Fate of the Force

by lordtrayus

The death of Jacen Solo and the last war was a disaster. A new force has undone what happened in LotF and given the galaxy a fighting chance against a great evil. By doing so however, the galaxy becomes even more perilous than it was before as the rising power of the dark side and the Sith threatens to snuff out the light of the Jedi, and of the galaxy once and for all...AU

14. Episode II: Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars

Fate of the Force

Darth Cyclone smiled as the three ISDs that he had assembled departed the massive fleet that was hanging over Korriban, a fleet that had recently been bolstered by the discovery of the Lost Tribe. Combined with their already significantly sized fleet, which was more than capable of engaging any of the Alliance's main battle fleets, the fleet of the One Sith would easily obliterate Lumiya and Vongerella's paltry little squadrons. With the caverns beneath Korriban's surface filled with Spaarti cloning cylinders churning out rank and file troops, all adorned with the tattoos of the Sith, all of whom were capable of manning their ships, Cyclone couldn't wait for the time when they would be unleashed upon the galaxy. And then, he would taste the blood of that false Sith Lumiya.

He smiled grimly to himself. That of course depended on his failure at Kesh, and he had no plans to fail at all.

"Sir, the Usurper and the Dark Union are ready to depart." The captain of his own flagship, the Rising Ashes, reported.

"Very good captain. Lord Krayt wills us to destroy Kesh, and that is what we shall do. Set a course for the Kesh system." He ordered, and the captain nodded smartly before heading to carry out his orders.

Cyclone smiled as his Star Destroyer prepared for lightspeed. He could ensure the loyalty of the Tribe, bring down that Sith pretender Lumiya and decapitate the Jedi Order all in one swift swoop.

As Lord Krayt commanded.

XX

The Falcon dropped out of hyperspace, to see the glittering blue and white ball that was the planet Kesh. In the cockpit, Luke exchanged a dark look with K'kruhk, feeling the dark side miasma of the planet. It wasn't quite as strong as Korriban, but it was nothing insignificant either. Feeling slightly sick, they looked to Lumiya, who was in the co pilot seat, her face exhilarated.

"Can you feel the power of the dark side?" she asked longingly as they approached the planet.

"Just you keep your dark side to yourself. Will you lot be alright down there? We don't want another Prakith." Han said, heading them for the planet.

Luke nodded.

"Yeah, we should be fine. Prakith was different, they were actively using the dark side against us there. Here it's part of everyday life, nothing creepy about it. I hope." He tailed off uncertainly.

Lumiya nodded.

"They should be fine, provided they stay away from any nexuses of dark side power. We're getting company." She said worriedly, and K'kruhk looked at her curiously.

"I thought you said Krayt had cleaned the system out of anything of interest." He said, and she nodded.

"Anything of interest to him. But as the Tribe will want to protect their homeworld, there's a few ships left. Not that they'll do much if anything bigger than a Nebulon comes calling. A Citadel Cruiser, two Etti class transports, two Dimel assault ships and three ChaseMaster frigates won't deter many if they decide to fight. The cruiser is hailing us." She reported, activating the comm.

"This is the Persecutor to unidentified vessel, prepare to be boarded, and your ship taken for the glory of the Lost Tribe." The man on the other end said, and Han rolled his eyes.

"The amount of times we've heard that line." He grumbled, but he was quietened by a look from Lumiya.

"Persecutor, this is Lady Lumiya, the Dark Lord of the Sith." She said, anger boiling in her voice.

There was silence on the other end for a few moments, then another, deeper voice came on the line.

"That is impossible my lady," he began, keeping his voice sceptical but polite, "as we have already met the Dark Lord, and his name is Darth Krayt."

Lumiya's eyes flashed in anger, making Luke suppress a smile.

"You are in error. Darth Krayt is a heretic and a fool. He is not the true Dark Lord. He is merely a usurper, and he found you first, and seeks to use you to supplant me. Believe me, I am the true Dark Lord." She said, her voice cold, and there was more silence.

"This is a strange time," the man said as his voice returned, "in the days of the empire, there never would have been two Dark Lords at once."

"Indeed? What about Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh? They were both Dark Lords in their own right were they not?" she asked pointedly, and the man on the other end chuckled.

"You are clever my lady. Very well, I have contacted the surface. Saber Khai is willing to meet with you." He said, and she smiled beneath her veil.

"Very good. Thank you." She said, signing off.

"You enjoyed that didn't you?" Han asked, and she winked.

"It reminds me of the good old days, when people bowed, were polite to all those with power...until your little anarchic rebellion came along and trashed law and order." She said tartly.

"Funny, I don't see any reason to miss those days." K'kruhk said, and she shot him a dirty look.

"How are you going to explain travelling with the Grand Master?" Luke asked, and she frowned.

"I'll think of something. Come, we must depart." She said, as Han guided the ship down to the surface.

The others were all agitated as Luke and Lumiya entered the hold, except for Alema, who, for reasons best known to herself, was sitting upside down in the seat. Shaking his head as he saw her, Luke turned to all the others.

"Alright, she got us down, now all we need to do is not get killed." He said uncertainly.

"Oi, Alema, come on." Jacen called, and she rolled to her feet.

"Yes, most Sith Lords are expected to have a pet of some sort. Some have rancors, some have nexus, I get an insane, mauled Dark Jedi." Lumiya said drily.

Alema flounced past her, as Han set the ship down. Lumiya then swept to the front of the crowd, and Jacen then pulled Ben a little aside.

"Stay close to me alright? I don't want you getting into trouble while we're down here, and I don't trust Lumiya to save you quite frankly if you do get into trouble." He said, and Ben glared up at him.

"I didn't mean..." he began sullenly, and Jacen gave him a quick smile.

"I know you didn't mean what happened on Prakith, that was an accident. My point is, this is a planet full of Sith, and if they find out you're the son of the Grand Master they might just try to have a go at you. And while I'm pretty sure you could flatten any of them," he said, and Ben grinned a little, "I'd rather you tried to avoid them, just in case they want a diplomatic incident, somehow I don't think mom's expertise stretch to Sith." He said, and Ben nodded.

"I'll be careful." He promised.

Lumiya opened the hatch and swept out, giving them their first look at Kesh.

They were inside a city with high stone walls, the work on the buildings was harsh yet elegant at the same time. Glass towers glistened in the sun, and all through the city, there were statues and plants and other works of art.

"Weird for Sith." Jaina muttered as she nosed around.

"Indeed. Look at the temple." K'kruhk said, pointing.

It was relatively small by their standards, considerably smaller than their own temple on Coruscant. A large curved dome was in the centre, and there were large, rising towers coming from it, backing into the mountain. All across it, various statues were glistening in the sun.

"There is also elegance to Sith culture." Lumiya said irritably, and Luke snorted.

"Yeah, elegant forms of death and destruction." He said, and she glared at him.

"I could say the same of the Jedi Skywalker. Did you ever hear of Darth Vader? He did a lot of destruction as a Jedi even before he became a Sith. A Jedi called Brand killed hundreds of bystanders during the Clone Wars. You yourself killed millions when you blew up the Death Star. The Jedi are just as destructive as the Sith you arrogant Jedi fool. The fact that we are ruled by our passions just makes us seem the more destructive. And the lightsaber my dear Luke, that came from the Jedi, and how many lives have been ended upon one of those beautiful little Jedi creations?" she hissed, and strolled away from him, a giggling Alema following.

"She got you good." Ben said with a small grin, and Luke glared at his son and followed her out into the open air spaceport, the bright, watery sun glistening onto the city.

A man, dressed all in black, was standing at the entrance to the spaceport, waiting for them. A tall man, clad all in black, a lightsaber at his waist, it was clear he was the one who had been sent to meet them. Behidn him, there were several curious purple skinned natives, and a few more humans who were standing behind him too, most of them wielding lightsabers, though most of them were either fairly old or just in their teens, like Ben.

"Greetings Saber Khai." Lumiya said, advancing towards him, and he gave her a respectful nod.

"We welcome you to Kesh. Though I must admit, I was surprised by your appearance. After all, you are the second Dark Lord we have received in the last few days." He said, extending his hand to shake hers.

"Darth Krayt is nothing more than a glorified, usurping Dark Jedi with delusions of grandeur. I assure you, I am the true lord of the Sith." She said, and was about to speak again when she heard someone scoff.

Ben edged closer to Jacen, as it appeared as if Khai had frozen, and Lumiya was looking murderous.

"I think whoever did that just broke some Sith rule of etiquette." He said, and Jacen nodded.

"Turg, go back to the temple." Khai said, his voice tight and furious, pointing in the direction of the temple.

Lumiya then used her hand to lower Khai's, and scanned the crowd.

"No, don't go home Turg. Come, let me see you." She purred, and a large heavyset man ambled from the crowd, his wicked eyes looking at Lumiya, distinctly unimpressed.

"You seem disbelieving that I am the Dark Lord. Any reason why?" she asked, her voice silky, and Mara suppressed a shudder, because this was not going to end well for the one who had mocked her.

"You just do not seem the sort." He answered, his voice barely respectful.

"I must apologise lady Lumiya, after all, he is only a librarian, his time in our archives has dulled his already impaired senses. He will trouble you no further." Khai assured her, but she raised a hand to quell him.

"Indeed Turg? A librarian, has the nerve, to pass judgement on me? Do I not feel darker than Krayt? Do you assume that because I am older, that because I'm a woman, I ought not to be the true lord of the Sith?" she asked, and Turg fidgeted a little.

"I only meant that you can hardly be the true lord of the Sith. For several of the reasons you just mentioned. You may be darker than Krayt, but that alone does not make you Sith. I was born and raised Sith, how about you?" he asked belligerently.

"Turg, stay your tongue!" Khai yelled, but Lumiya shook her head.

"No my friend. I will deal with this. So Turg, you asked me a question. You are right, I was not raised a Sith, but Krayt was a Jedi." She said, and K'kruhk, Luke and Mara all looked at each other with just as much surprise as those in the crowd did.

"I may have started my training late, but I am still a pure Sith, one of the last I thought until I learned of you. I was also part of the imperial court, where I learned not to tolerate insolence such as yours. Krayt may be a fool, but he does know how to inspire respect. I assume you didn't question him?" she hissed, and Turg smiled.

"He was not a woman, even if he was a Jedi once. What can a weak little thing like you do?" he asked, and she smiled evilly, and Jaina half considered covering Ben's eyes, as she knew this wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Demonstrate my power as the true Lord of the Sith." She growled, and raised her hand.

Turg immediately began to panic as he was lifted effortlessly into the air. With a simple gesture, she crashed him into the wall, then into the ground, then into another wall. She then threw his whimpering body into the back of the ship, burning his skin, and as his robes caught fire, she spun him through the air, before gesturing slightly with her fingers, making loud popping noises echo across the silent square as she wrenched each arm and each leg out of its socket. She then brought the screaming Sith before her as he whimpered and smouldered, his eyes streaming, blood dropping from numerous cuts.

"Now you see the folly of challenging your Dark Lord." She hissed.

"Please my lady, I was in error, please, spare me..." he begged, and she scoffed as he had done.

"You expect a true Sith to show mercy? I think not." She whispered then crushed her hand together, and there was a loud series of cracking noises as she crushed every bone in his body, including his skull. She then dropped the misshaped corpse, with its now oval head, onto the ground, grey matter coming out of the ears and eyes.

"Any more challenges to my authority?" Lumiya demanded angrily.

"No my lady. All hail the true Dark Lord of the Sith!" Khai yelled, and all present bowed before her.

"That's better." Lumiya said, winking at Alema.

"My lady, I must ask, how do there come to be two Dark Lords? And why have you polluted our planet with the presence of Jedi?" Khai asked, and Lumiya frowned.

"Believe me, I didn't want to bring them. Krayt is a fool and a usurper, he seeks to knock me from the throne and take my plans to pass them off as his own. He has persuaded your superiors that he is the true Dark Lord when he is really far from it." She grumbled.

"And the Jedi?" Khai asked, glaring at them.

"I think such matters are best discussed within the temple Saber Khai." Lumiya said, and he nodded respectfully.

"Yes, I suppose you're right. Very well, we shall move to the temple. What of the Jedi?" Khai asked, giving Luke a mistrustful look.

"We're coming with you." Luke said, and Lumiya glared.

"I don't think so Skywalker. It is a Sith temple, not a Jedi one, and quite frankly, I expect they could do without the pungent reek of the light side creeping through it. Alema will come with me, you will stay here." She said, and Luke strolled towards her, standing right in front of Lumiya, glaring.

"This threat concerns us all. Just because you're going all Imperial complex on us doesn't change that. We're here to do a job, to stop Abeloth, not to help in your private little war with Krayt. We're coming with you."

Lumiya gave him a cold smile.

"Really Skywalker? Look behind me." She challenged smugly, and Luke looked up to see all of the Sith present igniting their lightsabers, including Khai.

"Step away from the Dark Lord." Khai said, and Lumiya noticed as Luke's hand fell to his lightsaber.

"Luke, do not do anything we will all regret. This is their world, and this makes it Lumiya's mission, not ours. If they so wish us to, we will remain here, she can take Alema and report back to us later." K'kruhk said sagely, and Luke glared at Lumiya, who had a confident smile on her face.

"Step back Skywalker." She purred, and Luke did retreat.

Khai shot him a look of contempt.

"Jedi are clearly no better than they were for our ancestors. You ought to learn your place Jedi." He snarled, and Lumiya raised a hand to stem his criticism.

"That's the problem with the Jedi my friend, they're so used to thinking of themselves as the heroes, they have become much too arrogant, overconfident and foolish. They are a corrupt, arrogant breed, and it's only getting worse. They think all should bow before them, even though the galaxy is becoming less tolerant of them by the day. Come Alema." She said, glaring at Luke and Alema hobbled up to her, earning her a disgusted look from Khai and they were just about to leave the others behind when a girl of about sixteen rushed through the crowd, slightly out of breath.

"Whoa." Ben said in appreciative surprise, seeing the attractive girl as she came to a stop in front of Lumiya, Alema and Khai.

Jacen however, heard this, and rolled his eyes as he saw what Ben was looking at.

"Oh brother." He moaned in resignation as Ben checked the girl out.

"Father..." she said, panting a little, and Khai turned to Lumiya.

"My lady, may I present my daughter Vestara?" he asked, and Vestara looked at Lumiya, then bowed.

"My lady." She said with slight reverence and Lumiya smiled.

"Rise Vestara, get your breath back." She said, her ever alert eyes not missing the fact that Ben was checking her out rather unabashedly.

"My lady, forgive the intrusion. Father, something is wrong with the apprentices." She said anxiously, and Khai shot her a sharp look.

"Wrong in what way?" he asked quickly, and she looked nervously back the way she had came.

"They are acting strangely, shouting at things that aren't there, saying people aren't real, but as time has gone on, they've become more hostile towards others than each other." She explained and K'kruhk suddenly appeared, exchanging a dark look with Lumiya.

"We might know the cause of this. Where are the apprentices?" he asked and Khai was about to respond, most likely irritably, when red lightsabers suddenly blazed to life down the way Vestara had come from.

Luke groaned under his breath. Around twenty students, around Ben and Vestara's age, all of them with mad, wide eyes, all wielding red lightsabers. But why wasn't the girl affected?

"Stand down!" Khai barked as the gathered people without lightsabers scurried for cover.

"They are the main copies, the leaders! We must take them to the Majestic One!" the one in the front yelled angrily, and Leia hissed.

"Guess that proves it's Abeloth then. What do we do?" she asked.

"Don't wait for them to make the first move, but only incapacitate them!" Lumiya barked, igniting her whip and flipping through the air.

Alema then followed suit, as Lumiya landed catlike in the crowd of students. Lumiya kicked upwards, catching one right in the chest, before blasting him into the wall with a Force push. Gavar Khai then also joined the battle, stopping a girl's wild swing and beginning to engage her. Alema gave a war cry and began to push back one student, while Lumiya broke the leg of another with a well placed kick. Leia and Mara entered the fray together, both of them up against each other's backs, holding off four students between them. Luke and K'kruhk simply raised their hands, blowing several Sith apprentices off of their feet. Two went right for Vestara and she was automatically on the defensive, blocking their attack with her own red lightsaber. She kicked out, catching her attacker in the chin before sending a jet of lightning into him. Ben leapt into the battle, blocking several swings, and also ducking Lumiya's whip in order to get the apprentice who was about to stab K'kruhk while he battled another apprentice. Jaina gestured at several bins, throwing them at the attacking apprentices.

"Fight the copies!" their leader encouraged, nicking Alema's foot, making her yelp in annoyance.

Jacen rolled his eyes and centred himself in the Force, catching each mind, chaotic and erratic as they were, of the apprentices in a tight Force grip, and with a gesture, they all dropped to the ground, their thoughts removed, their sabers deactivating as they clattered to the ground. Jacen panted a little while his father looked at him in proud concern, and Khai nodded respectfully.

"Your power is great boy, you have my thanks. Otherwise we would have spent a lot of time dealing with them that we cannot afford to waste. Quickly, secure them in the temple." He ordered several other Sith who were rushing towards them.

Lumiya, Luke and K'kruhk all looked at each other worriedly, and reluctantly, Luke nodded.

"I don't see how we have a choice, we need to tell him what happened. Especially with Sith justice, what's the Sith policy on regicide?" he asked in confusion, and K'kruhk looked at her curiously.

She smiled slightly.

"It depends on the time of day, sometimes it is actively encouraged, but other times it is rather frowned upon." She said, and Khai bowed to her as he came over.

"My lady, forgive me, but I must attend to the attackers." He said, and she shook her head.

"No Khai. They are not to blame, what happened wasn't their fault. Is there somewhere we can go away from the ears of the commoners?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Yes, the temple, as was the original plan. The Jedi cannot come." He said, glowering at Luke.

"Agreed. However, may I suggest a compromise? Let us bring K'kruhk, he is the most knowledgeable about this threat that we face, it would be wise to have him with us." She said, and after scrutinising K'kruhk, he relented and nodded.

"Very well. You may bring the other woman if you wish, not the small one, she reeks of the light, the darker one." He said, and Lumiya nodded.

"Very well. Oi, Mara!" Lumiya called, beckoning her over, and Khai leaned in close to Lumiya as Han and Leia helped the orderlies put the defeated apprentices onto a kart to take them back to the temple.

"The eldest boy, the one who defeated the apprentices, he would make a fine Sith." He whispered, and Lumiya smiled.

"Yes he would. But I have bigger fish to fry." She whispered as Mara joined them and Gavar took them towards the temple.

XX

"What's up uncle Luke?" Jaina asked in concern, as Han and Leia talked with the guide Gavar had appointed.

"I'm worried about Mara, we shouldn't have let her and K'kruhk go off on their own with Khai, I don't trust him." He said, and she bit her lip nervously.

"Neither do I to be frank, but we are kind of outnumbered. Lumiya seems to be calling the shots here though, and she won't let anything happen to us." She reasoned, and Luke snorted.

"She's right kid, whether she likes it or not, Lumiya needs us. And besides, I think she gets some sort of perverse pleasure from keeping us alive." Han muttered and Luke allowed himself a grim smile.

"Yeah only so she can contemplate killing us herself. I don't know, just being here is making me feel uneasy." He said worriedly, and Leia frowned.

"We are on a planet full of Sith. Speaking of, where are Jacen and Ben?" she asked, distracted by the absence of her son and nephew.

"Your children will be fine. The Dark Lord has commanded that you are not to be harmed. We will honour that." Their guide said irritably continuing to lead them on.

"Touchy isn't he? Alright we're coming." Han said impatiently, as Jain closed her eyes, and found Jacen and Ben in the marketplace, her brother torn between amusement and exasperation. She shook her head. Must have something to do with the Sith girl they saw then.

"Did you see the ships in orbit?" Leia asked, and Luke nodded.

"Yeah, and I don't relish the thought of Lumiya getting anything close to getting her hands on them." He said darkly, and Han frowned.

"There weren't that many ships though, its not as if she can do much with them." He reasoned and Jaina smiled slightly.

"You just doomed yourself to a lecture on not underestimating your opponent." She said and Han grinned while Luke shot her a dirty look.

"I'm going to ignore that. My worry is what an entire planet full of Sith might be up to. I know Lumiya is less than complimentary of Krayt, but the idea of a Sith Lord getting their hands on a planet full of Sith complete with a fleet is making me uneasy. We're going to have to warn the Alliance." He said, and Leia frowned thoughtfully.

"I get that you're worried Luke, but if we alert Chief Ak'la we might just make matters worse. It'll put her and the fleet on their guard, and we're stretched thin as it is." She reasoned.

Han shrugged.

"It's not as if we can do much anyway. The Alliance is spread thin, so are the Jedi and now we have another group of Sith running around. You guys suck by the way." He said, and Luke glared at him.

"Oh as if you could do better." He said grumpily.

"Point being, why didn't the Council sense them? A planet full of Sith has to create a disturbance in the Force and we were blindsided by it. True, there was the added benefit that Lumiya was blindsided too, but still..." Jaina said and Luke looked to the sky, where the Sith ships were hanging in orbit.

"The dark side is getting stronger, its making it harder to see the future, to get a full perception of events. The galaxy is getting darker, there's threats growing in all corners, and now there's Sith everywhere. It's making me uneasy." He said darkly, as their guide talked to Han about the first ship he had pirated.

"Doesn't seem to be bothering the Sith that much." Jaina pointed out, and Leia looked to Luke questioningly.

"Could they be causing it?" she asked, and he shrugged.

"I wouldn't put it past them to be a part of it, but the Force is getting too dark too quickly to just be them, there's more going on here. Like Abeloth." He said darkly, and Han looked at him while their guide looked for a place for them to eat.

"Yeah, how come she managed to affect the students here?" he asked, and Luke shrugged.

"No idea, we can only hope K'kruhk will know more. But if she can influence across the galaxy now, her power is growing, and we're running out of time." He said worriedly, and Leia nodded, then looked up ahead, sure she had just seen Ben and Jacen with another guide.

"Why wasn't Khai's daughter affected by her powers though?" she asked, and Jaina shrugged.

"We don't even know that mom. But as for powers, she's certainly affected Ben." She said, grinning and Luke groaned, making the others laugh.

XX

After Lumiya, with help from K'kruhk, had caught Khai up on the threat that Abeloth posed to the galaxy itself, they had retreated to the library to try and find any information that may be able to help them. Both K'kruhk and Lumiya had been impressed by the large domed room, with rows upon rows of ancient books, scrolls, holocrons and other dark side infused objects. Several young apprentices, older than the ones who had attacked them, were now busy helping them sort through the library, trying to impress Lumiya and most likely trying to hint to Khai that they could take up the now vacant position of librarian if asked.

"I still don't see how she could have affected apprentices here, when you claim she is half a galaxy away." Khai said, and Mara shrugged.

"According to your instructor they were in a joint meditation at the time, it probably lit them up for her and she attacked them through the Force. Can you think of any mentions that could be even tenuously linked to her?" Mara asked, and he shook his head.

"I am not a librarian Jedi." He sneered.

"I'm still intrigued as to how your daughter wasn't affected by Abeloth." Lumiya said, watching Alema warily as she chased an insect.

"My daughter is one of the most advanced students remaining on the planet." Khai said grimly, and Lumiya smiled.

K'kruhk then bent down to whisper to Mara.

"We need to find out exactly what this tribe is packing, how much Krayt ran off with. Try and head them off at the pass so to speak." He said, and she nodded.

"Agreed. But look at all this stuff, think how powerful Lumiya could become with all of this at her command." She muttered, and he looked at her darkly.

"What about these?" Alema asked, chewing on the insect that she had got, making Lumiya look slightly sick, and she inspected the holocrons the Dark Jedi was holding up for her inspection.

"One of them makes reference to the Beast." One of the fresh faced library assistants explained, a girl called Suhale, showing a scroll to Lumiya, who, after looking at it curiously, beckoned the others over.

"'The Beast, a bringer of chaos, this creature is beyond comprehension, powerful beyond all the greatest lords of the Sith. This creature feeds on darkness. You would do well to fear it, for it is our end, and all other ends'." Lumiya recited, and Mara looked at her worriedly.

"You reckon it could be Abeloth?" she asked, and K'kruhk shrugged.

"Could be, something as ancient and powerful as her will go by many names. When is it from?" he asked, and Suhale smiled eagerly.

"Over six thousand years old, it was an account by Aloysius Kallig, he was a Sith Lord who spoke out against established doctrine, both political and religious. He was a rival of Tulak Hord." she explained, and Lumiya nodded.

"Thank you young one. We will take this and any and all such texts. Any holocrons from this era would be most useful as well. Make it so." Lumiya ordered, as the girl scampered off eagerly.

"This thing...could it be made to serve our purposes?" Khai asked quietly once checking Mara and K'kruhk were out of ear shot.

Lumiya shook her head.

"Somehow I doubt it. Are you sure there are no other things that might be of use?" she asked, and, after some consideration, pulled a book from the shelf.

"I do not know if this will be of use to you my lady, but this is the codex of our people, it may get be of use to you, I don't know, but some of our legends...one in particular seems familiar but I can't place it." He said, and she nodded.

"I will investigate once we are back on the ship. And I doubt Abeloth will willingly bend to our will, she can influence things from half a galaxy away, if she can do that I dread to think what else she could do. No, we will assist the Jedi in destroying her." She said, and he nodded respectfully.

"As you will my lady." He said as K'kruhk examined another scroll.

"Tell me my friend, exactly how much did that fool Krayt make off with?" she asked in a deadly voice, and he looked at her in embarrassment.

"Lord Vol took the vast majority of the fleet, including the two Star Destroyers, Victory class I believe he said they were. Aside from the ships in orbit, he took the rest of the ChaseMaster frigates, the Nebulons, the stealth ship, and the Dreadnaughts, even though many of the Circle argued that the Dreadnaughts should remain behind to protect the planet." He said, and she nodded.

Clearly, due to the location of Kesh once they had discovered how to pirate ships, they had simply been poaching them from the nearby Corporate Sector. As Khai elaborated on the number of ships that the Tribe had, she found herself cursing Krayt more than usual. Two VSDs would be very helpful in any case, but combined with Munificent frigates, Nebulons, Dreadnaughts and various other ships from the Corporate Sector ships, it was clear that the Tribe fleet was quite considerable in its own way. And now Krayt had squirreled it away on Korriban, and given his way, would most likely combine it with his own fleet, which she already believed to be quite substantial, to try and defeat hers when the time came.

Curse the treacherous nature of the Sith.

But now, the Tribe had joined Krayt. Which in some ways was useful. After all, if they had joined the One Sith, that meant they would join Krayt, who was doing little else other than consolidating his forces, which she had to admit suited her own ends slightly. After all, there were so many disparate dark sider groups across the galaxy, any one of them might get delusions of grandeur and try to interfere with her plans, and by gathering them all to him, he was keeping them occupied. And, being all in one place, if she had need of them, she could easily call on them. Or kill them.

However, just like the other dark side groups the usurper was assembling to his side, the Tribe joining him could potentially bite her in the ass. For a start, it was making Krayt's faction exponentially stronger, and while he had already outnumbered hers, now things were going to rather ridiculous levels. Krayt could also easily deploy the factions against her plan. And what was more, every group he assembled added more knowledge, power and typically more ships to his faction. And while some of the ships he would assemble would be only freighters or transports, still, he would soon outnumber and outgun her, and if she couldn't persuade Vongerella to play the game, then the usurper could pose a serious threat to her plans. And now the Tribe had also joined him, a group of Sith that could easily tip the scales either way in the balance of power between the three main claimants to the throne of the Dark Lord of the Sith.

And that of course was providing Vol didn't become totally consumed with power and try and make a name for himself at the same time. Between herself, Krayt and Vongerella, along with Collonzas floating about in the wings wanting to become a Sith and the rest of Krayt's faction trying to convince themselves that they were Sith, they had quite enough claimants to the throne to be getting on with without Vol and the Tribe now adding their own particular brand of chaos to the mix. She sniffed. At least they were proper Sith, unlike that fool Krayt and his faction.

"Khai, I find myself in need of your services." She said, and he looked at her questioningly.

"As you know, Krayt is a heretic, a usurper, and is by no stretch of the imagination the true Lord of the Sith. But even now he is spreading his corruption to the Tribe, and that is unacceptable to me." She whispered, making sure the two Jedi, who were currently trying to entice an upside down hanging Alema down from the top of a book shelf, weren't listening.

"What do you wish me to do my lady?" he asked, and she gave another cautious glance and bent in close.

"I need someone to keep an eye on Krayt, and I also need to make sure Lord Vol is not further corrupted by Krayt's influence." She said, and he looked at her curiously.

"Your overestimate me my lady, I am but a Saber, why should Lord Vol listen to me over the Circle and Krayt?" he asked, and she smiled.

"Krayt is a fool and a heretic. Vol must know that the dark side is diluted within Krayt, he will see sense." She said, and Khai looked sceptical.

"My lady, you may underestimate him." He warned, and she waved her hand impatiently.

"It matters not. Either way, you will serve me. I need you there to keep an eye on Krayt and Vol for me. If you persuade Vol that Krayt is a pretender to the throne, so much the better. However it is not integral to my scheme. All I need to do is make sure Krayt doesn't control the entire Tribe, and worse, use them against me. I've been planning for too long and I'm too close now to allow that filthy usurper to disrupt everything just because he got lucky." She sneered, and Khai frowned.

"Lord Vol may be persuaded to go his own way, I doubt he intends to truly serve Krayt anyway. But I would need a good reason for abandoning Kesh, especially with the students going insane. What excuse could I give?" he asked, and she smiled.

"You mean other than the true Dark Lord of the Sith giving you an order? Vol is now absent from his throneworld, that will make him nervous. Tell him his enemies plot against him." She said, and Khai shook his head.

"He won't believe that, most of his enemies are with him." He said, and she smiled.

"Yes, and that is our way in my friend. His enemies are with him, but his powerbase, where he is strongest and where he doesn't have to bow and scrape to another, is here on Kesh. And while his most obvious enemies are with him at Korriban, who is to say the youth of the Tribe hasn't been corrupted against him?" she purred and Khai smiled.

"I believe I am beginning to see where you are going with this my lady. But what about the ships in orbit? If I even take one of them it will reduce the amount of defences the planet has." He said, and she pondered.

Realistically, she would prefer to be able to send the ships to join her fleet, but if her plan was to work, if Khai, who did seem loyal to the true Dark Lord, was to get close enough to spy on both Vol and Krayt, she would need to cement his credentials, especially if they were going to make Vol believe he was being plotted against back home on Kesh.

"Very well. You will need to leave the Citadel cruiser here. Take the ChaseMasters and the Dimels. And as for the transports, I have something else to ask of you." She said, and he looked at her curiously.

"We endeavour to be of assistance my lady." He said, and she nodded, and after making sure that Mara and K'kruhk were occupied once again, this time trying to corral Alema who kept sneaking in between the book cases, she leaned in and lowered her voice.

"Because this alliance against Abeloth has forced me into bed with the Jedi, I require your help. My fleet is at Bimmiel, the planet is deserted and out of the way. However, my fleet is preparing for other missions, and my home, a dark side infused asteroid, is unattended. If you could send the two transports there until I can assure myself of a safety net for the Home, I would be most appreciative." She said, and he bowed.

"As you desire. There is some lore you could have as well." He said, and she smiled.

"Thank you Khai, you truly are a credit to your tribe. Now, while we amuse ourselves watching the Jedi chase Alema, why don't you tell me about what lore there is available, and also about your daughter." She said as Alema shot behind the two Jedi, leaving them furious.

XX

"You okay?" Jacen asked, as Ben looked at some of the produce that was for sale in the marketplace.

"Yeah. Jacen?" he asked hesitantly, and Jacen inwardly braced himself, when he used that hesitant tone of voice, it usually meant one of three things: he wanted something, a girl (most likely the Sith girl) or problems with the family.

"Yeah?" he asked, resolving not to buy him anything despite how much he pleaded.

Ben looked up the street, to where the others were getting their guided tour from the one Khai had appointed to babysit them. Their own guide was following them from the shadows, but as they were only looking at the various bright and colourful stalls, he didn't seem that bothered.

"Do you ever feel sorry for Lumiya?" Ben asked, and Jacen had to admit, that one had caught him slightly by surprise. Trust Ben to take pity on someone dedicated to destroying everything they fought for.

"Well...not really. But I do see what you're getting at, your dad keeps antagonising her. And while I have to admit, I don't get tired of her comebacks, he was acting like a bit of an idiot. We're on a planet full of Sith, who now view her as their queen, and he wants to pick a fight with her? It isn't very clever, and not like him." He said worriedly, and Ben scuffed his foot looking fairly put out.

"I just never expected to feel sorry for Lumiya, I mean, sure she's snarky and she tried to kill mom and dad and aunt Leia but she has been kind of handy, and she stopped us all killing each other on Prakith." He said, and Jacen shrugged.

"I know. Part of your dad's problem is what happened on Prakith I think, kind of a sobering experience for the Grand Master to have to be saved by the Dark Lord. And remember, your mom hated your dad when they first met, she wanted to kill him." He reminded him, and Ben grinned.

"She still does most of the time." He pointed out, and Jacen smiled.

"Yeah but nowadays she's less likely to act on it. He's just worried. Having to work with her is bad enough, Abeloth is out there, and all of a sudden we have Sith coming out of our ears, and Lumiya's enjoying every minute of it. It's bound to be getting to him." He said and Ben sighed.

"I know all that, but...it kind of makes you wonder if Lumiya is right doesn't it? Are the Jedi arrogant? Do we assume we're superior?" Ben asked curiously, and Jacen smiled fondly, and ruffled Ben's hair.

"You remind me of someone else who was questioning everything about being a Jedi at your age." He said, and Ben pouted.

"Great, some me and him can form a club." He grumbled, annoyed that once again he was the odd one out just like he had been all his life, the only one who questioned if the Sith weren't as right about the Jedi as they had always denied.

"We already have." Jacen said fondly, smirking as realisation dawned on Ben's face as he realised who he was like.

Ben's eyes was then drawn by the appearance of the Sith girl who had appeared earlier. Jacen, seeing his cousin stop short, looked round, and rolled his eyes as he saw what had attracted Ben's attention.

A young girl, about Ben's age, she had light brown hair with dark red streaks in it falling to her shoulders, with dark brown eyes, and a black swirl tattooed onto her head. She was clad in a tight black jumpsuit, a lightsaber at her waist, and she was clearly interested by what she saw in Ben just as he was with her. Her face was pale and beautiful, and a small scar emitted from her lip, giving her the appearance of a perpetual smirk.

"Force help us all." He groaned, as Ben slipped away from him to go and talk to her.

Jacen pondered. There was nothing wrong with a bit of harmless conversation and teenage flirting. Yeah his uncle and aunt would disagree but they kept trying to smother Ben, and his mother was overbearing enough, never mind if she saw some girl going for her son, let alone a Sith girl. He deserved a break anyway. And he would still be keeping an eye on him anyway.

"Hi." Ben said, approaching her as she took him in, and Vestara had to say, she did find him nice to look at.

Well built, a little taller than she was, he had a confidence, not an arrogance, which she could practically smell off of his father and cousins. He had kind blue eyes, messy red hair with blond flecks in it that was sort of spiked up, and he had an easy but shy smile as she gave him the once over.

"You're the son of the Grand Master. None of his arrogance though." Vestara said, looking at him in interest.

"Um...I don't know if you know, but out there in the galaxy that you're undoubtedly planning to conquer, it's usually polite to introduce yourself before you make comments about their family." He said, and she smiled, while further back, Jacen cringed, fearing it was a sinister smirk.

But it turned out he actually had amused her, as she relaxed a little.

"My name is Vestara Khai. I'm a Tyro, an apprentice." She said, and Ben grinned.

"See how hard that was? Now that I know who you are, feel free to try and conquer the galaxy." He said, and she gave him a sweet smile.

"I might just do that." She said and they began to relax, talking, flirting with each other easily.

"Well what do you know? He didn't scare her off. Now of course aunt Mara is going to kill me but at least he's actually managed to talk to a girl without her swooning because he's the son of the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy." Jacen muttered to himself, once more bitterly reflecting on the fact that Ben really had no one his age to talk to.

And it was then that Jacen noticed that their guide had vanished, and was angrily stalking towards Ben and Vestara, who both seemed to be getting on well.

"Uh oh." Jacen said, getting to his feet, but he suddenly found his way blocked by numerous large, arrogant looking young Sith men who materialised from all around him, all of them leering at him unpleasantly.

"Where do you think you're going?" the bulkiest one demanded in a sneering voice, and Jacen gave him a disdainful look, bored.

"To go and help my cousin as your friend seems to have decided he has a problem with him. Now get out of the way." Jacen snarled, ready to take out his lightsaber if need be.

"Savat is our leader. If you wish to harm him, you will have to go through us." One of them sneered, and Jacen rolled his eyes.

"Believe me, that won't bother me in the slightest. What does Savat want with Ben?" he asked irritably, and the tallest one smiled.

"He has registered an interest in Tyro Khai, and now the Jedi scum is trying to influence her." He said with a scowl.

Jacen looked at him, unimpressed.

"Influence her? He's talking to her. Calmly, politely, it's what teenagers do. Well normal ones do anyway." He said sweetly, and the broadest one of Savat's thugs seemed to mull this over, taking a while to realise Jacen was insulting him.

"You will not get past." One of them said, and Jacen glared.

"I won't let you hurt Ben." Jacen growled and the most obnoxious of the four of them barked with laughter.

"Aww, how sweet, maybe he doesn't need to flirt with Khai, his boyfriend is right here!" he crowed and the others laughed.

Jacen shot him an unimpressed look.

"Boyfriend? No. That would be incest. But I am quite protective of him, and if you try and hurt him, you'll find out just how protective." He promised, and the most arrogant laughed mockingly, lighting his red lightsaber.

"Oh we're so scared! You seem to think a lot of yourself Jedi, maybe we should teach you some manners." He said, bringing it to position, and Jacen was suddenly surrounded by red blades.

He sighed. Typical bloody Sith.

"I don't think much of me, I just don't think much of you." He retorted, igniting his green saber, and preparing to defend himself.

They had spent time talking, Vestara describing life on Kesh, Ben describing the bigger galaxy to her, along with some of their more recent adventures. And odd though it was, they were both enjoying themselves. A Jedi and a Sith talking to one another as though they were friends. And it didn't help that their companions were nice to look at either.

"You fought Darth Andeddu?" Vestara asked, slightly impressed as Ben finished recounting their latest adventure.

Ben was about to answer when he was suddenly blown across the square, his head hitting the wall hard and he slumped down, unconscious.

Vestara stood up in surprise, then, sensing satisfaction in the Force, turned furiously to see the cocky smile of Savat grinning at her.

"You're welcome." He said smugly, and she glowered at him icily.

"And what should I be thanking you for? For attacking a guest of the Dark Lord right in front of me?" she demanded angrily, quickly running an eye over Ben, who was out cold.

"He's a Jedi, what were you even talking about? And besides, I have made it clear to your father that I wish for you to be betrothed to me." He snarled, grabbing her arm, but she blasted him away from her with the Force, glowering.

"I'd rather not, I don't care if you told my father you want to court me, I want nothing to do with you Savat." She snapped.

Behind Savat, Jacen, having sensed his cousin get knocked out, was now angry, and took the leg off of one of his attackers, determined to get to Ben.

Savat glared at her.

"I don't care what you want. Our union makes sense, I am powerful, from a powerful family, and you are one of the best of the Tyros and also come from a prominent family. And I won't have my future wife sullied by associating with a filthy Jedi, who shouldn't have even been let on the planet in the first place!" he yelled, and she glared at him, one hand going to her lightsaber, the other reaching to her back for her shikkar.

"I was talking with him, he can be useful to us. And I don't care what you want in your future wife, as I won't be it." She snarled, and he approached her, trying to intimidate her.

"You will do as you're told. Now stand down. You're causing a scene." He growled, and she was, as many people were now watching Jacen duel Savat's thugs, and others were watching her shouting match with Savat himself.

"No." She said boldly, seeing Ben's companions running towards them, and even better, her father and Lumiya's dark presences approaching.

Savat snarled at her fury, considering it ineffective. It didn't matter. After he was married to her, he would soon break her in, break her spirit, and she would be a useful wife. But why...

Unless...

"I don't believe it, you are drawn to him!" he crowed derisively.

Vestara hissed through her teeth. She wouldn't say she was drawn to him exactly. He was nice enough, attractive enough, he had power, he had shown her kindness which she hadn't expected from a Jedi but she wouldn't say she was drawn to him.

"Hardly. You're deluded." She said coldly, and he laughed mockingly, ignoring the cry of pain as one of his friends lost an arm.

"You fancy a Jedi. You are a disgrace to the name of Sith! I will never take you as a wife!" he yelled furiously, disgusted by what he felt.

She smirked.

"Suits me."

"But he won't get you either." Savat grunted, and blasted lethal Force lightning at her, and she was so shocked she couldn't raise her saber in time.

Until it met a blue blade, as Ben, rubbing the back of his head, had leapt to block the attack with his lightsaber. Glaring at Savat angrily, he lunged at him, forcing Savat to draw his own red lightsaber to block the attack.

"You Jedi scum, you come here, corrupt my future wife..." Savat snarled as Ben easily parried his blow.

"Hardly, I was just talking to her, and then you attacked me. How can I corrupt her anyway? We were only talking." He said, kicking Savat in the chest, grinning as he watched a relieved looking Jacen ensure one of Savat's thugs never had children.

"You talked to my betrothed, and corrupted her! She is a woman, easily seduced!" he yelled angrily, annoyed that Ben wasn't even trying, he was simply blocking his attacks with ease, he didn't even have to work for it.

Ben scoffed.

"Trust me, women are generally better at staying uncorrupted, present Sith Lord excepted. There's been a lot more male Sith, and they've generally messed up the galaxy a hell of a lot better than a female has. And you can't get corrupted just by having five minutes of conversation with someone. Now, that is for treating her like an object," Ben said, lancing his blade into Savat's leg and making him yell in pain, "that is for being a sexist idiot," he said, slicing his enemy's shoulder, "and that is for ambushing me and thinking you would get away with it!" he said, cleaving Savat's lightsaber in two and then Force pushing Savat, whimpering, to the ground, as Jacen chopped the ear off of his remaining thug and ran over to check him.

"Are you alright?" Jacen asked, sensing the rising hostility within the crowd, and preparing to fight if need be.

"Yeah, bit woozy though." Ben said, staggering a little now that the adrenaline was going down and Jacen gently steadied him as the others arrived, Luke, Leia and Jaina with their sabers drawn.

"You protected me." Vestara commented, surprised by what she found herself saying, and also the feelings of gratitude she had towards him all of a sudden.

"Kid, we need to get out of here." Han muttered as a lot of Sith were suddenly becoming a little too close to their lightsabers, clustering around them all, looking angry.

"What happened here?" Lumiya's voice cracked over the marketplace, and the Sith all backed off, allowing her, Khai, K'kruhk, Alema, Suhale and a concerned Mara past, and Mara went straight to her son and immediately began to fuss.

"My lady, father, Savat here decided to make a nuisance of himself. He attacked Ben without provocation, and then began making a spectacle of himself, claiming he did it to protect me from the young Jedi." Vestara responded quickly before Savat could get a word in.

"Was my daughter in any immediate danger Savat?" Khai asked sharply, and he sneered.

"He was going to corrupt her. And per our discussion last week, I did not want my goods...soiled." he sneered, and as one Lumiya, Ben and Vestara's eyes flashed.

"Your goods?" Lumiya hissed, and the young Sith seemed to have realised that he had just made a foolish mistake because the blood drained from his already pale face in light of the harsh gaze the Dark Lord of the Sith was now sending in his direction.

"This boy has indicated to me a desire to marry my daughter. He is clearly mistaken if he believes that is still an option. Not only have you shamed yourself, and my daughter, and myself, you also failed to do what you intended to do in the first place and kill the Jedi boy, he has beaten you and you are now at his mercy like some beaten dog! You idiot." Khai spat, as the other boys were brought before them.

"And this lot?" Lumiya asked angrily.

"They are his friends, his back up, they engaged Jacen while he attacked Ben." Vestara explained, and Lumiya narrowed her eyes.

"Not only arrogant and sexist, but stupid and cowardly as well. Do not worry young Vestara, you could do much better than this one. So Savat, you attack a guest of the ruling Lord of the Sith, disobeying my express orders in the process, insult and demean the girl you wish to marry, you don't even manage to kill the boy properly, and you also drag your friends in to a pointless little squabble that has maimed them in various ways. What are we to do with you?" she asked angrily.

"My lady, she was talking with the Jedi boy..." Savat protested, but Lumiya then slapped him across the face, something which would have been painful enough at the best of times, but as her hand was metal, it hurt all the more, and Savat let out a girly scream in response.

"Silence!" she barked, and he went silent, as did his goons who were looking up at her in terror.

"Lumiya, what...?" Luke asked, sensing the rising anticipation from the crowd, the anger from Lumiya and Khai, the morbid curiosity from the others, and the cheerful state of bliss of Alema.

"This is a Sith affair Skywalker." Khai growled, as the surrounding Sith's bloodlust began to go up.

"Luke, let it go." Leia whispered, and he turned to her.

"Wait, they aren't?"

"Yeah they are." She said impassively, and Luke looked on in disbelief.

"You disobeyed me. You engaged the Jedi which was useless and above all stupid. What justification do you have for your actions? None. Let me tell you, you stupid, arrogant little boy, only the greatest of all Sith can corrupt someone with a mere conversation, and he died over forty years ago at Endor. Ben is not the greatest of all Sith, he is a Jedi apprentice. If even his father cannot turn someone to the light side with one conversation, he will not be able to do it. Your actions were stupid, arrogant, sexist and above all, pointless. Vestara was in no danger. Ben was in no way trying to corrupt her, which means Savat, you led you and yours into this pointless situation for nothing. What am I to do with ones such as you, hmm? Ones who disobey me? Ones who attack two singular Jedi and still some out the losers? Sith who fail to harm the Jedi, get trounced for their efforts and embarrass me before our guests?"

"I was trying to stop him corrupting her! And I won't be dictated to as one such as you, I recognise Lord Vol as our Dark Lord." Savat yelled in a bratty voice, and Khai shook his head in disgust, before advancing on Savat.

Lumiya held up her hand, staying him while she looked at Savat in disdain.

"You will pay for that boy." She promised, then turned to the others.

"And as for you lot, you have no skill, no imagination of your own, and above all else, no brains. Otherwise you wouldn't have gotten involved in this ridiculous farce. The five of you, especially you Savat, are weak, brainless little thugs, and I have no use for such beings." She said darkly, and Vestara felt a dark thrill as Lumiya raised all of them up into the air with the Force, then brought her fist together, totally shattering their skeletons and throwing their dead bodies into a pile while the Sith crowd cheered, Khai looked on in approval, and Vestara and Alema in cold delight.

"She killed them." Han said in slight shock.

"Luke, put your lightsaber down." Mara hissed as Luke turned to the Sith in shock.

"You killed them." He said in disbelief, and Lumiya glared at him.

"Yes Luke. This isn't some nancy little Jedi school where wrong doers are given a slap on the wrist and sent to their room without dinner. This is much more important, we are Sith. That is how it is done. Now, deactivate your lightsaber before this bloodlust filled crowd leaps at you." She hissed, and Luke, glaring but knowing she was right, did so.

"My apologies my lady." Khai said, and she nodded.

"Noted Khai. Now, we have items within the temple that are to be put on the ship. Solo, prepare for departure." She said, and he looked at her in confusion.

"We're leaving?" he asked in surprise, and Mara nodded.

"We've got some stuff we can use. And besides, we better get out of here before all the Sith forget about the truce." She said worriedly.

"you sure you're ok?" Jacen asked in concern and Ben nodded.

"Yeah. So what do we need to do?" he asked, and Mara smiled.

"We need to get all the stuff from the temple to here. So come on, let's go so we can get off this world." She said, and the others went after her, while Han went back to the ship with Leia.

K'kruhk stood, musing on the spot. Luke shook his head as he approached the elder Jedi. He knew what Lumiya had done was what any Sith would do in her situation, but she hadn't had to kill those boys. They had been stupid yes, but that was just murder plain and simple.

"What's up?" he asked, and K'kruhk frowned.

"I don't know young Skywalker. Do you feel that, a growing threat, a sense of menace, like a shadow?" he asked worriedly, and Luke nodded slowly.

"Yeah, but with the Force getting darker by the day, and the fact that we're on a planet full of Sith, how do we know what it is?" he asked, and K'kruhk stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"I don't know, it feels like a pressure, a buzzing, and I have a bad feeling about it. We'd best be cautious. And Luke...I know you don't like it, but Lumiya is the one in charge here and that is how the Sith do things. So I'm afraid we must endure it." He said grimly, and Luke nodded before heading towards the temple with the others.

He knew he had to endure it, and he knew he wasn't acting very Jedi like in constantly bristling at the way Lumiya was running things here, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

XX

"Thank you, for defending me. It wasn't necessary but still, it was nice of you." Vestara said as they continued to load up the ship.

"You're welcome. And he had attacked me too, I just wanted to bring him down a peg or two. But I'm glad you're alright." Ben said kindly, and she smiled slightly at him.

"You are a strange one for a Jedi Ben Skywalker, you're not all I expected." She said curiously, and he grinned.

"Yeah, you're strange for a Sith too. What was Savat's problem anyway?" he asked, and Vestara gave a cold smile.

"You mean aside from being cosmically stupid? You see, marriages within the Tribe are usually organised according to specific levels, like the daughter of a master ought not to marry a son of one of the Circle. Savat obviously approached my father to seek my hand, as his own father was a Saber like my father, at least before Lady Rhea had him killed. Of course!" she said in realisation, and Ben looked at her patiently, waiting for the explanation.

"Savat's father was trying to displace Lady Rhea on the Circle you see? Lady Rhea was rumoured to be considering me to be her apprentice, and by considering, I mean had all but chosen me, I had ki- I mean the other options for her had met unfortunate accidents." She explained.

Why had she hesitated? After all, Ben knew full well she was a Sith and he also knew full well that as a breed they would do whatever it took to get ahead. He had to have known that she had killed them, but for some strange reason she didn't want to admit it to him. She shook her head, obviously him protecting her had messed up her head. Maybe Savat had been right, maybe he had corrupted her slightly, somehow. She would meditate later and purge herself of whatever lingering feelings of gratitude, and whatever else was there, later.

"So what? What's you getting made into her apprentice got to do with him?" he asked, finding it funny, and also slightly sweet that she hadn't wanted to admit to him that she had killed her competitors. Clearly, she was a dangerous girl, but there was something else about her too.

"Well, it was relatively public knowledge that she was going to make me her apprentice. Savat obviously approached my father in order to be given my hand. He intended to use my position as her apprentice against her, so he could avenge his father's death, get close enough to Lady Rhea and kill her. But, he panicked when he saw me talking to you, stupidly, he panicked, believing you to be trying to corrupt me, and hence make it harder for him to use me against the one who should have been my master." She explained, and Ben looked at her curiously.

"Ok, that makes sense, but if it was such a sure thing, how come you aren't with Rhea?" he asked, and she glowered bitterly into the sky.

"Krayt came along. He ordered the vast majority of the Tribe to Korriban, and I, as I wasn't her official apprentice, was left behind. You see, becoming an apprentice requires a sacrifice, a ceremony, and he ordered them there immediately. So there was no time for me to become an apprentice to her before they left." She said sourly, and Ben tried to look apologetic.

"That sucks. Look on the bright side though!" he said cheerfully.

"What would that be?" she asked irritably.

"You got out of your arranged marriage to Savat." He said brightly, and he counted it as a victory when a small smile blossomed on her lips.

"You are a strange one Ben. Thank you for the help." She said, and gently kissed his cheek.

Ben looked at her in surprise as she headed off for the temple. He then smiled. Somehow, he didn't think that was the last he would see of her.

As she headed for the temple, Vestara shook her head, angry with herself. What was she doing? Fair enough she had used emotions as a weapon against her enemies before, but this, this was different. She stood to gain nothing from kissing Ben on the cheek, from interacting with him in such a way. This wasn't one of her victims who she could seduce. After all, he was leaving.

She was being foolish. Maybe Rhea had been right to leave her behind. But, she did have to admit, Ben did have a point. The day's events did indeed remove the need to marry Savat. And the Jedi boy had successfully cheered her up, made her feel happy about being left behind. After all, if she hadn't been here she would still be betrothed to Savat, and she would never have met Ben...

Grunting in frustration, she started to walk quickly towards the temple. Something was wrong with her, Ben had corrupted her, infected her somehow, which was irritating to the extreme. She was a Sith, a follower of the dark side, and some smiling, attractive Jedi boy had gotten to her, made her ashamed of killing, happy to be stuck here while the Tribe moved on, masterless and brat watching stupid apprentices...

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn't see where she was going and as she turned onto the cavalcade to enter the temple, she ran headlong into Lumiya, who yelped in surprise as she was knocked off of her feet, the scrolls she had been carrying going everywhere.

Vestara bolted upright, petrified, realising what she had done, however accidentally, had probably just signed her death warrant.

"My lady, I apologise, I wasn't looking..." Vestara babbled, helping Lumiya to her feet.

Lumiya dusted herself off and waved her hand.

"It doesn't matter my dear, could happen to anyone. But something must have gotten you wound up." She said perceptively, gently probing the girl with the Force as Vestara passed the scrolls to her.

"I, well nothing my lady." She said, her head bowed.

How she missed the fear people would once treat her with. Not long and once she assumed her rightful place, she would have it again.

She smiled, figuring what it was that was bothering the girl, the encounter with Savat. But no, she wasn't mourning, she was happy he was dead, it was to do with something else, but what?

"Don't worry child, I remember what you're going through. Vaguely. It happened a very long time ago...in a galaxy far far away..." she said nostalgically, remembering the times when she had actually felt affection for Luke. Luke..., of course!

It had finally clicked. The reason the girl was so worked up, feeling guilty, confused. She didn't care about Savat. Someone else had attracted her gaze. It was so obvious it was brilliant.

Vestara...and Ben.

It was perfect.

Lumiya surveyed the girl. Young, athletic, powerful, beautiful...everything would combine and draw Ben to her. She was also restless, trapped where her talents weren't utilised, where she would always be in the shadow of her father and feeling rather disappointed with her superiors. The fact that she was a Sith, and hence would be in direct opposition to his parents' wishes would be even better, he would be attracted to the bad girl quality, after all, he was his father's son (she remembered a few saucy nights with Luke herself when they had both been younger, and let's face it, the guy had wanted to date his own sister (ignorance definitely wasn't an excuse on that one in her opinion, Obi Wan could have told the poor sap at least)), and what was more he was a teenager, restrained by the legacy of his powerful parents, his famous uncle, his renowned aunt and his famous cousins, relatively friendless without someone his own age to talk to, and had also had a history of teenage rebellion.

Vestara was perfect.

And if her plan failed, she would make a fine back up.

Yes, this was truly a gift from the Force. As always, all was made to work to her advantage. Everything was transpiring according to her design.

Time for the first test.

Lumiya smiled, and squeezed Vestara's shoulder.

"It's a pity you will have to stay here my dear. You could be most useful to me. Most useful indeed." She purred, and headed off, leaving a very confused Vestara standing on the cavalcade.

Vestara looked at the retreating Dark Lord of the Sith. Far from being dead, as she had expected, she was alive, and in a state of confusion. Her last comment...did it imply something? She could be useful to Lumiya, she would endeavour to be useful to her. After all, Krayt hadn't even glanced at her, but Lumiya had seen her, taken her side, spared her life and recognised her power. Lumiya had seemed delighted when she had sensed the turmoil within her.

Could she be of use to her?

Vestara thought about it. Truth be told, she would much rather serve Lumiya anyway. The monster she was chasing, the power she wielded, her dark side presence, all of them showed that she was the true power in the Sith, not the usurper, Skywalker wouldn't join forces with any random Sith, he would want the best. Krayt was a blind fool, making her master leave her behind.

Perhaps Lumiya was giving her a veiled offer of apprenticeship? Or was it more? Lumiya had implied that she could be useful, but to be useful, she would need to go with Lumiya...

Vestara smiled. Yes, she could be useful to Lumiya. Very useful indeed. And implication or not, the job was now hers.

She would join Lumiya. She would apprentice herself to the true Dark Lady of the Sith, it would greatly benefit her plans, her future, her destiny.

And with Lumiya...she would see Ben again.

Smirking to herself, Vestara went to find her father.

XX

"My lady!" Suhale cried as Lumiya and Leia chatted.

"Yes Suhale?" she asked, and the girl respectively bowed to both her and Leia, to Leia's surprise, before going on her knee.

"I hope she isn't going to propose." Leia muttered, and Lumiya smirked.

"If she is, I'll direct her to Ben." She said, and Leia snorted with laughter.

"Good luck explaining that one to Mara." She said, and Lumiya suppressed a smile behind her veil.

If Vestara had any initiative, and sense of ambition, then she would have to explain a teenage Jedi/Sith romance very soon indeed. Which suited her.

"My lady, may I present you with a gift?" the girl asked, and Lumiya nodded.

"I would be delighted Suhale." She said, and the girl smiled and pulled out a pure glass dagger.

"Impressive, most impressive." Leia said in awe as she saw the blade.

"I crafted it from my own hands my lady, my first shikkar. It would honour me greatly if you were to take it." Suhale said, and Lumiya was rather taken aback by the gift. It was indeed a thing of beauty. Inscribed beautifully up the handle, the blade itself was pure, lethal glass.

"You honour me greatly Suhale, this is a thing of beauty, but I cannot accept this." She said, but Suhale looked up rather bravely.

"Please my lady, I wish to be of service even when I am here. I was looking for an appropriate overlord to give it to, but none would take me, now I give it to you." She said, and Lumiya smiled.

"Very well Suhale. I accept your gift. Now, is all in readiness?" she asked, and Suhale nodded.

"Yes my lady." She said eagerly, getting to her feet.

"Then I will see you soon my dear. Through victory..."

"Our chains are broken." The girl said excitedly and ran off.

"I remember what it was like to meet the natives. Most of the time they were trying to kill me." Leia lamented, and Lumiya laughed.

"Don't worry, this lot will happily kill you if I say so. But for now, it suits me to have you alive." She said, and Leia rolled her eyes, looking slightly amused.

"You're enjoying this empress stuff aren't you?" she asked, and Lumiya shrugged.

"What can I say? I'm only human. And besides...it's such fun infuriating your dear brother and have him be unable to do a sodding thing about it." She gloated and Leia failed to suppress a snort of laughter.

She then stopped short, fixing herself as though she was cold.

"Do you feel that?" she asked, and Lumiya, her eyes narrowed in concern, nodded.

"Yes. It's been getting stronger all day. A pressure, a growing menace. At first I thought it was Ben's squabble in the marketplace, but it's a lot more than that. A dark presence, far beyond anyone here. And it isn't Luke preparing anything otherwise you wouldn't feel it. No, something else is wrong." She said worriedly, and Leia gave a nervous look around.

"I think I'll go and tell Han to get the ship ready to go...like now." She said, and Lumiya nodded.

"I agree. The feeling is getting stronger Leia. We ought to be quick." She said worriedly, and Leia headed into the ship.

Lumiya frowned. Something was happening, that much was clear. Pocketing the shikkar, she went to help Jaina and Alema with the last of the artefacts.

XX

"Father!" Vestara cried in frustration.

"No Vestara, that is my final word. I need you here, in case our enemies move against us. I do not want you going off on some sketchy implication from the Dark Lady, am I understood?" Gavar demanded angrily as he and his entourage boarded the shuttle that would take them to the three ChaseMasters in orbit that they would take to Korriban.

"She is our superior." She said angrily, and Khai raised his hand as if to strike her, but thought better of it, she was aggravated enough, and if he pushed her too far she might happily stick a shikkar in his ribs, after all, he had watched her make the lethal weapon.

"And I am yours child. I will be obeyed! Understood?" he growled, and she bowed her head, though her eyes were like laser bolts.

"Yes father." She grumbled, and he smiled proudly.

"You are a fine daughter Vestara. I know you will not fail me. Now, be well." He said, and swept to his shuttle.

A few minutes later, the three shuttles lifted off, bound for the ChaseMaster frigates that would take them to Korriban in order to fulfil Lumiya's mission of spying on Krayt and Vol.

As her father's ship headed for the sky, Vestara smiled savagely.

"I am a fine daughter father. But if you think I am going to turn down the Dark Lady, you can think again." She said, and slipped away from the landing pad, heading to the spaceport, using the Force to summon her bag of things to her and send a mental farewell to her uvak as she did so.

She took a deep breath, and cloaked herself in the Force, hiding her from all perception, hiding herself from the Force. As Mara and K'kruhk helped Jaina with a pallet of food into the hold, she knocked something over with a slight nudge from the Force, and as the three turned to look, she slipped right by them.

So far so good.

She entered the ship proper, and smiled as she found a secret cargo hold. Smiling to herself, she gently pried it open, and making sure she had her pack, saber and shikkar, and lowered herself in, closing the hatch. She would remain her, meditate, and when the time was right, reveal herself to Lumiya. She would have a new master.

And then all the power in the galaxy would be hers.

XX

Khai's three ships had left, with him en route to Korriban to keep an eye on Krayt and Vol and to then report back to Lumiya.

Back on the ground, the ship was prepared, fully stocked, the front cargo hold filled with Sith lore, Lumiya's shikkar secreted away, and they were ready to go. The only thing was, that irritating pressure on the back of their minds was now getting to all of them.

"Even Alema feels it now. Well I'm assuming she feels it, she was talking about a funeral march in her head." Jaina said, joining her father, mother, uncle and Lumiya in the cockpit.

"So it isn't you?" Luke asked worriedly, and Lumiya shook her head.

"No, and it isn't you either. This presence is getting worse. I suggest we get out of here quickly before it gets any worse." She advised.

Luke frowned. It felt like an approaching calamity, a growing menace, and he didn't like it one bit. However, what was bothering him most was the fact that he was sure he had felt it before, he just couldn't think where.

"Alright, if you two can agree on something, it must be bad, let's get out of here." Han said worriedly.

Leia frowned as the ship took off, feeling how nervous Jacen, Mara, K'kruhk and particularly Ben were. The rising presence in their minds was making them all anxious, and making it hard for them to concentrate. It felt familiar, too familiar, and whenever it had happened before, no good had come of it. Mind you, that didn't help much, a lot of things in her past could all have the same moniker applied to them.

Luke stretched out with his feelings, feeling the eddies and currents of the Force. A dark shadow was coming, and would be on them soon, it would be on them before they truly escaped Kesh. And suddenly, back in the hold, something clicked in K'kruhk's mind.

"Saluecami!" he cried in realisation from back in the hold, just as Leia also clicked.

"Kashyyyk!" Leia yelped.

"Borelias." Luke whispered, and Lumiya hissed between her teeth as Han and Jaina looked at them as though they were crazy.

"Orbital bombardment." Luke whispered, and Leia nodded.

"That's the feeling alright." She said, and swore, as the scanners picked up on three large ships leaving lightspeed, and they all looked up in time to see three bone white Imperial class Star Destroyers drop out of lightspeed.

"Where the hell did they come from?" Han demanded, seeing the ships begin to launch TIE fighters of all shapes and sizes.

"What do we do?" Jaina asked, and Leia pointed back.

"Get your brother and get in the gun turret. This isn't going to be pretty. Lumiya, call the Tribe, tell them those Star Destroyers aren't here for show and tell." She said as K'kruhk joined them.

"Three Star Destroyers, what would they be doing here? What ships are they?" he asked, as Lumiya contacted the defence fleet, which was already coming up to form a defensive circle around the Falcon.

"My lady, they are registering as friendly." A Sith said over the comm.

"Use your feelings captain. The scanners can be deceived, the Force cannot. They are not here with anything good in mind." Lumiya warned as the five Tribe ships began to power shields and weapons.

"What makes you think they aren't friendly?" Han asked, frowning as he saw the eighteen squadrons of fighters head right for them, three Defender squadrons, five Bombers flanked by five fighters and the five Interceptor squadrons coming right for them and the Tribe ships.

"We can feel the dark side on those ships, the malice. They are not here with good intentions." K'kruhk said worriedly as Jacen and Jaina activated the gun turrets.

"Besides, those bombers are heading for the planet, what use would bombers be unless they're actually going to bomb something?" Luke pointed out, and Han had to admit, it did look as though the new ships were intending to cause trouble.

"How did they register as friendly?" Ben asked as he and Mara appeared in the cockpit.

"They're Krayt's. The flagship, the centre ship, is the Rising Ashes. It's the flagship of Darth Cyclone." Lumiya said angrily.

Han looked at her sceptically.

"But that doesn't make sense, if they belong to Krayt, why would he attack Kesh? He'll be attacking his allies." He reasoned, and K'kruhk frowned.

"It's obvious. He's going to frame one of his enemies and ensure himself the loyalty of the Tribe."

"Which is smarter than I've come to expect from him." Lumiya said tartly.

"They're hailing us." Luke said, feeling the dark presence in the Force get stronger.

Leia activated the comm, and a reptilian voice came from it.

"Lady Lumiya, this is Darth Cyclone." He purred, and she growled irritably.

"Cyclone, turn your fleet around and scurry on back to Korriban. You have no business here." She growled, and the Trandoshan at the other end laughed.

"Oh I think I do Lumiya. You see, Lord Krayt needs to ascertain the loyalty of these primitives, and this will bind them to him. The fact that I will get to kill you and the Jedi in the process is an added bonus. Goodbye Lumiya." Cyclone said in contempt.

"Evasive action, now." Luke ordered, just as the three Star Destroyers opened fire.

The fighters then swarmed towards them, prompting the twins to open fire against the oncoming fighter horde as the three Star Destroyers advanced towards the planet, their turbolasers filling the space around them, already having destroyed one of the Etti transports.

"Get your people under cover now!" Lumiya screeched into the comm as the bombers descended towards the planet.

Han immediately had the Falcon spinning to avoid the squadron of Interceptors that was now chasing them. Behind them the Tribe ships were launching ships, trying valiantly to get ships to the edge of the system, most likely to go to Korriban so they could alert the others, but the three Star Destroyers were more than up to the challenge.

The Usurper was baring down on the Citadel cruiser, its forward turoblasers pounding away at the ships prow shields while its fighters nibbled away at the shields to the port and starboard. The Dark Union was dealing with the other remaining ships, blasting away at them as they tried to swarm the Star Destroyer. Fighters were now passing the remaining defensive ships and streaking down towards the planet, which was urgently trying to mount a response to the attack. Fire was streaming from the assault ships, and a well placed volley destroyed the two ships, forcing the remaining Etti transport into retreat. However it was a pointless exercise. The Usurper had taken down the Citadel cruiser and was now taking position above Kesh, getting a firing solution on Tahv. The Rising Ashes was already there, and a final volley from the flagship destroyed the last of the transports, allowing the three Star Destroyers to move into blockade position above the planet.

The Falcon however had its own problems. With the defensive ships now destroyed, all the Interceptor squadrons were now chasing after them, and were now also being joined by the Defenders and fighters.

A heavy blast rocked the back of the ship, making Threepio yell in fright as air started to vent and the bulkheads began to close in order to fix the leak. Artoo was whistling like crazy, and Mara and Ben went tumbling down the corridor as another blast hit the ship.

"He's going to destroy the planet." Lumiya said in dismay, shaking her head in fury and devastation.

Millennia of Sith lore that rightfully belonged to her, and now Cyclone was about to destroy it. He was going to eradicate Sith knowledge so his blasted master could achieve another point in their endless war.

"You kids need to shoot better!" Han yelled as their shields disintegrated entirely, and the Sith pilots now began to pound even harder at the ship, gleefully giving themselves over to the fight.

"How does Krayt have the resources to man three ISDs?" Luke asked, and Lumiya cursed.

That was something she was beginning to wonder herself, and she would make it her first priority if they got out of this one.

"Dad, we need to make for the moon!" Jaina yelled as the ship rocked, and alarms started to blare even louder.

The fighters were getting better, and a blast drilled through the sensor dish and another two opened up more holes in the hull.

"We need to do something!" Mara cried, coming back into the cockpit.

"I don't think we can try what we did at the Home again." Lumiya said, before a blast knocked her screeching down the corridor, and to be met by Alema's sniggering face as Ben scarpered past to the cockpit.

"Don't just stand there, help me up." Lumiya snapped, as the ship took a heavy blast. It seemed as if the ISDs were firing at them in their spare time.

"It doesn't make sense, why would he destroy them? All of you are Sith." Alema said, and Lumiya bared her teeth.

"Because he's a simple minded fool my dear Alema." She hissed as the turbulence of another blast sent them spiralling slightly off their course, but it did allow the twins to blow up another couple of fighters.

"Can you do anything to help?" Alema asked, and Lumiya shook her head.

"No, my fleet is on the other side of the galaxy, the Empire couldn't help either, I don't have many powerful contacts in Hutt space and Collonzas and Nazarn cannot be relied upon, especially when they have other jobs to do. I'm afraid Kesh is on its own." She said, but she vowed Krayt and all his cronies would pay for this outrage.

"Perhaps we should take a hint from Master Horn." Luke reasoned, and Mara looked at him calculatingly.

"What, conjure something in their minds eye?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Yeah. We can't take any more hints, and there's nothing we can do. We need to get to ground and fix the ship before we can even get to hyperspace. The moon is our best bet." He said, and K'kruhk frowned.

"It will work, but they will keep looking for us, we'll never get out of the system alive. This Cyclone fellow seems to want us all dead." He said, and Lumiya nodded.

"Yes. He's Krayt's Fist, his military commander, his Executor. He's very dangerous, and one of the ones closest to being a true Sith. He's a good tactical mind, but his loyalty to Krayt makes him even more dangerous. Krayt has ordered Kesh's destruction, and he won't waver from that, or from killing us. We need to make it seem like we're dead." She said, and Ben frowned, then ran back to the gunwell.

"Hey, we need you in here!" Leia cried, as another blast chewed up the front of the ship.

"Wait! Jacen!" Ben cried, and Jacen swore as he destroyed another fighter.

"Yeah?" he called back, wincing as another blast of laser fire just missed them, he supposed he should be grateful the fighters and Interceptors didn't have shields.

"Know how you taught me to hide myself in the Force, to cloud people's perceptions of me, make it like I wasn't there? Can we do that with the ship?" he asked, and Jacen's eyes lit up.

"That might work!" he said, and Ben ran back, and Alema nodded.

"He's right. If we make it seem like we were destroyed, we can hide ourselves in plain sight, they'll back off." She said excitedly, and Leia nodded.

"It's our best chance. But won't Cyclone see through it?" she asked, and Luke shook his head.

"I don't think so, as far as I can tell he's the only Sith lord in the fleet, and he's too far away." He said as another blast hit them.

"Whatever you're going to do, stop talking about it and do it!" Han snapped as another blast rocked the ship.

They were getting closer to the moon, it wasn't far away now, but if this was to work they had to time it just right, they would need to block out the ISDs scanners with the moon itself and leave themselves enough distance to go so it would be believable but not obvious that they weren't dead.

"Let them hit us again!" Mara cried, and the ship rocked once more.

"That's the ticket!" K'kruhk called, and Jaina mumbled that she hadn't planned that.

Han dropped the ship behind the moon's ecliptic, and another blast hit the ship.

"Now!" Luke yelled, and as one, he, Mara, Leia, K'kruhk, Jacen, Jaina, Ben, Alema and Lumiya all created the illusion of an explosion, surrounding themselves in the Force, bending the pilots perceptions of the ship, wrapping light around the ship so as to give it a pseudo cloaking device.

"Nice and easy." Han mumbled to himself, letting the ship drift slowly into the moon's atmosphere and sending them towards a complex cave system.

The atmosphere was tense, and the Force users were tiring as the ship descended, their control as just beginning to slip when Han entered them into the deep cave and shut down the engines. And then as one they let go, sagging in exhaustion, as Artoo boosted his signal, and tweetled that the fighters were heading back to their Star destroyers.

"That was too close." Leia said tiredly.

"At least it worked. Now, we had best shut down all systems if we don't want our ruse discovered, and let us pray the Force has mercy on those poor souls on Kesh." K'kruhk said, and Luke and Mara exchanged dark looks as Ben looked worriedly out at where the edge of Kesh was just coming into view, a beautiful planet about to feel the pain of planetary bombardment.

XX

"They are dead my lord." His sensor officer reported, and Cyclone frowned, tapping his fang with his claw.

"Indeed? I felt nothing...strange. It is irrelevant. It is time we do Lord Krayt's will. Have the bombers finished with the towns and villages?" he asked, and his officer, a Defel, nodded.

"Yes Lord Cyclone, all starfighters are now returning to their carriers." He said, and Cyclone gave a cold grin of satisfaction.

Good. Lord Krayt's will was nearly done. Lumiya was apparently dead, the outlying villages of Kesh destroyed by the bombers, and now they were all appropriately frightened, he could taste their fear up here, it was intoxicating.

These ignorant savages would learn true loyalty to the One Sith when Krayt revealed to them that it was the Jedi, or Lumiya, who destroyed their home. Soon now, the One Sith would rule the galaxy, and he would gladly give his life in order to bring that about.

"Let us destroy the capital first, then we can deal with another cities. Alert all commands. Target Tahv, and open fire!" Cyclone hissed in delight, and he could feel the giddy anticipation of the officers as they keyed in their orders.

And a second later, deadly, destructive green rain began to fall upon the capital city of Tahv.

XX

Turbolaser blasts fell upon the city. Glass shattered, rubble was thrown into the air, fire ignited the sky, buildings were blown apart as the laser fire continued to pound the surface of the planet. Explosions were happening all over the city as the Star Destroyers laid the city to waste. Screaming people were running for their lives, but many more were being immolated or disintegrated by the attack, fires were blowing up everywhere, rubble was falling from the mountainsides, banners and market stalls had massive blazing holes punched through them. Chunks were gouged out of buildings, the spaceport was reduced a smouldering, burning heap, smoke was rising high into the air as people screamed and died painful deaths, either crushed by debris, sent plummeting to their doom as massive fissures were opened in the ground by the blasts or as they were disintegrated in the turbolaser fire. Cracks ripped through the city, hunks of rock fell, fire erupted, gas blasted loose as the entire city was levelled by the combined force of the three Star Destroyers.

The bombardment continued, the city of Tahv a blazing blot of flame on the planet surface as glass turned to liquid as the dreadful fire continued to obliterate all way of life on the planet. Fields were burned to a cinder, dams burst, mountains reduced by the bombardment, and there was a cry in the dark side as priceless dark side artefacts were lost to oblivion.

And then the three ships focused their firepower on the temple, shattering its windows, turning them to molten rivers, massive chunks of masonry began to fall off, statues were toppled, tomes and books scorched, as the entire edifice was destroyed, crushing all within it. Suhale took a last look up, from her position on the floor of the library and saw a deadly green blast hurtling towards her. She gave one last scream and felt the entire building began to collapse around her just as the blast hit and ended her scream abruptly.

The three Destroyers continued to blast the surface, igniting as much of the planet as they could their lethal downpour of deadly green energy continuing as they obliterated every building and population centre on the planet. The ships continued to blast away, and very soon, though the laser fire continued, all that was left were the burning remains of Sith civilisation, the bodies of the dead and the cries of the wronged.

XX

Ben screamed as he felt the deaths of the people on the planet, he could feel them all crying out in pain and terror as Cyclone destroyed their planet. He was screaming, he couldn't stand the pain, it was unbearable, how could people feel this pain and live?

"Ben! Ben!" Luke cried urgently, trying to calm him.

"Sweetie, it's ok, calm, calm..." Mara pleaded, but she knew it was futile, he was lost in his memories, feeling all the pain of the Vong War all over again, the cries of the dying Sith igniting a primordial fear, a basic terror within her son, he was feeling all those deaths, all over again, and it was destroying him.

"Ben, shh." Jacen whispered, holding Ben to him as Ben clutched at his hair, feeling the screaming, petrifying deaths of all those on the planet, screaming in pain along with them as his father, mother and cousin desperately tried to centre him in the Force and reality, afraid of losing him to the pain of the past, to the abyss of a broken mind, or worse, of death. As they did so, the others, even Lumiya and Alema, looked on in fear at what the boy was going through, all of them hating what was happening to him as the Force raged with the cries of the dead as the planet beneath them burned.

XX

In her hiding place, Vestara screamed in pain as she felt her world die, and as she did so, she looked desperately for anyone, she didn't care, just some link to reality to save her from falling into insanity or death. She could feel her people dying, her home being destroyed, the death of her uvak, the death of her mother, her friends, they were all burning in the fires of desolation.

"No..." she gasped, seeking someone.

And then she finally found someone, a tormented but bright light, someone to guide her, and she felt the light reach for her just as she reached for it, a lifeline, a bright spot in the galaxy that had suddenly gone dark. And as the bombardment continued, she could hear part of the thing she had latched on to, part of their thoughts, like a smooth ocean, and she knew who she had just bonded with.

They were part of each other now, two parts of the whole, both of them instinctively creating a Force bond to try and save themselves, and wound up saving each other. And her was hers, the last person she expected or wanted to be bonded to.

Ben.

XX

The Victory Star Destroyer Crimson Oath, was, other than the ceremonial and ancient Sith Dreadnaught Omen, the flagship of the Lost Tribe of the Sith.

Currently, the Crimson Oath was flanked by its sister ship, the Red Harvest, and the Omen itself. Above them was the Eternal Crusader, a Recusant class light Destroyer. The rest of the Tribe's fleet was surrounding them, keeping a discrete distance from the many ships that made up the fleet of the One Sith. Around the central ships of the Tribe fleet, there were over two dozen ChaseMaster frigates, five Dreadnaughts, nine Nebulon frigates, eleven Munificent frigates, and various other smaller ships, including armed freighters, more Etti transports and Dimel assault ships, several more Citadel cruisers and to round off the fleet there were four Marauder frigates.

But it was on the Crimson Oath where the news had been received. And now, Grand Lord Darish Vol was in his stateroom, with the Circle seated around him, looking at the bowed form of Gavar Khai and of the apprentice of Darth Cyclone, a Vagaari male by the name of Darth Cataegis, and the mood was not good. Far from it.

"I only just heard. My master went to Kesh to see to the relocation of the last of your people here to Korriban, and the planet was already burning my lord Vol." Cataegis explained and Vol brought his hand together in a tight fist, furiously.

"The entire planet?" Sarasu Taalon demanded in fury.

"Yes lord Taalon. Kesh is gone, it's people obliterated." Cataegis reported grimly.

"Our entire planet, gone...who would dare attack us?" Sashal demanded furiously.

"I know not my lady Sashal." Cataegis responded smoothly.

Vol held up a hand. Their planet was gone. All the civilians, his people, his power...all of it was now gone, destroyed in an instant. Their enemies had struck, and had struck ahrd, fast and deep.

"We will hunt them down and destroy them for this outrage. Do we have the support of the One Sith in this?" Olaris Rhea demanded, and Cataegis nodded politely.

"Yes Lady Rhea, we will help you destroy whoever did this, you have our utmost effort in this endeavour." The soft voice but dangerous Vagaari replied.

"Well, perhaps we should start with their agent to find out who is behind this. Gavar Khai here was charged with the defence of Kesh, and now our planet burns, our people dead, our home destroyed. Who do you work for?" Ivaar Workan demanded, lightning crackling at his fingertips.

"My lords and ladies, I made a grievous error. But the Dark Lord gave me an order, I could not refuse." Khai explained, and Vol arced an eyebrow.

"Krayt gave you an order?" he asked suspiciously, and Khai shook his head.

"No my lord. Lady Lumiya, the true Lord of the Sith." He said, ignoring the presence of Cataegis.

Vol frowned. He knew there was currently a three was power struggle going on for dominion of the Sith, between the cyborg Lumiya, the alien Vongerella and the usurper Krayt. And truth be told, he would prefer to follow Lumiya than Krayt, it was clear that the light side had long since tainted their so called 'Dark' Lord.

However, while he acknowledged Lumiya as the true Dark Lord of the Sith, that was only for the moment. Because very soon, there would be a new Dark Lord.

Him.

But now, his position was perilous. He had aligned the Tribe with Krayt, and now Kesh had been obliterated. Cataegis would immediately report to Krayt and Wyyrlok if he erred to Lumiya's side, and then the Tribe would be exterminated. He also needed to regain his own power. The loss of Kesh was a substantial loss, but not an insurmountable one. So where did he go from here?

He was spared the necessity of an answer by the arrival of a sombre Darth Wyyrlok.

"My lord Vol, my condolences for the great loss you and yours are suffering." The Chagrian said, bowing respectfully.

"Thank you lord Wyyrlok." Vol said, as Jesko Umarn prepared to kill Khai.

"We are just about to kill the fool who allowed it to happen." He snapped, and Khai looked up at him boldly, prepared to meet his fate.

"Do you know any more?" Ysadria Kaladris asked, and Wyyrlok nodded.

"Indeed we do Lady Kaladris. It seems Kesh was destroyed by Star Destroyers. Three of them to be exact. But by all means, kill Khai." Wyyrlok said, and Umarn and Workan prepared to kill Khai when Takaris Yur raised a hand to restrain them.

"Hold. Khai, Lumiya ordered you away you say?" he asked, and Khai nodded.

"Yes my lord. To spy on Lord Krayt and Lord Vol for her." He said, and Wyyrlok was slightly surprised, he hadn't expected Lumiya to move so rashly.

"I see. Lord Wyyrlok, does not Lumiya command a fleet of three Star Destroyers?" Yur asked, and Wyyrlok could have cried with joy.

He thought he would have to manipulate them into blaming Lumiya. He had originally intended to blame the Jedi and the Alliance, but it had struck him as more prudent to blame Lumiya and ensure their loyalty to them that way, after all, the Tribe wouldn't follow Vongerella, but Lumiya they might have, best to remove that possibility.

"She does indeed. What are you suggesting?" Cataegis responded, but it was Khai who answered, his aura dark and bloody.

"She manipulated me! Sent me away so she could destroy Kesh!" he snapped, and Vol nodded.

"Indeed she did Khai. You have been used, and failed in your duties. But Lumiya is a master of manipulation and deception. You were not to know." Vol said, glad he had a way out.

Vol went on one knee and looked up at him imploringly.

"My lord, allow me to pursue her! I will crush her for this treachery, the malicious she witch will die by my blade, for the death of my daughter, she will pay!" Khai spat, and Vol smiled.

This could be made to work to his advantage.

""It will be so Gavar Khai. Take those you came with, transfer to one of the Dreadnaughts, and have their crew split between the three ChaseMasters you came on. Take the ship, hunt her down, and kill her." Vol ordered, and Khai bowed.

"It will be so my lord." He said, and considering himself dismissed, he swept past Wyyrlok and Cataegis to carry out his orders.

"Thank you gentlemen." Vol said, and the other two Sith left, leaving the Circle to debate in the room.

XX

"Ignorant savages." Wyyrlok said in amusement and Cataegis smiled.

"They actually fell for it, what does Lord Krayt see in them? They are naive and untested, foolish and easily led." He sneered, and Wyyrlok held up a hand.

"Enough of that Cataegis, else I shall have to teach you respect. Lord Krayt's will is law. He wills it, so it is so." He reminded, and the Vagaari nodded.

"Indeed my lord. But still..." he said, and Wyyrlok smiled.

"They are useful. They will distract the Jedi, while bolstering our ranks, and their naivety means they will be easily converted to our use my friend. Fear not. All will be well." Wyyrlok assured him, and Cataegis laughed.

"Especially because the only one who might be able to put it all together and figure out we did it is now off on a wild goose chase for a dead woman." He scoffed, and Wyyrlok nodded, but he frowned as he did so.

"Use caution Cataegis. Do not underestimate Lumiya. She may still be alive. But if she is..." he said, as he saw Khai entering the turbolift at the end of the corridor, "Gavar Khai there will soon ensure that she is not, and as always, all will play into Lord Krayt's hands." He said smugly.

"As Lord Krayt wills." Cataegis recited, and Wyyrlok smiled, nodding.

"Indeed. Always as Lord Krayt wills." He said.

All was going according to plan.

XX

"He should die for his failure." Sammul Sharsa spat, but Vol shook his head.

"No, he is more useful alive, and pursuing Lumiya. You see, Khai was deceived, but so was Lumiya." He said, and Vantsuri Shia looked at him sceptically.

"How so?" she asked.

"Because Lumiya did not destroy Kesh. Krayt did." Vol explained.

"Impossible!" Yur exclaimed.

"Perfectly possible, and also, the scenario that makes most sense. And Wyyrlok and Cataegis believe that we believe Lumiya did it. Arrogant fools." Vol said in contempt, and he watched as the realisation dawned on the faces of the circle as it finally made sense to them all, seeing the truth as it was meant to be seen, not the way Wyyrlok wanted them to see it.

"They destroyed Kesh, they betrayed us! We must act!" Taalon demanded, but Vol shook his head.

"No my friend, that would be foolish. You see, we are now in a prime position. Wyyrlok believes we are now going to be trying to kill Lumiya. That removes the One Sith as a threat." He explained, and Rhea reclined in her chair.

"We could attack them here." She said boldly, and Sashal scoffed.

"Hardly. Our entire fleet would be lucky to take down the Sith Dragon. But I believe Lord Vol has a plan." She said in excitement, and Vol smiled.

"Indeed I do. We carry on with our original plan. However, we also make ourselves available to Krayt, Vongerella and Lumiya." He explained, and Yur looked at him, not comprehending.

"Krayt betrayed us, and you want to work with him?" he demanded, and Vol nodded.

"Indeed. You see, as it stands, we cannot fight Krayt and win. Nor can Lumiya. Nor can Vongerella. But together, we could. We also know the three of them all have their own schemes to try and take over the galaxy, working with all three of them will put us in prime position to benefit from that. So we will keep our secrets, and our silence. We will begin Operation Shieldfall, and infiltrate the galaxy. We will put ourselves in the prime position. And then, when the time is right, we will strike, and Krayt will pay for his destruction of Kesh." He said rousingly, and the others all nodded excitedly.

"All hail Lord Vol." Taalon purred.

"All hail Lord Vol!" the others repeated, and Vol smiled.

"You all have your orders. Carry them out. And through victory, our chains will be broken." Vol said maliciously, and the Circle disbanded, leaving him alone in the stateroom.

Yes, they all had their parts to play. Everyone from apprentices up to Circle members had their parts to play, some more important than others, such as the mission of Saber Taneka Shirru.

But all of that was immaterial. All of it had but one end: the advancement of the Tribe.

Vol smiled. All would be made to work to his design.

Soon now the true Dark Lord of the Sith would be on the throne. And Lumiya, Krayt and Vongerella would no longer be a consideration.

Soon Darish Vol would be the true Dark Lord of the Sith.

And then, the galaxy would belong to him.

Hello again!

So here we are with the latest chapter, and events are getting more treacherous by the minute. Now we have four Sith claiming the throne, and to top it all off, Kesh has been destroyed. Many plots are now afoot, but what is this Operation Shieldfall? (Note that is has a slightly different meaning in this than in the books) Why is Taneka Shirru's mission so important? Just what are the Tribe up to? Are the One Sith wise to underestimate the Tribe, or, as Lumiya says, stupid?

And that isnt all. The destruction of Kesh has had one rather large legacy: a force bond between Ben and Vestara, forged by their mutual sufgfering, Vestara losing her home, and Ben reliving all of their deaths just as he did when he was a baby. Is the bond a good thing, or a bad thing? And when the others find out, how will they see it? I can think of a certain Sith lord who will be jumping for joy, as her plans begin to accelerate.

So, next time we are back with the rest of the galaxy, treachery begins to mount, a promotion is to be had, Hapes gets closer to civil war, the Empire makes a move and the Mandies are back, and either this chapter or the next, we will meet yet another bad guy (how many are there?)

So, until then, hope you enjoy and please read and review!