Disclaimer: I don't own SWTOR! It belongs to Bioware, not me.
Summary: As the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic fight in the Second Great Galactic War, their finest, the Hero of Tython and the Emperor's Wrath, meet. One, a Pureblood Sith trained from birth, and the other, a fallen Jedi Knight. An unlikely friendship forms between these two enemies.
The sound of blaster bolts rang through Ilum's mountains, almost drowning out of the howling wind that passed through. From a distance, one could see multiple shots of red energy erupting into the air like sparks from a flame. And one would see the source to be emerging from a small cliff protruding from the rest of the mountain.
On the cliff was the source of the blaster fire, a small group of twelve men armed with blaster rifles and donned in black armor. These men were soldiers of the Sith Empire and had fought in the name of their emperor for many years. However, their experience could not have prepared them for their new opponent.
Swatting away the barrage of blaster bolts was an all too familiar shaft of plasma that formed the blade of a lightsaber. It blazed its blue color in Ilum's white sky, signifying its wielder as a member of the Jedi Order. And their assumptions were correct when they saw the familiar brown robes, yet the Jedi they were fighting against was a Pureblood Sith.
There was no doubt about it. This one carried the same red complexion like all Sith did, and like other members of her race, she. The bangs of her long brown hair almost concealed her green eyes from her enemies, but did little for the small horns on her chin. The sight of a Pureblood Sith fighting for the Jedi Order, the hated enemy of the Sith, was hard to believe.
But for this Jedi, it was not so hard to believe. She had been taken in by the Jedi Order after she was discovered during the Great Galactic War, years ago. While her relation to the Sith race made her prone to some temptations of the Dark Side, the Pureblood Sith overcame them and her training ended on the Jedi homeworld of Tython. But she was not done there as she eventually defeated the infamous Darth Angral and it was through that struggle that Hero of Tython gained her title.
The Hero of Tython rapidly deflected the blaster fire with her lightsaber, utilizing Form III of lightsaber combat to deflect the shots away from herself. With the Imperial troopers advancing on her, the Hero found herself getting closer to the edge of the cliff. If she did not think of something quickly, the Hero of Tython would find her end at the hands of a simple bunch of Imperial soldiers.
Moving her lightsaber just ever so slightly, the Hero of Tython managed to return a blaster bolt into the armored chest of the soldier closest to her. A few of the Imperial troopers momentarily spared a glance at their fallen comrade, but that moment was long enough for the Hero of Tython to make her advance.
The soldiers saw the Jedi bound forwards towards them, and they were quick to firing at every inch of ground she attempted to take. However, the Force augmenting her speed and agility to maneuver around the blaster bolts with ease. It made the troopers uneasy with every passing second as the Hero of Tython continued to make her offensive. By the time she reached them, it was too late for any of the Imperial troopers to stop her.
The Jedi's blue blade struck the soldier closest to her, digging through his chest armor and into his flesh. The others attempted to aim their blaster rifles, but they only struck the prints the Hero left in the snow. The sound of a gurgled cry escaped through the helmet of another trooper, making the others turn to see another of their group fall at the feet of the Hero of Tython. Immediately, the Imperial troopers fired their blasters their enemy, who was quick to batting their blaster fire away with her lightsaber.
Once again, the Hero of Tython took the offensive and charged at the Sith troopers. Her lightsaber found its way into another soldier and soon reflected a blaster bolt into yet another trooper. The two fell to the ground almost instantaneously and the Jedi could sense the fear rising within the others who managed to survive thus far.
A Sith trooper attempted to attack the Hero from the side, an act of desperation, she assumed, but it did not matter. The blaster bolt bounced off of her lightsaber, and the Jedi took the trooper by surprise by unleashing a burst of the Force from her free hand. It sent the trooper off of his feet and and off of the cliff's edge, his screams echoing off of the mountain's walls as he plummeted to his death.
The Jedi returned her focus to the remaining Sith troopers, her hands grasping her weapon with anticipation. The squadron had been reduced by half and the Jedi knew it would not take too long to eliminate them. The troopers knew that as well, and the Hero could see them slowly backing away into the mouth of the cave they emerged from earlier.
Yet, there was a shadow that hung over behind the remaining troopers, like a kath hound closing in on its prey. The Hero of Tython and the Sith soldiers would not have noticed it if the sound of a lightsaber erupted from inside the cave. It made one of Sith soldiers in the back turned to see who the owner of the lightsaber. There was nothing more that could be done as the blade of red energy came down upon the unsuspecting the Sith trooper.
From where she stood, the Hero of Tython saw chaos being unleashed from the mouth of the cavern as the red lightsaber cut its way through the remaining Sith troopers. Any attempt to evade the lightsaber was futile as the red blade eventually found its mark. One by one, the soldiers dropped to the ground with the scorching marks of lightsaber burns maiming their bodies.
The final Sith soldier fell to the ground with a cry of death and the Hero of Tython could see the owner of the red lightsaber slowly step out of the cave. The Jedi grasped her own lightsaber with both hands, caution as to who brought such slaughter.
The owner of the red lightsaber turned out to be a large man with black Sith armor that encased his entire body. The only exception was his head, revealing the visible veins around his yellow eyes and his bald head as signs of the Dark Side corruption. He seemed to have the strength of ten men, with arms powerful enough to batter away at his enemies with his red lightsaber. The Dark Side coveted the man, allowing the Jedi to recognize him as a Sith Lord.
At the sight of the Sith, the Hero of Tython relaxed her grip on her blade and a breath of relief escaped her lips. "What took you so long?" she questioned in a joking manner, her tone holding no animosity.
The Sith's expression did not change in the slightest as he took each step in between the fallen Sith soldiers. "I had to face more of Malgus' men inside the save," the Sith Lord replied. His own tone held no contempt for his Jedi counterpart, rather there was a slight hint of humor. "There were many bodies to dispose of."
The Hero of Tython chuckled at the Sith's dark humor, but she felt it was directed to the alliance with the Sith Lord. The Hero's tendency to regard the Sith as an enemy faded away and she almost saw him as an ally. Perhaps it was not the first, since she already worked with Lord Scourge, but the Sith before her allowed the Jedi to be open to his history.
The Sith Lord was once a simple Jedi Padawan who fell to the Dark Side and rose through the ranks in the Sith Academy on Korriban. Betrayed by his master, the Sith Lord found a new life offered to him by the emperor himself, acting as a replacement for Scourge. Like the Hero of Tython, the Sith Lord simply went along the title given to him: the Emperor's Wrath.
The Wrath stared down at the bodies of the Sith soldiers at his feet. "I see you've had your own hands full with these traitors," he spoke, the humor now gone from him.
The Jedi's green eyes fell on the bodies and she remembered why their alliance existed in the first place. The troopers' armor carried the insignia of the Sith Empire, yet they no were longer apart of it. These men belonged to the renegade Darth Malgus, who seceded from the Sith Empire and drawing many to cause of forming a new empire. The action was obviously seen as treachery and it hurt even more to the Sith Empire when the act happened in the middle of a war with the Republic. It also hurt the Republic as well as they had to make war with two Sith forces as powerful figures.
Both the Hero of Tython and the Emperor's Wrath were sent by their respective masters to eliminate Malgus' forces on Ilum. The two came across each other and they made a pact to deal with their common enemy. They just did not know that their little alliance would allow them to open up to each other so easily.
Before either Jedi or Sith could say anything, both heard the faint sound of a roaring engine. Turning their heads to the edge of the cliff, the Hero of Tython and the Wrath could see a small form exiting the clouds of Ilum and heading straight for them. What they saw was an starfighter that left white streaks in the air as it came closer and closer to them.
The Jedi took notice of the wings on either side of the starfighter's cockpit. "An Imperial starfighter?" she spoke aloud, uncertainty.
She found her answer when the Wrath snarled, "That's not one of ours."
The red lightsaber was raised in front of the Wrath's face and the Hero of Tython followed in suit, feeling the heat of her blue lightsaber pressing against her face. The Jedi ignored it to allowed the Force flow through her and prepare herself for what was to come.
Red lasers emerged from the Sith fighter's turrets, each one intended to strike the Jedi and the Sith. Both knew that lasers from a starfighter would be more powerful than a simple blaster bolt, so they chose to dodge instead of trying to deflect them. The Hero and Wrath were capable of doing so, but some of the lasers struck the cliff the two stood on, sending snow and rock into the air. It made their maneuverability somewhat difficult as they used the Force to avoid being struck.
The Hero of Tython was able to avoid many of the lasers and the remains of rock flying in the air, thanks to her affinity in the Force augmenting her body. The Wrath, on the other hand, was far more muscular and used to facing enemies head on than simple dodging. This turned out to be his undoing as a laser struck near the Wrath's feet.
The ground that the Wrath stood on exploded and he was sent flying into the air. His vision had been somewhat clouded by the rocks that flew with him, but the Wrath could tell that he was ascending through the air. It was only temporarily as the Sith Lord soon found him body diving downward. What made the Wrath alarmed was the fact he was over the mountain's great chasm and the Sith would be falling to his death if he did not do anything.
The Wrath twisted his body and he reached out his free hand to grab the edge of of the cliff. Unfortunately, the gloved fingers merely grazed the rocky ledge and he believed himself to plummet to his death.
Much to his surprise, the Sith Lord felt his body's descent suddenly come to a halt as he felt something grab onto his hand. His body jerked when it stopped and he bounced against the steep side of the cliff momentarily. The Wrath looked up to see the gloved hand of the Jedi stubbornly grasping his own. The Wrath could see a strained expression of the Hero of Tython's face as she used her strength to hold onto him. "I've got you!" she called out to the Wrath.
The Wrath's eyes turned away from the Jedi and he managed to catch a glimpse of the starfighter flying back into Ilum's clouds. The Sith fighter was gone, but he and the Hero of Tython could hear the sound of more Sith fighters roaring over Ilum's roaring blizzards. It would only be a matter of time until they would arrive and finish the job. The Hero of Tython was strong, but the Wrath was much heavier and there was no protrusion for him to climb on.
Returning his gaze to the Jedi, the Wrath shouted. "You need to get out here!"
The Hero of Tython grunted a little as she used to her strength to pull her Sith counterpart. "Not without you!" she replied.
She was persistent, the Wrath had to give her that. Her behavior reminded the Wrath much of his own life as an acolyte in Korriban's Sith Academy and even when he was a Jedi Padawan prior to that. If that was the case, then the Jedi would continue in her attempts to bring him up. The Wrath decided to partially spare the Hero of Tython by attempting to place his other hand on the cliff's ledge, even if that hand was grasping lightsaber.
The sounds of engines became louder and the foreseen Sith fighters became a reality as they were now fully visible. Fortunately, the Sith Lord had brought himself onto the cliff, with help from his Jedi counterpart. It done in time before the two noticed the lasers emerging from the starfighters.
The Jedi and Sith found themselves under fire once again, but the lasers started struck the cliff's incline. It gave the Wrath and the Hero of Tython enough time to make a dash towards the mouth of the cave before them and ignored the explosions around them. They made it inside and the cave's mouth closed shut by the large boulders and rocks that piled on top of on another.
Both of them came to stop deep within the cave's tunnel and spared a glance at the sealed entrance. Lasers pounded against the mountain, making the cave rumbled for a few moments before it finally came to a rest. The silence that followed allowed the Hero of Tython breath, "We're safe for now."
The Wrath nodded in agreement. "That was too close. We need to take care of those starfighters soon," he spoke before staring at the Hero. "Our work isn't done yet."
A small grin broke out on the Jedi's red complexion. "Guess that means you're stuck with me then."
For a moment, the Wrath became lost in his thoughts as he stared at the Hero of Tython. In spite of being a Pureblood Sith, any sign of the Dark Side was practically nonexistent as the Light Side swirled around her like a vortex. It was almost sickening to the Wrath as well as refreshing, at the same time. Perhaps, it was more of nostalgia of his time as a Padawan... before his fall to the Dark Side.
The Sith Lord returned his focus to reality and answered the Jedi. "It does." His yellow eyes narrowed at the Hero and he reminded her, "But after this is over, we are enemies."
The grin was gone and her tone became neutral as she spoke, "I know."
The Wrath's gaze fell upon the Jedi's back as she proceeded down the tunnel that carried through the mountain. The Hero stop to turn and face the Sith Lord. "C'mon, we've still got a job to do," she called out to him.
"Very well, Jedi," he replied.
And so, the Wrath followed the Hero of Tython through the heart of the mountain, both of them wondering what would happen after their alliance was over. The two already had the chance to build a trust between one another, yet they could only wonder what would they be afterward. Friend or foe?
AN: Okay, I've had this idea for many months. My idea was that there was a Pureblood Sith Jedi Knight and a Sith Warrior, who was a fallen Jedi, would be forced to work together. If anyone's played the game, then they would know at some point that a Sith Lord named Darth Malgus secedes from the Sith Empire and forms his own empire. I thought this would give a perfect opportunity for the Jedi Knight and Sith Warrior to work together.
Alright, you guys know the usual. Please leave your comments and thoughts in the reviews (though that hasn't really happened) and if you have any criticism, please let it be constructive. Also, this it up for adoption. If anyone wants it, please send me a PM or let me know in the reviews. Thank you.
Raika out!