It was as if the lessons of the past meant nothing to the Sith. The moment the news spread that the Zakuul Crisis had ended, the Sith seemed to forget that they nearly faced extinction to the Eternal Empire. That they faced their very doom, something they could have avoided if they had spent less time infighting, and spent more time preparing. Growing powerful. For the Sith, both the Light and Dark sides of the Force were meant to be dominated and applied, to conquer and to see great victory. A single Sith was greater than three Jedi of his same rank, and the Sith code could be so easily applied to so many. What slave did not wish to find freedom? What warrior did not wish for victory? What politician, what farmer, what person did not want power? The answer wasn't shocking, as that is why the Darkside was so persuasive, so pervasive. It was the path to power that no rational soul would deny, without the Jedi. Emotionless guardians, they managed to always beat the Sith in the end. No matter how much the Sith burned their worlds, destroyed billions of lives, the Jedi ended up on top. Unlike the Sith, there were no needs for the Jedi to hide for a thousand years, to fight so desperately to survive. It was not because the Sith were weak, or stupid. It was not because the Empire couldn't follow the Sith to victory. It was because the Sith warred among each other as much as they faced their ancient enemy.
The Republic will always win, until the day the Sith find unity. And that day, a pair of Sith feared, may never come in time. Zakuul was defeated, but already they found themselves amidst a power struggle. The Sith were Purebloods, the race of red-skinned conquerors that the Sith Lords drew their name from. They were Avadd and Behel Behermo, twins from the planet Ziost. A planet destroyed by Sith ambition, once a jewel of civilization and progress for the Sith Empire. Scorned enough by Sith Ambition, the two were rather infamous for turning away the deceptions and schemes of their fellow darksiders, choosing battle and honor above all. They embraced freedom, passion, victory, and power. It was almost enviable, but they still were bound by both duty and the chains of the past. Though neither were Lords, neither were apprentice either. Simply Sith Warriors, they had progressed quite far, until the day they received a message from their old master. Darth Set, a violent and cunning Lord, held quite a bit of sway over his apprentices even after they left his thrall. They respected their master for his power, for his beliefs. He gave them the gift of fire and the knowledge of Chaos, thus turning them into equally cunning and dangerous warriors. And so, the Twins departed Dromund Kaas, to a world on the edge of Sith Space. A world known as Amun, a simple world.
"A call for help. I still don't know what the old man would need our help for, especially out here." Behel's voice poked above the howling winds as their shuttle flew above Amun's lands, eyeing the relatively verdant forestland. His growling voice carried on, "You think Darth Set might've crashed out here, and avoided sending signals so the Eternal Fleet didn't find him? It doesn't inspire much trust in me, but we owe it to him to at least look."
His voice was the only comfort Avadd could find as she studied the canopy below them, "Now's the time to send signals." She rubbed the tendrils on her chin, "After all, we all could sense the end of the crisis."
"Fair point, sister. HEY, PILOT. HOW CLOSE ARE WE TO THE SIGNAL?" Behel banged on the door, spooking a few helmeted imperials.
The pilot's voice was hard to make out, but Avadd could hear enough from her end of the shuttle to get the gist that they were close. All of the men were unnerved, even she was. The only person who was confident seemed to be her brother, who sat in the front of the shuttle, impatiently tapping his foot against the sheet metal beneath him. Clad in fine black Mandalorian war-gear and in a vibrant crimson cloak, her brother was not so similar in style to many Sith in his peerage. His red eyes flashed back and forth between the men and forest, never once did he look to see how she was doing. He could trust that his twin was fine, or at least fine enough to see this mission through. They shared enough obvious similarities to mark themselves as twins, but Avadd's eyes were a bright yellow, and she was much bigger than her brother. Behel was as much a sorcerer as a warrior, while Avadd was a warrior and a juggernaut. Their skills were complementary, where Behel brought down the defenses of their foes and weakened them, Avadd kept them still and beat them down. He burned the land, and she cut down all that remained.
The men with them were men both inspired by Set's legacy or men that Set once employed, before his flagship was destroyed in this sector of Sith space. The Ashen Beasts, they were known as, were an elite fireteam that Set used to greater effect during the Cold War, the Second Galactic War, and even during the early days of the Zakuul invasion. Their armor is grey and black, as Set was the flame that allowed his beasts to thrive. Through the ashes of his fire, rose the destructive force that was his personal army. The two of them, and Set's other apprentices or subservient Lords, were the finale of his force. They were the Red Dawn, as the ash and smoke choke the sky, making a bloody sun rise over a scarred sky. They were the dominance that he sought, the red blades who would bring victory against the foes he faced.
Once his army was made up of hundreds. Now it was ten. Two warriors, seven soldiers, and one doctor. Hopefully, Set had more than that. And hopefully, Set was there. The shuttle remained fairly quiet, considering the wind that blew through the compartment, as they flew to the distress signal. The landscape began to change, the further they flew over Amun's surface. The forestland still permeated most of the land, but the rest had been burnt by war and fallen ships. It was a surprise to see so many downed vessels of the Eternal Fleet, as the Fleet rarely suffered losses in the early days of the Zakuul invasion. Very few Imperial vessels were found with the corpses of the Eternal Fleet, mostly fightercraft and smaller frigates.
"Strange." One of the soldiers said to his friend, sat near him. He pointed to a Eternal Fleet starship, "This place must've been one of the earlier battles of the war against Zakuul, but I'm counting at least three or four downed destroyers."
"And I see a dozen of our own ships." The other sighed, "They suffered a lot of losses to take down a couple of droids."
The soldier shook his head, "Uh, what do you think, Avadd?"
Unlike her brother, Avadd's outfit was not as clean nor as fine. It was scorched, tattered, and worn. It stuck close to her, showing most of the definition on her upper body. The strength of a warrior of her size was not to be underestimated, as her height and musculature was emphasized by the armor she wore. It was not so much armor, as it was a statement. She was her armor, and she was a weapon. She had little need for plate or hardened materials, for she had her body and the Force. Looking down to the helmet in her hands, she thought for a second what she did think about this. A warrior of the Sith rarely questioned why they fought, for it was known that a Sith's life was a battle. Retreat was rarely ever an option, as victory was in the Sith code. Defy the Code, defy your very existence.
But it didn't feel good to die for so little. She looked to the soldier, "I don't try to think about it." The warrior lifted the Mandalorian helmet over her head, "A warrior doesn't look for things to hold them down."
The shuttle began to slow down as the trooper stood, nodding. He laughed slightly, "Fair enough, ma'am. Just wanted to see a Sith's perspective on things. Some days, I think it's because of the Sith we're able to keep fighting, because some of these threats…" The shuttle stopped, hovering at the edge of the forest. Verdant green broke away into tragic grays and blacks, a blast crater filling where once so much life existed. Amun as a world was rich in Darkside energy, so the pit struck Avadd enough to get her to stand and look at why the shuttle had stopped mid-air. The bold warrior rose, treading to the edge of the shuttle. She grabbed onto a railing and hung somewhat out of the shuttle, looking to what had caused this explosion. The ruins of a Harrower Class Dreadnought lie scattered across the field, where the forestland once stood. The flames and sheer weight of the starships fall blew away any of the foliage, leaving a charred landing zone.
"Behel." Avadd looked over to her brother, who was busy putting his own Mandalorian helmet on.
"It's the Ziost Flame." Behel confirmed, much to Avadd's dismay, "Bad crash. I don't know if anything could survive this." The shuttle began to lower, flying closer to the ground in an approach to the main section of the vessel. It was clear what blew the Harrower out of orbit, several scars of high-energy fire was obvious across many sections of the dreadnought. The shield generator, the engineering compartment, multiple hangers, and the ship's engines were blown apart. What still was intact was the ship's general structure, albeit in chunks since the super structure itself was ripped apart, as well as the signature symbol that made it clear that it was the flagship of Darth Set. The sigil of Set's Red Dawn was emblazoned on the only remaining prong of the Harrower, a symbol of the Sith Empire set in the heart of a red star. The other prong was in pieces, showing that the ship listed to the side and ran into the ground from that angle.
Avadd took her unlit saber in hand, "Brother. I should take a team into the ship. You fine with staying back?"
"Though I'd like to go in, my talents are not suited for close quarters combat. If anything's in there and it's hostile, you're a better leader for this. Mind if I keep Doctor Sonov, though?" He looked over to the togruta doctor, who was busy studying a datapad, instead of seeing the commotion.
"It'd be safer to keep him here, yes." She lifted her helmet over her mass of unruly hair, "We have enough medpacs to last a prolonged firefight. And if that's not enough, I can cauterize a wound." The Sith rolled her shoulders, popping a few joints in the process, "Though I have a feeling if there's any predators in there, they'll go running when they see me."
"Captain Donovan, Sergeants Rathwell and Morgan, Corporal Okk, and Agent Muar'cisin'arco, you're with me." Three humans, a Trandoshan, and a Chiss. The humans were all from Dromund Kaas, never lived a day outside of the Sith Empire. Though Morgan and Rathwell did little of note, merely rising through rank through consistent service, Captain Donovan earned his rank with relative prestige. He lead several successful skirmishes on Quesh during the end of the Galactic War before Zakuul's invasion, including one where he killed two Jedi without assistance. If not for Zakuul and the disappearance of Darth Set, Donovan likely would be a General at this point. Instead, though, he spent his years fighting Zakuul and searching for the lost Sith Lord. The Chiss, Muar'cisin'arco, went by Arcisina to most. She was born in the Chiss Ascendency and chose to keep strong ties, but she was a true Imperial Patriot. Though Avadd found it rather hard to trust agents of the Ministry of Intelligence, Arcisina was a rather helpful presence in the days after Zakuul's invasion. She was as friendly as Chiss come, and her intelligence and resources made her extremely helpful. And then the Trandoshan. Thanks to the adoption of Malgus' reformations, aliens outside of the Chiss had started to become more and more common within the Imperial military, but even Okk turned heads. Trandoshans had a bad reputation for being brutish and thoughtless predators. That was mostly due to their religion, a cult that followed the ways of a "Scorekeeper" and focused on getting points. Points came from successful hunts, and there was no more dangerous game than sentients. Luckily, Okk had long thrown off his religion, for he saw little merit in slaughter. The Corporal's strength and knowledge of the hunt made him a worthy ally.
Doctor Sonov, Private Orgreeve, Commodore Nyx, and Ensign Wirth were the remaining members of the crew. The Doctor and the Commodore were both Togruta liberated from the Hutt Cartel, Orgreeve was a recruit from Onderon, and Wirth was a Weequay who served Malgus' renegade Empire for the few months it existed. Most of them had been with the original Red Dawn crew, but Orgreeve was new. Maybe Donovan saw something in the boy, but Avadd didn't think too highly of him. The Sith nodded to her brother, hopping from the shuttle, landing solidly on the ground. Always the first, she was followed soon by her team, each of them landing on their feet. Black imperial boots fell upon the surface of Amun, potentially for the first time, to search their first contact with the world.
"Fill me in, Captain." Avadd said, looking to the wreckage ahead, "Why does this world have a name?"
The Captain pulled up a datapad as Avadd began to walk forward, joining her. His accent was weaker than many of his counterparts due to how many years he spent fighting with non-Imperial mercenaries, " Well, ma'am, it appears it was named by Darth Set during his expedition out here." He stroked his sleek black beard as he scanned the datapad, "Darth Malgus' explorations of unknown space lead him until a few systems on the edge of the galaxy, this one was one of the few his people put into the systems to go back to after the infighting died down."
"And nobody came back, because Malgus was defeated and all of his data was destroyed in the explosion." The Sith shook her head, "So how did Set learn of it?"
"Seems like Set was quick to chase down Malgus' people. Wirth was one of 'em." The Captain reached the end of the datapad about the system, "But the Darth wanted to find something out here. Maybe he was searching for places to run if the Empire collapsed."
"The Ra-atum system, huh?" Avadd stopped, looking to the sky, the system's star beginning to lower. She nodded, "It's a good contingency. Might've been helpful when Zakuul invaded. There's no maps here, no hyper lanes. Without the signal we had, we'd've never been able to get here."
"Aye. Shame the Eternal Fleet got here, but maybe it was because they were chasing Set." The Captain put the datapad away, drawing a blaster pistol, "But we should move in. Day's growing short, and I'd rather not be out on an unknown world before nightfall. We're far away from even Dromund Kaas, at this point. Don't want to find out what things make home in the woods."
Avadd didn't respond to that, for she was honestly hoping they'd stay long enough to see what bumps in the night on Amun. Perhaps it was a part of her fighting spirit, perhaps it was just reckless curiosity. Whether or not, they were in uncharted territory, and uncharted territory always hid the greatest foes. Zakuul was in uncharted territory, after all. She sent Okk and Morgan forward, the first to breach the broken starship. Breaking through into unknown territory, even if the ship itself was very familiar to the group. Each of them had served a good amount of time in the Ziost Flame and each of them knew Imperial ships extremely well. Exploring a ruined one just so happened to be rare, especially one that had crashed some time ago. Okk and Morgan broke the door down with some smaller explosive charges, taking point. An all clear was sent fairly quickly, giving Avadd reason to take the rest of the crew in. Donovan placed his helmet on, flicking on his helmet light, "Alright people, lights on."
The starship likely had been devoid of light for a while, and now Avadd and her people brought a light again. An unlit saber grew bright, as from Avadd's hand came a vibrant pink light. Though many Sith had derided her for the coloration of her blade, this pink saber had drawn enough of their blood to gain respect. She lifted it up high, illuminating the chamber, to see that they had breached into a hangar bay. Since the ship was buried somewhat into the ground, on its side, the hangar's mouth was buried in soil. With a swing of her saber, she got the attention of her people.
"Ma'am?" Arcisina spoke up, "Orders?"
"Rathwell and Okk, I want you two to find the armory and search the living quarters of the ship. Morgan and Donovan, head down to the few command centers on the ship. I'll be taking Arcisina to the bridge and the officer's deck." She lowered her saber, "Contact me if you find anything. Remember, we're trying to find the distress signal, or any sign of survivors."
"Yes ma'am!" The collective yelled out, breaking off to their assignments. They all were so sure that there was nothing alive, nothing possibly left from a crash of such magnitude. It seemed that Avadd was certain they'd find monsters, Donovan hoping they'd avoid the beasts of Amun. But there was a tingle down Chiss operative Arcisina's neck, something told her there was something off about this mission.