Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.

Let's get to it.


Chapter 9- Casualties

(July 3, 1999)

As the sun begins to set over the farmland stretching across a peaceful Mid Rim planet, the farmers and their families are preparing to settle in for the night after a long day of work.

However, miles from any farming settlement, in the midst of a thicket, Philip, dressed in his black robes, is sitting cross legged on the ground, meditating into the Force while reaching out as far as he can with his feelings.

Philip had arrived on the planet two days ago, where he had attacked the Imperial garrison on the planet. Philip had devastated the garrison, wiping out 80 percent of its troops and other personnel and leveling over half of its main base. Now, he had retreated into the forest to await the hoped for arrival of an Inquisitor.

For the last almost three years since the incident on Saleucami, Philip had been hunting the Inquisitors, as well as searching for Jedi he could help get to safety. In addition to the Inquisitor he had killed on Saleucami, he had since added another Inquisitor to his body count. In addition, a year ago, he had boarded an Imperial Star Destroyer, massacred a good portion of its crew, and then set off its self destruct mechanism, destroying the ship. Now, he's waiting for what will hopefully be his third Inquisitor kill.

Suddenly, as he is taking a deep breath, still continuing his meditation, Philip feels something. A disturbance in the Force. His eyes slowly open, and he slowly turns his head to the west. Yes, he can feel something. A powerful presence in the Dark Side he has come to recognize is the presence of an Inquisitor. A cruel smile crosses Philip's face. Yes, his plan has worked. Another Inquisitor has been brought into his hands again.

Philip slowly rises to his feet. He raises his hand and summons his lightsaber to him from across the clearing. Then, he places his skull-like mask onto his face as he begins to slowly walk out of the clearing in the direction he can sense the dark presence.

As Philip strides through the forest, he can see some of the animals in his path shy away from him and begin to flee. By now, Philip has grown into a great warrior strong in the Dark Side, enough so that animals can sense it and know to avoid him.

As Philip begins to reach the edge of the forest, he suddenly smells something. A scent that he knows well. The smell of smoke from burning buildings. Philip begins to move a little bit more quickly until he exits the treeline. Scanning the landscape, he can see a bright orange light in the distance. His face contorts in a scowl. This Inquisitor had clearly decided to try something that would certainly draw Philip out into the open. Well, it worked, Philip thinks to himself as he begins briskly towards the light.

Meanwhile, in the small farming settlement a few miles from the treeline, it is chaos and disaster. An non-human Inquisitor, known as the Seventh Brother, had suddenly appeared in the village a few hours earlier. His terrifying visage and his power within the Dark side had filled the villagers with terror. The Seventh Brother had slaughtered most of the villagers and set fire to the buildings of the village. Now, he had a few villagers he hadn't killed bound and on their knees in the center of the village.

"Why are you doing this? We're loyal to the Empire!" a young man says. This young man had always been loyal to the Empire and seen it as the bringer of stability and peace. Suddenly having this happen was a shock and stab in the gut.

"You do not know the role your sacrifice will play. With your sacrifice, I will draw out one of the fiercest warriors in the galaxy, and win a victory that will win me much favor with the Emperor," the Seventh Brother says ominously, trailing the blade of his lightsaber through the dirt.

Suddenly, all of them hear what sounds like a faint thud. The Brother raises his head to scan his surroundings, looking for the source of the sound. Suddenly, burning pieces of wood shoot out from a building towards the Seventh Brother. The Brother manages to deflect them just in time with the Force, but some of the embers hit his robe, singeing small holes in the fabric.

The Brother raises his lightsaber a little bit more. Then, he sees tongues of flame and clouds of embers begin to be pulled towards the main entrance into the village, but leaving a clear path through it all.

The Brother faces this small gap, and a second later, sees a figure approaching through the gap between the flames. Then, as the figure gets through it, a red lightsaber blade suddenly seems to spring from the figure's hand.

The Brother feels a sense of dark satisfaction. "The Crimson Blade. You came just as I expected," he says.

A second later, a chilling laugh echoes through the village's remains. "No, Inquisitor. You came to me. Just as I planned. This just brought us together sooner. I hope you got a little bit more of a rush over getting exercise your power just one more time. Because you are about…to meet your end…on my blade."

Across the village square, Philip spins his lightsaber once in hand before charging at the Seventh Brother. The Brother sets his lightsaber spinning at high speed, just in time to meet Philip's blade. The two weapons meet with a massive crackling.

Philip forces the Brother's saber aside before kicking the Brother's knee. The Brother stumbles back, trying to regain his balance. Philip steps forward and drives his saber at the Brother's chest, but the Brother just manages to block his blow.

Philip reaches out with the Force, summoning a storm of embers and small, burning chunks of wood and sends it flying at the brother. The Brother desperately tries to deflect it away using the Force, but his skin and robes are pelted by a number of embers and burning splinters. The Brother cries out in anguish as his feels his skin burn.

Philip lunges at the Brother, slashing at his head. The Brother just manages to deflect it, but then Philip holds out his hand, summoning the Force around him. As he does, he begins speaking in the ancient language of the Sith. As he speaks, bands of dark energy begin to flow out of his hand. The bands form what looks like a net, wrapping itself around the Seventh Brother. The net of energy constricts itself around the brother's body, pinning his arms against his body, allowing Philip to slash his lightsaber in half and destroy it.

The Brother struggles against the net. To his horror, he begins to feel as if his power in the Force is also being constricted. Philip smiles darkly under his mask as he lifts the Inquisitor into the air with the Force. "You bit off more than you could chew, Inquisitor. I have learned from the teachings of the ancient Sith Lords. I have mastered powers of the dark side you could only dream of. Only Lord Vader or the Emperor themselves can hope to match me now. And trust me, they will, once I've wiped out every Inquisitor."

The Seventh Brother, beginning to feel a little weak from the Force net, takes a moment before he snaps at Philip, "You will never escape, Crimson Blade. Almost the entire Inquisitorius is deployed across the galaxy to hunt for you. They will find you and kill you."

"They may find me. But they will be the ones to die. You won't live to see it though," Philip says in a soft, dangerous voice. He raises his lightsaber before saying, "Also, don't call me Crimson Blade. I find it tacky. Call me Philip Nelson." He then slashes the lightsaber in an upwards diagonal slash, cutting through the Brother's chest and throat. The Brother's body goes limp, and the remnants of his lightsaber fall from his hands.

Philip disperses the Force net he conjured around the Seventh Brother, before allowing his corpse to fall to the ground. He then looks at the few surviving villages, reaching out with the Force and undoing their bonds. He then says simply, "Good luck rebuilding." He then turns and walks away, leaving the astonished villagers in his wake, wondering just who he is.

As Philip walks away, he thinks back to what the Seventh Brother said. He had said that most of the Inquisitors were deployed across the Galaxy. If that is the case, then perhaps now is the time for him to do something he's been thinking about for a while: attack the Inquisitors' home base. Perhaps it's time to take the fight to their home territory.


And, I'll end the chapter there.

So, yes, next chapter will show Philip launching an attack of Fortress Inquisitorius. It will have some tie ins to Jedi: Fallen Order. It'll be up in a day or two. Until it is, please leave a review, and stay tuned!