Act 1, Chapter 1

The Wrath sat idly on his couch, toe tapping in boredom. He quite enjoyed the look and feel of his couch. Custom built on Voss, he had slain the Tukata himself for their leathery hides. He was a Sith; he felt entitled to those things. And he wasn't just a Sith in name. He was a true pureblood. His bright red skin, glowing yellow eyes, and mastery of the Force were all proof of his lineage. When he stood, he towered over most others and could stare eye to eye with most Trandoshans and even some Wookies.

He was known as Darth Ironsoul Pureheart, and he liked it that way. Even better was the moniker of The Wrath.

The Wrath followed the teachings of Marka Ragnos and had learned his lessons well. Nearly untouchable in battle, he could now shrug off blaster fire or block a lightsaber with only bare skin. It stung, but it was certainly better than dying.

These traits served him well, and they only added to his intimidating features and other abilities. He stood as the second highest ranking Sith in the entire Empire, and he answered to one man only: the Emperor.

Maybe Darth Revan if he was still around… and not insane.

Ironsoul's face twitched and a small smile spread on his lips at the thought of Revan. Incredibly powerful and master of both light and dark, Ironsoul had learned what he could of the man, taking away a valuable lesson in the process. To be truly powerful, one had to use both sides of the Force.

As such, compassion had become a tool, at first. Now it was just another part of him. Peace of mind and clever thought had unnerved his enemies as he only grinned at impossible odds. Rage still empowered him in battle and encased his flesh in an armor of anger, but it did not control him. His passions were not as easily manipulated. He could separate himself from the rage, even in combat.

"What are you grinning about?" Vette, his wife, asked with a yawn in her voice. Her head had been resting on his leg and her body curled up like a Nexu kit, where she'd been sleeping for the last hour.

"Just thinking about how a light side Sith is the number two of the empire," he said, smiling broadly to show off a set of sharp incisors.

"Yeaaah… didn't see that one comin'," she replied with another yawn as Ironsoul stroked her lekku, admiring the rich blue of her skin, lined with black stripes and streaked with tattoos. She reached up to run a hand along his face, the one marred with crossing scars from all manner of weapons. It had left him looking like a holo-vid war hero even before he'd started his Sith training.

Since that time, it'd only become worse, obtaining long, ropey scars on most of his body. In the end, it was worth it, for he was a titan in battle and always took the brunt of any attack. He was as tough as battlesteel and a tenacious swordsman, and many of his allies and enemies knew it.

Vette stood and stretched, hands grasping over her head and heels lifting into the air. She was tall for a female Twi'lek, but it was all lean muscle. She'd been fit in her treasure-hunting days, but now, with more running and gunning in her life, it was even better, and Ironsoul loved that.

"When is Kvarous supposed to call again?" she asked, lowering herself to the ground. The man had seemed quite excited when she'd received a burst transmission from his ship the day before. Ironsoul and Kvarous both kept their ship's chronos synced to Dromund Kaas time, as it helped them deal with the infighting at the capitol.

Vette liked Kvarous. They had met on the Black Talon when an admiral had redirected the ship to assault a Republic cruiser in an attempt to recover a traitor. Ironsoul and Vette met up with Kvarous, an Imperial intelligence operative, and his own tagalong Ratataki, Kalio. Surprisingly, it had gone better than they might have thought. Ironsoul had threatened Satele Shan herself before completing their assignment, even handing the traitor to Imperial Intelligence to be pumped for information. Ever since that combat-filled bonding time, the two men had become friends, and Vette approved.

Ironsoul had risen to power while Kvarous faded into the background. The few that even knew about him these days just referred to him as The Spectre. He worked in the shadows and he liked it that way.

"Should be calling s-" The terminal in front of him sparked to life. "Now, apparently," Ironsoul finished, nodding a welcome to the Agent. Even has a hologram, Kvarous wasn't much to look at. His short stature was hardly imposing, and his features were plain from any distance. The only distinguishing thing about him was a scar crossing over his right eye, as well as some impressive cybernetics.

"Iron, Vette," he said, nodding to each of them, a task made awkward by the rebreather masking the lower half of his face. Vette had rarely seen him out of his combat armor, and that was only when he was undercover.

"Alright, Kvarous, let's hear it," Ironsoul spoke comfortably from the couch.

"Gimme a second, I'm bringing in the Twins. And Jaesa will want to hear about this as well."

"I'm here," the young Jedi woman said from the door to her quarters. She leaned against the wall, tan skin contrasting her much brighter attire. The robes, if they could be considered as such, cut off at her ribs, revealing a well-defined abdomen and back. A double-bladed lightsaber hung from her belt, and her loose, but heavy synth-weave pants ended halfway down her shins. Her feet were bare, something that marveled Vette, right alongside the Force. Even on Hoth, Jaesa hadn't changed her outfit, despite the below zero temperatures and vicious creatures.

Vette might have been jealous of the lovely Jaesa, but the Twi'lek had Ironsoul completely wrapped around her finger. Not only that, but she could take Jaesa in a fight. Vette had taken down both Sith Lords and Jedi Masters alike, so a training apprentice was of no concern to her.

"Good, good," Kvarous' proper Imperial accent piped up as he poked at his console. "M'ud? Nya? You reading this?"

"Yeah, we got it," two blue skinned humanoids joined the holo-image. Separated young, the twins had found one another when the brother, M'ud, became a Sith Lord. His contacts had eventually led him to his sister. The irony that had played out was that one of the people looking for his sister had been his sister. Both an ally race of the Sith, the Chiss siblings were individual terrors and an unstoppable force combined.

"We're on M'ud's ship. Mine is down for repairs… again," Nya said, thinly masking exasperation in her voice.

"You know any one of us could order you a Fury or Phantom, right?" asked Ironsoul.

"Yeah, yeah," Nya answered, dismissing the suggestion with a simple wave. "I like her and I earned her. I like the Fury… It's just not my ship."

"I understand. Now that we're all here… Kvarous. What's the word?" Ironsoul inquired.

"Right. The word is Rakata, the ancient kind from Belsavis. My intel shows a Jedi expedition landed under the guidance of Master Vorinfol. He's… a seer, of sorts. I sliced into his files and found a journal entry or two that refers to an ancient evil, rising to destroy the galaxy or some such nonsense."

"I knew Master Vorinfol," interjected Jaesa. "He is known for his wisdom and visions of the future. His foresight accurate, one of the most accurate the Jedi have ever seen."

"It seems odd that he wouldn't see his death coming then," Kvarous replied. "Shortly after landing, the expedition went dark. 36 hours later, a single panicked, and fragmented, burst transmission was intercepted. An apprentice named… Breena, studying under Master Orgus Din, a Jedi Council member. She managed to inform the Republic that a Rakata doomsday weapon was beginning its start up cycle. In…," Kvarous snapped his wrist to check his chrono, "52 hours, it goes active. We need this weapon," the agent said simply.

"We?" asked M'ud. "Does that mean we are, or will be, ready to act once we have this weapon?"

"Aye," rumbled Ironsoul. "I'm sick of the Dark Council and their failed leadership. They're too busy backstabbing one another to see their pointless power plays are losing us this war. We require a mixed council: people willing to work together and embrace all forms of the Force. The New Revanites will rule the empire and keep her strong." All who heard Ironsoul's statement dipped their heads in a collective agreement. The foolishness of the Sith had pushed them to the edge. It was time they started pushing back.

"So… what's the job?" Nya asked.

M'ud lifted one hand. "I would say check out this information to see if it's legitimate or not. Too many times have distress calls like this been a trap. However… I can confirm there is a large facility near the signal location. It was buried deep under the ice and seems to be warming up again. My own research into the ancient Rakata and their vaults on Belsavis confirm that this place not only exists, but that it's dangerous."

Kvarous nodded to M'ud, seconding the words. "Correct. I think we need to move as quickly as possible."

"It's a trap," Nya stated bluntly. They all peered at one another before they all said at the same time, "It's always a trap!" The unanimous phrase was followed by laughter from all.

Once the chuckles had died down, Kvarous said, "It's all hands on deck for this one. Nya? Divide your crew between our three ships. Oh, and one more thing." The agent drew his blaster. "No spies allowed." He snapshot the 2V-R8 Imperial protocol droid once in the center of its oddly shaped head, then again in the center of its torso. The droid's power core overloaded, causing it to release an extreme amount of heat and collapse into a pile of glowing, near-molten metal. At the same time, Ironsoul raised a hand and clenched his fist. His own droid got out a single squeak of protest before a crunching noise echoed over the holocall. A small, nearly smooth ball of metal bounced off the deck, spattering hydraulic fluids and sparks everywhere. M'ud and Nya looked at one another for a quick moment.

"All yours," M'ud said with a grin at his sister. Her own face took on an evil smirk as she raised a little detonator. She peered over her shoulder at their droid.

"Oops." Her thumb came down hard on the button.

"What? Masters n-" The droid managed that and a squeak before exploding. Molten chunks pinged off the deck and walls. Nya was laughing and even M'ud was still grinning as he shielded his face with one arm.

"What the hell?!" Vette yelped, sitting up to look at her husband.

Ironsoul was chuckling. "Vette, my dear. Who gave us those droids?"

"...The Empire?"

"And what can you put in a droid? Especially one that will be near a potential threat?"

"Oh… Wow! Never even thought of that!"

"I blame myself for being so distracting." The statement was followed by a kiss.

"Gross. Get a room!" Nya raised a hand to pretend and hide her eyes from the affectionate sight.

"I have a room. A whole ship, in fact!"

"Ugh, don't remind me," she groaned, rolling her crimson eyes.

"Children, please," Kvarous admonished them, holding out both hands in a placating gesture. "Let's get this over with. I certainly don't want to see the Republic acquiring this weapon. I'll make planet fall in…," his image wavered for a moment, "three hours. See you there. Last person to arrive buys dinner for everyone."

"Says the person who just jumped into hyper," Ironsoul snickered, watching as Jaesa hurried to punch coordinates into the navacomputer.

"Son of a bitch!" Nya snapped, sprinting out of the camera's view. M'ud just grinned after his twin sister before turning back to the screen to address Ironsoul.

"I think we'll win this round. See ya on the ground, Wrath."

Ironsoul only rolled his eyes. "I'm sure I won't see you until you want me to, Darth Khipps."

The display went dark and a moment later, a shudder passed through the ship as it made the jump to hyperspace.