-Than-

I approached the throne room of Lord Terrias. His ship, Ascension, was his home away from home. Officially, it was a Star System Silencer, a gargantuan ship that contained enough weapons and troops to lay waste to a system without any support, though it never went anywhere without a personal fleet of Class Two Star Destroyers, Corvettes, Venators, Interdictors, Bombers, a Dreadnought, a horde of Assault carriers, Freighters, Gunboats, Gunships, Troop Transports, a few Scouts, some Shuttles, and more snubfighters than I can imagine.

The doors opened in front of me, and I walked onto the red velvet carpet that led through the middle of the jet-black floor. On either side of the carpet were two pillars made of the same black material as the floor. The only difference was that each of them had glowing cuts in them, intricate designs that would be impossible to see if they weren't a different color. The designs came together to create flames that encircled the pillars and reached all the way up to the ceiling above. The red carpet cut the room perfectly in half and led directly to the throne. There were no windows here. Instead, soft overhead lights illuminated the path to the throne, and the edges of the carpet glowed bright red. The walls had the same design as the pillars did, the glowing flames that looked to be trapped within the smooth black surface. Past the pillars, on either side of the carpet stood a wall of Seyley guards, each outfitted with ceremonial gold armor which had the most powerful shield tech out there. They each held large silver and gold staffs, but were trained in combat using most any weapons and were armed to the teeth. These were some of the most powerful warriors of my species. On the far end was a throne made of the same mysterious rock, but lacking the designs. It was awe-inspiring and intimidating at the same time. That was the point. Lord Terrias used this room to meet, impress, and intimidate. Behind the throne was a door that could barely be seen that led to his personal chambers and a slew of other private rooms he would use.

I recognized Charybdis, and I felt my blood boil. Charybdis was a Junel, a species of two and a half meter tall brutes with tough leathery skin that was covered in short hairs. Their strength far surpassed that of most species who were known for their strength, such as Wookies, Lasats, and Trandoshans. They've proven themselves to be adept at eliminating Jedi. They could be intelligent, but brute force was their preferred method. In many ways, they were very similar to Seyley. An intensely proud race of naturally capable warriors who expected to be the apex predator.

The tension and distaste that existed between the two was only natural. Both saw the other as a natural competitor.

I was no different. My role in the Alliance was not safe from competition.

For all intents and purposes, Charybdis was the Junel version of me. I walked towards Charybdis' hulking frame and stood beside him. His large frame towered over me, making me feel like a mere shadow.

"Vindicator," he grunted, his deep voice a reminder of the dangerous beast that hid within him.

"Charybdis" I said in return.

Despite our differences, there was a sense of mutual respect between us. Both of us were proven to be some of the most powerful warriors of our respective kinds and earned the right to act as Terrias' weapons. Most referred to me as Vindicator, even the Junel, out of respect for my position. The Alliance kept certain things from the species that joined it in an effort to satisfy them. The role of Vindicator was a Seyley tradition given to a warrior of the highest caliber. They saw this as a wonderful tradition to keep, although it was slightly repurposed.

Charybdis had silver hair which marked his age. However, his age did not make him weaker as what happened in most other species. He was just as strong as he was in his prime. His age showed that he was an extremely capable fighter who has survived countless battles, an impressive accomplishment considering the frequency of fighting within the species and their tendency to utilize brute, lethal force for most encounters.

"Thank you for coming, Valum. I know I just sent you to hunt down this… demon. However, Charybdis has informed me of something much more pressing. I don't know much about this demon your kind believes in, but news has spread rather quickly, and some Seyley have organized a rebellion and turned on us. The traitors have moved to Lothal and began speaking out against us. I have sent the Specs to silence these traitors, and I want you to assist them."

"As you wish, my Lord." I disliked the idea of killing other Seyley, but that didn't matter. My loyalty was expected.

"Dismissed," he said, waving at me to go.

I wondered why I was being sent out on this mission. Charybdis would love to slaughter some Seyley. He wouldn't even hesitate. Instead of going directly to the Specs, I decided to head to a training room on the Ascension to see if I could get some information.

Inside one of the training rooms was a Zabrak who was dueling with an assassin droid. I knew Lysis would be here.

When he heard the door open, he held up a hand to pause the droids so he could see who entered. When he recognized me, he put his hand down and continued slashing at the droid with the stick.

"What is this demon that the other Seyley keep muttering about?" he asked.

"A legend from the old religion."

He stopped the droid again and turned to me, wiping sweat from his face. He was different from most other Zabraks. His orange skin had no tattoos whatsoever.

"Interesting. You never held much stock in that nonsense, did you?"

"Never. Stories are stories. They don't concern men like me. Just men like you."

Lysis gave a small smile and took a drink of water. "You heard about Noreno?"

"Of course. Why?"

"It was a disaster." Lysis took another drink before saying "I advised Lord Terrias. If he had listened, Noreno would be in our control. Every decision made was Terrias' decision, and all were made completely counter to everything I said."

"If you were allowed to make all the decisions, we wouldn't be in a war."

Lysis smiled before frowning and saying "Between you and me, sometimes it seems like Lord Terrias has no intention of winning. It's almost like he means to prolong it indefinitely."

I rubbed my jaws and said "I don't know this for certain as the Force eludes me, but maybe he gains power from the suffering. I vaguely remember Grellan talking about it once. He would probably be the best one to ask."

Lysis stood motionless for a few moments before shrugging. "Perhaps I'll ask him. So, are you here for a friendly chat or do you have a question?"

"I'm sure you've heard that some have denounced the Alliance. I've been sent to track down these traitors."

He nodded. "I have heard that. I assume you want to know why you were chosen as opposed to Charybdis?"

I nodded.

"The resistance came from the garrison on Lothal, consisting of Seyley and Burhaj only. They are a rather specialized unit. Good at mid-range style combat, perfect for the rolling hills of the Lothal plains. But they've shacked themselves up in the hyperdrive factory on Lothal. That's where you'll be dropped off. They have home-field advantage. Charybdis… well… you know Charybdis. He's a violent and aggressive monster. He may be more strategic than the other Junel, but not by much." He said this with a slight hint of distaste. "Him and whatever team he brings will be eliminated in no time."

"Not exactly a bad thing" I grunted.

He smiled slightly, breaking the emotionless facade he always keeps up for a brief moment. "Agreed."

"What about Grellan?"

"Grellan is still busy."

"What's he been doing? He's been gone for months."

"I am not privy to that knowledge as of yet. I believe it has something to do with those trips Lord Terrias used to make to that old cargo ship a while back."

I remembered those. Lysis had mentioned them at some point to me.

"I miss the guy. Hope he returns soon," said Lysis. He never revealed emotions around anybody except us, and even then it was rare without any Mandalorian ale to loosen his tongue.

Lysis, Grellan, and I used to be the only ones in Lord Terrias' inner circle. Well, a more inner circle than most, anyways. We three spent a lot of time together, and a friendship between us seemed to naturally grow. Where Lysis could be more intense at times, Grellan was the life of the party. He was loud, funny, and a fantastic storyteller.

"Me too." The door opened and a Junel walked in. He spotted me and gave a low growl, but stayed in the room. I gave a quick goodbye and left the room before I 'accidentally' hurt him.

-0000-

Lord Terrias was in his chambers, fuming. As soon as he heard news of Noreno, he called his informant, but got nothing. He was forced to step away and act unfazed, as if this was nothing. But his rage was boiling inside. He was barely holding back the desire to destroy anything around him. He paced in his room like a caged vornskr.

At long last, a ringing came from his holoscreen. He waved his hand, using the Force to answer the call, and continued pacing. A hooded figure appeared, face completely concealed by a mask.

"Hello, old friend," said the figure in a robotically distorted voice.

"Hello? HELLO? WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED WITH NORENO?!" he screamed, finally letting his anger out. "I WAS TOLD IT WOULD BE A SIMPLE PLANET TO GET! EASY RESOURCES! ACCESS TO OUTER RIM PLANETS! A PLANET THAT THE ORDER WOULDN'T CARE ABOUT! "

The figure remained quiet as he screamed for a few more minutes. Eventually, he seemed to run out of things and just sat down, his muscles relaxing after the cathartic episode.

"The bomber was not one of ours. They weren't deployed. No records of them exist anywhere."

"Then who are they? Huh? SOME OF MY MEN ARE TURNING BECAUSE THEY THINK THAT THIS JEDI IS A DEMON!"

"I'm not sure. Not anybody under the Council's control. A rogue Jedi maybe?"

"A rogue Jedi? A rogue Jedi? You said that they're too blind to go rogue!"

"I may be mistaken. I will look into it, and I will try to get as many answers as possible and report to you."

He nodded, partially satisfied with the response.