A.N.
I'm back with this story! I've been watching Star Wars clips and decided it was time to continue with this. I also went back and read the other chapters and realized something. I didn't like how each chapter was just one character at a time, so I'm ending that starting now. Now, with that out of the way, let's continue, shall we?
Chapter 7: An Interesting Development
Arcann had been summoned by the Immortal Emperor.
He wasn't too surprised. His father called him on occasion to take care of chores he couldn't bother to do himself so the command wasn't unusual.
What was unusual was that the knight who'd informed him of the command said that Kayden had also been summoned.
The two brothers had been sparring together in the training ring when the knight informed them and, when Kayden heard the command, he went pale. Once the knight was out of sight he dropped his training saber and looked very afraid. Arcann didn't need to ask to know what was wrong since Kayden had always reacted poorly when their father summoned him.
"Why would he want to see me?" Kayden questioned, and Arcann knew his brother was asking himself more than him. It was a fair question since Valkorion almost never summoned his youngest son.
Neither of them had any ideas on how their father's mind worked, only that it was extremely dark and twisted. "I don't know." Arcann answered.
Kayden looked up at him, fear still clearly on his face and Arcann, despite seeing the fearful look before, still felt uneasy.
He'd never admit it, but his little brother always seemed to be the best of them, happy, soaking up any new knowledge or information, willing to help him, Vaylin, and pretty much anyone with just about anything, and he almost never asked for anything in return. So to see him so scared just at the thought of seeing their father, it just gave Arcann another reason to hate their Immortal Emperor even more. 'The sooner he's off the throne and I'm on it, the better.'
The thought brought with it a bit of fear to Arcann. Could he have found out that his children were planning to overthrow him? 'No. If that were the case, we'd already be dead.'
Arcann may have hated his father but he was no fool. He knew that even with Vaylin and Kayden on his side, taking the throne would be no easy task. After all, there was a reason each of them feared the Immortal Emperor.
Kayden seemed to take a moment to calm himself, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, but even when he opened them again, Arcann could still see the fear in them. "Let's see what the Emperor commands." He said in a mostly calm but slightly fearful voice.
Arcann just nodded and they made their way to the throne room. Both brothers knew their father hated to be kept waiting. 'No, not hate. How can he hate when he doesn't feel anything?'
Arcann and Kayden didn't speak while on their way to the throne room. Arcann could also see Kayden slowly getting more and more afraid the closer they got to their destination and by the time they arrived, Kayden looked like he'd be physically ill.
The knights in the throne room stood at attention when the two brothers walked by them and Arcann and Kayden both kneeled when they were before the eternal throne and its occupant, the Immortal Emperor and ruler of the Eternal Empire, Valkorion.
The throne room, despite its enormous size, was completely silent. No one spoke, but Arcann could see out of the corner of his eye that Kayden was shaking and he had to resist doing the same, but not because of fear. 'Stay strong brother. Father's just playing his usual games.'
Finally, the Emperor spoke. " A small Sith fleet has entered the Eternal Empire." Their father informed them in his usual cold and emotionless voice. "You both will go and destroy these invaders. None are to be spared." He commanded, dismissing them with a subtle wave of his hand.
Arcann and Kayden both bowed their heads in acknowledgement of the command and made their way out of the throne room.
Visibly, Arcann appeared calm, but internally he was confused. He knew his father looked down on everyone, including his children, but none were looked down on more than Kayden. 'So why would he send the both of us?'
As soon as the two brothers were alone in the lift and the door closed, Kayden dropped his calm appearance and started breathing heavily while using the wall to steady himself and keep from falling over.
Arcann didn't hesitate to rush to his little brother's side and tried to keep him upright. He'd gotten used to seeing and dealing with this, the near panic attacks Kayden got after being in their father's presence. They weren't as bad as they had been when he was younger, but their father's darkness still took a great toll on his little brother. Once again, he cursed himself for not seeing that darkness sooner.
When the lift finished descending and the door opened again, Kayden had gotten his breathing under control but there was a slight layer of sweat on his forehead and Arcann knew it wasn't from their training just before this.
One they stepped out of the lift, Arcann spoke. "Are you alright Kayden?" He asked with slight concern in his voice.
"Yes." His little brother answered in a tired voice. "I don't think I'll ever be able to be in his presence without having to deal with that."
Arcann knew his brother was probably right, as usual. Kayden's poor reactions to their father's presence had improved over the years, but very little.
"Why would he send the both of us to deal with a fleet of invaders?" Kayden asked, voicing the same question Arcann himself had thought. "Even if he didn't send the Eternal Fleet, I'm certain that you alone would be more than enough to deal with them, Arcann." Kayden said, causing a very small smile to appear under Arcann's mask.
"If our Emperor commanded us to deal with them, we will." Arcann said, with Kayden nodding in response. Both knew that once it was commanded by their Emperor, they had no choice but to obey.
"You know, this'll be the first time I've fought against the Sith Empire." Kayden said in slight surprise.
Arcann is likewise surprised as he realizes it's true. Kayden hadn't followed him and Thexan to war so he was inexperienced in fighting the Jedi and the Sith. The realization made Arcann smile again. 'The Sith are about to wish they'd never come here.'
Some Time Later, Aboard a Terminus-Class Destroyer…
Darth Zhorrid, daughter of Darth Jadus and former member of the Dark Council, stood on the bridge of her personal flagship, The Rampage, with a slight smile on her scarred face.
Even though she appeared happy on the outside, inside she was beyond furious. 'How dare they dismiss me, ME, from the Dark Council?! It was my agent that discovered my father's scheme, my agent that stopped the Eradicators, the Eagle, and my father, and they dare say I'm not worthy of the position?!'
Her dismissal had happened shortly after the Battle of Yavin against the traitor Revan and his fellow heretics. After the battle, when she'd heard that intelligence was being rebuilt, she'd been certain that the Dark Council would see that it was hers to command once again.
Instead, Marr and those other fools had named someone else as the head of the new Sith Intelligence! Even more insulting was the fact that it wasn't even another Dark Council member, it was a Lord, a LORD! 'A lord they wouldn't even tell me the name of!'
She'd been enraged. The Dark Council had never given her the respect she deserved, not once! This time however, she would not stay silent. She'd voiced her objections and demanded leadership of Sith Intelligence be given to her, the identity of it's lord revealed so she could make an example of them, and that the rest of the Council finally give her the respect she'd demanded.
The Dark Council had not been pleased by her words to say the least, Darth Marr especially. He'd stepped forward and blasted her with the strongest and most painful Force Lightning she'd ever felt while saying that an immature child had no right to demand anything and that he was done tolerating her madness and, in a surprisingly quick vote, the Dark Council removed her from her rightful place and banished her. 'Now here I stand with what little I have left, three ships and a handful of followers. Pathetic'
Despite what many thought of her, Zhorrid was crazy but she was no fool. She knew the followers on her ships weren't truly loyal to her, but they had been loyal to her father and continued to serve her only because she was Jadus' daughter. 'But I'll make them see. I'll make them all see I deserve the respect they've denied me.'
Even though she hadn't been given control of the new Sith Intelligence, she had still controlled the former Imperial Intelligence for a time. It had been long enough for her to plant some loyal spies among their ranks without anyone knowing. 'Keeper might have known, but he wouldn't have dared tell any of the Dark Council members even after being promoted to Minister of Intelligence.'
The greatest regret she had when it came to Intelligence was that she'd failed to gain the allegiance of her greatest asset, the now infamous Cipher Nine, who'd disappeared after supposedly uncovering a grand conspiracy and running off with its secrets.
Still, a few of her spies had successfully infiltrated the new Sith Intelligence and had already provided her with some very important information.
Apparently, after destroying the world of Ziost, their former Emperor had fled out into the unknown regions and Darth Marr was planning to go after them with Republic support of all things! 'How the mighty Darth Marr has fallen to have to work with the Republic and the Jedi to hunt down the weakened Emperor.'
Zhorrid knew that was why the Emperor had fled. He was weak. If he'd still had his former power he could have destroyed far more than just Ziost. Instead, he'd chosen to hide in the Unknown Regions with Marr about to go after him.
Zhorrid swore she'd find him first. When she did and she destroyed him, the Dark Council would come to her on their knees begging for her forgiveness and finally giving her the respect she was due. 'Maybe I'll kill them all and have a party with their corpses.'
"My lord, we've detected something a few clicks out." Her sensor officer called to her nervously. 'Is it really so hard for my people to be informal?'
"Officer." She replied in a way that made the man go pale. "I believe I was clear when I said I wished to be informal with my followers."
The man visibly swallowed before answering. "O-Of course, Lady Zhorrid."
"Excellent." She said giddily before turning serious. "Now, what do you have?"
"About twelve clicks out, it's small and we're detecting multiple energy signatures but no life form readings. It appears to be some type of probe." The officer reported before a hologram of said probe appeared before her. 'It's cute. Still, it would look prettier as space dust.'
"Lady Zhorrid." Another officer called to her. "Readings from the probe are identical to the unknown forces that attacked Korriban."
That was surprising. As far as she knew, a pair of unknown twin conquerors launched a brief but devastating attack on several worlds before disappearing completely immediately after. There was actually a rather large reward being offered for any information on the mysterious force. 'Oh splendid! I can return with several dead enemies instead of just one!'
"Destroy the probe and bring me what's left. I'm sure the dust would be pretty." She said seriously before turning giddy with her last sentence, making more than a few of the crew visibly nervous but Zhorrid didn't bother to notice.
A moment later, the probe went past the bridge's viewport, giving Zhorrid a clear look at it. "Oh, it's glowing and it's spinning! Maybe our enemies want to give us a show before we destroy them." She said with delight.
That delight faded quickly when the probe quickly disappeared and was replaced by a fleet of unknown ships. They were clearly warships due to their size, armor, and weapons, but they weren't Republic or Imperial ships.
Worse, there were six ships in the enemy fleet, twice the number of her own fleet. Five of the unknown ships were identical but the sixth ship, which could only be the enemy's command ship, was twice as big as the regular warships which were already bigger than her own.
Zhorrid was at a disadvantage and she knew it, but she'd come too far to simply run away when faced with a powerful enemy. So there was really only one command she could give.
"Prepare for battle!"
Aboard the Eternal Flagship…
Kayden had never actually been aboard the Eternal Empire's greatest ship before. True, it was his brother's personal flagship, but he and Thexan had taken it to war shortly after it'd been built and since he'd returned, Arcann had been the ship's commander and only used the ship when Valkorion ordered him to deal with some task.
Arcann himself might have just viewed the ship as a fancy tool or weapon, but Kayden really took the time to appreciate all the work that had gone into making 'The Sword of Zakuul' as it was often called. 'It's truly an excellent ship. Far superior to the GEMINI warships. Maybe I'll talk to Arcann about the possibility of building more when he takes the throne.'
It was easily the biggest ship in the Eternal Fleet with stronger weapons and shields than any of their other warships and, unlike most, the Eternal Flagship was crewed by people instead of just droids or a GEMINI captain. Kayden approved of that, believing that genuine loyalty was stronger than programmed loyalty. 'Not that the GEMINI droids aren't extremely useful, but we shouldn't rely solely on droids for our fleet.'
Thankfully, they didn't since Kayden knew that there were a very small number of ships that had crews of men and women who'd proven their loyalty to Zakuul over the years.
"Prince Arcann, Prince Kayden, enemy ships have activated shields and are powering up weapon systems." A Zakuulan officer reported. 'It seems they're not even going to attempt to negotiate.' Kayden thinks, unsurprised since Arcann had told him of the Sith's highly aggressive and ruthless nature.
When Kayden had turned to face the officer who spoke, he noticed out of the corner of his eye the four knights Valkorion sent to accompany him and Arcann. Normally, a member of the royal family always had at least two knights with them at almost all times. Many assumed it was for protection or appearances, but the truth was that they were usually just meant to keep an eye on the other members for Valkorion, a fact both Kayden and Arcann knew full well.
"Begin the assault." Arcann commanded. Kayden had no doubt they'd win this battle, if it could even be called that. They had the Eternal Flagship and five more ships from the Eternal Fleet against what appeared to be one Sith Warship and two smaller ships that were more like transports than actual warships.
Arcann's plan had been a simple one: destroy the enemy ships and any escape pods they managed to launch. The Immortal Emperor had commanded that no one be spared and Arcann was fully prepared to see the order carried out.
Kayden was also fully prepared to destroy Zakuul's enemies, but he'd been curious to see what he could learn about these Sith. The reports he'd read during Thexan and Arcann's previous attack had been interesting and his older brother had also told him much, but now he had the chance to capture a Sith Warship and, more importantly, acquire the ship's records.
And Kayden wanted those records.
Valkorion simply wanted the invaders destroyed. Kayden wanted to learn everything he could about them, including if they should expect more in the near future, so he suggested a slight change in plan to Arcann, a plan his brother had strongly opposed at first until Kayden convinced him that such information could be useful in the future. 'In removing their father from the throne' had been left unsaid. 'I'll still have to be careful. Even a minor injury would probably be unacceptable to Arcann.'
Looking out the viewport, Kayden could see that the battle wouldn't last long. It hadn't even been five minutes but one of the smaller transports had already been destroyed and the other didn't look like it would last much longer. 'They aren't even attempting to retreat. Is their commander suicidal?'
Deciding it doesn't matter and seeing that the enemy warship has been mostly disabled, Kayden turns to his older brother. "Arcann." He said, knowing his brother would understand what he was asking.
Arcann growled loud enough so Kayden could hear him, even with his mask. "Head to the boarding pods. You'll launch as soon as we've destroyed the last of the warship's turbolasers." Arcann said, his voice sounding both angry and resigned.
Kayden bowed and made his way off the bridge with his two knights following him. Even without them, Kayden knew he'd have plenty of protection since Arcann would also be launching several groups of skytrooper pods as well.
It only takes about a minute to reach the boarding pods and Kayden isn't surprised to find the ship's security commander, Shernisa Varless, already there and standing at attention.
"My prince." The commander greeted him with a strong voice. Kayden didn't know the commander well, but he did know that she'd served on the ship since it was built and was a fierce warrior who'd worked very hard to reach her position. "The boarding pod is fully prepared for you and your knights." She stated before giving a slight bow.
"Thank you commander." Kayden said, giving a slight bow of his own which caught the commander and his two knights by surprise, slightly amusing the young Prince. "We'll be leaving shortly and please inform my brother that we'll report back as soon as all enemy forces have been neutralized."
"Of course my Prince. Good Hunting." She nodded and started heading for the bridge to relay his words to Arcann while Kayden and his two knights made their way into the pod.
Arcann had tried to insist that he didn't need to do any fighting and that he could board the ship after the skytroopers and knights dealt with the crew, but Kayden had refused. He knew Arcann was right and that it probably was best to let their troops deal with the enemy crew, but Kayden also knew that, as a Prince of Zakuul, this was his duty.
Before, he'd refused to go to war since he believed it would only be a waste of resources and cause unnecessary trouble. Now however, they'd joined in the war and it was only a matter of time before the rest of their new enemies came after them so, whether he liked it or not, Kayden knew he had to fight to protect his siblings and his home and that this was the best chance to start. 'It'll also give me a chance to see the Sith fighting styles.'
All his life he'd never faced enemies outside of the Eternal Empire, so he was curious to see how differently the Sith fought compared to their knights and scions.
A few moments later, his pod launched.
Aboard Zhorrid's Flagship…
Darth Zhorrid was livid. Nothing was going the way it was supposed to. The enemy ships had destroyed her other two ships already and her own ship was quickly being crippled. The bad reports kept coming one after the other and she got so sick of hearing them, she just started killing whatever officer dared to give her bad news.
Now, no one on the bridge was speaking but it was far from silent with all the alarms and explosions happening across the ship. 'They can't do this! I'm Darth Zhorrid, successor to Darth Jadus and a Dark Council member!' She thought furiously, forgetting that she'd lost her Dark Council seat.
Zhorrid looked at the readings from the enemy ships and scowled when she noticed that their shields had barely been affected by her own weapons. 'How can their ships be so much stronger than my own?! They must be cheating somehow, yes that's the only way they could be doing this!'
With that delusional thought, Zhorrid's smile returned. She'd still win. These fools wouldn't defeat her with some petty trick, not her. No, all she had to do was wait until her forces inevitably regained the advantage and crushed her enemies. 'Maybe I'll have those we capture fight each other, promising the survivor a chance at something glorious. Of course I won't tell them the glorious prize is death by my hand. No need to spoil such a delightful surprise.'
"L-Lady Zhorrid?" A crewman called out just loud enough for her to hear. 'Ugh, have they really not figured out yet that I don't like bad news?'
"What is it, officer?" She asked in a cheerful voice and, while she may have had a smile on her face, there was a very dangerous look in her eye that warned the officer to choose his words carefully.
"W-We've received reports from multiple decks mentioning blaster fire. W-We've been boarded." The officer reports with a great deal of sweat and fear visible on his face.
Zhorrid fires off a blast of force lightning at the officer who screams in pain. However, once she realized what the officer just said, she ceased her barrage. "Oh wonderful, our enemies have come to us. The battle will surely be won soon!" She says, overjoyed when she turns to look out the viewport while the rest of the crew on the bridge are trembling in fear because of both Zhorrid's insanity and the knowledge that they can't possibly win this battle and will likely be killed by either their enemies or Zhorrid herself.
While everyone else on the bridge knows defeat is imminent, Darth Zhorrid just continues to stare out the viewport with a smile on her face. Wondering just how she'll make her enemies pay for this insult while her ship continues to be crippled.
Elsewhere on Zhorrid's ship…
Kayden and his knights had just finished dealing with a squad of a dozen imperial troopers and were taking a moment to allow the skytroopers to catch up with them.
So far, the battle was going about as Kayden had expected with enemy forces offering only minimal resistance. However, he found it strange that he hadn't encountered any Sith yet since, according to Arcann, most warships usually had at least several dozen Sith aboard but Kayden hadn't even seen the body of a Sith yet. 'Perhaps our turbolasers already wiped most of them out and the rest are rallying to defend the bridge.'
Deciding now's not the time to get distracted and seeing the skytroopers have caught up with them, Kayden continues his sweep of the ship, eliminating anyone and everyone he comes across.
After several minutes, skytroopers have secured the engine room, the shield generator, the hyperdrive, and even the primary generator. The escape pods had all been destroyed as well so now all that was left was the bridge and the ship's turbolasers.
Kayden ordered the skytroopers to secure the turbolasers, knowing that while the guns themselves had been destroyed it was still possible some of the crew there had survived.
He and his knights would secure the bridge himself. 'And hopefully encounter at least one Sith there.' Kayden thinks while being even more confused by the lack of Sith on the ship. 'Even if this was only a scouting mission, there should have at least been a small handful of Sith here.'
The thought was slightly concerning and now Kayden was worried that the enemy commander might be setting a trap for them. Regardless, Kayden and the knights continued to make their way to the bridge and were also dealing with whatever remaining enemy forces they encountered on the way.
Finally the prince and his escort reach the blast doors leading to the bridge but surprisingly, Kayden can only sense one lifeform on the other side. A lifeform shrouded in darkness. 'A Sith, and likely this force's leader.'
"Get these doors open." Kayden says to his knights who wordlessly move to obey the order with each activating their blue lightsabers and begin cutting open a hole in the door while Kayden watches their backs with his own yellow lightsaber activated in his hand, though it soon becomes clear he won't need it since no enemy forces appear to try and stop them.
"My Prince." One of the knights calls out and Kayden turns to see that the bridge blast doors now have a giant hole in them and Kayden moves to enter.
"Be ready for anything." He says before entering the ship's bridge.
The sight he was greeted with was not what he'd been expecting.
Almost every person on the bridge was already dead, but it looked like they'd all been killed with either a lightsaber, or with the force since several of their necks were clearly broken and a few bodies were smoking, probably from force lightning, and Kayden could see that the only living person on the bridge wasn't even facing them.
From what Kayden could see, it was a woman in black and red robes with black hair and had a lightsaber hanging from her belt. Reaching out with the force, Kayden was now certain that she was a Sith due to the darkness he felt in her, but was surprised to sense it was considerably less than he'd been expecting.
"Ah, here already? I'd hoped to have a few more minutes of silence. No matter, my men will be along to escort you to your accommodations shortly." She said in an oddly cheerful tone which made Kayden snap his head back towards the bridge entrance expecting troops to come pouring in.
Yet, no troops appeared and, reaching out once more, he confirmed that there were likely no enemies coming either. "I don't think your men are coming." Kayden said, half serious and half confused.
"Oh they will be." The Sith said in her same cheerful tone. "But while we wait, I suppose I can take a moment to speak with you." The Sith said while turning around to face them.
One look at her was all Kayden needed to see that this woman was dangerous. She had skin that was extremely pale and scars reaching from the edges of her mouth to her ears. However, it was her eyes that were the most telling. The Sith woman was smiling, but the pure rage and madness in them was enough for Kayden to guess what happened before they arrived.
"You killed these people, didn't you?" He asked, already having a good idea of the answer.
The mad Sith looked confused before glancing at the bodies. "These people? Oh they were just being so loud and giving me nothing but bad news so I decided to just kill them all and wait for you here." She said it like she was talking about the weather, not like she'd just slaughtered her own crew for giving her bad reports.
Then, her expression changed. "Now that you're here however, I suppose I'll have you entertain me instead."
Then, with force enhanced speed, she leapt forward. Drawing her lightsaber and attempting to behead Kayden in one move.
Fortunately, the Zakuulan Prince was ready. He blocked her attack with his still-activated lightsaber and used the force to send her flying back, causing her body to hit and crack the viewport window she'd been staring out of just a few moments earlier.
When she got up, her face was twisting with rage. "You can't hurt me!" She shouted, clearly consumed by madness. "I am Darth Zhorrid of the Dark Council and successor to Darth Jadus, you can't kill me!" Zhorrid shouted. 'She's completely insane.' Kayden thought while signaling his two knights to stay back.
Insane or not, this was a dangerous enemy. Kayden was still confident he could defeat her easily, but he still wanted to see how a Sith actually fought. 'Even if she is a crazy one.'
He wasn't disappointed as Darth Zhorrid leapt forward again, attacking Kayden with furious strikes. 'She's like a wild animal, only focused on attacking with no defense whatsoever.'
To give her credit, the Sith was surprisingly strong, but Kayden also noted that her rage was making her moves sloppy and he seriously doubted that this Darth Zhorrid was actually a member of the Sith Empire's Dark Council. 'There's no way someone this reckless could have lasted long among the Sith I've read about.'
So he waited. He stayed completely on the defensive, despite spotting several openings, just waiting for Zhorrid to tire herself out so he could finish her in one move. Sure enough, about a minute later, she was starting to breathe hard and her attacks were getting much slower.
Leaping back to avoid a blow that would have cut him in half, Kayden, who wasn't even winded, took a moment to examine his opponent again. It was clear Zhorrid had almost completely exhausted herself with her attacks going by how hard she was breathing and Kayden sensed that her force powers were nearly depleted as well.
"Why won't you die?!" Zhorrid shouted before Kayden sensed her drawing on the force for another attack.
Raising her arms, she used every ounce of Dark Side power she had left and unleashed a devastating blast of force lightning at Kayden.
Calmly, the Zakuulan Prince raised his own hand and unleashed a blast of his own force lightning, but his was yellow while Zhorrid's lightning was blue.
It was obvious who was the stronger as yellow force lightning blasted right through Zhorrid's own lightning, hitting Zhorrid herself and causing the crazed Sith to scream in pain.
When Kayden stopped his lightning, he watched as Zhorrid fell to the floor in a smoking heap. Surprisingly, he sensed the Sith was still alive and conscious, so he approached her cautiously.
When he was standing right before her downed form, she snapped her head to look up at him. Kayden knew she was beaten. That last attack was everything she'd had left, now all she could do was glare at him, a sight which didn't faze him in the least. 'I've dealt with far worse from my father.'
"You can't win! I'm Darth Zhorrid, a Lord of the Dark Council! I'm Darth Jadus' only daughter! I'm Sith and you're nothing! You can't kill me!" She shrieked at him, completely hysterical.
Kayden decides he's heard enough from the mad woman. So he thrust his lightsaber forward, impaling her through the heart.
She gave him a look of shock and surprise before all signs of life left her and she fell back dead.
Kayden wasn't quite sure what to make of the now dead Darth Zhorrid. She'd clearly been Sith and was somewhat skilled with a lightsaber, but she was only as good as an average knight. 'If she was a lord of the Dark Council, she must have been the weakest or at least the most deranged.'
Regardless, with Zhorrid's death the battle was clearly over. Activating his holo, it only took a moment for Arcann's image to appear. "Status."
"The ship's commander is dead." Kayden informed him, not bothering with Zhorrid's name since he knew Arcann wouldn't care. "Have the crew do a scan of the ship for any further droids or lifeforms that the skytroopers might have missed. I'm going to start retrieving the ship's records and I should be back on the flagship shortly."
Arcann gave what appeared to be a stiff nod, but Kayden could sense the relief coming from his brother, causing him to give a slight smile just as Arcann's image vanished.
Kayden's smile also vanished when a warning in the force caused him to quickly draw his blade to block a surprise attack from behind from one of his own knights. 'What?'
Kayden was confused for only a moment before sensing the fear and regret in each of the knights, both of whom now had their sabers activated and were facing him with guarded stances. 'Father ordered them to kill me.' He realized, knowing it couldn't have been anyone else.
"Please forgive us my prince!" One of the knights said before attacking again. 'They were waiting until after I reported my battle so they could tell Arcann that I'd died by a surprise attack or a stray explosion.'
With each attack he blocked, Kayden could feel his rage building and, faster than the knights could react, he reached out with the force and grasped both knights by their necks. His father had thrown away the lives of these two loyal knights by ordering them to kill him.
Kayden wanted to spare them since he knew they were loyal to Zakuul and that they were just following orders. Unfortunately, he also knew his father would also punish them for their failure and, knowing his father, their punishment would likely be severe.
In one quick movement, Kayden turned his wrist and snapped both knights' necks in an instant. Dropping them, he took a moment to mourn the dead knights before pulling out a data card and inserting it into the ship's main computer which was surprisingly undamaged.
While it was copying data, he glanced back over to the knights' bodies and made a silent promise in his head.
'You'll pay for this father.'
A.N.
Just after one chapter and I'm already feeling better about continuing the story this way. Darth Zhorrid was a character who just seemed to disappear after the first act of the Agent storyline, assuming you didn't kill her, but I always prefered the light playthrough for the agent myself so it makes sense that she'd still be alive up to this point, at least in the original story. I'd also like to say, if there's any characters from SWTOR you'd like to see make an appearance here that normally wouldn't, tell me and I'll see what I can do. Okay, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and see you guys next time!