Chapter One
Staying on the Kuat Foundry based in Mustafar was starting to remind Depa Billaba of Haruun Kal all over again. Though Haruun had been a more hospitable world than Mustafar was, both emanated with the power of the Dark Side of the Force. The only difference was that Haruun's darkness had been more enlightening whereas this was just another planet infected with the power. Or was it really an infection and not a vaccination for the disease known as the Jedi?
As she thought of these things, she received a communications signal from her Mistress, Arden Lyn. "Milady, you have a location for which you would like me to meet you at?" Depa asked directly. Arden nodded and told her apprentice that the time had come for her to move out to Malastare, meeting her Mistress there when she arrived with her cruiser filled with Vahla warriors. "Go at your earliest convenience but attempt to be there in no more than five standard days," Arden added.
"I will not fail you Mistress nor will I be unexcited to meet the Ember of Vahla, I've heard many things about the bounty hunters they've created. Most of them highly skilled, even on par with the late Jango Fett and Cad Bane," Depa replied. "Then perhaps the tribes will be of use to us when I tell them I can guide them to their homeworld in exchange for servitude," Arden said. "An excellent move, my Mistress; I will be there in five days but will contact you should it change," Depa snapped, before bowing.
Her Mistress disconnected communications then and Depa was ecstatic to finally leave the Mustafar factory behind. Xizor also congratulated her on finally having a location to go to in order to rendezvous with her Mistress. "When you meet the Ember of Vahla, be sure to observe the means by which they fight. If you and your Mistress don't make careful notes, you could be betrayed," he warned.
"So long as my Mistress' knowledge of their homeworld remains a secret, they wouldn't dare. Besides, even if she revealed it to them, they would still need her to guide them there. Only after their arrival and repopulation could they ever hope to dispose of Arden Lyn," she answered. Xizor bowed in respect, apologizing as he did so before wishing her luck though unfortunately, her departure would be inconveniently postponed.
Normally, when faced with a military threat or one that was rising, General Grievous needed only a destination and resources to quash the threat. But this one was a special treat: Depa Billaba, one of the few wielders of Vaapad, was on his destination of Mustafar. "Adding her lightsaber to my collection will be a high honor milord. And in case victory is nearer to her than me, I have a little treat for her," he said to Dooku as he revealed a double-sided lightsaber.
"You dare to risk the lightsaber of Darth Zannah, piece of Sith history, to collect your prize from Master Bellaba? She will not only defeat you if you are not careful but she will also take it away from you as a prize of her own," Dooku warned. "I assure you it will not be leaving my grasp very easily or painlessly. As I said, it will only be used if I cannot destroy her through normal means," Grievous replied calmly.
"Remember what would happen if it did, General. Metal is a good conductor of electricity and it will not take all that much to shut down your systems for a few weeks," Dooku threatened. "That won't be necessary milord and while I would love to continue this chat, we will be soon arriving," Grievous replied. "When you do, you may begin your attack, General," Dooku stated with a bow before disconnecting communications.
Sure enough, the fleet came out of hyperspace above the atmosphere of his target. Mustafar. From space, the lava planet looked like it had been destroyed during some apocalyptic war though the General knew better. "Send the droids down to the planet ahead and prepare a shuttle for me. I will be going down with them personally," he ordered as he turned to leave the center chamber of the ship.
Depa watched as the Separatist fleet dropped out of lightspeed and she had to admit that they took less time than she thought they would to find out about these operations. "Ready our forces, they'll be coming on this factor like water over rock if we're not ready!" Xizor ordered. "Yes and have them be ready to face their enemies head-on, I will be leading the charge personally. Besides, I sense that gutless cybernetic coward General Grievous with them," Depa added.
"Him? He can hold off seven Jedi with just two of his four lightsabers, he'll destroy you!" Xizor said, having never seen a military threat before. The fact that he didn't know what to do in the face of his first real outside threat intrigued Depa but did not faze her in the least. "None of those Masters knew Vaapad as I do, I'd like to see him try to hold against that," she said before unclipping her lightsaber. Then she concentrated her power against the threat as her Mistress had taught her and started using Battle Meld both to help the Black Sun troops and enhance her own powers.
Initially, this helped the troops do just fine as they faced down battle droids and super battle droids but Depa knew it wouldn't be long before droidekas were brought in. Sure enough, they came rolling down and Depa adjusted her Battle Meld to include them into the droids meant to be destroyed. Before these ones even had time to turn on their blaster-proof shields, Depa grabbed them with the Force and began to combust them before then setting them aflame with pyrokinesis. Before coming to Mustafar, Depa didn't know that fiery worlds like it would make her skill even more powerful than before but she didn't care at the present moment so long as she used it.
Then she decided to do something she never thought she was going to do throughout this entire attack. She decided to use her Mastery of Force Enlightenment to enhance all of her powers from Pyrokinesis to Battle Meld. Briefly, she gestured in the manner that would allow her to access the power before engulfing herself in blinding white light for several seconds. When the light subsided, she felt the enhancement had been successful and smiled as she regained Battle Meld and repeated her use of Pyrokinesis and Combustion for the droids.
For the organic officers she occasionally spotted on the Separatist side, she used Choke to kill them and even noticed that Force Rage had been enlightened too. Very few Jedi knew how to use Enlightenment to also fuel Dark Side powers but Depa was one of them which made her proud. Giving into her anger, she felt the Force flow through her as not only a means to use Meld but a fuel supply. The droids fell before the combined might of Rage, Meld, and the troops of Black Sun who felt the effects of the latter power motivating them to perform better than ever they had before.
Plus, Depa was the only Jedi who knew how to use Meld so that it lacked the group element usually associated with it. She thought about all this as she spun and hacked with her lightsaber in accordance to the principles of Vaapad, watching them fall apart before the blade's unstoppable power. Her prowess combined with Battle Meld began to frighten many of the droids there and some even began beating a hasty retreat as Depa dispatched the dozen or so droidekas with relative ease. The act of Force Combustion combined with Pyrokinesis was more than enough to frighten them but not before a new droid came.
He looked the most human of them all and had what appeared to be a Kaleesh mask and three lightsabers at his waist. "General Grievous, I presume. I must say I am an admirer of your handiwork though I must say your appearance is somewhat disappointing," she stated. "You must be Depa Billaba, tell me: how does it feel to be back in action after a year of sleep?" he asked.
"To be honest General, it feels emboldening and empowering but you will discover why on your own soon enough," she answered. "Who wields an orange lightsaber, anyhow? Oh, only a woman who would want to trigger her own demise sooner than she planned," Grievous retorted before unclipping his sabers. Igniting all three blades, Depa observed his fourth hand go for a blaster pistol and was quick to blast the hand off with a deflected bolt when he fired at her.
After that, their sabers clashed, Grievous using his rotatable hands to his advantage whilst Depa continued to fight with Vaapad as she had before. The General, having never encountered the style before, began to slowly lose ground to the older woman. "Who wields an orange lightsaber except for the woman who will be destroying you, General?" Depa mocked after a time. The General growled and proclaimed that his power was greater than any she would ever see before calling her a fool.
Spinning the bottom right hand at her, he prepared to cut her head off with the green blade but she evaded the blow. When he came back around, she severed the hand and watched as the deactivated saber spun right into her hand for her use. Now he's just down to blue and red blades, excellent she thought to herself. "If you think that power will save you from your inevitable demise, think again General," she said aloud before beginning her usage of Jar'Kai.
"Milord, General Grievous has attacked the Mustafar facility of the Kuat Droid Foundries. And he has just informed me that he is engaged with a former Jedi named Depa Billaba," Dooku said. "What would Depa Billaba be doing on the opposite field of Grievous' battle on Mustafar?" Sidious asked. Like everyone else, both Sith Lords had known that Depa had been comatosed by Mace Windu the year before though Grievous was not made aware of it until a few months before.
And how would she have known that Maul and Savage were forming an army to oppose my plans? Did she obtain information from the Pykes or some other family connected to Black Sun? Perhaps Lom revealed their survival before he croaked at the hands of Skywalker? Sidious asked himself. These were questions that had to be answered and he doubted that the Jedi Order would know how as they were still figuring out the circumstances of Depa's "escape" from the Temple.
To tell them this, however, would mean opening room for them to suspect and wonder where his information was coming from. Republic Intelligence knew nothing of Grievous' attack on Mustafar nor did they know that the Kuat foundries under Black Sun served Maul's design. "If Depa Billaba joins the brothers during the assault on Mandalore, I just may need your assistance in taking them down," he said aloud to Dooku. "Perhaps Grievous will kill her and we will not worry about that," his apprentice replied.
"You said she knows Vaapad, the style invented by Master Windu. I highly doubt he will prove capable of defeating her unless he is lucky," Sidious said. Dooku yielded that point with a shrug and asked his Master if he should have General Grievous report when he is finished. "Regardless of the outcome, it would be wise if he did, yes," Sidious answered with a nod.
"Very well then, I will send him the message demanding a report on his success or failure. And if he fails, make sure that he brings back the double-sided lightsaber of Darth Zannah intact," he added after a moment's pause. Then he disconnected communication with his apprentice and hoped for the best on Grievous' success with the Kuat foundry destructions. It was the only way to be sure that the Maul brothers would be incapable of creating a third factor to add into the Clone Wars.
After a short trip in hyperspace, Maul, Savage, Pre Vizsla, and Bo-Katan beheld the Hutt homeworld of Nal Hutta. "The Hutts are the wealthiest criminals in the galaxy and are that way thanks to their extortions of others. They will not be easily swayed into siding with us if they can be swayed at all," Vizsla warned. "If they choose not to submit to our will, it would make for a good test as to the effectiveness of the Kuat droids that Black Sun has secured for us," Maul replied.
"I have heard mixed reports about those things including ones that state they are good only as security guards, not soldiers," Bo interjected. "The dependability of those reports is subject to the credibility of the ones who compose such reports," Maul said. Though he found her statements of blatant mistrust admirable, her lack of subtlety was annoying to him. This one will prove most difficult to deal with once I steal Mandalore away from Vizsla's control he thought but did not say.
She had never trusted him to begin with and once he revealed his more treacherous objectives, it would be even worsened. Luckily, Savage would be ready to aid her in being reunited with her lover once Pre fell before Maul's blade. After that, he could turn back to his revenge against Kenobi and perhaps even use the Duchess as leverage against his old foe. Hostages of nobility had attracted Jedi Knights like wolves to a kill for eons and Kenobi would be no different in such a situation.
Then, when he has arrived on Mandalore and has come to a place of our choosing, we will ensnare and kill him. Revenge will be mine, Mandalore will act as a base for my plans of galactic conquest, and all my enemies will fall Maul vowed silently. "We're receiving an incoming transmission from the Hutt Council, sirs," one of the pilots said. "Send it through," Vizsla said, which the pilot acknowledged.
Then Maul stepped out in front of him and received the Hutt request for identification. "We come under the protection of the late Lom Pyke," Maul said after some Huttese was spoken. More Huttese came through and to Maul, it appeared as though their requested for permission to land was granted. As if that wasn't good enough, the Hutt Council demanded an immediate audience with Maul and the other leaders of the Shadow Collective.
Their reasoning: they wanted to hear what they had to say as to the rally of their forces and needed to know of Pyke's fate. For years, he had been an excellent client of theirs and if he were dead, they would need to know how his money had been distributed according to his will. "All will be revealed to you in good time, I promise," Maul replied before communications were disconnected. "That was quick, does their greed really consume them that much?" Vizsla asked.
"You will find that that is hardly the beginning of the depth of the greed these Hutts let fester in their hearts until it reaches infectious heights. Nonetheless, if channeled just right, we can apply that greed to our own design and gain the galaxy with their help," Maul answered. Savage stood silent as did Bo, listening to everything their superiors said to each other and observing their movements. While the hulking monster made nothing of it, Bo was deducing what could be going inside Maul's head repeatedly.
After less than a day in lightspeed, Arden Lyn finally arrived to Glee Anselm where the Gathering of the tribes of the Ember of Vahla were congregated. "You have done your work well gentlemen and if I am successful, we will be seeing the Vahla with us. Either way, you have played your part out very well and you will be rewarded for your absence of failure," she said. "Milady, with due respect, let some of us go with you," an officer demanded.
"And why should I? If the ferocity of the Vahla is still as great as I remember, they would kill you before you could even shoot them," Arden asked. "But at least we would be dying in honorable combat against them and with you," the officer answered. "So long as you wield blasters to get a job done, you know nothing of honor; that is precisely why I do not bring you," she snapped.
The officer gulped, unknowing of whether to feel insulted or enlightened by Arden's comment. "You are great people but you have no more honor when fighting those who are unequal to you than you would fighting against an equal. In fact, you would have more honor fighting the Yuuzhan Vong than the Ember of Vahla for the former is more technologically advanced than the latter," she explained. He half-smiled, still unsure as to whether or not he should feel insulted by the comment.
But Arden didn't want to waste further words as the Gathering would only be open for three days unless she came down and consulted them. The shuttle was ready in a matter of moments and she could barely contain her excitement at meeting the Vahla again. My husband Xendor would have loved it if he could live to see this day. He would have undoubtedly wanted his hammer back but not to worry: I will reclaim it in his stead as was foretold she told herself.
"I will try my best to find a good landing for you but there are no clearings close to the Temple at which they congregate. Once the shuttle is landed, you'll have to approach the Temple on foot and let us know when you're successful in recruiting the Vahla," the pilot said. "If the will of the Force decrees that I be successful in recruiting the Vahla, then it shall be done. If not, I will do the best I can to make it out alive in time to escape onto the shuttle," she replied.
"Our orders are to turn back if you die and that is precisely what we'll do," the pilot warned. "I understand and I will try my best to keep my skin on, regardless of the outcome," she stated. Then the shuttle landed on a launchpad big enough for it at which point, Arden exited the ship. With sheathed sword in hand, she watched as the shuttle then took off and left her on Glee Anselm with her mission.
Her husband had calculated that the Vahla would prove useful to them again in the future and while he could not see that day come to fruition, she had to admit he was right. The Vahla were some of the most powerful warriors in the galaxy that were neither Jedi or Sith, something Arden could exploit. She would need to restore the culture she and her husband had established before the Sith completely erased the honor in it for their own sakes. However, she would also need elements of current existing cultures such as the Vahla in order to make them suit the times she lived in now.
No longer could the culture she and her husband initiated contain rules that were rather misogynistic by default nature. She also could not afford to exclude aliens from this new society either if she wanted to reap the most benefit for it. Most of all though, she would also have to establish a difference between her apprentice and any other followers. The last observation could be solved immediately by calling everyone else 'students' while she remained an 'apprentice' to Arden.
A caste system of sorts was not entirely out of the question and was practiced by many systems of government in the current galaxy. Though most frequently so in dictatorships and monarchies, this was sometimes practiced in democratic governments as well. The Republic and the Separatists, who currently waged a war on each other, were the greatest examples of democracies with this system. However, her culture could not have a focus on galactic domination or the toppling of one of those major systems.
That would be the task of Maul's Shadow Collective who would undoubtedly be weak by the time it was through with the CIS and the Republic. If she wanted galactic domination, she would be capable of simply waiting until two of the three sides were destroyed and finish off the remainder. She could also continue with her plan to use Thrawn to destroy all three sides with the Vong before disposing of him. But he would be more suspicious of treachery in the face of such a grand plan and wouldn't let her invade his mind so easily.
Nor would I want him to if I wanted to proceed with that plan badly enough she thought to herself. Unlike the Jedi or the Sith, Thrawn possessed true honor which could be both a strength and a weakness. It just depended on who you spoke to about it and how they would use it to their advantage.