Kyril sat in his shuttle, looking over the numerous screens before him before the flashing red light of the tracker Raia gave him started to emit a buzz as well, alerting him to an incoming update. He picked the small holodisk and saw coordinates for the plant Balmorra.

"Well, little surprise there. Imperial presence has only increased on Balmorra since the Treaty of Coruscant..." Kyril sighed, looking over to Jerrick Riggs; the knight assigned to him for his mission away from Tython.

"You think this rising Sith Lord will be there?" Riggs asked, tapping his fingers on his lightsaber. "I could go for a good fight." Riggs laughed with a smirk, not noticing the scolding look Master Noss was giving him.

"You say that until a lightsaber pierces your throat, lightning courses through your body or your very force essence is absorbed." Kyril's voice grew bitter as he shook his head. "You must learn to leave your childhood arrogance behind you, my boy. It will only lead you down a dark path."

Riggs scoffed to himself in his head, thinking back to his grueling training under Darth Sirax. The pain brought him a power the Jedi could never comprehend, it fueled him and he'd always silently looked down on the order and it's teachings. He worked to suppress his dark side leanings as his master's infiltrator and one day, he longed to show them the foolishness of their ways.

"Of course, Master Noss. I won't deny that I still have much to learn." Riggs bowed his head before looking to the star map on the console in front of him. "We'll be dropping out of hyperspace in just a few minutes."

"Good. We'll be landing in the Sundari Flats." Kyril stroked his white beard, feeling a strong dark side presence the closer he got to Balmorra. "Though...I fear you may get your wish, Jerrick Riggs. A good thing we'll have help; I may not approve of 'the pirate queen' and her actions, but the distraction should help keep our enemies confused."

"Keross and her lover? Do they know we're coming?" Riggs asked, trying to hide the surprise in his voice as he donned his cloak.

"They'd better, unless I've been speaking to a ghost for the past few weeks." Kyril smiled as he gathered his gear and lowered the ramp to their shuttle. "Come, my boy. Let us see what the empire has in store for us today."


Sirax stood silently in his shuttle, watching as the Imperial base on the edge of the Sundari Flats grew closer. Flanking him on each side was Darth Xann and Darth Dour. Having taken the time to observe his new acolytes, he found that Dour was the embodiment of a warrior. He was large, well built and skilled in saber techniques; though he lacked a vital skill, grip on his force abilities. Not to say Dour wasn't skilled with the force, but it was never easy for him to wield and Sirax picked up on it immediately. Xann however proved to be a well balanced student of Sith teachings. He was well rounded in his force abilities and saber techniques, though he only knew the first four forms. Sirax gave a slight smile as he thought of how they'd inevitably have to challenge one another for a place at his side, a rivalry he gladly and enthusiastically fueled.

"My lord," Xann spoke up, pointing to their sensors and drawing attention to a small shuttle they'd detected. "It seems the Twi'lek shadow of yours continues her her hunt." His voice cold as ice as he rested a hand on the shoulder of their pilot. "Put us down on the rooftop landing pad, pilot. My contact should be meeting us there." The pilot shivered at Xann's icy touch, not daring to turn and face the three men behind him; simply nodding and following the standard landing protocol.

"When did you get Imperial contacts, Xann?" Dour spoke with jealousy evident in his voice, reaching for the saber at his belt as he considered finally attempting to strike down his competition; only to be met with a fiery glare from Sirax as he looked up from his belt. Thinking better of it, Dour simply attempted to let the issue go and focused himself on mentally preparing for the coming mission.

"I was an Imperial soldier, only after nearly dying did I find my strength in the force." Xann spat back, dancing lightning between his fingertips to taunt his rival's inability to control such powers; earning a growl from Dour who finally reached for the saber at his side.

"Enough! Both of you!" Sirax shouted, grabbing both of them by their throats and pinning them to the wall behind them. "You will control yourselves, you're so focused on trivial pettiness that you fail to recognize there is more than one great presence nearby. The Jedi girl is not alone!" Throwing them both to the ground, he turned to face Darth Dour; lifting his student with the force until he could look into his eyes. "And you! You dare to draw your weapon in my presence without order to do so! Insolent!" Sirax roared in Dour's face as he placed his organic hand atop the man's head, showering him with enough force lighting to scar and wound the man; but not enough to ruin his combat effectiveness. "You will both follow my orders as I give them, do I make myself clear?" He spat at both of them, earning a quick nod from both men.

After the ramp dropped, Sirax stepped off, flanked by his students. "There, Commander Cal Valo." Xann pointed towards the man waiting on the landing platform. "He should be more than willing to assist us in an assault on the Jedi."

Commander Valo stepped forward towards the party as they approached, turning on his heel to match stride with Darth Sirax. "My Lord Darth Sirax, honored to have you here. Reports say you've earned your bones and risen rapidly through the ranks, there is just one question I have..." the young man paused to collect his thoughts as they stepped into the base proper "...what could so readily compel you to betray the great trust the Emperor has in you by moving without his approval?"

Sirax stopped the party and turned to face the clean faced commander, the fire in his eyes flickering wildly. "Revenge, commander. Revenge on an order of fools and betrayers to all they hold dear." His voice carried the venom of a personal betrayal, though he quickly composed himself and fell back to his icy demeanor. "My new apprentice says you are willing to assist, so I could ask you the same question."

Valo's face tightened at the question "The Jedi serve the Republic. They took something dear to me. So... I suppose our reasonings are not so different. Come, allow me to show you to your accommodations." As soon as the words left his lips, the lights began to flash red and an alarm blared. "We have company..." Valo sighed, reaching for his blaster.

"It is no matter of yours, Commander. Allow my students and I to remove your problem for you." Sirax motioned for Xann and Dour to follow him, soon disappearing down a hall and out of sight of Valo.


Nemi sat across from Zahur in their shuttle as they touched down on Balmorra, "Raia said we'd be meeting Master Noss a short distance from the base. We should touch down a bit further out and walk to the rendezvous point." She twirled one of her saber in her hands, the anxiety of seeing her former master after her expulsion written clear on her face.

Zahur nodded, throwing his hood over his head "I agree, Miss Keross. Though, you would do well to calm your nerves. You are no good to us dead, eh?" The Sith smiled, though it quickly faded as the base came into view. "Do you feel..."

"Sirax." Nemi spat, her anxiety being replaced with anger as she tightened her grip on her weapons. "He's not hiding, he wants us to know he's here. Ror, drop us quickly and get back to the ship."

The Bothan shot a thumbs up from his seat at the helm of the shuttle "Sure thing, boss. Ninro and I should be around to pick you up once you finish grabbing your intel and setting the base to blow; I do believe he said something about calling in a favor?" Ror shrugged before dropping the ramp and bringing their shuttle to a hover. "Green light, my friends! Good fortune to you!"

Nemi and Zahur nodded to one another before the pair leapt from the edge of the ramp, landing cleanly on an open clearing. Rocky spires surrounded them but all seemed quiet in the area. "Happy landing?" Zahur quipped, earning a smirk and an eyeroll from Nemi. "Lead on, I imagine your Jedi friend may be apprehensive if I am the first one he sees." Zahur motioned for Nemi to take the lead.

Nemi felt for her master through the force, leading the pair west, eventually running into abandoned Imperial infrastructure. "He should be nearby, Zahur. Be on the lookout for an aging man with a long white beard." She had only just started to turn and investigate one of the buildings when a voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Aging? My hairs may be white, but I will have you know I'm still in fine condition!" Kyril's voice was stern, though his face betrayed his delight at seeing his former student. Before he had time to approach, Nemi had already ran to embrace him; her earlier anxieties seemingly melting away. He looked his former student over, her face was worn with fresh cuts and bruises from various raids on imperial convoys. It had only been a handful of weeks, but it was as if Nemi had aged a few years. Then he felt the darkness, the anger and pain she'd kept locked away; he couldn't hide his frown. "Have you been meditating?"

"No," She returned his frown " We can get into that later. He's here, I'll need every tool at my dispos-"

Kyril cut her off "At what cost, child? He WILL use it against you!" He shook his head, turning to wave Jerrick over. "Struggles or no, we have a mission to complete." He then turned to Zahur. "And you are?" He reached for his saber as he felt the dark side in Nemi's companion.

"My name is Zahur, Master Jedi. I have had the honor of fighting alongside your student. You have trained her well." He bowed his head before looking to the Imperial base just over the next ridgeline. "Though it is as you say, we have a job to do. I imagine Raia and Ror aren't going to be happy waiting around for us."

"Keross." Jerrick nodded to the Twi'lek "I've done some scouting, patrols are light and it appears they're evacuating-" He frowned as Nemi cut him off. Always the top student, the golden child. Jerrick thought of his mission and kept his composure, choosing to tune out Nemi's interruption.

"Just like on Nar Shaddaa... Sirax has to be planning something. Consolidating his power?" Nemi looked to Kyril, who in turn nodded.
"It very well appears that way, we've been receiving reports of inexplicable Imperial movements in recent months. What we don't know is why..." Kyril motioned for them to follow. "Come, we may find the answers we seek here. Be on your guard though, the dark side hangs heavy here."

The party moved across the rugged terrain, rushing from the hill they were scouting from and only stopping when they all reached the wall of the base, slipping through a side door after Zahur cut down the unsuspecting guards. After hiding the bodies, he joined them anyone could speak to plan their next move, an alarm began to blare and distant explosions could be heard coming from the hangar...


Raia snuffed her cigarra after taking it back from Ror. Ninro was late as usual, but just as Raia considered breaking radio silence, he finally arrived with two wings of fighters flanking him. "Hey boss, what'd I say? When I call in favors, I call them in!" She had to admit, she was impressed; not that she'd ever tell Ninro that. The fighters were all top of the line and at least half of them were kitted with black market modifications.

"Don't get a big head, Ninro. I can't afford to replace you when it inevitably gets you killed!" Raia laughed over her commlink to Tinn. "We'll be out in a moment, we've gotta stick to the timetable perfectly! There's still Sith capital ships on the other side of the planet!"

The Bothan didn't bother with words, just a simple nod as he holstered his blaster pistol and checked the scope on his rifle. Once he felt comfortable with his calibrations, he jogged towards the shuttle, warming up the engines as Raia made her way up the ramp, shutting it behind her. "Once more unto the breach, eh captain?"

Raia nodded, running a hand through her curls and straightening her duster. She sat next to Ror as his copilot, bringing up Ninro's signal so he could listen to her briefing. "Let's hit these bastards where it hurts. When we soften them up and Ninro's flyboys set up our top cover, Ror and I will put the shuttle down and we'll work the credits. Hopefully Nemi and the infiltration team can set their explosives and meet us quickly. I don't need that Sirax freak to make our job more difficult than it's already going to be."

With an affirmative from the flight wings, Ror guided the ships down towards the surface. Coming up at them before they entered the planet's atmosphere was an Imperial shuttle, ferrying soldiers off world to join the fleet on the dark side of the planet. "Clean em up, flyboys. Slot back in when you're clear." Raia called over the comms, watching as two fighters broke off and forced the shuttle to break up in a single pass.

The air wing found themselves over the imperial base, by now the turbolasers on the roof of the base started bracketing the incoming threat, dialing in their shots and only narrowly missing Raia's shuttle. The fighters dove hard, bobbing and weaving between shots to make their passes on the guns before circling behind the rocky spires to throw off enemy targeting.

Using this opportunity, Ror touched their shuttle down on the hangar's landing platform; dropping the ramp and allowing Raia and himself to step out guns blazing. The imperial troops in the hangar began firing back on the pair, keeping them suppressed until they saw a lone fighter coming straight for the hanger. Ninro flew his fighter down towards the landing pad, firing a barrage towards the far wall and scattering the soldiers not killed during the run.

"Come on!" Raia cried over the blaring alarm and blaster fire, leading Ror towards the loaded cases of credits. Keeping their heads down as the fighters circled over head and kept the platform clear for them, they started transporting the credits to their shuttle. After three cases were loaded up, the ignition of a lightsaber caused the pair to freeze...


Nemi and Zahur cursed under their breath as the alarms blared. "Go, Master Noss. Take Jerrick and help them on the landing pad. Zahur and I will gather the intel and rig this place to blow. We need to move fast and I can sense they're in trouble." She ordered, earning a nod from the two Jedi who split off from the party and heading towards the sounds of combat.

Nemi lead Zahur down their corridor, only stopping to cut down anyone running to reinforce the hangar bay. After a short time, they found themselves in the central control center. "Let's plant these explosives. We're in the heart of the facility, I might be able to overload their generators too. We can set the explosives on the main supports. Between that and the generators, we can tear this place in on itself." She felt her master beginning his combat on the landing pad, a battle between light and dark. She shuddered as she felt the chill of the dark side but returned to the task at hand, arming her explosives and setting them around the room while Zahur did the same.

Next, Nemi made a point to run through any consoles in the room she could find. First, she looked into overloading the generators, making sure to give their party time to get away. Second, she scrolled through correspondences and secure information, loading as much as she could find about Sirax's plans for his amassed fleet onto a data chip. Once she had what she felt she needed, she motioned for Zahur to follow her. "Something's off. I have a bad feeling about this... Come on." She tightened her grip on her sabers as she started sprinting through the halls.

Zahur followed as closely as he could, his saber already ignited. The distant sounds of battle intensified and grew closer, but the blaster fire had been replaced by the obvious drone of lightsaber combat. As they came out of the halls into the open hangar, they saw a lone blue blade surrounded by two red ones. Darth Dour and Darth Xann had Kyril surrounded as Sirax stood arms crossed, watching his apprentices. The body of Riggs laid face down next to the Sith Lord, but it was unclear if he was still alive. Raia and Ror were taking cover in their shuttle, sending potshots towards the Sith engaging Master Noss.

Before the pair could strike at Kyril again, Zahur had already closed the gap between them, slamming his weight into Xann's back and using the remaining momentum to continue charging at Dour. The pair locked blades, their rage causing a fiery dance in their eyes. The pair moved like skilled dancers more than bitter foes, Zahur kept a fencers stance as he fell into Makashi, his most comfortable saber form. His opponent was skilled, but reckless. He felt his lack of confidence in the force, a lack of confidence Zahur knew he could manipulate. With a blast of force lightning, he forced Dour onto the backfoot as he blocked the incoming strike. Using his force speed, Zahur moved far faster than Dour was prepared for, ending up behind the apprentice before he could register the movement. "Weak. Pathetic." Zahur taunted his foe, running his saber through Dour's back and blasting him with force lighting until he ceased his death throes.

Looking over to his left, Zahur watched for a moment as Nemi engaged Xann. Switching between lightsaber forms to push her foe back, Nemi fought back her anger and desire to kill Xann. After disarming him of his saber, she used all of her power in the force to send Xann flying back into the blast doors on the other end of the room, knocking him unconscious. As she turned to her companions, Sirax began to choke Zahur and Nemi, the pair both lifting off the ground and grasping at their throats as they fought for breath.

"Varro!" Kyril cried out to Sirax, readying his lightsaber. "Let! Them! Go!" Sirax's concentration broke instantly at hearing his burth name, charging the older man in front of him.
"You have no right using that name! Varro died over Coruscant, your greatest failure!" Sirax slashed wildly, keeping Kyril off balance as he tried to defend from his former apprentice's onslaught.
"You're right. I have failed you, my boy. That is a regret I will carry for the rest of my days." He turned one of Sirax's strikes away and retook the offensive, beginning to push his foe back as he felt the conflict grow within Sirax.
"Your failure has only made me more powerful...goodbye, old man..." Sirax spat venomously as he kicked Kyril's legs out from under him, bringing his saber high to strike down on his old man.

"Not...TODAY!" Nemi shouted as she blocked Sirax's strike with one of her blades and forcing him to leap back to avoid her incoming second strike at his side. She would have a word with Master Noss about his revelation afterwards, but her focus now was on surviving and getting her friends home home safely. She danced with Sirax, who continued to fall back with a snarl. Before the duel could advance however, Commander Valo arrived with what soldiers still remained on site, ordering them to fire at the Twi'lek and forcing Nemi to pull back to her friends.

"What about Riggs?!" Kyril shouted over the gunfire.
"We! Are! LEAVING! Get aboard if you aren't trying to die, dammit!" Raia interrupted them, firing the engines and raising the ramp after Nemi pulled Noss aboard.
Kyril let out a long sigh as he sat in his seat, holding his face in his hands. "We need to get him back..." He whispered softly.
Nemi felt the adrenaline leave her as she sat next to her former master, placing a hand on his shoulder "Your turn to tell me what happened."
The older man looked to her and nodded. "To put it simply... When the apprentices charged, he rushed the larger one and found himself in the path of a blast of lightning from the other." Noss shook his head. "And it seems there's no use in hiding it now." He looked to Nemi, who cocked a brow, not expecting her master to beat her to the punch. "Darth Sirax was once my apprentice, Knight Varro... Back over Coruscant, our ship broke up over the planet and he was...unable to escape the wreckage. I attempted to lead a rescue party, but Master Shan shot the idea down and we were forced to leave him behind. I believed him dead until I first met Darth Sirax..." His voice shuddered as Zahur passed kolto around to the wounded.

"We are all free to choose how we wield the power at our disposal. I would say I am a prime example." The Sith pureblood spoke up. "Grieve the loss of your apprentice, but his evils are not your doing. I have seen firsthand what his rise looked like, those are not the actions of a Jedi." Zahur took his seat and looked towards Raia and Ror at the helm. "It is why I'm here, we take the fight to these Imperial bastards." He spoke softly, much unlike his usually boisterous personality.

"Ahoy, cap'n! Fighter wings breaking off as soon as we break atmo, but they're letting me keep my bird so I guess we've got a new toy. I'll see you lot back at home." Ninro called over the comms. The wing escorted the shuttle until leaving Balmorra's atmosphere, waving off with a final waggle of the wings.


Sirax pulled Riggs and Xann to him, passing them both to Imperial medics as Commander Valo took his side. "Your orders, my lord?" The young officer stood resolute, arms behind his back as he surveyed the mess around them.
"Gather what men and wounded you can fit, load them on to whatever shuttles and transports you have left. Send them to the fleet; this base doesn't have long before their explosives detonate." He spoke with an icy chill in his voice as Valo looked to the wounded being tended to.
"And them, my lord? If there aren't enough transports..." Valo froze as Sirax turned to face him in response.
"What about them?" The Sith lord's voice making clear he intended to leave them to die.
Only nodding after taking a moment to compose himself, "It shall be done, Lord Sirax."

Internally, the Sith Lord was conflicted. Noss spoke with genuine pain in his voice as he spoke of his regret. Turning on his heel and observing the still smoking corpse of Darth Dour. "What a failure." He spoke to himself, letting his anger consume him again and dashing any conflict in his mind as he continued on to his personal shuttle, choosing to fly back to the fleet alone after trusting his new commander to organize the evacuation. The flight back was long, but not overly eventful. As Sirax landed and disembarked, he was met by his bridge commander.

Falk saluted Sirax and turned to meet his stride. "The base personnel signaled they're well on their way. Only just in time it seems, the final shuttle was caught in the generator explosion."
Sirax gave a chuckle from behind his rebreather "Good. Casualties were...expected."
Falk nodded and handed over a datapad of troop numbers and meticulously organized logistics reports. "The fleet is ready for your next command, my lord."
Sirax looked the report over as he walked. Internally, he was rather impressed by his bridge commander. "Send word we are to return to Korriban. I have further training for my apprentices. And, I am in need of a new admiral for this fleet of mine. Consider this a field promotion. Congratulations, admiral."
The aged disciplinarian, his expression usually tight and demeanor rigid, lit up at the words. "Y-yes, my lord! Right away!" he shot a salute and hurried off to the bridge.

As the stragglers arrived and the fleet readied itself to jump to hyperspace, Sirax made his way to his personal quarters, passing orders along for Riggs and an outfit of medical droids to be brought to him. Having the young man strapped down to the bed, the Sith lord looked to the droids "Graft the armor of the assassin to this one. Ensure the process is slow."
The droids got to work, cutting away the Jedi robes of Riggs, who was slowly gaining consciousness. "My lord...?" The young man groaned as he tried to move, only to realize he was strapped down.

"Your training continues, my dear apprentice. You will know true pain and suffering on route to Korriban. Feel your anger, hone it and attempt to strike me down once we are planetside." Sirax nodded to the droids, who began the process of slowly and painfully grafting the Sith Stalker armor to flesh and bone, eliciting terrified and pained screams from Riggs, who pleaded for his master to help him. Sirax smiled to himself as he observed the scene for a short while longer before turning on his heel and calmly marching out of the room.