In The Shadows II

Aloha, and welcome to the Clan Run-On, "In The Shadows II," for History Month 2007. There are some basic rules that everyone needs to abide by. Please be aware, this is definitely a run-on for competition, but we are also training to work as a team, as a Clan. You are looking to enhance the story that is a group effort. Make sure to read up on the run-on before posting, and check to see what has happened thus far, and where people are. Don't hesitate to get in touch with people outside of the run-on, and work on joint ideas for posts. One of the things that can definitely make any run-on better is working together, and planning things out.

Now, for some basic rules.

1) This is a Clan Tarentum event. Non-Tarenti are not allowed to post, unless so invited to post by either the Consul or Proconsul, Sith Bloodfyre or Korras. There may be "guest participants" that will be invited to participate, because Tarentum does have its allies, and they frequently visit us, or vice versa. Other than that, Tarenti only. Please feel free to read through if you are in another Clan, but again, no posting unless you have gained permission. Unauthorized posts will be deleted.

2) Post as many times as you like. The only clarification is, you may not post right after yourself. You can write as much as you want in each post, you may write as many posts as you want, but part of a run-on is working on your part, and allowing others to do the same.

3) Your posts may be altered at any time by the Clan Summit if there is either incorrect information posted, or something that comes into conflict with happenings already in the run-on, or past Clan happenings. If your posts are edited, you will be informed via email as to what happened that was bad, what was changed, and why. We are trying to help everyone get more comfortable with run-ons, and with being a part of this group that is our Clan.

4) Though their is no limit on how large or small your posts may be, please try and focus on writing things that actually motivate the story (or your part in it, at least), and helps build on what other people can do. 1,000 words is not a bad number to shoot for. Remember to use punctuation and work on grammar. If you need ideas for posts, again, please feel free to ask for help or advice, and don't hesitate to work with other members, as well. Think about how things work in a movie. Scenes are played out, and the setting does not change until at an appropriate point. Conversations don't just stop half-way through without a good reason. If someone has left a cliffhanger in their post, and is looking to let someone else finish where they were going, and you post next, don't be afraid to complete their idea. Work with them on it. The more you write other people, the more you feel comfortable with all of it.

5) If someone has called "next post," do not post before they do. However, there is a limit on how long your call can hold your place. If you have not posted within four hours of calling that next post, the run-on will move on, your placeholder post will be deleted, and others can continue on. If you're planning to post, try and make it as quickly as possible, but don't rush to the point of letting your post suffer. Have fun with it. If it's going to take you longer than four hours to post, consider posting at another time, or working with someone else to make your post for you.

6) Have fun. Don't be afraid to try something new and get involved. Ask for help if you need it. But absolutely have some fun with this.

I will be posting the opening post for this run-on shortly. Once the opener is posted, have at it. Let's make this a good one, Tarentum.

Antei.

The Clans of the Brotherhood had left the Brotherhood’s central system in retreat just a month or so ago. For four weeks, perhaps five, the Dark Council had been in hiding, wandering the universe in their own ships. Or so it seemed. The Consuls had regularly heard from the Council when the Grand Master had ruled Antei. But now, the Consuls had not heard a word from the Grand Master or his servants in weeks. The last gathering of the Council as a whole had been when the Grand Master summoned the Consuls to meet with him and the rest of the Council to discuss the assets and ships that had recently been acquired.

And now, silence.

In Yridia, the home system of the great Clan of Tarentum, little had changed in that month. Tarentum had always been somewhat distant from the Council, even though the Clan had taken on the role of Guardians of the Shroud. Though Tarentum could still be considered the Guardians of Antei, and perhaps the Guardians of the Council as a whole, little communication had passed between Yridia and the Council. And so life went on as normal.

Yridia II had been the homeworld of Tarentum since the Clan’s founding so long ago by the great warrior and General, Magnus Kaerner. For so many long years, Tarentum had existed mostly in secret. House Tarentum, and then Clan Tarentum, had lived under the seas of Yridia II in Castle Tarentum, as well as within the Sword’s Sheath for as long as anyone could remember. And here they would continue to live for as long as Tarentum drew breath.

Originally, the Clan had existed in secret, and in isolation. The natives of Yridia II had exacted a treaty from House Tarentum that the land of Yridia II would belong to the natives, and House Tarentum could live wherever else it wanted. House Tarentum took to the seas. Or, more accurately, House Tarentum went under the seas. When Tarentum had become a Clan, House Tridens remained in the ancient home of Castle Tarentum with Quaestor Bull, and House Gladius followed Quaestor Shadow’s lead and found the Sword’s Sheath in the Itaana asteroid belt. The Clan existed in this continued state of isolation for quite some time.

And then, many years later, the Clan decided to cement its rule in Yridia. Yridia II was conquered, the natives of the Clan’s homeworld subjugated under the Consul’s rule. The rest of the worlds of Yridia had little population, and fell quickly. Except for Yridia IX. Criminal organizations, smugglers, and other shady persons and groups had called Yridia IX a home for even longer than Tarentum had been in Yridia. The Clan made a truce with these groups, and existed in peace, provided the other organizations paid their dues to the Clan.

Yridia had existed like this without help from the Dark Council, so whether Antei was controlled by the Brotherhood, or by the invading Vong, did not change things even remotely. And for the members of Clan Tarentum, the Tarenti, things remained the same. Of course, they knew of the fall on Antei, but things remained the same. Apprentices came to Yridia on shuttles that had departed from the Shadow Academy. Wherever Anshar was training initiates now, he was still the Headmaster, and he still sent young Apprentices to Yridia that had been selected to join the Clan of Life and Death. New recruits quickly learned the ways of Tarentum, or they left shortly after arrival. The Clan was rather morbid, in some ways, and very close in others. New recruits either realized they fit in with the Clan and were truly Tarenti, or they were not. It really was that simple.

Ships came into the system, either to do business with the Clan or one of the shady groups on Yridia IX, and ships left as well. Everyone knew, things were still the same in Yridia.

Except, there were some who felt like things were soon to change in Yridia. Something was on the horizon, and several people felt it.

One of those people was Telona Murrage. The Dark Side Adept and former High Priestess of the Krath was quite adept at reading the portents of the Force. Telona was sometimes an oddity among those who followed the Dark Side. Telona had compassion. Telona sometimes knew calm. She could be caring and gentle. There were those who sometimes wondered how she could be dark. But when they questioned her about it, her anger sprang forth, and everyone knew that she truly was a Mistress of darkness, and more than a match for any in the Brotherhood. Telona believed in her emotions, all of them. She knew what it meant to have and treasure friendships. She was a master of her own destiny, and perhaps because of it, the Dark Side seemed to always keep her appraised of the tides of fate.

Telona saw visions in her dreams, and sometimes when she was awake. A mountain of skulls appeared before her on a dry, dusty plain. The skulls spoke to her, and told her of a reunion with death and darkness. The skulls met their doom as a firey mountain fell from the sky and destroyed the mountain of skulls, and formed up a giant fortress of darkness and power.

The visions always remained the same, and with the creation of this new fortress of power, Telona would wake from her dreams. Or, in the light of day, she would come out of her dreams and realize someone was speaking to her, or she had been trying to direct a new Apprentice through the various hallways and levels of the Sword’s Sheath, the home of Gladius. Telona was always busy, but the visions never respected her time. The visions came when they wanted to, not when she had time to truly ponder their meaning. It left her wondering what the future could hold for herself, and the Clan she held so dear.

Archean Erinos Tarentae was a respected warrior and leader within the Clan for as long as he had been able to hold a blade. Even before Archean had attained the rank of Knight and beyond, those in the Clan knew him to be a capable warrior, and a dedicated friend. The Tarentae had seen Archean’s unfailing dedication, and his motivation to see Tarentum shine above all of the rest, and had gathered him into their fold. Though the Quaestor of Tridens was blind, there were things that could never be hidden from his mind’s eye. He had the ability to see the strengths in everyone he met, and was a capable teacher, and had helped many to reach new heights both in training and in potential.

Visions came to the blind Quaestor at random. Perhaps relying on sight through the Force opened the Battlemaster up to the visions more easily than to others. Archean could see the great warriors of his Clan’s past, from the mighty Kaerner, to Master Zero and his peers, on down through the line even to seeing his own face in a line of the greatest warriors of the Clan. Archean knew that it was his destiny to lead the Clan through many great and arduous battles, battles in which Archean’s own leadership would make a difference. But those battles would come in the future.

The visions would show Archean the soon-to-be instead of the distant future. A circle of brothers formed the points on a perfect triangle. Archean and Welshman stood at one point, brothers in arms and friends of the truest devotion. Kromtal and Frosty inhabited another point on the triangle, two warriors who had been joined by fate and choices of their own to lead Gladius. On the third point, the faces were blank. Archean could only guess that this was, perhaps, the Clan Summit. But why would their faces be blank? Who else could these two be, if not for the Sith Master and Consul of the Clan, and his Adept Proconsul? If not Bloodfyre and Korras, then who?

Others saw visions of their own nightly. Some saw them throughout the day as clearly as in their dreams. Some saw enemies who stalked halls of darkness and death. Others saw a fleet on the horizon. Some saw the face of Magnus Kaerner, even if they had never met the founder himself.

It had been one month since the fall of Antei, and not much had changed as far as daily life in Yridia. Visions of the future were common to those with the power of the Force. Sometimes, it was hard to interpret the visions correctly, though.


* * * * *


Yridia II
Castle Tarentum
Training Room Beta
06:30 local time

Training exercises often began much earlier, but this morning, Karel had been running a little late. He had been called to meet with the Clan’s Marshal, Maxamillian von Oberst, and the two had only recently ended their conversation over breakfast. The Journeymen were already running practice drills that Karel had previously taught them, both with training lightsabers, as well as with other weapons, and even unarmed at some points.

Karel entered the room, and each of the newer members of Tarentum stopped for a minute, but quickly continued their exercises as the older Journeymen kept right on with their drills. The younger members hadn’t learned yet, most of the veteran combat teachers expected drills like this to continue if they were absent until the very moment that class was called to attention. This was another way of teaching. In actual combat situations, nothing could draw the attention away from skilled warriors, or it could mean their doom. In some cases, an Apprentice or two, or perhaps a Novice or Acolyte were caught offguard in trying to stand at attention for their trainer. One of them went flying through the air, caught up in a telekinetic grasp of their opponent. The others were either knocked flat on their backsides, or, in the case of one unfortunate apprentice, knocked out cold by a very well-placed strike to their jaw.

Karel paced about the room slowly, inspecting the students who had come to join his class today. Movement caught his eye off to his left, but the Battlemaster paid little attention to it for a few moments. He could sense the presence easily in the Force, and even this man would not take Karel’s keen eyes from his students. The robed individual closed the between himself and Karel with long, albeit slow strides.

“Classes beginning well, I presume?” the newcomer asked with mild interest.

“They still have much to learn before they each reach their Knighthood, but they are coming along well, Consul,” Karel responded. “Rather unusual seeing you here at this hour.”

“I figured instead of my usual morning workout, I’d come visit one of the classes, and offer an alternative form of teaching,” Bloodfyre answered. Though the Consul would usually work out privately, or with specifically-invited Clanmates in the morning, he did often change his routine.

“The class is yours then, Bloodfyre,” Karel nodded, and then raised a hand, his signal for the class to come to order. Each Journeyman quickly recognized the sign, and hurried to their appropriate place in a square formation, seven lines, with seven students in each line.

“On the contrary, my friend,” Bloodfyre shook his head, while slowly divesting himself of his outer robes. The Shaevalian’s hair was pulled back in a rather long braid that nearly reached the small of his back. Somewhat strangely, the Consul’s eyes were also covered by a rather intricate embroidered blindfold, nearly all black except for some red patterns that could only be described as odd symbols. “The class is still yours. I offer myself as a training partner. Please, begin your daily lesson.”


* * * * *


Yridia IX
Mystics Asylum
Personal Quarters of Dr. Steiner
23:30 local time

They were everywhere. The cold, pale corpses were overrunning the laboratory, the clean room, the dressing rooms, and most-certainly out in the halls. Steiner had shut himself into one of the cabinets containing some of the various instruments of experimentation that the good doctor used, but he could hear the new batch ruining everything. They were knocking over desks, literally ripping up the stone tables that were bolted to the floor and had to weigh several tons, and making a mess of the doctor’s life work.

The doors were ripped off of the cabinets, and Dr. Steiner let out a blood-curdling scream. One of the corpses grabbed the good doctor by the throat and slowly squeezed. Steiner could feel his esophagus slowly being crushed, and his lungs felt like they were going to explode soon, unless he could somehow—

Dr. Steiner sat up in bed in a cold sweat and begun to hyperventilate, sucking in breaths of air as though each was the first he had taken in minutes. The good doctor felt as though he had been trapped underwater and had been holding his breath for longer than anyone had before on record. Steiner’s hands ached incredibly, as did his throat. After a few moments of trying to calm himself, the doctor was finally able to get up out of bed and shuffle his way over to his dresser and mirror. The doctor flipped on a soft lamp, and could see white marks around his throat, as though hands colder than the grave had been clutching his neck. Steiner looked down and noticed that his hands were just as white.

It seemed to the good doctor that he may have been attempting to strangle himself.

It took several long hours for Steiner to try and fall back to sleep once more. When the skinny, aged human finally did sleep once more, his dreams were again haunted by the undead. This time, they were not in his office. It was not his laboratory. No, this place was strangely familiar, even though he had never been there. The undead were roaming about in darkness, their abode the cold, gray rock of a distant place, but one that Steiner had studied for years.

This dream was not threatening, but for some reason, it was enticing. Something seemed odd about these undead, the way they moved, the way they interacted. It seemed almost intelligent on a level that the corpses raised by his experiments never possessed.

Dr. Steiner woke up earlier than usual. In his haste, he had not combed what was left of his hair as he put on his white lab coat, and looked very much the stereotypical “mad scientist,” complete with glasses that seemed to obscure his eyes behind their glassy lenses.

It was time to find Sirrus.

Tarentum Military Academy
Platform Aegis
0700 Standard Time

The quiet murmuring of conversation in the lecture hall died off as the clicking of boots sounded outside. The Master At Arms called out "Attention on Deck!", snapping to ramrod attention. The Captain strode in at a rapid pace, his polished boots sounding on the deck plates. Slipping behind the podium, he looked out upon his most recent class of cadets. A combination of the most loyal and educated of the native veterans of Yrdia and the Tarenti of Dock Alfar, Levathan, Evant, as well as Deathroc.

"Ladies and gentlemen, at ease, and please be seated. Welcome to the Academy. Each and every one of you has seen combat in the service of this fleet. Each and every one of you has demonstrated that you have the potential to command ships and men in this fleet. Some of you are initiated into the mysteries of Tarentum, others are not. This institution is designed to teach you the skills and art of commanding warships that sail into the void. An environment where the smallest mishap can result in the death of not only yourself, but that of your crewmates as well. To command a ship is to know both ultimate power and responsibility. You will be the ultimate arbiter of your crew, with literal power over life and death. And all the while, you have ultimate responsibility, for everything that happens under your command is completely, utterly, and simply yours, and yours alone to shoulder. Many of you will not pass through this training. Some of you may in fact die in the course of this training."

The Captain gestured to the officers lined up near the wall. "Allow me to introduce the instructors that will be with us this term. First of all, we have Master Gunnery Seargent Yorck, who will be conducting drill." A short, pugnacious looking individual stood forward, gazing out at the cadets, his dark eyes unreadable.

"Next, we have Captain Thacken, who will be teaching ethics and moral problems." The captain was a dapper blond man whose uniform displayed possibly the biggest set of "fruit salad" any of the cadets had seen. "Captain Thracken has been in charge of Naval Special Operations for two years now, and will be assisting Brevet Commodore Blade in the sixth week of training."

"On his left, we have Commander E'holm, instructor for fighter and small ship tactics, followed by Lieutenant Commander Jennis, armaments instructor, and lastly, Captain Tyrax with logistics and supply."

The Captain leaned forward as he began to pace slightly in front of the cadets. "Joining us later in the term will be Vice Admiral Armus, who will be conducting the classes in fleet tactics, as well as overseeing the battle simulators. Finally, we have the honor of the Marshal of Tarentum, Maxamillian von Oberst, who will be teaching a seminar on combined operations and political theory"

"The most recent events at Antei should serve as a reminder of the entire purpose of this Navy. We exist so that if we must fight wars against our myriad enemies, we may fight them on their territory, and on our terms. We take the fight to the enemy so that our soil may never know the tread of our enemies feet, and that our people will not be under the lash of the opressor. Thank you, and good luck, cadets"

The Master at Arms called out for attention again, and the Captain strode out as quick as he entered. Seargent Yorck bellowed out at the cadets "Right, all cadets muster on the parade ground immediately!"

Yridia II
Castle Tarentum
Training room Alpha
07:30 Local Time


Clenching his jacket, the Quaestor made his way down the stairs of Castle Tarentum and to the elevator. Looking around the hall he could see many people chatting, getting on with their day to day duties. The journey ended and the Sith moved through the durasteel door, into an open, padded room. His mind wandered the room, reaching out and sensing everyone in it. In that split second, the Corellian identified everyone in the room and where they were. Archean used the force to send his jacket to the near by bench to his left. Tightening his blindfold, the Tarentae nodded to his friends.

“Greetings, my friends.” Archean paused for a moment. “What is our Ally during battle?” Asked the Sith
“A lightsaber?” Answered Licah.
“Good answer, Knight. Anything else?”
“The Force?” Came a voice from the left.
“Great. That's what I was looking for. The Force is our biggest Ally during battle. Our friends beside us, mixed with our lightsabers and knowledge and the Force make us a formidable opponent. Today, we will learn Force-enhanced Combat.”

Everyone turned to each other with an excited look on their faces, whispering happily.

“In combat, you don't need your eyes.”

The Quaestor moved over to the group and began to assemble them into pairs. He showed them a few basic moves to get the hang of using the force to sense an attack and to use the force as your eyes when you have no clear vision.

Walking around the room, Archean observed the students, giving helpful hints where needed.

Itaana Asteroid Belt
The Swords Sheath
Keepers of the Night Base of Operations
0600 Local Time

Dranik sat in his chair quietly pondering his thoughts as he watched through the open door some of the Keepers training. The Prelate didn’t think twice that some of the members were missing; it was common place that his members were called away to other duties or activities. There were only two things that bothered the Shi’ido that morning: His Dreams, and Mistress Telona. Dranik had known Telona for his entire time within Gladius and considered her a close friend but due to this, he could tell when something troubling was on her mind and he was sure that she could tell the same for him. In fact, the two hadn’t spoken to one or another all morning, they just went about their business and actually seemed to be trying to avoid each other.

After a few moments Dranik closed his eyes at his desk and without meaning to fall fast asleep. The Prelate now found himself within the halls of the Sword’s Sheath and darkness all about him. He could hear heavy breathing and when he looked down he saw the armor of a Royal Guardsmen. Instantly, upon seeing this, the Prelate hit the deck in time to narrowly avoid an attack from an unknown and seemingly unstoppable enemy. Within moments the Prelate was on his feet again and reaching for his lightsaber only to find the blade missing. He looked up in horror as he say the clawed fist coming at his face and then everything went black.

Brimstone rushed into the office of his Battle Team Leader and shook Dranik somewhat violently. After a moment Dranik’s eyes opened and he pushed Brimstone back hard against the desk with the force. The Prelate was sweating rather hard as he asked “What happened?” As he asked his question and waited for the Chiss to speak his hand was searching his side for his saber, somewhat relieved when he found it in its place. “You screamed and I came to see what happened.” Brimstone said only to be returned a simple nod as Dranik stood up and started for the door. “Brimstone, open the weapons locker in the Keepers OP Center. Make sure everyone within the Keepers arms themselves at all times.” Dranik stated to be greeted by a confused look from the Jedi Hunter.

“Just do it.” Dranik ordered and left the Keepers OP Center to head towards the main meeting rooms of the Sword’s Sheath in hopes of running into either Frosty or Kromtal. “I don’t know why those dreams have came back. I haven’t had those since just after that…-thing- was released on us..” Dranik said mostly to himself as he walked the halls of the Sword’s Sheath, his deactivated lightsaber held lightly in his hand and seeming just slightly jumpy and on edge to those that passed him.

***

Itaana Asteroid Belt
Sword’s Sheath
Meeting Room 01
0900 Local time

The Prelate sat quietly in the briefing room, not speaking to those that wondered about while Staff members conducted the normal operations briefing. Nothing of this seemed out of the ordinary to the Prelate and the others in the room just assumed that it was memories of the recent Vong invasion that troubled Dranik.

It wasn’t until Mistress Telona walked in did Dranik even bother to move. He looked up at his friend and offered a faint smile as she walked over to sit down next too him. Telona spoke softly as to not interrupt the morning affairs “Brimstone said you were troubled by something?” Dranik frowned just slightly and spoke softly in return “My dreams have been troubling me, I find myself back in the past, back during that time when the creature of darkness ran around the Base, while Anshar was Quaestor.” Dranik let out a soft sigh and offered his friend a shrug before he listened to what she had to say. “Then it is good to know that I am not the only one troubled.” Telona offered Dranik a slight smile before she continued on “Listen Dranik, should these dreams continue or get worse, I want you to come find me or Bloodfyre.”

Dranik raised an eyebrow and looked over at Telona, only to watch the woman stand up and walk out of the room, looking somewhat preoccupied now. After she left the Prelate returned to watching staff members go about their business, somewhat amazed that the non-force using staff members of Gladius found themselves so comfortable with the Dark Jedi of Tarentum.

Tarentum Military Academy
Platform Aegis
0720 Standard Time

Deatharoc's arm was still hurting. It had been a month since a Vong had injured him and yet the wound hadn't healed fully. The Jedi Hunter then started to think about his current position and lost focus on the mild pain his arm was causing him. When he was stationed on the Tarentum Military Academy, he was initially excited as he knew this would be a good opportunity to learn form some of the best in the Clan. However, for him to succeed, Deatharoc knew he would have to push himself as hard as he could. The Jedi Hunter was confident that he would pass all the training that the academy had to offer with flying colors. After all, Deatharoc survived battles against the Yuuzhan Vong. How bad could a few training exercises be?

Tarentum Military Academy
Platform Aegis
1030 Standard Time

Deatharoc had severely underestimated the difficulty level of training in the Tarentum Academy. One of his commorades who were also training remarked,

"No wonder Master Oberst is so muscular. He must have gone through hundreds of courses like the ones here."

Deatharoc found the thought of his master as a Journeyman struggling to get passed obstacle courses almost too hard to imagine. The exhausted journeyman kept going only because of two things: His motivation to get wiser and more powerful and the Force augmenting his endurance. A sense of relief came upon the Jedi Hunter when the Sergeant told them to stop. Deatharoc realized after the training exercise that there was a chance he wouldn't make it out of the Academy alive. He intended to lessen the chance of him dying and knew just how to do so. He approached Dock Alfar, who looked just as tired as he was, and while grinning said,

"Our time at the Tarentum Military will inevitably get harder and we are at risk of facing rather unpleasant deaths. It may be beneficial to both of us if we agree to ... assist each other every now and then. What do you say?"

Unidentified Starfighter
Approaching Castle Tarentum
Surface, Yridia II
Domain of Clan Tarentum

A thunderstorm belted out its fury over the fuming waves of the oceanic world. Ripping across a tsunami, an aging fighter skipped like a stone, splashing through the crest of passing waves in turn. Its pilot seemed to show no regard for the water or its dangers, instead crashing forward like a madman.

"Unidentified starfighter, you will divert from your present course, or you will be marked hostile."

Words filtered through the coarse communications array of the small craft, the pilot would have ignored them, yet he was not so polite as to be an easy, unnamed threat.

"I am hostile." Was the pilot's only response.

As the Towers that peirced shrieking winds appeared over the horizon, battered by the storm, six rapid shots of laser fire splashed into the waves. The pilot juked hard to the left. He despised flying such a small craft, indeed flying at all. Yet, his purpose was much more severe.

One of the fighters pursuing him erupted in a flash of fire, jettisoning its pilot into the temptestous fury. The second seemed to take measure of the intruding craft and veered off, possibly calling for reinforcements.

Etiquette demanded that one follow the protocols of one's hosts, and as a personal guest of the Consul of Clan Tarentum, the pilot settled his craft down on the Tower designated as the landing platform of the Consul. The pilot pulled the cowl of his heavy cloak over his features, and climbed out into the rain.

"Greetings, my old friend." The Shaevalian Consul said, as if he anticipated the arrival of the insane pilot.

"Indeed, greetings my Brother." Trevarus Caerick said, his eyes abright with some new madness. "It has been quite some time."

"Quite true. I wanted to ask you about your recent adventures on Antei... to discuss a few details about your destruction of the Crystal of Tears... perhaps a glass of wine?"

"I would enjoy that," Trevarus said, following the Consul into shelter.

Itaana Asteroid Belt
Sword’s Sheath
Meditation Chamber
1425 Local time


Kromtal Stormfyld was deep in his daily meditation when his comlink began to buzz. Kromtal tried to ignore it as he dove deeper into the dark corners of his mind. Visions of the dark side began to swirl in his head, visions of great Masters of the past beckoning him, promising to share their knowledge with him.

*BZZT BZZT BZZT*

The comlink continue to buzz drawing him out of his meditation, whoever was on the other end better have a very good reason for disturbing his meditation or pain and death were to be in their future.

Kromtal fished the comlink from his robes, "What?", he barked into it. "I apologize Master, I didn't know it was you", Kromtal said to the voice in his ear piece. "Yes, my Master. Are you sure, Master?", Kromtal said. "No...no, Master. I didn't mean to question your judgement....it's just...it seems very.....", he stammered. Long moments passed as Kromtal listened. "Yes, my Master. It shall be done at once. Yes, yes, it is a very great honor. Yes, Master. Thank you, Master.", he said as the link was terminated.

Kromtal took a deep breath and tried to calm himself, somehow after all these years he still couldn't shake the feeling of deep dread and fear he felt when speaking to Master Bloodfyre. Something about the Consul shook him to his core. He gathered his emotions under control and switched his comlink frequency.

"Dranik! I require your presence, you will meet me immediately in the meditation chamber. Stormfyld, out!"

While waiting for Dranik to arrive Kromtal stood up and straightened his robes. He always felt somewhat uneasy around Dranik, always a lingering feeling that his subordinate was plotting his demise was in the back of his mind. Just as he slid his hand into his robe to rest it on the handle of his lightsaber Dranik ran into the room.

"I got here as fast as I could, m'lord. What do you require of me?", Dranik asked.

"I just finished speaking with Master Bloodfyre, today is a day that will ring out in the history of Gladius! Master Bloodfyre feels that the Keepers of the Night exemplify the fighting spirit and and honor of Tarentum. As such he has chosen to bestow a great honor upon your team, henceforth you shall be known as Tau. Master Bloodfyre said that your team are the only true successors to the ideals Clan Tarentum was originally founded under so many years ago.", Kromtal explained.

Dranik stood shocked for a moment, too stunned to reply. "It is a very great honor, m'lord. I shall endeavor to live up to the expectations our Master has set forth for us.", Dranik replied.

Kromtal smiled slightly, "See to it that you do, Dranik. Failure will not be tolerated, I feel. Your life, the lives of every member of your team, and perhaps my own life rest in your hands. Your success will bring great glory to yourself and Gladius, but failure shall surely doom us all.", he said.

Dranik looked at his Quaestor for a moment then replied, "It shall be done, m'lord. We shall not only live up to the Tau of the past, but carve out a path of glory greater than ever before imagined..."

Kromtal smirked, "See to it that you, Dranik. If you fail I'll have your head long before Master Bloodfyre has mine..."

Kromtal looked at Dranik for a long moment “Now, if you don’t mind, I would like to get back to my meditation.” Dranik just looked at his Quaestor for a long moment before he finial spoke up “Well Kromtal, to be honest, I have something I would like to discuss with you. Have, you been troubled by anything of late?” Dranik asked quietly and waited from his Quaestor to respond. “No, Dranik, not that’s worth mentioning anyways. Why do you ask?”

Dranik looked around the room for a moment before responding “Well, I have been having some troubling dreams as of late. I find myself back during my past, back when I was a Jedi Hunter and a Royal Guardsmen.” Dranik frowned just slightly and feel silent for a long moment. “Dranik, why does this bother you?” Kromtal asked, somewhat puzzled by the Prelate being troubled by –bad dreams-. “Well, I haven’t had these dreams since a few months after the event happened. It just worries me somewhat that, for apparently no reason, these troubling dreams have started again.” Dranik said and offered a slight shrug

Kromtal shook his head slightly “Dranik, you know as well as I do that the Dark Side can work in mysterious ways. I would suggest that you meditate on it.” Dranik shook his head quietly and turned towards the door “No thank you Kromtal, I have much work to do now” With that said, Dranik walked quickly from the room and set his mind to the new tasks at hand.


***

Itaana Astroid Belt
The Sword’s Sheath
Keepers of the Night Operations Center.
1700 Local Time.

Dranik sat at the desk in his office within the OPs center to the Keepers of the Knight. “I am going to miss this place” the Prelate said softly before he reached up and switched off the glowing display screen upon his desk. Dranik was still somewhat surprised by the news the Kromtal had given him earlier. While it was true the Prelate felt honored by the gesture, there was a part of him slightly annoyed about it at the same time.

Dranik shook his head as he stood from his desk and walked out into the main room of the Operations Center. Dranik looked over those gathered before him. The Staff of the Keepers were present along with some of the members. However, some were missing due to being elsewhere on other assignments. Dranik had already recorded and sent them a holo-message. Dranik raised his head slightly and spoke so that all may hear. “Keepers of the Night, today is the last you will be called by that name. Master Bloodfyre has deemed us worthy of a new honor within the Clan. Ladies and Gentlemen, we are the Tau, the successors of Tarentum. We have been given a great Honor to live up to.” Dranik said this and then stopped, allowing his gaze to move over those present.

“And let me be clear, we will live up to this Honor, or I will make sure your existence is cut very short. We will not fail Tarentum and we will not fail the spirit of the Tau. I suggest any of you that can, and do not know how, enroll yourselves in pilot schools. While it is not required of you to learn to fly, it may be expected by your peers. The face of the Keepers is changing, Keepers we are no more, for we are The Tau.” With this Dranik snapped off a quick salute to those present before speaking one last thing to them “We have much work to do, expect assignments to be forthcoming on renovations to be done to our Command Center to better fit our new roles. We will be the Defenders of the Sword’s Sheath, and to Clan Tarentum itself. Now, Dismissed!” Dranik stated as he watched those gathered start to leave.

Dranik quietly turned about the large room and sighed quietly “There is much to do…” Dranik said to himself and then walked back into his office, forgetting about the dreams that had been troubling him for a while. Now, he had work to set his mind too, he had to develop plans on how to establish the former Keepers of the Night, as the best of the best within the Clan.

Yridia II
Castle Tarentum
Early morning

Adien was not use to being home even with his return to the leaving he felt more use to space than being in the Castle it was refreshing, and felt better than he ever remembered most of his friends still called him by Melkor and it did not bother him it was one of his names. Adien was just his birth name and with his resurrection he felt it was time that he reclaimed at let part of his life that he wasted in grief of the loss of his mother and father.

As a dark jedi he knew he had a new family here in Tarentum and was eager to serve his clan and brethren with every once of his skill, and he secured his saber that stayed by his side everywhere he went and walked out into the halls of the castle. He began heading towards the upper levels of the castle where even as a journeyman he would sit topside and meditate listening to the waves as the water caressed against the outer walls of what little of the castle was exposed.

Whenever he had the privilege of being home form the long periods that he spent shipside with his responsibilities as a naval officer he would take every opportunity he could get to reflect and gather the calm that the ocean gave him as he sat out there. A few hours passed and he came back inside the castle and headed for the hanger where enjoyied to help with his knowledge he picked up from learning about his mothers work in her journals. He also hoped one day to grow into as good of a engineer as she was but he also held the same regards for his fathers work as a intelligence officer, but that he knew took seasoning to learn already making a large amount of progress in Tarentums navy he still knew he had a long way to go.

Nothing was to out of the ordinary minor repair issued on a couple of the shuttle that blew a repulsor coil while warming up but that was not unusual ships break down, and Adien had always been good with repairing as well as building things. He even looked back fondly on the construction of his first lightsaber and even in the reminiscence, the warrior continued to work doing what he could to lighten the load on the techs that worked hard at keeping things running.

Itaana Asteroid Belt
The Swords Sheath
Keepers of the Night Base of Operations
Holo Simulator
1800 Local Time

Brimstone spent most of the morning arming himself and others with weapons needed to defend themselves. While Brimstone held onto his charric blaster, and had a charric rifle strapped accross his back, he deviated from one of the clan's rules. He still had the double bladed lightsabre he had borrowed durring the war with the Vong. This weapon, why still unfamilliar to him, was beckoning him to learn and practice.

While in the holo simulators, he was practicing against stun bots that were having his way with him. This was expected as Brimstone had rewired the holo emmitters to deactivate the safety protocols so he could learn correctly how to fight against these droids.

Parry after parry. Burn after burn. Brimstone was feeling the effects of the battle as this had been going on for 3 hours now. Every now and then, he was pause the holo simulation to focus and controll the pain with the healing techniques he learned durring the war.

Still the thought of hearing the leader of the Tau, which was just recently the battle team previously called Keepers of the Night, screaming this morning was still enough to have concern. Was his leader finally cracking under presures as leader? What was his role into even making suggestions of Dranik to either step down or seek help?

Another blue electrical bolt shot him in his right quadracept. Brimstone cursed outloud to the pain, but only to deflect 5 more bolts from the 3 hovering droids. He had already destroyed 15 of these, but it was training he had accepted to place upon himself. His master, Frosty Romanae, was elsewhere. His fellow bother Levathan, he hadn't seen for a while, and except the few he helpped arm and running into Mistress Telona earlier in the day, he has been pretty much alone.

As another charged shot out at him, he deflected it with the saber. While this was no where near the voltage of a master's force lightning, this still hurt when it struck.Brimstone tumbled under the droid as it lifted an additional 5 feet of the ground to avoid the attack, Brimstone was able to get a clean shot as he threw the lit lightsaber upwards and into the droid, deactivating it immediately.

The two other droids, were made or so to say, reprogramed to battle him and avoid force attacks, Brimstone was learning easier ways to defend himself. Another droid was deactivated as the hirt to his right slashed through its circutry.

The third one opened up with a barrage of electrical bols. Brimstone parried eith attack succesfully and with a enhanced force leap, came over the top of the last droid and a backwards slash dropped it to the ground.

Brimstone deactivated the lightsaber. Then he took a kneeling posture and procede to heal himself.

Not even 3 minutes later, 4 more droids showed up.

Tarentum Military Academy
Platform Aegis
0720 Standard time

Levathan had come to the academy knowing life will be made difficult. this was only confirmed later when Sergeant Yorck ran them through their first set of drills; pushing them all to their limits in endurance and strength, on a deck that had it’s gravity set to three times to that of the standard setting.

When the sergeant finally called a halt, they were all breathing hard, “alright cadets, expect this in the morning ever day from now on, now go get yourselves cleaned up and get to your first class, Dismissed” to which they all stood to attention and saluted, when the sergeant returned the salute they finally made their way off the deck.

The rest of the day passed without incident; the constant classes in combat tactics, simulations tests, as well as another drill through one of the obstacle course to test dexterity; had them all tired mentally and physically by the time the final class of the day finished.

When Levathan returned to the quarters he had been assigned to, he found Commander E’holm waiting for him, sitting at the small desk in the cramped quarters. Levathan immediately snapped to attention, saluted.

“Sir!”

“At ease cadet, I’ve just received this, it came for you earlier today, from the leader of the battle team you’re assigned to.” The commander said quietly, looking slightly amused.

Levathan was puzzled by this; why would a naval instructor be interested in a message from a battle team? To which he could only reply, “Sir?”

The commander now smiled openly, “perhaps you should see it for yourself” and he turned on the holo-message; a miniature, bluish image of Drank appeared just above the desk, “Keepers of the Night, this is the last time you shall be called by this name. Master Bloodfyre has deemed us worthy of a great honor, we will henceforth be known as Tau, the successors of Tarentum. We will live up the honor; else you will not live to see your disgrace. Although it is not required, I suggest you all enroll in pilot schools, as it may expected by your peers.” The image of Dranik stopped for a moment; Levathan felt a chill rise up his spine as he found himself standing to attention.

Dranik then continued in a low voice that gradually rose in strength, “The face of the Keepers is changing, we are Keepers no more for we are the Tau.” At which point the holo-message ended and the bluish image faded.

Levathan felt stunned, he had never heard anything like this happening before. Throughout all of his time in Tarentum he had heard of the stories of the Tau; their skill, bravery and unquestionable loyalty to the clan. That was when he realized that the commander was now standing in front of him, “it is a great honor indeed to be that of the Tau, I’ll be watching you most closely from now on, there is much myself and others expect of you.”

Levathan snapped out of his deep thought, saluted once more and replied, “Yes sir! As a Tau I will uphold the honor of Tarentum.”

The commander then smiled again, “good man,” walked past him and left.

Levathan felt stunned and overwhelmed, he sat down on the bunk, lost in thought about what had just transpired and knowing that things will be different tomorrow.

Itaana Asteroid belt.
The Sword’s Sheath.
The Gladius library.
1800 local time.

There was a little bit of turbulence attached to the mellifluous drone of the systems surrounding the archives. Each little system suddenly let out an impish, muted scream when one of the users decided on the material needed to peruse through and pressed the necessary button to process their input. The huge collection of data sincerely worked on answering their seekers’ questions. However, words cannot convey concepts. Especially concepts of visions, dreams and nightmares.

The House of Gladius, at least a small part of it, was trying to make sense of the recurring foresights it had had. The halls and walls of the Sword’s Sheath trembled with both the voices and the accompanying, uncontrollable and vivid Force powers that streamed through the victim’s body.
Yet sometimes, it was soft and barely audible even to an observer in the same room.

The youngest members of the House struggled to keep abreast of their new and vigorous training schedules; and to those who were both gifted and cursed with the vitriolic dreams, this was a trying and cruel time.
Especially to a few that were attached to the Praxeum. Their commander had gone. Rumour had it that he had gone to Castle Tarentum for and important meeting with his master. Whatever the case, Kazarelth had not thought that his team should concern itself over his own personal matters. He had gone to the Quaestor, asked for a ship and lifted off one night after he suddenly woke up, sweating and shivering.

They could not precisely get more advice from their Aedile who calmly asked them to go about their business as he took over the team in their leader’s absence. Deatharoc was soon called off to the Tarentum Military academy for some special training. The Praxeum floundered about without any senior members.
Frosty was initiating them into basic blaster exercise. It was a good pastime for him as he walked about setting the posture and aim correctly. It took his mind off the strange oddities that confused him now and then.

He had come to the library for some answers. Along with a couple of younger Dark Jedi who had asked him similar questions. He wryly took them along and fed some data to search the archive.

***

Yridia II
Castle Tarentum
Inner Order personal quarters.
1800 Sword’s Sheath time.

“You should try to focus, my student.” Saitou put it softly to the young Omwati as he tried to focus. Kazarelth’s mind was still stumbling upon those deathly, rotting pieces of human skin he saw in his vision of the cataclysmic collision of the gigantic asteroid with the ground. He saw the triangular space body plunge with a deafening crunch into a deep and infernal pit filled with bizarre creatures.
“I can’t. It comes now and then, but all I see is this triangular space body plunging deep into the … haven’t I already told you all this?” Kazarelth asked sullenly.
“And I need to know more. I’d like it if you do stay for some time here and work this out. I fear that this is going on with a small bunch of people here too.”
“Alright.” He replied slowly.

Yridia II
Castle Tarentum
1800 local time
Balnazaar's quarters

The Jedi Huter steadily struted into his room. Today's drills and lessons had been particularly difficult, both mentally and physically. All Balnazaar wanted to do was clean up and rest. He hadn't been this anxious for sleep since after Tarentum fought the Vong.

Things were pretty much normal. Members of the Clan went about their daily business. It was almost as if nothing extraordinary happened in the past month. Balnazaar only got more tired by analyzing the past day. He closed his eyes and began to doze off. Before he fell asleep, he joked to himself,

"Hopefully the damn alarm will keep silent while I sleep this time."


Yidira II
Castle Tarentum
1800 local time
Balnazaar's quarters

Balnazaar woke up sweating and breathing heavily. The dream was almost too real to be something his imagination could have just conjured. The excrutiating pain he felt, the ear-piercing shrieks and the gory scenes in Balnazaar's dreams were all real. The Jedi Hunter finally regained his compusure and decided that the best thing to do was to go to his master and ask him to try and interpret these dreams, or whatever the hell they were. Balnazaar thougt it was far too late to ask now and forced himself to return to his slumber, hoping he wouldn't have the horrible dream again.

Itaana Asteroid Belt
The Swords Sheath
Keepers of the Night Base of Operations
Holo Simulator
1900 Local Time

"Sith-spit"

Brimstone cursed under his breath as the droid got him with a series of blue electricity bolts when Brimstone stumbled doing a somersault to capture and destroy it. One good thing about this program, it learned about its participants. Brimstone's uniform was seared almost beyond recognition.

Brimstone continued to push himself hard.

***

Itaana Asteroid Belt
The Swords Sheath
Keepers of the Night Base of Operations
Holo Simulator Control Room
1900 Local Time

Master Frosty stood and watched his apprentice work hard. The chiss was a good student and devoted, that was for sure as Frosty thought. The door opened up as Tau leader Dranik walked in. They both ackowledge each other with a slight nod of their heads.

"So how is your apprentice Frosty?" asked Dranik.

"He is showing alot of willpower and devotion to learn, he even turned off the safety protocols to the simulator" replied Frosty.

They both watched Brimstone tumble, leap, and roll between the Droids. Master Frosty would every now and then utter "yes" when Brimstone would do an excellent attack and both would wince when the jedi hunter would mess up and get jolts. The last one got him 4 times in a row and both just gasp.

"Well, when we did our simulation, he showed alot of cunning and tactics" stated Dranik, "I can see him becomeing a great warrior and leader one day."

"That is true, my friend. He is doing not only the Chiss proud, but after the war with the Vong, he has taken a more prominent stance to better himself for the clan" spoke Frosty.

"Is that a double blade saber one of the training ones?" asked Dranik.

"No. that is the one he used durring the war. He kept it as a souvenier and has dedicated to learn it. Even though he is below our ranks to actually use or have it, I thought it was prudent to let him keep it and learn from the actual useage of it" replied Frosty.

"Well, once he makes knight, he is really going to need proper training. He is wild with that blade" retorted Dranik.

"Well, he will be a knight soon enough."

They both watched and then spoke of recurring nightmares that they were having. Apparently the entire clan was getting these visions. It could only mean an impending doom was coming and that all of the clan was to be battle ready for it.

"Do you think Brimstone has had these dreams also?" asked Dranik.

"I don't think so. I been watching him for an hour and he shows no concerns about visions, just training. You have to admire the Chiss on their devotion to train" replied Frosty. "I am sure once he has the visions, he will come to me for guidance."

***

Itaana Asteroid Belt
The Swords Sheath
Keepers of the Night Base of Operations
Holo Simulator
1930 Local Time

Brimstone kept the battle up. after another 2 more droids were dispatched, he paused the simulator to focus on his wounds and heal himself. As he was meditating, his mind was filled with visions of an asteroid crashing and bodies strewned accross the land. As he looked through the corpses, a hand grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up. He was unable to see the face of the attacker. Brimstone lashed out with dark energy at the formless figure but was unable to get him to release its grip.

The lone figure pulled Brimstone close to its face-less face and spoke low and terifying.

"Exile"

***

Itaana Asteroid Belt
The Swords Sheath
Keepers of the Night Base of Operations
Holo Simulator Control Room
1930 Local Time

Both Frosty and Dranik were watching Brimstone stop the simulator to meditate on his healing and then a second later, gasp as Brimstone seemed to be lifted in the air and being choked. There was no opponent they could see and nothing registered on the systems.

Both ran for the holo room door and towards Brimstone. As they got near him, the jedi hunters body dropped and slumpped to the ground. Frosty felt for a pulse and barely could find one. Dranik got on his his comm and called for medical personnel to get there as soon as possible.

They both tended to the unconscience chiss and probed the Force in the room, trying to find any signs of an attacker. Master Frosty probed his apprentice's mind. Only one word came to him. Exile.

Yridia II
Castle Tarentum
A Hallway
23:30 Local Time

“Come on, open up.”

A gray haired human in his mid-sixties stood in the hallway outside a Krath Archpriest’s quarters. He wore a simple Sith sentry uniform with no robes, and had no lightsaber at his side. He jammed his thumb repeatedly into the button for the doorbell, undoubtedly creating quite a racket inside.

“I know you’re in there. Open up.”

“Who the hell…?” muttered a voice from inside as the door began to slide open. The archpriest was scowling, his lit lightsaber the first thing to protrude from the door as he pushed out into the hallway to berate the intruder. The Novice sidestepped him and made his way into the quarters.

“You’re lucky I like you, Firebird,” muttered Apollo as he followed the old man into his own room. “It’s damn good to see you again after all these years. I’m glad you’re here with us in Tarentum. Just realize that I significantly outrank you here. You can’t just barge into my quarters whenever you want anymore.”

“You’ve outranked me for a long time, Admiral.” Scion said the word while making quotation marks in the air with his hands. “It didn’t matter then, and I don’t see why it matters now.”

“Well, I have a lightsaber now, Colonel,” Apollo interrupted, making the quotation marks now as well.

“Fair enough. I can see how that changes things somewhat. Even so, I didn’t just come down to wake you up. Remember when I first contacted you because I was having those visions? They’re getting worse.”

“Hmm,” muttered the Archpriest. When the Colonel had contacted him originally about his visions, he had advised him to join the Brotherhood. Now that he was here, he had expected the visions to cease.

“Back aboard the Phoenix they were simply darkness. I would be stumbling around in the dark, or I’d wake up because I had stopped breathing. The medical staff there informed me that it wasn’t simply my old age.” He smirked. He had had to pull rank a number of times and even call in a favor to prevent them from transferring him to an asylum. After that incident, he just kept it to himself. “Now though, they’re much more… involved. I can see figures in the darkness. I have felt cold hands around my throat. I have heard screaming in the distance. Each time I wake up a little shorter of breath. I don’t want to die like that, Apollo – in my sleep.”

“You’re not going to die, old man. Don’t be stupid.”

“So what do I do? I can’t fight dreams.”

“Big things are happening in Tarentum. I heard today that they reinstated Tau. I can’t say who, but other Tarenti are having visions too. We will see some action soon, from the way things are looking. For now just try to get some sleep, alright?”

“Alright,” said Scion. “Good night, old friend. It truly is a pleasure to be serving with you again. Retirement never suited me.”

NOV Scion "Firebird" Altera (Sith)/Tridens of Tarentum [ACC: INI]
{SA: KS: ToL - DBB - ACC}

Itaana Asteroid Belt
The Swords Sheath
Tau Base of Operations
2330 Local Time


As the medics taken Brimstone to the infirmary to find out why he was unconscious, Master Frosty and Tau Leader Dranik searched within the Force as to the culprit within the holo simulator. Despite all their efforts and all the scans they did, there was no sign of any intrusion or presence.

"Why do you think Exile was imprinted into your apprentice" asked Dranik

"Well, if you knew his history, the Chiss Ascendancy had placed him in exile and banished him. Also, two masters abandoned him too here. I think subconsciously he still has a fear of it happening again" explained Frosty, "And I think who ever attacked him, used his fears against him to the point it nearly killed him."

“Can it be coming from the same entity that most of us who are having these visions and nightmares?”

“I am not sure, but we need to speak with our Consul and Proconsul before we can do anything about it. Dranik my friend, see if you can locate them, I need to contact Telona and see if she can get here to probe Brimstone and bring him back to us.”

“No problem.”

***
Itaana Asteroid Belt
The Swords Sheath
Tau Base of Operations – Medic Infirmary
2330 Local Time

Brimstone was still unconscious and the medics couldn't figure out why. They ran test after test and could see nothing to keep him from coming back to them. There was no brain damage and the chiss was completely healthy except for the training wounds he received. Despite their efforts, they felt that he might not make it in through the night.

***
Itaana Asteroid Belt
The Swords Sheath
Tau Base of Operations
Brimstone's Sub conscience
0000 Local Time

Brimstone woke up in his dreams. The land he was on was barren and wasted. Destruction was surrounding him. He was unfamiliar of the whereabouts and couldn't understand what would cause him to be in the holodeck one minute and then on the barren rock. He could hear voices talking around him, but there was no life forms around. Even his charric blaster and double bladed lightsaber was missing. He kept thinking to himself he was dreaming.

As he wandered the land, he felt no hunger or thirst in the dry, hot climate. There was no vegetation or exhistance anywhere. He called out for anyone and couldn't get any response.

“Is anyone out there?” yelled brimstone in both basic and cheunh but there was no response. “So this is what it must be like to be exiled. I hope this is a nightmare and the Brotherhood didn't exile me also.”

As he searched for a way out of there, he tried to call upon the force yet he felt no dark energies or force ability as if it was stripped of him completely. He felt hallow and alone for the first time in a long time since he was banished from his Chiss Ascendancy

As he traveled, he saw in the distance a lone figure in a black flowing robe/cloak combination. He started running to him just happy to see another person. When he reached the lone figure, it reached out and grasped him by the Force and lifted him once again off the ground, choking him.

“Exile” spoke the unknown figure.

***

Itaana Asteroid Belt
The Swords Sheath
Tau Base of Operations – Medic Infirmary
0000 Local Time

Brimstone's body started to shutter all of a sudden. The life sign monitors started squealing their alerts. The medics and doctors ran to the jedi hunter, grasping at him to calm his seizures and bring him under control. After injecting him with medicines, his body stopped shaking and went into a comatose state.

Brimstone's breathing returned back to normal as did his heart rate. A doctor rushed to the comm console and punched an emergency button to alert someone of the current situation.

Itaana Asteroid Belt
The Swords Sheath
Tau Base of Operations – Medic Infirmary
0015 Local Time

Kromtal Stormfyld strode into the infirmary just as the alarm began to go off. "What the hell? Turn that off, fool!", he barked at Brimstone. "Are you trying to wake the dead? Trust me, you don't want to do that, the necrotic experiments of Tarentum are something you are not prepared for.", Kromtal said with a chuckle.

Brimstone looked up at his Quaestor, the fear was playing in his eyes and he could tell Kromtal was taking intense pleasure in frightening him. "But, m'lord", Brimstone began, "I only wanted to let everyone know I was awake. I thought everyone would be worried whether or not I would come back to reality."

Kromtal looked at Brimstone for a moment, revulsion apparent on his face. "Get yourself together! Your fear is unbecoming, both as a member of Tarentum and as a Chiss! We were aware that you woke up the instant it occured, or had you forgotten that there are those here with a much stronger connection to the Force than can even begin to imagine. While you slept your mind was probed, we know all about your dreams and the strange figure.", Kromtal explained.

Anger began to burn deep inside Brimstone's chest, how dare the Quaestor speak to him in such tones. He sprang from the bed and snatched up his saberstaff. As he thumbed the blade ignition he smiled, "Your time has come, m'lord!", he spat.

Kromtal smiled slightly before raising his hand and wrenching the staff away with the Force. "You're still playing with this toy? I'm amazed you haven't severed one of your own limbs with it by now.", Kromtal chuckled. As he spoke Kromtal began to manipulate the lightsaber, "Well, just to make sure you don't hurt yourself or someone else I'm afraid I'm going to have to fix this lightsaber."

Kromtal quickly removed both blade emitters and all the focus crystals, when he finished he closed the casing and handed it back to Brimstone. "Here, take these.", he said as he handed Brimstone a single crystal and emitter, "Use this crystal and emitter along with the power cell from that toy to create a weapon. Perhaps when you've learned to construct a lightsaber you may earn the right to wear and use one."

Kromtal pocketed the remaining emitter and crystals and started to leave the room. As he left he turned his head slightly back toward Brimstone and said, "Oh, and welcome back to the land of the living, Brimstone. Remain here for the night then report to Dranik in the morning for your duty assignment for the day."

Kromtal returned to his quarters, satisfied by his ‘encounter’ with the Chiss. He opened a cabinet and slipped the crystal and emitter into it and lazily rolled the hilt of the “toy” around on his table. He was furious at Brimstone for awakening him, but was keeping his calm. It was around two days ago that another of the younger Dark Jedi had rudely awakened him and asked permission to leave to Yridia II. Yet that was a different scenario altogether.
The Zabrak tried to spin the hollow hilt with his mechanical left arm. It was a huge sign of boredom, more than anything was, because of the amount of concentration required to do that with an arm that lacked nothing but skin and dexterity. He lethargically looked outside his window. The Itaana asteroids were hanging in the sky like (approximately) spherical stalactites. The sun had lit up many of them such that the sky did not exactly have any semblance to the ‘night’ that the civilians at Yridia II were used to. He sighed resignedly and walked out of his room.
His destination was the large Gladius control room. It always brimmed with activity; and the insomniac Quaestor had decided that this would be a better way to reach sleepiness more than idly sitting inside his room.

The control room was abuzz with the activity that Kromtal Stormfyld wanted to witness. It was a delight, being the head of the operations here. A few lesser officers scurried about on errands for their bosses. The staff of the communications’ centre particularly seemed very harassed, Kromtal noticed. No sooner had he started walking towards them than Dranik called out to him.
“You can’t get much sleep either?”
“I was awoken by one of your members, Dranik. It seems that your Chiss has been exerting himself too much. He’s having nightmares about a droid choking him to death.” The tall Zabrak shook his head.
“Well, dreams, did you say? He went into some sort of a fit when he was in one of those new holo simulators. He was gasping for air then too.”
“Oh? I’ll have Frosty see to--”
“I have my hands full at the moment, Kromtal.” A tall Dashade appeared from a corner to the two men.
“Seems like no one is getting much sleep here…” Dranik murmured.
“Quite a lot aren’t, Dranik. Apparently our Chiss friend is sharing a few visions that I’ve been having too.” Frosty said as Kromtal knowingly nodded his head.
“Kazarelth also had a vision, didn’t he? A recurring vision?” Dranik asked the Gladius summits, “I’ve heard he’s gone to Yridia II to meet with Pontifex Saitou.”
“Yes. He is there. We just received a transmission from him. He said he’ll stay there for some time.” Frosty answered. He then added with a sigh that he did not quite like the prospect of training the young Dark Jedi of the Praxeum.

Tarentum Military Academy
Platform Aegis
2000

After several hours of challenging classess and exhausting dirlls, the trainees of the Tarentum Military Academy were dismissed for the night. Deatharoc thought the training sessions were most productive. The training eased somewhat for the Jedi Hunter as he knew that Dock had his back. The ease was probably shared with Dock as he knew that Deatharoc was also looking out from him.

After he had showered Deatharoc entered his quarters. For a moment he wondered how his Battleteam was doing. Unlike Levathan, whose battleteam had the honor of changing its name to the Tau battleteam, Deatharoc hadn't heard from Kazarelth or any of his other team members in the Praxeum. Though this was rather strange, the Jedi Hunter didn't think much of the anormality. After all nothing had been out of the ordinary lately so a transmission should come soon enough. An exhausted Deatharoc then went to sleep. There was a long day of training that awaited him in the morning. However before the Jedi Hunter would even wake up, he would have a vision that brought would bring him unparaleled terror.

Deatharoc's dream started out happily. He dreamt that he was with his deceased love Tara Odbar. The Jedi Hunter had never fully gotten over his dead lover and still dreamt about her frequently. Just as Deatharoc began to fully enjoy his dream, it went horribly wrong. Tara's flawless face and the rest of her began to disentigrate. As Deatharoc tried to grab her, she turned into dust.

Suddenly the hill that Deatharoc was on turned into a hill of bones. Then the sky turned black and it began to rain. However, when Deatharoc looked closely at the droplets he realized that it was not water but blood. Suddenly, the bones began to rebuild and before Deatharoc could run, several arms pulled him. There were skeletons overflowing him and the Jedi Hunter was being tormented. Deatharoc screamed as loudly as he could as the skeletons tortured him. And then ... silence. The skulls topped pulling at Deatharoc and then above him was a Dark figure. The Jedi Hunter felt an evil aura in him and the dark man grinned maliciously. He then ignited a lightsaber and stabbed Deatharoc through the heart. The Jedi Hunter woke up at that instant screaming loudly. He had never experienced a dream of that kind before. Deatharoc began to redress. Perhaps his master could help him decipher the meaning of this dream.

Tarentum Military Academy
Platform Aegis
2100 Standard Time

That night, as Levathan slept, he dreamt that his body was drifting in space, the sense of falling was evident but it didn’t worry him, it was calm and isolated, as though nothing could touch him. Suddenly he felt himself wrenched back, as though something had grabbed the choler of his shirt and hurled him backwards. He then felt himself slam into a hard wall; pain immediately erupted across his back as he slid to the floor. He looked around slowly and could recognize that this was Swords Sheath. As he struggled to stand, one had on the wall to help steady himself, he realized that he was wearing his regular robes and a pair of boots, however they felt wet and clammy. When he had finally gotten to feet, he inspected his clothing, it was difficult in the dark, however they smelled slightly metallic and sticky, he brought a part of his robe to his mouth and touched it to his tongue, the metallic taste mixed with a slight sweetness… it was blood. His robes were soaked in it; his boots had also been splattered with it. As he was contemplating whose blood this might be, he felt a pressure approaching from the dark hallway in front of him, he felt a presence approach as the pressure increased. He couldn’t withstand it much longer, the air didn’t move but he felt as though his mind were being blown to shreds. He reached for his sword before realizing it wasn’t there, he took a few steps back but the pressure just kept increasing as though he had done nothing. Then something smothered him, stopped his breathing, he put his hands to his face instinctively and he saw his hand on a black background, but it looked different, the flesh was slowly retreating, pain lanced through his hand and up his arm. He could see the exposed blood vessels, pulsing with blood, then they stripped away, covering his hand in crimson fluid, his muscles stripped away, falling in shreds. Levathan couldn’t look away, everything in his body refused to move, but he felt pain, lancing up through his entire body now, he tired shout out in pain, but nothing came. Then finally he could see his bones stripped clean of all flesh and blood. It was then, that he felt something inside himself, regaining control over his body he flung his arm to the side and fell to the floor and saw a dark figure standing over him, darker then even the surroundings of the hallway, cloak moving as though in a breeze. The cloak came closer and settled over him, it seemed like his heart had stopped.

Levathan woke, sitting up in his bunk, sweating and breathing hard, he clutching his chest where he felt his heart was beating rapidly. He noticed a pulsing in his right hand and saw that there were bloody scratches and tears in his skin. Looking down at the bed, he saw that the white sheets were now stained with blood as well of a pool of crimson where his hand was likely laying on the bed. Drawing on the force to heal himself, he watched as the wounds knitted themselves up again, it was slower then going into a healing trance, but he didn’t dare go into any kind of meditative state so soon after what happened.

Looking over at the time, he realized it was 2200 hours, he’d been asleep for just an hour, even though it felt like he’d been asleep for much longer. He decided to send a series of holo messages, about his dream and the state of his body upon waking. Hoping to find out more about this; the first went to Mistress Telona, as she would be the most likely person to know the most about this. He also send one to his master; Frosty, his team leader Dranik and to a few of his older friends in the clan, including Achaean and to Brimstone, his friend and brother in training.

Finishing his last holo recording, he returned to his bed, the stains were now dry, so he leaned against the wall, next to his bed and went into a hibernation trance, in an attempt to maintain some control over his rest and decided he would see if any of the other cadets also had a similar experience.

Yridia II
Castle Tarentum
The Consul’s Private Quarters
19:45 local time

The two had not spoken in minutes, but remained staring into each others’ eyes for quite some time. The Krath Master had just elaborated in great detail about the destruction of the Crystal of Tears, an item of great power that the Krath and sorcerer had requested the aid of the Tarentae in creating it. The Shaevalian Consul had long since forgotten his untouched glass of wine. It had been a gift to the Shaevalian from this particular Krath, actually. Sith leaned back in his chair, folded his arms into the long sleeves of his robes, and stared into the face of his long-time friend.

“So, you released the trapped souls, and destroyed the Crystal to enhance the Du’San Boundary,” Bloodfyre finally said. “You know what a task that was to create. And to track down those particular souls.”

“I was there, my friend,” Master Caerick replied.

“Yes, I know,” the Consul continued, nodding his head and willing the thought away. “I’m sure I’ll have to inform the others of its destruction.”

“Yes,” Caerick said, sipping his wine once more. “But now, perhaps you would do me the honor of telling me why you asked me here. I am always happy to share your company, Brother, but we have skirted the issue long enough, don’t you think?”

The Consul of Tarentum stood from his chair and slowly paced to the opposite side of the room, to a large shelf adorned with various objects both morbid and wonderful. One of the items in particular was a human skull, carved with various runes and battle images. Sith traced his fingers along some of the runes as he stared into the eyes of the skull, almost as though delving into the soul of the being who had been destroyed in the skull’s creation.

“My Brother, you are closer than nearly anyone to Tarentum,” Sith began. “You are a friend and ally, and indeed, a brother to some of us. You have shared in some of our most secret rites, and trained with us, though no others have ever been allowed. And you still have the gift of the Oracle. And this is the reason I have asked you here.”

Sith turned to the Krath Master completely, and regarded him for another long moment before continuing.

“Dreams have been filtering through this Clan,” Bloodfyre continued, “and they are dreams that we cannot interpret. At least, not yet. Death surrounds us, and not just in the usual manner. The past comes back to haunt us, and we are met by a challenge we have created, and yet, it is no longer of our creation, or under our control.”


* * * * *


The dreams continued to filter through and infect members of the Clan at random. Some members who were particularly gifted with foresight and precognitive abilities were especially tormented by their dreams. There were some who had even been “attacked” through the Force, but no one could tell who had been their attacker. In some cases, it seemed that the victim was the attacker as well, as though certain members had attacked themselves. It was somewhat unsettling. The only common factor between every incident was the dreams. Something was reaching out to Tarentum.


* * * * *


Yridia IX
Mystics Asylum
R&D Lab
14:00 local time

“So, have you been noticing… a sort of strange atmosphere around here lately?”

Irdek Fol looked up from his work, and smirked slightly at his partner and sister, Illyana. He shook his head and went back to his project, letting her know full-well with his continued smirk that her question was rather amusing, considering their surroundings.

“I’m sure I have no idea what you mean, sis,” Irdek replied.

“Well, no,” Illyana said, standing from her seat on the other side of the great stone table that served as their workspace, and walked over to her brother’s side. “I know this place can be strange. But lately, it’s like there’s cold fingers on my neck, but nothing when I look back. I’m used to this place. But it’s like those first few weeks all over again. And…”

“…and what?”

“I’m… having trouble sleeping again,” Illyana finally said.

Before the two could continue their conversation any further, a knock came to the lab door just before opening. Sgt. Reinhardt came in just a step or two, standing at attention only for a minute before addressing the siblings without waiting for a word of welcome.

“The two of you are to proceed at once to Dr. Steiner’s office,” the sergeant said. The siblings nodded, and the sergeant left just as quickly as he had come. Illyana glanced at her brother, who shrugged his shoulders. It was always hard to say what the good doctor wanted, but, since he was one of the chief administrators of the Asylum, whatever the doctor ordered, the doctor got.

"These dreams..." Trevarus said carefully, "You have no idea of their import?"

"None, whatsoever." Bloodfyre responded.

"I see... perhaps I will spend some time here, and see what comes to me. As it stands... you are surrounded by a riddle."

"What?"

"There's an answer... you merely have to look for the question." Trevarus replied. The Master closed his eyes, feeling out the slow pulse of emotion, of thought, and interaction. The Void was calling to him, yet its voice was slow, weak. Pulsing of water, passions, something out of a deep black.

"The Ocean's currents have shifted. Is this normal for your world?"

"It is unusual, but not unheard of." Said Bloodfyre, studying the cold features of his companion carefully.

"Well, the answer you seek is water. Life from water, death from life. You study the mysteries of Death, perhaps it is time for you to seek an answer at the origin of Death."

"Your riddles are frustrating, Trev."

The Krath smiled. "Yes, but every enigma, is in fact a riddle. Lady Morrigan visited me, before I left the Antei System."

"Oh? Whatever for?"

"She too, had questions. I provided the appropriate answers... but she left me with many more questions, as always. Importantly, she said I would return to Kalekka Tower."

"At this juncture, that seems quite impossible, my friend."

"Indeed it does. Yet the Shroud still screams its fury, I do not believe the Far Outsiders will make much headway through it."

"Still, would you accompany me to the lower levels? Perhaps we can investigate your interest in the deep currents."

"Lead the way, Sith." Trevarus said.

Yridia II
Castle Tarentum
Walkway to the South-East Tower
20:33 Local Time

It was dark. Or at least much darker than it should have been at this time of day, fore the clouds of the raging storm over head had robbed the day of its natural beauty as it’s sun withdrew its warm embrace for another day. But even though the sunset had been concealed from view, the combination of endless flashes of lightning mixed with the crashing waves of an unsettling sea made for a pleasurable experience that only those who lived for the beauty of conflicts could see. As the seas threw their might through salty and larger than normal waves against the strong walls of the walkway between the main complex and the South East Tower and the flashes of lightning lite the dark watery world far passed them, a young man stood midway through the tunnel lost in his thoughts as he watched the world’s futile assault against the Castle Tarentum walls.

It had gotten late quick for him, as he had been staring endlessly upon the fierce conflicts for hours waiting. At times he would adjust his position here to rid himself of an uncomfortable cramp in his body, but he never dared to give up and leave, nor did he impatiently proceed down the hall to the tower where what he desired was. Fore he had been summoned here, as he was every time, so that he could meet with his master without disturbing the other summits. This was done daily, at various times that differed from day to day so that the pair could work this tutelage into their schedules for each was busy performing different roles around the complex. But it had never been this late before, usually the Protector was left the time after dinner to finish his days work and proceed with escaping from the boredom of this constant state between war and peace. But as the young Obelisk Raiju was busy in his mind wondering what the summoning could be about, he completely missed the entering presence of the Tridens Aedile.

“I heard from Karel that you missed your combat classes today.” The calm voice of Welshman came over the Protector’s shoulders. “Strange that an Obelisk like you would miss the chance to continue mastering you combat skills.”

“Perhaps I feel that I have already mastered them and have moved on to something new to challenge myself with.” Raiju retorted but failed to turn to face the Warlord and instead felt the Sith move beside him to look out upon the raging waves.

“Is that why you were in the pilot simulators today?” The Equite questioned, this time not looking at the Obelisk.

“No, that was yesterday and I was doing that so I could actually leave this place when I want to; whoever designed this castle was not being practical.” Raiju said with a sigh. “I skipped the training session today because I was doing some research. I have always excelled at combat and applying the force to its forms, but I have yet to experience its abilities outside the realm of combat. So I wanted to find out what else was there and why I hadn‘t experience it yet.”

“And by this, I get that you’re referring to the dreams that others have been experiencing?” Welshman asked, this time turning in the process.

“Jedi don’t dream.” Raiju retorted, returning the Sith’s look. “But you’re right. I have yet to see visions like the others. And it’s worried me, it seems like every journeymen as already seen something, or at least says they have. I even went to a Krath ritual today to see why they are so connected with the force, that’s why I had to skip the session.”

“What did you learn?”

“That those purple bathrobe wearing monkeys do nothing but hoot and holler while dancing around like madmen.” The Obelisk joked, earning himself some laughter from the Equite. “Besides that, they seem to link its somehow connected with the rising tides; which means its somehow related to the moons given their control over the oceans.”

“The Krath have realized this?”

“No, I’m merely stating physics. If there’s something wrong with the tides, then its connected to the moons; but that’s to say if there’s even something wrong with the tides. Personally, I haven’t noticed a different but I’ve only been here a month. And how they connected it to the visions I have no idea, you would have to ask them.”

The Sith merely nodded to this, obviously lost in his thoughts. It was long before they spoke again, this time it was Raiju who broke the silence. “Was it only skipping the sessions that you summoned me for, Master?”

“No.” Welshman answered as he tried to collect himself, but the look of concern on his face was still visible. “I came to tell you that I was going to be leaving for a bit and that this was going to effect our tutelage. Unfortunately, I will be unable to continue it and given our history together I think its best for you that you find someone with more time to dedicate to keeping you in order.”

“I’ve spoken with some of the fellow Corsairs about this, and if you would be interested in continuing over our families guidance then I can arrange that.” A quick nod from the Obelisk allowed the Sith to continue. “Very well, I have already spoken to my apprentice Adien. He is more than capable in taking over my tutelage. You should probably seek him out tonight before it becomes to late so he can keep this in mind tomorrow when he figures out his schedule.”

Another quick nod from the Protector let the conversation continue to its end. As the two exchange goodbyes and best wishes before departing, there was an undeniable awkwardness between the two. Hopefully in time it would dissipate but for now Raiju proceed on his final task for Master Welshman.

The Arcanum sat in orbit over an unnamed gas giant. A rich royal blue in color, the planet possessed a fascinating double ring with the rings crossing over the north and south poles of the planet. Were he a scientist, Anshar would have loved to have stayed to study the planet. But, he was a Headmaster and a rather uneasy one at that. Driven from Lyspair, the Shadow Academy now jumped continuously through space, with but a tiny handful knowing where the ship was at all times. Beyond eyesight, and virtually invisible to sensors, the two Shadow Academy Agave class picket cruisers, the Vespera and the Azura, patrolled. The galaxy was a dangerous place, even for a ship as powerful as the Arcanum.

Some whispered that Anshar was paranoid even before the Yuuzhan Vong invasion and that the paranoia had only cemented itself in his mind. If it was paranoia, and Anshar considered himself pragmatic, the indisputable fact remained that he had been proven correct. As the old saying went, the great thing about being paranoid is that you only need to be right once to make it all worthwhile.

“Headmaster,” said Dac Pola, a loyal servant of the Shadow Academy and a jack of many trades, “the Vespera is reporting an incoming shuttle. Its identity is confirmed as Lyceum Two. Three new recruits are on board.”

“Very well,” replied Anshar. “Guide them in and make another jump. I will be in my quarters.”

* * *

Anshar sat calmly in his chambers, thinking. It was rare for Anshar to sit and think, as he grown accustomed on both Yridia II and Lyspair to stand and watch the storms, letting his mind go. But, a starship made this impossible, especially when said starship was constantly jumping in hyperspace. Still, one month had gone by since Lyspair had been evacuated. Things were running fairly smoothly and, indeed, some old habits were appearing. Many new students falsely believed that they had found the Shadow Academy on their own or through the inane chatter of their “informants” or the person next to them in the cantina who was just openly chatting about a secret society.
No, the Shadow Academy was a myth even in the underworld. Those that knew of its existence as fact kept their mouths shut for fear of what might be done to them. It was, Anshar reflected, much in the way that Tarentum ran the Yridia system. Anshar’s thoughts drifted to the clan. He had not been back in system for some time and Dranik, his student and friend, had left the praetor position to assist the clan. Standing up, Anshar decided to take a leave from the Shadow Academy for a bit. He would return to the clan that had become his home and find a storm to watch.

The starlit darkness of night slowly melted into the reds and pinks of dawn. At least, in one of the meditation rooms located in Gladius it did. This room was a special place built laboriously by one of the Houses past Quaestors. It was a place to get away from the sterile rock and reprocessed air of the asteroid base. Upon entering through the wooden doors the visitor is greeted by a positive flow of fresh air filtered not only by separate air filters but also by the plant life within. A gentle lawn spreads out before the doorway, offering soft grass for several people to sit comfortably on. Towards the back of the room a bubbling stream of fresh water flows, nourishing the trees that lined the back wall. A bench sits along the edge of the water and upon that bench sat the woman who had spent so many years building this oasis. The lighting above had taken her nearly a year to complete and was composed of thousands of tiny lights synchronized to simulate night, day, dawn, dusk, and the stars. If it were not for the exposed rock walls, one would swear they were in a garden on a terrestrial planet. It was almost exactly how Telona had wanted this room to be.

It was here that she spent her nights, trying to induce her nagging vision so she could contemplate it while she had some quiet time. This vision had occupied her mind for a while now and yet she could not remember the details. It was important to know all the details for they would be clues to what she was seeing. It seemed, however, that her visions would never come when she wanted them. They always invaded her mind while she was trying to work. The other day while she was teaching a class she had blanked out mid sentence. A few days before then she had seen it nearly all day, only getting breaks when her physical body demanded food and water. It was maddening to the red haired woman. It also left her sleepless and the effects showed not only on her face but also in her temper.

Just yesterday she had stopped herself before she lopped the head off a Novice she was training because he had gotten in a lucky jab. She had also yelled considerably at the kitchen staff for forgetting to not cook her meat at dinner. She had smacked an Acolyte, lashed out at Kromtal, and her reaction to the renaming of the Keepers of the Night had lead to the need to replace her communications console. She had been trying though to get some sleep without the dreams. She had tried to place herself into a hibernate state with no success, tried drugging her body, and even tried some homemade solution to sleeplessness. Nothing seemed to work. The Force just would not allow her to rest.

The sound of feet shuffling across the grass caught Telona’s attention. Her one undead servant came towards her carrying her datapad as it always did in the mornings. It had once been a male human Apprentice who had dared to try defiling her oasis. The hole in its forehead attested to the woman’s quick fury and the fact his body now served her was proof that she could be very cruel. She took the datapad and sent it off to fetch her some breakfast from the mess hall. She noted that she had several messages screaming for her attention. As the light increased in the oasis, she felt a headache coming on. There were more Apprentices coming in, another class on Gladius history to give, a holo message from Levathan, someone asking her for specialized training, and a whole list of other requests that needed her answer. She flipped the datapad off and stared at her reflection.

“This is it. I am at my limit. No sleep, no time, tormented by the Force. All I see is bones and fire. Is it my death I see or is it something else? I can’t remember. What place was that? Why were there so many bones and bodies? Why can I get no answers? Others are seeing things too. Is there an infection spreading?” Telona sighed. “Here I am, talking to my own reflection and getting the same answers I have gotten from others. Nothing. Perhaps I am just going mad. Perhaps I am touching the madness that eats away at the Grand Masters. Can I somehow spread this madness to others? Maybe that’s why they are seeing things. Should I, perhaps, leave?”

Telona stood up from the bench as her servant shuffled in carrying a tray of food. Behind it was Elols, a new member of Gladius, coming in to ask her a question. She sighed as she began another busy day. She would not get time to listen to what Levathan had to say but if she had she would have never answered. She could not think of any other visions besides the one that tormented her. Her tired mind just could not take anymore.

The visions were plagueing Jason Hunter as well. He knew he wasn't the only one being disturbed by them, for he could sense the unease that seeped into the Force, and it originated on Yridia and the Sword's Sheath.

He, however, was isolated. Locked away in the confines of a decripit, old frieghter that was currently orbiting lazily around the asteroid that served as the home of House Gladius. This seperaton was of his own creation, though. Forced isolation, to force himself to meditate and come to terms with the turns his life was taking. Every day that passed, he felt more alienated in Tarentum, and the Brotherhood as a whole. His formerly trim and fit physique was beginning to soften and bloat, and his powers in the Force were begining to atrophy, as well.

Jason Hunter, Archpriest of the Order of the Krath, was becoming a mere shadow of his former self. He spent most his days lately, just wandering aimlessly about the ship, watching the universe and the Clan grind out the days without him. And in the month since the fight with the Vong, his depression had only deepened.

He still felt that arm, though. Caught himself reaching out to grab something with a left hand that was no longer attached to his body. Indeed, over half that entire arm was gone, severed the serpentine amphistaff of a Yuuzhan Vong warrior. Kriff, that had hurt, the Corellian thought, looking down at the gnurled, scarred stump. He knew that had should have gotten a prosthetic for it by now, but he wanted to teach himself a lesson...a cruel and self-destructive one, yes, but one he'd remember. He wouldn't let himself be caught offguard and outmatched like that again.

...never again...

Then his mind wandered, and the vision returned again. Each time it showed itself to him, Jason was able to pick out some new, small detail about. Over the past few days, he had been piecing the puzzle together, and, finally, had a clearer image of the figure that liked to attack him.

The Force was shifting, and it was time that Jason did the same. Taking one last look out the cockpit viewscreen at the slowly rotating points of stars, he reached out for the comm board and dialed in the code to raise the Sheath's ATC.

"Next order of business...get a new arm."

Itaana Asteroid Belt
The Swords Sheath
Keepers of the Night Base of Operations
Holo Simulator
1200 Local Time

Brimstone was back in the holo simulator where the attack happened. After Master Stormfyld had ridiculed the chiss, he felt that he needed to find out why he was attacked. What better way to find out than to go to the location of the attack.

Brimstone was supposed to meet up with Dranik as ordered, but he felt compelled to figure out the mystery if his attacker. Apparently, others are also getting visions and dreams of attacks, but none to the severity of physical manifestations that Brimstone had gone through. He nearly died twice last night to them. Brimstone wasn't going to let it happen a third time.

Master Frosty arrived back to the chamber. Surprise was on his face to see his apprentice there.

"I see you have taken a stance to find your attacker"

"Yes Master. I Don't see why I am so far the only one to be attacked. And for the life of me, I can't remember the dreams fully, like my mind was wiped."

"Well when I probed your mind, the lone figure told you Exile. Do you still have resentment and feelings about your time in the Chiss Ascendency when they exiled you?"

"Yes master, those will always be with me and I have come to terms with them. But to have a person invade my mind, even when I was meditating, is what the puzzling part."

"Well, the elders are looking into the mysteries of these visions. Some are on barren lands, and some are in places destroyed by asteroids. I don't understand them fully myself, but believe me my apprentice, the mysteries will be solved."

Brimstone continued to focus on the dark energies in the room, somewhat ignoring his masters presence.

"Brimstone, why don't you get your mind off of this and go see Dranik, your team leader, and see if he can keep you busy. I will look further into your visions for you and we will figure out what they encompass into your fears of exilement."

"Yes master. I think I do need to take a break."

Brimstone bowed to his master and left. Frosty Romanae watched his apprentice leave and the doors close behind him. He knew there was work to do with the chiss, but he could tell the darkside was at his apprentice's beck and call. He had worked with other apprentices before the chiss, but not many had the same connection to the force that was as strong as Brimstone's was. There was lots of anger and emotion that the jedi hunter needed to learn to tap into and use it to his advantage instead of letting him control him.

Frosty knelt down and meditated on the room floor.

As Anshar’s ship exited hyperspace, he was at once struck at how odd the Yridia system felt. It was odd to even “feel” the system, but something had changed and Anshar could sense it. Anshar tapped a few keys to send his personal transponder signal, a sign for Tarentum customs to leave his ship alone, before he reached out with the Force. Years of practice had honed Anshar’s skills and he could touch the minds of everyone in the system with ease. He felt many disturbances: Telona’s frustration, Jason’s reluctant decision, the military cadet’s exhaustion, Dranik’s distrust and cautiousness, and even the twisted mind of Shan Long amongst the others.

The fact that Trevarus/Shan Long was present in the Yridia system only confirmed Anshar’s feelings that something was amiss. It had been about six years since anything truly drastic had happened within the clan; for the past six years, Tarentum, whether by choice or fate, had been focused on events outside the clan. Perhaps, Anshar thought, it was merely time for the clan to focus on itself. Letting the thoughts go for the time being, Anshar turned towards the Sword’s Sheath. His own search for answers would start there as he had the distinct feeling that the events from six years ago were returning. If anything was truly wrong in Tarentum on the deepest levels, to the point where it affected the individual clan members, Anshar knew it had to involve necromancy. Besides, the feeling he could sense across the clan felt very familiar to him and an involuntary shudder raced down his back.

* * *

The docking in the Sword’s Sheath was smooth and painless, but Anshar expected nothing less from Gladius. It wasn’t that he was a former quaestor of the house or consul of the clan, or even that he was the Headmaster. Others in the clan had driven fear into the journeymen and underlings of the clan: failure, or perceived disrespect, was grounds for death. Anshar might never in his life kill on of them, but the stigma that he could and would was sufficient. As he left the hanger, he felt a massive release of tension from the workers. He was sure that one of the workers would have notified Kromtal of Anshar’s arrival, even though Anshar expected no special treatment.

Anshar sought out Dranik in the battleteam leader’s office. Anshar did not knock or otherwise signal his arrival, but he did not need to. Dranik was Anshar’s friend and student and had served as an ad-hoc advisor, security commander, magistrate, and praetor for Anshar over the years. “You look like hell,” commented Anshar.
“Yeah, I feel like it, too,” said Dranik. “What brings you back here?”
“I felt like watching a storm,” said Anshar. “Though, it seems like there might be a different storm brewing in the clan.”
“You’ve been getting the visions, too?” asked Dranik.
“Visions?” questioned Anshar. “What are you talking about?”
“Consider yourself lucky,” said Dranik. “Numerous members of the clan are having visions of something. Strange things have started happening, too.”
“It feels like six years ago to me,” said Anshar. “I trust I don’t have to remind you about that.” Dranik shook his head. He needed no reminder about almost getting killed numerous times, Anshar’s involvement in the fight against Master Zero and Master Shade, and, of course, the unleashed draugr that had stalked the halls of the Sword’s Sheath and started the whole damn mess. Anshar still had yet to repay those responsible back in any kind.

Instead he had let things slip, taking up the mantle of Proconsul, Consul, and Tarentae. He remained with the clan that nearly killed him, and others, all for the sake of an experiment. It seemed awfully convenient that Sith was once again Consul, just as he had been the first time around.

“Do you really think we’re going to go through that mess again?” asked Dranik.
“No, though related, this is different than last time. For one, no one had any visions last time, at least not as you describe,” said Anshar after thinking about it. “We have some knowledge this time; last time we were ignorant of what the Keepers were doing. We may always be ignorant of a great many things about them, but we know they exist this time. Besides, if most everyone in this clan is being affected , there has to be something far larger at work than some necromantic experiments.”

"Then we must truly be on our guard," said Dranik. "And what if the Keepers are behind it? What if Sith knows?"
"The Keepers are beyond my reach," said Anshar. "Their power is beyond even me. As for Sith, if he is even the slightest bit aware of what is going on, if he plunges us blind into something again, I will make sure he pays dearly for it." Dranik did not reply. He knew Anshar considered Sith a friend, for the most part, but he harbored some very hard feelings for the events of six years ago. Dranik couldn't blame him. He harbored the very same feelings.

Yridia II
Castle Tarentum
Late Night


Adien walked threw the castle halls heading back to his quarters after meditated on both his students and the troubling ordeals they have been going though of late. Heavy on his mind he did not do much beyond his normal working in the rollmasters office and was distracted there as well all day he too felt like every now and then something was wrong but shrugged it off.

It was rare he didn’t spend time in the hanger area but his mind wasn’t in it today he just wanted to to rest and start to piece together how to help lighten the load for the others who was getting far worse tells that things was wrong than him.

Adien continued to walk though the castle and was nearly where quarters were when in a raspy voice that seemed distant but still there “I feel death on your soul Adien.” In addition, without a single though Adien ignited his saber and turned around.

Angered as well as distrubed his first thought it was a joke, but there was nothing there not even a single hint of a passer by in the hall the quiet disturbed his and disengaged his saber and keep walking keeping it in hand. Disturbed by what he heard and he still felt a presence but nothing he could pin point or even put shape to. Never felting any shape to this he knew it was far too late to consult Welshman or Bloodfyre until morning continued to his quarter hoping sleep would aid in his troubles..

Tarentum Military Academy
Platform Aegis
0700

Deatharoc barely got any sleep last night after he had the horrifying dream. When he asked his master to talk about these dreams, he immediately accepted. The Jedi Hunter was surprised at how graciouslly his master accepted his request and told him to meet him in his quarters at the morning. Master Oberst told Deatharoc that he would give him special permission to miss the morning, and if necessary, the afternoon exercises and drills. The Jedi Hunter was most grateful of his master's willingness to help.

As he was about to leave his quarters and go to his master's quarters, Deatharoc's holoprojector started to beep. He opened it, curious of who sent the holographic transmission. It was his fellow battleteam member Zontron. The Jedi Hunter listened to what Zontron was saying.

"Hey Deatharoc. Hope your having fun in the academy."

The Jedi Hunter nodded and smiled.

"I am."

"Great. Anyway, I've got great news. Kazarelth has been promoted to Dark Jedi Knight!"

Deatharoc's smile got even bigger, but he was not surprised by the news. Battleteam Leader Kazarelth has been a valuable asset to the Clan and Deatharoc believed that it was about time the Battleteam leader was promoted.

"That's great news. I have to go now Zontron. It was good talking to you. Deatharoc out."

The hologram nodded and faded away. Deatharoc was about to tell Zontron about the dreams but realized that his fellow journeyman could do little to help him. Then Deatharoc left his quarters to go to his master's.

Tarentum Military Academy
Platform Aegis
Marshal Oberst's private Quarters
0720

When Deatharoc entered the room, a voice from behind a tall armchair firmly said,

"You're late apprentice."

Deatharoc had lost track of time while speaking to Zontron and practically sprinted half-way towards his master's quarters.

"I apologize master. I have no excuese."

The armchair turned and his master's expression was stern.

"See to it that it doesn't happen again."

Deatharoc nodded before his master spoke again.

"Now tell me of these dreams you've been having."

Yridia II
Castle Tarentum
A walkway.
23:34 local time

“Adien?” Kazarelth’s soft voice echoed equally gently in the corridor. Adien slowly turned around and faced the Omwati’s teal eyes.
“Kaz?” The Warrior smiled faintly. His bluish-grey eyes looked like the sky after a cloudburst. They were dim and murky, and shined off the Knight’s teal iris. Kazarelth was clutching his lightsaber grimly. Adien’s searching eyes came to a halt when he noticed this.
“Anything bothering you?” he asked.
“Hmm? Travel time-lag.” Kazarelth lied and quickly lowered the hilt.
They looked at each other questioningly for a few minutes and parted ways. Kazarelth’s slow and soundless footsteps barely reverberating through the castle’s walls, as he proceeded towards the lookout point.

The “lookout point” was the highest point of the Castle that could be accessed by anyone. It lay above the ocean’s inky and fiery cover. Kazarelth took his time to walk to it. His mind was disturbed, and he knew he was not alone in this. He had just met the Corsair, whose eyes itself spoke volumes about his distress.
The waters were lashing across the transparisteel windows of the lookout point ferociously. The surf looked like a pack of bloodthirsty hounds pouncing, barking and biting viciously against the walls of Tridens’ house.
Kazarelth had come here to meditate, as instructed by his master. His eyes followed the rhythmic beating of the breakers on the borders of the castle. He calmly focussed on nothingness for a few minutes before opening his eyes. He could not take his eyes off the sky or the sea.
The Krath looked out in reverence as the waves danced to the tunes of the two satellites of the ocean world. He looked at the tidally locked Koros, now at its zenith in the jet sky. Its dark, cold side facing the planet arrogantly, as it heaved the waters towards itself. The tides created by Koros were wild.
Though unusual, the bizarre high tide at this time of the year was not unknown to Kazarelth. What he did not know was why Koros was off-limits to the younger Dark Jedi.
He had asked his master countless times, but he never received a concrete answer. The Knight decided that Saitou might not know the real reason. An unreasonable accusation, the Omwati knew. Nevertheless, he decided to ask his Consul or Proconsul. If he did meet them.

He wandered around aimlessly before his mind was enslaved to sleep, and he staggered back to his room.

Bridge
ISD Tar-277-01
Yridia


Space wasn’t nearly as black or as inky as some Core Romanticists would have you believe it to be. A better metaphor for space would be that it was a great emptiness. It was just an expanse of empty space, if you will. It wasn’t dark, there was too much light out there for those with eyes. It wasn’t all encompassing, because there was nothing there to surround you. It was, however, cold. Which is ironic if you think about it. The empty vacuum would exert such pressure without proper precautions that an object would heat up at various rates – the insides heating up to billions of times greater than the surface temperature, which in turn would be somewhere between the heat of a lava flow and the surface of a yellow star. Depending on who you believed.

Oberst’s wolfish grin reflected back at him from the thick armored viewports of the ISD. Chucking a few choice fellows out the airlock and taking bets on how long until their center was medium rare, medium well and well done. Maybe more than a few. Oberst scowled once more, mistakes made had cost him competent officers. Stupid gambles had cost him well trained troops. The recent conflict had cost the Brotherhood dearly, and it was still reeling. For all the talk of recovery and being able to hold out, the loss of the throne world was still a significant loss. New ships would not make up for lost crew and lost men. The other members of the Brotherhood might see the rank and file as expendable, but there was a point to their expendability. How much time was invested in their men and officers? How much money? Not to mention just how cohesive a force becomes the more they work together. No. The men were not that expendable. They had their uses, and their primary use was keeping Oberst’s war machine running smoothly.

Now, he had to see to training new officers. Breaking down candidates until they were like clay and forming them into something much more useful than they were now. Already a new class was underway. And it was expensive. It cost him a competent tactician on the line in the form of his chief Naval Commander – Kessian Armus. Now, Armus would be in charge of a new group of officer candidates, and now he had to tap someone new officer to take operational command of the Fleet. Oberst scowled as he stared out into space. His thoughts ran through a list of officers capable of taking command of the fleet. Welshman, Oberst thought to himself cautiously.

Now, he had to deal with new ships. While much improved over the old ships the Brotherhood had fielded against the Vong, new ships took getting used to. New ships meant crews had to acclimate themselves. While the layouts and controls were largely modular, ships reacted differently. Even the same ships in a series had their own quirks. New ships meant redeploying their forces. No longer would Tarentum’s ships be split into two Task Forces, instead they would be constituted as one, under one Task Force Commander.

As Oberst stared into space, he ran through his surviving officers, contemplating which ones should take command of the new ships, the new divisions. Kazarelth, definitely. A promotion to Lt. Commander and a commission for one of the new Belarus-class Cruisers. Kromtal Stormfyld and Dranik would take the other two Belarus. Merlance would take the Bothan-class Cruiser. The Majestic and the Imperial-class he was currently aboard would also need commanders. There was also the matter of a new CAG, DCAG and squadron commanders.

Turning on a heel, Oberst stalked back to the Captain’s Ready Room, currently serving as his field office. New commissions needed to be signed. New commands to be doled out. And a bill of goods for the Dark Council to prepare.

* * * * * *

Yridia IX
Mystics Asylum
Operating Theater 5

“Doctor,” the surgical resident started, “will you take a look at this? There are more cysts on the spine.”

Dr. Steiner stepped forward, taking the retractors from the resident and stared, “Eenteresting. You don’t normally zee bo-at type of zists, ja? Araknid zists are rarely bo-at ekstradooral und eentradooral.” Steiner pulled forceps from the surgical tray. “Vee need a zample of zis to be sent to zee lab, ja?” Retrieving his sample, he dropped the forceps and the sample into the pan offered by one of the nurses.

Steiner rolled his eyes as a voice came over the intercom, “That’s awesome, Herr Dok-Torr,” the voice dripped with bored sarcasm, “but can I have my patient back now? It took a lot of time to retrieve.” Sirrus banged on the window looking down into the theater for emphasis.

Steiner was sure that the Marshal was punishing him. Why else would Oberst have assigned Sirrus to be the facility director. Closing his eyes briefly, Steiner looked up only to be struck dumbfounded. The Mad Krath had come down to the surgical theater in a bright green bathrobe, with a plastic shower cap on his head. “Juzt vhere did you get zis…patient, Doctor?”

“Koros.”

Dranik sat quietly at his desk for a long moment, thinking over the conversation that he had just had with his Master, Anshar. It was true that they had a lot of the same feelings about the incident six years ago. It had after all, almost cost him his life and others their lives. The Keepers and Master Zero had pulled the strings of the clan like they were nothing more than puppets and to head it all off, Sith and Oberst had known of it and even helped them do it. Anshar had long left Dranik’s office to seek his old room, or so he had told Dranik. Dranik however, knew the Headmaster much better than that and knew in the back of his mind that he was most likely seeking out Telona or getting read to head to the Castle to find Sith.

After an hour or more of reflection on the conversation Dranik lay his head back quietly and just looked up at the ceiling of his office, it wasn’t long however, before the Prelate feel asleep in his chair.

***

Itaana Asteroid Belt
The Sword’s Sheath
Six years ago.

Dranik looked quietly about the meeting room he was sitting in, at the familiar faces around him. Anshar, Jason, Telona, Camile, Ma’arkhan, Spears, and other Dark Jedi all sat about listening to Anshar talk. Dranik smiled just a little, happy to be surrounded by this group of people. This didn’t last long however as the news was given and the group all rushed off to do their tasks.

Dranik then found himself walking along with halls of Gladius with a woman by the name of Alexi. Dranik glanced about, unsure for a moment how he went from chatting with Anshar about the attempt on the woman’s life to being here in the hallway with her. But almost instantly upon realizing that he was there, Dranik had his katana drawn and at the ready as they walked towards the shuttle bay meeting up with Telona and Camile. “Other members of Gladius are on their way to the shuttles, I have given the pilots direct orders to take them to Castle Tarentum.” Telona said as she looked at Dranik. Dranik nodded and then spoke softly “Good, I will be getting Alexi on the first shuttle out of here and then staying behind to coordinate everyone’s evacuation and to seal and secure the hanger as well.” Telona nods quietly as she then speaks, handing Dranik a portable comm. unit “I will use that to keep in touch with you, Camile and myself are going to search for other members of the House, I fear that if we sound the alarm it will alert the attacker to what we are doing, if it has not figured that out already.” With this said, Telona and Camile both walked off as Dranik and Alexi continued to the main shuttle bay.

After, what felt like hours in the current situation, Dranik watched as the last shuttle left the base and the others of the group staying behind arrived. After a short conversation Dranik watched them leave the shuttle bay before he went to work at securing the bay itself. Dranik placed a few remote guns outside of the main shuttle bay door and sealed the room. It was, at the time though, unknown to Dranik that the creature had already gotten into the room and was standing in the shadows watching Dranik. Dranik turned around for a moment and looked about. Dranik suddenly started to move backwards as the creature lunged forward. A strong attack was sent into Dranik’s side and he was slammed back against the wall. Before the creature could attack again Dranik drew his blaster and blindly fired shots down the hall way, knowing that he had well missed and that the creature was already gone. Dranik turned then to use the comm. to warn the others of his encounter, not noticing the large slashes left in the armor he wore.

***

Itaana Asteroid Belt
The Sword’s Sheath
Keepers of the Night Operations Center
Present Day.

Dranik awoke with a start and looked about the room, his blaster was already in his right hand as he stood quickly, knocking the chair to his desk over. Within a second his left hand went to his side to feel about, and felt the torn slashes in his robes but no real damage done. “I don’t get it…I dream of the past while the others dream of the future. Something strange has to be going on.” Dranik said and looked up at the office door, to see Anshar’s figure standing in it. “I know, I felt your distress and used the force to spy on you. Any idea why you would relive those moments?” Dranik quietly shook his head “No Anshar I don’t, I mean, half of the people involved in that incident are not around any longer. You don’t think that Master Zero and the keepers are going to be sending another creature to finish killing those they don’t deem worthy off do you?” Dranik asked, puzzled. “No, I don’t. But I have a feeling that they may somehow be involved again. We should leave the Sword’s Sheath and head to the Castle and see if we can find Sith.” Anshar said and started to walk out of the room, not waiting for Dranik to follow because he knew the Prelate would be quickly behind.


(Dream events taken, with some rewriting from In the Shadows pt1: http://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/forum/i...p?showtopic=844 )

Itaana Asteroid Belt
The Sword’s Sheath

“You’re not moving so bad anymore,” said Dranik as he caught up with Anshar.
“I’m getting used to the prosthetic,” said Anshar, referring to his left knee. During the Yuuzhan Vong attack on the Brotherhood’s fleet, Anshar had been injured by the explosions of the Mnemosyne, including a steel rod being driven through his knee. Dranik did not press the subject. Rounding a corner, they encountered Brimstone.

“Master Anshar,” he said, bowing before turning to face Dranik. “Sir, Master Frosty instructed me to find you.”
“What for?” asked Dranik. Tau had its meetings, its scheduled activities, and even unscheduled activities, but he had not summoned the team.
“All he said was that you could keep me busy.” Dranik glanced at Anshar.
“I’m about to leave for Yridia II myself,” said Dranik.
“How about I come with you?” asked Brimstone.
“I’m afraid not,” said Anshar. “However, I have something that may prove most beneficial. I want you to seek out as much information as you can about Koros, the Keepers, and the events of six years ago.”
“Yes, sir,” replied Brimstone. “I shall go to the library-”
“The answers will not be in any library,” said Anshar. “You must talk to those who were here at that time, even if you must travel, or get others involved to help you. Once you have found out everything you can, report back to me with your findings. This is serious, Hunter. Find the information from the proper sources. Do not rely on gossip or your own imagination.”
“What will I gain from this?” asked Brimstone. He was not questioning the instructions, but he wanted to know their value. This was not a common task for a Sith.
“Spoken like a true Sith,” said Anshar. “What you gain will be up to you, though if you complete this task to my satisfaction, I will share with you an important secret to Tarentum’s clan powers. Be warned, Hunter. The answers you seek will not always be easy to obtain and there will be danger.”
“I am not afraid,” said Brimstone. Anshar nodded and continued on his way, followed by Dranik.

Once they were out of eyesight and earshot, Dranik spoke: “What the hell was that? You hardly know anything about the Keepers, and yet you’re asking a Jedi Hunter to learn about them? Force, I hope he’s not foolish enough to try and travel to Koros. Assuming he even gets past the fleet, he’ll be torn apart once he gets on the surface.”
“I know,” said Anshar. “I didn’t tell him to travel to Koros, just to research it. If he’s stupid enough to go there after he learns about it, then he deserves whatever happens to him.”
“Fine then, what’s the big secret about the clan powers? It’s not like you use them.” It was true. Anshar abhorred dealing with necromancy and he did not practice it. He would not stop others from doing so, but he refused to participate himself. The dead should remain dead.
“I’ll think of something when the time comes. The important knowledge will come from what he can learn.” Dranik grimaced. Anshar had done the same thing to him many times during his training.
As they entered the hanger, Dranik saw a solid black CFR 156 Fast Courier.
“That your new ship?” asked Dranik. The ships were very rare and very expensive. It was not something that just anyone could get their hands on.
“Yes,” replied Anshar. “The Midnight Aria; sometimes you just have to upgrade.”
“Yeah, especially when your last ship is scrap metal floating through the Shroud.” Anshar just glared at Dranik.

***

Old Cestus Complex
Koros

The halls smelled of death and decay. The undead roamed the halls freely, feeding on whatever was left alive in the place, which wasn't much. At times, they even attacked and fed on each other, though this was rare. They didn't feed to eat, they fed to kill. And if one of their own was wounded or weak, they could sense it, and they would strike. Most of the undead were failed, would-be Dark Jedi who had been victims of an experiment gone awry. They had never known the true powers of darkness, but had become very capable beings of death. At one time, they had all had masters. But in the years since the Cestus Complex had been abandoned, something had changed. Even the few Draugr that roamed with the hordes of Aptrgangr were more than they ever had been. The genius of the creation of Tarentum's undead was that they were imbued with the Force just enough that they could adapt and grow mentally. They would never have complete sentience, but they would always learn and become even more lethal than they had been at creation. And now...

The undead inhabitants of Koros were like caged animals. They knew their masters had once been here to contain and control them, but they were no longer. Some of them felt as though their masters would return. And when they did, it would not be the pleasant reunion of a servant returning willingly to his master's servitude. The undead of Koros would never again be willing minions.

Yridia System.
The Midnight Aria
Around Yridia IV.


“—And all this has happened. One has gone to the Castle in search of answers too, you say?”
“Yes. Although I doubt he will get much answers there. I’ve heard it’s been happening there too. An unseen and odd menagerie of violent dreams, Anshar. That Chiss couldn’t handle it. His control over the Force went haywire, and…”
“Yes, I know.” Anshar sighed.
He was still searching for some logic to guide him to the answer of all the queries that kept popping up. He and his old assistant were speeding through space in his new fast courier; cutting through the space around the only naturally habitable planet. Dranik watched as the small planet passed by at a leisurely pace, almost mocking the Tarentae’s mission.
It flew by, and so did the other planets of Tarentum’s home system. Anshar withstood the disturbances of the Tarenti with great strain. He could feel it pile up as the capital planet gradually magnified itself to them.

***

XQ4 Platform Aegis.
Yridia II orbit.
22:40 Yridia II time.

The officers in the communications’ room were preparing for the next shift. Lazy, bloodshot eyes were showing themselves at every available corner.
And one of them was focused on a screen which blinked with incredulous despair at being jolted from half a drowsing.
“Sir… uh… unidentified courier approachin--” the assistant officer slurred.
“What?” his superior bellowed. He took one look at the screen and said sternly, “CFR 156 Fast Courier, identify yourself. You shall be given five standard seconds to comply.”
The reply was calm and stern.
“Anshar Kahn Tarentae. And I want a craft to enter Castle Tarentum.”

He could see the glint of Koros wandering through the abyssal confines of Yridia II’s gravity well. The Dark Jedi Master wished They had never been created.

Taras, Yridia II
Yridian Parliament building


"Approved. Approved. Approved. " the Governor-General said with a nonchalant look as he flipped through the stack of papers on his desk one by one. After the third, he paused for a moment. "Mr. Adalas, are all of these forms requests for refuge?"

The elderly man hesitated a moment as he sorted through the lists on his datapad. "Yes sir, I believe they are."

Rekio let out a heavy sigh as he slumped into his chair. Yridia had already gotten a few million refugees from the Vong Invasion, with hundreds more coming in everyday. Many other systems had turned away the scared, helpless souls as they fled the extragalactic jihad fearing they would overwhelm their economies and send the government plunging into recession as they tried to support them. In Yridia, that was not the case.

It hadn't been very long ago, that as Prince, Rekio began the process of permanently colonizing Yridia III and Yridia IV, the only naturally habitable planets in the system with sufficient land to support large populations. Since then, those establishments had grown into 21 notable cities with dozens of minor towns and communities. These new immigrants would also be relocated to those planets and put to work.

The refugees had come in from everywhere from Dantooine to Ithor, and were everything from Rodians to Sullustans, Twi'leks to Bothans and everything in between. Some of them had talents that could be particularly useful to the faux Yridian Government. The few hundred Ithorians for example, could be extremely vital to attempting to terraform additional planets or moons. Mostly, they were communities that had done their best to stick together after their planets had been invaded; some were big enough to form new cities on their own. One such instance was Callavin, which was formed from a few thousand refuges from the planet Muunilinst.

Providing refuge was the easy part. Integrating the refugees into existing communities or establishing their own formal ones was the difficult part. They need proper identification, homes, work, and all manner of support ranging from health care to religious needs. And there were other things that demanded the Governor-General's attention as well.

"Mr. Adalas .." Rekio began, as he realized what time it was.

"I understand, sir." Dirik Adalas said compliantly as he bowed and made his way out the door. Dirik had been working as the chief aide of the Governor-General for some time now, but he was no fool. He knew not what mysterious affairs the younger man took part in, but he knew that was not privy to them. And he knew that they were dangerous.

Rekio swiveled his chair and stared out at the landscape painted by his window. It was a stark contrast from his offices on the Aegis, or his estates elsewhere in the system. Taras was a city of the sea and thus surrounded by the dynamic changes of the ocean. There was something about the ocean that Rekio particular admired. It did as it pleased, and would drown and crush anything that tried to stand in it way. Yes, that was the kind of freedom her could admire.

A familiar presence jarred him from his thoughts.

"Yes?" He queried the unseen guest.

The bookcase to his side slide open to reveal a figure dressed in shadows. Hidden passages where unnecessary in Taras, but they were so fun. The man stepped into the Governor-General's office and waited to be recognized.

Rekio turned to face the man, one Tej Mollek, the second-ranking member of Tarentum's Intelligence division.

"So .. What's up?" Corsair casually asked the Kiffar.

"Koros." Tej's reply was terse, as though the word itself was heavy with implications.

"Oh?" Rekio mused with sarcasm. "This sounds good ..."

Just told he made Aedile of Tridens Adien was still troubled about the events from the night before were did that voice come from kept echoing threw his mind, and he knew that with the reactions of Kazarelth. He was not alone and shrugged off the fact he knew the Omwati did not tell him the truth about being troubled but could not fault him due to he too feeling the same. Adien was getting that feeling from several members, and did not know how to deal with it himself much give advice on the matter.

His thoughts drift to that of Naboo and how he had not even attempted to go to his home world after his resurrection, although knew this was no time for regret or personal objectives. he had work to do and something deep down told him that something was about to happen and he was needed here in the Yridia system. Naboo was far down on the list of thought as he shrugged it off.

The Warrior also missed space he enjoyed being ship side he had became very accustomed to the spacer life from both being a pilot and as well a command officer in tarentum’s navy. The day passed by quickly as the Warrior got used to his new post, and as he left for the day, he made his daily journey up to the lookout tower. He was more than aware of the tidal changes that several Tarenti have been speaking as of late and the mesmerized feeling he got from the waves was if they were speaking to him without words.

Tarentum Military Academy
Platform Aegis
1500

Deatharoc had just finished his drill session with the rest if the cadets. He returned to his lessons earlier than expected because his meeting with his master was cut short because master Oberst was called away. However, before he left master Oberst gave him advice and said,

"There are two kinds of people. One person who sits around meditating for so long and looses focus like the arrogant Jedi of the Old Republic and the other reacts quickly and appropriately like the great Sith Lords. Don't be the first apprentice."

Deatharoc while in his free time and in between lessons researched all he could about dreams and what they could possibly mean. However, Deatharoc couldn't learn anything and went to class disappointed.

After class, the Jedi Hunter talked to a fellow cadet who asked him,

"Have you heard of the strange things happening to other Tarenti?"

Deatharoc was intruiged by this question and replied,

"No. What's going on?"

"Well, there are several members of Tarentum are having strange dreams and weird things are happening in Yridia linked to Koros. The undead, the old Cestus complex and the Yridian tides have gone wild."

Deatharoc was intruiged by what the cadet was telling him and said,

"Really? Tell me more of these strange events, my friend."

Hangar
Platform Aegis
Yridia II Orbit

Unlike the rest of his clan, or at least most of it, Anshar did not seem to be affected by the visions or dreams. He did, however, feel the effects of it, despite his best efforts to block it out. The Midnight Aria landed smoothly in the hanger of the Aegis with crews and droids scrambling out of the way while attempting to complete their tasks. As Anshar and Dranik descended down the ramp, they were met by a young but smartly dressed officer of the Tarentum military. Standing at full attention, he saluted. “Welcome to the Aegis,” he said. “We are running a final flight check on your designated transport now, sir. The tides have been acting a bit strange, so we’re double checking everything.”

“Very well,” said Anshar. Not much had changed on the Aegis since Anshar’s last visit, except perhaps the competence of the officer in charge of the hangar. The last one had been somewhat of an idiot, but the fool had been transferred to the Corsair just in time for the Yuuzhan Vong attack. Rumor had it he had been caught in between an elder and the Vong, but no one could confirm that. Anshar and Dranik followed the officer to one of the specially modified transports, capable of space and atmospheric flight as well as travel through the oceans of Yridia II. Anshar had to admit that, while slightly inconvenient, having Castle Tarentum’s hangars below the ocean’s surface made a lot of sense. If nothing else, it helped to restrict access to the castle and thus the clan as a whole.
“Everything checks out, sir,” said the officer after scanning a datapad that he received from one of the technicians. “Have a safe journey.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant,” said Dranik. The officer saluted again and returned to his normal duties.

Anshar and Dranik boarded the transport, both taking seats in the cockpit. The transport had room for up to ten people, but rarely did a full transport every leave to or from the castle. Anshar and Dranik each took a part of the pre-flight sequence. As Anshar entered the final command, he felt as if something was staring at him, boring into him. Looking up, he could see Yridia II through the shield enclosed hangar opening, but a whitish, almost totally transparent object hovered in front of the transport’s window. Suddenly, a face appeared in the object, that of a female human. It’s eyes locked with Anshar’s and ages seemed to pass before the face opened its mouth, shrieked something in a language Anshar could not understand, and it darted off at incredible speed, heading towards Koros.

“Anshar!” said Dranik, shaking Anshar out of the daze. “You ready?”
“Wh- Yeah, go. You fly us in,” replied Anshar as he leaned back and closed his eyes, his head now throbbing. Dranik watched his master and friend for a moment longer before lifting off. He knew Anshar well enough not to ask, but that Anshar would tell him when he felt like it.

‘What the hell was that thing?’ Anshar asked himself. It was not a dream and not a Force induced vision. That thing, whatever it was, had been real. As soon as this mess got cleared up, he would head to his private estate for some real vacation. Perhaps it had been too long since he had taken some time off.

* * *
Yridia IX
Mystics Asylum
R&D Lab

Steiner hastily backed away from the corpse (he knew what was on Koros and he feared it) and from Sirrus, the Mad Krath. “Ze patient iz yours, Doctor.” Sirrus nodded and smiled a smile that displayed both pleasantness at having his patient back and the insanity the lay beneath it all. Steiner watched as Sirrus had the patient carted away. After Sirrus left, Steiner breathed a sigh of relief. He was certain that Sirrus would kill him one day, but only after he had drained every bit of knowledge and service he could out of him. Shaking the thoughts from his head, Steiner turned to the surgical resident.
“Find another patient,” he instructed. As the resident left to pull another body from storage, the two siblings entered. “Vhat iz it?” asked Steiner.
“We were told to see you, sir,” said Irdek. “You weren’t in your office, so-”
“Vright, vright,” replied Steiner. “Take zis sample and analyze it.” Steiner handed Irdek a petri dish with one of the cysts removed from Sirrus’ patient. He then waved them away.

“That was strange,” said Illyana, peering at the petri dish as she and her brother made their way back to their lab. “Just calling us both to give us this. Why didn’t he send it via messenger like normal?” Irdek shrugged.
“All we can do is our job,” Irdek said, opening the door for his sister.

Steiner watched approvingly as his resident carefully opened the chest cavity of the latest corpse to be brought into the lab. The report stated that this particular one had been brought from the Corsair, Tarentum’s flagship which still sat in drydock awaiting repairs. The report also said that the unfortunate victim had been caught near simultaneously by Yuuzhan Vong venom like substance and a burst of Force lightning from one of the elders. It was a unique situation to say the least and worthy of experimentation before Sirrus, or any one of the other necromancers, got their hands on the corpse.

Still, as the examination began in earnest, in the back of Steiner’s mind, the appearance of the cysts in the undead creature from Koros troubled the doctor. And very few things troubled the good doctor.

* * *
Captain’s Ready Room
ISD Tar-277-01
Yridia

Oberst reclined in the rather comfortable chair, glad that some funds had been freed up for something a bit more elegant than an L-shaped piece of sheet metal. Like so many others in the clan, he too was hearing and seeing things. The one big difference was that he knew exactly what was happening to him and who was talking to him.
“I trust the new experiments are going well, Master,” said Oberst telepathically.
“They were. We are encountering some interference now,” came the reply.
“Interference?” queried Oberst.
“Yes. We sense great anger and hatred directed at the clan, but we also sense some frustration, too. We do not know what it is, but we are investigating.” No additional comment was needed and the conversation ended.
‘So,’ thought Oberst, ‘there is something out there that the Keepers could not identify.’ Still, the new experiments were going well and the last report from Sirrus indicated that there were some new developments on the undead who occupied the old Cestus complex. A ping signaled someone was at the door.
“Enter,” called Oberst. One of the bridge officers entered with a datapad. He saluted.
“Marshall, here is the most recent traffic report, as per your request.” Oberst took the datapad and dismissed the officer. Since the war, the traffic patterns in system had changed and these would dictate how he divided Tarentum’s fleet and what duties each ship would receive. He scanned through it, stopping on the most recent note and could not suppress a slight chuckle.
“Welcome home, Anshar,” he said to no one. “Already going to see Sith to put a stop to something we have no control over."

The hustle and bustle of everyday life in Tarentum continued like normal. With the exceptions of a few rumblings, everyone was doing their thing. Some went to various classes, some worked on training their physical skills, and some had yet to do much more than get out of bed. Dralin Vhett and ShadowReaper sat in a small room waiting for their instructor to make her appearance. Today they would be learning more about Koros and the famed House Cestus. They had heard rumors of what happened several years ago but because they hadn’t been in the Clan long enough to read up on history they knew little else. Today they hoped to rectify that.

Eventually the red-haired woman walked into the room, followed by Elols who quickly took a seat. To them she looked as she always did, tired and slightly haggard. She didn’t break a smile as she looked at the three Journeymen before her.

“So today I’m suppose to tell you all about Cestus and its home on Koros. How about we take a trip there instead. Just a flyby and then we’ll take a tour of Castle Tarentum. The library there is much more detailed on what went on with our wayward third house than anything you’ll find here. I have some things to do at the Castle anyways so it’s a win-win situation. Unfortunately there aren’t any shuttles at the moment. The last one just left so we’ll be taking my ship. It is small but it should fit us all inside. Meet me in the hanger area in ten minutes and we’ll get on our way.”


*****


The ride was cramped but it worked. Soon the four members of Gladius were staring down at the Yridian moon called Koros. Its rocky features stared back silently. The Journeymen did not know what had happened here but Telona did and while she pulled her small craft into a low orbit her mind forced her to remember that time. Her distraction would prove costly. As they were getting a good look at the derelict facility a system warning light popped on. The light flashed silently as the computer core began shutting down. The old cloakshape fighter was finally dying, its circuits melted as the coolant pumps fell silent.

“Lady Telona? There’s a light flashing.”
“It’s probably nothing.” She said as she turned to look at the controls. “I just had the system boards replaced. Maybe something didn’t get wired right. We’ll have to cut this visit short I guess.”

The Elder took to maneuvering the craft out of orbit. The controls locked up as the power went out. The Journeymen felt waves of panic come over them as their guide cursed in a few languages aside from Basic. She furiously flipped switches and pulled levers but to no avail. Koros’ higher gravity started to take over, pulling the star craft down towards its waiting surface. The best Telona could do was manually guide the craft into a shallow glide.

“Hang on!” She yelled.

The old fighter carved a large swath of rock as it banged down on the surface. The only saving grace the four had was the tough hull the old ship was made out of. It finally skidded to a stop near to one of the entrance points to House Cestus’ facilities. The three Journeymen, who had been sitting on a cot in the little makeshift cargo area behind the pilot’s chair, rubbed their heads and thanked the stars that they had landed relatively safe. Telona, however, was pale as her mind grasped the situation she now found herself in. This was definitely not what she had planned for the day.

“You guys ok back there?” She asked.
“No worse for the wear.” Elols answered as he looked to the other two. “What happened?”
“I don’t know.” The woman pushed a few buttons but nothing happened. “Looks like we are stuck here until someone notices we are missing. I logged our flight plan so it might not take too long. Hopefully.”
“Are we just going to sit tight then?”

Telona closed her eyes and focused herself on the structure of the craft. “The hyperdrive sled is going critical. We should move to a safer spot. Below you is a compartment with a couple of disruptor pistols and power packs. There’s a dagger in there too I think. Grab those and get ready to run. Koros doesn’t have much of an atmosphere so the quicker we get inside the better. Let’s hope this part of the complex still has life support systems running.”

And hopefully a bunker we can hole up in until someone comes for us. Krath knows what’s still running around this place.

“Everyone ready?”
The three Journeymen gave her the affirmative.
“Alright let’s go.”

Good thing I've been training since coming to the Brotherhood...
Dralin sprinted across the surface with the others, the moon's gravity weighing him down more than usual. As they finally made their way inside the complex, Dralin let his eyes adjust, noticing the bones scattered about the very dark complex.

"Lady Telona, why is it so dark in here?"

Yridia IX
Mystics Asylum
Dr. Steiner’s office
17:35 local time

Irdek and Illyana Fol were good at their jobs. The sample they were given was unlike anything they had seen that came from the creative expertise of Dr. Steiner and the Mad One. It was undead tissue, to be sure, but there were signs that it was more that what it had been. The only way to be certain and to gain more information on the subject tissue would either be to reanimate the corpse the sample had come from, or take a team and get another subject. And that meant a trip to Koros.

Irdek and Illyana had spent several hours testing the sample and writing up a brief preliminary report on the sample. They had gone to Dr. Steiner’s office immediately to report.

“Ze two auf you haf done very gut vork,” the doctor said in his heavy accent. “Unt I zee zat you haf come to ze same conclusions zat I haf. I vill be zending you to Koros, once ve haf authorization from ze Castle.”

Irdek glanced at his sister. The two of them had expected the possibility of a research team being sent to Koros. The two of them had hoped they wouldn’t have been part of it. While none of them had been to Koros, there were rumors circulating about it as ever.

“Uhh, th-thank you, Doctor,” Illyana stammered.

“Y-yessir,” Irdek nodded. “We’ll make preparations to leave at once.”

“Gut. Now, you may leaf,” the good doctor waved them away. The pair nodded and turned on their heels and departed immediately. Both of them fervently hoped that permission would be denied to the good doctor.


* * * * *


Yridia II
Castle Tarentum
The Consul’s Private Quarters
20:18 local time

Sith and Trev looked at each other without word for long moments now. Trev’s last sentence had brought an epiphany to the Shaevalian.

“Is it really that hard to see, Brother? Death comes back to haunt you, it is a challenge you created, and yet no longer control? You have answered your own riddle, my old friend. Do you still not know where you are to go? I see the path quite clearly now. Quite clearly indeed. The House of the Dead beckons you forward…”

The only “House of the Dead” that Sith knew of was, quite literally, a dead House infested with the undead. Cestus. Koros. And therein lay the answer. The undead of Cestus had been created as an experiment, one that had gone wrong and overrun the former House. Things had gotten so bad within but a few days that Koros had been disbanded, and Cestus had been closed down.

And now, Koros was coming back to haunt the Clan.

The silence between the two Masters, friends and Brothers was broken by a quick series of beeps, one that indicated an urgent message for the Consul. Sith waited a few moments, still staring into his friend’s eyes, and then dropped his gaze to the desk and touched a pad on his desk. The line activated with a beep.

“Yes.”

“Consul, we have a situation,” the voice was Frosty’s, the Aedile of Gladius. “Telona Murrage took a group of Journeymen on a flyby of Koros. They were due at the Castle for a tour there over an hour ago, and have not reported in. We believe they may have crash landed on the surface of… the surface of Koros.”

Bloodfyre’s eyes immediately raised and connected with the Krath Master’s gaze. The past was clutching at the Clan, and now had reason to make Tarentum seek out a confrontation with their failed creations.

“Frosty, prepare a team immediate,” Sith said quickly, “and head to the Aegis once you are ready. I will contact Oberst and inform him that a rescue mission will proceed to Koros immediately. If they are on the surface, we need to find them with all haste. Hopefully they have been smart enough to avoid the complex.” There was no need to clarify which complex; there was only one place on Koros that anyone had ever visited.

“I’ll see you on the platform then, Sith,” Frosty said, and the line signaled out.

Sith stood there for a few moments lost in thought, and then immediately strode towards the doors to his quarters to leave. Trevarus knew his friend well enough to know that the Shaevalian was ready to head to the Aegis, and Caerick would most-likely be needed on this voyage. There was always a reason for two dragons such as these to come together. The Krath Master stood from his seat and quickly followed along with his Brother.

“We’ll have to halt repairs on the Corsair,” Sith said after a moment. “It’s not quite ready, but I have a strange feeling that the old ship will have a pivotal role to play in these events.”


* * * * *


Yridia II
Castle Tarentum
Underwater Landing Bay
20:25 local time

Anshar and Dranik had just landed as the entrance doors to the bay opened and allowed two robed individuals through. There was no mistaking the posture and movement of one of the two; Anshar and Dranik were quite familiar with him.

“How nice of Sith to come meet us,” Dranik said dryly.

“I don’t think he’s here to meet us, Dranik,” Anshar returned. The Shaevalian and his companion were moving quickly towards the shuttle that Anshar and Dranik had piloted, and not in a way to meet up with two friends. Quite likely, Sith had called for a shuttle, and was under the impression that Anshar and Dranik were merely two of the Clan’s pilots who had come to ferry him.

“Strange how the Force works, at times,” Anshar whispered. The Headmaster hit a button on the control panel, and then got up out of his seat and headed to the landing ramp to meet up with the Shaevalian Consul. Bloodfyre quite surprised to see the Headmaster had come to pilot him off to the Aegis.

“There must be more important things for the Headmaster of the Dark Council to do than come at the transportation request of Tarentum’s Consul,” Sith said in jest. Anshar nodded with a slight smirk on his face.

“Actually, the Headmaster does have more important things to do,” Kahn replied, “and I was actually not coming to ferry you. I was coming to see you, in fact. I would call this a fortunate coincidence. I have a shuttle and needed to see you. You need a shuttle. I say we let Dranik fly while you and I talk.”

“If we can get on board and be on our way, I believe we can finish with the pleasantries in a few moments,” Bloodfyre’s companion said, interrupting the two Tarentae. Anshar recognized the voice easily.

“Master Caerick, it’s always a pleasure, I’m sure,” Anshar tried to sound more hospitable than he could, apparently. “Very well. Dranik, let us depart. We are taking the Consul and Master Caerick to the Aegis.”

Taras, Yridia II
Yridian Parliament building
20:20 local time

"Sithspit" Rekio exclaimed.

Over the past five years there have been countless observations, but this is the first instacne where Sirrus or the Doctor have taken physical samples from the moon. Damn those fools! Rekio thought to himself. And damn Oberst and Bloodfyre for giving them free reign to do as they please. A Diabolical duo indeed. In progress of research or not, it shouldn't be happening.

"Well then, we'll have to- " He was interrupted by the beeping of an incoming message at the communications pannel on his desk.

"What is it?" He demanded. His irritation with the current situation showing.

"Baron Corsair, sir, we received word from the Aegis that that Telona Murrage's ship has downed on Koros." the feeble little voice of communications officers said

"And?" Rekio pressed, not at all attempting hide his outrage.

"Long range scans indicate that it landed within the protective barrier of the Cestus Complex."

"Report immediately if you hear anything else."

"Understood, sir."

"So, what are you going to do?" Tej inquired.

"Nothing." Rekio sighed, marking dissatisfaction in his own decision.

Telona was a friend. Part of Rekio wanted to drop everything he was doing and go in guns-blazing to rescue her. The last of the High Priestesses, Telona had also been Rekio's Proconsul prior to that. She was as caring to the Clan as she was powerful, earning her the moniker 'Dark Angle.' Her lose would be immeasurable.

"We can't help them; stuck on that moon they're as good as dead." Rekio lamented; trying to justify his decision to himself as much to Tej. And then, an idea struck.

"But," he said regarding Tej with a menacing grin, "That's why I have people like you."

"What did you have in mind?" Tej asked.

"Listen, I've got plan but I'll need your help." Rekio stated. "I'm giving Class-3 authorization on this. Beg, borrow, steal and kill if you have to, but under no circumstance do you let something off that base that compromises security; dead or alive. You got that?"

"Yeah."

"A team from Galdius will probably be here in a few hours, but I don't think they have that long."

Yridia II
Castle Tarentum
Underwater Landing Bay
20:28 local time

Three Masters... any nearby would feel their raw emanations of their evil as unsettling. Insenstive staff of the underground landing bay seemed unsettled as Anshar, Sith, and Trevarus walked through to a small water-transport. The Elders climbed inside the craft and it began to move through the shield doors, out into open water.

"What exactly are we facing?" Trevarus asked. "You've been hesitant to explain the crisis on Koros."

Anshar stared out the viewport, his silence poignant. The Elders of Clan Tarentum were especially loath to discuss the events with an outsider, even with Trevarus.

After a long silence, Sith answered. "Well, my old friend... what began as a series of experiments in animating an undead army, went terribly wrong. When not even Master Zero could contain the carnage... we closed House Cestus, and abandoned Koros."

"I see... you created more Draugr." Trevarus paled noticably at the suggestion. A draugr had nearly killed him, when he and Bloodfyre had been scouting ruins on Calabrex.

"More so... there are easily a dozen Drauger... and a few other beasts. There ghouls have been feeding on the support staff's remains." Sith said, closing his eyes.

The Krath Master's command of necromancy was limited. The thought of full-scale combat against the walking dead unsettled him. A corpse does not care about pain, it is ill affected by the Force as commonly known. Lightsabers and blasters only slowed them down, unless hacked limb from limb... and they tended to fight in large groups. This would be an impressively large group.

Anshar looked at the other Masters during the pause in their discussion. "What vessels are available? We shouldn't be going in aboard a simple shuttle. I'd prefer an army and a bloody frigate."

"Hmmm... the Sanguinus is in orbit, on the Aegis. Its reasonably well-armed, and fast. When we reach the surface, I'll have my pilot prepare for battle."

"How is Christine anyway? I hope you gave her a raise after your antics in the Antei System."

Trevarus laughed, "Yes, actually. Although she hasn't had the proper time to enjoy it yet."

With a splashing of waves, the vehicle broke the surface, soft lights from the night sky illuminating the waves, the storm had quieted and the surface was a tortoise-shell of patterned lights and darks. The vehicle moved through the water, cresting and splashing in a dark spray against the viewports, finally breaking for the upper atmosphere and the low orbit of the Platform Aegis

"Christine, prep the ship. We're going into hostile territory."

"Trev, you promised me a vacation. Dammit... pay up!" An obviously irritated Christine Zara shouted over the comm-lines. "What's your ETA? I'll need about fifeteen minutes."

"Very well, we're still a few minutes out." Trevarus replaced the device. "Well, at least we'll enjoy some measure of comfort, before the undead attempt to feast on our flesh."

Cestus

"It's dark because this place was abandoned very quickly. It was not my wish to physically return here. We are in grave danger. Quick, help me find a room suitable to make a strong defensive point from. Use the Force abilities you have learned thus far and keep them well in mind. You'll need them." Telona replied to Dralin’s question.

The four formed up, the Elder in the lead, and they slowly made their way deeper into the installation. As they checked room after room Elols began to notice a theme to this place. In every carbon scored room that hadn't collapsed into a heap of rubble there were bones, lots of bones. Skulls with tufs of hair or fur still stuck to them, leg bones that looked as though something had chewed on them, and bones that had been nearly ground into a powder. The hallways weren't in any better shape. Pipes and ducts looked as though they had been pulled from the ceiling. Tiles lay smashed everywhere underfoot as well as dried puddles of unknown liquids.

Elols spins around quickly gazing down the path they had just taken.
“What is it?” Dralin asks.
“I thought I heard something move…”
Telona, recognizing that this bothan had very acute senses, and that she doubted he was incorrect, tried to calm the others. “I don’t think that there was anything, maybe it was just something shifting, this place is ancient, after all.”

As they continued down the hall, Elols spun around again and again, each time saying that he heard something move. Telona called him over to the side of the dark corridor to talk to him.
“I know that there is something following us, I have heard it, too. Luckily, the other two can’t hear it. But, you are frightening them, and they will be no use if we do get attacked if they are already frightened, and neither will you. If you will calm down and focus, maybe we can figure out what is following us, and we can go on without anyone being hurt.”

After this discussion, the four continued down he corridor until Elols stumbled across a room with a damaged weapons bunker and some carious security equipment that they could use to create a blockade. In the bunker they found a couple staffs, a blaster rifle with a few rounds left, and 3 grenades. Just as they were getting ready to start setting up a barricade, they heard soft footsteps coming down the hallway.

Yridia II
Castle Tarentum
Tridens’ Recreation Room
21:04 local time

The place was crowded, noisy, and hectic; but it was always like this. Tridens members took to relaxing like fat women took to eating cake; they were just naturally good at it and the inhabitants of Castle Tarentum knew this. Everyday when training, shift work, and general duties were done everyone would make their way to the Rec room for some down time. Even in a state of war the room saw good action; for it was good for celebrating victory, or forgetting defeat with a fog. And today was no expectation, with the concerns of the planet’s changing environment and the numerous visions plaguing the general population people needed a break; so Tridens did what it always did and welcomed most who showed up at the Rec room door.

Despite the bad Yridian band that Archean had hired to perform tonight, everyone was having a great time. A table that sat a mix of elders and high equites near the stage taunted the horrible act, one of whom was Gryffon who threatened the singer to hit that high note right next time or he would find himself hanging out the window over the raging waves that surrounded the castle. At another table Serovich was hammering the table in frustration as he lost another game of pazaak. On the other side of the dance floor, the house summit sat in a corner going over minor business deals with a pitcher of ale. Yet in another corner sat the former Aedile, Welshman, who had been guarding two glasses of ale; one of which was now handed off to a frustrated Cannabisia who had just been rejected by one of the hot female staff members of the castle. Things were good, and felt like they were just about to get better.

At least that was the state Raiju was in as he sat in a booth to the side of the room with Lucius and several other journeymen and equites who had just finished another training session and were in the midst of a different type of session. Pulling a long drag off of the tiny white spliff in his hand before passing it off to Lucius beside him, Raiju sat back in his seat with wide grin across his face. The last couple days had been rough for him, from losing Welshman as a master to working out the kinks in the relationship with his new master Adien and dealing with the lack of visions he had had while the rest of the clan seemed to be full of them. But with the new “contraband” that showed up today, things finally seemed to be looking up. It was a well known fact that in all Brotherhood systems there were certain items and drugs that were illegal to have procession of which all of these were immediately confiscated by Brotherhood authorities upon their discovery. What became of these items after confiscation was only known to the public as rumour, and while most ended up being destroyed outright; some were left to be slowly burnt one spliff at a time.

Feeling he had had his fill, Raiju got up from the table and thanked the others for a good session and left a promise of doing it again soon before moving onto other business. Approaching the bar, the young Ryn spotted a cute girl to the right of it that caught his attention. Catching the girl’s eye and taking her cute smile as a sign of encouragement, Raiju started to try to make his way towards her through the crowded floor before bring bumped and then shoved by someone behind him. Dropping the drink that had been in his hand, the Ryn turned to strike whoever had pushed him but came face to face with Archean’s assistant; who immediately apologized before heading over to the Tridens Summit.

Choking back the desire to strike the man in the back of the head as he ran away, Raiju remembered his previous target. As he approached the cute, the Ryn mentally turned on his charm and flash big grin before stating his opening line.

“Hi, I’m Raiju. My friend over there wants to know if you think I’m cute.”

* * * * *

Little was going on these days in Tridens to force the Quaestor to be working late today. He and his Aedile, Adien had finished the majority of their weekly tasks nearly an hour ago and Archean had thought it would be a great idea to take his new Aedile out for a drink. While they sat chatting about their opinions of the recent increase in membership visions and ignoring the ongoing abuse of the Brotherhood policies present in their own bar, the two had come to an agreement that whatever was about to happen it would be sooner than they could guess.

As Archean pounded back the last of his ale, and was about to rise to go get more; a thin and unimpressive man approached quickly to their table. Coming to the realization that it was his very own assistant, Archean flashed a quick grin and spoke a short welcome before becoming away that something was wrong with the assistant.

“There is a problem, sir.” The assistant said, bluntly. “Adept Telona has gone missing. She was scheduled for a flight around Koros with several journeyman, and they believe she crashed on it. Master Bloodfyre’s office has contacted us for our assistance and has stated that he and several other individuals are making their way there to assist as well as a Gladius task force has been already sent under Frosty‘s command.”

“How long ago did they leave?” The Quaestor question, growing more concerned by the moment.

“The Gladius task force was sent almost an hour ago, and Bloodfrye left almost twenty minutes after that.”

“Right…” The Quaestor trailed off before turning to his Aedile. “They’ll need support immediately and it will take some time to arrange a party big enough to face the dangers of Koros. I want you to assemble a small team immediately to assist the Gladius team and make way for our main party. The smaller the faster, and I suggest you ask Welshman to go along with you.”

“Aye, I’ll ask Baron Corsair as well.” Adien replied quickly before naming off two others that came to mind. “And Kazarelth and my apprentice, Raiju.”

“Careful with bringing the journeymen, Adien. Koros is a very dangerous place, both Rekio and Welshman will be able to tell you that.” Archean warned.

“Aye, I realized that but I think they will serve out needs well; or at least provide a shield if things get rough.”


* * * * *

Yridia II
Castle Tarentum
Outside Raiju’s Private Quarters
21:11 local time

“I’m telling you baby, I really am a master of contortion.” Raiju teased the cute girl from the bar as they made their way back to his quarters. “I can stretch anything on my body beyond its normal length, and I mean anything.”

“Yeah, I heard. According to my friend, Tessa, you need it.” The girl laughed as she pushed him against the wall beside his door and pressed her body hard against his as she went in for a deep kiss. After their lip contact had broke, Raiju realized the joke she had said and immediately drew a serious face.

“Oh, you’re gonna be punished for that.” Raiju teased.

“I hope so.” Was the last thing she said before Raiju comlink started going off.

A light curse left his lips as he reached for the device to see what had interrupted him. Reading a small message from text screen:

Rescue Mission. Meet me in briefing room B, asap. Adien


Hardly believing his bad luck, Raiju cursed his previous good feelings.
“Baby, take this and wait for me in there; okay? I’ll only be gone for alittle while and then we can finish our business.” The Ryn begged before turning and running towards the briefing room. As he rounded the corner out of sight and earshot of the cute he stated with a disgusted expression; “Killed my buzz, and cockblocked me. What the hell is with these Corsairs?”

Yridia II
Castle Tarentum
Briefing Room B
21:24 local time.

“And we’ll land here” Adien’s sharp voice pointed to a part of the holographic map of Koros, as he continued, “Telona and the others have most probably crashed 4 kilometres north east of the LZ. This is the safest place to land, or so the intelligence here tells us. You shall be given a set of rebreathers, to aid you for some time, and be given another set for the four who are marooned there. We shall be assisted by another group that is currently being assembled, and the Gladius team. Head to the Cestus complex if the ship has been abandoned. Any questions?”

“Where are the Elders landing, Adien?” Kazarelth’s soft voice asked.
“They shall be landing farther north of Telona’s crash site. Apparently, theirs is a secret quest. Any other questions?” Adien’s eyes fell upon his new apprentice.

Raiju was as tense as he was angry. This would be his first mission, and he was sure that it was a tough one. He had no questions, as did the others who had joined him.
“Good. You shall be following Adien’s lead. Moreover, under no circumstances are you to separate. Baron Welshman will be the rearguard.” Archean spoke up. He was contemplating on following them in the next shuttle.
Welshman slightly nodded his head.

-----------------

Ten minutes passed as soon as they came, and the four-member team assembled inside the specially modified ship in the landing bay. They were arrayed with their standard weapons; but knew that something more than weaponry was needed to survive this mission.

The ship hummed slowly out of the bay picking up speed as it cut through the water. Soon it was heading towards Aegis.

***

Koros
Old Cestus Complex

Telona had ignited her lightsaber, as the Journeymen looked at her in awe. Her yellow-green eyes were reflecting the blue of her blade. Her eyes were burning with rage as she walked ahead. The three Gladians hurriedly set up the blockade in silent fear, the barricade made up of a few stray pieces of bone and other ancient and rusty material. In addition, except for a few stray tables and metalloid utensils, it was hard to imagine that this place was inhabited four years ago.
She returned with her lightsaber sheathed. “Nothing. It probably escaped. I know these things…”
“Now what?” Dralin asked timidly.
“We wait. For a rescue team. Also something interesting has been going around here.” Telona answered, with a curious expression on her face.

-----------------

Koros.
(Landing Zone alpha)

The four Tarenti jumped out of their ship. The bleak atmosphere on Koros was demanding, as was the gravity on the planet. It took a Herculean effort for Kazarelth to move as fast as he could normally. He plodded on as he heard Raiju gently chuckle behind him.
The Cestus complex loomed in the horizon. The old training area for the greatest Obelisk warriors. Welshman had taken out his lightsabers. As had Kazarelth. The two Keepers were decidedly using their Clan’s powers. Their enhanced vision just showed a patch of grey inhabiting the Cestus complex.
“I propose we wait for the Gladius team or our assisting team to support us in raiding the Cestus complex.” Welshman’s voice suddenly broke the heaving silence. “I fear the crawling of the undeath would prove the undoing of the two younglings we have here.”

Koros
Barren wastlands
1200 local time

Brimstone landed his Nssis-class Clawcraft "Brimstone's Yashuvhu" on the barren rock planet. This was the same location in his dreams. He tried to find information earlier about Koros and its keepers, but was getting reluctances from everyone who had been around 3 years ago, no one was talking about it. He had even looked in the libraries for information and only got limited detailed information. The classified info, he wasn't privy to due to his rank.

As soon as he landed it could be seen ato bandoned buildings and trashed landscapes as if a war had gone through the town. He crawled out of his ship, and decided he was going to need his charric assault rifle for protection. He also changed from his standared chiss uniform into a commando style uniform.

Brimstone felt uneasy as the Force alerted him to incoming dangers. He though to himself that he should have just stayed in the ship, but he needed to get this info for Anshar in order to learn the secrets of Tarentum so he could better himself in the Force. Reaching out to the Force, he could tell there was life forms still in the town, humanoid, but they felt dead in the Force.

As he made his way in the town, he drew upon the gathering of about 30 plus disturbances in one large gathering area. He snuck up to peer around a destroyed section of wall and noticed gray humans. The stench of them was sickening as if they were dead.

Brimstone's senses went on alert as he spun around to just see one humanoid sneaking up on him with a club ready to bash his skull in. Without thinking, he opened fire on the creature, killing it instantly. This alreted the others to his location and proceded to grab clubs and sticks off the ground and charge at his location. Brimstone realized he was going to be overmatched and proceeded to haul himself in a full sprint. The creatures were 30 meters behind him and slowly gaining on him. His ship was 500 meters away.

Brimstone turned and opened fired with his assault rifle and dropped 5 of them in the first attack. Then he took off running hard. Brimstone stumbled and proceeded to tumble over into a kneeling stance. He turned around and open fired upon the crowd that was advancing. One, two, three were dropping at a time. Brimstone keep the barrage up until all were dead on the ground. After looking and surveying his situation, he replaced the blaster cell in his rifle and proceeded to the piles of bodies.

Looking at them, these creatures were already dead, infact undead. Brimstone remembered a conversation he had with Mistress Telona months earlier about the undead, but thought it was just a joke then. He guessed it wasn't a joke.

"I am going to need more firepower if I am going to survive this expedition" thought Brimstone to himself as he headed back to his ship.

Koros
Lunar Surface
17:29 local time

Brimstone headed back to his ship. The one thing on the mind of the Chiss was “firepower.” He knew it was going to take a lot to take on these undead. He hoped he had enough to complete the task.

The ship was gone. Brimstone stopped dead in his tracks, a slack-jawed look of pure surprise on his face. There was nothing here but the dry, open terrain of Koros. The Chiss glanced around quickly, and took several moments to confirm to himself that he was in the right place, and that his ship should have been here.

A noise behind the Chiss caught his attention, and Brimstone quickly turned on his heels. A skinless corpse grinned darkly at the young Dark Sider, and before the Chiss could grab hold of any of his weapons, the undead warrior lashed out with an old, blood-crusted sword, and easily lopped of the head of the lone Dark Sider. Brimstone’s head dropped to the dried ground and rolled several inches away.

Brimstone woke up with a start, cold chills running down his spine, sweat dripping from his brow. The Jedi Hunter was still in his ship, still in orbit around Koros. The Chiss didn’t remember falling asleep. He glanced down at the console of his ship, and towards the surface of the Yridian moon.

It had been a dream. Or a vision. Either way, a feeling of dread and despair crawled across the Chiss and made his skin crawl with despair. Though the Chiss considered himself a trained warrior and commander, the vision itself had unmistakable meaning. The undead on Koros were not to be underestimated. The undead of Koros would not be taken out easily by anyone, except they were a Master of the Dark Side, and one of the eldest Keepers.

Somewhere in the back of Brimstone’s mind, he still wanted to head down to Koros and be the hero, and rescue his team mates. But that part of Brimstone’s mind was quickly losing the fight, as the rest of him decided that it would be better to wait and see who else showed up. The Headmaster, Anshar Kahn Tarentae, must have sent Brimstone on an errand to learn of Koros for a reason. And that reason must have been to keep the Chiss alive.

Brimstone made a mental note never to disregard the teachings of the Clan Elders again.


* * * * *


Aegis Platform
Orbiting Yridia II
Docking Rim
14:18 local time

The Corsair had been hastily repaired at the command of the Consul. The old flagship of the Clan was not yet completely repaired, but it would have to suffice. The Victory-class ship had taken a beating during the Battle of Antei, but it had survived worse confrontations than the Vong conflict in its time.

Sith Bloodfyre and his companions, the Krath Masters Trevarus Caerick and Anshar Kahn, as well as the Obelisk Dranik, were to be ferried to the old flagship within moments. Once onboard, Sith would be directing the Corsair to Koros, where it would lead the charge to rescue Telona Murrage and her downed circle of Journeymen. And though Sith didn’t say it aloud, he knew there was another reason to go to Koros, and one that he didn’t entirely agree with.

Dr. Steiner had sent a message to the Consul, and “requested permission” to land a party on the surface of Koros and find a few specimens from within the old Cestus Complex to bring back to Yridia IX for further testing. Not everyone understood the good doctor; hardly anyone actually liked him. But Steiner had spent a great deal of time with the old Mystics of the Black Arts, and with Gladius as a whole. There was a reason the doctor was kept around. And, in the interests of furthering the Necromantic arts of the Clan, Sith had consented to Steiner’s request.

A team from R&D at the Asylum would be meeting with the Corsair at Koros, and members of the Clan would escort them and take out a few of the Aptrgangr. There would be too much trouble going after any of the Draugr in the old complex. It was Bloodfyre’s fervent wish that everyone, especially Telona and her team,w ould be able to avoid the Cestus Draugr.

Within the hour, Sith, Trevarus, Anshar and Dranik were onboard the old Victory-class flagship, and had departed from the Aegis. Several members of the Clan, and a large complement of troops had joined the rescue team. They would likely meet up with more reinforcements in the form of the Clan’s newest fleet additions, especially the new Imperial-class flagship that Oberst was onboard.


* * * * *


The Corsair
Hall 22B
Departing the Aegis platform
15:02 local time

It was all a bit confusing. A call had been put out onboard the Aegis for response teams two and seven to report to the Corsair for deployment. Seth En-Sauer had only recently arrived on the Tarentum platform, awaiting a transport to the Clan’s Castle, and the home of his new House of Tridens. But when the call had come for troops, Seth still had instinct enough to know that the Clan was rolling out for some purpose, and he would answer the call to arms.

And now, the young Apprentice was being taken to the bridge to meet with the Clan’s Consul. The young man had quickly found one of the ship’s officer, informed him of his situation, and had asked to be taken to meet with Clan leadership to find out exactly what he ought to be doing. It was a good trait in a new recruit.

On the bridge, everything functioned like a well-oiled machine. The crew of this ship had been working together for years, and though they took on new additions frequently as officers were replaced due to retirement, death, or otherwise, everyone still found their place quickly. Most attributed it to the powers and personality of the ship’s commanding officer, the Admiral and revered Master Zero.

For the moment, Zero was not to be found, most-likely due to assisting with the transition of fleets and such. Captain Aderan Zarl, one of Zero’s staff officers, was in command of the ship for the time being, and was conferring with the Clan’s Consul, the Shaevalian and Sith Master, Sith Bloodfyre. Seth En-Sauer was directed over to the Consul, and quickly stopped several feet from the Consul and bowed his head.

“Consul,” Seth began, “Apprentice Seth En-Sauer at your service, my Lord. I have come to serve Tarentum, and am ready now to meet whatever challenge we currently face.”

Sith glanced at the Obelisk for several long seconds before nodding once.

“Greetings, Apprentice,” Bloodfyre said. “At present, we are heading to the moon of Koros to retrieve several members of the Clan who were stranded there due to an accident. Several teams will be heading to the surface, both regular troops, as well as members of the Clan. I would suggest you visit the armory and prepare yourself. We will be there and ready to deploy within the hour.”


* * * * *


Captain’s Ready Room
ISD Tar-277-01
Yridia

The console beeped twice, and the large human at the desk touched a button quickly without responding.

“Marshal Oberst.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Sir,” the Captain began, “I have been asked to inform you that the Corsair has arrived at Koros. Master Bloodfyre has relayed a message that certain members of Tarentum were marooned on the surface due to an unfortunate accident, and a rescue mission is now underway.”

“Has the Consul requested our assistance?” Oberst asked softly.

“No sir, no exactly,” came the response. “He also mentioned that an R&D team from Yridia IX has been dispatched by Dr. Steiner. The Consul mentioned that certain samples from Koros have been requested by the doctor and his staff for study. The Consul said you may wish to inquire with the, I believe he said ‘the good doctor and your old friend’ as to what the samples are for.”

“Thank you Captain.”

“Sir.”

The console beeped once and the comm line went dead. Tarentum’s Marshal went back to work, sorting through commissions and various requests for supplies, communications for his eyes only, and the like. The Asylum would be dealt with in time.

“Greetings, Apprentice,” Bloodfyre said. “At present, we are heading to the moon of Koros to retrieve several members of the Clan who were stranded there due to an accident. Several teams will be heading to the surface, both regular troops, as well as members of the Clan. I would suggest you visit the armory and prepare yourself. We will be there and ready to deploy within the hour.”


The Corsair
Hall 22B
Departing the Aegis platform
15:02 local time

Seth's eyes flicked around the bridge taking in the scene, his twin scars over his eyes made his vision less than satisfactory. He focused back on the consul and merely nodded in response "yes sir" he said in a crisp tone. He did a sharp turn and walked out, his boots clacking as they hit the floor.

As Seth made his way to the armory his thoughts echoed inside of his head This is strange, I never envisioned myself obeying orders...I have changed since Corellia... he smirked then again...what hasn't been changed by the Sith these days? he thought as he rounded a corner.

Seth had come a long way from his humble swoop gang beginnings, his baby fat had been trimmed off in basic training, his body had toughened up now that he had proper nutrition, and his muscles had gotten stronger as a result of the rigorous training the Sith gave him. Seth gave an almost imperceptible look at himself as he walked, his black apprentice robes couldn't fully diminish his figure but they did give him a nice edge of making him look unassuming. The only things about Seth that hadn't changed was his long silky black hair that he kept in a ponytail. and the twin scars, one over each eye from a shiv fight back on Corellia. He would never give those up, the Sith had technology that could heal the scars and his eyes....but as he had said at his inception, I cannot get rid of them....they are part of who I am and I will be a warrior even with these disabilities. As for his hair, it was naturally straight so it hung at his mid-back level. He kept it as a reminder of his roots and as a symbol of his pride as a hand to hand combatant.

After much introspection, and a suspiciously long walk, Seth finally arrived at the armory. He took a look at all of the weapons and trappings of war that the Sith had acquired for their military. He ran his hands over the shiny metal parts because his eyes were failing him once more. He stretched out with his senses trying to 'see' what was on the shelves with his hands. Come on...where is that second sight... he thought as he tried for the life of him to get his abilities to activate. He couldn't explain it but before the Sith had recruited him, he had always been able to "sense" and "see" without his eyes during special circumstances. He sighed in defeat, it was still not as easy as flipping a switch.

Seth spent some time there running his hands over the racks trying to distinguish between which items were which "blaster, sword, armor" he recited out loud so that he would remember. He grabbed suit of simple armor weave off the rack and put it on the floor. He then stripped off his robes revealing a set of pure black practice pants. He put the armor weave and adjusted it according to fit his upper body dimensions. He folded up his cloak and robes and stashed them in a locker. Then he went back to rummaging through the armory for another five minutes until he came upon a set of durasteel knuckles. "perfect" he said as he grabbed them and put them on.

Seth spent another five minutes doing his knifist practice form to see how the knuckles fit and were made. "their a bit top heavy but over all a well made set of knuckles." he said as he then grabbed a vibro shiv and tucked it onto his belt just in case he'd need it. "I think I'm ready." he said to himself as he double checked everything one last time. He made his way out of the armory and into the hallway. He looked around, or tried to at least...his eyes had given out on him back in the armory and now he was as good as lost in this unfamiliar ship. He had one very painful thought.

Great....now what do I do?

Anshar largely stayed out of the way. A Master and a Tarentae, he was still an outsider to the current chain of command and he would only be getting in the way. However, he needed to talk to Sith if only for a moment. Without notice from the bridge crew, Anshar moved over behind Sith, tapping him lightly on the shoulder. Sith only nodded, spoke a few more words with the captain, before he and Anshar stepped off the bridge to the captain’s office.

“I know I don’t have to tell you to make it quick,” said Sith.
“There’s a lot going on, Sith, and things are moving very fast right now,” said Anshar. “I want you to tell me face to face that there’s nothing going on that you’re aware of.”
“You don’t think-”
“You pulled it once before,” said Anshar, his voice rising ever so slightly. “You knew what was going on six years ago and I want to know what you know now.”
“Honestly, I don’t know a thing,” said Sith, somewhat chagrined that Anshar would even bring this subject up now. The two masters stared at each other.
“Fine,” said Anshar after what seemed like a very tense eternity. “But there’s something else going on besides the infestation in Koros and what’s on Koros doesn’t explain it.”
“I know,” replied Sith. “I am equally concerned about this as well. But, for now, rescuing Telona and the others takes priority.” Anshar nodded and the two parted ways after exiting the room.

“So,” said Dranik, coming up beside Anshar, “what did he say?”
“He doesn’t know anything, at least not about the current events,” replied the Headmaster. “To say that he’s not aware of some other things that we don’t know, well, that’s plain stupidity. I still get the sense that there’s something else going on, though; something beyond the immediate picture. But, Sith isn't in on any sort of conspiracy this time.”
“Speaking of which, I’m really not all that keen on facing draugr again. One was enough for a lifetime. I say we get the team out and then bombard the hell out of that place until there’s nothing left.” Dranik paused. “But, I guess until then, I’ll get ready to go down.” With that, the two parted company.

Anshar stood at an observation port. He could not shake the sense that something else was happening, something that approached a level with which the clan had never truly dealt with before. It could easily become very complicated. For now, though, it was simple. It was time to face a load of undead.

These creatures were abominations that were dangerous, even deadly, to even the strongest in the clan. Beyond that, who knew what lay ahead.

[OOC note: pay attention to the last line]

Koros
Lunar Surface
17:35 local time

Brimstone still sweating to the vision, opened up the comms.

"unidentified persons. you are not allowed to use these channels. Identify yourself." asked the security.

"Brimstone of Tarentum. I need to get a message to Anshar. Tell him that there are undead creatures on the planet Koras and I am awaiting him or rescue operations to arrive so I can join them."

Brimstone turned off his comm before security could reply

The room they had holed up in wasn’t in the best of shape but it would serve its purpose. At least, that’s what Telona hoped. She was concerned about not only being found but also the undead busting through the walls to get to them. All the times before when she had been up against Draugr and Aptrgangr she had had plenty of back up. Now, as she glanced back at her three charges, she had no real back up at all. She wouldn’t tell them that out loud though, that would dishearten them and turn them against her. She needed what little they could offer.

“Alright listen close.” Telona whispered. “We need to try to stay as quiet as we can. We’ll probably be here for a good long while so the less attention we grab the better. We are up against some very nasty creatures. They are strong, fast, and the reason this complex was abandoned. This room has two sides we don’t have to cover, the back wall and the left wall. Elols, keep an ear to the ceiling. ShadowReaper you’ve got the right wall. Dralin you’ve got the doorway. Don’t shoot unless you’ve got a clear shot of their head or legs. Any shots elsewhere are useless.”

Telona paused as more shuffling echoed down the hallway. It was coming their way.

“I’ll be up here doing what I can. Don’t let your fear take hold and don’t let your guard down.”

The shuffling stopped just outside the dark doorway. The Journeymen swallowed hard as they tensed up. They did as they were told but their eyes wandered to the doorway. They were curious at to what the big deal was. The Elder stood at the ready, her fingers turned white as she gripped the hilt of her saber. Silently she cursed the stronger gravity of Koros and what little life support remained. Then, as she cursed the situation and herself, their undead visitor burst through part of the doorway. Pieces of the wall exploded into the room but the dust did not hide the horrible looking creature that now threatened them.

It had once been human, that much they could tell from its body shape and tattered clothing. Its ratty hair hung long in patches that clung to its skull. Its skin, what was left of it, was yellowed and cracked. It had but one blackened eye and its lips had peeled away from its green colored teeth. There were noticeable hunks of flesh missing from its arms, legs, and sides as if it had been chewed upon. Telona recognized it as an Aptrgangr but it was in horrible condition. She took note that those missing hunks of flesh had never bled. She would ponder the notion that the other undead running around Koros had been feeding on it later. For now, its intent to feed upon them was apparent.

It rushed for the easier targets in the room. It was fast even in this gravity. Dralin opened fire as Telona rushed to cut it off. The Corellian remembered his orders and took a shot at its knee. It was enough to slow the creature down and the woman’s lightsaber quickly found its target. Yet as the energy blade burned through the rotting flesh of the creatures arm, it turned around and clamped its jaws down on her left arm. She bit down on her lip as the crushing pain rose up. The lightsaber redirected itself to removing the creature’s head from its body as another shot hit its knee.

The body of the creature crashed down onto the woman and sent her to the ground. Its attached hand pawed at her as its feet struggled to get the body up. Excited by fresh blood, its head clamped down even harder on her arm. The Elder cursed the things ability to continue going even with a severed head as she dug down into her reserves and brought the Force to her needs. In a rush of superhuman strength of her own, she kicked the offending body off her and sprang to her feet. Her blue lightsaber crackled as it was carefully driven through the head. Much to her surprise the flesh and bone of this Aptrgangr tried to move around the energy blade and reform on the other side. In the end it couldn’t escape being burnt away but seeing this change was disturbing.

With most of the head gone, Telona moved to dismember the rest of the undead corpse. The Journeymen looked on in a mix of horror and repulsion as the bits of rotting flesh were scattered across the room. Then their charge set about the business of plucking teeth from her wounded arm. She stayed silent as she worked, she knew that was perhaps the easiest encounter she would have and it had left a strange mark on her. She couldn’t heal the wound with the Force. Instead of frightening them with that fact, she just acted like it was nothing more than a shallow flesh wound not worthy of wasting her reserves on. The Journeymen looked at one another before they returned to their silent duties. They didn’t know for sure if she was telling the truth or bluffing. The thought of this place becoming their grave crossed their minds more than once.

Dranik walked quietly towards the hanger of the Corsair. A few officers stopped and saluted the Commander as he went. He nodded in response to some of them, recognizing a few as officers that had served under him in his last command, most of them had either been on leave or were lucky enough to escape the ship before it met its end. Dranik quietly picked up a small comm. unit from his belt and keyed the channel “Eris, bring the ship to the Corsair and request permission to dock, I will need my gear from the ship.” Dranik waited for a moment for the confirmation “Orders confirmed” came the reply from the metallic sounding feminine voice.

Dranik entered into the main hanger of the Corsair in time to see the Avernus, his personal YT-1930, land on the deck of the hanger. Dranik walked quietly over to the ship and waited for the ramp to lower. Dranik watched the ramp for a long moment before he walked up into the ship and to the storage bay. Dranik walked up to the locker and looked at the numbered key pad and entered in the code to open the locker.

Within the locker was an extra set of Dranik’s weapons. The Prelate already had his lightsaber on his right side and Masume, his Katana, on his left side. Dranik quietly picked up the two tactical holsters and placed one on each hip, checking to make sure that they were secured before he put the two Westar-24s in place. He then got the large SoroSuub X-45 out and slung it over his shoulder with its strap. After a moment he locked the locker back and looked about his ship.

Dranik started towards the ramp of the ship and stopped just at its base to give a command. “Eris, disembark and take up a high orbit around the moon, just in case something happens.” With this command Dranik left the Avernus and the hanger of the Corsair as the ship quietly picked up off the deck and left the hanger. Dranik quietly started back towards the command deck of the Corsair, it was somewhat apparent in his eyes that he was slightly nervous about being around Sith, Trevarus, and Anshar. Maybe it was just the fact that of the group, he was the weakest in terms of the force, and knew in the back of his mind what they could possibly be going up against on the moon’s surface.

After standing guard at the door for a while, the increased gravity of the moon, as well as the lack of life-support, began to take its toll on Dralin.

Looking over to the troubled Adept, Dralin moved a little closer to her.
"Lady Telona," he whispered, "like my adopted father used to say to me, gar shuk meh kyrayc. What do you think the odds are getting out of here alive?"

He wasn't going to get his hopes up. From what little he could gather from the older Tarentum, this place was a death trap.

[OOC note: the events of the original “In the Shadows” took place fictionally six years ago. My apologies for writing three years. The previous posts have been corrected]
* * *
Old Cestus Complex
Koros

Dralin’s question to Telona sunk deep in the hearts and the minds of ShadowReaper and Elols. As he waited to her Telona’s answer, Elols could not shake the feeling that something was watching him from the back wall. It was one of the walls that Telona had said needed no watching. Suddenly, something icy raced down Elols’ neck and spine. He whipped around, desperately seeking some reason to squeeze the trigger. ‘No, I cannot be afraid,’ he thought to himself. Seeing nothing, he slowly turned around. As he did so, he could swear he heard something laugh. Or maybe it was just his mind playing tricks on him.

* * *

The Corsair
Forward Observation Port

Anshar remained at the small observation port after Dranik left. He could see Koros from where he stood, but it had been years since he set foot on it. Anshar felt someone behind him.
“Master Caerick, shouldn’t you be headed to your ship?” asked Anshar, calmly.
“In due time,” replied Trevarus. “For the moment, I believe you and I have something to discuss.”
“And what would that be?” asked Anshar.
“During the evacuation of Lyspair, I sent some members of Clan Naga Sadow to retrieve a few particular items from the Dark Vault. I was hoping that the confusion would provide enough cover for them to get them without you noticing. It appears, however, that these items were already gone.”
“The other clans got their fair share of items,” replied Anshar. The Shadow Academy was still in the process of recovering everything from the clans.
“From your private library?” asked Trevarus, a smirk on his face.
“What items are we talking about?” asked Anshar, though he was fairly certain he already knew the answer.
“Two books,” replied Trevarus, “Chronicle of the Orphans and Empty Abominations, to be specific.”
“And what do you need with those works?” asked Anshar.
“I will need to remake the crystal of tears one day,” replied Trevarus. “Those two particular texts may help me make it even stronger. And what are you doing with them? As I understand it, you don’t dabble in necromancy, despite it being your clan’s chosen path.”
“Are you calling me a hypocrite?” asked Anshar.
“Not at all,” said Trevarus. “But, you must admit you are splitting hairs by studying this particular area. At least this explains the occasional rumors that would circulate throughout the Council. You are indeed studying something very mysterious on your own. Be wary, Master Kahn. Many Headmasters in the past have gotten in far over the heads.”
“I know,” replied Anshar, shrugging. “I’ve seen it happen to others. When this is all over, I will provide you with copies of both works.”
“That is all I ask,” replied Trevarus before taking his leave.

* * *
Location Unknown

“More come as we hoped. They bring the mad one with them.”
“Yes, those who imprisoned us will all die so they may live as we live.”
“Destroy the weak first. When more have gathered, then we shall strike them all at once.”

The Corsair
Hangar
Departing the Aegis platform
15:00

The Corsair looked as good as it was before the Vong attacked, even better actually. Deatharoc felt good to be back on the Victory-Class Star Destroyer he had served on during the Vong's attack on Antei. The Jedi Hunter was rather excited because this was his first mission in quite a while. Also arriving with Deatharoc from the Military Academy were Dock and Levathan. The Journeyman made their way through the ship to the armory. However, thinking of what the mission was turned Deatharoc's mood from excited to worried.

The Corsair
The hallways towards the Armory
15:05

A group of Tarentum's soldiers and Dark Jedi were going to Koros to rescue Mistress Telona and a group of Journeyman. It was ironic to Deatharoc. Koros was where his terrible nightmare took place and now he was going on to the godforsaken moon. The Jedi Hunter had recently researched on Koros on the Academy's library and had read about the gruesome undead that ran free in the old Cestus Complex. Deatharoc was spoiling for a good fight, but the Jedi Hunter wasn't sure it was a fight he would get out of alive. The Jedi Hunter forced the bleak thought out of his mind as he arrived before the armory. He had never been there before and was curious to see what it was like. When the three Jedi Hunters saw what was inside the armory, Deatharoc, in surprise, said,

"Damn. That's a lot of guns."

It took at least 7 minutes for Deatharoc to pick the gun he was to bring. After looking at well over half a hundred guns, the Jedi Hunter chose to bring a N'Gant-Zarvel 9118 Carbine and a pair of Westar-34s. Deatharoc also decided to bring a new Sith Sword, an upgraded version of the one he had lost against a Vong warrior, a litch-blade and a few thermal detonators. The Jedi Hunter after putting on his armor and preparing all his weapons, felt like he could take on an entire army. That was the feeling Deatharoc needed right now as he was soon going to fight a horde of merciless undead on Koros.

Koros
Unkown Location

"They're coming. All of the rotten force-users."
"Soon they will all die and then they will become like us."

When the three Jedi Hunters saw what was inside the armory, Deatharoc, in surprise, said,

"Damn. That's a lot of guns."


The Corsair
The hallways towards the Armory
15:05

Seth En-Saeur had been waiting patiently for awhile since his eyes had given out on him earlier in the armory. He felt a presence brush past him into the Armory. His instincts were to reach out and kill whatever had touched him, but he restrained himself knowing that chances are it would be someone more powerful than himself. Seth quieted his rage and followed behind the presence unsure of whether it was female or male or even how he looked as his eyes were still temporarily blind. Seth called out to the figure in a steady voice.

"Who's there?"

Seth heard no reply, but now he could feel the Force flowing through him slightly, widening his senses, and compensating for his lack of sight. He saw there were multiple people in the room, he quietly stepped into view. His long black hair snaked down to his mid back and his muscles were made evident through the armor weave armor that he had found in the armory. Seth's eyes darted among the figures trying to make themselves work. At his belt he wore the two vibro shivs that he had taken as well, but no lightsaber as he had not received training in that yet. Never the less, Seth had a near mastery of his hand to hand combat style, knifist, and it was complimented by his brute strength and speed. He may not have been a dark jedi yet...but he was still a formidable soldier.

"Who are you?" he asked in a level voice that betrayed no emotion.

Seth decided it was best to find someone who was to be on the mission as he was on. He didn't have any information, but he was well aware that they were going on some sort of rescue mission and he had no idea of where to report.

"What are you doing here?" he continued to ask staring at the jedi hunters trying to not give away his blindness.

The Corsair
Main Armory
15:05


Levathan didn’t know what to think when he was ordered aboard the Corsair and to arm himself. One moment he and the rest of the cadets were running through afternoon drills then himself and Dock were called away, handed a data pad each, told to pack and get onboard the Star Destroyer ASAP.

As they boarding the Corsair via a shuttle, Levathan could see that the various scars from her previous engagement had been completely removed; repair crews must have really pulled out the stops to have gotten her in this pristine so soon. The interior was like all other imperial ships; dull grey and completely devoid of color, with harsh white illuminating everything, leaving no shadows.

Dock and Levathan met up with Deatharoc in the hanger as they proceeded to the main armory to equip themselves. As they walked through the corridors of the ship, Levathan found out about the situation brewing on Koros and about what they would likely be facing.

As they approached the armory, they saw a human male in flexible armor weave standing in front of the door. He stood very still moving his head left and right slowly. As the hunters took little notice of him as they brushed passed him, until he asked them who they where and what they were doing there.

Levathan raised an eyebrow looked at him more closely, with his mind as well as with his eyes. He could see that this human was well trained in combat, but untried in the force, lower rank then the Hunters, but still trained.

Putting on a friendlier face, greeted the human,
“I’m Hunter Levathan, just Lev is fine if you find the other too cumbersome, this is Hunter Deatharoc and Hunter Dock. Considering you’re on this ship you must be part of the clan”

The human visibly relaxed, “I’m apprentice Seth En-Saeur”

“you’re already equipped but would you like to join us anyway? At the very least you can find out the second part of your question.”

To which Seth nodded.

When they entered Levathan heard Deatharoc say appreciatively,

“Damn, that’s a lot of guns.”

to which the quartermaster, who was over by a terminal, grinned as he took their data pads and verified their orders.

Levathan had already brought with him his massive, Masumune sword and his old KotN issue armor, which closely resembled storm trooper armor except in black, instead of white, with violet outlines. The armor itself was made of a tougher composite then the standard issue storm trooper’s were, it also contained a personal energy shield that would stand up for a short period of time to blaster fire, before needing to recharge from the power unit contained in the back pack.

As he unpacked the armor, he thought back to the time when he helped to design it, and remembered the old Keepers of the Night, who had either left, died or took up duties elsewhere. The armor was polished to a dull glow, still in good condition despite what it had been through, he never thought he would don this armor on again so soon. He slipped on the black under layer then proceeded to pull on the breastplate section, then the various pieces. When he was done, he was armored heat to toe, the environmental cooling systems activated soundlessly, adjusting to his body temperature, if he didn’t know better he would swear he wasn’t wearing any armor at all.

He then selected a modified DC-15 blaster in its pistol configuration for the leg holster while also taking the stock and barrel to convert it into a rifle if necessary. This done he attached his Masumune sword and sheath to magnetic clamps on his back, put his helmet under his arm and walked over to Seth, who was now talking to Deatharoc.

As the starlines quickly shrank to normal, Archpriest Apollo quickly made a check of his sensor board to confirm his location. His co-pilot and sensor operator, Apprentice Scion, double checked his readings, as usual.

"Back in once peice." Apollo remarked.

The long range Recon patrols he had been constantly sent on was both refreashing and welcome. He had found something to keep himself busy in the past month since his return to Tarentum. Recon was something he was very well suited for and he had took the request from his Consul seriously. Since his first mission, Tarentum has been keeping tabs on the Vong's movements through near sectors. Thankfully, they had not advaced in his clan's direction. A small blessing in a sea of galactic chaos.

Scion eyed him then nodded to the sensor board. Apollo glanced down and acknowledged his co-pilot. The Corsair had either finished repairs early, or something was up. As Apollo opened himself up to the force to get a feel for whatever situation he had now found himself in. Immediately his attention was focused on one particular presence on the moon of Koros. The presence was all too farmiliar to him.

"Telona.."

Scion peered over at his friend he knew better to disrupt him at this moment.

Apollo calmed himself and expanded his awareness towards the Corsair. His mind touched Sith's and countless others of the clan. Determination, fear, indecision.. they were common feelings of those onboard.

He once again reached out towards Telona's mind. Trying to pour calmness into the Force and awareness that himself and other's were coming to her aid. The only response he recieved was of endless dertermination to stay alive. He brushed up against her mind once more then slowly withdrew. Opening his eyes he opened a channel to the Corsair's COMM officer.

"This is Archpriest Apollo returning from long-range Recon. Please inform the Consul I will be landing momentarily and extend my services to this rescue mission." With a quick acknowledgement from the officer he switched off the comm and glanced at Scion who had quite the puzzled look on his face.

"Telona is on Koros. Stranded I do believe. The other's are attempting a rescue mission to save her. I'll be joining them." Apollo informed him as he guided the shuttle in for an easy landing in the larger ship's shuttlebay.

"You, on the other hand, will take the Escort Shuttle to low orbit once we land and maintain air cover shall we need it." Scion nodded and looked over at his friend.

"Try not to get yourself killed. I might not have been here long, but I've heard stories of what's down there." Apollo gave a small chuckle as he rose, then turned back.

"Scion, see if you can get the sensors calibrated to locate those creatures down there. It shouldn't be too hard, these sensors are the best the galaxy has to offer." With a nod, Apollo grabbed his personal gear and decended the ramp to the rapid activity of the ground crew refeuling and restocking the shuttle. He strode quickly out of the bay on his way up to the bridge hoping to get filled in on what has happened while he was on his mission.

The Corsair
Main Armory
15:05

Deatharoc was giving Seth suggestions on what weapons he should bring with him to Koros in order to combat the undead. The Jedi Hunter recommended bringing a DC-15 blaster and a Sc'rath sword. Seth took Deatharoc's suggested weapons with him along with a few more guns of his own choice. Suddenly, the Jedi Hunter remembered that he forgot to equip himself with his trusty, modified Mandalorian Disintegrator. Deatharoc used his telekinetic powers to open his locker and summon his disintegrator to his hand. Deatharoc shoved the weapon in his robe as he had done so many times before. Just after his little telekinetic feat, Deatharoc and the rest of the Dark Jedi were called by an officer to go to the hangar. Deatharoc breathed deeply. It was nearly time to kill some undead and raise hell on Koros. Deatharoc smirked at the thought of blasting dozens of undead and blowing up parts of Koros.

The Dark Jedi was left behind by his comrades as he adjusted the strap of his rifle. Deatharoc he was about to leave the room when a vision, exactly the same has the nightmare, struck him. The Jedi Hunter saw flashes of the man stabbing him with the lightsaber, the zombies tearing Deatharoc apart and the apocalyptic environment of Koros.

Deatharoc then recovered and quickly sprinted to the hangar, not wanting to be late for the shuttle taking off. The Jedi Hunter, while sprinting, swore to himself that he wouldn't die in Koros or at least bring down as many undead abominations as possible.

The Corsair
Briefing Room

Sith stood before the gathered clan members and team leaders from the non-Force users in Tarentum’s military. A holomap floated above the table showing the layout of the Cestus complex. “As you have all heard, Lady Telona and three students were forced to crash land on Koros. They are, for the time being, alive. The goal is to rescue them. An advanced team, led by Welshman, has already landed here.” A red dot appeared to indicate the location of Welshman’s group; a blue dot marked the location of Telona’s ship. “Unfortunately, due to the conditions on Koros, we do not have the luxury of being able to specifically pinpoint Telona’s location.”
“What conditions are those?” asked Seth.
“There is a variety of creatures, experiments by this clan, that have been loose on Koros for some time,” replied Sith. “I will warn everyone: these creatures are dangerous, though they are not as well trained as they could be. However, we do not know the full extent of their current abilities since they have been left alone for so long. Simple blaster shots will not stop them.” Sith paused for a moment, letting the realization settle in. “Remember, the goal is to rescue Telona and the others. Now, go the hangar where your team leaders will brief you on the specifics of your team’s drop zone and operations area.” With that, the group broke up, the briefing over. Zero hour was approaching quickly.

“So, you’re group will be taking the eastern zone?” Anshar asked Dranik.
“Yes,” he replied. “Telona and ShadowReaper are both members of my team and we watch each other’s back.”
“I will go with you,” said Anshar. “The quicker we can make this, the better.”
“And once we’re done, we’ll convince Sith to bombard the hell out of this place,” said Dranik.
“Or we’ll do it ourselves,” said Anshar. The two continued to walk in silence. Anshar’s mind drifted back to the strange apparition that had screeched at him in the hangar of the Aegis en route to the castle. He had seen it “fly” back towards Koros and, after talking around with various members, he knew that many of them had visions and dreams relating to Koros in some way.

Anshar and Dranik strode through the automatic doors to the hangar. All around them, the clan members and soldiers were making last minute preparations.

* * *

“We are still encountering interference.”
“By the Force. We already have enough trouble shaping what we want them to transmit.”
“The success rate is improving, though. We have just had one member repeat a nightmare even though he was fully awake.”
“Yet, at the same time, the interference grows. We must find out what it is and stop it. Perhaps the clan’s foray to the moon will solve this situation. For now, I suggest we wait and see what happens.”

As the shuttle, left Yridia II Adien anxiously tapped his saber hilt against his leg thinking about the creatures they face knowing that not one of them actually stood even a slim chance against one alone. That thought bothered him and the question that passed though his head, “how do you kill something that for one already dead, and two resurrected to be a killing machine?” He knew little about the beasts and still even, more so if it was he head playing tricks on him from being planet side too long or what that was making him hear stuff.

It did not take long to reach high orbit and the cold of space was welcome to him and remembrance of all of his years in the cockpit of a fighter and as well feeling the deck plates of capital ships set him at ease. Even though his thoughts raced, back to the lookout tower of the castle and wondered is that the only place on terrestrial ground he feels at ease. He missed the Stygian it became more of a home to him than even that of Naboo was as a child.

He was brought back to reality by Archean’s voice one minute until we reach the Corsair. In addition, Adien looked out the view port happy to see that she was intact and up in good operating order after the Vong nearly tore her apart. As the shuttle entered the docking bay of the VSD and touched down Adien was ready to race off the gantry and feel his feet touch the durasteel. Both Kazarelth and Raiju both noticed the change in demeanor that Adien projected as soon as the left Yridia II’s surface and was left in wonder how one minute the man go from uptight to relaxed in a near matter of moments.

The Corsair
Briefing Room
16:15

After the Consul's briefing of the mission, the clan's members and soldiers headed for the hangar. Deatharoc walked purposefully to the shuttle he was assigned on, wondering of the fate that the Force had planned for him on Koros. The Jedi Hunter was scared, though he tried his best not to show his fear. The undead on Koros were abominations bent on annihilating their prey. Deatharoc recalled what master Bloodfyre had said in the briefing: “I will warn everyone: these creatures are dangerous, though they are not as well trained as they could be. However, we do not know the full extent of their current abilities since they have been left alone for so long. Simple blaster shots will not stop them.” The words "Simple blaster shots will not stop them." After the Consul said these words, a soldier asked Deatharoc,

"If simple blaster shots will not stop these undead in Koros, how are we going to stop them."

Deatharoc answered to the soldier,

"Be creative. Try and blow a few holes into the zombies' faces."

Deatharoc wished he actually had the confidence he pretended to have around others. As much as he tried, Deatharoc couldn't suppress his fear for it was growing and growing. The only way to defeat the fear was to face it. Deatharoc was going to do just that on Koros.

The Corsair
Hangar
16:30

Deatharoc reported to his team leader and was pleased to find out that hunters Dock and Levathan as well as apprentice Seth was on his team.

"Well, at least I've got a few guys on my team who are gonna watch my back." said a slightly relieved Deatharoc

The team leader's briefing was short and straight to the point. The team was going to search the eastern part of the Old Cestus complex to try and find Mistress Telona and her students. After the briefing, the team leader told the team to board the shuttle. Apprentice Seth, who Deatharoc could tell was very excited screamed,

"Let's go and kill some undead scum!"

Deatharoc smiled at the young Dark Jedi's statement. The Jedi Hunter longed to be brave and ready to fight like the young apprentice but he simply wasn't. The Jedi Hunter boarded the shuttle while trying to find the courage; bravery and the spirit to fight that he knew was in himself. The Jedi Hunter knew that this would not be an easy battle to fight.

A monotonic voice boomed through the hangar,

"Shuttles bound for Koros, you are cleared for take off. Proceed on course to Koros."

Several Tarenti shuttles took off and headed for the apocalyptic hell that was the moon, Koros.

The silence lasted for several more moments as the Elder looked at the wound on her arm. She assumed there had been a host of bacterium in that undead’s mouth; bacterium that was now in her body and perhaps in her blood stream. She could do nothing about it at the moment and besides, she had to think of something to say to these Journeymen. Without any advanced training or past encounters with the undead creations they had a huge disadvantage but she didn’t want to tell them their chances of surviving was slim. They would all die quicker then.

“The odds are not ours to decide.” Telona said as she turned to Dralin. “The Force will decide if we live or join it. Yet I have not foreseen any death today so the odds are good that we will survive.”

Telona moved closer to the other two so they could hear her whisperings. “Now, I figure it’s been a couple of hours since we went down. I logged the flight plan and had a set time to start our tour of the Castle. One thing I learned while I was leader of the Krath is to never be late. They would have noticed our absence at the most an hour after our scheduled arrival time. After that they would have started searching. It’s a three-hour flight from Gladius to Yridia two in my old vessel so probably about two and a half hours in a newer ship to cover that part of the area. At the same time though I would expect someone from Tridens to be sent looking on this end of things. Hopefully by now they have spotted my old ship or what’s left of it. This facility was facing the sun so that would make things easier to spot. However, going off the assumption that our fate hasn’t been discovered yet I think perhaps another hour to search the distance between the asteroid belt and here before they really start scouring Koros.”

“How do we know if anyone will come rescue us? If there are dangerous things here wouldn’t they leave us for dead?” Elols’ nervousness resounded in his voice.

“A good question and one I’m not sure I can answer. They might seek to do a quick rescue and then again they might just figure us dead. I have faith that more than a few will be willing to risk their safety to save us. It will just take time to mobilize our best bet is to dig in and sit tight.”

ShadowReaper glanced over at the bloodless stump of a hand that had been severed from their attacker. “What about those things? Are there more?”

Telona paused. She knew eventually they would all start learning about Necromancy and the various experiments but she had not wanted to give them that lesson so soon. She sighed in resignation. “A few years back this facility was home to the third House of the Clan and then there was an accident. The creature that attacked is called an Aptrgangr and I do not know how many got loose. I just know that we could not handle them and so this place was abandoned indefinitely. Aptrgangr’s can present a real threat and they mostly attack in numbers. This one, something was wrong with this one. As you witnessed, blaster shots only slow them down. You have to hack them to pieces to make them stop and even then the liberated body parts can still do damage.”

The three Journeymen looked down at the bite wound on the woman’s arm. It had crusted over with dried blood but it still looked rather painful. “Hopefully we will be rescued before we have to face multiple Aptrgangrs. They’ll have to search a lot of rooms though.”

“You can’t just telepathically tell someone where we are?” Elols asked before his ears caught the sound of more faint voices.

“I don’t know this facility well enough to do any good. We’ll become a bigger target if I did that anyways. There is no doubt in my mind that our presence is known but the fewer clues we give to our enemy the better. Apart from the Aptrgangr are the Draugr. They are much more deadly and I doubt that I could handle one let alone the half dozen or so that were also loosed upon this station. In my encounters in the past they seemed to almost home in on Force users. One Draugr invaded Gladius many years ago and it first went after Journeymen practicing their powers then it came after the rest of us. It took a large effort to stop that one but we managed. I think it killed….what is it Elols?

The Bothan had whipped around to face the back wall. “I keep hearing strange voices and noises coming from that direction.”

“There is nothing but solid rock against that wall. These undead are super strong but not strong enough to tunnel through the rock without making a bunch of noise. The dark can play tricks on the mind. Try to stay focused and calm.”

“I’ve been trying to but I don’t know. Can you hear anything?”

Telona turned her attention to listening to her surroundings. “I hear water dripping and some footsteps in the distance but no voices.”

“Footsteps?” Dralin looked at Elols who nodded.

“At least five individuals and I think they are coming this way.”

Dralin brought his blaster to bear as he stood near the doorway, making himself as attentive as possible. Thinking back, we wondered what his family would say to him now as he stood there in the dark complex, trying his best to make sure that the others have time to get away from who knows what coming their way.

If there is something coming this way, the least I could do is stall it so that the others can escape, even if only for a second...

Steadying himself with a breath, Dralin waited for what was coming.

“Well, let’s hope it’s the rescue party.” Dralin said. His sentiments echoed with the thoughts of the others. Telona had drawn her saber, sending a clear-cut message to everyone around her that they should be prepared. Then, as suddenly as she had drawn and steadied it, she smiled.
“It is them.”

***

Koros.
Surface; near the Cestus Complex.
Sometime earlier.

The deafening explosion of Telona’s ship sent blast waves outward from it. The hyperdrive system had gone critical, as Telona had said. The rescue-team from Castle Tarentum staggered to their feet, jarred by the explosion they did not suspect. The shallow breathing through their re-breathers sounded like static over their communication-links. Welshman was the first to notice another ship crashed some distance away. It bore the insignia of Tarentum.
“Archean?” Adien and Welshman spoke together. They hobbled together to the ship, just in time to see the Blind Swordsmaster stumble out of the ship.
“Archean… what are you doing here?” Welshman broke the short silence.
“There are quite a few things you didn’t know, gentlemen.” He spoke softly, his lightsaber drawn. “Specifically, the fact that these things can be poisonous. I brought antidotes, and some information about the undead that lurk here.”
“They mutated, didn’t they?” Kazarelth asked, his eyes focused on the ruins of the Cestus Complex. Archean nodded his head.
“They have some new forms of which we only slightly know of. You know of the Force-sensitive Draugr. They now have lesser thralls to support them. Aptrgangr, the Asylum people call them.”
“And…” Raiju spoke.
“And. They swarm. Obviously, they can be killed more easily. Yet, they are something to be wary of. Especially because their masters mask their signature in the Force to an extent.”
No sooner were these words spoken, than the whole team sprang on an alert. A snap-hiss of a lightsaber ignited their senses. Kazarelth’s blade drenched them in a torrent of purple.
“I believe the Quaestor spoke the truth. We have been deceived.”

A menacing tsunami of grey was rumbling from the ‘entrance’ to the Cestus Complex. The undead fanned out in all directions and galloped to them. To the eyes of the Keeper, it seemed that a thunderstorm was finally arriving to the desert landscape of Koros. Only, this spread more barrenness.

“I have a few grenades here. They might help us to stop their attack. Slice off their limbs, then their necks.” The team acquiesced to Archean’s incoherent orders. “And do not, at any time, leave this group.”
“I think I sense a Draugr. Or some other powerful Force sensitive.” Welshman said. Kazarelth sensed it too. He steeled his grip on his lightsaber, as did the others.

Raiju’s dextrous throw punched a hole through the oncoming wave of the undead. The Dark Jedi launched themselves onto the undead, in a tight circle. Their weapons sliced through the Aptrgangr’s rotten bodies, humming like hungry scavengers. The Equites were making short work of the lowly minions.
Archean’s grenades were flying away, creating gaping voids in the circle of undeath that were filled up almost instantaneously. The Tarenti were hacking and slashing through the circle.

Then suddenly, the waves withdrew. Almost as if the low-tide had called them back. The menacing presence of the Draugr vanished completely. Welshman looked at his friends. Archean spoke up, “Let’s go inside” he said simply.
Kazarelth was panting. The Krath was not used to the gravity of the planet. Archean supported him as they went inside the complex.

***

“Took you long enough.” Telona smiled, as she saw the Tridens team. Dralin was very relieved, his fingerprints had become impressed to the blaster rifle. His appearance calmed as he saw his battle-team leader come up to him with his trademark soft smile.
“We had to search through a lot of rooms.” Welshman lightly said. He looked at the younger Journeymen. Then he noticed Telona’s bleeding.
“You’re hurt.”
“Yes. One of those Aprgangr bit me.” Telona said indifferently.
“I think this theoretically formed antidote should help.” Archean offered a vial.
“What does that mean?” Kazarelth asked.
“We don’t know if it will work.” Archean gravely said.
Archean administered the antidote, as the others looked on. They were very wary.
“I have a feeling that this is a major trap.” Adien said. The Warrior’s words were unnerving. However, Kazarelth could not help but agree.
“Do we wait for the Gladius team?” He whispered.

Koros Atmosphere
Tarenti Shuttle
17:50

Deatharoc was talking to Dock when the Team leader said that they were landing. Deatharoc upon hearing that landing time was near picked up his weapons clumsily. The Jedi Hunter was not accustomed to wearing armor and hadn't worn any since the Vong invasion. Deatharoc felt trapped in the durasteel vessel all over him. He envied Levathan who seemed much more accustomed to wearing heavy armor than he. Deatharoc said jokingly,

"No wonder Darth Vader was always in a foul mood. He had to spend the rest of his life clad in armor that must've weighed a ton."

Levathan and Dock were clearly amused. Levathan replied,

"Hey, were not wearing these things forever. Besides what would you rather do, wear armor that weighs a few pounds or be completely defenseless when fighting hordes of blood-thirsty Aptrgangr."

Deatharoc smiled and resumed preparing himself for the coming skirmish with the mutated undead. When the shuttle touched down on the planet's surface, everybody immediately stood up and walked out of the ship.

Koros Surface
18:20

The gravity on Koros was something that Deatharoc had difficulty adjusting to. The Jedi Hunter's first steps were slow and awkward. The party saw a shuttle in the distance. The Tridens rescue team was on the moon. Deatharoc could sense Kazarelth, Raiju, Adien and a few more people. The team leader told everyone to head out and they all did as they were told. As they walked, the leader told the team to never leave the group constantly and to always be on their guard.

After a few minutes of walking, loud footsteps and eerie wails could be heard. Soon, numerous Aptrgangr could be seen storming towards the group. Some of the group, including Deatharoc and Levathan, pulled their blasters out and began shooting. Deatharoc heard Seth, who was readying to battle some of these abominations with his sword, say,

"This is where the fun begins."

And although he was frightened, Deatharoc had to agree with the apprentice's remark.

Koros Surface
1824


As those with blasters started firing into the oncoming Aptrgangr, others readied there melee weapons; drawing them and going into a combat stance.

The Aptrgangr numbered roughly about twenty, coming at them at a full run, right into the blaster bolts sizzling through their decayed flesh without even slowing.

“Concentrate your fire!!” barked their commander, to which they obeyed.

Slowly the various bolts converged on one aptrgangr after another, but I was slow going; the undead had to be shot until they resembled nothing more then a smoking form of ash, while the undead closed at a ferocious rate.

“Melee forward!” another command

By now the squad had formed a line, to which the members with melee weapons stepped forward ahead of the shooters even as they kept firing into the undead, which now numbered 16.

Levathan, and those who felt more comfortable at close range, stowed their blasters and drew their weapons as they moved forward.

Drawing his massive sword, Levathan let out the breath he had been holding and felt a strength flow into his limbs as he called on the force, Deatharoc, who stood to his right, had also stowed away his blaster and drawn his blade, they looked at each other and grinned, despite the fear they felt.

The Aptrgangr ran straight into them, pushing them back at first with the weight and momentum of the undead charge. Levathan put his armor to good use, bracing and shouldering one of the undead back as it tried to bite into his protected shoulder, his first stroke caught the one of the undead in the abdomen, cleanly slicing it in half, then moving on to the next and the next, decapitating or cutting through a body. Then he felt a massive tug on left leg, looking back, he saw that one of the Aptrgangr whom he had cut through the abdomen was now pulling at his leg trying to bring him down, it’s upper half still intact had its arms warped around his leg while still trying to gnaw through the armored leg. Levathan pulled back with revulsion, and began kicking at the torso with his other boot, shattering bones but having no noticeable effect. So he started hacking away at it with his sword; cutting off its arms, which still clung to his leg despite being severed from the body, and methodically cutting up the rotting corpse. Looking around him he could see that the Aptrgangr, which the squad thought were finished, still moved; arms legs, torso’s even a head that tried to bite anything that came close to it. Looking at the others in the squad he could see wide-eyed shock in some, and severe determination in others. Levathan simply gritted his teeth and set about cutting up the still moving body parts.

When it was finally over, they had lost 2 solders one had his throat town out and the other had died of shock from countless bite wounds, and yet more were bitten or scratched from the Aptrgangr they had faced.

Deatharoc kicked an unrecognizable part of rotten flesh as the wounded were being patched up, “damn! This many wounded from only 20 of them! What are supposed to do if we go up against a bigger group?”

“we complete our mission no matter the cost!” said Seth who now had a dressing around his left hand where he had been bitten.

Levathan and Deatharoc smiled slightly at the enthusiasm of the apprentice.

“We’d better get moving, I can’t be sure but something is moving in this direction, I’m getting ground tremors from the east,” a scout reported checking his gear.

The squad leader, now looking concerned shouted, “ok we go now, head to the complex, move!”

Koros Surface
1848

Scion breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he wouldn't be getting out of the shuttle on Koros. He had heard rumors about the creatures there by now. Really, anything that could entice the Clan to rush the repairs on its Star Destroyer and get her under way again had to be extremely severe. To his well trained eye it was clear that the repairs had not been entirely completed. A few fairly well disguised patch jobs were evident. A forward turbolaser seemed to be missing a firing aperture. An aft missile launcher was covered up by metal plating. The burn marks and hull damage had been cleaned up very well though. The Corsair looked like she was in good shape and battle ready.

The Novice busied himself with the sensors. They were, as Apollo had said, the best he had ever had an opportunity to make use of. However, this scenario on Koros presented an interesting problem. One of the main ways of detecting individual life forms with instruments was their heat signature. These creatures he would be trying to track give off no heat. They're not even technically alive, which starts to explain the Force not working well against them. If they are within view, motion can easily give them away. The Novice wanted to do better than that. He wanted to be able to track them even deep within the old Cestus compound. Circling above it, he could help a great deal if he could relay the positions of his Clan members and of the creatures. Unfortunately, the ship's radar wouldn't penetrate very deep. The Cestus complex was a fortress, after all.

Finally, Apollo returned to the shuttle. "Ready to get out of here?" he asked.

"Almost. These sensors could track a pebble blowing in a hurricane on the surface, but I don't know that I'll be able to see anything inside the complex itself. It'd help if I had at least two other listening posts so I could triangulate sounds, but I don't think there's time for that. As it is we'll be pretty much the last ones there."

The Krath Archpriest nodded and seated himself at the pilot's controls. A few minutes later they were on their way to Koros.

***

The escort shuttle hovered lightly above the surface on Koros. Its spotlight illuminated a patch of ground ahead of it, littered with bloody body parts and broken equipment. A short distance away was the entrance to the old Cestus compound. The shuttle's motion betrayed the nervousness of the pilot; not quite touching down, it spun slowly from right to left as he visually surveyed the surroundings. Satisfied that it was "safe", the landing gear were finally allowed to touch down and the shuttle's ramp lowered. Apollo's armored figure stepped down in to the wreckage where his comrades had been fighting just moments before. The shuttle once again lifted off the ground before even allowing the ramp to fully retract.

"I'll cover you on your way to the Cestus entrance," Scion said into his commlink. "After that you're on your own until you find your team. Best sensors in the galaxy can't see a damn thing in that compound, Apollo. Be careful, old friend. They could all already be dead in there."

"Alright Firebird. Don't worry, I'll be fine. I still sense them in there. You just be there to pick me up if I come running."

Apollo took off at a run towards the complex. The escort shuttle hung low in the sky above him; his guardian demon watching over his shoulder.

The Krath had settled into a jog towards the entrance when his commlink crackled to life again. "Hurry you bastard! Run faster! There's a group of them coming in from the East! There's got to be at least a dozen of them and they're moving fast. No time to pick you up. Get inside and shut the fscking door behind you. I'll slow them down as much as I can!"

The priest felt the Force flow within him as he accelerated his run to a superhuman sprint towards the pressure door. Reaching the door, he mashed the access panel with his gloved fist. Nothing happened. He cast a quick glance behind him to see the escort shuttle settling low to the ground to cover him. Its engines were kicking up a massive cloud of dust. As he turned back to the door, he could hear the lasers begin to fire. The door still refused to open.

Violet light flared to life as Apollo ignited his light saber. He jammed it through the door and began to cut his way through. Too slow. He stretched out to the door with his thoughts, took a step back and tore the top half of it off. It hit the ground behind him with a dull thud. As he climbed over the door he could feel the heat of the molten metal through his armor. From the opposite side he allowed himself a glance back at his friend in the escort shuttle. He could see figures approaching through the dust now, ducking and dodging to avoid the laser fire, but coming relentlessly forward. The shuttle had retreated and gained some altitude, as the Sith piloting it realized his laser fire would not be enough to hold off these foes for long. Apollo silently thanked his friend for giving him the time he needed, then made his way deeper into the complex to find his friends within.

ACO Scion "Firebird" Altera (Sith)/Tridens of Tarentum [ACC: INI]
{SA: KS: ToL - DBB - AS - AIM - ICQ - IRC - GL - LF - ACC - CM - TS}

Apollo withdrew as much of his presence in the Force as he could after escaping from the outside. Telona's Tricks, as he'd come to call them, were finally coming in handy.

He had read up on his Clan history upon returning. A lot has happened in the six years he's been away. When he came upon the text of what had happened to and on the old Cestus base, he couldn't help but shiver at the thought. The creatures that now roamed these halls were powerful and savage. They also could feel the force, so that's a great reason to try and draw yourself as far away from the Force as possible. Besides, Necromancy has never been an interest, or a strong point with Apollo. His reserch had always revolved around old Dark Side technology and artifacts. Making the dead dance just seemed a bit wrong to him. Either way, that was here nor there. This was the present, and right now Telona and other clan members were deeper inside the complex, though not more than a few hundred meters, and he had to reach them. Or atleast protect thier escape.

He quietly made his way up a few different cooridors and ducked into a small room and checked his surroundings. Once he was sure that nothing was going to jump out and bite him, he took quick stock of his weapons. He checked his charge in his trusty DL-44 then checked the magazines of his two projectile weapons. Blasters are nice, but they dont have near the stopping power as some projectile scatter guns. They were loud, they were mean, and if you were hit with one, you went down, undead or not. He knew they swarmed en masse, so he knew time was of the essence. If he could bring enough down in a narrow hallway, it will give him time to escape and set a trap or two before the rest stumbled over thier groaning compatriots.

Glancing out into the hallway, Apollo made his way around the next corner. Scatter gun in his left hand, lightsaber in his right, he slowly made progress towards the others. It was only when he reached what was left of a galley did his heart sink. There, in the middle was a Draugr, from what he could tell from Telona's descriptions. And around it were several dozen Aptrgangr. If he didn't know these creatures were undead, he'd almost assume this was a staging area for an attack. Shaking his head slightly he backed away from his discovery and slipped into a hallway travling 90 degrees from his last position. Apollo knew that he had to inform Telona and the others that if they wanted to get out at all, it would have to be now.

Taking a deep breath, Apollo opened himself up fully to the Force. He quickly found Telona's very familiar mind and shared with her the images he had just seen and flooded the Force with urgency. He then rapidly withdrew from the Force.

A cry of anger or disbelief wailed from somewhere near the galley. Peering around the hallway he had just left, Apollo could see several undead making thier way to his position at a quick cautious jog.

"Frack me." was all he could utter as he attached a thin peice of wire to a thermal detonator and secured both ends to the opposite side of the hallway. Apollo then quickly ran off in the other direction. A few seconds later an explosion informed him of just how close they were to his six. The realization finally dawned on him. If he could keep these things busy, it could buy Telona and her team enough time to escape.

Apollo replaced his scatter gun with is blaster and fired a few shots down the hall to let the enemy know where he was and continue to make his way as far from his clan mates as he could. His Clan mates were going to survive, even if he had to take all these son of a bitches down with him.

Brimstone was still waiting in space flying around watching shuttle after shuttle leave the corsair to the Koros surface.

"I should be down there. There has to be a reason why I haven't been invited" though the chiss to himself. "Could they have known of my dream of my death?"

The comms came alive. A lieutenant was trying to contact Brimstone.

"Brimstone if you can hear me, Master Dranik has sent me a message to give to you that you are to fly to the surface and provide air support. You are not, he stated, not to land. Reply if you are getting this?"

"I heard you loud and clear. I am heading to the homing beacon right now."

Brimstone went full throttle into the dense atmosphere as his ship shuddered from the strain of the planet's gravitational pull. As he finally made his way through the cloud coverage, he located a shuttle decending towards the surface.

"Shuttle, this is Commander, err Hunter Brimstone" said as he caught himself, remembering he was no longer in the Chiss Ascendency, "I have you located and am providing cover. Let me sweep the landscape before you disembark and take the surface. Understand?"

"Brimstone, proceed to sweep alpha sector. If you find any undead, lay them to waste."

"My pleasure."

Brimstone flew ahead of the shuttle's possible landing zone and as he made his way around, found what looked like a fresh wreckage of a shuttle. This must have been Mistress Telon's shuttle that had crashed earlier.

"I hope she is alive. I need more training from her" though Brimstone.

Numerous creatures were running around and some assembled to the landing zone, waiting for their fresh kills to land and come off the shuttle. Brimstone made 3 sweeps, laying down all 4 cannons into the landscape, killing and vaporizing the creatures where they stood.

"Area secured. you may proced to landing zone Alpha" spoke Brimstone into the comms.

ISDII Magnus Kaerner
Bridge


The shrill tone of the bosun’s pipe cut through the bridge’s controlled din. The pit officers stood straighter, as they heard the heavy tread of boots against the metal command walkway. As Oberst made his way down the walkway to the conn, the Officer of the Deck met him halfway down. Stopping a meter from the imposing figure, and snapping a salute, the young Lieutenant’s hand trembled slightly. Oberst touched his baton to the visor of his cap in return.

“Sir,” the Lieutenant crisply stated, “we entered orbit around Koros forty-five minutes ago. We will be within range of the landing zones shortly.” He handed off a datapad with a summary of the action taken on his watch to Oberst.

Oberst scanned the datapad, before looking back at the Lieutenant. “Very well. I will relieve you of your watch.” Oberst nodded in response to the second salute before barking out, “Alert all pilots, get them to their squadrons. Lt. Erinos is to sortie immediately and patrol. Lt. Alfar is to launch after First Ess-Ess is clear of the flight deck. Alfar and Wraith group will provide pinpoint support to our ground troops.” The communications pit frantically came to life, relaying orders to the necessary areas and personnel. “Weapons control will remain on standby to offer orbital backup.”

* * * * *

Xayun Erinos attempted to pull on his pants as he rushed out the door. This promptly resulted in him slamming his head into the door frame. “Crud!” Xayun rubbed his forehead as he ran down the hall to the lifts, pulling a shirt on. He hated Oberst. He really hated Oberst. Who the hell did Oberst think he is? I was sleeping! Xayun rounded a corner, only to clip it with his shoulder. I really hate Oberst.

Xayun charged down the hall as he saw a pair of lift doors open, only two crewers within. “Hold that!” One of the non-coms stuck her hand out, to keep the lift doors from closing, allowing Xayun to charge in. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Lieutenant,” the brunette began. “I know you’re proud of your guns and all, Lieutenant, but that cannon isn’t one you want to display.” Her and her companion erupted in giggles.

Xayun flushed as he zipped up. I really hate Oberst

* * * * *

The transport cut through space easily. Unmarked and unassuming, it was perfect for its current role. Sirrus knew what was on the moon. He needed more of the samples. Alive. Dead. Undead. It didn’t matter. He just needed the bodies to study. Each one brought him one step closer to reaching that breakthrough he wanted so badly in his research.
Soft, padded tread perked Sirrus’ ears. Turning his head slightly, he came face to face with a nexu. Thick, cable-like stitches criss-crossed the nexu’s face. The wide mouth was agape, drool hanging from its bottom lip. Sirrus reached a hand to scratch the nexu behind the ear, “We’ll be there soon, girl. Very soon. Then, you and your friends in the back will get to play.”

* * * * * *

“Open fire on alpha sector! I want that entire area glowing.” Oberst stared down at the holographic map before him. The flash and sound would attract the undead. And in doing so, would hopefully pull enough away from the compound to make the extraction quick and painless. Unless they’d gotten smart.

“Sir! A ship in the area took collateral damage and went down close to the area.”

Oberst wheeled on the Ensign who spoke up, “Who the hell was in that area and who authorized it?!”

Sweat instantly broke out on the Ensign’s brow and face. The Marshal’s temper was legendary. “No idea,” the Ensign stammered, “I will find out.”

Oberst snarled, “Do that.”

“Should we divert an extraction team to the area, sir?”

Oberst leveled a cold stare on the Ensign, “No. The priority for the men on the ground is Telona.”

SITH SPIT!!!!!

Brimstone was weaving in and out of the onslaught as laser blasts rained down on the area where he was patroling and clearing the area for the shuttle. By will of the force, he is not getting hit. The shuttle on the other hand wasn't so lucky. It took a direct hit to its engines and crash landed. Brimstone could sense that there was pain on the shuttle and already casualties.

More turbolasers pounded the surface as Brimstome continued to rely on the force to keep from being a sitting target. As he banked hard right near the surface try to evade, a laser blast hit the ground in front of him cause a huge wall of dirt and debris to engulf him. Unable to see which way was up, he banked hard left to get out of the dust debris.

That move would cost him as his ship's left wing hit a rock formation and damaged the wing severely. His ship started to careen in a spiral as the sensors went haywire to an incoming impact with the moon's surface.

The impact was excrutiating and if wasn't for his harness keeping him in his seat, would have killed him. Brimstone woke up as the halon fire supressors kicked in to keep him from burning to death. He went to grab for the seatbelt and winced in pain as his left hand and wrist were shattered. Blood poured from the laceration on his scalp. Calling upon the force, he was able to slow the blood to a trickle and ease the pain in his left arm.

Brimstone unbuckled the harness and released the safety mechanisims to make the cockpit lid explode outward. the jedi hunter then grabbed his charric blasters and a charric assault rifle. He also grabbed some first aid kits to work on himself and hopefully make his way back to the crashed shuttle.

The barrage of turbolasers finally stopped. Hopefully who ever fired upon the landscape realized there was ships down too and realized their mistakes. Brimstone cursed under his breath, swearing he was going to beat the hell out of who ever destroyed his personal ship.

Grabbing a comm device, and turning on his homing beacon, he left his ship and made his way to the other ship. He slung his rifle over his right shoulder, and set the switch to kill mode just incase he gets attacked. This wasn't part of the dream he had earlier, but the feeling was the same.

The zombies, as Apollo has come to call them, seemed to be in search mode now. He had thrown off his pursuers for the moment and it seemed like half of the inhabitants were looking for him. After checking the charge on his blaster and the magazines on his other weapons he looked back at the door to the room he was currently hiding in. If the floor plans on his datapad were any good at all, there was a room above him that was next door to an old weapons storage locker. If he could get in there, he'd be set for awhile.

Risking one last glance over his shoulder he quietly popped off the vent to the vertical air duct. Placing it on the top rack of the shelf he was using to sit on, he eased himself into the duct angling his feet downward. After making sure nothing below or above him would immediately threaten his well-being, he replaced the vent cover and proceeded to make slow progress up the shaft.

Fifteen feet later, he peered into the room on the next floor up. At the doorway facing away from him, was a former staff member of this lovely place. Complete with ripped flesh and oily slicked hair. The creature seemed intent on something against the far wall, a datapad or something of that nature. Easing the vent off he quietly slid out of the duct and dropped to the floor. Right onto a peice of glass that just happened to break.

Cursing himself, he brought his lightsaber off his belt and was ready for the attack that took just over a second to develop. Thanks to Telona's teachings, his lightsaber made the appropriate first strike slicing through both wrists. The hands fell away as Apollo ducked and rolled to his right. His next strike came at the rear of the zombie's knees, sending his torso to the floor. The growl, or roar, or whatever it was called was a clear signal to whatever in earshot that it had found something alive.

Apollo didnt hesitate as his next attack was a sweeping downward arc sending the tip of his saber through the neck of the creature. As the head rolled a little to close to his left foot, another strike split the head in two.

Quickly moving to the doorway, he glanced down both sections of hallway to see two more rounding the corner to his right but still another thirty meters away. To his left was the weapons locker. Dashing to the locker door he slid a spare battery pack to the control panel on his right at the appropriate position. The panel dimly lit up. Keying an old code he hoped was still in use back when this place was abandoned, he brought up his projectile shotgun to bare on this attackers. Apollo fired at the first creature and watched in satisfaction as it's torso was shattered into a dozen peices and being thrown back ten meters.

As if the Force itself was controling his fate, the locker door began open as the last creature drew closer. Sending a hard kick with his left foot the zombie stumbled back only a few feet before resuming it's scramble towards Apollo's jugular. Those last few seconds gave him enough time to chamber another around and fire again. This time the shot was aimed at the pelvis. The right leg seemed to fly in one direction as the rest of the body fell in another. Apollo was quick to make use of his lightsaber once more, rendering the creatures' limbs useless.

He quickly ducked inside and closed the doors. Knowing that time was not on his side, he made short work of the items remaining in the inventory. Tossing a few thermal detonators in a bag, along with various viroblades, blaster packs, two blaster carbines and two hold out blasters. He sealed the bag and slung it over his shoulder. Grabbing the last thermal detonator he set the timer for two minutes and placed it under some fabric near the door. Apollo knew if he could get these weapons close enoug-

A thundering bang echoed through the room as something had hit the door hard enough to make a nice size dent. Apollo knew exactly what it was, without having to streach out with the Force. A Draugr. Frack.

Opening himself fully to the Force, he reached out for Telona once more. He flooded the Force with urgency of escape. This time he expanded his awareness to the other Clan members around her. Again, he urged them to make thier escape quickly. He also let the thought of him holding off a Draugr flow through the Force, hoping they would correctly gauge how little time they had left. Leaving himself open to the Force, he called the ticking thermal detonator to his hand and dropped it int he bag with the others. He slid two of the Viroblades into his belt and a few more power backs into his pockets.

His lightsaber thumbed to life as he began an escape attempt through the back wall of the weapons locker. He didn't think the door would hold up much more than a minute. Right about the time the thermal detonators would reach zero. But, either way, it would take out a leathal Draugr that was hunting the closest person in the world to him, so if he escaped or both him and that evil creature died in the same room. It would be worth it to know Telona had that much more of a chance to get away. Only time will tell.

Koros
Cestus Complex

Evant pulled his cloak in around him. The armor he had selected onboard the Corsair earlier had not been the bulky protective suits selected by some of the other Jedi Hunters in his group, he chose a lighter weight more flexible armor. The heaver gravity on the moon itself weighed heavily on the Krath's shoulders, which made him happy with his choice in armor yet uneasy at the same time.

Upon entering the Cestus Complex, the sight itself made the Journeyman uneasy. He pulled his cloak in around him to psychologically make himself feel safer. His right hand tightly gripped his training saber in his right hand. Although his DH-15 blaster and Krath War Blade were certainly more helpful, he had feelings that merely proving some level of force mastery could intimidate any threat and buy him time.

As his team quickly descended the halls of the Cestus Complex, Levathan and Dock were checking the rooms of the complex on either side. The bones that filled the halls of the complex and the dark that seemed to envelop them as they got deeper in seemed to slow them as they went. Partly due to caution, and partly as a result of the bones and obstacles in their way. As their team reached an incredibly decrepit section at the end of the first corridor, the entire complex shook.

The rocking began to unsettle the walls around them.

The team leader near the front yelled out immediately, "Everyone to defensive positions, form a perimeter using the east and west walls as cover!"

Evant watched as Dock balanced himself on the ground against the tremors, "What the hell is that?"

Attempting to talk loudly enough over the vibrations in the complex Evant turned to respond, "It almost seems like we're being assaulted on the surface."

"Well since these undead don't have too many weapons, I have to assume that's the sound of them dying."

Nobody seemed to really grasp what was really going on in the ensuing chaos. Evant himself pulled his blaster from his belt and pointed it back down the hallway where they had just come from. He could barely make out the slightest hints of light. He and the dark jedi and warriors along with him braced themselves with their weapons ready to kill.

***

Koros
Surface; Near the Cestus Complex

The entire ground outside the complex was charred from the turbolaser fire delivered from the ISDII Magnus Kaerner. What little substance there was surrounding the complex was glowing hot or nearly burning up. Explosions on the surface had attracted what undead were in the area to quickly head for the immediate area.

Koros Surface


Repulsorlift jets scorged the black surface of the planet Koros, as the Sentinel-Class Landing Craft "Immortal Dagger" touched down. After a few moments a ramp entended from the ship and seconds later a dark robed figure walked down the ramp, followed by five soldiers dressed in light battle garb.

Krath Priest Sephiroth Shamshan Kali took his first steps on the planet Koros and reached out with the Force. He felt several impressions in the air, the most prominent being pain, the Adept Telona was in pain, from what he did not know, but through his bond with the Gladius Envoy, he knew that somethng had happened. Anger flowed around and within the Krath at the though at someone, or something attacking the former High Priestess.

Kali removed his outer robes and stripped down to his battle garb. As always he carried no armor, simply his robes, his Lightsaber and his Staff, collapsed and hidden in his robes. One of his Secuirty personnel he had brought with him carried his Force Pike.

He instructed one of them to take his extra gear back to the ship and secure it. When she returned, he muttered his first words on the dead world.

"Fall out behind me. And may Taimat have mercy on any soul in our way. I surely will have none."

Tending to Telona's wounds, Archean's force sense picked up something. Fast moving bodies were littering the surface, not in a group, but scattered all over.

“Could it be more Draugr?” The Quaestor thought to himself. The Sith attached the last bandage and rose. “I sense beings approaching.”Gripping the hilt of his saber. Anxiousness filled the room as the prospect of another wave of undead filled the party's minds.

“I feel them getting closer.” Kazarelth stood and began setting up for an attack.
“Good idea, we should brace ourselves, this room is going to fill up really quickly.” Welshman moved a few things out of the way, so they had room to move when the time called for it.

“Alright, it's time to get out of here.” Archean adjusted his blindfold. “Dralin, Elol's, stay by Telona. Welshman, Kaz, Raiju, stay with me. We can't break otherwise we're finished.” Archean motioned for everyone to move out.

Just as Archean passed through the blast doors, he was met by a swift slash of a Draugr's hand. The Battlemaster sensed the attack and quickly dodged it, letting out a shock yell. Igniting his saber, he thrust downwards, severing the limb from the creature. Welshman moved forward from the pack, just as his purple blade shot out from the stylish hilt. Welshman threw his saber into the face of the Draugr as Archean swiped it's mid section, partially severing the monstrosity in two.

“Lets go! There will be more!” Archean yelled as his ran forward, stepping over the twitching creature. The hiss of sabers igniting echoed throughout the corridor of the complex.

“To the right!” Exclaimed Dralin as he saw a grey figure jet forward with tremendous speed. Welshman spun backwards and stabbed the Draugr in the midsection with his back to the creature. Welshman sensed a swipe and ducked just as Apollo rushed to his position with a swift left-to-right diagonal stroke, ending the beast's life.

As the group edged forward, screams could be heard echoing down the blood splattered halls.

“Can you hear that?” Raiju asked.
Archean nodded. “It's Gladius.”
“Then let's greet them.” Welshman smirked, running forward.

Sephiroth, Dock, Deatharoc and Evant all had underestimated the power and ferocity of these mutated creatures. Witnessing these creatures for a first and second time, feeling their blood-lust, they aren't to be taken lightly.

Sephiroth swung wildly as two Draugr approached him. Dock and Deatharoc had troubles of their own, as did Evant. One of the Draugr stalking Sephiroth jolted forward at blistering speed, knocking the Krath down hard on the floor. Dock and Deatharoc were trying their best to fend off a lone Draugr. Parrying the Draugr's swipes, moving around it, trying to disorientate the beast was clearly not working. Using the force to speed his movements, Evant rushed to Dock and Deatharoc's aid, thrusting forward with his training saber. The Draugr didn't even flinch. It turned to Evant and swiped Evant away like he weighed nothing.

Archean, Welshman and Kazarelth used the force to speed up their movements, coming within seeing distance of the 4 Tarenti. Archean's force sight was perfect, he could see where his friends were and how many Draugr were around.
“Welshy, lets help Seph. Kaz, help the other 3.” Kaz broke off and rushed to the 3 Tarenti, Welshy and Archean stayed together as they approached the two Draugr. Totally blindsiding the beats, Archean slashed his saber upward, splitting the Draugr in two. Welshman used the force and picked up the monstrosity, swiftly stabbing it. He released the grip and took his saber out, quickly severing it's torso from its waist before it could attack. Kaz jumped to the left, using one leg to bounce off the wall, he fly kicked the Draugr square in the head then spun in mid flight, saber outstretched, slicing the creatures neck. Apollo moved forward and finished the job with a flurry of slashes.

The corridors were quiet once more. The Tarenti paused for a moment, each one catching their breath and realising what they had come up against.

“Nice of you to arrive, gentlemen.” Archean mused, disengaging his saber. He sat down, leaning against the wall, visibly tired.

Sephiroth slowly picked himself up from the floor. He bowed to the assembled Dark Jedi. "Lord Quaestor. Lord Welshman, Lady Telona. Good to see you all again, though I prefer other circumstances. What is the plan here?" "I don't..."

Many of the Dark Jedi turned thier heads at the subtle prompting of the Force drew thier attention.

"Something is down there." Sephiroth spoke, refering to a dark hallway in the complex. The sounds of the readying of various weapons was heard lightsabers, blasters and anything they could find as the group prepared to go deeper into the complex.

Koros
Cestus Complex

Evant reattached his training saber to his belt. The force of the impact with the corridor hallway had nearly knocked him unconscious. He watched as Archean and Welshman came from nearly nowhere, with their lightsabers ready to tear down the undead that had pushed him to the floor. The welcome sight allowed the Jedi Hunter precious moments of relief.

The Journeyman watched those bitten or clawed by the undead of the complex struggle to heal their wounds. Around him the mangled pieces of undead bodies were being incinerated by whatever means possible beyond any recognition. Even the smallest portion of these undead seemed to cling to whatever decrepit power from which they came and the group of dark jedi took necessary steps to ensure they were truly dead once more.

Evant had spent much time in his studies focusing on his own body and soul, and having been injured by physical impact from the wall instead of an undead he used this moment of relief to heal his wounds, suppress his pain and pull himself to his feet as the Krath Priest beside him did as well. While regaining his composure from the blow, he watched as Sephiroth inquired as to their plan.

Despite the larger group of dark jedi moving incredibly quietly down the dark corridor to Archean's lead, the sounds of footsteps seemed to come at them from nearly every direction. Evant stuck nearby to Dock, Deatharoc and Levathan who seemed to move together. He felt there was much to learn from his fellow Jedi Hunters as Archean lead them towards what had seemed like the heart of the Cestus Complex.

Apollo glanced around at his fellow clan mates, checking to make sure they were ready for whatever is in store for them. He passed out two blaster packs and then a Viroblade to one of the Journeyman. He knew they would need every bit. His attention then focused on Telona. He knew how bad she was hurting though she would not show it. Her face was almost as emotionless as it usually was when other people were around.

As the group of Dark Jedi moved down the corridor, Apollo replaced the bandage on her arm with one he had brought with him. The bacta pressure wrap seeming to ease the pain just a little, he gave a small squeeze on Telona's shoulder. She nodded to him in appreciation. Apollo glanced around then smirked a bit.

"You know, the more I tried to lead them away from you, the more hallways and rooms I found to be blocked by something or another. Its like they wanted us all together for something." he mentioned to her in a whispered tone. Then adding, "There is an intelligence behind this, something with more hate in it's heart than anything those of us assembled have within." Telona seemed to ponder that view for a few moments

Apollo took the time to quietly top off the internal magazine for his shotgun, easing each round into place. Holding it by it's pistol-grip, he unhooked his lightsaber from his belt. He dismissed the smirks the "primative" weapon brought from the younger members of the group. His focus now was on keeping Telona and everyone else alive until they can escape. If that ever came..

As the Elder woman’s mind pondered over everything that had taken place thus far she was silently losing an internal battle. Sleep depravation over the past few weeks had left her immune system in shambles. These Tarentum members meant well by giving her medicines but it just wasn’t the right kind. The bacterium that had been introduced was slowly placing her in septic shock. Others that had been bitten would soon find themselves in the same predicament. They would all need more medical attention than they could give to each other in the field.

“I don’t think these things we’ve taken care of are Draugr or Aptrgangr. They are different somehow and yes there is a greater mind at work here. We’ll be in their trap soon.” Telona said in a low voice mostly to Apollo but Elols’ acute hearing picked up on their conversation.

“How do you know these zombies aren’t Draugr or Aptrgangr?” The man asked as he double-checked his weaponry.

“When the one Draugr ran loose in Gladius it took the combined efforts of the Equites of the house just to corner the thing. Even then we did not have the power to destroy it. As I have watched how easily our guys have taken out these attackers I can clearly state that we have yet to come face to face with a true Draugr. I’m not sure if the whole lot of us could take one down. Who knows how many are here.”

“Ok and what about the…Aptrgangr? Aren’t those supposed to be easier?”

“Yes but their abilities still rival our own. I had a run in with one that was curiously damaged but it still got through my defenses and I have this bite to thank for that. I am by no means the best at combat but this thing was still a lot quicker than what has been coming since.” Telona paused as the first chill of infection ran through her body. “It has been a good while since anyone was here. Some kind of change has happened. I’m sure Sirrus and the doctor would like to get their hands on some of these creatures. We might even be encountering something new.”

“Something new? How could that be possible?”

“I don’t know but we might have been encountering some kind of scouting party used to judge how strong the group is.” Telona replied as the group stopped just shy of the large atrium or at least what was left of it.

Here, sunlight filtered down in bright beams from the transparasteel dome to give some clearer vision of the damage this structure had sustained. Carved pillars bore great cracks, blaster scorch marks, and deep gouges. The tiling was barely there anymore, only the rocky surface of Koros remained. The very air stank of stagnant water, rotting plant fibers, and the hint of flesh well pasted the decayed state. The air quality was horrendous but at least there was some still here. Cautiously the group entered this area. Just down one more hall and they would make it to the hanger and freedom beyond.

Elols immediately picked up on the sound of many feet moving in their direction. In the background he could also hear those voices. They were getting closer too but not as fast as the feet. He nervously tapped Telona on the back.

“Something is coming and I don't think it's the scouting party.” He whispered. "There are voices too but farther away. They seem to be hanging back."

Then, like a hot poker, laughter tore through the minds of everyone present. It was a sinister, deep, rusty laughter forced upon their minds through the Force. With it came the image of one of their own being eaten alive but it was a member of Cestus from six years ago. All the Tarentum members cringed at the sight but it struck home to those who had known him. His mouth was open but all they heard was the piercing laughter.

Hangar
Corsair
Prior to launch of the back up teams

Anshar watched as each member made their final preparations. Some checked their weapons repeatedly out of habit like good soldiers; others checked out of nervousness. Dranik stood next to Anshar, surveying the scene as well. Some of his battleteam was scattered out on other missions, so he would merely be leading what he had. Suddenly, Sith’s voice entered both of their minds.
‘Gentlemen, I have a favor to ask,’ said the Consul. ‘Telona and the others are well on their way to being rescued. However, there is a small research team from the Asylum heading to Koros. I’d like you to escort them.’
‘You must be joking,’ replied Anshar.
‘I’m not. Look, they know exactly what they’re looking for, it is in an area that is largely isolated from the rest of the base, and any undead should be minimal. If it helps any, this research, or so I have been led to believe, should help prevent something like this from happening again.’

***

Anshar replayed that last bit of the conversation as he and Dranik exited the shuttle ahead of the researchers Irdek and Illyana Fol. Anshar recognized them, having seen them from time to time, but he had never cared to know them. Now he had to watch over them as they hurriedly went about their business, which was apparently to gather samples of something for Master Zero. They were nervous, fully aware of how much danger they were in. But, they were professional about their job as well.
“Turn left at the next intersection,” said Irdek, a datapad in his hands. “And enter the fifth room on the right. This is where we were directed to go.” The door was already ajar, having been torn apart some time ago. The two siblings immediately set about looking for their particular samples. As they scooped a variety of things up, taking swabs and pictures, Dranik closed up with Anshar.
“Something’s not right,” he whispered. “I mean, even for this place. We’re being watched.” Anshar nodded and Dranik slid back behind the two siblings once they indicated that they were done. They left the room with Anshar leading. The undead were, apparently, off chasing the others. Dranik had to admit that he would have liked to have helped Telona and the others, but Sith had said this research could prevent this from happening again. He had managed to talk Anshar into it, after all.

Dranik could not shake the feeling and a cold shiver went up and down his spine. Suddenly, he felt a cold breeze rush by in a mere moment, but he could have sworn he heard laughter. So intent was he on watching his over his shoulder that he almost knocked over Illyana. They had come to a complete stop and both siblings were trembling. Dranik could feel their fear. Looking past them, he saw something he had hoped never to see face to face again: a draugr. This was the real deal, though he was surprised to see it just standing there in the open. Something didn’t seem right, though, beyond the mere fact that a deadly walking corpse assassin was standing in front of them, blocking the intersection.
“Dranik,” said Anshar calmly. “Get these two out of here and I will join you.”
“What-”
“Just do it!” With that, Anshar leapt into an attack, both of his lightsabers springing to life as he unleashed the full fury of the Jar’kai Niman form of lightsaber combat. The draugr deftly moved out of the way and the deadly dance continued.
Dranik wished he could do something to help Anshar. But, Anshar and the creature were moving too much for him to get involved. Still, even as a master, Anshar would be hard pressed to kill the creature. Then again, Dranik knew Anshar well enough to know that the goal was only to drive it far enough back to give all of them a chance to get out. All he had to do was pin it somewhere.
“Let’s go!” hissed Dranik, but to his shock, the two siblings stood frozen, their eyes glazed over. “What the hell are you doing?” Suddenly, without warning, Irdek swung his arm backwards, the blow catching Dranik in the jaw. Illyana swung her mobile lab kit at Dranik, managing to hit him in the shoulder.
“Hello, Tarentae,” said Irdek, though his voice was scratchy and it did not sound like him at all. Suddenly, both siblings raised their hands and, with the Force, flung Dranik back against the wall, slamming him hard enough to knock the wind out of him. As he slumped to the floor, wondering how in the hell the siblings had done that, he saw Anshar fly towards him, though the Krath master landed several feet in front of him, both of his lightsabers still in his hand. The draugr leapt on top of Anshar and, rather than killing him, grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him into the floor, knocking him out.
“These two will do nicely,” said the scratchy voice as something blunt hit Dranik in the head, knocking him out as well.

* * *
Somewhere deep in the Cestus Complex

“They bombard us, as we expected. How soon can we seize this opportunity, Adamu?”
“Soon enough, Drelus. These two must create more Ghalia or Hishi for us, or else we can do nothing to them. But we will have our chance for revenge on those who trapped us in that infernal crystal. We must seize the ship with the former holder and make certain he dies with them.”
“The creature is released, Adamu. I must say that having their own creations kill them is almost as pleasant as killing them ourselves.”
“I agree, Saryana. Call the other four here. Let these foul Tarenti play with their pets some more.”

Snarling slightly at the image in his head, Dralin gripped the vibroblade harder, glad for at least the familiarity of the blade. Looking at the others, he noted their similar expressions.
"What was that?" he whispered to Telona. "What did that mean?"
The increased gravity and lesser atmosphere were definitely taking a toll on him, not to mention the constant vigilance he'd been trying to keep around them.
At least Elols can keep an ear out for us...

Brimstone was safely at the shuttle crash site, tending to himself and the other victims. Though he didn't recognize many of them, he realized that he would have to be the one to set up perimeter and guard till rescue arrived.

As the hours stretched into the night, the temperature dropped dramatically. The chill of the air was a welcoming effect. Even Brimstone was able to get a couple hours of sleep.

Brimstone got up for his shift of guard duty and after making another emergency call to the fleet in space, he went to his post.

When he got there and after making some idle chit-chat, he started to get him self situated into the bunker to watch for anyone come in the perimeter.

A sharp jolt in the force alerted him fast that they were not alone. Turning on his nightscope to nightvision, he looked upon the landscape. He noticed a movement of something hunting them. He got a bead on the creature and watched as it inched its way towards them. He whispered to the other sentry to get a flare up and ready for an attack.

As soon as he was set, brimstone felt the life sense of the creature. He turned off his nightvision to keep from getting blinded from the sudden brightness of the flare. With a second command, the other sentry released the flare.

The creature stared up as the flare went in the air and then cringed as it was seen. Brimstone's bead on the creature was perfect as he hit it square in the chest. It fell down, but got back up and made a charge for the bunker. Both Brimstone and the sentry open fire on it. But no matter how many times it was hit, it kept charging. It made a leap for Brimstone but he ducked. The creature landed behind between the two tarentai.

The creature pounced upon the other sentry and Brimstone spun around and open fire upon the creatures head. The creature kept trying to get up, but Brimstone was relentless as he poured the rifle's battery into it. As soon as brimstone replaced the battery pack, the creature finally died.

Other tarentai ran to the scene. This was going to be a long night. There will be more to come hunt for them. Their resources were going to get thin. Brimstone could sense more in the distance coming. Hopefully they would be able to survive the night when the rescue team gets here.

Brimstone went to the comms and sent out another distress meassage.

Department of Necrozoology, Mystic’s Asylum. One week previous
The sterile room reeked of death. Even though no visible signs of the experimentation and gore desecrated the now pristine-white walls of the operating room and the smell of disinfectant hung heavy in the sky, no the impression of death was on a much more fundamental level. The Force rung out with the tortured spirits of those he had condemned to pain and degradation, one could almost claim the tortured “minds” had an awareness of events, something that should have been beyond the animals and near-sentience organisms he spent most of his time working on.
“Essenba, send a message to Adept Sirrus. We may have stumbled on something interesting...”
Koros Surface. Present.
The Force-image drilled its way through the Warlord’s perception expanding to fill every corner of his mind with the nightmarish scene. He had known many of Cestus’ number during the House’s final years, had indeed sparred with many to train his then fledgling skills with a sabre, but mercifully the tortured figure in his mind was not one of his associates. The despair that echoed through the minds of those gathered along with the haunting laughter threatened to buckle the knees was however altogether more ancient and malevolent then events that had transpired here nigh on half a decade ago.
The psychic howl arose to a crescendo in the minds of the gathered, beleaguered Tarenti as the ethereal force continued to press upon the survivors its brand of torture. Gritting his teeth against the mental torment Welshman focused the Force into his mental defences and almost sighed with relief as the intense pressure vanished from his cranium.
Looking around at his fellow Jedi he noticed that they too were establishing some mental defences to hold out the presence but strangely enough he noticed that the weaker members visibly waned, a waxy pallor appearing on their faces that were beaded with perspiration.
“So that’s how they did it... Telona I think I happen to know why those Dragur were easier to kill. The mental wraith just now feeds on the energy generated by creatures and like any parasite it inadvertently weakens its host. Send out a warning to all our forces in the area, especially those who aren’t as gifted in Force prowess.”
Activating his crimson and violet blades the Warlord prepared for the storm that was surely to come...

The hum of the lambda class shuttles engines was nothing new to Adien as he sat in the co-pilots station of the craft looking out the view port. He could already see the Magnus Kaerner as they cleared the Corsair’s hanger bay, The ISDII overshadowed the lunar surface conderably larger than the Corsair, and a smile cracked the Sith’s face as he saw the vessel open up on the lunar surface raining down serveral shots from it’s turbo laser batteries.

Adien was both nervous and overjoyed over being informed that he was to be in command of the clan’s new flagship and looked forward to learning every inch of the 1600-meter vessel. The warrior didn’t have much time for personal thought with the trip between the Imperial vessels took only a few moments, as the shuttle settled up into the ISDII’s secondary launch bay Adien had already began to make his way towards the gantry and gathered what he had with him.

He smiled again with the thought this is certainly different from the Stygian as soon as he feet touched the deck plates. A ensign greeted him and quicky said, “Welcome aboard Captian Corsair, you’ve been expected follow me.” Adien replied, “Very well.” The two walked though the ship as they headed towards the bridge. Adien felt at home, it had been a long time since he was aboard a vessel of this size and class… Since he was a pilot in the Imperial navy so many years before.

Koros Surface
Cestus Complex
Abandoned Storage Room

For moments nothing happened. Welshman’s sudden burst of insight threw the Dark Jedi into a sea of panic as each went to grab their weapons and readied themselves. But nothing came. No one moved. And the only thing that could be heard was the low hum of the activated lightsabers. It frustrated Raiju, he was tired and worn from fighting off the mental images that the group had shared and the annoying sting of pain as sweat dipped into his eyes worsened this state. But that wasn’t what angered him most. Falling from his stance, and dropping the point of his Fira towards the ground; Raiju moved towards the Sith Warlord and pushed the man violently upon his shoulder.

“Wraiths?! What the f*ck are Wraiths, and more importantly why have I never heard of them.” The Ryn exploded, making gestures with his blade as he swung it around pointing in different directions. “Here we are, in the middle of f*cking ghoul country and you now are just saying there’s something more than Aptrgangr and Draugr?!”

“Raiju! We don’t have time for this…”The Warlord snapped back, sparing the Raiju his wrath out of kindness for his young friend.

“Damn right we don’t have time! Which is why this was something that should have been explained at the beginning! If I knew there were creatures that can get inside you like that, I would have stay back at the castle getting inside someone else!” Raiju continued until the shrieking laughter slowing began to return. The giggles of laughter could be heard slowly surrounding their position, and Raiju shake his head in an attempt to rid himself of a slight ache in his head he was starting to feel. Slowly, the Ryn muttered. “I can’t believe I gave up poonani for this crap.”

The low whisper of Raiju wasn’t heard by the rest of the group as the Ryn fell to a knee. He clutched the front of his forehead with his hand, and Kazarelth was quick to knee beside him asking what was wrong. Before Welshman could however, Archean stepped close and quietly spoke to the Warlord.

“We can’t stay here long, Telona is worsening by the moment and the journeymen are obviously suffering too.” He stated softly as the two looked down on the kneeling Guardian. A quick nod from the Warlord showed his acknowledgement but pointed out his fear of what could be surrounding them. “Aye, I agree but if we stay here our chances will worsen. We need to start moving for the surface, and all we can do is block the way behind us so we aren’t surrounded by both sides.”

“Right…listen up everyone.” Welshman shouted to get everyone’s attention. “We can’t just stand here and let ourselves be trapped in this room. We need to head to the surface.”

The response from everyone was slow and grim, everyone knew they most likely face death no matter if they stayed here or not. Welshman quickly directed Dock and Evant to push a couple of the storage units in front of the other door in the room as he moved to check out their exit. Holding his sabers tightly he kicked the activation button for the door and waited for the door to slip open. Everyone’s hearts sped as he quickly peered outside, but when he slowly and calmly nodded to everyone to follow they found themselves relaxing slightly.

The Gladius team was quick to the door to follow, obviously eager to either get the hell out of here or still itching for a fight. After them followed Telona and her journeymen, who were watching her cautiously. As Elols, the last of them, passed through the doorway; Raiju rose to his feet with the encouragement of Kazarelth. The Ryn spat ferociously at the floor, and a snarl could be seen on his face as Archean waved him through the door, and Kazarelth after him.

The group moved slowly at first as Welshman was cautious to check each hallway they passed. But the more they passed nothing, they gained confidence and speed. All but Raiju. The Guardian was sweating badly and was incredibly tired, he had managed to fight off the wraiths like everyone else but it left him weaker then most; which was not surprising to Archean, who watched him closely from behind. The Sith Battlemaster knew of Raiju’s weakness in certain areas of the force. The young Ryn was a true Obelisk, he focussed only on the talents that would help him master the skills of a combatant. But this left the Ryn lacking in other areas, like force defence and foresight which was evident in the fact he was one of the only ones not to have visions of late about Koros.

As the group stopped while Dock and Evant went to move several more shelves and lockers to block another hallway they passed, Raiju muttered something to Kazarelth asking why the laughter still surrounded them. The Knight gave a puzzled look to Archean before he corrected the Guardian, saying the voices had stopped when they left the storage area.

The Ryn’s head was quick to snap up, and his mouth bared his yellow teeth in a snarl. The group was quick to recoil as the Guardian violently gripped the Knight around his neck and pinned him against the wall while he shouted.

“Why would you lie to me, Kaz!” Raiju said angrily before Archean was quick to ripe him off of Kazarelth and bare his activated saber in front of the Ryn’s throat.

Welshman was quick to come to Archean’s side, and also pointed the tip of his saber at the Obelisk’s throat. But the danger Raiju faced didn’t seem to concern him as he slowly giggled like he would when he was smoking with Lucius. The giggle picked up into a full laughter as the Obelisk began to bob his head like a chicken. After a few moments of the eeriness, Kazarelth lunged forward.

“I can’t take it anymore.” He yelled as he smacked Raiju on the top of his head with the butt of his saber, but as the Ryn fell to a knee and covered his head with his arms the laughter didn’t stop. It merely faded, and changed direction. As Archean, Welshman, and Kazarelth all looked down the hall to where Telona and her journeymen stood they saw Elols standing off to himself and was shaking like Raiju had.

“So many voices.” Elols whispered as his eyes glazed over.

Telona did not hear him. She didn’t hear the scuffle that had taken place behind her nor what anyone had said to her ever since the image had flooded their minds. Her body moved but it was on autopilot. The vision that had seen to her lack of sleep for the past few weeks played through her mind relentlessly until Apollo gave her a hard shake.

“Get it together!” He hoarsely whispered. “You’ve got to hang on just a bit longer.”

Welshman turned his attention to the woman. His mechanical eyes whirled as they focused on her infrared signature. He knew right away that she had a fever and that concerned him deeply. She was an Elder and Elders were good to have as an ally on the battlefield so long as they were healthy. She was becoming more of a baggage as the minutes ticked by. They definitely had to leave. His gaze swept over the rest of the group. Suddenly he spotted something on the wall just before were Elols was standing. He moved over to it quickly and brushed away the grime that had built up.

Docking Bay D ----->

“A way out.” He mumbled as he flagged Archean over to him. “Here’s our way out. I’d bet my eyes there’s a trap waiting for us there.”

“You think we’ve got enough able bodies to blast our way out?”

“No but we might have some people outside who could lay down some suppressing fire while we escape. It will be risky but I don’t know of any choice other than blowing open the dome back there and having one of the shuttles drop us some lines to climb up or hook on to.”

Archean tapped his chin with his finger as the thought. “Alright we head for the exit. I want you to try and make contact with whoever is out there. I want them all in position to pick us up and provide cover for us should there be a trap waiting. I’ll get everyone assembled and ready for what’s ahead.”

The two leaders of Tridens set about their task as quickly as possible. The enemies of the Dark Jedi silently gathered for an ambush in the docking bay. This time they had come armed with any weapons they could find. The intelligence that drove them on stayed well away from the action, delighted by this game of cat and mouse.

Koros
Alpha sector

The rescue shuttle finally arrived as well as two armed gunships escorting it. As it landed, a sigh of relief fell upon Brimstone and the rest of the other tarentai. After they loaded the injured and the dead, the shuttle lifted off.

Brimstone went to the cockpit. He was asking questions as to why and who shot them down. The commander of the rescue party infromed him that they were not just there to pick them up, but to aid in the rescue of those still stuck in the complex. Brimstone agreed upon helping them provide aid.

The shuttle and its two escorts arived at the complex. The docking bay was ahead of them. Brimstone noticed out of the viewport that there was alot of creatures inside, staging what looked like an ambush.

"We have got to clear it out or the others will be dead if they walk into the trap."

"We know. That's why the commandos are here also to help rescue efforts" replied the captain.

Brimstone rushed out of the cockpit with the captain to help provide cover as the commando unit got ready for the assault. The two gunships dropped cluster bombs that were filled with thermo grenades. As soon as they hit the middle of the dock, the explosions were devastating to the creatures. When most of them were killed, the shuttle proceeded to land to the landing platform.

"Ok commandos, proceed with the sweep of the area. Leave no undead alive" barked the captain.

The commandos disembarked.

Somewhere deep in the Cestus Complex

Anshar came too, his head and shoulders hurting and arms securely fastened by a twisted metal rod. He could sense something nearby, something filled with rage and a desire for revenge on a level that he had never felt before. Not even Oberst’s infamous temper came close to this.
“So, the master awakens,” said a thin, sly voice. “How nice that your apprentice joins us.” Dranik was looking around himself.
“Silence, Drelus,” said another voice. Anshar finally lifted his head, his eyes casting about the room. Before him stood seven Force ghosts: three male humans, a human female, a female Twi’lek, a male Falleen, and a Duros. All wore clothing that showed various interpretations of ancient Sith armor and scars and tattoos were prominent on all but the human female. She herself seemed to be perfect, without a blemish of any sort. It was the strange nature of Force ghosts to resemble their living form, right down to such details. Behind them, trapped in the corner, but awake, were the two siblings from the Asylum research team, their research kit and Anshar’s and Dranik’s weapons lying beside them.
“Let’s cut to the chase,” said the human female. “Both of you insipid Tarentae shall make Ghalia and Hishi.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Anshar, already looking for a way out. He knew Dranik was doing the same. Anshar himself wasn’t concerned with the Force ghosts as they were no recorded instance of Force ghosts being able to physically harm the living, at least not on their own.

“Do not play games with us,” said one of the human males. “Make for us the spirits that invade your dreams and cause the visions.”
‘What are they talking about?’ asked Dranik telepathically.
‘No idea,’ replied Anshar. ‘Though I wager it has to do with the Keepers. Let’s see what we can learn while we work on getting out of here.’
“We don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Anshar. “I guess you picked the wrong Tarentae.” The group of Force ghosts seemed to hiss in disappointment simultaneously.
“Liars!” spat the human female.
“Now, now,” said the same human male as before. “Perhaps we have miscalculated. We should have known that not all members of this clan would delve into such arts. But, I’m certain we can make them experiment. For surely they have at least been exposed to the ideas.”
“What do you want?” demanded Dranik.
“Revenge,” replied the female human. “You helped the Mad One create the crystal of tears. You entrapped us in it and we suffered pain upon pain. Seven dark and seven light were trapped there, but we were released when the Mad One broke the crystal. Only through your clan’s spirit manipulation can we have revenge.”
‘That explains the researchers,’ Dranik thought to Anshar, quickly explaining what had happened to him.
“Saryana does not quite do it justice,” said the same human male, whom Anshar now had pegged as the leader. “Spirits such as ourselves cannot interact with living beings such as yourselves unless you invite us to do so. I’m sure you’ve heard of that fool Tavion who let Ragnos possess her.”
“Or we use an intermediary on non-Force sensitives, which Adamu discovered,” said the Falleen.
“Drelus is correct,” said Adamu. “Through your clan’s Ghalia and Hishi, we can possess those weak in the Force, or even the undead that roam this moon. The rare draugr is quite the catch, though there are so few of them.”
“Yet you still lack bodies,” commented Dranik.
“Child, you don’t understand. Possession burns the bodies of the possessed as well as the spirits we use to use. So, either you two will make it permanent for us, or you will provide us an endless supply of Ghalia and Hishi.”
“We can’t help you there,” said Anshar. “This is the first we’ve heard of such creations, though I’m sure the Keepers know more.”
“Do it or I shall possess one of these undead and torture you endlessly!” yelled Drelus.
“We’d rather not,” said Dranik. With the Force, he ripped his impromptu shackles off as Anshar did the same to his own.
“And where do you expect to run?” asked Adamu. “You cannot hurt us and we still have some Ghalia and Hishi trapped. You will die!” Anshar raised his hand as if to use force lightning, but instead of force lightning, deep red bolts shot out, striking the one called Saryana. She screamed in agony and fell backwards, at least to the extent that a force ghost could fall. Anshar and Dranik dashed over to their weapons and the researchers. They freed them and the four of them dashed out of the room. At least no one had to tell them what to do.

“What was that?” demanded Dranik.
“Something I’ve taught myself,” said Anshar, clutching the hand he had fired the strange energy from. “It won’t kill them, though. I’ll explain everything later. Right now, we need to get Trev, Sith, and whoever else was involved to recreate a crystal to hold those things.”
“Just get us off this damn rock!” exclaimed Irdek. “Enough with the Force crap!” The sound of scrambling feet behind them only encouraged them more.

* * *

“I will kill him!” screamed Saryana. “My beautiful face is ruined. They lied to us!”
“Yes, they did, though your face is just fine,” said Adamu. “Drelus, take Jennis, Zakar, and Fion’la and kill those two and any others you can. The rest of us will bring destruction down upon their heads, quite literally. Do not fail for this will be the last of the Ghalia and the Hishi.”

* * *
Engine Room
VSD Corsair

“You know, I’m amazed this old thing still works,” said one engineer. “She’s old, been though who knows how many battles, and she still works.”
“You only like her because you keep her running. Of course, they didn’t transfer you to one of the new ships, so that tells me how good you are.”
“Yeah, well I’m your boss. What does that say about you?” The two engineers shared a laugh. Abruptly, they both stopped laughing as their bodies stiffened and their eyes glazed over. Walking briskly, the two went back to various stations, stabbing the other workers they encountered with their hydrospanners. Then they began the destruction.

The entire Corsair lurched.

Koros Moon
Low Orbit

Scion Altera brought his escort shuttle up into a low orbit. He had seen the Magnus Kearner hyperspace in and fire its turbolasers at the Cestus Complex. He considered himself lucky that Apollo hadn't wanted to be let off at the landing zone. He thought it might be wise to make sure the Clan's leadership remembered where he was.

"Magnus Kearner. This is Scion Altera requesting permission to remain in the area. I have been instructed by Archpriest Apollo to remain on standby to evacuate him and anyone he finds in the Cestus Complex when they come out. Do you copy?"

"Very well Scion. Please keep us notified of your position and stay out of everybody's way."

"Roger that."

***

Cestus Complex
Docking Bay D

The commandos finished their preparations as the shuttle door lowered. The air from the docking bay carried the stench of burned flesh and high explosives. From inside the shuttle they could see everything was drenched with the blood and body parts of the creatures caught in the blast just moments before.

"Listen up ladies," the commander's voice crackled over the commlink. "Move in and spread out. Take up defensive positions and cover all the entrances to this docking bay. If anything comes in that isn't Tarenti I want it incinerated immediately." Brimstone followed the soldiers out and began to help with the preparations.

The soldiers moved into the docking bay, covering the two doors and checking for survivors among the burned bodies. Finding none, a few set to work piling everything movable into makeshift cover. After a few minutes the soldiers were hunkered down behind barricades made of twisted ship parts, piled up corpses, and a badly damaged table. The area around the closed doors had been cleared of debris.

Nobody noticed the two yellowed, lifeless eyes peering down at them from a small air duct near the ceiling. It was too small for a person to fit inside.

Nobody noticed the shadow on the wall as it dropped silently from the air duct, landing behind two of the commandos. Without so much as a whisper the two soldiers slumped to the floor, blood running from the gap in their armor just below their helmets.

The shadow moved gracefully across the deck like a landspeeder doing pirouettes. Before the soldiers on the far side could turn to face it, it had covered half the distance across the docking bay and half the commandos were bleeding to death on the floor. The Jedi Hunter instinctively ducked as the shadow passed by him, avoiding the flashing blades with merely a scratch to the cheek. Eight shots crackled by as the commandos on the far side leveled their disruptors and fired, but in another moment the shadow had passed by them as well. Brimstone saw the soldiers writhing on the floor in growing pools of their own blood as he turned to face the death he had so narrowly escaped.

The assassin stopped for just an instant after dispatching the final commando. He briefly eyed the Dark Jedi in front of him, then shot a glance at the two gunships hovering outside. A high pitched whine signaled that they were powering up their turbolasers. Brimstone and the draugr both acknowledged this fact simultaneously, and both sprang into motion towards the shuttle.

The draugr reached the ramp first, again baring his vicious daggers on the technicians inside. Brimstone was just behind him, but stopped at the top of the ramp to bring his rifle to bear on the assassin. Just then the gunships opened fire into the now empty docking bay. A wave of searing heat threw Brimstone and the draugr forward and off balance. The draugr scrambled to his feet first, and leapt at the Chiss as the shuttle lurched forward, out of control. His attack was off balance and missed the Jedi Hunter, who took the opportunity to scramble forward and pull the dead pilot's face off the flight controls. He had just enough time to slam his palm down on the autopilot button before the Force warned him to take a step to the right. As he did, the draugr's dagger sliced the air were his heart had been less than a second before.

Brimstone made a deft grab at the draugr's clothing as its fist passed by, and called on the Force to help him launch the beast into the shuttle's windshield. The move worked perfectly, sending the assassin headfirst into the glass with a satisfying crunching noise. While such a move would have instantly slain most normal opponents, Brimstone was surprised to see the draugr immediately pick itself off the control panel and come after him. Its head was cocked at an odd angle now, yet it showed no sign of pain or injury. The Chiss had a moment of clarity and backed away.

Once more the assassin leapt at the Jedi Hunter. This time Brimstone dropped flat on his back, allowing the airborne attacker to sail directly over him. Before it touched the ground, the Chiss focused the Force to the best of his ability and gave the undead assassin a strong nudge out the door. It sailed straight out of the shuttle and slid halfway across the docking bay before it regained its feet and turned to face him again. The Tarenti hopped to his feet, yanked the pilot's corpse out of his seat, and gunned the shuttle's engines. He'd have to wait for some help; this fight was going nowhere.

The Jedi Hunter reached for the commlink to signal the other ships. He opened his mouth to speak, and found that he couldn't breathe. He clutched helplessly at his throat, gasping for air. He spun the chair around to see the draugr standing at the edge of the docking bay with a clenched fist in the air. Brimstone could feel those clenched fingers around his own throat even as his shuttle sped away from the docking bay at full throttle. Something important nagged at the edge of his mind as he struggled to breathe. His mind barely registered the crash or the pain as the shuttle careened without a pilot straight into the ground. As he lay quietly bleeding out in the wreckage, walking drunkenly on the border between awake and asleep, he found that once again he could breathe.

ACO Scion "Firebird" Altera (Sith)/Tridens of Tarentum [ACC: INI]

Cestus Complex
Outside Docking Bay D
Shuttle Crash Site

Brimstone was in tremendous pain from the busted right leg he suffered from the crash, but he was able to breathe once again. He tried to pick himself up but the pain was excrutiating. He realized that the draugr was still out there and would most likely come and finish him off.

To his surprised, while he tried to focus on the Force to relieve his pain, the draugr did not arrive. Finding a couple of pieces of busted metal and a couple of rifle shoulder straps, he fashioned a brace and tied it around his leg to give him support to stand. Brimstone went back to the cockpit and peered outside the window to see where the draugr was but noticed that the area he just left was incinerated and with no feeling in the Force, he couldn't feel the life presense of the creature.

Brimstone tried to get the comms to work, but they were damaged beyond useability. So he went to the a emergency storage compartment, pulled out a portable homing beacon and smoke flares, and proceeded to try to leave the shuttle. The landing ramp was solid against the ground, making it impossible to use. Brimstone's senses alerted to him of impending danger.

As he spun around, the draugr was on him. It somehow made its way into the ship and was now clenching his throat with its hands. Brimstone fell to the ground to hurl him across the troop bay. With a surge of the Force, Brimstone leaped and landed with the braced leg against the face of the creature. Bones was heard crunching as metal hit flesh. Brimstone felt a surge of pain as the grinding of his busted bone in the leg also snapped again.

Brimstone looked around for something to use as a weapon. He noticed a small 50 pound chunk of the cabin laying on the floor and called for it telekinetically. It came to his hands. While sitting on his rear, he turned to see the draugr start to roll over and that's when he slammed the piece of metal into its skull. Brimstone kept up the pounding of the creatures skull till it was nothing but a bloody mess on the floor of the cabin.

Finally relieved that the creature was dead, Brimstone reshifted his man-made brace and tried to get to the cockpit. Smoke was filling the cabin and he knew he had to get out before the ship exploded from the leaking fuel cores. Calling on the Force again, another piece of heavy metal flew past him and slammed into the cockpit's window, shattering it and allowing the Jedi Hunter to crawl out to safety.

Once he got out and to a safe distance from the crash, the Jedi Hunter surveyed the situation and when it was all cleared, passed out from exhaustion and loss of blood.

Yridia II

Undisclosed Location

The cloying, sweet smell of incense filled the chamber. It saturated,
permeated everything. The musk and damp crept at the edges, almost as if
sentient. They waited for the brazier to cease burning. Waited to once
more claim the chamber. The chamber with its old limestone and granite
walls, faced with cracked marble and crumbling plaster.

The chamber would have been considered inviting had there been more
light. What little light existed came from the burning brazier, and the
few discrete lamps. The darkly upholstered furniture, several sets of
bergère chairs; the heavy, dark and wooden tables, all cast lurking
shadows upon the walls. Adding to the sense of foreboding were the
various knick-knacks and curiosities scattered upon many surfaces – an
old watch, sheaves of paper, a large glass jar of a dark viscous liquid
with something even dark floating within.

This time, no body hung in the corner. The manacles lay empty. Two
figures once more sat around the wooden chess table, poring over the
pieces. This time, neither dwarfed the other. Both covered in heavy
robes, they carefully, methodically moved their pieces about the board.

“There is a problem on Koros, Master Shade,” the soft voice cut through
the thick blanket of silence.

“I have heard,” the one addressed as Shade, moved his knight, to counter
his opponent’s queen, to d2. “Sirrus has been sending me updates on his
research. I had…borrowed, certain staff from the platform and asked them
to recover some samples. I was curious to find out just how the outbreak
occurred. Oberst had been kind enough to underwrite the expedition.”

“And the results?,” Zero moved his knight to e4, capturing a pawn and
threatening Shade’s queen.

“Ghalia are possessing the bodies,” Shade ended the threat to his queen,
by taking the offending knight with one of his own.

“I didn’t think that was possible.”

“Neither did I, something else is going on.”

Zero nodded, “I will instruct Oberst to be on his guard.”

Shade met Zero’s eye, “The Ghost Lady and Lord Khyven should be sent to
reinforce them.”

Zero raised his hand, and a spectral figure emerged from the shadows,
“Instruct Lady Nilani and Lord Khyven to make for the Magnus
Kaerner immediately.” The figure bowed, before it disappeared.

Shade played his bishop.


* * * * *


No one had seemed to notice the disappearance of the Consul and his esteemed guest. While the crew of the Corsair, the venerable flagship of Tarentum continued to direct the rescue efforts of the endangered members of the Clan on the surface of Koros, Trevarus Caerick, sometimes known as the dragon Shan Long, and his brother and long-time friend, Sith Bloodfyre traveled to the surface of the Yridian moon by way of the Consul’s personal shuttle.

The comlink at Bloodfyre’s belt beeped, and immediately crackled into life; it was the voice of the Clan’s Marshal, Maxamillian von Oberst.

“Lord Khyven and Lady Nilani have arrived, apparently directed here at the behest of Masters Shade and Zero,” Oberst informed the Sith Master. “I have dispatched Lord Khyven to the surface. Lady Nilani has elected to follow, as well.”

“I appreciate their assistance in this matter,” Bloodfyre replied. “Marshal, I… I see the end of this incident coming, but it is not a resolution we have been ready for, I think. The Force is making matters known unto me. I can say little, except… begin transferring the crew of the Corsair to the Magnus Kaerner, if you please.”

“The Corsair…” Oberst went silent for a few moments. “Are we abandoning the former flagship then?”

“Yes, my friend,” Sith responded, nodding a bit absently. “A skeleton crew is to stay on board to sustain the ship for several minutes. When Master Caerick and I have reached the surface, we will hail you. When we do, relay our hail to the Corsair. That will be the signal that all hands are to abandon ship.”


* * * * *


Everyone on the surface of Koros could see the shape of the Victory-class ship of the Clan, the ship that had served as the flag of Tarentum since the very first House Wars so long ago. The ship seemed to draw nearer by the minute. Some of the veterans of Tarentum had no doubt that the ship must have been maneuvering into place for a more precise bombardment. The ship’s officers were surely preparing to send a volley and destroy the Cestus Complex, and all the undead inside.

The only problem was, not all of the undead were inside. As the wayward Tarenti, both victims and rescuers were fighting their way out, the believed-Aptrgangr and assumed-Draugr continued to fight their way towards the exits. While the former Obelisk of Cestus had known the underground caverns intuitively, it had been years since anyone but the dead and undead had stalked these halls. The undead were more familiar with the lay of the caverns, but still, the Tarenti fought their way out. Eventually, the Tarenti were out on the surface, with their undead foes close on their heels. As the fleeing Tarenti made their way out into the open, the sight before them was of a shuttle, and two beings of immense power standing patiently, awaiting their arrival.

Sith Bloodfyre and Trevarus Caerick stood silently, their faces shadowed in the hoods of their robes. And the armies of hell seemed to comes rushing out from behind them.

Lord Khyven had come, and the powers of Master Bloodfyre had parted the Shroud just enough to allow the Restless to come forth and act as Lord Khyven’s armies. Seemingly hundreds of wispy spirits of the long-gone, but still hungry ran forth from behind the two Masters, following at Lord Khyven’s command. The wispy spirits surged past the fleeing Tarenti, and each of the victims and rescuers felt the spirits pass through their bodies. The presence of the Restless passing through sent chills of fear, but great gouts of anger and rage passing through each person. The Restless were beacons of passion and emotion, and each person who felt their touch remembered why. The Restless lived for anger, fear, love, despair, and all emotions that made their existences worthwhile.

With the Restless and Lord Khyven came Lady Nilani, blades flashing and bringing doom to the undead as much as the hunger and passion of the Restless did. The undead of Cestus were hit by the wave of reinforcements hard, and as the two waves of death and doom met, the very Force itself shook. Each Dark Sider shivered in that moment, and understood what true power was.

And then a cry rang out, and Lady Nilani turned her head. There was someone among the living being pressed back among the throngs of the Cestus undead. Somehow, Elols had been carried away by the wave of the Restless, back towards the Cestus foes. Lady Nilani saw the young Dark Sider in need, and began cutting her way towards him. Elols cried out in pain as two of the undead pulled on him, one pulling so hard that his arm was torn completely away from his body. Lady Nilani was there within moment, and had cut down all of those who stood around him. Elols was going pale, and losing a lot of blood. Though appearances suggested otherwise, Lady Nilani had the strength to hoist the injured Protector up on his shoulders, and began fighting her way out towards the Consul’s shuttle.

“You feel no pain,” the powerful female said softly, and Elols drifted off to a dreamless sleep.


* * * * *


“Get everyone on board,” Sith commanded as the fleeing members of his Clan passed. “My brother, let us end this. You know what we must do.”

“Push them back into the complex,” Caerick responded. “I will take care of the rest.”

Sith Bloodfyre took several paces outward, and raised his hands, drawing out into the endless powers of the Dark Side. The Keepers of Tarentum were intimately familiar with the Shroud, the essence that separated the plane of the living from the plane of the dead, Oblivion. They knew more than any others about the nature of life and death, and the mysteries surrounding both. The darkest of powers were available to Tarentum, and the eldest and most powerful of them could tap into reservoirs and powers of nightmare. Sith Bloodfyre was one of these.

The Shroud parted for the briefest of moments, and the undead of Cestus knew life. Their souls returned to them for the briefest of instances. Each of the undead had once been someone before death took them. Some of them had bee Force-users, and had trained under the former House Cestus leadership, but had been taken in the accident. Others of them had been warriors and soldiers of Tarentum’s military, who had been called out to help defend the House during that failed experiment. Others had been the normal servants and allies of the House. All of them had become something worse. And, as the Shroud parted, the Consul of Tarentum and Master of the Sith Order showed them what they were, and opened up their mortals eyes once more.

Before each of these now long-dead and risen corpses was an army of souls, and a nightmare to all mortals. The undead that saw with mortal eyes now trembled in fear, and turned on their heels and fled from the scene screaming and moaning in terror. The Shroud closed quickly, taking their mortals souls into Oblivion once more, but the fear stayed with the undead. Lord Khyven and his army of souls continued to press their now-beaten enemies back into the complex.

And the powers of Trevarus Caerick brought for the end of it all.

The Corsair, the veteran flagship of Tarentum was in his hands. The last of the ship’s personal was departing now, the shuttles easily visible as they flew from the docking bays, and even escape pods could be seen being jettisoned from the ship’s body. The telekinetic powers of one of Naga Sadow’s masters now had the ship in check. The strain was as great on Caerick as the strain had been on Bloodfyre as the Shroud was parted. Droplets of sweat could be seen running down the foreheads and cheeks of the two Masters, droplets falling from the tips of their noses.

Lord Khyven and his Restless warriors were now following the fleeing undead back into the caverns of the Cestus Complex. Lord Khyven and those who followed were long-dead; they had nothing to fear. The physical bodies of the Cestus undead, however, were soon to meet a second end.

The powers of Naga Sadow, as directed by Trevarus Caerick, positioned the Corsair directly over the Cestus Complex, with enough room to provide a buffer that would help negate the shock of what was to come. Without warning, Master Caerick released the ship. The two Masters, both of them dragons of the Brotherhood, then erected a telekinetic barrier to shield the Consul’s shuttle, and those rescued who were now within.

The Corsair seemed to hang in the sky for a second, a last flight that, in the eyes of those watching, lasted for eternity. And then the ship began to fall. The ship came crashing down the hundred or so meters from the sky, and destroyed the Cestus Complex with its great weight. The surface of Koros shook violently from the impact, and a wave of dirt and debris rolled forth like an angry and vengeful storm. The dirt and debris hit the buffer of Force at about the same time as the shockwave from the impact. The two Masters, one of Tarentum, the other of Naga Sadow, shook violently from the stress of trying to hold back the destruction from their fellows. They had not seen the Brotherhood’s Headmaster, Anshar Kahn Tarentae, stop and stand by them. The Headmaster added his own great powers to their efforts, and the three of them screamed out in pain and defiance as their strength was sapped in the struggle of protecting their friends and comrades.

The three of them would have to continue to hold out. The dust cloud thrown up by the passing of the Corsair still had a great amount of rage to vent, and the faithful of Tarentum had to survive, if these three Masters had any choice in the matter.


* * * * *


“The Corsair is down!”

Everyone onboard the bridge of the Magnus Kaerner went silent, most of them in honor of the great ship, some of them in complete shock. The Marshal of Tarentum, Maxamillian von Oberst, actually bowed his head for a moment in silence, his own tribute to the passing of one of the Clan’s pillars of strength. Though the Corsair had not been a living thing, it did indeed have a life of its own in the many long years it had spent in service and defense of Tarentum.

“Get shuttles down to Koros at once,” Oberst said sharply, his head coming up mere moments later. “I want rescue teams down there, medical teams in all available medical bays standing by on full alert. We have wounded soldiers and Clansmen returning to us.”

“Yes sir!”


* * * * *


There was dirt everywhere.

Piles of dirt and debris had blown past the Consul, his friend and brother Trevarus Caerick, and their friend, brother and ally, Anshar Kahn. The rescue shuttles from the Magnus Kaerner had already come and gone long minutes ago. The only ones left were these three Masters, and the Consul’s own shuttle.

The Corsair had seemingly survived the plummet to the moon’s surface, but all three could see, the vessel would never fly again. There was major damage to the hull and structure of the ship. And yet, each could sense a certain life within.

The Restless army of souls that followed Lord Khyven had already stepped back through the Shroud, but the undead Lord himself walked out from the battlefield, from within the now-destroyed remains of the Clan’s former flagship.

“There are pockets of them still remaining,” Lord Khyven intoned, his voice sounding like it came from beyond the grave. “I have sensed them, and heard them. They have gone far underground. But, there are not many of them. I would say no more than a dozen.”

“It is a wonder that any of them survived at all,” Anshar said softly.

“The ship has survived, somewhat,” Lord Khyven continued. “It is possible that, in time, you may send others to hunt down the remaining few who once haunted this place.”

“I appreciate your service in this matter, Lord Khyven,” Bloodfyre spoke up, nodding slightly to the somewhat-transparent figure. “I do believe that I have other plans for the wreckage, however.”

“As you wish, Consul.”

Lord Khyven departed. Trevarus and Anshar both glanced over at the Shaevalian Consul, both wondering exactly what kind of plans could be in store for a wrecked flagship, and whatever remained of the complex beneath for the last few undead to hide within.

“I believe it is time to depart, my friends,” Sith said, turning back towards his shuttle. “When we reach the Castle, I need to speak with Karel.”