Inside the garage of the Ebon Hawk Mission Vao paced back and forth, disassembling and reassembling her blaster repeatedly. The other non Force-sensitive members of the crew tried to keep themselves occupied with other mundane tasks. Her Wookie friend Zaalbar was quietly polishing his bladed weapon while Canderous Ordo checked his Mandalorian armor, as if the two were expecting a fight.

It had been almost an hour since Revan and the others had left for the Emperor's tower, and the crew was growing more nervous by the minute. Mission wished she could have gone with Revan.

But he had assured her and the others that they would only endanger themselves if they went out onto Korriban's surface.

Their lack of an ability to use the Force would leave them easy prey for anything the Emperor could use against them.

"This is outrageous." The uncomfortable silence was broken by Meetra's droid G0-T0, who floated in the center of the garage. Mission rolled her eyes at Goto's indignation and turned to face him.

The droid, who had once acted as a crime boss, floated towards Carth Onasi. "We should be out there with Master Surik, not languishing in here." Carth was coming down from the bridge, and he frowned at Goto.

"Don't be stupid, Goto. You don't really think you'd stand a chance against Sith Lords, do you?"

Goto's grew irritated as he replied, "Of course not. Not without the protection of a Jedi, anyway. But we hardly useful to the mission at hand if we simply wait here and do nothing." Zaalbar grunted sheepishly, nodding in agreement. Goto briefly wobbled in place, turning in the Wookie's direction.

"You see? Even the simple animal agrees with me." Zaalbar shrank in embarrassment. Mission brandished her pistol threateningly. "Hey, nobody talks about Zaalbar like that…" Canderous walked in between Mission and the droid before she could advance on him.

Calm down, both of you."

Canderous gently but firmly reached out and lowered Mission's blaster. "As much as I hate to admit it, Goto is right. We can stay here in the Ebon Hawk, but we have to do something to help Revan and the others." The aging Mandalorian looked at Carth. "If we take the ship around the Valley of the Dark Lords, we might be able to get a better sight of what's happening down there.

For all we know, they could be running into a trap right now."

Scratching at his beard Carth answered, "There's no guarantee that we won't be spotted." Mission thought about this. The Ebon Hawk was a tough ship, but none of them knew what kinds of weapons were left over on this planet. The young Twi'lek's mind raced before a crazy idea popped into her head.

Smiling mischievously she tapped her own comm-link. "If we have HK-47 manning the guns, I don't think it will matter."

The collective groan from the rest of the crew was comical. "Absolutely not," Goto protested. "That outdated and unpredictable piece of garbage will fire on anything that moves. Even these rust buckets are more qualified to…" He was cut off when the targets of his insult, T3-M4 and 3C-FD, both warbled angrily.

"Apologies, buckets. But my point still stands. The assassin droid may fire at the tower and kill Master Surik." As if he was listening in on them, a door connecting the garage to the rest of the ship opened up. HK-47 entered and scanned the room, and Mission cleared her throat.

"HK, if we take the ship around to the far side of the valley would you be able to target any hostiles accurately and avoid the tower of the Emperor?" HK-47 cocked his head and processed her question.

"Statement: Of course I can. Provided I am able to work alongside a pilot who won't get in the way."

Carth replied, "That would be me." HK-47 nodded enthusiastically. "Observation: You may wish to soften the turns, but you have proven capable as a pilot thus far, meatbag. I will avoid any collateral damage that may harm Master Revan." Mission gave Carth and the others an encouraging smile.

Nearby, Goto wobbled in what seemed like his equivalent of a shrug. "At least he isn't flying us too," the droid muttered begrudgingly.


The inside of the Emperor's tower was unnaturally quiet. The only sound was the hum of Revan's lightsaber as he held it aloft while wandering through the massive fortress. The other members of his team all had their own weapons at the ready.

Despite his resolve, it was becoming more difficult for Revan to hide his dread. There were a dozen thoughts racing through his mind, each more horrible than the last. While traveling through the galaxy after Malak's defeat, memories of his terrible deeds at the Dark Lord had slowly returned.

But this time, the images he could see were of a future not far away. Revan could see his allies dead at his feet. A new Sith armada ready to attack the Republic and the Jedi. And another memory that he had not yet recalled. Him and Alek, kneeling at the base of a massive throne while a cloaked figure glowered down at them. The moment he had fallen to the Dark Side.

Revan pushed the image out of his mind and pressed on. He and the others had made through the massive entrance to the tower without hindrance and were now making their way onto a spiraling staircase. "How much further?" he asked Scourge. Revan's ally clutched at the Sith holocron at his side in a way that seemed almost desperate. The Sith was obviously on edge.

"Not much further now. If the Emperor doesn't wish to confront us himself, he will likely send the other members of the Emperor's Wrath against us."

Scourge had barely finished when a buzzing drew Revan's attention to the comm-link at his belt. It had to be the crew on the Ebon Hawk. He activated it and muttered, "What's going on out there?" It was hard for Revan to make out the response, as Carth Onasi's voice came in and out amidst a layer of static.

"Revan-pull ship-support-"

"Damn," Revan murmured. Bastila stepped beside him whispering, "What's wrong?" He put the comm-link away again and pressed on. "It looks like we're on our own now." Explaining the problem to the rest of the team Revan followed Scourge as they ascended the spiral staircase until they reached the second level of the tower.

They were standing at the edge of a round chamber held up by three central pillars In the center of the chamber was a dais illuminated by an ethereal torch hanging from the ceiling above. Was this a room meant for Sith rituals? Or an audience chamber for meetings between ancient Sith and their followers?

But as Scourge led them closer to the center of the room, Revan noticed something on the floor and froze. Around the base of each pillar was a stone sarcophagus, engraved with text in the old Sith language. This wasn't just another temple.

It was a tomb.

"Scourge…"The Pureblood nodded. "I know," he said tersely. Scourge placed the holocron away and reached for his lightsaber. With a familiar snap-hiss Scourge's crimson blade ignited, illuminating the closest sarcophagus. "We have to be sure…" His yellow eyes flickered towards Revan.

Understanding what Scourge was trying to tell him, Revan pointed his lightsaber at the slab of rock and a moment later Scourge reached out with his hand, drawing on the Force. The lid of the sarcophagus flew off and Revan thrust his lightsaber within an inch of whatever was inside.

But there was nothing but a decaying corpse. Revan grimaced as the stench of the dead Sith reached him even through his mask. The body was dried out, wrapped in old rags and ceremonial armor. A Sith sword rested on top of the body.

"One of the Emperor's Wrath." Scourge sounded shocked. Revan turned back to the others and ordered, "Check the others." Bastila opened the coffin on another pillar while Meetra checked the last one. "There's nothing here but bodies, Revan."

Meetra sounded almost relieved, a feeling that Revan shared.

Scourge left his lightsaber activated nonetheless. "Come," he said. "The throne room is just above us." He pointed to the dais, once again drawing the holocron from his belt. Gathering the entire team around the dais the Sith placed his holocron into a socket in the rock just under him. Like a key into a keyhole.

"There is only enough room for several people," Scourge explained. "You and I will go, and we can only take two or three others with us." Revan sighed deeply. "Meetra. Bastila." They each nodded and joined him on the dais. On the floor Jolee Bindo said worriedly, "This is a trap. It has to be."

Revan gritted his teeth. "Of course it is. But the Emperor isn't giving us any other choice. If he wants us to face him on his terms, we don't disappoint him." The Jedi looked around at the team, making sure to gaze at each of their faces. "This may be the last time we see each other. If anything goes wrong, I don't want you to come after us. Get yourselves back to the ship, and level this tower until there's nothing left."

His mouth was dry, and Revan tried to calm himself while. Bastila and Meetra said their goodbyes. Revan could barely hear them between the pounding in his ears and a rumbling of the dais under him. The holocron had begun to emit a faint red glow, and glowing cracks spread outwards from it.

As Revan braced himself the platform rose from the floor, lifted by the power of the holocron. The entire room was lit by a harsh scarlet light, and bolts of lightning cascaded from the dais to the pillars. As the platform lifted them up to a hole in the ceiling, Revan took one final look at his friends below.

The dais reached the top of the chamber, ascending to the throne room of the Emperor. But had Revan had looked at the illuminated pillars for just a moment longer he would have seen a disturbing sight.

Dozens of armored figures lay half-buried in the rock with Sith blades and lightsabers in their hands. When the dais reached the entrance to the throne room, one of the warrior's hands began to move.


Author's Note: Wish I could have made the the chapter a bit longer, but don't worry. The next one will more than make up for it.

Our heroes don't have much chance to turn back now. The Emperor is waiting for them, and he isn't facing them alone...

Post any reviews or comments you may have below, and I'll be back with another chapter of 'The Beast'. We'll see the end of the story's first arc, and the beginning of the next.