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All characters appearing in Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek Deep Space Nine and Star Trek Voyager are copyright Paramount Pictures. All characters appearing in the Star Wars saga are copyright Lucas Arts and the Walt Disney Cooperation. No infringement of these copyrights is intended and is not authorized by the copyright holder.
All original characters are the property of Celgress.
Star Trek/Star Wars – Galaxy at War: Part Sixty-One Interlude IX Rules of Transcendence
by
Celgress
Celestial Temple
Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn or more precisely his "Force Ghost" sat at what appeared to be a booth in an approximation of Dex's Diner on Coruscant. "Are you aware of this?" Qui-Gon asked indicating a datapad in his hand on which was displayed a schematic of the Death Star. Below the Death Star was an image of Alderaan being vaporized.
"I am," The Prophet known as Sarah Sisko who had been passing by stopped to say.
"And you and the others aren't going to do anything about it?" Qui-Gon said incredulously.
"You know we don't typically interfere in corporeal matters." Sarah Sisko said.
"I'm not going to sit here. I can't just let this happen." Qui-Gon said.
"If you leave now you'll never completely transcend." Sarah Sisko reminded Qui-Gon before she walked away leaving him more than a little angry.
Frustrated by the intransigence of Sarah and the apathy of the others who took no notice of his agitated state Qui-Gon walked around the diner. He hoped it would calm him but it did not. Eventually, A pale-skinned, grey-haired older human seated at the front counter called to him.
"Hello, Qui-Gon how are you lad?" The bearded man said. To the man's left sat a male Bith to his right a female human with long silver hair.
"Do we know each other?" Qui-Gon asked the bearded man uncertainly
"After a fashion. My friends and I are very familiar with your work as a Jedi." The bearded man said.
"Why are you talking to me?" Quin-Gon asked suspiciously.
"Oh, you mean because these other snobs ignore you for the most part. I and my friends are different, lad." The bearded man said. "We operate somewhat outside the normal rules and regulations, like your pal Sarah." The woman and Bith laughed at this.
"Are you and your friends also going to stand by while the Sith start destroying planets with their new superweapon?" Qui-Gon asked cutting to the chase.
"How much do you know about the Kosst Amojan?" The bearded man asked following a short pause.
"I know they are dark transcended entities. How evil beings could transcend so they can maintain their identities in the Force after death is beyond me." Qui-Gon said. "But what do the Kosst Amojan have to do with this Death Star or Sith of the corporeal plane in general? I don't see any connection."
"Maybe they're helping their counterparts somehow?" The bearded man offered with a shrug.
"Why would you say think that?" Qui-Gon said.
"Speculation nothing more, lad." The bearded man said.
"I don't understand how those Seven Sith reached transcendence anyhow. How could anyone of them obtain a state I'm still struggling with when they are-," Qui-Gon said only to be cut off by the silver-haired woman.
"Evil?" She offered.
"Selfish," Qui-Gon corrected if ever so slightly. "Sith think only of themselves. They seek to dominate. They won't accept the Will of the Force. How could such people transcend?"
"Good question," The male Bith said.
"Perhaps they were given help." The bearded man said casually.
"No Prophet or another higher being would ever help a Sith transcend." Qui-Gon insisted.
"Maybe it was a mistake. Even the Prophets aren't perfect." The bearded man said with a sly smile.
"Are you saying the Kost Amojan tricked the Prophets somehow?" Qui-Gon said.
"Now you get it." The bearded man said almost gleefully. "Rule number one, no lone transcended being shall help a lower being achieve transcendence. A lower being must earn their transcendence without direct assistance unless such assistance is approved by the Prophets, or another group, as a whole."
"You three know you can't be here! Get out, now!" Sarah Sisko said appearing out of nowhere. Her voice filled with anger.
"We were leaving anyway." The Bith said as he and the others stood up from their seats.
"Go, get to stepping." Sarah Sisko said.
"Bye," The silver-haired woman said with a small wave.
"See you around, Sarah. I owe you everything, thanks again," The bearded man said.
"Not another word, Vitiate," Sarah said.
"Vitiate as in the Emperor of the Ancient Sith Order, Darth Vitiate!?" Qui-Gon exclaimed.
"The same, farewell lad, be seeing you," Vitiate said with a wink. He and the others then left the diner via its front door disappearing into the milky white void beyond.
"What's going on here? How do you know Vitiate? Why did he say he 'owes you everything'?" Qui-Gon questioned. Sarah Sisko took him by his arm a few moments later they were seated in a secluded booth.
Sarah Sisko took a deep breath before she spoke. "Long ago, from your point of view, he tricked me, Vitiate." Sarah Sisko said a pained expression on her face.
"How? You couldn't tell he was Sith?" Qui-Gon asked in disbelief.
"No," Sarah Sisko said shaking her head briefly. "He must have found some lost knowledge to mask his true self. When he came before me seeking help transcending death he knew what he was doing. I thought he was a humble selfless hermit in search of a deeper understanding of the Cosmic Force." Sarah said as she drew in a ragged breath. "When I realized the terrible mistake I made I tried to undo it but by then Vitiate had already assisted several other Sith achieve full transcendence. Vitiate through his evil teachings even corrupted many other Prophets to his vile way of thinking."
"They became the Pah'Wraiths," Qui-Gon said with a jolt of realization.
"Along with Vitiate and the six other Sith lords he recruited." Sarah Sisko confirmed. "By the time the others stepped it was an all-out civil war. We Prophets who had not fallen won if barely."
"I don't understand, why didn't the others undo the transcendence of the Vitiate and his brethren? Why did they only banish them?" Qui-Gon asked.
"It's complicated." Sarah Sisko said.
"Everything around here seems to be complicated." Qui-Gon scoffed.
"They warned the defeated Kosst Amojan to play by certain rules at the conclusion of our conflict. Its members are not permitted to use any knowledge or powers other than those obtainable to a corporeal Sith while operating on the corporeal plane. They are also forbidden from directly passing on the knowledge necessary to archive transcendence to any lower being." Sarah Sisko said. "My penance was to create the emissary to help restore balance in the Force that my actions jeopardized and to be banished for a time."
To Be Continued
Next up we return to our regularly scheduled programming (I promise lol).
Author's Note -
After recently reading several books about the Sith and the Prophets I got inspired to explain how these Sith became Force Ghosts (something which should have been impossible). I hope you enjoyed this exposé of how cunning Darth Vitiate the original Emperor of the Sith truly is.