Many thanks to those who voted regarding the new rewrite of ANP, and it is currently being published as a full collective series named: Harry Potter and the Age of Magic, for those who are interested. Anyway, new chapter! Enjoy! ~F
Chapter Thirty Five
Counter Offensive
Bellatrix felt extremely privileged as she overlooked the next world that they were to target. Taris was a planet that had felt the heavy hand of the Sith time and again, only to rise from the ashes with time and hard work by the Republic. And now, once again, the Sith were poised to dismantle all that hard effort in one glorious burst of power, with Bellatrix LeStrange at the helm of the lead attack cruiser. It was most enjoyably pleasant, and the mad witch loved the attention that her Lord had given to this small detail.
There was just one small problem. A new fleet of ships was patrolling over the straightly Republic world, one that reeked of magic that Bellatrix was intimately familiar with. "So this is what that Mudblood genius was up to all these years…" Bellatrix said to herself, smirking at the challenge. Their fleets were comparable, so the battle would be fierce.
"I hope your soldiers are ready for the worst battle they've seen yet…" Bellatrix said as she turned to look at Admiral Heb'Lolu.
"We are prepared to follow your commands," the Twi'lek replied, and Bellatrix was happy that such was the reaction of all the leading officers of the fleet. They had been convinced that she, no matter her demeanor, knew how to lead and was not going to purposefully put them into danger for no worthwhile cause.
"Good, then we attack full force. They know, or at least highly suspected that we were coming, so there is no reason to waste time with idle prattle, refuse any transmission and release all fighters. I want to see what these fleets of there are capable of." Bellatrix ordered.
"As you command," the officers replied, and set to work, even as the cruisers launched to maximum thrust, steadily bearing down on their targets. Three times incoming messages were blocked, before the Republic ships simply opened fire, their blasts clearly resembling spells from old earth, but impacted harmlessly off the powerful shields that were standard equipment for the Sith fleets.
"Open fire," she ordered, and a multitude of colored beams lanced outward, striking equally strong barriers surrounding the Republic vessels. Fighters screamed across the void between the ships, engaging in systematic dogfights along the way with Republic snub ships and light transports.
"Keep them off our ships; I don't want a single shuttle to get through!" Bellatrix ordered. She knew what would happen if they managed to board. The muggleborn would have layered instructions to steal Imperial tech from them at every chance, and if she learned that they were nearly identical, then many of the Emperor's plans would be laid bare prematurely.
One after another, the tiny ships were enveloped in brilliant explosions as the superior firepower of the capital ship hit them, swatting them like flies and it moved through the empty space toward its larger prey.
Soon enough they were in range for the side cannons to start firing, and Bellatrix could see the commanders of the opposing ship through the viewports. "It's time to act," she commanded, "I want all the elite commandos to apparate directly onto the Republic ship and neutralize it, and I am taking out the leader."
Without waiting for confirmation, Bellatrix cackled as she focused on her destination, turning on her heel and unleashing the right amount of magic to travels the distance through pure space. Due to the layers of magic that protected one in the midst of apparition, she was fine upon landing, if not slightly cold from the vacuum of space, but the looks of shock on her new victims on the bridge of Granger's new command ship were worth it as Bellatrix started to slaughter them with spells.
The mad witch was sure that somewhere the little Mudblood was watching what happened to her little projects, and Bellatrix wanted to send a message. She was about to advance on the rest of the bridge's occupants, when the snap hiss of a lightsaber turned her about, smirking giddily as she spotted the brown and tan robes of a Jedi.
"Cease this madness!" the human said, his blue blade poised between them in case Bellatrix decided to strike instead of talk.
"Madness? I prefer to call it coordinated disorder!" she cackled, lobbing spells in all directions, knowing that the Jedi would initially be preoccupied with defending himself, and therefore unable to save his allies that were hit and exploded like balloons of blood and innards or fell in pieces as the skin was flayed from their bones.
The Jedi fell silent after that initial barrage, but Bellatrix could sense the mental walls forming over the man's mind, moments before he launched himself into combat fully. Cart wheeling back, Bellatrix laughed loudly as the Jedi's blade swung through solid air, soon to be replaced with transfigured metal taken from the deck beneath them.
She may not have been as keen on battle transfiguration as Dumbledore or McGonagall before her, but the long absence of any real combat gave Bellatrix plenty of time to improve her abilities, and she ran the gambit of what she had been learning on this Jedi, conjuring near perfect replicas of animals to charge and attack, while bright flashes and other powerful charms flew from her wand to distract or harass the being with his vibrant sword of light.
The Dark Arts were always her favored tactic, and soon enough they found their way onto Bellatrix's tongue, although she mostly casted silently these days, some things were more powerful when incanted aloud. The Jedi soon grew tired of being on the defensive, and pushed out with his telekinesis. Normally this may have caught someone off guard, but Bellatrix had been waiting for it, and willfully rolled with the invisible blast, twisting herself in a spiral and landing on her feet several yards further from the Jedi, and closer to more victims.
A few more deaths and soon Bellatrix had a young ensign under the Cruciatus Curse, watching the young man scream for all he was worth, before turning to the Jedi and asking without words how he was going to stop her.
The warrior-monk was clearly out matched, and at a loss how to maneuver around the equally agile witch, and threw his weapon, spinning like a blue disk of death at her. Bellatrix laughed as she summoned the Ensign she had been torturing, allowing the young man to intercept the blade for her, bisecting the poor boy in half before dancing away from the energy beam herself.
Just then, with simultaneous cracks of apparition, her commandos appeared at the far end of the bridge, guns levels and firing, mowing down the rest of the command crew. The Jedi attempted to reach for his weapon, to draw it back and defend himself, but Bellatrix ended his attempt with a simple summoning charm, overpowering his telekinesis and leaving him vulnerable to the onslaught of blaster fire. The Jedi fell with his officers and commanders, leaving nothing but a smoking husk of a body amid the rest of the dead.
Bellatrix was actually disappointed that the fight was so easily handled. Clearly these Jedi had never encountered a foe as dangerous or powerful as Bellatrix before. But that just meant that her job was all the easier, in securing the Galaxy for her Lord to rule.
"Clear out the rest of the ship, and set charges for it to detonate, I want the little Mudblood to feel as her precious project is destroyed." Bellatrix ordered, giddy from the sight of so much death and destruction.
Things would be extremely easy now that the lead ship was gone, the rest of the fleet without a unifying commander to direct them, and the Krayt Dragon would devour them, just like the creature it was named after.
Pausing as she went to the exit of the bridge, Bellatrix looked down at the cylinder in her hand, the hilt of the Jedi's weapon. Experimentally turning on the blade, she gave the weapon a few swings, before casually shutting it off and tossing it to the ground with a cackle. Bellatrix was a pureblood witch, for personal combat she had no need of any trinkets other than her own destructive power and her wand. Relying on anything else would be a betrayal of her heritage.
Skipping down the metal corridor, she started to look for other victims of the Republic to slay, and anything that might give her some idea where the ship had originated from, and other tactical information that her admiral would be sure to appreciate.
Soon enough though, she grew bored and went to the nearest view port, apparating back to the Sith vessel, just in time to witness another of the Republic's ships lose their shields and take several scoring hits to the hull, sections blossoming in brief flashed of fire as atmosphere ruptured within.
Yes, Bellatrix thought smugly, things were only going to get more interesting from here on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fury knew that there would be a gauntlet of traps waiting for him, but he plunged in anyway, rounding the next corridor of the Republic vessel with his sabers already spinning, creating a bulwark of defense again the hailstorm of blaster fire that erupted from the far end. Kunn was no fool, and had prepared his ambushes with precision, but the near limitless supply of soldiers that Fury had from his own ship kept pressing their advantage. For every soldier they lost, at least three more arrived to take their place.
He would not allow this great slug to show up his prowess in combat, nor his tactical knowledge as one of the Emperor's chosen commanders. Anger pounding in his heart, Fury transformed his blades into a whirling dervish of deadly destruction, laying into whatever was in his path, mortal, droid or even solid metal doors. The troopers that he had assigned to follow were put to the test just to keep up with his blitzing pace; laying a massive suppressing fire to anything that was out of reach of the marauder's blades.
Fury knew that before long that slimy Hutt would realize that sending his troopers would only get them slaughtered, and come out to fight Fury himself, but only where the advantage was most in his favor, such as a cramped corridor or some other potentially pivotal playing field.
And the marauder was not disappointed. In the next chamber, which had a lower than usual ceiling, no troopers awaited them, but the massive, bloated form of the Hutt, a jedi belt around his massive waist and the large saber in hand, its violet blade casting shadows across the dimly lit arena.
"I've been waiting, old friend," Kunn said, his deep voice almost melodic in nature. Fury said nothing in return, sauntering forward and igniting his twin crimson blades of death, waiting to see if Kunn desired to be the aggressor or not. "I'm afraid that I cannot allow you to proceed further in this assault, Septin," Kunn continued, completely motionless except for his wide mouth, and the bulbous eyes that watched the marauder's every move. "It is most unfortunate what had happened, and I wish more than any that you had not been so tortured into surrendering yourself to the Dark Side, but I must ask if there nothing that could persuade you back to the Light?"
Fury snarled in response, starting to pace, knowing that he ought to strike just to shut up the oaf, but that was exactly what the Jedi wanted, for the Sith to be the aggressor, while he could fall into the role that the Order had assigned to him, that of a peace keeper and defender. "To think that one so devoted to the Order has fallen so far… I had always hoped that we would have opportunity to serve the galaxy together, my old friend, we did make such a team in practice at the Temple… do you remember those days?"
The idle conversation was growing strained, and Fury could tell that the Hutt was losing whatever point he wanted to make, in the face of his righteous anger. "Nevertheless, I can see that you are unmoved by memories or anything to do with the past, so if it a fight that you want I demand that you settle it with me, and let these innocent soldiers go. The victor takes occupation of the world."
"I do not make deals with Jedi or Republic filth," Fury growled at last, stopping and lifting his weapons to their guard positions, knowing that the battle was close.
"Still you fight the nature that was given to you from the beginning…" Kun continued, "What could have been so traumatic that so totally changed the young boy that befriended the first Hutt Jedi on record in centuries, the boy that had nothing but love and admiration in his heart for the masters that taught him, and wanted nothing more than to become like them?"
"He became wise to their faults…" Septin answered honestly, "he saw the power offered by others, and the price that would come upon the Galaxy for denying such power it's due…"
"You are wrong in that, and you know it…" the Hutt stated flatly, finally moving his weapon to the ready, "I know I will engender your wrath by saying this, but it was your fear that led you down the path of the Dark Side, as it led countless before you, and countless still that will continue to fall as long as time stands. Cast it aside, and return to the Light that you knew, to your friends who miss you."
"You miss nothing!" Fury shouted, striking at last, knowing in his heart that he had been played by the manipulative Hutt, but not caring any longer. A single step to close distance, and one of the twin crimson blades flew at the Hutt's lying throat, to be violently blocked by the violet energy beam, which rotated like a windmill around the stationary body to come crashing back at Fury with all the momentum of its movement.
Leaping back, Fury dodged the strike, knowing that his mobility would be the greater advantage, despite the subtly that Kunn used to hide his own reflexes. The Hutt was even now sliding forward, slowly closing distance with him, and still feigning the weakness of his race. Fury knew that under those layers of skin and fat there was a solid mass of muscle, tightly wound like a spring, just waiting for the moment needed to strike.
Twice more the Hutt swung his saber, but Fury parried and countered each time, only to be blocked by the massive club of a weapon as it turned tight circles to protect the large mass of flesh.
Suddenly, without warning, the Hutt sprang forward like a torpedo, weapon slashing downward, threatening to cleave Fury in twain. He was forced to use both blades to intercept and catch it, making him completely unprepared when the Hutt rotated himself, almost impossibly whipping the tail around to trip the smaller human, his bulk causing Fury to be flung backward.
But that was only the beginning. Even as Fury rolled to right himself, the Hutt was charging at him like a train, saber whining as it spun around him. Djem So was the prefered method of this hulking creature, much like Septin's old Master, but used so differently to protect the large target that it was sometimes awe inspiring to watch.
The marauder flipped, ducking low to avoid the ceiling, which he knew had been selected as their battle location to limit Fury's mobility, and increase the power of the Hutt as he used his ability to rocket forward like a missile.
Twice more the Hutt used this tactic, trying to herd Fury around the room, and it was even difficult to counterattack, and the massive slug was able to whip himself around in an instant, bringing the massive violet blade to bear. There were a handful of times that Fury did catch the great slug as he rocketed by, but he scored mere glancing blows that were easily absorbed or deflected by the massive girth of the creature he fought.
Even if Fury did manage to catch the slug and start a powerful blow, which usually initiated his signature Juyo accelerations, Kuun would deflect his strike and immediately counter with a Djem So styled sweep, which forced Fury to dodge to intercept the strike painfully on his weaker, and still living, arm.
Fury was growing ever more frustrated as time went on, and it seemed that the Hutt's tactic now was to stall him until something else in the dynamic of their battle, or the space battle around them, changed. He especially didn't like being played in this by the bloated creature, but he had little else that he could do except fight to kill the slimy beast… except…
"Keep going, secure the ship!" he yelled, ordering the troopers that had accompanied him, and the hurried to obey. The look on the Hutt's face was priceless. Even as the fat blob started to turn to halt his soldiers, Fury was upon him, hacking and slashing to prevent even an inch of movement from the Hutt other than to parry and block with his saber.
There would be time enough for him to oversee the disabling of this ship, but Fury would have to leave it in the hands of his soldiers for the time being. For the moment he had a small slug problem to deal with.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Veneficus sat in the wide throne room of Dromund Kaas, bored out of his brilliant mind as the hundreds of nobles and minor Lords of the Empire mingled before him, amid the gentry of the Imperial Army and Navy that were not yet assigned to parts of the campaign.
More so than about him, the little celebration was in memory of the late Supreme Prophet Dass'in, and to welcome into power his apprentice, the now Supreme Prophet Feyd, who was both host and person of honor this day. The Emperor's presence was more of a mark of validity than anything, albeit Veneficus sorely wished to be about other more important business.
In fact, the only real source of entertainment for Veneficus, apart from tasting the raw fear through the Dark Side that any felt before approaching him personally, was the new pet Jedi that he had, stationed like an animal on the ground next to his throne.
Veneficus had left the boy the dignity of his Jedi raiment, but had made sure that he had access to nothing but the basics for life, and a Force restricting collar around his neck, chained in place with powerful spikes to the floor that restricted the boy's potential movement to the immediate area around Veneficus, not that it mattered.
The Jedi was quite content to sit in a meditative pose for hours, so long as he had some water and a smattering of food within reach, and Veneficus cared not if he had that much with him, so long as there was nothing he could use to attempt escape.
"So tell me, my young Jedi friend, do you honestly believe that the Republic can match the strength that you have witnessed in my Empire?" Veneficus said, intentionally breaking the boy's concentration.
Without even opening his mismatched eyes, the boy responded as a stereotypical Jedi, "The Dark Side can never win over the Light, it is not the way of the Force to allow one side, or the other, to throw things out of balance. As the Sith have always desired this, they cannot succeed, as the Will of the Force itself will deny them…"
"To think that the Jedi raised one so young to be so wise…" Veneficus said, smirking to himself as another simpering noble-being bowed to him as they passed. "But is it also correct that the Jedi cannot long last without the Dark Side to challenge them. If this is to be the case, than Light and Dark are forever destined to fight each other, power shifting from one side to the other throughout the millennia. Does that not describe the century of Light domination that has been prevalent prior to my Empire's return to the Galaxy in force? Could it not mean that the generation of Light control of the Galaxy is at its end, and the time is now for the Dark Side to rise?"
The boy was silent, his piece said. But there was more than one purpose for Veneficus keeping his prisoner close by. He had recognized the potential immediately when he first saw the boy after the brief encounter in his false tomb.
Withdrawing the Elder Wand, also casually, Veneficus flicked it in the boy's direction, putting him into a trance almost immediately. The Jedi never even understood that he was a Seer, and quite capable as well, which played directly into the needs of the Emperor. His foresight was limited, Veneficus had accepted this. Darth Millennial had had major advantages in that department, due to genetics or some other blessing from the Force, but this young Jedi could fill the gaps that Veneficus sometimes missed.
"The champion of the Light seeks in battle and blood the conduit of the Force's Will… but the Lord of Darkness houses him in shadow and will pervert the soul of the conduit, leading to an age of chaos and despair, until the time comes that Light and Darkness seek to live within the same house, and the Darkness will fall upon the sword of his own forging…" the boy intoned in a flat voice that offered no sentiment or pity.
Hearing prophecy first hand was rather intriguing for Veneficus, he himself knowing that he had the gift of seership as well, albeit far more limited than this one, but interpreting the message was the trick. One wrong step and he could cause untold damage to his Empire, or the Galaxy at large.
However, this particular snippet of the Force was rather easy to see through, as Veneficus himself had foreseen portions already. Lovegood had entered the war, seeking her Padawan, but it would be too late as eventually Veneficus would succeed in turning the boy to the Dark Side, which would eliminate all obstacles to his ascendance. It was the part after that was strange, Light and Darkness in the same house? It was something that he did not understand as of yet, but hoped that it would come with time and patience. A sword of his own forging could mean many things, some weapon that Veneficus crafted would betray him in the end, but it was a broad thing that was not easy to pinpoint.
Best not to worry about that end of the prophecy just yet, as it came across as something far flung in the future, which could be prepared for in time. Ending the trance with a wave of his wand, Veneficus remained silent, allowing the Jedi to think that he had just drifted off in thought for a time, and returned to viewing the substantial and quite boring party that was taking place before them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leon had experienced very little in his life thus far, he reasoned, but now that he had been the prisoner of the Sith Emperor for only a few weeks, he wished that he had been far more secluded, as one did not need to witness much of what he was forced to see.
The madman kept him alive at least, for at least two reasons that Leon suspected. One was the strange grudge that he seemed to have for his master, Luna, and the hopes of drawing her out to him to kill. To that end Leon hoped that Luna would wisely forget about him, train many more Jedi and live a long and productive life, as her beacon of light was quite powerful and a boon to the whole Order, far more than Leon's own life.
The second reason was harder to place, but Leon supposed that it had something to do with the strange blackouts that he consistently had when in the presence of the Emperor. There had to be something about Leon himself that the Emperor desired, some trait or power that either Leon could not use actively, or would not have used without being coerced. He could tell that the Emperor had to use his magic to make whatever it was occur, as his wand was always drawn when Leon looked after a blackout.
It was unlikely that he was being tortured, as the Emperor usually kept him conscious for that, even as he sought from time to time to break Leon's will, but he would not yield. Leon was a Jedi, and would die a Jedi rather than submit from pain or fear. Although, to his great worry, this iron will seemed to only amuse the Emperor, rather than enrage him, as though he felt it was only a matter of time before Leon gave in.
Still, he kept the young Jedi almost frighteningly close at all times, even when Leon desired sleep. He had yet to see the Sith Lord do any such thing however, as though the monster had no need for such mortal concepts. There were many things that he did witness that were more than just groveling servants or tortured failures. At least once thus far, the Emperor had actually staggered while walking, in private, and nearly fallen when his hands began to convulse violently. Leon nearly thought about trying to escape at that moment, but the Sith Lord quickly swallowed some sort of red medicine and all ill effects ceased almost instantly. Luckily Leon wasn't punished for seeing that.
Other times, the Emperor would simply sit and stare off for hours, clearly deep in the Force, as the man foresaw whatever mad schemes he had set forth, and their progress via his many minions, who rarely communicated directly with their Master. Leon had even witnessed one meeting of the Dark Council, although from the sidelines where he could hardly see due to the chain that kept him bound to a specific point from room to room that he was allowed into.
Still, to think that they operated much like the Jedi Council was disturbing, albeit functioning with much more decisiveness and less deliberation, but that was probably due to a significant lack of the care regarding the consequences of their actions.
Finally, the Emperor seemed to grow tired of all the pomp and postulating that occurred at the new Supreme Prophet's party, and took up the chain attacked to Leon's neck, leading him like one would an animal as they departed for the Emperor's chambers in the palace.
Leon had been told before that once he had learned his place that the chain would be removed and he would be free to walk about as he pleased, but that time had not yet arrived. Once they arrived in the expansive chambers that the Sith Lord took residence within however, the chain vanished into powered dust, allowing Leon free reign over the large area, however there were many dangers even here and Leon was wiser than to go around investigating things he did not fully understand.
Firstly, there was a massive cauldron constantly bubbling away with some sort of blood red liquid that seemed to almost be like blood. Then there were several bookshelves filled with tomes that Leon unfortunately could not read, but he was impressed by the fact that they were actual books, with paper or parchment rather than holos. A desk filled with pulsing dark trinkets housed in another room to itself, and Leon refused to so much as enter that room to investigate, as the scent of the Dark Side was extremely strong there, more so than the Emperor himself, and Leon suspected that that was where the man went to perform many rituals and other Dark Side rites that Leon had no business knowing or desire to witness.
There were some things that he was allowed to look through, but more or less they were basic things to keep him from losing his mind rather than actually occupy him, and even if he wanted something else, most of the objects in the room were keyed with the Emperor's magic to not react to Leon, as though he was made incorporeal and would phase right through the object he wanted, unless he went and asked for permission directly from the Emperor to use said item.
Whatever sense of humiliation it was meant to encourage did not work however, but Leon suspected that it was more that the Emperor was being caution, and preventing Leon from handling just anything was part of keeping him not only alive, but a prisoner. He had briefly learned about Johell's time with Zhar Quelmok, and this type of captivity seemed drastically different from what the boy described, which led Leon to believe that the Emperor had a far different set of motives in store for him, rather than simply breaking and training him like Zhar had for Johell.
What that ultimate purpose was however, the Jedi Padawan did not know, and he was rather disturbed to even speculate on what madness the Lord of the Empire had in mind for not only Leon himself, but the rest of the Galaxy.
From time to time he was able to watch as the Emperor reasoned out battle plans by himself, and sometimes with the lead military minds of the Empire, more commanding them rather than working out a strategy for their war, which seemed strange and completely unrealistic of a means to plot a war. Unfortunately, for what parts Leon was able to see, he had to logically admit that the Emperor's strategy was brutally effective, vile and unnecessarily cruel to be sure, but still effective.
That was probably the most insidious part of the Emperor's torment for the young Jedi; forcing him to see not only the evil that he planned, but the logic and vicious mercilessness that dictated his actions, and understand the reasons that the Empire chose such courses. Indeed, often the Emperor would stop and speak directly to Leon, explaining why he chose such systems, their advantages and the need for their removal from the Republic's control, down to the reason why one world would be systematically wiped out versus another simply being enslaved.
It was the strangest methods that Leon had ever heard of, let alone experienced. While not torture per say, it was still rather unbearable to hear of the people of the Galaxy spoken of in such simple terms, as though their lives or their cultures were meaningless, but naturally Leon was not permitted to disagree openly, or he did face the annoyance of the Emperor, which usually involved direct pain.
Finally, one of the days that there was surprisingly little for the Emperor to do in the public eye, Leon had gathered the courage to confront him about his methods directly, "Why?" he had asked, looking over at the man as he poured over dark tomes in a secluded area of the main chamber, "Why do you follow this path?"
When the yellow-eyed man had finally turned to look squarely at him, Leon realized that he had played right into what the Emperor had desired, as the man had smiled widely, "You ask for why I am Sith?" he'd mused, and Leon had been forced to consider the full impact of his question.
True he had been asking why the man was violently destroying the government of the Galaxy and the Jedi, but that answer was obvious; he was Sith and an enemy of the Republic, one who did not believe the Republic's ideals to be the best for him personally, and that he must forge the Galaxy anew in his own image. Nor had he been asking the reasons that he felt this way so strongly, which was also simple; Veneficus was one of the Order of the Sith Lords, the opposite of Jedi, and full on anger and desires for power, which left only the question that the Emperor himself had provided. Why Sith?
"I suppose that that would indeed be my question, then…" Leon had admitted, not allowing himself to be embarrassed by the Emperor's sharp rebuttal of his initial question. There was no reason, as the man had not attempted in any way to insult Leon or his intelligence. In fact, aside from the obvious, Leon was clearly treated more as a permanent guest than a prisoner.
"One could very well ask you the same, young one… why Jedi?" Veneficus returned gently, not in the manner of insult that one would expect, but as a genuine philosophical question, "Neither of our Orders really give its members the choice of whether to join or not, but take their new acolytes before they are reasonably able to make the decision, and once you are raised to believe certain values, it is very difficult to shake those values away, no matter how one may or may not try…"
"But if you do not feel the way the ancient Sith do…" Leon had started, but the Emperor had quickly stopped him.
"Who said I don't feel the way that they do?" He had demanded. "I have all the same emotions and resentment toward the Jedi and the Republic that my forebears had, and I will see them through to the end. But I suppose it is for different reasons that those initial exiles that were banished for choosing a different view of the Force. My revenge is against the Jedi for their initial cause of all my own suffering and pain, as there is no one else left to suffer for it."
Leon did not understand then, and it had clearly showed on his face, as the Emperor had turned completely from the book he had been consulting to face him, "I will tell you my story, and you will understand where the power of my rage and anger stems… it begins on my old home world, called earth, so many years ago… once was known there as Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived…"
And that story became the mainstay of their conversations for many days afterward, the Emperor of the Sith expounding upon his own life history, and the events that had broken, and then remade him into a weapon of the Sith, elaborating upon the betrayals, which he himself had learned about later in life, but revealed willingly to Leon in their unabridged detail. The Dark wizard Voldemort, the betrayal of his biological parents by one of their close friends, and the failings of an entire society to allow one old man to completely dominate the life of a newborn before he had opportunity to truly live.
The horrors that the boy Harry Potter endured were traumatic, or at least Leon would presume that they must have been, especially after the Sith Lord Darth Millennial entered his life. It was also clear that the Emperor had shared this information with no one, as there was no denying the raw emotion that pulsated through his voice as he spoke of these people, hatred coursing through him like a river as he mentioned each in turn, and the multiple encounters.
Leon asked questions for clarity, and the Emperor obliged him, explaining his old Master's madness and secrecy in returning to the primitive world of his birth rather than simple living abroad in the Galaxy, how the old Sith Millennial had decided that such a backward world would easily hide them until his apprentice was ready to be made into a pawn for the wider Galaxy, much as he had been for his Master before him.
Having been previously filled in on how the Sith transition power from one to the next, by murder, he questioned how Veneficus knew what his Master thought so long after the mutant's death, and while the Emperor did not directly answer, there was a tell that meant that the strange madman had ways to communicate with those that had passed into the Force.
The worst part of the elongated story and lessons, to Leon, was that he slowly was starting to understand exactly why the Emperor thought and acted the way he did, becoming closer to the Sith Lord than probably any in the Galaxy, and that thought alone filled him with dread. The one being that he did not want to understand, and here he was being taught from the man's personal experience, how to cheat, how to lie, how he could not trust anyone but himself. The Darkness was staggering, and Leon could literally feel it clinging to him as he tried to reason with the Emperor that there ought to have been another way than the path he had chosen.
In the end, it was no use. The Sith Lord was fanatically loyal to his chosen cause, regardless of how shakily the foundation was placed so long ago, and if Leon was perfectly honest with himself, technically there was only so much that he could trust that the Emperor had not lied about it from the start, but he didn't express such thoughts, not out of fear, but because it was wise to not encourage more of the Sith's anger.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~line break~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fury found the battle suddenly much easier now that Kunn was not entirely focused on just stopping him. Preventing the Hutt from leaving the same trap of a room that he had tried to restrain Fury to was far simpler, and the twin bladed warrior started to gain ground on attacking the Hutt now that he wasn't biding for time for his own soldiers.
Attacking head on, Fury was able to engage in a strong opening blitz on the Hutt, who was finally forced to reveal the skill and martial prowess with the saber that he had tried to hide this entire time. Performing acrobatics that defied the size and shape of his race, the Hutt twisted and turned like a flash, blade creating a storm of defense as he tried to bat aside one blade after the other and find some opening to strike back at the marauder with. However, the added advantage of the second weapon in his hand was slowly gaining Fury ground, and his accelerations were only just starting to ramp up in speed and deadly precision.
The Hutt's natural armor of fat and muscle would only hold out until Fury scored a deep wound, but the cuts and burn that littered the flabby form were multiplying rapidly, and Fury could tell it was only a matter of time before he overwhelmed the Hutt completely.
A four fingered hand thrust out at Fury, sending a shockwave of telekinetic power so strong that it made the deck beneath them shudder, but the Darksider rolled out of the path of the blast, hearing the screeching note of metal as the Force based attack struck one of the doors of the room. Then the Hutt was soaring through the air again, right past Fury toward the newly breached exit, but the marauder wasn't going to allow it. Throwing one saber upward, be grabbed a metallic fistful of the flabby tail, hauling back with Force enhanced strength, and causing the Hutt Jedi to fly in a full arc before slamming strongly into the far wall.
Naturally it did little more than stun the Jedi for the briefest moment, but for another Force user, a moment was significant. Leaping forward as his second blade returned to his hand, Fury drove the crimson weapons deep into the belly of the bloated creature as he turned to face his foe once again.
The bulbous eyes widened almost comically, the huge mouth stretching impossibly wide, and tongue flicking slightly in muted agony. Fury said and did nothing except push his weapons further into the layers of flesh until he knew that something vital had been struck, and watched as the light dimmed from the hulking shape of flesh, signaling the death of his Jedi adversary, and with him the Jedi's hope to bring the Hutt Cartel closer to the Republic.
Only once the convulsions of the slug's body ceased did Fury remove his weapons, shutting them off and lifting the communicator on his wrist. "Report," he ordered, wanting to know exactly what had transpired while he fought with Knight Kunn.
"The bridge is secured, my Lord," a trooper responded. "We have technicians slicing the databanks as we speak, while others are planting the explosives."
This was good. It would signal the end of the Republic's attempt to push back against the Sith in this sector, and yet another system that would fall into the Empire's control. "Once you are finished, return to the Manticore, the Jedi is slain, and the ship is ours."
Normally, he would have pressed on himself as well, but it was clear that the fight on this ship was over, and the battle with Kunn had exhausted the marauder far more than he had expected. Making his way to the nearest hangar, Fury signaled for shuttles to be sent across, as whatever republic forces left of the ship were in full retreat, either into the bowels of the ship or out in escape pods, he did not care any longer.
It took only a few moments for the shuttle to arrive, disgorging several troopers to guard the landing area, but Fury boarded and demanded that they return to the Sith cruiser, while other transports were summoned for the soldiers that would be returning soon enough.
Obeying immediately, the pilot lifted off again, allowing Fury a momentary glance at the rest of the space battle as they traversed the short distance between the two cruisers. The Republic fleet had been scattered quite well, and each ship was hardly in a position to support another, which would make sending the off with their tails between their legs all the easier.
As they landed, Fury turned back to Kunn's ship, just in time to see explosions of fire taking out the main sections of the ship, and the last Sith shuttles removing themselves from the hold, even as catastrophic failures sparked across the length of the Republic vessel, and it started to go dim, engines fluctuating as they died, making the ship little more than floating scrap.
The rest of the fleet much have picked that up immediately on their sensors, as all but one or two started to turn, agonizingly slow, and prepare to jump from the system into Hyperspace.
"Let them go," Fury said, drained from battle, "let them take news of their loss back to the Jedi and the Republic. There is much yet to prepare for, and another world for us to conquer." He did however, watch as the last struggling ships were consumed by the cannons of the Sith fleet, even as their fellows fled the battle, escaping back to their precious Republic worlds. Let the fools now cower in fear, even their supposed upgraded fleets were no match for the superior warriors of the Neo-Sith Empire.