Have to post this one somewhat early, as I will not have time Tuesday evenings for a while to sit down and finalize my chapters anymore... blame school, but regardless, enjoy!
Chapter Nineteen
Sinister Ambitions
Colin watched the Ithorian carefully, fingering his blaster and wand as he waited for the Jedi to make a move.
"I wonder though," the Jedi said softly, standing from where the creature had been sitting in a meditative posture, "why one such as yourself would brave the kinrath just to come and find me. I sense death and hatred in you, stranger, and I fear what destruction you bring with you, for the Galaxy and yourself."
Colin remained silent, not wanting to give in and engage the Jedi in his irritatingly calm discussion, as though the telepathic being did not know that Colin was here to kill him. "Ah, and there is the thought, the real reason you have come so far so heavily armed."
The Assassin widened his eyes, the blasted creature was reading his mind. Reacting in haste to prevent the Ithorian from gaining knowledge better left unknown to the Jedi, his wand flashed outward, and the curse of death leapt from his lips.
Impossibly quick, the ungainly creature leapt to the side, the oversized hilt of his lightsaber slapping into the Jedi's hand and an emerald blade flashing to life. "I see that there is no reasoning with you," he said sadly, dropping into a purely defensive stance. From the training he had specially received from Emperor Veneficus, Colin knew that any sort of outright attack would be ineffective against the tactic.
He had to use trickery and manipulation to win this battle. Keeping up a front, Colin sent a barrage of spells and blaster bolts at the Jedi, while strafing the length of the cavern. The Jedi easily deflected the different attacks and jets of light from his accursed blade, but without Colin standing in one place like an idiot, it wasn't as simple as reflecting his attacks back into him.
Casually, while keeping up a powerful shield with his hand, the blaster was holstered and a small sphere replacing it in Colin's hand. The Jedi could stop this attack as well, so he held the small explosive for as long as he felt safe to do so, before hauling back and throwing it as hard as he could at the cavern's ceiling over the Jedi. The Ithorian, so focused on blocking his spells was unable to notice the detonator until it was already at its target. The explosion rocked the cave, knocking loose many chunks of rock and sending them crashing down upon the Jedi's position.
The Ithorian looked up in horror, before throwing himself to the side, lowering his defenses enough to allow Colin to snipe a few quick spells in, a cutting curse hitting the creature's shoulder and a blasting curse hitting its back, knocking it further out of the path of the crushing rubble. Running up to give the Jedi as little time to recover as possible, Colin had to skid to a halt as something else emerged from the massive hole in the ceiling that he had made.
The kinrath had been disturbed.
Shrieking and screaming, the insectoid creatures swarmed the cavern, obviously enraged at the chaos that had erupted so near their queen. There was nothing for it, and abandoning his attempts to slay the Jedi Master for the moment, Colin fled, utilizing spells to blast past the poisonous creatures and bolt for the exit.
Whether the Jedi was behind him, ahead or even dead, the Assassin did not know or care at the moment, as he plowed back through the chamber that unfortunately kept the queen and her guards. Any illusion magic would be wasted with the bugs on high alert and enraged, so he had to rely on brute strength and cunning to get through. Launching blasting curses at large formations of crystals, Colin bolted as the exploded, throwing slag and shards in all directions, startling the insect creatures and giving him a moment to pass through half the chamber before they recovered and attacked.
Throwing a wrist forward, Colin activate his flamethrower, creating a gout of flame that kept any of the kinrath from wanting to approaching him from whatever direction he pointed it. But there were far too many for that small blast of fire to do much, and eventually, Colin had to resort to his wand again. A pair of concussive blasts and several small fireballs later, the ground quaking as he missed and struck the cavern's walls and support pillars, and Colin staggered out of the queen's chamber, injured and possibly poisoned, but alive and still running for his life.
If he wanted to have any chance of catching his quarry, he couldn't waste time with the kinrath. Several were in hot pursuit as he sprinted for daylight, stunning and killing another pair that leapt in his path before he burst out of the cave into the sunlight of Dantooine.
Spinning as he emerged, he launched a barrage of spells back into the cave to hamper the chasing spider-like creatures, before throwing another explosive at the roof of the opening, causing with the deafening explosion a small cave in, the rubble significantly blocking the entryway of the cave, making it far too small for the average kinrath to pass through.
When none tried to escape the small opening to get at him, Colin let out a small sigh of relief, almost wincing at the burning that came from one of the wounds he had received from the queen. He was poisoned. Thankfully he was no mere muggle that would need antivenom. Waving his wand, he muttered a purification spell, and felt cool relief as the toxin in his system was nullified instantly.
That taken care of, Colin spun quickly to see where his prey had fled to, and was annoyed to see the speeder flying off in the distance, the brown cloak of the Jedi flapping in the generated wind of his escape. Leaping upon the swoop bike, Colin pelted after him, activating the cannon located underneath the vehicle, and firing mercilessly at the Jedi's vehicle.
He would not lose this hunt, not when the command had come straight from his Lord and Master, Veneficus. The speeder's primary thrust was hit, sending the entire craft careening off course, while the Ithorian leapt from the crashing wreck at the last moment. Not wanting to risk his own means of returning to his ship, Colin stopped well out of range of the Jedi, and leveled his wand at the creature as he dismounted.
"Persistent, I'll give you that assassin…" the Jedi said serenely, despite all that had occurred. If anything that alone seemed to annoy Colin the most. How could these monks be so blasted calm about everything? He was trying to kill the thing and it was acting like Headmaster Dumbledore, chatting about the weather or lemon drops like nothing was wrong.
The Jedi pulled his weapon from his belt, but Colin was not playing around anymore, this was done. "Expelliarmus!" he intoned, watching at the hilt was wrenched from the Jedi's hands. Even as the Ithorian tried to retrieve his weapon through the Force, Colin struck with several violent and rather dark spells. Bursting and bone-breaking hexes followed by a round of the Cruciatus, blood-boiling and finally a pair of killing curses.
Whether it was that the Jedi was finally tired, or simply giving up, Colin was not aware, but the bone-breaker struck true, taking out one of the creature's massive legs and sending him to the ground, the Cruciatus ending all attempts at fighting back as the supposedly collected and meditative monk writhed in agony on the ground.
Somehow however, he was able to maintain concentration enough to retrieve his weapon, and the death curses were repelled as the being got shakily to its feet, the glowing green blade between Colin and his objective. But the Assassin had purposefully held back some of his abilities this entire time, knowing that the Jedi would quickly adapt to whatever he threw at him. So, acting as though he would attack again, Colin threw a spell, a rather simple stinging hex at the Jedi, before apparating away, landing well behind the Jedi. "Avada Kedavera!" he said calmly, smirking slightly as the surprised Jedi crumpled to the ground.
Feeling all the aches and pains that came with a successful hunt, Colin replaced his wand under his sleeve, cautiously approaching the fallen Jedi, just in case there was some sort of trick waiting for him. He had had his prey try to play opossum before, and the end results had always been… messy…
But no, the burn mark on the Jedi's clothing lay right where his spell had struck, and the glazed over eyes were clearly lifeless. Taking the Lightsaber as his personal prize for killing a Jedi, Colin hefted the rather long weapon, made to fit the impossibly long fingers of the Ithorian. Clipping the hilt to his belt, the Assassin continued searching for the objective he was sent for in the first place.
Around the Ithorian's neck hung a small green crystal, no larger than the size of a human fingernail, but pulsing with power. The Kyber Crystal; what Veneficus had demanded that Colin acquire to go with the Holocron from the Jedi Temple. Taking no more notice of the dead Jedi other than to smash his communicator and other tracking devises, Colin left the plains and piloted his swoop back to the remote clearing he had landed in, his prize secured firmly in his pocket.
Now his Master would know of Colin's worth to him, when he received the crystal through the secret methods that they had prepared to hide all dealings of the Bounty Hunter and Assassin with the Sith Empire. Let Draco think he had all the glory for suppling the means for Colin to find and follow the Jedi, the kill was Colin's, and presenting the Emperor with the prize was his alone as well.
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Johell Asbfos' life had become nothing but pain, anger and hatred.
He didn't know how long he had been imprisoned in the stone torture chamber, as he had no visitors except for his tormentor, the traitorous Zhar Quelmok, the man's red eyes burning into his as he attempted to break the young Jedi-in-training. But Johell would not submit, he was a Jedi, and he would never fall to the Dark Side.
Nevertheless he truly hated the man; hated him with a burning passion that, if he were free from these bonds and had a weapon, he would strike the man down without mercy or remorse. These were not Jedi thoughts, but his anger and his spite of the man were all that was keeping him going at the moment, so he did what he could.
The door ground open once again, and Johell tensed, knowing who was coming for him yet again. "Well, well," taunted the voice of his hatred captor, "how is our young Jedi friend doing today?"
So, another day had passed. Johell said nothing, just glared at the man with anger, which only seemed to amuse him. "Still as spiteful and fiery as ever, then." He said, sickeningly cheery for one so evil and dark. "I brought something for you…" he said, and Johell couldn't help but flinch. There couldn't be anything good that his tormentor would bring for him. Personally, he doubted he would even eat food if the man waved it just within reach of his mouth.
But what the man pulled forth from one of his pouches was not food, or even some sort of weapon. The pyramidal shaped object glowed in the gloom with an eerie red light, even as Zhar set it on a small stone within sight of Johell, but far enough away that he could not touch it. The Jedi youngling froze, unable to turn his head away from the dark nexus of energy that wafted from the object, although he truly feared what it represented.
A Sith Holocron.
"You should feel honored," Zhar said, caressing the object fondly, "The Emperor permitted me to allow you to have access to this, for your training…"
Johell shuddered at the stress the man put of the word 'training.' Why was the man so enraptured with making a servant out of him? Johell would rather die. "and… you think… a holocron… has the power… to turn me?" he rasped out, his throat dry from dehydration.
"Oh, but this is no ordinary Holocron…" Zhar said, tsking slightly at Johell's ignorance. "This is the Holocron of Darth Veneficus, Emperor of the Neo-Sith Empire, and it can do significantly more than any other Holocron you've ever seen…"
The man smiled wickedly, just as the holocron pulsed with power. "It's ready for you now… I'll just leave you two alone. Behave now…"
And standing to his full height, Zhar simply left Johell in the presence of the dark artifact. No sooner had the door ground shut, then the Holocron flared to life all on its own, floating into the air as it projected the gatekeeper. A young human, perhaps in his mid to late twenties or early thirties appeared, crimson eyes glowing as he brushed imaginary dust from his elegant black robes. A circlet of gold was upon his brow, and a massive, ancient looking scepter was in his hand.
"I am Darth Veneficus the Eternal, Emperor of the Neo-Sith Empire, and now your teacher…" the gatekeeper announced without preamble.
Johell ignored the image as best he could, but when the figure scowled at his defiance, its free hand shot out, and lightning was projected from it, causing the Jedi youngling to scream in surprise and pain.
"You will not disobey me," the image of the Sith Emperor commanded, "I am now your Lord and Master, and will be treated with the respect that I deserve, or you will know true pain. Am I understood?"
"…yes…" Johell said, crying out when he was hit again with lightning.
"Yes, what?" the figured demanded mockingly…
His head fell against his chest, heaving with the pain that all his nerve endings were streaming across his body, air rushing in and out of his lungs to keep himself from whimpering. This made no sense; Holocrons didn't have power to project the Force like a living being. His rudimentary training was starting to crack from all the shocks to his system, both literal and metaphorical. But what could he do?
"I am waiting, apprentice…" the figure demanded.
"Yes… Master…" Johell said, defeated, just wanting the pain to stop.
"Good…." The Emperor's figure hissed back, sending chills through Johell's body with how pleased it sounded.
But somewhere, deep in Johell's mind, he still rebelled, even if he was going to submit for the moment and allow these evil beings to have power over him, he would wait for his chance to strike back at them, to do something that would hurt their precious Empire, and help protect the Jedi Order and the Republic…
This he swore to do, even as he humble accepted the first lessons from the Emperor's Holocron.
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Chancellor Malfay watched with a false sense of serene patience that he had often seen on Dumbledore so many years ago as the many varied Senators of the systems loyal to the Republic filled the Grand Rotunda. They had come for the a normal session for once in several weeks, the immediate crises boiling down into business as usual as the war had officially begun.
Cautiously reaching out with the Force, he was pleased to sense that the representatives of the Republic were still in a state of dawning horror and trepidation regarding the progress of the onslaught that the Neo-Sith Empire represented. The perfect breeding ground for passing whatever military bill was needed, or desired, to further the progress of the boiling conflict.
But for the time being it was up to Veneficus to make the Empire seem the diabolic enemies that the Republic and the Jedi needed, while the battle fleets that the Republic needed to actually fight them were under construction by Hermione on New Terra. The girl was bright, they would have the ships they needed far faster than any of these Senators realized, and soon they would be clamoring for the Mage-born engineers to take command of their shipyards and spread the superior wizards far among the populace of the stars, all according to the design of Veneficus.
Until then however, he had to pacify the pompous fools into thinking that they were fighting desperately for time, and that every moment counted toward getting their reinforcement ships from the new foundries, and that was exactly what he would do.
"Senators and Representatives of the Grand Republic," he announced as the massive congregation settled, "I, Chancellor Drakis Malfay have grave news to report concerning the war. Our forces are on the defensive, with the major defeat at the planet of Umbara, and the loss of soldier, civilian and Jedi alike to the vile Sith Empire, we have been pushed from the northeastern section of the Outer Rim, to the very boarders of the Colonies."
The crowd muttered and rumbled for a moment, but Drakis continued over them, "The Empire has since them started to strike at those systems that we are now cut off from by their forces, creating havoc and destruction in their wake, all the while preventing us from coming to the aid of our own. But hear me!" he cried, thwarting the cries of protest that threatened to plunge the Senate into chaos, "All is not lost! Even now, the engineers and magi of New Terra are hard at work to produce new and improved war ships for our fleets, and so long as we maintain our control of the core worlds, we will soon have the might to push back against the Sith Empire!"
"The Jedi Order has pledged their warriors to our aid, as generals and military commanders to counter the wielders of the Dark Side in the Sith ranks," he continued through the deathly silence, "We must send all available ships to protect our outlying worlds and maintain a boarder of safety and security from the Sith invaders, and hold the line so to speak until reinforcements arrive."
There was a lot of angry mutterings, but none openly fought the motion, and as he sat, Drakis could feel the tension easing slightly from the Senators around the chamber. Whether they liked it or not, this was their only possible move to protect themselves, and if beings were anything, Lord Anguis of the Sith Order had found them to be a selfish lot, only caring for themselves as the very first priority. The only expectation was truly the Jedi, which was why they needed to be destroyed.
Hopefully, with a bit of manipulation and some excellently planned conflicts with Veneficus, the Jedi would be weakened enough that once Anguis made his move to thwart the Sith, they would be weak enough that he could exterminate them, possibly even blaming them for the war to begin with, and their constant fights with the Sith the cause of so much death and destruction in the Galaxy.
It wouldn't take much once the war got bloody and extended out for a few years. that much fighting and death changed the way beings thought and operated, and the once proud and deified Jedi would become far more human and corrupt in the eyes of the common people, so the path was far from difficult to predict.
As the lead military admiral and field commander stood from their repulsorpod to show in detail the military progress of the fighting, and openly reveal the plotted movements of the various fleets, the Chancellor of the Republic sank into himself and the Force, wondering what the Sith Emperor's next move truly was to be.
While the pair were in semi-frequent communication, it was sporadic at times, especially when the leader of the Empire was on the move himself, flowing with the Force as he created the perfect wartime environment, his brilliant mind and raw power in the Dark Side allowing him to foresee a plethora of outcomes and battles at one time, and divert troops and ships to every corner of his newly crafted Empire.
Eyes flashing once, Drakis had a burst of insight. The Hutts were currently on no one's side, although they usually favored the Republic and its vast corruptibility during times of strife. They could be useful allies in 'buying' time for their fleets to be finished.
Leaning over to his vice chancellor, Drakis whispered, "Send word to the Hutt Cartel that the Chancellor of the Republic wishes to meet with the Hutt Council and negotiate an alliance against the Sith Empire. If they are reluctant, remind them that the Sith are on the boarders of their territory, and historically have had no such feelings of peace or freedom to other potential allies…"
"As you wish, your Excellency." The being responded, leaning over his comlink to forward the command to a lesser aid that was not in attendance at the meeting.
Leaning back to enjoy the rest of the session, Drakis watched both the faces and Force auras of the Senate sway ever closer to his favor with every passing moment.
Soon, every so soon, the Republic would be all but in the palm of his hand, and with it, the massive percentage of the Galaxy would fall under his dominion. Veneficus could, and indeed would be defeated, once he diverted from the game plan, and thwarted the perfect coup that the mad Emperor had devised for his own takeover of the Galaxy. It was rule of the strong after all, was it not? If it wasn't inappropriate to do so at the moment, Anguis would laugh aloud at the irony.
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Bellatrix watched proudly as a squad of six Sith troopers quietly converged on the small grove where their prey, a small nesting group of birds native to the moon that Naga Sadow's true base had resided upon. Between the six armed soldiers, a pair of frightfully large mountain trolls, which lumbered stupidly in a daze among the troopers and dragging their great wooden clubs behind them.
These beasts were merely the first in a long line of experiments that Ocraadi had approved for the alchemists of the Dark Side to conduct. These particular trolls were, if anything, more mindless and dim than their normal relatives, and where the natural grayish blue skin would presumable deflect the mildest of blows from a Lightsaber, these had been reinforced with Dark Side energy until it changed to a crimson color, and also as strong as some starship hulls, as well as fully resistance to the blades of the Jedi or Sith respectively.
These soldiers had been taught by the High Prophet herself, so that they were able to influence and command the trolls, not through the Force, but with a strict series of verbal commands and gestures that would provoke the trolls to combat. They were out here, under Bellatrix's supervision, to start training more of the ways of the new Beast Handlers, so that once more creatures were sufficiently altered and trained, they would be ready to put them to the field for use in the Emperor's name.
"See, look, it's easy…" one of the troopers explained, gesturing with the shock prod that he held, the tool that had been used in training the trolls through the use of pain to obey. The nearest lumbering giant growled brutishly, its great shoulders shaking as it worked itself into a rage, before bellowing a challenge and charging the small nesting ground, slamming brashly through whatever obstacle was in its way to get to its intended target.
While the destruction was somewhat amusing to Bellatrix, it just didn't quite hold her interest for long. Creatures were not her forte, as she preferred her own skill to devastate her opponents, and she longed for the chance to cause some real chaos in the name of her Emperor on the battlefield soon. Unfortunately, it seemed that her Lord was content to make her wait out the opening of the war on this backwater, playing security guard for the mad Togruta and her attempts to build a bigger stick out of creatures from her home world.
Some were interesting concepts, such as the dragons in particular, or creating bombs that would unleash millions of Acromantula eggs onto an unsuspecting world, seeding it for a natural upheaval of creatures that would be resistance to Force abilities and blasters, the natural weapons of the Republic. Bellatrix stayed far away from where they were experimenting with the Dementors however, not wanting to even be remotely close to the foul nonbeings and whatever madness that the Alchemists thought that they could extract from the soul sucking monsters.
To divert her attention and burn time as she languished here, Bellatrix had taken to pulling aside squads of troopers at a time and training them to fight against wizards and in conjunction those with heightened reflexes, such as Jedi. She didn't presume to have levels of agility on par with say the likes of Ocraadi, but it was a good first step, as the bulky armor that the soldiers wore definitely slowed them down against even Bellatrix, and her shields were more than enough to block even the most powerful of their weapons, for a time.
She was impressed to find that their weapons actually fired spells akin to various blasting and piercing hexes, meant to rend flesh rather the simply kill, which made them all the more devastating, but their reflexes were what was lacking. Perhaps she could gain the favor of her Lord and move to the location where the troopers were trained to assist in their combat education, which would be enough prestige to keep her entertained for a while, before the call for true battle overwhelmed her.
Unfortunately, she had been currently specifically asked to oversee this test, and couldn't rightly just walk away to entertain herself, as the stupid fools were likely to accidentally sick the trolls on each other and get themselves all killed, and then there would be none outside the Dark Adepts that could control the animals. That was not acceptable, as the lightsaber wielding Force users had better things to do in combat than mind a bunch of useless beasts of burden and destruction.
Soon enough however, the test was complete, or at least as much as Bellatrix could stand to endure, and she called for the squad to return to the base, the lumbering trolls bringing up the rear as they stupidly walked forward, oblivious to even the occasional tree, whose branches raked over the heads and shoulders of the giant monstrosities.
Ocraadi came down to meet with then upon their return, eagerly awaiting news of their test, which naturally fell to Bellatrix to deliver. "Naturally they worked out fine, it's not as though they have enough brains to actually rebel or anything, although you may want to assign more intelligent troopers to become the new handlers," she added, glancing back at the group of armor clad males, joking and shoving each other in congratulations at a successful mission, as though doing their job was praiseworthy.
"Unfortunately, it seems that all those of any sort of intelligence are quickly promoted out of the standard trooper corps," Ocraadi commented, shifting aside so that the grunts would not take notice that the two females were commenting on their stupid bravado. "We have to work with what we are given…"
"Apparently…" Bellatrix commented back lazily, "at least some show signs of improvement when they are forced to dodge a host of spells or been humiliated by their commanding officer…" she said, which made the High Prophet smirk appreciatively.
"Yes, those troops might actually survive real combat, if they live long enough to actually see it. Hopefully after a few more tests we will be ready to send a full report to the Emperor and receive assignments for our handlers. Naturally I will be recommending you to lead any battalion of beast handlers that are sent into the field. It is only natural that you are finding yourself cooped up here, on this rather remote and barren world, with only researchers and fools to keep you company…" Ocraadi mentioned, smiling again.
"Oh, and which are you supposed to be?" Bellatrix shot back sarcastically, but there was little venom behind the worlds, only playfulness. It was rather nice that the sadistic Force user was vouching for her to be moved into a combat role, and only facilitated more by the need for someone of intelligence to lead the rabble and their mindless animals about a battlefield.
The Togruta ignored the question, "the Emperor will be most pleased with all the creations we have for him to use on the Republic, and the Jedi," she said proudly, more to herself than Bellatrix, "and as much as I hate to admit it, I'm needed here to oversee their creation, which leaves the act of leading the handlers in battle to you, the only being among our group that I actually feel worthy of my trust."
And then Bellatrix understood. It really explained everything, when one thought about why both she and Ocraadi were placed together so long ago. They were so very similar, that not only did they conflict every so often, which could be perceived as a problem, the Emperor had saw the strength that had also lay hidden under the surface. Because both Bellatrix and Ocraadi were so similar, they both knew how the other would react, which led to a level of trust and expectation between them, almost board lining respect and appreciation, although neither would admit it aloud to the other.
"We will not fail the Emperor," Bellatrix replied, knowing that the Togruta wanted some form of acknowledgment to her relatively heartfelt statements.
"Naturally, nothing less can be expected of the two who match each other for the title of most loyal to the Emperor…" the Togruta said proudly, and Bellatrix merely rolled her eyes. That the creature still thought herself the most loyal was laughable, but she would allow the Force sensitive her little joke.
"When can I expect the first battalion of handlers to be prepared for deployment?" Bellatrix asked, pushing the subject father away from the age old argument of who was more loyal to the Emperor.
"I'd say about another season, once the last of the newly creatures are weaned and prepared for training, we will be able to send out the previous generation along with handlers for battle. Patience my dear," she simpered irritatingly, "mustn't rush good things just yet…"
Bellatrix ground her teeth as the irritating alien sauntered off, although she took consolation that it was highly likely that she may finally see the back of that insane creature for the last time in roughly a month's time. It would be a welcome change to advance to the front lines of the fighting, and be able to have her wand inflict death in the name of Emperor Veneficus.
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Fury was pleased to finally be given orders that involved actual combat, rather than simple scouting and orbital defense. It seemed his reputation had finally arisen to the level that the Dark Council, aside from the villainous Zhar Quelmok, had taken notice of him and his exploits, and thus was given the lead of the rearmost battle group of fleets, which were tasked with claiming the primary worlds along the Perlemian Trade Route Hyper Lane, which lay on the southern border of the core Sith worlds.
Starting from Ossus, and after a quick stop on the uninhabited world of Rhen Var to set up a small garrison and listening post, Fury began to spread his half dozen fleets in a wide arc from the two systems, easily crushing such lightly defended systems such as Belderone, Columex, Murkhana and Galidraan. These small systems would serve the Empire well as a warning system if the outer defenses that Fury knew were being conquerors closer to the Core were breached, and allow time for the Empire to muster fleets to defend the core systems: Korriban, Ziost and Dromund Kaas.
Currently Fury was overlooking a battle map of the small section of the Galaxy known as the Tion Cluster, a group of eight or more star systems just rimward of Ossus, which had until now included the system of Murkhana. There was not to be allowed any rulers outside of the will of the Emperor so near to his seat of power, so Fury had set his sights here for the moment, with the main Republic forces still licking their wounds from the punishment they had received closer to the Galactic Core.
The next major target was the Cadinth system, located very close to Murkhana, a powerful industrial leader for the Republic-loyal cluster, alongside its neighboring planet Lianna. The two world's loss would greatly cripple the Cluster's ability to fight back against the Empire, and swell production once Imperial scientists and engineers took to the planet's surface to repurpose their machinery and factories.
Fury was actually fully expecting to simply send his soldiers ahead and not bother taking to the field himself, as the weak systems seemed to lack any substantial military of their own to speak of, and the Republic's main forces had fallen back past even the Inner Rim, which left the rest of the Galaxy wide open for his swath of conquests.
"Admiral," Fury commanded summoning Odjek from his own consultation of the line of security ships and orbital platforms surrounding the factory world.
"Yes, my Lord?" the man asked, and Fury smiled widely, "You may begin your attack at your will."
The Admiral nodded, signaling for all ships to push forward. There was little that the picket ships, meant to do little more than discourage smuggling freighters and scare pirates away, could do about the massive Sith warships, which ploughed straight through their lines as though they were little more than gnats in the face of a lumbering beast.
Once in a suitable orbit over the world, and clearing away what annoyances were blocking them, such as several satellites and the ships that actually tried to fight them, Odjek gave the command for a brief bombardment of the outskirts of the capital cities, before shuttles were launched with fighter escorts to negotiate the absolute surrender of the system to the might of the Sith.
Watching passively from the command deck, Fury fleetingly wondered if the other soldiers around the bridge thought him weak for choosing not to attend this small formality of surrender. Granted, none of them would dare to express such a thought aloud, as Fury's vengeance was the stuff of legends, but there were probably a fair few that thought it in their minds.
Still, he was decidedly unwilling to set foot on a planet that battle was unlikely to take place upon, as it was an unnecessary gesture to raze any of their cities to the ground if they would willingly hand over their factories and other facilities to the Empire.
Fury understood that he was far more of a blunt tool of his Master, used for punishment and destruction, to break systems into submission. When there was a need for finesse and tact however, that was no place for the Marauder. Diplomats like that ever foolish Zhar were more likely to win with their falsely sweet words and clever false promises, but Fury had long abandoned such fanciful wordplay for the glories of battle and blood.
Several hours passed after the shuttles disappeared into the atmosphere of the planet, and the fleet had moved into position over several of the planet's major sectors, just in case word came that the delegation had met with… resistance. But it seemed that such threats were unnecessary, as word came to Admiral Odjek via holoprojection. "Sir, we have their unconditional surrender. Cadinth is now part of the Empire."
Fury nodded to the younger officer from the background, showing a small amount of praise at the success. They could now save the resources that crushing this world would have cost to put to use on a larger, better prize next time. "We shall send down the garrison, and expect you back within the hour, Lieutenant." Odjek said, nodding to another set of junior officers, who began making the arrangements, before shutting down the comlink.
"Begin making preparations for Hyperspace," Fury ordered, "when the diplomat's shuttle returns, make the jump."
"As you command, my Lord," the Admiral responded, even as several landing shuttles left the hangar, followed in the distance by one of the small portions of their fleet, which would take up occupation of the planet, and begin the long work of repurposing the many facilities to better supply the Empire.
It was almost a disappointment when the next few planets fell in like manner, none even desiring to put up a struggle, and soon the entirety of the Tion cluster, and its eight major systems had fallen to the Sith, making a large industrial and agricultural sector to supply the war machine of the Emperor's wrath as the fleet under Fury's command turned its attention toward those last remaining systems between the cluster and the Imperial Core.
Their first target of the next leg of their current mission was the cold and barren deserts of Elom. Fury wondered if he was intentionally being given these harsh assignments from high up the chain of command and, knowing that somewhere Zhar's influence was felt there, he could believe it.
There was no large, civilized settlement for the Sith to approach and demand an outright surrender, merely a vast cave network that the natives would flee into and become hopelessly lost in if they felt threatened enough. The diplomat's work concluded before even setting foot on the rocky planet, and Fury took the lead, ordering landing parties and all manner of high powered vehicles for the infantry.
True, they would be needed to flush out the Eloms from their caves on foot, but he had a strategic plan in mind already. As they flew toward the base of what seemed from orbital scans the largest congregation of life forms on the planet, Fury scoffed as they found themselves landing near the base of a large mountain range. The A'driannamieq Mountains they were called, and beneath them, reportedly, lay the capital of the system, Elos.
As his army marshaled behind him on the ground, Fury allowed the power of the Dark Side to flow through him, seeking any hidden openings or caves that would need to be blocked to prevent any escape on this side of the mountains. There was little that he could do to block every entrance, there simply were too many, but he could stop up these main entryways at the least.
Pointing them out to the gunners, the many hovertanks he had demanded to be brought opened fire, caving in these openings and leaving only the large one before them clear. Finally, in full military procession, Fury led his army forward, rank and file for the most dramatic entrance, into the massive network of caves, with only the Force to guide them through the gloom to where the hidden underground city lay.
If any of the soldiers had complaints, they were never voiced, and Fury felt his excitement grow as the cave started to vault skyward over their heads, enlarging as they grew closer to their destination. There were plenty of off shooting passages, but the army ignored them as they unerringly followed their commander toward their prize.
Soon, Fury stopped, just as the cave reached an absolutely massive chamber, with passages ringing down the sides of the walls to the deep floor far below. But that was the least of what one would pay attention to, with the enormous city that stretched out in the cave network before them to distract from something so trivial as how one got down to it.
More than one officer stopped in their tracks to gaze out at the glittering buildings, made from stone and raw Lommite ore, the planets special export that was desired all over the Galaxy for its use in creating transparisteel, which was used in viewports and windows on spacecraft and buildings.
"Attack…" Fury ordered, feeling the swell of emotions before his soldiers cried out and charged down the great arcing paths toward the city, weapons drawn and ready to fire if a soul tried to resist. After so many systems surrendering on contact, Fury was hoping for a large fight now, and once he heard shots from inside the city, he smiled, knowing he wasn't about to be disappointed.