Korriban, Esstran Sector
Valley of the Dark Lords
"Lady Tavion!" In the great chamber, which is part of the magnificent tomb of the Marka Ragnos, a rather strong, but at the same time resonant, male voice was heard.
Aspiring a brunette Lady Sith, with many - mostly - purple tattoos, backward and interrupted the process of redirecting energy into the massive stat within which rested the body of the long-dead Sith Lord Mark Ragnos. A long-dead being who promised his followers the discovery of the secrets of the Force, and power in a new world.
The man walking towards her was confident enough and clad in black armor, the same armor worn by the Shadowtroopers, Force-sensitive soldiers and the death Admiral Galak's Fyyar main project. This particular one though, have no on the center of the breastplate Artusian crystal, which was absolutely necessary to enhance the capabilities of this specific breed of stormtroopers in the service of the Empire Reborn. This particular one, however, due to the completely natural talent in the Force, combined with the buff that was undoubtedly the power granted from the Jedi's Valley, he just didn't need this crystal. This also was the main reason, for which he has been finally transferred from the regular Stormtrooper Corps to Shadowtroopers, as the commander and instructor of new members of this formation.
Also, he has no a characteristic helmet on his head, which would give him a sinister appearance. Instead, he showed his quite attractive, swarthy face, slightly dark circles under his eyes - the result of hard and long work, sometimes with the neglect of proper sleep - and ear-length hair, as black as pitch. Additionally, his armor was enhanced with a chrome badge with the rank of senior captain, which he received as commander of the Shadowtroopers. Not to mention other accessories, such as a scarlet cape with a white Empire logo, or a silver collar around the neck, which was supposed to further emphasize his position.
All this despite the fact that almost all Shadowtroopers died during the attack on Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4, so this man would have been an officer with no subordinates or assignment had it not been for Tavion's recognition of his leadership skills - as a former officer in the Stormtrooper Corps - and granting him command of her subordinate cultists and surviving Reborn. Basically, his power in the Disciples of Ragnos was second only to Tavion herself and her apprentice, Alora.
Captain Valorion Hessan - since that was his real name - was the kind of old imperialist, despite his young age, just past thirty. Above all, he was a firm man, quite intelligent, a good and inspiring leader, and absolutely loyal to the Empire as an Idea. This loyalty, however, was something that bordered on fanaticism.
This was not always the case, however, if anyone had met fourteen years ago, they would have met an energetic and curious explorer of the mysteries of the galaxy, a teenager from Borosk, who, however, was raised by his parents and older sister in the spirit of loyalty to the Galactic Empire, and all that the order of the empire represented for each of them. them. Stability, law, justice and order.
However, everything changed completely fourteen years ago, in just one day, when his beloved elder sister died during the Battle of Yavin, also known among the rebels and supporters of the New Republic as the Miracle of Yavin. Valorion's older sister, she was one of the Stormtrooper Core officers aboard the First Death Star. She was also there when the station exploded and, along with the others on board, turned into stardust.
The moment news of his sister's death, and the mourning that followed among his family members, not to mention more news of rebel attacks against the Empire, marked a turning point in the young man's story. As soon as Valorion was old enough, he joined the Stormtrooper Core with a pure desire for revenge against the rebels and a desire to protect the empire that gave him the opportunity to have a stable childhood, and a quiet resolve to save other families from losing their families to the rebels.
His ambition, zeal, natural discipline and passion paid off as he quickly rose through the ranks and at the age of 21 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. Unfortunately for him, in the meantime, the Battle of Endor took place, which turned his life upside down even more, and the death of the Emperor changed the galaxy and its fate forever.
Over the next years, he continued to serve until he ended up with one of the Imperial factions fighting both with the rebels and with each other, it was Empire Reborn, led by Hethrir, the Imperial Procurator of Justice, who very quickly sensed the natural talent in the Force with Valorion and placed him under the care of Lord Dessan, one of his lieutenants. It was then that Valorion met Tavion, and although it was the woman who eventually became the Dark Jedi's apprentice, the two developed a degree of respect for each other and often competed.
However, despite much further turmoil, Valorion was also rewarded for his talent and dedication to rebuilding his empire, with promotion to senior captain and command of the Shadowtroopers from both Lord Dessan and Admiral Galak Fyyar, for whom he was a natural candidate, to this responsible function.
The best proof of his competence in this area was the fact that he managed to train Force-charged stormtroopers into disciplined and focused soldiers who, in terms of threat level and potential on the battlefield, surpassed even the best Reborn, and Valorion himself was the best proof of this.
However, it all came to an end when Admiral's flagship Fayyar set sail for Yavin IV, to the defeat and annihilation of both Galak and Desann. True, Valorion himself did not take part in the battle and remained at the Cairn Installation in Lenico Belt, where his duty was to oversee the station and repair the damage that a certain Jedi had caused while infiltrating the complex. Although the captain did his duty, at one point he had to evacuate and blow up the entire facility as the New Republic task force began closing in.
It wasn't until several months later that he managed to contact Tavion - who had acquired the Scepter of Ragnos in the meantime, and they both came to an understanding. Valorion will help her train the new members of the Disciples of Ragnos, both in the Force and swordsmanship, and will assist in command. An additional duty was to align the cultists with the surviving Reborn. Once again, he had done his job, and thanks to that, the cult was able to fight effectively against the Jedi who had come to stop them even in the present.
"What happened, Captain?" She asked him, not hiding quite a surprise because of his presence in this place.
Tavion had given pretty clear instructions to literally everyone that only she was to be present in Marka Ragnos' tomb. So why did Valorion decide to disobey that order and come here anyway?
"My Lady, the Jedi are still breaking through our lines, even now as we speak." The report seemed trivial on the surface, but Tavion decided to listen to it anyway. "So far we have successfully resisted them and even inflicted quite a bit of damage on them, at least relative to the estimated size of the task force Skywalker has sent against us. But now that another Jedi Knight has joined the fray, our losses are gradually increasing and the lines are breaking down."
"AND?" Tavion grew impatient, despite the undoubted seriousness of what the captain was telling her. "Once Marka Ragnos is rescued from death, there will be no hope of victory for the Jedi, and everyone present on Korriban will die."
Considering his next words and news, it was Valorion who remained quite calm. "But they've practically broken through to this tomb. Although there is fierce fighting in front of the stairs, at least the last time I checked, they are still practically here. I won't even mention Katarn's apprentice."
"WHAT!?" Tavion clenched her fists on the scepter until her knuckles went white, and it took a moment for her emotions to come back, loosening her grip before turning back to the great statue. "Never mind, the process is almost complete. Despite your disobeying orders, I'll even let you stay here and watch the resurrection. Ultimately, you have earned it through faithful and long service to see the beginning of a new golden age for the Sith."
"Thank you, Lady Tavion." With these words, he came even closer to her, the steps of his durasteel boots echoing loud and clear across the great chamber.
With him stopping behind his back, Tavion returning to her energy transfer process, the noises ended. In addition to building energy, the next sound that appeared in the chamber was the officer's question.
"Was an attempt at artificial insemination using the genetic material of a deceased Sith Lord successful?" He asked the question, fully aware that his mistress was able to channel energy and speak at the same time.
"Yes, captain." She replied with a proud smile, which also spread to her tone of voice, then placed her free hand over her bosom. "It is true that it took a long time to bring the genetic material of Marka Ragnos to the point where it would be possible to artificially inseminate any female. Especially since it took a lot of effort for the scientists working for me to recreate it. Nevertheless, it ultimately came to fruition, and I now carry in my womb the germ of life that will be mine and his heir."
"That's good to know, although it doesn't make what I have to do for the empire any easier." He said the words with regret and some reproach, but with finality and determination to do what he thought was right.
Just as Tavion was about to respond, Valorion took his lightsaber from his belt and placed it simultaneously on the would-be Sith Lady's heart, then activated the blade and the scarlet flashed, nailing her back and the vital organ that pumps her blood into her blood vessels.
Shock flashed across her face, and the energy pumping process was interrupted as her scepter arm dropped and the artifact itself fluttered to the floor. She felt pain, especially since the crimson blade was still searing her skin and insides, but she was still too shocked to utter a single word.
On the lips of every witness, as on the lips of Tavion, only one question pressed: why? Why would Valorion, a loyal and fanatical Imperial officer bent on vengeance against the Jedi and their leader - responsible for his sister's death - stop it all at this seemingly crucial moment on the path to avenging a family member?
"I must also apologize to you for an equally heinous act that is about to take place, but I cannot risk it." Then he slashed lower, and a crimson beam of energy with smoke and the foul smell of burnt human flesh pierced all the way to the womb of the would-be Sith Lady, whose pain only intensified. "I'm not going to serve one more power-hungry maniac who cares about nothing, least of all the empire I've been fighting for for so many years."
Tavion was practically shaking in agony, and her disbelieving gaze rested with great difficulty on the captain's face, which was stoic despite the obvious pain and shame that came from the expression of both green eyes.
"Why?" She asked in shock and with difficulty, and all this effort only added to the agony and exhausted her almost completely. "I thought you wanted revenge on the Jedi for the death of your beloved sister."
Valorion knelt over her, looking with immense pity. "I have discovered through my short but undeniably intense life that revenge never does anyone any good. I have no desire to avenge someone who is long dead."
After these words, he stood up, getting rid of the tears accumulated in his eye sockets in the meantime, and reached for the ancient artifact, which was the key to what he desired at that moment. "What I desire, what I have fought for over the past few months, and why I committed this shameful betrayal, is the future of our empire. A future for a galaxy basically wiped out by this senseless rebellion of humans who yearned for a corrupt power that would eventually destroy all living things."
Tavion said nothing in counter, and her eyes only started to close due to the lack of strength. Their haze became more than obvious before her still tense body relaxed. In those last moments, Valorion could feel the Force's remorse and regret for the actions that had led to this. This happened for reasons unclear to him. Her eyes closed once and for all, and the young woman - who never really dared to reach her full potential, on her own - became one with the Force, thus leaving the material world once and for all.
"Rest in peace Tavion." He announced, wiping more tears from his eyes before turning to the monument from which the Dark Side of the Force was all too felt. "I loved you and made my possible future with you before you chose to go mad for a long-dead Sith whose time had passed with his death."
With these words, and with a roar of fury, he directed the ancient artifact towards the huge monument, after which the beam shot out and new energy began to flow into the scepter, some of which was etched into the effigy of the former Sith ruler.
Valorion had no problems with manipulating the artifact, because Tavion shared with him and Alora - in case of her own premature death - knowledge about the use of this dark relic of the past. It wasn't even necessary, because with the touch of the scepter, the knowledge of how to use it flowed into the former Shadowtrooper's mind. It's as if the dark artifact is at least semi-sentient, and they want to be used as soon as possible after receiving a new master to absorb the power that has been significantly weakened as a result of the last use.
Valorion had no intention of letting the dead Sith Lord's artifact wait long. However, before that happened, he decided to make sure of the situation outside and activated a small, private communicator.
Then, he began to communicate with the commanders of both the individual cultist groups and the reborn in the valley, but also with the commander of the elite company of stormtroopers sent here as backup.
"Commander Maldorck, what's the situation in your sector?"
"We and a group of Reborn are trying to fend off another Jedi onslaught, but with them is that young man you said to pay close attention to, sir."
"I see." Valorion thought for a moment before answering. "At least try to eliminate or seriously injure his companions and himself. The guards in the tomb should be able to deal with him if all goes according to my plan."
"Yes, sir." After which the stormtrooper commander on the planet hung up, so Valorion moved on.
"Brother Talion, are you copy?" No response, even after waiting a while, was answer enough.
"Rovan, what is your current situation?" A question addressed to the leader of one of the Reborn groups in the valley also remained unanswered.
"Macai, how's the situation in your sector?" He asked, and this time he got an answer.
"Captain, this is Macai, my comrades and I managed to repulse the Jedi with the loss of four dead and one without an arm." The answer was calm, measured, and exactly what Valorion himself had expected. "I will stay in position if necessary."
Valorion ordered him to do just that, then contacted several more leaders of both the Reborn and the cultists. There was no answer to most of them, which gave an adequate picture of the situation as constantly deteriorating and soon the resistance of these combined forces would inevitably collapse. That being said, he had to end up here as soon as possible and get back to the Fury, the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer, which was orbiting the planet just waiting for the forces from the planet to return.
So Valorion aimed his scepter at the statue where the dark side energy was concentrated, then began to release all this power as soon as the beam shot and reached its target.
Almost immediately, the Imperial loyalist felt the immensity and strength of the Force begin to flow into the ancient artifact. The power that had been there for millennia, not to mention its immensity, had evoked a feeling of incredible delight in his heart and mind. At the same time, he felt that this was the ability that should be his and that he would use for the empire, for the revival in the full glory of the Dark Side of the Force order that would reign over the entire galaxy once again.
It took some time, but before all the Force energy could be absorbed by the artifact, Valorion sensed a rather strong presence within the tomb itself. Based on earlier reports, this must have been the same Jedi who had been causing great trouble to him and the Imperial faction under them for quite some time. At first, the Imperial officer felt a certain level of excitement as he would be able to take on someone truly powerful in direct combat and test his own skills. However, after that moment of excitement passed, he began to fear the potential possibilities that could arise from this. Although he knew that his own abilities were great, years of experience - especially dealing with pompous and arrogant officers who often overestimated their own abilities - effectively taught him to overestimate the capabilities of his opponent and assume that he may in fact be much more powerful than it seems at first glance.
Soon, Valorion also sensed the death of the guards outside and a strong presence in the Force was approaching him. But that didn't really matter much anymore, the energy had been almost completely drained and nothing could stop him anymore. For the captain, there was only one thing left to solve, getting off the planet and back to the destroyer.
"Tavion!" The Jedi, whom Valorion had sensed earlier, screamed. Undoubtedly, he did not expect to see the leader of the cult dead, and the scepter in the hands of an unknown user of the dark side of the Force. "What happened here.
At that moment, the last of the dark side energy was sucked into the ancient scepter, and only a blood-red flash of light was any visual indication of the completion of this process.
"Ah, isn't this the Jedi who has been giving us a lot of trouble for so many months?" Valorion asked rhetorically as he turned to face the man approaching him, though teenager would be a more accurate and more factual term. "I have to say that I'm genuinely impressed. I didn't expect anyone to be able to break through the legions of Reborn and cultists that I assisted in training and was a big part of in such a short amount of time."
Jedi Jaden Korr - only now Valorion remembered his name - paused in the center of the hall, his lightsaber at the ready, ready for any sudden attack.
"I asked you a question!" He spoke with a firmness not expected from someone so young. "What happened here?"
Valorion shot him an impassive look and made it clear that the Jedi had no power over him, and that whatever he decided to say was entirely up to him.
"Well, I got rid of one of the many parasites that, for more than a decade now, have been consuming and destroying the great empire within for their own power, personal gain." The imperialist replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, but without malice or any joy. "It is ultimately my duty as a righteous and devoted citizen of the Galactic Empire to rid the body of my nation of parasites."
Jaden stared straight into his eyes for a while before he sighed. "I suspect that I will not know anything more on this matter. Isn't it?"
"You're right, Jedi." Only now did Valorion allow himself a slightly haughty smile. "Now get out of the way. You are not my enemy, despite being on opposite sides of this galactic war. I have an empire to save and I don't want to waste any more time than necessary."
"You probably know I won't." Jaden answered him firmly, then his grip tightened on the deactivated blade. "I cannot allow this dark artifact to continue to exist. It is too dangerous to allow it to continue to exist."
"Dangerous!?" Valorion shouted back, almost mockingly, and his eyes shone with obvious amusement, as if he didn't take his words seriously at all. "No, instead I see a powerful tool, as well as the Force itself, that will enable me to save the Galactic Empire and lead what we have left torn apart by greedy traitors to rule the galaxy again!"
Valorion then raised the scepter and seemed to be watching it carefully, seeing it as a tool to fulfill his own vision, in which he felt more and more involved from moment to moment. "Chaos, corruption and decadence will be broken once more, and the Imperial ideal and the resulting discipline, order, will inevitably ensure peace throughout the galaxy as it should be!"
"You're wrong." Jaden answered him as firmly as before and activated the blade, the blade of which flashed a green beam of energy. "This will not save your beloved Galactic Empire, but it will destroy you and all those close to you. If not from an external enemy, then from an internal one, as you did with Tavion."
"You dare compare me to that selfish parasite who almost brought back another lunatic from ages ago!?" Valorion growled furiously, but his emotions subsided rather quickly as he regained his composure. "Such short-sightedness would be expected from a fool like you and the other Jedi and the rest of your pathetic order! While I initially had my doubts about the dark side of the Force and what it has to offer, over time I fully understood that it is exactly what he needs to save the empire and the galaxy from a band of corrupt acolytes of the will of the Force like you and your New Republic."
Jaden looked like he wanted to argue. Despite everything, he understood that there really is no room for dialogue with someone with such strong convictions, who is so convinced of the rightness of his actions. However, he sensed no uncritical fanaticism in him, but only great devotion to a vision in which this man sincerely believed.
"Then you leave me no choice, whoever you are." He assumed a fighting stance at this point, ready to attack the enemy.
"Just like you, Jedi." The Shadowtrooper repulsed him, then activated the crimson blade that had been disabled earlier while absorbing the energy with the scepter. "For the record, I am Captain Valorion Hessan, a loyal and dedicated warrior of the Galactic Empire."
Jaden didn't answer, and neither did the imperialist, and the two stared at each other for several long moments before this period of calm ended and the fight began.
Valorion pushed forward the arm that held the scepter in a straight position. A beam of energy shot towards Jaden, who had to save himself with an acrobatic and quite impressive jump upwards. Valorion, however, did not give up and tried to track the opponent with the still active scepter, but again without success.
The Jedi Knight fell to the ground and rolled behind one of the large and fairly well-carved stones. The beam of energy, although it hit the obstacle, it did not cause much damage to the carved stone, apart from burning the cavity. So, in order not to waste energy unnecessarily, the officer was forced to stop and use his lightsaber this time.
Seeing it as a good opportunity to cross blade with the enemy and perhaps gain an advantage that would decide their fight.
Valorion saw through his intention easily, and quickly took up a position that matched his Form VI, which he had learned from Dessan, and which suited him quite well as a soldier.
Jaden at the same time prepared himself for the clash, through his preferred Form III. They soon crossed blades, but it was Valorion who attacked and tried to gain the upper hand while Korr successfully blocked all of his attacks and after a while decided to counterattack.
Valorion, however, or rather despite holding a rather heavy and unbalanced scepter in his hand, was still able to successfully push back the counterattack, block the slash attempt for a bit longer and regain the initiative. This revealed the reason for the respect and prominence he had received from both Desann and Tavion.
Valorion unleashed a whole series of more or less powerful attacks, but still basically quite flexible thanks to the versatility of the form he uses. At one point, he did not even sniff to use the more pointed parts of an ancient artifact to attack an opponent, but without success. Jaden easily dodged his attacks - slowed down further by the mass of the scepter itself - and at one point even tried to destroy the artifact with a single slash, thus ending the fight.
The Shadowtroopers commander, however, saw through his intentions and stepped back sharply, causing the green lightsaber to cut only empty space. Taking it at face value, Valorion counterattacked. He rolled forward a few meters, intending to stab the scarlet blade into the chest, but the young man once again managed to dodge its attack.
It was a really even fight between two skilled swordsmen, but Valorion was the better of the two. While it might not have been noticeable from a superficial analysis of the fight, what effectively dulled his potential and abilities during the fight was the heavy scepter. Had it not been for that, both had no doubt that the clash would have been much more one-sided and quick. After all, despite being able to turn the fight to his advantage quickly, Valorion simply wasn't willing to risk it at this critical point, when victory was practically at hand. Throwing the scepter aside, even if only for a few small moments, was inevitably associated with the quite real danger that the Jedi would gain the opportunity to destroy the artifact and thus be able to thwart the rather ambitious plans of a loyal follower of imperial ideals. So the risk simply couldn't be taken by him, not when the stakes were so high.
Seeing that it could take a long time and there was no guarantee that it would end with stopping this imperialist, Jaden decided to take a rather radical step. He retreated a few steps back - when Valorion was about to make a pretty strong cut - he took a deep breath and pointed the fingers of his left hand towards the opponent. It wasn't even a moment before a whole stream of Force lightning shot from the tips of the Jedi's fingers. A technique common among Sith Lords and other Dark Side users, and very rarely by Jedi, and usually in altered form. Nevertheless, and despite these connotations, Kyle Katarn - Jaden's instructor and master - chose to teach him this powerful technique, given their uninteresting experiences on Vjun, where they were almost overwhelmed by the sheer size of both cultists and Reborn.
Valorion, although he was surprised and confused at first, soon recovered. Unfortunately for him, it was too late for him to block the lightning bolts and his body absorbed the energy discharge, costing him a momentary weakness, falling to his knees and both the heavy scepter and lightsaber falling out of his hands. On this occasion, he groaned in pain and annoyance, for despite his great swordsmanship and Force choke skills, he wasn't prepared to deal with more advanced techniques.
Jaden saw this as a good time to bet everything on one card, so he quickly and agilely moved forward to sink the blade into the Sith artifact as soon as possible and end this threat once and for all. He was even close, but the pain he inflicted on his opponent made him determined as much as anger, and he recovered very quickly. Just as Jaden thought he was about to finish it off and destroy the scepter, Valorion unceremoniously pulled it back to him, this time grabbing it with both hands, and sent a beam of energy at the Jedi, but not as concentrated as the Imperial captain's. he would wish it.
Jaden was pushed back and slammed into one of the rocks, causing an easy-to-see dent on one particular side, before crashing to the ground, clearly weakened by the attack. In addition, many hours of fighting without the necessary break and strenuous physical and mental activity also took their toll, so he was unable to get up from the ground and collapsed on the first attempt.
Valorion could end it now, take the scepter and just walk away. Nevertheless, due to a strong desire for revenge and pure pragmatism - because he did not want to risk the Jedi being able to rise and follow him anyway - he fired another energy beam, this time much stronger, but not at the Jedi himself, but instead at the ceiling. The concentrated energy did so much damage that boulders and rubble quickly began to bury the overpowered Jedi. It soon turned out, however, that the imperialist definitely exaggerated with the energy used, because literally the entire ceiling began to crack and it threatened to bury him underground as well.
Wasting no time, he pulled the black and deactivated blade towards him and, following pure intuition, sent another shot of energy into one of the walls, behind which - to his surprise - a tunnel had been hollowed out. So Valorion jumped inside as quickly as possible and moved forward.
During the time he followed these slightly darkened and dark corridors, however, he could not come to a malicious - in relation to the former Sith Lords - conclusion. Apparently, all these powerful users of the dark side of the Force paid more attention to the grandeur and majesty of their tombs than to ensuring the well-being of their people or conquering the galaxy. As if they assumed by default that all such attempts are doomed to failure in advance.
It was a lesson for the imperialist that he must be fully committed to his crusade against the New Republic and for the reunification of the galaxy in accordance with the imperial ideal. It was so instructive for him that he understood that on the way to this goal he could not refrain from using literally all available methods, if only a specific tactical or strategic goal would be worth the resources used.
It took him many standard minutes to roam the corridors and find his way out of this dead, sandy, dark side ravaged world. In fact, he didn't know exactly how much time had passed. However, it did not matter much to him, because he successfully got to the surface in the end.
Very quickly, he sensed that both the Reborn and the cultists or stormtroopers had been almost completely wiped out, or seeing no better way out, had simply capitulated to the Jedi. As for the knights, there were hundreds of them on the planet, stronger or weaker, but still Valorion didn't have the slightest chance against them. Fortunately for him, the powerful aura of the dark side of the Force that seemed to permeate this entire planet was a very effective veil for him, under which even the most powerful of the Force users were unable to sense him.
That said, he found one of the many Lambda-class shuttles very quickly, still with the crew waiting for anyone to return.
Valorion almost immediately after arriving inside ordered them to take off, which a total of five men - two pilots, a mechanic and two stormtroopers for security - did without the slightest resistance, because they recognized him without much difficulty.
The Shuttle rose skyward until it entered the atmosphere and then orbited Korriban, where the Fury Star Destroyer was still present. The mighty arrowhead-shaped ship orbited the planet as if waiting for an order or a sign to fire like an arrow and strike at the enemy.
Shadowtrooper knew all too well that he had to hurry, and he was constantly urging the pilots to speed up, for he had no doubt that the Jedi had summoned the New Republic to fight the cult, whose task fleet could arrive above the surface at literally any moment. With this in mind, he contacted the ship's commander and lifelong friend, Captain Arcturus Fyyar - the late admiral's younger brother - to prepare Fury for the jump into hyperspace as soon as his shuttle landed at the crew-designated bridge, the hangar. The captain, completely unaware of what was happening on the surface of the planet, willingly agreed to his basically order.
So it didn't take long for the Lambda shuttle to land in one of the hangars, and after a quick exit outside, Shadowtooper was greeted by dozens of stormtroopers, several officers, pilots and technicians. Everyone had barely lined up facing each other, and Valorion didn't pay much attention to them anyway as he stormed out of the shuttle and hurried through the sterile corridors towards the bridge. It took some time, and during the march, due to his rank of Senior Captain, he was met with polite salutes among the crew members he encountered. He was primarily known among them as an Imperial stormtrooper and Force-sensitive warrior, and as one of the empire's best remaining officers in the Stormtrooper Corps, so he naturally commanded great respect among them. Although in this field he did not have much competition, considering the real carnage in the ranks of the once elite formation, which has now fallen to the status of a regular army, and in some cases even worse.
Clad in black and crimson, he strode onto Fury's bridge, his cloak elegantly fluttering behind him as he unceremoniously passed the security section. His entrance drew the attention of literally everyone, starting from the guards, technicians and ending with officers. However, among them, only Captain Fyyar was of greatest importance as the commander of the ship.
What additionally drew attention to the former commander of the Shadowtroopers was the scepter held in his hand. This made it clear to everyone that something must have happened on the surface of the planet that was not in the plans, to put it mildly. It also made it clear to everyone present and in the meantime encountered that he was now the most important person in their faction.
"Captain, our mission here has been a failure, to put it mildly." He told him offhandedly as he approached the farthest part of the bridge's central porthole. "I have already given the order to set the appropriate coordinates so that we can move to the Stahlwelt planet in the Dynali sector as soon as possible. Have my orders been carried out?"
"Yes sir!" Obediently replied a fit and quite tall officer who had been standing at attention by him all this time, awaiting orders. "We are ready to jump into hyperspace, but I am concerned about the fate of those on the surface who may still be alive."
Although the dark side of the Force seemed to encourage Valorion to become aggressive and take out his anger on the officer, he himself found such behavior childish and could incite the rest of the crew to mutiny, in the worst case scenario. At best, he would be considered mentally unstable and his authority would be based solely on pure fear, so it would be easy to tear him down at the first major crisis.
"Dead or captured by the Jedi, and more to the point, we should never have come to this tomb world if we really wish for more than to be part of this great mass grave." Valorion answered him unceremoniously, throwing only a brief glance in his direction before his gaze focused on the great, endless and dark space. "Now, however, issue the hyperspace jump order to the sector I have designated immediately before a New Republic task force arrives here, against whose firepower we are beyond a reasonable doubt we will stand no chance."
"Yes sir!" With these words, the Captain turned quickly to the lower-ranking officers on the bridge deck and began to give them orders.
Valorion, meanwhile, stared into space, seemingly without purpose or thought, but in fact he was deep in thought. To be completely honest, the plan to betray and kill Tavion was born in his mind the moment she and her apprentices recruited him to their cause. He had no respect for them, much less true loyalty, because both women were self-centered and ensuring themselves as much power as possible. In particular, Valorion found the two unworthy of the hassle when they revealed a detailed plan at one cult meeting that looked like a reunion of freaks from the same sect, at least to Shadowtrooper himself.
He had no respect for any of the cultists, except perhaps for the Reborn still alive, but only because he had managed to discipline them a bit and give them a much more organized form than before. Other than that, however, he saw only chaotic and unbalanced children who actually thought it was a good idea to resurrect a long-dead ruler of an ancient people using his scepter - which had miraculously survived to this day - and expect gratitude from him in return. In Valorion's mind, this was just a stupid plan, not to mention that he couldn't see how it would help the empire - or rather the remnant of it - which was being hit again and again and the end of this spiral of defeats was simply not in sight.
Considering the futility of this plan, but at the same time literally feeling the power of the ancient scepter, which seemed to literally summon every user of the dark side of the Force, he decided on a very risky plan, which, however, could give him what he wanted, the opportunity to save the empire and its ideals. So he decided that serving under an offshoot of a faction governed by Tavion herself - who had cut ties with Empire Reborn in the meantime - would be the best option. Serving and waiting for the moment when attack and betrayal would benefit him the most, while not having anyone within the empire to threaten him.
As it turned out that day, waiting all this time paid off, and Valorion finally got it, after all those months of training just average and mentally unstable idiots and hearing Tavion or Alora say over and over again how wonderful, powerful, and how much Ragnos will reward them all as soon as he returns to the world of the living. Their brash and pompous boasting no longer mattered much and could be treated by Valorion as the fantasies of mere henchmen with excessive ambitions. They were dead, their plans - actually Tavion's plans, which Alora was a willing executor - lay in ruins and buried in the harsh sands of Korriban. At the same time, he, a disciplined and resolutely patient Imperial stormtrooper, was still among the living. Proud, determined and ready to fulfill his self-imposed mission, which was to liberate the galaxy from the tyranny of chaos, corruption and decadence brought by the New Republic.
Valorion knew, however, that determination and personal power alone were not enough. Especially since he only had one Star Destroyer and crew at his disposal at the moment. Perhaps the base crew, the city garrison, and the factory commander on Stahlwelt would remain loyal to him, as would the sector's manager, Moff Irvin Zick. It would be a very good base for Valorion himself, from which he could undoubtedly start building his position among the imperial remnants, and thus rebuilding the Galactic Empire itself.
After all, Valorion needed more than the loyalty of a single-sector Moff and his forces to restore the Galactic Empire as the ruling force of the entire galaxy - or at least a large part of it. Shadowtrooper needed credits, precious metals, more factories, shipyards, ships, entire fleets, armies, military academies that could provide him with constant access to new soldiers. He also needed legitimacy, and as he had seen more than once, power alone, or even the Force, was not enough. It was also necessary to establish cooperation with elements of the criminal underworld to obtain more equipment, mercenaries and possibly illegal technology, if the need arises.
In truth, Valorion had no real plan for what he would do after obtaining the scepter and destroying the cult. In fact, he had only the outline of a plan, which was only useful until his arrival at the Stahlwelt, and only then did he intend to plan any further moves. Only when the situation becomes much clearer to him.
All his thoughts met after a while with the replacement of black space by a powerful wormhole. Thus, Fury entered hyperspace, and Valorion even allowed himself a small smile. He literally felt, and a strong conviction throbbed in his mind, that this was the beginning of a new, reborn Galactic Empire, and his rule was just beginning.
Yavin 4, Yavin system
Jedi Praxeum
Jaden woke up with a groan and pain that seemed to run through most of his body as consciousness began to come back to him. He felt as if for a very long and indefinable period of time, he had been buried under some ruins. He opened his eyes slowly, but the light only irritated his iris a little. He literally felt that his limbs and body in general were weak and unlikely to return to their former physical prowess any time soon.
But that wasn't his biggest concern, for a determined, distinctive, swarthy face immediately flashed through his mind, and belonged to a fanatical imperialist.
Imperialist, the word flashed in his mind as he remembered the man in black armor with a crimson cape and blade of the same color, and the Scepter of Ragnos in his left hand.
"Jaden, you're awake!" His master's well-remembered voice rang out as he tried to raise himself or turn towards the voice in any way. "Don't get up, don't even try to move, your stitches and some broken bones haven't fully healed yet and you'll have to go through a long and boring bacta tank treatment if you're going to get back to your old strength."
"Kyle." It was all he managed to moan, very weakly, though he was finally able to open his eyes and details of everything he remembered last before he was pushed away and passed out came back to his consciousness. "Man, there was some swarthy man in the tomb who took the scepter!"
His sudden rise and another attempt to get up from - as it quickly turned out - one of the beds in the infirmary of the Praxeum, ended with another wave of pain, groans and the intervention of his master, who helped him lie back down to a relatively comfortable position.
"Don't worry, kid, you've been buried under the ruins of the tomb for two whole days and it took a lot of effort to get you out of there." Kyle had actually had moderate success at calming the student down, but still, Jaden was clearly concerned. "We also found Tavion's corpse, butchered and cut open in the middle, and the entire tomb was basically completely sent from the dark side essence. That said..."
"The scepter has been taken and I know who took it." Jaden replied, urgently and as quickly as he could. "I initially went there, to the center of Marka Ragnos's tomb, with the intention of confronting Tavion. However, there I met someone who was standing over her corpse and using a scepter, not to bring the dead Sith Lord back to life in any way, but to suck out all the darkness this particular place had to offer."
"He did so, and managed to escape from Korriban before the arrival of a task force of three Mon Calamari star cruisers." A much more relaxed and strain-free voice was heard - despite the tense situation - which caught the attention of master and apprentice. "From what Rosh has told us, this man would be Captain Valorion Hessan, former swordsmanship instructor Desanna Reborn and, as reported by Republic intelligence, the leader of one of the Imperial factions that is growing in power at a pace as alarming as it is improbable."
While Luke's words were undoubtedly alarming, even disturbing, Jaden paid particular attention to just one detail of his words. "Rosh is alive, what happened to him!?"
Kyle, hearing his concern for his friend, with whom relations had broken down and were now quite shaky, couldn't help but smile that even his beard couldn't disguise. "Why don't you ask him personally?"
At that moment, the door to the infirmary opened and a black-haired, once lost, indecisive and manipulative teenager walked in. "Jaden, it's been way too long since we've had a chance to talk."
The two young men smiled at each other and exchanged glances. While Jaden was undoubtedly tired, still battered, and generally unfit for physical activity, nor did he look like he was at his peak, Rosh was quite the opposite. The once fearful, somewhat cowardly and conceited teenager seemed to have disappeared, replaced by someone else much more impressive and admirable. His amber eyes - despite the joy - were determined and strong in expression, his hair was short and neatly combed to the right side. The robes, which used to give an impression of motley color due to the combination of white and orange, have been replaced by - mostly at least - gray or black. Completing all these changes was a double-bladed lightsaber deactivated and attached to his belt.
Seeing the joy of both young men seeing each other, Kyle couldn't help but make a small comment. "I swear, had it not been for my firm orders, Rosh would have been sitting by your side neglecting the basics of personal hygiene or satisfying your hunger. "
The once-fallen Jedi turned to the master with a calm and unusually measured - at least for himself - expression on his face. "Kyle, you and he came to my rescue even though you had no reason to. I am eternally grateful to you and sincerely doubt that I can ever repay that debt of gratitude or become as great a defender of the Force as you are."
"Rosh, you are way too hard on yourself." These words of the eternally stoic Skywalker drew everyone's attention to him. "You've definitely changed for the better in the last six months. Your arrogance and fear that clouded your judgment are gone, replaced by your dedication and determination to the principles of the order. If that's not enough, I don't know what is."
"Perhaps you're right, but regardless, we still have a new threat to the republic and our order to discuss." He replied, deftly moving to the main topic that was to be discussed by them. "The new leader of this new, thriving remnant faction is the man who, during my time in the cult, was a swordsman and before that, the commander of the Shadowtroopers who were part of the academy invasion force two years ago, Valorion Hessan. A few more months Captain of the Stormtrooper Corps, now self-proclaimed Lord Regent of the Galactic Empire."
"Lord Regent?" Jaden asked in surprise, raising an eyebrow as he did so. "So I missed quite a bit I guess."
"Indeed, and the man who was able to obtain this powerful artifact for himself is now a major threat to our order and the republic." Kyle spoke up, clearly nervous about having to talk about it. "I've had a hard time finding any detailed information on this new threat. Valorion and his faction operate quite covertly, much more subtly than Tavion and her cult, often using third parties."
"I remember me and him having a short conversation." The other trio in the infirmary took notice of Jaden's words almost immediately. "He told me that he killed Tavion because of his lack of faith in the empire, that she was basically using the empire for her own selfish gain, not that I'm opposed to his claims on the latter point. Nevertheless, he made it clear to me that he was committed to what he defined as the imperial ideal."
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Kyle couldn't help but make a small and slightly mocking statement. "Well, given that he ultimately caused much of the tomb to collapse and risked his own life in the process, we can assume his words are not a lie or an attempt to falsely justify his own actions."
"Furthermore, from his responses, I gathered that he doesn't care about the Force and seems to regard it more as just a tool with which he can save the Galactic Empire." Jaden continued. "From our duel, I remember that he is an extremely dangerous swordsman who you have to be really careful with, especially in the face of his quite well developed acrobatic skills. However, his great advantage is his lack of ability to use the Force and its techniques, even to defend against them. I was able to easily smite him with Force lightning, but thanks to the darkness's strengthening of his body and sheer determination, he was able to pick himself up and keep fighting. In the end, he beat less."
For a brief moment, Jaden seemed to be a bit tired and even overwhelmed, but after a short while and gathering his strength, he was already trying to get up. "But that doesn't matter now because I need to get to work asap and stop him! Ultimately, I failed and was unable to stop him from taking the artifact, draining the energy from the tomb, escaping, or building his own power base! It's my responsibility!"
Kyle and Rosh, however, hurried almost immediately at the sight of his attempts to get out of bed to put him back down. The one who spoke, however, was the former and his master. "Jaden, I totally understand your determination, but you don't seem to see the big picture. At worst, we expected to pull you out of these ruins dead, but you survived, despite multiple fractures inside your body, the need for a long bacta tank treatment, and the installation of several prosthetic limbs, perhaps even for the rest of your life. Regardless of the threat on the horizon, you need to rest and recuperate, not to mention the need to regain your former fitness, which can take a long time."
Both Rosh and Luke nodded in agreement, and Jaden sank back onto the bed as his eyes closed as fatigue slowly began to overwhelm his will and mind once again. "Do you have any plans to fight this so-called Lord Regent?"
"For now, we're going to focus on collecting information and intel on him and the remnant faction he leads." Luke explained calmly. "While we have not had much success so far, we have managed to establish some facts in this regard. First of all, his faction is called the Second Galactic Empire. He himself undoubtedly has a lot of support among the warlords and has subjugated several of those who did not kill Daal two years ago. He even managed to form quite a powerful fleet, which although scattered and we don't know its entirety, we were able to determine that Valorion has a dreadnought Vengeance, a ship from the class of the same name, and this particular model used to belong to Jerec. Also, 6 confirmed Imperial II-class star destroyers: Fury, Titan, Durasteel Fist, Invincible Sword, Durasteel Rage and Order. Plus at least twenty Victory II-class star destroyers and many smaller ships."
"A mighty force, and that's probably still not his full power." Rosh remarked grimly, but his face showed no definite feeling about it. "We don't yet have an exact knowledge of its capabilities and strength in terms of ground forces, but it can be assumed that it is equally powerful and potentially dangerous to us. However, what caught my attention when researching this faction was that they started a program with the goal of creating a new, much better than the basic TIE/LN, next generation starfighter."
"I understand and I don't see our future bright." Jaden sighed, then opened his eyes. Regardless, someone will have to face this new threat, and I hope to be among you. But until then, the Force will not be with you."
With those words, fatigue overcame him completely, and after a while his eyes closed once more, giving rise to the long and sound sleep Jaden undoubtedly needed after all this. After all, the young Jedi had no doubts that he would still cross blades with Valorion, who wasted no time in that few months and was constantly expanding his power base over what was left of the Galactic Empire.
AN: Hello, my dear readers, and I invite you to read another of my one-shots. This time, I decided to have some fun with the plot and events of Star Wars: Jedi Academy. Specifically, what they might look like with the interference of my OC, which in this case will be an Imperial loyalist and Dark Side user who, however, compared to most of his colleagues - I mean the Dark Jedi - by profession of that period, is focused not so much for gaining personal influence or power over the galaxy, but saving the empire, which is basically the most important part of life for him and he was brought up according to imperial ideals.
I haven't seen any fic yet that deals with the unexpected arrival of someone new at this particular moment that could basically redefine the future event of this universe. So I decided to write this literally a few days ago, on the spur of the moment, and I personally hope that it will encourage someone to - perhaps - write their own fic on a similar topic. An imperialist endowed with sensitivity to the Force, who at a crucial moment decides to betray a leader whom he does not have the slightest confidence in and who does not realize the vision of the empire he has drawn in his head.
I hope you enjoyed reading this and that it wasn't a waste of your time. I also encourage you to read my other works that concern various universes.
Love you all and see you in the future.