Many thanks for the views, and those few who reviewed the beginning of book three, and I ask you to please, enjoy the next chapter as much as you've clearly enjoyed the previous! ~F

Chapter Two

The Emperor's Prize

High Prophet Zhar, lord and ruler of the planet Korriban under the direction and authority of his Majesty, Emperor Veneficus the Eternal, watched in near-bored silence as another potential graduating group of Dark Adepts took to their final trials for all to see. Instead of the standard duel to the death for them all, which had been more common when they had needed only the very best of warriors to help crush the Republic, a new form had been decided upon.

Out in the desert, well away from the Valley of the Dark Lords, while the sun of Korriban beat heavily down upon them all, a massive pit had been excavated into the sandy ground of the planet, and the dozen or so Dark Side disciples had been lowered down into it.

One of the Adepts managing the trial turned to look at Zhar, who was seated in a small covered area with perfect viewing of the bottom of the pit, both due to angle as well as droids who were hovering over it, broadcasting the action for the entire planet to view.

Once they were all inside the pit, Zhar nodded to the conductor of the event, who loudly started to speak down to those who wished to prove their readiness to take what they'd learned out to the wider galaxy, detailing generally the objective of their trial: survive.

The wave of fear that surged up from the pit as it suddenly came alive with beasts from hidden chambers all around was mildly amusing, but Zhar was more keen on watching for what the students would do in the situation into which they had been thrust. None had been given lightsabers for this trial, so they only had what they had thought to bring with them, which admittedly wasn't much.

Naturally, three of them had been caught by surprise, and were torn apart by the beast even before they had a chance to defend themselves. Those lacking in the precognitive abilities of the Force, or who used it too seldom deserved their fate. The other nine stood back to back, forming a large circle in the middle of the pit, keeping all sides covered from the beasts, who started to pace around them, waiting for an opening to strike.

Tuk'ata, or commonly known throughout the Empire as Sith hounds, were force-sensitive beasts normally used to guard the tombs of the ancient Dark Lords, highly intelligent and more than powerful enough to simulate what the students were to face out in the wider Galaxy. If the students were to survive, they needed to quickly realize that they needed to adapt and work like their enemy, banding together so that they all would succeed, else they might all fail.

The Tuk'ata were not patient foes as well, already a group were starting to harass one of the sides of the circle of students, trying to break their line and get around them, while others began devouring the fallen students in a clear attempt at intimidation.

Not that the beasts weren't starving anyway, with how long they had been kept in that pit waiting for this day regardless. In any case, the effect was pronounced enough. The students were pressured into making rational battle decisions, to fight or to flee, and if they wished to be known as warriors of the Dark Side, there was only one real choice.

As the students surged forward to attack the beasts however, Zhar was distracted by an incoming transmission on his personal device. Only a select few knew how to contact him directly via it, and out of those only one was expected to make contact soon. Pulling it out and activating the device, Zhar spoke quickly, his eyes flicking back to the pit every so often, "Euka, how good of you to establish contact once more. Did you finish the task that the Supreme Prophet had for you?"

"Yes Master," the Iradonian replied, her face impassive regarding how her master had known that she was calling. It was a thing that had long lost any sort of impressiveness. "I have just exited Hyperspace over Korriban and will be touching down within the hour at the Academy."

"Good," Zhar said, "good. Report to me when you touch down, there is an important task that I can trust to none other, required of us by the Emperor himself."

The apprentice paused, growing suspicious, "More of his relics and artifacts being transported to the Imperial Palace on Coruscant?" she asked.

Zhar nodded, "Astutely guessed," he responded, but that seemed to only irritate Euka all the more.

"Why does the Emperor hide out of the sight of his people thusly, my Master?" she asked, "surely it would be better for the Empire if their leader actually led them, rather than lurking in his second palace, not even on the capital I might add, and never in so long even making a public appearance."

"It is not wise of us to question his Majesty," Zhar said in mild rebuke, but his face told a far different story. Zhar agreed with his apprentice completely, and felt it deceptively odd that the Sith Lord had all but disappeared from the public eye soon after renovating the former Jedi Temple as his new palace. It couldn't be that he feared anything in the Galaxy, as he ruled over seventy percent of the most powerful worlds in the Galaxy, and had holdings on a great deal more.

It was almost as though he was secreting something in that fortress, surrounded by his personal guards and those loyal to him and him alone, something that was potentially too destructively powerful for the rest of the Empire or else meant for the use of the Sith and the Dark Side only.

That was the true reason that he wanted to send Euka to deliver the next stash of possessions that the Emperor demanded moved from the Sith Core worlds to his personal Palace at the center of the Galaxy. She might have luck enough to overhear something or sense some oddity that would make more sense to Zhar, yet be hidden away from those that the Emperor potentially found to be threats to his power, which the apprentice certainly was not in the Sith Lord's eyes.

Zhar himself on the other hand… He had sensed that there would be great danger to him if he was found prying too deeply into the Emperor's personal life, or even his past more than he already knew. The inquisitors were out in the Galaxy, looking not only for rebels and Jedi, but even defectors from within the ranks of the Sith, and that madden being Gor-lak wouldn't hesitate to eliminate a High Prophet if given the chance.

Therefore, he had to work quietly and slowly, using what tools he had and gleaning scraps of information as they came to light, weaving them together into a useful sense of what was going on regarding their now quite secretive leader.

Euka could tell most of this from just the look her Master gave, and silenced her protests, "I will report to you when I arrive on world, Master." She said subserviently, closing the transmission. Zhar smiled, knowing that she was on the same page as he regarding the Emperor and his mysterious activities, and returned his attention to the pit.

Most of the Tuk'ata were slain, as were around half of the students in their violent charge, but the High Prophet's mind was no longer set on their fate. Rising from his seat, Zhar turned and made his way to the waiting speeder, where a helmeted pilot snapped to attention and started the engine when the most powerful figure on the planet approached him. "Return to the Academy," Zhar ordered, "I have more pressing matters to attend to than watching these fools fight and die."

"Yes, my Lord." The pilot replied, lifting off as soon as Zhar was on board. He settled in for the short trip back to his seat of power, wondering how exactly it would be best for his apprentice to try and glean information about the Emperor in the current climate of the man's absence.

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Kelrek glowered down at the irritating world of Ord Mantell. Stationed still with Marauder Jenah and the last remnant of the actually Imperial army and navy, they continued the war that most chose to forget hadn't actually ended with the fall of Coruscant. There were still many worlds adhering to the old Republic, and stubbornly clinging to the failing ways. It had been their unpleasant job of going to these worlds, one by one, and crushing all their resistance so that they at last could join in with the Empire and begin progress once more, so had demanded the Emperor before he too, forgot all about the war and those still fighting in it.

But Kelrek was hopeful that it would officially end soon, as there were only so many worlds left that flocked around the banners that places like Ord Mantell continued to raise, of restoring the peace of the Republic and overthrowing the Sith oppressors.

It simply was not allowed for them to do this any longer, as it was inspiring rebellion throughout the Empire's territory, and many groups were flocking to these planets in order to take up arms against their rightful rulers.

Even now, with as pitiful as what resources that the planet had to fight them with, it seemed that the people of Ord Mantell were willing to throw their lives away in the sight of a fleet of Imperial cruisers. Srilis and Jenah had already boarded shuttles to take down to the planet and enforce their efforts to take the main commerce and governmental centers, not that there was much of that here on this typically lawless and crime-run planet, but Kelrek had delayed, growing quite tired of the war that had dragged on for years after it was officially declared over.

Truth be told, according to what he had heard was going on with the others who had retired from battle, his was the better lot, as backstabbing and political maneuvering for power was taking to be the great past time of all the Dark Adepts in light of their won peace throughout the Empire, when they weren't hunting rebels and dissenters of course, but all the same, the empire seemed at last to begin stagnating in the lack of a true enemy to fight.

That alone was reason enough for Kelrek to continue fighting the last remnant of the Republic, to keep the fight alive within himself, and to avoid becoming complacent and losing his power and control of the Dark Side.

Perhaps, when the Republic was finally utterly destroyed and forgotten, he and his two allies would be able to relax, and live out their days in splendor and glory of their accomplishments, but only after they had grown in power to rival even that of the High Prophets of the Dark Side, and were considered Lords themselves in truth.

Sighing in resignation as his comlink chimed again, the others probably demanding for him to join them on the front lines, Kelrek turned to his personal shuttle, which was ready and awaiting him, alongside his elite troopers, who all had prepared and strapped in for the trip down to the planet.

Boarding at last, he slammed the inside of the ship to notify the pilot to take off, and sealed loading ramp with the controls. It wouldn't take too long for them to make the safe trip down. The climatic battles of the war previously had more or less crippled the navy of the republic, as well as any space defenses that most of their allied planets had maintained, meaning that control of orbits and Hyperspace lanes had fallen squarely into the Empire's lap, and they were nearly unmatched in space at this point.

The fighting on the ground however was a much different story. Even as the ramp descended and his trooped filed out, Kelrek could sense the intense battle waging around them. Many factions of the remnant were gathered here, desperately fighting against the forces of the Empire brought against them, and slipping into the Force so easily amid the chaos and bloodshed, Kelrek was part of it all.

Walking almost casually through the hailstorm of fire that whipped around him and his troops, he followed his senses to where he knew Jenah and Srilis were pushing the front lines of their enemies.

His lightsaber was almost an ornament at this point, he hadn't drawn it in nearly half a decade for actual combat, as Kelrek had delved deeply into points of the Force and the Dark Side that would, if they were known, have caused him to be killed as rising far above his station. But his two allies, almost sisters to him, cared not for what darkness he brought forth from obscurity, as he was firmly on the side of the Empire, and theirs above all else.

A blaster bolt screamed past Kelrek's nose, but he didn't even flinch, already having foreseen the immediate path that would be free of any danger to him. Arms crossed behind his back, he walked through the raging battle as his troops pooled around him, guarding him as though he were more defenseless than the Sorcerer truly was.

Through crowded streets and plazas riddled with scorch marks and other signs of the devastating battle that was raging Kelrek went, homing in on his two fellow Adepts like a carrier bird to its nest. They, unsurprisingly were in the heat of battle, Jenah deep in the thick of enemy troops on the front while Srilis struck from the rear, each of the heavy lightsaber combatants cutting through the fodder of their enemies without restraint or hindrance.

Nevertheless, Kelrek could see what they did not, and knew that a battalion of tanks were on their way to reinforce their enemy. "Take out their communications, Lieutenant," he ordered to the man at his left, who nodded and dashed off with a squad of four at his back.

Meanwhile, the Sorcerer make his way forward, hands unclasping as he called upon the deadly power of the Force. His troops parted way immediately as lightning surged from his fingertips, striking the front line of enemy soldiers and causing them all to collapse in shock and pain as the life was literally ripped from their bodies.

Stepping over them, and not even pausing his forward momentum, Kelrek raised a hand to the side, stopping a single blaster bolt out of a dozen, holding it in place until he had walked past, and allowing it to fly harmlessly by like the rest. Weapons were wrenched from hands of their enemy, and even more where charged the Sorcerer were sent flying back as the Force user waded into the battle.

One of the troopers, wielding a vibroblade leapt at Jenah from behind, but Kelrek saw and countered, the man being yanked into the air by his throat as the third Adept strangled the life out of him before all his allies.

"I was wondering when you'd bother to show up, Kel…" Jenah stated, impaling another pair of fools that had reeled back in horror at the show of the power of the Force on their comrade.

"Only when the Force willed it to be so, Jen," Kelrek stated, tossing the lifeless body aside into another soldier and walking on, bypassing the Marauder and striding purposefully toward the retreating line of enemy soldiers, "Tanks are coming, but worry not, I will deal with them personally."

The Marauder just scoffed as she turned back to rally her forces to change the fleeing infantry,

Srilis dashed past, the third human Adept only giving Kelrek a quick smirk of indulgence as she rejoined the main fighting force, even as they started to plan their next move.

Reaching the place where he sensed the tanks approaching, Kelrek halted, waiting for a single moment as the building before him exploded outward, revealing the first of a half dozen tanks that were trying to ambush the Imperial forces.

Not even reacting to the deafening explosion of sound, Kelrek raised both arm, lifting the first tank from the ground, and brought his hands together. The grinding of metal and screams from within the tank told all the story as the hulking machine started to implode upon itself, as though crumbled like a piece of flimsy. Tossing the useless ball of metal aside, Kelrek waited for the next tank to arrive.

It did, bearing down upon him with the turret aimed right at Kelrek's head. Two fingers twitched, and the turret veered off course just as it fired, the recoil sending the tank lurching in a direction it hadn't expected, toppling the vehicle and allowing Kelrek's troops to pounce upon it with explosives and welding torches.

The third and fourth were equally simple, none realizing that they were being bested by a single human, let alone a Dark Side Adept. The fifth tried to simply charge over Kelrek, and he grunted slightly as he threw the tank high into the air, allowing it to crash to the ground far in the distance.

Only the last poised any true threat, as it decided to fire without even seeing its target, forcing Kelrek to dodge to the side, and his hand flew to the hilt of his saber. The crimson blade exploded into life, the minute cross guards echoing the main blades pronouncement of violence as they too activated.

The weapon, modeled after an ancient design of the Jedi and Sith of old, spun once as the Sorcerer dashed into the crumbling building, cutting through the last supports of the already heavily weakened structure, and collapsing upon the final tank in a glorious ruin.

Leaping back out to avoid being trapped himself, Kelrek viewed the fruit of his labor, the scattered metal and demolished scrap of the tanks that would have crushed the line of infantry that his two allies had brought to the battle.

Satisfied in the knowledge that he had averted such a disaster, the Sorcerer sheathed his saber and turned back to the group that had retreated to a safer location to plan their offensive of the world.

Walking casually through the scattered bodies of the fallen and their discarded ordinance, Kelrek paused. Clutched in the hand of one of the dead soldiers was a familiar token. Plucking it from the dead man's grasp, Kelrek turned the small icon over in his hands, studying it from all angles and wondering how a non Force sensitive had gotten a hold of such a relic. A small bronzed symbol, clearly of the now extinct Jedi Order, had been clearly cherished by the dead man, as despite the grit and blood that caked its exposed sides, the bronze gleamed where the man's hand had clutched it.

Chuckling to himself, Kelrek pocketed the item, knowing that having such things in the hands of their enemies make their fight all the harder, as faith in something beyond themselves allowed even the most meek of soldiers to become fierce in the face of battle.

If they were to crush the spirit of the Republic Remnant, they had to eradicate the last believe of the Jedi from them, and with it the hope that they would return to stop the Empire once and for all.

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It had been so long since he had been given a task by his Master, or even been in contact with the beautiful darkness that the human possessed. Rarely did his Veneficus come to admire him any longer, or impute much of his dark power into the crimson scales that had taken on a far deadlier sheen.

Zychre normally hunted through the bowels of his master's new nest, seeped with the energy of death and the mysterious power that flowed through everything, like an undercurrent of blackness that spanned the planet of their habitation.

It was delightsome and strangely soothing in its roiling chaos and demands of greater power, but the once small ruby cobra had no thoughts as to taking command of anything. He was content to simply be, and grow in this power and feed on whatever was easiest to acquire.

But for some reason Veneficus had summoned the now quite giant serpent to him, slowly stroking the black-red scales that had been enchanted by the magic of the Emperor, hissing soothing words of bloodshed and pain to him as he explained that valuable things were coming to the from space, and Zychre needed to guard them with his life for the nest-mate, as intruders would come to steal their things, and they were like eggs they were to the human, most precious and very valuable.

Zychre understood, and obeyed without question, entering the massive ship that had come and burrowing deep into the lower parts of the ship, waiting until he was at last returned to the warm cousin of darkness that was their home.

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Eula found it massively odd that the Emperor chose to send a ship from Coruscant to retrieve the items he desired, rather than have them load one on Dromund Kaas and fly it to him, but like her master she chose to not question it, simply boarding when the ship finally arrived at Korriban to pick up its escort, already loaded and ready to depart.

With a final look back at her Master, who nodded subtly his encouragement, she straightened her shoulders and walked on, stowing away her insecurities about the Emperor and the direction of the Empire as a whole and becoming all business, a proper Dark Adept charged with a task from the highest of authority.

Glaring at the soldiers that dared to look in her direction, she took to the front of the shuttle, even as it lifted off and set course for the small frigate that would be escorted to the Imperial Palace on Coruscant by a handful of dreadnaught class capital ships.

Only a fool would dare to attempt to attack them in this situation, but for some reason Euka felt that both her master, and the Emperor himself, sensed that something would indeed happen during this journey, and she steeled herself to that plan, double and triple checking to make sure that everything was ready for whatever sort of complication headed their way.

She could sense an enormous source of Dark Side energy from the hold of the cargo frigate, and could only presume that it was whatever treasure was requisite of the Emperor, but with the royal Arcanamach flanking the entrance, none were allowed entry under pain of death.

Still, as their escort pulled into Hyperspace, bound for the first of several pit stops for fuel and potential maintenance, Euka sensed that something was indeed coming for their ship, and she had better be more than prepared for its arrival.

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Severus was pleased to find, upon arriving at the coordinates provided by Shade, exactly what he had promised them. About two dozen small pirate vessels, as well as weapons and armor for troops enough to pilot the ships. They would be perfectly disguised during the operation to take temporary control of the Emperor's cargo ship and steal away any information regarding the Philosopher's stone, or whatever else might be there for them to take.

Included was a well laid out plotting of where the convoy of ships would go, and their stops along the way, in addition to the ideal location to plan their attack. Everything was perfectly laid out for them, almost too perfectly in fact. Severus grew suspicious in seeing that every contingency had been seen to, and therefore was more muted than the soldiers that had joined him in the attack, who took to the ships and equipment with relish and excitement.

"Enough chit chat people," Severus eventually called out, ordering them all to silence, "We have a tight schedule to keep if we are going to hit that convoy, so I want everyone at their posts and Hyperspace coordinates plotted as quickly as possible so we can ambush the Imperials as they exit for their stop."

"Sir, yes sir!" many of the soldiers chanted back, their old Republic military days snapping back into focus as they returned to the serious nature of their mission. Severus turned to the largest pirate ship, deep in thought. If he were to plan a defense against such a small fleet, he would target the largest ship first, sever the head of the snake before it had the chance to strike, and therefore, to counter such a perceived tactic, Severus turned toward one of the smaller gunships, which had better armor but not as much mobility.

Gesturing at the other commander, a colonel from the old Republic navy to take the larger ship, Severus climbed aboard the gunboat, whispering spells with his wand waving back and forth, adding an additional layer of shielding around the ship for added protection. They would strike the ship with this, and keep the other, larger protective vessels at bay with the weapons that Shade had provided them on these craft, which appeared to be old Empire tech from just after the war, better than most but unlikely to hold off the larger Imperial ships for long.

Together the twenty or so ships lifted up and took to Hyperspace toward the location so indicated by the mysterious operative. A few small hours later they emerged into a dense asteroid surrounded point in space, which Severus was concerned as to why the Empire would make this a stop on the route of such an important cargo ship, however their mistake would prove to be the success of their rebellion.

"Scatter the ships through the asteroids, and be prepared to charge out the moment I give the word, not a moment sooner no matter what ships appear," Severus ordered, and watched as the ships did as he commanded, faster ships darting to the near points to where it was predicted by Shade for the Imperials to arrive. The clunky blast boat that Severus was aboard just got out of sight when the long range sensors picked up a small fleet approaching from the direction of the Sith Core of space. Severus smirked as a trio of massive capital ships arrived, followed closely by the tiny frigate that was their target.

"All units, proceed on the target, keep those cruisers distracted and watch for more oncoming enemies." Severus commanded, and watched as the dark outline of space around erupted with bright flashes as the smaller and far faster ships darted out of the asteroids, lasers and other weapons firing at top speed to disrupt the progress of the convoy of ships.

The crusiers halted, even as the frigate continued closer, trying to snug up against its escort for cover, and fighters flowed out of the larger ships.

"Take us straight for the frigate, let the others worry about the capital ships," Severus told the pilots, watching as their clunky and much slower ship took a straight line of approach to the small Imperial cargo ship in the midst of all the chaos around them.

Two more cruisers erupted out of Hyperspace as a rearguard of the frigate, which complicated matters, but a pair of reckless pilots flew directly at the new arrivals, diverting their weapons as they attempted to outmaneuver the smaller and far faster ships as the strafed the hulking war machines of the Empire.

"Scan the inside of the ship as we approach," Severus said, pulling out some useless broken quills and a scrap of parchment along with his wand, muttering the charm for a portkey on the fly as he watched the readout of the enemy frigate come into view. There were several corridors that would suffice them to travel to, and the hold of their ship for the return, although portkeying through a vacuum seemed near to death, desperate times called for these sorts of measures.

Dashing to the main hold of the ship, where the rebel commandos were waiting for their orders, Severus tossed portkeys to the group leaders, ordering each troop to take hold and not let go if they valued their lives.

Set to go immediately, and specifically tailored, each Portkey triggered when the entire troop behind a given commander placed their hand or finger upon it, winking them out of existence and presumably onto the enemy vessel.

Only when the last troop had departed did Severus gather his magic together, and turned on the spot, flinching at the jarring cold as he apparated through the cold vacuum to the frigate. Landing heavily in a crowded corridor, Severus had little time to shake off the frigidity that had taken his limbs before he registered that it was a full blown battle going on around him.

Blasterfire rocketed down the corridor from both sides as the rebels fought to claim their foothold on the ship. Raising his wand, Severus spoke a powerful cutting curse, slicing through the metal wall that led to inner parts of the ship, unwilling to allow them to be bottlenecked in this corridor so soon after arriving.

The wall fell inward, revealing another room filled with rebel troopers, still shaking off the effects of the portkey. Severus charge through, followed by a few others, and took the lead of the detachment in storming around to the back of one of the ends attacking their main force.

Blasting several troopers with powerful hexes, Severus smirked as the group's attention was diverted to his own outflanking maneuver. A shield took the hammer blow of their retaliation volley, even as the rebels at his back took their positions to return fire.

Falling back through the throng as they began their attack, he spoke swiftly to the unit leader, "keep them occupied, I am going for the vault and the prize we seek, I will returned soon."

"May the Force be with you commander," the officer replied, his small blaster pistol already drawn and firing at their enemy.

Severus dashed off to where the schematics had told him the vault was located, at the very botton of the ship, and like heavily guarded. Checking himself for the lightweight armor and small spellblasters that Granger had all but demanded he carry, Severus snatched a grenade from an internally expanded bag on his person, he primed it and started with all haste in the correct direction.

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Euka wasn't terribly surprised that they were attacked, but what had caught her off guard was the swiftness and decisiveness of the strike, as well as how efficiently they boarded the frigate. She had expected a prolonged space battle, where the efficacy of their cruisers would be superior, before the rebels found a way to board the frigate.

But this, with them randomly appearing out of thin air on board and attacking she was not prepared for, and a strike team that invaded the bridge nearly caught her off guard, if not for the speed and gift of the Force she might have been shot.

Instead, her saber activated and deflected the wild opening shots of the appearing troops with a split second to spare for her to recover before the battle truly began.

Before the next barrage, she charge, leaping high over the heads of the rebels and landing heavily in their midst. The twin blades of her Saberstaff whirled at high speeds, forcing those who were not caught and maimed by the attack to scatter, opening them up to the security's counter attack in their defense of the bridge.

Grabbing one of the fleeing soldiers with the Force, Euka slammed the heavily armed humanoid into the deck, relishing the snap of bone as the being's head angled improperly and died instantly, which allowed Euka to turn and focus her attention on the rest, who were desperately trying to back out of the bridge under pressure of the security measures that she had prepared, albeit in the presumption of a defense of those trying to get into the bridge, rather than leave from it.

Nevertheless, it served the same purpose of preventing the escape of these rebels as the Imperial forces destroyed them, eliminating the immediate threat to the integrity of the ship, but Euka was already disabling the security on the door to venture out and move on to the next knot of rebels that had invaded.

She sensed that someone powerful was on board, not a Force user, but powerful nonetheless, and was moving through the ship quickly down toward the hold, and whatever treasure or prize that the Emperor had requested moved to his Palace on Coruscant.

Flying through the corridors of the ship, with orders for those remaining on the bridge to seal it once more and stay alert for another attack trying to take the ship. Unfortunately, Euka found rather quickly that the rebels had purposely set themselves to block the route from the bridge to the hold by blocking intersections and planting explosives on strategic routes to force the Dark Adept to deal with them pocket by pocket or move around them in elongated routes.

Growing ever more frustrated at the pain that these rebels were causing her in trying to achieve her goal, Euka finally got fed up and activated her saber, cutting a swift circle out of the floor of the deck and allowing herself to plummet straight down to the next level of the ship.

This she continued, working steadily toward the source of power that she sensed, and hoping that she might intercept it before whomever it was affixed to acquired what they sought from the Emperor's treasure.

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Severus stepped over the next pair of Imperial soldiers that he had felled, knowing that he was getting close to the vault on the ship, which according to the manifest that Shade had provided them, was where the Emperor's texts and other treasures were being kept.

The one problem was the last room before the vault itself. Without even going in, Severus could sense the darkness that always heralded the personal guard of the Emperor, who would be powerful Force wielders and possibly Mage-born as well. Granger had done more than enough in making sure that the leaders of the resistance were aware of all the secrets she had learned under New Terra regarding the fate of Blaise Zabini, and the origin of the Imperial Royal Guards.

Severus knew that they would be powerful, but still his need to enter the place beyond was greater, so after taking a deep breath, centering his quivering magic, he stepped into the room fully, wand brandished and ready even as the twin saberpikes of his new adversaries activated at the threat that he posed to them.

Even as the pair started to advance on him, he flicked the implement at the feet of one, frowning as his small spell reflected off the shield that had come around the figure. It would prove to be irritating situation, and Severus immediately switched to harder hitting and borderline dark spells.

He started with blasting the floor beneath them, rupturing the metal and sending fragments flying at the pair of armored warriors. Unsurprisingly, they dodged or blocked the shrapnel, but the small distraction allowed Severus to apparate behind them, where the armor was weaker and quickly spin and fire a pair of shattering curses at the rear point of their armor.

The pair staggered forward, unable to react swiftly enough to the abrupt change of attack, and their dark helmets fell apart around their heads, revealing the same face mirrored in each of them. Severus had been expecting it, but it was still eerie and horrific to see the face of a former student, now a man, twice over and filled with hatred and rage at him specifically, while still wearing the formal dark robes of their enslavement and the weapons of torture and death that Veneficus had personally placed into their hands.

Spells flew from the wand, and a great many of them were deflected as Severus walked back toward the sealed door to the vault. Innumerable wounds were on the pair of clones, but still they advanced with a sickening fanaticism.

Severus was nearly out of tricked, short of fleeing the room and trying to draw them away, as their skill with their weapons of choice were exceptional, and the pair hadn't even yet begun to use the Force to counterattack him, when the door slid open once more, and a trio of rebel troops flooded in, distracting the guards as they opened fire.

One turned to face the new threat, and Severus struck like the motif of his house, a Killing Curse impacting one of the Zabinis in the back of the head, while the second continued to fight, deflecting shots in all directions, and finally unleashing his power with the Dark Side, throwing the troopers around like rag dolls with his telekinesis.

Severus threw what spells he could into the mix, but he was focused on getting the vault door open, hoping that the distraction would be enough to permit him inside the chamber beyond, as he could tell they were running out of time. Just as he thought he got the mechanism to work, a searing pain impacted his wand arm, and Severus felt his wand fall.

A crimson beam was projecting out of him at the shoulder, already destroying the nerve endings and preventing the arm of being remotely functional again, but Severus darted forward into the room, scooping up the wand with his good hand when the saber was removed from him, and banishing the guard back into the previous chamber with a hasty spell.

The door slammed shut, and Severus, running on adrenaline quickly snapped a locking charm on it, before falling to his knees from the agony of his screaming shoulder. He was trained in medical magic, but performing on one's self was tricky at the best, downright dangerous at the worst.

However, Severus had no real options if he was going to make it out of here alive. Wincing as he moved to aim at his shoulder, he cast diagnostic spells to see what the damage was, grunting as he found that the joint was more or less gone, and his arm was hanging quite literally by a thread. He would be able to make it function, and encase it in protective magic to keep it from detaching completely, but he would need to be submerged in bacta empowered by runes for the limb to regrow properly, along with a strict regiment of potions that he only had some of right that moment on him.

Drawing a deep breath, he numbed the area swiftly and cast the spell to replace the missing joint and bone with conjured silver, bound and controlled by his will alone, then layered protective spells and charms over the magical patch and the rest of the arm to do what he could to prevent further damage.

Only when all was done did he even bother to turn, and ignoring the sparks and destruction that flashed on the other side of the door he had sealed, start to observe his surroundings.

It was just as he had suspected, mountains of tomes and other items scattered around the room, which was in and of itself immense. So much was this that Severus wondered why exactly the Emperor thought such a small ship was sufficient to protect these valuables.

Working quickly, for he knew that time was drastically short, Severus conjured a handful of wisp-like lights, and sent them out with his magic, using his will to keep them searching for a specific phrase or magical aura that would accompany a book regarding Alchemy, while he himself started with the stack nearest, gingerly setting what tomes he thought were unneeded into a new pile and hoping to take what was useful to their cause into an expanded bag that Granger had provided for him.

He had just found one that looked particular interesting, and was placing it into the bag, when he froze, sensing movement from the back of the room, and a loud hiss filled the chamber. Cursing the deceptiveness of the Emperor, Severus turned, squinting just in case he faced the King of Serpents, but the shape that emerged was bright red and gleaming.

Severus knew that this was something far worse than a Basilisk at that moment, because he recognized the scales of an Indian Ruby Cobra instantly, as their poison was powerful and used in a variety of potions, but one of this size, and clearly modified by the power of the Dark Side was an unnatural being. Knowing no other strategy, he turned and fled, hoping to lead it away.