Chapter 12: Moves and Countermoves

The storm that was currently coming down on Dromund Kaas was especially fierce. The winds were so strong that, even while in his enclosed speeder, Rhal had heard and seen several trees being blown over. The rain was no better, coming down so heavily that, without the mask he was wearing, Rhal was certain he wouldn't be able to see more than two feet in front of him. He sensed that his soldiers were thankful they'd worn helmets that covered their entire heads and not just to protect them from the elements, but also because their helmet's speakers ensured their voices could still be heard over the heavy rain and the booming thunder overhead while the assault droids just stood like metal statues with their glowing red eyes.

Normally, Rhal preferred to go without a mask. Some Sith, like his father and Darth Marr, always wore masks or helmets as a way to project fear and power, but Rhal believed that such things were unnecessary for those with actual power. However, he couldn't deny that there were other benefits that came with using such things. Others, like Rhal himself at the moment, used masks to gain some sort of advantage or protection, both on the battlefield and off it, as many masks could have all kinds of different enhancements added to them.

Darth Rhal's mask was like a dark reflection of his father's. Instead of his mask being a shiny silver with a glowing red light going down the middle, Rhal's mask was pitch black with a small glowing red light right in the middle of his forehead that could be enabled or disabled whenever he wished like the ones on his chest and on his belt, all of which were currently active making Rhal look like a dark flame in the middle of the heavy downpour. While his men were still forming up, Rhal took a few moments to look over his forces already assembled in the camp and think about the events of the last few days.

He'd been fully aware of the proposal Vowrawn had been planning to make to him the moment he sensed him approaching him after the Dark Council meeting ended. In fact, he'd been expecting Vowrawn to reach out to him for some time now.

A slave rebellion wasn't an uncommon occurrence. On many worlds the Empire conquered there would usually be several riots or rebellions in the early years after an Imperial takeover as the planet's population adjusted to Imperial rule, especially if the population was to be forcefully converted into slave labor. In time, the dissenters would be put down and the rest of the populace learned to fall in line. Unless such groups received a great deal of outside aid, like the Republic supporting the Balmorran resistance, very few rebellions actually managed to succeed in driving the Empire from their worlds and rarely lasted more than a few months at most.

However, Rhal quickly figured out that the slave rebellion on Dromund Kaas was different for several noteworthy reasons. The first and most obvious was that the rebellion was happening on Dromund Kaas, the capital of the entire Sith Empire. The seat of their power having to deal with a slave rebellion? Such a thing should have been stomped out quickly and brutally. However this rebellion had continued for over three months now with little progress being made, even though the ones leading it weren't soldiers or even civilians, but people who'd been slaves for all their lives.

It was also important to note that the rebellion was taking place under the watchful eyes of Darth Vowrawn, one of the very few Sith in the Empire whom Rhal had deemed worthy of respect. The two had only met in person less than ten times, but even before their first meeting Rhal had already known Vowrawn's reputation and their few meetings were more than enough for him to confirm that the elderly Sith Pureblood's mind was exceptionally sharp and his power undeniable. His greatest power was not so much his strength in the Dark Side, but his ability to turn nearly any situation to his advantage through persuasion, manipulation, or clever maneuvering. Having lived for over seventy years, dozens if not hundreds of upstart Sith had attempted to seize Vowrawn's power and influence for themselves.

They failed. Each and every one. But now, Vowrawn was facing a new challenge which was far greater and more dangerous than any of the previous upstarts.

Darth Baras.

Like Vowrawn, even before their first meeting, Rhal had already known of Baras and his reputation. Baras had, after all, personally negotiated the Empire's favorable terms during the signing of the Treaty of Coruscant. However, unlike Vowrawn, Rhal had no respect for Baras whatsoever. He would admit that Baras also possessed a sharp mind and knew how to use it but, unlike Vowrawn, Baras was, like many other Sith, out for himself alone and didn't care how his actions damaged the Empire as a result so long as he benefited in some way. More than once Baras had compromised and weakened the Empire in order to gain more power for himself but unlike many other Sith who did the same, Baras was very good at covering his tracks or shifting the blame to another party, usually one of his more troublesome rivals or someone who could become a threat in the future.

For a few years now, Baras and Vowrawn had been engaged in a private yet quiet war against one another. However, even Rhal with the aid of Intelligence didn't have many details about the moves each side had made or even how it all started. He'd only confirmed that it began after the Treaty of Coruscant was signed, but he was still unsure of just what all had happened between the two Sith. Rhal assumed that the two had developed a hatred of each other when Darth Ekkage had still been on the Dark Council, but this was only an assumption.

As for the current situation, Rhal had quickly guessed that Baras had a hand in causing the slaves to rebel and was somehow ensuring that it continued but it had taken him some time to figure out how. The answer was the Imperial overseeing the Empire's forces that were attempting to put down the rebellion, Commander Pritch. On the surface, the Commander was a loyal and dutiful soldier who had no connection to Baras whatsoever. After checking his record however, Rhal had no doubt he was one of Baras' agents.

The Commander had, early in his career, served aboard the Onslaught, the personal flagship of Darth Vengean, Baras' master on the Dark Council. Vengean might be a powerful warrior, but his mind was not nearly as sharp as his apprentice's and Rhal wouldn't be surprised to learn that many in Vengean's service were secretly loyal to Baras over him.

As for the Commander, while his forces had made some progress in dealing with the rebelling slaves, it was still far less than what it should have been due to the Commander being overly cautious. Rhal guessed that Baras' plan was to have the rebellion drag on for as long as possible to make Vowrawn lose face with the Dark Council and if, or rather when, Vowrawn had decided to try and use some third party to deal with the slaves, Rhal had no doubt that Baras would leak his involvement to the Dark Council, damaging his reputation even further.

All of this put together made Rhal certain that eventually the elderly Sith Pureblood would approach him to deal with the slaves. It was his best and only option. Using any other group would be damaging but with him, another member of the Dark Council, dealing with the situation then it was different.

Rhal was not blind. He knew that the majority of the Dark Council had attended the previous session only because they knew he would be in attendance and each one wanted to get the measure of him while looking for any weaknesses they could exploit and use to their advantage. Now, shortly after said meeting, Rhal was about to deal with a troublesome slave rebellion on Dromund Kaas that fell under the watchful eyes of Darth Vowrawn.

It was an excellent arrangement for both Vowrawn and Rhal. Vowrawn will no longer lose face with the Dark Council once the rebellion's stomped out, he'll put an end to another of Baras' schemes against him, and he'll have gained a powerful new ally against the Sith spymaster. For Rhal, he'll add another victory to his name, strike his first blow against the troublesome Darth Baras, and gain his first ally among the Dark Council. 'And a very useful and experienced one as well.'

There was also the added benefit that the Dark Council would be more wary of him and Vowrawn after Rhal puts down the rebellion. Since Vowrawn had waited till the two of them were alone and Rhal himself had confirmed there were no unwanted ears listening in, none of the other members will know what type of agreement the two of them reached and each will have their own ideas and assumptions but have no way to confirm them. 'Vowrawn likely considers the whole thing amusing and laughs at whatever foolish ideas are thought up by our fellow members.'

Rhal didn't find the situation amusing but it was useful and he didn't really care how the other members perceived it. The simple fact was that for Rhal, this was just one more step to strengthening his position among the Sith and the Empire as a whole. 'Now all I have to do is kill these slaves and put an end to this distraction.'

Taking command of the Imperial forces already present had been easy. Commander Pritch might have been loyal to Baras, but he wasn't stupid enough to try and stop a member of the Dark Council from taking command and had quietly stepped aside. Though he had been stupid enough to try and send out an encrypted transmission shortly afterward, only to be stopped and warned by Rhal that no long-range transmissions were to be sent until after the slaves had been dealt with to avoid alerting them of the upcoming attack. Pritch reluctantly agreed but Rhal was taking no chances since he knew Baras might try to interfere with the operation if he learned of it and had assigned a few of his own men to keep an eye on the Commander until he returned.

He could have just used the Imperial troops that were already present without calling in his own forces. The numbers already favored their side and Rhal wouldn't need to risk losing any of his own forces, but he'd assured Vowrawn that he'd deal with the slaves and he didn't think the elderly Sith would appreciate it if he got his troops killed unnecessarily.

So Rhal would do things his way with his own forces. Mostly.

"My Lord." Rhal's thoughts were broken by the slightly distorted voice and he looked towards the speaker. Captain Sarnova was wearing her usual armor with the addition of a standard Imperial helmet. With Ralesk still off on his assignment and Commander Jakker and his men keeping an eye on Pritch, the Captain would serve as his right hand during the operation and relay his orders to the rest of the troops, which worked out well since the troops respected her.

"Captain. Report via closed circuit." Rhal ordered, to which the Captain nodded and adjusted a control on her helmet so that only Rhal would hear her words. Commander Pritch was nowhere nearby, but Rhal couldn't be certain that Baras didn't have the surrounding area bugged.

"Lord Rhal, per your instructions Commander Pritch and his men eliminated the few rebelling slaves still in the wilds and are hunting a small number that tried to flee. Scans indicate the majority of the remaining slaves are located around and near the unfinished colossus."

"Any signs that the remaining slaves know they're about to be attacked?" Rhal asked, to which the Captain shook her head.

"No, my Lord. The storm covered the sounds of fighting in the jungle and none of the slaves involved in the battle reached this area. All indications show the remaining slaves are completely unaware of our presence." The Captain stated with certainty. "Any final orders before the assault, my Lord?"

"No prisoners." Darth Rhal commanded. "These slaves have chosen rebellion and defiance. Therefore, they have chosen death as well. All targets are to be executed, is that understood Captain?" Rhal asked.

The Captain nodded. "Understood, my Lord." She answered without hesitation.

"Good. Switch back to an open frequency and inform the troops to prepare for battle. Once I've cleared the bridge and dealt with its defenders, I'll signal you and the rest of the troops to begin your own advance." Rhal said before turning and marching away from the Captain, who he heard over the comms as she began to relay his instructions to the rest of the troops.

A crack of lightning lit the sky and caused Rhal to look up, seeing the outline of the massive colossus in the distance. Even though it was still unfinished it was already easily the largest statue on Dromund Kaas. Vowrawn's apprentice, Lord Qet, might have commissioned the colossus to honor his master, but the colossus itself was modeled after the Emperor. Or at least, the model that most Sith and Imperials were used to seeing, a dark figure wearing a cloak that hid all features with the addition of a holocron in one hand.

So far, during his time as a member of the Dark Council, Rhal had not seen the Emperor nor heard his voice nor had he even heard a rumor about when he would return. A part of him wanted to know why their Immortal leader had been silent for so long, but a greater part of him refused to search for an answer. The Emperor was the sole being in the galaxy that his father had feared. And anyone who Darth Jadus feared was NOT someone Rhal was willing to even risk angering by getting involved in his private affairs.

Rhal shook his head and brought his mind back to the matter at hand. He'd stopped before a durasteel bridge. The bridge was the only way to reach the colossus since the area around it was surrounded by steep cliffs and the bridge itself was over a large ravine. Rhal knew a fool would claim they could just land speeders on the other side of the ravine, but Rhal knew that if they did that then the moment the speeders touched down and their armored doors opened then the troopers inside would just become target practice for the slaves. The same would happen if any troops attempted to cross the bridge since it was narrow with no cover.

However, the bridge was only a death trap if the slaves actually saw any troops attempting to cross. This was primarily the reason why Rhal had decided to launch his attack now with the storm raging. There was so much rain coming down that it was impossible to see to the other side of the bridge from where he was standing and he imagined it was the same for the slaves on the other side. 'Not that I don't have other ways of concealing myself, but my forces don't have the same luxury.' Rhal thought as he cloaked himself in the power of the dark side and started making his way across the bridge after deactivating the glowing red lights on his armor.

As he made his way across the bridge no shots rang out and, even as he was about halfway, Rhal wasn't concerned that the slaves would start opening fire. Even if he wasn't cloaked in the force, the slaves weapons were primarily blaster rifles and blaster pistols they'd taken off Imperials they'd killed and Baras wasn't foolish enough to supply the slaves with better weapons as that would certainly raise suspicion.

Soon enough, the other side of the bridge came into view. As did the armed slaves that were still watching it. Even with the storm pouring down on them, the slaves had taken supply crates and two tents and set them up on each side of the bridge to give themselves some cover from both the storm and any Imperial troops that attempted to cross.

As soon as he got closer, still being careful to conceal himself in the force, Rhal knew that he'd chosen the right time to launch his attack. There were six slaves in the tents, three each, and none of them were even looking in Rhal's direction. All six slaves were huddled in the backs of their tents trying to stay warm and avoid the storm's cold rain, their weapons laying next to them all but forgotten.

Looking up at the sky, Rhal waited a few moments for a bolt of lightning. When one appeared, the young Sith quickly reached out with the dark side and pulled. The two tents, with the slaves, supply crates, and their weapons inside, went tumbling down over the cliff and down into the ravine. The slaves' shouts of surprise, alarm, and fear, as well as the crash that silenced them, were all drowned out by the thunder and rain.

Reaching out, Rhal sensed that there was another small group of slaves close by and moved to deal with them as well before signaling Captain Sarnova. It didn't take long to figure out where they were. Two tall but thin metal fences formed a rather crude human pen where the slaves were likely kept when they were still building the colossus. Now though, there was just one large tent left in it with five slaves inside talking.

Using the force to augment his speed, Rhal activated his purple saber and rushed forward. This time one of the slaves spotted the approaching Sith and shouted and pointed him out to his companions, who quickly grabbed their weapons and opened fire. Rhal was able to dodge most of the blaster bolts easily and deflected the few that came close. He even sent two shots back to where they came from, striking and killing two of the slaves while the other three continued to fire. A moment later and Rhal was inside the tent, using one hand he thrust his lightsaber forward, impaling one of the slaves through the heart while his other hand grasped one of the slaves with the force. Rhal swung his hand and the slave was thrown into his only friend left standing and both fell to the ground, dazed but alive. Though not for much longer.

Pulling his blade out of the now dead slave's heart, Rhal walked over to the two slaves that were still laying on the ground. When they saw him approaching, the two slaves threw their weapons away and began pleading for mercy.

Rhal gave them none as he reached his hand out in a gripping motion and the dark side responded to his action as one of the slaves reached to his throat, trying desperately to remove whatever it was that had a grip on him to no avail while the other slave tried to run past Rhal while he was distracted. Without taking his eyes off the slave already in his grip, Rhal responded by raising his other arm up towards the fleeing slave. Lightning appeared from Rhal's fingertips and struck the fleeing slave. Drenched from the rain, the electrified slave screamed for only a few seconds before the pain became too much and his burnt body fell lifelessly into the mud while the choking slave's life was ended as Rhal closed his hand into a fist and broke the slave's neck.

With those slaves dead and sensing no others close by, Rhal reached up and activated the communicator on his mask. "The way is clear. Begin the assault." He shut down his comm after giving the order and made his way further into the former construction area. Rhal knew that his forces would be able to deal with the remaining slaves fairly easily since their scans had confirmed that almost all those remaining were currently located in the guard barracks on the edge of the camp, likely taking cover from the storm, but a smaller group was still located under the colossus itself.

At this point the battle, if it could even be called that, was already over. Rhal's troops were better armed, better armored, fully prepared for a battle, and they greatly outnumbered the remaining slaves to the point where the very idea of the slaves somehow surviving, let alone winning, was amusing to the young Dark Council member. His presence on this battlefield, if it could even be called that, was no longer needed.

Yet, Rhal decided that he'd deal with the slaves near the colossus himself, even sending a signal to his troops telling them to disregard the area. He did this not because of the slaves, but because he sensed there was…. something else in that direction, something that he couldn't identify, and Darth Rhal would find out what was.

As Rhal made his way over to the colossus, he saw his troops and droids cross the bridge and start marching towards the guard barracks to finish off the remaining slaves and put an end to this pathetic rebellion. He could hear the sounds of blaster fire by the time he reached the foot of the colossus. It was taller than some of the skyscrapers in Kaas City so Rhal couldn't help but be somewhat impressed by it.

However, while the colossus wasn't his goal, Rhal could sense that the slaves and the odd presence he was sensing were somewhere nearby. They weren't located under any of the few tents scattered in the area nor were they located under the cover provided by the colossus. After a few moments of searching, Rhal was surprised to find a cave entrance located right next to the feet of the colossus. 'We did thorough scans of this entire area. How could this have been missed?' Rhal thought as he made his way inside. He'd been present when the probe droids submitted the results from their scans so he knew that they hadn't been altered in any way, but it didn't make sense that they would have missed this.

Cave systems were fairly common on Dromund Kaas, being nests for various predators or lost tombs of long forgotten Sith who'd died centuries back, so when scouts and droids were sent out it wasn't unusual for one or more rocky entrances to be located in their scouting area. The fact that this one had been somehow missed baffled and concerned the young Sith. 'Some of these caves stretch for many miles. If this is one of those, then some of these slaves could have escaped long before we arrived.' Rhal shook his head. 'No, that can't be. If that were the case, these slaves would have all disappeared into these tunnels months ago.' Rhal thought, dismissing his earlier concerns.

It didn't take long for Rhal to find the slaves taking shelter in the cave. He'd barely taken ten steps in the cave before he saw a faint glow around a corner ahead of him and, looking, he spotted his were only three and each was huddled around a small fire, holding their hands towards it.

Rhal could see the cave went down further past the slaves, but they had likely stayed closer to the entrance so the smoke from their fire could drift out more easily. However, Rhal sensed that his true objective was past the slaves and further back in the cave.

Deciding he didn't want to waste time toying with these slaves, Rhal shot his right arm up into the air. The slaves went up just as quickly as his arm and Rhal watched in satisfaction as the three screaming slaves impacted the cave's ceiling with a sickening crunch as most of their bodies shattered into pieces. When Rhal dropped his hand, the remains of the slaves and part of the cave's ceiling fell onto the fire, snuffing it and casting the cave in darkness.

Rhal activated his lightsaber and held it over his head as he made his way deeper into the cave. By now he could sense whatever was pulling at his mind wasn't coming from any individual, but rather it was similar to what he felt from the Sith artifacts he'd seen in the Citadel's archives and the ones he'd obtained from Grathan's reliquary. 'Is it some sort of force enhanced object? But if so, why hasn't it been obtained before now? Surely another Sith would have sensed it long before now.' Rhal tried to think of a suitable answer, but was unable to come up with one by the time he sensed that his objective was near.

He turned a final corner, expecting his target to come into view, only to arrive at a dead end. To say Rhal was confused would have been an understatement. The cave hadn't had multiple paths so there was no way he'd made a wrong turn and yet, this was clearly as far as the cave would go. 'What is this? I know there's something here but this doesn't even appear to be a tomb, just another of the many cold, miserable caves on this planet.'

Stepping forward, Rhal took a closer look at the cave walls. He was still sensing something past them but, as far as he could tell, there was nothing even resembling a passage any further into the mountain and the stone looked like it hadn't been touched in centuries. Unwilling to give up, Rhal reached a hand forward to see if any of the rocks were loose or could be moved.

Instead, Rhal's eyes widened as his hand went through the rocks like they weren't even there. 'Holographic camouflage!' He realized quickly as he waved his hand back and forth and then pulled it back to see it was unchanged.

Rhal's interest and curiosity had just increased tenfold. Concealing something with a holographic disguise was nothing new. It had been done for many centuries and was still being used by individuals in both the Empire and the Republic, but as scanning technology had improved, holographic camouflage for a building or structure had pretty much become obsolete and was rarely used in such a manner anymore.

Rhal knew immediately that whatever was being hidden here was something Vowrawn didn't know about. There was no way a Sith as wise and experienced as Vowrawn would allow another Sith to discover one of his secrets so easily. So what was being hidden and by who? Rhal wasted no time and stepped through the fake wall, hoping he'd find the answer.

He found it.

And so much more.

The Citadel, Three Days Later…

Darth Baras paced back and forth in his private chambers, trying to decipher what kind of plan that Vowrawn had cooked up while also attempting to stop himself from lashing out at his surroundings and several powerful emotions warred within him.

On the one hand, he was pleased. His newest apprentice had proven his usefulness more than once when it came to dealing with his rivals and compromised spies and Baras sensed his success would continue when it was time for his enforcer to go against Nomen Karr and his wretched padawan. 'Even if my apprentice still doesn't understand how to show proper respect to his betters. Perhaps that's a lesson I'll teach him after Karr and his welp are dealt with.'

On the other hand, Baras was… less than pleased by some other recent developments.

After learning from his agents that Vowrawn and Darth Rhal had spoken privately after the end of the previous Dark Council session, he knew Vowrawn was up to something. Unfortunately, while he'd been aware of the upcoming session that Marr had called for, he'd foolishly chosen to ignore it in favor of checking his apprentice's progress on Nar Shaddaa. He figured the few topics discussed would just be things he already knew with maybe two or three of the Dark Council attending.

Oh, how wrong he'd been.

It was only after the meeting was over and he'd spoken to his master, Darth Vengean, that Baras learned that almost all members of the Dark Council had been in attendance after learning that Darth Rhal would be joining the session. He also learned that, while the meeting itself had been relatively uneventful, after the other Dark Council members left, apparently Vowrawn and Rhal had stayed behind for some time before they too departed.

Baras cursed his carelessness and the useless spy he'd had in place to monitor Vowrawn's movements. The spy had tried to make excuses saying Vowrawn had slipped him but Baras hadn't wanted to hear it and snapped the spy's neck before assigning another to watch Vowrawn in his place. He made a point of showing the new spy the corpse of the previous one to remind him of what failure would bring.

Vowrawn, and no matter how much he hated him, Baras would always acknowledge this much, was not a fool. If he had approached Darth Rhal, then it would have been an offer that he knew Jadus' son would have been unlikely to turn down. The problem is that Baras didn't know what that offer was or even if there was an offer and it caused his fury to spike once more.

As a spymaster, Baras knew that information was power and the right piece of information could be worth more than all the credits in the galaxy. So when he didn't know something of importance it sparked a rage in him that burned hotter than the lava streams of Mustafar, especially when such information could be of use to him.

So Baras had been left with no choice but to wait and see what happened next with Vowrawn and Rhal. Three days ago he'd learned what the two had discussed and, by the time he'd found out, it was already too late to respond. 'No thanks to that fool, Pritch.' Baras thought as his hands tightened into fists.

Commander Pritch's orders had been to contact him immediately if there were any unexpected developments with the slaves or their little revolt. Moving everything into place to start that rebellion had taken a great deal of time, but Baras had been confident that the damage to Vowrawn's reputation would be worth it. He'd never been worried that the slaves would prove to be any true threat to himself and while they had angered him with their attempted blackmail, his loyal apprentice had quickly and brutally beat them back into submission. After that, Baras just assumed that the rebellion would continue for perhaps another year or two and, when it was inevitably put down, Vowrawn's reputation in the eyes of the Dark Council would be greatly diminished.

Instead, Baras received a report from Pritch three days ago notifying him that not only had the Commander been stripped of his command of the Imperial troops dealing with the slaves, but that Darth Rhal himself had personally taken command in his place and then ended the rebellion in the very same day! 'And the miserable coward sent the report as a holofile rather than give it to me directly!'

Well, the Commander realized his mistake quickly as Baras summoned Pritch to his chambers so the Darth could make his displeasure very clear to the Imperial Officer. Baras made a mental note to order a new cleaning droid for his interrogation chamber. He was certain that his current one had missed a few pieces of the late Commander since a rather foul smell was starting to form in there.

However, despite the Commander's many failures, Pritch had at least done one thing right in informing his master that the rebellion had been put down that day. So Baras knew there was something more going on when Vowrawn had called for a Council meeting to discuss the topic just yesterday instead of three days ago.

Fortunately, this time he'd had more than enough time to get some agents in place to observe the Dark Council when they gathered for the meeting. And what a gathering it was. For the first time since the Emperor had gone silent, all twelve members of the Dark Council had been present either in person or by holo for the most recent session. That alone would have been more than enough to garner Baras' attention even if he hadn't known what was going to be discussed.

In truth, there was very little that the Dark Council actually discussed. The main topic of the meeting was so that Vowrawn could inform the other members that the slave rebellion on Dromund Kaas had been put down and that it was Darth Rhal who dealt the killing blow.

Overall, the Dark Council was pleased with the news. While Vowrawn had been the one whose reputation was the most damaged as a result of the rebellion, the simple fact was that it didn't look good for any in the Empire that a slave rebellion had been allowed to take place on their capital world. Darth Marr had gone so far as to voice his appreciation to Rhal for putting down the rebellion since he could now focus more of his attention and troops on more important targets and battlefields. 'Even my own master was impressed that Rhal put down the rebellion in a single day.' Darth Baras scoffed. 'It doesn't take skill to slaughter such pathetic rabble.'

After that it was mostly just the Council asking for a few more details about what had happened with Rhal answering with short but direct answers, betraying no emotion even when there was the occasional taunt from one of the other members. Baras made another note to increase his efforts into getting a spy near Jadus' son. 'Especially with his most recent… acquisition.'

That was what Baras was still trying to figure out. Near the end of the session, Vowrawn had explained that, while his apprentice had meant for the colossus to be built to honor him, now he couldn't look at the giant statue without feeling embarrassed due to what its construction had caused. More than one Dark Council member had been surprised when Vowrawn declared that, due to his actions in stomping out the rebellion, the colossus and the lands surrounding it would be granted to Darth Rhal. However, the old Sith Pureblood did make a point of noting that the ruins in the jungle near the colossus would remain in his hands.

On the one hand, everything about it made perfect sense. The colossus had proven to be more trouble than it was worth yet, even unfinished, it was still an impressive sight and a worthy gift to the Sith that had put an end to a troublesome rebellion. It was also a good way to show the rest of the Council that Vowrawn and Rhal were on at least decent terms if they hadn't deduced that already. Lastly, with Vowrawn keeping control of the jungle ruins, it would be much easier for him to monitor activity near Rhal's main base and his newly acquired sculpture.

Yet something felt off.

Baras couldn't describe it but some part of him knew he was missing something. The entire situation seemed to benefit Vowrawn far more than Rhal and yet, while this wouldn't be unusual with many other Sith, he still felt as if Rhal had gained something more for his efforts. 'But what?'

The colossus itself wasn't some great prize. It was the tallest statue on Dromund Kaas by far, but statues were in no short supply on their homeworld and Baras had a feeling that the land around it was the real prize. There was enough equipment, supplies, and materials left over that Rhal could easily finish the colossus' construction and even begin construction of an outpost or even a new base but Baras wasn't sure that was Rhal's aim.

His agents had already retrieved the details of exactly what land would go to Rhal and he saw that while the young Sith would be receiving the colossus and the mountainous lands around it, he was also being given the lands under it. Specifically, the ravine that now separated Rhal's lands from Vowrawn's and he thought he had an idea of why it had been included: It was also a quarry.

Mining was a common practice across the galaxy. Many things were built from materials that had been mined at one point or another. Ships, buildings, and armor were just a few examples of the types of things mining was good for and Baras already knew that the quarry was where much of the stone for the colossus had been extracted. 'Stone has its uses but there are few. No, there's something else to this.'

Baras put a hand to his masked helmet. He knew this was important but he did not want to deal with this right now. At the moment, Nomen Karr and his padawan were more of a priority than Vowrawn and his games but he knew that simply ignoring the old Pureblood wasn't an option. Now he had to divide his attention even further since he now needed to watch not only Vowrawn, but also Rhal in case the young Sith interfered in any more of his plots against Vowrawn.

A beep on his desk broke Baras out of his thoughts and he was somewhat relieved by it. His mind had been going in circles for some time now and he hoped the distraction would be a welcome one. If it was not…

Walking over to the desk and activating the terminal, a holo of one of his many agents appeared before him. Baras recognized the man as one of his spies in the Dromund Kaas Spaceport.

"My Lord." The agent greeted with a deep bow before standing at attention. "There's been a development at the spaceport. It concerns Darth Rhal of the Dark Council." The agent reported.

None would be able to tell, but Darth Baras smiled at the agent's words. "Go on."

Rhal's Compound, Two Weeks Later…

Deep within his fortified compound, Darth Rhal sat at his desk in his private chambers having shed his mask, revealing his black hair and cold blue eyes. He was currently looking over reports from Imperial Intelligence, Balmorra, and several other important locations and sources from all across the galaxy.

Unlike other Sith in the Empire, when he'd been given his father's seat, Rhal had been fully aware that Dark Council members had certain responsibilities that could not, or rather should not, be ignored and was going to ensure that everything under his control was operating properly and was going to keep himself updated on the state of the galaxy, the Empire, and what he controlled in it.

The reports from Balmorra were the most promising. According to Darth Minax, Lachris was working very hard to tighten her grip on the planet and had started putting the Balmorran Arms Factory to good use, sending shipments of newly made weapons to systems near Republic and Hutt space. 'Likely on Marr's orders. Preparing for the coming war and ensuring our own forces have the strength to crush whatever our enemies inevitably throw at us or at least allow our troops to hold their ground.'

Not for the first time, Rhal found his mind turning to the rest of the Dark Council. Of the current members, he felt that Marr, Vowrawn, and Mortis were the best suited to their roles. Each was greatly dedicated to the Empire and all three did a far better job of not wasting whatever resources were available to them than most other Sith. To be fair, most of the other current members were also well suited to their own roles, but not all.

Darth Acharon was by far the worst in Rhal's opinion. To his credit, Acharon was at least a decent Head of the Pyramid of Biotic Science, but his complete lack of tolerance and extremely short temper had led to him personally killing hundreds of loyal Imperials for even the slightest offense. Rhal could understand executing traitors or incompetents that didn't know how to follow or give proper orders, but Acharon seemed to be looking for any excuse to kill those who served under him. He'd seen more than one report from those under his command requesting an immediate reassignment. Though a few seemed more like desperate pleas than requests.

Rhal shook his head. The Empire had countless enemies in the galaxy yet some Sith like Acharon seemed to find more joy and pleasure in killing those they were fighting with rather than those they were supposed to be fighting against.

Unfortunately, while Acharon was the worst, there were still other members not well suited to their Council seats.

Darth Ravage 'expanded' the Empire's borders by destroying everything in his path, meaning the only thing the Empire gained as a result of his efforts were obliterated planets pretty much burned to ash while Darths Aruk and Rictus focused on their own little games rather than do anything productive.

All things considered, the current Dark Council members as a whole were relatively decent. But would Rhal be disappointed if they ended up having to replace a few? Not likely, as long as they were replacing the right few.

Rhal had similar feelings for certain Imperial officers. While his father had treated with non-force sensitives more often than his fellow Sith, Rhal could see many that quite a few Imperials took after whatever Sith they served under.

Many Imperials were very heavily against aligning with aliens of any species, no matter how useful they could be or how closely they resemble humans. Even the Empire's closest alien allies, the Chiss, were still looked down on by many Sith and Imperials. 'Such a foolish tradition. Do these fools truly believe that the Dark Side values us by our blood alone? Marka Ragnos was a half-breed yet he went on to become one of the greatest Sith in the history of the galaxy and reigned over the Sith longer than any other except our own Emperor.'

Despite how heavily it was looked down on, Rhal knew that eventually he would need to find allies from different species across the galaxy. His father, and Rhal silently cursed him to the void, had taught him much about the various species that could be found in the galaxy and the unique abilities that many of them possessed, some that most Sith would kill to obtain for themselves. 'Or at least they would if they actually bothered to open their eyes and see the potential and power within them.'

Rhal was not blind to these advantages and there were quite a few he very much wanted to get on his side. He knew it would not be easy as many of them were already distrustful by nature and he would be an outsider in their eyes, but he refused to ignore such opportunities and the many advantages they could bring to him.

A beep from his terminal alerted him to an incoming holocall and when Rhal answered it he was more than a little surprised to see Keeper's image appear before him. The older man appeared calm and collected with his hands behind his back, but Rhal could sense he was nervous.

So far, Rhal had only spoken with Keeper a small number of times since taking over his father's position and each time he'd reached out to Keeper, never the other way around. For the man to reach out to him instead was unusual to say the least.

"Lord Rhal." Keeper said, giving him a respectful nod before his hands came forward and started typing at an unseen terminal. "Forgive me, my Lord. I just require a moment to add an additional encryption to this transmission."

Now Rhal was very intrigued. All transmissions sent to or from his personal estate were always highly encrypted to prevent any unwanted ears from listening in. Keeper surely knew this even if the Sith Lord hadn't informed him so he was very curious to hear what the old man had to say.

After a few moments, Keeper looked up and Rhal spoke before he could. "Keeper, have there been any developments in the hunt for the Eagle?" He asked, wondering if that was why he'd contacted him. He had made it very clear to the old Keeper to alert him immediately if his father's killer was found and dealt with.

Keeper blinked at his question but otherwise gave no reaction. "Progress is being made, my Lord. But the search for the Eagle and his terrorists is not why I've contacted you." After a moment of silence, Rhal gave a slight nod and Keeper continued. "About two hours ago, the Imperial warship Overlord was involved in an assault on the borders of Republic space. The assault was a failure and, while the Overlord did manage to escape the battle, it was heavily damaged and separated from most of its escort. The warship's last transmission reported it was being pursued by Republic ships and the nearest Imperial fleet is too far away to be able to provide support before the Republic ships manage to catch up." Keeper said, explaining the situation.

Rhal turns his attention away from Keeper and towards another terminal next to him. After a few moments of searching, the information for the Overlord and its commanding officer, Moff Jocend, appears in front of him. Keeper remains silent while Rhal looks over the reports.

According to what he sees, Moff Jocend was a strong opposer of the Treaty of Coruscant but was mostly silent about it except for one instance where he'd flown into a rage after another officer accused him of supporting the peace agreement. Rhal could also tell the Moff was ruthless and bloodthirsty from the battle reports where his casualties were sometimes more civilians than soldiers and how he'd gone out of his way more than once to hit small Republic fleets and supply ships during the last war.

What Rhal can't see is the reason why Keeper's bothering him with this. Moff Jocend's record isn't anything impressive and, while the loss of a ship like the Overlord would be unfortunate, it still wouldn't be enough to warrant Keeper's attention. 'There has to be more to this. If there isn't, Keeper will truly regret wasting my time.'

Aloud Rhal asks, "What aren't you telling me Keeper? Moff Jocend isn't a particularly talented commander and while the loss of a ship like the Overlord is unfortunate, it seems like something that would be beneath your attention." 'And mine' was left unsaid.

"Normally you would be correct, my Lord." Keeper said, pausing briefly before he continued. "However the situation is more complicated than originally believed."

"Explain." Rhal demanded.

"Before the assault, the Overlord retrieved an Imperial VIP who was badly injured and was meant to be brought back to Dromund Kaas immediately for medical attention." Keeper paused and while the older man's expression didn't betray him, his emotions did and Rhal could sense the anger just below the surface. "Instead, Moff Jocend defied orders and launched his attack, which crippled his escort fleet and forced the Moff to retreat with this VIP still aboard."

Now Rhal was beginning to understand and he shared Keeper's anger. The Moff's recklessness and carelessness put some useful to the Empire in harm's way and there was now a chance this individual could be lost. "Who is this VIP?" Rhal asked, knowing it must be someone of significant importance if Keeper was so concerned.

Keeper hesitated and swallowed before answering. "Forgive me, my Lord, but I cannot answer that. Even with these encryptions in place, there's still the possibility that this transmission could be intercepted and could place the VIP in even greater danger. All I can tell you at this time is that the target is someone of great importance to the Empire's cause." Keeper said, putting extra emphasis on the word 'great' to stress the individual's importance.

A part of Rhal was furious that Keeper was refusing to tell him who this Imperial was, but a greater part of him was more intrigued than ever. There were only a select few in the Empire that were worth this level of discretion so Rhal knew it could be vital to the Empire whether or not this individual survived. Something Keeper was surely aware of and most likely the reason why he'd reached out in the first place. "You want me to take my forces and intercept the Overlord before the Republic captures or destroys it and rescue this VIP?" Rhal guessed, assuming that was Keeper's request.

The old man however, shook his head and his nervousness became visible on his face. "No, my Lord. While that would be ideal and this individual must indeed be rescued, all calculations indicate that another capital ship won't be able to reach the Overlord before Republic forces. The only ship capable of intercepting in time would be a small, fast ship about the size of a fighter and-"

"And I recently ordered such a ship for myself from the spaceport." Rhal finished for him, now fully understanding. "You want me to go and relieve the Overlord personally, don't you Keeper?"

Keeper didn't answer but gave a slight nod as he fought to keep his fear at bay. The reason for his fear would be obvious to any in the Empire. No one, save the Emperor himself, could command the Dark Council and any high ranking Imperials who requested their assistance could simply be ignored without consequence but, if the request was a foolish one or it somehow displeased the Dark Council member being asked, it was likely that the one who asked would only gain a swift death from the one they'd asked.

"Has my ship already been transferred to the Anvil?" Rhal asked, his question causing some of the tension to leave Keeper as the old man realized that his request had been accepted. 'Not that I ever would have refused this chance. An opportunity like this is not something that is passed up lightly.'

"Your ship arrived less than an hour ago, my Lord." Keeper answered. "You should be receiving confirmation from the Anvil's commander shortly." Keeper added.

As if on cue, a notification appeared next to Keeper's holo informing him that his new ship had been successfully delivered and was now ready for his personal use.

"Send me the coordinates of the Overlord. I'll make my way to it at once." Rhal stated before ending the transmission without waiting for a reply and he began making his way out of his chambers. 'I'll take a shuttle to the Anvil. By the time I arrive Keeper will have sent me all relevant data and I should be in hyperspace within the hour.' Rhal thought as he exited his chambers and Commander Jakker and his guards fell into step behind him.

As he predicted, Keeper had sent him all the data he needed in preparation for his trip before he even arrived aboard the Anvil and Rhal was pleased to see his new ship was already ready and waiting in the hangar when he stepped off the shuttle.

A few minutes later, Darth Rhal, Commander Jakker, and the other two guards left the hangar aboard the new ship and, after a few moments were spent plotting a course, the ship jumped into hyperspace.

A.N.

Review please, it really does help me out! Hey everyone, sorry that these updates take so long to get out but, while I do write these stories for fun, I am going to make absolutely sure they are as good as they can be before they go out. If that takes a little bit more time then so be it. If you don't like that it takes so long, too bad because I'm not changing the way I do this. Please give me your thoughts on this most recent chapter because I changed quite a bit while I was doing this one. Originally, I was just going to skip over the part where Rhal wiped out the slaves but I left it in because I got another idea for it in the future. I also hope you think I'm doing a good job with other POVs like Baras because I'm always uncertain if it's not my own character. Now though, Rhal's headed to rescue an Imperial VIP and, while I won't say who it is, all I will say that it's not a Sith but it is someone who's VERY important to the Empire. Leave me your thoughts and take a guess at who the VIP is and why you think so. I won't spoil it for anyone who guesses right but I am curious to see who you all think it is. Alright, that's all I've got for right now so I hope you're all enjoying the story, as always please tell me all about what you think and I'll get the next chapter out as soon as I can. Have a great day everyone!