Chapter 3. Dark Plans

When Mantus awoke the next day, he awoke to the smell of food. He slowly sat up as small trimmers ran up and down his entire body. He looked around and noticed he was still in the thrown room only now there was a table with an empty chair at one end. At the other end sat Darth Plageuis eating with the Hiss dragon at his side its tongue snaking in and out of its mouth. He stood and went to the table eyeing Plageuis in rage.

"Your hatred will serve you well in the future… but for now eat and regain your strength…"

Reluctantly Mantus sat down and started eating. "Why… why did you attack me?" He asked after the second mouthful of meat.

"Why do you think…" Plageuis asked after drinking from his goblet.

Mantus rolled his eyes, "You…" He fell silent, "Well you wanted to show me your power…"

Plageuis nodded, "Go on…"

"And show me that you are the master… I guess you want me to fear you…"

Plageuis raised a hairless eyebrow, "You guess?"

"You want me to fear you…"

"Fear can be destructive… Most everyday beings at some point stand up to their fears… Yes that is correct… You have a keen mind… A Sith has fear, but only to instill it in others, a sith has passion and passion fuels our power… You fear me and rightly so I could kill you with a thought…"

Mantus' face twisted, "But you won't…"

"But I won't for the time being… So tell me apprentice what do know of the sith…" Plageuis listened as Darth Mantus explained his knowledge he learned from the journal's of Lord Kaan. "Impressive, but the sith have become much more than that… Tell me do you know the code of the sith…"

"Yes…"

Plageuis raised his hand to stop him, then he threw a piece of meat to the dragon. "I should have asked do you understand it…" When Mantus hesitated Plageuis spoke up. "Recite each line one by one…"

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion…" Mantus said putting down his fork.

"Because all life is emotion and for animals instinct, for droids programming and some droids grow beyond their programming… No one can ever truly be at peace… The Jedi claim they have mastered their emotions and achieved a peace that allows them to commune with the force, but they have deceived themselves… They are passionate about protecting the republic and the innocent… Their passion stems from avoiding emotions they claim will lead to the dark side…"

Plageuis fell silent so that Mantus could reflect on his words, he picked up his goblet and drank before speaking. "Peace is a lie… All life is emotion and life creates the force…"

"Correct… The passion of life exists…"

"Through passion I gain strength…"

Plageuis had now finished his meal as the droid cleared his plate and brought him desert of ice cake. "When we give into our passions we gain the strength to do as wish… The strong rule and no matter what the Jedi say they can never change this unbreakable law of life… It is even so in their order… Only the most powerful and well learned sit on the council…" Mantus had to nod in agreement. "Make yourself strong…"

Mantus cut a piece of meat and placed it in his mouth before he continued. "Through strength I gain power…"

"The power to rule and shape the galaxy as you see fit… Power is meant to be hoarded and wielded not shared… Power is meant to be used…"

"I understand master… Through power I gain victory…"

"Victory over your enemies and those who would try to claim dominion over us…"

"Through victory my chains are broken…"

Plageuis finished his desert before continuing, "The chains represent everything that holds you back and only by embracing the true nature of the force can one reach his or hers' true potential…"

"The force shall free me…"

"You have surpassed all those who came before you with your new freedom including me… Then it is up to you to take the mantle of Lord of the Sith and seek out your own apprentice… That is the rule of two…"

"The rule of two?"

Plageuis waited until the droids removed the dishes before explaining. "I shall start from the beginning… What I am about to say will answer all the questions swimming in your head…" Plageuis took out a wookie hunting pipe and began smoking. "In the beginning the sith were a race a of people a species who worshipped the fallen Jedi banished from the order… They never forgot what they considered to be a betrayal by the Jedi… Eventually they adopted the name of the species… As they worshipped us as gods… Because of our command of the force… The first sith were men like Ajunta Pall, Freedan Nadd who founded the royal line of Onderon… Then there were aliens like Marko Ragnos who started the great hyperspace war… The ancient sith and everyone who walked that path respected strength… The sith tested themselves against each other and the Jedi… Always the Jedi were our enemies, but we fought amongst ourselves… Like the Jedi of old and of today there were thousands of sith… Many systems became barren waste lands because of our fights… Systems like the Noad system and Katarr… The legends speak of Sith so powerful that with one thought they could devastate the surface of an entire planet…

Sometimes weaker sith would ban together and unite their power to overthrow an all powerful leader… Like Tulak Hoard… Now enter the Sithari and the brotherhood of darkness… Prophecies have foretold of a sith lord who will lead the sith to ultimate victory…"

"Was this sithari Darth Bane…"

Plageuis smiled, "Yes… He founded the rule of two… Two sith no more no less… One to embody the power the other to crave it…"

Mantus put his head down and thought about everything he had just learned. "Did Darth Bane betray the brotherhood…"

"Yes…"

"Why… I mean Lord Kaan saw that all the fighting and even the title of Darth was self destructive…"

"Yes the brotherhood served its purpose… but it was a perversion of what the ancient Sith stood for… Darth Bane understood this but he also saw that if everyone was equal, then how could the truly strong and powerful really rule… with only two Darth Bane ensured that only a worthy person took the thrown… The same rules apply but instead of thousands of sith fighting the Jedi and fighting for the thrown only two… The Master passes his knowledge and wisdom to a successor and if that person is truly worthy they will take the mantle from their master…"

Again there was a moment of silence for reflection, then Mantus broke that silence. "How can two sith fight an entire order of Jedi and what if both were killed… Then who would carry the banner of the sith?"

Plageuis smiled, "I asked my master the same thing… I will tell you what he told me… The sith is an idea… And ideas are the hardest things to kill… There will always be someone to carry the banner… As for two against some thousand plus Jedi… The sith shall defeat them the same way Lord Bane defeated the brotherhood… Through deception, guile, and cunning… There has been a plan in the works from the day Lord Bane founded the rule of two… Corrupt politicians placed in key seats inside the senate… a spy network to rival that of even the bothans… and finally a vast wealth of credits hidden under several accounts as not to draw attention to them…"

Mantus ran his hand through his hair, "But how will that defeat the Jedi…"

"War… The Republic shall fall from within… The time approaches fast…"

Mantus went silent again, "Do these plans have anything to do with the Trade Federation's recent rise to power…"

Plaguies smiled, "How very perceptive of you my young apprentice… When you have reached a certain level in your training I shall reveal more to you… for now come with me…"

They left the thrown room and made their way to a private enclosure where they could meditate and practice lightsaber combat. The exercises were long and Mantus trained just as hard as he did as a padawan only now he was learning the ways of the sith. He studied the teachings of Darths Bane,Zannah, Cognus, Talon, Vectivus, Vain, Romulus, and Omni. Mantus learned to focus his lust for power into conduit within himself to summon any time he pleased.

His power now included force choke, lightening, precognition, wave, and he could feed off of other people's emotions and even their life force. Mantus did not have the brain power to create force illusions. As he studied Mantus would often express his desire to know the grand plan that would bring about the fall of the republic and the Jedi.

Mantus stood over Plagueis' shoulder as he created an identity for him. "Captain of the sun guard?"

"Yes… The Jedi know your face even though they think you are dead… As my bodyguard you can be at my side in public when I play the role of Tin'sar Dimask…"

"Won't the Jedi sense our presence…"

Plageuis smirked, "There is an ancient sith technique that allow us to wear a cloke of light this will allow you to walk among the most powerful Jedi unawares… There is also a technique that allows you to diminish your force aura so that no one can feel your true power in the dark side…"

"When will you reveal these plans…"

"Your hunger for knowledge is admirable… but be patient even a sith needs to learn the importance of patience… I will tell you this your place in the grand sceme of things is fast approaching be ready…"

"I still wish to know more master… Is there anything you can tell me…"

Plageuis leaned back in his chair, "The trade federation is the tip of the ice berg as we speak Viceroy Sing is gathering clients outside the republic… These clients will eventually join the republic only to leave it after several well planned scandals…"

Plageuis went quiet, "And then?" Mantus asked impatiently.

"In time… My apprentice in time… but for now I must meditate I sense a great disturbance in the force…"