Disclaimer: I do not own SWTOR or anything in the Star Wars Franchise
AN: In this Chapter it is when the Empire receives the Republics answer to the peace offer and when Thyferus sends Tiberius out to get some allies for his fast coming New Empire.
TWO WEEKS LATER AT A ASSEMBLY OF THE DARK COUNCIL AND IMPERIAL HIGH COMMAND ON DROMUND KAAS
Thyferus sat utterly and completely bored in his uncomfortable and stiff chair behind the elevated Imperial High Directors desk. He had held the esteemed and uneventful position of Imperial High Director on the Imperial High Command Assembly for two years now. The only reason that he wasn't on the Dark Council was they thought that would be an ample position from which he could overthrow them. Yet he was in one already.
While the Dark Council practically governed the Empire they only did so morally and only became involved in matters of Imperial Security. Thus that meant another group handled the rest of the Imperial affairs in existence. Finance, the War Effort, the Imperial Fleet and Army. All fell under the control and jurisdiction of the Imperial High Command Assembly. The Dark Council and the I.H.C.A often clashed on many different matters since while there were some Sith on the I.H.C.A the majority was made up of Imperial Officers and Officials.
In order to eliminate the possibility of a conference hall only being filled with officials and delegates shouting things everywhere new positions had been created in recent years so as to have persons to keep things under control. These new positions were the offices of Imperial High Director ,who oversees the majority of the Empire's more serious matters, Imperial High Admiral, who has final say over all operations concerning the Imperial Fleet, Imperial High General, who like the I.H.A has the final say in all matters involving the Imperial Army, Imperial High Treasurer, who oversees the Empires financial matters, and Imperial High Protector, who dealt with all matters within the Empire such as public areas and construction.
At the moment the positions were held be Thyferus as I.H.D, Admiral Gage as the I.H.A, General Cornum as I.H.G, Lord Rathari as the I.H.T, and Darth Lachris in the office of I.H.P. Thyferus nearly chuckled at the thought of it for everyone person seeing over the Assembly was one of his supporters. So in theory it was actually Darth Thyferus who controlled the entire Imperial High Command Assembly.
The Dark Council had called the meeting between the Council and Assembly to discuss the results of the offer of peace sent to the Republic. Apparently they had sent a response in the form of a transmission from the Supreme Chancellor himself.
Thyferus waited patiently, bored but patiently, for the incompetent and foolish Supreme Chancellor of the Republic to contact the Assembly. Around the massive Conference Hall Sith Lords and Imperial Officers discussed what the Republic's answer to their offer might be. Some thought that they would accept it in hopes they could repair. While many others believed they would continue to fight until there were no more Republic soldiers to continue the fight.
Just then the massive Holoviewer in the center of the floor began to beep repeatedly showing that a transmission was coming through. Thyferus hushed the Assembly as he pressed a button on the console at his desk clearing the transmission for contact. Soon an image of the Republic Supreme Chancellor Arnook appeared in front of the whole room. Thyferus scoffed at the fact that an alien had become the Republic's Supreme Chancellor.
Arnook cleared his throat on screen before beginning to speak to the Assembly. When he spoke his voice came out as something resembling a high-pitched squeal. "Greetings Imperial High Command Assembly. I am Ilain Arnook, Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic." Arnook might have caught the snickers coming from the Assembly at his voice had Thyferus not silenced them. The mighty Sith Lord observed the man and saw not a strong and inspiring leader but rather a weak scrawny grunt.
Thyferus leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers as he gaze up at the Twilek. He smirked as he saw a sign of fear flash across the Chancellor's face as he realized who was in charge of the Assembly. "Greetings to you as well Chancellor. I am Darth Thyferus, Imperial High Director and I preside over this Council. We have been told that you have an answer to our offer of peace ready to give to us?" Thyferus made his voice sound cool and casual as if the very possibility of any form of peace between the Republic and the Empire wasn't at stake. He acted as if it were a completely normal conversation he was having.
Arnook gulped and then nodded as he took a data pad on his desk and looked at it. He cleared his throat once more and then began to speak again. "Ah yes. Myself and the Senate, along with the Jedi High Council have decided to consent to the peace talks proposed by the Dark Council. However there is one condition we wish to be followed or the talks will not be held at all." Thyferus frowned at the mention of a condition. Hadn't the Dark Council been plain enough in its offer. What did they put in that offer that he didn't know about? His spies had stolen a copy of the message and he had read it word for word. No conditions were listed.
He looked around and saw that all the delegates and officials around the room were also confused with this. He raised a hand to quiet them and they did. Thyferus turned back to Arnook. "Oh. And what condition might that be Chancellor? For if we our to send our ambassadors to negotiate a peace treaty we would like to know if there are any strings attached." The Sith said calmly though inside his mind was racing as he digested the information. He knew that those foolish cowards the Jedi would have a say in the matter but not that there would be any conditions.
Arnook looked down at his data pad again and scrolled through it. He finally looked up and he put the data pad back on his desk. "The condition which we insist upon being followed in these talks is that the negotiations must take place on Coruscant. If you cannot consent to that then we shall not negotiate at all. I will awa-" Thyferus cut the transmission before the Chancellor could hear the angry outbursts from a majority of the Assembly. For one thing it wouldn't help if the Republic knew that the condition angered and inconvenienced the Empire.
Thyferus no longer heard quiet muttering and saw calm and collected officials around him. No. Now it was a ruddy Zoo! Now delegates and Officials shouted and argued angrily and some smashed their chairs or even hit their fellows who were nearby. He sighed as he buried his face in his hand. "This group has gone to the dogs Gage." He told the good Admiral who nodded in agreement as they both observed the madness that was taking place in the room.
After several more minutes Thyferus submerged himself in his thoughts to ponder the Republic response. It was quite clever of them to insist the talks be held on Coruscant since that would easily ensure Coruscant was safe. Last time the negotiations took place on Alderaan and the Empire had no valuable persons on Coruscant to keep an attack from occurring. This time the Imperial leaders would be there!
'We would have to be insane to attack Coruscant with the Empire's leaders there. The majority of the Dark Council would be on-planet taking part in the negotiations so why would we attack?' Thyferus thought as he continued to turn the Republic's condition over in his head. He was just starting to think that he should have the Assembly recall the offer all together when he did a double take of his last thought.
'The majority of the Dark Council and Imperial Command not on my side will be in attendance. Meaning they wont be on Dromund Kaas and instead on the Republic Capital. Meaning that almost all my most powerful rivals within the Empire will be nowhere near Dromund Kaas. Meaning I can attack.' The clever Sith Lord thought as a new plan to attack the Imperial Capital formed in his head. One which had practically been thought up by the Republic.
Without their superiors close-by the forces left defending Dromund Kaas while the negotiations took place would be weak in moral and organization. Also they would be expecting a Republic force to attack not an Imperial one. It would be the perfect opportunity for Thyferus and his supporters combined forces to take the Imperial Capital.
'Once I gain control of the Empire all my rivals will be trapped on Coruscant and so the Republic will deal with them for me. Then I can secure my hold on the Empire and after that the Republic will fall.' Thought the soon to be New Emperor of the Sith Empire. And to think it would occur right under the noses of his rivals.
Thyferus left his thoughts to listen to what the Council and Assembly was discussing. Apparently it was the still the topic of the Republic's condition that the peace talks be held on Coruscant. He listened to some of the theories offered for a few moments and then turned to Admiral Gage whose desk was to the right of his. "The fools have to argue over why the Republic would do this? Obviously the Senate knows that if the talks are held somewhere else then we can strike Coruscant again. With our leaders there we would be fools to attack." Admiral Gage nodded in agreement as they both turned back to the useless argument at hand. Actually Thyferus found that thinking back the majority of the Assemblies arguments were useless.
At the moment the extremely loud and angry shouting had stopped. That wasn't to say that the members of the Assembly weren't still shouting loudly and angrily. Right now it seemed that a heavy debate on the Republic's reason for the condition was occurring.
Thyferus and Gage found that there were too many voices at once to follow one argument for a long time so they chose a different option. They followed the main debates occurring. This led to the finding of a rater heated debate between multiple persons.
"Obviously it is a trap to capture our leaders!" Lord Syfon furiously and stubbornly shouted across the massive conference room at someone on the other side of the hall whom Thyferus and Gage could not see. "Any fool could see that!" Syfon yelled but another frustrated individual among the crowd answered.
"Are you blind?" Grand Moff Killran loudly said to the extremely foolish and incompetent Lord Syfon. The scar-faced and extremely stubborn man smirked and shook his head. "It is obviously a trick so Dromund Kaas will have no leaders to command its defense while the Republic attacks!" Shouted the furious Grand Moff. Yet another voice answered with yet another ridiculous theory.
"The Republic obviously wants to force us into a Second Treaty of Coruscant that will lay out in their favor!" Shouted another angry voice somewhere in the room. Thyferus was getting annoyed because he was getting a headache from all the shouting. It was funny to watch them argue at first but now it was getting annoying. Very annoying.
Before someone else could offer an idiotic theory to the crowd Thyferus stood up and loudly ,very loudly, interrupted them. "ENOUGH! QUIET ALL OF YOU NOW!" The room was hushed with deadly silence. No one dared to break it lest they become the target of Thyferus's rage.
Thyferus looked around the recently quieted room at the now silent Sith Lords and Imperial Generals and glared annoyed at them all. "Will you fools stop offering theories! The Republic cannot afford to try and deceive us because they cannot breach our defenses around Dromund Kaas. If you want proof then I will give you proof." Thyferus motioned for Gage to activate the Holoviewer which showed a map of the galaxy.
When the map came up Thyferus had Gage highlight all Imperial worlds around Dromund Kaas. When they were highlighted everyone saw that there wasn't a Republic world within six sectors of the Imperial Capital. "As you can see the Capital is entirely secure. Therefore send the embassy and be done with it!" Thyferus said as Gage deactivated the map and the Assembly and Council murmured in agreement.
Soon after a vote began to decide whether to accept the conditions to the talks or decline and continue the war. Out of 678 delegates at the Assembly, 473 were in acceptance of the conditions while 205 delegates were not in acceptance. So the embassy would agree to perform the peace talks on Coruscant.
After that the meeting was over and everyone began to file out save for a few select persons. These persons were Darth Thyferus, Admiral Gage, Darth Lachris, General Cornum, Lord Rathari, Grand Moff Fulton, and Lord Decimus. Thyferus began to discuss his new plan for their assault on Dromund Kaas with them. "I have decided that we shall strike when the Dark Council is on Coruscant. More than likely Grand Moff Killran will be defending the Capital so we need to throw everything we have at him. Gather your forces and in two months when the delegation leaves for Coruscant we convene at Taris and then invade Dromund Kaas." Said Thyferus quickly as the discussion was put to an end when Darth Baras and Darth Vowrawn walked in to see if anyone was left. Luckily they did not hear anything that was said between Thyferus or his cohorts.
Baras strode over to them all in a boastful manner while Thyferus glared at him. "Ah I see we have a few stragglers. What pray tell were you discussing?" Baras asked them to which Thyferus laughed in a mocking manner. He found it comical that Baras even found it a possibility that Thyferus would tell Baras anything about any of his plans.
"Like we would tell you Baras." Said Thyferus as he laughed at the thought of him ever telling his second-greatest rival anything. He would have to be mad to do that. Thyferus would be trying to win wars through dancing before he told Baras anything. "Now if you'll excuse us we have matters to attend to." Thyferus said as he and the others walked out of the room before Baras and Vowrawn began to suspect something. Fools they may be but cautious and clever fools they be.
'Those fools will never see it coming. And I can actually thank the Republic for handing me the keys to the Empire by giving me the perfect opportunity to strike.' Thyferus thought as he exited the Assembly Hall. He had to resist the urge to laugh maniacally. Everything was going according to plan.
MEANWHILE ON HUTTA OUTSIDE N'EMRO'S PALACE
The powerful Sith Lord and Apprentice to Darth Thyferus Lord Tiberius wrinkled his nose in disgust from the stench emanating from the very planet itself. If ever there was a source of all the foul smells in the galaxy it was Hutta. More than certainly.
Tiberius accompanied by his younger brother Lord Agrigus and several dozen highly trained and heavily armed Imperial Soldiers armed to the teeth stood outside of N'emro the Hutt's Palace at the command of their master Darth Thyferus. However sometimes, despite the fact that Tiberius wouldn't give up his life as Thyferus's Apprentice and all the rewards that came with it, Tiberius despised the locations the missions given to him by his master took place at. All around them a Gang War raged and the two Sith and several dozen Imperials constantly had to duck in order to avoid blaster fire.
Also on another note the citizens of Hutta were no picnic either. Tiberius would rather not listen to the tales told by the people on the planet. Some of the tales were just downright disturbing and that was coming from a Sith Lord.
Thyferus had recently sent Tiberius and Agrigus to Hutta with orders to shake down the great and repulsive N'emro the Hutt and "convince" him to join the Empire. N'emro had refused seventeen diplomats offers from Thyferus and had twelve shot on sight. So Thyferus decided to send a diplomat that N'emro couldn't easily get rid of or rather couldn't get rid of at all for that matter.
At the moment Tiberius, Agrigus, and their troops were waiting within the Spaceport as they observed the Palace from a distance. Well if you could call the pile of rocks a Palace. In Tiberius's opinion it looked more like a mountain with doors.
Tiberius turned to Agrigus and nodded to him as they observed how many guards were in front of the Palace. After some time Agrigus turned to his older brother. "I count six in front of the door and four snipers providing cover. I also see twelve guards hidden behind the statues." Tiberius nodded and then turned around to look at the Imperial Soldiers behind them.
"One squad splits up and neutralizes those snipers and the rest of you wait for us to eliminate the door guards before proceeding behind us. Is that clear?" Tiberius said and the several dozen loyal Imperial Soldiers stood up and saluted the two Sith.
"Sir Yes Sir!" They all shouted and Tiberius nodded and then motioned for his brother to pull his hood up and to pull their cloaks around them. They soon had all their armor covered beneath their cloaks and their faces hidden by their hoods.
"Do not eliminate the snipers until I give the signal." Tiberius said as he and Agrigus stood up and walked out of the cover of the Spaceport and into the battlefield that was the town outside. They advanced slowly down the path in the direction of the Palace and wherever they passed a group of thugs fighting they would stop and then retreat from that area.
Soon they were walking up the path to the Palace door and they both were aware that the hidden guards had lost any confidence they may have had upon noticing the two Sith. Tiberius glanced slightly up and saw the squad in position to take out the snipers.
A Weeqay Captain ran out of the Palace followed by a dozen more guards who quickly took up a defensive position far behind their either very brave or very stupid Captain. As for the Captain he ran right up to Tiberius and Agrigus and they stopped in front of him. "Stop right there! We have had enough of that pig Thyferus's diplomats! Leave now or be killed!" Tiberius resisted the urge to laugh at him and instead held up his hand with five fingers in the air. He closed them into a fist.
Suddenly a large amount of blaster shots were heard from above and they all turned to see all four snipers falling from their places and a squad of ten Imperials in their place. The Imperials trained their weapons on any enemy target they could find. The Pirate Captain looked back at the two of them with a look of absolute terror. "Your not diplomats! Your-" The Captain was cut off as Tiberius impaled his with one end of his Lightsaber. Agrigus ignited his Lightsaber and then used the Force to collapse the statues on the guards cowering behind them.
Tiberius pulled his Lightsaber out of the Captain and watched in satisfaction as the pirate dropped to the ground dead as a doornail. He then finished the man's sentence for him. "Sith? Yes were Sith. Darth Thyferus got tired of you refusing his offers so he sent an offer you cant refuse." Tiberius leapt into the air as the Imperials opened fire on the Hutt reinforcements that had come with the Captain. Blaster fire rained down on the pirates and they began to drop like flies.
Meanwhile Tiberius and Agrigus dispatched the door guards until the ground was littered with the bodies of N'emro's guards. The Imperials jumped down from the balcony to the walkway. The rest of the soldiers ran out of the Spaceport and up to support their commanders.
Just as their army was about to enter the Palace the giant doors slid shut and a robotic eyeball popped out and displayed an image of the great slimy, foul smelling, greedy, foolish N'emro the Hutt and his rusted, old Protocol Droid. The Hutt laughed at the Sith Lords and the Imperials which from his position was not the wisest thing to do since Tiberius and Agrigus's forces had the Palace surrounded. He spoke to them in Huttese. "Ha ha! Foolish Sith thought they could come to N'emro's Palace and order around N'emro the Great! You no get in my Palace." The Hutt laughed once more thinking he had the upper hand but to his immense shock Tiberius snickered as he calmly motioned for several specific soldiers to come forward.
The reason these soldiers were so specific was the devices strapped to their backs with Dura steel packs. The devices were long, metallic cylinders that had several antennae coming out of the top. They almost looked like rocket launchers but they were far more destructive.
The soldiers began to plant a device on the door and N'emro noticed this and became slightly worried. Tiberius looked directly at him through his mask. "No N'emro we are getting in. And then were coming for you." Tiberius used the Force to crush the pod and then he along with the rest of their troops backed out of range of the device.
Slowly the device began to emit a beeping sound and slowly the beeping got faster and faster until there was nearly no time between one beep and the next. Finally the device gave one final beep before the explosive detonated.
The giant metal door was blasted apart and separated into large pieces of shrapnel which flew out in all directions. The blast was so massive that the ground shook violently and some sections of the Palace cracked and crumbled. An Imperial Officer grinned happily and turned to Tiberius after observing the wreckage. "Success my Lord. Not only was the door blasted away but also we now have assurance that our new Hyper-Thermal Detonator works." Tiberius nodded to the Captain in approval as they all advanced into the Palace. It was quite an impressive sight seeing the dozens of Imperial Soldiers walking up to the Palace lead by two Sith Lords.
N'emro's foolish and weak guards rushed out of the Palace in waves but they were quickly and mercilessly cut down by the two Sith. Soon instead of holding the line at the door the pirates began to run like the cowards they were back into the Palace. Tiberius motioned for the soldiers to attack the Palace.
The door to the slimy Hutt's Palace was soon swarmed with merciless Imperial Soldiers bursting inside the building. Two ramps led up to the main Cantina on either side of a massive column that stretched far beyond view and upon these ramps were N'emro's guards who bravely or stupidly attempted to halt the Imperial advance. "Hold there! Stop or we'll shoot!" Were the words of one pirate Captain right before being shot in the chest by an Imperial Soldier. Soon more and more of the outnumbered guards were being cut down as the Imperial forces advanced towards the Palaces Cantina.
In order to stop them N'emro sent in two dozen bloodthirsty Gamoreaan Berserker Guards that roared at the Imperial Soldiers and then charged at them. Soon their axes began to slash through the brave troops as if they were scissors and the men were paper. Now Imperial bodies began to join the many pirate bodies littering the floor. It actually looked as if N'emro's forces might stand a chance against the Empire's assault.
However inevitably cruel fate had other ideas in mind for Tiberius and Agrigus soon joined their troops in the battle and turned the tide once more in their favor. The hacked away at the bloodthirsty monsters that the odious Hutt had sent out and soon had killed every one of them. All that remained was a group of twelve guards at the door blocking their path.
The leader of the group, a human male in his early fifties by the gray streaks in his hair stared down Tiberius or the best he could as Tiberius wore his mask. He bravely kept his blaster leveled with Tiberius's heart and then spoke in a forced calm tone. "Drop your weapons. In the name of the Mighty N'emro the Hutt I order you to surrender. Do so now or-" The man dropped his blaster and his hands immediately went to his throat as he was raised up into the air and began to choke. His hands desperately tried to pull away the invisible force clutching at his throat.
Tiberius was using the Force to rob the man of his ability to breath as he was through listening to N'emro's demands towards him. He kept the man up in the air constricting his windpipe. "Tempting offer my friend. Very tempting. But I'm afraid that we have business to attend to with N'emro. Kill the others." The Imperial Soldiers raised their blasters and let loose a barrage of blaster fire upon the group of men. It was not a pretty sight to watch as the men were torn apart by the massive waves of blaster fire. When it was over the remains were so disfigured that Tiberius doubted that their own mothers would recognize them.
The leader was still gasping for air while being held up in the air as Tiberius did not relinquish his hold on the man. He closed his eyes for a moment and then motioned for Agrigus to come stand next to him. They shared a glance and nodded. Tiberius tossed the man up in the air and before he hit the ground both Tiberius and Agrigus sent out powerful blasts of Force Energy at the same time which threw the man at the steel door.
In normal circumstances a man thrown at a steel door would not in any way damage the door. However these were not exactly normal circumstances for the man was being thrown at about 6000 miles per hour at the door. The sheer momentum would blast the door away like glass.
And blast away it did for the moment that man and door made contact all the momentum gathered during the mans flight collided and this flung the door off its hinges. The massive steel door flew into the Cantina and crashed into the bar crushing the area around it. A dust cloud rose up over the area as the shocked occupants of the Cantina looked at the doorway to see who had caused the door to be blasted away.
Out of the dust cloud around the door two dark hooded and cloaked figures appeared in the doorway and behind them the Cantinas occupants could see many, many more figures moving around through the dust. Soon many eyes were drawn to the Lightsabers at the figures belts and the realization was abundant. The two figures were Sith.
Many old Smugglers and Bounty Hunters rapidly and eagerly pulled out blaster pistols from seemingly nothing as soon a whole host of the sort stood in front of the two Sith. The Republic had put a rather large bounty on any and all Sith seen and had put out on all warrants "Wanted Dead; Bring Lightsaber for evidence". One Bounty Hunter named Rapid Rad approached the two with a rapid-fire blaster pistol in each hand. "Alright you two Sith. You'll be coming along nice and quietly now and we's not gonna hurt you." Yet while Rad had killed quite a few Sith in his time he had never faced these two. Who happened to be Lord Tiberius and Lord Agrigus, two of the most powerful and merciless Sith in the galaxy.
Tiberius laughed amused as he held up a hand and suddenly both of Rad's blasters flew right into it. He then crushed them with the Force and when he opened his hand tiny metal bits fell out. "I think its you who should be worried about getting hurt. We are not just Sith. We are Sith Lords." Tiberius said as suddenly he and Agrigus sprang into action and began to attack the group of greedy men. They both ignited their Lightsabers and leapt up into the air while the filthy pirates fired away at them from below.
The two brothers came down hard on the group when they plunged towards them. Tiberius beheaded two men while landing by flipping over in mid-air and the swinging his two sided blade across in an arc. Agrigus knocked one pirate into another and then plunged his blade through both men at once.
Soon after the Imperial Soldiers scrambled into the room to assist their leaders only to find a wrecked Cantina crushed by a steel door, workers and customers cowering in the corners, a ring of bodies on the floor, and their two commanders in the middle of it. The troops got over the shock quickly and took up positions around the room. They effectively secured the area for their troops in an instant.
Tiberius signaled the Captain to come over to him for a word. The man hurried up and saluted him, clicking his heels together in traditional military fashion. Tiberius dismissed the salute and attention and focused on giving orders. "Send several squads down each tunnel but the one leading to N'emro's Throne Room. I want to see how long the slug can last in there without outside help or supplies." Tiberius said as the Captain nodded and went off to carry out the orders. Tiberius knew it wouldn't be long before N'emro would crawl out of the tunnel begging for freedom. He also knew that N'emro kept his most elite guards around him at all times so he wanted to wait and have his forces draw them out.
Just as he suspected Tiberius soon heard intensive amounts of blaster fire from the tunnel leading to the Throne Room. He turned to find his troops taking cover at the sides of the door in an effort to avoid the blaster fire streaming out of the tunnel. Tiberius smirked victoriously. He had the Hutt desperate.
'Lets see how long the Slug can avoid the salt.' Tiberius thought as he walked off to examine the area and ponder the current situation.
So how was it? And please be brutal. I am really feeling a lot of inspiration with this story and am certain that I will follow through with it until the end. Also I have thought of maybe shortening the story a bit so maybe I could write a sequel. I don't know? If you think it's a good idea then please say so in a review. REMEMBER: Please Review.