Chapter 3: The Hunter

Rhal hadn't even met his Jedi target yet and already he hated him.

He could just barely make out the Jedi's light side force signature as he moved deeper into the jungle and it quickly became clear that the Jedi, for some foolish reason, was making his way towards Lord Grathan's compound. 'Why would the Jedi be interested in a traitor like Grathan?'

Rhal knew the Jedi had turned Sith to their side in the past and considered that they could be hoping for the same thing with Lord Grathan. 'If that's the case, they're in for quite the disappointment.' Rhal thought knowing that, while Grathan might be a traitor to the Empire, the man was still very much a practitioner of the Dark Side and had no love for the Jedi or the Republic.

Still, it was also possible that the Jedi could be planning something else entirely. 'Perhaps they're hoping to take advantage of Grathan's defiance like some of the other Sith? Maybe acquire something in his possession?' Rhal shook his head. 'I don't have enough information. For all I know, this Jedi's mission doesn't have anything to do with Grathan.'

Regardless, Rhal knew that he needed to keep heading towards Grathan's estate if he wanted to catch this Jedi.

Suddenly, he felt a warning from the force and heard voices a moment later. Moving fast, Rhal used the Force to jump high up onto a rather large tree branch. It only took a few moments for the speakers to show themselves and, when they did, Rhal resisted the urge to growl. 'Grathan's soldiers.'

Grathan's forces all wore the rogue Sith Lord's custom dark red armor instead of the standard Imperial gray armor and, even if they didn't, Rhal would've known they served Grathan because they'd appeared from the direction of the rogue Sith's compound.

Rhal could only see three soldiers, two males and one female, but he reached out with his senses to see if there were any more nearby, hidden or otherwise. After a few moments, he determined that the three were alone and concluded that they were likely just a small patrol scouting the area for hostile forces or predatory wildlife. 'But why are they all the way out here? Grathan's compound is still a ways away.'

Looking down, Rhal couldn't help but shake his head at the soldiers. They were exactly like so many of the predators in the jungle since neither the beasts nor the troopers ever bothered to look up. 'Well, I suppose it does make sense in a way. Dromund Kaas has plenty of Xuvva, but they aren't that aggressive and are usually just an annoyance, and the few Shyracks on the planet usually stay in the tombs and caves.'

Rhal's broken out of his thoughts when the lead soldier, the female, speaks. "This is patrol five to base. No suspicious activity in our sector, over." The response is too quiet for Rhal to hear, but he can make a pretty good guess when the soldier nods before responding. "Understood, we'll continue sweeping the area."

'This is an opportunity.' Rhal thinks while quickly scanning the area for any other threats. Since the soldiers just reported, they won't be expected to do so again for some time yet and that meant their disappearances would take longer to notice. 'Still, I'll need to do this quickly so they don't send out an alert.'

Silently, he continues watching the soldiers as they continue moving until they're almost directly beneath him. Only once all three had moved past his tree and now had their backs to it did Rhal move, jumping down from the tree and using the force to slow his fall so he landed almost without a sound.

Seeing that the soldiers hadn't heard his landing, Rhal cloaked himself in the force and moved fast, reaching the first soldier and putting one hand over his mouth so he couldn't cry out and the other grabbing the back of his head tightly. Before the soldier even had a chance to realize what was happening, Rhal quickly and strongly pulled his front arm back, breaking the soldier's neck and turning his head almost completely around.

Rhal didn't stop moving knowing that the other two soldiers in front had heard the sound of their comrade's neck snapping. He could clearly see the two starting to turn around. Releasing the now lifeless soldier, the body hadn't even hit the ground before Rhal lashed out with the force, sending the other male soldier flying and causing him to slam into a tree. Rhal was pleased to see the soldier was wounded and dazed, but not dead. 'Perfect. Now just one left.'

By this point, the female soldier had turned around and spotted him and, with her eyes wide, was raising her weapon to fire at him. Rhal quickly used the force to augment his speed while also using it to call his lightsaber into his waiting hand. The moment his lightsaber was in his hand, he activated its purple blade and moved so fast he doubted the female trooper even realized what had happened.

In a single moment, Rhal had swung his lightsaber and cut in half both the female trooper's blaster rifle as well as the female trooper herself. He looked back just in time to watch the trooper's body fall and hit the ground.

Knowing that there was no longer any immediate threat, Rhal deactivated his lightsaber and made his way over to the only soldier that was still alive. The trooper was in bad shape. Both his back and head had slammed into the tree and Rhal could clearly see blood on the trooper's hand that was holding the back of his head and, since the trooper hadn't even tried to stand, Rhal assumed he was either disoriented or his legs were now useless.

Reaching the downed trooper, Rhal kneeled in front of him so they were eye level and the trooper, finally noticing him, looked up. The moment he did, the trooper's eyes went wide and he reached for the communicator in his ear. Rhal moved faster and grabbed the trooper's wrist while also raising his other hand and waving it in front of the trooper's face. "You will answer my questions." He said while using the force to touch the wounded man's mind.

The trooper's eyes gained a dazed look and, after a moment, Rhal felt the trooper's resistance disappear and let go of his wrist. "I will answer your questions." The trooper repeated, almost sounding like a droid. Rhal smiled.

The Mind trick was a simple and effective technique, but it was normally used by the Jedi while Sith preferred to use a stronger version of it to completely dominate the mind of another and take the information they wanted. The majority of the Sith looked down on the Mind trick, saying it was for the weak and that the Sith should take what they wanted by force.

However, Rhal recognized that the way the Sith used the Mind trick was flawed. Both versions could dominate weak minds easily, but the one used by the Sith could be resisted and even exploited. Subjects with stronger wills could resist its effects for some time, slowing down interrogations and wasting valuable time. Even stronger subjects, like Jedi and other force sensitives, could resist the effects and, if they were strong enough, turn the technique against its user, allowing them to see into their interrogators minds instead.

Rhal had seen it happen in the Citadel once before. One of the newer inquisitors was using the technique on a captured Jedi Knight and, after a few moments, the Jedi had started taunting the inquisitor with information about him that he'd pulled from his mind. The inquisitor had grown so enraged that he'd cut the Jedi down without having learned anything. 'Only to be cut down himself a moment later by the other Sith that had been overseeing the interrogation.'

Rhal knew that the Sith way of dominating the mind was still useful, but he also knew that sometimes a more subtle touch got better results. "Why was your group patrolling so far away from the compound?"

"A scout contacted the base saying he'd spotted what looked like a shuttle landing south of the compound. Lord Grathan ordered all patrols to go on high alert and expand their patrol areas." The soldier answered in a dazed tone. Rhal understood what had happened quickly. That foolish Jedi had gotten himself spotted when landing and Grathan had likely suspected some sort of surprise attack and the rogue Sith had raised his defenses in response. 'Still, Grathan probably doesn't know this is a Jedi. If he did, this group likely would've been more alert.'

Suddenly, another question came to mind when Rhal thought about something the trooper mentioned. "You said this shuttle was spotted landing south of the compound but we're to the north of it. Why weren't you patrolling to the south?"

"Lord Grathan suspected the shuttle could've been some sort of diversion and ordered all forces on high alert in case of an attack." The soldier stated, his answer nearly made Rhal curse. 'If all forces are on high alert, then fighting this Jedi near Grathan's base will surely raise an alarm. I'll need to see if I can lure the Jedi away from here. No, that won't work. If this Jedi encounters one of these patrols he might just decide to flee.'

Shaking his head, Rhal decided to think about his options later. "Is Grathan working on anything of interest?" He asked. Rhal knew this question wasn't related to his mission, but if the rogue Sith actually was working on something then knowing about it could be useful later.

"I overheard one of the researchers talking about some sort of wardroid they were developing. He said when it's finished, its blaster cannons will be strong enough to punch through even the toughest durasteel walls in one shot." The trooper said, making Rhal's eyes go wide.

Durasteel was one of the strongest and most commonly used metals in the known galaxy. The only metal that was stronger was beskar, but it was far more rare and expensive. Durasteel could be used for just about anything including troop armor, spacecraft hulls, armored walls, etc.

Rhal had seen wardroids before and knew for a fact that no single wardroid could get through a durasteel wall on its own, not unless it was firing at the wall for well over an hour. If Grathan actually had a wardroid that could punch through armored walls in one shot, then it was a serious threat. "How close is this wardroid to being done?" He asked.

The trooper shrugged. "I don't know, but I don't think they've actually started building it yet. Something about adjusting the droid's energy output I think." Rhal relaxed at that. 'So it's nowhere close to being finished. That's good, but I'll need to tell my father to keep a closer eye on Grathan after this.'

After thinking for a few moments, Rhal decided that he'd gotten all the answers he wanted. "Thank you." He said to the trooper before holding up his hand and giving it a quick twist, using the force to snap the wounded soldier's neck, killing him instantly.

It might have seemed cruel but it was necessary. Anyone who caught sight of him had to be eliminated to avoid Grathan's whole army from coming after him and, while he might leave behind a few bodies, corpses couldn't talk about what they'd seen nor could they stab him in the back later.

However, Rhal was still quite pleased with what he'd learned from the brief interrogation. He already knew he'd need to be careful when approaching Grathan's compound, now he knew he had even more reason to be careful since the Jedi had already alerted Grathan's forces. The information about Grathan's new droid was an unexpected surprise, but one he planned to take full advantage of when he had the chance.

'First things first, I have a Jedi to kill.'

At the edge of Lord Grathan's estate…

Karric Soik wasn't sure what he was expecting after he'd jumped over the wall that was surrounding what he assumed was Lord Grathan's base but, while he wasn't surprised, it wasn't what he'd been expecting either.

Looking around what he assumed was both a courtyard and training area, the Jedi Knight, who was carefully concealed in the shadows of a building on the edge of the compound, Karric looked over what he could only describe as a fortress ready for war.

Enemy troopers and droids were everywhere and he'd even spotted a few Sith making their way to what appeared to be the main compound in the distance.

From what he'd been able to gather from passing troopers talking and the appearances of some of the personnel, most of the buildings within the walls were either barracks for Grathan's forces or research labs that were designing new weapons or performing some sort of twisted experiments.

However, the one building that truly stood out was the small palace in the center of the compound. On the surface it didn't seem like much more than a two story armored building surrounded by anti-personnel cannons and droids, but Karric saw differently than most and could clearly see what was hiding beneath the surface.

Literally.

It was clear to the Jedi Knight that the surface of the building was just a cover. The actual facility was below the surface and, from what he could sense, had multiple sublevels that were so far beneath the planet he doubted that even an orbital bombardment would be powerful enough to reach them all. 'Not that orbital bombardments are a problem with those shields in place.' He thought as he looked up to what could only have been some sort of shield generator on the roof of the main building. He'd already seen several others around the base, but the one on the main compound was by far the biggest.

Karric carefully considered his options. Attempting to infiltrate the main base wasn't an option. Even if he managed to get past all the guards, droids, and other defenses he was certain he'd be exposed by Lord Grathan the moment he entered.

While most of Grathan's Sith were clearly weak and untrained, the rogue Sith Lord himself was clearly powerful. Karric could practically see Grathan's dark energy surrounding his personal fortress and the Jedi Knight knew that even if he completely concealed himself in the force, the power of the dark side would still reveal him to Lord Grathan. 'An easy way to get myself killed.'

Before he can consider any other options, his senses focus on two force sensitives who had just walked into the courtyard. Both were the strongest force sensitives he'd sensed so far and Karric quickly guessed that both were apprentices.

The first was a man with dark skin, short black hair, and an x shaped scar on his face with one cut going from his hair to his chin while going over his right eye and mouth with the other cut going across the middle of his face and nose.

The second was a young and attractive woman with light skin and red hair that was styled in the shape of a heart. However, considering the power of the dark side Karric sensed from her, the Jedi assumed that anything she loved likely wouldn't be pleasant.

She was also speaking to the other apprentice when the two walked into the yard and Karric was able to hear the conversation as they got closer to him.

"...get out of this soon enough. Lord Grathan won't let those weaklings on the Dark Council keep us trapped for much longer. It's only a matter of time." She said with an arrogant tone.

Karric could see the man silently grumble something to himself before he replied. "Yes Vereta, you're right of course. Lord Grathan's time is indeed coming soon." He said. Karric, even without eyes, could clearly see that the man meant something different than what the Vereta woman was talking about.

Vereta scoffed. "You always have been a doubter Ba'al." She mocked. "You'll see. Any day now and our master will turn all this around." She said confidently.

This time it was Ba'al's turn to scoff. "When the day comes that the scientists finally finish that droid, then maybe I'll start to believe that." He said, obviously growing annoyed with the conversation. 'Droid? What droid?'

Vereta barked out a laugh. "Please, even if that thing is as powerful as they claim we won't need it. We're Sith. No common Imperial soldiers will be strong enough to stop us." She said, her words dripping with arrogance. Karric couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl. 'Grathan's filled her head with lies and nonsense. She definitely believes every word she's saying.'

Ba'al shook his head. "If it were that simple we would have broken the siege months ago. Besides, even if they finally get that wardroid finished and it's as powerful as they claim, it doesn't guarantee us victory. Or do I need to remind you that it's the Dark Council we're up against?" He asked, maybe hoping to talk some sense into Vereta's head.

It doesn't work. "Who cares? Lord Grathan's a Dark Council member too, and he's our master. He and his son will surely defeat any of the other Dark Council members that are foolish enough to come here." She says, nodding at her own words.

Ba'al's head snaps to look at Vereta. "His son?" He asks, clearly surprised. Karric feels the same way since he'd never heard anything about the Sith Lord having a son.

Vereta's eyes widened as she realized her mistake but after a moment just shrugged. "Oh well, you would've found out soon enough anyway I suppose. Yes, our master has a strong son named Beelzlit. I think lady Grathan said he's about twenty now and has already been well trained by our master. I'm sure you'll be able to meet him Ba'al. After you get a bit stronger of course." Vereta said with a challenging look in her eyes. It was easy for the Jedi Knight to see that, while the two were on somewhat decent terms, they were still very much rivals for their master's approval. 'Unsurprising. The Sith hate each other almost as much as they hate us.'

"I see." Ba'al said slowly, seemingly lost in thought. "I'm going to take care of a supply check in the warehouse. I'll look forward to meeting the master's son someday soon." He said before turning and walking away before Vereta could say another word. 'I wonder what he's up to.' Karric thought, noting Ba'al's odd behavior.

While the Jedi might have noticed Ba'al's odd behavior, the other Sith apprentice clearly didn't. "Well, at least he knows his place." She said with a shrug before walking away herself in a different direction. 'Well that was certainly interesting.'

Karric had just gained some information of interest. Though he was hoping the two would say more about that droid they mentioned, knowing now that Grathan had a son was still an important piece of information that he was certain the Jedi Council would be interested in.

The Knight considers investigating further when he senses the disturbance in the force he'd felt earlier, only it's stronger this time. Looking around, he can tell that he hasn't been spotted. An alarm would surely have gone off if he had been. 'Still, I obtained some information of value. I should head back to my ship and report to the masters. Maybe even move my ship just to be safe.'

Quickly but stealthily, Karric retreats out of the compound the way he entered by once again jumping the wall and moving away from the many agents of the dark side, only having to avoid two patrols as he heads back to his hidden ship.

However, when he's about halfway to his ship, Karric feels the disturbance in the force again. This time it's so strong it feels like the force itself is screaming for him to get away. 'What is causing this?' He thinks with some slight worry as he reaches out with his senses to see if there's anything nearby that is causing such an intense disturbance. He'd done this both times he'd sensed the disturbance before but hadn't been able to sense anything that stood out.

This time is different.

It's very faint, but the Jedi Knight can now sense something coming towards him rapidly and, since his tracker is clearly cloaking themselves in the force, it's very likely a Sith. A powerful Sith. 'I can't risk leading anyone back to my ship. It would surely be destroyed.' He thinks as he slightly adjusts his course, moving away from where he'd hidden his ship. He'd already been moving quickly before, but now Karric picks up his pace, hoping to find a location where he'll be able to better defend himself.

As fast as he is, Karric realizes his tracker knows he's been seen and has also sped up and is slowly gaining on him. The Jedi reaches out with his senses to find somewhere he'll be able to make a stand.

Before he can, he jumps through a thick foliage and lands in front of what he briefly assumes is a cave. However, on closer inspection, the Knight realizes it isn't a cave at all. The stone is carved and smooth and, despite the darkness inside, Karric can clearly see that there are stairs leading down into what appears to be a black abyss. 'This isn't a cave.' He realizes.

'It's a tomb.'

Karric was surprised, though he knew he shouldn't be. Dromund Kaas had been home to the Sith Empire for centuries and, during that time, many Sith had lost their lives either in battle or being betrayed by their own and, while most of the planet was still swamps and jungles, there were many old and lost tombs scattered across the planet. 'Though it appears this one was found at least once before.' He thought as he could clearly see that the stone tombs doors had been destroyed at some point long ago.

Before he could consider what to do next, a powerful force push caused him to go flying down into the tomb. Karric cocooned himself in the force to protect himself from the fall, but he still hit the stone stairs and floor hard enough that he knew would be bruised. Thankfully, after he finally stops falling and gets a moment to check himself over, Karric is pleased to note that he hasn't broken anything.

However, his relief is short-lived as he looks back to the top of the stairs and he sees another figure standing at the entrance of the tomb. A figure wearing a black cloak and overflowing with the corruption of the dark side. The figure then grabs a lightsaber from their belt and activates an amethyst blade.

Rising to his feet, Karric uses the force to call his own lightsaber to his hand and activates its green blade and takes a defensive stance after removing his brown cloak. It had been torn up in the fall and was next to useless now. Removing it revealed Karric's traditional Jedi robes underneath it, causing no doubt about his identity to anyone who saw him, his attacker included.

He also takes a moment to try and make out any details about his attacker. He is a Sith, Karric is sure of that due to his attacker's powerful presence in the dark side and the light Sith armor he can see under the attacker's black cloak.

His attacker then reaches up with his free hand and pulls back the hood of his cloak, revealing his face, though Karric had already seen it through the force. He guesses his attacker is a young man in his late twenties or early thirties with blue eyes and short black hair. His face is mostly emotionless, but there are some faint traces of anger to be seen.

A flash of lightning can be seen from the entrance of the tomb and, just for a moment, the Sith's blue eyes changed to a dark yellow.

Finally, his Sith attacker speaks a single word. It is quiet, cold, and filled with hate.

"Jedi."

A tomb.

Rhal thought it was a very fitting place for this Jedi trespasser to die.

With his lightsaber activated, Rhal slowly made his way down the steps of the ancient tomb and took his time to carefully observe his Jedi opponent. 'Most people would have several broken bones after such a fall, but he got up rather quickly. He also managed to sense me when I started closing in on him, despite the fact that I was still cloaked in the force. Is he just that strong that he was still able to sense me or do I need to work on my force cloak?'

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Rhal decided that it didn't matter now since he stood only a few feet away from his Jedi opponent. "You know your kind are not welcome here Jedi." Rhal said as he raised his lightsaber and pointed it at the Jedi. "Why did you come here?" He asked.

"My business on this world is not yours to know Sith." The Jedi said calmly. Rhal wasn't sure if the Jedi was actually blind or a Miraluka, either way, it was hard to read the Jedi's facial expression without being able to see his eyes and unfortunately, the same was true when Rhal looked at the Jedi through the force.

The Jedi was clearly shielding his thoughts from him, but what Rhal could sense was a calm and focused mind. There wasn't a trace of fear, anger, or any other emotion within him. 'Typical Jedi.' He thought with some annoyance. "I'm afraid it is very much my business Jedi." Rhal stated. "My master sent me to eliminate you and find out your purpose here. So I ask again, why did you come to Dromund Kaas?" He asked more forcefully.

The Jedi, to his credit, didn't flinch. "My mission is top secret on orders of the Jedi Council. As I said before, my business here isn't yours to know." The Jedi says in the same irritating calm voice. 'But he let something slip this time.'

"So, you're not here on your own accord. Your Council of cowards sent you here." Rhal was pleased to see that this time his words did manage to get a slight flinch out of the Jedi, though he sensed it was because he pointed out the Jedi's mistake and not because of his taunt.

"Jedi are not cowards, they are defenders of peace and justice. Surrender Sith, and I promise the Jedi Council will give you every chance to redeem yourself." The Jedi said. Rhal couldn't decide if he should be amused or enraged by the offer.

"Please allow me to make a counter offer."

As soon as he finished speaking, Rhal launched himself forward, hoping to end this quickly by taking off the Jedi's head. Unfortunately, the Jedi's faster and brings his blade up to stop the strike before attempting to take off Rhal's own head in return with a counterattack.

Rhal ducks under the Jedi's swing and attempts to slash the Jedi's legs, but the Jedi backflips and avoids it. Rhal doesn't let up and charges at the Jedi while using his free hand to launch a quick burst of force lightning where his opponent lands.

The Jedi brings up his lightsaber and absorbs the lightning with it, but Rhal had expected that. 'I need to keep him on the defensive.' He thought as he unleashed a flurry of quick attacks. The Jedi Knight was able to block each of the strikes, but they were coming so quickly he didn't have a chance to counterattack and he soon found himself falling back further into the tomb.

Several strikes later and Rhal spotted a very slight opening in the Jedi's defenses. Moving quickly, he appeared to swing at the Jedi's right leg.

As he'd hoped, the Jedi brought his green lightsaber down to block and deflect the blow. Moving as quickly as he could with the aid of the force, Rhal stepped forward and swung past the Jedi's blade and spun in place. He hoped it would be quick enough this time to decapitate the Jedi before he could bring his lightsaber back up to defend himself.

Unfortunately, he still wasn't fast enough to beat the Jedi's reflexes and his opponent brought up his blade just in time to save himself. However, the blow was so strong it momentarily knocked the Jedi off guard.

Rhal hadn't readjusted himself after the spin yet so he couldn't take advantage of the opening with his lightsaber. Instead, he lashed out with the force using his free hand, unleashing another barrage of force lightning.

The Jedi, likely sensing the attack coming and knowing he wouldn't be able to block in time, jumped out of the way of the incoming lightning, but landed clumsily on his feet due to the tomb's damaged and weathered floor.

Drawing on his anger from his attack failing, Rhal instead lashed out with another powerful force push. His opponent was unprepared for the attack and it sent the Jedi flying back even further into the tomb's darkness, though he quickly got back to his feet once more.

At this point, both combatants had gone so deep into the tomb during their battle that the only light illuminating the darkness was their lightsabers. Rhal's purple lightsaber and black cloak made him look like an avatar of death while Karric's green lightsaber made him appear to be an avatar of life.

However, Karric hadn't escaped from the last force push as unscathed as the first one. He'd still cocooned himself in the force when he'd gone flying, but had landed on his left arm when he'd fallen and was certain he'd heard something break when he hit the stone floor of the tomb.

Rising to his feet, both Jedi and Sith took a moment to collect themselves and analyze their opponent before continuing.

In short, it was clear that the Sith was winning.

Rhal was still breathing somewhat lightly while Karric was beginning to breathe heavily due to the effort it had taken to block all the Sith's attacks as well as the injuries he'd already received. 'Thankfully, I can still use my left arm, but I can tell the pain's going to be a problem and will slow me down somewhat.'

The thought was not a comforting one. His opponent was fast, very fast. Slowing down even a little could be the difference between life and death in this battle and he knew if the Sith noticed his injured arm, then that's where his attacks would be focused. 'Like a predator going after a wounded animal for easy prey.'

At this point, the Jedi Knight knew his best choice would be to retreat, but that wasn't an option. The only way out of the tomb was past the Sith he was now facing and, even if he was able to get past him and make a break for the exit, he knew this Sith would be fast enough to catch up to him, especially since his injuries would slow him down. He quickly tried to think of some other way to gain the advantage, but no immediate solutions came to mind.

His Sith opponent was well trained, very well trained in both the force and lightsaber combat. Despite mostly being on the offensive, Karric could tell by their few previous exchanges that the Sith was also fairly comfortable with defense as well. 'A rare trait to see amongst the Sith.' He thought as his mind worked rapidly to find some sort of solution or opening he could use.

"You can tell, can't you?" The Sith said, gaining his attention. "You're a well trained Jedi, I'll give you that. You're quite skilled in combat, so I'm sure you can already tell that my skills surpass yours." The Sith said confidently.

Karric was surprised to sense that the Sith wasn't being arrogant, he was merely stating a fact that both knew to be true. As unfortunate as it was to admit it, Karric knew the Sith was indeed correct. He was strong, but not strong enough to defeat this dark force user.

"If we continue this battle it will only delay your defeat." The Sith continued. "I'd rather not waste anymore time in this tomb than necessary so I'll give you one last chance. Tell me what the Jedi Council sent you here to do and you have my word that I'll end your life quickly. Refuse, and I'll rip the information from your mind before giving you a painful death." The Sith threatened.

In response, the Jedi Knight stood to his full height, took a deep breath, and brought his lightsaber blade up in front of him. "There is no death, there is only the force." Karric said, reciting the last line of the Jedi code and a truth he'd believed all his life.

The Sith just sighed.

"So be it."

Rhal knew the Jedi wouldn't accept his final offer, but a small part of him had been hoping to end this a little more quickly. He knew he was strong enough to defeat the Jedi, but he also had to admit that his opponent's skills were rather impressive. If he dropped his guard, the Jedi could still defeat him. 'Not that I plan to let that happen. It's time to end this.'

With that thought, Rhal roared as he launched himself forward. He abandoned all defense and went completely on the attack, using the force to make his strikes so powerful and fast that to any observer his lightsaber appeared to be nothing but a blur of purple light. But again, the Jedi again proved his skill as he was still able to defend himself from the barrage of attacks.

Mostly. The attacks were still strong enough that the Jedi was falling back even further into the tomb.

Finally, after several minutes of dueling and countless attacks being launched, both fighters found themselves in what could only have been the heart of the tomb as they entered a large chamber with a stone sarcophagus in the center of it. The massive sarcophagus is open, showing a skeleton inside it wearing ancient armor and, considering the position it's in, Rhal can tell the body was moved around quite a bit. 'Tomb looters. I killed each one I came across on Korriban, but they're like insects and more always seemed to show up. No surprise some came here as well.'

Of course, it wasn't just his surroundings that Rhal had been observing. He was still keeping a close eye on the Jedi and he knew their battle was nearly over.

The Jedi was clearly favoring his right arm while blocking, meaning his left had been injured or broken earlier, and his presence in the force was almost completely depleted. He was also sweating heavily and breathing very hard. 'Even without the force, I can tell that he's almost out of strength. It's time to end this.'

With that thought, Rhal continued his attack while focusing on sections of the Jedi's body that required him to use his left arm to defend himself. With every strike he could see the Jedi weakening. 'Oh he's definitely a very powerful Jedi, but even Jedi have their limits.'

Soon enough, the Jedi does indeed reach his limit as a heavy strike from Rhal sends the green lightsaber flying out of the Jedi's hand and landing in the corner of the tomb. When the Jedi extends his arm towards the lightsaber, planning on using the force to call it back, Rhal wastes no time in bringing his lightsaber down and severing the Jedi's arm at the elbow. Rhal is quite satisfied when the Jedi screams in pain and falls to the ground, clutching at the stump that was once his right arm. 'It's over.'

To his credit, the Jedi still tries to rise to his feet by using his remaining arm to try and push himself up. However, without his lightsaber he has no defense from the force lightning Rhal unleashes upon his downed form, causing the Jedi to cry out in pain once again as the lightning ravaged his body.

After several moments, Rhal ceases his assault, sensing that the Jedi has now lost all the strength he had left and if he continued then Rhal knew his lightning would kill him and he didn't want the Jedi to die.

Yet.

"Before I kill you Jedi, I still need to know why you're here." He said to the Jedi, whose body was twitching and smoking from the lightning. "But I can sense that, even in your weakened state, you won't tell me anything willingly. That's fine. I promised you a painful death if you continued to resist, so now, I'm going to kill two Shyrack with one stone." He stated before kneeling down, deactivating his lightsaber, and putting a hand over the Jedi's face.

He knew a simple mind trick would never work on a Jedi, not even one so badly wounded, so now it was time for him to take what he wanted by force. There was still the risk that the Jedi could exploit the technique's weakness and turn it against him or at least resist it so the young Sith couldn't get what he was after, but Rhal knew his connection to the force was stronger than this Jedi's connection. He was also aware of a trick that would make it harder for the Jedi to resist.

As he began using the force in an attempt to probe the Jedi's mind, Rhal wasn't surprised to sense the Jedi attempting to resist his efforts. In response, Rhal reached out with his other hand and grabbed the Jedi's stump of an arm and dug his fingers into the wound, getting a grunt of pain from his defeated opponent in response as well as sensing the Jedi's mental defenses falter.

Pain was indeed a useful tool. It could be used for many purposes, including distraction. In some cases it could be a good distraction, freeing your mind from dwelling on something even worse. However, at other times, the distraction could be a costly one.

For any force-user attempting to guard their mind, focus was critical. You must stay on your guard at all times otherwise you risk allowing an enemy to slip in. Any distractions immediately weaken the user's defenses and the greater the distraction, the more they are weakened.

Pain was a very hard distraction to ignore and Rhal knew that, even without aggravating the Jedi's wound, his opponent had already been badly injured and was likely in a great deal of pain. 'He could of course use the force to help him dull his pain, but that would all but remove any defense over his mind that he has left.' Rhal thought as he began seeing glimpses into the Jedi's mind.

A few moments later the last of the Jedi's resistance finally crumbled and Rhal soon started learning everything about his fallen opponent.

He learned the Jedi's name was Karric Soik, an experienced Knight that had fought the Empire in the last war and had successfully carried out several infiltration missions on Imperial controlled planets including Taris, Balmorra, and even one mission on Ziost.

Apparently, he'd been handpicked by the Jedi Council to infiltrate Dromund Kaas and relay any and all information he could gather about Imperial and Sith activities back to the Council using the long ranged transmitter on his ship before resuming his surveillance for as long as possible. 'And he was heading back to his ship before changing course when he sensed me pursuing him. It seems I will need to work on my force cloak a bit more after all.' He thought before he pulled the ship's location from the Jedi's mind.

That being done, Rhal took another minute to see if Karric Soik had any more information of value. Finding that he did not, he released his hold on the Jedi's mind and stood back up to his full height before reactivating his lightsaber and, without hesitation, drove it directly into the wounded Jedi's heart.

Karric Soik died instantly.

Rhal had expected to feel deeply satisfied after his first Jedi kill, but in truth he found that he felt very little. He was pleased that he won the battle and successfully killed his first Jedi, but the kill itself wasn't what he'd been hoping for or even expected for that matter.

He'd wanted to see the Jedi's emotions reveal themselves when he knew his end was upon him. Fear, anger, despair, or some sort of reaction that showed the Jedi wouldn't accept that his life was about to be extinguished.

Instead, just like during their battle, the Jedi gave nothing away. If Karric Soik had felt some sort of emotion in that split second before his life faded, he'd hidden it well. 'He might have given something away if he'd had eyes I could have watched the light fade out of, but I doubt that. Yes he was in pain, but other than that I saw and felt nothing from him except for a calm acceptance.' Rhal thought as he wondered how anyone could be so accepting of their life ending. He knew he'd never stop fighting until the darkness completely consumed him.

Shaking his head, Rhal realized that there was no point in thinking about it any further. The Jedi he'd been sent to kill was dead and he now knew the Jedi had come to Dromund Kaas to try and gather information. Any possibility of that mission succeeding had died with the Jedi. 'I'll still need to find his ship and destroy it.' He thought, not wanting to leave any remnant of this Jedi ever being here.

Swinging his still active lightsaber, he removed the dead Jedi's head from his body and used the force to retrieve the Jedi's own lightsaber from where it had been thrown earlier in the fight. His father had requested that he bring back one of the two as proof of his victory. 'I might as well bring back both.'

With that thought, Rhal turned and started to make his way out of the tomb with his trophies, never looking back.

A few hours later, Rhal had made his way back to the Wall and was currently making his way back to Kaas City and his father in order to report his success in defeating the Jedi and ending his mission in failure.

Finding the Jedi's ship had been easy, he'd literally pulled the location from his mind. Destroying it had been just as easy. A blast of force lightning immediately ignited the ship's fuel, causing it to explode in a shower of sparks and twisted metal. Once he inspected the ship's remains and determined that nothing significant was left, Rhal had left the still burning wreck behind.

Getting back to the wall and past Grathan's remaining patrols had been easy. Rhal assumed that the other patrols either hadn't found the troopers he'd killed or their remains had been found and consumed by the jungle predators. 'Either way, I suppose it doesn't matter now. Even if they do find out that I killed that patrol, Grathan's forces can't get to me without getting past the Wall. As for Grathan himself… who would have thought the rogue Sith had a son?' Rhal thought, still somewhat surprised by that unexpected piece of information the Jedi had picked up.

Knowing that Grathan had a son and the wardroid he was working on were opportunities that Rhal fully intended to use to his advantage at some point in the future. He was still trying to consider the best way to turn the situation to his advantage, focusing on the son more than the droid knowing he would be the more valuable of the two. 'Blackmail would be the simplest option but also the most unreliable. The best that would probably get me is an assassin when I'm least expecting it and kidnapping would probably produce the same result. Maybe-'

All of Rhal's thoughts and plans were shattered as the force screamed at him in warning.

A moment later, his speeder exploded.

A.N.

Surprise! The Jedi's dead, but this isn't over yet. What happened at the end? Well, you can try to guess in the reviews or you can wait until the next chapter. Either way, I hope you're all enjoying this story so far because I can't stop coming up with ideas for it and have got more than a few surprises waiting for you down the line. For now though, thanks to all of you that have read and favorited this story and I promise to get the next update to you all as soon as possible and, if you'd be so kind, please review and let me know how you think the story is going and if anything should be changed or if there's anything you'd like to see included. Have a great day everyone and I'll see you all next time!