Disclaimer: I don't own SWTOR or anything in the Star Wars Franchise
'Now for the others.' Thyferus thought as he reignited his Lightsaber and smirked evilly and leapt at the soon to be dead attackers.
Thyferus sprang over the ruined walls of the shrine and landed on the rubble covered marble floors within. He was met with a hail of blaster fire from two of his attackers hidden behind columns farther down the hall.
Thyferus sensed something rather unusual emitting from one of the attackers but ignored it for it was most likely just a cyborg body part emitting an electrical current. Sometimes he would sense the energy flowing out of a cybernetic implant or something similar.
Thyferus raised his Lightsaber to defend himself from the sea of laser fire being fired at him. His opponents never ceased in their assault as they kept firing endless waves of blaster fire at him.
"Take this Sith!" One shouted as they unloaded round after round at the approaching Sith Lord. Dust rained down upon the combatants in the room as outside the Sith bombardment of Aldera continued.
Thyferus deflected all the blaster fire sent his way and reflected it back at his opponents in the shrine. The marble floor was torn apart by reflected blaster fire and pieces of marble were ripped out of the floor and went flying. Yet the battle continued without care for the destruction being caused.
Thyferus continued to block the deadly lasers being fired at him while searching for an opening where he could strike. After some minutes he saw and opening for an attack.
The shooter on the right had his knee exposed meaning that he could be wounded. Thyferus switched his Lightsaber to his right hand so that his left hand was free. While continuing to block the laser fire, Thyferus reached out with the Force and seized a dagger shaped piece of marble from the ground and then sent it flying towards the mans knee.
"AAAAHHHH!" The man cried out as his knee was impaled by the sharpened piece of marble. He fell brutally to the ground grasping the piece of marble and trying to wrench it out of his knee. Blood began to seep from the wound and started to pool around the man.
"ASHTON!" The other man screamed as he ran out from behind his cover to assist his comrade. Yet he had not gone four steps before he began to clutch his throat like he was choking. He levitated roughly a few feet above the ground.
"What a pity to end this way. Trying to help a friend." Thyferus said as he held the man up in the air while continuing to choke him. He advanced down the corridor until he was in front of the two.
"Garg…..go to eugr….hell." The man croaked out before Thyferus snapped his neck and flung him into the wall. He crashed into the wall so hard that it came down on his lifeless body.
"Now for you." Thyferus said as he turned to look at the sniveling man at his feet. The man was still clutching at the piece of marble impaled in his knee. He looked up at Thyferus with a tear stained face.
Thyferus noticed that he was a young man who couldn't have been more than 20 years of age at most. He had short cropped coal black hair with amber eyes. The man had a grotesque scar running across his cheek and eyes which continued to fire out tears.
"Please let me live. I have a wife and children to take care of! Please oh ple-" Thyferus silenced his whimpering by plunging his Lightsaber through his chest thus ending his life. Thyferus never liked those who begged for mercy and held more respect for those who fought to the last breath.
"You pitiful thing. Didn't even have the guts to go down like a man." Thyferus said as he kicked the man over and watched him roll over onto his side. When he did and Thyferus saw what was attached to the back of his belt he was filled with shock.
The man had a Lightsaber attached to his belt and had been using the Force to hide this from Thyferus who now sensed that their had not been four people in the shrine. Only two.
"Wow I never knew that Jedi even had the guts to lie. Their too saint-like." Thyferus said as he suddenly realized the ruse he had fallen for. If the Jedi were here then the Republic would not be far behind. And to take Thyferus down they might send the entire Republic Grand Fleet which consisted of over three hundred ships. Thyferus had only brought fifty ships to invade Alderaan.
'So that's how they want to play it eh?' Thyferus thought as he turned around and sprinted towards the destroyed entrance to the shrine. He could sense more Jedi now that he was paying full attention to his surroundings. He sensed at least two outside dispatching his squad of Imperials.
He was correct for when he exited the shrine he found twelve dead Imperials littering the plaza with their weapons scattered and their bodies bearing the marks of Lightsaber wounds. As well as two individuals standing in the middle of the mess each wielding a Lightsaber.
One of them was a male Zabrak wearing brown robes over a beige tunic and leggings. He had two horns missing on his head and had blue eyes. He held a blue Lightsaber in his hands and, as he turned to look at the Sith Lord, Thyferus noticed that he had a star tattoo pattern on his face. That was the sign of a Zabrak member of the Iridonian nobility.
The other one was a human male with the same outfit as his comrade only with the occasional patch of armor here and there. He had green eyes with a small brown beard growing in. This one held two silver Lightsabers in his hands.
They both turned to look at Thyferus who could immediately sense their despair when they felt their friends deaths. He smirked for he saw in them that which separates the Jedi and the Sith. The Jedi are weak and feel sadness while the Sith use it to strengthen their power.
"Darth Thyferus I presume? Conqueror of a hundred Star Systems? Slayer of a thousand Jedi? Destroyer of a hundred Republic Armies?" The Zabrak said as he pointed his blade at Thyferus and got into a defensive stance of combat meaning he expected Thyferus to attack first. How foolish of him.
"You presume right Jedi fool. And I'm about to add two more fools to my list of kills." Thyferus said as he activated his Lightsaber and watched in satisfaction as the crimson red blade of energy leapt out of its container. Thyferus too took up a defensive stance like one of his opponents in order to give the appearance that he would be on the defensive.
In truth Thyferus could sense a great amount of hatred directed towards him coming from the human. Most likely he had killed a relative of that Jedi when he attacked Tython. He would lure the fool into attacking him thus putting him off balance.
"Are we the fools or are you the fool Sith? It is two against one. You cant possibly win." The human said as he took up an offensive stance of combat contrary to what his partner was doing. This just tipped the odds in Thyferus's favor more as they were unbalanced with one being on the defensive and one on the offensive.
"Don't underestimate him Argus. Thyferus took all of Tython in a surprise attack. If we are not careful he could do the same to us." The Zabrak warned his friend who nodded in agreement but Thyferus could sense that the boy still thought he could defeat him.
"I'm going to enjoy ending your miserable life and then moving on to Lotar and Lartus. First I'll kill Lotar and then I'll find out what Lartus is hiding and then end her as well." Thyferus said as he observed the situation from his point of view in it. Two Jedi staring him down after having killed his whole squad. Nyra had crawled out of sight with the bundle in her arms over to a statue while Bax was nowhere to be seen.
"You should surrender now Dark One. The Republic Grand Fleet is on its way and if you surrender I am sure the Senate will be more lenient. There is no way you can win for even if you defeat us there is no way you can battle your way through millions of Republic Troops." The Zabrak said and Thyferus cursed. He had been right. The Republic Grand Fleet had enough fire power to blast a planet to smithereens with how many ships were part of it. However he had a card of his own up his sleeve.
"Let them come I say! My fleet is fully prepared to bombard the remainder of Alderaan into submission! If the Republic Grand Fleet makes a single attempt to attack then I will order my fleet to bombard every city on the planet!" Thyferus said to the two who became extremely worried that he would actually go through with that promise. Also he wasn't lying for even though he only had fifty large warships in his fleet there were enough fighters and bombers in them that Thyferus could have every city and town bombed.
"Enough! You would not dare to do such a thing just as you would not dare to harm Nyra Lartus and Bax Lotar!" Argus shouted at Thyferus defiantly as if calling a bluff. This bluff could be called yet it would not be wise to do so. Unless you wanted to have the deaths of millions on your conscience.
"Not dare to harm them? Are you daft? I will crush their bones to dust!" The powerful Sith Lord said as he continued to stare down his opponents with a deathly glare. He meant every word he said and would fulfill those promises without regret.
"You shall not harm them Darth Thyferus. We will die before we allow harm to come to those two innocents." The Zabrak said defiantly causing Thyferus to chuckle as he realized that these men did not know just how un-innocent those two really were.
"Innocent are they? By my reckoning their not as innocent as you think. In fact they have done many things that could be considered morally wrong. Take Lartus for example. She fell in love with another man while she was married." Thyferus said causing the two Jedi to hesitate in their actions as they took in what he said. They all knew of what Nyra had done in leaving Thyferus but not of why Thyferus wanted her dead. They all thought that he was just angry she left him.
"Enough of this! Your lies will not fool us Sith." The Zabrak said and his friend nodded again as they never took their eyes off the Sith Lord in front of them. They had a mission and that was to stall Thyferus long enough for the Republic Grand Fleet to arrive.
"You cannot defeat us Sith! You have committed many crimes and we are here to bring you to justice!" The human shouted at the far more powerful and skilled Sith Lord he was attempting to face. His Zabrak partner shook his head and did not move out of his defensive state.
"Argus do not give in to your anger towards this man. It will only get you killed. There is no passion, there is-" The Zabrak was cut off by Thyferus who frankly could not stand to listen to Jedi preaching's. They were number 7 on his top ten most hated things in the galaxy list.
"Enough! This is not a lesson in foolish preaching's! It is a battle and frankly if I were not the patient man I am I would have killed you already!" Thyferus shouted as he channeled all his anger and rage and allowed the power to flow through him. He allowed his mind to become filled with thoughts of hatred and anger.
What these two Jedi didn't know was that Thyferus had secretly been communicating with his new Apprentice telepathically. He had been telling him to get ready to attack the human named Argus while Thyferus took on the Zabrak.
'Tiberius are you in position?' Thyferus asked as he felt his Apprentices presence nearby and also felt Argus's rage continue to grow. He scoffed since this man clearly defied all the characteristics of a Jedi Knight.
Yes my master I am ready to attack on your command.
'As soon as you hear one of the Jedi attack then you strike.' Thyferus sent to his Apprentice just in time as Argus went on the attack just at that moment.
"If you are so eager to have your life ended Sith I will gladly oblige!" Argus shouted as he ran towards Thyferus, Lightsabers raised to strike him down in anger. He shouted something akin to a war cry as he raced towards the Sith Lord who had yet to move from that spot.
Thyferus could have laughed heartily at this mans foolishness. These two didn't even think to consider that he might have a new Apprentice or any sort of accomplice with him.
Suddenly the Zabrak sensed another presence in the area. Another Sith! Thyferus had a new Apprentice! The reports had not said anything about that. The SIS had specifically said that Thyferus had yet to take a new Apprentice.
"Argus wait! His Apprentice!" He shouted but his friend ignored him and kept going towards his target ready to end the dark foes reign of terror forever. However he should have listened to his friend. Had he done so then he would have been prepared for what happened next.
Just as Argus brought his Lightsabers down to slice Thyferus in half each blade struck one end of a double-ended crimson Lightsaber. Argus was in shock for Thyferus was not the one who had blocked his attack but rather someone else.
"Who?" Was all Argus got out before Tiberius, Thyferus's new Apprentice, used the Force to send him flying back until he collided with a broken wall. He flew straight through it and into a charred and burned garden behind the wall.
The Zabrak ran over to his friend to see if he was alright after that crash. He bent down and checked his pulse and was relieved to find that it was still going. However Argus clearly was out-cold and that meant that the Zabrak would have to face Thyferus and Tiberius alone.
He got up and walked back to his previous spot and resumed his defensive stance in order to raise his chances of survival for an offense would be suicidal with two Sith being the ones he was fighting.
"I see you have a new friend Thyferus." The Zabrak said as he observed the newcomer to the battle. Thyferus smirked as he looked at the new scene before him. A Sith Lord and a Sith Apprentice against one tired and aching Jedi Master.
"Meet my new Apprentice, and my most powerful one yet, Lord Tiberius." Thyferus said as his Apprentice took his place at his masters side and remained in an offensive stance so as to constantly be alert for any sign of trouble.
Unlike his master who's mask did not cover his whole face Tiberius's mask covered his entire face. His mask resembled that of Lord Vindican, Darth Malgus's former master. He wore armor over his robes and had the same symbol of the Sith Empire on the torso plate. Also unlike his master Tiberius had a double-ended Lightsaber rather than a single ended one.
"What happened to your last Apprentice Thyferus? Did he betray you or get killed?" The Zabrak asked as he now stared down two Sith. A Master and his Apprentice. If Argus didn't get back up then he had little to no chance of survival.
It was a well known fact that Thyferus had had many, many Apprentices but only a rare few lasted long enough to become Lords. Most fell slack to their masters hard teachings and either were killed in the tests he gave them or by Thyferus who did not take kindly to failure.
Thyferus knew that in order to gain the perfect Apprentice he needed to have one in complete secrecy. One hidden behind what he called Shadow Apprentices or Sith loyal to him who masqueraded as his Apprentices. This way no outside influences such as Jedi, Criminals, or other Sith Lords could effect his Apprentice.
"Nothing of your concern. And now nothing will ever be of your concern again. Prepare to become one with the Force Jedi scum!" Thyferus shouted as he and Tiberius prepared to strike the Zabrak down and then move on to the unconscious Argus.
"I will do what I must." The Zabrak said as he once again took up his defensive stance and prayed beyond all things that Argus would wake up and help him. He might be able to last a good ten minutes if it were just the Apprentice but against Thyferus and Tiberius he didn't stand a chance alone.
Tiberius charged at him double blade ignited and will to win ready. What was truly frightening about him was that his face was hidden meaning you could not see his expression as he prepared to kill his opponent.
Just when Tiberius was within ten feet of the Zabrak he was sent flying back into a wall. Argus had gotten up and ready for battle. He leapt into the air and flew towards Tiberius at break-neck speeds.
Tiberius met his Lightsabers once again with the double ends of his own blade. They both pushed against their opponents blade with all their might, their faces contorted from the strain of fighting each other.
Thyferus meanwhile raised his Lightsaber to deal with the Zabrak and they stood there staring each other down for some several seconds with neither daring to move. Both seemingly oblivious to their companions situations.
Then the Zabrak leapt into the air and raised his blade high prepared to strike down his foe. He launched himself down towards Thyferus ready to bring his blade to bear against him. However he did not notice the smirk on Thyferus's face.
The reason for this was that as soon as he was about to behead the Sith Lord, Thyferus did a back flip out of the horned Jedi's reach and then spun around and impaled him with his Lightsaber. The mans face twisted in shock as he looked down at the crimson blade in his chest.
"I…I….I…..how…..did?" The Zabrak stuttered out as he watched Thyferus begin to chuckle evilly at something over where the other two were and the Zabrak looked over to see his friend Argus screeching in pain as he was engulfed by a lightning attack from Tiberius.
"Its called power and supremacy. Learn it. Oh wait you cant!" Thyferus laughed as he pulled his Lightsaber out of the fatally wounded Jedi Master and then lifted his body up with the Force and threw it high in the sky where he then launched it into the wreckage of several office buildings. He turned to find that Tiberius had sliced Argus in half and was now walking over to his master to assist him in dealing with Lartus.
"Well done my Apprentice." Thyferus said as Tiberius bowed to his master and savior. Thyferus had rescued Tiberius from slavery under a Hutt when the boy was only five years old. Thyferus sensed immense power inside the child and ordered the Hutt be dealt with and his Elite Troops disposed of the slug leaving Tiberius without an owner until Thyferus brought him to Korriban to train in the ways of the Sith.
"Thank you my Master." Tiberius said as he rose and then turned to look at the dying Nyra. She had clearly lost an immense amount of blood judging by how pale she was and how stained red her surroundings were. This meant she would be too weak to fight back.
Thyferus walked briskly towards his former wife with his anger growing with every step. He knew that whatever was in that bundle was alive. And that only brought more hateful theories to mind.
'Did she not only betray me by loving Lotar but did she also bear him a child?' Thyferus thought as the distance between him and Nyra decreased faster and faster as Nyra now noticed his approaching form. She tried to crawl away but was to weak to do so.
"Stay back you monster!" She shouted at him and he glared at her causing her to whimper like a frightened child. He now towered over her as he looked down at her sobbing form.
"What is in that bundle?" He asked just barely keeping the rage out of his tone as he awaited an answer from her. She remained silent refusing to speak which only increased his anger and hatred.
'She will tell me!' Thyferus thought angrily as he blasted her with a fresh wave of lightening emitting ear-splitting screams from Nyra. She dropped the bundle to the ground yet it did not bang on the ground hard enough to wake the bundles occupant.
'I cannot tell him! I will never let him know even if it kills me!' Nyra thought which only made Thyferus increase the amount of lightening he was firing at her. He completely ignored the fact that since Nyra was no longer holding the bundle he could simply pick it up off the ground. He just kept on torturing her.
However Tiberius did take notice of the fact that the bundle was dropped to the ground and decided to see what was in it that was so important. He walked over to the discarded mess of blankets and picked it up. The blankets were covering what was inside of it so he pushed them aside and he was filled with immense shock.
"Master you might want to see what is in here." Tiberius said and Thyferus stopped torturing Nyra to see what was the big deal about what was in the bundle. He walked over and when he saw he too was filled with shock.
For inside the bundle of blankets was a small baby boy.