Foreward:
We'll Miss You Liberty
Our very own 'Liberty Prime' Georgian accent and all passed away this Tuesday during his sleep. His name was Michael Adkins who lived with and took care of his teenage sister. He was a good friend to everyone here in the guild and I'm sure everywhere else out in the world. Always willing to help someone out anyway he could.
We were lucky enough to meet him through his love Gaming and Star Wars and his memory will always live on with us here now and in the future.
One of the major projects he was working on was our guild story which he had completed and was in the editing process, today we finished the edits and made it available for everyone to view.
RIP Michael.
Nativity of Rage
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"He's a legend; it will not be as easy as you say. What you are proposing is beyond anything we have attempted thus far."
A chilling voice rang out through the desolate chamber in response, "That he may be, but even legends die."
"His Sith are more loyal to him then they are to us, this action is inadvisable."
"Then we will call our best," the Sith Lord reassured the Council Member.
"Does the Council know of this? This situation is disturbing; you place too much faith in him."
"We will do as we must, it's how the Sith have survived this long. They will see things our way once the deed is done. Trust me, I have everything in place. Make the call, my friend."
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The Goliath's console blinked feverishly while emitting low chimes at regular intervals. Each pulse resonated throughout the ship alerting Zen Raith to the new transmission. Raith rose from his meditative position and made his way down the aisle to the flight deck. Raith's hand motioned over the control panel, forcing the hologram emitter to display the message. He immediately knew the heavily cloaked figure to be a member of the Dark Council.
"Darth Kraze, your current mission is forfeit. Return to Korriban at once and await contact. A new development has emerged, one that is too sensitive to be discussed through unsecured channels." The particles of light dematerialized as the holographic image faded into the Goliath's console.
Raith understood the urgency of the orders and wasted no time in readjusting the ship's course. He strapped into the pilot's chair as the ion engines geared up for the jump to lightspeed.
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Zen Raith disembarked from the Goliath's exit ramp. The harsh arid air that swept over Korriban's sacred surface was a pleasant greeting. Korriban still held a dark power in her core; Raith could feel it, just as he had felt it the moment he was conceived on the planet.
Raith made his way to the Korriban Sith Academy. It was there he would make contact with the Dark Council. The thought of being pulled off a mission before he had a chance to complete it was puzzling, but the Council wouldn't have called him back without good reason, and this was most intriguing to Raith. Whatever had developed over the past couple of days must have been grave.
Once Raith reached the academy's entrance two guards escorted him down to the central chamber's door. Without saying a word they bowed and began the march back up to the surface after they had reached their destination. Raith motioned his hand, breaking the seal of the interior door. The normally frantic chamber was derelict apart from a hologram emitter stationed in the center of the room.
"Welcome home Darth Kraze," a voice called out as two holographic figures spontaneously materialized.
Raith knelt before the projector in response.
"No doubt you understand the seriousness of this situation."
"A member of the Red Legion was promoted some years back, he now commands an elite splinter cell of the Imperial Military," the second Council Lord pointed out. "Regrettably, his loyalty has recently been called into question."
"Your mission is simple Darth Kraze: show the traitor the price that must be paid for betrayal."
"Do not take this assignment lightly," the second Lord cut in. "Your target is a hero; he, along with his troops, will do what they must to prevent an assassination. We will deny all allegations if you fail to succeed in this operation and mark you as the traitor. I'm sure you understand the repercussions."
"Fortunately, we do have a spy that has decided his fealty lies not with the turncoat, but with the Emperor and Council. Make contact with a man named Rik Dragun. He will be expecting you and pose a question. Answer him accordingly: I know only darkness."
"You will find the renegade on the planet Illum. There he is conducting a top secret operation… if you happen to secure an object he has been sent to acquire for us we will be grateful. Dragun can give you more details on the situation." The second Councilman paused briefly before continuing, "It's imperative you avoid collateral damage at all costs. We do not want to bring unwanted attention to this mission."
"The Goliath has received the coordinates on General Varus. Now go Darth Kraze, do what must be done."
"May the Force serve you well." the cloaked figures said in unison before the hologram dissipated.
Raith lifted his massive frame from the floor and made his way through the building to the Goliath.
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The Goliath thundered through the void of space as it approached its final destination. Through the flight deck window Raith could see the frozen rock known as Illum.
"Five minutes remaining to target coordinates," the ship's intercom announced.
Raith took the time to go over one final equipment check, while preparing his mind for the task before him.
Just before the Goliath entered the planet's atmosphere an encrypted Imperial transmission flashed through a secure channel. Raith quickly punched in commands on the ship's console, instructing the software to begin the decryption process. After a few brief moments the ship's hull illuminated from the communications. "General Varus to Sanguine," a deep raspy voice said. "We have breached the research labs. Prepare to move the ship into pick up position."
Raith quickly locked onto the signal's source and changed the Goliath's trajectory to intercept the new target.
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The small squad of four Sith had finally entered the central chamber of the facility after an intense engagement through the bunker. Three wings branched off from the main room: the research lab to the west, prototype weapons testing to the north, and the security office to the east.
Varus made his way up to the front of his remaining Sith unit. A lavishly decorated heavy durasteel plate graced the human’s highly toned body; the bronze colored armor was a gift from the higher ups in the Empire, and was a testament to his skill and bravery in combat, and a symbol of the authority he held over others. However, instead of using it for ceremonies, as was its true intention, the General preferred to use it as a psychological weapon. It struck fear into his enemy’s hearts, but on the flipside it instilled respect and jealousy among his own men.
"Give me a status report." General Varus commanded, looking over towards Furi.
"My Lord, Lucretia was gunned down by blaster fire," Furi stated. "We also lost Morene in the last skirmish to an autoturret."
"Such is the price we must pay for victory," Varus said in a relaxed manner.
"Yes, my Lord," Furi agreed.
Varus motioned his hand to the blast door on the west side of the room. "Our objective is through that door. The Jedi will undoubtedly be waiting for us in the lab." The General could sense the Marauder's and Acolyte's tension. "Even now they cower before us. We few have slain hordes of their Troopers, and now the Jedi are all that is left." Varus ignited his saber's golden blade. "Now fill your hearts with hate, direct your anger at the Jedi who refuse to come and face you, and remember the code you all have dedicated your lives to."
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Furi’s dual ruby lightsabers hissed to life as he fell in behind the General’s charge towards the blast door. He glanced over his shoulder to see the other two Sith firing their own sabers to life in response.
The door rushed opened as the Sith squad was making their approach. A dozen Republic Commandos ran through the opening, and took up an aggressive attack formation.
“Heavy weapons up front!” the Republic Commander shouted. “There is no falling back men, this is our last line of defense. Stop the Sith at all cost! Long live the Republic!”
Three heavy blaster cannon units pushed their way to the front line. In near perfect unison to the enemy squad's action, three autoturrets descended from the ceiling by the north, east, and west doorways.
“It’s an ambush!” Varus cried out to his squad. “Furi, destroy those turrets on the double!”
A barrage of earsplitting cannon fire sent tremors through the complex, as a volley of blaster bolts followed behind the intense assault.
Furi disengaged one of his blades and let loose a wave of violet Force Lightning at the far turret on the east side of the room. The high voltage current of energy short circuited the weapon rendering it useless.
The two remaining autoturrets opened fire on the other Sith Marauder, cutting him down instantly.
“Hurry, Furi!” Varus yelled as he batted away incoming rounds with his saber.
Reaching out with the Force, Furi grabbed the turret closest to the squad, and redirected its aim to the autoturret stationed above the prototype weapons testing door. A stream of lasers pounded into the target destroying it in a matter of seconds.
Eager for his own shot at glory, the Sith Acolyte boldly threw his saber at the final turret.
"Blast him!" the Republic leader yelled, as he pointed over to the unarmed Sith.
The cannon Troopers opened up with another deafening shower of explosives. The rounds detonated on their defenseless target, immediately vaporizing the Acolyte. Without the Force to guide the weapon on its intended flight path, the Lightsaber plummeted from the air, missing the target entirely.
The pressure amplified Furi’s senses; he knew Varus and himself would surely die if he didn’t increase his pace. With his command over the last autoturret still in effect, Furi forced his hand down which ripped the hunk of durasteel from the ceiling and onto the clustered Republic troops below. In its violent cascade to the floor the lethal projectile crushed half the men in the enemy squad.
General Varus capitalized on his foes momentary bewilderment and leaped forward with a diagonal slash. The blow cleaved off the upper half of the Commander’s body, starting from his shoulder and exiting out through his ribcage. The numerical odds were evening with each passing second… out of the twelve men only five remained standing.
Varus threw his golden saber into action. The weapon spun at an incredible velocity, amputating the legs of two more of the Republic soldiers. Screams of agony filled the room, reinvigorating the Dark Side’s presence dwelling inside the two Sith.
Furi extended his crimson blade to a horrified Trooper, taunting the man with a direct challenge. The terrified soldier scrambled to bring his blaster up to firing position, but before the action could be executed Furi lashed out with his hand, snatching the man from his feet and impaling him on the Lightsaber. The man fell to his knees after Furi extinguished the blade in his chest. Furi’s second saber ignited, and delivered a final blow to the man’s back moments later.
Furi reached out with the hand that held the inactive saber, as he summoned a sheet of purple lightning that arced from his fingertips, the bolts racing across the room, engulfing their target in a hue of vibrant light. The Trooper’s nervous system overloaded from the sudden surge of energy spiking throughout his body, and he began going into severe convulsions, losing control of his motor skills. His heart finally seized as his charred corpse fell to the ground under a rising plume of smoke.
The last remaining Republic soldier stood defiant in the face of defeat and his blaster rifle released a bolt from its bore. The round screeched through the air as it soared to Varus. Immediately, the General threw his saber up into a defense stance, and deflected the shot back into the man’s chest.
General Varus and Furi both disengaged their lightsabers after the last foe lied vanquished.
“Both our men are dead.” Furi pointed out after checking for vital signs. “What are your orders, my Lord?”
“They may be dead, but our objective hasn’t changed,” Varus responded. “We will continue the mission.”
“As you wish, my Lord,” Furi said with a hint of excitement lingering in his words.
Varus made his way through the blast door and Furi followed suit. An ominous silence befell the two Sith as they made their way down the narrow corridor leading into the research lab.
“Prepare yourself,” Varus said to Furi as the door leading to the lab rushed open.
On the far side of the room four Jedi stood guarding the package the General’s team was sent to recover.
“Enemies of Republic,” the Jedi Master called out, “lay down your weapons and the Jedi Order will see to it that you receive a fair and just trial.”
Varus answered by bringing his lightsaber to life.
“You are outmatched,” she said looking over to her fellow Jedi. “I feel obligated to request once again that you surrender your weapons.”
Furi ignited one of his crimson blades and took up the opening stance of Ataru, both hands grasping the hilt as the saber patiently floated above his chest.
“Very well,” the Jedi Master said in a soft tone. “You have chosen your path, now prepare to walk it.” She paused before issuing her orders to the others. “Apprentice Veronica, assist Jedi Knight Drax with the leader. Knight Terrian engage the Sith with the red blade. I will provide Battle Meditation support from here. May the Force be with us all.”
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Varus and Furi blitzed forward to close the gap between them and the Jedi who would eventually be utilizing her Battle Meditation skill.
“We need to get rid of her quickly!” Varus barked as his flaxen blade met with his opponent’s saber.
Terrian’s sapphire lightsaber was raised above his head as he prepared to deliver a devastating overhead sweep into Furi. The Dark Side took over Furi’s senses as he instinctively initiated the rapid movements of Ataru’s Form; he launched himself into a swift roll to evade the incoming blow. Now behind his adversary, Furi forced his second saber to life in midswing with the Trakata discipline, barely missing Terrian’s leg in the process.
The bold and aggressive movements Ataru exhibited excelled at one on one combat and with Trakata’s erratic and unpredictable actions, it was only a matter of time before Jedi Knight Terrian felt the lethal efficiency of the two styles combined power.
Furi caught his foe’s counter attack with both his ruby blades, one of the sabers extinguished, as Furi used his upper body strength to force Terrian’s blade into an awkward position that would leave him vulnerable to an attack on his opposite side. Furi’s strategy had played out precisely as he had hoped; his crimson lightsaber hissed to life in midair as it raced to Terrian’s midsection. At the last possible instance before the weapon could make contact, Terrian spun free from the lock up, avoiding the deceptive Trakata strike in the process.
The Knight’s reaction time was sharpening with each passing second; the Jedi Master’s Battle Meditation was taking effect with her allies and over time the two Sith would become fatigued while their enemies grew stronger.
Furi forced his foe into a saber lock up which bought him a few moments to assess the General’s progress. Veronica had been slain; her lifeless corpse lied before Varus on the floor. Drax, on the other hand, was still alive and well. His intricately organized flurry of assaults bombarded Varus from each direction, forcing the General into a defensive guard against the relentless onslaught. Furi could tell the General was losing the battle; slowly he was giving ground to the Jedi.
Terrian forced a heavy straight kick into the pit of Furi's stomach, sending him crashing violently to the ground. The trauma from the impact of the landing forced one of Furi's sabers to fly free from his grasp. The Jedi Knight leaped through the air with his blue blade angled down to impale Furi to the icy durasteel floor.
Furi rolled to the left and sprung to his feet in one swift fluent motion, avoiding the death blow in the process. Furi reached out with his free hand to beckon his lost lightsaber back to his possession, but before the action could be completed, Terrian was already back on the offensive. A savage sequence of perfectly orchestrated combos struck Furi's guard as violent pops echoed through the lab from the two sabers clashing with one another. Terrian's pace was unforgiving; with each passing second he became stronger and faster. It was glaringly obvious to Furi that the Battle Meditation was in full swing.
The Knight's sapphire blade glanced off Furi's Beskar breastplate, staggering him backwards from the intensity of the strike. Just as Furi regained his footing, Terrian opened up with another blinding set of vicious combinations. The Lightsaber became a blue blur as the Jedi spun the weapon through his hand at incredible velocities. The blade raced down towards Furi's left leg, immediately Dragun adjusted his own saber to intercept the incoming attack. The Knight's feign had been successful in opening up the Sith to his true assault, the saber changed its flightpath in midswing as it shot upwards to Furi's neck.
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After probing the General’s defense, Drax realized he wouldn’t be able to break through the guard of the Sith. The Jedi Knight broke off his assault with a backwards summersault; effortlessly, he switched gears into an aggressive string of Force attacks. Reaching out with his free hand, Drax took control over various vials of chemicals scattered throughout the lab, and launched them towards Varus.
The General's armor shielded him from the majority of the harmful compounds, but his forearms had no protective covering. He howled with grief as his exposed skin began boiling on his arm. The stench of burning flesh filled the room as the acid ate into his muscular limb. A plethora of fury overtook his mind, sending Varus into a crazed Force Frenzy. The Dark Side exploded inside him; he flashed across the room over to the Jedi. The General’s golden blade became an extension of the Force itself as the misery his body was physically undergoing consumed him… through sheer impulse the saber swung with an inconsistent rhythmic cadence. Varus threw caution to the wind, abandoning the Niman Form, and began a profusion of storming strikes.
Drax continued to fall back in an attempt to evade the energetic attacks the Sith hysterically flung in his direction. The Jedi ducked, rolled, parried, and flipped in order to negate the ruthless advance. The eruption of Dark Side energy his opponent was bathing in from the last offensive had caused the Jedi more harm than good. The Knight understood what had to be done: he would have to lure Varus into the corridor which led back to the main room. Once inside the confined hallway, Drax would be able to control the wild swings his foe was releasing, his only hope for survival against the crazed Sith. Knight Drax fell into a full retreat to escape the engagement; promptly, he stripped a bolted down lab table from its fastenings with the Force, and propelled the now lethal projectile directly into his adversary's path.
The General's exquisite blade sung sweetly as it rended the table asunder; the two halves rocketed harmlessly by on each side of his body before colliding against the wall on the far side of the room. A sense of dread engulfed his senses as he patiently closed with the Jedi. Drax's sudden change of tactics was disturbing, and Varus could sense something was amiss. Despite his apprehension, he pushed onward as his target ran into the passageway that led towards the exit of the lab.
"You'll die here today!" Varus snapped as the blast door sealed shut behind him.
The Jedi channeled the Battle Meditation's power through his body; the Force soothed his senses as it washed over his mind, granting him the endurance for the punishing acrobatic movements he would need to utilize in order to destroy Varus. Knight Drax initiated combat with a wall run; he was sure the Sith would be caught off guard by another sudden switch of strategy. As he closed with his target he pushed off of the surface and launched his emerald Lightsaber into an overhead attack. Although surprise was apparent on his face, the Sith blocked the unconventional swipe. Drax immediately somersaulted over his opponent's head, bringing his saber down in an arching slash towards the General's back, but again his foe managed to deflect the blow as he maneuvered his own blade behind his back to intercept the strike. Determined to slay the man who had killed his young Apprentice, the Jedi escalated his pace.
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Realizing the trap he had fallen into; Furi contorted his body backwards to avoid decapitation. His enemy's blade hummed as it cut through the air centimeters in front of his face.
“There’s great fear in you, boy!” the Jedi shouted, as he brought his saber into another sweep.
Furi dove into his darkest memories, summoning the pain from his past for the Dark Side to feed off of. His blood began to boil at the images manifesting in his mind, the spark of grief transformed into an inferno of hate, which he projected onto his foe. The Force washed over Furi, and slowly his own movements started to match that of Terrian’s; his senses sharpened fanatically as the Dark Side incited the anger building inside him.
Furi caught the sweeping attack with his ruby blade before it could connect with him. In the lock up; he realized the emotions he had summoned were only temporary, while the Knight on the other hand had a near limitless supply of Battle Mediation reinforcing his body and mind. Knowing he couldn’t continue to keep pace with the Jedi, Furi convinced himself it was time to use the Trakata Form to its most extreme practice.
“It ends now, Jedi.” Furi smirked, as his saber extinguished.
Terrian’s blade cascaded towards his opponent’s shoulder, nicking the small Mandalorian Iron shoulder pad. Furi’s crimson blade fired back to life now that his foe had no way to guard himself, the saber hissed with satisfaction as it removed Terrian’s head from his shoulders.
Instinctively Furi turned his attention to the Jedi Master; the fresh kill sent twisted tremors of joy through his body. The Dark Side was now raging within him, and nothing felt too farfetched to accomplish. Throwing out his free hand, the Sith called out to his lost saber through the Force, ordering it to return to his possession. Furi made his way to the Master, stopping just short of her he ignited his second saber and prepared for the engagement.
“I do not fear death, little Sith. I have made peace with its inevitable coming,” the Jedi Master calmly said from her meditative position. “Nothing you can do to me will bring me any greater suffering than what I have already waded through.”
Furi disengaged both his blades, clipping them to his belt in the process, as he plotted on how to gain some type of pleasure from the kill. The Master obviously didn’t have any training in Lightsaber combat; Furi figured her entire life must have been devoted to honing her Battle Meditation skill.
“Your greatest strength is your greatest weakness,” Furi pointed out, as a sinister smile crept onto his lips. “You rely on others for protection, while you hide on the edge of the battlefield. Now look where that has landed you.”
“You will not goad me into anger Sith. There is no emotion, there is peace,” she replied in a soft tone. “I will give you nothing… now do what you must. Make me one with the Force.”
Infuriated by the complacency the Jedi displayed and lack of desire to commit to conflict, Furi delivered a ferocious backhand to the Master’s jaw which sent her soaring into durasteel floor. Furi followed up with a bone shattering kick to her ribcage. A sharp crack reverberated throughout the room; one or possibly more of his foe’s ribs had been broken, and from her horrifying screams only reinforced Furi’s assessment.
The Dark Side rejoiced inside Furi at the sight of his suffering opponent. The Sith was unhesitant in his urge to keep the euphoric feeling going.
Furi yanked the Master off the ground by her sandy blonde hair and threw a tremendous right hook into her mangled ribs. She instantly hunched over grasping the area of impact. The Jedi drunkenly staggered from side to side; she was on the verge of passing out from the trauma of her internal injuries. A dark red stream of blood began leaking from her mouth; her breathing became shallow and wheezy, and it was apparent a broken bone had punctured her lung.
Furi savored the moment; he could feel his victory drawing near.
Leaping forward, Furi planted a fierce knee into the Master’s jaw. The blow instantaneously sent her surging back down onto the cold frozen ground. The Jedi Master lay unconscious on the floor from the savage assault, but still she clung onto the periphery of life. Furi’s bloodlust overwhelmed him; he mounted his static target and sent a destructive cycle of punches raining down onto his victim. The unrelenting hail of fists showered onto his helpless foe, at the climax of the chain of attacks, Furi pulled his saber free from his belt, and put the serrated edge of the bone attached to the hilt up to her throat.
Slowly the Master recovered from her comatose, only to find a blade to her neck and Furi’s piercing purple eyes intently staring her into the ground. Tears began welling up in the Master's soft blue eyes; she knew the end was near, but none of her training had prepared her for the fear the reality of death brought.
"And this is why the scourge of the Sith must never be allowed to return to the galaxy. All your kind brings is slavery or death," she murmured. "You have fallen so far into the void of darkness and learnt nothing. Search your feelings and find the peace dwelling beneath your anger."
"Peace is a lie," Furi said as the jagged bone blade slit her throat, "there is only passion.”
The Jedi Master flounced uncontrollably on the ground; she gasped fruitlessly to secure each breath. Deep crimson blood gushed from her wound; the carotid artery had been severed, cutting off the blood flow to her brain. Within seconds her skin became pale and chalky; she zealously clutched the gash in an attempt to stop the bleeding, although deep down she knew her efforts would be in vain.
Furi gazed down into her fading eyes, the once soft sapphire hue they held transformed into a hollow grey. He could feel the Force detaching itself from her being; her presence had become so insignificant Furi could barely feel it anymore. Furi basked in the final seconds of her suffering, as the Master’s body seized; her hands fell from her neck revealing the gaping trench that stretched ear to ear, and gradually her glazed eyes rolled back in her head, sending the Jedi into an eternal sleep. All that remained of Furi’s enemy was a petrified expression of horror, a monument to the agony she had experienced in her last moments.
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Zen Raith made his way through the deserted bunker; the signs of heavy combat were all that remained in the dimly lit halls, but deeper within the complex Raith could feel Force sensitive beings. Droves of bodies littered the floor. Dozens of Republic men and women had been slain, a few ruined autoturrets sporadically lied amongst the dead, and on very rare occasions Raith would catch sight of a fallen Sith.
Remnants of the Dark Side taint lingered through the central chamber, a solemn reminder to the vile emotions summoned in the heat of combat. Raith soaked in the fiery energy in order to prepare himself for the upcoming conflict before proceeding through the blast door that led to the research lab. With a slight wave of his hand the entryway hissed opened and Raith's threatening yellow eyes intently addressed the situation. An unarmed Sith rested on his knees in the middle of the hallway, while the victor of the confrontation stood behind him prepared to remove his head with a gold and green saber in each hand. Raith had the element of surprise- the Knight's fixation on killing the Sith that had slain his Apprentice blinded him to his surroundings.
Varus. Raith thought to himself after examining the opulent armor. Only a fool displays power through materialism.
Zen quickly continued his scan and noticed another Sith with dual blades at the far end of the hall. Rik Dragun.
"It's over, Sith," Drax smiled towards Furi, "you've lost. Lay down your weapons, or your Master loses his hea..."
The Knight let out a sharp gasp, the very air that rushed into his lungs seemed to ignite an uncontrollable fire which baked the Jedi alive. Looking down to examine the area where the sudden plethora of unbearable pain materialized, he found a white blade protruding through his sternum.
The General could sense the Knight's grief. "No," Varus hissed as he sprung to his feet, "you lost!"
Raith reached out through the Force, beckoning his saber to return to his grasp. A sickening screech filled the room as the weapon shredded Drax's muscles upon leaving the wound. Furi leaped across the room in response, closing the gap between himself, Varus, and Drax in mere seconds. Varus reached out with his hands, stripping the Jedi of the two Lightsabers, and prepared for the execution.
Furi eyed the mysterious Sith closing in on their position. This must be Kraze, the Council's assassin, he thought to himself as his grip tightened around his sabers hilts, forcing his biceps to flex in response. If he decides to attack him, I'll make my move. The two of us will finish this traitor together. Furi had done everything in his power to gesture he was ready for the fight, but Raith's emotions were blank- an empty void was all that stared back, a cold rejection of committing themselves to confrontation. Realizing that the sweet satisfaction of revenge was being denied to him, Furi deactivated his sabers.
"There is no death, there is the Force," the Jedi kept murmuring to himself.
"Do shut up." Varus spat. "You cretins disgust me. You preach order and stability, while your true purpose lies in indoctrinating the masses into a false sense of security. But all you truly offer is complacency and stagnation."
"There is no ignorance, there is knowledge," Drax responded.
The dual blades sweetly crackled as they removed the Knight's head from his shoulders, and hummed with satisfaction as they retracted back into their housings.
"I suppose thanks are in order," the General said as he turned towards his unnamed savior while paying no attention to the freshly severed head rolling across the floor. "I am General Varus, Commander of the Imperial Special Operations Outfit, and the man beside me is my trusted and loyal advisor, Furi. So tell me friend, what should I call you?"
"Darth Kraze," Raith replied as the white saber blade disappeared back into its hilt.
"Darth Kraze is it? A pleasure I assure you." Varus' own sabers deactivated. "I don't know how you found us, and I'm not a man to question the mysterious hand of the Force, but know that I always recognize good help and see to it that those who provide it are always compensated." He paused before carrying on, "We will speak more of that aboard my flagship Sanguine."
Kraze gave a slight nod of his head to reinforce his interest in the offer Varus had presented him with.
"My Lord, the package we were sent to extract is still in the lab," Furi pointed out.
"I will see to that personally. Keep Darth Kraze company for me until I return." The General began the march back down the hall to the lab and contacted for pickup. "This is General Varus to the Sanguine, we have the objective. Move the ship into the planet's orbit immediately."
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Still unsure if this was actually the man that was sent to make contact with him, Furi posed the question that only he, the Council, and the assassin would know, "Have you ever felt the call of the Lightside?" Furi asked with suspicion clinging to his words. Upon further thought of the question, he realized the true brilliance behind the words. Any Sith who was unaware of the situation would become offended and respond with anger.
Without any hesitation on his part, Raith gave the answer, "I know only darkness."
"I'll contact you once we get back to the Sanguine. Will your ship be okay?"
Kraze acknowledged the question with a nod.
“I want to help you,” Furi eagerly pressed. “We can kill him together.”
“No,” Raith’s voice resonated through the icy corridor, “this is something I alone must face.”
“We’ve won a great victory here today,” Varus’ heavy tone called from down the hall. “Once our techs reverse engineer this weapon, we will be another step ahead of the Jedi and the Republic.”
Before Raith or Furi could come up with a response, a transmission came through over the General’s comlink. “The Sanguine is now in orbit, standing by for your arrival. A drop ship has been dispatched to your location, ETA six minutes.”
“Come,” Varus instructed as he motion his hand towards the exit, “let us be off.”
“I’ll meet you there,” Kraze countered. “It wouldn't be wise to leave my ship here for Republic scouts.”
“Very well,” the General said as he continued to press through the facility. “Take your time Darth Kraze, I need to get my arm some Bacta. Meet me in my personal quarters in two hours.”
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The Goliath docked with the imposing cruiser that served as General Varus’ flagship. As Raith’s ship touched down in the hanger bay, a few dozen maintenance droids blitzed the craft. Some began looking over the ship for any structural damage that may have been sustained, while others fueled the craft for its next departure.
While Kraze patiently waited for Furi, the titanic Pureblood passed the time by examining his curved saber hilt. The preferred style of the duelist, he recalled from his studies. The curve allows for far greater maneuverability and balance… elegance and lethality bound together in a deadly mutual existence. Powerful swings are one of the advantages this design allows, apart from the fact that movements can be easily manipulated in midair.
"Darth Kraze?" Dragun's voice rang out from the cockpit entrance way.
Raith motioned his hand to the co-pilot's chair, signaling the informant to take a seat.
"I can't stay long," Furi began, "it wouldn't be safe. The General has been dealing in shady acts here lately. I suspect this has been going on for months, maybe even years now, but he's starting to get sloppy and leaving a wide trail because of it."
"Go on," Kraze insisted.
Dragun let out a deep breath as he backtracked in his mind to the beginning. "First I traced his bank accounts. For roughly five years his salary remained about the same, and then suddenly it doubles, eventually triples, and as of now he has quadrupled his income. The Council would never approve these numbers… there has to be something else going on."
"He's receiving tribute," Kraze pointed out.
"You're very observant, Lord Kraze," Furi smiled. "The question is, though… who is he getting it from? Pirates, the Hutts, the Republic? Maybe a little bit of all of them? However, there's more: Almost as quickly as these credits show up in his account, they vanish."
"Could he be gathering allies?" Raith thought aloud.
"Or an army," Furi picked up. "This man is a hero to many of the Sith, who knows how deep his ties run. Secondly, I've bugged his office, which has led to some even more disturbing details. Varus has planted a spy on Dromund Kaas. A spy high in the Sith hierarchy from the looks of it. My personal guess would be one of the Masters."
"Explain," Kraze requested.
"Varus requested the Illum mission specifically," Furi replied. "No doubt the Council told you this assignment was top secret, and I doubt they said much more than that. Am I right?"
Raith sat in silence as he thought on the question. Furi was right… the Sith Lords didn't go into any detail about the nature of what the operation consisted of besides securing an object.
"I'll take it they didn't tell you anything," Dragun said after a moment. "We were sent to recover a synth-crystal."
"I thought the Jedi frowned on synthetic crystals," Kraze retorted.
"And you would be right,” Furi remarked, impressed. “The Jedi do not normally use these crystals, but the fact that they are experimenting with them shows you how desperate they are. However, the Council asked you to recover this weapon, didn't they? Do you know why?"
"Because I'm here to kill Varus, and he won't be able to give it to them," Kraze said with an unwavering resolve.
"No, assassin," Furi said softly, "they want you to get it because the General has no intention of handing it over to them."
"He wouldn't live long disobeying a direct order," Raith countered.
Dragun placed his hand on Kraze's shoulder. "And that's why you're here, is it not?" Furi reminded him with a smile. "Apart from this mission, General Varus, thanks to his spy, knows every single Sith troop movement in the galaxy. If that information got into the wrong hands the war effort would be finished within months."
"That won't happen." Kraze assured Furi.
"I know it won't." Dragun removed his hand and continued feeding the information he had gathered over to the assassin.
Raith sunk back into his chair after soaking in the details of the report; time seemed to stop as he waited for the General to summon him to his chambers. A feeling of emptiness consumed Kraze, but yet… somewhere under the mysterious veil a twisted sense of delight clung to his mind. He had been forged over the years into an instrument of war. Killing had become nothing more than an everyday part of life, and those who had outlived their usefulness were to be discarded. However, he had grown fond of the bloodshed. The hunt was exhilarating, but true euphoria was in the kill itself.
Kraze rose from his chair and paced down the aisle of the ship to begin his meditations. Raith took his position as he began to steel his mind for the battle to come; he committed himself to not underestimating his opponent. If Varus was in fact an ex-member of the Red Legion then that alone would be testament to the strength he must command.
After what seemed to be an eternity a voice came over the ship's intercom system, snatching the Sith from his silent reverie, signaling that the wait was over and the moment of truth was at hand. Raith's mind instinctively switched back into its indomitable mentality. Nothing mattered at this moment besides the job he was sent to accomplish.
"General Varus has requested you to go to his private quarters. You'll find his chambers on level seven of the Sanguine. Captain Kyros out."
The moment the Captain’s voice dissipated, Kraze lifted his highly toned frame from the floor and proceeded back to Leviathan’s flight deck. He ejected the holodisk from the ship’s computer and placed it back into his shadowy cloak once more. Raith knew this mission was unlike any other he had ever been tasked to complete- the Council wouldn’t have pulled him off his last objective so rapidly without good reasoning. This knowledge electrified his thoughts; throughout his childhood his father, Zeb, often spoke of how he was meant to do great things, and perhaps Zeb’s preconceptions were true.
The Pureblood’s fiery yellow eyes gazed down at the Lightsaber gently swaying side to side from his belt. Right away a small jolt of adrenaline shot through Raith’s body; his heart unhesitantly rushed the hormone through his veins causing his body to tingle from the all too familiar sensation. The hunt was finally over; all that remained was the kill itself.
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The turbolift doors opened revealing a room glistening with vanity, pride, and arrogance. Varus had surrounded himself with luxury; nothing in the room was short of extravagant. The heads of exotic beasts graced the walls, ornate lightsabers were housed in display cases, weathered scrolls filled antique bookcases, and a few Sith holocrons sat openly on his desk, almost as if to tempt someone to take them from him.
“Sit,” Varus called from behind his desk, “have a drink with me.”
“I don’t think so,” Raith replied.
Varus paused as the words sat in his mind before laughing, “I like you more and more each time we converse, Darth Kraze. Right then, on to business. I see you’re not a man who likes to waste his time with pleasantries, so I’ll just cut right to the chase. I want you to come and serve under me. You saved my life back on that rock, and I never forget my debts. As such, I’m willing to offer you a position as my number two.”
Stillness blanketed the room; Raith had no desire to listen to such offers. His goal was already in sight, and any such enticements Varus offered to him held little meaning.
“The Sith struggle without dominant leaders,” Varus began as he sipped his drink. “And if your hesitation blooms from questioning my power, let me reassure you that my position didn’t come easily.”
“Everybody has a story,” Raith coldly repied, “what makes yours different?”
The General eyed the Sith standing before him with a curious expression before he spoke, “I couldn’t imagine many have suffered as I have. But that pain is what has constructed me into the greatest Sith in this galaxy.”
Raith had trouble figuring if Varus was trying to goad him into anger, or if he was simply just that full of himself. No matter what the true intention behind his words was Raith remained composed, showing his mark no sign of fear or irritation.
“I was born in the Outer Rim where, as I’m sure you know, corruption is rampant. Nothing has changed- chaos breeds chaos. But there is strength to be found in it.” Varus moved the glass back up to his lips, killing the rest of the sparkling substance it contained. “My father was a pirate and smuggler; he led a small group of spice runners, working for the Hutts. One day, while he was out on a routine run, a rival gang broke into our house. I was maybe seventeen at the time this happened.” He paused as he stared down into his empty glass. “There were six men who came in after me and my mother. First they beat me for what seemed like hours; afterwards they put me in chains, and forced me to watch as each of them took turns torturing my mother. Once they had their fun they killed her with a blaster bolt to the head, and then they left. I was left behind still in shackles… one final humiliation. They left me behind not out of pity, but so that I could live with the horror for the rest of my existence.” Varus sat up in his chair as he began to pour another drink. “And so I told my father once he arrived back; he used his contacts to track the men down, and it turns out they weren’t mere pirates. The men who had come into my home were in fact a Republic Infiltration Unit. The only conclusion I was able to come to after all these long years is that they were sent to disrupt pirate activity, and it just so happened they felt like having a good time before they went off world.”
“A random act of violence?” Kraze questioned with a slight enjoyment.
“And that’s the irony behind the Republic; they want all to believe they are so high and mighty without any fault of their own.” The General finished off the freshly poured drink in a single sitting. “Against my father’s wishes I snuck aboard his ship as he went off to find the men. He managed to catch up to them at the spaceport on the far side of the planet. After he confronted them, they gunned him down in the docking bay. I overheard them telling the authorities he was a convicted felon that had fled Coruscant. The funny thing is… he never once set foot on that planet.” Varus rose from his chair and walked to the far end of the room; he stood with his back towards Raith as he examined the Rancor head mounted on the wall. “While they enjoyed drinks in the starport’s cantina, I stowed away on their ship and waited. One by one, I killed them in their sleep, except for one man. I wanted him to see what had become of the boy he had spared. Of course he begged for his life, as all the weak do, but it didn’t matter. I cut him up, slowly, piece by piece; I intended to return the pain he had cast upon me. I’ll spare you the details but needless to say that was the first time I was able to feel the Dark Side in all its glory. After the deed was finished I presented the bodies to the Sith on Korriban. The Masters there could feel my potential and immediately began my training.” The man turned back to Kraze with a sick smile present on his lips. “And what of you boy, what led you into this life?”
Darth Kraze exhaled a deep breath as he eyed the saber on his belt. Disgust filled Raith’s mind; his resolve was now stronger than ever, and it made itself glaringly obvious when he made eye contact him his enemy.
“I’ve come to collect the life debt you owe me,” Kraze announced as his white saber blade sprung from its housing. “You are a traitor to the Empire.”
“Traitor to the Empire?” the General asked with confusion. “What you’re saying could easily be interpreted as treason.”
“In the name of the Dark Council of the Sith Empire you have been sentenced to death, “General”,” Raith continued to press as he took up the opening stance of the Makashi Form. The ashen blade hummed sweetly as it floated motionlessly in a diagonal position towards the ground, Raith’s free hand was positioned in the same manner on the opposite side of his body. This stance was used to demoralize the foe psychologically; the purpose was to widen the wielder’s chest, thus making them appear bigger than they actually were.
“The Council?” Varus fumbled as he tried to put the pieces together. “Who are you, boy?”
Kraze threw out his free hand which forced Varus’ desk to the far side of the room pinning him to the wall. The glass that protected the General’s prized lightsabers shattered in the wake of the Force Push and scrolls flew free from the bookcases, turning the once spotless room into a debris-filled nightmare.
“Enough of this talk,” Raith calmly called out from the wake of the explosion of energy. “Raise your weapon or I’ll kill you in cold blood.”
“So you’re power hungry assassin?” the General questioned as he flung the table across the room. “You’ve been sent here on false pretenses boy. They’ve deceived you. Betrayal is the way of the Sith, your friends always come at you with a smile upon their face.” Varus ignited his golden saber as he came into Niman’s opening stance, signaling he accepted the challenge. Form VI was simple, it had no major advantages in combat; on the other hand, it had no major flaws. Niman’s strength lied in its simplicity and balance, which made it easy to counter the more aggressive lightsaber Forms.
Kraze moved his saber flawlessly into the Makashi Salute, taunting the General to come and make the first attack. As predicted the human took the bait, and Varus charged forward with his blade still positioned in the Form’s beginning stance. Raith rapidly addressed the situation and anticipated an upwards sweep.
Without any further deliberation, Raith decided to press the assault before the General could engage. He fluently moved into the Makashi Flourish. The rapid succession of blinding attacks never managed to find their target, however. From many years of combat experience Varus was able to easily negate the blows; he knew from his countless duels with other Force wielders that the salute almost always was followed up with the flourish combination.
Both Sith disengaged from one another after the brief confrontation. Cautiously, they circled the center of the room eyeing one another for any weakness to exploit for an advantage. Invisible battle lines had been painted in the room; neither of the two Sith dared cross into the other’s dominion without being fully prepared. The lightsabers sang a cadence of death as they anxiously shivered in their respective owner’s palm.
Kraze came in once again with the aggressive duelist Form, and a blistering chain of short strokes homed in on the human’s midsection. Vigorously, the Pureblood attempted to puncture any vital organ in his foe. However, Varus was surprisingly more agile than Raith had initially considered, and his fencing skills were that of someone who had completely mastered the Niman fighting style. The crackling from the sabers ceased as Kraze broke off the attack and returned to studying his opponent.
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“It’s a sickly beautiful game we play with one another isn’t it?” Varus whispered during the lull in combat. “This dance of death is what sets us apart from all other beings in the galaxy: we struggle with one another, always striving to stay one step ahead of our opponent. With a single stroke of our blade, history can be changed, the future rewritten. Unfortunate, then, that yours is to be erased.”
The General instantly lashed out with his free hand releasing a stream of brilliant lightning. The purple sheet of sparkling energy illuminated the room with a bright hue. It passed through Kraze’s guard seizing the Sith in a painful electrifying embrace. As soon as contact was made, Raith could feel himself losing control of vital motor skills- his hands trembled under the incredible influx of power, his knees began to wobble, his heart skipped beats from the electrical impulse, and a blood curdling scream reverberated throughout the hull of the Sanguine.
It ended as quickly as it had begun. The high voltage current released its control over Raith’s body, freeing him from the temporary enslavement. The smoke rising from his body carried the stench of charred flesh through the chamber.
Varus pressed his advantage in the form of a massive concussive blast shot forth from his palm. The invisible wave ripped through the room in a blink of an eye forcing itself into the Pureblood’s chest, propelling him backwards into the wall on the far end of the General’s personal quarters.
Varus laughed menacingly as his foe sat up against the wall from the last attack. “Is this all? You claim to be the Council’s assassin but I’m not seeing any weight in your words.” The General spun the saber through his hands, flaunting his pride in his abilities. “I expected more from you, boy. I can’t bring myself to believe you are what you say you are. Thetruth is that you’re greedy… but son, you have bitten off more than you can handle. And I won’t allow you to live.” Varus regained his composure as he entered into Niman’s opening stance once more. “You’ll die here today, Darth Kraze. I swear it.”
In mere seconds the General closed the gap with a jolting leap, bringing his blade down in a smooth arch to end his enemy.
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Kraze’s pale blade vigilantly caught the swift attack unleashed upon him, and with a single arm Raith resisted what seemed like the cascade of an entire mountain falling down upon him. He summoned the Dark Side boiling within his body, commanding every fiber in his being to fight feverishly in an attempt to lift the General’s blade away from his neck. Even from his awkward position Raith was able to maintain control over Form II; gracefully he switched into the Makashi Riposte which redirected the foe’s flaxen blade just enough so he could spring to his feet.
Desperation sunk in- Raith’s back was against the wall, and there was nowhere he could run. The only option he had was to relentlessly push forward to escape from his entrapment.
“I am your destiny!” Varus roared out toward Kraze. “Accept what I am offering you, embrace the fate you were conceived to face!”
Like a starved Kath Hound who had just set eyes on a fresh meal, Kraze began a brutal barrage of chain attacks. The white lightsaber flashed from side to side, up and down, and in irregular patterns to pass Varus’ impenetrable guard. Raith could see in the human’s eyes that he was shocked at the sudden renewed vigor of attacks.
A sweltering burst of pain swamped the General’s mind after a savage sideways slash managed to pass his defense. A deep trench had been carved out through his bronze breastplate. The durasteel spontaneously liquefied from the saber cut, fusing into an agonizing union between flesh and steel. Terrifying screeches from an unspeakable plethora of sensations engulfed the battle area as Varus stumbled backwards, swinging his blade wildly in order to keep Kraze at bay.
Raith slowly marched forward with lethal intentions gleaming from his deep yellow eyes. He basked in the moment, leeching the petrifying screams from his surroundings for the Dark Side to siphon off of. Raith initiated combat with a violent set of combinations… the dark emotions had fueled the Force to levels beyond all comprehension, and it was as if his lightsaber had actually become an extension of the Dark Side itself. The saber rushed towards Varus, buzzing with an ominous hum as effortlessly it smote the golden blade to the side and nicked his rival’s protective shoulder plate. Shortly thereafter another blow followed up, but this round the General was ready; he transformed the misery and fear he felt into a whirlpool, ordering the Force to flow into him for strength.
An ear shattering pop echoed off the walls as the two lightsaber blades met one another in midair.
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The combating Sith gazed into one another’s eyes during the lock up. Both of them had come to terms with the odds of the fight in this moment- they realized that there was no clear indication of who was the strongest. The loser would be decided by who made the first mistake. It was to be a battle of wits and endurance, not of raw strength or Force affinity.
General Varus reached into the abyss of darkness one final time; he intended to unleash everything he had upon Kraze. He knew his capabilities better than anyone else and if he was to best the assassin he would need to end this stalemate quickly. His years of fencing expertise gave him the advantage, but that was also his greatest downfall. Varus was fighting a man far younger than he, and keeping up with Kraze’s level of stamina was out of the question. The answer was simple: conjure every heinous event from the past and direct the fury towards his opponent. He would break Kraze in an overwhelming surge of raw power while utilizing his cunning to find an opening.
“General? What’s going on in there?” a voice came over the intercom system.
With his adversary momentarily distracted by the unexpected event the General spun his elegant golden saber from the lock up while redirecting Kraze’s blade harmlessly down past his knee. Before the assassin could even begin to react to the events unfolding, Varus discharged all the emotions he had been rallying. What seemed to be a miniature supernova exploded within the ship’s hull. Bookcases toppled over, paintings fell, the view window that looked out into space shattered and scrolls were sucked out of the ship by the newly created vacuum. Tables and chairs bounced aimlessly around the room, the very walls of the private quarters began to buckle under the immense amount of energy, and Kraze was launched back into the wall he had only recently freed himself of. A scene of utter chaos enveloped what once were living quarters.
The howling of air ceased as the protective blast shield slid down to close off the breach; the sudden silence was abruptly interrupted as a new sound ushered in from the quiet. A chilling bellow rang out from Varus, his arms shook madly by his sides, the once warm complexion his skin held dissipated into a lifeless pasty white, veins bulged up from his arms and neck, and his brown eyes altered into a blinding Sith yellow.
Raith listlessly made his way back to his feet, as the General continued his deafening roar. An almost tangible whirlwind of malice radiated from Varus. The darkness he was calling upon was of an unfathomable magnitude.
Another supersonic blast of energy raced from Varus’ extended palm only to be met in midair by one Kraze had thrown out to defend himself with. As the two opposing forces viciously collided with one another, an almighty tremor released from the epicenter of the entanglement. The loose items scattered throughout the chamber, jumping in the wake of the sudden detonation into an even more disorganized layout. The durasteel walls bent in pain as they creaked and popped from the continuous expansion of pressure.
The General took pleasure from the newly introduced flood of liveliness as the Dark Side burned through his body, bringing strength to his senses. Casually, Varus brought his saber into the Makashi Salute, mocking his opponent’s preferred Form while holding control over the Force lock up. Varus could feel the struggle beginning to cease as his arm continued pushing forward. The invisible battle unfolding from the Force Pushes was in his favor- the woe that he had conjured from the deepest, darkest recesses of his mind fueled the Dark Side to truly stunning proportions.
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An eruption brutally rocked the ship; Raith’s back conformed to the wall he had been in front of. Time seemed to stop in its tracks, his vision blurred from the skull shredding blast. Miraculously he had managed to stay on his feet, but that was the least of his concerns at the moment. Hindered by his disorientation, Kraze called upon the Force for clairvoyance, but his inability to concentrate provided no results. Shell shock set in on the Sith: his ears rang with an intense backdrop of white noise, his eyes struggled to center on objects as they began to skip frames, short and shallow breaths entered and released his lungs, and his heart pounded with such an intensity he could feel the thuds reverberating through his chest.
He motioned his blade into a defensive stance as the General charged in with an alien lightsaber Form Raith had never seen before.
Kraze prepared himself. He’s coming in high on my right shoulder.
The striking golden saber his enemy held drew back in preparation, before immediately searing the flesh of Kraze’s left shoulder. The Pureblood turned his body, narrowing the target zone for the next attack while hiding his weakened area from another strike.
Sideways slash, midsection.
The white blade repositioned to intercept the obvious attack, when suddenly a heated stinging sensation made itself apparent in the meaty section of Kraze’s thigh. The Pureblood’s massive frame leaned forward as his weight poured down on the wounded limb. Raith’s brain flashed alerts through his body informing him of the damaged body parts.
He’s going for the legs Kraze repeated over and over in his head.
His saber fell low to deflect the General’s next assault. Just as Kraze took up his stance the Force flashed through mind- the move was another feint.
The two lightsabers clashed with one another, emanating a brief blinding pulse of light. Raith’s head pressed back into the wall to avoid being scarred by his own blade. Varus’ deceptive move had almost cost Raith his head… the unfamiliar Form being used against him was a new irritation he hadn’t counted on coming into play. It was likely this was Varus’ final trick, a saber Form he had invented himself in order to change the tide of a fight.
“Your entire race is nothing, boy,” The General smiled behind his blade. “The Fallen Jedi made you. Your entire species became nothing more than slaves to us; we bred you out to the point of utter extinction.”
Kraze could feel the Dark Side begin to boil his blood. The heat of the Force ran deep into his body, inciting his senses with a deeply harbored hate. After all the centuries there were still those who looked down upon the Purebloods- the racism oozing from Varus’ words, the lies he spewed, and the ignorance he displayed in the face of something he couldn’t comprehend infuriated Raith to limits he had never reached.
The General’s feeble attempts to demoralize Raith had the opposite effect- an inconceivable rage awakened within the Pureblood. The Dark Side pumped through his veins like a corrosive toxin, reigniting the horrific memories of his past. Kraze let go of his physical self and surrendered to the darkness dwelling in his being. Gradually letting go of everything, he fell into the tempest of the Dark Side, becoming a living, breathing manifestation of the Force.
Varus flew to the ground after a punishing knee thundered into his gut, the bronze chest plate dented under the ferocious impact. Without any hesitation Kraze lunged over his bewildered foe, sending a series of relentless strikes that rained down over the war hero. The lightsabers clashed with each other repeatedly, resonating an eerie cadence of cracks, pops, and hums. Even from Varus’ clumsy location, Raith couldn’t manage to break through his ironclad guard.
Kraze brought the glistening white saber high over his head with the blade angled down to impale the General to the floor. A rush of satisfaction filled the Pureblood’s body as his blade released a pleased screech, and he opened his eyes, scanning the area of contact… but to his dismay, Varus was gone. All that lay before him was a gaping hole in the floor that the saber had ate through.
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Rolling away from the death blow at the last possible second Varus scrambled to his feet. Throwing out his hand in the process to beckon one of the lightsabers scattered around the room into his grasp. The sparkling sapphire saber staff fired to life as it entered the General’s hand.
In a magnificent blue blur the staff arched down toward Kraze’s back, just as the thought of final victory set in, the pale blade of his enemy spontaneously emerged to catch the attack before it was able to make contact. Awestruck by the sight, Varus took a step back as Raith spun to face him.
The crazed Pureblood darted forward, grabbing the hilt of staff and rendering it useless. Varus responded by bringing his flaxen blade back into play with a sideways sweep, but Kraze was unyielding, and he continued to hold onto the staff as he contorted his midsection inwards to avoid the slash. The white saber spun manically within his foe’s hand before plunging down, removing the General’s hand in the process. As the golden saber extinguished and fell to the ground, a fluent follow up assault jolted upwards, removing the second arm below the elbow.
The General drunkenly staggered backwards with a petrified expression marring his ridged face. He watched with dismay as Kraze tossed the staff that his hand was still clinging to across the room.
“No!” Varus shouted with disbelief as he held his stumps up before his face. “It can’t end this way!”
Darth Kraze reached out with a steady hand, levitating his mark from the floor as he dove into the depths of the Force. An unseen vice of pure Dark Side energy constricted Varus’ throat, and the very air seemed to chill as the ominous presence of death entered the room.
Reluctant to accept the reality of the situation, Varus fought hysterically to secure each gasp of air. “I didn’t… betray them!” Varus struggled to say. “I have… served the Sith… with each breath I have pulled into… my lungs.”
Kraze smiled as he tightened the grip around his defeated rival’s neck, “I know.”
The General’s eyes widened, a concrete fear simmered from the pit of his being filling the room with an aura of helplessness. Raith’s hand clinched shut forcing his nails to dig into his palm; the shattering of bones resounded through the room as Varus’ neck broke. Kraze held his feeble foe in the air- the man was dead, his body had gone limp, but the Pureblood was unable to let go of the moment. Another vicious progression of percussive snaps filled the chamber as Varus’ spinal column collapsed. The ashen blade drew back a final time, cleaving the lifeless corpse in half above the pelvis.
Kraze released his control over the General’s mangled remains. What appeared to be a mindless act of blind rage upon first glance was in fact a warning. Raith had completed the job he was sent to accomplish, but he wanted all aboard the Sanguine who laid eyes on Varus to witness he wasn’t merely beaten, but that he had been entirety dominated in the struggle.
“Lord Varus,” the same voice as before called out from the intercom, “we’re sending a team to investigate. Please respond if the situation is under control.”
Kraze searched the General’s battered desk for the object that was secured from Illum, and was pleased when one of the drawers revealed a small black box. Whatever the prize was this had to be it, he could feel the Force diffusing from the case. Hastily, the Sith tucked the secondary objective within his cloak pocket.
Without any further hesitation Raith set his mind on escaping the ship. The combined attentions of the Sith on the Sanguine were something even he couldn’t manage alone. Apart from that, it was even more important he didn’t draw any attention to himself; the Council had specifically requested not to bring outside awareness to his part in the deed.
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“Leave us,” one of the Council members instructed Furi as Kraze entered the central chamber of the Academy.
The holographic display flickered slightly as the two Sith Lords waited for Furi to depart. The spy gave Kraze a slight nod before exiting the room.
“Welcome, Darth Kraze,” one of the cloaked figures called out. “Come forward.”
Raith knelt before the projector, waiting for his new orders to be issued.
“The traitor, Varus… he is dead, I am to assume?”
“He is, my Master,” Raith replied. “Just as you commanded of me, he has fallen and no one else was harmed.”
“And what of the item Varus was sent to capture?” the second Councilman cut in.
Kraze presented the small box he had recovered before the protector. “I have relieved him of the object, my Lord.”
“Most impressive,” one of the shrouded Sith rejoiced. “Leave it here, transportation has already been arranged.”
The two Sith Lords directed their attention to each other. “Do it,” one murmured after a brief pause.
The other gave a slight nod in response before turning his focus back on Kraze. “You have created a great rift within the Empire, Darth Kraze. General Varus was powerful beyond reason; a great vacuum has been opened.”
“Rise, Darth Kraze,” the second Sith cut in. “A monumental task stands before you: you will fill this void. Assemble a team… and bring death to those that oppose the Sith Empire!”
“As you wish, my Masters,” Raith bowed.
“May the Force serve you well,” the silhouettes echoed in unison before disappearing.
The Pureblood left the derelict chamber, finding Furi only a few steps away from the door.
“The Council said I should wait for you.” Furi explained.
Raith thought back to his conversation only moments ago. The spy would be a good start, since the Sith Lords themselves had instructed him to remain. Furi had proven his loyalty to the Empire, and that was good enough for Kraze. Raith knew deep down that Furi understood what had just happened, just as Raith understood- even though they may have been sent under a veil of deception, both of them remained faithful to the Empire.
“I’m taking Varus’ place and I find myself in need of good help.” Kraze extended his arm out to Furi. “Will you join me, brother?”
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