Many thanks to those who continue to review. I am pleased to announce that the writing and editing for the rest of story is completed, and there will be no interruptions (barring life threatening circumstance or accident) that will prevent us from the correct scheduled updates that I am sure you are all familiar with by now! As for what is to come next after all is said and posted. I will not be taking up another fanfiction project after this one, instead using the available time to begin work (finally) on an original work, which I hope to use to spur my writing to an entirely new level! Thanks to you all, and enjoy the chapter! ~F
Chapter Twenty Four
Baiting the Trap
Zhar turned away from the smoldering ruin of a once important governmental facility. It was clear from the choice of location, as well as the controlled burning that did not affect any of the nearby buildings, it was an intentional attack from internal forces. As the fire crews were finishing off the last of the embers, Zhar started back to his speeder.
There was a communication pinging to come through as he got in and took off back to the Imperial Palace. Activating the communicator, Zhar relaxed slightly as Euka appeared in the small hologram projector.
"Master, I have your second apprentice, and we are en route to Dromund Kaas to assist you in the various efforts of reestablishing the Empire…" she said codedly.
"Very good, I have need of you both as soon as possible," Zhar replied honestly.
"Understood my Master, we will travel with all haste." Euka said, ending the communication as Zhar pulled in and settled down on the landing platform before the Sith Palace of Dromund Kaas.
Aside from a selection of aide and custodial servants the palace was empty, and Zhar had no wonder why that was. He had been more or less abandoned by those who wanted power for themselves. If it wasn't the symbol of the Imperial grandeur and power, he wouldn't have put it past those lesser prophets to attack or sabotage the palace itself.
But if Zhar had any skills of his own to speak of, it was making allies of the most unexpected sources; especially those that most Dark Adepts would consider far beneath them to even speak to, let alone work alongside.
Granted, while most of those that lived in New Kaas City were patrons of powerful Dark Adepts already, there were still a fair number of overlooked, worker-class beings that, if given the right incentives, would do Zhar's bidding.
Summoning a bounty hunter for a simple task of generating a list of those disaffected with their lot in life was child's play, and in time Zhar would know who he could manipulate into serving him behind the scenes.
"They've showed their hand," he said to himself, sitting in the Supreme Prophet's chambers, "but now it's time to play my game…"
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Fury sneered as he tossed aside another corpse, his latest victim, and strode forward. The corridor behind him was filled with bodies, all having been holed up in this place trying to override the destroyed escape doors that his forces had sealed.
It was all too easy at this point, mowing through the fools as they sought to flee from his wrath, as though they had any true means of escaping him. Fury knew that there were no competent warriors among them, and therefore were helpless before the warriors of the Wrathguard.
Still, in his anger, Fury had taken a few minor hits, stray blaster shots that caught him in the torso and arms as he butchered these pathetic opponents, but while his mechanical arm might need a few repairs later, he was more or less fine.
They had climbed halfway through the command center by now, and Fury was only somewhat surprised at the sheer number of enemies that were arrayed against them. To think that seizing an Imperial command center was their largest objective, betrayed a more serious outcropping of defection planet-wide.
Adding the armaments that these soldiers possessed, it was likely that they had some sort of financial backing, but Fury knew in the end it mattered little. He would see them all crushed underfoot and dragged back into the Empire that they so desperately thought to leave.
Turning the next corner, Fury blocked a pair of blaster shots that came at him, before lifting a hand. The offending trooper slammed into the ceiling with a tremendous crash, causing his allies to step back in a panic.
They didn't make it far, as from the other end the hulking form of Calamity, almost filling the corridor alone came barreling into them from the rear, his massive saber leaving score marks on the floor and ceiling as he swung it with abandon.
Fury sighed, bored with this task. If it had been up to him, he would have possibly preferred to bombard the center from orbit and annihilate all of his enemies in one fell swoop, but if they wished to retain power on the planet, the complex had to survive.
Symbolism was important to the rabble, and therefore he was to liberate it. Another squad on enemy soldiers appeared, and Fury pulled one with the Force into his blades, dismembering the fool in seconds.
A layer of blaster fire from his troopers mowed down the others before they even got to react.
"It's just too easy." He muttered to himself, marching through where the enemy had come. Dead imperial workers littered this room, clear victims of the rebel's wanton assault on the center.
Spotting a security terminal, Fury ordered one of his men to go see what they could do with it, whether the security turrets could be reactivated or whatever else was possible, while the rest secured the room."
It seemed that this was once an armory, but all the weapons were taken. No big surprise there, Fury guessed, but it was still a heavily fortified space that they could rest for a few moments before pushing on, and would work as an excellent choke point to hem the way of any escape from their attack.
"I want a full troop to remain here, slaughter anyone that attempts to escape," Fury ordered, before storming on ahead, alone.
He intentionally rounded several corners and ducked out of sight of the troopers, knowing that once they lost sight of him they would go about their orders without care of his whereabouts. That would permit the Marauder to, in the chaos, make his way up to the very top of the command structure and eliminate those who were in charge. Ending this conflict quickly was much preferable to Fury than continuing to wade through grunts and lackeys that posed no real threat to him.
To that effect, he found a secured little cupboard of a room, and started to cut his way through the ceiling. So long as he was still in the interior of the complex, the metal flooring would be relatively thin, and within minutes he had a man-sized hole into another corridor on the floor above.
Sheathing his sabers and leaping up, Fury looked around swiftly as he landed. There were troops running around corners, trying to make their stand against his troopers coming from the more conventional pathways, but none had noticed his arrival. Rather than waste time eliminating them, Fury ducked around the other way.
He knew that the lifts were likely powered down, and therefore the shafts would be the perfect means of getting the rest of the way to the top. Finding the nearest one, the human cyborg used the Force to heave the doors open, darting inside and allowing the highly pressurized doors to slam shut behind him.
Gripping the side of the near smooth shaft with his mechanical hand, Fury took only one moment to glance downward at the steep drop, and started to climb. It seemed that the unpowered lift was at the top floor, about seven or more floors above where he had entered. Likely it was positioned there if the leaders of this pitiful rebellion had to escape, then they would just pile in reactivate power and jump to the bottom floor.
Likely they were even now planning that very means of escape from his forces, but Fury was going to prevent that route.
Just under the carriage of the lift, Fury let go with his flesh arm and drew a saber once more. The carriage was something more durable than the flooring before, and it took a bit of doing, but eventually there was a small hole for the Marauder to drawl through into the lift proper.
Through the door, he could hear the excited muttering of the occupants of the main chamber. They were clearly watching the advancing forces through the security cameras, but Fury was certain that his man operating the armory console would have blinded them for that floor at the least, which meant that his presence here was unknown to the fools.
"That massive beast is breaking our formation again," one of them shouted, clear enough for even Fury to make out.
Smirking in the darkness of the unpowered lift, he thought of how impressive Calamity must be to these sorts of beings. Very few had ever met the trolls of Veneficus' home world, and little would ever again as the planet was now a smoking husk. The brute strength alone was not overly impressive, considering the beast that existed in the Galaxy, but the fact that Calamity could wield the Force as well made him highly unique in the terms of monsters.
"The turrets are set up on the floor below us," another figure said, seeming to ruin into the room beyond the lift, "We will know when they are below us… is the data transfer completed yet?"
"Almost," another said, "Shade will be most pleased that we have gathered all the intel that he required of us."
Fury narrowed his eyes. He knew of the mysterious operative that skulked through the back alleys of the Empire, feeding information to the rebellion and turning loyal members of society against the Emperor.
This entire operation suddenly became far more enticing for the Marauder. Unwilling to wait for them to come to him any longer, Fury activate both his sabers, and plunged them into the door of the lift, enjoying the gasps of shock from the other side of the room as he cut his way in.
There were twelve leaders in all, of various races. "I will give you all one chance…" Fury said slowly, stepping through the scorched hole in the door and looking over their horrified faces, "give me the information I desire regarding Shade, and perhaps I will let some of you live…"
The nearest looked at each other, as though trying to decide how best to respond, when the one at the far terminal slammed his hand on a button, which cut all power to the building and they tried to scatter. The red beams of Fury's weapons rose in answer as a tidal wave of lethality.
Within seconds all were butchered except the one who cut the power. By the time emergency power activated, Fury was standing over the man, sabers aimed at his throat as the human backed himself into a wall.
"Thank you for making it easy who would live and who would die," Fury said casually, "now tell me what I want to know, before I lose patience…"
"It's too late," the man replied, showing that out of all twelve, he was one of the few that had a spine, "Shade already knows were compromised, and the last of the data he wanted has already transmitted. I'll die before I tell you anything, and you'll likely kill me regardless."
"But there is one thing you've overlooked in your superiority…" Fury said, hissing as he slowly pushed one of his blades into the man's shoulder, releasing the scream that was bottled in the human's throat. "How painful of a death it will be…"
But the man was too concerned with screaming to even bother acknowledging what Fury had implied.
It took Calamity and the others nearly an hour to beat their way through the rank and file and reach the room where Fury and his victim were. By then the man was reduced to a sobbing mess, and Fury had what information he sought, pitifully little though it was.
Shade managed to keep his tracks covered well, if what the bloody and quite now dead rebel had to say was true, but he did spill what the information that the operative wanted was. Now it was just a matter of deciphering why the rebels wanted the position and routes of the Imperial fleets.
Was it to navigate around them, or ambush them? There were many questions to ask, and even if they figured out the motive, there were many targets to choose from, and how were they to figure out where to go to catch the rebels in the act.
"I want this information analyzed." Fury said, indicating the screen of fleet coordinates and flight paths, "the rebels seek to use it against us somehow, and I want us to be there when they make their move."
"Yes, my Lord," the technician said, scrambling for the console and starting to enter commands to copy the records for their own use.
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Veneficus departed Krayiss Two in a solemn mood. Vitiate had told him everything regarding the means that he had become immortal, after a fashion, after some persuading from a stronger Sith Lord.
Amusingly, the same level of destruction that the former Emperor had to sink to was not a problem for Veneficus. There had conveniently been created a nexus of Force energy so powerful that he would be able to siphon it instead of a planet's worth of Force users to power the ritual.
There were many things he had to gather for such an endeavor however, and the timing had to be just right. It wouldn't do for this ritual to take place at the same time that his enemies made their move.
The rebels were seeking information about the whereabouts of his fleets, and while high ranking members of the Imperial hierarchy were at each other's throats, Veneficus wouldn't be surprised if his own apprentice was starting to make a bid for power himself. Surprisingly the young Devaronian had thus far escaped the Emperor's notice, which was a testament to the cunning and power of the Force that had drawn Veneficus to selecting Diábolis as his apprentice over other candidates.
Still, that foresight was now proving to be a detriment to the end of the grand design, wherein Veneficus ruled the galaxy with an iron fist for all time.
Ordering his pilot to return to Coruscant, Veneficus wondered if the apprentice was monitoring the movements of his master. Had the positions been reversed, Veneficus would have made that his top priority.
Still, it mattered little. With a plan now in motion to achieve his fondest desire, Veneficus would become immortal and therefore invincible at long last. Even death would bow before his rule.
In his personal chamber, the Sith Lord allowed himself to daze into a Force-based trance, pulling at the edges of consciousness to account for everything he needed. "The scepter is the key," he murmured to himself, focusing on the horned staff of Marka Ragnos, the storage system that would channel all the power he needed to live forevermore.
Generations had been preparing for this precise moment, and it was he, Darth Veneficus, who would succeed where all others had failed. He would surpass the limitations of the Force and gain mastery over all things. With time immortal he would discover and perfect every secret of the Force, bend who systems to his will, and even discover what lay beyond the farthest reaches of the Galaxy.
The future was bright with possibility, so long as he succeeded in this one thing. Transcending death was the path, and the power of the Force through the Valley of the Jedi was the key to open that particular lock.
"Only I will live forever…" Veneficus hissed as his mind flowed to the farthest reaches of the Empire, allowing his vision to see those enemies that were moving against this plan.
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Severus was uneasy with how quickly Shade reported back with the information they wanted regarding the Imperial fleets. "I have my contacts," the man said, appearing in person to deliver them. It was a large step toward gaining Severus' trust, returning when he knew that they wanted to contain him, but he would withhold his judgment until after the first few fleets were eliminated or captured.
"The team was compromised as they were stealing this information," the operative explained as Severus and Granger glanced through the long list of coordinates, "the Empire will know what they were stealing, but now how we intend to use it. Caution is the best policy we have right now, to throw them off what we intend."
"We will take your words into consideration," Granger replied, although Severus could see that she was thinking ahead already, probably to who to put in charge of the attacks.
Meteor would likely want to charge in first as part of the attack group, but Severus was unsure who would be the best fit to head up the attack force to capture their first magi-tech fleet. Unfortunately, they had to risk many of their technicians to make sure this first operation went smoothly.
"I will lead the technical side of the infiltration team," she said, and Severus whirled around in shock.
"Absolutely not!" he said sternly, "you're far too valuable to the Rebellion to risk on a single mission."
"Severus…" Ms. Granger said, and her voice was strained, as though she had been expecting his protest. "I haven't shared this with anyone, but the ships are coded to my master command alone. None of the other techs can hijack one of those ships without my magical signature to activate the override."
Severus froze, one eye twitching as he struggle to control the rage that threatened to overflow as his mind tried to process the absurdity that he was hearing.
Granger said nothing, seeming to know that Severus had no argument left against her, even if he was extremely angered by the resoluteness of the issue.
"You will have an armed guard, and several Jedi with you at all times," Severus finally said, forcibly controlling his voice to keep from shouting.
"I understand, in addition I have several devices and safeguards in place that I've been saving for just such an occasion arose." Granger replied.
Severus didn't like it, but agreed, watching as Granger took Shade and departed for the war room. He would join them there shortly, but he needed a few moments to blow off steam. Flicking his wand, he conjured unassuming blocks of stone and metal, before lashing out with his power, devastating them all with a childish explosion of spells and devastation.
It was so clearly a plot to trap them, and the danger of using the Seer's Stone clearly was blinding Granger to the threat that going out herself posed. If his potions weren't already at a dangerous stage of their brewing that needed constant monitoring, Severus would have demanded to go with her, but that simply was not possible, which infuriated him all the more.
Calming somewhat from venting his pent up anger, Severus banished the rubble and scrap remains of his targets before stowing his wand and following the pair to the conference of the leaders on the two central Rebellion planets.
"So we are in agreement then?" Granger was saying, and from the grim looks on the other faces, both on screen and in the room, Severus could tell that she had already showcased her plan to lead the assault herself.
"While I do not like the idea of you going along with this raid, as dangerous as it may be, I feel that it is an acceptable plan. With proper security for yourself we can see a surprising victory against the Empire," Jedi Master Berethon stated.
"I agree," Granger replied humbly. "I understand that this decision to join the attack myself is seen with trepidation, but I assure you that to make sure that our plan goes as smoothly as possible it is required. I will accept whatever reasonable security detail is required of me for the duration of this mission."
Severus tuned out the chatter of the others as they were consulting on whom and how many of Granger's guard would consist of. He was far more interested in watching the faces of those other leaders, just on the off chance that he might spot something that was betrayed by the news of this radical move. He did not see anything that stood out to him, although his mind was constantly focused on keeping Shade in his view, just in case the operative chose to betray them publically.
In the end, the others agreed that, along with a small contingent of Jedi, Granger would travel with Havoc Squad on their capital ship for the duration of their mission, until she was needed to override the tech of the Imperial ships.
The subject then turned to which fleet would be the easiest target for them to launch their first raid upon, and make sure that they were able to capture the ships rather than just destroy them.
Filius and Weasley thought that one of the fleets further to the south in the Galaxy would be better placed, as it would be more remote from the main Imperial force. Meteor argued that striking closer to the heart of the Empire would send a clearer message that they were a threat to their enemies, and Jedi Berethor favored a more moderate option, staying away from the main core of the Empire, but close enough to make a statement.
Severus agreed with Filius and Admiral Weasley, but Granger sided with Meteor, and in the end the votes between them sided with the Director as well.
"There is a fleet that will be passing by the Ithor system in a few weeks time," Shade suggested, holding up the datapad with the information, "just outside the fringe of the core Imperial worlds, and yet deep in their territory. It is also a world of peace, which would be useful in sending a message that we seek to restore the peace of the Republic."
"I find that system agreeable," Meteor said, and slowly the others in the council agreed one by one.
Severus had another flash of unease, but he had no recourse to dispute the choice of world. It was a prime location after all.
"It's settled then," Granger said, calling them all to order, "we will attack the fleet over Ithor in a few weeks, ready our forces, and within the day I will head back to Bakura for the rendezvous with the rest of the fleet."
"We will await your arrival, Director," Meteor stated, before cutting his communication. The others nodded, affirming their commitments and departed as well.
"I will select the very best of our Jedi Knights to accompany you, Commander Granger, they will be ready before you leave," Jedi Lord Berethor stated, turning his chair and hovering away back toward the Jedi compound.
"Thank you," Granger told the Jedi Lord, and turned to Shade, "I'm taking you as well…"
"As you wish…" the Operative replied, and although Severus was against incorporating the unknown, potential threat, it was clear that the Director was hearing nothing regarding divergent opinions on the matter.
"Be safe, above all else… no risks," he said to her privately, and returned quickly to his lab as a small alarm told him it was time to add a new ingredient.
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Diábolis couldn't be more pleased with what his spy had to tell him. The Ithor system was where the rebels planned to attack, more to the point the very leader and most powerful of their magi-technomancers would be present. An ideal target for the Sith Lord to capture for his uses... Naturally, he would allow them to take one of Veneficus' fleets in exchange, but the trick would be bypassing the intense guard that the woman would have and getting her out of the system swiftly.
Sending his orders to Kelrek to prepare a counter ambush, Diábolis made sure that the admiral of his own fleet kept them near enough to the Galactic Core so that they could dart back to Coruscant and fulfill the purpose of capturing such a prominent rebel as swiftly as possible.
He could sense that Veneficus was already back on that world, and wondered how difficult it would be to smuggle such a well known figure to the Sith's past under his nose without detection. It would require intense patience to slip under his foresight in this matter.
If he had the power to cause a little more chaos elsewhere in the galaxy to distract his master, he would have committed troops to it, but there was nothing he could do at the present time.
His personal communicator chimed, and Diábolis paused. There were only a scant handful of individuals that knew how to reach him so personally, and the Emperor was one of them. Hesitating only a moment, he answered it, preparing for the worst.
When the veiled face of a Mecrosa Order assassin appeared, he relaxed partially, although still very much confused. "How did you get this comlink channel?" he demanded of the shrouded female.
"We have our way, Lord…" the woman replied, without saying anything else regarding the means that they reached out to him. "We've had a vision that our assistance would be needful."
Diábolis thought about that fact. He hadn't given much thought to the assassin order in a while, too wrapped up in preparing everything very slowly to defeat his master, but in hindsight their use would have been very much in his favor.
"I do have need of your warriors…" he realized aloud, his mind wheeling with the newly remembered possibilities.
"You need only to command us, and we will move by your will…" the woman replied.
"I need to large teams, one to wait on Coruscant for my arrival, and the other to go to the Ithor system, and capture an important figure during the ensuing battle in a few weeks time," Diábolis explained quickly, "there is a delicate aspect to that objective, and timing is everything."
"We will do whatsoever you require, in exactness." The woman replied obediently.
Diábolis smirked. This was more than he could have hoped for from Kelrek, who was clearly aiding him for personal glory and selfish interest. And while the Sorcerer was still useful, having added insurance that Diábolis' will came out ahead was going to be most welcome.
Checking to make sure that his chambers were secure, he elaborated in length of his exact instructions regarding the capture of the leader of the rebellion, and her special delivery to Diábolis' flagship.
He also made sure to instruct them to kill as few of the rebels as they could, as it wouldn't be good if they were crushed or failed to make themselves the thorn in the side of Veneficus that Diábolis needed to distract him from the more effective movements that the Sith apprentice strove toward in dethroning the Emperor.
"We understand, and will commit our very best toward this assignment. You will have your prize within a week of the appointed attack," the woman responded submissively.
Diábolis closed the communication, letting the new plan fall into place within his grand design. He would be able to use the assassin's as a distraction for Veneficus when he infiltrated the Coruscant palace once again, dragging the rebel leader to the sealed chamber that held the final piece of the puzzle for overthrowing his master.
Yes, everything was falling into place at last, and once an opening presented itself, the Force sword would find its place in the heart of Darth Veneficus.
Diábolis smirked as he sat back in his chair, relishing a plan moving ever so steadily toward his victory, and the revenge against the one man that had singlehanded cursed his life with this gift of darkness.
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Ist was not terribly surprised to find that she was handpicked to be part of the guard for Director Granger as they set out on their first mission to capture an Imperial fleet for their own use.
She was surprised however, to find that Shade was waiting for them in the shuttle alongside the Director. The helmeted operative turned to acknowledge the Jedi's approach, and the others who were serving alongside Ist paused. She knew it was because they could not sense the mysterious man through the Force, but she knew that he was trustworthy.
"Operative, glad to see you again…" she said, nodding in greeting.
"And you as well, little Jedi, I heard that you found something of value on Dathomir." Shade replied.
Ist said nothing more, but smiled softly, knowing that her meeting with Jedi Master Lovegood had been all because of the urging of this man, and was grateful for that pressure to do so.
"We are all assembled," Hermione said at that time, turning away from a portable console that was displaying highly complicated equations and symbols that even Ist had no idea what meant. "Shall we get underway with the rendezvous?"
"At your command, Director," the masked man replied, and Ist noticed the momentary frown on the face of the supreme commander of the rebellion, but it was whisked away in an instant. Pressing a small button on her communicator, Director Granger moved to sit in one of the seats as the shuttle slowly shuddered in its pre-takeoff preparations.
Within minutes they had lifted off and were heading for the outer atmosphere.
The filled the time as the shuttle hurtled through Light Speed with small talk. The Director was curious as to what the rest of the Jedi had been training in, and while the others were uncomfortable with discussing Jedi-related topics with their benefactor, Ist was perfectly willing to divulge that they had been training hard to go toe-to-toe with the Dark Adepts of the Empire, as well as preparing for the possibly confrontation with one of the two Sith Lords if they made an appearance.
"I certain hope that is not the case so early in our fight," Hermione stated, "but I am glad that someone is thinking that far ahead. There is so much to plan just to get to a point to fight against Harry directly that I put little thought to what we'd do once we got to that point."
"I feel certain that, as we grow closer to that moment, you'll think of something brilliant," Shade said, and although his words were complimentary, Ist could help but sense the hint of animosity that went between the Director for the master operative.
Just what was going on between them, she wondered.
They fell into an uneasy silence, as Hermione started elaborating on her plan, what they needed to do and how they would take command of the Imperial vessels that they boarded.
"Of course ill need to know what ships we have from Meteor's fleet before we plan how exactly we will slip aboard the ships, but I suspect we will be pleasantly surprised with what there is to work with," she said just as they exited Hyperspace over Bakura.
The fleet was there waiting for them, and Ist had to say she was impressed with the collection of ships that had been amassed for this critical strike. "There has to be at least thirty or forty ships here," one of the other Jedi said, amazed.
The command vessel seemed to be a retrofitted cruiser from the Neo-Sith war, and the shuttle made a beeline for it as a communication welcoming them came through in the cockpit.
By the time they landed, there was already a large group of rebel soldiers lined up to welcome their leader on board and escort her to the bridge as the entire fleet made preparations for the jump to Light Speed.
Ist was about to follow the rest of their party and get a good look at the interior of the ship, when a hand on her shoulder held her back. "A moment please, Jedi," Shade said, hanging back.
"I need you to watch the Director closely during the coming conflict," he said, and Ist listened with a suspicious ear.
"I have a feeling that something is going to happen, and many of the leaders were very disturbed to learn that she was going to come here at all. She needs all the protection that she can get. Constant vigilance..."
"I understand…" Ist replied, pulling away slowly and turning to catch up.
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Kelrek nodded at the encoded text that he was sent to him by Lord Diábolis.
Ithor was their target. Making sure to let the others know their new objective, the Sorcerer retired to his meditation chamber, unwilling to hear the protests of his fellow Adepts over their following of Diábolis' orders.
The other seemed to lack the foresight to sense the direction that the flow of power in the Empire was turning, and thought that the Emperor's will was absolute.
They were showing themselves to be fools, and Kelrek was getting fed up with the constant attachment that was formed between them in the eyes of the rest of the Empire. As soon as he could break away from these two binding him down, he would do so immediately.
This battle would be the perfect opportunity to prove himself above the others and distinguish himself as excellent without the need for the others to watch his back at all times.
"Kelrek you're not going to escape this discussion," Jennah said, storming into his private quarters with all the air of her authority.
Kelrek turned away to cover his sneer at her overbearing attitude. "We have been commanded to hunt the rebels. I don't see what the problem is with assisting Lord Diábolis with his objectives at the same time…" he said.
"You have to sense that there is something not right about what the Sith is up to…" Srilis added, appearing out on thin air nearby. Kelrek hated when the Stalker would do that, but refused to allow it to show on his face.
"It doesn't matter what he's up do," Kelrek challenged back, "It has nothing to concern us with us; we are only to obey whatsoever we are commanded to do if it furthers the goals of the Empire."
The others exchanged a glance between them, and saw that arguing with Kelrek on this matter was fruitless, and finally left him be. Reaching out to sense their emotions as they departed, Kelrek sensed the hostility and irritation that they felt for him. And for what it was, he didn't care anymore.
Once he was done with them, they would be cast aside, and Kelrek was determined to advance in the ranks of the Galaxy. With how much into the inner circle of Lord Diábolis he was, Kelrek wouldn't be surprised if the Devaronian was considering him as the new Sith Apprentice.
Returning to the encrypted message that he had hidden swiftly when the others had arrived to annoy him, he imputed a quick reply.
'Commands understood; we are en route immediately.'
Quickly shutting down the console afterward, the Sorcerer set himself into a meditative trance, channeling his hatred for all the things holding him back, and turning that emotion into power.
They had several hours left before they reached their ambush point, and there they would wait until the right moment. From there it would be a short jaunt to Ithor and the battle that was sure to start. It was impressive that Diábolis was able to give them nearly the exact time for them to attack.
The fact that the Sith Lord had managed to get a spy into the ranks of the rebels was a testament to his effectiveness, and the power that the Devaronian had over even the Emperor, who didn't even care enough to acknowledge the danger of the rebels, let alone do something about them himself.
All the more reason for Kelrek to continue side with the Sith apprentice. He was indeed the future of the Empire, and the Sorcerer would betray everything in order to make sure that he was on the right side of history once the inevitable battle between the two Sith began.