. Remember the implant Palpatine was going to have installed on all of his hands before Vader scattered his atoms at Endor?" she asked, and Mara frowned at the memory.

"Yeah, imaginatively called the Emperor's Ear. I thought it was scrapped before it was implemented?" she asked, her face puzzled, and Lumiya nodded.

"It was. I found the designs and redid them, so now I am in constant contact with others. One such person is Darth Krayt." She said, and they all looked at her warily, as she swept past them, headed for the cockpit.

"Oi! You're not meant to be getting messages!" Luke called, and she grunted in exasperation. That bloody astro droid was a jinx. Over the course of his existence, how many times had he buggered up the galaxy by saving someone? Honestly.

"I can't help it Skywalker, so there's no point whining about it." She responded curtly.

"I thought you didn't like Krayt?" K'kruhk asked curiously.

"I don't, however as he has the wit and sophistication of a bantha, he saw fit to share a vital piece of information with me." Lumiya said, and opened the cockpit door, to see Leia in Han's lap, kissing him deeply, her hand disappearing into his shirt.

"Oh my eyes!" Lumiya wailed, and Han glared at her and the others, and Leia reluctantly hopped off.

"In our defence, we didn't expect you to come barging in." Leia grumbled, going red and sitting back in the co-pilots seat.

"Oh no, I've flown this ship! That is just...ew." Luke said in disgust, and K'kruhk shook his head.

"What are you teenagers? Um Leia, you might want to, you know, tidy yourself up." He suggested and Leia turned away while she did so, blushing furiously.

"Alright, what do you want Lumiya, that couldn't wait?" Han demanded grumpily, and the Sith, images of what could have happened had they not interrupted going through her mind, shuddered.

"Artoo traced the burst transmissions. Lumiya both sends and receives them, and she can't stop them." Mara explained, looking at the Sith in annoyance.

"Well excuse me for having a life." She responded tartly, and Leia, having tidied herself up, spun to look at her.

"How do we know she can't stop them?" she asked suspiciously.

"Because it's implanted in her brain. The Emperor designed them so that they would always be able to give or receive orders over distances that the Force, Vader or the local moff couldn't cover, and that wouldn't interrupt you when on a mission or in a firefight." Mara explained, and Lumiya grinned, knowing how much it must be tormenting Mara that she had to take Lumiya's side.

"Oh fine then. So what was Krayt telling you?" Luke demanded, his eyes narrowed.

"Krayt? The other Sith? The one she hates?" Han asked, hating being out of the loop.

"Yes." Lumiya responded, entering the coordinates into the nav computer.

"What are you doing now?" Leia asked in a bored voice.

"Krayt just called me with a very interesting piece of information. He has just found a planet full of Sith." Lumiya said, spinning around to see their faces as this news sunk in.

Luke went the bone white colour of a brand new ISD. Mara took a stagger back and sunk into a chair. Han groaned and rested his head on the dashboard. Leia swore and shook her head, and K'kruhk threw a hand out against the doorframe.

"An entire planet?" he demanded weakly.

"Yes. From what Krayt told me, you could very well have millions of Sith now running amok. And in the last few years they have been building up an armada, which is of considerable size, and which has now regrettably joined Darth Krayt." She said with distaste as she sat up on the dashboard, though she was enjoying the reactions of the others.

Han turned to Luke, a small grin on his face.

"Boy you really have been sleeping on the job!" he crowed, and Luke and Mara both glared daggers at him.

"I propose we go to Kesh." Lumiya said, and Leia looked at her sceptically.

"Because that's such a good idea. If we go to Kesh, we'll be in Sith central, and if Krayt has gotten to them..." Leia began, but Lumiya cut her off.

"I believe I can get round that. Krayt may have proclaimed himself the Dark Lord of the Sith to the Tribe, however, Zekar said that he felt lighter than me. If I can use that, I can convince them that I am the true Lord of the Sith. And if they kill all of you, well that would just be unfortunate." She said musingly, and K'kruhk arched an eyebrow at her.

"I'm sure that will be a great comfort."

"But where did they come from?" Luke demanded, slamming his fist on the back of Mara's chair.

"Apparently, they came from a ship that crashed in the Great Hyperspace War, they subjugated the people and have been growing ever since. Which means, by all rights, they should follow me, as I am the strongest of the two of us." She explained.

Han looked at Luke, who was frowning deeply.

"I suppose we should go and check it out. And if they come from the Great Hyperspace War, they might know stuff about Abeloth." He reasoned, and Luke had to admit, he had a point.

"Maybe. Problem is, we now know of two large Sith threats, meaning we have no choice. We have to tell Chief Ak'la and Admiral Niathal, especially if the two threats have joined forces." Luke said, but Mara, to Han's surprise, shook her head.

"Not yet. Not until we've checked out Kesh and have a clearer idea of who and what we're dealing with. And, remember we'd have to explain how we found out, which means explaining about Abeloth and her." She said, pointing at Lumiya, who exchanged a look with Leia. However, while Leia looked worried, Lumiya had to work to keep triumph from her eyes. That news was very useful, and she made a mental note to send that little titbit to another agent as soon as they were looking the other way.

"If Ak'la finds out you're keeping stuff from her, and it backfires..." Leia began, and to her credit Mara did look slightly disgruntled.

"I know. She's a decent head of state and I don't particularly like keeping stuff from her, and if the Senate finds out, well they're pissed with her already because of her little bit of skulduggery at Orvax, but I don't see any reason to start a panic just yet, not with the slavery question and a rogue Vong warship shooting around the place."

Luke growled in frustration, and looked to Lumiya, bitterness etching his features.

"Alright, let's go and see these Sith. And on the way you are going to tell us everything you know about the One Sith." He said, and Han took the ship to lightspeed.

XX

Krayt watched in delight as the last of the ships the Tribe were sending to Korriban darted into lightspeed. This was excellent. Just under a million people inhabited Kesh, and to his great delight, the vast majority of the fighting forces were even now on their way to Korriban to supplement his already large fleet. When the time came the Alliance, and Lumiya, wouldn't know what had hit them. Krayt looked out at the ships still orbiting Kesh. All that remained of their large fleet to protect their homeworld were five of their ChaseMaster frigates, four Etti transports, three armed freighters, a Marauder frigate and the command ship was a Citadel cruiser from the Corporate Sector. The rest of their fleet, which included a Recusant frigate, two VSDs and an ancient Sith Dreadnaught would now be bolstering Krayt's fleet.

However, despite the enormity of his discovery, Krayt had concerns. When he had arrived at Kesh, he had been made to feel welcome, and they had treated him like the true Dark Lord of the Sith, as they had probably been taught over the millennia. However, it was clear that Grand Lord Vol and the Circle of Lords were a little disgruntled at having the one to whom they owed allegiance appear now. For the last two years, they had been preparing themselves, ready to make their own name in the galaxy and establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with. It was clear that Vol was an ambitious man. He had his own designs for his faction, and did not seem to approve of the Rule of One, though Krayt was mollified slightly by the fact that he wouldn't much like the Rule of Two either. Vol's ambition could very well cause havoc with the plan they were now all involved in, not to mention reveal the Sith to the galaxy at large before they were ready. As such, Krayt needed a way to ensure their...compliance.

Krayt looked at the small holo unit he had brought aboard Ship. As he had suspected, the vessel was indeed a good replacement for stasis, and it enhanced his dark side powers. It also, due to the sentient part of the vessel, allowed him to locate dark side groups, and he had been surprised by how many he had found. Also, within his meditations, he had identified Dark Jedi scattered across the galaxy, and had had Wyyrlok send emissaries to ask these beings to join his rising Sith group, or kill them of course. So far, he had found a few members of the Blackguard, a group long since thought destroyed, a few members of the Dark Force religion, most of the Malevolence cult and the Tribe. All would now contribute to the glory of the One Sith, the defeat of the Jedi...and the destruction of the Rule of Two.

However, first of all he had to make sure the Tribe behaved itself. Activating the comm., he was greeted by the Trandoshan face of Darth Cyclone.

"My lord Krayt." He hissed, bowing respectfully.

"Lord Cyclone. I trust you have heard of our new recruits?"

"It is an amazing find my lord. But how might I serve you?" he asked, his scaly hand, clasping his lightsaber, ready for battle as always.

"Our new recruits have but one flaw Lord Cyclone...they are ambitious. And that cannot be tolerated. We must act to ensure that their ambition is cooled and their desire for revenge is made to serve us." Krayt said, and the Trandoshan hissed in pleasure.

"You wish me to attack Kesh don't you?" Cyclone asked eagerly, and Krayt nodded.

"Indeed Lord Cyclone. If the planet is destroyed, we can blame the Jedi, and bind the Tribe to us completely, while making them stronger for the anger they will feel towards our enemies. All that remains is a token task force, and much of the woman, elderly and far too young. They have enough women in the fleet that they can serve our long term needs. As such, I want you to obliterate Kesh. Destroy all of their cities, flatten their homes and kill their populace. This is my will Lord Cyclone." Krayt ordered.

Cyclone bowed low in the holocam once more.

"As my lord commands it, so it shall be. I shall take three Star Destroyers and leave at once my lord." Cyclone said, his tongue tasting the air, tasting the cold sense of purpose that preceded murder.

Krayt smiled. One of his most adept servants, he knew his Fist would not fail him.

"Excellent Lord Cyclone. And if you hurry, you may find yourself with a very exclusive privilege. Killing Lady Lumiya...and the Skywalkers."

Cyclone's eyes widened in delight as the holo cut off, and Krayt once again immersed himself in the dark energies swirling through ship. He could feel it flowing through his tired, beaten and broken body, revitalising him, giving him strength. Stretching his feelings, he could feel the dark heart of the Force, the One Sith on Korriban, getting stronger by the day due to his teachings, based on the teachings of XoXaan. He could feel the massive cloning cylinders, the Spaarti cylinders that he had had stolen during the Vong War, deep in the tombs of Tulak Hord and Marka Ragnos, churning out clone after clone, under the watchful eye of Darth Myndar, creating clones to fuel the massive fleet in preparation for the war effort. He could feel the large fleet of the Lost Tribe, the anger and simmering hatred of Darish Vol as they travelled towards Korriban. He could feel Vongerella, far off in the Unknown Regions, triumphant. He could feel Lumiya, callously amused. And then he could feel all the little bits and bobs, all the little dark holdings of power dotted across the galaxy.

And in the background, he could feel her. Her want, her need, her hunger...her echo, getting stronger. Abeloth. No wonder she had the Jedi worried. But, while they dealt with her, Krayt would dedicate himself to both their downfall.

"Well Ship, where next?"

"We go to the world of Recopia, to find the Seyugi Dervish. If you pass the test, if you free them, they too shall serve you."

"Then lead on."

Things are hotting up!

Seems the family still has issues to deal with beneath the surface, or was that just Lumiya's machinations?

A pitched battle with an ancient Sith Lord clearly showed just who is the Grand Master and who is the Dark Lord, but Andeddu is nothing compared to the threat still out there.

And now Kesh is coming into the story! Can anyone make a guess as to who joins the crew over the next few chapters?

Please read and review!