Star Wars The New Empire

"I do think Revan is mixed up in this and I think we are dealing with somebody who was influenced by his teachings," Irluuk explained. "The story Dren told me on Moraband. The holocrob he gave me. The visions I've been having. Recent rumors I've heard. The planets we've visited. I think they're all connected. Aura told us to beware his wrath and that is name is lost to history, though his memory isn't. I think we're dealing with the Empire's Wrath. The Sith who fell in love with his slave."

-

Cliegg was giving Ardana CPR. After a few minutes of compressions, Ardana opened her eyes and starting coughing. Justin came forward and hugged his friend.

"Ardana!"

"Dromund Kaas," Ardana managed to say. "We have to go to Dromund Kaas."

Jax Nova

 

Aurelia listened with a quizzical expression. "I'm not really sure what all of your visions have been..." she admitted. "Who is the sith who fell in love with his slave?"

--

Lisa and Jax both came in moments before Ardana awoke. When she did she mentioned Dromund Kaas. It seemed, for whatever reason, this strange power at work had frequently chosen Ardana to manifest itself though. Lisa contemplated this and looked back and forth between the members aboard the ship. "What's on Dromund Kaas?" she finally asked.

 

Justin went over and plugged in the coordinates Puck had given him. Dromund Kaas popped up. "That's where we'll find the acolytes," Justin told the others. "And Clan Vizsla."

"And a Kaliburr Crystal," Cliegg mentioned. "Gordon mentioned that."

-

"It's a long story," Irluuk explained. "An old Sith legend. A young promising acolyte who arrived on Moraband, who many underestimated. He quickly rose above the other acolytes and crushed his competition. He left the planet an apprentice to a powerful Dark Lord, who gave him a lightsaber and a slave, a thief who had been caught robbing the tombs, as a gift. However, the apprentice began drifting away from the dark side. He became part of a new type of Sith that was developing at the time, that were changing the Sith and replacing the traditionalists. Rumors suggest that the apprentice was secretly a member of the Revanites, and that he studied holocrons that belonged to Light Sith. The apprentice began like Revan, following the teachings of both the light side and dark side. Not everyone agreed with how he did things, but his deeds became legendary across the galaxy, vanquishing many Jedi, other ambitious power-hungry Sith, criminals, and armies. He became the most powerful warrior in the galaxy, earning the title of Emperor's Wrath, before the Sith Emperor went rogue. He made many enemies, but also won the Sith Empire many allies. Some believed he cared more about the Empire than the Sith Order. He did eventually free his slave, fell in love with her, and married her. She was also an alien, so this was truly bizarre at the time. He spread his teachings to many of his followers. He and others like him were positioned to change the galaxy forever. But then the Sith were betrayed and the Empire was destroyed by the Old Republic and Jedi. The warrior's name and most evidence of his existence was lost forever. But the memory of him lived on. Some say the warrior never existed, others say he was destroyed by the Jedi. Others believed he went into hiding with his wife, or fled into the Unknown Regions, or went into exile on some ancient graveyard planet. Some even say he joined the ranks of criminals, pirates, bounty hunters, or Mandalorians. Or some say he was imprisoned for life. Or that he was 'saved' from the dark side by the Jedi. Nobody knows what happened to him. He just... vanished from history. There's not a lot of records from that time because of the Old Republic's attempts to eradicate all evidence of the Sith's achievements. The strangest thing of all is that... this guy was around our age when all this happened. He defeated opponents who had decades of experience. It's pretty incredible. This Sith we're going to face may be him, but it could also easily be any other Gray Sith."

Jax Nova

 

Jax gazed at the display with a hardened look and slid on his Mandalorian helmet. "Looks like we're going to Dromund Kaas."

"So it would seem..." Lisa said, glancing at him with a tint of concern in her eyes. "We may not like what we find, though...."

_____


Aurealia listened as Irluuk recounted the story. "He sounds like a very... interesting man," was all she said, but her face revealed her intrigue as to this thinking of this ancient Sith.

 

Cliegg put in the coordinates and the ship headed to Dromund Kaas. Cliegg went to his cabin, not speaking to Lisa as he passed her. He did not make eye contact either.

-

"I agree," said a voice. The two acolytes turned to see a bearded man who wore robes and had yellow eyes, an artificial arm and leg, red tattoos, the markings of Clan Vizsla, and notable scars. He had a lightsaber as well. The Force radiated off him and it felt different. Not dark. Not light. Somewhere in the middle.

Jax Nova

 

Lisa walked to the back of the ship. There was too much confusion surrounding things. She sat in the cargo bay alone and meditated. Jax on the other hand stood at attention near the navigation computer, eagerly awaiting finding his clan and geared up and ready to move as soon as the ship landed. Mentally he practiced his force techniques and honed his senses on clan Viszla. He could feel them getting closer by the moment....


---

Aurelia whirled around to see the man, her breathing shallowed but as of yet she felt no threat from him. "Who are you?" she asked. She noted his tattooed markings of clan Viszla. She had seen those markings before... on Jax Nova. "You are a mandalorian?"

 

Cliegg decided to stay on the ship, while the others went looking for the Sith acolytes. He didn't feel like being near Lisa at the moment...

Ardana also stayed on the ship, because she was still recovering from her near-death incident. "He is near," she kept whispering. "He is near."

Justin wanted to stay behind with Ardana, but Cliegg volunteered to watch her. Justin was relieved, but couldn't help but feel that something was up with Cliegg. He went to Lisa and Jax.

"I think something is wrong with Cliegg. He's been acting differently since Aquilae. I think he's upset about something."

-

"I feel like you should know the answer to the first question," the man told Aurelia, smiling. "After all, you were just talking about me. I've been expecting you two. Hana told me you were coming. As for the markings, I did fight alongside the Mandalorians. Clan Vizsla. They made me part of their family, and they became my brothers and sisters." The man looked over Aurelia and Irluuk. "You two are an interesting duo. Very curious..."

Jax Nova

 

Lisa and Jax headed off the ship and looked around. The jungle blocked any long ranged view of anything but Lisa sensed the many presences. Jax also felt a presence, faint and distant... the presence of his clan. Clan Viszla.

Jax ignored Justin's comment and walked on, following his senses and his eyes as he picked out any sign of the Mandalorians.

Lisa sighed at Justin's comment. "I'm not sure what's going on with him... but right now we kind of have bigger issues. If we don't get things right the first time we might now get a second chance. We, or the entire galaxy, could end up dead." She walked on.

------

"Then you are him..." Aurelia said. "I wasn't sure." She glanced at Irluuk, not sure what or if anything they should tell him about their purpose there.

 

The three suddenly sensed something. They weren't alone. Justin and Lisa pulled out their lightsabers. Jax pulled out his vibro sword. Figures came out of the jungle, surrounding them. Humans with tattooed faces. Red-skinned Sith Purebloods. All wearing armor, with war blades drawn or blasters pointed at the three. Lisa and Justin could sense the dark side within them. They were followers of the Sith.

"Jedi," a young human woman, their leader, hissed. "You are not welcome here!"

-

"You are here for my Crystal, correct?" the man asked. "I know you have one. Hana told me she gave you two gets. You'll be needing it. A darkness has returned and it has awoken the Sleeping Tyrants. An ancient evil I imprisoned long ago has been freed, and wants to destroy Jedi and Sith alike. This time he must be destroyed, and I believe only the crystals have the power to do that. But if he gets his hands on the Crystal, the galaxy will burn. And that will only be the beginning."

Jax Nova

 

Lisa was about to reply when Jax stepped forwards and took the lead. "We mean no aggression," he assured the women. "I'm here searching for my clan. The mandalorian clan of Viszla. We have no quarrel with you."

He motioned to the others to lower their weapons and Lisa dis-ignited her blade as did Justin, though both stood ready to re-ignite at a moments notice.

"What say you?" Jax asked the women. "Am I clear to search for my people? I believe they are here somewhere."

--

Aurelia looked at the man with a cautious yet surprised look. "I... well, yes... we came for the crystal. I still don't know who this ancient evil is, or what it is. All I know is that it's destroying everything in it's path. How do we destroy it?"

 

"If you are Mandalorian, then why do you travel with this Jedi scum?" the woman demanded.

-

"I believe that perhaps only the crystals, or something like a black hole or supernova, can kill him." The man noticed an approaching storm. "Come. There isn't much time. I will take you to my crystal and answer any questions you have to the best of my ability." The man lead them to the ruins of a fallen apartment building. The walls were covered in images, the shelter was full of artifacts, and it was illuminated by a hovering crystal.

Jax Nova

 

"Because theough my adventures I have grown to realize that it is not the allegiances of a person that they should be judged by, but the person themselves."

--

Aurelia followed, looking around as he lead them to his home. She wasn't sure what to make of it all.

 

"I sense that you are not telling us everything, Mandalorian," the woman said suspiciously. "Your Jedi companions are here for something else. Or someone else. Why do you attempt to deceive us?"

-

Among the artifacts was a broken down stood that looked ancient, a star map that helped light up the room, and a holo-image being projected from a device of a younger version of the man with a Twi'lek woman and a young girl. There were projections of others as well. Sith, Jedi, Mandalorians, men in outfits. People that the man did not want to forget. There was also a green mist in the room, that seemed to have eyes as it flew around the acolytes.

"Ignore him," the man told them. "He's just a sore loser."

-

Client noticed the approaching storm and hoped the others would hurry up. He decided to arm himself, just in case. On one hand he held a blaster. In the other, a lightsaber. Cliegg scowled and threw the lightsaber away. He went to check on Ardana, but her cot was empty. Ardana had left the ship.

Jax Nova

 

"You would have to ask them of their business," Jax told the women. "I don't seek to deceive you, I simply speak for myself. I am here to find my clan. Their business is theirs to tell if they wish, not mine."

Lisa glanced at Jax, not sure where he was going with this line of conversation.

--

Aurelia looked at the man as he spoke. "A sore loser?" she queried.

 

"You may go then Mandalorian," the woman told Jax. "Find your clan. But the Jedi shall not leave the planet Alice. They shall die where they stand for the innocents their kind has slaughtered!"

-

"My old master," the man explained. "He feared by power and tried to have me killed. His attempt on my life failed. My attempt on his life, however, didn't. I bested him, yet I still have to put up with his complaining for the last few thousand years."

The man suddenly froze, mouth agape. At the mouth of the shelter stood a young Twi'lek girl, who Aurellia recognized as one of the Jedi on Mimban.

-

Malachor. A figure made his way through the remains of a battlefield. Petrified bodies immortalized the last moments of the Jedi or Sith combatants. Two of these statue-like remains were embracing each other so that they died together. The figure remembered the victims of this forgotten battle. A battle which nobody won.

The figure had been there, thousands of years ago. He remembered the lovers who died in each others' arms. A tragic love story. The figure recalled that one of them had been Jedi and one of them had been Sith. Unfortunately, nobody knew their story...

Except for Puck.

"What happened here was a tragedy," Puck sighed, picking up a discarded weapon. "Unfortunately there is worst to come. Much worst..."

Jax Nova

 

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that..." Jax said with a sigh. "These are traveling with me and I may need their help."

---

"I see..." Aurelia said, then she turned as she saw the man's expression and she saw the girl who stood at the mouth of the shelter. "Wait... how? I know you..."

 

"Then you will die with your companions!" the woman hissed.

Lisa's comlink sparked to life. It was Cliegg. "Ardana is gone!"

-

"She was one of the Padawans on Mimban!" Irluuk realized.

"Ardana," the man whispered.

Ardana didn't say anything, just stood there.

Jax Nova

 

Jax chuckled and brandished his weapons. "I'm a Mandalorian," he said with a sly grin. "Don't threaten me with death. We embrace death on the battle field with companions. There is no better way to end ones life."

Lisa heard her comlink flicker on as Jax spoke. "We are in a bit of a situation ourselves," she told Cliegg. We are surrounded by sith...."

----

"Your right..." Aurelia said. She began to grow nervous. She knew the Sith from Mimban would be after them for stealing the ship and fleeing... but she didn't expect them to find her and Irluuk.

 

"If you wish for us to end your life, so be it, Mandalorian," the woman scowled. She lifted her arms. Jax's weapons flew out of his hands. His armor shattered around him. Invisible forces made him get on his knees. He gripped his throat as invisible fingers began to choke him.

Cliegg had gone silent. He hadn't answered Lisa. Justin ignited his lightsaber. He had begun to panic due to Ardana's disappearance and their current situation.

"What do we do?" he asked Lisa, sweating nervously. The others could sense his fear.

The storm came ever closer...

-

"I've seen you in my visions," Ardana spoke at last. "You've appeared to me and spoken to me. You lead me here. Wht? Who are you? How do you know me."

Irluuk was confused. The old man was a Sith, wasn't he on their side? Had he really lead the Jedi here? What was his connection with the Padawan?

Irluuk then detected a new presence that had been hidden from him until that moment. Another forcd-user. Before Irluuk could react, a stun blast hit him, paralyzing the acolyte. A man, holding a blaster, took Irluuk's crystal. He pointed his weapon at Aurellia and the old warrior.

"Nobody move," Cliegg told them. "I'm a better shot than you think. Just let me take the kid and the crystals. Nobody has to get hurt."

The old man gestured and Cliegg's gun flew out of his hand. So did the crystal, which the old man caught. The two crystals, being close together, glowed brightly.

"You have potential," the warrior noted. "But there is so much about the galaxy you still have to learn, Cliegg Whitsun."

"How do you know my name?"

"The Master, the Unknown Council, the Gray Order, and the Goodfellow have plans for all of you. History must not be repeated. Everything depends on it."

Jax Nova