Chapter 14: Disturbance

Dromund Kaas, The Citadel…

In the comfort of his private chambers, Darth Rhal was kneeled on the floor with his eyes closed in meditation. He could have done this at his private estate in the jungle, but the Citadel was one of the strongest sources of Dark Side energy on Dromund Kaas, second only to the Dark Temple. As he slowly gathered more power, the young Dark Council member thought back to the events of the past week and his successful rescue of Grand Moff Resh.

Grand Moff Resh. That had been quite the surprise. There were only a select few in the Empire that held such a rank with the most notable being Grand Moff Kilran, also known as the "Butcher of Coruscant" and one of the best naval strategists in the Empire.

Resh wasn't as effective, nor as well known as Kilran, but he'd definitely earned his rank during the last war with several key victories against the Republic and, during the course of one battle, successfully convinced the leader of a group of mercenaries that had been fighting for the Republic to switch sides and, with their aid, turned what would have likely been a costly defeat into a great victory. 'And now I have him and Admiral Kalmic as allies.' Rhal thought with a slight smirk.

Oh yes, it turns out the late Moff Jocend had been more hated than Rhal had thought. After his talk with the Grand Moff, Rhal had decided to check the condition of the Overlord with his own eyes. By that time, the crew had learned the fate of the Moff and many were quite pleased when they encountered him, offering smiles and assistance wherever needed. But the most pleased of them all was Admiral Kalmic.

Once the Overlord's hyperdrive had been repaired and the ship was once again on its way to Dromund Kaas, Admiral Kalmic requested a private audience with Darth Rhal, which he'd granted. As soon as the two were alone, the Admiral thanked the young Dark Council member for disposing of his insane commander, admitting that it was a memory he'd treasure for the rest of his days and then went down to a knee and swore his loyalty to Rhal right there on the spot. 'An oath I know he'll keep. Killing his worthless and hated superior has ensured his loyalty to me and he won't forget the promotion either.'

Gaining the Admiral's loyalty was an unexpected surprise, but not an unwelcome one. Rhal was certain that having him as an ally would be useful in the future. Same with the Grand Moff, even if his loyalty to him wasn't quite as secure.

Since he'd been so badly injured, having barely survived being caught in an explosion, the Grand Moff had been completely unaware of Moff Jocend's foolish actions while he recovered in the ship's medical bay. When Rhal informed him, Resh was calling for Jocend's head before the Dark Council member could tell him he'd already been dealt with. After that, Resh and Rhal spoke a few more times while returning to Dromund Kaas and Rhal learned that the Grand Moff had indeed earned his rank, unlike some other Moffs and Grand Moffs who only earned their ranks due to political connections rather than accomplishments.

By the time they returned to Dromund Kaas, Rhal felt that he and Resh could be considered allies. However, the loyalty there wasn't as strong as Rhal would have preferred so he offered his services as well as those of Imperial Intelligence to the Grand Moff whenever he had need of them. Resh had clearly been surprised by the offer but gratefully accepted. 'Now I'll just have to wait and see if he asks for assistance.'

Rhal's eyes opened and he stood up as he brought his meditation to an end. He walked over and took a seat at his desk and started going through some of the more recent reports he'd received from his agents across the galaxy. Most is about what he expected to see with all signs pointing towards another upcoming war with the Republic and the fragile peace just barely preventing things from escalating.

He was slightly worried about the reports coming from Balmorra. At the moment, things appeared to be mostly stable with Darth Minax reporting that Lachris is ruling the world with an iron fist. However, both Colonel Sartius and Admiral Riserre report that the Balmorran resistance has been unusually quiet recently with their attacks halted almost completely. It would have been good news if the Admiral and the Colonel hadn't also added in their reports that they suspect the rebels are once again laying low so they can gather their strength. 'I should have done more to ensure our hold on that planet was more secure while I was there. At least we still have their President. As long as we hold him, we'll hold Balmorra's fate.'

After looking at reports of systems, Rhal turned his attention to individuals, starting with Darth Angral. His actions and movements were growing more and more erratic as time passed and it didn't help that several of the Republic weapon facilities he and his apprentices had claimed had either been destroyed or reclaimed by their enemies. More specifically, by the very same Jedi that had killed Angral's son. Now, Angral only had one apprentice and one facility left under his control. 'If he loses those, it might be for the best if I can have Angral assassinated. In his madness and desperation, there's no telling what he'll try to do if he starts thinking he might be defeated. He's already tried to destroy one planet so there's a very real possibility that he might try to destroy another and there's no telling what planet it will be.'

Apparently, Angral had ordered one of his apprentices to use a Republic superweapon on Tatooine to destroy the planet when he learned the Jedi who killed his son was on that world. It was pure madness. Not even taking into account the Sith and Imperial forces that would have been killed, Tatooine's destruction would almost certainly make the Empire enemies of the Hutt Cartel since the slugs were the ones that controlled that dustball.

While there were no groups or organizations in the galaxy powerful enough to rival the Empire and the Republic, the one group that came closest to being a third galactic superpower was the Hutt Cartel. Their current leader, Karagga the Unyielding, had little to no interest in the war between the Jedi and Sith, but Rhal had studied the galactic underworld as part of his previous lessons with his father and he knew the Supreme Mogul's attitude and reputation. 'If Karagga learned we destroyed one of his planets, he'd almost certainly move to take at least one of the Empire's planets to replace it.' Rhal thought, knowing that would probably be the lightest of Karagga's reactions if they were lucky.

Many other Sith and Imperials ignored and/or looked down on the Hutts due to their status as criminals, but Rhal knew better than to underestimate them. The Hutts had an Empire of their own many centuries ago and, even though it didn't last, they still controlled many worlds in the Outer Rim and possessed a great deal of influence all across the galaxy, especially in the underworld.

The Hutts were also smart, much smarter than most would give them credit for. More than a few ran industrial planets, moons, or high profit businesses and some made more credits than they could spend given ten lifetimes. Given the average Hutt lifespan was around a thousand years, it was an almost unfathomable amount of money. 'Not that some of them don't try to spend it all anyway.' Rhal thought with a shake of his head.

Moving on from his thoughts, Rhal looked over the files of the next individual who caught his attention, which was Darth Baras' apprentice. His tracker and listening device on the Pureblood's ship had helped him learn much, but aside from learning the identities and locations of the spies that Baras was sending his apprentice to silence, there was still very little he could actually use. He'd been hoping to learn more about Nomen Karr's mysterious padawan so he could find her, but Baras and his apprentice had barely spoken of her and what few times they did, there wasn't much to go on. 'I'll need to wait for more solid intel. If this girl is even half the threat Baras seems to think she is, then If I can find and turn her, she could have the potential to be a near perfect apprentice.'

Before he could check the next file, Rhal was alerted to an incoming transmission. Already having a good idea of who it is he answers, unsurprised when he sees a holo of Ralesk appear in front of him. "Report." He demanded immediately, wanting to know if the little Sith had completed his mission in time or if he'd been too late.

Ralesk smiled, seemingly unbothered by his master's tone. "I'm pleased to say I've accomplished my task master. I will be landing at the spaceport shortly." He said, giving a light bow as he finished.

Rhal didn't smile, knowing his communications in the Citadel weren't as secure as those in his stronghold and were almost certainly being spied on, but he very much wanted to. "Return to my estate immediately. I'll meet you there." He said. Pushing a button, Rhal ended the transmission and Ralesk's image vanished. Only then did he allow himself a small smile as he made his way out of the Citadel and to a nearby speeder pad.

Grabbing a waiting speeder, Rhal made his way out of Kaas City and back to his fortress. The entire way, he thought of all the possibilities that were now open to him thanks to Ralesk completing his mission successfully.

A Few Hours Later, Lord Rhal's Compound…

Rhal frowned as he looked over the data once more. He put a hand to his chin as he sat in the comfort of his private chambers as he looked over the files that Ralesk had retrieved from Nar Shaddaa.

Specifically, files on the Power Guard Enhancement System.

Of all the weapon projects that Angral's son had been involved in, Rhal considered the Power Guard Project to be the most impressive of them all by far. After being enhanced and transformed into a power guard, even an ordinary individual could become a force to be reckoned with. Turn an average soldier into a power guard and they could become as good as, or even better than, an elite commando. Turn an elite commando into a power guard and they could supposedly rival a Sith on the battlefield. 'At least that was the Republic's plan until Angral gained control of the project and gave it to his apprentice, Lord Sadic.'

Sadic turned the already completed power guards against the Republic and was going to make many more for his master. Unfortunately, despite apparently turning himself into a power guard, Sadic and all his forces were defeated by the Jedi who killed Tarnis and a group of Republic SIS agents.

According to Ralesk, by the time he arrived at Sadic's base the Jedi was gone, but the SIS agents were still there. They'd stayed behind to destroy all records of the power guard project but Ralesk cut them all down and retrieved the files before that could happen. 'He also accomplished his secondary task and acquired that ugly freighter as well. I have a feeling it will also be quite useful.'

The freighter in question was a Plug-6 heavy freighter, commonly used by smugglers, mercenaries, and other types of underworld scum. Rhal had instructed Ralesk to acquire one since he knew it would come in handy if he wanted to travel in secrecy. After all, most would expect a Dark Council member to fly a ship like his Dark Nova, not a beat up old freighter that could be found just about anywhere in the galaxy.

Returning his attention to the power guard files, Rhal was pleased to see that all the details for creating the power guards were in the records. Unfortunately, Rhal realized quickly that he was going to have a much more difficult time producing power guards than Sadic did.

The biggest problem was he didn't have the necessary materials. If he wanted to turn a large number of his forces into power guards, it would require an equally large number of cybernetics, adrenal stims, combat armor, and advanced weapons. Nar Shaddaa had been an excellent location to conduct the project for both the Republic and the Empire since both sides could get everything they needed there, but Rhal wanted power guards that were loyal only to him so he needed a facility known and controlled only by him. 'Perhaps in time I'll find another use for that facility in Shadow Town but it's not a priority right now.'

His own stronghold had all the necessary facilities already and acquiring combat armor would be easy since the Empire had more than enough to spare. Advanced weapons also wouldn't be a problem once he reached out to his agents on Balmorra to send a shipment to Admiral Kalmic who could then send it to him. The cybernetics and adrenals could be a slight problem but if he had to he could probably get them from Nar Shaddaa like Sadic did. 'But getting the necessary materials won't be enough. I'll need individuals who can build the power guards as well as upgrade them when necessary.'

That was the next biggest problem. There were several models of power guards that he could make his soldiers into, but each of the models presented their own issues. There was also the fact that while there were currently only three models of power guards that could be assembled, the project had still been working on ways to develop other, more powerful power guard models before Angral took it over. 'If my scientists can find a way to produce these more powerful models, perhaps I can also find a way to combine them with Project ARC. Advanced cyborg soldiers with regenerating cybernetics would be extremely useful to myself and the Empire.'

A beep from the door caused Rhal to look up and a moment later he heard Jakker's voice from the intercom. "My Lord, Lanniter Droge here to see you."

"Send him in." Rhal replied, shutting down the displays in front of him as he did so. A moment later, Lanniter walked in and, after receiving an affirmative nod, took a seat across from the young Sith.

"My lord." He greeted with a small bow. "I wished to inform you that the patient's recovery is now complete. However, I should note that a few of her internal organs had been damaged too severely to be healed so some cybernetic replacements were needed and nothing could be done for her arm and leg so those were the same." He said and Rhal nodded, already knowing that would be the case after seeing her injuries.

"She hasn't woken yet?" He asked. Lanniter shook his head.

"She's been kept medically unconscious and restrained as ordered, my Lord." He stated, getting another nod from Rhal as he rose to his feet with Lanniter following a moment later.

"Show me to her."

…

It was happening again. Rora knew how it would go but she still went along with it, thinking this time it might be different.

As always, that cursed Jedi and his padawan welp cut down her two pets before moving towards her.

As always, she drew her lightsaber and engaged them. The padawan was an annoying distraction but the other Jedi was different. He was a threat. A very dangerous one.

As always, she tried to focus her attention on him while using her lightning to keep the padawan away but the two worked too well together and she was beginning to get overwhelmed.

Then she felt the pain on her arm.

The padawan had gotten lucky and delivered a clean cut to her right arm, causing her to drop her lightsaber. But she wasn't beaten and used the pain to fuel the dark side within her and unleashed powerful lightning from both her hands. Her left focused on the Jedi and her wounded right at that worthless padawan. When the two were forced back by the intensity of her lightning she smiled, thinking that victory was within her reach this time.

As always, she was wrong.

The Jedi managed to push through her lightning and delivered another cut to her left arm. Before he could do more, Rora called her lightsaber to her left hand and blocked the incoming strike. However, she noticed the padawan was also coming at her again and used the force to push the Jedi away from her.

She took a step towards the charging padawan and raised her free hand, preparing to blast her with more lightning.

Only for the Jedi, who hadn't been pushed back nearly as much as she had thought, to bring his lightsaber down on her exposed arm and leg. In a single swing, he cut through her right arm and her right leg. Rora would have screamed, but the pain was so intense it left her mute and she could only watch her severed arm fall to the floor and feel like she was about to collapse herself as the two pieces of her severed right leg separated.

Before she could, she turned her eyes towards the Jedi one last time. She was just in time to see the blue blade of his lightsaber cut across her midsection. This time she didn't feel any pain as all her senses failed her. The last thing she saw was the metal floor rushing towards her as darkness embraced her once more.

"My Lord, she's regaining consciousness."

Rora heard the unfamiliar voice and snapped to attention, or at least she tried to but found she couldn't. In fact, she quickly realized she couldn't do much of anything. Her head felt so foggy but she was still able to hear when a second voice responded to the first.

"Good. Keep her restrained for now." The second voice said, although Rora was unable to properly understand the words being spoken as she fought to regain her focus.

Finally, the darkness was replaced by a white light that assaulted her vision as soon as she attempted to open her eyes. She instinctively tried bringing her hand up to shield her eyes, but felt her arms held firmly in place by cold metal restraints.

That caused her eyes to snap open and she quickly looked around at her surroundings, or as much of them as she could while laying down. It took a few moments but she quickly recognized the room as an Imperial medical center with several other beds in the room along with a few kolto tanks near the back wall, though she noted that there were no other patients.

Looking down at herself, Rora saw that she was indeed restrained to the bed with both her arms and legs shackled. She was also wearing a plain white medical dress with all her equipment on a small stand next to her bed, including her lightsaber.

Finally, she looked at the only two other individuals that were in the room with her. One was a short human with a bald head and a cybernetic implant below his left eye and reaching to his left ear. He wore a white medical coat and Rora figured he was likely the doctor in charge of the facility as he looked down at a datapad in his hands.

However, it was the second individual who had Rora's attention. He was Sith, without question. Even if he hadn't been wearing black robes, armor, and two lightsabers on his belt, she could feel the raw power of the dark side within him and she knew whoever this was he was strong. He was taller than the doctor with black hair and blue eyes that stared at her without blinking.

"Heart rate slightly elevated but all her other vitals appear to be normal, my Lord." The doctor said, making the other Sith take his eyes off hers to look at him.

"Leave us." The Sith said, making the doctor nod before making his way out of the room.

As the door closed, leaving the two Sith alone, Rora decided now was the time to get answers and opened her mouth to speak, only for it to snap shut as the other Sith raised a hand. "Before you say anything, you'll want to see this." The Sith said as his other hand brought up a holoprojector that began playing what she quickly realized was a recording.

Rora Seake felt rage greater than any she'd ever felt before rise within her as she watched the recording between this Sith and her master, Darth Angral. She watched as Angral declared her a weak failure and demanded her execution with the recording ending with the other Sith saying he'd deal with her himself.

As it did, she tried to call on the power of the dark side to free herself so she could escape her fate. Unfortunately, whatever drugs they used on her was making it difficult to call on her powers and while she was able to use the force to make the metal restraints groan somewhat, they held strong and she remained trapped.

Looking over, she instead tried to call her lightsaber to her and smiled as she saw it rise from the table. Only for her smile to drop a moment later as her lightsaber flew past her and into the raised hand of the other Sith whose eyes were still fixed on her. Realizing there was no escape, she did the only thing she could do and stared at the Sith who would end her life, unwilling to show fear even in the face of certain death.

But the other Sith just met her glare with a blank expression as he just stared right back. Then, keeping his eyes on her, he reached towards a red button on the side of the bed. Rora refused to take her eyes off him, even as she heard the button click as it was pressed.

However, instead of death as she expected, the button caused her metal restraints to unlock and open. Rora's anger was replaced by confusion but she still kept her eyes on the Sith standing over her as she sat up and rubbed her wrists.

Wrists.

She froze and looked down to see that she wasn't mistaken. Her right arm and leg, both of which she was certain had been severed, had been replaced by cybernetic prosthetics. Both looked just like her natural arm and leg with blood red skin on them, but when she felt her right arm with her left she could tell the skin was synthetic. It was the same with her leg and Rora was feeling more and more confused? 'Why give me a new arm and leg if I'm to be executed?' She thought, trying and failing to understand the situation.

"Because I believe that you'll be of use to me. And you'll be far more useful to me alive than dead." The Sith answered her unspoken question with a calm voice. Rora's eyes snapped to the Sith, her anger reignited. 'He-' She cut the thought off, knowing that he would hear it.

"Who are you?!" She asked, or rather demanded. She didn't know who this Sith was but, even if he wasn't about to execute her, she didn't see why she would serve him. Angral might have cast her aside but she was still a powerful Sith and a Pureblood as well. She doubted this Sith, even if he was strong enough to sense her thoughts, was worthy of her loyalty. He looked like he was just old enough to be a Lord and there was no way she'd serve anyone less than a Darth even if she was still just an apprentice herself.

The other Sith's expression didn't change as he answered. "I am Darth Rhal, Lord of the Dark Council and successor to Darth Jadus."

She blinked once.

Twice.

Then her anger fled and was replaced by a great deal of fear once she realized that she sensed no deception from the Sith- no, the dark council member still standing over her. If the dark lord was amused by her terror he showed no visible signs and she was unable to sense any sort of emotion from him as he just stood there watching her.

The Dark Council. The twelve most powerful Sith in the galaxy. Darth Angral might have been a powerful Sith, but even her former master was not a member of the council. Now, despite her failure and defeat, Rora found herself before a member who just told her he wanted her as an apprentice. 'Apprentice to a dark council member. That's-'

Her thought was cut off by another raised hand from Darth Rhal. "Before you continue that thought, know that I will not be taking you as an apprentice." He said, making her eyes go wide in confusion before they narrowed in outrage.

"But you just said-" Her words, and this time her breath, were cut off once more as an invisible force seized her throat and her hands automatically went to it to attempt to remove whatever it was that had a hold of her. Of course, there was nothing to be found.

Darth Rhal, with his hands still at his side but one of them holding her lightsaber and the other with the fingers held like a vise, just stared at her with Rora noticing that there was finally a flicker of emotion in the dark lord's eyes. Her own eyes became fearful as she recognized the anger that was now present there. "I said that you'll be of use to me. I did not say that I'll be making you my apprentice. If that is what you desire, you'll have to prove yourself worthy of it. And before you start insisting that you're already worthy…" Darth Rhal said with his eyes narrowing slightly when Rora had opened her mouth to protest. "I'll remind you that the entire reason you're here is because you failed your previous mission and would have surely died of your injuries had you not been treated so quickly." He stated, his grip on her throat prevented Rora from uttering even a sound.

Then the Pureblood took several deep breaths as the force on her throat disappeared. She was forced to look up a moment later as Darth Rhal put her lightsaber under her chin and used it to tilt her head up, forcing her eyes to meet his. Rora nearly flinched back at the look in them now. Darth Angral's eyes when he was in a rage always burned hotter than a sun when she'd seen them but Darth Rhal's were the opposite. His eyes made her feel like she was experiencing the ice cold of space itself. It was far more terrifying than Angral's rage and there was no doubt now that she was indeed facing a member of the Emperor's Dark Council.

She also didn't fail to notice that her lightsaber was inches from her throat and that Darth Rhal's thumb was on the activation switch.

"Make no mistake, I am not sparing your life out of mercy. You will live and serve me for as long as you are of use to me." He declared. "Serve me well and perhaps you will earn a place as my apprentice." he said, before his voice dropped to a whisper. "But fail me, and you will beg for the death Angral wanted for you. Do you understand?" He asked. Rora's head might have come off with how quickly she nodded.

"Yes, my Lo- master." She quickly corrected herself, hoping her new master hadn't taken offense. Thankfully, he didn't appear to and removed her lightsaber from her throat and turned it around, offering it to her. As she took it, she noted that her new master was still close enough that, if she activated her lightsaber now, it would burn a hole through him when it did. She was tempted for a moment, but that moment quickly passed as she saw her master's cold eyes still focused on her and she lowered her weapon.

"Good." He said before pointing to her things. "You can change your equipment later if you wish, but for now you have a little over a month's training you need to catch up on and a new arm and leg to get used to so for now it'll do. After you get changed one of my men outside will show you to your chambers and then to a training area with your instructions."

Once he finished, Darth Rhal turned and walked out of the chambers, leaving her alone. Rora felt more than a little relieved when her new master left but she knew she couldn't relax. Her master made it clear she had training to catch up on and she got the feeling he wouldn't be pleased if she tarried so she stood up from her bed.

Only to catch herself as she stumbled on her right leg somewhat. She growled at her own weakness as she realized her master was right. She did need to get used to her new libs because, while they looked the same, they did indeed feel somewhat different when she tried to use them. 'If I ever find that Jedi again, I swear I'll rip his arms and legs off with my bare hands and feed them to my pets!'

As she was adjusting to her new limbs, Rora went over to the table with her things and made another discovery as she went to get dressed. When she took off her medical dress, she saw that her midsection was now mostly smooth metal. She realized that some of her internal organs must have been damaged too badly by the Jedi's lightsaber so she's needed cybernetic replacements there as well. Putting her fingers to the metal she felt it was cold, but it only made her blood boil even hotter than it already was. 'No, dismemberment's too good for him. When I find that Jedi I'll have to get a bit more… creative.' She thought as she took a deep breath and actually felt the machinery inside her adjust itself as she did.

She felt disgusted. She was now a cyborg and, if that wasn't already bad enough, she was now a cyborg that needed the machines within her just to stay alive. Rora hated the feeling of weakness the thought brought her. A Sith should only have to rely on their strength to stay alive, not cybernetics and machines.

Once she had dressed and gathered the rest of her equipment, Rora finally took a moment to look over and ignite her lightsaber and was pleased to see it was undamaged. The sight of the familiar orange blade calmed her somewhat, but Rora still very much felt the urge to cut something or someone down with it and made her way to the door after deactivating the blade and attaching it back to her belt.

As she stepped out of the medical bay, a trooper gestured for her to follow him. Rora followed and found herself just wondering how her life would change under her new master. She wasn't sure but there was one thing she did know and it was what she knew would drive her forward.

'I will prove myself. I will become Darth Rhal's apprentice.'

…

Thanks to the many security cameras, Darth Rhal watched as his newest servant made her way through his compound with Ralesk also observing with a slight frown. After a few moments of silence, Rhal spoke. "You disapprove." He said, causing the other Sith to face him.

"Master, why are you wasting time with her?" He asked, sounding confused and somewhat irritated. "She's weak." He spat, his tone one of disgust.

"Is she?" Rhal asked, his own tone giving no hint to his own thoughts.

His question made Ralesk's frown deepen. "She had a simple assignment that she not only failed, but would have most likely lost her life if she hadn't been recovered so quickly. She should have either succeeded in her mission or died trying. She's weak and useless." Ralesk stated, sounding more serious than Rhal had ever heard him.

"We shall see." Was all that Rhal responded with. He knew he was taking a slight gamble with the Pureblood, but he felt that sparing her would prove to be the correct decision. In time, he suspected that Rora Seake could become one of his most useful agents. 'But time will tell.' He thought as he pressed a button on his desk that replaced the security image of Seake with a close up of a man's face.

"Doctor, have you finished the beasts modifications?" He asked, to which the doctor nodded.

"Yes, my Lord. All behavioral modifications have been disabled as you instructed." The doctor replied before he suddenly jumped and looked nervously behind him as there was a loud bang and a slightly suppressed growl from something out of sight. When he turned back, the doctor visibly swallowed before speaking. "My Lord, I feel I must say again-"

"I have heard your objections before, Dr. Tarqus, and there is no need to repeat them now." Rhal interrupted, already knowing what the man was about to say. "My decision has been made and you've done as instructed. From this point on, just ensure the beasts are well fed until they're ready for their new master. Understood?" He asked, to which the doctor let out a slight sigh before nodding.

Rhal switched the screen off and was about to say something to Ralesk when he froze. At that moment, Rhal could sense a slight shifting in the force. Some sort of disturbance that demanded his attention as his father's words echoed in his mind.

"If the force should ever attempt to speak to you my son, listen to it. For it never speaks unless it has something important to say."

So Rhal listened. Reaching out, he attempted to find whoever or whatever had caused the strange feeling. He didn't bother looking at Ralesk to see if he'd noticed and simply shut his eyes and tried to get a glimpse of whatever had caught his attention.

For a moment, there was nothing. However, a moment later an image started to appear in his mind. 'A planet?' He thought as he saw what was clearly a world but it was still heavily clouded in the force. He threw himself deeper into the force and tried to better view the strange world and, slowly, the planet's features became clearer and soon Rhal knew exactly what planet he was looking at.

When his eyes opened, Rhal saw that only a few seconds had passed as Ralesk was just turning around and the little Sith sat up a bit straighter as he noticed the change in his master's eyes. "Master?" He asked.

"Go prepare that old freighter you brought back." Rhal ordered as he brought up a holo of the planet he'd seen.

"We're going to Tatooine."

A.N.

A bit shorter than some of my previous chapters but I promise I'll make up for it with the next few. So, Rhal's power is increasing as he's now got a loyal Admiral and Grand Moff on his side as well as the power guard files which he'll be putting to great use in the future. He's also got a new Sith agent in the form of the beast master, Rora Seake. Though she currently has no beasts of her own, Rhal's already got something special in mind for her. Lastly, Rhal's received a vision that's all but telling him to go to Tatooine so that's his next destination. Why Tatooine? Well, tell me what you think with a review. In fact, review and tell me all of your thoughts on this new chapter as I work to get the next one out to you guys. Until then, have a great day everyone!