So, due to impossible full Tuesdays for me because of school, work and other life commitments, I will highly likely be pushing the post date to Wednesday mornings rather than Tuesday evenings, although I figure that makes little difference as the majority of my readers seem to wait until Wednesday to read it regardless, so, just an fyi I guess... enjoy the next chapter! ~F

Chapter Twenty

Cruel Intentions

Zhar returned periodically to check on his newest apprentice to see how the captive boy was getting along with the Emperor's Holocron. The boy, Johell Asbfos, was strong of spirit, but there were few that could resist the techniques and abilities of the Emperor. It took only the merest of three more weeks to finally get the boy submissive enough to allow out of his prison and give him food and water to prevent the Jedi Initiate from perishing.

All in all, Zhar was pleased that it had taken so long to break the boy. It showed how powerful he could become after he was trained, and the High Prophet of Korriban wanted to make sure that he left the planet in good hands when and if something were to happen to him. As the boy greedily consumed as much food as his body would allow in the temple medical chamber, a single droid stood by, taking vitals and making sure that the jedi didn't make himself sick with overeating so soon after his forced starvation.

He would be discharged soon, according to the displays hooked to the boy's arm, and then Zhar could start testing him to see how much of the Holocron's knowledge he had absorbed while the manifestation of the Emperor's will turned him to the Dark Side. Once the droid left him, and Johell seemed to finish wanting to eat anything more, Zhar approached, relishing the flare of anger at his presence from the boy.

"Are you prepared for your first tests, apprentice?" he said neutrally, uncaring whether the boy was indeed ready or not. The boy said nothing in response and bared his teeth, but rose from the elevated examination table and followed as Zhar exited the medical chamber and walked through the stone corridors of the training facility.

Zhar recalled from the many manuscripts that the Archeologists had found that there used to be a series of tests that each and every Sith initiate went through long before, during the wars following the rise and fall of Darth Revan, the two faced Jedi that fell and allowed himself to return to the Light. Nevertheless, Zhar felt it appropriate for his apprentice, if he was to become head of the tomb world of Sith history, to go through these same trials to understand just what he was getting into.

A quick ride in a speeder over the vast wastes of the Valley of the Dark Lords, Zhar set down the speeder on a crumbling landing pad on the far side of the valley and exited, leading Johell to the observation platform overlooking the great labor of excavating the secrets of the past. There were a great many more archeologists and Dark Adepts that had flocked to the planet in recent days, especially after the start of the war. It seemed that the dangers of tomb diving had paled in comparison for a great many to the onslaught of war. But that mattered little to the High Prophet of the planet, as the more he had working for him, the less he had to actually manage the affairs of the planet himself, as he was able to delegate responsibilities to the other local Prophets and focus his own valuable time on more pertinent pursuits, like his apprentice.

Casually, Zhar tossed the young man an Electroblade training sword, a far cry from the weapon he once held as a Jedi Padawan, but his new life demanded that he start over again, and it amused Zhar to watch the boy fume over the much less elegant weapon.

"Welcome to the Valley of the Dark Lords, on the planet Korriban…" Zhar said, gazing out across the sand far below them. The boy still refused to reply, but Zhar allowed the young man his childishness, for now. "Your first task is to go down and eliminate a host of K'lor'slugs that are plaguing the archeologists in and around the Tomb of Ajunta Pall, use whatever means necessary to eliminate the pests. If you survive, I'll contact you in time with this and give you further instructions." He handed Johell a Holo-communicator, smirking slightly when the ex-Jedi immediately checked if it had the ability to call out itself.

The devise did not, as it only was designed to receive incoming messages, and even then only from Zhar personal communicator as well. "Try to be of use to whatever the archeologists and other Dark Adepts ask of you as well, apprentice, and try not to die. It would be rather annoying to learn that you had died so easily out here so soon after we released you…"

Laughing to himself, Zhar returned to the speeder, soaring out and over the area as he returned to the academy building on the far side of the Valley. If the boy was as strong as Zhar hoped, he would be able to make his way back to him, fighting through the dangers and traps of Korriban, as well as helping out with some of the more mundane tasks that plagued the planet from time to time.

In time he would be allowed to go other places and do more varied and important tasks, but this was only the first step in judging if the boy was ready for actual training. It also served as a measure for the skills and abilities that the ex-Jedi had already from his former life, and Zhar was eager to learn of what transpired out in the Valley proper from his various spies and servants out in the sands.

Until then, there were plenty of tasks that required his attention waiting for him, some more entertaining than others, but inevitably he would end up in his offices, working out the management paperwork of an entire planet. Luckily he hadn't the need to consider an economy, as the Tomb world was funded directly by the Imperial banks of Dromund Kaas as a sponsored charity, but such funds still needed to be distributed properly, and there was only just enough to go around on a good month.

In time the stale air of the office combined with the annoyance of reading flimsi over and over wore on the High Prophet, and he decided to go and wander the academy, perhaps to go and seek solitude in the library amid the holocrons that had been assigned to their world by the Dark Council and the Emperor, or perhaps watch the highest ranked adepts try to gain his favor by dueling each other in the hopes that they might be found worthy to lead Imperial fleets into battle against the Republic.

The latter, while always decent, was not as inviting as previously, so Zhar found himself wandering toward the library, the seductive allure of the artifacts housed inside calling to him, just as they had when he first set foot on this world so long ago. There was an ancient power in these relics, Zhar concluded as he strolled casually between rows of antique weapons, armor, and other important and less important pieces that had been expertly exhumed from the various tombs on the planet. But still, the sealed room in the very back of the library held the greatest prizes of all.

Taking a deep breath before entering, Zhar slid his hand over the access panel, as one of the twelve who had rights to enter here, the other eleven being the various Korriban council members. The secluded back rooms were filled with rows of tomes and scrolls detailing ancient Sith knowledge. But the very best that this vault had to offer were placed in along the highest section, on the upper level.

Over two dozen Holocrons, all generously donated for their cause from the great stores that the Emperor had both inherited as Dark Lord of the Sith, as well as a few that had found in recent days by their tomb searchers in the course of training new Dark Adepts.

The greatest of these, sitting proudly in a place of honor, lay the Emperor's personal Holocron, on loan from the Dark Lord to Zhar personally to use in the breaking of Jedi. If anything the Holocron of Darth Veneficus seemed to possess the deadliest gleam out of all of the ones they held in their possession. In due time however, he was under orders to eventually return the Holocron to its secret resting place, but Zhar had determined not to do this until he was certain that his new apprentice was firmly under control.

It wouldn't take terribly long, but Zhar wasn't willing to take too many chances with the boy and his wild streak. It had taken a while to break him after all. With luck the hard labor out in the Valley would temper that fire in him, as well as show the child the might of the Neo-Sith Empire, which may yet give him reason to accept his station over the normal slaves and workers that populated the Empire, but only time would tell, and it was luckily one of Zhar's greatest resources at the moment.

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Yoda dashed with the aid of the Force beside Luna, quickly outpacing the wizards in their pursuit of the beacons attached to Ist's communicator. The fact that the Bothan had not contacted them as well as Luna's Padawan was concerning, but the goblin Jedi Knight pushed such thoughts aside and focused on the present.

The streets were eerily similar to that of Diagon Alley, although much larger and less crowded, as the shopping district covered a far more open area now that the New Terrans could live openly as magic users. But that did not stop the two Jedi from having to vault and dodge around several obstacles in their frantic search for their lost apprentices, as well as the third of their wizarding companions.

Yoda could sense the maelstrom in the Force that swirled around Luna, her worry over her Padawan starting to cloud her judgment, but for the moment he allowed it, for at least the time it took for them to reach part of the lost group.

At last nearing the place where Ist's signal was being transmitted from, Yoda skidded to a halt, and worriedly found the place, lifting the devise from the ground with a stab of worry himself over the young female Padawan. "We must press on to find Leon, perhaps he escaped his attackers and can help us find the others." Luna said, starting to take off again, but Yoda caught her arm before she took two steps.

"Relax, we must. At peace our minds need to be, if find our Padawans swiftly, we will." He said, catching his fellow Knight off guard slightly.

"I… yes, your right…" Luna said, pausing to consider what was driving her at the moment. They both froze in place, meditating over the found devise, centering themselves in the Force, and allowing it to flow through them like electricity through a conduit. In his mind's eye, Yoda could see a vision of the attack, with young Leon valiantly trying to distract and lead away some of their assailants, while Ist took charge of Professor Trelawney, and tried to lead her to safety, only becoming captured when the human boy was separated fully from them.

"I can sense him," Luna said, turning to face a new direction than the one she had been planning to charge blindly down, "he's hurt and we must go to him."

"I agree…" Yoda said, and together they ran with the Force, the burst of speed pushing air off to the sides with how fast they were traveling. Through the streets they ran, shoppers and droids springing aside to avoid collision as the Jedi Knights sped past.

Following Luna's intuition, they took a sharp turn down a back alley between several stalls. They soon came to a dead end in the middle of several stall sides, and there lying in the middle was Leon, the boy unconscious and potentially injured. Luna withdrew from a hidden pocket in her robes the old wand she had had back on earth, and carefully waved it over her apprentice, sighing in relief as she declared him unharmed, simply stunned.

"Ennervate," she said, flicking the wand again, and the Padawan surged back to consciousness.

"I… what… where? Master?" he said hastily, floundering about as the boy tried to make sense of what had happened.

"You're alright now," Luna said, trying to calm her apprentice, "What happened with Ist and Professor Trelawney?"

"I… I'm not sure, we were checking out stalls in the market, getting a feel for the people and the culture just as we had planned, when someone started shouting and a bunch of black robed figures attacked us with their wands. We didn't want to make a scene by activating our lightsabers, so Ist and I split up, she taking the Professor while I tried to lead them away and contact you. Guess I didn't make it too far." The boy said, shrugging in defeat.

"Why leave you stunned, did they however," Yoda said thoughtfully, "If kill you, their plan was, why leave you here for us to find did they?"

"It leaves only one real option," Luna said, looking around carefully, "They are counting on us going after the other two, and falling into some elaborate trap…"

"Our next move then?" Leon said, dusting himself off and picking up the hilt of his Lightsaber.

Luna looked between the two other Jedi, before smiling, "Spring the trap…"

Yoda grinned toothily. This was something that he could get behind, as much as the Jedi did not uphold violence. However, as a goblin, conflict was an everyday part of life, and therefore something he was quite familiar with. Rising up to his full height, Yoda closed his eyes, opening himself up to the currents of the Force far more than he had before, desperately sweeping the city for his apprentice.

Pushing past the strange, warped feeling of the world around him, Yoda could feel the slight twinge of familiarity far off from them, and once the two Professors arrived, they started off, much slower than before so that their companions didn't get left behind. Still, Yoda could feel the undercurrent of darkness surrounding them the closer that they got to the location he could feel Ist at.

The surrounding buildings also started to change as they drew nearer, growing less like old Diagon Alley, and becoming more like the seedy Knockturn Alley instead. The sense that they were being watched was palpable now, and Yoda knew that Luna's theory about what had occurred was most correct.

They approached a rather large tavern which from inside Yoda could sense their companions, and casually the three Jedi entered, followed closely behind by Professor Flitwick and McGonagall. The building was conspicuously empty, although the Force told him that it teemed with life on a floor below them, the location of the trap to be sure.

Luna exchanged a glance with Yoda, and together they unclipped their weapons, followed quickly by Padawan Leon. A pair of swishing sounds behind them indicated that the wizard and witch had withdrawn their wands.

Cautiously they approached the rickety stairs that led to the building's cellar, not knowing fully what awaited them, but Yoda did not care, as the life of his Padawan was far more important than anything else.

The room below was large, and presumably empty. This only cause the three Jedi to raise their defenses even further, as the Force was telling them that their eyes were deceiving them. Just as they did so, a male voice yelled an incantation, and a green jet of light flew at them, deflected harmlessly into the ceiling by the igniting violet blade of Luna's weapon.

Yoda responded with a powerful shove with the Force that threw several people off their feet and made their concealing magic shimmer as they were displaced from standing perfectly still.

"Finite Incantatum," Professor Flitwick intoned, cancelling out the magic and revealing a handful of black robed figures, one of whom was still maintain a firm grip on Ist while another restrained Professor Trelawney.

Emerald and Viridian blade leapt to life as well, the three Jedi standing off against the Dark Wizards and their hostages. "Valiant effort, but it will do you no good…" the leader said, and it seemed that at least Professor McGonagall recognized the man from the small gasp she made.

The man smirked, his tongue darting out reflexively to lick his upper lip, almost like a nervous tic, but continued to address them, showing quite a bit of knowledge regarding them in the process, "The Master knew that it was likely that you Jedi would start snooping around where you weren't welcome, and we've been preparing for such a time as this. If you want the girl, we'll need to have your weapons all on the ground, now."

Yoda mentally scoffed, it was not likely that they would either put down their weapons, as it was obvious that the man would rather kill them all when they were defenseless rather than have a fair fight on his hands.

The response, surprisingly, came from Padawan Leon, who used the Force to throw the pair of dark robed figures from Ist and Trelawney, which stunned the other figures just long enough for the two Jedi Knights to rush in, backed up by spells from the two Professors.

Within moments the half dozen were dispatched, three dead from their resistance and the leaders disarmed and on the ground. Professor McGonagall stood over the man with a look of extreme disgust on her face, "How is it possible that you're alive, after everything?" she asked scornfully, but the man just looked back at her defiantly.

"Who is he?" Luna asked, and the Transfiguration Mistress snarled slightly as she responded, "Barty Crouch Jr., convicted Death Eater and servant of Voldemort."

The man laughed, a short spastic sound that echoed off the empty walls, "I serve the Dark Lord no more, not after I witnessed true power at the hands of another." He kept chuckling, the effort making his body twitch, "The Lords of the Sith are more powerful that Voldemort ever was, and they crushed even him in the end. Now my Emperor is greater than even the most powerful Dark Art's users the world had ever seen, and I am one of his loyal servants, sent to carry out the more dangerous missions, such as eliminating his hated foes within the Jedi…"

The man lunged suddenly for McGonagall's wand, and Luna dove in, swinging her saber high and cutting a long path through the man's chest and stomach in the process. Crouch Jr. fell to the ground, writhing in death throes while the others black robed figures began muttering strange spells, or just whimpering their apologies to their Dark Master.

"Stop them!" Flitwick cried, but it was too late, as one by one the black robed figures started to disappear, leaving only a handful of body parts remaining in the state of their misplaced teleportation.

"Splinched themselves rather than reveal anything about their master…" Flitwick said, cringing at the sight of some of the parts, "What mad devotion is this?"

"The kind only a Sith can produce," Luna replied, before they gathered up their other companions and bid a hasty retreat before more people came to hinder them.

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The planet Krayiss Two was a perfectly nondescript planet, located in the heart of the Empire's territory, and the casual passerby would easily overlook it as of no importance. But the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Veneficus, knew far better.

Here lay one of what were referred to as the five 'sacred' Sith Planets, along with Ziost, Khar Delba, Rhelg and Korriban, all of which housed ruins dating back to the very origins of the Sith, both species and institution.

These five had been the first to be secured and populated, reestablishing the ancient ties to the Sith of old and securing the Empire's authenticity as a continuation of the old fight against the Jedi and their Republic.

Normally however, if the Emperor of the Neo-Sith Empire was to visit one of these core worlds, it would be amid a massive fanfare and with great pomp, but this was a mission of utmost secrecy, even to the members of the Dark Council. Krayiss Two held special value to Veneficus in specific, as it had been the gateway to finding many more planets of note to the Sith of old, and their ways, all thanks to the ancient Darth Zeemar, Head of the Sphere of Ancient Knowledge from times far gone.

It was here, secreted away in the nearly forgotten Library-Temple, that the Sith pureblood had secreted away many Holocrons and artifacts to prevent their fall into the hands of Lord Kaan, and his Brotherhood of Darkness, who had attempted to spell the destruction of all things Sith with their traitorous teachings and blatant disregard for the Order of the Sith that they had represented.

It was here, to the now excavated library that the Emperor was going to, to a vault that he alone was aware existed, having shrouded it with the Wild Force to prevent its discovery until he was finished with it. while he had already taken and distributed the Holocrons across the Empire, many of the artifacts remained, and the Sith Master quickly passed them by, only casually glancing over the many talismans and amulets, crystals and even a great ritualistic Sith chalice, once used for the drinking of the blood of Jedi. Even the rarer artifacts were still overlooked by the Emperor, as they were still not needed, such as the helm of a more ancient Sith Lord named Kallig, who had at one time been worn by a Head of the Sphere of Knowledge that was older than even Darth Zeemar.

No, it was the notes and maps that the old Sith had made that drew the Emperor here, seeking out more worlds to send his forces to. They had already conquered in secret those that had had heavy Sith presences in ancient times, and even those which were more recent, like the volcanic world of Mustafar.

Scanning the star charts, Veneficus plotting out two more worlds to target, merely two that held his attention longer than the Republic controlled worlds toward the Galactic core. "Florn…" he murmured, tracing the route to the systems before looking for another, "…and Arkania…"

Florn seemed to hold little promise, as it was a jungle world with little to no known civilization, according to his scouts who had looked over every world near to the Empire, but it was worth a closer inspection if what he read in Zeemar's notes were still reliable. Veneficus knew that the Sith Purebloods had settled the world before the Jedi exiles had appeared, and become the Dark Lords of the Sith, which meant there was a likelihood of at least some sort of ruin to be on the planet, which was reason enough to prevent it from the Republic's hands.

Arkania on the other hand, that was a world that needed to be crushed into the ironclad grip of the Sith once again. Once a powerful mining world of the Republic, the system had fallen into the thrall of the Dark Side before the Great Hyperspace War, and there had been a massive library temple build there, that easily dwarfed the size of the structure that Veneficus was currently inside. But the Jedi had completed destroyed it, and all hopes of finding even a scrap of information from it were dashed.

To add insult to injury, the Jedi had had the audacity to eventually establish an Enclave on the world years later, almost taunting the Sith that this world was no longer theirs by right. How Veneficus would enjoy repaying the harm his Order had taken from the Jedi on that world.

Adding the Republic's complete inability to do anything but hole up in the core worlds until Hermione finished her preparations for their magically upgraded ships, the Neo-Sith Empire had to make sure that they sustained their status as a massive threat to the safety of the Core worlds, which meant that the two campaigns currently underway had to continue, if not accelerate. Veneficus felt that it would also be prudent to sent forces to attack the northern parts of the Galaxy as well, make the Republic sweat a bit more as though there would be multiple fronts when the Sith came knocking on the Hyperlanes into the Galactic core.

But finding another leader among his Dark Adepts that he could trust with the task would be the difficult part. He could always recalled Diábolis from old Earth, but he knew that without a strong threat of death that Umbridge would start to get her own rebellious ideas. The woman was shrewd, even if she was a fool. While the Pureblooded Headmaster of Hogwarts, Dziqis, was trustworthy, Veneficus had yet to see Zhar's old apprentice prove himself in a crisis as of yet, so he would wait and see what occurred.

Gor-lak was also an option, but the Sith Lord didn't truly trust the Ork spirit, no more than Millennial had at any rate. But still, it may be worth the attempt to see what the creature possessing a human was capable of.

Glancing back at some of the artifacts that littered this chamber, Veneficus thought of a few wonderful ideas that might just work in creating such a scenario to life. the Sith Alchemists of old did have a knack for creating some of the seemingly strangest of devises, primarily amulets or rings that carried Force aided abilities of their own, but Veneficus was interested in only a few for the time being.

Foremost would be the old helm, Kallig's Countenance, which would give the possessed human host a more sinister appearance benefitting a seeming wielder of the Dark Side of the Force. A few petty bangles and rings would significant increase the Aura of the Dark Side around the being to give even other Force users the notion that this was indeed a trusted Adept of the Emperor, but the final item would erase all doubt. A fist sized black stone, called the Pulas Crystal would be vital in maintaining the illusion that Veneficus sought to create. The crystal acted like a generator of Dark Side energy, and due to its massive aura, it could produce Force-like abilities for the wielder, such as Sith lightning and telekinesis.

Gor-lak was a powerful spell caster, and would understand the necessity of the illusion well, not to mention use it to his advantage. Veneficus would take these items and grant them to the Ork spirit, sending him to the north and to having his share of bloodshed and battle. Gazing momentarily into the future he saw no ill effects of this course of action immediately, so there was no need to think otherwise.

Departing the world as quickly and silently as he arrived, the Dark Lord of the Sith set course for the capital world of Dromund Kaas, a planet that he had yet to truly linger on more than hours at a time. Instead of the mysterious and disguised arrival as he had on the world of Krayiss Two, this was to be done with the utmost fanfare, for the citizens of the Empire that were rich enough to afford living space in New Kaas City.

Two full contingents of Sith shock troopers, as well as fifteen Imperial Arcanamach guards would be sufficient to escort the Emperor from the spaceport to the Palace, especially as he had air control forward a very public message of his imminent arrival to the Supreme Prophet. The open topped speeder he would be riding in had magically enforced shields, but remained transparent for the gathered crowds to catch a glimpse of their beloved Emperor. Inwardly, Veneficus hated such public events, and would much rather have not been noticed, but it was something of a duty for the leader of a galaxy spanning realm to do, to reassure his people that he was indeed watching over them, and not some withdrawn mystery like past Emperors of the Sith had become.

The grey armors grunt troopers kept a wide berth for the slow moving speeder to hover across the paved roads, while the black robed guards flanked out around the immediate vicinity of the vehicle. Veneficus himself had been obligated to forego his normal black robes of a Sith Lord for something significantly more garish, a vivid purple robe stitched with gold, without hood or covering of any sort, revealing the golden circlet that his people had demanded was his right to wear as their leader and ruler. At his sides, massive gold and parasteel lightsabers rested, more ornamental than anything, but would easily be usable in battle if the need arose. The people needed to know that he had the best of everything for his protection, even if he was happier with his own sabers that were hidden in the overlarge sleeves of the robe.

He felt immensely like Gilderoy Lockhart when wearing the overwhelming costly and impractical things, but between the mass of guards, his own Force ability, and the heavily reinforced and magically powered speeder he was quite safe, even if some fool attempted an assassination. Smiling pleasantly and waving to the crowd as he passed, Veneficus swept the people with the Power of the Force, loud enough that they could feel his presence even if they were not sensitive to the radiating tide of power. At the same time as giving the people another reason to be awed by him and his power, it allowed the Emperor to survey them, another added insurance that there was none that wished harm on the leader of the Neo-Sith Empire.

Not soon enough it was over, and the speeder soared full speed over the large gap that separated the city from the Imperial Palace. Veneficus gladly exited the craft, and surrounded by his Arcanamach who were only doing the job they presumed that they alone were capable of, was escorted into the heavily warded and magically strengthened Palace.

At the first opportunity, Veneficus extricated himself from the garish and overbearing robes, returning to his standard black upon black that were most comfortable to him, and gave him full access to his range of movement. His weapons and other protective items were returned to their proper places and soon he was walked by his honor guard to the very pinnacle of the palace, where the Dark Council was awaiting his arrival to discuss the progress of the war.

Supreme Prophet Dass'in was waiting for him just outside the Council Chamber, and bowed as he and his royal guards approached. "Welcome, your Majesty, we've eagerly awaited your arrival."

"Dass'in, old friend," Veneficus said, controlling his expression for the Kel Dorian as the Arcanamach spread out to guard the entrance of the Council Chamber and block off all access to the room. "Let us proceed then, if the others have been waiting so long…"

The masked orange head bowed again, and with a gesture of the Force the door hissed open, revealing the room filled with two semicircles of six chairs apiece, with a final, larger, thirteenth throne at the head for Veneficus. Seating himself casually, Veneficus waited for the Supreme Prophet, who was leader of the Dark Council, to proceed with getting the meeting under way.

Due to the large space that the Empire controlled, and the various worlds that the High Prophets were spread out to, the other eleven members all appeared via Holo-projection, but each showed a small amount of surprise that the Emperor was present for this meeting. Veneficus usually allowed the Dark Council to operate independently from himself, as both lawmaker and enforcer, while he was the powerful figurehead, dictator and will of the Empire itself.

Not this time however, as Veneficus had several important matters to share and discuss with his twelve closest advisors. Or more accurately, he had orders to hand out to them specifically, and it was easier to speak to them all openly than to go to each in private and command them one by one.

First to appear, prompt as always, was the High Prophet of Korriban, Zhar Quelmok. "Greetings Supreme Prophet," he announced as he appeared, image shimmering slightly, in his seat to the left of Veneficus, "and… ah, your Majesty, it is good to see you here."

"And you as well, High Prophet Quelmok," Veneficus replied, signaling with the use of the man's title that he was here for official business and a warning to not become too personal between them in front of the other members of the Council.

Soon enough, the High Prophets and Prophetesses from across the Empire started to appear, beginning with the Twi'lek Lotu'an of Ziost, another of the original Darksiders that had know Veneficus before his ascendancy. Following him was a relatively new addition to the Empire, the Selkath Jhassa Los, who was set to oversee the Imperial core world of Rhelg. Like Ziost, Korriban and Krayiss Two, Rhelg was one of the sacred planets that were under the red Sith's control when the first Dark Jedi came to their worlds and took command of the natives.

Ocraadi Nuhok, the insane Togruta that Zhar had discovered on Dathomir next appeared, overwhelmingly pleased that her master the Emperor was present, and gushing over her and Bellatrix LeStrange's findings on the moon of Khar Delba, as well as her pleasure to work with all the creatures that Veneficus had sent for her and her alchemists to experiment upon.

Next was the rare Trandoshan Force user, Nssjilirst, who had surrendered the ways of his people and their worship of the mysterious Scorekeeper to follow the ways of the Dark Side, and had quickly ascended to governorship over the fourth moon of the planet Yavin, where Naga Sadow had left many ruins in the wake of his crumbling Empire ages ago. The forests held many powerful creatures that the hunter species enjoyed to hunt from time to time, and it kept the High Prophet focused upon things that mattered when he was called upon.

Uowill was the next to appear, standing next to his seat rather than sitting in it, the Centaur's body incapable of the bending required to inhabit such a chair. Uowill was an unusual find on Veneficus' part, the dark centaur actually approaching him before the Sith Master had departed from his home world the first time, soon before locating his apprentice and laying the foundation for his Empire.

Trustworthy and fanatically loyal to the visions he had received from the stars, the Centaur had betrayed his herd and abandoned them to follow the Sith's burning vengeance through the sky, Uowill had proved that he could be trusted with the most powerful secret that Veneficus had uncovered and set to his use, the return of the Starforge, a powerful Rakatan factory that functioned off the power of a star and the might of the Dark Side.

The final four of the Council were formed from the ranks of Force users that had been recruited by the Prophets of the Dark Side in Veneficus' absence, and therefore were unfamiliar to the Emperor, and he them. Two humans, Armadon Jaccam, and Jamasila Baskyr, the first on Krayiss Two and the last governing Dathomir and its academy of assassins. There was also the Dark Side Mirialan Lezqm Quppuu, who watched over Zigoola. It was strange to see the usually staughtly Jedi oriented race seated among the most powerful of the Prophets, but Veneficus supposed that the Force was not choosy in its gifted disciples. The final two Council Members, a male Gand named Sasyss Vyaqt and a female Noghri entitled Zekhodvom clan Eikh'mir were the strangest of the lot, but welcome all the same.

Veneficus refused to practice the foolish bigotry that had plagued the older Sith Empires. Let it not be said that Veneficus had learned nothing from the stupidity of old Earth, and their supremacists in the fields of blood and ancestry. The Sith had to evolve to hold numbers to actually threaten the Jedi, even if there were only two true Sith Lords, their followers and effectively cultist needed to flourish, and that would not happen nearly fast enough if Veneficus held true to the traditions that only those with Sith Pureblood ancestry or only humans were able to hold any sort of rank in the Empire.

That would only serve to drive the alien races away from them into the arms of the Republic, and further inhibit his ability to recruit more warriors to the growing army of Darksiders at his disposal. So let them hold equal ranking, if they merited it. Dass'in called the meeting to order as the final members appeared, and Veneficus remained stoically silent, as he was merely a very important guest in these meetings, holding only power to propose actions and decide in the event of ties, although in reality he held absolute power and anything he mentioned would be carried out without fail, but let the commoners believe that there were checks and balances to his political might.

The meeting began with a report of each central world and its activity, as well as the course of the war effort for each sector of the Empire scattered throughout the Galaxy. From Dass'in, the group was told that, while Dromund Kaas was rather apart from the war itself, as the Capital of the Empire it stood as a bastion of high moral for the people ruled by them, and many volunteers had proposed themselves for military training to serve their Emperor in battle. Those with officer or pilot suitability were taken and sent to the academies, while others were encouraged to not risk their lives on the front lines at this time, and reassured that there were plenty to fill their places, and they would be called upon if, and only if, their services were needed, which only served to increase the popularity of their leaders in the eyes of the civilians.

Ziost, Rhleg and Zigoola, which having prosperous cities upon them as well, even if they were significantly smaller than the capital all reported much of the same, the people crying out for their opportunity to serve the Empire, and those with skill being accepted into the officer ranks, while grunts were being asked to wait until needed.

Korriban was the same as ever, working hard to uncover their past and train new Dark Adepts for the front lines. The reports from Dathomir, Krayiss Two and Yavin Four were all similar in this aspect, as each had the major training facilities that were in operation currently.

The Starforge was operating at peak efficiency, mass producing ships and weapons outfitted according to Hermione's plans, modified to fit the needs of the Sith Emperor. The information from the nearby world of Rakata Prime was that no Republic or other fleets had come anywhere near where the Starforge was hidden, not that anyone aside from Veneficus himself had the secret location of the space factory.

Ocraadi took a great deal of time to explain the advancements of the varied creatures that had been delivered to Khar Delba and its moon, and the pirate fleet that had been destroyed in defense of the Sith holdings. Veneficus tolerated it as much as possible until they finally moved on to the final planet of Mustafar, where special weapons and soldiers were being prepared to go into combat with the Republic.

Soon enough the updates were finally completed, and Dass'in turned to look at Veneficus, "My Lord, anything to add before we proceed?"

Rising to his feet, Veneficus gave the Dark Council a long look before speaking, "It is time for the Empire to expand the front of the war. Our initial push has broken the confidence of the Republic, but we need to seize as much ground before they start actually fighting us. I know from personal testimony that they are holding onto greater weapons and ships than they have let on, and are unwilling to put them to the field as of yet, so we need to force their hand by surrounding the core worlds from multiple angles."

A gesture and a push of the Force activated the star map located in the center of the chamber, projecting an up to date map of the Galaxy. "I suggest," Veneficus continued, indicating a trio of worlds, "that we send capable leaders to the worlds of Dathomir, Mustafar, and Yavin, supply them with ships, soldiers and weapons, and send them out to take the northern and southern Hyperlanes that lead directly into the heart of the Republic."

"But who among all our Dark Adepts would be trustworthy enough for such campaigns?" Sasyss Vyaqr said, tilting his masked head.

"I already have a few choices for the two northern campaigns…" Veneficus said, waiting for someone to bite.

"Whom would that be, my Lord?" Ocraadi asked, her eyes shining with anticipation.

"Why, I was thinking that dear Bellatrix would be excellent to move out from Dathomir, and another wizard who I trust to attack out of Yavin…" Veneficus said, causing the Togruta's eyes to flash with malice, before the emotion disappeared in a simpering giggle.

"Yes, she would love the opportunity to stretch her wings a bit, as it were." the female Darksider said, but Veneficus could easily sense the jealousy and rage that the High Prophet felt for her witch counterpart.

"I can see no problems with that for the north," Zhar said, causing an assenting murmur to pass around the twelve Dark Council members, "but who shall lead the southern campaign?"

"Well, I had thought long and hard over who was truly most capably of this level of task," Veneficus said, taking a few steps from his throne, toward the center of the room, and standing in the middle of the holographic lights, "and I asked myself, who would I send to take this wild and, relatively hostile area, where the Empire has little to no presence…" He paused, for several long moments. "And I answered myself… me."

The group was silent; their surprise readable in the Force, and Veneficus felt that he had shocked them well enough with his tantalizing revelation, "I will lead the southern campaign, personally."