Well, happy decide the fate of the world for 4 years day... I guess... but its ironic that it coincides with this chapter, which will decide the fate of the Galaxy for millennia to come... or will it? Read and find out... R&R, as always, and enjoy! ~F
Chapter Twenty Four
A Clash of Light and Shadow
There was a stirring in the swirling vortex of the Force. A grand play was about to begin, and the Emperor of the Neo-Sith Empire was to be at its head. Sitting alone in his personal chambers aboard his flagship, Veneficus could sense the myriad of small rushing insects that fluttered around his near future, striving to bite at him, the future Emperor of the Galaxy.
It was laughable, and soon enough the supposed trap would be sprung. The Jedi did not know with whom they were contending. The Predator slipped through the vacuum of space like a knife, its escort fleet flowing around it like a cloak, loping gently toward the first world that would be their victim.
Rodia…
Not that Veneficus truly planned to make it to the battle upon the ground, as he had already foreseen events that would take place here in orbit, in fact, they would be starting, right now…
On cue, a massive signature in the Force appeared, flashing like a solar flare in a dark room, and Jedi cruisers started to appear out of Hyperspace in all directions from various sectors. Alarms flared to life as the crew of the fleet reacted to the sudden appearance of so many enemy warships. Veneficus was, while unafraid of such fools, still passively curious how they managed to scrape together so many cruisers right under Drakis' nose.
"Your Majesty…" the admiral of the fleets said hesitantly over the intercom, knowing that he was putting his life at risk if he disturbed his master from something more important.
"Speak, Admiral…" Veneficus responded.
"The leader of the enemy fleet is heralding us, and demanding to speak with you, My Lord…" the fearful man said in reply.
Veneficus was mildly surprised. He had not completely presumed that the Jedi would specifically know that he himself was present, although that would explain their numbers, and the grim determination that seemed to steel the light side of the Force against him.
"Put them through…" he asserted, before the future Emperor of the galaxy seated himself in his throne like meditation chamber, looking up through his hood at the view screen that flared to life, revealing a furry, rodent-like Jedi Master, whose eyes had turned to flint upon sight of him.
"So, this is the man who declares himself the Emperor of the Sith…" she stated coolly. "I can sense your power from across the sector, but I doubt that even you can fight us all and win. Turn back, let go of your hatred, and never return to this part of the Galaxy."
Veneficus simply smiled from under his hood. "You are fools if you think that it will be so easily won over me…" he hissed back, almost sinking into the language of serpents in his seething rage. "And more the fools you are for thinking that I will ever release my power over you pathetic Jedi. The Dark Side will sustain me throughout the eons of time, and the Sith will rule the galaxy once more… you have already lost, you just refuse to acknowledge it."
"We will never give in to your darkness!" the creature that Veneficus recognized as a Jenet said defiantly, "You Empire will fall, as the rulings of Sith Lords have for countless millennia. If you will not depart, then we have no choice but to fight you to the end, here and now!"
"So be it… Jedi…" Veneficus said, activating the communicator to the bridge on his throne's armrest, "Engage the Jedi cruisers, Admiral." He ordered.
"As you command, your Majesty!" the man responded, even as Veneficus smirked widely at the Jedi Master.
The communication cut out immediate, and Veneficus rotated slowly in his chair, turning to face a viewport out into the vacuum to watch the first forays of fighters that launched themselves from both sides.
With his enormous presence in the Force, it was a simple matter to project himself into every molecule of the battle, and begin the powerful ritualistic ability known to many as the fabled Battle Meditation. Heralded as one of the greatest displays of control over the Force, Veneficus slipped his consciousness into the consuming power of the Dark Side, and allowed his wrath and rage to pour into every single soldier, dark adept and officer in his fleets, improving their skills and reflexes through the Force, and giving each a taste of their Emperor's power.
At the same time, the diffusion of his massive strength in the Dark Side would blind and confuse the Jedi commanders, and their soldiers, causing them to fall in upon themselves, and even making many susceptible to fear and doubt.
Even in so doing however, Veneficus held in the back of his mind that despite all of this, his fleet was indeed heavily out gunned and outnumbered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zhar was extremely pleased with the progress that his newest apprentice had made during his initial trials into the deserts and within the future tomb of Lord Veneficus. The darkness clinging to the boy was that of a level close to many of the adepts who were prepared to leave Korriban for the warfront, but yet, Zhar had hesitancies about allowing the boy out of his sight for long.
There was still an intense stubbornness surrounding Johell, and while perfectly acceptable in a Darksider, Zhar could distinctly feel something off about this boy and his connection to the Dark Side.
So, he had chosen to keep the boy around a while longer, and focus his training toward everything that would make absolutely sure that the Dark Side was forever ingrained into the apprentice's very soul.
Currently, he was allowing the boy to spar with another low ranked initiate, without any sort of lethal weapons. Zhar felt, for the same reasons he wouldn't let the boy leave the system, that it would be unwise to allow him a lightsaber at this time.
The pair of young men circled each other, Johell's nearly scrawny human form dwarfed by the much larger body of his opponent, who was a Klatooinian, and was easily three times heavier than the boy. In the midst of one of their larger accelerations with their training weapons, all three Dark Siders paused, turning to look up into the sky as they felt a great blooming darkness out in the vast reaches of space.
Zhar could sense that every being on Korriban, and even the planet itself could sense the unleashing might that could indicate only one being. "Lord Veneficus is in combat…" he breathed, in awe at the vast magnitude of the young human Emperor. It was hard to believe that one so much younger than himself was so tremendously powerful, but Zhar had to accept the fact that Lord Millennial had chosen wisely for his successor of the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith.
"We must go and fight to defend the Emperor!" the Klatooinian said, stepping forward before Zhar halted his advance, "The Emperor has forbidden any to come to his aid. He is purposefully scouting out the power of our enemies. And he has a new weapon that he wishes to test upon the Republic…"
The initiate fell silent as they all continued to perceive the intense struggle within the Force as a wall of the Dark Side welled up in opposition to the brightness of the Light.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fae Coven winced as the Sith Emperor commanded his forces to engage. It was clear, not only in the Force but on sight, that this human had had Sith teachings for a long time. He fit no description of any fallen Jedi that had been lost before, and the Grand Master had no choice to but acknowledge that he very well may be a Sith Lord, returned from the ashes of the long lost Empires.
Then the wave of Dark Side energy broadsided every soldier, Jedi, and engineer in the Jedi fleet, sinking them into the murky waters of sluggishness and misery. She recognized the technique instantly. Former grandmasters and other powerful Jedi of the past had used the miraculous Battle Meditation techniques, but this was on another scale altogether, and steeped in the corrupting influence of the Dark Side.
"Master, our troops are in disarray, what shall we do?" a Jedi commander said over the fleet's intercommunication systems.
"Every Jedi commander, this is Grandmaster Fae Coven," the Jenet commanded, "Launch you fighters into the battle, and join your power in the Force with mine. We must fight not only the forces of the Emperor, but his overwhelming will of evil itself to win this day. Join with me in meditation, so that we may banish this darkness back to whence it came!"
And without another word, the Grand Master of the Jedi Order fell into her own meditations, centering herself in the storm of the Force as a pure stone of the Light. One by one she felt the other commanders of the three dozen cruisers follow suit, becoming anchors of the Light Side in a literal sea of darkness. Tethers of Force energy started to connect them all, forming a powerful binding web between the Jedi Order, and perfectly signifying that they would band together to fight evil wherever it arose.
Just shy of forty Jedi Masters worked in perfect harmony, unleashing the glory and majesty of the Light upon the battlefield, waging a spiritual war upon the malevolence of the Emperor, even while their brave Jedi Knights and Republic volunteers strove to fight off the physical enemy. Beside her, just inside her frame of consciousness, Fae could hear Knight Laudara taking charge of the command cruiser, giving orders for every ship to engage the enemy, and having their own ship lead the charge on the Emperor's flagship.
The powerful feelings of loyalty and devotion of every warrior fueled and sustained the Grandmaster in her own desperate struggle as she literally wrestled with the overwhelming darkness that threatened to consume them all in fear and doubt. But by the Light, they would fight on, even to the end.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lord Anguis paused in the middle of his paperwork. Sitting in his office at the senate building of Coruscant, he turned with a puzzled expression to face the outlying sky far above the planet's surface. A symphony of Light and Darkness was singing out in the Outer Rim. Casually, he summoned an aide from an outer office, and trying to ignore the downright distracting battle in the Force, asked the young man who entered to call over to the Jedi Temple so that he could speak with Grandmaster Fae Coven.
The aide departed to obey, and Anguis continued to study the strange phenomenon that was taking place. He could immediately sense the power of Veneficus in the midst of that struggle, flailing like a dragon against a horde of hippogriffs, but the signature of the Light was something of a mystery.
Soon enough the aide returned, "Your Excellency, Master Fae Coven is not at the Jedi Temple." He said.
"Where is she then?" Anguis persisted, urging the man to speak.
"The Jedi I spoke to said that she was on a mission, and that it was personal Jedi business and they were not at liberty to discuss it, not even with you…" he said, hesitating when he saw the small flash of irritation in the Chancellor's face.
Controlling himself quickly, Anguis thanked the young man and bade him to return to his work, before turning in his seat to face the cacophony of battle Force energies that illuminated an entire sector of the Galaxy.
"What is that little rodent up to, challenging the Sith Lord so recklessly like that…" he muttered, issuing several distinct commands to some of the other workers under his office. He needed to discover where the Jedi had been hiding so many ships from the Republic, possibly to make this exact desperate move in a vain attempt to forestall the war before it had a chance to break into full bloodshed; quite the typical move of the self sacrificing warrior-monks. Casually, the Chancellor of the Republic stood and walked the short ways to where a stand containing several liquors from across the galaxy waited his use. Pouring a small drink of some foreign wine from a strange teal berry, Anguis lifted a glass to the Jedi, and their foolish attempt that would only achieve in making his plans to take over the Republic all the easier.
The only problem he saw what that it was highly unlikely to weaken the Sith Empire, which would be far harder to fight without so many Jedi at his beck and call… but it was not to be helped at the moment. Anguis could do little but sit back and watch the display, which he did.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Darth Veneficus growled inwardly as the leaders of the Jedi started their own meditative counter to his Battle Meditation. To think that the fools would be able to achieve anything that challenged his overwhelming darkness was appalling, but so it had happened. The Jedi leader here was not to be underestimated again. Rising, while still maintaining a perfect control of his forces, Veneficus paced his meditation chamber, the Elder Wand in hand, and spells being muttered under his breath, to empower the immediate area of his private quarters of the ship, as well as monitor the progress of the battle in more detail.
Fighters were screaming through the bridge of open space between their Jedi and Sith cruisers, but it seemed that the Jedi were taking no chances, charging his flagship head on from all directions. So be it, Darth Veneficus would let the fools come to their own deaths, if they sought to challenge him so abruptly, then he would oblige them and grant them the demise that they so desperately sought; not that he wouldn't make them earn it first… "Commander, intensify the forward batteries," he commanded, "block their shuttles from boarding the Predator," he commanded.
"As you command, your Majesty!" the man replied sharply, and Veneficus felt the ship rock slightly as the heavy guns opened into a full salvo, annihilating everything that attempted to land unwelcomed upon the ship of the Emperor. From his personal console, Veneficus could see that his ship was taking the heaviest damage, and the reinforced shields, while still powerful, had fallen to under forty percent effectively.
"They are persistent, if suicidal…" he commented, before starting in a long circle around his mediation chamber, chanting Latin and the ancient Sith language. Runes of power lit upon the floor as he passed, glowing blood red in the dimly lit room. He could envision the effect out in the pitched battle, as the powerful shields started to overcharge intentionally around the Predator. Gesturing with the Force, Veneficus pulled a secret lever from the far console, which activated the ring of magical outburst that the overcharged shields had built up. The ship rocked again violently, but the Sith Empower maintained his balance as he turned to watch from the large viewport, as a crimson wave of destruction obliterated ship after ship, around six in total, as the non-magically augmented ships bore down into range of the powerful ship's weapon. The downside was that now his flagship was unprotected by shields for a decent time, but it made little difference at the moment.
The cruiser continued to groan and rock as it took a great deal of punishment for its six kills of the many shuttles that inhabited the Jedi cruisers. The target was bare and the bait was set, "Come now Jedi, and try to take me…" Veneficus said aloud to the empty room, before laughing sinisterly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luna felt the stirrings and explosion of Force energy even as they passed into orbit of Coruscant. The light of Grandmaster Coven was easy to pinpoint, standing with other Jedi Masters against what felt like a tidal wave of evil, all emanating from the Darkness itself.
"Master, what is it?" Leon said, and Luna felt the boy grasping her hand. Somehow she had fallen to the deck in shock at the sudden onslaught of energy.
"It's a pitched battle of the most powerful wielders of both the Light and Darkness," Luna said quietly, knowing that the other Jedi could sense this maelstrom of power as well, "Grandmaster Coven has gone to battle against the Emperor himself."
Even as the others started to talk in hushed and desperate whispers among themselves regarding this revelation, Luna returned to her feet and strove for the Master-Padawan relationship that still existed between her and the little Jenet Grandmaster. Her Master was still alive, at the least, but in heated combat of a spiritual level against the miasmic tide of malevolence that heralded the Emperor of the Sith.
"We must get to the Temple quickly; there is something we yet can do to help Master Coven!" Luna said urgently, and the pilot nodded, before pushing the shuttle as fast as it would safely go through the busy orbital lanes of the capital world. To the credit of the Jedi Order, none of the local authorities dared interfere, despite their clear and obvious breaking of the regulated speed limits that ships had to adhere to in the city-planet's jurisdiction.
Luna leapt from the landing ramp before it was even down all the way, signaling with her comlink for every Jedi in the Temple to meet in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, and when that room was filled, to gather at the highest point of every spire and tower in the temple.
It was some manner of miracle that they had accomplished this in the time it took for Luna to sprint as quickly as the Force allowed her through the corridors of the Temple, Yoda, Leon and Ist in hot pursuit.
"Knight Luna, what is so urgent?" one of the Jedi said as she rushed into the great meditative place, the very heart of the Jedi Temple.
"We are here to help Grandmaster Coven!" she announced loudly to the hundreds of Jedi that were crammed in every available space of the room, "She battles the Lord of the Sith Order himself, and we need to channel as much of our power, and even the energy of the Temple itself to aid her in this fight."
"But how?" a Master replied, "Even with our combined presence in the Force, how can we project it to the out reaches of the Galaxy?"
"Through the Master-Padawan bond!" she said loudly, which silenced those who were concerned. They all knew that she was one of the most esteemed Jedi Knights that had been trained personally by the Grandmaster, and that their connection had been the stuff of legends.
Absurd, to be true, as Luna's connection with Master Coven was completely ordinary for a master and their Padawan, but that belief of so many of the Jedi who resided at the temple and listened to the gossip and words of the younglings was something that could be used to help Luna now, so she felt no qualms about correcting their thoughts on the matter at this present moment.
Rather than try and convey in words what was needed for them to do, Luna trusted that the Force would guide them to what was needed, as she sat upon the comfortable floor of the beating Heart of all Jedi Knights in the Galaxy. Channeling every ounce of feeling she could through the bond to her old master, Luna felt as one by one, Jedi came forward, led by the Force and their own feelings, and placed hands upon her shoulders, and upon those touching her when it was impossible to reach her, forming a great web of Force users, all channeling the power of the Light Side, and pushing it through the young female Jedi to their great leader in the midst of her battle.
Luna could feel such wondrous strength as it flowed through her, using her very being as a conduit. Say what the Sith would regarding the power of the Dark Side, they knew nothing concerning real power. To sense and in a nearly tangible way hold this much energy of the Light in her grasp, and willingly let it go to another, that was true power, the ability to take it up and lay it down again. Luna could feel the entire temple growing still as the energies of the very Nexus beneath their feet resounded with their attempts.
She just hoped that it would be enough to actually lend assistance to those Jedi risking their lives against the Dark Lord of all Sith.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fae Coven gasped as she felt nothing short of an almighty rushing of wind, carrying the immense power of thousands of Jedi Knights, Padawans and younglings pour directly into her from the deep center of the galaxy. Riding above the descending wave of Force energy, she could feel her old Padawan learner, Luna, guiding and directing the power of the Force to her. Fae smiled, only Luna would be capable of such a feat as miraculous as conducting that level of Force energy into another.
Fae Coven stood, suddenly feeling very light, as though buoyed up by the hopes and trust of the entire Jedi Order. "Commander, get our shuttles aboard that ship, the time to strike at the head of the beast has come…" she announced, able to sense the man's response even as she walked swiftly to the main hangar. She must be the one to lead this attack. Even as she did so, she could feel the onslaught and fury of the Dark Side as it collided heavily with her allies, and the Grandmaster found herself growing angry.
Not a dark burning rage, like that of the Dark Side, but a cool, almost indignant wrath that would show no mercy to those who threatened what was most important in the Galaxy, before all would be calm again.
Cloaked and protected in such a heavy mantle of the Light, the Genet's shuttle launched across the vacuum of space, and she could perceive that even the dark warriors of the Sith Lord were steered away from her, their meager shadows paling before the cascading magnificence of the Light.
It was no surprise therefore, that once her shuttle, along with what Jedi had managed to accompany her, touched down in the Sith Lord's cruiser, that the Darkness attempted to wash over them in earnest. With a banishing wave of her hand, Fae felt the energies of the cosmos recoil and strike back against this Sith Lord, dissipating his awful presence from around them.
Unfortunately, it did little once they descended the landing ramps to the deck of his ship, only for the Jedi to find the Sith Emperor himself waiting for them, surrounded by nearly two dozen black armored guards, their lightsaber-pikes lit and ready for any confrontation.
"Well, well…" the surprisingly young voice of the Sith Emperor sounded from beneath the dark cloak he wore, "I have to say I never expected there to be one so very powerful among you Jedi. I suppose your all here to ask me to come quietly?"
In response, Master Coven felt her own hands moving of their own accord, taking her weapon and activating it. "In the name of the power of the Light Side of the Force, and the balance we strive to protect," she said, her voice in part not her own, "You, and your Order are found to be guilty of attempting to destabilize the nature of the galaxy, and must be destroyed…"
"So you have decided more than merely imprisonment, then…" the Emperor responded, still amused, "so be it…"
The man activated a weapon of his own, and raised the crimson beam before his hood in the traditional salute of the Makashi form, just as his guards charged the lines of Republic soldiers and Jedi, who activated their weapons and engaged.
Fae bypassed them all, by gathering a fraction of the power that was being lent to her, she leapt through the air like a plasma shot straight for the Emperor, saber outstretched to strike, and sprung midair when the man deflected the stabbing violet beam.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Diábolis abruptly halted when he felt the enormous shift in the Force, signaling the titanic battle between the Lord of Darkness and the forces of Light. "So that explains it…" he breathed, interrupting Madam Umbridge's current rant about those of her planet that were yet rebelling against her tyrannical rule.
"Hem hem… I am still speaking my Lord…" she said, trying to demand his attention again, but Diábolis no longer cared about her. He knew that every Force user in the Galaxy would sense this as the dramatic return of the Sith to the Galaxy, and it was an important moment. It also explained perfectly why he had been hidden here for so long, as if by the slimmest of chances that Veneficus fell in this confrontation, he made perfectly certain that the Order of the Sith would survive, returning to the shadows of this far flung world to rise once more. But Diábolis knew that would not be as of yet. His master was powerful enough to stand against this fight with the Jedi, especially if he was destined to fall by Diábolis' own blade when the Devaronian rose to take his place as Dark Lord of the Sith.
"Are you even listening to me?" Umbridge demanded, and Diábolis turned to glare down at the woman until she felt respectfully silent.
"It may be unknown to you or your weak minded lackeys…" he said coldly, to the effective Ministerial board of the planet, all Magic users and fools, "but there is currently a great struggle in the galaxy that comprises of the Emperor and the Forces that guide the war effort of the Republic, and I am trying to pay attention to that far more important struggle as it plays out over the power of the Force…"
Just then, a surge from the forces of the Jedi increased the magnitude of the Light by a massive factor, seeming to jump from many small pinpricks of resistance to the radiance of a star to combat the raw darkness of his Master.
The power of Light and Dark were… equal… Diábolis realized with a jolt. He could do something to tip the balance in his master's favor however.
Dismissing himself from the meeting without another word, Diábolis quickly retreated to an empty room, and bolting the door seated himself upon the stone floor, channeling his hatred and rage to a massive level. He was the apprentice to the Emperor for a reason, and his skill in the Dark Side was approvingly strong. The connection that Force users built between master and apprentice would serve as his bridge to feed this power to his Master, empowering the already impressive font of darkness to a new level, and making certain of their victory over the Jedi.
Underlying the hatred that was flung with force at his master, Diábolis was seething that he was not trusted to assist his master in this endeavor, so that the Sith would stand united against their hated foes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Veneficus was surprised that the little Jedi Master was so powerful, shining like a supernova as the Genet rocketed through the air at him, bypassing all other combatants. Sidestepping the striking shoto saber, he brought the full force of his weapon crashing down in an overhead strike, meeting a solid wall of defense upon the weapon of his opponent.
He was forced to leap back from the counter swing, surprise in his mind at the cold fury that burned itself in this Jedi, and yet it was not the sort that he could manipulate or control, as with most opponents that he had affected. It was as though there was an emotionless shield around these feelings, preventing even he himself, the master of deception and subtly, to affect them to his advantage, while focusing the intensity of his foe against him.
The Jedi flew at him again, unleashing a hailstorm of strike from all angles, and Veneficus spun in a tight arc, deflecting and parrying what he could, before he had to apparate away to stave off a powerful thrust that could have ended him.
Knowing that he could not simply toy with this Jedi as he would've wanted, the Sith Lord cast aside all pretense, drawing his second weapon and dropping into a battle stance, just waiting for the Jedi to try and come at him again. Only the Force and the keen grinding of metal warned him as many piles of materials and even a fighter lifted seamlessly from the deck of the hangar and flew at him, the telekinetic prowess of this Master Jedi impressing him.
He could not play defensive either, and he rushed headlong at the Jedi, both weapons spinning in a defensive arc to protect his body as he moved, before he began the dance of death and carnage afresh with his chosen opponent. Anger and hated burned inside of him, and his lustful desire to see the Jedi at his feet focused his rage into an all consuming furnace within himself. Lightning discharged from his hands into the sabers he wielded, adding the electrified arcs to his swings and stabs, but the miniscule Jedi managed to bat away the attacks of two weapons with a speed and ferocity that was unheard of from the Order of pacifists and Lightsiders.
If something did not change soon, then his invasion here would be halted before it even began. Veneficus however had barely touched the limit of his abilities, even when a surge of Dark Side power that was not his own flooded into him, carrying the flash of annoyance and rage of his apprentice.
Eyes burning with the dark purple of raw Dark Side energy, Veneficus threw both arms outward, conjuring a torrent of lightning at the little Jedi, who caught the bolts in her outstretched hand, absorbing and negating the raw hatred as much as possible.
It was now a battle of wills, whether the Jedi's serenity or Veneficus' rage could last the longest, and the Sith Emperor has years of anger to pouring in a continuous loop to feed the current. Face contorting with the pain and rage of a lifetime of misfortune; he released every stoppage on his power, trying to melt the Jedi where she stood with the power of darkness alone.
In the midst of their struggle of power, the combatants were unaware of the great awe and fear that had befallen the entirety of their opposing forces, Jedi and Dark Adept alike were backing away from the Sith Lord and Jedi Master, even as a Force generated wind was kicked up between the pair.
Soon the buildup of pressure was too much between the torrent of lightning and the reserves of energy the Jedi had been collecting. Veneficus was momentarily surprised to find that the Genet had never removed her eyes from his face, and had purposely been collecting the lightning for this exact moment. With an explosive shockwave, the collected energy was release, throwing the combatants backward with great force.
Only by twisting midair and apparating back did Veneficus protect himself from an ungraceful crash to the deck of the ship. The Jedi however was not so lucky, and the Sith Lord had a perfect opportunity to strike at the small creature. Leaping for the kill, Veneficus had to dodge to the side once again as another being interposed herself between him and the Jedi Master. A massive female Besalisk glared down at him, eight arms swinging wildly with sabers gleaming pure silver.
"You will go no further!" the being demanded, before storming forward and becoming a literal whirlwind of blade and plasma. Veneficus flipped back, catching himself with a hand upon the deck to push off as the Besalisk charged, carving deep cuts of molten metal into the ship beneath their feet.
The fighting started up again in earnest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fae Coven groaned slightly, the Light side of the Force supporting her injury from crashing with great force to the unyielding metal floor. For a moment she wondered why the Sith Lord hadn't attacked again, when she spotted the whirling silver energy of Master Obo Fequell's blades creating a dense cage to block the Sith Lord from making any further advance.
"Master!" Knight Laudara said hastily, dashing up to her and helping the Grandmaster to her feet. The Twi'lek was sporting several light wounds, but seemed otherwise unharmed. Fae was torn, she knew that their best chance to defeat the Sith Emperor was here and now, but at the same time the cost was growing drastically high. Was it truly worth losing everyone that was here to defeat one man, however powerful and evil he was?
Unfortunately the time for choice was removed from here when the Emperor yelled out, throwing Master Fequell back with a blast of the Force, before standing up straight and withdrawing a gauntleted hand, activating a comlink on his arm.
"Admiral, unleash our secret weapon upon these fools…" he ordered, before with a quick snap of his wrists, the Emperor connected his lightsaber hilts into a single twinblade, and withdrew a wooden wand from his sleeve. "This ends now Jedi!" he bellowed, aiming right between Fae's eyes.
"Master!" Laudara cried, throwing herself between the Grand Master and the Emperor, even as the man bellowed in a language she did not know. "Avada Kedavera!"
There was a brilliant emerald flash of light, and the Twi'lek slumped to the ground, her eyes wide in shock, and unmistakably dead. There was a long moment of silence, in which Fae felt everything that she had ever said or expressed to the young Jedi Knight, and the hurt of her death well up within her, before reality snapped back into place. Colored lights were streaming from the wand, and Fae brought her weapon to bear, treating these spells like blaster bolts and deflecting them all around, mercifully preventing her allies from being caught in the reflected shots.
Many of the Dark Adepts and black robed Imperial guards were not so lucky, and fell in a plethora of ways before the onslaught of deadly and vile magic. If this was the darkness capable of the magic Luna wielded, then Fae was more than glad to have her staunchly on the side of the Light, above such petty or truly evil acts.
Soon, Master Fequell returned, eight blades creating a wall of defense from the barrage of fatal magic, and the Sith Lord was forced to reconsider his strategy. More than half of his forces lay dead, by his own hand no less, and the rest were being quickly cornered and eliminated.
"You have lost, my lord…" Fae said, "Surrender…"
But the man only grinned, before the entire ship rocked violently as something massive appeared out of Hyperspace. "I think not…" the Sith Emperor said, before he glanced out of the wide hangar field, and vanished in a pillar of dark smoke. Moments later a spherical ship glided silently past the same hangar, carrying the signature of the Emperor with it.
"We have not lost this battle yet!" Master Fequell said, beginning to order those still alive back to the shuttles, "We will pursue the Emperor to wherever he flees, and end his reign of tyranny before the war gets out of control! For the Republic!"
But they all froze when a titanic blast sounded from beyond the force field, and turning, they all saw the violent green explosion as one of the larger Jedi cruisers was utterly annihilated by a single, unbelievably large attack.
"What in the world?" Master Coven said, even as they rushed to the shuttles to get outside and see what the new threat could be.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Veneficus was not pleased about having to flee from before his enemies, but sometimes a strategic withdrawal was required. The battle within the hangar had served its purpose, giving precious time for their newest ship to arrive. After settling the Sith Meditation sphere into his new private hangar, Veneficus stormed to the bridge of his new flagship. This behemoth of a star cruiser, nearly five times as large as the old command ships, would be the single most powerful vessel in his entire armada, appropriately named 'The Apex.'
Entering the massive bridge, Veneficus was heralded by several Arcanamach, as well as the supreme commander of the Imperial Navy, Tobias Jhetc. "Your Majesty, we have the Jedi fleet in disarray…"
"And the system?" Veneficus inquired, moving to study the large holographic display of the arrayed ships.
"Crushed while they were attacking your fleet, My Lord; your distraction proved most effective," was the response.
"Excellent." Veneficus responded, watching as the Jedi shuttle fled the Predator en mass, probably fearful that he would order the much larger ship to destroy the other just to try and kill them all in one fell swoop.
"Open fire with all batteries," he ordered, sweeping a hand across the line of enemy warships to emphasize his point. "Drive these pathetic forces from before us so we may continue on our way.
"As you command my Lord," Commander Jhetc said, turning and bellowing orders to the ranking engineers and officers spread throughout the spacious command deck, who all rushed to perform their duties, their aura of intimidation and fear palpable to the Emperor.
The visible hailstorm of projectiles that was unleashed upon the Jedi ships was enough to blind the viewports momentarily, before settling to streams of multicolored jets being routinely fired from nearly every point around the ship's exterior.
No expense had been spared for this marvel of Imperial engineering, up to and including several items that Veneficus had had to pick the brilliant mind of Hermione Granger to produce. A moment a deep vibration reverberated through the ship, and the most terrifying weapon unleashed itself, impaling a full cruiser with a sickeningly green blast that ripped the medium sized battleship apart.
Yes, this was indeed a vessel worthy of him, Veneficus mused, especially with its abilities to intimidate and command a large section of any battlefield. Limping away, the Jedi fleet received their shuttles that had survived the attack on the Predator, and immediately turned back toward the Core worlds.
"Enemy fleet preparing to enter Hyperspace…" an officer announced.
"Let them go and lick their wounds… they are on no more concern to us," Veneficus instructed.