So probably noticed that I'm very late updating this story. Been busy irl, but hopefully I'll have more time to write now.

So it's the end of Alderaan. We are now near the end of the first part of the story. Just in case you didn't know, there is a poll up on my profile that will help me determine the future of this story. So if you haven't already, please give that a look and vote.

Chapter 32: Chains of Blood

Duke Kendoh paced back and forth. His footsteps rapid and fearful.

Arkunov would be back soon enough, even if he was delayed somewhat after assaulting Gesselle Oragana's command post, it would take a day for the Sith to return. Less if he was in a hurry, and when the Sith arrived... Kendoh would be doomed.

The Duke had taken advantage of the Sith's actions. The sabotage of the planetary generator had allowed him to eliminate several of his more... disagreeable relatives.

It had been an irresistible opportunity. Kendoh would have been a fool not to take advantage, at least that was what the Duke had told himself. But in his eagerness, Kendoh had failed to fully consider the consequences.

The suspicions of the other Thul nobles had immediately been turned in his direction, though Kendoh had managed to deflect their accusations. For now at least.

Yet he had done this in the worst way possible. He had blamed Arkunov.

The other members of House Thul were currently investigating, but they were sure to capitulate once the Sith returned. They had no power over one of their Imperial backers. In fact, the only one who seemed to have a measure of control over one Sith was another higher ranking Sith.

Kendoh froze mid step. A twisted little smile appeared on his face. He whispered, "Darth Baras."

Darth Baras disconnected the holo the instant that Kendoh had finished whining. The Duke was an irritant, to say the least, and would no doubt soon reach the end of his usefulness.

The entire time that Kendoh had been speaking, Baras had not even considered believing him.

Behind his mask, Baras smirked, unwittingly the Duke had provided him with an opportunity to test his apprentice. Soon the Sith Lord would know his apprentice's true nature.

There would be no surprises from Arkunov in the future, soon Baras would know how much use his apprentice had left.

Breaching Castle Organa was not difficult.

The house guard, already distracted by the siege, was too scattered to put up any real resistance to Arkunov's assault.

Not that it would have made much of a difference.

It did not take Arkunov long to reach the central tower. He could sense the Willsaam's presence at the very edge of his awareness, along with something else. It was as though they were on the other side of a river, the tides keeping them just out of the Sith's reach.

For a short while at least.

Soon enough, Arkunov reached a door at the very heart of the tower. It was made from reinforced durasteel and was obviously resistant to most conventional weaponry. Clearly this was meant to be a bolthole for the most important nobles of House Organa. Arkunov smirked, he was impressed that they were going to such lengths to stop him. Almost flattered really.

Not that it would do any good.

Focusing, Arkunov reached out with the force and found his target. Not the door itself, but the hinges and locking mechanisms. The dark side surged through him and an instant later, those components were crushed. The doors fell forward with a resounding crash that shook the room.

As Arkunov stepped into the room, an Organa guard charged towards the Sith apprentice, sword raised above his head. Arkunov cut him down effortlessly, leaving the decapitated fool on the ground.

Glowing yellow eyes locked onto the far side of the room; zeroing in on his targets.

Parvin and Gregor Willsaam cowered behind a small squad of Organa soldiers, as well as a Jedi, a master by the look of things.

The Jedi carried a blue lightsaber and kept his focus on Arkunov, tracking every movement that the Sith made. Like a wounded animal waiting for a predator to pounce on his defenceless pack.

"You were right, Master Volryder," Parvin Willsaam whispered. "The Sith has found us!"

Her husband on the other hand, seemed to be in denial, "Impossible. No single assailant should be able to make this far into the Castle. Impossible."

Arkunov was mildly amused by the man's words. He was quite ignorant of the events around him. He had no idea of the power the Empire could bring to bear. Soon House Organa would be struck a blow it would take them years to recover from.

No one on this world understood what the Empire was truly capable of. They didn't understand the scale of the war that they had signed up for.

Arkunov smirked back at the Willsaam patriarch, "I didn't even break a sweat."

It was at that moment that Volryder decided to make himself relevant again. He stepped forward, pointing his blue blade towards Arkunov. "Consider yourself warned, Sith," he announced. "You will not harm Parvin and Gregor Willsaam. I vow it."

Arkunov simply smiled back at Volryder, "What makes you think I want to hurt them?"

The Jedi's eyes narrowed, his grip around the lightsaber tightening. Behind him, Arkunov felt Quinn's emotions spike in confusion, he didn't understand what the Sith was up to.

"So," Volryder said, keeping his voice low and controlled. "You slaughter countless innocents to get here, and now you want to make friends?"

Arkunov's smiled did not fade, he replied, "Keep calm, Master Jedi. What is it your order says? 'There is no emotion'."

Volrdyer's eyes narrowed and his knuckles tightened around the hilt of his lightsaber. Yet he took no more action than that.

The Sith took a single step forwards, heading towards the Willsaam's. But before he could get close, Volryder put himself between Arkunov and the Organa servants.

Arkunov smirked but didn't say anything. That chance was taken by Gregor Willsaam. "Please," he said. "If this has something to do with us, I would like to know why. Please tell us that at the very least."

Arkunov chuckled, "You haven't told them? What happened to 'there is no ignorance', Jedi?"

Volryder did not respond, but once again his hand tightened around the hilt of his lightsaber. Arkunov smirked, the man's knuckles must have been completely white beneath his gloves.

"Gregor," Parvin Willsaam said. "This has to do with Jaesa! I just know it."

Arkunov rolled his eyes, "Give the woman a prize. Jaesa must get her force sensitivity from you."

"I knew she shouldn't have gone with the Jedi, now the Empire is hunting her. Sith, Jaesa was our life. She was going to marry Organa nobility so that we would no longer have to be servants."

Gregor then picked up the tale, "When she... left, we sacrificed that dream. We don't know anything about Jaesa now. We were told we'd probably never see her again. We are mere servants, what could you possibly want with us?"

For a fraction of a second Arkunov remained silent, yet his mind raced with a multitude of thoughts. He considered killing the Willsaams, though he did notice there were problems with the idea. Their deaths might not serve his purposes, at least not in the long run. The act might push their daughter towards the dark side, yet it would ultimately just cause Jaesa to hate him on some level. Unless he didn't handle it carefully. Though even that wasn't a bad thing. After all, it was an apprentice's duty to eventually surpass their master. Something that many among the Sith, even Arkunov's own master, seemed to forget. Arkunov hadn't forgotten about Dri'kill Ba'al, the apprentice that had been set up for execution once his role as spy had ceased to be useful. There was no doubt in Arkunov's mind that Baras would have a similar fate for him in the future.

It was unfortunate that Arkunov didn't know how Jaesa felt towards her parents, whether she resented them or not. That was certainly a possibility, as it sounded like they had intended to use their daughter for their own betterment. Though without that certainty, Arkunov couldn't know how the Jedi Padawan would react.

On the other hand, Jaesa's parents represented an attachment.

A chain.

A chain that tied her to the past. A past that would drag her down into weakness, unless someone showed her a different way.

"You will be my message to Jaesa."

Gregor frowned in confusion, "You... you just want us to send her a message?"

Parvin, on the other hand, was far quicker on the uptake than her husband. She backed away, hands raised vainly as a shield. "No Gregor! It's our deaths that will be a message to Jaesa!"

It was then that Volryder chose to make himself relevant again. Interposing himself between Arkunov and the Willsaam's, the Jedi master raised his lightsaber at the Sith, "Listen to your wife. Her explanation is very likely the truth." All the while his voice didn't waver from the same flat, irritating calm that it had contained throughout this encounter.

Before the Jedi could act, Arkunov exploded into action.

The dark side slammed into Volryder, sending the Jedi Master rolling backwards. He recovered quickly, but not fast enough.

Arkunov had already turned his attention to the Willsaam's and closed both of his hands into fists. In that same instant there was a short violent snap, in the next moment the two servants fell to the ground, dead. Their necks broken and twisted at bizzare angles.

In that same moment, Quinn raised his blaster and discharged a volley of shots into the stunned Organa soldiers. They never even had a chance to defend themselves.

Turning back to face the Volryder, Arkunov smirked, "Well... it seems you were finally right about something, Jedi."

Jaesa fell to the ground. A short, sharp, scream of pain escaping her lips.

Her nerves throbbed with a sharp agonising pain. She clutched at her sides, desperately trying to ease the sensation, though the effort wasn't necessary, for it faded almost as quickly as it had appeared. She wasn't sure what happened, it was as if something had been ripped away from her. Something she thought she'd forgotten. Something that she'd forgotten long ago...

Her parents.

Something had happened to her parents.

Arkunov.

He had gotten to them.

"NO!"

Karr sprinted into the room, barely avoiding crashing into the narrow walls of the ship corridors.

"Jaesa, what's happening? Is it the Sith?"

Yet again his focus was not on her. It was always something, or someone, else.

"They're dead! He killed them! You promised to protect them! Why didn't you protect them? I thought that I could count on a Jedi Master, but you're useless! You're all useless!"

For a fraction of a second anger flashed across Nomen Karr's face. But he quickly masked it and said, "It is time that I end this."

The Jedi Master charged towards Arkunov, blue blade burning brightly.

The Sith smirked, lightsaber flashing to life to intercept Volryder's weapon. Crimson and red blades clashed, sending sparks showering to the floor below.

"No!" Volryder said, barely holding back a snarl. "No Sith can kill that quickly. It's not possible."

"Why Master Jedi, you almost sound angry" Arkunov smirked. "It appears that I've gotten under your skin."

Volryder pushed back against Arkunov, sending him backwards. Arkunov let Volryder, smiling at the Jedi Master all the while. The Sith staggered backwards, gaining some distance between himself and the Jedi Master.

"No," Volryder replied, biting back his emotions. He couldn't allow himself to lose focus, to give into emotion. To give into that weakness like the Willsaam's had. "I failed, but I will redeem myself. Your death will see to that."

Arkunov didn't reply, he just smirked back at Volryder.

The Jedi charged forward, unleashing a series of precise Makashi strikes. Desperately trying to cut through Arkunov's guard.

Yet the Sith barely seemed to noticed the attacks. Almost effortlessly redirecting them with perfect use of Soresu.

Arkunov's smirk widened as he saw the visible frustration on Volryder's face. The Jedi's form was suffering now, what had once been a precise flow of thrusts, was now a series of rapid, reckless stabs.

Deflecting the Jedi's latest attack, Arkunov changed forms. Switching to Makashi himself, Arkunov stabbed at Volryder. Leaving a shallow cut along the Jedi's forearm.

Arkunov let loose a bark of laughter as the Jedi winced in pain.

"You'll have to do better than that!"

"Be silent Sith!" Volryder retorted, unable to keep the anger from his voice anymore.

"Unleash your rage! It is the only way to defeat me!"

Volryder shook his head, attempting to banish the anger that flooded his mind. He could not lose control. He would not give into the weakness of emotion. Not like the Willsaam's. Not like the Sith.

Yet... the Sith was winning.

No. It was far worse than that. The Sith was taunting him. He was playing with the Jedi Master.

Roaring filled the chamber.

Absently, Volryder tried to locate the source of the noise. It took him some time to realise that it was coming from his own lips.

Arkunov laughed at the Jedi's enraged state. It had been simple to locate Volryder's weakness. From the moment he had entered the room, Arkunov had sensed the contempt the Jedi felt for those around him. It had been even more obvious after Arkunov had killed the Willsaams. The Jedi's disgust for their emotional reaction had practically flavoured the air.

Now the once proud and disciplined Jedi Master, was little more than a rabid dog. His bladework suffered for it. The closest thing Arkunov could equate it to was Juyo, though without any recognisable style to it.

It was laughably easy for Arkunov to end the fight.

Casually sidestepping the berserk Jedi's latest reckless strike, Arkunov effortlessly removed Volryder's head. Sending it bouncing across the polished floor.

"Impressive, my Lord." Quinn said, as Arkunov sheathed his blade. The Sith Warrior was mildly surprised, he had almost forgotten that the captain was there; with how caught in the duel he'd been.

"Thank you, Captain. You have a question?"

Quinn blinked, casually ignoring the way Arkunov had sensed his intent. Even if it unnerved him to some degree. Instead he said, "I've never seen anything like that, my Lord. The way you angered that Jedi, I've heard about it, but never thought I'd see it. How did you do it?"

"Dun Möch," Arkunov explained. "It's a Sith form. Designed to exploit opponents weaknesses. When used correctly it is very effective on Jedi."

"Yes, it appears to be excellent at killing them."

Arkunov smirked, "Well it has... other uses."

Before he could continue with his explanation, Arkunov's holocom chimed. The Sith reached for it immediately, for there were only a few that had that frequency. Activating it, a familiar figure flickered into focus.

"Apprentice," Darth Baras said. "We must speak. Now."

Duke Kendoh smiled to himself.

He was safe now.

"Baras will take care of it," Kendoh chuckled. The Duke had seen many Sith over the years. Not one of them tolerated disobedience or treachery. Now that Baras was convinced of Arkunov's treachery, there was no chance of the assassination being traced back to him.

"Duke Kendoh," Fimmress said.

"What is it?" The Duke grumbled, irritated at being dragged from his revelry.

"There is someone here to see you."

Kendoh turned, frowning slightly at the amusement he heard in the bodyguard's voice.

His eyes widened in horror at the man who stood in the doorway.

"Arkunov."

"Kendoh. I hear that you've been spreading rumours about me."

The Duke backed away, desperately trying to put distance between himself and the Sith. It didn't help, as Kendoh soon found his back against the wall.

"Fimmress!" The Duke blurted. "Help me! You are sworn to protect me!"

The bodyguard's only response was to give a cruel smile and put his hands behind his back.

"No!" Kendoh screamed, as Arkunov's lightsaber blazed to life.

So Alderaan is now done! Hope it was worth the long wait.

Going to try and get back on schedule now. So we will hopefully have the end of the first part of this story.

Remember to vote in the poll and I'll see you next time.