-35 minutes ago-

I groan in pain briefly where I land in a heap. Seriously, couldn't he have been at least a little bit gentle? The roof above me crumbles and I curl up and cover my head as wood falls around me. Behind me the void tree grows high, two more appear, climb high, and form into a giant. The ground beneath my feet shifts. Without a moment to lose, I jump to my feet and leap away. The ground beneath me continues to shift, so I break into a run until my feet find stone that isn't rising out from under me. I look back and gasp. A giant rises from the ground as if caged. With great hands it swipes at Son and Daughter as they fly around it. Their talons cut it deep. In the distance I see Nihilus quickly moving away from the fortress to a nearby hill.

Nihilus...

I growl deeply. My blood churns at the sight of him, restored to his spirit form without a host body, but I know I can't. My time to kill him has not yet come. We have a bigger problem. Valkorian dies first. Then Nihilus. Although it would be a sweet bonus if Nihilus died along the way.

Speaking of whom, just where is Valkorian? Where is Tree-Hugger? I can sense Nihilus and Son and Daughter, but the other two disappeared.

A presence sneaks up on me. By reflex I form a lightning blade and point it at him. Falcon-boy (Falcon-man?) skids to a halt, his blind, void-scarred eyes just out of reach of my blade.

"Falcon?" I ask, surprised.

"Falon!" He snaps on reflex. He stops himself, sighs, and shakes his head. "Nevermind! Whatever! Varus, I need you to listen to me and before you inevitably ask, I am not here to arrest you. I'm here to help."

"You can't help me." I answer darkly. His gesture is appreciated. It offers a bit of warmth to my cold heart, but I can't allow it. He will only get himself hurt.

"Shut up, and listen." He presses. "We need to flee. You know I can see the future, yes?"

I put my head in my hands and groan. "Falcon!" Seriously?! He started doing that again?! Why did he think we taught him how to see as a Miraluka!?

"Before you say 'seriously, you started doing that again!'" Damn, he got me. "Listen. What I see coming is nothing you or I can survive. Out of the thousands of possibilities, none of them allow either of us to survive being here any longer."

I nod. His serious-face is on. Sounds like something bad is coming. "So... an attack? If we steal a transport we can-"

"Its not an attack!" He waves the idea aside. "The planet will be destroyed and the sun will be gone!"

...

"You're screwing with me, aren't you?" I ask.

"Varus!"

"Oh come on, you seriously expect me to believe something can destroy a planet!?" I snap.

Falcon answers, "Not 'something', but 'someone'. Nihilus consumes everything on planets. You think there isn't a power even greater than him capable of destroying them?!"

I... I actually have no answer to that. But the possibility isn't as horrifying as I think it should be. Probably because I can't imagine it. I can't picture it. In short, I don't really believe it. I believe Falcon if he says we will experience something on a similar scale to what Nihilus did to this planet, in setting the atmosphere aflame, but destroying the planet entirely? Destroying a sun? That's fantasy.

Before I can say anything though, Falcon grabs my hand and drags me into a run through the castle. The urgency behind his feet and the seriousness in his jaw start to make me sweat.

What if there really is a power that can do that? What if there is a power greater than Nihilus? It would make sense, in a way, as much as Nihilus is willing to lower himself in working with others to fight a common enemy. And if there is one thing I know, among many things, its that I cannot fight something Nihilus fears if I can't fight Nihilus.

"Okay... say I believe you." I say slowly. "What do you propose?"

"Give me your datapad." Falcon reaches back.

I narrow my eyes at him, grumble, and obey. Might as well be going along with it. I pull it out of my sack and plant it in his open palm. Immediately he starts to type while blind. "Not bad for a blind man."

"You have no idea how many times I practiced this one moment." He replies. He finishes blindly smacking his fingers across the surface before handing it back to me. I glance at the screen. Well, I'll be damned. He sent a message. To Ahsoka of all people, with the simple message 'trust him - Falon'. He also sent a mass broadcast to the rest of the fleet with the message 'FLEE INTO WARP! EVACUATE! NOW! - Falon'

"Trust who?" I ask. Suddenly Falcon turns and I skid while trying to keep up.

"Varus, listen. No transport will do us any good. The only way out is going deeper. There." He points in the direction of the portal. A few Mandalorian soldiers stand guard around it with rifles pointed and ready. "We have to flee to the Sith homeworld. That is the only place we will be safe." The soldiers see us approach, and a few raise their rifles half-way when they see me. "Commander! He- what is happening?"

"Varus Wynn is with me! For the foreseeable future he has returned to our ranks and is helping us escape. Mandalore and the rest of the fleet is fleeing."

"We haven't received any-" The captain's answer halts. He taps his helmet. His head nods a few times, the ever present sign of a conversation within his helmet. He raises his head, looks at me, looks at Falon, and said, "Okay. So there are evacuation orders. Boys! Load up! We are jumping this rock!"

"No time." Falcon waves his hand. "The only way any of us will survive is by going in there." He points at the portal.

I just smile and wave. I hear a few soldiers huff in annoyance while others nod in respect. Seems word got around I didn't come back when I was supposed to. I would think they wouldn't take it so badly. Not like I haven't gone AWOL from armies before once or a million times.

Falcon continues, "I've already seen what will happen, and I've alerted the fleet to flee. I don't think they will all listen... and no matter what, many... many will die. But now it is important we save as many as we can. Captain, you have ten minutes to round up every patrol in the area to join us." The captain salutes and runs off. Falcon looks to me. "Varus..."

"Sup." I grin.

"I know of your quest to kill Nihilus. I don't know the details of what he said, but some of us are told he did something... horrific. I know you will be reluctant to accept it, but please accept my help."

"Yeah, how about 'no'." I answer.

Falcon sighs. He reaches up, slowly takes off the cloth around his eyes, and looks at me, so to speak, face to face. His removed eyes and void-scarred face is on full display. "I do not share your pain, but I have pain of my own. What he took from me, what he did on Coruscant. I was powerless then, but I am not now. Even if I am not as powerful as you, I can do things you can't. I believe we can work well together, if you allow me."

"We didn't work all that well together before." I answer harshly. I know its a bit blunt, but this is not a request for which I can mince words.

"I was learning to see as a Miraluka. I was still handicapped. Not anymore. I am a soldier, Varus. If I am too weak, then that is that and I will die. But I want to be of at least some help. I want to do what I can. Do you think these soldiers-" He motions to the soldiers around us. "Didn't know they could die, going to war with us? Do you think they didn't know they were non-force users facing full blown Sith and being who can compete with demi-gods?"

I swallow. He is right. He is a soldier now, not just a childhood friend. He has lived most of his life now in Mandalorian culture as a Jedi.

"I can't kill Nihilus, but you can. I believe in that. I also believe you will have an easier time if you have help along the way. Someone who can predict the future. Can know what happens around us and when. Someone who knows what succeeds and what fails before it does."

I stare at him in heavy silence. Around us the soldiers rally and gather their men from further away. The moments tick by, and as if the Force screams 'hurry up', the world shakes and I fall to my knees.

"It's starting." Falcon says heavily. "Make up your mind."

I sigh. "Fine. I accept your help. But if you become a burden, I'm sending you on the first smuggler ship home, got it?" He nods. I smile.

The captain, now in a greater hurry as the world shakes again says, "We are almost ready to depart, but there are Sith in there protecting the opposite end! Think you can distract them?"

"Sure." I pop my neck, flex my shoulders, and walk up to the portal.

"We'll be right behind you." Falcon says.

"Uh, what are you going to do?" A soldier asks.

"I'm going to kill them. That should distract them." I smirk.

Scourge leaned back, roped his arms together, and raised an eyebrow in disbelief at the two woman sitting before him. Due to his good behavior he was allowed to be in another room, namely the same one was whatever visitors he might have. Naturally this only went so far and he knew he had dozens of turrets aimed at him, his feet and wrists were chained, the chains were tied to an electric switch, and there was something about the room that made his head fuzzy. He could barely sense the Force. He had no doubt the Force was no less there. He could feel the Force, but reaching out to the Force felt like trying to pilot a hoverboat while drugged. He had to give these Mandalorians credit, they knew how to properly contain a Force user. Occasionally his guests winced. They were feeling the effects too.

Ahsoka Tano Wynn was making her usual visits to learn, exchange ideas and philosophies and cultures, and this time decided to bring along a fiery sprite of a young woman. Child? Pre-adult? Scourge wasn't quite sure what to make of the... whatever it was. He had never seen its race before. Ahsoka had introduced it as a 'Jarphaw'. For that matter, was it male or female? Did its species have two genders?

"You're making a fool of me." He decided.

The creature shook its head. "No, no! I am telling you, its true."

"You expect me to believe there is a planet that rains METAL... without the atmosphere being hot enough to melt it."

"Its true! I've been there! It was so cool."

Scourge slowly looked from the young one to Ahsoka. Ahsoka merely smiled, nodded, and watched. Scourge wasn't sure if that meant 'it is telling the truth' or 'just play with it' or 'it is your problem right now'. Scourge slowly returned his gaze to the 'Jarphaw'. The creature was rambling on about how its 'papi' had taken it to the planet and it was bathed in metal and needed to go through special methods of cleaning up afterwards as the metal hardened on its skin.

"What is the planet's name?" Scourge challenged.

"I don't remember... papa would know." It answered, hesitantly. It hovered on an answer and decided on that one. Something about its attitude left Scourge a little miffed. He was used to people hesitating around him, but it was always due to fear. This creature wasn't the slightest bit afraid of him, as if it didn't know he could splatter its organs all over the wall with little effort. The creature treated him like some kind of... gossiping peer fresh to the local Imperial Academy.

He was Scourge, damnit. He deserved a little fear.

Ahsoka stepped in. She saw Scourge was getting frustrated. "If you want, after the war, I can show you. I know where it is. It is a fascinating place. One would think such a planet would be turned into some kind of credit mine, but regulations have kept profiteers to a minimum and about the only thing there is research labs that allow it the planet's ecosystem to flourish unhindered."

"So this place is real."

Ahsoka nodded. At this time, a sound resonated from her side and she checked her datapad. She tilted her head to the side, uncertain about what she had read.

Scourge sighed, but found he couldn't stop himself from smirking a bit. He chuckled. He had always found the prospects of exploration to be appealing, at least as a hobby. Some Sith might write, others tinker, others research, anything really to further one's self, but Scourge had been a bit of a roamer in his youth. He had been untameable, going from master to master. He could never stay in the same place long. He might have been an explorer or self-imposed exile amongst the stars if he hadn't been born the heir to a Sith Lord with all the expectations to come with it. "Very well. My interest is pigued. Should we all come out of this war alive, and if circumstances allow, I would like to see this place for myself."

Scourge blinked, surprised at a sensation, and looked to the side to look within himself. Through the Force bond he held with Valkorian, Scourge saw what he saw. Valkorian's thoughts became more open and revealed to him, and Scourge shook within himself.

"What is it?" Ahsoka asked. She saw Scourge's composure break and it concerned her.

Scourge watched through the bond a bit more before saying, "My master has met your master."

Ahsoka sucked in a breath. Her eyes widened slightly and her heart kicked into gear, but she did not move. She did not know how the Sith would react to this. She had suspected Valkorian would be found today, but to know it was happening at this moment... She hoped she could sense what was happening, but the vast precense of Valkorian overshadowed them all. She held no grudge with the Sith, no matter his reaction. The war would be decided by their masters.

Ahsoka carefully pulled out her own lightsaber and rested it on her hip, just incase. She asked, "Do you see it?" He nodded. "Are they fighting?" Again, Scourge nodded. His gaze was afar off, like a man watching a theatre. "Who is winning?"

Scourge glanced to her and said, "No one, thus far." His answer was vague and unsettled Ahsoka. She wanted to know, but also knew that whatever happened would happen. Instead of stressing over it, she closed her eyes and prayed within the Force. Scourge closed his eyes to observe. The other alien looked between them and huffed.

The seconds passed. The seconds turned to minutes. Suddenly Scourge's eyes snapped opened in fear, the ship shook violently, alarms blared. Again the ship shook and it sounded like something important had exploded. Cahj fell from her chair and curled up in a ball. Shattered glass fell around her. Scourge was still as a rock. Ahsoka helped her niece stand again.

"What was that?" Cahjinawl asked. "Ow." She flinched as she pulled a shard of glass from her arm.

"That was Valkorian." Scourge answered. He looked afar off.

Soldiers opened the door and stormed in. They pointed their guns at the Sith in the center of the room. On his part, Scourge did not seem to notice them. "Jedi! Are you okay?"

"We are a little scratched up." Ahsoka answered. "What happened?"

"Good, we have to go! The ship is damaged! We are evacuating to another!"

"Damaged? What hit us? What could cripple this dreadnought in one blow?"

"Valkorian." Scourge repeated. The soldiers took hold of Valkorian's bindings, quickly cuffed him in a new set of holds, and roughly dragged him from the room. As they did so, Scourge grew aggravated and struggled, but the inability to access the Force properly left him weak. The soldiers forced him into a marching pace. "No! You cannot flee into space! Valkorian will destroy this ship and all of you. You hope to escape him to orbit? You hope to escape to the other end of the system? Even if you fled to the other side of this galaxy you cannot escape him! Me, you, all will die."

Ahsoka offered a bit of hard comfort, "We will take you to a prison camp toward the center of the galaxy. You will be safe there."

"Ha! You think that because you do not know him! He had the power to consume all life on a planet the day he was born! How much greater do you think he has become in a thousand years! I am linked with him, and by that link alone, I cannot die. How much greater do you think he is when he, merely by extension, gives immortality? Gives power? I have watched the sun rise with him and fall with him. I have watched moons hold still over him. His presence creates eternal storms and all sound and sight ceases purely by his will and permission!"

The soldiers laughed at his words. The captain among them said, "Alright, prophet. We get it. You are afraid of your little 'god'." He pushed Scourge forward into a faster pace.

Scourge growled angrily. He turned to look at Ahsoka. "Jedi. You speak with me as if there is hope for our peoples to live side by side. I care little for your people, but what I do know is that there is no hope, for any of us, in the vision my master has for us. So allow me to share in your hopes for a moment."

"Wha- what are you saying?" Ahsoka questioned him. She rushed foward to be by his side. The soldiers protested, but Ahsoka waved them off.

"My master is distracted." Scourge answered, his eyes wide and urgent. "For the first time in so long, his sight is not on me. I can speak as I want and do as I want!"

"So your bond IS with him and you are controlled by him?!" Ahsoka exclaimed. Scourge nodded. "I suspected a little bit, but-"

Scourge skid to a halt. He turned fully on Ahsoka. "We do not have time. This may only last moments, but they are precious moments. You said before you can sense the bond between me and my master?"

"Yes. I have a similar one to my husband, but it is so much greater in you."

"And you also said your husband, as a 'Miraluka' can do something about me bond? Can he sever it?"

Ahsoka's eyes widened a little. She stepped back, needing a bit of space. What he demanded was a serious matter. "He can, but he is not here. He is..." She swallowed. "Absent." Scourge growled in frustration and looked down, trying to think of options. She sensed in him so much frustration and anger it was astounding he didn't turn violent. He was like a great predator given freedom, only to know that freedom will last moments at most before he is put back in a cage. Ahsoka took a deep breath and said, "But, I can try."

"You?!" Scourge snapped his attention to her.

Ahsoka nodded. "If you will allow it, I can try and-" Scourge fell back onto his backside in a seated position. He looked up at her expectantly as if to say 'well?! get a move on!' Ahsoka nodded. "I-I guess that's a 'yes'."

"You cannot be serious?!" The soldier captain protested. "We do not have time for this! We have to evacuate! Besides, you cannot trust him!"

"Captain!" Ahsoka snapped. "It is true, despite my desires and best wishes, I cannot trust him. But... I do trust a good friend who says I should... The prisoner has been cooperative up to a point, and that limit has been placed by a 'spell' Valkorian has over him. We only have a short time to try and remove it. Not to mention, he is the one putting his life on the line as what I will be trying to do can easily hurt him, and he is the one trusting me. So pardon me if I don't try what I can."

The man continued to protest until Ahsoka told him to sit down and shut up. Ahsoka sat down behind Scourge and put her hand over the back of his head. The ship shook violently.

"We do not have time to be careful. If I die, I die, but do it quickly." Scourge insisted.

Ahsoka breathed in and out, struggling to calm herself as alarms blared and the ship shook again. "Alright."

Ahsoka remembered her bond with Varus. She remembered how they crafted it slowly, strengthened it, explored it, learned about it. She was not a Miraluka, but she could find where the bond was localized. It was centered around the man's heart, like a string wrapped around it, squeezing it, and entering into his blood stream to extend to every part of his body. He truly was a puppet on a string.

"Here we go." Ahsoka braced herself. She extended the Force to a part of the string and cut it. Scourge sucked in a breath and collapsed onto his face. Ahsoka opened her eyes and panted. She was covered in sweat. Scourge panted as well, only in his case it sounded like pain. It took a moment before his breathing relaxed. She breathed out in relief. The prisoner was alive.

"Did it work?" She asked.

Scourge extended a hand and raised himself up. Aggravated with how long they were taking, the captain grabbed him and hauled him up by his arm. Scourge looked up in wonder like a drugged man. "He's... he's gone..."

"Great, good! Are we done here?!" The captain demanded. Ahsoka nodded. She wiped the sweat from her face. "Then get moving!" He shoved Scourge forward. The ship shook more violently as they walked, prompting them to increase their pace. They entered the emergency elevator shoot and fell multiple floors to the hanger. The emergency shoot was surrounded in clear material, allowing them to see. Ahsoka's eyes widened in surprise at the amount of destruction being thrown around in the distance, and wondered at how powerful it was if it shook the earth all the way over here.

They stumbled onto the hanger level. In the distance everyone was scurrieing. Every fighter was sent into the sky and every transport was filling. In the distance they could see more transports coming in from other carriers to aid in the evacuation.

A gigantic shockwave rippled through the air for miles. It collided with the incoming transports, knocking many to the side in the air, and in a few cases, causing collisions. The air became hot like it was burning up and the world shook harder. It was chaos.

Two transports collided above them and fell. The first fell down towards them and the other fell towards the loading transports like a fiery meteor. Growling, Scourge broke the cuffs, and extending his hands, grabbed the one that nearly fell on the other transports. He lifted it into the air and dropped it safely to the side where the men and woman scattered away as he let it fall. Behind him, Ahsoka did the same for the one falling towards them. It stopped above their heads. Ahsoka braced against it, but grinned. She shared a relieved glance with Cahjinawl.

The world shook, a shockwave rippled through the air, collided with the ship, and explosions could be seen coming from the hull in dotted places. Ahsoka's grin fell, as she sensed what was coming. The metal ripped out from under them and she hit her head and fell. The flaming meteor fell with her into the ruins of the ship. Cahjinawl fell on the edge. At the last moment she reached out and grabbed her aunt in the Force, holding her up as best she could.

Scourge stumbled forward, not paying attention to his surroundings until he heard the young alien cry out, "'Shoka!"

Scourge looked back. The soldiers had fallen with her and the alien was struggling to hold the hurt Jedi in the air. It would not be enough, the alien would fail. Scourge looked between them and the transports. He could see a new one coming in to land. The metal floor across the hanger continued to rip, causing many more to fall with their transports. Lava and fire exploded up from underneath the carrier like a volcano had opened under it.

Scourge growled, "Curse me for a fool!"

He turned back, lifted the female Jedi into the air with his power. Once she was level with him, he grabbed her, threw her over his shoulder, grabbed the young alien by the back of her shirt, and ran for the nearest transport. No one had entered it yet and he stomped his way to the front where he nonchalantly dropped the two on the wide side seating. At the front, in the pilot seat, was a droid.

"Lift now."

"But the others-"

"There are plenty of transports for who remains!" Scourge barked. "Now go!" He pulled the Jedi's lightsaber into his hand with the Force and ignited it in front of the droid's face. "Or I will sever you into pieces before I die with the rest of you."

The droid's head swivled wildly between looking at the lightsaber and his enraged, red face. Being a true-blood Sith, his skin was blood-red. With the Dark Side, his eyes were a sharp yellowish-red. He knew he struck a fearsome personage.

"Buckle up." The droid decided. It hit some switches, the backdoor shut, and the transport lifted. Scourge stumbled to the side seat. Cahjinawl struggled to get an unconcious Ahsoka comfortable and strapped into her seat and to get herself secured as well.

"There." Scourge pointed.

"But that goes even deeper into the danger!" The droid protested. Scourge raised an eyebrow. The droid did the closest thing to a gulp he had ever seen. "But what are we if not adventurous! Oh joy!"

The transport flew towards the ruins and where the shockwaves were coming from. Other transports and fighters flew by, but in the opposite direction, forcing the droid to make sudden maneuvers lest they collide. The ground lifted as mountains suddenly shot up and the planet neared its destruction.

"Look at these schmucks. Everyone is trying to get out. We're the only ones trying to get in!" The droid commented.

Again the droid had to make a sharp maneuver as a sudden mountain rose up and nearly hit them. In the horizon Scourge could see clouds of radiation rose and many lasers pummeled a general area. A great wind came their way, knocking the transport out of the air. It tumbled, spun, and Scourge had to reach out with the Force to still the ship enough for the droid to compensate.

The intense shaking woke up Ahsoka enough for her to open her eyes. She grimaced in pain, touched her head, and found blood.

"'Shoka!" Cahjinawl cried. "Are you okay?"

"I... think so." Ahsoka groaned.

"We'll get you to safety. You took a nasty hit back there. You're all scratched up."

"We?" Ahsoka wondered. Her eyes drifted around the empty transport until it landed on the large red man at the front. Her eyes closed briefly.

"Hey! Stay with me! No sleeping." Cahjinawl kicked her.

Ahsoka could see the Sith was directing where the ship was going, and had her lightsaber. "It would seem the tables have turned... Where are you taking us?"

"Home." Scourge answered.

"Leave her. Please." Ahsoka whispered. She nodded toward Cahj.

"I already said it, and I will say it again. Anyone who stays will die. I won't deny it. You all are my prisoners, however, you will be treated well. I have no intent to do you harm."

"Why? Mercy is not your people's way. If your master finds out, you will be killed."

The Sith laughed briefly. He grinned darkly and Ahsoka gulped, seeing the depth of hatred and desire to inflict pain written all over his face and thoughts, "I assure you, he will wish to kill me for far many things more than just sparing you. No, leave him to me. It is true, mercy is not our way, but think of it... merely as paying back a debt." His eyes briefly fell toward her stomach. "You will need to be cared for, before you go your own way. You saved me. It is only proper, as a lord demanding respect, that I return the favor."

The Sith stood and pointed out the front. "Land there."

The Sith then stepped toward Ahsoka and pointed out the window toward where the planet was exploding in lava as large plasma bolts hit it. "Would you have preferred to be left in that?"

"No, I would not." Ahsoka gulped. She bowed from her seat. "Thank you, for saving us."

"That's more like it." The Sith grinned. The ship shook briefly as it landed. The backdoor fell. Cahjinawl unlatched herself and helped Ahsoka with her belt as well. The Jedi was struggling to focus on the task. The Sith stepped out and glanced around before finding his prize. "Come! It is near!" He called. "Droid, feel free to come. I care little if you do or don't, but decide now."

"Oh dear." The droid whined. It stepped out from its seat, rolled down, and looked at where the Sith pointed. Cahjinawl helped Ahsoka limp down the ramp. The air had become burning hot and the land beneath their shoes burned almost through it. Explosions filled the distant land. The ground shook violently and the girls would have fallen if the Sith hadn't taken Ahsoka's arm in his rough grip.

"The portal is there. Go." He pointed. "Droid, help them."

"Damnit! I'm a pilot droid, not a nurse!" The droid protested.

"You'll be scrap metal if you don't!" Scourge barked. He ignited Ahsoka's lightsaber and ran head first into the portal without waiting for them.

Cahjinawl looped Ahsoka's arm over her neck and ran into the portal. The moment she entered, she squealed. The air was frightfully cold and filled with ice-cold rain in comparison to the exploding lava planet. It was like being dumped in ice water. Cahjinawl squealed further as she saw a battle was occuring just in front of her. Scourge tackled the other Sith and was busy tearing into them with his power and the lightsaber he stole. There were not many and Scourge made quick work of them.

Cahjinawl looked up. The planet had tall dark skyscrapers shooting like teeth into the stars. The place around her was a clearing with destroyed tanks, turret placements, defensive positions, and a lot of bodies. Some were cut as if by claws.

"Oh! This sucks." The droid protested. "Radioactive clouds or rain in my gears! There is just no good choices here!"

Cahjinawl felt something, something burning in her heart as she carried Ahsoka. She saw a place to hide from the rain and enemy nearby, and stumbled into it. She shivered. Ahsoka also shivered. "The Dark Side... is so strong here." Ahsoka whispered.

Cahjinawl wasn't sure what Ahsoka meant, but then she was just an apprentice. She had been trained a little by a Ghorfa terrorist and then by a Sith assassin while they conducted missions on Sith worlds, and finally for a few days by the (formally) Jedi padawan. So whatever it was Ahsoka felt was nothing new to her.

The sound of lightsabers eventually ended. Scourge turned the lightsaber off and walked over to where the three of them were huddled up. He looked down on them. He stooped down and placed Ahsoka's lightsaber in front of her. "Welcome to Dromund Kaas, capital of the Sith Empire."

"Looks like they made it." The clone confirmed. He lowered the binoculars before handing them off to the next person. Falon sighed in relief. He looked back at Varus, sitting on a couch with his head in his hands.

The room was one they broke into nearby where they could see the portal. Falon wanted to be sure, for their sake, that what he saw would occur as he hoped. So they hid in the upper room of a skyscraper from where they could watch and be sure. Falon could hear tinkling as other soldiers scrounged in the kitchen for anything that appeared edible to human species.

"You hear that? They made it." Falon addressed Varus. "They're safe."

Varus nodded. He breathed in deep. A great weight lifted from his shoulders and for a moment he chuckled in pure relief. He stepped forward and put his hand out. A soldier put the binocular in his hand and Varus looked down through them. The portal turned off in the distance. Whatever it was occurring on the other end was too much for it to be stable. Varus saw the Sith 'procure' a hovercar and his family, and some droid, enter into it before they flew off down the street. Varus lowered the spyglass and passed it on. He walked back and collapsed on the couch with a deep sigh.

"I'm glad!" The clone cheered. "Commander Tano made it! I wouldn't know what to do with myself if she hadn't!"

Falon nodded. He turned his attention from the clone to Varus. Varus put his arm over his eyes. "I'm sure none of us would." Falon whispered, knowingly.

Falon knew they were concerned, but even his sight hadn't offered him anything more. It wouldn't just be Ahsoka weighing on their minds. The fleet and their friends would be in their hopes. Varus didn't have to say anything for Falon not to know he was also concerned with Master Skywalker. He prayed to the Force that Anakin would be okay. The war hinged on him and the prophecies.

"Close the blinds. We don't want others looking in on us." The captain instructed. Varus and Falon did not protest. A soldier flicked a switch and the glass turned black.

Emperor Valkorian, freshly clothed in white, stepped into the dark room. Eletrical lights flickered on. Droids stopped everything they were doing and bowed as he approached. In the room was a hospital bed and on it was a horribly burned man strapped down: Anakin Skywalker.

"Continue your work. It would not be good if he died on me." Valkorian commanded. The droids returned to Anakins side and set to work on him. They placed skins on his burns to help heal it while soothing the burns. They inserted incredibly long needles into various places to pump drugs, chemicals, and even plasma and blood, as he had been losing it. The bed was covered in blood until it dripped down. They could barely keep up pumping new blood into him at the same rate in which it was pouring out.

More droids joined in, sewing up wounds tight. The man needed respirators to breath and the skins would need to be replaced with a suit to stabilize him. The suit was almost skintight and would keep him somewhat stable.

The metal appendanges he had on his hands were replaced. Around the skintight suit was a metal exoskeletan screwed into his bones. Around it was a second set of armor to cover the skeletal structure, giving him, for all sakes and purposes, the appearance of a super soldier or giant robot.

"May I recommend a constant numbing agent." Valkorian suggested.

Should the burning ever leave him, no doubt Anakin would be in agony from the suit keeping him alive. It had to assist him in pumping his heart and expanding his lunges.

Valkorian watched as they worked. Even unconcious, Anakin screamed in pain and lashed out. The Force pulsed from him as he crushed droids like soda cans or made a solid metal wall crack. The floor rumbled off and on and the lights flickered.

The numbing agent set to work. Anakin stopped thrashing and his body appeared to relax, though it convulsed in a pain it could not feel. The droids placed a final plate over his chest and started to screw it into his ribs, but Valkorian extended his hand.

"Not yet. Leave his chest exposed."

The droids obeyed. They left Anakin's ribs and heart exposed. The only thing covering it was the skintight suit and contraption fashioned to it to help it pump.

"Wake him." Valkorian commanded.

While the droid's programming may argue with the logic of waking a man this close to death, their programming also did not allow argument with their Emperor. Just as much their programming and mechanims required bowing and subserviance.

Anakin's eyes shot open and he opened his mouth to scream, but he could not inhale yet. The Force pulsed through the room in waves with his agony.

Mildly annoyed, Valkorian willed that the Force waves Anakin was sending out to stop. As much as he wanted the man to be numb, it seemed there were limits to how much pain could be subdued.

"Are you aware, Skywalker?" Valkorian wondered. He looked down on Anakin. Anakin's eyes moved towards him, sharp, and angry fueled by what was probably the greatest pain he had ever known. Anakin snarled with his lips, though no sound could leave him.

"Good." Valkorian murmured. "Tell me, Skywalker. Do you know what a ghoul is?" Seeing the confusion in his eyes, Valkorian nodded. "A ghoul is a puppet of sorts. It is a person whom the Sith caster takes control of, and nothing the ghoul does can resist his will. It is remarkably similar to basic mind-control, but a ghoul... a ghoul is so much more and requires... special work."

Valkorian motioned towards the door and a servant entered in. In his hands was a knife. He bowed on a knee with the knife held up. Valkorian took the knife in his hand and placed it to the side, for the moment.

"You have impressed me. So I shall allow you to witness my true ascension. The Dread Lords were useful, but their loss is inconsequential for what I have in mind with you."

Anakin sucked in as best he could with his damaged lunges. "Y... wi... ne..."

Valkorian sensed his thoughts, despite his inability to make words. "'You will never'? You only say this because you do not truly understand what a ghoul is or how one is made. The will of the ghoul doesn't matter, because the entire process removes it. By its very nature, if you succeed in resisting my will, even for a moment, you die. It is perhaps unnatural to you, so much so, that it requires sacrifice. Not just any sacrifice either... but the sacrifice of one close to you."

Anakin's eyes widened. In his thoughts Valkorian could see flashes of people he cared about. Seemed he worried for some people who were near, who might have been caught up in their fight, yet Valkorian sensed they would not do. True, as Anakin feared, they could be dead. But more than that, the better the sacrifice, the better the ghoul.

"You care about a great many people." Valkorian observed. He smiled. "Good. This will be so much easier than Scourge or Revan were."

Valkorian extended both of his hands over Anakin. One hand was open and facing down, extending his focus into the man. In the other hand was the knife. Valkorian looked into him, looked for whom his thoughts and bonds reached out towards. Valkorian saw Jedi and soldiers the man cared for, saw his apprentices and padawans, saw his teachers at his naboo school, saw his students... saw his family.

Valkorian remembered them. He had sent his Priors once after his kids to bait him out. They would do nicely.

Valkorian extended his Force reach, through the bond, into the children. He didn't know where they were, but it did not matter. Like putting his hand through a hole in the wall, he reached in and grasped their hearts.

Something cut him off, forcing his focus back. Valkorian flinched at how sudden and absolute it was. He shook his head and tried again, only to find there was a proverbial wall in his way through which he sensed no weakness.

You will not take them. A voice said to Valkorian.

Valkorian smirked. It would seem the Force itself would intervene. How far will you interfere?

He has rebelled against my wishes. I told him not to fight you, and he did. He brings this on himself, but your hand will not reach these two. I would have mercy on them.

Valkorian stood in silence, considering it. The Force was his enemy. He would kill the Force, but still, the Force in its entirity was still stronger than him so far. Valkorian could resist him and try to make a point, but that would do him no good. He was not yet ready to make that point. Almost, but not yet. He could be cooperative.

As you wish. I will leave them be.

Valkorian pulled back from the Skywalker children. He sensed no more barriers or voices, and so continued to search. If the children would not do, then there was still one more. His woman.

Valkorian breathed in and out. He would need to be focused for this. His timing had to be perfect. It wasn't anything he hadn't already done many times, but it was still one of the few techniques that required absolute perfection, a moment to prepare himself, a steady focus, and a proper environment. He had seen the technique fail due to interferences before, and though he accepted them, this time he would accept no intereference either external or internal. He wanted this. He would accept nothing short of perfection.

Valkorian reached into her chest and grabbed hold of her heart. Through the Force, he tied her life essence to Anakin's own.

The process would take many minutes. During which, far away, Padme fell and was rushed to the hospital. The medical personnel tried to see what was wrong, but no one could find what was wrong.

Slowly, Valkorian fashioned the Force around Anakin's heart so as to be like a snake, binding it and squeezing it. He didn't want her to die, not yet. First, was the next step.

He plunged the knife into Anakin's heart. He pulled it out as fast as he stabbed in.

Anakin convulsed violently and thrashed, but with only seconds left, he stilled. His heart continued to beat for a few more beats, but they were weak and slow, steadily falling. At the same time, Valkorian reached into the Force, grabbed hold of PAdme's heart, and ripped it out at the same pace.

The instant Anakin's heart stopped, it started back up again, steady and strong. That same instant, Padme's heart stopped.

Valkorian dropped the knife on a side tray and stepped back.

"Finish it." He commanded.

The droids bowed and finished their work. They nailed the exoskeleton over the man's chest, and then the armor plating over that. They placed a helmet on his head.

"Release him." Valkorian said.

The bed leaned down so Anakin's feat were on the floor. The straps holding his wrists and feet and head down released.

"Awaken." Valkorian commanded.

Anakin raised his head. He looked briefly around through the helmet. On seeing Valkorian, he did not attack, he did not trash out. He did nothing at first. He merely stared. Valkorian sensed the conflict inside of him. The ghoul process was firm, but Anakin was taking a moment to figure that out. Anakin would need a time to realize he was merely a soul existing by borrowed life energy trapped inside a body no longer his. Eventually they would come to terms.

Anakin extended a knee and bowed his head. His voice was eerily robotic, as he could not breath on his own. "What is thy will, my master?"

"Lead my armies. You know the ways of the invaders. Their strategem, their plots, their weaknesses. Be ruthless and show no mercy."

"Very good, my master."

"As of now you are my champion among all my systems. You shall lead my armies and champion our war against them. I only give you a second command: Do not lose, and do not win."

Anakin tilted his head to the side. "May I inquire, why?"

"Because I want the Mandalorians at a stalemate. They are stubborn. The harder it is, the harder they will fight back. Yet I also do not want you to break them. I will show you my endgame soon, but for now I need them distrated."

"Very good, my master." Anakin praised him.

"I will declare you as my champion. You have no need to do anything... But you will need a name." Valkorian considered it for a moment. He grinned wickedly. A name to mock him, to remind Anakin of his place trapped inside of his own body, to torment him. No name would do but one.

"You shall be known as Darth Gemaal."

(Note: Vader is dutch for father. In a similar theme Gemaal is dutch for husband.)