Many thanks to those who reviewed chapter 2. Many things are happening with this final instalment of the story, and I have big ideas, courtesy of your encouragement and support. in that light, please relax, R&R and enjoy the next chapter! ~F

Chapter Three

The Crystal Caverns of Ilum

Ist had only been to the planet Ilum once, long ago when she was an initiate about to become the age where she would be able to be selected as a Padawan, seeking her first lightsaber crystal alongside Grandmaster Coven, who dutifully took each group of new potential Jedi to the caves there for The Gathering.

It had been an enlightening opportunity, but seeing it now in this state of ill repair, and sensing the flow of the Dark Side over this place made her sick in her heart. Leon had been part of her initiate group, and the boy was gone now. Ist had sensed when the former Jedi Padawan had died, and even though she was now nearly ready for her trials to become a full Jedi Knight, the Bothan still felt the cruel sting that the Sith had inflicted on those she was close to.

"Feared this would be the case, I did," Master Yoda said, as they disembarked onto the icy, crystalline world. "To the Crystal Caves, go first we should," the small goblin said, pointing with one of his small fingers.

Ist nodded, agreeing immediately. In addition to their mission of finding the Teepo Paladins and determining the reason for their delay, they had also been tasked with retrieving as many crystals as they could find for the use of the future generations of Jedi that would be trained back in what was now called Sanctuary Temple. For this cause she had been given numerous, magically expanded packs that could carry many times their dimensions in cargo, which would prove most useful.

The two Jedi quickly set off toward their destination, keeping keenly aware of their surroundings at all times, and constantly on the alert for specifically signs of movement. Despite this world being stricken from all galactic knowledge, in order to be protected as a Jedi retreat and place of meditation, the Sith no doubt had learned of its existence from the Archives of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. And while Ist knew that the Darksiders had no need for the crystals themselves, preferring to make their own synthetically, which produced the crimson blades that they so loved, it would still be an act against their hated foes to destroy the last temple that existed on the planet here, as well as the entrance to the massive network of caverns beneath it.

Soon enough, the pair mounted a ridge and could see the large temple in the distance, looking reasonably untouched by war or attack from the outside, but as the place had been mostly abandoned by the Jedi since the previous Sith wars, Ist couldn't be too sure of what they may yet find within.

"Cautiously we go, from here on," Yoda said, stretching out with the Force to sense if anyone was nearby.

Ist followed suit, placing one hand on her master's shoulder to add her strength to his own. "I sense something, deep in the caverns, but it's too far and shrouded by the power of the crystals…" she said after a time.

"Then investigate more closely, we will," Yoda said, starting toward the entrance of the temple, and Ist had to jog slightly to keep up with the pace the small goblin put them through. It was a strange thing, that one so small had so much energy. Ist was beginning to think that Master Yoda could do almost anything, his mastery over the Force was so strong. It was reassuring to have him at her side, especially in such dangerous times as this.

The journey down to the temple itself was more uneventful then the approach up to the ridge they had been on, and Ist felt many of the same emotions that she had when visiting the planet and the caves beyond the temple in happier times. Despite the empty walls, where holorecords and other items ought to have been, making the entire place seem emptier than a nexus of the Force deserved, there was still an aura of peace and tranquility that remained.

However, now there was a strange undercurrent of unease and darkness hiding far beneath the normal pleasant feelings of the temple, and at the central point of the temple, far below the many levels of the bare and icy temple, they could already see that the frozen waterfall that ought to cover the entrance to the crystal caverns was carved open and forcibly revealed.

What was more, there were figures scattered before the opening on the ground, in robes of brown and armors ranging from grey to white. "The Teepo Paladins, found them we have…" Yoda said somberly, and Ist had to agree.

Quickly they descended to the lowest level of the Temple, and approached the fallen bodies. Just as they had suspected, they were members of the Paladins, their weapons scattered and clear decisive lightsaber wounds on them.

"Caused by the Sith?" Ist asked, but Master Yoda seemed just as puzzled by it.

"Be certain of that, we cannot," the goblin replied, and he looked up at the gaping hole in the ice. "Our answer, in the caves we must seek…"

Together, Master and Padawan looked at each other, mutually agreeing without words to take hold of their sabers, just in case they ran across the same unknown figures that had killed the Paladins, and together they ventured forth, immediately observing that mining operations had been used on the early crystal formations, harvesting and quite effectively damaging the naturally growing crystals of the icy world.

"Why would the Sith be after natural crystals?" Ist wondered aloud, but as they went deeper into the caves, there were no answers found, only more questions as the devastation to the natural wonder and beauty of the caves continued.

The worst part was when a large chamber opened, and it appeared that some being had forcefully wrenched chunks of crystal from the walls, leaving them like clutter on the ground of the cave. Small fragments of crystals remained, but as Ist gathered a few to see if they'd be usable, the small shards of green and blue suddenly shifted, their hew darkening to a pure black, and giving off a fear and pain that resonated through the Force for the younger Jedi.

Gasping in shock and surprise, she dropped the tiny fragments, which fractured into particles on striking the ground, something that saber crystals ought not to have done. "Whomever or whatever is here," Ist declared, catching her Master's attention, "they're devouring the energy from the crystals, literally killing them and draining the Living Force from them."

Yoda narrowed his eyes, trying to understand what they might be facing, but neither Jedi had a clue what they may be facing in this place, and therefore they had no choice but to continue on, especially if they hoped to find untouched or destroyed crystals to return to Sanctuary.

As they were about to reach the largest chamber within caverns, which was where the main part of the Gathering was held and located, they heard the tell-tale sounds of lightsaber combat. Dashing forward, they looked down from their high vantage point, seeing Jedi Lord Teepo, as the masked and heavily armored Jedi battled with what Ist could only describe as a Sith. Not one of the two Sith Lords that currently ruled the Galaxy, but one of the Red Sith race, an ancient and presumed nearly extinct species of Force Sensitive peoples that the original Dark Jedi had discovered and enslaved, creating themselves as the literal Lords of the Sith.

But what truly drew her eye was the blade that the ancient figure was wielding against the Jedi Lord. The blade was pitch black, lacking any coloration whatsoever and seeming to draw in the light around it as it was swung in the midst of battle.

This Darksider; this creature, seemed to be warping the Force around it, decaying and destroying everything in its path as it drew heavily upon the Dark Side, and the being wasn't alone. Surrounding the pair were many more fallen Paladins, as well as black robed and masked figures that all held black lightsabers, or who worked feverishly to extract more crystals from the massive chamber, and Ist spotted at least one using the Force to draw away the color and nature of a crystal as they harvested it.

Lord Teepo was a great warrior, but even he couldn't stand against so many, and both Yoda and Ist knew that it was up to them to try and save this Light Side leader.

Without another thought, Ist threw herself from the high vantage point, using the Force to guide her landing directly behind several of the guards watching their duel between the sith and Lord Teepo, even as Yoda leapt wide, fipping end over end to plant his feet against a high ledge and thrusting himself down like an arrow at the leader, their lightsabers activating and causing a mass of confusion among the ranks of their mysterious enemy.

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Diábolis couldn't believe his eyes at what he was seeing. He had come swiftly to Ilum on his Master's request, and not only had he found that some Jedi still lived, which was only marginally surprising, but that an entire group of Dark Side Adepts, clearly not affiliated with his Master or the Empire, hard at work stealing crystals from the caves, and manipulating the Force within them to draw out all presence other than a frightening Void.

A Jedi might have construed this as the Dark Side, but even Diábolis couldn't sense much from the crystals that these others had gathered, even if they themselves wielded the power of the Dark Side, quite effectively as well with how they slaughtered the robed and masked Jedi that swarmed to stop them. Only the Jedi leader survived, battling heavily with a literal red sith, the being's black blade clashing heavily with the azure one of his opponent.

What was more amusing, and somewhat surprising was the near spontaneous arrival of another pair of classical Jedi, a Bothan female and some creature that was small, green, and extremely familiar to Diábolis. For Jedi Master Yoda to have survived the war was a great surprise, as Diábolis had read the report that had declared the green Jedi as dead, detailing the event of his death and his crimes against the Empire.

However, there he was, bold as brass as he leapt into combat against these black saber wielding Darksiders, even as he and presumably his Padawan fought their way to the masked Jedi leader. He had learned much about this, and technically Diábolis could, probably should withdraw and contact his master to report his findings, but there was something more he wished to do.

If the Jedi had survived, they could prove to be effective tools for Diábolis specifically, in plotting the course of overthrowing his master. It could be completely destructive for the Sith apprentice to do what he was considering, but as he unclipped his lightsaber twinblade, he made his decision. These Jedi had to live, so that they could continue to fight against the Empire and his Master, thus weakening the man's stranglehold on the Galaxy and potentially opening an opportunity for Diábolis to take control for himself.

Leaping into the air, he flew down to flank the swarming figures, the twin crimson blades igniting amid the sea of black blades. Ducking low and cutting upward, the Sith Lord lashed out to kill the first unaware Adept that had turned to face off against the Jedi.

All figures turned toward him, and despite the heavy black robe and drawn hood, Diábolis knew that they were all aware of who and what he represented. "Jedi… on your left!" he called, warning the female Bothan of the enemy that was attempted to attack during the distraction. The moment shattered, and battle roared to a new height.

Diábolis fought like a rancor, breaking through the ring of warriors to the three Jedi in the center, and somewhere in the chaos the leader of these dark warriors vanished. Diábolis knew he was not trusted instantly by the Jedi, but he also knew they would not strike him in the back, and so he turned to face off against the encircling ring of enemies that attempted to hem them in.

"Suggestions?" he asked blithely, even as he clashed with a pair of the enemy, crimson blades shuddering under the strength of the jet black ones that collided against them.

"Strategic withdrawal?" the masked Jedi said, cutting through the defenses of another foe with a deft Djem-so strike.

"Agree with that, we do," Master Yoda added, and together the three Jedi and one Sith Lord thrust outward, the Jedi using telekinesis, while Diábolis unleashed a torrent of lightning, all succeeding in surprising and driving back their attackers.

Breaking away from their attackers, the four rushed through a side tunnel of the crystal caverns, and Diábolis lagged behind the Jedi intentionally, looking for the first opportunity to break away completely and make his way to the surface alone. His personal task completed, he wished to leave this planet and make his report, heavily edited, to the Emperor.

Unfortunately the tunnel seemed more or less linear, and the mob of other Force users were chasing after them, leaving him no option but to slow down their pursuit. Turning abruptly, he channeled the Force into a powerful scream, resonating and shattering many of the crystalline formations, which exploded outward with magnificent effect, showering the black robed beings with the razor-like shards and slowing them drastically.

Turning back, the Sith Lord dashed to keep up with the Jedi, knowing that his tactic would only delay the others for a short time, and he was better off with the Jedi than alone.

The Jedi had arrived at a larger chamber, with two branching paths, and Diábolis arrived quickly behind them, "There isn't much time before they'll catch up, which way?" he demanded, but the Jedi seemed puzzled by the disturbing Force auras that conflicted throughout the cavern. Even the Sith Lord could feel it.

"They're trying to confuse us so that we cannot escape…" the Bothan said, realizing the true nature of their peril.

"Well reasoned, young Jedi," Diábolis said, completely sincere of his compliment, but the others looked at him in dubious suspicion.

"Yes, I am not your ally normally, but the enemy of my enemy is, for the time being, my ally…" Diábolis said, rolling his eyes under his hood.

"A temporary truce, until what? You betray us to your Emperor?" the masked Jedi accused, but Diábolis heard the sound of running from the passage they had just left.

"We can worry about that, if and when we make it out of these caves alive, I suggest we split up and make our way back to the surface," the Devaronian suggested quickly, "I'll take that passage, and you take the other," he added, pointing to the one on the right, then the left.

"I am going with you," the Bothan Jedi said, surprising them all, "If he finds the exit, then it would be better that one of us have a way to lead the others out," she explained quickly, but Diábolis was already moving toward the passage of his choice.

"Do what you will Jedi, but we're running out of time!" he hissed quickly, not wishing his effort in preserving their lives to be wasted.

In the end, the two older Jedi allowed the Padawan to do as she would, and the Bothan jogged swiftly to catch up with the Sith Lord, and together the pair ran into their passage, which curved and twisted for a long while.

"I sense that our enemy has split up to follow us," Diábolis stated as they ran, the blades of the sabers being the only light in the otherwise dark chamber. What he did notice in the light, was that the Jedi was quickly ripping crystals from the walls and placing them within a bag at her waist as they ran, hardly checking if the crystals were actually attuned to her or not. It was a clear indication to the Sith Apprentice that the Jedi Order indeed had survived the war, and a most enlightening discovery that he would love to keep from his Master for as long as possible.

And indeed, before they made it to the end of the next long corridor, the sounds of running feet were rapidly closing in on them. "We'll have to stand and fight…" Diábolis said, looking around at the next chamber, which abruptly halted. They had gone the wrong way.

The young Jedi seemed to be in agreement, and together the pair turned and faced their pursuers, the yellow and crimson blades filling the room as the host of four black blades entered. Their foes seemed pleased that they had nowhere left to go, but Diábolis wasn't about to allow some foolish acolytes hinder a Dark Lord of the Sith in his triumphant moment.

Leaping high into the air, the Devaronian crashed down onto a group of three, immediately kicking one away as he blocked the abrupt and awkward slash of a second. The Bothan girl charged in, her blade held in the traditional Makashi stance of a true duelist, and engaged the final, parrying his inelegant blows with surprising grace and ease.

Allowing the full power of the Dark Side flow through him, and calling upon the hatred that Diábolis had for his master, as well as the Jedi that had caused all his pain, he fought savagely, lashing out with his own body, his blade, and the Force, batting aside the pathetic attacking of his adversaries, and grasping one of the beings by the throat with a gloved hand, squeezing the life out of him while one end of his twinblade shut off, the active blade parrying the other two's attacks as he used the third as a living shield.

Casually sparing a glance at his Jedi companion, Diábolis was pleased to note that she was more than holding her own against these frauds and fools. Throwing the being in his clutches to the ground, snapping the neck he held in the process, Diábolis allowed himself to give in only a bit more to the Darkness, unleashing a blast of telekinetic energy in all directions to throw off his opponents.

The sharp crack of splintering crystal was a sound that he did not expect in return, and he widened his eyes as the ground beneath the combatants opened up, swallowing himself, the Jedi, and the other Darksiders into a void of blackness.

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Zychre rose up the moment he sensed someone unwanted in and among the precious treasures of Veneficus. A small human was scurrying about, taking what they pleased from the nest that the Ruby Cobra was meant to protect, and he would not allow it.

Surging forward, tongue feeling the air of the human's fright at his presence, the massive serpent lashed out, missing as he bit into thin air. Sensing through powers that his master had given, Zychre knew where the man had fled to, and could see through the magics that sought to confuse and distract him from his prey.

Circling back around swiftly, Zychre dove forward, crashing through a pile of treasures, maw opening wide to try and swallow whole the intruder, but the flashes of bright light and a powerful blow to the head knocked him away. Sputtering and hissing angrily, Zychre tried to turn once more and locate his prey, but the man had withdrawn back to where he was originally, hastily sifting through the treasures of his master.

Enraged, the massive serpent charged once more, a near-roar of anger ripped from its mouth as the door to its chamber flew open and more intruders appeared, firing their weapons at him. The bolts of magical fire did little against the ruby cobra's mighty scales but arouse its anger further, and Zychre rolled and thrashed, trying to crush or bite as many of those who dared to invade the place of Veneficus' treasures as he could.

The beings scrambled to get away, but the massive coils found a target, and the serpent relished the wet sounds of the body being broken by the sheer weight place upon it. Thoroughly consumed with its task of defending the lair of his master's prizes, Zychre used one of the many abilities gifted him by his master. Opening his jaws wide, he unleashed a torrent of powerful fire, the embers unable to affect any of the protected treasure that Veneficus had carefully gathered over the many years.

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Severus watched in horror as the massive abomination raged about the chamber. Fortunately for him, the arrival of fellow rebel soldiers allowed him the necessary breathing room to actually start sifting through the massive collection of items for what they sought unmolested.

The fact that such a beast was present confirmed that the Emperor knew much regarding Alchemy, and perhaps some esoteric discipline of the Dark Side of the Force that functioned much the same, as the creation of gargantuan creatures in this manner was from the darkest branches of the Dark Arts.

Throwing books aside from the piles, Severus was hurriedly taking what he felt would be potentially of use to them, knowing that their time was direly short with the monster rampaging through the room after the troopers, breathing fire of all things now.

Finally the wisps of light returned, beckoning Severus to a specific location, and hovering around a particular book. Throwing those above it to the side in his haste, Severus grinned. There it was; a book that he recalled faintly seeing once on Albus' desk when the old man was preparing to protect Nicholas Flamel's Stone. Naturally it wasn't the same volume, nor did it even possess a title, but the feel of the book and the magic wafting off of it was the same.

Hastily grabbing it and stowing it in the bag with the others, Severus shot sparks into the air, signaling that they needed to withdraw, and fled toward the door. If the troopers got in, that must mean the last royal guard was defeated, and they could rush back to their ship and escape before more of their forces were destroyed.

Only when he exited did Severus realize that his comlink had been jammed while inside the chamber, as it burst to life with the chiming and hurried reports of the various others on this mission, all scrambling to keep the capital ships and their fighter's occupied to give Severus as much time as he could need.

Putting on a burst of speed, Severus took off back to the predetermined location where the remaining rebels were going to portkey back to their ship from. "This is Severus," he said into his communicator, "bring the ship back in to the frigate, we're pulling out now. All fighters, we need just a bit longer before we can escape, hold out until further notice."

"Understood!" a pilot stated, and Severus felt more than heard or saw the ship around him angle, as though trying to veer sharply away from the approaching enemy. Rushing through the next door into a wide corridor, Severus was surprised that there was still a firefight going on, and that his forces hadn't started falling back as of yet.

Turning to see what the blockage was, Severus paused, seeing the flash of crimson blades as a young female Iradonian, her eyes aglow with vengeance and fiery orange color, mowing slowly through the barricades and barrages that the Rebel fighters were throwing at her.

Wand slapping into hand as he moved, Severus quickly swept through the line of troopers, spells flying to join the throng of blaster shots, "Enough of this, we're leaving!" he shouted, ordering them to pull back to the extraction zone as swiftly as possible.

The woman tried to leap forward at him in the face of a lightened attack, with so many of the troopers immediately turning to race back to their escape, but Severus caught the movement out of the corner of his eyes. A simple flick of the wand, and Severus tore up the deck between them, slamming it upward into the ceiling and forming a wall of metal and jagged edged, even as the crimson blade of the potential assailant crashed through his barricade.

"That will hold them for a few moments, let's go." Severus said, reclaiming control of the situation swiftly, and watching the rear as his soldiers ran for the extraction point, keeping aware of the other corridors for an attack from another side.

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Euka raged as the Mage-born created the barrier preventing her from getting at the last of the Rebels, pratically effortlessly. Her saber carved through the newly organized wall with the screeching groan of the metal being burned and cut away. Despite the ease at which her masters made the task appear, Euka had found that cutting through a sheet of thick metal, especially such as this which was used to panel the corridors and decks of the ship, was no small task.

This being the case, she only bothered opening a small semicircle of the newly made wall, before smashing her way through with the Force afterward. To no one surprise the rebels had fled from the other side of the corridor, and Euka took off in pursuit, following the Force as the Sith commandos followed in her wake, making certain that there were no flanking maneuvers prepared to trap them in the corridors.

She had a sinking feeling that the rebels pulling out and not trying to take control of the ship could only mean one thing. They had found what they wanted from the trove of the Emperor's treasures, and were trying to get away.

"Commander," Euka shouted into her communicator, "open fire on any ship that approaches the frigate, the rebels have stolen items that belong to our Emperor and are trying to get away."

"As you command, my Lady," the admiral in charge of the fleet of escort cruisers replied sharply, but Euka cut the signal quickly to patch into the captain over the frigate itself, "Pull hard away from any ship trying to pull in close to the frigate, break away from our trajectory for Hyperspace if you have to."

She knew that the standard procedure for such an attack would be for the target ship, the Frigate, to flee immediately to the Hyperspace point and take off to the next rendezvous point, but due to the immediate boarding and the need to prevent the Rebels from escaping, Euka wanted to leave their goal here for them to try and capture, giving their ships more time to kill them all.

Determining where the rebels had gathered, Euka rammed into the last door that was in the way of her and her prey. Unsurprisingly it was sealed, probably held in place by the sorceries of the Mage-born commander, and Euka plunged her saber deeply into the controls of the door. Still it did not open, which the Dark Adept sighed heavily at and started the arduous process of cutting through the door once again.

The commandos arrived just as she got halfway through the door, and a trooper approached, offering a trio of fragmentation grenades to Euka, which she smirked as she accepted. Two were placed at the edges of her cut to blast open the door, meanwhile she primed the third for throwing into the room once the door opened.

"Do it," she commanded, and the lead soldier pressed the detonator for the two charges. With a resounding blast the door was blown inward. The grenade flew inward at the small nudge of the Force by Euka, and detonated inside, but something was completely wrong.

Dashing inside, blades alight, Euka found the room completely empty, and from the large viewport she could see that the other ship was pulling away from the frigate. Enraged, Euka slammed her hand onto the panel, glaring at the ship as it fled from the capital ships that swarmed back around the frigate.

Through whatever magic that the Mage-born wielded, the commander had whisked his forces away, effetely escaping from the ship without even the need for the ship to actually dock or board the frigate.

The Emperor and her own master were not going to be pleased with this outcome, but Euka had no other choice but to dispatch some of their forces to chase the specific pirate and rebel ships while they proceeded on with their assigned task. They had a deadline to meet, and things would only get worse if they failed to arrive at the Imperial Palace late on top of being attacked and losing part of the cargo.

She would have to take her punishment for this failure, but she would not allow it to grow greater, or spill over onto those who fought and died to keep it from the Rebels hands, even if they also failed.

Grudgingly, she called off the pursuit, urging the small fleet back into formation and to prepare for lightspeed onward to their destination. Let the rebels have this small victory, she would hunt them all down soon enough, if she was given the opportunity to walk away from the Palace under her own will.

Even with her commitment set and her course plotted, the sight of the Imperial Palace made a spark of fear shoot through the Dark Adept, thoughts of the displeasure she was about to face dancing through her mind with all the grace of a rampaging beast.

The aura of the Emperor's will literally wafted out of the building, and Euka knew from reports that even non-Force Sensitives could feel it at times, particularly when the Emperor was in a foul mood. As the ship touched down and the aura enveloped them, she certainly hoped that this was not the case now.

A flock of royal guards approached the ship as she hesitantly descended the ramp, watching as they began the automated process of unloading the frigates cargo, and one of the guards turned toward her. "His Majesty requests your presence within…" the muffled, almost electronic voice said, and Euka knew that her fears were realized. But she also knew she had little choice but to go with the powerful guard.

"I live to serve his pleasure," she responded, and allowed herself to be escorted inside the palace. In the case that she survived, however, she did do as her master had bid her, and paid close attention to the state of the Palace, with its dark lighting and exquisite items placed tastefully along the entry levels.

She was escorted to a lift and to her shock and surprise, send downward into the center of the Temple. Very few had seen the heart of the Imperial residence; neither had any even seen the Emperor's personal chambers, if they even existed.

But it seemed that she was being brought directly to such a place, as the guards were unhesitant in their march toward a particular place within the Palace, and when they arrived at a barred door, and the guards had to use the Force to unlock, the Dark Adept wondered just what they were entering.

It was no personal chamber, nor was it a dungeon like she had feared. It was a library, or an archive, filled with row after row of holotexts and ancient scrolls from wall to wall, with long tables laid in the center with a myriad of Jedi and Sith Holocrons scattered almost lazily across them.

A treasure trove if ever Euka saw one. These must have been like those that she had been guarding, and she wondered fleetingly what the Rebels might have been after if their desire to attack such a strongly guarded ship.

"The Apprentice of Zhar Quelmok, your Majesty…" the guard stated to the empty room, and Euka turned to try and find whom the black robed individual was addressing, when out of the shadows a figure emerged, draped in all black from head to foot, and peering at her with lamp-yellow eyes. Euka was more than surprised at how young the Emperor still appeared, even with the clear signs of age behind the Dark Side infused eyes.

"Ah yes…" he wheezed, sound uncharacteristically like an old man, despite the youthful body, "come my dear, there is much to discuss." He added, turning from the table of holocrons and moving toward the back of the room. Euka hesitated only a moment before gingerly moving around the table and following the Emperor.

"I hear that you encountered a bit of difficulty in delivering my latest shipment of ancient works…" the man said as they walked, and through the fear Euka managed to speak.

"Yes, my Lord. Rebels attacked and stole some of the items, I am not certain as to what though." She said, waiting for the worst.

What she did not expect was the man to start laughing, a cold, almost deflating sound that clearly was not supposed to be coming from so young a body. "The fools that they are... seeking knowledge from me… you did as well as could be expected my dear, and need not fear my wrath. I had already foreseen that the shipment would be attacked, which is why my pet was aboard your ship, making it most difficult for… an old acquaintance, to find what he was looking for…"

Euka could only guess that the elderly Mage-Born was somehow connected to the Emperor, but she said nothing.

"Yes, Severus…" Veneficus said, peering almost lazily into her mind for what she had not expressed, which startled Euka, "He knows of some of my secrets, to be true, but he shall not possess them as well. I had already well seen to that. They wanted a medicine that was stronger than even bacta, and thought that stealing from me would gift them that knowledge. Well… it's of little consequence, they shall not find what they seek in what they took, and all the more, we now have a general location of their little hide-a-way…"

"My Lord?" the Dark Adept asked, unsure whether the man was talking to her directly or not, as the Emperor was listing off to the side, eyes slowly growing unfocused.

"It's nothing, a fleeting vision in the Force…" Veneficus said, waving her concerns away, almost irritated. "You may return to Zhar and report all that you have seen. I am sure that he will be most engaged by the fact that it was I that allowed the Rebels to steal from us, even with their little annoyance of an operative in our ranks forwarding information to them. You may go my dear; I have work to return to…"

And with that the Emperor merely shuffled away, as though Euka was no longer of his concern. The guards appeared, offering to escort the Dark Adept back to her ship, which she knew was a code for her being banished from seeing anything more of the Palace.

At the least she was relieved to have emerged unscathed from the presence of the Emperor, an went back to her ship swiftly, ready to convey all the information she witnessed to her Master, so that they could plan accordingly on what the Emperor was up to and how it might affect them.

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Veneficus sensed the ship carrying Zhar apprentice leave the system, and breathed a sigh of frustration. His small bout of weakness in front of the girl was shameful, and he was disgusted with the mortal shell that he was trapped within.

Since the end of the war he had felt the degrading efforts of the raw power of the Dark Side accelerating, steadily killing his mortal frame, and thereby forcing him to remain close to his source of immortality at all times. Unfortunately, as he needed to protect the knowledge of the Philosopher's Stone and the precious Elixir of Life that sustained him, although the attack on the frigate was something that he was concerned about regarding it.

Reading the manifest, he saw that the tomes regarding Alchemy were the ones reported as missing. It had the hand stamp of Severus Snape all over it, and it was only a streak of fortune that Veneficus had already obliterated most of the clear-cut instructions regarding creating the Elixir of Life, and the Stone itself.

Pulling out a flask of the blood red liquid, Veneficus did not hesitate to pour it down his throat, feeling the shudders and weakness vanish instantly as his body was repaired once more for the countless time.

That need for the Elixir tied directly to why Veneficus had moved the Imperial residence to Coruscant, aside from lording his rule over those who might try to form a resistance out of the old Republic capital. The store of knowledge alone within the former Jedi Temple was sufficient that he would hardly need to leave the edifice for anything.

That being stated, Veneficus turned toward where his personal chambers were hidden, in the same chamber that the old Holocron Vault was when the edifice served his enemies. The Great Holocron, Veneficus' new and permanent companion when he wasn't called away, glimmered to life as he entered, the presence of the Emperor being sufficient to power the device.

A myriad of ancient masters of the Force appeared, each spouting their recorded words as as soon as he was in view of the Holocron, but Veneficus ignored them for the time being. "You're slipping in your control, Lord Veneficus…" said an unwanted voice from behind him as Veneficus moved to walk past the Great Holocron.

Sighing, Veneficus turned to address his old master. The shade of Darth Millennial, spiritually bound to Veneficus along with other masters of the Dark Side, had never left him. Oft times the Force Ghost would just stand by and watch, but then there were times when he would actively intervene and offer his advice, wanted or not, to the current Sith Master.

"I do not recall asking your opinion of the way I am running my Empire…" Veneficus commented back, scowling at the shimmering form of the human mutant.

"I never said it was in regard to your Empire, my old apprentice…" Millennial replied, walking slowly through obstacles that Veneficus had to avoid.

"Then please, enlighten me as to where, in my foresight and great power, I have allowed an opening to happen?" Veneficus retorted, turning toward his private lab, where the Philosopher's Stone awaited with the vat of the restorative potion that he required.

"You are trying to merge the teaching of the Jedi with the power of the Dark Side," Millennial accused, gesturing at the Great Holocron.

"There is more in that device than you even wish to consider," the Emperor retorted, refilling his personal flask from the vat, making sure that he had enough in the event that a sudden attack prevented him from returning to the chamber and healing himself.

Glaring at Millennial, Veneficus regretted including the mutant with the Sith Lords that he forcefully bound to himself. The others had stopped appearing without his summons, but Millennial seemed to find it a joy and privilege to experience the living world time and again by appearing and speaking with his former apprentice.

"And yet you have found nothing to indicate the secrets you desire are within…" Millennial argued, continuing to drive his point onward, which only served to further infuriate the Emperor. Veneficus knew his guards often thought him going insane with his power, speaking to beings that the Emperor alone could see, and in a sense perhaps they were right, but the fact of the matter was that there were secrets of immortality in the Force, aside from the technique of Essence Transfer that the Sith had discovered early on.

Millennial was of the opinion that Veneficus should make use of that technique, possess his apprentice or another and simply move on with a new form and body, but Veneficus was stubborn. He would only surrender this form when he had no other choice, as like it or not, he might have considered himself slightly vain and attached to the body he had been born with.

"It would buy you all the time you needed to find the answer…" Millennial added, knowing what his apprentice was thinking of, which made Veneficus scowl all the deeper.

"I will find the answer before the need arises, and not you, nor the false Darksiders, nor the Jedi Remnant will stop me. I am the sole power in the Galaxy, and I will live forever!" Veneficus raged at the irritating spirit, using the Force to temporarily banish his master from his presence. It would serve for a time, but inevitably Millennial would return and pester him once again.