A day after their encounter with Darth Talon on Nar Shaddaa, Cade Skywalker and his crew took Ania Solo and her friends to Tatooine. The planet was technically under the control of the Galactic Triumvirate with many Stormtroopers loyal to Empress Marasiah Fel trying to place order on the backwater desert world, but they had limited success in their mission.

The Mynock flew towards the Lars Homestead. The long abandoned homestead had been renovated by Cade following the death of Darth Krayt. He and the others aboard the Mynock stepped out onto the Homestead. Cade turned around to his guests and told them "Welcome to the Lars Homestead, folks. Make yourselves at home, just don't break anything as it took a while to rebuild."

A white and blue Astromech rolled up to them. Cade turned to look at it and smiled. "Hey Artoo, how's the renovations of the electronics going thus far?" He asked, R2 responding with beeps and robotic noises.

Ania looked around and said "You repaired this old ruin in 2 years?! Damn, that's good work!" She exclaimed.

As the group spoke, a strange ship flew overhead in a direction that really no one went in. For those who recognized ship models, they would know that this strange ship was one that was thousands of years old and was no longer in use. Aboard the ship, Zhalia frowned as she sensed a powerful force presence below, but chose to ignore it in favor of getting to her old homestead with the hope that it was fixable and able to be lived in again.

Cade growled as he took hold of his Lightsaber and looked at Deliah Blue and Ania Solo. "Looks like the Sith followed us here after all, wait here, I'll take care of it." He told them as he walked to a Speeder. Driving the speeder, he rode towards the ship landing to an old ruined homestead a few clicks away.

As the ship landed it took a moment for anything to really happen but soon a woman, with her hood up to shield her eyes from the sun, stepped out with a droid at her side. The two took a moment to gather their bearings as the woman looked around. "Well it's not as bad as the Base was and hopefully won't break too much into my credits to repair." She said as the Droid responded.

"Statement: It is indeed in rough shape, Master, but easily fixable." the Droid responded as he scanned around before noticing something or someone headed their way. "Observation: It appears that someone is coming our way, Master."

As the Droid said that, the woman turned to look in the direction her droid was and frowned. "It appears so and from what I am sensing, they are a powerful Force user as well."

Cade stopped the speeder a few meters away from where the woman stood. Jumping out with Lightsaber hilt in hand, Cade looked at the old Sith ship before gazing at the woman and her HK Droid. "HK unit, old one at that. So what, the One Sith running on scavenging now?" He paused then shook his head. "Don't matter. I ain't letting you threaten my home." He ignited the green blade of his father's Lightsaber and walked towards her with the intent of attacking.

HK prepared himself and was about to take aim but soon the woman spoke. "Easy HK. This child cannot know what transpired on Odessen." She said as HK lowered his weapon as she turned back to Cade. "This is the second time someone has mentioned this "One Sith" to me as I happened to meet one of their members on Odessen. Damn woman blew up my old base, I'll need to pay her back for that one."

Cade didn't seem to believe her. "What you Sithspawn do on your spare time doesn't karkin' matter to me. I'll make sure that you can't report to your Masters any longer." He then dashed forward and swung his Lightsaber at her horizontally.

"Masters?" The woman was confused at first but easily blocked his incoming attack with her purple bladed saber that she swiftly pulled out. "My old masters are long since dead, pup." She told him as HK spoke.

"Confirmation: My Master has no masters above her. She broke free of their bonds." HK confirmed though he did prepare his own weapon.

The woman used the Force to push Cade away. "Unwise of you to attack me, child. I have killed Sith Emperors, one of whom was former Emperor Vitiate."

Cade slid back but kept his footing. He then paused at hearing Vitiate. As he planned to make a snarky comment, he refrained as he looked at the old HK droid, the ancient Sith vessel and now the claim that she was from the Old Republic days. Cade looked at her carefully and sensed no lies in her heart. Shutting the blade of his Lightsaber, he said "Well now, you're the second person from the Old Republic days I meet. But for the record, I also killed a Sith Emperor. You prolly don't know him, but he called himself Darth Krayt."

The woman smirked, "That woman spoke of him as well. Only respect that man will receive from me is naming himself after the Krayt Dragons. They are hard to kill. I have defeated Revan, Malgus and Vitiate. Two of them more times than I dare to try and recall." She studied Cade for a moment. "But don't just take my word for it, explore my memories if you wish." She offered to him.

Cade pondered on the offer. He closed his eyes and felt the truth in the memories she held. "Zhalia Shan is your name… and damn, you sure did a lot in your days." He muttered as he then opened his eyes. "I'm Cade Skywalker, Jedi Knight of the New Jedi Order."

Zhalia took a moment to think over his words. "New Jedi Order…" She looked to HK, "Seems a lot has happened since I went into stasis. Makes me wonder if any of mine and Theron's children's children are still kicking."

HK seemed to shrug. "Statement: I cannot say, Master. While I kept an eye on things going on in the Galaxy during your slumber, my priority remained to guard your slumber."

Zhalia sighed. "And you did well for the longest time, my dear old friend." Zhalia then turned back to Cade. "Seems that that Sith Lady was right after all. Maladi, if I recall correctly."

Cade grimaced, remembering her torturing him. "Yeah, real sadist that sleemo." He told Zhalia as he then looked at her more closely. "Honestly, I assumed at first the One Sith sent you to follow me. I just escaped one of their assassins, Darth Talon, over on Nar Shaddaa." He responded with.

"I would be lying if I said that she didn't try some form of recruitment on me, and failed miserably at that." Zhalia chuckled. "She gave me a brief rundown of the One Sith, but I escaped the Sith once before and have no plans on returning to them. Especially not since I'm an unwelcome force user."

Cade raised an eyebrow, saying with a smirk "I ain't the most orthodox Jedi myself, so I can relate." He then looked at the Binary Sunset and contacted Blue via comm link. "Hey Blue, it's Cade. False alarm on the Sith scouting party."

Blue responded with a tone of worry, "What do you mean by "false alarm?" That was an old Sith ship not seen since the days of the Old Republic."

Cade chuckled. "Yeah, but it'd take too long to explain over transmission. Gonna have a talk with our new friend, as she got no more love for the Sithspawns than we do. I'll be back tomorrow in the morning."

Blue was quiet for a moment before sighing. "You better be." Then she ended the call.

Cade turned back to the ruined Stronghold, examining it for a moment. "I reckon you too live on Tatooine… or at least, that you used to?" He asked Zhalia.

Zhalia sighed, "I was born here as the daughter of a Tusken Warlord, was stolen by the Sith once I was sensed to be Force Sensitive. Came back and bought this place as an escape."

Cade chuckled softly. "I know the feeling." He turned to gaze at the Binary Sunset. "For many years I ran away from my destiny. My ancestors were Jedi, descendants of Luke Skywalker, the founder of the New Jedi Order… and he was the son of Darth Vader, the one who betrayed the Jedi and led the Old Republic to become the Galactic Empire. My family legacy as such is a mixed baggage. And until 2 years ago, I tried to shirk any duties befitting a Skywalker."

"It is no different than the legacy of the Shan family. They have both Jedi and Sith in their bloodline as well. Starting with Darth Revan and Bastilla Shan and eventually leading down to me marrying their descendant Theron Shan and having children with him." Zhalia shook her head. "But it is starting to get dark and no matter how many years have passed, Tatooine remains dangerous even at night."

Cade nodded and started heading inside the Stronghold with her. "What do you plan to do? I doubt the One Sith will take kindly to you saying no to joining them." He asked her.

Zhalia frowned, "They already didn't. They bombarded Odessen, destroying what remained of the Eternal Alliance's old base in an attempt to prevent me from leaving."

Cade sighed. "Sounds like Maladi alright." He then walked inside and allowed Zhalia to give him a tour of the ruined Stronghold.

As they toured around they soon ended up at the top and were soon sitting on a balcony watching as the suns were setting while HK did whatever the droid did in the background. "Something is bothering you." She said as she kept her eyes on the horizon.

Cade nodded. He thought back to Nar Shaddaa, to the encounter he had with Talon. "The Sith wanted to capture me alive. Had they just wanted to kill me for Krayt's death, I'd be less worried. But why do they need me alive now?" He pondered out loud.

Zhalia was quiet for a moment, "Sith do not act without reason. There may be something more that you are unaware of." She said as she sighed. "You should rest."

Cade agreed. Standing up, he said "I'll see you tomorrow morning." He then headed inside to get some sleep.

In the Nagai capital city of Kotokai on the planet Nagi, the One Sith had their headquarters. Darth Nihl, in his early days before joining the Sith, had been the Warlord of bands of Marauders raiding across his home planet. After Darth Krayt's Sith Empire had been driven into exile into the Unknown Regions, Nihl used his old connections within the bands of Marauders to unify the planet under his rule. The new Temple of the Sith now stood at the capital city, with him as the Dark Lord ruling the Sith Empire from there.

The Temple of the Sith resembled the one they had crafted from the New Jedi Temple on Coruscant. The pyramid-like structure was imposing, several spire-like towers dotting said pyramid. The Temple was plated in a dark metal with red lights emitting from it. At the top of the central spire was the command center of the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Darth Nihl was seated in front of the Holocron of Darth Krayt, which stood on a decorated pillar. The room was very well decorated with ancient Sith tapestry dotting the walls. Nihl was meditating in front of the Holocron of his predecessor. While he had grown to his position as Dark Lord and Sith Emperor, Nihl's authority was put in question at first as Darth Krayt had not named a successor to his throne since the betrayal he had suffered against Darth Wyyrlok III. But Krayt's Holocron only spoke to a handful of Sith Lords, himself included.

Nihl's meditation was interrupted however as Darth Talon and Darth Maladi entered the room. The two knelt before the Dark Lord, who stood up from his meditation. Nihl turned around and looked at the two. "Talon, Maladi. You've returned." He told them with a deep voice.

Maladi and Talon stood from their kneeling position as commanded by Nihl. Maladi gave her report first. "We found Odessen, Lord Nihl. But the information that Lady Wyyrlok supplied were not accurate, as it wasn't some Sith artifact. It turned out, the base of the Eternal Alliance was home to a stasis pod containing Zhalia Shan, the Alliance Commander." She told Nihl. "I attempted to recruit her to our cause, but with no success."

Nihl frowned as he then turned his attention to Talon. "And I'm guessing you did not succeed in capturing Skywalker. Typical of you, Talon." He told Talon, who frowned in response.

The Dark Lord shook his head as he turned to the Holocron of Darth Krayt. "We'll catch Skywalker soon enough. As it stands, our Master's essence still lives both though his Holocron, and through Skywalker. But if we can reunite the two, then we can bring Darth Krayt back to life." Nihl said as he placed a hand on the Holocron.

Maladi tilted her head. "How do you know for certain, my Lord?" She asked inquisitively.

Nihl turned to face Maladi. "Because our Lord spoke of his plan to me through his Holocron." He told her as he turned his attention back to the Sith Holocron. "Even should the Jedi attempt to remove Krayt's spirit from Skywalker, it would prove futile so long as this Holocron remains intact. And in due time, Darth Krayt will live once more, through Skywalker."

Cade's eyes opened. He stood in a strange place: the floor was made of rock and the skies were covered in gray clouds. As far as the eyes stretched, nothing but rocky soil on the horizon. Yet Cade stood in the vast field that stretched on like a plain of nothing

Walking around for a bit, Cade eventually heard a voice calling to him. "Cade…" The familiar voice called out. Cade looked around, but could not make out the source of the voice. "Cade…" It called out once more.

Looking behind him, Cade's eyes widened as he saw his father Kol, his uncle Nat and his old master Wolf looking at him. Cade walked towards them with a tearful smile, happy to see them once more.

But then, he stopped. Cade felt a cold wind as the clouds darkened. Looking around then back at the three, they were dead on the floor, the rocky soil soaked in blood. Horrified, Cade ran towards them, but every step he took seemed to make him step further away from them as the clouds above took the shape of the masked face of Darth Krayt creeping down like a tornado from the clouds towards Cade, who turned around in horror to the demonic face and let out a mighty scream as it threatened to devour him.

Cade awoke screaming and drawing his ignited green Lightsaber as he jumped out of bed, drenched in sweat. Realizing it was a nightmare, he shut the blade of his weapon before dressing up and walking out to the balcony. The twin suns were just beginning to rise, so he spent the early morning watching the sunrise, thinking of the nightmare he had.

At first it would seem that no one had heard his scream but soon the elevator doors that lead up to where he was soon opened and Zhalia came walking over to him. "Nightmares. They are hard to forget." She spoke as she approached, having recognized the type of scream he had given. "And less than pleasant to experience. Speak to me of it when you are ready."

Cade sighed as he took a few moments to collect himself. He didn't know where to begin, but then spoke. "I… I awoke in the middle of a wasteland. I saw three figures. My Master, my uncle, and my father. I was so happy to see them… then…" He paused, and said "Then they dropped dead, and I was attacked by an all familiar monster… Krayt."

Zhalia said nothing for a moment as she walked forward and soon leaned her arms on the balcony railing. "A dark nightmare, truly. But such a thing does not come from fears alone." She said calmly. "Having been Sith once, myself, I can confirm that all Sith are persistent and, even when they seem dead, the most powerful of them can linger in ways we least expect."

Cade turned to the Sith Lady. "Shortly after I killed Darth Krayt, his spirit tried to take over my body. I loaded him onto a shuttle, then hurled said shuttle into Coruscant Prime, jumping out at the last second." He shook his head. "I thought that would have been enough to get rid of his voice."

"It sounds much like how Vitiate and I were." Zhalia sighed. "But I did not land the original killing blow on him. However his spirit attached itself to me and he tormented me near constantly." She sighed. "I can help you if you want but you must come to me and ask. Otherwise I can do nothing for you, especially if this is the spirit of Krayt."

Cade paused, giving it some thought before saying "I don't think even you will be able to destroy Krayt. My bloodline was born from the Force impregnating the mother of Anakin Skywalker… Darth Vader, yet also the Chosen One. As such, we Skywalkers are very strong in the Force." Cade sighed. "According to my ancestor Luke who guided my path to being a Jedi, Darth Krayt was as powerful as Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One. Whether that is true, I myself was no match for Krayt."

Zhalia was quiet, "For once I find myself in agreement with many of the old Jedi. The Force works in mysterious ways, young Skywalker. There is likely a reason I awoke when I did, what that reason is, outside of the Sith having awoken me, I cannot say. What I do know is that I have fought this kind of battle before. I may have ended Vitiate for good, but I was not alone. And you do not have to fight this alone either." She closed her eyes as she enjoyed the calm for a moment. "HK. Five clicks to the right." She called out before the sound of HK's sniper went off as the womp rat that had approached the homestead was shot dead. "Pesky creatures, those womp rats." She chuckled as she opened her eyes. "My offer stands, all I ask is that you think on it before completely dismissing it."

Cade looked at Zhalia. "I'm not dismissing your offer. I'm telling you what you'll be up against in fighting Krayt's spirit." He answered.

Zhalia sighed. "It is not the first time I have gone against powerful Sith, spirit or corporal form." She looked towards him as her blue eyes met his. "I fought one dragon before, a second does not faze me."

Cade looked at the sunrise again, adding "I just hope you'll be strong enough to face him."

"You'd be surprised. But first you need to be trained which will weaken his hold." She said as she frowned for a moment. "And there will be much that you will need to face." She closed her eyes, "Memories and other things, strengthening your mind, and even decisions that will be difficult to decide on." Zhalia reopened her eyes yet she also seemed distant for a moment, as if remembering everything she had had to do to rid herself of Vitiate. "I will also need you to trust me enough to venture into your mind. If his spirit is still there, then he will likely be trying a subtle approach to turning you to the dark before taking your body over. A trick Vitiate tried with me." Zhalia stood straight and stretched feeling her back and shoulders pop. "If I can find him early enough in your mind, I can slow his progress until you are ready to truly finish it."

Cade sat in a meditation pose and said "Just be careful." He then closed his eyes, allowing Zhalia into his mind.

"I will be." Zhalia said as she prepared herself before reaching through the force and entered Cade's mind to begin her search. A search that was easier than she thought it would be, but then again she had been through this process before so that lent some aid to her search.

As Zhalia entered Cade's mind, she stood in that same field of nothingness Cade was in. She could sense Krayt's evil presence, a presence that was very ominous and powerful. "And so Skywalker enlists the aid of an ancient Sith. Ironic, given he calls himself a Jedi." Krayt's voice taunted, echoing through the skies.

"How about you stop being scared and just come face me already. If you are so powerful then this is truly a pitiful way to show it." Zhalia said as she crossed her arms. "Or are you truly that pitiful?"

"What hubris, to believe yourself so mighty." Krayt retorted. He then appeared behind her, donned in the white, black and red outfit he wore in his last days. "Come then, Sith Warrior. Have your resolution."

Zhalia turned and smirked. "Just the same as all old Sith regardless of what form the Sith take. Ready to fight at a minute's notice." Zhalia said as she looked him over. "The mere fact that you have to resort to haunting what amounts to another child, proves to me that you aren't the smartest of Sith."

Krayt seemed unfazed by her taunts. "My vision for the Galaxy requires sacrifice. My old body was inconsequential to me, as Skywalker's proves infinitely more powerful." He said as his form took that of Cade with Sith eyes. His voice, however, remained the same. "Vader's blood combined with my wisdom and power will be no match for the Triumvirate and their Jedi pawns. You are a fool to delude yourself in thinking you are my equal."

"Good to see that Sith rulers are all the same. Vitiate tried this same thing and he was infinitely harder to kill." Zhalia sighed. "In case you haven't noticed, your body was destroyed by a sun, you are stuck as nothing more than a mere spirit that, by what I am sensing is split between here and another place, likely your holocron, and you resort to taunts and threats against someone who's done this before." Zhalia kept her arms crossed. "You're not very terrifying."

Krayt chuckled, reverting back to his normal self. "A temporary setback. One that will be corrected once my servants reunite my Holocron to the broken Skywalker." He assured her. Walking around her, Krayt glanced at Zhalia. "Indeed you are powerful. But you will not be able to expel me from Skywalker, even with all your power."

"Who says it will be me?" Zhalia inquired, "You act like I want to fight you now, but I'm crazy, not stupid. I know who will deliver that final blow and I am respecting Cade's wish to be careful in his mind." She smirked then, "I also have the sense of you now, a dangerous gamble on your end as this merely aids me in helping him in defeating you. I also know that since this part of your spirit lingers here, you are well aware of what Cade learned when searching my memories. If you choose to continue to take your chances, you will end up where you belong even if I must sacrifice myself in the process."

Krayt chuckled. He then stepped away, disappearing. "We shall see." He ended with.

Cade opened his eyes and looked at Zhalia with worry.

Zhalia sighed. "It truly seems to me that all Sith Emperors remain the same regardless of what face wears the title." Zhalia said as she looked at Cade. "And he fell right into the trap I was setting." She smiled for a moment. "A little too eager to reveal his plans to me. But I have a way to help you now, but also a dangerous gambit as well."

Cade frowned. "If you're thinking to storm the One Sith HQ to wreck his Holocron, good karkin luck. The Sith Empire ain't exactly the most transparent where they set up shop." He answered.

"I won't storm it. Merely I will aid in strengthening you against him so that when the time comes, he will be banished once and for all." She sighed. "He will become stronger once he is close to his holocron but there is a vital flaw with splitting his spirit like he has." She explained. She closed her eyes before reopening them. "It's dangerous to split the spirit between a living being and an inanimate object such as a Holocron."

Cade went to say something, but then looked at the horizon. "I should probably report this to the Jedi. You down to tag along?" He asked Zhalia.

Zhalia sighed, "Not the biggest fan of the Jedi personally, but in this situation, the more help you have the better."