Wow... just, wow... the amount of attention that this received overnight of me posting it, let alone the course of the 2 week period before the next chapter has blown me away. I am touched, and I mean it, by the rapid gaining of attention that the sequel, and the 2/3s of a trilogy have in general generated. On another note, Yes I have seen TFA, and yes, I am willing to spoil/discuss it with anyone who wishes via PM, but I am merciful enough to not do so here... except for one single thing... Chewbacca gets cold... I know, I'm evil... anyway, keep up the attention, my muse is nice and fat and chugging away on all cylinders but there can always be more fuel! Enjoy!
Chapter One
Homecoming
Darth Diábolis stalked angrily down the ramp of his personal shuttle into the bustling streets of New Kaas City, where bystanders stepped aside instinctively to make way for him. The first major strike against the hated Republic was an overwhelming success, the station over the Tund system was obliterated, and soon after the planet was invaded, and the red Sith forced to rejoin their ancient faction.
Stepping up to a small platform where speeders awaited to transport important dignitaries around the expansively rebuilt city, Darth Diábolis ordered the droid pilot to head for the Imperial Palace, where Supreme Prophet Lath Dass'in governed the whole of Dromund Kaas, acting under the authority of the Emperor, Diábolis' Master.
As he flew over the mass of durasteel skyscrapers and other buildings and monuments, the Devaronian Sith Lord seethed over the disapproval he received from his Master during the battle for the Republic space station. The fact that Emperor Veneficus had participated personally was a powerfully instructional experience, and even somewhat intimidating for the apprentice. The Dark Lord of the Sith had made the concept of battle into child's play, his greatly superior skills wrecking havoc on the puny Jedi that stood in their way.
However, as Darth Diábolis had been forced away from the Jedi, requiring Veneficus to come to his aid, he was disgraced in the eyes of his Master, and was commanded to make use of himself to restore his prestige in the eyes of the Empire. This was why he was here, at the Neo-Sith Empire's capital, seeking to speak with the Supreme Prophet, second in command next to the Emperor himself, to seek feats of strength to prove himself to the Dark Lord.
It wasn't as though Diábolis didn't owe the Sith Emperor everything, the man having rescued the Devaronian from a life of enslavement and insignificance on Devaron. But every power had its price, and the then very young Bathrekh Masek had learned that quickly enough when the Sith Master took him to the tomb world of Korriban, into the very resting place of the greatest of all Sith Emperors, Marka Ragnos.
Diábolis remembered the event well. Lord Veneficus had strode through the deserted tomb passages, and the eight year old Devaronian had struggled to keep up with his teenaged Master. When the pair had arrived in the main chamber, where a massive statue of the Sith human half-breed Emperor rested over the actual tomb, Veneficus had raised a small ring on his hand into the air, calling for the Sith Lord to appear.
And appear he had, a spirit rising out of the statue with a moan of pleasure at being freed to the physical world once more. "Who comes before me…" the shade had asked the Sith Master, and waited patiently as Lord Veneficus told his tale, up to the point of claiming the young Diábolis as his apprentice and traveling back to Korriban.
Ragnos had clearly been impressed with the feats and challenges through which Veneficus had gone through, as he had proclaimed that the long awaited Sith'ari had come to take up the mighty role as Emperor of the Sith. He had metaphorically anointed both Veneficus and Diábolis, accepting them as true Sith and the heirs of his own dynasty. As a gift to the newest legitimate Sith Emperor, Ragnos has indicated a part of his statue, which pulled away with a command of the Force, revealing a metallic scepter that brimmed with Dark Side energy.
Veneficus had reverently taken up the artifact, and together the pair had departed to begin in earnest the single most difficult part of the young Devaronian's life, breaking down all the walls of preconception he had raised thus far, pushing his boundaries well beyond the breaking point, and he himself being remolded from the relatively mild Bathrekh Masek into a unmerciful and ruthless killer. Diábolis… the name given to him by his Master, taken from a word from the Sith Lord's home world, meaning a demon or other dark creature, was to inspire fear in the apprentice's enemies, and Diábolis was to act accordingly to his title.
It was an honor and privilege to serve the Dark Lord of the Sith directly, and as Diábolis leapt from the speeder and looked up at the giant capital building of the Neo-Sith Empire, he put his mind to the task of quickly completing any demeaning challenge the Supreme Prophet had in store for him, so he could return to his Master and continue his tutelage under the most powerful of all Sith in history.
Striding swiftly, Diábolis bypassed the black robed Arcanamach, who were stationed as sentinels outside the main entrance of the imperial palace, each clanking their Light-pikes on the ground in salute of the Sith apprentice to the Emperor as he passed. These guards, great Sorcerers like the Emperor, numbered exactly one hundred at all times, and were put through the most strenuous of tasks to ensure their loyalty to the Empire and their strength and skill in combat. There was no room for weakness in the prestigious position of effectively a royal guard of the Sith Lords.
It was said that Emperor Veneficus trained the original hundred personally, and only those who survived ten full minutes in single combat against the Sith Master were deemed worthy enough to guard the man's life, but Diábolis wasn't certain about the accuracy of the rumors. He had had many activities that took him away from the Empire in the seventeen years that passed between his first meeting with Veneficus and now, and many things had changed in that time.
Bypassing many Dark Side practitioners, not quite able to be called Sith by title, but close as one could be without violating the Rule of Two, Diábolis could name off the select handful that formed the Dromund Kaas Council. There were thirteen councils that governed the Sith Empire, twelve planetary councils, each lead by a High Prophet of the Dark Side, or the Supreme Prophet in the case of Dromund Kaas, and then there was the Dark Council, formed of the Supreme and each of the other eleven High Prophets, that worked on tasks that affected the whole of the Empire.
The system had been crafted by Veneficus personally, formed like the Jedi, but with a more useful and hands on approach that was more to the Sith's philosophy. Beyond those prophets, each had a personal apprentice, who strove day and night to rise in ranking to take over the position of their Master, and below all of them were the warriors, assassins and sorcerers that augmented the fighting forces of the Empire with their Force powers and Lightsabers.
Each an important piece of the Empire's grand war machine.
Entering the council chamber of Dromund Kaas, Diábolis sidestepped when he saw that the Dark Council was in session. Supreme Prophet Dass'in was the only being physically present, the other eleven High Prophets being on their own worlds of governorship, and projected here via holovid.
"…operating at nearly one hundred percent efficiency…" one of the council members was saying as Diábolis entered. The speaker was one of the larger creatures from the Emperor's home world, a strange being with the body of some four legged creature and the upper torso of a human. This was High Prophet Uowill, the one being in the Galaxy that the Emperor had trusted the secret location of their manufacturing facilities, and the strange, four-legged being was overseer of those facilities.
Diábolis in particular focused on the massive Light-pike that the creature held loosely in its hand as it gazed around the room after finishing his report.
"Most excellent," Dass'in stated, commenting on whatever the creature had said prior to Diábolis entering the room. It looked as though the council was slowly coming to a close, but as Diábolis made to advance further into the room, a hand shot out from the side and caught the Devaronian's arm. Turning in anger, Diábolis spotted the wiry form of Dass'in's apprentice, Lord Feyd.
The human was a crafty individual, having maintained his position as apprentice to the Supreme Prophet for nearly two decades, despite several rather brutal attempts on his life, and so was someone whose power was to be at least acknowledged, if not respected. "Not yet," he whispered to Diábolis, "the council has an ending communal meditation to conclude the meeting with. It increases their connection to the Dark Side, and retains a portion of their unity for the Sith cause."
Diábolis nodded, seeing the underlying wisdom. Sith, and practitioners of the Dark Side as a whole, were individuals first, and all else was secondary. That made things that required a group of Darksiders to work on incredibly difficult to achieve. For something such as the thirteen different councils of Prophets to function, they would require massive amounts of patience for each other, which was laughable, or some means to force them all to work together for the good of the Empire.
As he was pondering the act, the council meeting adjourned, and the other eleven High Prophet's images shimmered and dissipated, while Dass'in himself rose from his seat, striding toward the two other Darksiders.
"Ah, I see our Lord Diábolis has graced us with his presence at last…" Dass'in said, his breath mask moving as the Dorian spoke. "Emperor Veneficus mentioned that you would be working closely with us for the foreseeable future…"
Diábolis growled in annoyance at his Master putting everything in place for his 'punishment' ahead of him, but there was little to be helped with it, "I am ready for whatever you wish of me."
"Excellent…" the Supreme Prophet said absently, turning to his own apprentice, "send out word for reports to be collected from the other eleven Dromund Kaas Prophets, relaying the status of the system and call for a meeting sometime later this week, Feyd. There are matters that need to be handed down from the Dark Council."
"Yes, Master," Feyd responded, bustling out of the room obediently. Diábolis sneered as the human departed, feeling irritated and sickened at the eager to please nature of the human.
"Do not be so quick to judge my apprentice, my Lord," Dass'in said abruptly, reading Diábolis' thoughts, "for all his simpering and readiness to obey, in Feyd lies the power to destroy me and take over as Supreme Prophet. The fact that he waits for the right moment to strike at me is a purely intelligent and supernal Sith-like mentality."
That silenced Diábolis as he considered the concept, "but enough about our agenda here on Dromund Kaas, you're here to serve the Empire as a whole, are you not?" Dass'in continued.
"Of course, Supreme Prophet…" Diábolis replied.
"Good…" Dass'in said, as though he expected nothing less than perfection from Diábolis, "Then we'll start you off with something that is an important strategic problem that needs solving."
Gesturing, the Supreme Prophet summoned a datapad, which upon reaching the pair activated, displaying a large communication relay.
"There were several of these same relays set out in the wild jungles of Dromund Kaas," Dass'in explained, even as the Datapad changed to a map of the planet, with several pinging red lights to indicate the locations of each relay, "recently; a pair of them has suddenly ceased to function. It is presumed that wild animals or the like have worn them down, but we suspect that something more threatening to Dromund Kaas' security is at work. Find the problem, and restore the communication arrays."
It was demeaning work, worthy of the lowest of initiates, but Diábolis bowed respectfully just the same, saving his anger for whatever foe he would find at the towers. If this was the first rung of his redemption to good graces, then so be it. He would suffer the indignity for the time being, and remember to repay it later, when the tables were at last turned.
Taking the datapad from Dass'in, Diábolis turned sharply and exited, bypassing Feyd, and leaving the Palace altogether. Airspeeders would not be running out into the remote parts of the jungle, so he had to take a speeder bike at the edge of the city, roaring out into the jungle at high speeds.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The first rays of the sun were just starting to shimmer through the transparisteel panels of Hermione's large manor home, but the young woman was already awake. The thirty-two year old scientist turned from her carefully prepared breakfast to greet the morning in all its blissful wonder. Going to the balcony of her room, Hermione breathed deeply in the wonderful smell of her small flower gardens and gazed out across the durasteel and permacrete city that wizards of earth had created, an Eden of sorts out of a rough and dark wilderness in space.
Shortly after Harry had disappeared when he defeated Lord Voldemort, a terrible battle had ensued when muggles started to notice their wizarding neighbors. Families were torn apart as inquisition and outright mobbing took place to hunt down and destroy all things that the muggles, as a whole, feared and refused to understand. It had hurt her immensely to learn of this, but Hermione had been in the first forays of the attack, and had been injured so badly that those who rescued her had put her in stasis; waiting for medical treatment to arrive that could save her.
However, what had happened next, confirmed by everyone that she spoke to, was considered nothing short of a miracle. Harry had returned, nearly a decade after being simply gone from their world, with a small fleet of off world ships, and had taken all the wizards who were willing away from earth and the destruction that the muggles were threatening on their people.
It had taken a lot, but eventually the majority of the wizarding world accepted that there simply were too many things that they did not understand, and without many of the pureblood Lords left to fight against it, Magi-technology began to be taught to them all, and became a commonality through the refugees. Years passed where they wandered the stars, looking for refuge, when the wizarding survivors had finally found a dead world, literally less than a rock floating in the harshness of space, and with help of their magi-technology and many carefully places spells and charms, they terra-formed the entire planet, turning it into a garden paradise much like earth had been before.
Living in peace for a few short years, gradually building and refining their abilities with their wondrous new advances in science and magic, the colonists had been surprised when starships appeared in orbit, and a party from the Galactic Republic had visited the newly formed world, including a Jedi Master, to offer them a place within the ranks of the Republic's government.
They had accepted, naturally, and the Republic opened trade with them almost immediately, sending much in the way of food and medical supplies to ease their transition into Galactic standards of living. That was the time that they finally could remove the enchantments, and Hermione awoke. That had been only a few years ago, and although by all accounts she was only barely away from her twenties, Hermione considered herself her full age.
Her youth had made little difference in the fact that she took Magi-technology to new and astounding levels on a regular basis, and had quickly rose to the position of lead technician and head of her own company that mass produced the devises that made wizarding life in this new world so convenient. It was almost a pity that only 'wizard-born' as they started calling themselves could use the devises effectively, and therefore it made poor usage as a trade good for off worlders. Not that they lacked in natural recourses, harvested from nearby asteroids and multiplied magically as they needed, that could be used and sold at low prices while still reaping massive profit.
"Hermione…" came a voice from behind her, and she turned to see her husband, Theodore Granger nee Nott, and smiled slightly at the man she had known throughout Hogwarts. Theo was nowhere near where she was intellectually, but at least he was able to keep up with her in theory, if not practical application.
Theo walked out onto the balcony with her, and wrapped his arms around her waist, watching the sun rise together. "There's much that needs to get done today," Theo commented idly, even as he held her.
"I know," she said, stiffening slightly, "I have a lot of work to accomplish, running the multimillion credit corporation and all that."
Whether the jab at her husband's more relaxed job, in theory and research, was noticed, Theo didn't react. He just squeezed her once and stepped away. "I'll be out for a little while yet, but I'll see you tonight, perhaps? Say, dinner out in the local cantina?"
"No, I don't think I'll have time," Hermione replied, starting her morning stretches. "I'll be in the office late into the night working on the newest modification of magically powered AI."
"Oh…" Theo said quietly, and he walked away. Hermione huffed slightly as he departed. Didn't the man know that her time was incredibly sought after, and she had to spend as much time as possible assisting the newly formed wizarding world flourish while she could? Eventually she would even discover the barrier preventing the rest of the Republic from using her devises, and make Magi-Technology available to the rest of the Galaxy.
Once she had achieved that goal, Hermione planned to take a long vacation, see the wonders of the Galaxy, perhaps find Harry, who had disappeared once their people settled New Terra, and continue to find new pursuits for her brilliant mind.
Till then, she would throw herself into her projects, completing item after item, and ever searching for the missing link between Magic users and muggles. Theo would understand her decision, in time, and how it was the best thing for both of them.
After all, it he was he that had approached her for marriage, and agreed to her arrangements regarding name and several other things, so he ought to have been aware of what he was signing up for then.
Besides, he'd always come back in the end.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jedi Grand Master Fae Coven smiled up at the eagerness of her good friend and once Padawan, Jedi Knight Luna Lovegood. The pair had become inseparable a decade and a half ago when they first met, and Fae had known that she was destined to teach the young woman everything she needed to know about the Galaxy, and its expectations about the Jedi. Even though it broke most of the standard regulations about taking in new beings to train, she had overrode the council's complaints about bringing in Lovegood and her friend Yoda, pointing out the resonance in the Force that they had indeed all felt when they met the pair.
There was something profoundly important about both of them, and Fae was not going to allow some age old rule about only training infants stop the destiny of the Order. She personally had taken on Luna right then and there, while the small green Jedi had been taken on for more advanced training by Master Crego Oprec. The four armed Thisspiasian was the temple's Battle Master, and had seen in his own visions that Yoda was meant to become a great warrior, and sought to pass on his knowledge of the Lightsaber to someone who would follow in the ways of the Battle Master.
Meanwhile, Fae Coven had seen the glimmer of Force potential in the young human girl for greatness, and she was going to nudge Luna toward the path of a Jedi Sage, honing her telekinetic abilities and other Force-based techniques. It had been an exciting time for both Master and Padawan, learning what Luna was capable of wit the Force and even her more… interesting abilities. When Fae had first seen the girl pull out the small stick on a mission in the Outer Rim, she was sure that the young girl had lost her mind, but when the pair of goons charging at them were suddenly tripping over themselves as their legs locked together, the Jedi Grand Master had been hard pressed not to laugh out loud.
It also didn't hurt that Luna was so easy going, quick to heed instruction and advice, and honest to a fault that one couldn't help but like her. Even others at the temple found the girl to be extremely pleasant, if not a little off putting from time to time. It had taken quite a long while to get Luna out of her phase of wanting to explore every zoological database in the temple in search of some strange creatures that even Master Coven had never heard of before, but in time the quirks dissipated, and the young woman grew to be a very level headed and serene Jedi.
By the time of her trials, Luna could sink so far into the Force that she could achieve a levitating meditation effortlessly, and if she turned to the Force as a shield to block incoming attacks, the opponent had to watch out, because the aura of power sometimes started to literally shine upon her skin. Like watching a beautiful flower open to the sun for the first time, Fae Coven smiled proudly as Luna passed into Jedi Knighthood with flying colors, humble and yet strong as even some Masters.
The girl was indeed destined for great things to happen, such a beacon of light as she was.
This was why Fae had chosen her personally to accompany the Jenet Jedi Master, as they went to investigate a partial transmission from the Tund System, where a Republic watch post had been stationed over the planet of the same name. It was disconcerting because it was also the last planet that Zhar Quelmok had been sighted nearly two decades ago, before the man vanished from the Galaxy. Master Rar Lalsok was still stern and irritable about his own personal failure to capture the man, and took the task strongly that it was still his responsibility to hunt the man down. However, the fact that the message seemed to indicate that the space station set over the system had been attacked by something that had the Jedi worried, especially since five of their own had been aboard at the time of the transmission, and they needed someone to go and investigate.
"Just like old times, isn't it?" Luna commented as the pair entered the Jedi Temple hangar. Fae nodded, remembering with fondness the many adventures they had shared over the years.
"Indeed it is, my old Padawan…"
The pair took a small Jedi freighter, just large enough to have a built in hyperdrive unit, and entered hyperspace with all speed. It was a rather peaceful journey, filled with many a laugh and reminiscing of old adventures, as well as many instances where Fae could impart her experience and wisdom for Luna, regarding her development in the Force, Lightsaber technique, even diplomacy and other vital skills.
Unfortunately, as with all good reunions, it was over far too soon. Their ship dropped out of Hyperspace in the Tund system near where the observational space station ought to have been, but there was one giant problem.
The space station was gone. Not dismantled or destroyed, with rubble and scrap floating in orbit around the planet, just outright gone, as if it was stolen.
More frightening still was the oppressive aura in the area, frigidly cold and literally swimming with evil intent. Fae was surprised when even Luna stiffened suddenly at sensing the aura.
"The Darkness…" the girl said suddenly, her eyes wide and frightened.
"What?" the Jedi Grand Master asked, suddenly very concerned for her once Padawan.
"I've felt this particular aura before," Luna explained, trying to regain control of herself and stop from shaking, "just never this powerful before, but I think I remember the evil monster whose signature this is."
The girl was trembling, and Fae placed a small paw on her led to reassure her into explaining. "He comes from my own home world," she began, "A boy once heralded as a savior, a force for good, defeating a dark lord when barely an infant, but then he disappeared for ten years, and when he returned, no one saw it, but I could see that he was not what the stories had told. The boy was dark, cruel, and downright vile in demeanor and aura."
She paused, remembering something terrible from her past no doubt, and Fae made no noise to disrupt or stop her from building her courage to face the memory. "The last I saw of the darkness, he was cutting down my and Knight Yoda's fathers with what I now know was a crimson lightsaber."
Luna fell silent, but the weight of her words sank heavily onto Master Coven's heart. "A Sith Lord, then…" she surmised, and Luna nodded. "I had long since put the thought from my mind, trying my utmost to find peace away from those thoughts and events, but now I wonder if hiding from what I knew, and only just started to make connections about, was more fear of the past rather than hope for the future…"
Fae nodded, understanding intimately the potential for despair cause by the Dark Side and the horrors it brought in its wake. The Jenet Jedi Master looked out of the cockpit once again, into the nothing that had once contained the large space station, wondering. The darkness she herself had felt so long ago, accompanied with the knowledge that the Sith had indeed returned, had prepared her marginally for this fact to become apparent, but it still shook her to the core to know that the hated enemies of the Republic were indeed out in the wide Galaxy, waiting and watching for the time to strike.
"We need to warn the council, and the Republic," Luna was saying, starting to turn the ship about to return them to Coruscant, but Fae raised a paw to stop her, "Wait," she said, "without proof the Council will not wish to believe that the Sith have returned once again, and without the voice of the entire Council the Senate will not believe either."
Pointing at the world below them, Fae continued, "Let's go to the surface, and ask the Sorcerers of Tund if they saw or sensed anything recently. They may be the key to unraveling this horrid mystery so that even the strongest skeptic would believe."
"But you believe me, correct Master?" Luna implored, making the Jenet turn her beady eyes on the young woman. "Of course I believe you, Knight Lovegood, it's just that this is a battle I've been fighting with the Council since before you came to the temple, and I know what it will take to make them see sense."
The girl brightened once again, and slowly steered the freighter down to the planet's surface, where the Light Side of the Force glowed like a pleasant beacon, indicated where they ought to set down to be as close as possible to the village of the Light sided Sorcerers of Tund.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gleaming like pillars stretching up towards the sky, the spires of Coruscant were a sight rarely seen by many of the Galaxy. It was indeed amusing to know that the seat of Republic government was located here, on this single world, and somewhere close to ninety eight percent of the galaxy's residents had never even seen the planet on which their laws were written and voted into effect. Drakis Malfay scoffed at the notion, thinking it just a larger version of the pathetic Ministry from his own home world.
The man, a human 'wizard-born', was the elected representative for the newest addition to the Republic, New Terra, where his people had fled to from their oppressive muggle neighbors. What the rest of the senatorial body did not know was that this was not Drakis' only identity. He had another, more important name that he prized even over the one he had created as an alternate persona for himself in the wide Galaxy's political scene.
Lord Anguis, Dark Side adept, and first trainee of the Sith Emperor, was held to oversee the political advance of their little puppet world of wizarding sheep, leading them along into the cradle of the Republic's arms so that they could have eyes and ears within the governing body when war raged over the Galaxy. It had already begun, Anguis had sensed it, battle and blood and the destruction of valuable Republic property, long before anything had reached the Senate's tables regarding the loss of a space station in the Tund system.
He may only be a junior in the grand scheme of the Galactic Senate for now, but importance in politics was easily changed by time and course of events, and the upcoming war was sure to place the strong people of New Terra in a prime slot for the inevitable power grab as system after system was conquered by Veneficus' forces.
And once that happened, Anguis could make a bid for the Chancellorship, and then the true game would at last begin. He, the most trustworthy of the Emperor's followers, would lead the Republic into a full out war against the Neo-Sith, forcing and commissioning their hated foes, the Jedi, into the effort of warring with the Dark Side forces. But, while Anguis was sworn by a magical oath to serve Veneficus, there were ways to alter or utterly abolish such an oath.
If he was made Chancellor, according to Veneficus' plot, Anguis planned to make the most of his abilities to fight the Sith Emperor on a personal level, and seek to overthrow his somewhat friend, paving the way for him to take command of both orders, and the entire Galaxy would be placed squarely into his hand.
But for any of his own schemes to have the remotest chance of success, Anguis had to pave the road with small bids for power, like most politicians. Luckily, he was his father's son, and had had much tutoring in the methods of manipulating those weaker willed than he to do as he wished. And combining that with his power as a user of the Dark Side, living in secret in the very heart of the Jedi Order, his will was strong indeed.
Turning the Senate on its head and bending just those right people to his way would be simplistic, and still offer abundant advantage toward the cumulative goal of the Dark Side.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Septin Aranis, now entitled with the moniker of Lord Fury, Chief of the Dark Side Marauders, look out at the surface of the first world his forces were being unleashed upon. He had been granted a position of authority in the Emperor's twenty-sixth legion, and the chosen spearhead to ignite the war with the Republic.
Fury was in possession of a small collection of ships, consisting of his personal Interdictor-class command ship, a pair of anti-Frigate Centurion-class Battlecruisers, and hordes of fighter and transports for all manner of his ground assaults that were to come. Several Dark Side Adepts were under his command, mainly warriors training to become Marauders, and a pair of Sorcerer Acolytes to augment the many hundreds of droids and troopers that built the backbone of the Sith army.
The only current disappointment for Lord Fury was their target. The remote planet Ruusan, home to the greatest defeat of the Dark Side in many generations, and some source of great power that the Emperor desired to claim. It was highly unlikely that there would be any Republic forces here, but if he and his forces performed well on this world, Lord Fury was expectant that they would see much in the way of battle with their hated enemies.
Pulling out of Hyperspace over the remote world, all but abandoned by the Republic and the Jedi after they built their precious monument to their fallen, Lord Fury took a few moments to gaze out at the approaching nebula that was slowly encroaching on the system. Within a few years this place would be completely cut off from the rest of the Galaxy, which meant that their campaign here must be completed swiftly.
An officer approached, "Lord Fury, what are your orders?"
Flexing the metallic fingers of his prosthetic arm, and drawing the Force around him like a whip, Fury spoke, "All troops are to disembark for a ground assault, I want the coordinates given to us by the Emperor secured within the hour."
"As you command, my Lord," the officer replied, saluting and turning to transmit his orders to the fleet.
Pressing a small button on one of his bracers, Fury sent a signal that would begin prepping his personal assault shuttle, as well as alert the other Force adepts to prepare to attack. He hoped greatly that something would be there protecting the ruins he sought, so that there was a reason to test his soldiers in battle.
As he made his way down to his personal hangar, Lord Fury was pleased to see the same sort of anxious pre-battle preparations in his soldiers and sailors as he felt in himself. His fleet had been quick to become whipped into a well oiled machine, having practiced many drills and maneuvers to be ready for many different scenarios and missions.
The seven Warriors and two Adepts were coiled in anticipation as he arrived in the hangar, and Fury gave the word for them to descend to the planet's surface, leading the way for the other dozens of transports carrying foot soldiers and ground vehicles. Meanwhile, swarms of fighters zoomed around them, spiraling lower into the atmosphere to bombard several nearby settlements, and cause general chaos just in case there were any ships that might fire on their shuttles and transports.
Although, as Fury watched the Dark Side Adept's shuttle descend through the clouds to view the world beneath them, there didn't seem to be much in the way of defenses whatsoever. It was almost as thought the Jedi felt that this world, once its usefulness and memory was departed, was sudden of no more value to them, the fools…
Scanning the area around the coordinates the Sith Emperor had given them, Fury was most pleased to find a large settlement of humans, completed with meager defenses, probably expecting raiders or wild beasts for the most part, but not a Sith battle fleet to attack.
Turning the controls sharply, Fury changed directions from the ruins and took his shuttle in a direct line toward the settlement. All around him, Fury felt the other Darksiders' Force auras surge as the chance for bloodshed increased in their minds.
Three shuttles of soldiers followed after theirs; while the rest continued on course for the target site, and Fury twisted sharply as they approaching their landing site, just outside the settlement yet well within sight so that the fools could assemble whatever defense they could muster.
The air was already full of blaster fire as Lord Fury and his Dark Side Adept vanguard emerged from their shuttle. His pair of sabers flared to life in his hands, and Fury charged the edge of the settlement, gleefully batting aside blaster bolts as he ran, the other Force users at his back and whoops of eagerness at the coming conflict sounding in his ears.
Battle was what he lived for.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luna shuddered again as she and Master Coven set foot on the world of Tund. Something out in the wider Galaxy had started, and they had little time to spare here before she needed to return the Grand Master to Coruscant and return to the field to help combat the growing darkness.
But if they had an opportunity to discover what had happened to the Space Station Lighthouse, it was worth investigating. The heavily Light oriented world was somewhat reassuring to be on, but Luna had a hard time feeling completely at peace after sensing the presence of the Darkness in the space above. Not even out here, in her new life as a guardian of truth and wisdom could she escape the horror that that boy created.
Luna followed Master Coven as they approached the largest village of the Sorcerers. Despite the seeming normalcy of the agricultural center, something was keenly off about the settlement. There seemed to be a great lack of beings about, and Luna widened her eyes as she realized the Darkness' true intentions with this place.
"Oh no…" Master Coven stated, hurrying toward the village center as they noticed the smoke curling upwards toward the sky.
As they ran, they passed many gutted and ransacked houses and farms, the staggering horror of what happened starting to dawn as they found bodies of the red skinned Sith slain in the streets.
The village center was all but destroyed, and there they encountered their first living Sith Pureblood in the entire settlement. An elder was crawling out of the dilapidated structure, badly injured and clearly dying from his wounds.
Luna rushed to the being's side, pulling the powers of the Light Side around her to knit the wounds closed on the Sith's body, hoping she wasn't too late to save a life. The red Sith coughed and sputtered, a small amount of blood emerging from the beings mouth as he tried to speak. "Attacked… many captured, so much death and hatred… the Dark Side was so strong… never before seen such a one as the Master…"
"Shh, you're safe now," Luna said gently, trying to calm the wizened Pureblood Sith from overexerting himself. Master Coven stood off a bit, sweeping the area with the Force, trying to locate any other survivors. "There is no one else…" she said after a short while, whiskers drooping in sadness. "We still do not have proof of who did this, but it is clear to me that it was the Sith would definitely want revenge on those they would consider traitors. It seems that they are beginning to make their moves to establish power in the Galaxy, but uncovering solid evidence would be hard."
"Would it?" Luna asked, "We have a witness now, so long as we can make sure he recovers."
Fae seemed to relax somewhat at her words. "Yes, it is possible that we have all the answers we need to convince the rest of the Council, forgive me for giving momentarily into despair. It's been a long time trying to make them see what was going on."
Luna smiled at her old Master. The Jenet was so caring about the Order, and would do whatever was needed to perverse it and the Republic that they served, that more often than not she would attempt to carry the weight of the Galaxy on her small shoulders.
The Tund Sorcerer had returned to unconsciousness, and Luna drew her wand, levitating the being so that they could return him to their freighter without injuring him further. Their main priority had just become to return to the Jedi Temple. Hopefully they would be able to question the Sith Pureblood further about those that had attack his world and all their fears could be confirmed, or hopefully allayed as naught.
Albeit, Luna herself knew that there was little chance that the Darkness wasn't intimately involved with what had just occurred here, and she could only worry what else was to come before this madness ended.