[17 BBY]

[Command Bridge, Command Deck Eriadu Authority Capital-class Warship Stormcrow, Republic 5th Fleet (reconstituted), in orbit Dromund Kaas, Dromund System, Esstran Sector, Old Sith Empire Worlds, Outer Rim Territories]

"You take a girl to the nicest places"

I glanced at Asajj, giving a faint chuckle of amusement "I do believe you brought us here"

She smirked "Oh, yes, I did, didn't I?"

"I'd suggest not to be smug my dear" I almost teased back "You were here before and merely did not realise it's historical importance"

"It was a starfighter battle" she huffed back "And I certainly did notice the Dark Side clinging to the system, and Dooku lied convincingly….though it did not feel like it does now. Not then"

"Or, perhaps, he himself did not know what this place, once upon a time" I replied honestly, and looked out at the swampy world below, from which the Darkness burned in unholy power. Now that the Veil the dear ol' Siddy had begun to shiver away…the Darkness burned ever Darker here than before I suspected. It was one of the reasons we were here. The Dark hid us from the view of others, just as the nature of the hyperlanes being largely unknown aided my mission "Even the Jedi didn't have this system identified in more than general terms in their star charts after all. Which suits us now, especially with then Confederates having a secret base at Ruusan of all places"

That still grated at me, largely because Ruusan would have given us options in our raiding, let alone the fact that it was Ruusan itself I had interest in. These systems would be off limits to be soon…hells, they should be already, but circumstances had brought us back to them, perhaps for one last time. Not having access to some then was annoying to say the least, and Dromund Kaas was far from an adequate replacement. Ruusan held so many dangers, yes, but so this godsdamned hellscape…but here we were.

The next one on the list being Yavin of course, because that was one of our fallbacks, one of several 'hidden' hyperlanes just like it had been for the Rebel Alliance of another time and place. In theory there were things worth looting here. In theory. Much like Korriban, Dromund Kass was a place filled with problems, mostly of horrific variety, just like most of the Esstran Sector in general. The Old Sith had not wanted to be noticed, at times at least, and old spells, dark and powerful, lingered on their worlds even now, long after they were dead and buried…

'The problem being that being dead doesn't necessarily mean not deadly dangerous either' I thought, surveying the world below as my fleet remained in formation in orbit, repairing as best we could. This kind of 'extended operations' situation was what I'd original planned the Stormcrow for, and of my fifty-two capital-class starships, three were effectively support classes. Built on a similar principle as the Stormcrow, though the designs were both small and different, as they'd been old ships of varying classes. Two were armoured colony ships that had been converted into battleships….back thousands of years ago. Now they were enabling this raiding strategy of staying away from civilized systems and dealing with minor damage at least.

"There is a presence here…"

"Well, we are partially here to kill them to, not just hide away from the galaxy at large" I agreed as she gestured at the darkness enshrouding the world below in our Force senses. Down there lay the Prophets of the Dark Side, or Palpatine's merry little band of helpers, or at least my own hazy knowledge indicated they used Dromund Kaas as a base, and Asajj had met one here back when she'd served Dooku. They were diviners…and I rather disliked people who could see my future plans, so, now that were here…they had to die. If they weren't actively allied Darth Sidious, I'd have left them be, but they were, they were competent, and they were dangerous. So, they had to go.

I nodded as droid-fighters began their patrols and blockade of the world below, ships sensors sniffing out for any signs of activity even as those Force Users in my service searched as well, albeit from space "Dromund Kaas has long been a testing ground. Now it is time that we use it so again, all while denying valuable assets to the enemy"

The sighed "It's just going to be unpleasant. Korriban levels of unpleasant potentially"

Asajj nodded. Watching with me as time ticked away while we secured the empty system, and sought out our prey amidst the ruins below…

--

[Several hours later]

[Republic Assault shuttle Avenger-02, Strike Brigade 'A Murder of Crows', descending to the surface of Dromund Kaas, near Dark Temple, Dromund System, Esstran Sector, Old Sith Empire Worlds, Outer Rim Territories]

I could tell Aayla Secura was disturbed by the concept of where we were, and what our mission was, even she was fully determined and committed to it as well. All while Celeste Morne might as well be whistling happily 'Gonna kill me some darksiders, gonna kill them all!' despite the stone face she was giving off through the see-through faceplate of her helmet. Of course, she'd happily kill Asajj too, as well as Karis and Naa'leth too, so there was that…

"Land zone secure Sir" disturbed me from such thoughts as I sat in my seal armour made of beskar and cortosis, with cortosis weave to ensure it was 'light' as possible. Runes were etched into it, imbued with the Force, just as with my personal droids and guards as my Murderous Crows descended to land. It was a mostly droid heavy deployment here, as I wasn't willing to risk anyone coming here who wasn't strong-willed enough and wasn't in the best armour I had. Armour that was both biohazards sealed, and that I'd also had what force protections I could manage imbued into them "We are descending. ETA two minutes to arrival"

"Copy that pilot" I replied tapping my comms, then signalling the others aboard, organic and synthetic "Prepare for disembarking, final readiness check before you get off. Do not forget anything on the checklist"

The Force was…dangerous here, in little things as much as big ones, and sometimes a little bureaucracy and order were the only way to try mitigating such things. I had Morne and Secura in the shuttle with me, with Asajj and the two nightsisters I was 'training' in another…just for safety's sake in these tight, confined, places and dangers below. Ahsoka would like to have come, but no way was I allowing that to happen, not after Korriban, not when we were getting her over the whole 'fear of falling' situation she'd experienced on…I wasn't sure where. Just that I didn't want to go there or meet the beings that were supposed to live there, which were most likely the Celestials. Meditation, with both myself and Celeste, had helped, but no point in tempting fate.

We arrived on time at least, dozens of LAATs descending in close to unison to where a 'base camp' had been established by the first wave of droids in a defensible location. It was a 'heavy brigade' in terms of strength, with several heavy tanks, ironically CIS models heavily modified, setup in defensive positions as I stepped out of the assault shuttle. Bastion, our improved tactical droid waited, as did the core of B1-RX Commando droids, not even the improved B-1s were used were risked here to being corrupted. All these units were experienced, having boarded Grysk ships, and the brigade would, hopefully, be enough for this mission. Attempting to Base Delta Zero might not be the best approach, much as disliked having to come down here as the Force could cause issues with such overt violence.

'Also…that likely be Foreseen by any decent Seer' I noted. The action would be just to wide ranging to hide as it were, while actions involving me and my closest should be shrouded to Sight to some degree. There were clearly settlements here, and the one ahead, in the forested, and fog shrouded, ruins of the destroyed city that enclosed the Dark Temple. There was energy readings, and while Asajj hadn't been here, it was clearly the source of her 'help' many years ago via signal efforts to breach my Stormcrow's Blackout Protocols.

'Which is in far better condition than it should be' was my immediate thoughts on that particular concern as I got unto a tank, gesturing for the hover armour to prepare to move out. Like Braika and my other guards I was jetpack equipped, all in our Mandalorian-style armour, even if Celeste had deliberately made efforts so hers looked not like that. Around us was…the taint of the Dark Side as some would put it, though it was more horror-videsque in physical appearance. So, my air support shrieked overhead as the armoured column began to move out, the perimeter defences at our fallback point formed up and ready as the sun struggled to break through the gloom of the forested swampy ground.

"There are…enemies…ahead" Celeste's voice came over the comms "I can sense them, they are…near"

'And there's our Jedi Shadow at work' I thought, giving a gesture, spider droids deploying as we moved nearer to where the 'temple' would be based on my own interpretations of this place. Or tomb, but I suspected temple based on knowledge not my own, from another time, as well as 'reaching out' into the Force for answers to this particular quest. This was a provocation on my part, but one that would hopefully draw out the Prophets, even if it was a forlorn hope that negotiations to my demands was possible. But, mostly, I needed to take this opportunity to deal with these Darksiders before they could help Sidious any more than they already had. Much like Cultists he'd sent after me in those Victory-class vessels before the Republic fell apart had it coming to.

I looked up as dark clouds began to rumble, the Force, the Darkness, growling out as movement began to appear on our tac-net from ahead of us. Forward from us our tiny spider droids blinked out, howls and shrieks coming from the forested ruins now, and I drew out my heavy blaster, dismounting along with the rest of my infantry as gungan style plasma shields snapped active. Lightsabers snapped active in the hands of others, but not in mine for now, as…wrongness…drew near. I brought up my blaster, the Force with me, and called for my forces to open fire as the first of the Abominations born of Sith Alchemy came charging towards us…

--