Of Vengeance, Grief, and Loathing

Darth Nox was in such a terrible state of grief. His two small children were there, killed in the attack. Darth Nox was in such a terrible state of rage. He had almost no doubt that Acina was involved somehow.

Nox thought to himself, reasoning, "How else would the Republic know where to strike?"

Nox vowed to himself, "When I learn who in the Republic is responsible, I will lay waste to him and everything around him. And when I learn of Acina's connection to all of this, I will bring her to ruination, and leave her bereft of successors! I will leave nothing that can hearken back to her. She will be utterly forgotten!"

A little over a quarter hour after the attack, with the fires at Dromund Tower continuing to burn - seemingly without abatement, a few members of the Dark Council had begun to call Nox.

The first to call was Darth Mortis who'd only spoken briefly to say, "Point your just fury and your just wrath at your sworn enemy, and not at the empire, when you exact retribution."

Darth Ravage called shortly thereafter and said, "It's too bad, what had happened. Don't let this go unanswered, or I'll find myself disappointed in you. Only, when you strike, be sure you strike at your foe and not at the empire."

Darth Acina called and sounding quite sincere, said, "Whatever our differences, I was not responsible for..."

Nox, interrupting her, told her with cold fury in his tone, "When I have the evidence, I am coming for you, personally."

Acina cut the link.

Finally, nearly half an hour after the attack, Darth Marr called.

He said, "Darth Nox, I empathize with you. I know that if I were in your place, I would seek such vengeance!" Marr shook his fist for emphasis, then added, "However, take heed that first you have proof, and second, that you do not hurt the empire while justly exacting retribution."

Darth Nox remained silent.

Darth Marr concluded, "One last thing, Darth Nox. Do not forget that Acina seems to have The Hand's backing. Tread carefully, lest you incur The Emperor's Wrath."

Marr waited to see what Nox would say. Nox remained silent. He didn't trust himself to speak. When Marr realized Nox was not going to say anything, he signaled to someone and the connection was cut.

Nox asked himself, "Why did Marr mention Acina? Is he saying he suspects her, too? Or does he think to set me off against her, hoping I will not think things through first?"

Then it occurred to him, that all of the other Dark Lords expected him to get vengeance as well, and they all urged him not to hurt the Empire. It was as though they all knew it wasn't the Republic who had attacked. Nox also realized it was not entirely impossible that another member of the Dark Council had staged the attack in hopes that his two rivals, already involved in a dispute, would take each other out. However, he believed the likeliest scenario was that it was all Acina's doing.

Nox's mind was so unsettled however, that he completely missed the point Marr had made. Which was, to watch out for The Hand, and The Wrath. The Emperor's Hand, and The Emperor's Wrath were powerful Sith that directly represented the interests of the Emperor, ruler of the Sith Empire.

Nox returned his attention to the news feed of the attack against one of his most opulent residences. The updated reports indicated that the fires were nearly all put out, thanks to the efficient operation of the fire suppression droids, and the heroic efforts of the droid operators that risked their lives to direct the droids' fire suppression battle atop the massive residential tower.

He asked himself, "What have the others seen, that I have not?"

Reviewing the holographic images of Imperial fighters chasing and shooting at the enemy fighters, Nox realized something. Although those fighters were referred to by the news commentator as Republic, only two of the five ships had Republic markings on them. The remaining three had no markings on them whatsoever. Additionally, the ships were a mix of different fighter classes. They were not uniform in their model type, meaning they were all fighters but of different models and manufacture, hence not of the same fighter squadron or fighter wing.

Nox ordered 2V-R8, "Connect me with Keeper. Hurry."

2V-R8 replied, "As you say, Master."

Within three minutes, Nox was speaking to a Human in civilian attire with grey hair and male pattern baldness.

He asked, matter-of-factly, "How my I server you, Dark Lord?"

Nearly a year before, Imperial Intelligence had been dissolved by the Dark Council. Nox, along with only a couple of other Dark Councilors with foresight, scrambled to pick up the pieces to create their own personal spy networks.

Nox netted Keeper, who was the former Minister of Intelligence, and Shara Jenn, who became the new Keeper when Keeper was promoted to Minister of Intelligence. Before that, she was known as Watcher Two. He'd also netted Minder Twenty, Fixer Twelve, and a few others from the Operations Command element of Imperial Intelligence. With the addition of this group, the effectiveness of Nox's personal spy network had increased by orders of magnitude.

Nox told Keeper, "I have a suspicion that the Republic were not behind the attack on one of my residences. Have any of their ships been destroyed? Have any of their pilots been captured?"

Keeper answered him, "Yes, on both accounts, Dark Lord. The pilot is currently in a Navy medical facility on board the super dreadnought, Reaver, in orbit over Dromund Kaas. He may not survive his injuries."

Nox ordered, "Get your people up there. Now. You have my authority to expedite whatever process is required to get your agents aboard that ship. If he dies, be certain the cause of death is not assassination. Be sure to increase security for the pilot, and monitor the situation closely. By my authority, you must take control of that prisoner. Don't let anyone else near him except for the medical staff. I don't want him killed before anything is learned."

Keeper replied, "Yes, Dark Lord, we've already started to make arrangements to have our people taken to the Reaver, but with your authorization to board quickly, and to take control of the prisoner, it will be a lot easier to get answers - if the pilot survives."

Nox cut the transmission. He knew he could not trust the Imperial Navy to provide proper security for the captured pilot. He knew they wouldn't know what questions to ask either. Now that he'd gotten the ball rolling on his investigation, he hoped something would come of it. However, Nox knew he'd only get answers if the pilot remained alive. As Marr had said, he needed proof before he could kill Acina, or he'd end up destroying himself in the process of seeking vengeance.

Nox looked at the chronometer on his desk and figured that Shahn should be arriving at the spaceport soon. He didn't tell Shahn about the attack on his primary residence and stronghold, and he didn't tell her that he'd felt Juuldis' presence in his office after Shahn had left. He had to admit to himself that Juuldis was entirely too good at hiding her presence from him. He hadn't realized Juuldis was there, listening in to his discussion with Shahn, until they were both long gone.

Nox didn't know if there'd be time, before the Dark Council meeting, to get a new apprentice from Korriban to replace those two. If Shahn decided to run with Juuldis, that's what he'd have to do.

Nox said to Ashara's memory, "How I miss your counsel."

Then, remembering a fragment of his dream with Ashara and his kids, Nox implored her, "Watch over our children...,"

He could not finish his prayer to Ashara's memory as he broke down, weeping in utter grief. Nox hated himself as never before. He felt great self loathing as he took advantage of the deaths of his children, using his grief for their loss to fuel his power in The Dark Side of The Force.

He began to question his sanity, as he thought, "Is this a sign of encroaching madness? How could a sane man do such a despicable thing? Or perhaps, from the start, I've been just the sort of man that would do such a depraved thing at the expense of his family's sanctity."

His guilt and self hatred rose, fueling his Dark Side power. He shook his head as he despaired over what he was becoming. He feared he was losing his sanity, but he could not deny the volumes of power from the Dark Side of The Force flowing through him at that moment.

Darth Nox came to a realization, and thought aloud to himself, "This path is seductive, offering me so much power! Yet, I am led to self destruction!" After a moment to think on what he'd told himself, he said quietly to himself, "There has to be a better way."