Chapter 2.

Geminis Sicarii

Deus'Odio, Lord Wraith to most Sith, silently moved down the hallway behind the members of the Dark Council, doing his best to remain in the shadows. Opposite him strode Abgheir Selchior, his current partner in crime and the son of his best friend, Darth Maledictum.
The Darth's 10 year old son showed remarkable adeptness at moving silently and swiftly through the shadows, disguising his presence with the Force. He was proving to be a quick student of his favorite "Uncle." At the end of the hall the Dark Lords of the Sith were turning to the right, save their quarry who turned left. As Lord Wraith reached the corner he motioned the young boy to hold his position.

He peered around the corner and up the hallway, seeing nothing ahead, and turned back to wave the boy ahead. Too late. The boy was already hanging upside down in mid air, giggling profusely, as Deus's twin sister round the corner. "Still haven't learned that you will never best me little brother?"

"Little by 4 minutes and 31 seconds," the younger twin quickly retorted.

His sister, Ira'Deae, also known as Darth Imperius, had already up righted the promising young acolyte. "Hurry up lad, your father will be waiting for you downstairs. You're both going home today." The twins shared a hug at Wraith's return from his last charge given him by Darth Maledictum. They then waved as the young boy bid his farewells. "Bye Aunt Ira and Uncle Deus. Visit mom and I soon!"

Before they could respond the child darted around the final corner of the corridor towards the lifts, eager to meet his father at his shuttle bay. Returning her attention to her twin, as he silently asked the question he had a million times before, And where are the Dark Lords' watchdogs being sent to today?

"Today, dearest brother, we get a step closer to the test we have long awaited."

Again using the force to speak silently with his sister, They're sending us to kill a Jedi Master?

Not just any Masters my dear brother. We head to Tattooine. And here's the juiciest part. We're going to start targeting none other than the Jedi Council!
His heart skipping a beat in anticipation, he asked, Who are our first targets?

I'm to kill Master Kiwiiks, while you're to kill Master Yonlach, she replied.
Speaking aloud now, albeit in a hushed whisper "You mean Baras finally proved useful and found that old goat of a Jedi?" Stifling a giggle, she put an arm around her brother and led him down the corridor to the lifts to the lower levels of the Sith Academy. The portly Darth he had mocked was something of the Butt of All Jokes for many Sith, but never to the Dark Council member's face. Baras held enough sway to be campaigning that he is the Emperor's Voice and at least have the thought be entertained, between snickers and silent jokes about betting on the number of sweet rolls, donuts, or other various pastries he could consume in one sitting.

-

Several days later the finest assassins the Empire had to offer took their places near their quarry, pounced and ready to strike.

The elder twin watched as the lithe, young female padawan of Master Kiwiiks and another Jedi Knight ran off from the drained master who apparently was already run through the ringer by Darth Angral's antics. It would be a shame as the Master would be in no shape to put up much resistance. Although that thought was fleeting as something about this unknown Jedi resonated with her. The Zabrak Jedi's presence had a familiar energy... it would be something to meditate upon later. As well as the young padawan. She sensed something in them both.

Reaching out through the force she checked on her brothers status. I'm in place, how has your search fared little brother?

Well enough, and it looks like I get to have a BOGO special. One of Yonlach's former apprentices appears to be paying more than just a visit. Something to do with the Padawan that Baras is tearing the galaxy apart to find.

Both twins immediately thought of the need to reassess the situation, and immediately shared a silent laugh through the force having the same thought in unison, Nah, Darth Pastry-Slayer doesn't get to have his way with the old man.

As Imperius was ardently focusing on concealing themselves within the force, Wraith used the Force to well up their shared power within them, preparing them for the respective fights ahead, yet remaining unnoticed by the Jedi so close to oblivion. The Twins made use of their powerful bond to perfectly pair their efforts and last question from elder to younger...

Ya ready for this shit, my dear brother?

Let's do some gratuitous violence.

Kira Carsen fell abruptly to her knees, the very breath stolen from her lungs. Half the galaxy away, Jaesa Wilsaam also fell to her knees. The two young Padawans had now shared their first taste of the immeasurable void of a loved one's energy and very life ripped from the fabric of the Force. It set in motion echoes within them yet to be felt, aftershocks yet to be measured.

Lord Wraith revealed his presence in a blinding flash as he dropped from the unsuspecting Jedi Master's ceiling, throwing a cascading wall of force energy into both the Master and his former padawan. As they flew back he ignited his lightsabers, taking the aggressive Jar'Kai form. He reached through the force, surging ahead with light speed at the younger Jedi and suspended him in midair while he sliced off both his arms at the elbow. He then poured his rage into a scream that sent the young Jedi flying back into the wall.

Master Yonlach acted through the haze of seeing his former apprentice maimed, but not fast enough. The powerful Sith assassin parried the Master's first three strikes and took his saber hand just above the thumb with the 4th. Before Yonlach knew it, the young Sith lifted the Jedi Masters into the air, choking them. He sensed the mood of Yonlach shift, and felt quickly that he was in communion with another Jedi, one with a special connection to the Master. One unusually strong for a Master and Padawan to share. Without a glance he clenched his left first and the younger Jedi's throat gave way, his larnyx gurgling as it filled with his blood, before the sounds of snapping vertebra indicating that his spine had been severed and he gasped for air in his final dying seconds. The sight of this brought Master Yonlach back to the present.

"Curious Master Jedi... most curious indeed. Tell me... what makes this remote padawan so special? This lowly Padawan that Darth Baras seeks so desperately and you try to shield from the torment your former apprentice and yourself are about to endure?" Wraith's patience would only last if the Jedi, told him something of significance... and soon.

"She... has a... rare... gift," gasped the Master. Losing his grip, Wraith allowed the Jedi to continue. " Her power will be the end of your kind. That is all you will learn, and onl..." Yonlach's voice gurgled as his throat was again compressed, however this time Wraith used his lightsaber to take the Master's other hand. He already could tell the end of the Master's sentence involved the Sith not knowing til the curtains were coming down and the house lights would come up.

"We can do this to the Pain, my friend. I'm sure you've felt the ripple that tells you Master Kiwiiks has met her end. I can make this as painless as her death, or drag this out as long as need be..." The twins' bond was reaching through the force to tune into Yonlach's aura. They felt the Jedi reaching out through the force, trying to shield someone... someone Darth Baras wanted to know about very desperately. Suddenly the Master's force broke, just for a moment, but it betrayed all they'd needed.

Fulgen Prakellen, the apprentice of Darth Baras, was a classmate of the twins on Korriban and also Imperius's Lover. Through his bond to Imperius, he had nearly as strong a bond with Lord Wraith. He sensed their efforts and reached out to aid them. A picture quickly came to them that a matter of importance lie ahead in the hunt for this Padawan.

My love, my brother. I have heard you. I will leave at once.

On Dromund Kaas, Lord Fulgus dashed into his Master's office. "My Lord, Alderaan. The padawan we seek has a strong tie to Alderaan. It's time I make a house call on the Wilsaam family."
"Indeed my apprentice, proceed at once Lord Fulgus. " The young Lord raced out to the space station, eager to arrive with the greatest of haste. Time was never on his side in this hunt.

At the same time Fulgen broke his link to Imperius and Wraith, Wraith gleamed a smile of victory at the Master. "Sorry old man, you're no match for us. I'll make sure my brother passes his regards to the Padawan's family. Lord Fulgus does love snow, so Alderaan will suit him quite well." As soon as the aged Jedi began to speak, the panic inn his eyes betraying the truth that Fulgen's hunt would serve him well on Alderaan, Lord Wraith crushed his skull. Yonlach shrieked in pain until bone gave way. Viscera and pink mist redecorated the interior of the late Master's desert hut.
A nifty little trick he had learned from Darth Maledictum. He still refused to believe that a mere child had been the source of the technique. Yet the very child that Maledictum and his late Master had brought back from Nar Shaddaa helped him perfect the technique while the boy was still awaiting his time to go to Korriban and begin his trials.

In the far reaches of space, the terrible pain and violent end of Master Yonlach crushed the young Padawan. Master Nomen Karr looked upon his padawan with great concern. He sensed a rage and turmoil within her that had once fueled his powers as a young master. Carefully, he focused on hiding his past from her, and then did all he could to console his padawan while reciting the Dogma he despised.

"There is no death, only the force, child. Masters Kiwiiks and Yonlach are at peace and no longer suffering. Grief is inevitable in death, but do not let it consume you. Emotions only cloud you from the truth." Time would later tell that truer words were never spoken.

Back on Tattooine, Imperius and Wraith collected the lightsabers of their slain quarry, a tradition kept by many Sith. 300 miles away, on the far side of Mos Ila, Kira's new Master ran to her side. Her reddening eyes welled with tears, as she could only muster two words, over and over... "She's gone."

Master Kiwiiks had too little strength to put up a fight, and cheated as Imperius felt at that, she granted the master a quick death. She still chose to have what fun the opportunity afforded her and in short order, she removed the Jedi's head from her shoulders, and adeptly taking the late master's lightsaber, and with her second stroke, she skewered it and staked it back in it's place on the slain master's limp body before shutting off the fallen Jedi's saber.
As the life drained from the late Master's eyes, Darth Imperius reached out to the orphaned padawan. You walked right by me child. Take solace that your master died at peace. Your new master will have no such luck. Tell your precious Council we are coming for them.

Master Orgus Din's holo crackled with incoming communications. Having just returned to his ship, he felt the terrible quakes in the force at the passing of two of his oldest friends. Activating his holoterminal, the familiar sight of the Jedi Council chambers filled the room. All the Masters bore somber faces in the wake of the morning's events. His former apprentice, a young Zabrak named Mordecai, was the first to speak. "My friends, Kira was contacted by one of the assassins. She reached out to her and spoke to her through the Force. It was Darth Imperius and her twin, Lord Wraith. It seems the Jedi Council is now the Dark Council's priority."

Grandmaster Satele Shan gathered her thoughts for a moment. "Everyone must go to the one of the third. The Empire will not likely seek us there. We have much to prepare for, and we no longer have the luxury of time. It seems that the Treaty Of Coruscant will not last the month." The severity of the tone of the Grandmaster was not lost on a single Jedi in that call. Cryptic as it may seem, the coded order for the Jedi Council and the Order's senior Knights and Masters to assemble on the Moon of Esseles was necessary. The Empire was growing more bold with their ever growing knowledge of the Order's activities and whereabouts. Somewhere was a crack in the facade of the Order's security and until it was repaired, the Jedi had little choice to regroup and maintain as small a footprint in the galaxy as they could.

-

Somewhere on the fringe of wild Space, near the outer rim world of Yavin, a group of hooded figures gathered around a console in a dimly lit room. "Time is fleeting. The Ire falls devoid." Servant Two's cryptic speech was a symptom of having such close communion with the power and voice of the emperor. Servant One as always began to interpret for the others of the Hand.

"The Jedi Council begins to flee, but we still do not know where. To make matters worse, I feel a tremor in the future. The Dark Council's assassins will prove to be too late. The Emperor's vessel will fall. Baras remains unchecked. Their will be bloodshed. But we know the Emperor's will, and we know whom he wishes to see ascend. The events will transpire as the Emperor has foreseen them. We will depart for Quesh and await the emergence of the New Wrath."

-
Hours into his flight to Balmorra, Preschaet snapped awake. He felt the ripples of the dead Jedi in the force and the ebb of power from his friends Lord Wraith and Darth Imperius. Moving as it was, that did not rouse him from his sleep. Something more visceral and personal touched him.

You felt it, too, my brother.

Bel'lia was broken out of her meditation by the echoes of Master Yonlach's screams in the force. She reached across the galaxy to speak with her brother.

Yes Bel'lia. For the first time in a lifetime.

The scream of rage in his heart at the death of the Masters.

Yes my little sister. Mine made that same scream the day Father died.

Mordecar was out there. They had felt him. And they felt his attachment to his new Padawan. It was only a matter of time now...