This is the continuation of From the Ashes, which started with Détente's End (See my profile for link)
Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars and make no claims to. It is George Lucas' sandbox, not mine. I am not being paid for this, and is purely for everyone's enjoyment, mostly my own.
DP
Sith
Soora Bulq – Weequay Male Sith Master
Darth Krak – Human Male Sith Lord
Darth Treulos – Human Female Sith Lord
Sekava – Human Male Sith Recruit
Morris – Human Male Sith Recruit
Hashi – Twi'lek Female Sith Trainee
Mandalorians
Urik Ragash – Human Male, Mandalore
Lanos – Human Male, Squad Leader
Parmis – Human Male, Squad member
Trigger – Human Male, Demolition Expert
Roshi – Human Male, Sniper
Blade – Human Female, Melee Combat Expert
Squeak – Human Male, Technology Expert
Prologue
The grainy blue holographic image showed a large circular room full of people who appeared to be wearing the same style outfits. The body language of some suggested they were arguing, indicated by agitation and emotional faces, while others seemed to be entirely passive. After a few moments of silent video, the sound seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"…need strong leadership with the loss of Master Skywalker," A man with shoulder length dark hair said. "Octa and I are the last remaining members of the Council, and we will select the new Council from among the masters."
"That should be for the masters to decide as a group, Kyp," The face that said these words was recognizable by virtually everyone in the galaxy – former smuggler Han Solo. "Throw some democracy into this place, at least where it counts."
Kyp gave Han a wounded look but said nothing else when almost everyone head in the room nodded in agreement.
"What are you even doing here?" A woman beside Kyp asked Han, slamming a fist on the table she sat at. "You are no more a Jedi than this table is."
"That's Octa Ramis," Darth Treulos said quietly, and fell to silence to let the holo continue.
"You're not the only Council members left," A Corellian accented voice came from the holographic door. Every head in the room turned and five people entered the recording: Two human males with beards, a Barabel, and two human females. One was Jaina Solo, the other was unrecognized.
The image froze.
"I don't know anything about that one," Darth Treulos pointed to the female who had just entered beside the well-recognized image of Han's daughter, Jaina Solo. Her hair was light and her mature poise betrayed her youthful looks, but the group she entered with appeared to be the most significant thing about her. As her clothes suggested her to be more a smuggler or pirate than a Jedi Knight, the only thing that appeared to connect her with the Jedi was a pair of lightsabers hanging from her belt. "But the two men are Kyle Katarn and Corran Horn. Horn spoke. The Barabel is Saba Seybatine. All but that blond woman are Masters."
"Saba and Kenth are still alive, last time I checked," Horn gestured to the Barabel at his side. "Kenth will be along shortly."
"I see," Kyp said, seemingly grateful that Octa was distracted from Han's presence. "But on the matter of the Council; the Council has always elected its own members. Even Master Skywalker did when he was our leader. There should be no change from tradition."
"I disagree," Saba said. "The old Counzil iz all but dead. A new one is needed, a strong one we muzt all believe in. Everyone should have a say. This iz our Order now, we must all decide our future. And you are just as much a Council member as this one is! I say all masterz vote!"
Murmurs of agreement broke out among the Jedi.
"I concur," Kenth Hamner said, entering the room from the door. A large man with a beard he was readily recognizable from his job as PR manager and military defence coordinator for the Jedi. He gestured to Kyp, Octa, Saba, and himself. "And as we have four Council members in even opposition, a third party must be acknowledged. I propose the Masters' Assembly be that third party."
Kyp looked like he just swallowed a raw gort egg.
"What is she doing here?" He pointed at the light-haired female he finally noticed. "Get her out of here!"
"I'll be willing to leave if anyone is willing to remove me,"the unnamed woman responded with a smirk.
Nobody moved.
"Fine," Kyp said. "You may listen."
The holoimage froze again.
"There's some bad blood between them," Darth Treulos spoke again. "I do not know why, but he appears to fear her."
"Her name is Eriana Fostenon. She travelled with Jacen Solo," A deep, commanding voice said, surprising everyone in the room. "He is right to fear her, but she is a mere apprentice to Solo. She is of no threat to the Sith."
The image resumed after a moment of awkward silence.
"Master Durron," Leia Organa, one of the few non-masters in the holo, spoke for the first time. "I think you need to consider the lengths of your influence here. If you try to overrule everyone, you'll find yourself on your own. The Masters will elect their own Council with or without you."
"It sounds like something your son would do," Kyp snapped. "Where is he, anyway? I thought he'd be here trying to take the Order over."
"He said he had to consult with a group of Force users he met a few years ago," Eriana spoke. "He didn't seem to think you were worth his time."
"Speaking of not worth someone's time," Kyp growled at her, but his face suddenly changed. The image of Chief of State Cal Omas appeared, striding into the room with four other people in tow.
"I apologize for the interruption," Cal Omas spoke hurriedly, as if he expected to be thrown out and wanted to say everything he had planned to say. "But I wished to speak to you regarding the loss of Master Skywalker."
"Pleaze continue," Saba said without looking at Kyp or Octa.
"The Alliance has been built on the leadership of the Jedi, and the Jedi have been invaluable to us," Cal said. "Like any governing body, the Jedi function best when led by the strongest leader. If I may, I would like to suggest the appointment of Leia Organa as the Master of the Jedi. Her political and leadership skills will prove invaluable to the Jedi in this period of unfortunate loss."
Leia looked as shocked as anyone, but Kyp was immediately on his feet.
"Never will a Jedi Knight be Grand Master!" Kyp shouted above the increasing noise from the assembled Jedi.
"Queen Mother Tenel Ka?" Cal gestured to the general direction of the holocamera to a woman facing away from the camera.
"Or perhaps Master Hamner or Master Horn," Cal gestured to Corran not far from him. "All three are skilled leaders..."
Corran shook his head in opposition to the idea, but Kenth held up his large hands to draw a silence from everyone.
"The Jedi, like every other member of the Galactic Alliance, will pick their own leaders, Chief Omas," Kenth said with a very grave look on his face. "Nobody will select our leaders for us any more than we would select a leader for the Alliance. If you could be so kind to let our meeting continue…" Kenth gestured to the door. A moment later Cal bowed his head and left, though he hardly appeared happy to do so.
Another man stood up and spoke once Cal Omas left, but the image froze again.
"Waxarn Kel." Darth Treulos identified the man. "A very militant minded Jedi. He was killed in an unfortunate accident shortly after this recording. He was the perfect Sith infiltrator for us – he did our work without even knowing it. He sowed discontent and distrust in what he thought was the best interests of the Jedi. A fool, but he did have his uses for us. His idiocy will be missed by us."
"I propose the Jedi choose our leaders as quickly as possible to get this over with," Kel said. "We need to rebuild the Order. Much was lost during the attack on Ossus with over ten of our very best members. We must rebuild so we can be an effective force to be reckoned with once again. The galaxy can take care of itself without us, but we cannot take care of it in our present state."
Murmurs of agreement broke out among the Jedi, but Eriana stepped forward.
"I may not be one of your Order," She said. "But I believe the Jedi are the servants of the galaxy. We need to be out there helping the people of the Republic. Cower here if you want, but I'll help anyone in need I can find. Any Jedi here is welcome to join me."
Several Jedi looked confused about which way to swing their vote, but the recording cut out unexpectedly.
"That is the full transmission from our contact within the Jedi," Darth Treulos said. "As you can see, Lord Bulq, the Jedi are becoming fractured with only a few respected members trying to keep them together. Without Luke Skywalker and his mate, they have fallen into disarray."
"They have not yet arrived at disarray, my young apprentice," Soora Bulq said in his characteristically deep, calculating voice. "They have merely programmed a course to it. It will take more work to fracture their weak Order, but our plans are already in the works. However, this recording does not answer my question. I already knew the Jedi would break apart without Skywalker's presence. What I want to know is: Where is Jacen Solo?"
Darth Treulos looked uneasy, but held his stare – hardly an easy thing to do after being shouted at by a Vaapad master at the edge of his patience.
"We don't know," She admitted. "He disappeared just before that meeting. This is the first hint we've had about his whereabouts. The bounty hunters we hired cannot find a trace of him, the Jedi appear to have no knowledge of him, and all the official records we found have come up blank. He has simply vanished. Nobody actually knows where he went on his journey so tracing his steps…"
"People do not simply vanish!" Soora slammed a fist on the table, upsetting a glass of water at the far end. "I want him found! I want him dead!"
"Surely one man cannot be so dangerous," A tall broad man who dwarfed the chair he sat in said. "If he has vanished, perhaps it is because he is afraid of us."
"Tell him," Soora said to Darth Treulos with barely controlled rage. "Tell him what you told me of Jacen Solo."
"Lord Krak," Darth Treulos said. "I grew up with Jacen Solo. He is a true Jedi through and through. His brother nearly became my husband, and he my brother. There are few Jedi as adept as he is, and in the last five years he has become more capable than any living Jedi. He is the greatest threat we Sith could face."
"If he is this great a threat." Lord Krak stood tall and looked his master in the eye with confidence. "I will lead the hunt for him myself."
"No, no, my friend." Soora dismissed the idea and put a hand on Krak's shoulder. "I need you here to help me train our new recruits. Solo took out almost thirty of our best in that foolish attack on Hapes. We need to rebuild our numbers, and I don't think even you can stop him alone. Go now: there is a ship arriving with our latest recruits. See to it they are cared for."
"Yes, my lord," Krak dismissed himself and disappeared.
"What do you think of the transmission, young Urik?" Soora asked a moment later.
The Mandalorian shifted in his armour and sat up straighter.
"Obviously the Jedi are fracturing," Urik Ragash said. "Unfortunately I do not believe it is quite enough yet. We need to put pressure on them."
"Pressure will come," Soora smiled. "But there are more important concerns. Explain to me why you authorized the attack on Hapes!"
"I did not," Urik growled. "One of my fleet commanders decided to gain retribution on a centuries old feud with the Hapans. He has been made an example of for other commanders to learn by."
"Good," Soora said. "It is bad enough he angered a powerful enemy, but he not only ruined our best chance to make them an ally; he lost thirty of my best warriors and countless ships in the process! I hope his death was as painful as it was honourless. It will take much to explain this to the Alliance if we want to join their ranks."
"I assure you, his death was sufficiently humiliating," Urik replied. Being left on Yavin Four naked with only a half-charged blaster and hunted by the most junior of the Mandalorians was as insulting as punishment came among the warrior ranks. The bravest shot themselves before anyone else could, but this particular commander decided to risk fighting a pack of Woolimanders. The risk did not pay off.
"We must give the Alliance reason to trust us," Soora mused, satisfied with Urik's word. "The distribution of raw materials is causing tension in the senate and with the Jedi, but we need to squeeze more pressure. Ideas?"
"I heard mention of a pirate group harassing the Alliance," Darth Treulos said. "They call themselves the 'Black Vornskrs.' If we wipe them out, the Alliance will be grateful. The Jedi are ignoring the Black Vornskrs in their efforts to rebuild their ranks and the military is not equipped to protect all the Alliance convoys. The Black Vornskrs are picking off shipments in the midrim with relative ease."
"See to their demise," Soora said. "Draft a plan using whatever resources you require and bring it to my attention."
"Yes, Lord Bulq."
A mild chirping sound and blinking light on the table caught Soora's attention. He pressed the blinking button.
"Yes?"
"Lord Bulq," A voice said. "We have recovered a Jedi Council datacore from in storage that appears forgotten from the evacuation. It is heavily encrypted."
"Understood." Soora flicked the comm. off. "Darth Treulos, please ask our guests for the encryption codes."
"Yes, Master." She said heading to the door.
"And find a way of luring some Jedi into our ranks," He said. "In your spare time, of course. It would be nice to have skilled Force users like yourself readily available to join our cause."
"Yes, Lord Bulq," She finally retreated, leaving Soora and his puppet alone.
"Keep a tight leash on your troops," Soora cautioned. "My plans are older than you, boy. I don't need your vengeful idiots ruining it for me."
"Yes, Lord Bulq," Urik said, but Soora had already stormed out of the room.
Darth Treulos opened the door to the well lit grey holding cell where Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker hung from the ceiling beside Kam Sulster. Furnished with only a single bed, a bench, table, and a chair, the only remarkable aspect of this room was some ropy-looking vines hanging from the ceiling that held the prisoners in a constant threshold of pain. It was just enough to stop the Jedi from being able to concentrate on the Force, but not enough to cause them serious harm. This room was one of the best kept secrets among the Sith. Darth Treulos was surprised she was told about it upon her defection from the Jedi considering how close she once was to the prisoners, but she assumed Lord Bulq felt it was safe knowing the room was under heavy surveillance, tracking every word and action of the Jedi within.
Not even having been among the Sith for a week, she had already assumed her new name and many important duties Lord Bulq asked of her after she proved herself willing to become a Sith. She guessed it was not so surprising that she was taken into such confidence considering the majority of Lord Bulq's best people were imprisoned on Hapes after Jacen Solo foiled the attack on the queen. Good help was, afterall, hard to find.
Luke looked up at her when she arrived in front of him and smiled. As if a smile could turn her away from her new masters.
"Hello, Tahiri."
"That name no longer has any meaning to me," She said, drawing a small snake away from her wrist. The black snake hissed menacingly and slithered into her hand, hardening itself by her command into a dagger version of the Yuuzhan Vong amphistaff. "I am Darth Treulos now, and you have some information for me."
