Chapter 9
The Sith Infiltrator reverted to realspace near the forest world of Ziost. How the Rebels discovered the lost Sith world was unknown to Apostas. But she would allow none to escape.
The cloaked ship passed through the atmosphere and approached the Rebel base. There were no ground personnel. The base was completely quiet. Upon probing with the Force, Apostas sensed a great sense of terror in the base. She also detected products of Sith alchemy ravaging the Rebels.
Wasting no time, Apostas decloaked and landed her ship outside the base. She descended the boarding ramp and looked to the old temple. Reaching into the minds of the beasts, the Sith sought what guided their rampage. She immediately recoiled from the icy cold guiding force.
"It can't be," Apostas muttered.
Apostas unclipped her lightsaber from her belt and stepped into the temple. The remains of Rebel defenders littered the way, but she paid them little heed. The distant screams of dying Rebels guided Apostas as she sought the beasts.
The beasts were short, stocky and bipedal. Their hide was a tough dark brown and horns protruded from their hunched spines. Razor sharp claws extended from their fingers and red eyes stared maliciously at their prey.
Two beasts had five Rebels cornered. They screamed as they unloaded clips, but could not pierce flesh.
Apostas held out her left hand and fired a burst of Force lightning at both beasts. Her power was amplified by the Sith amulet she wore. The beasts would learn to serve a true Sith and not one whose time had passed.
The beasts roared in agony as Apostas electrocuted them. Once the barrage stopped, they turned to face a new enemy. The hold on their minds was stronger than Apostas initially perceived.
"I am Sith!" Apostas boomed before she ignited her glowing red blade.
"Princess Leia!" the Rebels yelled. "Help us!"
Apostas used a Force choke to immobilize one of the beasts so she could dispatch the other one. The free beast lunged at her with its powerful arms, but she easily sidestepped him. Then, with a low sweep, Apostas removed its legs.
The beast fell forward from its momentum, crashing against the floor. Apostas marched behind it and raised her blade for the kill. She impaled its skull, killing it instantly.
The remaining beast fell dead from the Force choke, landing in front of the Rebels. Apostas recognized one soldier, a light skinned Alderaanian named Hal Polis. She could tell they looked on her as an enemy, but could sense their fear.
"Princess, I pledged my life to the Rebel cause when Alderaan was destroyed," he said.
"How touching," Apostas remarked before holding her left hand out. She employed the Force choke on the surviving Rebels.
Hal struggled to say what he wanted, "I'll serve the heir to Alderaan." But it came out weak.
Apostas released the Force choke on Hal, but not the others. The afflicted Rebels collapsed from crushed windpipes.
Hal fell to his knees, both from exhaustion and out of loyalty. He gasped, letting air back into his lungs.
"You have chosen wisely," Apostas told Hal. "Where is the commander of this base?"
"The general locked himself in the control room," Hal told her.
"Come with me," Apostas commanded. She deactivated her lightsaber and returned it to her belt.
Hal nodded as Apostas walked away from him. She used the Force to guide her through the temple. The dark side cut through the building like shards of tiny volcanic glass, leading her to the another group of beasts. With a powerful Force push, she knocked four beasts to the floor.
Her hands extended and Apostas unleashed another blast of Force lightning. One by one, the beasts died.
"That's a nice trick," Hal commented.
Apostas chuckled. "You have no idea," she told him.
It seemed the entire temple was alerted to the Sith intrusion. Apostas walked into a corridor where two paths converged into a single section. Beasts roared as they rushed to destroy the invader.
"These beasts are the natural defenses of this temple," Apostas said, not once turning to Hal as she addressed him. "They were supposed to be dormant, so I curious as to how you managed to wake them up."
"You said you were Sith, didn't you?" Hal asked. "Why can't you make them stop?"
"Because a will greater than my own is driving them now," Apostas answered. She plunged into the dark side as she prepared to unleash a horrific attack. She read in Exar Kun's private retreat of how ancient Sith could manipulate the fabric of the Force itself to produce might storms.
"You may want to step away from me," Apostas warned.
The Sith amulet pulsed with power as lightning cracked around her fingertips. Blue-white energy collected around her hands before Apostas unleashed a devastating Force storm. The surge tore through the temple corridors, annihilating any unfortunate life form that was in its path.
Apostas clenched her teeth as she tried to control something that was beyond her level of mastery in the Force. If not for the Sith amulet, she would have even attempted it. The Force storm contained all her fury and anguish and left her feeling drained once it abated.
Apostas nearly fell from the exertion, but Hal was there to catch her. It was a weakness unbecoming of a Sith Lord.
"Princess, what did you do?" he asked.
Apostas pulled away from Hal quickly. "Force storm," she said. "I was not prepared for it."
Hal nodded sympathetically, but said nothing else.
The Sith Lord focused on finding the main control room, drawing on the Force to locate the Rebel general. When she finally located the main control room, Apostas drew her lightsaber. The synthetic bloodshine emerged with a snap-hiss. With a swift movement of her wrist, she plunged the energy blade into the door and began to cut through the stone door.
Once finished, Apostas used a Force push to knock the cut stone to the floor below. She saw a terrified Rebel general aiming a blaster pistol at her.
"Don't come any closer!" the old man said before firing a few rounds.
Apostas deflected the shots using swift movements of her right arm and wrist. She then called the blaster to her left hand with the Force. "General Juba," Apostas said. "You have been judged as a traitor of the Galactic Empire." Apostas discarded the blaster after finishing her statement.
"And you are a traitor to the Alliance," Juba said.
"The penalty for your transgression is death," Apostas proclaimed. She held out her left hand and used a Force choke on the general.
Juba reached for his throat as Apostas robbed him of life giving air. He fell over the control panel once Apostas finished the deed.
Showing complete apathy, Apostas pushed Juba from the control panel and told Hal, "I must contact my master. This conversation is not meant for your ears."
"As you wish, Princess," Hal said before quickly leaving the control room.
Apostas quickly accessed the holonet and contacted Vader aboard the Executor. A small image of the Emperor was projected over the beacon. "What is your report, Lady Apostas?" he asked.
"Master, the Rebel presence on Ziost is destroyed," Apostas told him. "Someone unleashed the temple's natural defenses on them and I had to exterminate them."
"Perhaps we were not as successful as we thought," Vader mused. "None of my agents are capable of overriding your will. Even Jerec is incapable of such a feat."
"What will we do?" Apostas questioned.
"We shall proceed as planned," Vader told her. "Once we have crushed the Rebellion, we can deal with internal matters."
"Father, is that wise?"
If she could see Vader's face, Apostas knew there would be disapproval on it. Quickly, she added, "This is a greater threat, Master. If we do not address it, it will destroy everything we have built."
"The future of the Rebellion is within our grasp," Vader said. "If we do not take an expedient course in crushing the Alliance, we will face a two front war."
"What would you have me do, Master?"
"Remain on Ziost for the time being," Vader told her. "When I am prepared to advance on Dantooine, I will contact you."
Darth Vader's image flickered out of existence, leaving his apprentice alone in the temple control room. Could the Emperor truly believe that the threat would wait for him? But could it really be a loyalist to the late Sidious that was threatening to topple the Sith Order in a measure of retaliation?
Suddenly, a snap-hiss erupted in the control room. "My master sends his regards!" Hal snarled before unleashing a torrent of Force lightning on Darth Apostas.
Caught completely by surprise, the Sith was overwhelmed by Hal's offensive and fell to her knees. The last thing Apostas saw before she blacked out was the man who had sworn allegiance to her only a short time ago.
