Chapter 8: Preparing for War Part 1

Rhal had to admit, he was very impressed and satisfied with his new stronghold.

After Grathan's death, it had taken less than a day for the stronghold to be fully secured and under Rhal's control. Once he'd had a chance to walk through and properly examine the entire base and all it contained, Rhal had decided that, if Grathan hadn't rebelled, there was a very real possibility that the rogue Sith could have actually become a Dark Council member at some point in the future.

He already had the credits, resources, and power. The only thing he'd truly lacked was influence, but not as much as Rhal had first thought. He'd gotten several revelations after going through Grathan's personal files, even used the information about Tytonus' now failed invasion to increase his own standing which had worked beautifully.

He had also sent some prototype droid plans to Darth Hadra. On the surface, it appeared to be a gift to get a stronger ally on the Dark Council and, while that was partially true, Rhal had his eyes set on a much bigger prize and, in truth, those droid designs had been some of the less impressive things that Grathan's people had been researching so Rhal had no problems sending a copy to Hadra.

The best stuff Rhal had, naturally, kept secret and for himself. He'd also not reported everything about the situation to the Dark Council.

He'd told the truth about Grathan's researchers now serving him. Many of them had no problems with a new master as long as they could continue their research and the rest were grateful to be freed from Grathan's imprisonment and had declared they do everything in their power to serve their new master faithfully.

However, Rhal had lied when he told the Council that he'd wiped out the rest of Grathan's forces.

He had wiped out the rest of Grathan's force sensitive followers, with one exception, but the rest were a different story.

Shortly after Grathan's death and the deaths of his remaining acolytes, Rhal had opened a comm channel to the rest of Grathan's forces. He informed them of their master's death and gave all the remaining soldiers a simple choice: serve him or die.

Many of them, wisely, had sworn their loyalty to him quickly with only a few fools attempting to resist. He had them captured quickly and used their brutal deaths as an example that completely ensured the remaining soldiers would be totally loyal to him and the rest of the troops now under his command.

The Shadow Fist and the rest of the Shadow Troopers had returned to Imperial Intelligence, but the soldiers that had been stationed at the Wall were a different story.

Many of them had been dealing with Grathan and his activities for so long that, to finally be rid of him, they felt they owed the rogue Sith's killer. Rhal was more than happy to have them serving under him, especially since it meant he didn't need to find and train replacements for those stationed at the Wall.

Captain Sarnova, now his new head of security, had questioned why he wasn't just tearing the wall down and adding its tech to his new base. It wasn't a bad idea, but Rhal still had uses for the Wall namely, keeping out unwanted guests.

Rhal had no doubt that other Sith would attempt to have their spies infiltrate his ranks to gather information or attempt to kill him and, while he was confident that no assassins would be getting close to him any time soon, he wasn't willing to take any chances of his enemies finding gaps in his defenses.

So the Wall remained with all its systems operational. Only now, unless Rhal himself allowed it, no one would be going past the Wall and entering his lands.

Speaking of lands, Rhal had just recently finished an infuriating holocall with his sister, Zhorrid.

After Rhal had gained Grathan's estate, he decided that their father's old estate was not nearly as valuable and had given it to Zhorrid. To many, it would have looked like a gift, but it was anything but. He'd removed everything of true value and had those valuables transferred to his new stronghold before giving it to his deranged sister, leaving her with only a few pieces of expensive art, furniture, and some servants that were secretly loyal to him to keep an eye on her.

He'd heard it said somewhere before that you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer, but Rhal believed whoever had come up with that didn't have any real enemies. This so-called "gift" was his way of telling his sister that she was cut off and on her own. He'd tolerated her madness for years and wouldn't kill her unless she tried to kill him, but he was done dealing with her. He'd keep an eye on her and stop her if she tried to cause him problems, but that was it. She was forbidden from entering his lands and would be killed if she dared to try.

He'd told her as much when she'd contacted him to complain about how empty her stronghold was. Zhorrid had gone through just about every emotion there was during that call, joy for her gift, anger at realizing the truth, fake sadness at being "abandoned" by her "loving" little brother, pleading to be allowed to serve him like the "loyal" apprentice she was, and finally an outburst of rage when she finally accepted that Rhal was leaving her with next to nothing.

Rhal had ended the call telling her not to contact him again before he pressed a button on the terminal, causing his sister's image to fade before she could continue her ranting.

The silence that followed was, to Rhal, the closest thing to peace that existed.

It lasted all of a moment before it was broken by the sound of the durasteel doors behind him opening. Sensing a familiar Dark Side presence, and knowing that there was only one Dark Side user that had access to his chambers, Rhal knew immediately who had entered without even looking.

Turning, his eyes met those of the one and only Sith who had previously served Grathan and now served him. "Ralesk." He said, greeting the short Sith who dropped to a knee.

Ralesk was…unusual for a Sith. Unlike just about every other Sith Rhal had met, Ralesk had spoken truthfully when he'd sworn to serve his new master to the best of his abilities. When asked then why he hadn't come to Grathan's defense during the duel, he'd given an interesting answer.

"I swore to Lord Grathan that I'd serve him until he was no longer worthy of my service. When he begged for my help at the end of your fight, he proved he was no longer worthy of being called my master. A true Sith does not beg for help, even in the face of death."

It was a strong answer, and one that Rhal approved of. Ralesk had also given him the same oath as well and, while Rhal was still somewhat distrustful of the little Sith, he'd felt the advantages outweighed the disadvantages and accepted him into his service, but had made it clear that while he would be his master, Ralesk was not his apprentice. He would be a Sith Assassin in his service, but nothing more.

Many Sith would have viewed such a condition as an insult, but Ralesk seemingly hadn't cared and simply bowed his head in acceptance and submission. When he'd raised it again, he quickly deduced that his new master had no desire to accept Grathan's other force sensitives into his service and had offered a solution.

The solution had been surprisingly simple. Using Grathan's personal code, Rhal had summoned all of Grathan's remaining force sensitives for what they thought would be a meeting with their master. Once they had all been lured into a conference chamber, the room had been sealed and, before any of them could realize what was happening, the room was flooded with poisonous gas.

Grathan had obviously prepared for the possibility that one or more of his apprentices would attempt to betray him and, while some force users could hold their breaths for long periods of time, the gas that had flooded into the room was designed to work on skin contact. The few in the room who tried to hold their breaths found this out very quickly and, despite their attempts, none of them had escaped the room alive.

Rhal had watched their deaths with a calm but pleased look. Ralesk had done the same but with a self satisfied smile on his own face.

Afterwards, Ralesk had continued to prove his usefulness in helping navigate Grathan's systems, reprogramming his droids to serve their new master, and revealing a few more of the rogue Sith's secrets that only an apprentice would have known about.

Rhal would admit that, so far, keeping Ralesk alive had been a very good decision.

"My master, it is done." Ralesk said with his head bowed.

"You were not seen?" Rhal asked, to which Ralesk shook his head.

"Not by the apprentice nor anyone else at the spaceport." Ralesk answered.

The apprentice Ralesk was talking about was the new Sith Pureblood serving Darth Baras. Rhal had confirmed, with Intelligence reports and Grathan's own records, that Baras' network of spies was indeed real, but the names and locations of many of his operatives was unknown. That information was likely to be known only to Baras himself.

However, Rhal suspected that Baras' new apprentice would likely be involved with his master's network. So, instead of trying to get close to Baras himself, Rhal would watch his apprentice instead. He figured Baras would send his personal apprentice to take care of any matters he considered urgent so it would be a good way to figure out what Baras was planning.

Rhal knew a Sith as intelligent as Darth Baras was looking to increase his own power and influence like many Sith but, unlike many Sith, Baras was careful, patient, and had no problems waiting months or even years for his plans to bear fruit.

Darth Rhal knew that Darth Baras would surely cause him problems in the future, so he decided to prepare himself for when those problems arose.

Grathan had been planning to send Ralesk to try and kill Baras' apprentice to avenge his son's death, but Rhal had other plans. He'd sent Ralesk to quietly install a tracking and listening device on the apprentice's ship. This would allow him to monitor Baras without getting anywhere near the Sith spymaster himself.

As if on cue, the terminal indicated that someone was transmitting to the apprentice's ship. Rhal dismissed Ralesk, who quickly and quietly left the room. After the durasteel door had closed, the Dark Council member pressed a button on the terminal, allowing him to secretly listen to the conversation taking place.

Rhal listened as two voices, Darth Baras and his apprentice, talked about what the apprentice would be doing in Baras' service and some of the information Rhal learned was very interesting.

The first piece of information was that the one currently causing the most problems for Baras was his old enemy, Jedi Master Nomen Karr. Rhal wasn't surprised. The two were each other's most hated enemies. Baras discovered Nomen Karr attempting to infiltrate the Sith and rooted him out and Karr had struck back, killing the Dark Council member Darth Ekkage, leader of the Sith infiltrators and Baras' sister. They had been fighting their own private war against one another ever since.

However, it seemed that Karr's newest scheme was of great concern for Baras. Oddly, it seemed like Baras was more worried about Karr's new padawan more than the Jedi Master himself, stating that Nomen Karr's efforts to prove his padawan's power must fail. 'But what power could a padawan possess that would cause a Sith like Darth Baras such fear?'

The question was one Rhal very much wanted an answer to, especially if such a power could be of use to him. Baras had said the padawan would need to be destroyed but, until he knew the full nature of this padawan's mysterious power, Rhal wanted to find and capture the girl alive.

Many great Sith Lords had been Jedi before they opened their eyes and joined the Dark Side and, if this young padawan was already such a threat to Baras, her talents could be invaluable if she were properly guided. 'Unfortunately, I don't know where to start.'

Baras had said that he and his apprentice knew where the padawan was discovered and trained, but he hadn't mentioned locations. The only locations he'd mentioned were Balmorra and Nar Shaddaa, two planets where Jedi agents were apparently investigating Baras' spies.

Truthfully, Baras' spies weren't of interest to the Dark Council member at the moment and, while Rhal hoped that more information on the padawan would be revealed later, he knew he couldn't focus too much of his attention on Baras alone. As dangerous as he was, Darth Baras was still only one Sith in a galaxy of thousands. 'Thousands I now have to watch, use, outmaneuver, or kill in order to make sure none of them take what's mine.'

The holoterminal's beeping broke Rhal out of his thoughts as the display indicated that someone was attempting to contact him. Curious, Rhal accepted the transmission, causing a man's figure to appear on the display.

The man was obviously a Sith Lord with his blood red robes and armor as well as the lightsaber hanging from his belt. He was an older man with pale skin, graying hair, green eyes, and cybernetic implants under and around his left eye. Even though the two had never met before, Rhal knew exactly who the Sith was. Who in the Empire wouldn't?

"Darth Angral." He greeted simply, being careful to keep his surprise hidden. Of all the Sith he'd expected to contact him, Rhal had not been expecting to hear from one of the Empire's most well known Sith, at least not so soon after taking his council seat.

Angral was, without question, one of the Empire's greatest heroes and a true Lord of the Sith. He had led the Imperial fleet that had sacked Coruscant during the last war and had personally killed Supreme Chancellor Berooken himself when he attacked the Senate Tower with his forces. His actions had resulted in one of the Empire's greatest victories and had allowed the Sith great bargaining power when the Treaty of Coruscant had been signed.

However, Angral had wanted to destroy the Jedi and force an unconditional surrender when the Emperor signed the Treaty and, while he was smart enough to not oppose the treaty loudly as Sith like Vengean did, he was still furious and withdrew from Sith politics to focus on building up his own forces. To say he'd done well was an understatement.

His reputation had many Sith joining him as well as many talented Imperial troops and officers. Angral's reputation and power was so impressive that he could easily obtain a seat on the Dark Council but he made no effort to do so. He seemed to be content with building up his forces in preparation for the next war.

At least, he had been. Unfortunately, Angral's most recent plans to cripple the Republic had cost him dearly.

His son, Lord Tarnis, had secretly infiltrated the Republic as a researcher and had gained access to many of the Republic's secret weapon programs, even becoming the lead researcher on a project known as the Planet Prison, a superweapon that could turn a planet's upper atmosphere into a giant ion cannon to prevent any ships from leaving said planet. Tarnis had attempted to use the Planet Prison on Coruscant but a Jedi Knight destroyed the weapon and struck Tarnis down right before his father's eyes.

Now, looking at Angral's holo, Rhal could easily see just how much Tarnis' death had affected him. Angral had already become somewhat unstable after the Treaty, believing his victory on Coruscant had been meaningless as well as his slowly growing anger over the Dark Council not returning to war, but now Rhal could clearly see even without the force that losing his son had pushed the Sith Lord fully over the edge.

Angral's hands were balled into fists and shaking, his jaw was clenched, and Rhal could sense the Sith Lord's anger easily. But it was his eyes that were the most telling. They were blazing with fury and madness, promising death to all that tried to stand in his way.

"Darth Rhal." Angral growled out and Rhal felt his own anger grow. Even a Sith as powerful as Darth Angral did not address a Dark Council member so casually, providing further proof that the Sith Lord had lost his mind along with his son. "Send me Intelligence's finest Watcher. I require their services." Angral ordered and any doubts Rhal had about the man's lack of sanity died.

Only the Emperor himself could command a Dark Council member and all in the Empire knew this. They were the twelve most powerful Sith in the Empire and answered only to orders from the Emperor alone. For Angral to make such a demand showed just how unbalanced the once great Sith Lord had become.

Rhal's anger was building now but, instead of raising his voice like most Sith would have, his voice got quieter and colder as he responded. "Why exactly do you require Intelligence's best Watcher?" Rhal asked instead, his anger continuing to rise just under the surface.

Angral, either unnoticing or uncaring about Rhal's tone and building anger, nearly shouted his reply. "For my own purposes which do not concern you boy! Now send me - ack!"

Angral's words were cut off and his hands went to his throat as Rhal used the force to seize the older Sith Lord by the throat, his arm rose from his side and he held it out with his hand cupped as if he were holding something. The Dark Council member raised Angral in the air and held him in his grasp for several moments before speaking in a voice cold enough to make a blizzard on Hoth feel like a warm breeze. "When you speak to a member of the Dark Council, you will speak with respect Angral, and you will remember your place." Rhal stated before releasing him a few moments later, causing Angral to nearly fall to his knees and let out several short coughs.

When Angral had recovered himself enough to look up, Rhal could see the anger and madness were still there and greater now, but now there was also a bit of fear and sense as well. "As you command, my Lord." Angral growled out before giving a slight bow. "I apologize for my disrespect." He said, not sounding sorry in the slightest.

Rhal waved off the false apology. "Tell me your intentions for the Watcher and I will consider your request." Rhal said.

Angral hesitated for a moment before answering. "Apologies, my Lord, but even on an encrypted channel it's too risky to reveal such information via holo. However I can assure you that, if the Watcher's mission is successful, it will be a great benefit for the Empire and a crippling blow to the Republic."

Rhal took a moment to consider his options. The simplest and perhaps safest option would be to deny Angral's request, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Not only would it be a bad idea to make Angral his enemy more than he already had, but he could sense that the old Sith Lord had spoken truthfully about how much this mission could impact the Republic and Empire. There was also another advantage to granting Angral's request that the older Sith likely hadn't thought of.

Rhal made his decision quickly.

After a few more moments of looking like he was still pondering what to do, Rhal nodded and looked up at Angral. "Very well, Lord Angral. I'll speak to Keeper about sending you the best Watcher available. They will rendezvous aboard your cruiser with you and can receive your instructions without any risks of being compromised." He said before terminating the transmission, causing Angral's holo to vanish before he could get another word in.

Rhal knew that making an enemy of Darth Angral wasn't the wisest decision, but it was better than letting anyone think that he was weak and could be commanded simply because he was young and inexperienced. If there was one thing the Sith respected it was strength and Rhal knew, as a member of the Emperor's Dark Council, he couldn't afford to be seen as weak in any way for any reason. 'Regardless, it's done now and I'll need to speak to Keeper about sending that Watcher.'

With that thought, Rhal turned and marched out of his personal command center.

Some Time Later, the Citadel…

When he'd spoken to Keeper, Rhal had been a little surprised at just how quickly the man had agreed to send Darth Angral the Watcher he wanted. After a few moments of thought however, Rhal thought he understood why.

Darth Angral had, after his son's death, all but declared war on the Republic and the Jedi Order without the Dark Council's approval. The Empire had, in response, officially declared Darth Angral as having gone rogue and saying that he was now acting without Imperial assistance.

It was a lie of course and the Empire was still secretly supporting him, but after speaking to him Rhal wondered just how long it would be until the enraged Sith Lord truly did go rogue. Keeper was likely thinking something similar and wanted a set of eyes and ears close to Angral just to be safe. Fortunately, Watcher One was quite capable.

A devoted servant of the Empire, Watcher One had served for nearly twenty years and during that time had become known as one of the Empire's most loyal agents. For those that were allowed to know that is.

Rhal had met Watcher One shortly before he departed Dromund Kaas to meet with Darth Angral and ordered the agent to plant listening devices on Angral's cruiser and to send regular reports on his activities back to himself and Intelligence before transmitting them to Angral. The Watcher hadn't appeared pleased with the order but Rhal knew he would obey. He'd served long enough to know the price of disloyalty.

Shortly after, Rhal was informed that a meeting of the Dark Council had been called. Since he was already in the Citadel, Rhal made his way to the Dark Council chambers there. Normally, the Dark Council would meet on Korriban. However, since Dromund Kaas was the Imperial capital, the Citadel also had a Dark Council meeting chamber that could be used.

When he arrived, Rhal noticed that most of the Dark Council members were transmitting from other worlds and there were only two other members actually there in person, Darth Hadra and Darth Vowrawn. Rhal also noted that many of the Dark Council members appeared to be rather annoyed, but he didn't know why.

He received the answer quickly. A Sith Lord had been found dead in the Citadel and a Darth had come forward, claiming to know who was responsible and demanding the accused be punished. Rhal understood the other members' annoyance on the matter when the names of the Sith involved were announced.

Darth Skotia was the Sith that had been killed, Lord Zash was the one accused of killing him, and Darth Thanaton was the Sith accusing Zash.

While he did have some support among them, most of the Dark Council despised Darth Thanaton. He had blackmailed the Council into making him a Darth and was supposedly a strong believer in Sith traditions, despite the fact his own ascension had been less than traditional, proving he was also a hypocrite.

Another example of his hypocrisy was also shown in his favoring Darth Skotia over Lord Zash since he supposedly believed in the power of the force over the power of technology, yet Skotia's body had been over fifty percent machine unlike Zash who possessed no such modifications.

It became clear to Rhal quickly that Thanaton viewed Zash as a powerful upstart and a possible threat to him, so he'd had Skotia keeping her in check. With Skotia now dead, he'd need to monitor her more closely himself and work hard to prevent Zash from gaining any further advancement.

Which was, of course, why he'd brought this matter before the Dark Council.

According to what he'd read and seen, Lord Zash should have been made a Darth years ago but it had never happened. He strongly suspected that it was Skotia who prevented her from receiving the title and now, with his death, there was really no reason not to make her a Darth. The only way Thanatos could prevent such an advancement would be to present undeniable evidence that Zash was indeed Skotia's killer.

It quickly became clear that he had no such evidence. Zash however had an undeniable alibi, stating that she'd been partying in the Nexus Room Cantina during the time Skotia was killed and even had several witnesses to confirm her story.

Oh there was no doubt in Rhal's mind that Zash had indeed killed Darth Skotia. She hid it very well but her sense of triumph sang through the force and her cover story was too perfect to be anything but planned, especially since she and Skotia had a well known rivalry against one another. 'A rivalry Zash seems to have won, unless Thanaton had managed to obtain some sort of evidence against her.'

However, with no evidence there was nothing to be done and Rhal had to admit that while he was certain of Zash's guilt, even he couldn't figure out how she pulled it off. She was without a doubt at the cantina when Skotia was killed, but he was also certain that she really was Skotia's killer. 'Whatever her scheme was, she planned and executed it very well.' Rhal thought as Thanaton continued to drone on about how Zash was surely responsible and must be punished.

Darth Marr was the first to run out of patience. "Thanaton." He interjected, causing said Sith's mouth to snap shut. "So far, Lord Zash has provided evidence which shows that she was nowhere near Darth Skotia when he was killed and you, despite your certainty of her guilt, have not presented even a single scrap of evidence proving your words. Since we have other duties to attend to I'll speed this along and just ask you directly, do you have any proof that Lord Zash killed Darth Skotia?"

Thanton hesitated and he turned to glare at Zash for a moment before looking back at Marr and answering. "No, my Lord. But-"

Marr raised a hand to silence Thanaton before he could continue. "Then until you can provide such evidence, I would strongly advise you to not waste our time with worthless accusations." Marr stated coldly, the warning was obviously received as Thanaton just gave a hesitant nod.

A thought suddenly entered Rhal's mind and he decided to speak up. "If I may, Lord Marr. I wouldn't say Thanaton's accusations are completely worthless."

His words drew the attention of all the present Dark Council members as well as Darth Thanaton and Lord Zash, the former suddenly looking hopeful and the latter's neutral face turning worried for a moment before her expression returned to its blank state.

Marr didn't seem pleased with how Rhal seemed to be challenging his words, but his curiosity quickly got the better of him. "Speak, Lord Rhal."

Rhal nodded. "With the death of Darth Skotia, the Sphere of Ancient Knowledge has lost its Warden. Since Skotia's position had him overseeing the Dark Temple and those few who had access, I strongly advise that his position be filled immediately to stop looters and other such scum from taking advantage of the lack of oversight and prevent them from attempting to plunder our Emperor's fortress."

It was a fair suggestion, but not the one he was really trying to make. Fortunately, every other Sith in the room quickly grasped onto what he was actually suggesting and a few members even had smiles on their faces. There was, after all, a very obvious candidate for the position presently among them. Thanaton, who moments ago had started looking hopeful, now had a wide eyed expression of shock and Rhal could feel the anger slowly rising within him. Zash on the other hand was now looking rather excited.

Marr's face was hidden by the mask he always wore, but Rhal could sense he was impressed with the suggestion. "You raise a good point, Lord Rhal." He said before turning his attention towards Darth Arctis. "Lord Arctis, do you believe Lord Zash is qualified for such a position?"

Darth Arctis shook his head. "Only a Darth is worthy of such a position." He stated before turning his attention to Zash. "I'd say Darth Zash has more than proven her capability." He said, his words causing Thanaton to grind his teeth while the new Darth Zash dropped to one knee.

"Thank you, my Lords." She said with a smile before rising to her feet.

"Then this matter is settled." Marr said, interrupting Thanaton who had been about to speak. "We can discuss any further business at a later date. For now, this meeting is concluded." Marr stated before his figure and each of the other members who'd been present via holo all disappeared leaving Rhal, Thanaton, Zash, Hadra, and Vowrawn as the only occupants in the chambers.

Vowrawn immediately got up and left with a slight smile on his face while Hadra sent a slight nod to Rhal before also making her way out of the chambers. Rhal however remained seated, curious to see how Thanaton and Zash reacted to this development.

Thanaton had turned towards Zash immediately after Marr's holo faded and fixed her with a hard glare. "You may be a Darth now Zash, but you still answer to me. You are confined to Dromund Kaas effective immediately and will not leave this planet without my approval, do you understand?" He demanded angrily.

Darth Zash gave a slight bow when answering. "Of course, Darth Thanaton. I live to serve." She said in a way that was just shy of sounding mocking.

Thanaton just gave a slight growl in response before turning and storming out of the chamber, leaving only Zash and Rhal remaining.

Zash started to leave herself before Rhal's voice stopped her. "That was very well played, Darth Zash." He said simply, causing Zash to turn towards him with a fixed look of confusion on her face.

"Lord Rhal, with all due respect, I'm not sure what you mean." She lied, the confusion in her voice as fake as the confusion on her face.

"You know exactly what I mean." Rhal stated, locking eyes with her. To her credit, Zash didn't even blink.

"I assure you my lord, Darth Skotia did not die by my hand." She stated, causing Rhal to suppress the smile that threatened to appear on his face. 'She certainly knows how to choose her words carefully.'

"Not by your hand perhaps, but it was by your order was it not?" Rhal asked. Zash didn't answer, but her silence was answer enough. "Regardless, I won't keep you from your new duties any longer." Rhal said, allowing her to avoid answering. "I look forward to seeing how well you perform in the future, Darth Zash."

Zash gave a smile and a slight bow. "Thank you, my lord. I'll do everything I can to live up to the Dark Council's expectations." She said before turning and making her way out of the chambers. Rhal himself left a few moments later. 'That turned out to be more interesting than I expected.' He thought as he left the chambers and Commander Jakker and his men, who'd been waiting patiently for him outside, fell into step next to him.

Rhal wasn't fooled. He knew Zash had been after more than just her rival's death and he assumed that she must have had some other plans and that they likely involved the Dark Temple. 'Good luck to her if that is the case. Even my father never disturbed the spirits of the ancients.'

It took only a few minutes for Rhal to reach his private chambers and take a seat at the terminal, though it did take a few minutes more to ensure his encryptions were in place before looking over the reports he wanted to see.

Rhal knew his position on Dromund Kaas and on the Dark Council was secure for the moment, but to make sure it stayed that way, Rhal knew he had to build more of a reputation among the Empire's elite. Destroying a few powerful traitors was a good start, but it wasn't enough. The Empire had many enemies that needed to be destroyed and the more he destroyed, the more his power would increase. 'It will also be my chance to finally experience true war.' He thought as he scanned a list of planets, trying to determine which would be best for his purposes.

After a few minutes of searching, a certain planet's name catches Rhal's eyes and he starts reading reports from said planet. A few minutes later and he's satisfied that the world will suit his purposes and, possibly, present him with even more opportunities while he's there.

Closing the reports, Rhal then starts to enter a holofrequency into the terminal. Less than a minute later his head of security's figure appears before him. "Yes my lord, how can I be of assistance?" Captain Sarnova asked.

"Prepare several squads to depart Dromund Kaas. Focus primarily on droids and troops that were previously loyal to Grathan." Rhal commanded before he allowed himself a very small, almost unnoticeable smile.

"Tell them we're going to war."

A.N.

Well there's your next chapter, I hope I didn't disappoint. A guest previously wondered if Rhal would interfere in Baras or Zash's plans. I'd say this chapter gives you a pretty good idea. Now, where do you think Rhal is going with his forces and why? Please tell me what you think the answer is as well as any other thoughts on the story you may have. Until next time, hope you all enjoyed and have a great day!