Good news everyone! Next week marks the end of the ANP series! So if you're excited to see what else is in store, be sure to tune in to the epilogue where I'll announce the next story that will take the slot of ANP on my routine of updates. Meanwhile, enjoy, R&R!
Chapter Eleven
Playing the Offensive
Luna heard the commotion from the center of the Sith base quite clearly, however she, Professor McGonagall and the Republic strike force were in the middle of their own firefight. Shortly after separating from Yoda, Professor Flitwick and their group, they had come across a batch of Umbaran prisoners of war, all housed in the large governing facility of the former Republic world. Luna had made the decision that if they were going to do anything, firstly they would free the Umbarans from this makeshift prison, and they had attacked.
Professor McGonagall was in fine form, utilizing her preferred magic of Transfiguration to great effect, changing and banishing a variety of bladed weapons and other shrapnel at the Sith troopers, while shielding herself from their blaster bolts. Luna was puzzled why the enemy's weapons seemed to fire bolts that resembled spells and hexes from their home world, but consigned to think about that after they were safe, and batted them aside with her violet saber instead.
The Republic soldiers unleashed their own barrage of covering fire for the Jedi and Wizard team, who charged the lines outside the building, banishing and throwing the enemy aside with both magic and the Force.
Their troops flooded in behind them, slamming and sealing the doors to barricade themselves inside. "Come on," Luna called, following her precognition from the Force toward where she suspected the prisoners were being held, just as several more troopers rounded a corner, starting the fire fight all over again.
But Professor McGonagall was having none of it. Whirling her wand in wide arcs, the durasteel walls groaned and buckled, pulling inward and barring the way of the Sith soldiers, before blowing outward and down the corridor, knocking the enemy soldiers flat with a deafening crash.
"Never have I witnessed such brutality," the woman said sternly, breathing heavily from all the running. Luna was certain this may have been more than the older woman had agreed to, but for her part she was keeping up well.
"Onward," McGongall said a moment later, deferring to Luna for leadership. Nodding, Luna pointed with her weapon, and the group proceeded down the opposite corridor, turning toward a lift that took them up three floors, and finally battling their way through another platoon of soldiers before crashing into a large council chamber, where almost two dozen Umbarans waited helplessly.
"A Jedi Knight!" one cried as they entered, and soon the Republic vanguard was surrounded with pleading Umbaran leadership, begging for their safe passage from the world, and whether more soldiers were coming to rescue them from the occupation force.
"Quiet!" Luna called, silencing them. "Firstly, we need to evacuate the building, and one we get all of you back to our shuttles, we can decide on how to proceed. The city is overrun, and we need to move quickly."
"But our people… our families…" one of the Umbarans said desperately.
Luna looked at the man sadly, "I'm sorry, but they've either fled into the wilds or been killed by the Sith. If you want a chance to find them and free your world we need to move now."
The man quieted down dejectedly, and Luna turned back to the door they had just entered. However, the Force rang out a warning. An unassuming clattering sound pulled her attention as something small bounced into the room. "Get down!" she called, Force pushing the thermal detonator back out of the room moments before it exploded.
The door blasted inward, raining shrapnel into the room and seconds later half a dozen Sith troopers charged in, blasters firing wildly at everything that moved. Luna surged to her feet, saber quickly adjusting to deflect and parry the deadly bolts as they flew at her and those behind her.
McGonagall staggered up as well, wand flowing in a bright shimmering shield that absorbed the bolts flung at her, and together the two maneuvered their defenses around those Umbaran that weren't killed in the blast or by the Sith soldiers' initial barrage.
Knowing that she couldn't allow the soldiers to gain a foothold in the room, especially if they had any hopes of leaving, and she immediately started to press forward, backed up by the Republic soldiers, who were laying a suppressing fire. All this allowed the old Transfiguration Mistress her opportunity to lower her shield and begin her own assault, loose scraps of metal and chips of stone changing into living animals that rushed the soldiers, causing havoc among the Sith troopers.
The distractions served to allow Luna to close distance, and with several lightning fast cuts and jabs, the Sith troopers were dispatched. "We're out of time," she called to the remaining group of Umbarans, who ran in their haste to follow her and the Republic soldiers.
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Zhar paused at the doorway of the chamber that Lord Veneficus had claimed for his trap, watching the unleashed chaos of the battle between the Dark Lord of the Sith and Jedi Master Lalsok. As Zhar and Lord Diábolis were running to catch up to the Sith Lord, the Force rang out again as the last of the lesser Jedi were slain. The remaining pair were circling each other, the Jedi Master keeping his weapon held high while the Sith Lord had both of his out to the side, smirking widely in the momentary lull of their combat.
"Your students are lost, and your forces on this world will not survive, Master Jedi, and yet you fight on in your presumptions of the superiority of the Light." Veneficus taunted, to little effect on the Weequay Jedi.
"You will find that the Light Side will always prevail in the end, Sith, while you and your Order are the ones time and again are the ones defeated and driven from the civilized portions of the Galaxy." Lalsok retorted, switching styles to Juyo and attacking three times in quick secession. Veneficus deflected easily enough, turning the combat around with his pair of weapons against the Jedi's single staff weapon.
Zhar was sure if Veneficus wasn't trying to feast upon every moment of this first encounter of the war then the Jedi would be dead already. Then Veneficus frowned, possibly growing bored, but with a very distant look in his crimson eyes. "Her…" he said slowly, before a look of great hatred crossed his face.
The Sith launched himself with greater efforts at the Jedi Master, and it took all of Zhar's skill to just keep up with the whirlwind of activity that both the Sith and Jedi became. Sabers flashed, lightning exploded, and various objects were blasted aside by telekinetic shockwaves. It was glorious and terrifying to behold. The explosion of the Light and Dark Sides of the Force as they came head to head was mentally deafening.
In a flash, the twin crimson sabers joined into one, and Lord Veneficus flipped into a magnificent dance as his new saberstaff twirled and arced around him, beginning to overwhelming the Jedi Master in his attempts to keep up. "Your powers are growing weak, old one," Veneficus laughed as they locked blades, the Sith slowly gaining inches with his superior mastery of the Jedi's same style of weapon.
Lalsok didn't reply, so focused on keeping ahead of his opponent, and Veneficus merely laughed again, lashing out with lightning even as he lunged. Taken aback by the dual attacks, Lalsok was forced to choose, and parried the lightsaber while taking the Force attack full force.
The Weequay convulsed from the electric attack, hands spasms forcing the hilt from his hand as the Sith Lord increased the dark power coursing through his hands. Veneficus wasted no time finished the Jedi Master, impaling him through the heart with a crimson blade. Even as the man fell to the floor dead, Veneficus had already replaced his weapon and turned to Zhar and Diábolis, "We must move quickly, there are more Jedi out in the city, supporting their forces. They must all be destroyed."
"As you wish, Master," the Devaronian apprentice said, turning quickly to gather the black robed guards and speeders for them all.
Zhar watched a moment while the Sith Emperor called the weapons of all the Jedi he slew to him with the Force, hooking them to his belt like so many grisly trophies. "You have done well this day, High Prophet Quelmok." Veneficus commented as they began to depart, "I expect to hear of many great things that you accomplish during this war."
In front of the caverns they joined with the dozen armored guards of the Emperor, whose absence from the battle with the Jedi did not go unnoticed by Zhar, who alongside Darth Diábolis were making preparations to depart by speeder bike.
Throwing a leg over the lead bike, Veneficus started up the machine, the others following suit. Without another word the Dark Lord of the Sith led the way back toward the ruined city and the battle that was no doubt waiting for them there.
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Yoda somersaulted through the air to dodge another swing of his opponent's blade, kicking out at the second as he dodged past midair. The human grunted, amidst the firefight that erupted around them as the Republic soldiers started fighting their way to the remaining pair of artillery. Somewhere still hidden, Yoda could sense Professor Flitwick working with the explosives on the third, probably unused to such technology, but doing what he could given the circumstances.
Twirling out of another attack, Yoda kicked off the ground, using the Force to propel himself like a missile at the Dark Side Adepts head, lashing out with a flurry of Ataru attacks, corkscrewing even as he landed behind the same opponent. These were well trained, and working as a pair might have been a match for the Jedi Knight, but with his diminutive stature, and deep connection to the Force, they were unable to keep him pinned to one location for long to be able to work off each other.
Yoda bounced around again, swiping at legs, arms, torsos, everything within reach as he used his acrobatic skills to keep out of the Darksider's reach. Off in the distance, he felt Luna engaged in a similar fight to protect her squad, and even further, a great Darkness approaching with all speed.
He had sensed them.
Understanding dawned upon him, as well as his two combatants as the Darkness turned its powerful attention upon them, and the pair of Dark Adepts redoubled their efforts, as if propelled by the need to satisfy their vile Master.
Knowing that there was little time left, and spotting the Republic soldiers reaching the artillery, Yoda launched into a high speed velocity of Ataru, leaping high and diving like a hawkbat upon the first Adept, bashing the man's saber from its defensive position with the help of gravity and the Force, and cutting deep gouges through his body armor.
His opponent fell, weapon clattering to the ground, but Yoda was already moving again, twisting into another leap to travel the short distance to the other, clashing tremendously with his weapon as he slashed at the other being's gut.
The grunt that returned told Yoda all he needed to know. The Dark Adept was losing energy, unable to leech of Yoda's emotions when he was so trained to disassociate himself from them to tap into the Force, and he knew that this fight was almost won. Breaking off the saber lock, Yoda back flipped from the counterattack, before throwing his small saber at his opponent's chest.
Even as the being parried the smaller weapon, Yoda gathered his power in the Force, channeling it into a telekinetic attack. There was only a small yelp as the Darksider was forcibly blasted from the ground, flying a good ten meters backward and colliding solidly with one of the supports of one of the artillery cannons.
"Leave, we must," Yoda called to the group, "approaching, more of the Sith are."
"Yes, sir!" the troopers called, and they started running toward where Yoda sensed Luna, near the main Governing building. Flitwick reappeared as they ran, and behind them the artillery detonated in a concussive blast.
As they passed through to the governing sector of the ruined city, they found Luna, McGonagall and their soldiers in a heated firefight, trying their best to guard a group of civilians as they worked slowly toward the entrance from which they came.
In the center of the chaos stood Luna, dancing as she deflected blaster bolts left, right and center, the young woman trying to be in all places at once so that not a single bolt passed her to the unarmed civilians, but there were simply too many for one Jedi to cover.
"For the Republic!" the troopers cried, charging into the fight to catch the Sith soldier on their flank, and Yoda sprinted, aided by the Force to superhuman speeds, through the assembled soldiers, carving one with his emerald blade as he used the trooper as a ladder to reach higher ground, and launched himself powerfully into the air, crashing down among a knot of four other Sith soldiers.
Lightsaber transforming into a green whirlwind of destruction, Yoda amputated limbs, severed weapons into useless scrap, and scored countless hits on the four before they fell, and the Goblin Jedi sprinted off to the next group, knowing that his good friend was in need of less blaster fire being directed at her and those she was defending.
Once a small passage was cleared on Yoda's side, Luna directed her liberated civilians to make a run for it, while she and her soldiers covered their rear. Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Yoda directed these to the waiting group of troopers, and when Luna reached him, the pair of Jedi stretched out with the Force, causing a tidal wave of telekinetic energy to wash over the pursuing soldiers, flinging them like rag dolls into the rubble littering the courtyard.
"The Darkness," Luna said hastily, looking wide eyed back toward where their transports were, "He's coming for us."
"Lead him away from the survivors, we must." Yoda replied, agreeing with her unsaid request instantly. If they were to make certain that the Republic knew what happened here, and what they faced, these Umbarans needed to reach Coruscant.
Luna directed the leaders of the soldiers to make for the transports, and that they would hopefully meet them all there, even as they guided the large group back to the northern entrance of the city. A few speeders had been recovered by the soldiers, and cleared out for room for as many passengers as possible, which would take the civilians and two wizards with all speed to the clearing, while the soldiers would follow on foot.
Yoda and Luna would go the other way, further into the forest and try to divert the approaching Darksiders to following them, before doubling back and running for the transport.
"May the Force be with us all," Luna said as their groups separated at the gate, and she and Yoda sprinted into the trees.
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Veneficus felt the rage pumping through him, increasing moment to moment as they drove to the city. She was here, it was impossible. Luna Lovegood should have perished years ago in the cold vacuum of space.
And what was worse, she radiated a powerful Light aura, meaning that the blasted girl was trained as a Jedi. Not necessarily a complete derailment of any his plans, but certainly something to be concerned about. If she was here, then it meant the security of his home world was compromised.
Once he was finished here and redirected the war effort, it would be imperative for himself and Darth Diábolis to return to the backwater one last time, and see whether the Jedi had been there. Not that it would harm him if they had to sterilize the entire planet, but it was time and resources wasted because of this girl's blasted interference.
But as for Lovegood and whatever allies she may or may not have brought from there, Veneficus would have an extra special tortuous death for them, drawing out every ounce of pain and agony until they expired. Idly he wondered whether he could keep the girl alive and see how long until she turned, then use her against her once allies in the Jedi Order.
It would be too much of an excellent opportunity to pass up, and he revved the engine of the speeder bike again to travel even faster toward the city, the lightsabers of his fallen foes clattering against him as the wind buffeted them.
Soon, another would join them, and the threat to his power would be eliminated once and for all. The Force had warned him that Lovegood would be a thorn in his side from the very beginning, but his attempt to turn or kill her as a child had failed, so now it was time to try again, on the eve of his war against the Jedi.
The presence of the blasted girl started to move off to the side of the city, presumably to the transports that brought her and a selection of Republic soldiers that weren't caught up in the initial trap. Someone would need to be punished for this, but Veneficus adjusted their vector to compensate for the altered target.
Flipping a small switch on the bike, Veneficus ordered his vanguard of Arcanamach to split off and head to the city to reinforce the defenses, just in case the Jedi had slipped more forces behind Fury's line. "Zhar, go with them, reinforce the front. Lord Diábolis will go with me…" the Emperor commanded, and gunned the engine even faster as he was obeyed.
Within ten more minutes, Veneficus spotted the Jedi he sought, along with the tiny goblin from the bank with her. The pair turned as the whine of the speeder bike reached them, and the Sith Emperor leapt from the seat, saber flashing to life in his rage at them. Instead of fighting however, the pair turned and fled, using the Force to accelerate into the trees. "You will not escape me, Lovegood!" Veneficus roared, charging after them on foot, the Dark Side raging within him.
Diábolis yelled something as he took off, but Veneficus wasn't listening, so focused on exacting his vengeance on the pair of earthlings. While the pair of Jedi were content to vault and dodge their way through the trees, Veneficus simply blasted the obstacles away with the Force or the occasional wand-based spell, keeping a straight line of pursuit of his prey.
That was until his progress was halted by Diábolis' speeder pulling across in front of him. In his blind rage, Veneficus raised his saber, only to have the apprentice catch the attack upon his own weapon. "My, Lord, you must wait!" the Devaronian said, struggling visibly as Veneficus started to overpower him.
"They're just leading you away from the rest of the company, my Lord!" he said, exerting great effort to speak while fighting back the weight of Veneficus' strike.
"I don't care!" Veneficus seethed, "they must die!"
"And they will, my Lord," Diábolis said, obviously placating him, but as his prey got further away, the weaker the haze of bloodlust over Veneficus' eyes grew.
"If they're leading us away, then they must be protecting something more than just their shuttles…" he said after a moment of clearing his head. "If we go discover what they're hiding, we can lead them back to us."
"Now you thinking like yourself," Diábolis said, fangs showing as he grinned. Gesturing at the speeder bikes that he brought along, Diábolis stepped back and extinguished his blade. Mounting the bike, Veneficus felt his precognition in the Force return. He almost fell for Jedi's trick, and allowed the power of the Dark Side take control of him. It was something unbecoming of a Sith Lord, and something he would expect out a common Dark Jedi.
As he gunned toward the opposite direction the Jedi were running, Veneficus drew the Force around him, lashing it tightly to make sure that he was in total control. He couldn't afford another slip when it came to Lovegood. For making a fool of him, they would pay in the lives of their precious allies.
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Fae Coven sighed in despair as she sensed the echo in the Force as a Jedi Master was slain.
Silence fell around the entire temple as the Force wept, and every Jedi from the eldest Master to the newest youngling felt the ripples of Darkness that wafted from the world of Umbara.
"Master," said Master Dolik. Turning to the Rodian, Fae could see the great concern in the many facets of his eyes. "This is the end of peace in the Republic as we knew it, isn't it?" the Jedi Master asked.
"I'm afraid so, Master Dolik." Fae said, turning to gaze out across Coruscant from one of the high windows of the Temple.
The door behind them to the Council Chamber opened, and Master Antross entered. "War will begin between this front, and I foresee that it will spread like fire throughout the Galaxy. And we, the Jedi Order will be looked to as a light in the growing darkness, meaning we will start needing to train many new initiates and Padawans for battle against fellow Force sensitives." He said as he entered.
"What news from the Senate?" Master Coven asked, but the Leader of the Jedi Council merely shook his head.
"More deliberations, and with the election still well underway as the three candidates continue their bid for the chancellorship anything will take even longer, but it's looking more and more that Drakis Malfay will be elected in a popular landslide within the Senate itself." Antross said concernedly.
"Perhaps it's time that the Jedi Order made contact with this Senator and tried to see how best we can work together with the probable future Supreme Leader of the Republic." Master Dolik added.
Fae didn't feel good about these circumstances, but as the Jedi had no say in who was elected Chancellor, it made sense with war on the horizon for them to endear themselves to the trio of electoral candidates. She nodded her agreement.
"I'll make the arrangements with Senator Malfay," Master Antross said, nodding to the other two and he prepared to depart. Fae didn't look back as the other Jedi left, so focused on the ebb and flow of the Force after its mighty disturbance, trying to find the ripples that would lead her back to Luna, and the others that departed with Master Lalsok to Umbara, wondering if they had fallen as well. She felt that they were alive, but the sensations of her old and closest Padawan were growing ever more distant.
"Be safe, Luna…" Fae said softly, as she also took her leave, wandering the halls as she tried in vain to think of a way to avert the coming tragedy.
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Luna ran for all she was worth, darting through trees and vaulting over low shrubs with Yoda at her side. At first the plan had worked marvelously, her presence alone being more than enough to lead away the Darkness from even thinking about the others going for the shuttles, but the other with him, curiously not Malfoy but some Devaronian Sith, snapped him out of the induced rage and convinced the Darkness to go after McGonagall and the others, clearly in an effort to lure Luna and Yoda back and into a trap.
What he may not have expected was that they had planned for this. "Shuttle, this is Knight Lovegood, come in." Luna said hastily over her comlink, thanking the Force that communications were not being jammed.
"Knight Lovegood, we read you, over." The shuttle pilot said, noting her hasty tone and wasting no time in getting to the point.
"You need to lift off without us, get back to the fleet and tell them to escape, there's little we can do now. Yoda and I will find other transport out of here, go quickly, a pair of Sith Lords are closing in on your position."
"Yes commander, we see them on our scanners, are you sure, we could fly low and pick you up." The pilot said. Luna was tempted, but the guns from the city would already be firing on the shuttle the moment it lifted off, and while the vehicle was heavily armored and would withstand a few hits, it wouldn't do so for long. "No, go without us, we'll make it back before the fleet withdraws."
As she shut off the communication device, Lune turned to her long time companion. "Back toward the dark academy, we must go, Jedi fighters there are." Yoda commented, which reminded Luna of the alternate avenue for escape.
Nodding they sped off toward the location, hoping that the Darkness wouldn't change course again to try and intercept them. Nothing of the Sith halted their progress, which Luna felt very uneasy about, but they couldn't rightly stop to investigate any longer.
They had almost reached the clearing where Master Lalsok and the other Jedi Knights had originally landed, when the whine of a speeder bike roared out of a nearby knot of trees, and Luna leapt back to avoid being run down as the Devaronian sped past, crimson saberstaff swiping where she had stood moments before.
"Go!" she shouted at Yoda, and split off from the goblin, using the Force to push her body well past its limits, and sprinted into the trees.
The undergrowth seemed thicker the closer to the academy they were, and thick thorns and brambles sliced at her exposed flesh as she ran at top speed to avoid another attack from the speeders, knowing that the Darksiders would keep trying until she got away or they killed her.
The Force swam through her, and she reacted the second a warning rang, leaping high and clearing a dense bush as it exploded outward, revealing the Darkness upon his own vehicle, lightning and lightsaber groping dangerous for her even as she flipped in midair over where the bike had ended up.
It was a dangerous game of cat and mouse, but Luna had to buy Yoda time to get the starfighters up and running before she could return to him and make their escape.
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Diábolis grinned as he lined up his speeder where the young Jedi was running once again. not only was this the most entertaining of his hunts that had ever commenced, it being against a Jedi no less, but this particular one was something of a rarity. A being in the Galaxy that actually chipped the great Sith Emperor's stoic armor, reducing him to a blind rage for a short time where if Diábolis wanted, he could have possibly beaten him in combat and claimed the Imperial throne for himself.
Not that he was stupid enough to try that on the very onset of their war with the Republic. Diábolis had little idea of his Master's plans, and to slay him now would only mean the destruction of their Order, and everything else the Sith had worked for. No, there was time enough to wait for the right moment to strike, but the girl had served as a valuable example that Lord Veneficus was still very much human, and had the same weaknesses as other men.
There would be other flaw to exploit in time; Diábolis merely had to be patient enough for them to appear. Gunning the engine, he stormed the next location the girl was to cross, flipping his weapon into the air and throwing powerful bursts of telekinesis at her, but the girl was so deep in the Force that she obviously could see every attack coming, and nimbly dodged out of the way like a frightened deer.
The Devaronian was almost tempted to let her get away, just to see how it affected his Master, but even if he wished that, he had to at least make the appearance of trying to kill her, so either way his presence and action was required.
What he did note was that the little green Jedi had vanished as the two Sith Lords pursued the girl, and Diábolis could only presume that the other Jedi was preparing a means for them both to escape. Making his decision, he continued after the girl, circling wide and allowing her to lead them on as she slowly doubled back toward the large clearing before the Sith Academy.
Veneficus was completely unaware of what the Jedi was up to, and doggedly chased the girl through the trees, Diábolis here and there charging at her to keep up appearances, but once they broke into the clearing he knew that they had no chance of stopping her. Nearly a half dozen Jedi star fighters were landed, most of them on and engines waiting for liftoff to go, and the girl was dashing with all speed toward the nearest one.
The crackle of electricity was all the warning Diábolis had to swerve out of his Master's way as the Sith Emperor unleashed a torrent of Sith Lightning, blasting the first ship and causing it to detonate magnificently.
But it was already too late, as the girl dodged out of the way, and leapt to a ship toward the far side, sliding into the cockpit and taking off, soaring well out of reach of the two Sith to join her companion in the air. Veneficus roared in anger and rage as the pair of Jedi escaped, and the shockwave through the Force threw all the remaining ships aside like toys, and caused massive damage to the trees that lined the clearing.
Still seething, the Sith Lord came to a stop in the blackened and slightly burning remains of the clearing, and Diábolis hung back, well aware of how potentially dangerous the man he called Master was at this very moment. Perhaps this line of thought to weaken him in the future wasn't the wisest of actions, he reconsidered.
"Now the war will have a far more personal agenda to it," Veneficus muttered to himself, watching the sky where the two Jedi vanished through the atmosphere into orbit.
"Diábolis!" the Emperor commanded, and the Devaronian Sith stepped forward hastily.
"Yes, my Master?" he asked, keeping his own emotions in check lest the Dark Lord of the Sith sense his traitorous thoughts.
"Prepare my shuttle; we have work to do while the Jedi and Republic are distracted with the commencement of the war."
"As you command, my Lord," Diábolis said, pressing a button on his control bracer that sent a signal to the Emperor's shuttle and began the takeoff sequences. He was unsure what the Dark Lord had in store now, but the mad gleam in his eye was indication enough that a great many people would suffer over this failure.
They made their way back to the main Umbaran city by speeder bike, even as a full victory celebration was underway throughout the rank and file troopers. Apparently the battle at the front, led by the fool of a Marauder, Fury, had been an overwhelming success. Adding to that the space battle overhead, and the Republic forces were sent back to the Core Worlds with their tail between their legs.
It served to placate the Emperor's wrath for a small while, allowing him to explain the next moved to the two Lords in charge, Fury and Zhar, before Veneficus and Diábolis took their leave, accompanied by the Arcanamach, and departed from the world to the Predator and charted a course for some distant world.
Even as they traveled, Diábolis watched as his Master called for other ships from various parts of the Galaxy to converge on his destination, and when they pulled out of Hyperspace over the strange, blue-green planet, it took mere hours for over a dozen other capital ships and their escorts to arrive as well.
"This is your Emperor," Veneficus said calmly over the fleet with communication. "This world has committed high treason against the Neo-Sith Empire, and will be punished. Your Admirals are already prepared and await my word for the commencement of a full invasion, stand by for battle, and prepare yourselves to defend the honor of our glorious Empire."
Diábolis was oddly confused at why such a world meant so much to the Emperor, but he remained silent as his Master attempted to make contact with their base on world. When nothing but static returned, Diábolis stepped back from the wave of anger from Veneficus.
The man seethed for several moments, before seeming to make a decision. Summoning his apprentice, Veneficus turned and stormed from the bridge. Diábolis had quite a few questions, but he chose not to tempt the wrath of his Master as they once more boarded the Imperial shuttle, and with a full host of twenty-four Arcanamach, set course for the northern part of a small island nation on the world, while the entire fleet closed in just out of range of the primitive satellite sensors.
All that the Devaronian knew about what was yet to come, was that there would be much blood, and while he was eager for that to occur, he was also insatiably curious as to why this little backwater held his Master's attention as a priority. The shuttle engaged a cloaking devise long before entering the atmosphere, and cruised down toward a rather large, let primitive city, before Diábolis felt a wave of Force energy wash over him, but it felt oddly distorted and unusual. Once that happened, the Emperor ordered the cloak disengaged and the ship to land in the middle of a wide plaza, with shops on either side.
Humans were there, milling about with their day to day activities, and ran as the massive ship appeared out of nowhere and lighted down on the cobbled stone road. Veneficus withdrew a small wooden wizard's wand from his cloak, and concentrated deeply upon it, and outside, the sensors picked up the sudden appearance of a half dozen beings, all wearing dark cloaks and kneeling before the ship.
The landing ramp descended, and the two dozen Arcanamach descended in full formation, surrounding the shuttle with their Master in a tight semicircle. Diábolis went next, saberstaff in hand and hood obscuring his face from these primitives who had likely never seem one such as himself. Those who waited at the bottom of the ramp shivered as he approached, sensing the power of the Dark Side within him, but they quaked all the more when the Lord of all Sith touched the ground of their world.
"Master…" they chanted, and Veneficus did nothing for several moments, waiting for all those who were secretly spying to get their eyeful.
"The time has come for those who have proven their loyalty," he said to the half dozen wizards, "This world's autonomy is at an end, and I have come to initiate it into my Empire with blood and death. Go and gather those who are willing to join me and rule this world."
"Yes, Master." They said in unison, and with the almighty sound of a whip, they vanished. Not a few moments later, more cracks sounded, and another host of wizards, standing with sticks drawn and pointed at the Emperor appeared. "Who are you supposed to be, Dark Lord?" the leader challenged, "Lower your wand and surrender, you and your followers will not be tolerated here, we are the… agh!"
The man clutched his throat, and those who followed him looked wildly around in confusion as the man gagged. Veneficus had not moved an inch, merely looked up at the man through his deep hood. "You dare to accost me?" he asked, and all twenty-four of the Arcanamach twitched in unison, their Saberpikes suddenly in hand. "You haven't the faintest clue who I am, do you?"
The wizard's eyes rolled back into his head as his neck snapped, and he dropped to the ground. Veneficus turned to face the other gathered wizards, crimson saber slapping into his hand and activating. "I am the new Emperor of your world, and there is nothing your pathetic magic can do to stop me, for I am the Dark Lord of the Sith."
Another brave soul stepped forward, obviously some sort of lieutenant, "We've faced Dark Lords before monster, someone will rise to destroy you," he said, although he was still shaking in his boots.
"Oh, you mean like… Voldemort…" Veneficus stated flatly, causing the gathered wizards to collectively flinch. "Two decades that one has been dead and you still shake at the mere mention of his name, how WEAK!" Veneficus suddenly roared, causing them to stagger back in fright.
"Yes, you may well hope and dream that one will rise to challenge me, but how can that be when I… yes, I was the one to defeat your previous Dark Lord?" Veneficus threw back his hood, revealing his face, Sith features and all. Diábolis didn't understand why, but the gathered wizards seemed even more fearful and aghast at the Emperor's face than anything else thus far.
"Arcanamach," Veneficus commanded, and the two dozen armored guards snapped to attention, "raze this place to the ground."
The wizards yelled as twenty four crimson blades ignited from the royal guards, and the elite warriors of the Empire charged forward, batting side spells that were hastily cast to hinder them, and began to butcher the wizards with impunity. Veneficus walked calmly through the ensuring chaos, Diábolis at his side, still hidden from view by his hood.
"This magical mutation of the Force, while useful to us, may be more trouble than it's worth to have in abundance," the Emperor explained, even as a pair of Arcanamach ran down several civilians and cut them down. "If it was to fall into the hands of our enemies, and I believe it already has, then it will mean a harder series of battles to fight before victory is attained. While we will retain what magic users we have in the Empire, we have little need for this to become commonplace through this planet. We will subjugate this world, and use it as one of many to bolster our forces of Adepts and creatures. There are many on this world that with the right dosage of Sith Alchemy would be of great use to us…"
They turned at the end of the street and watched the chaos from afar, "This world will burn in the fires of rebirth, and with it the Sith banner will rise in open defiance to the Republic, or any who would dare come here to learn of me." Veneficus said aloud, and Diábolis had the feeling that he himself was included in that threat. Holding his wrist to his face, Veneficus contacted the admirals of the fleet above, "Begin," was the command, and fire rained from orbit all around, bombarding the city outside the alley that they were in, and along the entire planet.