Prologue for The Stormreaver is online, for those who have not already taken note of it, check it out if you are interested. Meanwhile, on with the show! R&R.
Chapter Thirteen
Many Fronts
Hermione was quite enjoying the time away from New Terra, even if her mind constantly spun with ideas of new projects and inspiration while on the capital world of Coruscant. Following the night that she met with the newly appointed Supreme Chancellor, Draco had taken her, Theodore, and Senator Terence Boot out to a very posh restaurant in the uppermost district of the city planet, probably using his status as leader of the Galactic Republic to get in on short notice, but she didn't mind.
The food was exquisite, even in its strange and very outlandish appearance at times. They had ate, and discussed in great detail the needs that New Terra would have in exchange for producing arms and ships for the Republic, and how best to present this to the Senate the following week. Senator Boot had prepared a short speech for Hermione to overlook, altering it somewhat in the process to better fit what they had discussed, but it seemed sound and to the point.
Despite the great amount of preparation, Draco still asked if she felt it was still necessary for her to personally address the entire Senate, to which she vehemently affirmed. If it was to be her projects that were used in the Republic's war effort, then she wanted to be on the front lines of proposing them for the esteemed body to use.
That was why she was now here, sitting nervously in the repulser pod of Senator Boot of New Terra, listening to the grand assembly of the Senate as they went through one of the routine meetings, so shortly after Draco's official promotion to the Supreme Chancellorship.
"The chair recognizes the Senator from allied system of New Terra," said the vice Chancellor, a race of beings that Hermione wasn't familiar with, and she felt all eyes turn on their pod as it floated forward into the free air of a nearly hundred foot drop.
"Esteemed members of the Senate," Boot started, his eloquence surprising Hermione slightly, but she ought to have known better, he had been a Ravenclaw so long ago after all. "The future seems to us of New Terra to be filled with uncertainty and danger, with this threat of an all out war with the faction referring to itself as the Neo-Sith Empire."
The comment drew hisses and angry muttering thundering up and down the walls of the Rotunda, "I know that war is still very much something that we wish to avoid, but the fact remains that they attacked out fleets, invaded out worlds, and even killed respected Jedi Knights. To not react with proper justice would be a crime in and of itself." Boot continued.
"And what are we supposed to do about it? We've already retracted the Ruusan Reformation and started gathering military personnel and supplies," piped up another Senator, a rather loud one with three large eyestalks.
"To that I have news that could easily shake the foundation of this war," Boot continued, "one of our own on New Terra, the chairman of Magi-Tech Industries, Hermione Granger, has come to Coruscant to offer the Republic use of their latest devises and techniques. If the chair will allow, she has some words she would like to speak to the assembly."
A small nod from Draco, and the vice Chancellor spoke his consent. Hermione stood, walking slowly to the microphone imbedded near the controls for the pod, her heart pounding in her chest at the thought of speaking in front of so many. But then she thought about the people of Umbara, who were all gathered here for this session, awaiting to see what the Republic would do to save their planet, and prevent the same from happening to a thousand others, and that steeled her resolve.
"Leaders of the Republic, Senators and honored guests, please hear me: this future war that you so fear is already upon you. You all already have seen the tragedy of Umbara, can we in all good conscious abandon other worlds to the same fate?"
The multitude of Senators muttered at her words, but continued to listen as she turned to her topic of choice. "What is more, will you send hundreds of thousands of soldiers to fight and die with equipment and weapons that are easily a century old at the very best? From what little I have seen, this enemy has the very latest in technology and designs, and the Republic will need an important edge to be able to maintain any lasting effect in this war. I, and by extension the people of New Terra, are willing to help with our facilities in Magi-Technology."
She paused, letting her eyes sweep the assembly, "Think of hundreds of battleships able to be destroyed by a mere few fighters, equipped with shields and weapons stronger than most capital ships. I know it sounds ridicules and farfetched, but I declare to you that this is the truth, and the future if you allow us to help you. You trust our world enough to have our Senator lead this congress as Supreme Chancellor, so why not allow us to also help supply the war effort. We have little in military as a world, but our abilities lay in a great other directions. Consider my offer, and thank you for listening."
The applause was deafening as the Senators of the great Republic thanked her for speaking. "Well done," Terence Boot said as she returned to her seat, and the floating pod docked back in its place.
"The Chair recognizes the Senator of Umbara," the vice Chancellor called, and the delegation of survivors floated forward.
"We few that escaped the devastation of our planet thank those of New Terra for their words of support, and we move for an immediate vote to utilize this new Magi-Technology to better equip out ships and soldiers," the near-human being said drastically, causing uproar in the Senate.
Many of the Senators, from worlds that Hermione was vaguely aware were known for their love of peace, or at least a dislike of violence, spoke out harshly at the thought of an immediate vote, while those that were as outraged as Hermione shouted in favor of immediate decision.
"Order, please Senators, we shall have order!" The vice chancellor tried, but the din was so great that not even his strong voice could be heard.
"Silence!" Draco roared, standing and his voice magically booming throughout the Senate Hall. All eyes turned to the new Chancellor of the Republic. "While I would be so inclined to vote immediately on such a proposal," he continued, his voice softer, "It would destroy the very democracy that we are supposed to protect if we did not allow the voice of the opposition to this escalation of war to speak. We shall not vote until such a time as both sides are allowed to speak concerning the matter."
The man sat once again, and the multitude of Senators quieted for the next speaker to come forward about a different topic. Hermione felt that this was probably the end of talk concerning her motion, but once the session was ended, she had dozens of Senators approaching her for more information, and even requests for private purchases for planetary defenses on a host of systems. Overjoyed at the attention of her work, Hermione encouraged Theodore to take as many notes as possible, even as she happily showed several recordings of her technology at work.
At the worst, even if the Republic itself refused to accept New Terra's work in their armies, there would be enough planets in the Republic that sought it to make up for the trip.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jedi Knight Luna was watching the session of the Senate open mouthed. Since when was Malfoy Chancellor of the Republic? She knew that she had been away far more often than on Coruscant, but that level of a detail was something that she had thought would be hard to miss. And the second shock of seeing others from her home world, Nott, Boot and even Hermione Granger, speaking in favor of the war against the Sith came as an even greater shock.
What was this world of New Terra that they represented?
This one thing above the hundreds of questions permeated her mind, but a massive roar through the Force silenced all thoughts of the present, even as dozens of other Jedi cried out in horror at the pain in the Force.
"Master, what has happened?" a youngling said to her, tears in his eyes from the pain and despair surging through the Galaxy.
"Millions of voices cried out in horror, before being suddenly silenced…" Grand Master Coven said suddenly, announcing her presence to those in the Temple communications room.
"I feel a great darkness," a Padawan said to her master.
"It's the Sith Emperor." Luna said, feeling the very familiar chill in her heart that the evil boy from Hogwarts used to exude.
"War, unavoidable it is now…" Yoda added, his entire face molding around his frown.
"Yes, that is clear to us all now," Professor Flitwick said, "But there is still this confusion before us, they may be older, but I can clearly recognize young Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Boot, Mr. Nott and Miss Granger from that broadcast of the Senate, what does that mean?"
Once they had returned from the battle at Umbara, Luna had noticed a massive swelling in urgency from the two Professors, who quickly rallied their fellow wizards into teaching and training, foregoing most of the less useful charms and spells for those that were entirely Defense Against the Dark Arts oriented.
They were hindered, however, by the sheer lack of wands to go around, and most of the other adults were unable to muster any wandless magic of their own, let alone touch the Force like the majority of the rescued children could. These little ones had been brought into the temple rotations, training as Jedi Younglings, but for their own mentality the Jedi trainers had kept them all together in one class, despite their varying ages.
One of the wizards in particular was growing anxious and irritable at the lack of something to do; Ronald Weasley, and the red haired boy had taken to going between the hangars and the droid repair bays, learning what he could about the various machines of the Galaxy. It would take time, but the hot headed man was slowly getting the hang of how the various creations operated.
"We meet with the Chancellor in a few days," Master Coven said, "We could bring you both along and see what answers may arise from Malfay regarding this familiarity."
"I agree," Professor McGonagall said, "It would be good to get to the bottom of at least one of these mysteries."
Just then, Master Chobsu Hando hurried in, large ears flopping with his long strides, "Master Coven, it'sa big bombad," he was ranting quickly, attracting the attention of the entire room.
"Master Hando, what is it?" the Jenet Grandmaster said, concern making her nose and whiskers twitch in a familiar way for Luna.
"Wesa have more systems dat are under attack from da Sith," he said, holding up a datapad that was playing a looping recorded message that ended in static.
"This is Obroa-skai academy calling to all open frequencies, we are under attack from a Sith fleet. We've sent all the younglings into hiding in the tundra, but they won't survive long without evac, send hel…"
"This is most disturbing," Master Coven said.
"Wesa gots to go and help themsa," Master Hando pushed, sidestepping as two more Jedi Knights entered the room.
"What news?" the Grand Master asked, but Luna could already tell that it wasn't good from the looks on the younger Jedi's faces.
"Distress calls from Taanab and Ossus, they're under attack from the Sith Empire." The lead Knight replied.
"Desa be calling usa out, de Sith," Master Hando said, more to himself than any others. "Mesa be takin' many Jedi and goin' to Obroa-skai. Wesa needs to be rescuein' da younglings!"
"I agree," Master Coven said quickly turning to Luna, "Gather Masters Rekara and Dolik to lead the groups to Ossus and Taanab. I'm assigning you and Knight Yoda to these groups. The younglings in the Agri Corps must be saved from falling into the Sith's hands, as well as the archaeology groups searching the ruins on Ossus."
"Yes, Master," Luna said, hurrying for the door with Yoda and the Gungan Jedi Master following quickly behind. Somehow though, Luna couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly off, but she continued on, finding the pair of Council members and relaying the Grand Master's instructions.
Not long afterward, she was on board a Jedi shuttle under the command of Rodian Jedi Master Dolik, heading for Ossus while Yoda went with Mon Cal Master Rekara, as she and her group went to Taanab. Master Hando took a third group and left first, quickly jumping to hyperspace to hopefully rescue as many younglings from Obroa-skai as possibly.
"May the Force be with us all," Luna said over the communicator to them as the stars stretched out into lines all around them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Darth Diábolis glared up at the castle, rich in Force energy but at the same time drawn and eerily strange. Some of the things he had seen while on this world felt wrong to him through the Force, but being the loyal and obedient apprentice that he was, he had come here, slaughtering as many of these weakling 'wizards' as he could to drive them to the castle.
But now, standing outside the entrance to the great school's grounds, he felt the barrier of their esoteric spin on the Force preventing all entry, keeping the people within bottled up like rats in a trap. Emperor Veneficus was coming, the Devaronian could sense it, like a tide of magnificent darkness washing over the planet.
Some of the animals he had sensed were quite intriguing, and the Sith apprentice understood the value that his master placed on this world, if only it was for the resources that would be available to their empire with its conquer.
None of the cowards dared to show their faces and confront him, standing alone at their gates, with only a small battalion of Sith troopers in marching formation behind him. He didn't even have tanks or other artillery for them to be concerned about, and yet they hid regardless. Perhaps they were simply being pragmatic, knowing that their doom was coming, but somehow Diábolis doubted that this was the case.
The wizards were up to something, but there was nothing he could do about it until his master arrived. Aside from the barrier physically preventing him from entering, he had strict orders to await the Emperor's arrival before launching any attack.
Soon the shuttle appeared on the horizon, spiraling down to land a few yards from the formation of troopers, and a full dozen of the Imperial Arcanamach descended the ramp, heralding the arrival of the Supreme leader of the Empire.
Diábolis knelt before his master, even as the rank and file stood a bit straighter, as though they thought they would be inspected by their Lord and master for his approval. Darth Veneficus looked past them all however, gazing across to the old castle with an air of remembrance, before narrowing his eyes and bidding his apprentice to rise. "It's time that these wizards learned once and for all why the Sith will be dominant on their world," he announced to the assembled soldiers, and withdrew a long wooden wand from a sleeve of his robe.
Taking aim at the shimmering barrier, he spoke words that Diábolis had no knowledge or understanding of, almost a guttural hissing as magic started to spew from the end of the wand. The magic formed into flames, morphing and shifting into various creatures from this world, dancing upon the shimmering shield like gorging beasts, literally ripping the magical barrier apart.
In short order the flames had punched a sizeable hole in the magic, and Veneficus stepped past the barrier and into the castle grounds, even as the conjured fire continued to devour the shield. Diábolis and the soldiers followed, albeit more hesitantly at the display of power.
Even as they marched up to the castle, the devaronian could see the occasional head poking out of a window or from the tops of towers to watch the mass of grey armored soldier array themselves in formation. The Arcanamach made a small semicircle around the Emperor, who stood defiantly before the castle in full view of all who'd care to look.
"I have no time for dramatics or speeches," he said more for his army than the defender's benefit, "surrender now, or be destroyed. I have a world to secure, and your petty resistance will not hinder me in my goal of perfecting this planet."
No response came from the castle, and Diábolis thought that his master would order the attack, but the cracks of wizard teleportation sounded, and about five or six dozen black robed humans appeared before the Emperor, all bowing on their knees as the recognized their master.
"My lord," the leader spoke soothingly, rising when bidden to do so. The human was tall, but while his outward features told Diábolis of his origin, the Force rang with a wrongness that betrayed that this man was not what he seemed to be.
"Gor-lak," Veneficus said, stepping forward a pace to address the being, "I was starting to think you were too busy licking your wounds to assist your master."
"Never, my Lord," the man chuckled, grating and very wrong for the body he wore. Diábolis wondered if it was some sort of illusion or artificial hologram over the creature's true form.
"The wards are down," Veneficus declared to the assembled group of black robed wizards, "and I order you to break into the castle, kill all resistance and get these gates open for my soldiers."
"As you command, your Majesty," the group chanted, turning as one to the castle.
All at once, the sky filled with multicolored jets of light as the defenders started firing their offensive spells down from the high battlements and towers. The two Sith, along with the dozen Arcanamach ignited their weapons, blocking and parrying the jets as they came in, even as the troopers returned fire at the castle. The wizards all vanished with a sharp crack, and the leader cackled as a sword composed of green flames appeared in his hand, functioning for all intents and purposes like a lightsaber.
"Diábolis, scale the wall and get inside," Veneficus commanded, "I want these doors opened."
"Yes, Master," Diábolis replied automatically, abandoning his position of covering the soldiers with his saberstaff and charging the castle walls. With the Force and his weapon and tool, he found many small hand and footholds in the uneven stonework, and was able to leap upward to a higher ledge, shutting off his weapon and replacing the long hilt on his belt as he took hold of the stones.
Hauling himself up, he had to dodge occasionally as someone took a potshot at him from the opposite side of the castle, but Veneficus was sure to keep suppressing fire on that side to protect his climb. Reaching the first window in the wall, Diábolis thrust outward with a powerful burst of telekinesis, shattering the window and diving inside.
His weapon returned to action as several startled wizards started attacking him, their magic bouncing harmlessly from the crimson blades of his saber. Spinning as he walked and keeping the duel blades moving to create an impenetrable shield, Diábolis advanced on the nearest human, a child barely approached the end of his teenage years. Without mercy or hesitation Diábolis severed the boy's arm at the elbow, skewering the fool in the chest with the opposite blade.
From farther down the corridor a girl screamed, and Diábolis looked up in time to dodge a jet of light that ripped his hood from over his head. The abject horror that permeated the Force at his unveiling was intoxicating, and Diábolis savored it as he rose to his full height before the group of five or six other teenage humans.
They started to flee, screaming that a monster had appeared, and trying to signal for others to come and help them, but Diábolis would not allow it. Charging forward, his saber spinning rapidly, the Sith Lord mowed down the first two opponents even as they tried to turn away, ripping the third and fourth back to him with the Force, impaling one in the back and beheading the other. The last was about to round a corner, when she foolishly looked back just in time to see the saberstaff flying at her.
Summoning his weapon back from her fallen corpse, Diábolis continued around the corner, using the Force to guide him back down to the same level as the door he was charged with opening.
Various wizards with in the midst of fighting those black robed humans that served the Emperor as the Sith Lord passed, but he did not interfere unless he himself was challenged. Most of the wizards were too fearful to do so, but those who were foolish enough to attack were cut down ruthlessly.
The devaronian reached the ground floor with relative ease, leaping from the landing of the long and winding staircase, parrying several spells that flew at him as he plummeted the two floors. Several more wizards were running at the bottom of the stairs, and he landed in their midst, slamming a telekinetic wave around him on impact, and sending all the robed people flying in all directions.
Feeling the impatience of his Master, Diábolis sprinted through the next corridors, dodging and defecting what attacks were throw at him until he reached the great doors that barred the way of the Sith Emperor and his armies.
Only problem was that there was a wizard blocking his path to the door, old and scarred with a fake leg and grizzly features, capped with a whirling electric blue eye that seemed to look in all directions at once. "You gone quite far enough you monster," the battle scarred human said, brandishing a wand at the Sith Apprentice, "I don't know what sort of creature you are, or why your helping that traitorous wizard outside, but I'll be damned before I allow you to open the doors and let that murderer back in here."
Diábolis clutched his saberstaff tighter, the blades humming with eagerness at a fresh kill. It was indeed a surprise then, when the old wizard was first to strike, unleashing a barrage of spells that literally crackled through the air. The devaronian Sith was hard put the keep his staff spinning to deflect the volley, and meanwhile the old man moved, his speed a surprise for the younger being, but soon enough the Sith started to get a feel for the old man's fighting style.
Hit and run tactics were the man's specialty, his size and age betraying the speed and skill that he possessed. If Diábolis was to defeat this wizard, he would need overwhelming attack to batter past the aggressive spells. Launching into a offensive spin, Diábolis kept the saberstaff spinning to deflect any spells that the old man threw at him as he closed distance.
Unexpectedly, the old wizard jumped back as Diábolis reached him, waving his wand upward, and causing a large section of the stone floor to surge up into a physical wall between them.
"Is that the best you can do, monster? I've fought rabble with more tact and subtly than you." The scarred man taunted.
Growing enraged, the Devaronian Sith threw bolts of lightning at the old man, who conjured a shimmering shield that caught and absorbed the bolts as they struck. Flipping high into the air, Diábolis dived at the gnarled man, hoping to either kick him in his snide face or decapitate him with his weapon.
The wizard slashed his wand, forcing Diábolis to block a yellow jet of light; even as a cloud of dust sprang up, blinding Diábolis as he landed. The crimson blades illuminated everything immediately in from of his eyes, but otherwise he was blind. Reacting immediately, Diábolis dove headlong into his rage and the Force. The pulsating heart of his opponent was circling around to the left, waiting for the dust clear enough for a straight shot at him.
Reaching out through the Force, Diábolis could sense the level of power that the old man had, and even more around one of his eyes. Tapping into Dark Side, he started to interfere with the aura of the clearly enchanted eye, suspecting that it was what was giving the old man such an advantage over him. Following up even as the dust started to clear, Diábolis let out a piercing shriek, aided by the Force to deafen the old man, who grabbed his ears even as blood started to flow from them.
Closing distance again with him, Diábolis swung, severing a pair of fingers as the man jerked out of the way, and staggering as the old wizard retaliated by punching him in the face. Growing tired of this game, Diábolis seized the man by the throat with the Force, wrenching him up and throwing the old wizard into the heavy wood doors of the castle. Aided by the Force in addition to the body breaking against them, the massive gates burst open, revealing the battalions of Sith troopers waiting outside, who began pouring in immediately and securing the area.
Lord Veneficus eyed the corpse that had fallen at his feet as the old man had flown through the door. "Ah, Alastor Moody, I had wondered how long the insane old fool would elude us. You have done well, Apprentice."
"Thank you, my Master." Diábolis said, walking with the human Sith Lord as they entered the castle slowly.
"Once more this place will become a bastion of learning, but not for the wizards and their mutated rendition of the Force, but a dark palace where our future Sith will be taught and sorted into their divisions. From here we can send them to the academies of old on Korriban, Umbara, Gamorr, Dathomir and the others once those worlds are returned to our control." Veneficus said with sinister mirth in his voice as they walked.
"And what of the remaining wizards in this castle and throughout the planet?" Diábolis asked.
"They are of little concern to me, we will soon have all the soldiers we will ever need, and the magic users tend to be too willful for their own good to be effective minions." Veneficus paused for a moment to consult a holocommunicator, "Zhar, Fury, Kelrek, are you fleets in position?"
"Yes, My Lord," the trio of dark side adepts replied, "We have already began our attack to capture as many rejected Jedi as possible," Zhar added.
"Good, very good. The castle on old Earth is under our control, and transport of instructors and new defenses will happen soon. This world will be an excellent place to secret away our acolytes while they are still young and foolish. Press the attacks. Let the Jedi know that the Sith have returned and want their destruction over anything else."
"As you command, my Lord." They repeated as the communication deactivated.
Just then, a pair of wizards leapt out of a shadowy nook behind a statue, firing spells at Diábolis and the Emperor. Veneficus hardly reacted as the various jets of light simply halted before him, coalescing into many small orbs that hovered around his head. The wizards wordlessly stood there, in shock of their spells being so easily negated.
"So, weak…" Veneficus said, blasting the pair with Dark Side lightning, their screams ringing through the hall as the Emperor laughed. Soon the pair was reduced to smoldering corpses, and only then did the Sith Master abate his attacks. "In the end, they shall all fall before my power…" Veneficus commented, turning back to the commander of the troopers, "take control of the castle, and bring all survivors to me alive. Kill those who resist. We shall see how many embrace the new order."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zhar looked down from the bridge of the Basilisk at the terrestrial world of Obroa-skai, where no more than three decades ago a training academy had been established to help ease the number of younglings and potential Padawans sent to the great temple on Coruscant. With the command from the Emperor to seize as many Force sensitive children as possible and bring them to old Earth, it naturally posed a massive target to fulfill Veneficus' wishes.
Already Zhar had sent half a dozen battalions from the various ships under his command planetside to cause destruction and lure as many of the Jedi protectors away from their young charges. At the same time, the Sith Pureblood Dziqis was sent with a handful of other Dark Adepts to attack the academy directly, and prepare the way for their shuttles to land for their new captives.
"My Lord," Admiral Setis said from the rear of the bridge, "a small Republic force has entered the system."
Stretching out with the Dark Side, Zhar could feel the gleam of a Jedi Master among them. "The Council has sent someone to prevent us from taking the children." He stated. "Ready the shuttles for immediate landing in the Academy, we're running out of time before the Jedi return to stop us. Launch fighters to slow them down, I will lead the landing parties in case any Jedi make it to the landing site."
Zhar departed, boarding the first transport in the main hangar as they prepped for takeoff, soaring down through the atmosphere and over one of the polar regions of the planet, skimming past mountains and deserts for a short time as they bee lined for their destination in one of the larger grassy plains of the world.
To say that their landing zone was hot was an understatement, as two of the troopers in his shuttle were killed within moments of disembarking. Lightsaber flashing to life, Zhar charged the resistance, impaling one with the blade and throttling the other with the Dark Side. "You men secure the library," Zhar ordered the troopers, "bring in the data storage droids and harvest everything you can before we leave, I'll look for my apprentice and the children."
"Yes, Sir!" the troopers replied, darting off with the hovering droids following behind. Turning to momentarily admire the appearance that the rubble and flames gave to the stereotypical architecture of the Jedi Academy, Zhar scoffed at the arrogance of the Order to think that their places of learning would be safe from the wrath of the Sith.
Taking the main passageway, Zhar made his way to where he knew the dormitories would be in lockdown to protect the youngest of the students. While he had never trained in one of these outlying academies, Zhar had visited a few over the time he was serving under the oppressive thumb of the Jedi. They were all built relatively the same, and there would be a few checkpoints for Zhar to pass before he reached his goal. Hopefully the fleet stalled whichever Jedi Master had been sent to stop him long enough to evacuate the prisoners.
The first room that Zhar passed through, an abandoned mess hall, and he passed unhindered to the training facilities on the far side. As he entered the dueling chamber, filled with various platforms and blocks for training with telekinesis and amplifying the body with the Force, a trio of young Jedi vaulted onto higher platforms, activating their weapons as they did so, "Hold it right there Darksider!" the leader called, a teenaged human, probably a Padawan at best.
Zhar simply laughed, "You think you three younglings can stop me from what I want? Well, come on then, show me what the glorious Jedi Order has taught you." He taunted, him crimson blade offering challenge to theirs.
The other two, a Bith female and Mirialan male, each wielding emerald blades leapt down after their leader, and the human boldly rushed forward, blue blade clashing into Zhar's with a shower of sparks. It was almost laughably easy to bat aside and outmaneuver the three separate combatants. None of these must have had much experience with their weapons, as they fought as solo combatants, and couldn't fathom the idea of working as a team. Even then, Zhar was certain they would still not be a threat to him.
The only thing left to wonder was whether Zhar should leave these ones alive to become pawns of the Neo-Sith Empire or kill them here and now. Each was in relative age comparable to Septin Aranis when he first was turned to the Dark Side, yet unlike the now Marauder, these three were Jedi through and through, with no chinks in their emotional armor or lacking in their ability to undermine their character.
Such potential wasted, but if they could not be turned, they had to be destroyed. As Zhar had no time to play with his victims, he chose to end them mercifully quick, using the powerful Djem-So form to overpower their defenses, cleaving the Bith in two through a poor and hastily thrown Soresu parry, before catching the human as he attempted to rush him from behind with a powerful kick, leaving the Mirialan without allies for a short time.
Blocking a pitiful strike to his side, Zhar seized the male's saber arm by the wrist, breaking his grip on the weapon and perhaps a few bones in the process. The human yelled in agony as he helplessly watched Zhar impale the other being through the heart with his weapon.
Eyes flashing with delight, Zhar turned as the human charged him again, batting aside the aggressive attacks, that was backed with the beginnings of the Dark Side. He had found the chink in this one, only revealed when his allies were slain. Dziqis and his fellow adepts appeared, smirking as Zhar toyed momentarily with the boy before him.
"Good, let the hatred flow through you boy," Zhar taunted, easily blocking and wearing out his opponent. Once the boy was fatigued, he was easy to shove into the far wall with the Force, knocking him out and ending the bout.
"I'll take this one back to the ship," Zhar commanded the adepts, "He will prove most useful to us. Dziqis continue on to the dormitories; the rest ought to be weak in comparison, and therefore unable to defend themselves."
"Yes, Master." The Pureblood replied, and he turned with the remainder of the adepts to where the younglings were likely to be contained. Meanwhile, Zhar took the unconscious Jedi Padawan roughly by the hair, and dragged him out of the academy, taking no care to avoid obstacles that would injure the boy. He could be healed later, once he proved to be of use to the Sith Empire.
Exiting to where his shuttle had landed, in time to see the jedi landing craft approaching. Signaling for the troopers securing the ship to take his future new apprentice to the holding bay, Zhar waited for the Republic ship to touch down, and see which Jedi had come to try and stop him.
The ramp lowered, and Republic soldiers charged out, blasters firing in a vain attempt to stop the Darksider. Jumping into the spinning defenses of Soresu, Zhar quickly pinned down the majority of the oncoming forces in their own ship, slowly slaughtering them with their own blaster fire, just waiting for the Jedi to show themselves.
It certainly didn't take long. Once the troopers fell back into the ship the Jedi appeared, a pair of Knights, as well as a Gungan. "So, Master Chobsu Hando, you've decided to give up debate and negotiations and get your hands dirty for once…" Zhar said mockingly.
The chief diplomat, despite his race's odd lisp that made communication with them almost comical at best, simply watched Zhar carefully as he unclipped his lightsaber. The two knights activated their blue blades as the trio descended the ramp. Crimson blade leapt to life in Zhar's hands, and he stepped into an aggressive combat position as the three Jedi surrounded him.
The Gungan Jedi Master activated his weapon, "Zhar Quelmok, why mesa not surprised to find yousa here?"
Zhar merely shrugged, while keeping his eyes on the pair of Knights, "Wherever the vaunted Jedi shine their light, you can be sure that we shall be there in the shadows. Now your younglings will become our acolytes, and herald in the darkness that will engulf the Galaxy."
"Not if wesa can stoppa it!" Master Hando replied, and the three initiated their attack. Dodging back from the first Knight's leaping strike, Zhar lashed out with a kick at the second Knight, before blocking a slash to his midsection from the Gungan. For a member of the strange, awkward race when it came to being on land, Master Hando moved with grace and swiftness with a lightsaber.
However combative the Gungan seemed not be in meetings or on missions when Zhar was still with the Jedi, it was dispelled immediately as Zhar was instantly forced onto the defensive from the Niman form's blend of lightsaber combat.
Thankfully, the passive nature of the Gungan made it so that the pair of Knights was the lead aggressors in the fight, which suited Zhar perfectly. His preferred style of Djem-So was excellent for countering their combined Ataru and Shii-Cho, and he was therefore able to block and counterattack off each of their strikes, causing them to interfere with their own allies. Blocking a strike to his head from the first Jedi, Zhar twisted his grip, using the Jedi knight's own blade to intercept his companions, before dropping out from between them, kicking one in the knee and causing the human to drop to the ground with a cry.
As the Gungan Jedi Master leapt in to assist the pair of Knights, Zhar quickly cut the younger Jedi down with a vicious stab from his blade. Flipped backward to put space between him and the Jedi, Zhar smirked when Dziqis and the others arrived, their crimson blades more than overpowering the light of the two Jedi's weapons. "Wesa gotta retreat!" Master Hando shouted, and the remaining pair of Jedi fell back to their ship under the covering fire of the Republic soldiers.
The small army of Dark Side adepts charged the ship as it lifted off, but Zhar called them back, "Let the cowards run back to their precious Republic," he shouted over the din of active sabers, "by the time a task force arrives, we will be long gone with their precious younglings, and an Imperial fleet in out place to take control of this planet."
Pulling a communicator from his belt as the Darksiders and Sith Troopers started dragging the unconscious children to the ships, Zhar contacted the Emperor. "My Lord, we have secured the younglings, and will be coming to your position soon enough with our newest students, and I believe the best candidate for their primary instructor."
"Indeed, Zhar, whom do you have in mind?" Veneficus queried, genuine interest in the sinister voice of the Sith Emperor.
"My soon-to-be former apprentice, Dziqis, the Sith Pureblood." Zhar said.
"I shall consider it…" Veneficus said, before closing the communication abruptly.
Turning back to the assembled troopers, Zhar handed out orders, "get those students secured on the ship, then fan out to defend this area, the Republic will return in force soon." and with that he took to his ship, uncaring of what befell these soldiers once he was safely away from the planet.