Many Thanks to those who continue to review, I find it hard to believe that we've already arrived at this point of the story, one of my more memorable chapters, personally. Enjoy ~F

Chapter Thirty Two

A Daring Rescue

Diábolis walked stoically beside the capsule that contained the Supreme Prophet's body as the procession of returning soldiers and Dark Adepts strode through New Kaas city on Dromund Kaas. Their pace was mournfully slow, pandering to the crowd that had come to witness the return of their fallen planetary leader. Diábolis was surprised to feel a general sadness within the Force, as though the people of Dromund Kaas truly cared for the old Kel-Dor and his management of their world.

Granted, Diábolis had to admit that he was unaware of the extent that Dass'in had or had not taken the lives of the everyday person into consideration in his governing. He had had more pressing business to attend to usually, and that did not create time for him to actually care about the masses. But to see them flocking to the streets to make a pathway for their march toward the Imperial Palace was something extremely strange for the Darksider to witness.

Some of the citizens were even singing or chanting dirges as they passed, in a myriad of languages that Diábolis didn't even try to comprehend, while others littered their path with things for them to tread upon; how they managed to get flowers so quickly and in the gloomy, rainy weather of the jungle planet was beyond his knowledge, and yet they were present in droves, the colored petals adding their aroma to the air of the city.

A precession went on to the landing platforms, where a speeder took Diábolis, as well as a handful of guards and the capsule over the majority of the residential part of the city to the palace grounds, where Veneficus awaited them with a full contingent of royal guards. The troopers with Diábolis were relieved of their charge as the black-robed force users took the capsule to be prepared for some sort of last rite, while Diábolis knelt before his master in the downpour.

"The Baran Do Sages have been punished, my Master…" he said, "but I fear that Supreme Prophet Dass'in did not survive the encounter. The sages seemed to have foreseen our arrival, and gave their best efforts to hinder and kill us."

"Not unexpected," the Lord of the Sith said, his hood flapping slightly in the wind of the storm overhead, "but a shame that we lost one of our best and brightest nonetheless, a mentor to even myself… His sacrifice will be avenged upon our foes."

The Emperor beckoned to another, and Diábolis rose to meet the haunting eyes of Feyd, the once apprentice of the Supreme Prophet. "It is good that Dass'in was wise, and chose such a powerful adept to be his apprentice, and take up the mantel he would eventually leave behind. Kneel…"

The apprentice to the now deceased Supreme Prophet knelt before the Sith Master, who raised his hands ceremoniously, and let his own sharp fingernails dig into his palms, drawing forth blood in both hands, "By the will of the Force, and the might of the Dark Side, I Darth Veneficus anoint you, apprentice to Rath Dass'in, as inheritor of his mantel. Rise, Supreme Prophet Feyd, and may you lead your circle of influence in wisdom and strength." Carefully, Veneficus placed his bleeding palms upon the other man's head, letting the blood coat the crown of black hair symbolically.

"I will do all in my power to see your will achieved, my Lord," Supreme Prophet Feyd said, rising to his feet.

"I know you shall," the Sith Lord replied, waving his hands once and healing the wounds he had caused instantly. "We must contact the Dark Council and notify them of what has transpired, and in due time you must travel to Korriban and seek out an apprentice of your own."

"It will be done, your Majesty. Please, this way." Feyd said, ushering the pair of Sith Lords into the palace, and guiding them unnecessarily to the council room on the upper floors.

The interior of the Palace was as quiet and solemn as the rest of the city had been as Diábolis followed his master, but here it seemed less of a sadness and more a silent respect for a fallen warrior, and wise leader. It was strange, as Diábolis had grown learning the mantra of the Sith from a very young age, to see so many of their underlings actually respecting another, and not trying to claw over the vacancy of power to rise in their own prestige.

It had to be alone of the ingeniousness of Veneficus that prevented such an attempt. Each caste, each individual Force adept knew their merit, their strengths, and how they relatively compared to those around them. While it was logical to assume that they would seek to rise higher, but their higharchy was engineered in such a way that it was better for them to stick to where they had been placed, as their chance for advancement within that sphere were better with the training that they received.

Soon enough they arrived at the appointed room, and as the door hissed open, Diábolis was surprised to find the entirety of the Council present and waiting for them all. "I took the liberty of calling them ahead, my Lord," Feyd said, and Veneficus simply nodded, taking it in stride and entered, Diábolis and Fey at his sides.

"Your Majesty," the assembled Darksiders of the Council greeted as Veneficus entered their line of vision. He nodded in return, before standing in the middle of the circle and addressing them all simultaneously.

"Lords and Ladies of the Dark Council, grave news had come from the planet Dorin. On an important mission for the Empire, Supreme Prophet Dass'in fell in battle against the cowardly attacks of the Baran Do Sages. His loss is one that will be felt for a great amount of time through the Empire, and I have anointed and set his apprentice, Feyd, as the successor of the Supreme Prophet. I trust you all to work with him as you had in the past with Dass'in, and we continue with his memory to make the Empire strong and conquer the Republic, for the glory of a united Galaxy."

"For the glory of a united Galaxy," the others repeated. Diábolis watched in silence as Feyd approached, and ceremoniously took his seat within the circle, the blood of the Emperor still upon his head, and a small knowing grin on his face. "I will do whatsoever is in my power to make sure that the wisdom of Dass'in is not lost to this Council, and that we still stay the course of our Lord and Emperor's will to whatever end."

"To whatever end…" the other High Prophets spoke, many seeming to quite agree with their new leader's voice of resoluteness.

Emperor Veneficus stepped away from the circle of High Prophets, motioning for Diábolis to follow as he left the council to deliberate their new structure and how to best incorporate the different personality of Supreme Prophet Feyd.

They walked along the upper corridors, of the palace and main governmental structure of the, deserted except for the silent and imposing Arcanamach that stood guard at regular intervals. Diábolis could tell that his Master was viewing moments and snapshots of the future, as he was unusually quiet, almost pensieve in his movements, with eyes that seemed to be starring through the fabric of reality.

"You must go to Korriban…" the Emperor said abruptly, snapping out of whatever vision or trance he had been in.

"Korriban, my Master?" Diábolis said, requesting more information.

"Yes…" Veneficus said slowly, and the apprentice could see the details of a plan already forming in the mad genius' mind. "She will return to take something that belongs to me… and you will be waiting to make sure she finds it…"

"Master?" Diábolis said, confused at the lack of clarity that the Emperor was showing in this matter. Could it be that hatred was blinding his vision?

"Go with Supreme Prophet Feyd to Korriban, and assist in the selection of his apprentice. I think you will find the excursion most interesting. When you sense her presence, send me word, and wait until the opportune time. We shall eliminate at least one of our biggest threats very soon…"

"As you command, my Master…" Diábolis said humbly, still not fully understanding, but at least having coherent instructions now. Korriban was a place of importance, where the Dark Side was strong, and if his master sensed that someone would be there for them to find, then he had little cause for worry that Veneficus was slipping before his time.

He would obey, and see the fulfillment of this vision, and in time learn to generate such prophecy on his own, then take the mantel his Master held in a vice-like grip from his cold dead hands.

Veneficus turned and departed, returning the meditation chamber that he alone was permitted entry, and Diábolis turned and walked swiftly back the way they had come, encountering the new Supreme Prophet as the man departed the Council chamber.

"I am to go with you to Korriban, and aid you in the selection of your new apprentice…" Diábolis said without preamble. For his part, Feyd took it in stride, simply nodding and smiling slightly, "then I welcome your assistance graciously, my Lord. I hope our joint venture is met with great success."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Johell was finally given a great deal of leniency from Zhar, allowed to carry his own communicator and walk the world at his leisure, but still denied freedom to depart Korriban on his own. He knew that his communicator would record all outgoing messages and then transmit them to the High Prophet, just in case he tried to actually call out for help, but he hoped that his previous message had been decrypted and that someone might be on their way to offer him assistance.

Naturally it was a horrid long shot, as even if the Jedi did agree and send someone, finding them in the darkness covered world before someone else did would be difficult. Which was why Johell was keeping himself to the outskirts of the settled parts of the planet, where there weren't many other Darksiders; the likely places that Jedi would seek to land before infiltrating the Academy of the Dark Side.

If they tried this, it would mean their deaths; Johell knew this to be the truth. The Dark Side was simply too strong here, and he had heard rumors that even one of the two Sith Lords was now on the surface, working with the new Supreme Prophet to select an apprentice for the leader of the Dark Council. Most would presume it to be a high honor, and while that would draw many away from keeping watch for something like a shuttle of Jedi, the prestige for capturing one or more would skyrocket as well.

So he waited, and hoped for some sort of sign that his rescue was coming. Entwining himself in the Force, despite the stench of darkness that he knew had infected his spirit, Johell was still able to manage a form of inner peace, a kernel of Light within a mass of darkness, and there he waited.

It seemed to be days, or even weeks maybe, before he felt something at the very edge of the system. He almost dismissed it, until he felt the glimmer of the Light Side within it. He only could tell because he had been looking for it, but he knew that in time every Darksider on the planet would become aware. Whomever the Jedi had sent was strong in the Light, and they'd have to be to stay pure on this world for any amount of time.

Summoning whatever aspects of Light and Peace he had, he fed those thoughts and emotions, hoping that even the slighted sparkle of what he once was would project out and make contact with the glorious Light that was coming to save him from this oppressive darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leon looked down at the vast decay of the world of Korriban, and shuddered at the stench of the Dark Side that he felt. It was putrid, and for someone of the Jedi Order to be down there, it was a fate he wouldn't wish that on any that had ever felt the Light before. It would be suffering to even live day to day.

But he couldn't dwell on personal feelings. Luna had said that if they were to find whom they sought, they needed swiftness and a deep center in the Force to locate any who might still have even a flicker of the Light in them, and so Leon concentrated, seeking out the familiar warmth that only the teachings of the Jedi brought to a person.

"I think…" he said, even as he felt the slightest tingle down on the planet's surface, "yes, I feel someone down there, someone calling for us specifically. It could be a trap however; I can only barely feel the tap of the Light."

"There may only be that much left in a person forced to live here…" Luna concluded, "Can you pinpoint the location on the sensors?"

Leon quickly scanned the planet, trying to locate the approximate area of what he had sensed. "It seems to be near the outskirts of the settled places on the surface, due west of the supposed location of the Valley of the Dark Lords and the Sith Academy."

"So it's highly likely that this is who we're looking for then." Luna surmised, "Alright, we're going in, hopefully if it's a trap we will sense it before too late and escape…"

Leon nodded, feeling the strange washing of anger and evil as their ship started its descent to the forbidden world. The sheer volume of emotions that rose from the planet were staggering, and for a short time Leon felt as though he might be sick to his stomach, but it passed as soon as they got through the atmosphere. To be honest with himself, however, Leon wasn't sure if growing accustomed to so much darkness around him was a good thing.

But what truly remained with him was the aura of dread that he felt when they flew over the large academy that housed the most influential and powerful of the Empire's Dark Acolytes. "If only we had the strength to march on this world," he commented, "and wipe out their powerbase for the majority of their warriors…"

"The danger is just too great…" Luna replied, although from the tone Leon could tell that his Master agreed with his statement. "It would be a tragedy worse that Master Coven's attempt at slaying the Emperor, with much death on both sides… Jedi are meant to preserve life, not take it. We cannot allow ourselves to think of the Order as warriors, but peacekeepers drafted into this war against those who would do anything to destroy that peace. If not for the need of our presence and our duty to the Republic, I would refuse to participate, and rather take you and all the others far from here."

Leon nodded, understanding perfectly what Luna was saying. Soon enough they had passed to the outermost settlements, really more of a waste dump than anything, on the edge of the desert, and set their ship down on the very outskirts of the location. But even as they prepared to disembark and search for their contact, Leon paused, "someone is approaching the ship…"

"I feel it too; it's like a Darksider, but different, slightly lighter if anything." Luna replied, and together the pair of Jedi went to the landing ramp to look out across the desert as a small speeder bike raced toward their ship, a single rider in the seat.

"At least I feel no hostility from the rider," Luna said, "only desperation and fear."

The rider leapt off the bike long before it came to a complete stop, and stumbled slightly as they made their way to the ramp and the two Jedi, "I don't know if I should call you brave or fools…" he wheezed, coughing slightly from what had apparently been a hasty dash from wherever he had been waiting to them, "but I am grateful for the rescue nonetheless…"

"You are the one who sent the distress code to the Temple then, I gather." Luna asked.

"Yes," the figure said, unwrapping strips of cloth from his head, which were now coated in sand and grime from the swiftness of his travel, revealing a young man barely into his teens. "I am Johell Asbfos, formerly a Jedi Padawan, and more recently the conscripted apprentice to Zhar Quelmok, who rules this world. Please, let's leave the horrid place immediatly, and get back to civilized worlds, and I'll accept whatever judgment the Council sees fit to place over me. I've been force to do terrible things, and I know it."

"Wait…" Leon said, pausing as he felt a subtle shift in the currents of the Force, even on this primordial blackness of a world. "There is something else here, seeking…"

"We need to leave," Johell insisted, stepping quickly onto the ramp, "please, forget about anything you sense or feel here and let us just go before you're discovered by the Sith Lord…"

"A Sith Lord is here?" Luna asked, and Leon could feel the growing suspicion and concern through their bond. "Since when, and for what reason?"

"About a week ago, and I don't know the full reasons," Johell responded, eyes darting about as though half crazed at the thought of mentioning the Sith, "Please, he'll have sensed you both by now, with how brightly you shine in the Force, I beg you, let us leave here and get back to the Jedi Temple."

"If one of the pair is here, and they're not after us, then there must be a reason for it…" Luna surmised, "It could be wise for us to investigate…"

"No," Johell pleaded, "it's too dangerous, please just leave, the Dark Side is too powerful here, don't let it confuse and corrupt you like it has me…"

There was something almost pitiful about the other boy, who was probably close to the same age as Leon himself, but the fear was something that made both Jedi even more concerned. Did this one know something that they did not?

"Alright, we won't investigate…" Luna said, "Let's get aboard and get out of here quickly then…"

Leon and Luna wasted no time in going back up the ramp to the ship, but the young Padawan noticed that Johell lingered momentarily at the base of the ramp, before joining them inside the ship. Luna immediately started the sequence to get them back into the atmosphere, but Leon sensed something as they took off.

"We're being followed…" Johell announced, sounding frightened.

As though to confirm what he had said, a pair of Sith fighters flew past their viewports, canons flashing as the ship rocked from their attacks.

"You were followed?" Leon accused the former Jedi.

"No! Not that it would matter, anyone paying even the slightest attention would sense you both coming, with how strong you are in the Light. Almost every darksider worth their salt is probably after us now." he vehemently denied.

"Regardless of what happened we need to get out of here," Luna called from the cockpit, "man the guns and try to keep them off of us so I can get us in orbit and plot a course out of the system."

Leon and Johell ran to the opposite sides of the ship, where small gun mounts were positioned. Leon wasn't sure how familiar the other, former Padawan was with these, but he dutifully took control and started firing at the small swarm of Sith fighters that were peppering their shields.

Digging deeply into the Force, Leon blocked out all emotion and focused on just leading one ship at a time, managing to take a few down rather quickly. The non Force sensitive pilots were unfortunately no match for a Jedi, but soon a new ship had joined the pursuit, this one far more angular and sharp in design than the others.

When Leon tried to shake its chase with a wide spray of blaster fire it merely rolled, almost lazily, out of the line of fire and hammered the back engine area with projectiles that were intensely stronger than the other fighters had managed. Luna hadn't even gotten them clear of the atmosphere yet, and Leon wasn't sure what Johell was up to on the other side, as his viewport was limited, so he kept firing at the strange ship, hoping to at least knock it off course and buy them more time. But the other ship must have been piloted by a Darksider, as the Force seemed to swirl and buck with the ship, even as it gracefully danced this way and that, anticipating and dodging Leon's best efforts to shoot it down.

In the end, it wasn't possible to stop him from scoring a hit on their engines, and with a violent lurch, they were suddenly losing altitude. "Hold on, I'm aiming for a section of the mountains for an emergency landing. Hopefully we can get the astromech droids to repair the damage while we hold off any force that comes looking," Luna said over the intercom.

The mountains looked imposing enough, to be sure, and as the dove closer Leon could momentarily see where his master was speaking of landing, a small recess that seemed cut away from the top of one of the peaks.

The Force was merciful that their landing was well timed and effectively made, as there was much skidding as they tried to slow the ship from making a large impact against the sides of the cliff or plunging off the mountain. Red lights flared to life as droids appeared from many different compartments, immediately taking scans of the ship and organizing the damage for repairs.

Johell reappeared, looking roughed up but otherwise fine, "We cannot stay here for long," he said absently, although Leon noticed the other boy's eyes darting to something through the plasteel wall of the ship, "it's not safe here…"

"Naturally it isn't, but we have little choice at the moment," Luna agreed, "We should get away from the ship while it's being repaired, just in case Johell is right and their tracking us through the Force…"

Leon wanted to object, but he knew that it was true. "Where can we go though?"

"There's one place close by, but I fear it's probably as dangerous as staying…" Johell suggested.

"Everywhere is equally dangerous at the moment." Luna countered, "Lead the way, Johell."

Leon again wanted to object, as something felt horribly wrong with leaving the ship to him, but he didn't want to contradict his master on the matter, especially not here on this world. Conflict would only weaken them as a whole. So Leon continued in silence, trusting his master to not steer them wrong.

Johell led them off the ship, where they could see the outline of some sort of crevice in the cliff-like walls of the place they had landed. "There's a near-empty tomb in there," Johell said, "but I don't know what may await us inside. I've only been there once several months ago, and it was less than pleasant…"

"We needn't go too far inside; just enough to lure away those who'd want to sabotage our ship to prevent us escaping." Luna replied and together the three Force users headed across the sand to the dark cavernous entrance, which narrowed until only a worked archway of stone was visible that led into the darkness of the mountain. Fearlessly, Luna led the way, with Leon and Johell following behind her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Diábolis could sense the Jedi the moment they arrived in orbit, and had taken every measure needed to prevent their escape. Everything had gone as Lord Veneficus had foreseen, and even now he was sending word to the Emperor that his hated foe was on Korriban, exactly as he had predicted they would be.

The Sith Master would be pleased with his work, Diábolis knew, as his hatred for the female Jedi was deep, from something that had happened in the past before the Devaronian had entered the picture. But even as the message was sent out to Dromund Kaas, Diábolis could sense that the Jedi were attempting to leave the planet as quickly as they had arrived.

Shouting for a low ranking officer to dispatch fighters to intercept, Diábolis moved rapidly to find a vessel worthy of his skill and power in the Dark Side. He would make sure that they could not leave Korriban until Veneficus arrived. The hangar of the Academy had plenty of Dark Adept fighters, the angular vessels quite adept in maneuverability and surgical strikes with their powerful weapons. Leaping into one in a single bound with aid of the Force, Diábolis started the systems, lifting off and pelting out of the hangar as soon as there was room enough to squeeze out of the rising metal door to the outside air.

Engines screaming as he gunned the ship to toward its maximum velocity, Diábolis scanned the sky before him, seeking his prey. Several blasts of light gave them away, as the larger freighter-like ship fled upward, a swarm of four or five standard fighters in hot pursuit. Even as Diábolis closed distance however, at least two were shot down by the fleeing vessel. Firing the powerful, shield piercing cannons, Diábolis felt the rush of the Dark Side as those within the Jedi ship jolted at the impact.

Whomever was in charge of the cannons on his side was quick to react, firing in a wide arc to try and force Diábolis to break off his attack run, but the Sith Lord rolled the ship through the line of fire, snapping off another series of laser shots at the engines of the ship, before needing to wheel around for another attempt.

The freighter was simply too slow to get away from him, even with their head start toward the outer atmosphere, and Diábolis gleefully fired again, watching the smoke as one of the engines of the other craft went into a critical stage, and the freighter started to rapidly descend back to the surface of Korriban.

Diábolis hung back slightly, watching the trail of smoke to see exactly where the ship landed. If his calculations and knowledge were correct, they had gone down just outside the personal tomb that Veneficus had had constructed for himself early on in the foundation of the Empire, and secreted away in the event of the Sith Lord's untimely demise. How ironic it would be that the tomb would now hold the bodies of those most hated by the Sith Master, rather than his own.

Pelting after the trail of smoke once his sensors confirmed the ships final location, Diábolis flew gracefully over the mountaintops, able to sense the small beings of light scurrying over the dark tomb of his master. Speaking of whom, it seemed that Veneficus had been waiting for Diábolis' signal, as the great magnificence of the Emperor's might rushed into the Force at that moment, even as the massive flagship dominated the sky above the planet.

The Sith had come for the little Jedi and her Padawan, and she had unknowingly gone directly to the one place where she would have the least amount of strength to fight them in. Landing next to the freighter, which now had droids scurrying over it, repairing the damage that Diábolis had inflicted, the Sith apprentice ignored the other ship, as there was no life forms aboard it, and focused all his attention on the tomb before him.

"My Lord," he said, opening communications directly with his master, "they have foolishly fled into your tomb. I am at the entrance and will cut off their exit until you arrive."

"Good…" the cold voice of the Dark Lord of the Sith replied, "I will flank them by my own means, and we shall at last see what little Lovegood is now capable of, against the full might of the Dark Side."

"As you command, my Master," Diábolis agreed, stalking to the entrance of the tomb and closing down his communicator. His twinsaber replaced the small device in his hands, the pair of crimson blades throwing sinister shadows on the walls and floor of the tomb as he walked inside, making no attempt to disguise or shroud himself. Let the Jedi flee and think they could outwit him, there was no escape from this place for them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luna was growing concerned after the fourth magical trap that she had to deal with, this one unleashing crushing vines from conjured placed along the walls. She had a sinking suspicion that the Darkness himself created this tomb, or at least warded it against outside intrusion himself, but the question was for what end?

For their part, Leon and Johell were keeping up, although the former Jedi turned Dark Side defector looked extremely worried, more so than the Jedi were at the shadow of Dark power that was following them. He had identified the signature as the apprentice of the Emperor himself, and while that meant little to Luna, it apparently carried much weight within the ranks of the Empire.

Still, it seemed as though they were close to the final chamber, where hopefully there would be some offshoot that they could take to double back and escape the tomb while the Sith was still inside, perhaps even collapse it behind them and trap the monster in. Once the final magical barrier fell, Lune led the way into a small circular chamber, its only feature being a central pedestal with a single black and red pyramid set atop it.

"A Sith Holocron…" Leon identified, but it seem as though Johell flinched back away from the device.

"It's the one created by and owned by the Emperor…" he added, shakily eyeing the item as though it would attack them at any moment.

"The Sith Emperor created a Holocron?" Luna asked, studying the object. It would be most valuable to the war effort if they could bring this back to the Temple and have the masters study it and its secrets, they could even figure out a way to stop the Sith for good this time.

"We need to take it with us," she concluded, but even as she stepped forward, lights gently flared up along the walls of the chamber, revealing a grisly sight. Row upon rows of lightsabers, side by side with wands, hung upon the walls like sick trophies of over a thousand kills and deaths.

Luna was immediately distracted, knowing that they lacked time to do this, when she saw several wands that she thought she recognized, hanging in a cluster. Approaching these quickly, she stretched out a hand to touch the wooden surface of a rather familiar one, when an image appeared before her. A young woman, with a piercing stare and fiery red hair stood before her, looking defiant in posture, even as she always had in life when not getting her way.

"Who was she?" Leon asked, noticing that Luna had recognized the figure…

"An old friend, from a long time ago," Luna said, turning away sadly and refocusing on the task at hand. She couldn't afford to be distracted, even by all the symbols of the death and chaos that the madman of an Emperor had cause all around her. Not wishing to actually touch the dark device, Luna withdrew a small pouch from her belt, and threw it over the palm sized pyramid, covering it completely and scooping it up.

No sooner had she done so however, then an uncovered alcove in the rear of the room flared to life with green fire, and the malignant power of the Dark Side flooded the room. "I had wondered how long you would flee from me, but the game is finally over…" said the high, cold voice of the Sith Emperor, rising out of the hidden fireplace and stepping into the room fully.

Lamp-yellow eyes scanned the room quickly, uncaring about the Holocron in Luna's hand, but resting on Leon, before narrowing. "Interesting… but altogether unimportant…" he muttered to himself, casually drawing a single lightsaber and activating it.

The action was mirrored from the opposite side of the room, where another hooded Sith had appeared, the figure's gleaming red blades of his saberstaff adding to the tint of the room's lighting.

Johell fell behind Leon and Luna, who had their sabers out and activated in a flash, but the Jedi Knight didn't know if they'd be able to survive such a confrontation between them and the most powerful Dark Side users in the Galaxy. Quickly, she pressed the bag with the Holocron behind her, to the returning Padawan turned darksider, and muttered quickly, "The exit is our only chance, we need to break for it. We stand no chance otherwise.

"Yes, Master…" Leon replied, shifting his grip slightly on his weapon.

"I hope you took the time to admire my collection…" The Emperor taunted, moving slowly around the raised dais where his Holocron had stood, gesturing at the massive amount of sabers and wands, "Taken from only the finest of my many battles, to stand as a testament to my power for all time. Not that I truly intend to die, at least not anytime soon. There is a galaxy to run and all that, and who knows how much damage to undo from this war with the Republic. Oh, not that you'll have to concern yourself with that any longer. You duty is finished, Knight of the Republic, embrace the death that your order longs for…"

There was no more time, "Now!" Luna cried, launching forward, not at the Emperor, but at the apprentice, knocking aside the hastily raised defenses and colliding physically with the Devaronian, clearing the way for both young men to start running. But only Johell heeded her instruction, bolting like a wild animal from a cage to the safety of the corridor beyond.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Veneficus almost laughed at the Jedi's foolish attempt to escape past Diábolis. Certainly they made it possible for the little traitor to escape with his Holocron, but that was a calculated event, permissible if he managed to get it to the Jedi Temple. But the pair of Jedi were to die here and now. Diábolis had been surprised, that much was obvious, but he was still young and naïve, he would learn by pain and time.

The self sacrificing pair seemed to be waiting for each other of them to try and escape, each pulling their attacks and not trying to actually kill his apprentice either, which made them all the more weak and foolish in the eyes of the Emperor. But he was quickly forming a new strategy, a new plan. Reaching out with the immense strength of the Dark Side, he ripped the boy from his master's side, moving slowly, for him, to a strike at the boy's head, allowing the Jedi time to whirl and deflect the attack that would have removed his head from his shoulders.

Let Luna lose all that was important to her first, and then she would die. Even as he toyed with the boy, Veneficus raised his wand to the doorway, to seal the entrance and trap them both in here forever.

Somehow the Padawan saw the motion, and knew what it meant, and he whirled, losing his grip on his weapon as he awkwardly deflected an attack from Veneficus, and thrust out both hands to his Master, who was still fighting Diábolis. Luna was sent flying through the doorway of the room, even as the solid barrier of metal and magic was erected, blocking Master and Padawan from each other, and leaving the boy in the clutches of the Sith.

"So self sacrificing, you foolish Jedi…" Veneficus said, turning the wand upon the boy, "Crucio!"

The screams were enjoyable, but what truly played to Veneficus delight was the distraught pain that surged through the Force, directly from the Master-Padawan bond of the two Jedi.

"M-master!" the boy managed to yell amid the pain of his own torture. "M-master! Run!" Veneficus would give the little Jedi credit, he was brave and loyal; a pure and innocent soul, basking in the Light Side of the Force. How he would enjoy breaking the spirit of this one personally.

Finally the Padawan passed out from the pain, and Veneficus released the curse, watching as Lovegood vanished around the corridor of the passageway. Oh but she was angry, he could taste the emotion plaguing her through the very nature of the Tomb. Luna Lovegood, Knight of the Republic, was tempted now by the Dark Side to be selfish and save her beloved Padawan at the cost of her mission, and perhaps the entire Republic.

"Take the boy to my ship, and lock him in the strongest cell." Veneficus ordered his apprentice, making no mention of the Devaronian's failures. He stooped and scooped up the fallen saber of the Jedi Padawan. Yes, the boy would indeed be Lovegood's undoing, just as he had foreseen so long ago. Sparing only a glance around the room longer, Veneficus departed via the private Floo Network he had created from the Tomb to his private residence on Korriban.

Someone had to explain how Zhar had just lost his latest apprentice, but that it probably was only a minor setback in the long run. Veneficus had not wanted to include anyone on his ingenious plan, but Zhar was the trustable sort in regards to this, especially as it involved him and his property directly…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Johell ran all the way back to the Jedi ship; not even stopping to check if the others were with him. The fact that the two Sith Lords had appeared at the same time to try and stop them was enough to send chills rushing through his entire body. Out in the small clearing before the tombs mouth he spotted the ship that had shot them down, obviously flow by the apprentice of the Emperor.

But it seemed the droids had finished repairing the Jedi freighter, and fear took control of the ex-Jedi Padawan, and he immediate rushed inside, prepping the ship for liftoff. He wasn't desirous to leave his rescuers behind, but it was highly possible that they had perished fighting the Sith, and he wasn't about to take the chance of getting captured again.

Thankfully, the older Jedi Knight rushed from the tomb soon after, and ascended the ramp with a wearied and strained face.

"Where's your Padawan?" Johell asked, but the woman only grimaced and lifted the ship off the planet's surface, angling it away from Korriban with all haste.

Johell widened his eyes at the implication. There was no body, so either the boy had died defending them both and had to be left behind, or he was captured by the Emperor, which would have been even worse than death.

Gently, he grasped a handful of the female Jedi's robes, making her stop and look at him for a moment. "I'm sorry…" Johell said quietly, knowing that it would be well within her rights to blame him for the loss of her Padawan.

"It is not your fault." She said gently, losing the air of edginess from around her for a moment, "We knew the risks when we came here. And as far as I know, Leon still lives."

Johell winced, "Then I am truly sorry, as he is likely going to be a personal prisoner of the Emperor… and the man can be a harsh tormentor…" Knight Luna didn't respond to that.