2430 hours (thirty minutes since Dooku's Death)
Japrael system, planet Onderon/
Former Insurgency Camp.
What no one knew was that Kre had an entire Imperial armada waiting to jump in-system at a moment's notice. There were Separatists ships in orbit, of course, but most fled when they saw the sheer size of the Empire's forces bearing down on them. The sailors and Marines on board quickly secured the capital city of Iziz, most of its droid forces waiting for an order from a master whose body was little more than chopped meat.
The original Imperial detachment remained with Kre at his new staging area, commandeered from the insurgents who'd tried to betray him. Those that joined him with the fight broke out, or simply stood back, would be inducted into the Imperial military's first wave of Onderonian recruits.
They had received some reinforcements, though not much given that hostilities were now largely over. Most crucially, a team of field surgeons and medics had joined them. Most were busy trying to find a way to get Setress off the field, without disturbing the metal beam that had impaled her to the ground, potentially causing her to bleed to death. Two of the medics were tending to Steela, who'd be paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of her short life.
King Dendup and Lux Bonteri were being kept under heavy guard. If Kre so much as smelt something wrong, they would both be executed immediately.
"Master," Merolomi said, walking up to him. "I'd like to request permission to leave the camp, and head back to the fleet with the medics."
"Why?" Kre asked. To say he was irritated would be grossly understating it.
"They can't move Setress without removing that pole, it has her rooted to the ground. When they do, she's going to bleed, a lot. I'm thinking that I can use the Force to keep her blood where it belongs, at least long enough to get her into the medical ship where she can get the care she needs."
"You would do that for her?" Kre asked, there had to be some ulterior motive to this.
"If she dies now, it will be from a freak accident. I'll never get the chance to prove that I'm better than her, to beat her in fair combat."
"Fair combat," Kre laughed. "The concept is almost alien to the Sith."
"Yes, well, you seem to be doing something to change that. At least in duels." Merolomi said. "So, can I go?"
"Make sure she gets there alive, apprentice." Kre said, a slight whimper to his voice. "Then come back, I may need you here." Merolomi bowed.
"Before I go, just one question, master."
"Yes?"
"If you're here, and we're here," she motioned between herself and Setress, "then who's running the Empire right now?"
"Grand Moff Kilran."
"Ah, I see." Merolomi bowed again, turned, and left. Kre walked outside his command tent to survey the activity. With Merolomi helping them, the surgeons were now focusing on removing the beam, or pole, or whatever it was that nailed Setress to the ground. One of them left and came back with a plasma torch. Everyone had to look away as the torch blared to life, or be blinded by the intense light generated by the torch.
"Right, let's get her up and into the stretcher."
"W-wait..." Setress weakly called out. "K-Kre...need to talk...to-"
"There will be plenty of time for that later, Setress." Merolomi said.
"N-no...important..."
"Hasn't she been sedated?" Kre asked, storming over.
"Yes, my lord, but she keeps fighting it." One of the medics said. "Honestly, we're afraid that giving her anymore could send her into cardiac arrest."
"N-Need...bundle...in tent." Setress groaned.
"I'll get it." Merolomi hurried into the tent Kre and Setress had been using, and came out carrying something fairly large in a burlap sack. "Here," she handed it to Setress. His lover pulled the sack back, revealing Kre's ebon colored helmet, perfectly intact.
"I...fixed your...helm-" She tried to hold it out to him, but the sedatives left her too weak.
"Thank you, Setress." Kre said. He took his helmet and put it on, the seals making a satisfying hiss as the connections were secured.
"S-sorry...for...did. F-Forgive...me?"
"Wha-?" Kre stammered out. Setress coughed, hacking up a lot of blood.
"Damn," the surgeon cursed. "We need to get her out of here, now." The ranking medical officer roughly pushed Kre out of the way as they pulled Setress off of the spike, and hurried her on to the stretcher. From cough to moment they got her on the transport, not more than fifteen seconds had elapsed. Fifteen excruciating seconds as Kre felt Setress grip on life start to slip away.
"If she dies, I will make the Republic suffer dearly." Kre swore through gritted teeth. "You!" He lashed out at Lux, the chief recipient of his anger at the moment. "You were supposed to be her friend, you two shared something real, how could you have done this to her!"
"I didn't 'do' anything to her. This is all your fault, the results of your actions. It grieves me to see Ahsoka injured, but if you hadn't tried to conquer Onderon, if you hadn't become such a threat to the Republic, to freedom, none of this would have happened. If you'd never come here, she would be walking around right now. If you'd done what all good Sith do, and just laid down and died, she'd be safe." Lux was clearly trying to goad Kre, and it worked.
"Saw, I want you to go to Iziz, and join my forces there. Help them get everything set up for a clean and easy transition of power." Kre said, his voice low.
"My lord, are you sure?" Saw asked.
"Things are about to happen that you don't want to be a part of. Take the Onderonians loyal to you, and go."
"What about my sister?"
"Your sister's fate will be decided when I know what the full extent of her involvement is. Now, go."
"Yes, my lord."
"Don't do this, Saw!" Lux yelled. "Think about what this will mean, if you side with the Emperor, Onderon will never truly be free. Don't betray everything we stand for!"
"I'm choosing the side that I think is best for Onderon. Something you couldn't do." Saw hissed. The Onderonians boarded one of the transports at the camp, and flew towards the city.
"Now, I'm going to let you in on a secret, Lux. A secret even Setress isn't aware of; the children she's carrying, and there are two of them, aren't from some human ass. They're mine." Lux's face went white at Kre's revelation. "And they'll never see the light of day, now. Two beautiful, impossible, wonderful beings died before they were ever born.
"You can sit here, and try to lecture me about right and wrong, morality, and higher causes until the nerfs come home. Here's the deal, though. When you, the Republic, and the Separatists made your little pact, you put everyone of my forces in danger. What happened, happened because you and yours decided to betray me."
"That can't be. That's impossible!" Lux cried out. Kre decked him, hard, in the jaw.
"I was talking!" The Emperor roared. "And it's a very bad idea to interrupt me, especially when I'm this angry." He followed the first blow up with another to the gut. "I'm going to be honest with you, Lux, though you don't deserve it. You're going to die, but I am generous. Tell me how far this conspiracy goes, and I'll make sure your death is quick and painless. You won't even have to watch Steela die in front of you."
"You wouldn't dare." Lux growled. Kre shrugged.
"On his knees," Kre said, gesturing to the King. Two guards pushed the old man onto his knees, in front of Kre. He pulled his blade out, and pushed the tip against the King's chest. "Say goodbye."
"You're a monster." Steela spat. Kre moved to drive the blade through the old King's heart.
"Alright, stop!" Lux shouted. Kre pulled the blade away from the King.
"Lux, don't." Steela begged. "Don't give in to him."
"I'm sorry, Steela." Lux whimpered. "But I know that this beast could kill the King without a second though, and he'd do the same to you. I-I can't watch you die." He looked up to the Emperor. "I'll tell you everything you want to know."
0800 hours (the next day)
Coruscant system, planet Coruscant/
Jedi Temple, Council Chambers.
There was a somber silence in the room, shared amongst the gathered masters and Anakin Skywalker. The message that had been broadcast across the galaxy was replayed once more in the center of the chamber, projected by a box containing the head of Lux Bonteri.
"Citizens of the Republic, you have been betrayed." Emperor Kre's hologram said. "The Jedi Council has grown paranoid and frightened. They used your trust in them to launch an insurgency, and send an elite Clone ARC squad with a singular purpose: my assassination. They twisted the desires of young and brave Onderonians into serving their goals, leading to a great deal of unnecessary suffering and death. What's worse; they entered into a deal with the Separatists, and even Count Dooku."
"I can't believe this." Anakin said. "How can he really think that he'll get away with these lies."
"I do not expect you to take my word for it. One of the conspirators, the young Lux Bonteri, son of the late Mina Bonteri, can confirm everything." The hologram switched to Lux, who looked un harmed, and un restrained. The hologram named several of the Council members by name, including Master Windu.
"There's no way anyone in the Republic will believe any of this."
"Don't be so certain, Skywalker." Master Windu said. "When things are true, people tend to believe it more."
"Wait, what?" Skywalker asked, completely shocked. "You mean, you actually formulated a plan to assassinate the Emperor?"
"Anakin," Obi-wan started, "the Emperor has grown too powerful. His influence is spreading, and we're losing the ability to control the situation."
"I- I can't believe this. After all that talk about how this isn't our way, about hoping for reconciliation with the Sith-"
"No reconciliation will there be, only more war. This alliance with the Republic a very temporary thing, merely a ploy to steer conflict in his own desired direction." Master Yoda said, as clam and even-tempered as ever. "Covert action was best way to eliminate future travesty, without causing expansion of current conflict."
"Throughout history, once a powerful leader has been removed, the Sith will collapse into a constant state of civil war, until no one is left. Then, their Empires simply vanish." Master Windu added.
"But it seems that our plan failed, this time. We greatly underestimated the Emperor, it's only all-too clear now that a single covert team never stood a chance against him. The Onderonians even managed to get the Count Dooku and his forces to work with them and the Republic team, and Emperor Kre still managed to overpower them." Obi-wan said.
"Very dangerous he has become, if killed Dooku, he truly has."
"He is clearly shown holding the head of Count Dooku in the tape," Ki-Adi Mundi began. "Such a bold claim would be incredibly dangerous to try and fake. We have to assume he is telling the truth, which makes me perhaps the third most powerful saber master in the galaxy."
"Who are the other two?" Skywalker asked.
"Master Yoda, and Dooku's illusive master." Master Windu said.
"We need to figure out what we're going to do when the Senate and the Empire comes calling." Master Shaak-Ti said.
"You can't tell them the truth, there will be rioting on the streets, possibly even full-scale rebellion." Anakin was quick to point out. Frankly, he felt sick. How could the Jedi Council be a part of something like this? How could they hide it? Were they just hiding it from him, or was everyone else in the order in the dark about the Council's plans as well?
"As much as I hate to admit, Skywalker is right." Master Plo-koon said. "We have dug ourselves in far too deep, I'm afraid. There is no other option then to continue forward."
"What have we become?" Master Windu asked. "Have we truly fallen so far as to resort to this?"
"A sign of the times, this is." Master Yoda said, perhaps hoping to soothe the other members of the Council. "Dark times these are, darker still will they grow. Many more of such decisions will we have to make, I fear."
"Or perhaps this is merely our time?" Master Shaak-Ti said. "The end times of the Jedi Order. When last we found ourselves on this perilous cliff's edge, in the Mandalorian Wars, it took the dissolution and reformation of the entire Order to bring us back."
"What do you mean?" Skywalker asked. He was, of course, familiar with the Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Revan's (though, that was never his real name) fall; but he wasn't certain what she meant by the dissolution of the Order.
"During the Mandalorian Wars, the Jedi Council refused to stand up against the Mandalorians when the fringe worlds were falling. When the Mandlorian Neo Crusaders began to attack Republic worlds, the Council still hesitated." Shaak-Ti began.
"The Council of the time felt that the actions of the Mandalorians were being guided by an outside force," Master Mundi continued. "They wanted to investigate, and try and determine the driving force behind the Mandalorian's resurgence. We know now, of course, that they were being controlled by the reconstituted Sith Empire, waiting in the uncharted regions, and were acting as a vanguard for their eventual invasion."
"But to the Republic, and even many in the Order, it looked like we were simply standing by, and watching as millions were burned." This came from Master Plo. "We kept the Republic, and the Order, in the dark. Eventually, a young Jedi Knight had had enough. He gathered a group of like-minded Jedi, including a young Knight named Alek to create an aid-group with the ostensive goal of providing medical support to the refugees and Republic military."
"They called themselves the Revanchists." Master Windu said. "And they did as they said, until they found themselves on Cathar. The shared vision they had there, of the conquering Mandalorians massacring the populous. That day, the leader of the Revanchists became Revan, Alek became Malek, and venerable Jedi Knights started on the path of the Dark Side. Because we kept ourselves and motives in the dark, the Republic was nearly destroyed by its greatest heroes." At this point, each of the masters began to speak up.
"Because we could not agree on our role in the Republic." Master Shaak-Ti said.
"Because we were afraid." Master Obi-wan said.
"Because we could not be relied upon." Master Eeth Koth said.
"Find ourselves at such a point again, we do." Master Yoda whispered. "Yet, needed we still are. A time for this discussion there will be, when the Clone Wars are over."
"I don't think the Clone Wars will bring an end to conflict," Master Plo began. "I feel as though an even greater war is brewing."
"That's what I've been saying!" Skywalker butted in. "Letting the Emperor go was a bad idea, and is just going to lead the galaxy into even more turmoil."
"Too late to prevent the coming storm, it is." Master Yoda said with a grimace. "Too powerful the Emperor has become."
"It's never too late." Anakin countered. "We can stop him, we just have to try."
"You're not seeing the big picture, Anakin, it's not just the Emperor we have to contend with." Obi-wan said. "We would be contending with his entire military force, the dark acolytes he's been training, and his apprentices. Add that on to how powerful his navy is, and how strong in the Force he is personally, and we would be in for a very up-hill climb."
"But not an impossible one." Skywalkerwas quick to point out. "There would be losses, but would fewer losses now be preferable to greater losses later? Because I certainly think so."
"In one-on-one combat, Emperor Kre defeated you while unarmed. He has killed Count Dooku, stood almost completely alone against the full-force of the Separatist military, survived an attempt on his life by our best forces combined with the Separatists and Onderonians, and even on the brink of death managed to pull himself back." Shaak-Ti lamented. Normally as calm and even tempered as Master Yoda, even she too was beginning to show worry and doubt.
"It would take the combined might of the entire Jedi Order, and a great deal of assistance from the Republic to stop him," she continued. "The logistics of bringing all of our forces together for such an assault, now, are impossible; and getting that kind of help from the Republic requires political capital we simply don't have."
"'Political capital'" Anakin scoffed. "Since when have the Jedi ever had to worry about political capital?"
"Since the Jedi became the guardians of the Republic, and supported by it." Master Windu snapped back. "We may not partake directly in the politics of the Republic, but there is no denying that we are a part of them. To mount such an effort would require more support amongst the people and the Senate then we can muster. The tide of public opinion has begun to turn against us."
"You mean the protests?" Skywalker asked.
"It goes deeper than that, I'm afraid." Obi-wan said, with a heavy sigh. "Throughout the Republic, people are beginning to doubt our ability to handle the war, and our role in the Republic."
"A problem this has been, since before the Clone Wars began. Magnified it has become, since the re-emergence of the Sith. No doubt as to their role in the Empire, is there. Warriors, conquerors, rulers, these are accepted as fact by the Imperials."
"The people of the Republic grow tired of uncertainty and fear." Master Fisto said, finally joining the conversation. "More and more border-systems, and out rim systems continue to leave to the Republic, just to join the Empire. We even have reports from that Separatist systems have begun to join the Empire willingly. To many, Emperor Kre and his Sith seem invincible. While the Republic and Separatists have been locked in a stalemate, the Empire continues to advance. To date, they have yet to lose a single military engagement."
"There are even rumors that Ryloth and Shili are considering joining the Empire, since the borders have expanded so close." Master Koth added. "As well as Iridonia."
"Would Iridonia really join the Empire, Master Koth?" Anakin asked. The native zabraks were legendary as warriors, and could make a dangerous addition to the Empire.
"It's possible. Groups of zabraks have had long connections with the Sith and the Empire. A sort of mutual respect and understanding has always existed between the two groups, much like with Mirial. Its location on the trade lanes would give the Empire a major boost to its economy, and my people would make ferocious additions to the Emperor's military."
"These are dark days for the Republic." Master Windu woefully said. "And for the Jedi."
1400 hours
Japrael system, planet Onderon/
Unifax Temple/Yohlan Square.
The irony of the this moment was certainly not lost on Kre. Not two days ago, he'd rescued the King and the insurgents from execution in this square. Now, as the system's sun beat down upon them, he was here to execute the very people he'd saved.
"And these people, who called themselves your protectors have sold you out to the very people you were fighting against!" He'd been giving this speech for about five minutes now, stirring the people's anger and passion, and twisting it against the King and Steela. "They made deals with the Separatists, selling you all out, simply so they could get rid of me!"
"Down with the rebels! Down with Dendup!" They shouted.
"This man," He pointed to the King, down on his knees in front of the crowd, "once called himself your ruler. He told you all that what he did, he did for Onderon. Yet, when faced with a losing his position he, too, sided with the Separatists. These people do not care about Onderon, its people, or its future, they care only about getting their way."
"Traitors!" The people shouted.
"Once, Onderon was ruled by the Sith Lord, Freedon Nadd. His line ruled Onderon for millennia. Even Dendup is a descendant of Nadd, but they have forgotten so much their heritage! They forgot Sith nobility, Sith honor, Sith loyalty! I stand before you today, noble Onderonian, not as a conqueror, or a liberator, but as a messenger, a beacon. I stand before you today with a promise to bring that nobility, honor, loyalty, and integrity back to Onderon. I, the last true Sith Lord, ask you all to stand with me!"
"Join me, people of Onderon, join the Empire, return to your venerable and glorious roots, remember what Onderon was; and know, that together, we can make Onderon greater than ever before!" Kre shot his arms up, in an animated fashion. Of course, he'd neglected to tell the people of Onderon that loyalty, nobility, honor, and integrity were rarities even amongst the Sith, and he'd left out the part about Freedon Nadd and his line being absolute monsters. In this Empire, in his Empire, things would be different. The Sith would be different. The gathered crowds seemed to go for it, at any rate, if their cheering was any indications.
"What say you, people of Onderon!?" Kre asked, he was starting to go hoarse from all the yelling.
"Empire!" The people shouted.
"Then it means glory for Onderon!" The people cheered even louder. "Before we can step foot on the path to the future, we must first burn away the cancers and the rot of the past! This King, who has forsaken you all, is the heart of the decay, and there is only one way to deal with such a diseased organ!" Kre unsheathed his blade, and leaned in close to the King. "Removal." Turning back to the people he continued by saying, "As your new leader, the burden of this purification falls to me, unlike Rash who was too weak at heart to perform the act himself!"
Kre pushed the tip against the King's chest. "This is normally the part where I'm supposed to ask if you have any last words but, I frankly don't give a damn." With a satisfying finality, Kre felt his blade cut through the bone and flesh. The King's eyes went wide, and rolled back in his head. He removed the blade, covered in the blood of the dead of the dead King, and held it high in the air. The people cheered.
"The day is not yet through, good people! For this heinous act of betrayal had to be thought out, planned, and executed. Such acts are the work of a brilliant and terrible mind, and the head of the beast must be removed if it is to be truly slain!" He walked in front of Steela, letting his terrible shadow fall over her.
"I might have actually shown you mercy, girl." Kre said to her. "Or at least not made such a spectacle of your deaths, maybe even given you honor of dying in battle. After what you and your filth did to Setress, though, you should consider yourself lucky you're not being burned at the stake."
"I hope there's a special place in hell for you, monster." Steela hissed.
"Contemptuous wretch, the last twenty-six years of my life have been hell. Why should death be any different?" He raised his blade, and brought it down on her neck. "People of Onderon, it is done!" He didn't bother to turn to the crowd, they saw enough. "Go now, return to your homes, and await the dawn of a better and brighter tomorrow!" Kre's arm dropped, and he slunk into the Temple.
"Well, you certainly have the people's support." Merolomi said, taking to his shadow. "They're chanting your name, and don't seem to show signs of stopping any time soon."
"Are they, I couldn't tell." Kre fell back into a large padded chair in the central dining hall.
"Are you alright, master? You look...well- lost." She said. He heard her words, but they were nothing more than white noise to him. In his mind, deafening the world around him, were the sounds of screams and artillery fire. Commanders shouting orders, auto cannons blasting anything that moved. Flesh was torn, bones were snapped, the injured begged for help, for forgiveness, for their mothers. Ships fired missiles that burned whole continents, were torn asunder, their atmospheres hissed and vented. Fires scorched everything, buckled hulls.
A mother pleaded for her child to run, screamed at, scratched, bit, and kicked her attackers. Helpless people were gunned down, the sounds echoing on metal walls. There was the chittering, clattering, and flapping of carrions eaters. Lightening cracked, and the ground trembled.
"My lord?" Merolomi asked. She snapped her fingers in front of his face several times.
"Yes?" Kre snapped up in his chair. "Yes, what is it?"
"There you are. You blacked out for like fifteen minutes, there. I was asking if you wished to join in the victory feast."
"No, no I think not. I'm- tired. Yes, very tired." Kre stood, shaking his head. "I still have a lot to do, apprentice. I'm going to return to the fleet. I want you to stay here, at least for a bit, and make sure everything goes smoothly."
"And what of Saw Gerrera, my lord?"
"I want him to spend a year or two studying under Grand Moff Kilran. The boy has potential, but needs refining."
"Very well, my lord." Merolomi bowed. "I'll go see to the integration."
"Yeah, you do that." The world around him was a blur, even the shuttle waiting for him seemed distorted. The clear sky became filled with black smoke and fire. The light blue became red, orange, and yellow. The sun was obscured by thick smoke. The chirping of birds became shouting orders. Calls for a charge, for a retreat, calling out incoming fire, and enemy charges. The empty courtyard became filled with Imperial soldiers in gray armor, squads rushed forward, Sith launch volleys of lightning, or chunks of debris.
"Wha- where am I?" Kre asked. He turned around, and found himself surrounded by battle on all sides. "Merolomi!" He called out. "Apprentice! Where are you?" For that matter where was he? How did he get here? What was going on?
"My lord!" An Imperial pilot yelled, running up to him. "My lord, are you alright?"
"What are you doing down here? Get up in the air and strafe the enemy lines!" Kre shouted.
"My lord!" The pilot shook him, and the battle field melted away. "Is everything alright?"
"I- I- I- I need to get out of here. Take me up to the fleet."
"Yes, my lord." The pilot climbed into the cockpit while Kre shambled into the crew compartment.
"What the hell is wrong with me?" Kre asked as the shuttle lifted off, leaving the city, and the system behind for good.
