Star Wars: Journey of a Fallen Sith

This will not be all the story, if any of you ghosts that stumble onto the Path again wish to read more, send me a message, I'll see it eventually.

Star Wars: Journey of a Fallen Sith.


Snap-hiss, the sound broke the silence, the room was cast in a dull red glow, the blade of pure energy was the only light in the room, it's wielder a dark silhouette. "You have learned much in a short time. But you still have much more." The voice was deep, and quiet, a voice used to those around it stopping to hear every word. The man walked closer to where he sat on his knees in the center of the room. "Only time will tell if you are worthy of the gift I'm giving you." The blade came to rest a hair's breadth from his shoulder. The man left it there for a moment, then did the same to his other shoulder. "I name you Lord Imotis. Rise and do my bidding."


KORRIBAN 6 YEARS AGO.


A nameless slave walked the halls of the sith academy. Two soldiers, in their grey uniforms walked in front of and behind him as the took him into the council chamber. A strong cold hit him as he walked through the door. It scared him, which made him angry. The Sith that had visited him at his parent's hovel had said that was good. That that would make him strong. 2 days later he had killed a fellow slave when the older boy had bullied him. Then the soldiers came for him, shot his parents and took him.


They pushed him into the center of the room, where a masked man stood. He wore a vibroblade instead of a lightsaber, he was no sith. But behind him sat five masked people. All were ablaze in the Force and carried intricate lightsabers. True Sith Lords. To the right of them stood the man who had visited him before. He was Pureblooded Sith, his skin a deep red, his eyes yellow. He had a strong face, tendrils protruded from his chin in what looked like a beard. He was clothed all in black and hooded. If not for his presence in the force he may not have noticed him. One of the guards struck him, forcing him to his knees as the vibroblade wielder stood before him. "This is the child Aras brings before us? This puny slave looks like he could barely fend off a womp rat let alone murder another slave." The hooded Sith, Aras, stepped forward. "A test then, draw your sword Corr, strike him down." He gave Aras a plaintive look as Corr laughed. "Against him, my fist  will be plenty" He struck the slave, knocking him to the floor, and kicked him when he started to rise. "If you know whats good for you slave you'll stay down." He saw Corr looking down at him, contempt in his eyes. One of the Sith spoke "End it Corr we grow tired of this farce." Corr nodded as he grabbed his vibroblade. "With pleasure." As he raised his arm to deal the death blow the slave felt something touching his mind. He felt his fear and anger within him. And he latched on to it, immersed himself in it. As Corr's arm started to swing his hand shot out, lightning erupting from his finger tips. The force of it sent Corr flying into the wall, he fell in a smoking heap. The guard had their weapons drawn and were ready to kill him. The last thing he saw before the darkness took him was Aras approaching, he heard words he couldn't make out, and then all was black.


(Wake up)

The world was dark, everything hurt, he couldn't hear anything over the pounding of his head. It felt like every part of his body had been burned. The pain was unbearable. (Wake up) he thought he heard a voice, but he couldn't tell if it was in his head or not. (WAKE UP!) His eyes flew open against his will, the light only made the pounding in his head worse, he almost retched, when his vision cleared he saw the yellow eyes and red skin of a Sith pureblood. He looked familiar. "You killed a Sith Lord." He recognized him now as Aras, the Sith that had visited him at his parents hovel. 'I what?' He instantly regretted speaking. Slaves did not speak to Sith unasked without a beating. He braced himself for the fist, but it never came. He opened his eyes again and found Aras staring at him. "What a peculiar slave you are." He got closer, uncomfortably close,those piercing yellow eyes felt like they were staring into his soul. "Such power hidden in that little body. Yes boy, you murdered a slave, and then at your trial you killed a Sith Lord, you know the punishment for this yes?" He shook his head, murder of a Sith Lord by a mere slave was unthinkable. "Death, normally a terrible one. Yet here you are, do you know why that is?" Again he shook his head. "Stand up, let me look at you." Despite everything in his body screaming no, he managed to get to his feet, Aras looked at him. "Had I not witnessed it twice I wouldn't believe it. Do you know what you did boy?" He shook his head again "Speak dammit! I know you're capable of it." He recoiled at the sudden terror and trembling he said. 'N..n.. No sir..' And it was the truth. He couldn't remember either time. Couldn't believe he did it. But if not, Why was he here? "You killed them, with the Force, you, a slave, killed a Sith Lord with lightning." He couldn't believe him, me, use the Force? "Now, have you guessed why you're here, and not dead?" 'No s.. Sir..' Aras laughed. "I'm going to beat that fear out of you boy, teach you to use it, use your anger, I'm going to make you Sith, from this day on, you are my apprentice, you will do what I say, when I say, disobedience equals death, failure equals death, do you understand me?" He looked at Aras. 'Yes s... Master..'


The next few weeks were torture, every day he would wake before the dawn, Aras had a list of duties for him to complete everyday, he called it training for his obedience, he hated it, it was just slave labor by another name, but failure equaled death, and he wasn't going to die, Aras made him meticulously clean the several rooms that he had on Korriban, it was where they lived, and Aras had forbidden him from leaving, he said to be known right now would be death, after he finished cleaning he was made to work on the droids his master owned, both the training droids and astromechs he kept in his otherwise bare living quarters. He had some mechanical knowledge, he would tinker with whatever junk he could find when he was working to clear out old Sith ruins, the children slaves were often used to crawl into crevices and openings to small for anyone else, made to look for Sith artifacts. It was apparently in one of those ruins where he had killed the slave with lightning. Lightning! He hoped he would get to learn something like that soon. Instead after he had finished his daily tasks his master had a protocol droid teaching him to read, and to write, teaching him Sith history, among other things. Sometimes Aras himself did it, he would teach him about the Force, and he taught him the Sith code. It was the first thing he ever read. His master made him recite it from memory. "Peace is a lie. There is only passion. Through passion I gain strength. Through strength I gain power. Through power I gain Victory. Through victory my chains are broken. The Force shall free me." When he had remembered it all it was one of the few times Aras has looked proud. He had said he needed him smart to be a good apprentice, and that it was all things a young acolyte would be learning at the academy anyways. After the daily learning sessions he was made to train his body, lifting heavy objects both with his body and the force, he also had to run until he was almost collapsing. At first none of this was too bad, exhausting yes, but bearable, and he could even see himself making progress. But after the first few weeks, Aras started setting goals, and if he couldn't do it, he shocked him. The first time it merely hurt, the second time he said it would kill. There never was a second time. Eventually Aras brought him into the training room and handed him a training saber. He began to teach him how to fight, he taught form after form, from fast, aggressive styles, to the more fluid defensive styles. After Aras was satisfied he had learned the style, he made him fight the droids. Sometimes one on one, sometimes in groups, the droids were only set to stun, but they still had the power to burn through clothes and blister skin if you weren't careful. He quickly became used to treating the burns, and using the Force to dull the pain. Every day this continued, sometimes his master would be gone, doing his own masters work. Over the time he'd been here he'd learned his master was only a Sith lord, and not a Darth, presumably he had wanted to use him to further that dream. He would gladly help. He was being made strong. So he would never have to be afraid. If that meant being used as a weapon, then he'd be the best weapon there ever was.

FIVE YEARS LATER


He was strong, and getting stronger every day. Aras sparred with him every day now using different training sabers. Some days wielding one, others two, they used dual sabers and double bladed. Often they used different types, he was to be able to fight any enemy anywhere. Aras had set up a gauntlet for training to block blaster bolts. He used it for his personal training, he believed in staying at his top form, as it would help him stay alive. He also made him train in it, though on much lower settings than Aras himself used. The first time he used it it left him with multiple burns all over his body. He still couldn't complete it at his level with his skill. As time went on their sparring became fiercer and fiercer, lasting longer, yet he could never win, Aras always seemed to be two steps ahead of him, his parries were always perfectly timed, or whenever he should have hit him Aras wasn't there. It was amazing, but still, he was improving.


One day after a particularly long sparring match where neither one could touch the other Aras brought him into the meditation room. "Your body is as ready as I can make it, your force power still has much room to grow, yet it is strong. It is almost time my apprentice." He pointed to a pile of parts on the floor, and handed him a crystal, it was red. "You are to build your first lightsaber, when you complete it I have a task for you." He left him alone in the room. 'My first lightsaber.' He said out loud to no one in particular. Sitting down infront of the parts he began to empty his mind, to fill himself with the Force. The pieces began to float in the air, coming together, beginning to resemble the handle of his weapon. The crystal floated into place as the last of the pieces clicked together. The now completed lightsaber comes to his hand, it's weight comfortable, he stands and ignites it. Snap-hiss, the sound loud in the empty room as the blade flares to life for the first time, a brilliant red. He swings it back and forth, getting a feel for the weightless blade, he then goes through the forms his master has taught him, that he painstakingly memorized over the last five years. From the basic Shii-cho form, to his favorite the aggressive Juyo. The movements were much easier with the lightsaber than they had been with the training ones. He struck this way and that, fighting invisible foes. He leapt into a downward swing, to slice through the invisible Jedi he was fighting, though instead of sailing through the air it landed on another red blade. "Good, I had faith you would complete it your first try. I am impressed. But are you ready to fight as the Sith do? Come at me boy, if you hold back I'll kill you." He didn't need telling twice, launching into a fierce assault, the force giving speed to his muscles. Aras parried every stroke, their blades moving in a red blur as they relied on their instincts and foresight to fight. He and his master fought, blade to blade, they would switch up styles, even in the middle of a swing. Seeing an opening he leapt towards Aras, who, seeing this, promptly dodged out of the way and sent him flying into the wall with a wave of force. "Never leap towards an expecting opponent, as it commits you to an unalterable course." As soon as he was back on his feet they resumed. Their blades connected countless times and still he could not gain an edge. Aras always seemed to be able to parry, or just be out of the way, it was infuriating, and the harder he fought the more Aras was able too. His anger surged before he remembered an old lesson "Do not let anger overcome you, use it, own it, control it. If it controls you you will die. An enraged man makes mistakes." One of the many things Aras had beaten into him over the years. Retreating into a defensive stance and taking a deep breath, he allowed himself to calm down, to channel that anger into his movements, without letting it rule him. The world became clearer then, this time when Aras came at him it was slower, easier to read than before, the parries easier to make than before. Their blades resumed their blurry dance, until finally both master and apprentice spun and held their lightsaber to the others neck. The two stared at each other, and he couldve sworn he'd seen something that looked like pride in his masters eyes, though it quickly disappeared. "Rest up, tomorrow it begins." He looked at Aras. 'It master?' Aras laughed as he walked out of the room. "Our rise."


He woke up early, as he always did, only this morning was different. Aras was in the meditation room as he entered to clean it. "Today your normal tasks are cancelled. Today you have a special one. After today you will No longer have to remain here in hiding. Today marks the beginning of our ascension. You are to kill Darth Niox, and you are too do it in secret, if you are caught. You will die. I can't save you from killing a Darth. Return here when it's done. Or don't return at all." He bowed before Aras. 'It will be done master.'


He left the quarters through the secret entrance his master had installed, specifically for him to be able to leave unbeknownst to anyone else. Aras had sent him on missions before. Even on assassinations before. But never a Darth. He'd also never had a lightsaber before either. He wants everyone to know another Sith did it. He thought to himself. While Aras is publicly visible elsewhere likely. He almost wondered if this Darth Niox was Aras's master. Then decided it didn't matter. He wouldn't fail. Garbed in the clothes of a slave, his lightsaber hidden, no one even bothered to look at him as he walked to the elevators that would take him to the Darth's floor of the Academy. Many of the Sith on Korriban lived here. Though not Aras, though he may have a room here. Niox did. He had a whole floor to himself. This will be too easy. He thought to himself. He took the slaves stairs and climbed to the desired floor. No guards stopped him. He looked every bit a slave. Including some subtle Force illusions to complete it. No one questioned him. It's almost too easy. The Darth's pride would be his downfall. He entered the Apartments unopposed. It was empty. It felt empty. Yet it felt wrong. He advanced cautiously in to what looked like the antechamber to a much larger room. Reaching out with the force told him there was only one person besides him in the entire floor. He hoped he was camouflaging his presence well. Or he may not live to find out. In the next room there was a tall man in black robes looking out a window, it was twilight, the sunset almost looked beautiful, if anything here could. He was about halfway across the room when the man said. "You may as well stop there. I sensed you in the stairwell." He turned and looked at him. It was a Sith pureblood, who looked to be middle aged. He didn't stop, merely ignited the lightsaber and rushed. Niox with no hesitation raised his hand and let out a surge of lightning. He caught it on the blade of the saber and flung it aside, he was in range and stabbed with his saber. The crimson blade directed for Niox's throat. In a flash the Darth's own blade met his, flinging him aside. Rebounding quickly he began a savage assault on the Sith Lord. Forcing him to stay on the defensive. He began to force Niox to give ground. The Sith Lord pushed him away with as much force as he could muster, sending him into the wall. Niox laughed and advanced on him. "You'll tell me who your master is. Before I kill you. I have a way of finding out what I want to know." Before the Sith Lord could get any he closer he sent his own blast of lightning, catching Niox off guard. He barely managed to deflect it. By then he was already resuming his attack. Focusing on his anger. Letting it calm and strengthen him. He began to outpace the Darth. All it took was one missed parry and he slipped through Niox's guard and took his head from his shoulders. He picked up the darth's saber with the force and hid it with his as he walked back out of the apartments, not stopping to look at the headless body.


The trek back to Aras's safe-house was mostly uneventful. A young Sith insulted him as he walked by, he just smiled back.  By the time he arrived it was firmly night time. He entered through the secret passage, he took a moment to clean the grime from his face, to change out of the slave garments into his black training suit he normally wore. He took a look at himself in the mirror, his eyes were blue, a blue like the sky over a planet much prettier than Korriban. His jet black hair was shaved, a little stubble was growing back.  Maybe I'll grow it out now, plenty of people saw me between here and there. The extra hair might help obscure himself next time. Aras's words echoed in his mind, "I can't save you from killing a Darth." Staring at himself in the mirror he swore he'd never need saving, from anything.


Done cleaning himself he went to the meditation room. Aras was waiting for him. He was wearing fine robes of black with silver accents, they were nicer than anything he normally wore. "Come in my apprentice, you have done well. The death of Niox has left a... vacancy in the project he was working on. A vacancy I will fill. But you need not concern yourself with that. I have other plans for you for now. Come here." He went to the center of the room and kneeled before his master. When the room went black, he didn't flinch. The dark was his ally, and he could feel only Aras and his own presence in the force. It was dead quiet, only the sound of their breathing was to be heard, and it was faint. Snap-hiss, the sound broke the silence, the room was cast in a dull red glow, the blade of pure energy was the only light in the room, it's wielder a dark silhouette. "You have learned much in a short time. But you still have much more." The voice was deep, and quiet, a voice used to those around it stopping to hear every word. The man walked closer to where he sat on his knees in the center of the room. "Only time will tell if you are worthy of the gift I'm giving you." The blade came to rest a hair's breadth from his shoulder. The man left it there for a moment, then did the same to his other shoulder. "I name you Lord Imotis. Now rise and do my bidding. Rise as my right hand. Rise and I promise you you will rise higher than your wildest dreams. Rise and become Sith." He stood and in his master's eyes he saw that strange prideful look again. Though again only for a flash. "You are slave no more. You are Lord Imotis. May our enemies tremble at the name." Imotis couldn't help but smile. 'Yes my master.' Aras turned to go out the room, Imotis followed. "We'll be leaving Korriban tomorrow, heading to the seat of the Empire, Dromuund Kaas. Your new clothes are already in your room, more stylish than you're used too I'm sure, but specially tailored to not restrict your movement. From now on you will be my formal apprentice, this will have you in the open more than any other time the past six years. Interacting with Sith peacefully. I hope you learned your lessons well. I don't deal well with embarrassment." With that he left him. His few possessions were already packed. He had robes similar to his master's, and on his bed was a credit chip and a note. "For a job well done." He took it and laid on the bed. A sense of satisfaction overtook him as sleep embraced him.


He was nervous, that almost made him laugh. He had killed criminals, had killed Sith, had killed a Darth. Yet the thought of stepping onto his master's starship was the most frightening one he had in years. He'd never been on a starship before. Never been in space. His master's ship wasn't very large, though it looked powerful, and with what he knew of Aras, it was that and more. He looked back, at Korriban,  at the nameless life of a slave, and Imotis walked into the ship, leaving Korriban, and that nameless life, behind him. He sat down in the chair next to his master, Aras was already going through the necessary checks and prepping for take-off. Imotis simply stared, he recognized controls and switches from his lessons, but he'd never flown. 'I'll change that.' He thought to himself, I want to see the galaxy. They were in the air now, and soon after that in the blackness of space. The stars began to streak and they left Korriban behind.


Almost no sooner than they had gone to hyperspace they dropped back out. They quickly enter the planet's, Dromuund Kaas he assumed, atmosphere. He saw trees for the first time in his life as they flew over the jungle and landed in the spaceport. Dromuund Kaas was the very opposite of Korriban, where Korriban was desolate wasteland Dromuund Kaas was jungle, it was raining. It hardly rained on Korriban. Aras made a quick holo-call before they went on their way, they skipped customs as several slaves were already making their way to the ship, random maintenance and cleaning they were made to do. He and his master skipped the customs terminals and went straight out of the spaceport, a speeder was waiting to take them to Kaas City. As they stepped outside he felt the warm rain on his face. The air was uncomfortably warm here. Korriban was scorching with it's heat, here it was suffocating. 'The Sith seem to love miserable places.' He said to his master as the walked to the speeder. "That we do boy, that we do." The speeder ride was fairly pleasant, it took a winding path through the jungle to emerge infront of a large city, they flew over it, heading towards a large structure ahead of them. "The Imperial Citadel." His master said. "The seat of the Emperor and his Dark Council. It is also where you and I will be officially living." He knew what his master left unsaid.  Officially meant Aras had a safehouse in the city. One he wanted kept secret. Where Imotis was sure he'd be spending much of his time.


He was right about that, three weeks had come to pass and he hadn't been in the Imperial citadel since that day. He was fine with that, the Citadel was unnaturally cold, and he had felt uneasy the entire time he was there. Maybe that was the point, keep everyone feeling off and it makes them less likely to oppose you. It seemed like a thing the Emperor of the Sith would do. Life on Dromuund Kaas was much the same for him as life on Korriban. Aras had his daily list of duties to complete, and then he would train, either by his self or when Aras was there they would train together. He could tell they were both getting stronger, their sparring matches were faster, and there were times when he couldn't keep up with it, he just allowed his body to move as it must, and it kept up. His force training was going exceptionally well, powers like lightning he mastered quickly, he still had trouble with using the force to self heal, but he was getting better, he was able too soothe the aches and bruises he aquired from training with his master fairly easily, but not much else. He could use it to sustain him, lasting days without food, water, or sleep, or to keep him fighting hours after he normally would have exhausted. He also was getting proficient at control, both simple mind tricks, and full domination, they both came to him easily. He was good enough that he could walk into Imperial requisitions, purchase something, and leave, with no one able to recall he was there. He did it once as an experiment, and once again to frame a rival Sith lord, using Imperial requisitions for certain substances was banned by anyone not authorized. The punishment is death, it was his first kill he didn't personally do, and he found it almost as fun. Aras encouraged it, yet would provide no help if he was caught. He also still sent him on missions whenever the need arrived. They allowed him to work on his stealth, both in mundane ways and with the force. Aras had him train to be sneaky without the force, and with it he became as close as one could to being invisible. It was a powerful feeling, without obscuring himself in the force he was able to break into Sith compounds, kill his target, and leave, with no one the wiser. If he used the Force he could walk in the front door of almost anywhere unseen. If he used a the right disguise, his master had taught him, there's no where he can't go.


After a little over a month of living there, his master came to him while he was meditating. His two lightsabers floating in pieces in front of him. He was replacing the power crystals in them. He was fitting the final pieces together as Aras walked in, Imotis didn't allow his concentration to break as he put the final touches on the lightsabers and sat them down. 'Yes my master?' His master looked pleased, whether with Imotis or himself he didnt know. "I have a special mission for you, I think it will provide a new challenge. Darth Tyrath is currently holding an illegal sermon, trying to taint others against the emperor. You are to kill him,  and anyone who tries to stop you. Right now, in front of anyone listening. No disguise, no sneaking. If this sermon is as long as his past ones. You have an hour." Oh, is that all? He cursed out loud and immediately went to his room, calling his sabers to him with the Force as he went.  He concealed his and wore the other at his side. He quickly dressed in his Sith robes. This was a public killing after all,  why not? He thought to himself with a smirk. Damn him, Aras had thrown him to the Tuk'kata. He gathered his anger and fear and used it to fuel him as he stepped out of the safe house. No hound would frighten him. He'd leave Aras stunned. He was a weapon, he would not fail.


The sermon, as it turned out, was in a very public place. Darth Tyrath must be crazy or stupid, and likely both to not only speak treason on Dromuund Kaas, but in the center of the market district at that. There was a crowd of at least 200 people. About 20 Sith military with blaster rifles standing guard in the front of his raised pavilion. 5 actual sith, likely lower ranked followers of his, another sith who was likely Tyrath's apprentice, and then the Darth himself. All standing on the pavilion. He was almost giddy thinking about it. The soldiers in front were the easiest for him to take out. As he forced his way to the front of the crowd, he had used the force to grab a shop kiosk and with all his power hurled it through the line, crushing bones and leaving no small amount of gore in it's wake. He called the lightsaber at his side to his right hand and activated it as he jumped up to the pavilion. Two of the lesser ranked Sith had just begun to reach for theirs, he slew them with a flick of his wrist, their heads fell to the ground. The next three had their sabers ready. One was in the middle of an overhead strike, the one beside him was lunging. He parried the lunge and impaled the Sith on his saber. While unleashing a blast of lightning on the other, causing him to fly off the pavilion. 23 people, dead, it hadn't taken him six seconds. The last of the low ranked Sith was white with fear, dropping his saber as he himself dropped to his knees. Imotis didn't even spare him a glance before he took the coward's head off. The apprentice was on him the instant his blade struck the coward. One of the blades on his saberstaff  heading straight for Imotis. The look of surprise on his face when his blade met the unexpected resistance of Imotis's own. Imotis wasted no time in pressing his attack, swinging both of his sabers wildly at the apprentice. He could barely keep up, the saberstaff barely countering. Imotis quickly began to outpace him. He dodged a slash and slashed the saberstaff in two, one step and one slash later and the apprentice fell over in two pieces. He had the Darth's attention now. In his eyes were surprise, and then only contempt. "This is his answer then? After everything? So be it." Imotis almost asked what he was talking about before stopping himself. But deciding to ask Aras later instead. Right now there was killing to do.

It was everything Imotis ever wanted from a fight. His emotions were surging, there was a bloodlust that didn't surface when he fought his master. Aras never knew he'd been holding back. Darth Tyrath had risen from a career of war and violence. A general in the last war against the Jedi, the man was a legend. A legend that ends with me, Imotis smirked. The Darth's eyes were cold. "He did make you crazy." What? It snapped him out of his battle trance. Tyrath noticed, immediately lunging for Imotis's throat. His block barely made it. His rage burned over then, into cold clarity. No wonder Aras seemed pleased, he's getting me to publicly take out a rival. In a way that wont cause trouble with the Emperor, and show his other enemies what they'd face. It was brilliant. Imotis couldn't be happier, he'd show them all his power. His sabers caught Tyrath's in a cross above their heads. Tyrath held them there with the force. With his other hand he lunged with a shikkar, a glass dagger some Sith favored. Imotis blasted it and Tyrath away with a force repulse that was more powerful than he meant it to be. He had almost blown Tyrath off the pavilion. The Darth gathered his power and unleashed a tremendous torrent of lightning at Imotis, who caught it on his blades, forcing it to go around him instead of killing him. Tyrath wasted no time, launching another blast as he rushed. Imotis deflected this one and threw one of his sabers, the blade of which left a long cut from Tyrath's mouth to his ear which was split in two. With a scream of pain and rage he attacked, his blade a furious onslaught. Imotis blocking every strike, they circled each other, each looking for an opening and neither finding one. They stood with their blades locked, glaring at each other. Imotis called his other blade back to his hand, sweeping across Tyrath's torso before he could dodge completely out of the way. The cut was shallow, but it was a distraction. A distraction that allowed Imotis to plunge one of the blades through his heart. Tyrath's eyes opened wide, the other blade swept his neck, removing it. Tyrath fell to the ground. Imotis called the sabers he hadn't broken to him. Putting them away, they were his now. He lifted the heads of the traitors with the force and casually tossed them into the crowd. Before pushing his way back through the stunned faces.


He was heading back to the safehouse, it wasn't a long walk, but he took a circuitous route. He was being followed, by atleast one person, that one was an amateur. He assumed at least one more was following him, staying better hidden. At least if it was something he truly needed to worry about he was. He slipped into an alleyway, waited for the tail to walk by, and he grabbed him, shoving him into the dark of the alley. It was a boy, younger than Imotis, he was wearing robes of an acolyte. "Release him." A voice said, a female voice. Imotis felt something press against his side. It was a shikkar. 'You know, you're the second person today to threaten me with one of those.' "Shut up, if you say one more word, I'll stab you." He smirked, only the boy could see it. The boy was so scared he looked like he... No, he did wet himself. 'One more word.' She didn't react, didn't move. An empty threat then. Twisting his body he was able to grab her wrist and hold it, pressing it against the boy's rib cage, he pressed his lightsaber hilt to the base of her skull. 'Shoulda stabbed me when you had the chance. Who sent you?' She didn't answer, only looked at him with rage and indignation in her eyes. 'Tell me, or he dies, by your hand.' The boy whimpered, and the rage in her eyes flared. He could feel it. 'Ah, your brother then, how tragic.' The tip of her shikkar pressed through his robes. "Stop! Please...stop, i'll tell you . My name is Jaeris, his is Crux. Our master is Darth Vecious, he's the one who sent us. Just with a message I swear." Imotis considered it, decided she wasn't lying, and held her wrist still. 'Out with it then. Time's wasting.' Her fury had left her, replaced with resignation. It made her beautiful brown eyes look sad. "Vecious sends his regards. With her free hand she showed a thermal detonator. Primed and ready to blow. Before she could remove her finger from the switch, he called the Force to him, the world went white, he never even heard the explosion.


Aras walked down the dark hallway, it was cold, but then it was always cold here in the citadel. The Dark Council was meeting in the floors above, and after Imotis's little show, he was sure they'd be furious. He himself was a little angry at the audacity of it. Just because he'd commanded a public kill didn't mean for quite that. You don't make a show of the kill. You just do it, but still, he was impressed, and proud. He'd seen the whole thing ofcourse. He wouldn't be a very effective Sith if his spies weren't good. The bit with the heads was an effective message, though it had made Imotis personal enemies. Oh well, he thought to himself. The boy has to be able to survive that too. Or he'd never last. He felt shock from Imotis in the force. The boy was either unable or never trying to hide his presence from him. But he dismissed it. It was his own problem. He reached the the end of the hallway and opened the door. He walked into the room and addressed the Sith within. "Tyrath is dead." He had his own problems after all.


Everything was white, the world, his vision. There was an unbearable ringing in his ears. But he was here to notice it. Good. He thought to himself. I'm alive, the shield worked. He had wrapped the Force around himself as quickly as he could, but was unable to cut off the light or sound. He knew his sight and hearing would return. Just not when. He did the only thing he could think of and hid within the force. Obscuring himself from sight as he ran, trusting his feelings to not hurt himself. When he was far enough away he sat against a wall, and devoted all his attention to staying hidden. He had no idea if it was working. But it was safer than returning to the safehouse blind and deaf. He used this time to think. Darth Vecious, I wonder who he is. Well, I wonder who he was, now he's a deadman. He used a suicide bomber. Smart, cowardly and dangerous. But smart, just because she's pretty, doesn't make it okay. He was not invincible, his master beat that into him daily. Both parts, this wasn't the first time a pretty face had caught him off guard. Though last time he'd merely said to much and Aras had had to kill the girl. Imotis was younger then, more naive. Though the pretty face still got you, didn't it? Aras would be pissed if he found out. He always finds out. It's a good thing my vision is returning. The ringing in his ears was less as well. Darth Vecious, yes, he was a deadman now. Once he could see and hear again he returned to the safe house. He wasn't followed. Aras wasn't there. Well at least I have time to clean up. Maybe even rest. He went to the refresher and cleaned the grime and blood from his body, from his hair. It went to his shoulders now. His black hair went to his shoulders now, he liked it there. He shaved off what little stubble had grown and looked at himself. His pale blue eyes gazed back at him. He went to the meditation room and sat, his lightsabers sitting in front of him. He had five of them now, including the apprentice's broken saberstaff. they were his trophies, and with Aras's training him in multiple weapons, they would become his tools.


Two days later, and he had his original lightsaber, the one he took from Darth Niox, a working saberstaff, and two shotos. Aras had returned halfway through the second day, but had not questioned him. When he finished he went to his master, he wore his tight fitting training robes with Niox's saber at his hip, and the saberstaff on his back. The other three were hidden on his person, the shotos concealed in his boots and his original within his robes. It had taken some modification to all his robes, but he was certain the blades were sercure and hidden, though lightsabers were both harder and easier to conceal than most things. They were only truly hidden due to how unorthodox Aras's training had been. It was why Imotis was here now. It had been days since they last sparred. Seeing him, Aras smiled, it was a rare sight. "It's good to see you well. Suicide bombers are often more fatal." So he knew, Of Course he knew. 'Well you know, couldn't embarrass myself like that.' Aras drew his saber. It's crimson blade flaring to life as Imotis grabbed the saberstaff. He was less experienced with the saberstaff's style, the two blades were hard to control. But practice made perfect.


After their spar they sat together in the meditation room. "So tell me about the bombing. What happened?" Imotis told him everything, except his failure with the shield, and what the woman had said before she detonated the bomb. 'Master, who is Darth Vecious?' A flash of surprise that was quickly smothered crossed his masters face, and then something that looked like regret. "Vecious is a member of the Dark Council, and not someone to be crossed lightly." Ofcourse he is.. 'He's a deadman, he's the one who sent the bomber.' Aras sighed, "I had guessed as much when you asked. I had planned to kill him eventually. But not so early, boy you may have killed two Darth's but the Dark Council is another level. They have Darth's under them, they're second only to the Emperor. If you're determined to go after one of them you'll have to be patient. It'll take time for me to maneuver to have his death benefit us. Instead of someone else. Vecious is head of the Sphere of military offense. He is literally the head of our military. I'll begin working on the necessary preparations. In the meantime I expect you'll be busy. I'm giving you your own safe-house. Though I will expect you to report to me here, Or at the citadel if necessary. For continued training and to report on and receive new assignments."


His safehouse was smaller, only having three rooms, but it was his. It had a bedroom, a kitchen, and a room he had made his training room/armory. It was a very modest apartment for a Sith Lord, but on Dromuund Kaas, that meant hidden. It also helped this was not his official residence, that was a couple buildings over, he could see it from here. That one was much nicer, much larger, and a complete decoy. The security system was set up to alarm him when anyone entered, and the entire apartment had been wired with thermal detonator charges, with a push of a button he could wipe out the apartment, and the floors directly above and below it. It would be a ton of collateral damage, but it was a last resort. If he needed to look dead or Vecious was stupid enough to go himself, he would blow it. It wasn't the best plan, but it was a plan. No more attacks had happened since the bombing a week ago, so one was likely coming. He doubted Vecious would give up so easily, and being on the Dark Council he was above reproach by anyone but the Emperor himself. If he so chose, he could just send Sith kill squads after him, it'd be a waste of time, but he could and likely would send them. Imotis looked at his chronometer, it was almost time to meet with Aras. He dressed in his modified robes and hid the shotos and his saber, he wore the other saber on his side and the saberstaff on his back. Gathering the force around him, his presence in the force disappeared as he himself became harder to see, he left his apartment, and made his way to the Citadel.


The Citadel was as cold and unnerving as ever, immediately making him uneasy as he stepped off the taxi and crossed the archways of the entrance. It wasn't very busy at this hour, a few Sith here and there, likely plotting to betray someone or other. He noticed one of them watching him, intently, through the Force he could barely feel him. When Imotis turned his way he was gone. He continued on his way, no one would fight within the Citadel. Not even the Dark Council. Too many eyes, too many unknowns, no Sith was that foolish. He made his way to his master's chambers, Aras was sitting at a desk within, his master looked at him as he entered. "Things are moving faster than expected. It is almost too late to start setting our plans in motion my apprentice, we have one final obstacle. Cipher 7 and his handler Watcher 4. Imperial intelligence operatives ordered by Vecious to track your every move, and kill you if you try to leave Dromuund Kaas. You need to eliminate them. Tonight, in the next five hours. Otherwise, you'll never leave Dromuund Kaas, and Vecious will eventually kill you." Aras stood now and handed him a slip of paper with two lines of numbers on it. "The coordinates for the planet we'll meet on, and the coordinates for where. After you leave here we won't see each other for awhile, after dealing with the Intelligence agents, find a way off world, I don't care how or where you go, from there go somewhere else, purchase a ship, and head to those coordinates. You have seven standard days, if it's going to take longer, disappear. They'll never stop hunting you, but they are not inescapable." With this Aras clasped his shoulder. "You are as prepared for your destiny as I can make you, you can become a great Sith, you just have to survive. I hope to see you again. It'd be a pain to try and replace you."


Imotis walked through the streets in a hurry, his mind a flurry of thought on how he was to deal with the intelligence agents. By now he had four hours left, or he was as good as dead. He already knew who the Cipher was, the "sith" he had seen but hardly felt at the Citadel. He assumed he was a cyborg, Imperial Intelligence liked their operatives less than human, and cybernetics were one of the few ways regular people could keep up with Force-users. He wouldn't be a problem, if he didn't take care of them both the Watcher would just keep sending agents after him, and he needed to be dealt with in a way where Imotis could actually be able to disappear, he needed to not be hunted for the seven days he had been given. Finding a way off world would be easy, he'd stowaway on a freighter bound for Hutta. The Hutts did a large amount of trade with the Empire, and ships of goods and slaves were always coming snd going. He had walked to a cantina in a seedy part of Kaas city, there was cartel presence here, and where there was cartel, there are smugglers. He walked up to the bartender, a human male who looked to be in his fifties with a surly face, and ordered a drink. When the bartender placed it on the counter Imotis handed him a credit chip, and with a strong force suggestion asked. 'You wouldn't happen to know any pilots around here would you?' The bartender almost laughed. "Ofcourse we've got pilots! What do you need flown kid?" Imotis let that slide but still glared, all his sabers were hidden right now, and he had changed out of his Sith robes before leaving the Citadel. So he couldn't really fault the man for saying it. But he still wanted to throw him through the wall. 'Myself. I need offworld. Two hours ago.' The bartender started to point out someone before Imotis's danger sense erupted, he dodged out of the way and the bartenders head exploded. A man in plain clothes was holding a large blaster with a metal hand. Imotis wasted no time spinning into a kick aimed at the man's ribs, it landed hard and he heard a loud crack. The man gasped but still aimed his pistol at Imotis's head. Before he could fire Imotis had grabbed his hand and with the force threw a bottle into his face, the glass breaking, making him let go of the gun. Imotis called it to himself and shot him in the face, again and again. The cantina was in stunned silence. Imotis smirked before shooting everyone else and putting the gun back in the agents hand, it'd give him a slight cover. He found the Ciphers comlink and sent a coded message. -He's dead. Tried to leave the system- and quickly got a reply -acknowledged, meet at these coordinates- Imotis smirked, the Watcher had just made his job easy.


He arrived at the coordinates given, they had led to what looked like an abandoned warehouse, he ignored the main entrances and looked for a hidden one, he quickly found one and quietly entered the building. On the inside it was very different, monitors were spread across the walls, with a large conglomeration of them at the far side of the room. At a desk in front of it sat a man, who looked to be watching the screens intently. There was no one else in the building. 'This is too easy.' He thought to himself and extended his force senses wide, he couldn't feel anything, no danger, just the calm, work focused mind of the man at the desk. Imotis reached out and clamped down on him with the force, eliciting a gasp of surprise and an extremely feeling of surprise and dread. Imotis walked up behind him. 'Are you Watcher 4?' The man blanched but said nothing, merely stared forward defiantly. With barely a thought Imotis slammed his head into the desk with the force. 'Second chance, are you, Watcher 4?' The man whimpered, "No.." Imotis slammed his head into the desk again. 'Your feelings betray you. Lie to me again and I'll leave you alive, but in agony so great you'll only beg for death when they find you.' The man spat blood and what looked like fragments from a tooth onto the desk. "What do you want from me?" He said through what was obviously great pain. Imotis laid a shock collar and a blaster pistol on the desk. 'Choose, put on the collar, serve me, and continue to tell your superiors I'm on Dromuund Kaas. Or pick up that pistol, and kill yourself now, I wont be so merciful.' He released the man from his force grip and stood back, watching. Unsurprisingly the Watcher grabbed the pistol and pointed it at himself, and then quickly point it at Imotis and pulled the trigger, nothing happened. The Watcher stared at him, fear plain in his eyes. Imotis just looked at him, with what was almost a look of pity. 'Oh, well you most certainly shouldn't have done that.'


He stepped out of the refresher looking like a new person. Having shaved half his hair and applying blue dye to the rest, as well as discarding his Sith clothing for a more casual look. A brown jacket and grey flight pants over his training fatigues. He looked every bit a random vagrant instead of Sith lord. Checking his chronometer to see he had an hour and half left of his five, he decided to waste no time in getting off world and headed to the docks.

A man sat at a desk in a room filled with monitors, now all blank but one. It showed himself, battered and bloodied, but alive. He was bound to the chair, he wasn't sure how but if he moved all he got was excruciating pain. So he sat, and waited. It was almost time to send the signal that things were unchanged to his superiors. They would acknowledge, and then he would continue waiting, or they would request a holocom, and he would die. It was all there was for him, if he sent anything other than the ok, the explosives the Sith had wired to him would explode. So he sat, in pain but not dead, he still had hope. The monitor blipped with their response, an acknowledgement. He sighed and thought of home. A time before Imperial intelligence. He held his memories close and he waited.


The docks were busy as always, workers rushing back and forth trying to unload or load whatever cargo they had. It made it easy for him to slice a terminal and find a ship going to Hutta, once he found one to his satisfaction he slipped his way through the crowd and headed towards the ship. It was an old ugly freighter, with a large cargo bay full of supplies going to the Hutt's homeworld. The ship's crew was busy loading the last of it's cargo, he waited patiently for them to finish and the dock-master to come inspect them, the Sith were nothing if not paranoid. Imotis walked up to him. He looked at him"Can I help you sir?" With a wave of his hand and a slight exertion in the force Imotis replied. 'Oh don't mind me just need to secure the rations.' The dock-master nodded and went back to his work. Imotis made his way to a fairly large container and slipped into it, settling into a meditation trance and waiting.


He awoke some time later as the ship dropped out of hyperspace and began to land. He stood and then realized something was wrong, very wrong. Reaching out in the force he felt large amounts of fear in the crew, and a large amount of anticipation and bloodlust somewhere away from the freighter.  Pirates then, wonderful. He wondered if they'd even made it to Hutta, though they were clearly out of Empire space and in the Hutt's, it was especially stupid to prey on vessels in the Empire's grasp. Never knew when you'd piss off a Sith with nothing better to do. He almost laughed at the irony as the ship shook from what felt like a concussion missile. They meant to board the ship, not wreck it, that was good, for him. Bad for everyone else on the ship though. He was supposed to be in hiding after all. The ship shuddered and he felt the pirates anticipation and and the freighter crew's fear as the shooting started. He grabbed his saberstaff from the hidden holster he had made for it on his back, and ignited both of the blades as the door opened. Frightened crew poured through it rushing to try and make it to the escape pods, he cut down the ones that didn't freeze when they saw him. Those that did ended up getting blasted by the pirates behind them. When Imotis stepped through the door their eyes grew wide with fear and they started shooting wildly at him, he spun the saberstaff around, sending the bolts into their chests, killing them. There were still sounds of fighting around the ship but Imotis headed straight for the bridge.


If he ignored the sounds of fighting around the ship his walk to the bridge was almost peaceful. When he got there he snapped the captain's neck and sliced a terminal. He discovered they were indeed above Hutta, and felt a small measure of relief. Some part of the initial plan had gone right at least. Now he just had to rig both of these ships to blow and steal an escape pod down to the planet. Simple enough. From where he was at he was able to give himself remote access to the ships functions via his datapad. With that he'd be able to remotely trigger all the escape pods and set the ships reactor core to blow. Leaving the bridge, he made his way to where the pirates had boarded. Their docking tube was still attached, so he crossed over to their ship. The only life he felt was towards the front, likely the pilot who'd be waiting for the rest of them to return. Once he was across he separated the ships and launched all the escape pods in the freighter. Trapping everyone over there on the ship, he considered for a moment to just steal this one but decided against it. They were either very stupid pirates, or under the Hutt's direct employ. Both meant this ship was known, so he stuck with his original plan. He made his way to the bridge of this ship, the pilot spun around, pulling his blaster as he did, it left the holster and flew into Imotis's hand. Who proceeded to put a blaster bolt directly in the mans forehead, leaving a smoking hole. By now he felt the fear of the pirates as they realized they were trapped. "Banker what's going on? Where's the kriffing docking tube?" The voice came from a comlink on the console. Imotis picked it up on his way out of the bridge and answered. 'There seems to be a change in plans, Banker's gone and got himself blasted through the brain.' Imotis had time to settle into an escape pod and was about to trigger the ships cores when the voice replied. "Who are you? What are you doing on my ship?" Imotis smirked as he replied. 'Your ship? Funny, cuz from where I'm at it's looks like debris.' He pressed the button. 'Or at least it will in about two minutes.' He launched the escape pod and the ships began to get smaller and smaller. He crushed the comlink and sat back. Waiting for the fireworks, the fear of those still alive on the freighter was so strong he couldn't not feel it if he tried. A few seconds later and it all disappeared in a flash so bright it looked like a star for a second. Then there was only debris, the fireworks didn't disappoint.


His landing zone did, he was miles away from the nearest civilization, standing knee deep in murky swamp water, trying to put distance between him and his pod, he had taken great pains to reseal it and make it look like any of the other empty pods that would have came to land on the planet. He'd launched them all to both prevent survivors and to obscure his own landing point, hopefully if anyone was following him they'd either think he was dead, or have a hard time knowing which pod was his. He'd seen a city to the north of him on his descent, so thats where he was going. It was hot, and the swamp wasn't making it any better on him. It was slow miserable going for hours, and finally at sunset he was stepping out of the swamp onto mostly dry land. He sat against a moss covered stump for a second and changed his boots. He wasn't sure how long it would take to get to the city he had seen, but he'd like to have feet when he got there. As he sat against the stump he saw smoke in the distance, and then his danger sense started to nettle. He sighed  and grabbed one of his lightsabers. Holding his breath and trying to conceal himself he heard multiple sets of boots, they were heavy. He could feel five different presences, each scanning the area. "There's nothing here." This voice sounded like a teenaged male. "Well something tripped our sensors, and it wasn't any animal around." This one was older, more gruff. He heard more steps and then silence, he gripped his blade and sprung as the trunk he was leaning against. Igniting the blade in time to bat three more blasts away. He landed infront of five heavily armored people with blaster rifles leveled at him. Though their armors varied quite a bit in coloration the T-shaped visor was very distinctive. They stared at eachother,  the five arrayed in a semi circle infront of him. The two in the middle, one of them being the younger voice he had heard earlier was the first to speak. "Buir is he Jetii?" The elder, likely his father as they were wearing the same coloration of armor, all black except the helmet and left arm  up to the shoulder, which were gray. The elder one also had a jet pack and a gray kama around his waist. A large saber hang from his hip. The others in the group had plainer armor, of different colors. The elder replied. "No, he's dar'jetii." Imotis glared, 'I believe the term you're looking for is Sith.' A chuckle from the group as the elder, also clearly their leader said. "It's all the same to us." He lowered his rifle and the others followed. "We have no reason to shoot you." Imotis deactivated his blade. 'Well isn't that a relief. I don't suppose you'd be willing to give me a ride to the nearest city?' He didn't bother trying a force persuasion, it was a waste of time and not worth getting shot over. He shook his head. "Going the other way, but you're welcome to make camp with us tonight. Provided you don't mind being watched." Imotis replied. 'Like you wouldn't be watching me anyways? I'll take the already made fire thanks.'


He followed them back to their camp in silence, their boots squishing the ground the only sound. He walked beside the leader, with the others slightly behind them. It would almost have unnerved him, but he felt no hostile intent from them. They had given him their word, and that meant something to a Mandalorian. At least that's what Aras had said about them, and he seemed to hold them in fairly high regard. They arrived at the camp in short order, it was small and tidy, the company was apparently traveling on speederbike, as five of them were arrayed around the camp, a low burning fire lie in the center of the camp. The Mandalorians spread out then, each heading to their own tent, all but the youngest, the leaders son. He sat by the fire cleaning his rifle, his helmet lay beside him. His hair was short, and brown. Imotis sat with him, causing him to look up. 'What not tired?' Imotis asked him. He laughed and replied. "Somebody's got to watch you, my turn first." He finished with his rifle and began to do the same to a blaster pistol. "You got a name Sith?" He looked up at him, green eyes staring at him. 'Imotis.' "Do all you Sith have such strange names?" Imotis couldn't help himself, he laughed. 'Yes, we do, makes us feel scary and powerful. What do they call you Mando?' He replied proudly, "I'm Mace of the clan Kron. Best fighters on all of Mandalore!" There was a chuckle from behind him. "Careful Mace, don't let Mand'alor hear you. He might make me fight him, and I don't want the job." His father had walked up, he sat beside them and removed his helmet. There was a hard face underneath, several scars and a shaved head. He had removed his jet pack, but still wore the kama and the saber. He noticed him looking at it then. "Like the saber? It's called a beskad, maybe not as fancy as your lightsaber. But it's made of good strong beskar, Mandalorian Iron." He drew it, the blade was flat, and sharp on one edge that tapered up to a point. He held it out to him, handle first. Imotis grabbed the weapon, it was heavy, he stood and swung it a few times before handing it back. 'A little too heavy for me, though I'll bet it's useful.' He nodded back. "It'll cleave limbs almost as easily as your sabers." He sheathed the blade again. "I've fought with Sith before, against them too, that normally pays less though." He said with a laugh. "That blade saved my life, more than once. Blasters aren't very useful against your kind." Imotis looked at him then. 'Do you have much experience with "my kind"?' His eyes turned hard, dangerous. "Enough to still be alive." Imotis only smiled. 'I may need to hire you someday then.' The older man laughed then. "I like you kid, I may just accept. The name's Araven Kron."


The morning came to find him already on his way north, heading towards what he now knew to be Kibuna City. The Mandos had told him that before they parted, they also told him a bit about the ruling Hutt, Girada. He hoped to avoid dealing with him though. He planned on stowing away to Tatooine, where he would try to purchase a ship. Then meet Aras at the coordinates he gave him. First he had to get to Kibuna. Though it was still early morning it was already unpleasantly warm, his shirt was quickly drenched in his own sweat. Or maybe it was the air, it was almost thick enough to drink. He made his way through both swamp and dry-land for several hours until finally he reached the outskirts of the city. It was almost midday, and the streets of the city were fairly busy with vendors peddling their wares, some food, others perfume, many were offering clothes and jewelry. Many different species; human, zabrak, twi'leks, toydarians, even a few quarren all that he could see around. It made an easy crowd to blend in too. One of the benefits to being human, there were few places he was out of place, and fewer still with the training he'd had. He made his way with the crowd, and asked a random passerby where the space-docks were. Though when he looked at her for her answer he never heard it, he was struck by her beauty. Her hair was spun gold that lay past her shoulders, her eyes verdant gems that took his breath away. - He saw burning buildings and heard a starfighter whine as it flew over head. It's cannons chugging away. All around he saw blaster lasers flying, lightsaber blades clashing, a wave a red crashing against an array of colors. He heard a voice calling to him, a voice he'd never heard, calling a name he'd never had.- He came to with a start, to see the golden haired beauty staring at him. "Are you all right?" She asked him, a worried look on her face. With a slight blush he responded. 'I'm fine, I just spaced out, I do that sometimes.' His answer didn't satisfy her, he didn't need the Force to tell him that, it was plain enough. But she let it go, instead saying. "Here, the docks are this way, I have time to show you, this city's a maze for newcomers." He was already following her before he realized he went with her too quickly. Aras was right, pretty girls would be the death of him if he weren't careful. But he could feel nothing off about her in the force, she was calm, no hint of deceit. Either she was being honest, or was very good at hiding her emotions. But what was that he had seen when he first looked at her? He'd heard of Force visions but he'd never experienced one. He looked at her again to find her staring at him. "You're a strange one aren't you?" She had a puzzled look on her face, like she was trying to figure him out. He was hiding his presence in the force, not completely, but enough to make any force sensitive person not look twice. He resisted the urge to hide it completely, if the girl were a Force user she'd notice, which would blow his cover. He flashed a smile. 'No stranger than you, just staring.' She hmphed at that and kept walking, he followed. They made their way through winding streets and crowds, the industrial smell of the city growing worse the further they went. The crowds hadn't changed, but the area around did. The street vendors were all gone here, and there was at least one armed guard every fifty meters. She noticed him eyeing them all. "We're getting closer to Girada's palace, he's a paranoid one." He snorted, 'Useful trait for a Hutt I'd imagine.' That brought a chuckle from her. They kept walking, and the guard presence only increased. Imotis pondered this, most rulers wouldn't want their palace near the spaceport, two easy targets instead of one, but if Girada was as paranoid as she said.. maybe he didn't have as many guards as he wanted people to think. He filed that thought away for now, it may never matter, it may save his life. Aras had taught him no detail should be over looked. He had seen few guards on the outskirts, though he had to wonder how safe the Hutts felt on their own planet. He was pulled from his thoughts as his danger sense began to prickle, he looked up to see a couple guards heading towards them.


She did a remarkable job at staying calm, which only reinforced his suspicions about her, as they approached blaster rifles in hand. He sensed hostility, though that was to be expected from Hutt guards. "You two, stop!" Without breaking her stride she waved her hand and said. "You don't need to stop us." Imotis immediately clamped down on his surprise, projecting only calm. The guard nodded. "We don't need to stop you, get out of here." They hurried on their way, taking care to not draw attention to themselves. They had gone two blocks before they stopped. He looked at her, 'You're a Jedi?' She nodded. "Yep, I finished my trials just a few months ago." She's proud of it, she didn't hesitate to answer.... would I? He thought to himself, though he knew the answer. Secrecy was second nature to him. But what should he do about her? She was an enemy, he knew what he should do. But a stray thought wouldn't stop bothering him, was she an enemy? She didn't know he was Sith, and she had jumped to both of their defense when the guards approached them, why do anything? It's what the Empire would want, but not his master, Aras would want him to complete his mission. That meant staying hidden, and also not killing the shapely blonde woman in front of him. For which he was entirely thankful. She had stopped again, this time to let a line of hovertanks pass. 'That's an awful lot of fire power for paranoia.' She didn't say anything, he felt unease from her, and from the people around them. That told him this wasn't normal. Once the tanks had passed they continued walking. "So what's your name anyways?" Such a simple question sent a chill down Imotis's spine, he couldn't tell her his Sith name, not if he wanted to stay hidden, so he found himself answering without thinking. 'Jaken, what's yours?'  She smiled then, it lit up her green eyes. "That's a nice name, mine's Krista."


Almost all too soon, they arrived at the spaceport. The air was thick with the smell of exhaust. The spaceport was chaotic, a  cacophony from voices both human and not all fought to be heard over both each other, and the ships all around. It was the kind of scene he wouldn't have seen in Sith space. There was an undercurrent of eagerness pulsating through the Force, he assumed it was just the feelings of traders and smugglers. He then saw several Gamorreans, there were about seven of the pig men, two of them were holding large blasters, the others had the axes they were famous for, and a group of armored men, all bearing Girada's symbol. The eagerness quickly gave way to malice, things were about to go very wrong. She sensed it too, or he thought she did as he felt a small amount of fear emanating from her. 'Do you have a safe place to go?' He leaned in close to speak quietly to her. She nodded. 'Then go, before this gets bad.' She looked at him then and felt her fear spike and disappear. "No, fear leads to the dark side." He held back from glaring at her but said. 'And getting in the way of an angry Hutt leads to death. Yours or many others.' This almost seemed to sway her, when a voice boomed out over speakers. "In the name of Girada the Hutt no one is leaving this city." Almost at once blaster's safeties started clicking off. He shoved her to the ground as the first shots fired off. He wasn't sure if it was one of the Hutt's men or not, but it was chaos after that. Blasters firing and people shouting. Krista glared at him before springing up, a violet blade flaring to life in her hand as she deflected blaster bolts from both sides. She was doing quite well at non-lethally deflecting bolts into hands or other blasters. A gamorrean lumbered up behind her, his axe raised to strike. Imotis made sure he never got the chance by leaping into the gamorreans chest, kicking him away, he felt the crunch of bone as the pigman staggered back and crumpled to the floor. Krista gaped at him for a moment, and a moment was all it took for a blaster bolt to slam her in the shoulder, knocking the blade from her grip and sending her spinning to the ground.


When he saw her hit the ground the world went red. Damn the consequences of my actions. He called her saber to him catching it and with a spin deflecting three blaster bolts straight back into the faces of the men who shot them. He crushed the throats of two more with the force, using enough strength to break their necks. With two more flicks of the violet blade sending bolts back towards whoever fired them the spaceport grew silent. A quick glance told him everyone was either dead, fled, or hiding, so he went back to Krista. She was breathing steadily, but her wound looked bad and she wasn't conscious she had probably entered a healing trance. A quick search of her things and he found a comlink that was buzzing. He answered it and a small hologram of a man, who looked to be in his fifties wearing Jedi robes, appeared. Ah, great, a Jedi master, Imotis thought to himself. "Who are you? Where's Krista?"  The hologram said. 'My name's Jaken, Krista's been injured, she needs help now.' The hologram considered this for a moment before saying. "I'm sending coordinates to that comlink, bring her to them. Hurry but be careful. Kibuna city is at war with itself."


The Jedi master had been right Kibuna was a warzone, smoke was rising across the entire city, the sounds of blaster fire or explosives were inescapable. More than once Imotis had seen guards shooting at each other, and far more often he saw them fighting with citizens of the city. Though no one saw him or Krista, whom he was trying to carry without jostling her more than necessary, she was still unconscious and he was certain now she was in a healing trance. He had smothered both of their presences in the Force and also was maintaining an illusion to hide them, and subtly suggest to anyone who happened to look in their direction that they needed to look elsewhere. It was taking him a great deal of effort to maintain it all. His body felt like he was surrounded by flame, yet he never considered giving up, he couldn't. He was the reason Krista was hurt, his master would probably have killed him for this. But Aras wasn't here, and Imotis still had days to make his deadline. So onwards he went, the coordinates he had been sent had taken him about an hours walk to get there. The coordinates had led through an alleyway into an empty courtyard. He gently sat her down and as focused as he was didn't notice the Republic troopers until they'd blocked off the entrances. He sighed as he stood back up. A man in dark brown robes was approaching him. A plain lightsaber handle, it's only adornments were gold rings around the base and emitter. He stopped far enough away that Imotis would have had to leap to reach him. "What happened to her Sith?" Imotis's breath caught and he had to fight the urge to go for his saber. 'What?' "Don't try to hide it, I can feel the darkside on you, it clings to you." The Jedi's hands were behind his back. 'A firefight broke out in the docks, she tried to put a nonlethal end to it, she took a blasterbolt to the shoulder.' The Jedi looked at him, stared at him, likely trying to figure out if he was just lying to him and that good at hiding it. "Why were you with her? One of the troopers here was following her, he didn't see how you ended up with her." The Jedi's voice was tinged with suspicion. 'I asked her for directions to the spaceport.' This time the Jedi couldn't hide his confusion, he had expected Imotis to be lying to him. The soldiers around them were on edge, obviously nervous to have a Sith among them, or nervous to be holding in one place with all the fighting going on. 'I swear that's all I wanted from her. I didn't even know she was a Jedi at first. I brought her to you, I'm going to assume she's safe now, so I'm going to leave.' The Jedi master looked at him for a long moment, before finally sighing and saying. "It's a shame you weren't born in the Republic. Get out of here Sith, don't make me regret letting you go." You'd really regret trying to make me stay, Imotis thought to himself. He backed away slowly the way he came, the soldiers watched him, he didn't turn around until he was out of the alley, not trusting the soldiers to not try and shoot him in the back. He made his way down a mostly empty street, a few bodies were the only occupants, wondering how he was getting off the planet now. The city is on lockdown, any ship attempting to flee would be shot down... unless it had a friendly signature, so one of the Hutt's ships. That meant breaking into Girada's palace and likely going into the thick of the fighting. That sent a grim smile to his lips. Good... I need to let off some steam.


Imotis dashed down the streets of Kibuna, the battle had moved out of this sector already, which made him feel slightly better about leaving Krista behind. Not that I had much of a choice, he thought to himself. He made much better time, what had taken an hour carrying Krista took him around five minutes to do while running with the strength of the force behind him. Stealth no longer mattered to him, only speed. It didn't take long for him to start passing some of Girada's soldiers, or at least they were dressed like it. He had seen them fighting each other earlier, he figured that meant a coup was underway. He almost considered trying to profit from this situation, but figured that would draw too much attention to himself. He could hear laser fire and explosions again, he was getting closer to Girada's palace, he could see the large walls and the buildings beyond them one of those walls had a large hole in it, what was once a grand gate had been blown through. From the palace what he had to assume was Girada's elite troops were busy sending more fire than the besiegers could handle, their advance had faltered here and they were now in a stalemate. Imotis cloaked himself as best he could while maintaining his speed, he assumed everyone would be too busy on each other to notice a shadow sprinting with unnatural speed, at least he hoped that would be the case as he dashed towards the undamaged part of the wall.


He made it to the wall unnoticed, looking at it he discovered it was not smooth, but made of roughly hewn stone that he was able to find hand and footholds in. He climbed his way to the top, a shadow on the wall. His skin felt like it was burning again from all his Force wielding today, but he couldn't release his stealth until he reached the top of the wall, he'd be an easy target if he did. So he ignored the pain, and forced himself to continue climbing the wall, until he heaved himself over the ledge and sat for a moment catching his breath. No one was within fifty meters of him so he let go of the power he was using to hide himself and waited for his skin to stop feeling like he was standing in an open flame. He watched the stalemate for a moment, both sides were still fruitlessly firing at each other, that could go on for awhile. He started to move for the palace when he heard several loud whooshing noises. He thought they were missiles until five familiar heavily armored figures landed on the wall and began dispatching Girada's troops with brutal efficiency. It took them ten seconds to make twice that many kills. I see why Aras speaks so highly of them now, he thought to himself. He stood, prompting all five to point their blasters at him. One of them, a tall man in armor painted yellow and blue fired at him before Araven could stop him. Imotis stopped it with his hand, leaving only the slightest burn, and a large amount of surprise from most of the Mandos. But not Araven who wasted no time walking over to him. "Well look who it is, didn'r expect to see you again so soon." Imotis chuckled 'Likewise, but what are you doing here?' "Girada refused to pay us for our work, so we're here to take what we're owed, the coup just makes it more fun." Araven looked out over the wall, the besiegers were rushing the hole now that the Mandalorians had killed the defenders there. Now the battle was unfolding in the courtyard, and likely soon in the palace itself. "Why are you still here? Thought you were heading off planet ASAP." 'The city's on lockdown, autoturrets are firing at anything without the Hutt's transmit codes. So I'm here to take a ship.' Araven grunted, "Hear that boys? We'll need to do something about that to get off this kriffing rock." One of the other Mandos spoke up. "We could hit the control center, take the whole system down, it's bound to be inside the palace." Araven nodded. "Good idea, take Jarta and go." The two Mandalorians took a moment to check their jetpacks before blasting over to the palaces roof, they shot out a window and jumped in. "Mace, go with the Sith, help him steal a ship and then go prepare ours for a speedy exit." Mace didn't particularly like this order, his anger spilled through the force, but he nodded. "Comax, with me, we're going to go pay Girada a personal visit before someone else beats us to it. Sith, you got a personal comlink I assume?" Imotis nodded. "Set it to frequency 4542, Mace will set it up to our encryption, help us and we'll help you." With that they jetted off to another part of the palace, leaving only Mace and Imotis on the wall. "C'mon our ships are in hangar bay 2b. There's other hyperspace capable ships there as well."


They ran part of the way down the wall before Mace jetpacked down to the ground and ran towards a door. Imotis leapt and landed softly next to him. He heard Mace mutter "kriffing Sith". Imotis merely smiled.  Mace was busy setting explosive charges on the door. Imotis grabbed 2 of his lightsabers. One of the regular ones and one of his shotos, igniting them. As mace blew the door Imotis sprung in blades swinging, blocking blasterbolts and removing limbs with every movement. Without being distracted Mace walked in and killed the two in the corners who had been smart enough not to rush. "You missed some." Imotis could hear the smirk, if not see it. 'Well I had to leave something for you to do.' They advanced through a door on the far end, Imotis leading the way with his sabers and Mace following close behind with his blaster carbine. The hallway they were in was long, and empty, apparently all of the Hutt's men in this wing were in that room. Mace took the lead as they made their way through the palace. From what Imotis could tell they were the only ones of Girada's assailants to make it inside the palace. The guards at the entrance were likely holding their own. That kept them too busy to deal with the intruders, and the three groups likely had Girada's men inside the palace in a scramble. The guards confusion would work in their favor. The two of them turned left down a winding corridor, Mace said "There's two more guard checkpoints between here and the hangar, the first one's just around this corner." Imotis reached out with the Force and felt six alert presences. He didn't have the benefit of a helmet to hide his voice so he pointed towards the checkpoint and held up six of his fingers, Mace's nod was almost imperceptible with the armor. He tossed a thermal detonator around the corner, causing one of the guards to yell. A yell that was silenced by a flash of heat and loud boom. They turned the corner now, twisted metal and scorch marks were all that remained of the checkpoint. "Well, I bet the next checkpoint knows we're coming." Imotis merely smirked and ignited his lightsabers. Blaster bolts started flying down the hallway towards them, Imotis deflected the few that came close to him, others bounced off Mace's armor, not even scratching it. 'That beskar's fairly impressive.' They had reached the checkpoint now a white faced guard looked Imotis in the eyes before he began to scream, Imotis silenced him with a slash that seperated his head from his shoulders turning the scream into a gurgle. Mace blasted two of the guards beyond him. "Almost won us a galaxy." With a flick of his wrist Imotis sent the shoto into the chest of the guard at the far side of the room as he reflected a blaster bolt into the face of the man who shot it. He called the shoto back to him, the only sound in the room the humming of his sabers and the whimpering of a wounded guard on the floor. Mace silenced that with his boot crushing the man's windpipe. "The hangar's just beyond here."

Krista awoke with a start sitting up suddenly. She was sitting in a dim room with several republic commandos around her. Master Varreb sat next to her, a look of relief on his face. 'Where are we?' Though quickly she felt fear, anguish, she tried to stand. "Be careful, you've been out for a few hours. We're still on Hutta I'm afraid." Her shoulder ached but other than that she felt fine. "If we didn't have Kolto you'd still be in your healing trance. What were you thinking?" She looked at him with indignation. 'My duty as a Jedi knight. We protect people.' Varreb looked at her, "Does that include Sith? Or could you not feel the darkness on your "friend"? " she glared at him. 'Ofcourse I could but there was light there too. I know it.' She had felt it, he was nothing but anger and fear, like he'd never seen anything but the dark before. 'I think he felt the Light of the Force for the first time. Like he'd never known it existed. He had some kind of vision, and I felt the Light in him.' Her master contemplated that for a moment. "He's much too far gone Krista.." He felt the anger within her. "Mind your emotions, they betray you." 'No one is ever too far gone.' She said to him. At that point one of the commandos pulled him aside, "Sir we need to go, the battle's not over, we're still in danger here." Master Varreb nodded. "We still have our mission to think about. The Republic needs a Hutt alliance, so we need another Hutt." Krista stood then, grabbing her lightsaber and finding it less familiar than before. Sensing her surprise Master Varreb said, "Apparently the Sith used it in fury after you were shot. He killed everyone else in the spaceport." That sent a chill through her, but she did not doubt what she felt. And she knew what her master was not telling her, that Jaken had brought her here, likely saving her life.


Two of the commandos led their way out of the building. With the two Jedi directly behind them, and the other commandos fanning out around them. They passed through burned out homes and stores. Whatever had happened here was terrible.. Krista thought to herself, so much destruction. The lead trooper help up her fist and the group stopped, their marksman immediately took position towards where they were going. He looked down his scope and shook his head. "There's nothing, the city gate's open and there's not a guard in sight." One of the other commandos said. "Likely they're all too busy back at the palace." Master Varreb nodded, "Yes, and I doubt we are the only ones fleeing the city either. Be wary for ambushes." Krista nodded and focused on her feelings. She couldn't feel any danger. Apparently neither could Master Varreb as they continued on. Soon they were past the city wall, the swamp beckoning them. She sighed and prepared for the long hike back to their ship.


Mace and Imotis sat in a deserted hangar waiting for the other Mandalorians to arrive. Imotis had already selected his ship, a small starfighter that vaguely looked like an A, Mace had called it an Aurek Strikefighter. He had decided to wait for the rest of the Mandalorians on the off chance they needed help, it'd be nice to ingratiate himself to them. He knew they would be useful friends to have. A voice came over their comlinks. "Alright Araven, the turrets won't be a problem. Returning to the hangar now." A pause followed by Araven's voice, sounding strained. "Acknowledged, Mace make sure the shuttle is ready to go. We're going to be bringing a lot of company." Mace stood. "Yes buir, it's ready." Imotis looked at him. 'You have a spare blaster rifle in there? I won't be able to kill them all and I can't let them know a Sith was here.' Mace laughed. "That almost sounded like doubt. Yeah." He went in to the ship and came back tossing a gun at Imotis, it was a blaster carbine like his, but only capable of single fire. "Unless you want something smaller?" He ignored that as he focused on the gun, aiming it and getting used to it. "Don't fall in love with it I'm gonna want that back." Imotis laughed, 'If I can't part with it I'll buy it off you.' He shook his head. "Not for sale. It was my first real gun, I killed my first person with it." Imotis looked at him. 'Never figured you for a sentimentalist.' The hangar door opened then and two Mandalorians, the ones tasked with shutting down the turrets. Followed shortly by the other two. They were pursued by blaster bolts and Imotis and Mace aimed at the door. Shooting at the first thing to try and walk through and not stopping until the Mandalorians reached their shuttle. Imotis, proving single fire was fine with him, made precise headshots with each shot. Aras had made sure he could use any weapon proficiently, he had demanded it. Mace, showed his training in a different way. Utilizing the firing speed of his weapon he put three shots into the chest of his targets. Had Imotis not had the Force it would have been a much faster way of doing it. Quickly enough they realized rushing through the door was a suicidal idea. This gave them time to get in their shuttle, Araven was the last one on. He looked at Imotis, "You wanna make a deal some time you know how to reach us." Then the shuttle door closed and they were off. Imotis jumped to his ship and quickly entered it. Ran an abbreviated preflight checklist and took off as fast as he could manage. He quickly made for open space and left Hutta behind him.


He came out of his fourth and final hyperspace jump tired and irritable. 'The next time you steal a ship', he said out loud to the nothingness. 'Make sure it has a bed, maybe a refresher.' It had taken him a day and a half to arrive in system at Aras's coordinates, and he had barely been able to get sleep. His ship's systems told him this was an unnamed system, no habitable planets. In the time he'd had this ship he'd discovered someone had made a lot of modifications. Upgraded weapons, sensors, shields.. and several more. That was bad for him, as that meant someone with a lot of credits, or a very loving owner. Hopefully they'd died back in the coup on Hutta. He had enough knowledge to code a new transponder for the ship, he changed it's ID to The Green Hawk, on account of the ship's green paint. That's getting changed if I decide to keep it.. another stray thought he filed away. He had more important things to worry about. His sensors were showing a Harrower-class Dreadnought had just dropped out of hyperspace. A huge wedge shaped ship, at around eight hundred meters long, it was the largest ship the Sith Empire had in it's navy. He was already setting up a hyperspace jump to take him away when he received a transmission. An imperial voice said,"Starfighter Green Hawk, you are being sent instructions. Follow them or be destroyed." He was being directed to land at a nearby moon, at an apparently deserted base. Not like he had much choice, so he laid in the course and prepared for the worst. He had landed in an underground hangar which had closed behind him. The dimly lit hangar's only other occupant was an Imperial shuttle. Imotis exited his ship to see Aras walking down the shuttle's ramp, a cloaked shadow. 'Piloting your own shuttle? I almost can't believe it.' The glare Aras gave him would have chilled anyone else. "I had hoped something would beat that mouth off you eventually. You're earlier than I expected at least." Imotis grinned. 'That your dreadnought? Seems too flashy for you.' "It has it's uses. Now shut up, you don't have much time, and there's a lot to do." He tossed him a datapad. "There's a list of targets, and an expenditure account to use. They'll serve to keep you alive and get you closer to Vecious. You are no longer in hiding, from this moment you are to act as Imotis, the Sith Lord, Strike hard and make our enemies suffer." Imotis looked at the list, there were three targets, two jedi masters and a Republic general. "For too long I have hid you in the shadows, I have made you look like my weapon only to be used on my rivals. Now you will show to the Emperor how useful you are to him."


Back in his cockpit after only a brief reprieve the openness of space was ahead of him. He looked at his list of targets. Jedi Master Seela Batayne. A Mirialan located on Coruscant, there was a holo of her, green skin with long black hair. She was a healer, one of the Jedi's best according to Aras. The other Jedi was Master Varreb a human, his location was unknown, and there was no holo of him. Apparently he was trying to make the Republic some powerful allies. He would have to be stopped, Aras had left a note here saying Imperial Intelligence was working on finding out more information. He'd become the priority later then. His last target was Admiral Aryst Kre'fey a Bothan. His holo seemed to come from a Republic military gala or something, as he stood proudly dressed in his Admiral's finery. He'd likely be the hardest target to get to, as his file claimed he was patrolling the Mid Rim territories of the republic. He sighed and considered his options, Coruscant posed an incredible danger to him. If the Dark Side of the Force was as easy to feel in him as the Jedi on Hutta indicated, other Jedi would feel it too. His other Jedi target wasn't an option at the moment. Whereas the Admiral could prove hard to find, Aras hadn't even included the name of his flagship. The best place to find that information was... he sighed as he laid in his course.


Darth Aras walked down one of the many long hallways on Carnage Incarnate the Harrower-class Dreadnought he commanded. The Emperor had given it to him for his exemplary service. He had laughed at the absurdity of that later, after he put a copious amount of alcohol into his system. Ofcourse anyone who may have known that would have attributed the absurdity he laughed about being an assassin given a dreadnought. No, though Imotis had seen that too. The absurdity he spoke of was much more... deadly. The hallway he walked down was empty, officially it didn't exist. This section of the dreadnought had been removed from the records of it. He came to a stop in front of a durasteel door that slid open silently for him. The room beyond was plain, only a table and chairs within. He sat at his place and almost instantaneously was greeted by holograms appearing at the other six chairs. Each hologram was a Sith lord, tucked away in their own private areas. For if anyone were to discover their plans, all of them would die. A large human sat at the head of the table, his face was partly concealed by cybernetics, a cybernetic eye had replaced his right one. "Aras, how is your apprentice doing?" Aras smirked. 'Quite well actually Vecious, if you're not careful he may actually kill you before your plan sets off.' This earned him a glare. "Sometimes I wonder who's side you're on." Most people do, he thought to himself, it's one of the tricks of the trade. But to Vecious he merely smiled and said. 'To you of course, who else could kill the Emperor?'


Imotis came out of hyperspace above the world of Coruscant. Having made a short stop in the Corellia system to put his expense account to use. He'd had his ship painted red and it's transponder changed to Crimson Spear. He'd also picked up some new clothes and shaved his hair to a short black fuzz. He'd sliced some records and had a fake identity for himself made. A Corellian mercenary by the name of Jaken Dartilles, it was foolish of him to keep using the name he had given Krista back on Hutta, but he felt an attachment to it he couldn't describe. That also should have warned him away from it, but it was done. Coruscant's traffic control had given him a landing vector and he awkwardly angled his ship to match it. He'd had woefully little piloting practice, but he was skilled enough to bring his ship in to land around Coruscant's bustling skies. He popped the canopy of his ship and climbed out, reluctantly leaving all of his lightsabers in a hidden case. Instead he carried a blaster pistol in a holster on his side and two vibroblades he had concealed in his dull green jacket. He felt naked without the lightsabers, but they would likely be a death sentence for him here. His boots had no sooner hit the ground before someone was walking up to him, it was a short, fat man. "There's a fee to dock your ship here, 100 credits." Imotis almost laughed in his face but held back. 'And just what would my credits be buying me?' The look in the man's eyes told him all he needed to know if even he didn't have the Force to confirm. "Well, it gives you access to this hangar and all of our services." Imotis looked at him. 'I already have access to the hangar and I don't care about your services.' The man spluttered "The fee is nonnegotiable sir, pay it or leave." Now Imotis grew serious. 'Is this how you wanted to die? Trying to scam someone out of 100 credits? You don't work for the Republic, you don't work for Coruscant, you don't even have an honest job I'm betting. If you'd like to still have a life, you'll go about your way, and stay away from my ship.' Imotis didn't have to use the force to convince him, the man was so fearful he almost tripped over a cable trying to back away from him, before he just turned and ran. Imotis walked over to the customs agent and presented his ID. The agent scanned it and handed back. "You're clear to go Mr. Dartilles, and may I just say, thank you for scaring off that nuisance. The CSF won't do anything about him." Imotis nodded as he walked on, 'My pleasure.'


As he took his first few steps into Coruscant proper he stopped, gazing out over the endless city and felt his breath catch for a moment. There was so much life here, it was overwhelming. Countless skycars flew both above and below him. He made his way down a walkway crammed with people, wondering how he was going to find the information he needed. He didn't want to go near the Jedi temple, that was too much of a risk for him. He needed a way to find the Jedi, and figure out a way to ambush her outside the temple. He stepped around a mouse droid when the idea came to him, using the force to persuade anyone to look away from him and the droid he disabled it and threw it in his pack. He'd need it. As he kept walking he headed towards one of the lower levels of the city near a republic military base. It didn't take him long to find a cantina filled with Republic military personnel on leave. He made note of it and found an apartment nearby. Once he'd made sure the occupant wouldn't mind his presence, he got to work. He modified the mouse droid with a holocam and a facial recognition software, he set it for Selaa Batayne's picture, and put the droid back in his bag. After that he sat down and waited for night time. When night finally came he realized his mistake, Coruscant wasn't any darker at night. In fact, it was probably brighter, that would complicate things. He made his way through the crowds that always seemed to exist here as he recalled the maps he studied. He thought he should have been getting close when he took a turbo-lift up to the top walkway, it emerged into a clearing. There were so few open spaces on Coruscant, that seeing the Jedi temple standing alone took his breath away. Where Sith architecture inspires dread, looking at the Jedi temple only filled him with a calm feeling. He let it wash over him, before he realized it he was walking towards the temple. He almost opened himself to the Force to feel it more freely before he remembered who and what he was. There was no peace for him here, and he had a mission to do. He was already closer than he wanted to be to the temple so he found a refresher. He got the mouse droid out of his bag and activated it. It quickly rolled off to do it's job, leaving him to move on to the other part of his plan.


He'd made his way back to the area of his commandeered apartment, and went into the cantina that was nearby. Late though it may have been it was full of people, he sat down at a table in the corner where he could see everyone, and began to look for what he needed. It didn't take him long, there were three different tables that had Republic military personnel at them. He cautiously reached out with the Force, he doubted any Jedi were near, but it never hurt to be careful. Reading what he could from them without a strong probe, he got immensely lucky when he discovered one of them worked in Fleet Command logistics, he focused on his target. He knew the mans thoughts, drunken joy with friends on leave. Imotis sat and waited, watching his surroundings, he'd know when his target left. He'd easily be able to track him, so he was alert for anything that would endanger his plan. He saw nothing and after some time his target and the targets friends said their goodbyes and left the cantina. Imotis waited for around five minutes before paying his tab and leaving as well. His target was apparently much more drunk than his friends, as he hadn't made it very far yet. It didn't take long for Imotis to catch up to him. Walking 10 paces behind him to not draw suspicion, Imotis felt the mans mind. In his drunken state it was easy to force a command, he projected the apartments location into the mans head. It didn't take much for the man to stumble in the right direction, and eventually he did make it. Imotis shoved him through the door, using the force to completely control his mind now, he forced him into sleeping. Imotis needed rest as well. He'd been awake for far too long. After ensuring his prisoner couldn't move or call for help, he went to sleep.

When he awoke light from Coruscants star was shining in his face. It was almost pleasant. He got up and ate some food out if the pantry before going to check on his guest. He was exactly where Imotis had left him and wide awake, his fear was rippling out from him. 'Scared already? Oh but the fun hasn't even begun. You see, I have a task for you, in which failure is unacceptable. So we're going to get nice and acquainted with each other.' The man's fear rose sharply and he tried to scream, but it came out a quiet muffled noise. Imotis opened himself to the Force and got to work. When he was finished he sat down with a satisfied smile and watched his new servant leave the apartment. Now Imotis had only to wait for the mouse droid to signal him, and for the logistics officer to get him the information he needed. For the first time in what felt like years, he had nothing he needed to be doing. So he decided to sit and meditate, sitting crosslegged on the bed he immersed himself in the Force. He had been meditating long enough to have lost track of time when the first images came to him. Two saber blades locked together, one red and the other purple, a flash of golden hair, he heard a voice calling his name, But it sounded wrong to him. He blinked and it was gone, replaced with a burning field, two red lightsaber blades held by shadowy figures clashed again and again. Another blink and another scene, this time it was a group of Mandalorians preparing for battle, he could see Araven and Mace talking, but couldnt hear any words. A chime sounded then, pulling him out of his visions. The mouse droid had something to report, the data was automatically transmitted to his datapad so he looked at it. Apparently the Jedi had made several trips in two days too one specific apartment. He decided that would be a great place to start.


Instead of walking through coruscants bustling city streets Imotis paid a speeder to drop him off nearby. The mouse droid reported her location as the Jedi temple, but that could change at any time, and he'd like to be in position before she decided to visit again. It was an unassuming apartment building in a middle-class area of Coruscant. The apartment in question was on the 230th floor. He found the room and extended his sense inside it, he felt only one living being inside, and it was in pain. He sliced the lock on the door and snuck inside. It was a clean apartment, no decoration, little in the way of furniture, and a strong antiseptic smell. The door to the room was open, in it he could see a figure lying on a bed. It was asleep so he snuck in, upon closer inspection he saw it was a Mirialian, the green skinned alien had an intravenous kolto drip in his arm. He could feel the man's pain, but not the cause, apparently neither could the Jedi healer. He subtly encouraged the mirilian into a deep sleep and waited for the Jedi to come back. It was another three hours before the mouse droid signaled that she was leaving the Jedi temple. Imotis settled into place and drew the Force around him, immersing himself within it completely to hide himself from anyone searching in it. This was different than merely hiding, harder to maintain, but he was truly invisible within the Force like this. He waited, and within the hour the door to the apartment opened. A tall robed woman walked in, she robes were a mix of blues and greys. Her lightsaber hilt was plain but wrapped in cloth. She walked into the room not noticing the shadow in the corner. She looked at the man, checked his I.V. bag and stood for a moment, likely using the Force to try and help him.  After a few minutes of this she sighed and went into the other room, Imotis stalked behind her, sliding one of his vibroblades out of it's sheath. He thumbed it on and sent it flying towards her back, but either her danger sense or the sound of the blade's activation she spun out of the way. Not fast enough to completely escape the blade however, it cut a scarlet line across her side. Her lightsaber sprung to life, a green blade that she sent towards him, his having held his Force invisibility is what saved him from being speared by it. She couldn't sense him so her aim was off. He had the other vibroblade out now, and had drawn his blaster pistol. He dropped the force invisibility so he could focus and he heard a gasp from the Jedi. She swung her saber towards him, he ducked under it and sent two shots from the blaster towards her before spinning and throwing the other vibroblade. She managed to deflect both the blaster bolts and sliced through the handle of the vibroblade, sending the now useless blade crumpling to the ground. The Jedi master advanced on him, blocking every blaster bolt he sent at her. She had him backed into a corner. "Foolish boy, who hired you to kill a Jedi master?" Imotis feigned a frown. 'Hired me? No one. ' She raised her blade to point at him. "In the name of the Republic I place you under arr-" Imotis pulled with the Force and the last word came out a gargled mess as the other vibroblade stabbed into one of her lungs. She dropped her saber and Imotis called it to him and held it against her throat. 'In the name of the Empire I execute you.' A simple twist of his wrist and the Jedi's head fell from her body. Imotis threw the saber down, gathered up his still working vibroblade and broken one's pieces. He happened to glance in the bedroom to see the man on the bed's eyes glaring at him. Imotis saw burning rage, the man saw a flash of light and then nothing ever again as Imotis shot him.


The walk back to his apartment was a long one, and thankfully quiet. If anyone had heard the fight and alerted the authorities he was long gone by the time they arrived. He took a circuitous route in case he was being tracked, so it was night time again before he arrived and he was exhausted. As he entered his apartment he saw his caution was wasted effort. His servant had returned and was waiting, holding a datapad. Imotis took it and read through the details, Admiral Kre'fey's flagship was at Charros IV stationed at a republic military base. That was good, Imotis thought, he'll be easy to find. I just have to assault a Republic base. He knew someone who might help with that as well. This was better than he could have hoped, he could leave Coruscant tonight. He'd sleep in space, he'd feel safer there than here, especially after what he did and was about to do. He looked at his servant, and implanted a new suggestion. The man left and Imotis worked to remove all trace of his presence here.


Logistics officer Grans Berola walked into his office like he would have any other day. But unlike a regular day, today he had a special duty, one that only he could do. He walked past his desk, past his coworker he chats with everyday. He has to see his boss, he isn't sure why but he knows it's extremely important that he do so. His boss was a very important man,  a senator for the republic. His office was next to several other senators. His boss looked at him strangely, acted very strangely when he walked in. "Who are you?" He asked him, as if he didn't know. "What are you doing here?" Grans had no answer for this, he only knew it was very important to be here. Then he remembered, his vest thats right. He pressed a button and his boss called for guards, but that was wrong, his boss didn't have guards... his boss didn't work at the Senate either, he didn't work at the Senate. He wondered why he was here for a brief moment. But then he never had to wonder again. A brief flash of light and heat and he never thought again. The bomb had been large enough to knock out the offices next to it, and the ones above and below as well. Several Senators were caught in the explosion, as were several staff. Imotis was able to catch a brief glimpse of his handiwork as he left Coruscant, accelerating away into space.


Imotis sat in open space lightyears away from Coruscant. He encrypted a message for Aras to let him know Seela was dead and what his current plans were. Then he sent another one towards the person Araven had told him too. If he was going to assault a Republic base he wanted Mandalorian support. He wasn't sure if they'd agree to it, but he guessed it depended on how nice a credit line Aras had given him. He set a course for a small moon two jumps away Charros IV it was where he had told Araven to meet him with as many troops as he could gather. He had an assault to plan, his servant had been able to get him information about both the Charros base as well as the Admiral's flagship, assuming he wasn't working alone he'd plan with the Mandos, their battle experience would be a great help there. It would be a long hyperspace jump, so Imotis pushed the hyperspace lever forward and closed his eyes to meditate. This time when he pulled the Force around him it was quiet, he was not assaulted by any visions, only quiet. His thoughts turned to Krista, and he wondered how she was, if she was still on Hutta. He reached out to see if he could feel her. But it was a waste of time, he had no idea where she was, and they'd not spent nearly enough time together for him to just sense her. For a brief moment he wondered if they'd ever meet again, his thoughts of her continued until he fell asleep.


Tatooine was, Krista had decided, much worse than Hutta was. While Hutta was hot and a swamp, at least there had been shade. Here there was nothing but the two suns bearing down onto you, and scalding sand the burn your feet. Even her Jedi techniques weren't enough to keep her cool. So as she and Master Varreb, with their Republic commandos walked through the desert to Halda the Hutt's palace, she couldn't help but wonder about Jaken, where he was and what he was doing. She knew he was a Sith but she couldn't help but wonder about him. He had saved her life even after seeing she was a Jedi, a pure evil Sith wouldn't have done that, would he? Her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of the palace ahead of them. It was huge, she couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive about this entire thing. Halda was nowhere even close to as open to the Republic as Girada was, but he hates the Sith, and he was their last option for a Hutt Cartel alliance, and the Republic needed access to the kind of goods they could get. While many smugglers helped them out, they couldn't acquire enough to meet demand, and they were always getting pricier. An alliance with the Hutts guaranteed them more supplies and better prices, so she swallowed her apprehension and marched on. Soon, an escort met them, it consisted of 10 Gamorreans, and an equal number of other races. It was led by a human with sun darkened skin and obvious cybernetics, most of the mans face was replaced by metal. "Greetings, to our prestigious guests, the great lord Halda the Hutt welcomes you, and invites you to join him for dinner." Master Varreb nodded and gestured with his hand towards the palace. "Lead on then." The short remainder of the journey went without incident, Halda's escort had encircled them and led them to the palace. She could sense no deception or threat from them, but that didn't mean much. Just because Halda hadn't yet ordered their deaths doesn't mean it wouldn't happen. The escort led them into the palace, they hadn't disarmed them which she decided was a good sign. They were led down a large staircase, into a large room a large Hutt throne sat at one end. The group stopped here and the cyborg turned to Master Varreb. "The rest of your group will have to dine here. Halda wishes to speak with you alone, we'll bring them refreshments." Master Varreb nodded, "That's acceptable, show me to Halda." He turned to follow the cyborg but not before giving Krista a look that told her to be cautious.


A few minutes after Varreb had left servants brought them refreshments. All of them were scantily clad females, both human and Twi'lek. The girls were scared, yet the impassive faces of herself and the Republic soldiers seemed to calm them, it was likely the first time in a long time that they served someone who wasn't ogling them. Krista didn't feel hungry anymore, but still she forced herself to eat. If this didn't go well it could be a very long and difficult journey back. After the girls left they ate their food in silence, Krista had examined it for poisons and found none. After some time had passed she began to feel worried, the commandos were on edge as well. But there fears were proven unwarranted as Varreb returned shortly, with Halda's cyborg lackey in tow. "Halda is interested in our offer, we're going to be here awhile while negotiations take place." The cyborg stepped forward. "If you'd all follow me I'll show you to your rooms."


Imotis sat in the ruins of an old military base, Araven had brought with him 29 other Mandalorians. The thirty heavily armed and armored men and women had finally all arrived. Araven had been working with him on plans, and now he had to convince the gathered Mandalorians to fight for him. He pulled up a holographic image of Charros IV. 'Our target is here, he commands his fleet from a military base on the planets highest plateau. In orbit around the planet he keeps his flagship, a Hammerhead cruiser known as Pride of Bothawui. Before any assault could be made on the base the cruiser would have to be destroyed or taken over, we plan on the latter. Landing boarders on the ship to kill the crew within and hijack the ship. Once the ships under our control we can destroy their defences from space and drop down to wipe them out.' He didn't sense disapproval from the crowd. So he figured he was doing good so far. One of the Mandalorians asked him, "What's going to happen to the Hammerhead after this?" Imotis smiled. 'I'm giving it to Mandalore, I don't need it. But that's not all either, you'll also be paid 5,000 Imperial credits each to either you or your next of kin if you die, the money will be transferred upon Admiral Kre'fey's death.' The offer to pay their families seemed to catch them off guard, whether or not the believed him was a different question, he was being genuine. It was the Empire's money he was spending after all. When none of them turned to leave he motioned to Araven who dispersed the orders they had come up with. In short order most of the Mandos had filed out, going to make their preparations. Leaving only Imotis, Araven, and Mace in the room. 'Thirty-one people, against an unknown  amount of Republic soldiers. My master always said stupidity was one of my strong points.' This made Araven laugh, "Thirty Mandalorians is more than enough to take out however many soldiers they throw at us. If you're so worried stay here." Though his tone was mocking the words lacked any bite. 'What, and let you have all the fun? Hardly.' He only wished he was more confident they weren't all about to go to their deaths.


Imotis sat in the cockpit of his starfighter hanging in the blackness of space. Around him was a smattering of starfighters, freighters, and assault ships. They all sat a short jump away from the Charros system. Everyone was doing their last minute system checks, having already finished his Imotis sat impatiently and uncomfortably in his flight suit. There was the very real chance he could be launched EV, extra-vehicular, and the flight suit would keep him alive longer than his robes would. They expected heavy resistance while they approached the Hammerhead, the cruiser itself had a full squadron, twelve fighters, and they had no idea how many were on the ground, but none of that mattered. They'd all die the same. After the last ship signaled that they were ready a countdown began, when it reached zero he pushed the hyperspace lever forward, turning the stars into streaks as he accelerated into space. After less than five minutes he pulled it back the stars came back and Charros IV filled his vision. As did the cruiser orbiting it, the rest of his ships came out of hyperspace and they accelerated forwards. The Hammerhead cruiser  wasted precious time trying to hail the small fleet before it launched it's defenses. The starfighter squadron launched just barely outside the maximum range, it was composed of Aurek fighters, like his own. In another second they were at the maximum range, the Republic fighters made ineffective shots hoping for a lucky hit. The Mandalorian fighters formed up on each other, Imotis preferred to fly on his own. He took a deep breath, and on the exhale he filled himself with the Force, allowing it to guide him. He dived, causing red lasers to harmlessly pass him by. He pulled his ship into a flip to come around behind the person who had shot at him, he didn't wait for his targeting reticule to turn red before hitting the trigger but his lasers hit their mark. The other ship's shields flashed and then failed, and his next laser strike turned his target into a ball of superheated gas. Imotis flew through the cloud of debris, causing his shields to spark from one of the bigger pieces, before coming head to head with another A-wing. Again getting his aim before the computer Imotis was firing well before his opponent, his lasers melting through the cockpit at the same time his opponents first and only blast hit his shields. He sighted a third target, this time getting a target lock and firing a proton torpedo. Though his target twisted and turned he couldn't escape, the torpedo collided with the A-wings engines making the ship disappear with a flash of light. He saw another six fighters appear on his sensors. He opened his comm 'Looks like they called up whatever they had on the planet. Another six incoming.' He got acknowledgements from the fighters, their freighters and assault-ships were busy attacking the hammerhead, keeping it occupied and softening it up for boarding. He longed for that part of the battle, he hated fighting like this. But for now, he had a job to do, he sighted in another target.


Mace sat in the co-pilots chair of his father's ship, he was stunned for a moment watching Imotis fly, pulling turns that should have been impossible, even in vacuum the force of that should have knocked him unconscious. An alarm brought him out of it and he focused his attention on the sensors when a voice came over the comm. "Looks like they called up whatever they had on the planet. Another six incoming."  He clicked an acknowledgement over the mic and focused himself, he was controlling the guns on his father's ship. It was a small but heavily armed and armored assault ship. It had a fairly blocky shape, and several laser cannons attached to swivel mounts. These could be controlled by either the pilot or the copilot, but his father was much too busy dodging proton torpedos and turbolaser fire. Mace aimed, leading his targets he fired, the searing green beams ripped through the enemies shields instantly. The next burst sent the ship tumbling through space wildly with two new holes burnt through it, leaking fluids that froze immediately into small crystals. He sighted another target and sent two concussion missiles at it. He immediately moved on to the next target and fired lasers at it, the green shots went wide but another A-wing slipped behind it, this one was bright red. It sent lasers of the same color into the back of the other one, blowing it's engines. Imotis's voice came over the comm "You're welcome Mace." Before he could reply his father was on the comm. "Alright that's enough playtime everyone, the cruisers shields are down." Imotis's voice came again, "Good, see you there." Another voice now, one of the Mandalorian starfighter pilots. "We'll mop up the fighters and anything else they try to send. Die proud Mando'ad"


Imotis smiled as he pulled his ship in a tight spin that pushed him back into his seat with enough force that despite his control made him feel lightheaded. He dived towards the one of the cruiser's hangar bays. The same one the Aurek fighters had launched from, now it was empty, for the moment. Apparently that had assumed they'd go for that hangar as Republic soldiers were setting up defenses. Imotis stitched laser fire across two troopers setting up a turret before landing. He opened his cockpit and Force leaped out, soaring well over the blaster-fire directed at where they had expected him to be. He ignited one of his sabers in the air and landed with a slash that cut one of the troopers in half diagonally. He spun his saber and deflected blaster bolts back towards the people that fired them. He then cut down two troopers who were foolish enough to rush him, stabbing the second one through the heart. Another trooper thought to shoot at him while he was busy, he held out a hand and caught the bolt, dissipating the energy. Then with a simple clench of his hand he snapped the mans neck. By now the Mandalorians were landing in the hangar, the roar of their engines the loudest thing in the hangar, and then it was gone. Replaced by the sound of heavy boots hitting the floor, their blasterfire as the cleared the rest of the hangar. From there they wasted no time, splitting up into their five preassigned groups. Each group had five Mandalorians, each with a different target in the cruiser. Imotis ran with Mace and Araven's group, they were heading towards the bridge, where they would likely find the most opposition. They ran through empty hallways. "I have a bad feeling about this." Araven said. Sure enough, once they rounded the next corner, they came face to face with a barricade lined with Republic soldiers. Imotis leapt, soaring over the barricade as the Mandos immediately started firing, the killed two of the soldiers before they could start firing. Imotis made short work of the other three. In the short time it took the Mandalorians had reached the barricade. They took a moment to reload fresh power packs into their blasters before climbing the barricade. They reached the sealed door of the bridge, one of the Mandos started to grab some explosive charges but Imotis waved him away, and shoved his lightsaber into the door, turning it until he sliced through the doors release mechanism. The heavy doors groaned as they opened against the will of those within. The soldiers on the other side of it were well trained, opening fire as soon as the doors were open. Imotis wasted no time, whipping his blade up and flicking it back and forth, sending the crimson bolts away from him. The Mandalorians had opened fire behind him, maintaining their cover around the door opening. Their fire was more effective than the Republic soldiers', and the number of enemies was steadily dropping. Soon there were none, and the bridge fell quiet, the only sound coming from the ship itself and the whimpering of one of the technicians who still lived. And by the time Imotis made it to the captain's chair even they were dead, leaving only himself and the five Mandalorians in the bridge. Araven's voice came over his comlink, "Bridge secure, all teams report." Other voices started now, "life support secure, no losses." "Engines secure, no losses." "Barracks clear, no losses." "Weapons batteries secure, we lost Bardan and Athrus when a turbolaser blew, vented the whole compartment." There was a note of what sounded like sorrow in the man's voice, but it was tightly contained. Araven spoke up again now "They will be mourned later, well done everyone, are we ready to fire?" The voice from the weapons replied. "Yes sir, all remaining turbolaser batteries are ready." Araven looked at him now, "And you're still set on not turning it to slag from space." Imotis nodded, 'I have to make sure Kre'fey is dead. I have to see it myself.' Araven's helmet dipped in a slight nod. "Alright, give me targeting solutions for the base below, we can't slag it but we can hurt their defenses." After a moment they popped up on the screen and he nodded. "All remaining guns fire on those targets, keep firing until we are clear of the cruiser. We'll finish up from there."


Imotis wasn't the first one back to his ship, some of the other Mandalorians had been much closer. He was, the first one out of the hangar, flying fast enough that if he hadn't had the Force to warn him to jerk the stick to the left to dodge one of the cruiser's turbolaser blasts. Though after that the ship stopped firing, so at least they learned, he thought to himself.  Araven's ship followed behind him, and then the other Mandalorian ships, only fifteen of them were going down though. The others stayed on the cruiser to both provide support and get it away if reinforcements showed up.  He also noticed only three of the five starfighter pilots were still there. Though none of the ships were being attacked on the way down. They broke atmosphere and flew around the base, where there had once been several towers along the walls, now there was only melted duracrete. The cruisers guns had pounded the outer areas of the base, ground vehicles laid in destroyed heaps on the ground, turret emplacements were replaced with craters in the ground, steam still rising from them. In the middle of it all sat a large building, completely untouched. It was where they knew the admiral to be. There had been ample room for Imotis and his assault team to land in the now abandoned landing zone, which had been left mostly alone from the cruisers devastation.  Their ships landed and this time, rather than having to spring out of his ship Imotis was able to climb down, no one had come to shoot at them. It didn't look like they cared to defend the outside and were going to focus on stopping them inside. As he got to the ground he saw two robed figured standing alone in the open space between them and base. Imotis had shrugged off his flight suit as the Mandalorians were exiting their ships, blasters pointed at the two figures. A few of them decided to fire at them, to no effect as blue and yellow blades leapt up to block them away. The Jedi shrugged their cloaks off and raised their sabers into a guard. 'Think you can handle the weaklings inside while I clean up out here?' Mace grunted a harsh laugh and answered.  "Think you can handle them on your own?" Araven looked at them both, hesitating slightly before saying. "We can handle whatever the Republic throws at us. Hurry up or we'll kill the admiral before you get there." They started to go around the Jedi, and to the Jedi's credit, neither of them took their eyes off of Imotis. He grabbed one of his own sabers and flicked it on, the red blade coming to life with a hiss. His two opponents held their guard, they were both human, one with black hair to his shoulders and a short goatee, he had the yellow saber, the other's head was shaven, with blond stubble beginning to grow back, his saber was the blue. They both wore brown robes, and Imotis noticed their styles effectively complemented each other. Imotis raised his own saber to a guard, far enough away that it would take a force leap to reach. "You won't survive this Sith." Imotis took a deep breath, on the exhale he filled himself with the Force. He looked at them, 'Stronger men than you have tried.'


They came at him together, blue leaped at him while yellow threw his saber. A blast of lightning sent the blonde Jedi flying back. While he blocked the yellow lightsaber, it flee back into the hand of it wielder who had closed range with Imotis. The yellow blade came at Imotis in a frenzy of blows, forcing him back two steps while he parried them. His danger sense erupted and he was able to slide out of the way of the blonde Jedi's lunge, while parrying another blow from the black haired one. He jumped away from the two of them, sending a powerful force shove at them. It managed to knock them off balance long enough for him to grab his other full length lightsaber, the first one he had built himself, from it's hidden holster inside his robes. He activated it as he fell to the ground, rushing the two Jedi the moment he landed. He assaulted them both, forcing them to block his seemingly wild attacks. The four blades collided many times, throwing sparks with each clash. He was able to land a force assisted kick to the black haired Jedi's midsection, sending him back several meters where he landed in a heap. Imotis used the precious seconds to focus on the blond now. He put up a splendid defense at first, but he was unable to keep up with Imotis's onslaught. Imotis battered his way through the Jedi's guard and stabbed both his blades through his heart. The Jedi gasped as the crimson blades pierced him, filling the air around them with the smell of burnt flesh. He tried to swing his lightsaber at Imotis one last time, but the blue blade instead fell to the ground with the rest of the Jedi's body as Imotis spread his arms, seperating the Jedi's chest from the rest of his body. An outburst of emotions, rage and sorrow came from behind him, and gave him all the warning he needed to turn and parry the yellow blade that was lunging towards his heart. The black haired Jedi let out a roar of anguish and swung his lightsaber at Imotis again and again. The blows were easy to parry, the Jedi wasn't using his emotions, they were using him. It was a habit Aras had beaten out of him before he'd even had a name. The black-haired Jedi lunged at him, Imotis sidestepped and brought one of his sabers up, slicing the Jedi's hand off at the wrist. The hand and yellow blade fell to the ground, the blade gouging into the ground at an angle before turning off. The Jedi tried to call his fallen friend's blade to his remaining hand, but Imotis sliced it in half as it flew through the air. The Jedi was gathering strength for a Force shove he'd never do, Imotis's red blade sweeped across the Jedi's neck, causing his head to fall to the ground with a thud.


The scene inside the base was a pleasant one for him, dead Republic soldiers lay strewn across hallways and clustered around barricades with holes blown in them. Not once did he see a dead Mandalorian among them. He could feel them ahead of him, a floor above, they were locked in combat with the heaviest concentration of soldiers yet. He tapped his com-link 'Araven, status report.' Within a moment the reply "We're pinned down, heavy blaster cannons and multiple barricades. Your admiral has to be beyond, if you'd like to stop taking your sweet time and give us some support that'd be great." Imotis smiled and clicked off his com-link, he'd give them support all right. When he was directly under where he knew the barricade furthest from the Mandos was he reached for the Force, letting it fill him. He gathered his rage, his fear, calling the Force to him until his entire body tingled with it's power, held it until it felt like it was burning him. With a roar he unleashed it all upwards, sending a torrent of energy ripping through the duracrete above him. It tore through the ceiling above him, and kept going blowing through the ceiling of the next level as well, taking out two of the barricades and a good chunk of the roof with it. Imotis collapsed to his knees feeling weak, and almost hollow, he'd never used so much power before. If the Mandos were shocked, they were far too discipline to show it, instead taking advantage of the Republic soldier's distraction to wipe them out. Imotis barely heard the sound of heavy boots dropping down beside him. Almost didn't feel the grip of gloved hands pulling him to his feet. He saw his own reflection in the T-shaped visor infront of him. Pale skin and dull yellow eyes, he blinked and saw they were blue. The Mandalorian holding him slapped him on the shoulder and spoke, only then did he realize it was Mace. "Are you alright? You look like a man who just lost his life savings at the pazaak table." Imotis managed a weak chuckle. 'I'll be fine, I think..' Mace laughed, the sound was strange coming from that helmet. "Good, you said you wanted to kill the admiral, and after what you just did no Mando in his right mind would try and stop you." Mace let go of him and by sheer force of will he managed not to fall. Then managed to take a step, calling on the Force to bolster himself hurt, but so would falling. He managed to make it up to the next level, where Araven and the rest of the Mandalorians stood waiting next to a closed door. Imotis stretched his perception, 'There's three people in the next room. You'll have to handle them without my help this time I'm afraid.' Araven nodded, then wordlessly blew the door open, two Mandalorians standing to the side of the door threw concussion grenades in. After they blew the Mandalorians swept into the room, checking their targets and killing the two in the room that were not Kre'fey. Imotis, taking great care to present a powerful expression despite how enormously tired he felt, walked into the room after. He held his lightsaber, the more intricate one that had been his first trophy, deactivated in his hand. The bothan sat at his desk, his cream colored fur standing on edge with either fear or fury, he couldn't tell. Imotis stood before him, 'Are you admiral Kre'fey?' He asked, his tone of voice the mocking one he reserved for those he was about to execute. The bothan spluttered, "What is the meaning of this Sith! This means war!" Gathering what strength he could Imotis slammed the bothan's head on his desk. "I'll ask again, are you, Admiral Kre'fey?" The bothan simply glared at him, dark violet eyes filled with hate. Imotis shrugged, 'Oh well, you're stronger willed than most I suppose, it only spoils the fun that way.' Imotis drew on all the power he could still hold and held out his hand. Purple lightning sprang from his fingertips, causing the bothan to convulse and scream in pain, as the lightning danced over Kre'fey's body parts of his skeletal system were visible. Imotis only stopped when he could no longer hold the power, his fingertips smoked, and he realized they were burned almost black. Admiral Kre'fey lay slumped forward on his desk, his cream colored fur now blackened  and smoking. He had little time to appreciate his work though, as his vision blurred and he fell to the ground.


Images swam across his vision, images of war, of death. He saw a trio of Sith advance on an open field, they wore golden masks that obscured their faces. They advanced towards a lone Jedi, who held a purple lightsaber. He saw himself standing off against Darth Vecious, their red blades locked together. He saw Krista, her beautiful eyes filled with tears, and he heard her voice, calling a name. He saw himself again, this time, from his own eyes, he looked down and saw Aras, lying dead on the ground. He heard laughter, Darth Vecious was laughing at him. He saw Araven, standing alone with his helmet off, he'd gained a scar down his right eye, and Imotis saw that it was replaced with a cybernetic one. Imotis walked up to him, but before they could talk everything changed again. He was back on Dromuund Kaas, everything was cold, there was a pit in Imotis's stomach, a deep voice said to him. "Well done Imotis, you handle my enemies well." Then the vision faded away. He heard voices now, ones he didn't recognize, he sat up with a quickly with a gasp, he was in a strange room he'd never seen before. The walls were made of wood, real wood, he'd never actually seen a building made out of wood before. Imotis looked at his hand, and saw the fingertips mostly healed. He tried to stand and almost fell back down. A woman came in the room about that time and glared at him. "Sit down! I'm not gonna have you pass out again." Imotis looked at her, astonished that he would be spoken too that way. The woman was in her forties, the same age as Araven, she had short dark brown hair and eyes. She apparently saw his confusion and said. "I'm Seara, Araven's wife, Mace's mother." Imotis sat down, not trusting himself to walk right now anyways. She sat a tray of food on the bed next to him. "Eat, get your strength back, you've been out for days." Imotis gaped 'Days?' She nodded. "Araven or Mace can explain better than me. They're out hunting right now, I'll let them know you're up when they get back. " She walked out of the room, leaving him alone. He leaned back against the wall, the wood was rough against his bare back. He marveled at it for a moment, then remembered how little of the galaxy he had actually seen. He ate the food Seara brought him, it was some form of eggs. He didn't care what kind, as hungry as he was. But they were extremely delicious. After he ate, he sat, drawing on the Force, using it to restore energy to his body, and to heal what damage was left. He sat like that for hours, in a trance, until a knock at the door brought him out of it. Both Araven and mace walked in. It was the first time he'd ever seen them without their armor. They were tan, their bodies were almost as broad as they were in the armor. They sat down at a small table in the room. 'Where are we?' Araven beamed "Mandalore of course. After what you did to Kre'fey you passed out, we weren't sure what to do but we weren't going to leave you there. So we brought you home." Imotis chuckled. 'And I've been passed out the entire time?' Araven nodded. "Four days. We were starting to be worried." Imotis chuckled again. 'You would've been paid regardless of if I survived.' Araven gave him a strange look then, one filled of pity. "That's not why we saved you." That look of pity angered him. 'Why else?' Mace stood then, angry. "If you're gonna be so ungrateful we should've just-" "Mace! That's enough." Mace left the room, and Araven followed. Leaving Imotis alone again, his anger had faded, replaced with curiosity. He called the Force to him, using it to heighten his senses. Everything became clearer, crisp, he could hear Seara moving in what he guessed was the kitchen based on the patter of what sounded like pans. He heard footsteps, going away from him, then Araven's voice, barely above a whisper, quiet enough that he couldn't quite make it out. He clearly heard Seara's response though. "It's not his fault, the Sith made him that way. The poor boy's known nothing but greed and backstabbing his entire life. Are you so surprised kindness is foreign to him? He probably grew up without his family." Araven replied. "So did you." Her voice was sharper now. "It's not the same and you know it, and there's no point talking behind his back. He can hear everything we're saying." He wondered how she knew so much even as he forced the red from his face as she came into the room again, this time holding clothes and a satchel. "It's rude to eavesdrop. Here, I brought you some clothes." She sat the items on the bed leaving a bewildered Araven behind. Imotis opened the satchel to see all five of his lightsabers. 'What is she?' Araven laughed a good hearty laugh before saying. "She's a good wife, any more than that you'll have to ask her yourself. You're welcome to stay here awhile you know, for free. We've got the room." Imotis was stunned, Saera had been very right, kindness was foreign to him. The only person who had ever come close to it was Aras. Which reminded him, sadly he shook his head. 'I can't stay, I have a mission to finish.' Araven nodded. "I can understand that. Your ship is outside. Remember, you need any fighting to be done or a place to stay, you know who to ask." He left then, and Imotis forced himself to stand, to dress in the clothes Seara had given him, they were his combat robes, mended and washed. Looking even better than when he took care of them. He dressed and donned his lightsabers, before saying his goodbyes to Araven and Mace, Seara was strangely absent; he found out why when he got to his ship. She was sitting on a trunk of an old long cut down tree. As if she heard him approach she turned and smiled at him, though it was a sad smile. "I knew you'd say no. Though had hoped otherwise." He didn't know what to say so he started to climb up to the cockpit, when she said. "The Sith don't have to own you forever." He turned back to look at her, feeling anger rising within him. 'What would you know of the Sith?' She shook her head not looking at him now. "More than you could possibly realize." Her eyes had a strong, yet almost haunted look about them. "The path you follow now leads to nothing but pain Jaken. You will know suffering, but you will be stronger for it." He was shaken, he had never told Araven or Mace that name. 'What are you?' He asked her. "I'll tell you when you come back." And then she walked away, leaving a very confused and shaken Imotis to climb into his ship and ascend to space. He plotted his jump and watched the stars streak as he went to hyperspace, struggling with thoughts of another life.

Aras sat, in the dark solitude of his meditation chamber aboard his dreadnought. He knew Imotis lived, could feel him within the Force, yet he had been in some kind of stasis for a few days, and he had been unable to locate him. While even he could not detect Imotis when he was hiding in the Force, Imotis couldn't keep that up for four days. For a moment he wondered if he was worried, he dismissed it has he felt a pulling against his will. He was being summoned.  Not willing to even let out a sigh at his meditation being disturbed  he opened his personal comlink, though he could only see Vecious it didn't matter, he knew the other's faces well and their voices better. "How nice of you to deign to join us Aras." Vecious's cold voice was almost comical presented to him from the miniaturized hologram. "Have you heard the news? Seems the filthy Bothan admiral the Republic had has been assassinated, had his whole garrison killed and his flagship stolen. Seems a Sith lord did it, might you know anything about that?" Aras shrugged, 'Who knows what intelligence is up too, they're always waging a little war with the Republic.' Vecious's glare didn't translate very well from his reduced size as he said. "That 'little war' is about to become much bigger, the Republic is readying retaliatory strike forces. The cowards might actually attack us. Has your apprentice killed Varreb yet?"  Aras replied. 'We didn't even know where Varreb was until yesterday. He isn't due to check in for another day or so, I'll inform him then.' "Make sure he knows it's to be done quickly, and tell him to kill the Hutt too, they need to be reminded why they fear us. Our plans are too close to fruition for a war to start now." With that Vecious ended the meeting. Aras left his meditation chamber and focused on Imotis, he could feel the boy clearly now. He was in the system, just dropped out of hyperspace. Instead of meeting him in the abandoned mining site Aras had him land on the dreadnought. A droid led him to the unmarked area of Aras's ship and he was able to find his way easily from there. Aras was standing infront of what looked like a transparisteel window showing the galaxy, but it was really a sophisticated hologram that showed the galaxy how it would appear. They were too deep inside the ship for windows. When Imotis walked in the room he turned to face him, the boy looked more worn, but much stronger than the last time he'd seen him only a few weeks ago. The boys black hair had grown back, falling to his shoulders. His eyes were a markedly paler blue than when he was younger. 'You have been doing well my apprentice, and I have good news.' Imotis tried not to be to obvious in his pleasure at the praise as Aras continued. 'Imperial intelligence has located Jedi master Varreb. He is on Tatooine, currently staying in a palace belonging to Halda the Hutt, you get to have a little fun with this one. I want you to kill them all; everyone at the palace, including our informant.' He handed Imotis a slicer disc. 'Sneak into the security room of the palace and this disc will override all the outer doors of the palace, no one will be able to escape. Imotis kneeled after taking the disc. "I will not fail you my master." He sent him away then, and watched him go. He turned back to his hologram too see not the galaxy, but the throne room of Dromuund Kaas. Even lightyears away Aras felt the cold in the stomach as he looked at the Emperor. His black eyes gazed at Aras, "It seems everything is almost ready." He nodded 'Yes my master, I have sent Imotis after Varreb, I'll elevate him to the rank of Darth after, and send him after Vecious.' The emperor nodded, "I would have liked to postpone war with the Republic awhile longer, but your apprentice's flashy style will accelerate it. I suppose it's a necessary loss to deal with Vecious." With that the hologram faded, leaving Aras gazing out at the galaxy once more.


Imotis was beginning to think the galaxy hated him as he stepped out of his ship into the harsh light of Tatooine's twin suns, into the scorching heat that the sand around him seemed only to reflect back upwards.  The black he wore wasn't helping, the speeder bike he had "acquired" would though. He detached it from the bottom of his ship. He had landed in what looked like an old smuggler's cave, an outcropping of rock just big enough for a small frieghter, his smaller ship had had plenty of room. He'd picked the landing spot as it was far enough away from Halda's palace that he should never have showed up on sensors. The speeder bike was too small for sensors to pick up. He climbed onto it and pushed the throttle forward, sending him rocketing away over the hot sand. His robes billowed behind him from the force of the wind. It took a couple of hours for him to reach the palace, he left his speeder bike in a ravine about a kilometer away from the palace. He walked the rest of the way, pulling the Force around him in a small sandstorm to obscure his form from life sensors. It was dusk when he reached the palace wall, Tatooine's twin suns were setting, creating a beautiful view of the canyon Halda's palace sat on the edge of. Imotis climbed the wall, pulling a vibroknife from a sheath at the small of his back, he stabbed the sentry standing at the top of the wall in the neck and pitched him over the side before climbing ontop of the wall and back down, melting into the darkness. He found his way into the palace easily enough. He needed to find the security room fast, he was already beginning to feel the strain of hiding both his physical self and his presence in the Force, but he could not risk being sensed before he locked the palace down. He found a terminal and sliced a readout of the map of the palace, he was in luck, the security room was nearby.  The hallways were empty, he ended up not seeing another guard, mechanical or otherwise, until he arrived at the security room. Inside the security room sat two guards, a human and a twi'lek. They were lazily checking the camera feeds throughout the palace, completely unaware of the Sith lord sneaking up behind them, only becoming aware long enough to realize their mistake as the life left their eyes as the vibroknife entered their throats. Imotis inserted the disc Aras had given him into the console. It quickly got to work giving Imotis full control of the entire palace. He disabled all incoming and outgoing comm signals, triggered the top level lockdown sequence that locked all the doors and hangars with a password that Imotis was now the only holder of. He deleted the automated securities friend or foe programming and then he killed the lights, plunging the palace into darkness. The last view he saw from the holocams before he disabled them as well was the Hutt's living guards trading blaster fire with the intimidating combat droids Halda had used for security.


Krista sat on the soft bed in the luxurious room of Halda's palace she had been given. The room managed to be cool, even in Tatooine's intense heat. It even had a balcony overlooking the canyon. She stepped out on to it now, appreciating the setting suns. Everything was going well, the negotiations would he wrapped up within the week, and then she'd be free to choose her own path. Master Varreb had insisted on her going with him even after her promotion to knight, she hadn't minded it, but she was eager to see and help the galaxy herself. Despite that though, she couldn't shake this feeling of foreboding, like the calm before a terrible storm. She stretched out her senses, feeling the beings within the palace. She could feel Master Varreb and Halda, conversing with the Republic's representative. Halda had been adamant in his desire to speak to a non-Jedi representative, claiming he didn't fully trust them. She could feel the mass of beings in the grand audience chamber, drinking and feasting as they did every evening until well after dark. She was able to feel the guards in the halls and along the outer walls of the palace, almost like little lights. So it came as only half a surprise, when she felt pain and fear, and quickly after two of those lights went out. She gasped and reached for her comlink to find Master Varreb already trying to reach her. "Krista, get to the hangar, take the commandos and guard the ship now!" Her reply was drowned out by static, and she realized all comms were being stopped. She heard blasterfire outside her door, so she grabbed and ignited her lightsaber, the purple blade springing to life even as all the lights went out. There was a knock at the door, hard first, and then softer, and harder once more. She opened the door to two commandos guarding it, several droids lay destroyed in the adjacent corridor. "Are you alright ma'am?" She nodded, 'Yes, gather everyone, we're to guard and prep the ship for launch.' The trooper nodded and rushed off, banging on the doors the same way he had with hers. Soon all of them were ready to go and she led the way through the dark corridors, her lightsaber the only light in the darkness.


Imotis held his breath and used all of his power to hide himself as the purple lightsaber passed him by, neither Krista nor her commandos had seen him, and once they had turned the corner and gone some distance he exhaled and loosened his grip on the stealth. He withheld from giving into the urge of punching the wall, how could he be so stupid? All of his thoughts for a different life, any chance he may have had at it, he was about to squash. He had to kill Krista's master, or he would die, and she would hate him for it. Ofcourse he would be expected to kill her too, and he didn't know if he could do it.  He decided to face that when it came and advanced down the hallway, he'd already left a path of carnage throughout half the palace, and he needed to find Varreb. He dashed down dark hallways with his lightsaber in hand, he was heading towards the only life he could feel in this direction. He came upon large double doors and pushed them open, it opened up into a large room, strewn with the dead. Humans, and twi'leks lined the floor alongside droid parts, and on one end of the room lie a large hutt, the thing's hide was blackened and blistered all over where blasters had impacted on him. In the center of the room sat Varreb. He stood when Imotis entered the room drawing his lightsaber. "Is this what you wanted Sith?" Imotis glanced around as he activated his saber, the blade springing to life. Varreb activated his, a verdant blade illuminating the area around him. "Do you realize what you've done? After this there'll be war! Do you know how many countless people will die?" Imotis shrugged, 'Should I care?' The Jedi didn't respond, he merely nodded and with a grave expression leaped towards him.


Krista and the commandos reached the hangar their ship was in in one piece. They quickly dispatched the last of the automated defenses and two of the troopers got to work on the door, the other set to prepping the ship. She started up the boarding ramp when she sensed master Varreb, he was fighting someone, she didn't recognize the presence, she only knew it felt like fire, and was extremely dark. She looked at captain Orolev, the leader of their commando squad. "I have to go back, Master Varreb needs my help. Protect the ship, if we don't come back just leave without us. The Republic needs to know what happened." Before he could respond she took off back the way they had come.


Varreb swung his green blade high and Imotis parried it. Sliding the red blade across the green as he turned and kicked at Varreb's side. Sending the Jedi back with a grunt. Imotis pressed his advantage, sending several strikes towards Varreb, who managed to parry or dodge them all. Their blades collided several more times before they locked together, each trying to overpower the other. Imotis pulled one of his Shotos from it's boot holster and activated it, the short red blade extended towards Varreb's ribs. Forcing him to jump back or be impaled. Imotis pivoted and swung the longer saber, scoring a shallow line across Varreb's face. The Jedi spun and his green blade grazed Imotis's stomach, feeding his anger. Imotis swung both his sabers, Varreb parried the longer one and was able to dodge the shorter shoto. Varreb swung his saber in a flurry of blows forcing Imotis to take a step back to block them. Imotis caught Varreb's blade in a cross and he kicked Varreb in the knee, forcing it to buckle and caused Varreb to fall back. He was able to block Imotis's first saber strike, but Imotis kicked him hard in the ribs, causing something to crack. Varreb gasped and Imotis lifted him into the air, with a twist of his hand he snapped Varreb's neck and let him drop. He turned and froze, seeing Krista and the look of pure horror in her eyes. She activated her purple saber and rushed him.


Krista ran down the dark hallways littered with corpses and destroyed droids, though several showed blaster marks many more looked as if a lightsaber had been through them. She ran faster as she felt pain from master Varreb. Using the Force to give her speed she ran down the long hallways stopping in front of large doors that were open. She saw Master Varreb floating in the air, she went pale and cold when she saw his head twist around backwards and his body fall to the floor. In landed ungracefully like a doll, and his murderer turned to look at her. The bright yellow eyes glared at her and she felt herself shudder, when she took notice of the rest of his face it felt like her heart had stopped. It was Jaken, his hair was black and much longer than it was when she had seen him but she knew. She didn't know when she had activated her lightsaber; but it hummed in her hand. She gripped the hilt tightly and rushed him swinging her saber at his head. He parried it and took a step back, so she attacked him again this time with a lunge. He dodged out of the way of it and thrusted the lightsaber shoto at her, the blade just barely missed impaling her and she used her free hand to shove with the Force, throwing Jaken back several feet. He looked at her, "I don't want to fight you." His voice was strained, but she found herself incapable of seeing any emotion but hate in those eyes. She ignored him and rushed again, swinging her saber in a wide strike that she made a feint when Jaken tried to parry, he couldn't turn quite fast enough to dodge her blade completely though, and she left a long cut across his cheek with her actual strike. She tried to press her advantage but he blocked every blow she threw at him.  She came close to impaling him when he slipped past her guard, something hard struck the back of her head and everything started to fade, she tried to hold on to her consciousness but was unable too.  The last thing she remembered was falling to the ground as the world closed around her. She awoke an unknown time later in the med-bay of the small Republic transport, Captain Orolev sat beside her bed. The lights seemed extra bright as she opened her eyes. "Good, you're awake, we were worried." The captain said. She felt her head, there was a small  bump on the back but other than that no damage. 'What happened?' She asked him. He shook his head "I'm not sure, I found you unconscious in the same room we found Master Varreb's body. Halda the Hutt was killed in the combat, so our mission is a failure." She absorbed that for a moment, remembering watching her master's death at the hands of Jaken. She shook her head 'Not a complete failure, we still have a report to make.'  


Imotis managed to stumble out of the palace, his thoughts a jumbled mess. He hadn't killed her, but that was a small comfort to him, he saw it in her eyes, she hated him. She watched him kill her master and she hated him for it. He sighed as he made the long walk back to his speeder bike. The trip back to his ship was even longer, and he couldn't escape the feeling he had ruined his only chance at a different life. He was in a daze when he reached his ship, so he didn't sense the people behind him. When he realized something was wrong it was too late, by the time he turned and saw the three figures in red armor they were shooting stun bolts at him. He managed to dodge one but the other two hit him in the chest, electricity ran up and down his body and made his muscles. He fell to the ground with a thud, the pain was intense but he didn't pass out, one of the armored figures stood over him. The figure realized Imotis was still conscious and pointed the blaster again, his last sight before the stun bolt put him out was of the figure's golden mask.


Aras stood on the empty bridge of his flagship, waiting for Vecious to arrive. He had showed up in system unexpectedly and had demanded Aras meet with him. So Aras had ordered his bridge crew away and was waiting for him. Though he was unexpected Aras had guessed why Vecious was here.  Vecious kept him waiting as long as he could before finally walking through the doors at the back of the bridge. Vecious dismissed his bodyguards and came to stand next too Aras in front of the viewport. Vecious had added to his cybernetics, now sporting mechanical eyes, a mechanical hand, and Aras knew several of his organs to be artificial as well. Vecious replaced his body parts when they failed him. Vecious turned to look at him, those cold red eyes. "He has failed." Aras didn't have to ask who he meant. "Varreb and the Hutt are dead, as is all of his palace, but it seems Varreb's apprentice and some Republic commandos were able to escape." Aras stood silent, knowing but dreading what was to come. "I'll expect his head on my ship in three days. Or yours will be. I'll be holding on to this dreadnought until then." Aras nodded, not giving Vecious the satisfaction of a response as he turned and walked off the bridge. "Oh and Aras? If you fail I'll do it myself." He turned back now, a glare of hate directed at those cold eyes. 'If I fail you had best start running. As he's coming for you next.'


Imotis awoke in the dark, and he quickly realized where he was, nowhere else felt like here did. No where else felt like the Citadel, and he was in it's throne room. It was almost pitch black, he couldn't see infront of him, and all he could feel was darkness. "Imotis is it?" A voice he couldn't see said. Finding his courage he said 'Lord Imotis yes.' He laughed then and came within Imotis's sight, he was a Sith pureblood, with eyes as black as the rest of the room. Before Imotis knew it he was kneeling before him. "You failed your last assignment, you were to kill everyone, you did not. Why?" Imotis looked up at him, 'Even I'm not perfect, they escaped while I hunted Varreb.' The Emperor of the Sith pondered this for a moment, before nodding as if he was accepting the excuse. "Failure is intolerable, but I do not throw away useful tools after one failure. So I'm giving you another chance,   Your  master, Aras, he has betrayed us both." He reached out and Imotis felt his mental defenses utterly fail as the Emperor projected into his mind. He saw Aras and Vecious standing next to each other, heard them talking, heard Vecious tell Aras to kill him.  White hot fury blossomed inside of him. "Fail me and nowhere in the galaxy will be safe for you." Imotis nodded. 'I will not fail you my Emperor.' The Emperor faded back into the darkness, and darkness became all he could see and feel once more.  When he awoke he was in the cockpit of his ship, sitting in open space. He wasn't aware of how he got there or even how long it had been. His location was somewhere between Tatooine and Dromuund Kaas. He sat, stunned at what he had learned, at what he had to do. At what he had seen Aras do. His anger seethed never quite going away. He didn't have to focus hard, Aras wasn't exactly trying to hide. When he focused he was able to determine the exact location. A planet called Taris, he laid in a course and jumped to hyperspace.

He came out of hyperspace above a dead world, where once had clearly stood a grand city-planet like Coruscant, now there was only devastation. He took his ship into atmosphere heading for where Aras's presence was strongest, he flew above countless destroyed skyscrapers, untold tons of duracrete. He flew lower, passing over crumbling walkways, it seemed like nothing had been spared whatever devastation had been wrought here. He came to what appeared to have once been a meeting area or something, it was large and open, shockingly holding together well compared to everything else he had seen. On it sat a lone ship, he landed on the opposite side of the platform and climbed out of his ship. Aras was waiting for him, in the same clothes he always wore when they trained. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you actually came. You never had much of a sense of self preservation." Imotis said nothing, instead only grabbing his saber, activating it. Aras looked at him, "There's so much more strength within you. It'll be a shame to waste it here." He activated his own, and they stood facing each other. 'Why? How could you side with Vecious?' Aras laughed, "I thought I taught you to pick the winning side." Imotis moved first, swinging his saber low, Aras effortlessly parried the attack and launched his own, a quick flurry of blows that Imotis was hard-pressed to parry. One of the strikes slipped past his guard and left a shallow line across his forearm. "You'll have to try much harder than that, this isn't practice boy." Aras swept his saber at his feet, Imotis leapt over it, sending a kick towards Aras's ribcage. It landed with a thud and a grunt from Aras. Their blades clashed several more times, then they had fallen into the old sparring matches again. Their sabers danced around each other, clashing again and again as their similar fighting styles collided. They were both submerged in the Force, it gave them a type of clairvoyance, a knowledge of what the other was going to do. They had fought like this so many times it was second nature to them. But that wasn't good enough, not now, and Aras quickly proved it by breaking through his guard and leaving a long slash across Imotis's abdomen. He tried to counterattack but Aras caught it on his blade. They held there, Imotis trying to overpower Aras, who was starting to look bored. "Would you like to know something Imotis? I've been able to watch you much more closely than you think. I saw what you did on Tatooine. I know why Varreb's apprentice escaped, and I know who she is." Imotis shouted 'Leave her out of this!' A strange look crossed Aras's yellow eyes for a moment, and then it was gone, replaced by a sneer. "She has dangerous knowledge of a Sith lord who has made himself an enemy of the Republic, knowledge that would endanger me. She has to die." With a scream of pure rage Imotis threw himself at Aras. It was taking him much more effort to block them now, Imotis noticed. He managed to land several shallow cuts to Aras's arms and legs, but he was unable to do any real damage. They backed off then, walking in a circle, their blades almost close enough to touch. The only sounds being the humming of their lightsabers, and their breathing, everything else was silent as if Taris was truly a dead world. "You have grown strong my apprentice, but you must remember to use your emotions; they can never rule you. A man ruled by his emotions is what?" The response left Imotis's lips before he could stop them. 'Dead.' Aras nodded, "You remember but you don't listen. This was your last warning Imotis, I'm done holding back, one of us isn't leaving Taris." Imotis took a deep breath and forced himself to be calm, he had rage, and sorrow and grief enough to overwhelm him, but he wouldn't let it. He nodded then, finally accepting what had to be done. With no further words Aras came forward, his saber flying towards Imotis's face in a one handed slash. Imotis dodged to the left, and brought his blade up in the knick of time to block the second blade Aras was now wielding in his other hand. Imotis, deciding to keep using only one saber, launched a counterattack. He made sure to keep moving, to not let Aras catch his blade, as he sent poorly aimed slashes after Aras again and again. The ones Aras wasn't able to parry he was able to dodge, but the flurry kept him from counterattacking. At least at first, Aras sidestepped a slash and kicked Imotis in the chest, sending him back several feet and forcing the air out of his lungs. Imotis countered with a blast of lightning that Aras caught on the blade of one of his sabers. As Imotis struggled to catch his breath Aras walked slowly towards him, and he kicked Imotis in the face, snapping his head back. He coughed up blood as Aras lifted him with the Force, holding him in the air. Aras's yellow eyes stared at him, the Sith's red skin seemed to be flushed, and a deeper red than normal. "I had hoped for more from you really..." He held one of his blades up, pointed Imotis. "This game is over now, you have to die, the girl has to die, and if your Mandalorian friends make trouble for us, they'll die too." He started towards Imotis, drawing his saber back to thrust. Imotis called all the power he could muster, filling himself with as much as he could, tapping reserves he never knew he had. As Aras got closer he released  it all with a shout, it created a powerful shockwave, blowing Aras back and causing Imotis to fall. He was lying in a small crater, every movement was agony but still he forced himself to stand up. He saw Aras standing, about ten feet away, in his left hand he was still gripping an activated saber, his right hand was gone. Imotis stumbled out of the crater, and grabbed his lightsaber, the one he had constructed for himself in Aras's safehouse. He activated it as he walked towards his master, the crimson blade snapping to life. Aras looked up from the stump that was now his right hand to stare at him. His eyes were hard, and he gripped his saber tightly as he came towards Imotis. Their blades clashed once, twice, three times and they held. Imotis broke the clash and thrusted, and his blade went through Aras's stomach. Aras's eyes went wide and he dropped his saber, it clattered to the ground and went out. He fell against Imotis and he deactivated his blade, and Aras fell to the ground, he almost looked happy as he fell then Imotis felt the life leaving Aras. Imotis fell to his knees, looking at his dead master. He felt hot tears stinging his cheeks, he sat on his knees next to Aras, weeping.


Krista walked down the halls of the Jedi temple feeling sorrowful. She had given her report to the Jedi high council and they were deliberating on what to do. They had given her several days of free time in light of what happened. She walked to the archives, the vast reserves of knowledge that the Jedi kept. She had always been an avid student of history and whenever she was sad she'd often visit the archives and read. The chief librarian greeted her as she walked past the large shelves until she got to the area where journals from former Jedi were kept. Many Jedi kept a journal of their various missions, and they often donated said journals to the archives, creating a living history of the Jedi. Even master Varreb had kept one, but his was restricted to the masters only. She selected one of the few surviving journals from the era of early Jedi existing on Tython. She sat down and began reading, it was a riveting account of a Jedi knight fighting in the first Jedi civil war, where most believed the Sith came from. Thinking about the Sith made her think about Jaken, him killing Varreb, the light she had felt within him on Hutta was almost suffocated by the darkness. She could not hate him, hate was of the Dark side, but she pitied him. He was so young, a few years younger than her,  and already so corrupted by the Sith. It made her almost as sad as losing her former master, she wondered for a moment about redemption of dark siders. Then she put the journal back, and headed deeper into the archives.


Imotis sat on the ground next to his master's cold body, his tears had stopped hours ago, but still he felt numb, empty. Aras had given him life, given him power, given him purpose. He couldn't remember the slaves that had been his parents, or much of the hovel they had existed in. But he could still remember the first time Aras visited him, when he had alluded to him having great power, showed him how to use it. Then how Aras had saved him in his trial, and subsequently turned him into someone to be feared. And he had repaid him with death. The rage that had filled him when the Emperor had shown Aras speaking with Vecious was long gone, now he was left with sadness and misery. He wasn't sure how long he had been here, it had been probably midday on Taris when they started fighting, and night had fallen hours ago. He looked at his master, the Sith pureblood's eyes were closed, his red skin had paled noticeably, and there was a look of contentment on his face. His still existing lightsaber laid on the ground next to him. Imotis picked it up, Aras had had no desire to decorate things to make himself feel important, it showed in his saber, where the one he had taken from Darth Niox had been garnished with gold and intricate designs, Aras had just wrapped his in supple leather to make it easier to grip. He considered for a brief moment keeping it, as he had so many others, but the thought sickened him, instead he placed it in Aras's remaining hand, laid that on his chest, and finally he stood. His legs were stiff, and his knees complained painfully, but he willed that away with the Force. He looked down at his master, the man who had taught him everything he knew, the man that had made him so much more than a slave, the man who had given him a name. He piled up a mound of whatever flammable material; cloth and plant matter, he could find, then using the force he gently lifted and placed Aras upon it. He set the mound on fire and watched it burn. He watched on in silence as the flames reached Aras. As the fire reached him Imotis reflected on his life, he hadn't really known his master, not as a person. Whatever Aras had done before Imotis's apprenticeship and much thereafter, Aras had not shared with him. As he stood over the Aras's funeral pyre, he said something he never once before considered. 'I don't want to be a Sith anymore.' And the Sith Lord Imotis died on Taris as well, next to his father's funeral pyre.

~~~THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY, BUT IT IS THE END OF WHAT'S BEING POSTED HERE~~~