Darth Krayt sat on his prestigious throne as he reveled in the feeling that Luke Skywalker's death brought to the Force.
It was a moment of pure ecstasy for him, untainted by hope or the courage to fight on from those who belonged to Skywalker's Jedi. To Krayt, it was a sign that the One Sith were ready to take over the galaxy. It was just as he expected when he decided to help the Killiks on Reonoq by helping them gather up more members and prevent their loss of ThurThul by the initial Jedi task force. Krayt also believed that it was the Force that allowed him to give the nest of Thuruht six prototypes for a special bomb that the One Sith's scientists had developed; one that could trick a Force-sensitive, such as a Jedi, into believing that one of their own was stranded within the cockpit of a derelict vessel by sending out waves through the Force that would make those Jedi believe that their fellows were in those ships.
Such complex engineering, combined with aspects from the Force, really paid off in leading to Luke Skywalker's death, Krayt thought smugly.
Just as the sensation of Skywalker's passing came to an end, however, a new sensation just as powerful as the last erupted to engulf Krayt's inner being.
But it was one that he now dreaded deeply.
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Ford and Five-U gently led Ben, who slouched in abject misery, down towards the library that had belonged to Hego Damask. Upon stepping up to the door, Ford unlocked it with a keycard and continued on in with his companions.
"You know, I'm curious, Captain," Five-U said as the three of them began traveling through the expansive library, "you never did mention how this library managed to survive a nuclear blast if it wasn't encased in a bunker not meant to withstand such an attack."
"You didn't think to ask this before?" Ford asked.
"The thought simply never occurred to me before," Five-U answered.
"Well, it is quite obvious what you think most of the time," Ford remarked.
"A jab at my love for porn?" Five-U asked.
"Yes," Ford answered. "But anyway, the thing is, this library didn't survive that nuclear blast, Five-U. What you see around you are actually copies of the very same books, holocomms, and even scrolls that Magister Damask owned in his lifetime; I took to recording those that didn't have any copies in the event that something like this would occur."
Five-U whistled as he regarded the whole library. "So why keep 'em?"
"Knowledge is a powerful thing, something that could equal in power to the Force, either light or dark," Ford said. "And while Magister Damask was never as intelligent as I was, I would be remiss to say that he never believed that it held any worth."
"So, in essence, these are keepsakes from your time serving this guy," Five-U concluded.
"In essence, yes," Ford replied.
"So where are going then?" Five-U asked. "I'm not sure our friend here is much interested in the library right now." He indicated Ben with a jerk of his head, who showed no signs of even registering the conversation occurring between the droids.
"His interest is irrelevant," Ford replied. "All we need is his cooperation."
"You think it's guaranteed when he's like this?" Five-U inquired.
"It won't be difficult even for someone in Ben's emotional state," Ford said. "I was originally going to trick him when he was still a light sider, but now that he turned to the dark side for killing that Sith ex-girlfriend of his out there, and since he doesn't really care either way now, I think this will be easier than expected."
"What will be?" Five-U asked.
"You can stop asking, my friend, for here we are," Ford said as they stopped before a counter where a standard Sith holocron rested.
"Ben, if you would please activate the holocron?" Ford asked the young Jedi.
Ben looked briefly at Ford with his emotionally-weary expression before looking back down on the holocron and reaching out to it. But before his hand could rest on top of it, he flinched when the cube began glowing a dark blue. In spite of his reaction, though, Ben regarded the holocron with that same, downtrodden look.
Then the glowing blue from the holocron suddenly rushed from its source and enveloped Ben from head-to-toe completely. He screamed in agony, knocking him out of his depression for only a moment, before he collapsed to the ground, out of Ford and Five-U's grasps. The two droids regarded their fallen charge with obvious interest even on their otherwise expressionless faces.
"Can I ask a question?" Five-U asked, not taking his sight off of Ben as he continued to writhe on the floor in the dark blue glow.
"You just asked one, idiot," Ford said, also not taking his gaze away from Ben.
"Sorry, you just told me that I could stop asking, is all," Five-U replied. "But what's going on?"
"I think you're about to find out," Ford said as the glow vanished from Ben's form.
The young Jedi laid there for a few moments, eyes closed, before they opened up with a dark red-and-yellow hue.
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Once again, as if one Force-changing moment in a day wasn't enough, Saba felt another jolt of a terrible Force sensation encompass her being as her StealthX continued to fly with the remnants of the Jedi squadron through hyperspace back to Shedu Maad.
What happened now? she wondered.
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The body that had once belonged to Ben Skywalker stood up, his eyes still glowing red and yellow, as he regarded Ford and Five-U.
"One-One-Four-Dee," Ben said in a voice that was not his own. "After all these decades, you have finally succeeded in your mission."
Ford then bowed as if Ben were a king. He then briefly looked back up to Five-U, who only continued standing at his full height as he stared at their human accomplice. The droid captain elbowed his subordinate, who was getting a brief, curious stare from Ben, and Five-U hastily bowed before the human likewise.
"I live to serve you, and only you," Ford said, "Darth Plagueis."
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Admiral Ar'alani regarded the sensors showing the descending Chiss shuttles that would recover their lost brethren from beneath the caverns of Reonoq and also retrieve the shuttles of the initial landing party. From her seat on the bridge of her capital vessel, she was already regarding the situation intently.
But when the shuttles that had now entered the planet's atmosphere began falling to the surface of Reonoq like rocks, Ar'alani's alertness shot up to an eleven in an instant.
She motioned for one of her subordinates at the comms to hail the pilots of those descending shuttles before her demand was cut off in a strangled gasp. She grabbed at her throat, just as everyone else on the bridge of her ship did. In moments, they all collapsed to the deck as an increasing pressure within their necks was quickly depriving them of precious air.
Before any of them could actually die of oxygen-deprivation, all of their heads exploded into gory messes that decorated the entire bridge from ceiling to deck. The same could be said of the bridges of the other capital ships in the fleet, as well as any other area in any other ship in the Ascendancy armada present in the Reo system.
It was no wonder why the vessels of the second landing party were falling so rapidly, nor why they were stopped from exploding against certain areas where the previous shuttles had landed. It was as if those shuttles that already landed were spared for others to pilot.
One would not be remiss to say that these events were all guided by a powerful hand.
Deep in the underground caverns of Reonoq, Allana Djo Solo, now ThurSolo, queen of Thuruht, sat deep in concentration with the rest of her Killik brethren, as well as their Joiner counterparts, as they used the Force to coordinate a pent-up attack that eliminated their Ascendancy foes in one swift movement. The former rulers of this nest, ThurThul and Thuruht's own Killik queen, had joined this attack without complaint to the loss of their leadership, for it was the will of Thuruht; no individuality between them was expressed anyway.
Now Thuruht had vessels with which they could use to leave the Reo system.
Now Thuruht had a way to expand through the galaxy.
"Now we have a way to rule," they all said in their unified drone, all at the lead of their new, true queen.
A queen once believed to lead the Jedi.
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Darth Wyyrlok wryly wondered if powerful changes through the Force would become a regular event at this point, as Darth Krayt, after issuing a command to Wyyrlok to dispatch a team of Sith to a remote moon known as Sojourn, doubled over in his throne in pain again; Krayt had informed him of Luke Skywalker's death and this unknown sensation that had come from Sojourn upon his entrance to the throne room prior to this new feeling from the Force.
"What troubles you, My Lord?" Wyyrlok asked worriedly, in spite of his aloof thoughts before.
"Not only do we have a new power that threatens my authority, Wyyrlok, but now we have two," Krayt said in a disturbed tone.
"From where?" Wyyrlok asked.
Krayt hesitated. "Reonoq."
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After Ford introduced Five-U to Darth Plagueis, the Sith, now in possession of Ben Skywalker's body, doubled over in pain.
"What now?" Five-U asked in an irritated tone as he stood up from his bow while Ford rushed to Plagueis's side. "I swear, it's a wonder how this guy hasn't died from over-stress at this point."
"What is it, Master?" Ford asked, ignoring Five-U.
"A new power arises just as I do," Plagueis answered as he stood up from the shock he endured. He looked over to Ford. "We must depart immediately. You may tell me about this form that I inhabit later, Four-Dee." He moved for the exit of the library.
"Where are we going, Master?" Ford asked as he and Five-U followed along.
"Anywhere but here," Plagueis said.