Malachor was dark, and not just in terms of visibility.
The whole planet was entrenched in the darkside. The Sith temple before them did little to help. Like many ancient Sith temples it seemed to radiate an aura of displeasure and pain, as well as hatred, all known tenants of the darkside.
And the Eighth Brother could not believe he was back here again!
This was where it had all gone wrong for him.
Where Vader had betrayed him.
Where Tano and Maul had bested and murdered two of his siblings.
And where the holocron had deemed him unworthy.
And now he was back here again, and this time he found himself in the company of the Lord of the Sith himself.
Darth Sidious stood beside him, looking up at the Malachor temple. If the Eighth Brother didn't know any better, he'd day he felt awe coming off of Sidious in the force.
"A powerful place. Now ours for the taking." Sidious croaked in glee, a demented smile coming to his face, unnerving the Eighth Brother.
Still, he had to play along.
"Indeed my Lord. But question why we return to this place?"
Sidious' head turned slowly, as if he was trying to be sarcastic or something.
"This temple conceals much Inquisitor. Today, we shall unearth it all."
Never let it be said that Sidious was nothing if not cryptic. In that sense, he was similar to the Jedi masters of old.
The Eighth Brother glanced around the landscape of Malachor. As far as he knew, there was an intricate set of tunnels and chambers that ran below the temple, all leading to a central point. He wasn't sure what the Emperor as searching for. As far as he knew, the Sith holocron had been the true prize from the temple, and even that had proven to be uncooperative.
"My Lord, what do we seek?"
Sidious cackled, before gesturing upwards.
"We must ascend the temple to gain our prize Inquisitor."
'Still no answer.' The Eighth Brother thought. He wasn't going to argue however.
"There are lifts nearby. We can use those to ascend my Lord."
Displeasure ran through the force suddenly, before Sidious shook his head.
"No need!" The Sith croaked, before crouching slightly.
Seconds later, Sidious vaulted into the air, his cape billowing dramatically. It was almost as if he was flying with the force.
The Sith master faded into the darkness above, clearly landing at the summit of the temple.
"Show-off." The Eighth Brother muttered under his breath. The Emperor was clearly overly powerful in the force if he could fly. The Eighth Brother was powerful too, but not that powerful.
He would have to find another way up.
Smirking to himself, he remembered something he had done the last time he was on Malachor.
Reaching onto his back, he grabbed the hilt of his lightsaber and ignited the double blades.
Pressing a small button on the side of the hilt, he engaged the rotation feature on it, and held it above his head.
"Let's see you do this 'Lord' Sidious!" The Eighth Brother spoke with a snarl, before delving into the force and jumping, allowing his saber to carry him upwards in a bizarre manipulation of the force.
The Eighth Brother ascended the temple in record time, disengaging the rotation feature on his saber, and landing into a roll at the summit.
Standing from his position, the Eighth Brother turned to face Sidious, a smug smile present beneath his helmet.
Clearly the emperor had not been expecting the Inquisitor to reach the top of the temple like that.
"Impressive Inquisitor, but impractical."
Beneath his helmet, the Eighth Brother rolled his eyes.
"What's the matter Lord Sidious, jealous you can't do that?"
The Eighth Brother regretted the words the second they came from his mouth.
The Emperor outstretched one hand, fingers pointing towards him, and flicked them once.
Lightning erupted from the Sith master's fingertips, crashing into the Eighth Brother and sending him to his knees. Agony coursed through the Terrelian's body for several seconds, before the lightning subsided.
Even after that, the Eighth Brother's joints ached in pain, and would for some time.
"Be mindful of your tongue Inquisitor. The only reason you live is because you brought me this!" The Emperor spoke calmly, despite what had just happened. From his cloak he extracted a small pyramid shaped object that the Eighth Brother recognized.
The Sith holocron.
The Eighth Brother had taken a tremendous risk in giving the holocron to Sidious in the first place. For all he knew, the Sith master would have taken the holocron and then killed him.
But he didn't instead citing it as necessary, and making his whole ordeal seem like some sort of final challenge.
Sidious had welcomed the Inquisitor back with open arms, giving him missions and assignments to complete in the name of the empire.
And truthfully, the Inquisitor was glad to have a real purpose again.
Even if he was playing the long game, trying to get all his enemies together in one place to destroy each other on his behalf.
The Eighth Brother was unsure if Sidious knew, or even suspected what he was up to. It wouldn't surprise him if he did know.
But for now, he had to play the role of loyal servant, and that meant coming back to Malachor.
The Eighth Brother rose from his knees, the pain subsided even further.
"Of course my master. My mistake."
Sidious nodded, before turning to head into the central chamber at the top of the temple.
Shaking his head in disdain, the Eighth Brother followed.
The two darksiders entered the central chamber, each looking around. The Eighth Brother had been here before, yet Sidious had not.
As they approached the central obelisk, something pinged in the force to the Inquisitor. It was a dark cold presence in the force. Something was lurking nearby.
Turning away from Sidious, the Eighth Brother approached the spot where the force seemed to sing. Except the song was dark, mysterious, and cold.
In fact, it felt very familiar to the Inquisitor.
The Eighth Brother heard movement behind him, and turned his head slightly to see the approaching form of Darth Sidious, who had also picked up on the familiar cold presence.
The Sith Lord stared down for a few brief moments, before confirming the Eighth Brother's theory.
"This is the spot where Tano killed Lord Vader. A shame!"
The Inquisitor huffed aloud. "A shame? He betrayed me,and failed you! He deserves to be remembered with shame."
Sidious snarled aloud. "Show respect Inquisitor! We would never have gotten this far without him!"
Beneath his helmet, the Eighth Brother rolled his eyes. "How did Tano beat him anyway?"
Surprising the Eighth Brother, Sidious cackled.
"Tano was trained by Vader. It should come as no surprise that the apprentice supersedes the master. That is the way of the Sith after all."
The Eighth Brother's head pivoted in surprise. That almost sounded like the emperor was going to...
"Ahsoka Tano will be a powerful Sith. She will be easier to break than even Skywalker was!"
So Sidious was intending on turned the Togruta to the darkside. Interesting.
Part of the Eighth Brother was filled with a dark sense of glee. To see such a powerful individual, corrupted by the darkside would be delicious irony.
At the same time, if Tano did fall, then she would effectively replace him. What would happen to him?
Or perhaps she would overthrow the Emperor? Such options.
"But you are right Inquisitor. In our most desperate hour, Lord Vader failed us, and thus he deserves to be remembered in shame." Sidious snarled, bending down to pick something up.
The Inquisitor didn't see what it was, only that it was extracted from what looked like the wreckage of Vader's lightsaber.
Standing back to his full height, the emperor huffed once, before turning back towards the obelisk in the centre of the chamber.
The Eighth Brother took one last look at where Vader fell.
"Seeya later, 'master'!"
The Inquisitor turned away from the spot where Vader fell, and walked back towards the Emperor, who now appeared to be studying the obelisk in detail.
In one hand, the Sith holocron rested, clearly opened. The Eighth Brother hoped the Emperor wasn't going to activate the weapon. That hadn't gone well last time.
"So, what are we looking for?" The Inquisitor inquired, coming to stand beside the Emperor.
Beneath his hood, a small dark smile covered Sidious' face.
"This temple was built eons ago, from a time when the power of the Sith was absolute. Yet the constant war with the Jedi of old led to the development of secret projects, all designed to give us an edge over the Jedi filth!" Sidious began.
"You refer to the time before the rule of two?" The Inquisitor inquired.
Sidious nodded. "Indeed Inquisitor. This temple was one such project, dedicated to the creation of a weapon that wipes out all life on a planet."
"I'd say they succeeded, given the current state of Malachor." The Inquisitor continued. The numerous ash statues below provided evidence enough.
"Yes, but it is not the temple we are here for today, but the weapon itself. This weapon was one created and designed by the architect of the temple. A Sith Lady of great power and wisdom. She sought to give us an advantage over the Jedi in any way possible, and she did so by researching kyber crystals."
The Eighth Brother looked around the temples interior. What did it have to do with kyber crystals?
"As you know Inquisitor, in order to acquire the crystals for our own weapons, we must procure one from a Jedi, and corrupt it to our will. While effective, this does put us at a disadvantage." Sidious continued. The Eighth Brother could understand what the emperor was saying. If they could not acquire the crystals naturally like the Jedi did, they could not naturally build a lightsaber.
And taking a crystal from a Jedi in the first place without a weapon of your own was no easy feat.
In fact it was borderline impossible.
"So, in order to remove this disadvantage, the Sith Lady began experimenting into the creation of artificial kyber crystals, born from the very nature and power of the darkside itself!"
Beneath his helmet, the Eighth Brother's eyes widened. He had heard legends and rumours of artificial kyber crystals. But from all records, it had never been achieved.
"Synthetic crystals? Aren't those supposed to be highly unstable?" The Inquisitor asked. He still did not see what this had to do with the temple.
"Indeed Inquisitor. All attempts to fabricate such crystals met with failure. They proved to be too unstable for use."
"So the experiment was a failure then?" The Eighth Brother concluded. Unstable kyber crystals had a habit of exploding in one's face, and the results were usually fatal.
"For a time Inquisitor, until a new theory was produced as to why they were so unstable." Sidious cackled.
"I don't understand my Lord? If the crystals produced were too unstable, why didn't the researchers opt for an alternate plan?" The Eighth Brother replied, glancing around the central chamber, still unsure of the connection.
"Because the Sith Lady had a theory. The reason for the instability of the artificial crystals was due to size. The sheer amount of power needed to create such a crystal could not be contained within such a small shell. So if she couldn't make one small enough to use in lightsabers…"
A spark of understanding went off in the Eighth Brother's head. "Then you make a bigger crystal!"
Sidious cackled again, enthusiasm on his face.
"So the Sith Lady continued to experiment, in hopes of creating one enormous artificial crystal containing all the power of a Sith! She planned to use the crystal to create a weapon, one capable of ending the war with the Jedi once and for all. But even then, the experiments yielded mixed results."
Rather than interrupt again, the Eighth Brother just listened.
"This time round, the shell of the crystal was stable, but the weapon itself was not. Any attempts to use it would have destroyed the crystal, as well as all life in the surrounding area."
Now that sounded familiar to the Eighth Brother. A weapon capable of destroying all life in the surrounding area, but leaving infrastructure intact.
"The temple's main weapon! That's the connection! But how did you know Lord Sidious?" The Eighth Brother spoke, dark excitement in his voice.
Sidious outstretched his hand, the Sith holocron resting in its palm. Through the force, the Eighth Brother could feel Sidious manipulating the artefact, trying to unlock its secrets.
Then suddenly, the holocron opened, and a bright light shone out of it. When his vision cleared, the Eighth Brother could see the holocron floating before Sidious, a dull pulsating red light emanating from it.
"Is this where I will find it?" Sidious spoke. The Eighth Brother almost responded, believing that the emperor was speaking to him. However, someone else beat him to it.
"Yes my Lord. The crystal is here!" The voice was feminine, and one that the Eighth Brother recognized as the voice from the Sith holocron.
Seconds later, Sidious closed the holocron, the artefact returning to his palm, before he placed it back into his cloak.
The Eighth Brother watched as Sidious then rose both hands into the air, as if gripping something on the roof, and began to manipulate the force.
Loud creaking sounds echoed through the central chamber, and the Eighth Brother felt the temple begin to shift slightly. Looking up at the roof of the chamber, the Inquisitor saw why.
Very slowly, the roof began to move, as if it was some vast array of locked doors, each open unlocking and opening to reveal some great secret.
The Eighth Brother watched in anticipation, waiting to see what was revealed.
As another set of door like barriers opened, the Inquisitor felt a rush of the darkside of the force sweeping over him, almost devouring him in its strength.
His head began to ache, a slow growing pain.
"What is that?" The Inquisitor asked as Sidious continued to manipulate the roof.
Then, the final obstruction was removed, and the Eighth Brother could see the source of the power.
Suspended in the roof of the temple, evidently connected to the pyramid structure atop the temple, was a large ominous kyber crystal. It pulsated a dark red hue, giving of energy at an unprecedented rate.
The Eighth Brother had seen a lot of crazy things in his life, but this was a first. If he was to guess…
"The artificial kyber crystal created by the Lady of the Sith, integrated into the main weapon of this temple. All of the work of the ancient Sith, stored in a crystalline shell. This entire temple was constructed to merely house the crystal, to hide it from prying eyes of Jedi. This was to win us the war!"
The Eighth Brother said nothing, merely observed the crystal in all its might. It was huge, much bigger than any crystal he had encountered before. Its size even dwarfed that of an imperial AT-AT walker.
All that power, all that wisdom, contained in one crystal.
'Think of what I could do with such a thing!' The Eighth Brother thought discreetly. He didn't need to shield his thoughts too strongly. Sidious was too distracted by the crystal.
"I thought you said it was unstable?" The Eighth Brother asked, concern in his voice. If Sidious intended on using the crystal…
A grim look appeared on Sidious' face, as if he was contemplating something. Then the Sith master continued to speak.
"I did. According to the reports from the Sith lady herself, the only way to stabilize the crystal was to activate the weapon. However, in doing so it would kill all those caught in the blast of the weapon. No Sith was willing to needlessly sacrifice their own life to test an unstable project, so it was never fired, and thus never stabilised."
The Eighth Brother's mood plummeted again. This just seemed to be going in circles.
"That was until Jedi forces, led by a turncoat Sith, attacked the temple in hopes of destroying the experiments of the Sith Lady. When it was clear that the battle was lost, the Sith Lady activated the weapon, destroying all life on Malachor, including her own." Sidious detailed, placing emphasis on the destruction of all life.
Something flashed in the Eighth Brother's mind. A story he had heard when he was younger, told to him by the Jedi. He had assumed it was just a fairy-tale of some kind. A legend.
"The Great Scourge of Malachor!" The Terrelian whispered to himself, shock in his tone. Never did had he thought about what had happened to cause Malachor to be in ruin. But now…
Now it all made sense.
"Indeed Inquisitor. When the weapon fired, all life was destroyed on Malachor, yet the temple, and the crystal, now stabilised, remained intact. Before her passing, the Lady of the Sith stored everything she had discovered, all the secrets she had unearthed, into a Sith holocron. The one that was housed in this very temple."
So that was the connection. The crystal and the holocron, both created by the same person, the same Lady of the Sith.
"In order to fully utilize the power of the crystal, one must possess the holocron. They are linked by the darkside of the force. Only together will they work." Sidious finished, his eyes covering every corner of the crystal with unrestrained glee.
"But how do we use it my Lord? The weapon only effects Malachor. It is clearly unfinished in its design." The Eighth Brother inquired.
Sidious replied. "We will take the crystal, and integrate it with project Stardust. Combining this weapon with the one we are constructing should allow us the use the crystal to its full potential, just as the Lady of the Sith designed it for."
The Sith master then turned his attention away from the crystal, facing the Eighth Brother, a maniacal look in his eyes.
"Contact the Eclipse, and get a survey and excavation team down to the surface at once. We must remove this crystal and transport it to Krennic immediately. Soon, the Jedi will fall before our might, as they always should!"
The Eighth Brother bowed in respect, before turning to head outside of the temple to contact Sidious' flagship. Behind him, Sidious turned his attention back to the artificial kyber crystal, and cackled aloud, his demonic laughter echoing around the chamber of the Sith temple on Malachor.
It was a good day to be Sith!
Author's thoughts
This is technically an re-upload, as I made a major plot mistake in this chapter regarding Vader's body that was pointed out to me. Oops!
So, super heavy plot chapter am I right?
And now you all know where the crystal came from. Surprised?
It was always my intention to return to Malachor at some point, since it was such a vital turning point of this AU. And since we know virtually nothing about the Malachor temple or its weapon in the new canon, I used that to my advantage to make my own idea. I hope you all like it.
Special thanks go to LukeDude for this chapter, for helping me plan the idea for this chapter. I really appreciate the help. I hope it lived up to what we discussed.
Also, yes, I did include a reference to the helicopter lightsaber blade stuff. I liked it, and be honest... don't we all wish we could fly using our lightsabers. :D
Anyway, next time round we get back to recruiting team members, as Captain Rex goes to speak to some old friends.
As usual, comment and speculate at will, especially on this chapter, cause it is one of my favourites and I hope you liked it.
Speaking of which:
Mogor: I'm glad you liked Galen's appearance. I did think about bringing Jyn in, but decided against it, as I couldn't find a good place for her. As for what Thrawn is going to do, wait and see.
jamese765: Thrawn joining team rebel, well now, it does appear to be going that way doesn't it.
WolveHulk: Maul's interactions with the crew of the Ghost will be looked at in a one shot when I have finished this story.
Travis Middleton: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. Imperial side ones are fun to write. And Thrawn is now very close to finding out the truth, thanks to Krennic. As for your questions:
1. Thrawn will discover the truth, and he will have some choice words for Palpatine.
2. Suffice to say, Thrawn now knows that he cannot trust the Eighth Brother completely. He will have to talk to the Inquisitor to find out more.
Mysterious Guest number one: You were referencing Halo 2, specifically the opening cutscene to the level Delta Halo. One of my favourite games and story of all time. It's thanks to Halo 2 and the Arbiter specifically that I enjoy fiction like that. :)
Mysterious guest number two: I'm glad you liked the chapter, as well as the appearance of Galen Erso. He will return later in the story, so no need to worry. As for your questions:
1. Maul and Ezra have trained together once in this AU, which shall be visited in a one shot after this story is done. However, unlike in canon, Maul had no interest in making Ezra his apprentice.
2. Neither Mara Jade nor Starkiller will appear as I couldn't find good places for them. Sorry. :(
3. Windu is still very dead... even if we didn't see a body. As for Yoda... he will appear in some form.
FossilQueen1984: Now you know where Sidious found it. Are you surprised that it's coursing with darkside energy. Krennic's pride has indeed led to him revealing an important bit of information. Only time will tell what Thrawn does with it. Glad you enjoyed the chapter.
LukeDude: I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter, and I hope you liked this one too. Krennic's overconfidence shall be his downfall if he isn't careful. He's already accidently busted the Eighth Bro. What next?
And I'm glad you liked the inclusion of buzz droids. I was wondering if anyone would call me out on their usage. I wonder if they will be important later on?
As for your questions:
1. The bleeding process will probably not be visited in this story. Maybe a one shot though. Eighth Bro doing it to his crystal perhaps?
2. I haven't really thought about who's commanding the 501st now. I imagine it is probably the same person who's commanding the Devastator.
3. Ahsoka's squad shall use the Ghost, as it is the best ship for the job. Plus another chance to give Hera an awesome moment. That being said, expect the Ghost to recieve some upgrades.
4. I have decided that Tiber Saxon will be at the 'Meeting of the Moffs'.
5. Rayder class corvettes are unlikely, as are references to Inferno squad. Name drops might occur thought. Does that count?