In The Shadows

So, this runon was originally on the old Gladius Message Board. It is now complete, and I'm posting it in chunks (so, please don't add to it - I promise a new runon will be out within two weeks for everyone to play with). I'll release one or two portions a day until it's finished. Thanks go out to the contributors: Sith Bloodfyre, Anshar, Jason Hunter, Telona, Spears, Rekio, Dranik, Knight Camile, Ciara, Kidouses, Shen-Long and William X.

And now, on with the show...


A shadowy type figure is standing in a dark corner of the Gladius mess hall. The figureheads off into the hallway, no one is really paying much attention to the figure. The members of the house do not pay the new comer much attention, they are used to people in dark clothing wandering around the halls of their base. This is nothing new for them. The shadowy figure continues on his way down the hall, looking at the titles above the doors and into the room with open doors.

The figure reaches the door that goes into the office of Epis Anshar, the QUA of the house. The figure walks into the office of the QUA and looks around. Anshar is not in his office at the time. The figure takes a small black orb from the desk and a really old book that the title reads “Private Records of House Gladius of Clan Tarentum”. The figure puts both the orb and a book into a bag and leaves the room and he heads down the hall and disappears around the corner.

Anshar is heading back to his office from a meeting with the rest of his staff. He walks into his office and looks around. A few Apprentices outside of his office in the hallway jump as loud curses and screams come from Anshar’s office. He comes storming out of the office and glares at an apprentice. “Go to the Aedile’s office and tell her to arrange a meeting with the house!” he barks at the apprentice. The Apprentice runs off down the hall wanting to escape from Anshar before he invokes the ticked Quaestor’s rage.

The Quaestor goes to the meeting hall and looks at all of his members of the house. “Fellow house mates. We have a problem that must be taken care of.” He says trying to keep his calm and just glares out at the house.

* * * * *

Guardian Ma'arkhan raises an eyebrow at the new Quaestor's proclamation.

"A problem?" he asks, skeptical. "What, is there a broom missing from a closet?"

Anshar glares at the young Gladian and continues.

"To my knowledge, all of the brooms are properly in place. Unfortunately, two ancient and irreplaceable artifacts are missing. From my desk."

Ma'arkhan sat up, now a bit more interested. "Have you checked the security recordings?" he asks.

"Yes. One moment, they're sitting there on the desk, unmolested, and the next, they're both - gone."

"What, precisely, is the nature of these artifacts?" inquired Telona, gazing intently upon the former Arconan at the head of the room.

"The first is a book - what we've managed to compile so far of our House's history. The second is possibly far more dangerous in the hands of an enemy. I'd not yet been able to ascertain its primary use, but the black orb from the Temple of Light is certainly a powerful device."

Ma'arkhan begins to look worried, remembering the orb's success in separating and confusing members of House Gladius in the temple where it was found.

"Are there any records of non-House visitors within the past few days?" he asks, hoping against hope that the search might be begun so easily.

Anshar's answer was grim. "None."

* * * * *

Dranik sits in the meeting hall listening to Anshar’s comments and the questions by Ma'arkhan and Telona. Dranik does look slightly worried that someone was just able to walk into a bas of Dark Jedi then walk back out with two stolen things in its hands.

“Are we going to have access to your office so we can look for clues?” Dranik asks and waits for his answer. “No my apprentice you will not be allowed within my office to poke around and try to find something. And besides I have already gone through my office along with a security team and nothing was found. No foot prints or fingerprints.” Anshar says as he glances around the meeting hall.

“Also there is one other slight problem. The thing that managed to break into my office left no force residue.” He says with a grim look on his face. A young apprentice from the back of the hall asks, “So what does that mean?” Anshar turns towards this apprentice and says “It means that whoever or whatever did this is able to mask its force imprint and stuff.” The look on Anshar’s face becomes even grimmer.

Dranik just sits in his chair and waits for the meeting to be adjourned. Once so he heads back to his room to think about what all has happened and how to go about figuring out what is going on. The question of how someone could get into a base of Dark Jedi weights heavily on his mind. “How is this possible?” he asks to aloud but at the same time to himself as he thinks he is alone in his room.

There is a scream from down the hall and Dranik runs down to where it came from to see what all the noise was about. He arrives there with several other people from Gladius only to find a dead apprentice. There is a knife in the back of this apprentice and blood splattered on the walls and floor.

* * * * *

Jason had hung back from the rest of Gladius' Jedi after the meeting had let out, offering what assistance he could and talking to Anshar and some of the higher-ranked members about what could possibly had happened. He had suggested the idea that, perhaps, the individual who had snuck in had an ysalamiri on them. It was indeed possible, but it seemed unlikely that Dark Jedi as powerful as Anshar and Telona could miss a three meter large bubble in which the Force didn't exist.

Then, the scream was heard. In a flash, Jason dashed from the room and into the hall, following the mental cues from those around him as to where the yell had issued from. He noticed fleetingly that Anshar, Telona, Aari and Spears were close behind him, also following the Apprentices and Novices towards the murder. Soon, they came upon the dead Apprentice, blood pooling on the stone floor around him and a slender dagger protruding from his robed back.

"We need to increase security...now, Jason said as he looked down upon the slowly cooling body.

"No kidding, Jason," Telona came back, her tone slightly berating. She then kneeled besides the body, examining it quickly for any clues that might lead to the Apprentice's murderer. When she stood again, she, obviously, had found nothing.

"Telona, you and Jason work on increasing our security," Anshar said, turning to the Dark Jedi. "And take Spears with you, too. We need to get things in order, so that we can catch whoever it is that's infiltrated our home." He then turned and stalked for his office, Aari following a respectable distance behind.

"Come on, Jason," Telona said, turning and waving him along. "We've got work ahead of us...so, try not to screw things up too much."

"Of course, 'o Lord Telona Murrage, Master of All That is Dark," Jason replied, sarcasm showing blatantly in his voice as he followed and sketched a mock bow.

"Stop that, or I'll kill you myself," the Epis said, suppressing a smirk at Jason's usual comical antics. I'm just glad he's stopped being depressed, she thought as they headed for the base's tactical room.

* * * * *

William X wanted to help his Master, but Spears said no. He stayed behind, and was looking for something to do. When Will turned away, he noticed Anshar look at him.

Anshar was going to ask William for something when he was disturbed by an apprentice. X couldn't hear anything that was said, so he decided to walk away. Before he could do this, Anshar told him to wait.

When they were done talking, Anshar told Will to go do something. William said, "yes sir", and left. He was wondering what all the worry was about, when he noticed a pond of blood that wasn't cleaned up. He asked the first person that approached him what happened. The Jedi explained that someone was killed.

William was so worried that something else would happen, so he just stayed in his room. Before he got to his room, he picked up something off the ground. Wondering what it was William went to Anshar to see what it was


* * * * *

Telona and Jason arrived at the heart of the Gladius base. Only select few could gain access to this place and that included past Quaestors still active in the house. They were shocked at what they found.

The heavy security door had been torn completely out of its spot in the rock and set aside. Both of the Dark Jedi were amazed anything had the strength to do such an act. They walked into the room and found it relatively untouched. There were scratches along the wall where a hidden panel kept the controls for the cloaking device out of sight.

They sat down at the control station and began going through security records. They found holes in the record several weeks old and only a few more recent. It was clear that whoever had been sneaking around the base knew their security system enough to blank out important clues.

“Jason, I’ve found something interesting. That apprentice that died was one of two passengers on a shuttle that came here a few weeks ago. That’s when the holes in the security records start. I’d bet that whoever is skulking around here came aboard that ship and decided the apprentice knew too much.”

“That particular week was extremely busy for all of us. I’d bet they arrived without anyone to greet them. Thus no one knew we had a new higher ranked Jedi here.”

“Why do you think this person is high ranked?”

“The only way I can think of him slipping around without notice and without leaving any force imprint would be to use the suppression power. Plus the only way anything could have removed the door like that would be to enhance their own strength many times over and they’d have to be very strong before the enhancement to succeed.”

“We should probably go discuss these finding with Anshar.”

Jason nodded and they both left the tactical room.


* * * * * *

Ma'arkhan waited for a moment, glaring at the Apprentice's corpse. He gave it a nasty look, as if blaming it for the disruption of the everyday affairs of House Gladius. Then, suddenly, it occurred to him that he might not be far off. He glanced around to make sure that the other Jedi really had cleared out, shrugged, and plopped himself down next to the Apprentice's bloody remains. He drew his hood over his head, obscuring his face, and bowed slightly as though praying to some dark god.

He reached out with his mind towards the thing that lay on the floor. Though it wasn't obvious, the corpse had once been a living, breathing creature connected to the Force like any other.

Suddenly, Ma'arkhan felt the remains of the Apprentice's consciousness drifting through the Force. He reached into its memories and emotions, and suddenly recoiled.

Ma'arkhan let the cowl drop from his head, revealing a disgusted expression on the pale, scarred face. He leaned to the side and spat, leaving a red mark on the ground where the blood from his bitten tongue mixed with his saliva. He stood, paused for a moment, and strode off efficiently to find the other Jedi and tell them the information he had just gathered.

* * * * *

Deep within the recesses of the Sword's Sheath, far below the inhabited portions of the base in a location unknown but to a select few individuals who have long since forgotten, there lays a darkened room encircled by wrought Mandalorian iron catwalks and dozens of empty bookshelves. Dropping from the ceiling, made of the same iron construction as the walkways and supports of the cavernous room, a single spiral staircase plummeted forty feet below where it met the cold hard stone of the ground. This room had once been a library of great knowledge and evil, but now, it was merely a hollow shell of what it had once been. Once, many disciples of evil and darkness had filled its spacious interior as they learned the methodology and techniques of harnessing the Dark Side that burned in their bodies, threatening release itself in a blinding flash of pain, agony and anger lest they learn to control its power. Now, a lone occupant sat at a single desk, an open tome under his bowed head illuminated by a single shaft of light from an ancient lamp. Next to the open tome lay an obsidian orb, which the lone protector of his unholy place rolled around casually with a free hand while his other occupied itself by thumbing through the pages of his stolen literature.

Footsteps clattered overhead as the little Dark Jedi of House Gladius thundered by in a vain effort to locate this den of quiet evil, but the guardian of the once proud monument to dark lore knew that their attempts were futile. No one within the rough walls of this base would ever see through the dark magic that he had placed upon the entrance into his shrine. He would remain here undisturbed for as long as he needed in order to complete his destructive task. As the clattering of fully armed Dark Jedi hunting for their prey faded off into the distance, the scholar of darkness and impurity once again lowered his head and continued to read.

* * *

Epis Knight Camile emerged from the Lambda-class shuttle that had brought him from the Mystic's Asylum to the asteroid fortress of House Gladius. As he ran his non-mechanical left hand through his hair to ensure his spikes were all in place, he took a quick look around at the welcoming committee. Three Protectors armed with Stokhili sticks and a Dark Jedi Knight he didn't recognize stood at the base of the shuttle. Camile recalled the begrudging clearance to land and assumed this had something to do with it. After a six-hour flight, along with an exodus away from Gladius that had lasted far too long and taken him down many circuitous routes, some of which had aged him far beyond his 24 years, Camile was in no mood to play. Spreading his feet a shoulder-width apart and pushing back his robe to reveal his ivory-handled lightsaber, he wafted a calm voice to the Knight.

"Why my dear boy, you look as though you're expecting Skywalker instead of a former-Chancellor."

The Dark Jedi Knight, and his spray stick-wielding comrades looked unamused. Perhaps they should have been; Camile wasn't sure if he meant that in jest, but it occurred to him that it didn't matter. It might be doing him a favor if this ambitious little sithspit sliced him in half. He might not even put up a fight.

"You were not expected, Epis, and there have been many strange things recently that heralded your arrival. Perhaps you'd like to follow me so that we can clear some things up?"

The request sounded far more like an order than an invitation. Allowing his robe to slide back over his weapon, Camile turned back to motion his carrier droid down with his luggage. Thinking better of it, however, he cocked his head back towards his distrusting escort. "Jedi Hunter, would it be alright if I brought along my luggage droid? I wouldn't want my things to be stolen while I was away."

The Knight's stoicism dropped. "That's Dark Jedi Knight..."

"Oh, of course. I apologize. I've been away for quite some time, and I must have forgotten."

"... and your luggage will be safe. I must insist, however, that you follow me at this time, Epis."

Camile shrugged and closed the distance to the Knight. Uncomfortably close, almost to the point where Camile could identify his cologne and the cleanser he used in the shower, he motioned towards the main doors in the hangar bay. "After you, Dark Jedi Knight."

Pulling back noticeably, the Knight responded with a terse, "You first." Camile sighed and began walking, taking notice that the entire time he had been within the once homely walls of the Sword's Sheath, a place where he had spent the majority of his development and adulthood in, those three Protectors had never taken their weapons off of him. Not for the first time, and probably not for the last, Camile was met with distrust from a former friend.

* * * * *

Telona and Jason reported their findings to Anshar. He was deeply troubled by the news. He sent Telona out to hunt around for anything while he talked with Jason. Telona felt a little left out but she obeyed the Quaestor and left.

She began walking down the cold stone halls of Gladius. She had walked down them many times before but things seemed different. There was fear in the air. Fear, although a good way to pump energy into the Force, was not good at this moment in time. It caused people to close up their minds while they closed their doors.

Telona continued walking along, letting her mind wonder around. Besides most people now hiding inside their rooms, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It was a bit unnerving to know that someone was sneaking around the base but she didn’t let it get to her. She’d find this person one-way or the other.

As she rounded a corner she stopped before Knight Camile and his entourage. At first she didn’t recognize the man. She just stood there and looked at him for a few moments before she finally remembered who he was. A smile came across her face as she walked forward.

Camile also recognized the woman before him and allowed one of his dashing smiles to surface. He was rather surprised when she flung her arms around him and gave him a hug. It was much different than the scratches he had received the first time he had met her.

“It is good to see you here in Gladius again Knight Camile.” Telona said as she stepped back.

“Well I would say it’s good to be back but with the welcome I got from these guys I’m starting to have second doubts.”

Telona looked at the armed guards and waved them away. They hesitated but retreated in fear of what the Epis would do to them.

“I am sorry about that. Things have been a bit edgy today.”

“What’s going on?”

“Walk with me and I’ll explain all.”

They walked together down the halls, talking quietly about the past events. There was much for the two of them to catch up on but they focused on the murder, the lost security files, and the missing items. They eventually stopped outside an empty room.

“Well this room has been empty for a while. It should be all right for you for now. I’ll make sure you get any luggage that you brought. Rest for a while and then go see Quaestor Anshar.”

“You seem to have changed since the last time I saw you Telona.”

The woman smiled slightly. “Change is something we must all go through.”

* * * * *

Ma'arkhan spotted the four Jedi coming in. He stared for a moment in disbelief, then grinned.

"Knight Camile?" he called out, pausing for a moment. "That you?"

"That's correct, Guardian. May I ask who you are?" he asked, a bit of humor in his voice.

"Ma'arkhan Krayt'yr," the Guardian replied, bowing fluidly. "But you haven't seen me since I took this name. Or this body," he said, suddenly frowning slightly. "Do you remember a certain young Protector by the name of Shadowfire that died in a Clan feud some time ago?"

Hesitantly, the seemingly older Jedi replied in the affirmative. "Yes - A weapons freak, as I recall - always had concussion grenades all over. I saw him die - he was holding a light repeater at the time. Overly fond of that thing," he muttered.

Ma'arkhan grinned. "Ain't so easy to get rid of me - though I'm more into older weapons now," he commented, gesturing at the blades hanging from his waist. "But . . . down to business. We have a problem. Someone, somehow, managed to pilfer two artifacts from the new Quaestor's office and get away with it. Killed an Apprentice too -"

The Knight interrupted. "You trust this one?" he asked Ma'arkhan harshly. "What makes you think it wasn't him?"

"Because he just showed up, you nimwit - and I'd recognize it if he were the infiltrator," replied the outwardly younger Jedi scornfully. "But as I was saying - I checked the Apprentice. Apparently the infiltrator wasn't careful enough to get rid of Force residue from the victim. I saw the Jedi's face."

Just then, Telona and Jason arrived, leading a small group of other Jedi.

"I think you'd better repeat what you've just told me, Shadowfire - if that's who you are," commented Camile with a slight tone of distrust.

* * * * *

Ixion had just finished his meditation when he received word of what had happened on his datapad. He didn't bother making it to the meeting, as he'd just be filled in on the details later. This problem was much too trivial to interrupt his training. As the Dark Knight grabbed his tunic and threw it on, he sensed a strong amount of force resonating outside his room. After he placed his long beige trench coat on, and threw up his hood, he reached for his lightsaber awaiting what was outside the door. Ixion wasn't one for being on edge but you never know what could be lurking around the base if it could have gotten in undetected. Maybe they were indeed force sensitive, cloaking their presence until now. Ixion projected his powers over to the small button next to the door. It flung open and there was Knight Camile, giving him an inquisitive stare as if he were wondering what the hell a Dark Jedi Knight were doing standing before him with his lightsaber drawn.

"Erm...sorry" Ixion mumbled as he sheathed his saber back comfortably on his belt lying against his left hip. He shuffled out of the room and hallway through the large group of Dark Jedi. They all stared at him wondering what the hell he was thinking. The crimson trim on his trench coat smiled back at them as he hurried down the hallway. Telona looked at Camile baffled and smiling. Jason shrugged. As Ixion proceeded down the long corridor, he made haste in his strides.

Something was brooding inside his mind. He knew it wasn't at all related to the large group of Jedi. He would have sensed Jason or Telona. Camile might have been an exception but it wasn't likely. There was another force at work in the Gladius base. Ixion had been tapping at his datapad the entire trip down the hallway, staring down at the blasted piece of technology the entire time. As he wove between prospective members of the clan, acolytes, etc he'd noticed a familiar face as he passed a hallway. Obscurus was standing in front of his chamber adjusting his hood. Ixion stopped, gave Obscurus a look, a grinned as he continued on to his destination. Ixion and Obscurus 'served' together in a place that not many would suspect.

* * * * *

Dranik walks over to a wall safe in his room and punches in the combo to the lock. With in the safe lay a small blaster, his katana and his Royal Guard Armor. “Never thought I would need these things with in the Gladius base.” He says softly as he switches from his Krath robes to his shiny Royal Guard Armor, he then attaches the blaster to his right side and the decorative sheath to his katana on his left. He spins the blade around some and it stops with the back side running up the back of his arm. Dranik grabs a data pad and heads out the door. He gets some strange looks from some of his fellow Dark Jedi but just ignores them. His mind is set on finding a new graduate from the Shadow Academy.

Along the way to this person room he stops an Apprentice. “Listen here. Go find the House Summit and the Tets and have them meet me at this room.” he says handing the Apprentice a piece of paper. The Apprentice runs along in quite a hurry almost running into the wall as she rounds a corner, she could very easily pick up on the nervousness and anger in Dranik’s voice. Dranik continues along towards the room. When he reaches the room he finds the door unlocked and enters, the room is blood soaked and a body with no arms, legs, or head is sitting in the center of the room on a chair. He walks out of the room and curses loudly, he closes the door and leans up against it and looks down at his data pad. The only thing on the screen is a list of names and a string of text that reads “They all must be cleansed”.

He waits against the door for what seems like ages but he knows it could not be a matter of minutes before Jason comes along on his way to Anshar’s office. Jason eyes the young Jedi Hunter and his Royal Guard uniform. “Dranik, what in the hell are you doing wearing that armor?” Jason asks with a slight evil sounding laugh. Dranik hands the data pad over to Jason. “I found that on the computer terminal in my room. Someone has hacked the system from there and from what I can tell has managed to get the access codes for every room on the base that the main system stores” Dranik says a little angrily. “I came here because this person was the next name on the list and…” Jason interrupts him “what do you mean was?” Dranik steps to the side and opens the door. Jason’s jaw just drops a little but he says nothing.

* * * * *

Anshar, Telona and Knight Camile where walking together towards the room, a nervous apprentice had asked them to investigate per Draniks request. The path they had chosen to take would lead them past the scene of the first murder.

“I thought they would have cleaned that thing up by now.” Telona said pointing out the body of the dead apprentice to Knight Camile. “I am not sure what that it is but it is neither dead nor an apprentice,” replied Camile.

The corpse sat up opened its eyes and smiled at Telona. What once looked like the corpse of the murdered apprentice now shifted into the form Spears was known by. “Spears I told you to stop doing that.” Said Telona jokingly “Those Clawdites are a strange lot” replied Camile.

“It gives me an interesting perspective.” Answered Spears “besides I could use the rest.” Extending his hand to Knight Camile Spears welcoming the former Chancellor back to the Mystics “I apologize it has taken me this long to greet you but between my work at the SA and this (pointing to where the apprentice was murdered) they have been keeping me quite busy.” Said Spears. “On another note I have increased the guard and sent out several patrols just in case whatever it is that did this is still around or still trying to leave per the Quaestors orders.” Spears said looking at Anshar.

With that the four continued on to meet with Dranik and Jason.

* * * * *

Jason tore his eyes from the carnage inside the room, turning his attention to the information on the datapad in his hand. Normally, the sight of a dismembered and beheaded body wouldn't bother him, but there was something about this datapad that had his stomach tied in a knot. But, perhaps it wasn't the datapad itself, for such a mundane piece of technology wouldn't likely be able to radiate such a sensation of foreboding into the Force. A quick glance at the names on the screen, however, confirmed his feeling. There, a couple lines below the name of the young Jedi that had been brutally murdered in his own quarters rested that of his own apprentice.

"[Expletive Deleted]," he breathed, his fingernails beginning to dig into the thin plastic of the datapad.

"What is it, Jason?" Dranik asked, concern carrying clearly in his voice. Without so much as a word, Jason handed the datapad back to the Jedi Hunter, who looked at the screen and almost instantly knew what the Corellian's problem was.

"I've got to get to her," Jason stated, turning abruptly and starting off down the hall. Just as he began to pulse his consciousness out into the cold asteroid around him, he ran into the group of Dark Jedi that had come to meet with Dranik as he rounded the corner.

"Jason, what's wrong?" Ma'arkhan asked, instantly picking up on the concerned expression on the Archpriest's face. Jason didn't reply, but simply looked the reincarnated Jedi in the eyes. It took just a moment for the impact of Jason's current attitude to become known to Ma'arkhan, and he, too, began to turn to sprint for Alexi's room. He was stopped short, though, by Telona, who grabbed onto the sleeves of both Dark Jedi.

"Hold a minute," she said sternly, giving each a hard look in turn. "Before you two start running off to engage an enemy that we know nothing of... Dranik, explain why you called us here." Ma'arkhan and Jason fixed Telona with angered expressions, showing her their disagreement with her decision. She knew that they both would like nothing better to do now than to run to Alexi's rescue, but she needed them here now. After a few tense moments, Jason and Ma'arkhan relaxed a little and turned to Dranik.

"Well," the Jedi Hunter began, handing Anshar his datapad. He then related to them what he had told Jason a few minutes prior.

"Can we go now?" Ma'arkhan asked of Telona, a bit more heatedly than he had intended. She fixed him with a dangerous glare, to which he simply inclined his head in a show of apology.

"I don't care if she says so or not," Jason declared, pushing Ma'arkhan to the side and stalking briskly past. "I'm going to Alexi, no matter what Telona Murrage Tarentae says."

* * * * *

A hiss of exasperation escaped from Telona's lips as Hunter stormed out of the room. "There he goes..." she said, preparing to follow the determined Archpriest into the unknowns that filled the darkened hallways of the Gladius base, but a raised hand from Anshar halted her progression.

"Stop, all of you," commanded the Quaestor. "We need..."

"We need everyone alive, Anshar!" shouted Telona, already halfway out the door.

Impotent to stop her flight, Anshar turned his attention to the remaining individuals in the room. Guardian Ma'arkhan was the first to allow his attention to drift outside of the room. With a swift apology, he too raced after Jason Hunter, hot on the heels of Telona. Dranik was the next to follow, the bright red finish on his armor catching the light as he too leapt into the chase, leaving only Anshar, Spears and Camile to make the crucial decision.

"So," said Camile with a smirk, "do we stay or do we go?"

Anshar cursed. "We go, but I'll have Hunter hanging from the rafters for this tomorrow."

"If we don't hurry, we may not have to wait for you to do it, Anshar." Spears' dark humor met ill reviews with the gathered audience, but it's meaning was quite clear. House Gladius was at war with an unseen enemy, and for better or for worse, the defenders of the noble house would have to remain together at all costs, lest they each fall to the horror that haunted their hallowed halls.

* * *

But the halls surrounding Hunter's passion were already tainted by the misery of the intruder. The figure of shadows stood at the end of the rough-walled corridor savoring the terror he had already caused, and burning with anticipation of that yet to come. He slowly began closing the distance to the one occupied room in this section of the base, that room that belonged to a Dark Jedi named Alexi.

The door to her chamber grew closer and closer as the villain rubbed his right index finger over the obsidian orb held in the opposite hand. From within, the flicker of a figure, a face, and a spirit faintly illuminated his face, casting an eerie light over his own mangled features. But in an instant, what little light existed was extinguished, leaving only the horror and the single occupied room.


* * * * *

As Dranik runs after the others attempting to catch up to them, he unclips the lock holding his blaster in its holster just in case he needs to make quick use of it, his katana still runs along the back of his arm. As Jason approaches Alexi’s room a frightened scream is heard coming from the room and Jason voice can be heard ringing down the hall “Hold on Alexi, I am almost there”. Jason arrives at the room only to see a dark figure running down the end of the hall. He rushes into the room to find a frightened Alexi in the corner of the room. Telona and Ma'arkhan show up at the same time and both sigh some as they see that Alexi is fine, all be it scared.

Dranik reaches the room and looks in, he then looks at the end of the hall and sees the dark figure stand there and looking down at him. An evil sounding laugh is heard from the figure as it starts to run away from the room again. Dranik takes off after it, not thinking about what he is doing and that he would stand no chance against something this strong alone. He reaches down to his belt and in a single motion his blaster is in his left hand and two shots fire from it, both missing his target by a matter of inches, he curses some under his breath as the shots have set off the alarms to the base.

As Dranik chases the dark figure but before he fires his blaster, Anshar, Spears, Camile show up at the room and walk in. “Is everyone all right?” Anshar asks and looks around only to be answered with a nod. “Ummm…Where in the hell is Dranik?” Spears asks, as he is the first to realize the Jedi Hunter is not in the room with them. Just as he asks this the alarms of the base sound and they all realize where the foolish young Jedi Hunter is. “That idiot is going to get himself killed!” says Telona as she heads for the door to go and look for him. They walk outside the room only to find Dranik walking back towards them, he is greeted by some nasty glares and Anshar and Telona saying at the same time “What in the hell were you thinking?!” Dranik just looks at them and says “I don’t know…but it got away”.

* * * * *

Metal shod soles against stone floor broke the thick silence that hung about the chamber. There was no need for silence in this deep recess, the few who knew of it were the only ones who could find it. A series of illusions and false paths protected this inner sanctum, the one unlucky soul who chanced upon it still hung by his feet from the ceiling in a state halfway between life and death.

The chamber was neither dank nor dark, details that would have surprised a visitor. Details that still puzzled the permanent guest. Instead it was well lit, with comfortable furniture and odd curios upon various pedestals, cases and stands. In one of the largest chairs before the fireplace sat a slight figure. Almost in contrast to his surroundings. Where everything was detailed and stood out, he seemed to slink into the recesses and what few shadows there were.

The owner of the footsteps stopped before the seated figure, bowed and sat in opposition. A direct contrast to the already seated one: broad where the other was slight, a great presence against the shadow.

"It has escaped," stated the larger of the two men.

"What has?" came the crisp, clipped reply of the smaller.

"That thing! That abomination created by 'The Mad One.'"

"Did you stop it?"

"I was not able to. It doubled back on me and stole away in my shuttle. You know as well as I, that it is frighteningly intelligent. It is not like the others, it is not mindless. We fashioned it into the ultimate assassin." a slight tinge of urgency creeping into the larger man's voice.

The smaller man gestured with his hand, and a carafe of wine, as red and as viscous as blood made its way to the table between the two, along with a pair of fragile, crystal goblets. Pouring liberal helpings of the beverage, he sent one of the glasses to his companion. After taking a measured swallow, he replied, "As I recall, you were the one who wanted to make sure that it had an accelerated learning rate. That way we could thrust it into a situation with little briefing or training."

"That may be so, but I'm not the one who insisted it have access to those hardwired codes!", came his larger companions cry. "What do you think it can do now that it is free? It could very well find a way to free itself from our control. In fact, it seems to have done so already. How was it that neither of us could detect that it had loosed itself from our grip?"

"Who knows. Perhaps locking it up in here wasn't the best thing to do. After all, it didn't have a lot to do save converse with that." For emphasis, the smaller of the men gestured vaguely at the body in the chamber. "Don't worry, should it free itself of our grip, then what? We both hunt it down and bring it down. It may be able to learn, but it cannot stop either one of us in combat, what chance does it have against both of us?"

"And if it goes around slaughtering people?"

"When have you ever cared? Besides, we can look at it as a weeding out process. As I recall, you never did care much for those who happened to fall."

"True, most of them showed me just how much effort we wasted in training them. Very well, if you insist, My Lord." The larger looked down at the table before them, gazing intently at the chessboard, "I believe it is your move?"

Part II of our exciting drama...

The pernicious mind of the assassin ran amok with rage. It had failed in its quest! The one in the room, the female, was the next in the book; as if to assure himself of his conviction and his target, his raw fingers quickly thumbed through the pages of the Gladius tome, then gently running a similarly rough index finger down a page marked with red lines stabbing through names of once active members of the Gladius household. There it was. His next victim's name, unmarred by the red line of a successful kill, plunged deep into his soul.

The shame burned deep within his core all the way back into his sanctum. Not for the first time, the garbled images, thoughts and emotions that swirled inside of his mind faded away leaving only the image of his masters and that of his creator. As he descended the stairs into the depths of his hiding place, he stumbled and risked a 30-foot fall that would have certainly solved his problem of rampant shame. What would they think of his failure?

Collapsing into the small wooden chair, he stared at the uncluttered desk in front of him. Grasping the small golden chain of the archaic lamp at the left corner of the wooden furniture, the creature pulled, illuminating his workspace with a column of bright light. Extending his right arm into the shaft of light, he pulled up the sleeve of his black jumpsuit revealing a horrible mess that had gone unseen ever since his escape.

Hidden beneath the dark sleeve was a jumble of wires and electronics driven deep within the flesh and muscle of his large forearm. The entry hole midway up the appendage oozed a yellowish fluid and was a shade of painful red from the infection caused by ill-fit equipment. But the man seemed not to notice his own pain, nor did he even have to repress the horrid sight of his own mutilation; he remembered vividly when the system was installed, connected to his central nervous system and plugged into a large generator, which was often followed by sessions of "behavioral correction."

He also remembered escaping this painful experience, but the expectancy of punishment for his failure drove him to not only reminisce about that which he deserved, but actively search for it. Taking the plug in his left hand, the man fiercely jammed it into the power supply for the lamp and allowed himself to sink into the horrible pain of failure.

* * *

The screams of the tortured assassin echoed throughout the Gladius base, but the sounds failed to reach the gathered members of House Gladius who sought to end the rampage of the shameful monster. As Jason attempted to calm the rattled Alexi, Anshar ushered everyone into the room and quickly shut and locked the door. Turning to his vanguard of Dark Jedi he began to speak.

"Alright, let's get one thing straight. Jason?"

Hunter picked his head up and looked at his leader.

"If you ever do that again, I'll kill you myself. My word is to be followed implicitly, regardless of personal goals. Understood?"

A curt nod was the only indication that the Archpriest accepted the chastisement before burying his head into the hair of his still shaken love. Sensing the matter solved, Anshar continued.

"Now, what we need here is a plan, and this is how it's going to be. Telona, you take Camile and Dranik and evacuate the base. I don't care where you take them, just make sure they're far away from here. Understood?"

Telona nodded and turned to Camile who leaned casually against the wall next to her. "Sure," he said, "I'm sure I'm great at babysitting."

Not sure of his meaning, Anshar turned to Spears. "Spears, take Hunter and Ma'arkhan and get to the comm room. Call this in to the Dark Council, and let them know exactly what's going on. Got it?"

"I'll try not to let Jason biff it," Spears returned flippantly. Camile offered a snort of amusement, but the humor, once again, was missed by the remainder of the tense gathering.

"And what about you?" asked Hunter, rising from Alexi's bed. "What will you be doing?"

"I have my own tasks, Jason," was his cryptic reply, one which did not satisfy Telona.

"Like hell you do! You're coming with us, Quaestor." The addition of the title was meant as an offering of respect, but Anshar knew an order when he heard it.

"You have your orders, Telona. Follow them. You'll have enough trouble on your own without worrying about me. Those teams Spears sent around the base are all out there separated, and it's your responsibility for seeing them all to safety. The last thing I need is you worrying about me."

"You stupid piece of..."

Anshar cut her off with a burning stare. "You have your orders," he repeated. "Now execute. Everyone meet in the hangar bay after your respective missions are complete. When everyone has returned, you are to leave the base as well." With that, Anshar strode out of the room.

* * * * *

Telona storms out of the room and Camile follows her out of the room. Dranik stays behind for a second and frowns some. “Alexi, would you please come with me” Dranik says softly. “I am putting you on the first shuttle out of here” he says again and looks over at Jason to make sure that he is not going to attack Dranik or anything like that. “No you don’t Dranik, she is . . .” Jason says but Anshar cuts him off. “Jason go do what I told you to and let Dranik do as he was told. This base needs to be evacuated of all non-essential personal until we figure out what is going on.” Anshar says as he glares over at Jason. Jason just returns the glare and storms out of the room and heads for Comm. Room. Spears and Ma'arkhan follow after him, Spears rolling his eyes some as he leaves the room. Dranik mouths a silent thank you towards Anshar as he Alexi gathers up a few things that she says she just has to take with her. Anshar heads out of the room to go and do whatever he is going to do.

Once Alexi is ready Dranik takes her towards the hanger and they quickly make there way there meeting up with Telona and Camile as they go. Telona looks at Dranik and says “Other members of Gladius are on their ways to the shuttles. I have given the pilots orders to take them to Castle Tarentum and I have already sent word to the Castle that they should be expecting many new arrivals.” Dranik nods some and says “I am taking Alexi on to the hanger and getting her on the first shuttle out of here. I will stay in the hanger to help get people out of here and secure the hanger deck.” Telona nods some and hands Dranik a portable comm. unit. “I will use this to keep in touch; Camile and I are going to look for the members of Gladius. I don’t want to sound the evacuation alarm because I fear that will tell the attacker what we are doing, if it does not already know.” She says this as she and Camile head off to find the members of the house. Dranik continues towards the Hanger to do just as he said, he is also looking for other members as he goes to get them out of Gladius and on their way to the Castle.

* * * * *

Jason was stalking down the hallway, Ma'arkhan and Spears following close behind. It was clear to everyone that the Corellian was now on a personal vendetta, hell-bent on gaining revenge on the one foolish enough to try and kill the one he loved.

I'm sure that Ma'arkhan isn't happy about that, either, he thought. I mean, he is the one she's with...not me. Despite knowing that fact, it didn't make it any easier to quell the anger seething in him at the audacity of this...thing trying to assassinate Alexi.

And then Dranik had to take her off on a shuttle. That stung him, too, because he knew that, being her Master, she needed to be at his side during this. If not to placate her feelings of being treated like a child, to help her through her training which he'd been neglecting for so long.

"Ma'arkhan, Spears," Jason said, stopping abruptly and turning back the way he'd come. "You two continue for the comm room."

"What are you doing now, Jason?" Spears asked, his eyes rolling ever so slightly.

"I'm going back for Alexi," the Corellian stated sternly, in such a fashion that they both knew not to argue. "If anything, this will be good training for her."

"I'm coming with you, then," Ma'arkhan said, his tone just as stern. "She's my fiancé."

"And that's exactly why you're not coming with me," Jason replied, adding emphasis by gesturing at him with a finger. "While I know that it's contradictory to say so, but you'll probably just caught up in your feelings for her and end up being a burden."

"Yeah, you're one to talk," Ma'arkhan said, a touch of anger creeping into his voice.

"I know that, but I've learned to put my feelings aside and think critically. My Imperial training is taking root again. Now, that training is telling me to stop stalling and get you guys going to the comm. We need to let the DC know what's going on. I'll get Alexi, and you two take care of that." When Ma'arkhan began to speak up again, Jason added forcefully: "That's an order Guardian. Now get moving, both of you."

Jason then took off at a brisk jog, heading towards the hangar and leaving Ma'arkhan and Spears behind. The former just stared after Jason for a few moments, silently damning the impulsive Corellian, before following Spears towards the communications center.

* * * * *

Anger welling within him at Jason's arrogant and selfish actions Spears finally had enough he turned around and struck out at the Archpriest. Sending a strong Telekinetic Strike at the back of Jason's knees, sending him tumbling to the ground. Engaging his lightsaber Spears stood over the Archpriest with the tip of his lightsaber at Jason's neck. "God damnit Jason I am in charge here forget what Anshar said you will do as I tell you or I will kill you where you lay! Do you understand me I am the one that gives the orders now not you." yelled Spears. "Do not even think about it!" Spears yelled as he noticed Jason reaching for his saber, "I didn't me figuratively that I would kill you, I meant that I will cut your head from your body. In which case you will never see her again." Spears stated evenly. "I understand" replied Jason "but this is not over." "It is for now, we can settle this later if you want but for now you will do as I say." stated Spears. "Understood" Jason replied grudgingly.

"Now we will head on to the Communications Center unless of course you plan on doing something foolish Ma'arkhan." said Spears the anger welling up in his eyes caused the Guardian to step back and simply shake his head indicating that he would not.

* * * * *

It’s rather amazing how, when people get caught up in the moment, they can miss everything transpiring around them. So many times, Sith had stalked the halls of the asteroid base unnoticed, simply because others were too caught up in themselves, or in their lives to notice him. Since he had been called to serve as PCON, and then as CON, it had been quite some time since Bloodfyre had spent any time within the halls of the Sword’s Sheath, but he still felt at home, and at ease here. He knew every hall, every corner and ever crack within the corridors. Lately, he noticed a few marks upon the walls, or blood stains that he did not know, but such things occurred as time passed, and as Dark Jedi fought with one another. It wasn’t a frequent occurrence in Tarentum, but members still did fight each other.

Such was the case that Sith happened upon, with Spears and Jason arguing and confronting one another. Both were arrogant, talented Darksiders, and both were called friend by the Consul. It almost would’ve been interesting, to allow them to fight, and see which of them would win a contest. Jason was the elder, and possibly had more experience and training, but Spears was tenacious, and would never give up if he truly believed in the cause. But, whatever the case, now was not the time for either of them to have an ego. Now was the time for everyone to act in the best interests of the House.

“I hope you both realize how foolish you look,” Sith said softly.

Jason and Spears both froze, as did Ma’arkhan. All three turned to Sith’s general direction, and looked up as he stood there. They were all known by Sith, and, indeed, all three had known Bloodfyre for some time. None of them had any idea that Sith would be here, or that he even knew what was transpiring aboard the asteroid base.

“Jason, I can appreciate your emotions, but please,” Sith began, “think for a moment. Dranik is Anshar’s Apprentice, even as Alexi is yours. Anshar trusts Dranik implicitly, and he assigned him to care for Alexi because he knows Dranik will obey him without question, and guard her with his life. He told you to remain behind because you are more powerful, and he needs your skills.

“Spears, there are better ways to lead, then with death threats,” Sith continued. “Try giving him a gold star whenever he does something you like, and rip up the star when he does something bad.”

…a joke? From Sith?! All three looked mildly shocked. Indeed, he had changed. Or, perhaps it was the fact that deaths were occurring, and that seemed to bring out an “eerie sense” within Sith. He would certainly not be pleased that his Clansmen were dying, but death, nonetheless, just had that effect on him. It was definitely one of the things that always caught people off guard, especially those who knew Bloodfyre.

“Now, all of you have tasks to accomplish,” the Consul decreed. “Your Quaestor has given them to you, and because you are all members of Tarentum, we realize our honor is to each other. Anshar would not give you a task unless he knew you were the ones who were needed to complete it. I have a task to complete in all of this, as well. Perhaps, when all things are finished, we will meet again. Death is never assured, or certain, but we must always be prepared for it.”

With that, Sith walked right past the three of them, stepping in between Spears and Jason, as he continued down the hall. Bloodfyre still had to find Anshar, and speak with him briefly before he set about his chosen task. This incident would require every member of the Clan Gladius could muster for aid; and surely, if the Consul was involved, it was a dire need, at that.

Ma'arkhan growled.

"[Expletive Deleted]ing damn Jason and his Imperial [Expletive Deleted]ing training! He's NOT rational, any more than I am, and he's using his higher [Expletive Deleted]ing position again to try to tell me what the [Expletive Deleted] I'm going to do and not going to do . . ." He trailed off into incoherent frustrated sounds as Spears ignored him thoroughly.

"What was it we were supposed to be doing again?" he asked the older warrior, his voice none the more cheerful for having ceased ranting.

"Contacting the Council," Spears replied, as if it were just another day, and another bit of work.

"The Dark Gods only know why you need two of us for that," growled Ma'arkhan, obviously still angry. "Damnation . . ." He silently began typing in the codes that prepared an urgent message to the Dark Council.

"What the [Expletive Deleted] are we supposed to say, anyway? Some [Expletive Deleted]ing bastard's in our [Expletive Deleted]ing base and we're too [Expletive Deleted]ing weak to deal with it for ourselves?"

"Something like that, yes," replied Spears. "Perhaps a slightly different wording . . ."

Ma'arkhan growled and began typing again.

To: Dark Council [270.1363.0436]
Priority: URGENT
Sender: Gladius [3331(1405).3305/974]

Infiltrator in Gladius Base. Some artifacts stolen, multiple
deaths, and additional killing attempted. It is believed that the
infiltrator is still present on base. Request assistance in the
form of highly trained Jedi.
Darkness thy guide.

Ma'arkhan roughly slammed the Send key and turned to glare at Spears.

"The Dark Council has been notified. Happy? Now let's go do something worthwhile." Without waiting for a response, he stood up and strode out of the comm room.

He paused for a moment to reach for the familiar presence of Jason, and, upon feeling it some distance away, began moving quickly in that direction. Suddenly, he realized something was happening to the older Jedi, and began running to catch up.

"Damnation, Jason," he muttered, "You should have let me come with you. Now you're going to get yourself killed, and it's no one's fault but yours." He put on an extra burst of speed as he dashed into the dimly lit room, just in time to hear a scream of rage from his mate's master.

Just after the message was sent to the Council a new message arrived from Tarentum's Pro Consul aboard the Corsair who was flanked on the holo display by DJM Zero. "Spears I have arrived in orbit around the asteroid and I have brought the Corsair and several squadrons from House Tridens with me. The last of your transport craft have just left orbit, and we will be initiating a blockade of the asteroid. We will be sending down several craft once we have the teams assembled to assist you in this matter" stated Rekio. "Understood" answered Spears "let me patch you through to the house comm system so you may announce this to those that are left." stated Spears and with that the message was repeated so that all who where not among the initial evacuation party where now trapped on the base. "Has there been any word on Alexi?" Spears asked "She is more then a bit shaken and for the time being will remain aboard the Corsair for now until our medical staff can attend to her. I will have you notified when she is ready to return to duty." replied Rekio.

Corsair Out.... and with that the comm link was closed.

Knight Camile and Telona walked down the dark halls of Gladius together. With their powers and skill they were able to locate all members left alive on the base. They had curtly informed the wandering members to wander their way to the docking bay and obey Dranik’s orders from there.
After sending the last group on their way the two began to make their way towards the docking bay to see how things were going. It had been a good long while since the two had talked and the silence was enough for Camile to strike up a conversation.

“So you are not with the Mystics anymore.”

“No, I decided to revive the Wizards and give it a new name.”

“Ah yes, the all-powerful Keepers of the Night. How is that going?” Camile smirked.

“Good. We’ll give the Mystics a run for their money.” Telona replied quietly.

The two continued to walk down the halls, taking notice to a few destroyed droids that were not there before.

“So tell me why you didn’t just join up with the Mystics again and rebuild them.”

Telona sighed. “I felt it was my responsibility to bring the other phyle back. After all, it was I who closed it in the first place.”

“When you were Quaestor. Why did you leave that position? I heard rumors but I’d like to hear the truth from your mouth.”

Telona stopped and looked down. She was in obvious pain at the memory of her departure. Camile quickly acted to rectify the situation by putting an arm around her.

“Hey don’t worry about telling me now. After we get things settled down here we’ll go back to your quarters, have a few drinks, you can tell me all about it, and I’ll make you feel better.”

Telona looked up at Camile’s smiling face. She gave him a quick slap on the cheek before pushing him away. He just laughed as they continued on into the docking bay. Dranik came up to them with a puzzled face but Telona just shook her head. Dranik decided it best to not ask.

“Everyone has been accounted for except those who are staying behind. They’ve been shuttled to the Corsair.”

“The Corsair is here?”

“Yes and Gladius has a firm blockade around it. If our killer tries to escape, he’ll be shot down and questioned later.”

As they talked, Jason, Ma’arkhan, and Spears showed up. Their mission complete, all they had to do was leave. None of them liked the idea of leaving the base but they had been ordered to do so. A good thing they were all stubborn. Telona was the first to speak.

“Well I for one am not just going to turn tail and run. I’m a past Quaestor of this house and it is my responsibility to protect these halls. I am going to stay and fight this intruder!”

“Where ever my master goes, I follow!” Added Ma’arkhan.

“I also have a responsibility to this house as a past Quaestor. I’m staying too, just so I can kill this guy with my bare hands.” Growled Jason as he popped his knuckles.

Spears sighed. “I guess I should stay just to keep you two in line. I’ve no worries about Telona but you two need all the help you can get.”

Camile stepped forward. “You do know this means going against orders and possibly facing Yacks for mutiny.”

“I am not afraid for I do this not for Alexi or anyone else. I do this for my house and if I am to be punished for protecting my house then so be it.”

Jason’s quiet words silenced the conversation for a few moments. Then as if on cue, all but Dranik and Telona left for the hallways of Gladius. She looked at the tyro under her charge.

“You may leave or you may come with us. The choice is yours to make.”

Dranik thinks for a few seconds and laughs a little. “I will be damned if I am going to let everyone else have all the fun” he says as he looks towards the hanger control room. Telona starts towards the doors of the bay to catch up with the others and turns to look back at him. “You coming?” she asks wondering why he had just stood there. “I will catch up with you and the others in a bit. There are a few things that I want and need to take care of here first” Dranik looks up at Telona for a second before walking over to the control room. Telona sighs some and leaves; she does not like the idea of leaving him there alone but at the same times knows that she would be hard pressed to talk him out of it and that it would take a direct order to make him go with her right now. “Well then stay safe and don’t do anything stupid” she says as she walks out of the door and down the hall to catch up with the others.

Dranik walks over to the panel and types in a command. As he hits enter a panel behind him slides open. This hidden panel is something he learned about in his Guard training and his studying of the Gladius base blue prints. Within it are the devices used to secure the hanger. Dranik takes out some remote guns and places them on the outside of the hanger doors one facing down each direction of the hall. He then patches the guns into the hanger control terminal so he can activate them and see what they see. For now he leaves them off so that they won’t target the others. Next he punches into the comm. network so that he can send a message to the Corsair. “JH Dranik reporting in. The Hanger to the Gladius base is now secure” he says as he types in the command to seal the room off. “I stand by to await the arrival of support forces.”

****

Spears looks at Telona as she approaches them. “Where is Dranik?” he asks softly. She just looks at him for a second before saying “He said that he was staying behind to take care of something”. They all continue down the hall to go and try to find out what their Quaestor is up to. “Does anyone have any idea where Anshar might be?” Jason asks as they approach Anshar’s office. “Nope, but I hope he is in there” Camile says softly.

The assassin moved quietly in the shadows, cursing the quick action taken by the inhabitants of the fortress. The good prey was gone. The assassin had been brought up hunting the small first and only taking on the big when it was necessary. More importantly, having a kill stolen from it angered the assassin to great length. It held the information in its hand, wondering how many on the list were still in the fortress. The assassin turned to leave when he heard something coming from down the hall. Tensing up, the assassin crouched deeper into the shadows, peering out. It saw one of the fortress inhabitants enter the hanger, dig around for a bit, and then press some buttons on the wall. The creature begins to talk into the wall, but the assassin is preoccupied. As soon as the creature had begun talking into the wall, a great pain swelled in the assassin’s head. It was almost unbearable and there was only one solution. Shifting its position, the assassin prepared to attack the creature, briefly noting that it did not possess one of the small cylinders as the others did.

Jedi Hunter Dranik closed the comm. with the Corsair. His mission had been accomplished for the moment and he turned to go find the others. At once, he stopped, feeling something out of place. The Force may not be able to detect the creature, but Dranik’s training in the Royal Guard had taught him to rely on natural instinct as well. When the attack came, he had at least some warning.

The assassin lashed out at the creature, but instead of finding the soft flesh that the other targets had possessed, the assassin’s attack hit against a hard surface. There was no time to attack again, as the creature leapt back, drawing a bladed weapon of some kind. The assassin kept on moving past the creature and down the hall, a few laser blasts following shortly thereafter. Silently, the assassin cursed itself.

Dranik knew he had missed as he had fired blindly into the hall, the assassin already out of sight. “Damn, that thing moves fast,” he said to himself as he reached for the comm. to call the others. He did not even notice the large slash on the side of his armor.

****

The Corsair had arrived, along with support, Anshar noted as he flipped through the old documents. Anshar’s quarters were darkened and silent, with only a small desk lamp and a fire in the fire pit providing light. He had resealed every non-essential door in the base with a new password until this whole thing could be straightened out. He had also heightened security measures to their fullest throughout the base, especially in those areas where there was usually not a lot of security (such as the mess hall). However, the invader had proven adept at avoiding the traps and devices so far. In case the intruder found its way into Anshar’s quarters, his crysknife lay on the desk.

A knock noted the arrival of the others and Anshar detected each individual. “Enter,” he called. The group came into the room, noting the spartan accommodations, consisting of a few bookcases, a bedroom, and a portrait of a beautiful woman above the fireplace. Few, if any, had ever been here, but now was not the time to bother with such things.

“What have you been doing?” asked Jason, bluntly. “We’ve been dashing around and Dranik got attacked.” It was an honest question and Anshar replied by explaining the security measures he had taken (since he was the only one with full access). He then tossed an old paper report to the front of his desk. Spears was the first to pick it up and skim through it. “Holy sh**!” he exclaimed, passing the report around.

“My thoughts exactly,” said Anshar. “It took me forever to find it, but that report details early experimentation into Clan specific powers. More importantly, necromancy.” Anshar paused. “If it is relevant, and explains whatever this thing is, we are in for more trouble than we’ve already had . . .”

"Sithspit."

The single response from Knight Camile summed up the general mood of the gathering of Gladius warriors within the walls of Anshar's office. Anshar glanced up from the papers held in his hand and formed a query of Knight Camile.

"Epis Camile, you knew DJM Shadonyx, did you not?"

A smirk formed on Knight's face. "You might say that."

"There were rumors floating around the Dark Brotherhood that he possessed certain... abilities that allowed him to achieve far greater effects than one just using intrinsic dark power. Do you know if there is any truth to that?"

The smirk remained, but a small sigh fell out of Camile's lips, predicating his response. "Shadonyx had the ability to use what he called 'dark magic' to fulfill his own ends, so yes, he was well aware of rituals and spells that allowed him a far greater command of the Dark Side than any normal Dark Jedi, even one as powerful as a Dark Jedi Master."

Anshar nodded. "And, by chance, did you pick up any of his abilities?"

"I might have," was the cryptic response. Anshar sought to continue the interrogation, but Telona curtly cut in.

"Ever so sorry to break up your little pow-wow boys, but I think Dranik has something buried in his armor that you might want to see."

Camile was the first over with Spears close behind. Jason and Ma'arkhan struggled to catch a glimpse at the newest piece of evidence. Stuck between the bottom grooves of a massive scar in his crimson Royal Guard armor was a two inch-long claw, brown and crusted with age and decomposition. Camile grasped the dagger in his hands and held it close to the fire-pit for light, examining the nail as if it alone would lead him to the culprit.

Ma'arkhan pushed forward. "Give me that," he growled, snatching the claw from Camile's fingers. Camile turned, arching an eyebrow at the Guardian, but shrugged and paid attention to Ma'arkhan's actions.

Pulling his hood over his head, Ma'arkhan delicately held the claw between two fingers, then moved it to his forehead, allowing it to be enveloped in the shadow of his hood. With that, he felt his mind begin to slip...

"Give it five hundred volts additional volts. Perhaps that will aid in increased circulation."

My screams tore through the elegant, yet despicable, chamber, but the doctors, of what I never knew, refused to pay any mind to my pain. In their eyes, I felt no pain, for I was not alive; their theses stated it all: "Left in a period of undeath, driven by electro-alchemical possesses and the unknown magical abilities of a neurotic, multiphobiic Krath magician. Subject is immune to pain and the normal afflictions of a healthy body. Rudimentary power to control the Force through innate magical abilities."

"Hmm, the subject seems to be slipping out of consciousness."

"Electro-shock also seems to be exacerbating cellular decomposition."

"Give it another five-hundred, will you?"

With a start, Ma'arkhan returned to Anshar's office, dropping to his knees in front of the group. Telona rushed forward to assist as Camile watched with a casual interest.

"Perhaps Ma'arkhan can tell me where I can get stuff like that."

Telona threw a glare at Camile before returning her attention to Ma'arkhan. Before she could question his status, the Guardian began to babble.

"I saw... experiment... undead creature... scientists... Krath magic..."

Despite his incoherent communication, Anshar knew what Ma'arkhan meant. The Guardian possessed abilities far beyond that of a normal Guardian, thanks to his experience in cheating death, and the Quaestor knew better than to doubt what the man said.

"So it's true," Anshar said. "We are dealing with the powers of undeath."

Ma'arkhan nodded. And tried to speak again. The group leaned forward noticeably awaiting the continuation of the narrative.

"Here, on this base... a tomb... spiral staircase... single desk..." The strain was too much on the Dark Jedi, and as Telona held him in her arms, she felt him slide into a deep sleep. This time, the experience had been taxing on his body.

"Should we wake him back up?" asked Dranik.

"Of course we should," returned Jason, already pushing to the front, preparing to use his abilities to awaken Ma'arkhan. "We need to know what the hell he was talking about. It might be where this damn thing lives."

"Actually, it is where it lives."

Jason stopped mid-stride and joined the rest of the defenders in looking at Camile.

"What are you talking about, Camile?" asked Telona, her emerald eyes probing deep into Camile's sickly yellow orbs.

Camile sighed. "I know what Ma'arkhan vision showed him. It's the Unholy Library deep within the core of this base."

Dranik looked at Anshar, his face showing a look of puzzlement. Anshar looked at Camile. "Epis, there is no such struc..."

Telona, a look of dawning comprehension forming on her beautiful face, slowly stood up from Ma'arkhan's body. "Of course." As if on a silent signal, the two Epises turned and raced out of the room.

"Sithspit!" growled Anshar. "What the hell do those two think they're doing?!?"

Telona and Camile ran steadily towards the one section within the base that few knew about, and even fewer had been to. In his previous days with Gladius, Camile had taken upon himself the task of collecting the Dark Lore of Gladius, as well as any other tomes of knowledge and power the House was able to collect in their travels, and dealings in life. It made sense, in a certain manner, that in the absence of visitors to the ULC, other things of darkness would take root there. The only problem was, it couldn't have been birthed there; it may have lived there, but the roots of this machination of death lay somewhere else.

Oddly enough, Camile almost ran full speed into Sith, nearly sending the Consul tumbling down the secret stairs, which certainly would've caused great injury, if not death. As it was, Camile skidded to a halt, surprised not only to see Sith Bloodfyre, but Aari Nikus, Ciara Tearnan and Kidouses. These six had not been gathered together in one place for quite some time; oddly enough, it seemed somehow proper that this would cause a sort of "reunion."

"I hope I'm not keeping you from something important?" Sith asked Camile, almost sarcastically.

"That thing's been down there, Sith," Camile replied. "I think we all know, it's the only place it could've been hiding."

"One of its hiding places, I'm sure, but not the only one," Sith said, shaking his hooded head slightly. "Where it has been hiding is less important, right now. There's more pressing matters that we have on our hands. Telona, go back to Anshar, tell him to get a hold of Oberst, and then meet us in docking bay two. I have reason to believe this... thing may have come here from the Castle, itself. As such, it may be a good idea to have Oberst, and possibly even Zero down here."

"I'll inform Anshar, Sith," Telona began, softly, "but I want to know what you're doing here. Or, rather, I want to know what you're intending to do. What other 'pressing matter' do we have to attend to right now?"

Sith was a secretive man, and that had caused tension between himself, and others before, but at this point, there was no reason to keep his knowledge to himself. He had the prerogative to keep his knowledge secret, Consul's privilege, he could say. He stepped forward, slowly glancing at everyone, in turn, the stopping back at Telona, and simply gazing at her, from beneath the shadows of his hood for long moments.

"We have a psychopathic creature, so caught up in death, pain, and destruction," Sith began, "moving chaotically, yet taking out a list of very specific people. We have yet to find the pattern among these people, yet we have yet to ask us why this creature was created, why it is here. None of this makes sense unless we can figure out the mind of the creature. There's two options that we have, and I say we'd be better off to have both available to us."

Camile looked up suddenly, almost looking like he had suddenly come to a realization in all of this. Sith turned his head to the former Chancellor, smirking slightly. I suppose it might be interesting to at least say hello, Camile thought, yet spoke nothing to the gathered body. He simply nodded, to which Bloodfyre returned a slight nod.

"I'm still not sure I follow you, Sith," Telona said, noting the exchange between the two. "Camile, you obviously know what he's talking about. I'd like some answers. I think we're all entitled to them."

"Sith has already filled Ciara, Aari and I in on some of this, Telona," Kudos said, finally breaking his own silence. "Sith believes this creature emerged from the Castle. Oberst and Zero were here when the Castle was first built; Oberst even had a hand in helping design it. Zero was the second Quaestor of House Tarentum, long before we Clanned. They may have some information, or personal knowledge of it. Or, even if they don't, they're bound to know the Castle more intimately that most, and may be able to help us find where the creature came from within it."

"Meanwhile," Ciara said, continuing Kidouses' train of thought, "we have someone to find. When looking for the method to this madness, we had the thought that we needed to find someone who would understand, and who had a familiarity with this creature, simply because they were chaotic, because they were obsessed with pain."

"We've decided the best thing to do," Aari said, wishing to finish the talking, and get on with the doing, "that we must return to the Asylum. The Mystics will forever find their home there, but we are the ones who know him. He'll remember us best, and perhaps, he'll even be willing to leave the Asylum with us."

"Dr. Steiner..." Telona said softly, now remembering, and concluding the thoughts of everyone there.

“Who knows. I am heading back to the hanger though. We should be getting some support shortly and I want to make sure this thing does not ambush them or anything” he says and leaves the room before anyone could say anything to stop him, he has a slight look of pain in his walk, the creature may not have drew blood but the force of the impact has cracked one of his ribs. Anshar looks over at Jason and Ma'arkhan. “Well let’s go find Telona and Camile” he says and leaves the room Jason and Ma'arkhan following right behind him.

The three quickly reach Sith and the others. Telona fills them in and what little she knows of what is going on and they continue on their way to docking bay two. Sith looks at the group and frowns some. “Aren’t we missing someone?” he says and looks at everyone. “Where the hell has that Jedi Hunter run off to?” he says with a slight amount of anger in his voice. Anshar laughs a little and says “He ran off to one of the hangers. He said that some support forces are on their way down here and he wanted to get the flight decks secure” Just as this is said Dranik’s voice comes over the comm. system “Hanger one has been secured and sealed.” Jason laughs some “Well I guess that answers that question.”.

****

Dranik leaves the hanger bay and punches in a code on the door access panel locking the room and using a new password to do so. “The last thing we need is for this thing to find its way off the base” he says aloud to himself and starts off towards the next hanger. He reaches it quite quickly and before the others do but he has no idea that is where they are headed. He walks into the control room and opens up the hidden panel in the wall and removes the two remote guns, he places them outside the door one facing down each direction of the hall. He thinks about turning them on after what happened last time but decides it best to leave them off for the time, at least until he can tell the others about them.

Dranik walks back into the hanger and looks at the ships sitting there. “Good all shuttles and fighters accounted for” he says as Sith and the others walk into the room. “What’s up with the guns Dranik?” Anshar asks loudly and glares at the young Jedi Hunter. Dranik laughs some and turns to face them. “Well the last thing that needs to happen is for that thing to get off of the base. If it does that then there is no telling where it will go” He says as he watches Sith go over to one of the shuttles and open the door to it. “May I ask where you are going my lord?” Dranik asks but only get a laugh from Sith as a response.

* * * * *

Seated in one of the last shuttles left on Sword's Sheath, Telona and Camile nervously awaited the exit from the base's massive hangar. Despite Camile's discomfort with space travel, it was not the journey that was so unsettling as much as the destination. He exchanged a worried glance with Telona as the shuttle lifted off. Silently, and without the pretense of his usually affectionate, if tasteless, jests, he slipped his hand into Telona's. She squeezed, mirroring the nervous anticipation Camile felt.

"It should take only a few minutes until our arrival at the Asylum. Are there any questions as to the plan?" Sith Bloodfyre, Consul of Clan Tarentum and long-time friend to Knight Camile, easily assumed the role of leader. Camile had always admired his friend's casual authority and was somewhat relieved that no matter what happened, Sith Bloodfyre would be there to back him up.

Kidouses raised his glove-covered hand. "Just one. Stiener hasn't been seen since Knighty over there attempted to nuke the Asylum. Any idea as to where he's at?"

Ciara cast a sidelong glance at Camile who merely shrugged. "Seemed like the thing to do at the time," he responded. Sith let out a small chuckle, worried at the prospects of the mission, yet happy to relive the times of a Gladius that had existed when he was Quaestor. Camile continued. "Regardless, the last thing I remember was Stiener attempting to reach the hangar bay. He went wild after I released him from his inner sanctum and was babbling on about leaving the Asylum; I had always assumed he had succeeded."

Sith shook his head. "If he indeed made it to the hangar bay as you assumed, he didn't take off. After your own escape, no one else was allowed out of the Asylum. Prior to that, there were no reports of anything leaving the compound."

"So he's still there. But we still don't know where he is," said Aari impatiently. "Assumptions and recollections don't help us at this point. Our best bet will be to simply scour the Asylum until we find him and then combine our efforts to remove him."

Telona nodded. "That's the hard part in all of this. Stiener won't leave under custody without a fight."

"It's true," agreed Camile, "and it won't be a walk in the park, either. Stiener has a few tricks up his sleeves that none of us here, possibly not even combined, can even hope to emulate."

Sith nodded gravely. "Then we'll just have to hope that the good doctor will listen to reason. Else, we'll deal with him the same way we'd deal with a normal prisoner."

* * *

The shuttle landed with a soft whump on the cold concrete floor of the Asylum's hangar bay. With a hiss of escaping steam, the ramp lowered from the front of the vessel and the gathered Mystics, both past and present, emerged, sabers drawn but not ignited. None were aware as to why their caution seemed warranted, but each of them agreed that it was. Though abandoned of all of the current Mystics, who resided in the current safety of Castle Tarentum, the fear and despair of the facility still put each member on edge. There was a reason insanity fueled a tyro of the Mystics, for anyone who called this pit of hell home soon found themselves awash in enough fear to drive any sanity out of their mind.

Sith led the way into the Courtyard, the massive room that connected the hangar bay to the main facility. The shattered guard station and numerous blaster burns on the walls still remained from Knight's arrival a few days before. Telona kicked at a chunk of concrete lying next to her foot. Camile gave her a smirk. "Let's just say my homecoming was quite a party."

"Yes, and it forced me to commit a young Protector to the med facility at Castle Tarentum," returned Sith, cutting Knight off. "Listen up. Knight, Telona, you take the cellblocks A through D. Ciara, Aari, take solitary. Kudos, Anshar and I will search Admin and Support. Understood."

"And what do we do if we happen upon our friend?" asked Ciara.

"Call the rest and run like hell," said Sith. "Do not engage Dr. Stiener alone. This will be a group effort. Anyone else?"

The collected Jedi shook their heads.

* * * * *

Anyone who had ever entered the Captain’s quarters was always shocked by the sheer number of blades that decorated the room, as if a blade smith had set up shop not 200 meters from the bridge. To some, “decorate” was the wrong word. The swords and knives were the room, the walls there only to prop the weaponry up.

In the middle of the room the large figure knelt, stretching out with The Force. Spanning light years, seeking a single mind. Attempting to establish a mental link, that would prove far more secure than any other means of communication.

My lord?

He felt the tendrils of his Master’s presence creep about the edges of his mind. Even in this mental plane, the contrast between the two personalities was obvious: his own bombast tempered by the other’s even patience.

Have you had luck contacting The Mad One?

No, My Lord. I fear he is beyond our reach at this juncture in time. It would be a waste of our time to continue this search, and I doubt I can hold off communications before our Consul or Proconsul become suspicious.

It is unfortunate; the Pontifex might have been the one who could have given us new insight into how our pet got loose.

I have given it much thought, My Lord. The doors were not picked - no entrance was forced. Even over the distance he felt the other’s annoyance and being relayed information that was already known, he hastily hurried. I believe that the Keeper’s have returned, and they set it loose.

The other met his statement with a feeling of intrigue. That would explain much, then. If the Keepers did let it loose, perhaps they have returned? If so, as I recall, they were far less appreciative of weakness than either of us ever were. Very well, return to Yridia. Contact the Corsair with news that you were in pursuit of a pirate, but lost the trail. Our Proconsul is aboard, and I am sure he will be satisfied with your report and request your return.

And you, my lord?

I will continue to set up the blockade of Gladius’ asteroid. One other thing, a shuttle recently departed with quite a few of our august members, I do believe things are heating up. The other abruptly cut off their mental communication.

Warmaster Oberst stood up quickly and strode from his quarters, heading for the Doomsday's bridge. Those who passed him in the hall would remember only two things, the grin that was on his face and the waves of dark emotion that seemed to emanate from his body like great tidal waves, breaking against the emotions of those unlucky enough to have been around him as he passed. Leaving those in his wake nearly insane with grief and horror. Oberst cared little for them, knowing it was time. Time for Tarentum to realize just what power was within the grasp of each member: power that gave them command over life and death.

Part III...

Ma'arkhan spotted Dranik coming back, and hailed him.

"What've you been up to, trying to collect more claws in your armor?" he teased the younger Jedi.

Suddenly, Ma'arkhan assumed an expression of anger and yelled at the Jedi Hunter. "Get down!!" His hand went straight to the hilt of his blade, and in one motion it was in front of him in a defensive posture.

Dranik hesitated for a moment, too startled to act. Before he could throw himself down, the dark figure that had appeared behind him swept one clawed hand through the air, slamming into the side of Dranik's skull and knocking him several meters to one side.

From behind Ma'arkhan came the distinctive "snap-hiss" as Jason ignited his lightsaber. On the other side Spears did the same. A combined glow of violet and gold illuminated the black-robed Guardian from behind as he roared a challenge at the infiltrator.

"Af Learreal, banee!" Ma'arkhan stalked slowly towards the creature, his left hand reaching unobtrusively for one of the daggers that hung from him. With a smooth motion, he cast the blade directly at the alchemical monstrosity. The blade pierced the thing's robes, and, outnumbered, it fled.

"Kill it!" snarled Jason, running after the assassin. Ma'arkhan followed close behind, and Spears, after a moment's thought, chased after.

Before the Jedi could touch it, the creature slipped around a corner and vanished.

Ma'arkhan, Jason and Spears start to walk back over to where Dranik is laying propped up against the wall. Just after getting his head hit Dranik had the idea to use Remain Conscious so not to completely lose touch with reality. Spears looks down at him and asks “You alright?” Dranik reaches up and flips the latches on his helm. A soft hissing noise comes from his helm as the compression from it releases. Dranik removes it, a slight amount of blood running down onto the rest of his armor from the large bleeding cut on the side of his head. “I will be,” he says softly as he slowly stands up. "That is twice that damn thing has gotten the drop on me though,” Dranik says with a slight growl. He walks over to a control panel on the wall and pushes some buttons. “I just sealed the base off. There is no way that thing can leave now. All we have to do is find it and capture it,” Dranik says and looks at his three housemates. Jason looks at him and with a slight expression of concern says

“Did you say Capture?” Spears laughs a little and says, “I believe he is right Jason. If we can capture this thing then we can study it and learn from it. I for one would like to know how in the hell it is capable of hiding from us.”

“I say we find some where a little more defendable to discuss our plan of action,” Ma'arkhan says and Dranik nods some.

“I agree. This is not the best place. One of our rooms or maybe the house summit meeting room would be the best place. But we are too in the open here” he says as he reaches up and touches the side of his head some.

“You getting a headache Dranik?” Spears says with a slight laugh as he starts to walk off in the Direction of the summit meeting room. Jason, Dranik and Ma'arkhan follow after him.

Jason looks at the young Jedi Hunter and says, “When we get there, I want to see what we can do about that cut. We don’t need blood getting into your eyes and making you useless to us.” Dranik just rolls his eyes some as they continue on there way, all four of them very alert incase this thing tries another surprise attack.

* * * * *

His passing was hardly noticed in the old asylum as Kidouses walked down the old familiar hallway. Many thought it was the madness of the building that drove the shadows to move but Kidouses knew it was something different and that’s what he thought of first. ‘They’ve helped me before,’ he thought to himself, ‘but that was long ago….and I’ve changed quite a bit.’

It wasn’t long before he reached the entrance to his old room and found the passage in the wall. The corridor was covered in dust and undisturbed. Whether no one had found it or they had just wished to be not found he didn’t know. But he found himself once again kneeling on that pedestal in the middle of the black obsidian room.

“Friends. I have returned.”

For a moment there was nothing but silence and Kidouses started to think maybe the doctor had found a way to destroy them once and for all. But his thoughts were interrupted,

“….Kiiiiidouuuses. It hassss been long ssssince you were lasssst here.”

“I know. I am truly sorry for that. My….talents, were no longer stimulated here.”

“Yesssss we foressssaw it. But then, I imagine you musssst want to sssspeak to them again.”

“If it so pleases them.”

“It doesssss.” And in a flash Kidouses world was different. A blink and everything was in shades of gray and black. Standing before him was the acolyte he had first meet.

“Good to see you again Kidouses. Wait….he comes.” Kidouses kneeled lower at the coming of the shadow council. While the Acolyte still had a form even in the world of shadow these men….or women, had none. They chose to be shadow all the time.

“Spirit Walker Kidouses, welcome. We’ve much desired to speak with you.” Said one body

“Yes. You wish to know of the creature don’t you?”

“He does. Just look at him, why else would he have returned?”

“Shh. Let him speak.” Said the first again.

“Council, I come here with other Jedi. We need to speak with the doctor….or whatever one does with the doctor. I know you can not arrange a meeting but….I ask for your help.”

“Spirit walker we do not show ourselves to anyone but you.” Said the second….thing.

“Yes I know that. But not all are as observant as me. If you could help the others and myself in whatever ways you can. I would be grateful. I would like to capture whatever this thing is. Its blood must be powerful”

The shadows listened for a moment and then converged into one and formed the image of a man with an ancient looking tattoo on his face. His mouth opened and a voice of voices came from it, “We have decided that we shall help these Jedi. Let us hope their fate does not become what ours is. So let it be.”

Knight Camile watched as the shadows cast by the flickering lights of Cell Block D danced maniacally around the room. In flashes of bright blue illumination, the nebulous forms would jump from location to location giving the former Chancellor the distinct feeling that no physical object spawned their forms, rather, the Asylum itself gave birth to these creatures of light and darkness.

Telona noticed Camile's attention and commented on the nature of the specters. "It was never easy to get used to them, was it?"

Camile nodded, momentarily breaking his concentration on one ghostly form to peer into the transpasteel window of Room 34. "No, it wasn't, but coming back to them is even worse. This is the second time this week I've had to deal with these creepy little bastards."

Telona smiled. "I'm glad you are back, though."

"As am I."

Silence filled the block, broken only by their footsteps on the cement floor. Somewhere, hidden within another block, the piercing screech of metal on metal tore through the Asylum, culminating in a loud crash which echoed all the way to Telona and Camile. The shadows scattered at the noise, fearful of... what?

Camile looked at Telona, apprehension readily apparent in her green eyes. "You go check it out; I'll wait here."

She sighed, allowing a small smile to break the tension. "Come on Knight, let's go check it out."

* * *

"Find what you were looking for, Kudos?"

The Archpriest nodded in Sith's direction as he calmly shut the door to his cell behind him. "Indeed. I think that we shall have no problem locating the doctor now."

"Good."

"So where are we off to now?" asked Anshar. Sith shook his head.

"That's not in my power to answer, it seems. Kudos? Any idea as to where we should begin our search?"

Kidouses smiled a knowing smile. "I should think that our best hope for success would be to follow our original plan. We should search Admin and Support as we previously agreed upon. If Stiener is ours to locate, he shall be made known to us. If he is not, his location shall be unveiled to our friends. Of that, I am sure."

Sith nodded, well aware of the cryptic nature of his long-time friend, but equally aware that trust he placed within his friend's abilities was seldom, if ever, misplaced. "Good. Off we go, then."

* * *

Ciara Tearnan, Queen of the Mystics, threw open the door to Solitary and boldly stepped down onto the hard iron floor of the most terrible part of the Asylum. It was here that the worst Mystics were kept, though stored would have been more suitable terminology considering the methodology used to imprison them. Chains and other instruments of bondage littered the ground inside each of the cells, and Aari noted with some interest that no matter what room she peered into, there always seemed to be a blood stain just as dark as if it had been spilled scant moments ago instead of days, weeks, months or years prior.

"Each was as entertaining as the last," was Ciara's only response to Aari's inquisitive look.

Her reflection was immediately cut off, however, when the heavy iron door separating Solitary from the Asylum proper slammed shut with such an otherworldly force that it physically hefted Aari and Ciara off of their feet and threw them against the opposite wall. Training and experience kicked in, allowing both Dark Jedi to quickly manipulate their Dark Side abilities and stop themselves with telekinesis before striking the figure frozen in carbonite that had been hung on the wall behind them during Telona's reign over the Mystics.

After allow themselves to drop gracefully to the ground below, Ciara motioned for Aari to draw her saber. Her order was unneeded, however, as Aari was already halfway through the motion of removing her weapon from her belt. With a snap-hiss, the two women ignited their weapon.

"Zat will be most ineffective, Qveenie."

Aari tightened her grip on her saber at the sound of the dissembodied voice, but Ciara allowed a bemused smile to creep upon her face as she offered a single query to the empty room.

"Dr. Stiener, I presume?"

* * * * *

The bridge of the Doomsday was a hive of activity as the ship dropped out of hyperspace. The crewers bustled about methodically, bringing weapons systems online, preparing and raising the shields and making the transition from hyperdrive to sublight engines. Lt. Calthus stood at his station, collecting information from all of the ship’s sections and prepared it for the Captain’s viewing. The readout included a synopsis of engine performance, time taken, and any problems that occurred in transit. Turning on his heel, he made the short trip from his post to the Captain’s chair. Snapping to attention and then handing his Captain the datapad. Before Oberst could peruse the datapad, the young Lieutenant began rattling off the major details of the report, “Sir, there was a minor problem in shutting down the sublight drives before the jump to hyperspace; there was, however, no problem in the transition from hyperspace to sublight. Engines are functioning at forty percent and all systems are normal.”

Oberst glanced up from the datapad and then at Calthus, “Thank you, Lieutenant. I need a channel with the Corsair as soon as possible. Relay it to the Captain’s Ready Room and have Adept Depriest meet me there.”

Calthus snapped to attention and saluted as Oberst rose, “Yes, sir.”

“The bridge is yours, Lieutenant,” Oberst flippantly stated as he made his way to the Captain’s Ready Room.

* * *

When burdened with impatience, hours or seconds weren't nearly as important as the fact that Oberst was being forced to wait; he hated waiting, when something was especially important. And it wasn't usual for Oberst to do anything, unless it was important. Sitting in his Ready Room for what seemed like an eternity, waiting for the final link between the Doomsday and the Asylum to come online.

Seeing the holographic images of Sith Bloodfyre and Anshar finally come to life next to the ones of Rekio Corsair and Zero was a great relief to Oberst, as finally, they could begin.

Proconsul Rekio began, “The blockade of the Sword’s Sheath is complete. We have both squadrons patrolling in 12-hour rotations. The Cerberus is also standing by to help intercept any ships that attempt to leave without clearance. There has, however, been no recent communications with Spears or any of the others still aboard the asteroid. Oberst, I trust you are on your way to help with this blockade?”

“Of course, Proconsul,” came Oberst’s clipped reply.

“Has there been any luck in your hunt aboard the Asylum, Consul?” Zero’s soft voice carried the hint of a steel weight that allowed it to carry clearly.

“None, Master Zero. However, we have recently lost communications with Ciara and Aari. Kidouses and Telona are both on their way to investigate their last known position, which was near Solitary. Hopefully, it will just be the amount of dense metal in the area that is interfering with our attempts to contact them.” Bloodfyre’s tone was matter of fact, but all present knew he was chomping at the bit in the back of his mind. Wanting more than a few answers and solutions to their current problem. Arching a slender brow, Bloodfyre stated, “I think, however, we must all come clean about what is going on here. That thing certainly did not come from the Sword’s Sheath, nor was it an Apprentice gone mad.”

Master Zero spoke carefully, “The creature is an experiment of mine and Oberst’s that seems to ha –“

He was quickly cut off by Anshar, rage marring his features, “Experiment?! Is that what you’re calling that thing? It has murdered the members of my House and our staff! Just what are you two playing at, and what right do you have to do this?!” The Quaestor’s face visibly trembled, and it was not from surrounding interference playing with the holoprojectors.

“Let him finish, Anshar,” Bloodfyre barked, “I want to know everything that we can about this thing.”

“It is a long story, Consul,” Zero began again, “The creature is an experiment that has gotten loose. We crafted it years ago, shortly after Castle Tarentum was built. It was to be a weapon to let loose upon the other Houses in times of war, but we never had the chance to test it. I was asked to serve as Deputy Grand Master, and Oberst went on to command a fleet.”

From there, Oberst picked up the story, “We locked it up in a secluded area of the Castle - one that was not on any of the floor plans or any other type of documentation. It was to remain there until we ever returned or it died.”

The Proconsul arched a brow at this information, “Since you crafted it, can you stop it?”

Oberst turned to look at the Rekio’s image, “With great difficulty, we could. We would not escape without injury, though. Nor were we the only ones to craft it.”

“Who else was involved in this thing?” Anshar’s anger seethed with every syllable spoken.

“A former Pontifex and Krath High Priest, Sirrus and…two others.” Here Oberst stopped abruptly.

“What others, Aedile?” Bloodfyre probed.

Zero responded for him, “The others he speak of are the true founders of Tarentum. This House is named for a group that dates back to the Sith Empire. A group of Sith sorcerers skilled in the art of Necromancy. They taught us much of it: in exchange we keep them hidden and safe. That is where I have been these many years away from the Clan. That is where Oberst has been in his time away as well.”

“Necromancy? You mean that thing isn’t alive?!” came Anshar’s great bellow.

“It is, to an extent. A few apprentices that we captured in the assault on Castle Tarentum during the first House War comprise the memories of that creature,” Oberst nonchalantly tossed out.

“Just what else have you two been hiding from us since your respective returns?” Rekio inquired.

Zero looked at his former Apprentice and said, “Perhaps we should start at the beginning…”

* * * * *

The four Dark Jedi left upon the Gladius asteroid reached their destination with little trouble; they were, however, jumping at every shadow, believing it to be the strange assassin. After Jason had sealed the doors behind him, he walked over to the small first aide kit that was kept in a corner of the room, and set to treating Dranik's head wound. After applying a small amount of bacta and a pressure bandage, the two strolled over to were Ma'arkhan and Spears were standing, talking about how best to capture the creature.

"I'm not entirely sure we should try to capture this thing," Jason said as he joined the group.

"Why? You want to kill it out-right, don't you?" Spears asked, an amused grin coming to his face.

"No," the Corellian replied, giving the Priest a slightly angered look. "No one can sense where this thing is, right? So, if we were to go hunt it down, it could jump us and take us out without us even knowing it. While we outnumber it, this is just too risky."

"This coming from perhaps the most militant of the four of us," Ma'arkhan muttered.

"Oh, quiet you," Jason said, pointing a finger at the reincarnated Krath. "I'm just thinking in what I perceive to be common sense...something that I don't usually do, yes, but I have my moments. And, I think that it'd be best if we just hold up in here, and wait until the others can figure out what to do. Then, once they do that, we can go out and do what we must."

“Before we decide what we should do or should not do, we are going to contact Rekio, he may have some information we can use. I am also hoping he has received word from the others, and whether or not they found anything worthwhile in the Asylum.” Spears stated evenly as he walked over to the comm. system in the Summit meeting room.

A few moments passed before Rekio’s image appeared in the holo projector before those gathered. “Ahhh Spears have you gathered any information that may be of use to us?” asked Rekio. “I am sorry Proconsul we have nothing new to report, with the exception of Dranik being slightly worse for wear we are currently deciding what our next course of action should be.” Answered Spears. “Alright stay put we are still gathering both information and a landing party when everything is assembled we will contact you again. Also do not attempt I repeat do not attempt to engage this thing yourselves; I don’t feel like replacing all of you it would be entirely too much work. Rekio out.” Rekio said with a chill in his voice. “Understood” Spears answered as the holo blinked off and the line went dead.

“Well you heard our orders we are going to wait here until we have received word to do otherwise. This thing will not risk coming at us all at once in here, it knows sooner or later we will have to leave, and it can pick us off then so in the mean time we will wait right here IN THIS ROOM until we have gotten word to do otherwise.” Spears stated to the others a statement, which sounded a lot like an order not to leave the room.

With that Jason and Maarkhan put their energies and thoughts into getting their weapons ready and moving furniture around to make as good of a defense as they could. Spears knew that given the chance both would glad leave the room and continue the hunt on their own, which is something that would only get them both killed.

“Get comfortable folks looks like we are going to be here for awhile.” Spears said with a laugh as he sat down and put his feet up on the summit table.

* * * * *

Dranik walked over to the table and placed his helm down on it before walking over to a consol on the wall. Dranik started to type in some commands and a video feed started to cycle on the screen. “Well at least we can see through out the base now, the guns outside the hanger doors can also be controlled from that” Dranik said calmly before walking over to the corner of the room and sitting down on the floor.

The others in the room all knew that he was fine other then just some hurt pride. Spears patches the feeds down into the monitor made into the table that is in front of him so he can see them. Jason and Ma'arkhan walk to the far side of the room from Dranik and spears. Dranik glances over to Spears and they both nod, though neither of the two can hear what the Jason and Ma'arkhan are saying they both know what it is about.

“You two might as well just sit down. We are not going anywhere for a long while” Spears said as he motions to a group of chairs at the table. Jason pointed a hand at the two chairs and pulled them both over two them. The two sit down in the chairs but contain to talk amongst each other.

“That thing really is strong. I mean what good are the four of us going to do against this thing. If it is an experiment with clan powers how do we know it can even be killed?” Dranik asks and looks out at the other three.

"Anything can die," Jason responded to Dranik's question, raising his voice just loud enough to be heard. He then finished whatever he was saying to Ma'arkhan, and turned to face the others. "All we have to do is figure out how to do it."

"Yeah, good luck with that one, Jason," Spears said humorously.

"Well, we will once everyone that's on the Asylum figures this thing out. Then, if orders dictate, we'll move out and try our damndest to kill that thing. Until then..." He stopped there, knowing that he hadn't the need to finish the statement. Jason then turned back to Ma'arkhan, said a few more words, then both nodded and rose from their chairs. They then walked over to the table--towing the chairs behind him with the Force--and sat before two of the consoles. They then started going the video feeds, trying to locate the creature's whereabouts.

"If anything," Jason began, not taking his gaze off the tactical displays that he had just brought up. "We'll need a plan if and when we get the 'ok' to go ahead and kill this thing. First order of business will be to fortify our position here. Then, we should probably look into getting those guns that Dranik set up...try and keep the creature from fiddling with things in the hangars."

"What did you set up, anyway?" asked Ma'arkhan. "And what's the control system like?"

"A pair of T-21's," replied the younger Jedi. "And you can access them through any of the hangar control systems."

Ma'arkhan laughed with evil anticipation. "T-21's . . . haven't had one of those to fool around with since my previous life . . . " He wiggled his fingers eagerly over the console, thinking rapidly.

"Jason! Get on that bloody console and give me a projection of where that bastard thing could have gone!"

"Not my commander," replied Jason, but with a cheerful tone. Now the two, warriors to the heart, had something they could do to fight back against the enemy.

"Dranik!" called Ma'arkhan, "what's the power feed setup you've got in place? Those dark-forsaken things need energy!"

"They're connected to the main power supply. Plugged into the wall, you know."

"ROCK!" screamed Ma'arkhan, once again showing the influence of his earlier mentor, Sith Bloodfyre. "Now you're talking some burning arrows!"

"What?" he asked, noticing Jason's gaze upon him. "That's just how I talk . . . shut up." He laughed.

* * * * *

Rekio sighed as he slumped back into his chair in the ready room. Oberst and Zero had divulged quite a bit of information. So the thing is called a Draugr. A tortured apprentice from Satal Keto back in the days of House Tarentum’s victory in the first house wars. They had certainly cooked up something interesting. “Hell of a trump card …” Rekio said as spun around in the chair to find Dark Jedi Master Zero staring at him in dismay.

“So you’re just going to sit around here sulking like a bored little prince who’s tired of being cooped up in the castle?”

Rekio grinned. “Perhaps ..”

“Ever thing of getting out and spreading your wings a little?”

“I’m locked up in a space station or a castle most of the time, of course I do. I haven’t seen any action around here since the Sith War”

“Well then, perhaps you should get your Proconsulate ass off my ship and get down on that rock and do something. That Draugr is far more dangerous than anyone may realize, perhaps not you as much but others are no match for it.”

Rekio thought deeply about what Zero was saying, what was said earlier about the situation. His thoughts drifted to the four of his brethren holding themselves down in a single room. A Dark Jedi Master and a Warmaster said they couldn’t escape a confrontation with this monster with injury … how would an Archpriest, a Priest, and two Jedi Hunters fair against it? It was smart and adaptive and worse yet, undead. It had no fear of dying. It had only one thing on its mind the sole purpose it had been trained for …killing. It was obvious to Rekio that it couldn’t be killed within the limits of a normal Dark Jedi’s powers.

Zero read the look on Rekio’s face. The action he wished the Proconsul to take had been planted in his head. Rekio bowed in respect to Zero and promptly left the room.

* * * * *

They had lost all power and systems quite some time ago. Ma'arkhan in particular seem frustrated in the fact that all that hard work setting up a defense was wasted. No one knew why, but it was the best they could do to resist the urge to run off and find out. Instead they waited for word from someone.

After sitting in the room for what seemed for hours on end, the four Dark Jedi felt a presence coming toward them. Spears stood up and looked to Jason.

“I know,” he said solemnly “Something's coming ..”

Dranik and Ma'arkhan stood up and braced themselves for combat along side Spears and Jason. The four Dark Jedi stood together, time standing still, each of them reaching out with the Force to calm their nerves.

The sense grew stronger and strong in the unyielding darkness until they felt as if it were going to consume them. “This is it” Dranik muttered

Just then four blades ignited in unison. As soon as they moved to strike at the approaching danger, a powerful shockwave forced them to give up their ground and pushed all the furniture in the room back as well. Catching them off guard, they felt the Force reached out and deactivated their sabers.

“Is that any way to greet your Procounsul”

“Rekio …”

“What the hell ..”

“We thought you were ..”

“Sorry, boss …”

“Yea, yea, you’re all as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs sitting here cooped up in this room” Rekio said as the four of them gathered themselves. “Need I remind you of what might have happened had that been someone else instead of me?”

“No, you don’t” Spears said flatly

“Well I’m glad you made it” Ma'arkhan said with a certain degree of enthusiasm

“As am I” Dranik added.

“Look, I didn’t come to baby-sit. If I’m going to be here you’re all going to listen and not go off on your little tangent fits.” Rekio turned his lecturing glare at Jason in particular

Spears nodded and compliance with the Warmaster’s request.

“So what are we up against?” Dranik asked

“Its called a Draugr, something older than the clan itself.”

“How did it get here?”

“We made it. It was trained to be a powerful, smart, adaptive, killing machine; an undead assassin to use against other clans in times of war. Best of all, it seems it can cloak itself from the Force”

“Oh joy” Ma'arkhan said as he sighed

“Yes indeed”

“Well, what do you have in mind?” the Archpriest prompted

Rekio smiled. “We’re going to be doing some fishing”

“What’s the bait?” inquired Ma'arkhan

Rekio turned his head to face Spears. “Him”

“Oh, sithspit” Spears’ expression dulled.

“As a Clawdite you’ll be able to change your shape to the suitable bait”

“What’s the ‘suitable bait’?”

“The one that got way …”

“Alexi” Jason said as if he had been hit over the head with a revelation.

“Right. The creature has obviously been frustrated because of its failure earlier. If we use Alexi’s form as bait, it will be more likely to take it the opportunity to finish its job and be drawn out into our ambush”

“Will this even work?” the Archpriest asked skeptically

“Don’t know” Rekio said with a wry smile “Up for it Spears?”

* * * * *

The two Epis walked slowly down the hallways of the Asylum. They continued to check the rooms in the cellblocks as they went along but not because they had been instructed to but because they didn’t wish to know what had made the noise. They had made it to B before Kidouses appeared.

“Did you two hear it?”

“The noise? Yes we did.”

“Telona, Camile, it came from Solitary.”

Telona fidgeted at the mention of that horrid place. It was a place of torture, pain, and the birth of her personal mental demons. Camile broke the uncomfortable silence that had taken up residence in the few moments between the conversations.

“Why are you not with Sith and Anshar?”

“They are in a meeting with other members of the Clan. I was instructed to come find you two and we’ll go to Solitary together.”

“What about Ciara and Aari? Are they alright?”

“There hasn’t been any word from them but that might just be because of the metal interference. Sith and Anshar will be meeting us there shortly.”

Camile just shrugged and the three left the cellblock and started heading towards Solitary. They had each made their way towards Solitary many times before, sometimes in jackets and sometimes on their own. This time things seemed different.

No doctors or nurses were waiting for them; no sounds of insane screams from down the hall, nothing but their footsteps on the floor. This place had stood empty since Telona had left the Mystics. Or had it? Everything was still free of dust and in its proper place. Almost as if someone or something had kept things up in the hopes of the Mystics return.

Everyone had noticed this as soon as they had entered the Asylum. Besides the damage Camile’s first return had brought to some places, nothing about the condition of the Asylum was ever openly talked about. Perhaps they had been too caught up in their goals or perhaps they had not wished to think on who resided here.

The three reached the area outside Solitary just as Sith and Anshar did. It was clear that Anshar was upset by the look on his face. Sith was a bit upset as well but only the Force that radiated off him told the others of that fact. Sith walked over to the other three Jedi and in a calm voice, started to tell them what he had learned.

After he had finished, a cackle echoed off the walls of the hallways. It seemed to come from all around yet no one there was laughing. The question of whether the doctor was still here or not seemed to have answered itself.

* * * * *

Drawing in a slow breath, Aari slowly lowered the blade of her sabre to a still ready stance across her lower body, her fiery gaze glaring into the nothingness that had spawned the familiar voice. In turn, Ciara lowered her weapon, her face lifting up to meet the cruel, icy winds that suddenly whipped through the chamber in a thousand different directions, causing the various lighter instruments of torture to rise from the ground, splitting as though in the wake of some approaching being.

The Pontifex offered a quiet chuckle into the symphony of lost cries that played to the tune of the good doctor’s arrival, speaking softly as the wind ceased its games to form into some fleeting image that only Ciara’s eyes seem to find focus on, “A bit too dramatic an entrance, Dr. Stiener. Though, a welcome. . .reception, none the less.”

Aari tossed a side long glance at Ciara as she reached to touch a finger to her mysteriously burning cheek, feeling the hundreds of paper thin cuts that seemed now present on both the women’s faces. Ciara returned the glance to her friend, allowing the bemused smile at her lips to curl into a broader grin as she once more addressed the questionable form, “Clever, Doctor, but perhaps we will return for play some other time. We have returned to request your. . .professional advice. And, of course, in turn, offer you a brief, all expense-paid trip to everyone’s favorite rock.”

“And vhat is zee nature of this advice, zen?”

“We have a potential. . .patient, or perhaps something else. Our logic is that something to the effect of it taking a ma—“ Ciara began, before Aari quickly spoke up, her eyes now seeming to take focus as well, though, on a somewhat different form, “Brilliant minds think alike, Doctor. There is some highly intelligent creature of chaos running lose on our asteroid, and we merely thought you may have some better idea on how to deal with such a creation.”

The good doctor tossed his (in any imagination) balding head back and cackled with an insane glee at this response, nodding his eager approval. “My children know much of pain,” swiveling a knowing eye back on the Pontifex whose fingers now danced over a set of bloody chains hanging on the wall behind her, “but perhaps not enough of chaos. And death.”

As both sets of resenting eyes turned glaring back towards the man, each ready to argue the accusation, the iron door that had swung so recently closed caused a loud crack to echo against the walls of the chambers as it buckled in on itself and was just as suddenly flung back, crashing hard into the wall of the corridors just outside Solitary, where more of the Mystics now stood, unforgiving to any who lingered in its path.

“I vould be glad.”

* * * * *

The shuttle ride back to the Sword's Sheath was a quiet one. The gathered Mystics sat in silent attention, focused on Dr. Stiener who calmly sat with his legs crossed, straining to see the image of stars and vacuum outside the front viewport over the heads of Telona and Anshar who maneuvered the Lambda-class vessel towards the docking bay of House Gladius' base.

Stiener sat back with a satisfied grin. "It has been years since I have experienced zee pleasure of space travel."

"Don't get out much, doctor?" returned Camile, a sardonic grin on his face.

Stiener let out a human-like chuckle. "Zat is an understatement."

Though the other Mystics had aged some since their days of reporting to Stiener for "treatments" and "evaluations," the good doctor looked not a day over the age he was the last time each of them had seen him. Whatever malicious energy kept him alive also preserved him in his current form. His balding head, save from a small tuft of sand-colored hair, the small goggle-like glasses he wore wrapped around his head, the brutal smile full of crooked teeth, the white lab coat still stained with the blood of numerous patients (most likely the stain contained the blood of almost every member sitting in the shuttle, Camile realized) and the heavy boots, ringed with straps and buckles presented the exact image of Doctor Stiener that Camile remember from so long ago when his "journey into dementia" began.

Stiener noticed Camile staring at him. "You are zee Protector with zee spirit inside of you, correct?"

"Epis now, doctor. And the spirit doesn't exist anymore."

"So zee power you veild in now your own?"

"Indeed."

The doctor stroked his thin chin. "Interesting..."

Uncomfortable with the doctor's interest, Sith cut in. "Camile, be still."

Camile arched an eyebrow at the Consul, but obeyed. Sith turned his gaze at Stiener. "You've been a long time in hiding, Stiener."

"Zat is correct."

"In fact, Epis Camile was the last person to see you... alive."

Stiener turned his view back to Camile. "Yes, zee young Protector and I seem to have shared bond of common interest since zat day."

"What do you mean?" asked Telona, forgetting momentarily that this was the same creature that had tortured her and driven her into the special kind of psychosis that imperiled generations of Mystics.

"Zee young Protector sought to destroy zee Qveenie. He enlisted my assistance in his qvest."

Anshar, who had never heard of this story, cast a sidelong glance at Camile, who sat staring straight ahead, unseeing, as his friends discussed his failed rebellion.

"Zee young Protector came to me and asked for me to use my true abilities to escape zee Asylum. Zis interested me, for as you know, Qveenie, it was you that imprisoned me in zat facility to begin with." He paused, but Ciara's curt nod proved yes she remembered, and yes she had every intention of returning Stiener to the Asylum when he was done here. Stiener continued. "So as zee young Protector went about his merry vay causing zee death and destruction the multiple personalities in his mind commanded, I escaped to zee hangar bay."

"But you didn't leave," said Camile, still staring off into nothing. "You stayed behind."

"Yes..."

The soft whump of the landing struts striking the hangar bay floor of the Sword's Sheath reverberated through the shuttle. "We're here," said Telona. Sith moved towards Stiener as the rest of the Dark Jedi arose and prepared to exit.

"Stay by me, Doctor," said Sith. "Wouldn't want anything to happen to you." Despite his humanitarian attitude, the Consul was suddenly entertaining doubts about this plan. What would happen if Stiener escaped the Sword's Sheath? Perhaps this wasn't the best idea..., thought Sith.

"But of course, Consul," came the amiable reply from Stiener. "But I assure you, zis place will bring no danger to me."

As the ramp dropped from beneath the cockpit and the Gladius members began to file out, Sith didn't bother to ask the doctor if the reverse was true.

An absolute darkness greeted the party. Aside from the lights of the ship they were exiting, there was nothing else. The air was becoming stale and poisonous with each passing minute. They had but a few hours before the breathable air ran out.

“Telona, Anshar, secure the ship then come find the Proconsul and I. The rest of us will join up with Rekio and those left in the base. Once we are all together we’ll do something about this Draugr.”

“Understood Consul. Come on Telona, let’s secure the ship.”

The two disappeared into the ship as the rest walked off into the dark halls. Dr. Stiener just followed with a smile on his face as he took it all in.

* * *

By the light of a few glow-sticks, the Jedi in the meeting room made their final plans for capturing the Draugr. As if on cue they all looked up from their plans. They could feel more than one powerful presence coming towards them.

“Sith is here and he’s got some company.” Noted Rekio as he turned back to the plans before them.

Jason and Spears also turned back to the plans but Ma’arkhan and Dranik walked over to the door. They could not sense their masters in the group coming towards them. They began to silently wonder what had happened but as they stretched their minds out farther they found their masters in the docking bay.

They would have contacted their masters to ask why they had stayed behind but the group led by Sith were at the door. Ma’arkhan and Dranik pulled the doors open and watched as the Dark Jedi came through. They quickly closed and barricaded the doors after the last one came through.

The three who hovered over their plans looked up. Their eyes fell on Stiener.

“Who is that?” They all three asked at once.

“Zey call me Doctor Shtiener.”

Sith cut Stiener off before he could say more. “The doctor is here to help us. Rekio it is good to see you and everyone else are no worse for the wear. Have you come up with anything?”

“Yes we have. Come look at the plan we made and tell me if you think it will work.”

Sith and Stiener walked over to the table and began to look over the plans.

* * * * *

Jason had trouble keeping his eyes off the figure of Doctor Steiner. He had heard stories of what occured within the walls of the Asylum, but he was one Mystic that hadn't been sent there. In a way, he was glad that he hadn't been subjected to the tortures, but he also felt as though he had missed out on some rite of passage, like he was lagging behind somehow in respects to Sith, Telona and the others. Of course, he wasn't the only Mystic to miss out on the "pleasantries," so he didn't feel as left out. Many of the newer generation hadn't gone to the Asylum.

"Can I help you, young Archpriest?" Steiner asked, casting a sideways glance at Jason. He was taken by surprise that Steiner had known his rank, but he supposed that, over the years, the odd doctor had learned how to at least guess at the positions of the various Dark Jedi that he had come into contact with. Steiner then turned towards Jason, saying, "You are one of zee only Mystics to not come visit me. Are you not insane enough to be considered a true Mystic?"

"I've proven myself to be a Mystic plenty of times before, Doctor," Jason replied, matching the other man's gaze. "I've proven myself through my acts...not my mental state. I just wasn't 'lucky' enough to meet you at the Ayslum."

"Perhaps zis is the pervect opportunity for you to enhance your abilities, zen." The light from hastily positioned glow rods glinted off of the doctor's glasses as he leaned in towards Hunter.

"Stiener."

The calm voice of Ciara cut through the gaze Stiener had captured Hunter in; with a start, the Archpriest shook himself out of his stupor, consciously taking a step back from Stiener, simultaneously placing his right hand on his lightsaber. His eyes glared with anger.

"What did this freak do to me?" he asked. The members of Gladius hunched over the battle plan looked up at the Archpriest, aware of a slight cracking in his voice.

The doctor merely smiled and straightened his blood-soaked lab coat.

Sith stepped between the two, careful to keep an eye on Stiener. "Camile, perhaps you should take Jason over there," he said, motioning to the far corner of the meeting room, "and keep him company."

"Sure thing."

Sith watched out of the corner of his eye as the Epis led Hunter away from the threat of Stiener, and then, aware of the tension in the room, turned towards the battle plan. He took notice that everyone in the room had allowed their dominant hand to drift towards their lightsabers and weapons. Dranik had even assumed something of a modified-seated combat stance in order to react to any sudden move from Stiener.

"Continue, everyone," said Sith evenly. Then, he turned to Stiener and focused his Dark Side energies to form a mental connection between the two of them.

I know you can hear this.

Qvite vell.

Even in your mind you've affected that ridiculous accent.

Only ridiculous to you, Bloodfyre.

Cease this senseless attempt to poison the minds of my subordinates immediately.

Zee Archpriest is in need of tvreatment. You vould have never sought to qvestion my right to zee a patient in the past.

That was the past, doctor. Your influence has wanned in the new Mystics. It might be that your services are no longer needed.

Zat is incorrect, Bloodfyre, else I vouldn't be here now.

With that, an impregnable mental barrier dropped between the two, Consul and creature, severing the communication. Sith narrowed his eyes at Stiener, unsure of how he would deal with this Dark Side travesty now.

In the past, the power of Dr. Stiener was not questioned. When he summoned you, you went, regardless of what your better judgment told you. Sith, along with most of the older Mystics, had been to Stiener many times, one time in particular stood out in his mind in which both he and Telona had been coerced by Stiener to attempt to murder Knight Camile. Luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you looked at it), the dormant Sith spirit residing within then-Protector Camile chose the moment before his death to appear and defend his unwitting host. But that moment was just one of many torments and tortures that Stiener had personally put Sith through.

But now, it was the Mystics' turn to use Stiener, and use him they assuredly would, no matter how odd it now felt to be dealing with Stiener while firmly holding the upper hand. Sith, face contortioned into a grimace of deep though, turned away from Stiener and walked over to the massive battle plan laid out at the feet of the gathered defenders.

"... so if Spears was to position himself here," continued Dranik after glancing over at the shadowy figure of Stiener, "we would be able to trap the..."

"Draugr," offered Telona.

"... right, Draugr in one of the old mining caverns."

"Which is right over where Camile said one of its lairs is," commented Anshar.

"Correct," returned Dranik. "If Spears can adequately affect a likeness of Alexi, it might draw the creature out to finish the kill it missed before."

Sith nodded in agreement. "And that's where the doctor will come in."

Stiener ambled over to the gathered tacticians. "Vhere is zat, Conzul?"

Sith cast a burning gaze at the doctor. "You will face the Draugr in one of the old mining caverns. We will offer you as much support as possible, but I am certain that only you will have adequate knowledge to defeat the creature."

Suddenly, the door to the meeting room opened, revealing a tall man dressed in military garb cast in the darkness of the hallway. As he delicately walked into the room, his boot making a metallic tap with each step, his refined voice filtered through the room.

"He may not be the only one; isn't that right, Dr. Stiener?"

Part IV...

Having previously separated himself from the rest of the group Spears, moved as close to one of the corners as possible with his back facing the rest of the group. Shape shifting was nowhere near as simple as the rest of those gathered thought it was, in order to change shape the very structure of his cells must change which in and of itself is an extraordinarily painful and complex process which takes an extraordinary deal of concentration. He could feel the others gaze fall on him as his body visible changed from that of a Human male of larger then average stature to that of the Keiman female that they all knew as Alexi. With the first part of his transformation complete Spears prepared for the more difficult task of changing his aura in the force. Using Force Suppression, Spears was able to change adjust his force aura to that of Alexi, it was a trick that would stand up to all but very intense scrutiny of very advanced Jedi. Standing up and turning to the other Jedi in the room he could see the look of surprise on their faces. They had all seen him use this trick before but never had he gone so far as to mimic the force signature of another. That coupled with how well he knew Alexi, had allowed him to become almost her exact clone.

Just then the door opened and to everyone’s relief Warmaster Oberst walked into the room. “Have Zero and Depriest come with you Oberst?” Inquired Bloodfyre. “No they are preparing a home coming present for our old friend.” Oberst answered as an evil grin formed on his face. “They will arrive when they arrive such things cannot be rushed.” Oberst stated with a purposeful air of mystery “Now let us set our trap.”

* * * * *

Dranik, unlike the others in the room had kept his eyes on Dr. Stiener almost the entire time of Spears’ transformation. In fact throughout almost the entire meeting his eyes had been either fixed on the doctor or he would constantly glance back and forth. As Oberst walked into the room and spoke his thing, Dranik jumped slightly, he had not been using the force to search out the area and was slightly surprised at the appearance of the Warmaster. Dranik glanced around the room to see if anyone had noticed this but all eyes were focused on Oberst, save for that of two people. For the first time Dranik noticed that Dr. Stiener had been watching him more intently then he had the others, and he also noticed that Sithy had just turned his gaze onto Dranik, Sith flashed Dranik a look of question to which Dranik only responded by turning his gaze towards the general direction of Oberst but keeping Dr. Stiener in his view at the same time.

Something in the back of Dranik’s mind had him intrigued with the doctor. Dranik realized that his gaze was fixed on the doctors and the Stiener’s gaze was fixed on him. Sith noticing the unhealthy fixation of Draniks on Stiener stepped in between the two and Dranik shook his head some.

“Well Oberst this is what we have planed” said Sith as he went over the general idea of what they were going to do. While this was going on Dranik took a few steps back to where he could see the doctor again, their gazes met once more and locked for some time before Spears placed his, or rather her, hand on Dranik’s shoulder.

“Let’s go set things up before you get left behind.” Spears said and started out the door. Dranik looked around the room to notice that everyone was heading towards the door to get this trap set up and ready. Dranik frowned some as he shook his head and started towards the door, he is a little confused about how the passage of time had completely escaped him and that he could not remember a thing about what had happened over the past few minutes, it was as though he was not in the room.

Sith reached out and stopped Dranik as the rest of the group went on their way to get things ready. “Are you alright there Dranik?” the consul asked softly.

Dranik nodded and said “Yeah… I am fine. I just was caught up in something from another time, reliving the past.” Dranik looked down the hall and started after the others and Sith only frowned for a second and followed after wondering what was going on with Dranik and the doctor.

* * * * *

Jason followed closely behind the transformed Spears as the group headed down the hallway. He, along with Ma'arkhan, was the most surprised at how well the Priest's shapeshift had been pulled off. Even if he looked hard--visually and with the Force--he could have been lead of believe that he was looking at the Keiman woman that he had known since his early teen years. Spears even had the slightly wiggle of the hips in Alexi's walk down almost perfectly, and Jason had to shake himself almost physically from watching. That's Spear's ass I'm looking at...not Alexi's. Although...it's nearly impossible to tell the difference...

That time he did shake his head vigorously, drawing a quizzical look from Ma'arkhan. He simply returned it with one of his comical smiles, which elicited a short, amused snort from the reincarnated Krath and a quick shake of the head.

"Stop looking at my butt, Jason," Spears said, glancing over his now-slender shoulder at the Archpriest. Jason almost stopped dead in his tracks, for he had to remind himself that it was still Spears that was before him. Again, another example of just how exact the transformation was.

"Yeah," Ma'arkhan agreed, hitting Jason in the arm playfully. "Even though this is Spears, you're still basically looking at my mate's ass."

"Shut up," Jason replied, rubbing his arm as if the punch had actually hurt.

* * * * *

"Yeah, shut up, you three," Knight said. Spears, Jason and Ma'arkhan were then reminded that the powerful Dark Jedi had been behind them the entire time, and they straightened and resumed the silence that had dominated the group.

God, I can't believe they listened to me, thought Camile, inwardly grinning despite the danger that the gathered Dark Jedi were cavorting merrily towards. Out of the corner of his eye, Camile watched as Warmaster Oberst, Marshall of Clan Tarentum's Armies, slowly drifted to his Consul's left shoulder. Sith leaned his head over towards the handsome man in the Infiltrator Wing uniform and shook his head in agreement with whatever Oberst whispered to him. Curiosity almost got the better of Camile, but he stood fast behind the three Jedi in front of him, Spears in the shape of a woman, the Jedi who was betrothed to this woman and the man whom wanted this woman more than anything; at least, that was the impression Camile received.

The darkened corridors swallowed the Jedi, for each one kept their weapons un-lit, yet their hands were never far from the hilts at their hip. It was easy to feel safe around this powerful group, but it was still very possible that the creature could surprise even a collection this strong. Sith and Oberst, flanking Dr. Stiener brought up the rear as Telona and Anshar led the pack.

"Hold up," came Anshar's strong voice, echoing through one of the many caverns that filled the interior of the Sword's Sheath. Camile peered over Hunter's shoulder into the remnants of Processing Bay Four.

Towering machines hugged the rough-hewn rock walls of the tremendous cave, their metallic legs digging deep into the granite of the asteroid's spacious interior. It was here that raw ore extracted from the tunnels running throughout Gladius was processed into its pure form. This was, of course, eons ago when the Sword's Sheath was just a simple mining colony, long before the dark forces that inhabited it before House Gladius wrested it from its former masters and made it into the coven of evil that it is today.

"Spears, continue further down that far tunnel. From there, emerge into the main cavern as though Alexi is lost. Be loud. Be scared. Be real. With any luck, your cries will draw out the monster."

Oberst's command was quickly obeyed.

"Now," continued the Warmaster, "the rest of you will fan out into groups. Less experienced members, stay with the elder members so that their abilities can hide your Force presence as well as their own. It can sense your presence just as readily as I can, so it is essential that you keep your signature low."

Oberst then turned to Stiener. "You, good doctor, will remain with Sith and I. We shall impart further instructions to you as events unfold."

"And what, pray tell, should we do when the fodder hits the fan?" asked Hunter.

Oberst turned. "What do you mean?"

Hunter took a step forward. "Suppose Stiener can't deal with the beast. Suppose it attacks Spears before Stiener can react. Suppose that freak ducks out on us and doesn't do anything against it? What then?"

Oberst smiled grimly. "If things get that bad..."

Hunter took another step, his ears primed to receive the pivotal instruction that could mean life or death for the gathered members.

"... run."

* * * * *

"Run?" Jason asked, a look of dread on his face. He turned towards Steiner, his eyes giving the doctor a threatening glance. "I swear, if you bail on us or are unable to defeat this thing..." He allowed himself to trail off, knowing, in his heart, that he wouldn't be able to do anything to Steiner. Besides, if things didn't go as planned, he would be too busy trying to defend himself to worry about Steiner.

"Jason, do as you've been instructed," Sith said sternly, drawing a quick bow from the Archpriest as he turned to follow orders. Again, his training at the hands of the Emperor's Hammer instructors took over.

"Ma'arkhan, you're with me," Jason said as he walked past the Jedi Hunter. He hardly stopped to look back to make sure he was being followed, and headed for a corridor that he knew would allow them to easily watch Spears as he wandered about, imitating a lost and frightened Alexi. Once they were a certain distance down the hall, they hunkered down against opposing walls. They drew their swords as they began to tamp down on their presence in the Force, Ma'arkhan muttering the incantations that would evoke the magical powers of his blade. Jason simply crouched there, his Cortosis-weave sword held loose in his hands, his mind subtly snaking its way into the corridor that Spears was in. He remained silent, listening for any sound that might indicate that the Draugr was near.

* * * * *

The Draugr sat moaning, blanketed by shadows cast from the towering bookcases which filled the towering walls of the Unholy Library with their empty shelves. His hunger pains were stronger now than they had ever been, and they threatened to drive the creation insane unless he found someone to feed upon now. His last meal had been days ago, inside the terrible laboratory of those he knew only as "the Keepers." Without their treatments, however, the monster was forced to fend for itself.

His fortunate escape had sapped his strength noticeably, and the Draugr was forced to detour his tiny pod to a large asteroid where the flowing energy of his sustenance beat heavily; it was the Force of the Krath magicians that had drawn him to this place, and it was the Force of the first apprentice that whetted his appetite to the taste of fresh Force energy. But, unknown to him at the time of his first feeding, there were more powerful Dark Jedi housed within these rough walls than that one apprentice, and the monster was quickly forced back into hiding, lest he face a collection of men who cried out for his blood.

Even then, though, it was apparent that he would have to feed in order to escape this place of danger, so it stood to his reasoning that focusing on the less-powerful members, while avoiding the most powerful, would allow him sufficient energy to leave this asteroid of magicians and set off into the galaxy proper.

But now, doubled-over with stomach pains and a screeching echo of agony stuck inside his head, the draugr sought another path of escape.

The General was here.

The others had referred to him as Oberst, but the Draugr knew him only by his formal title. He had hoped to never run into the man in the military uniform ever again, but fate had come around full circle; Oberst was absent from the monster's escape the first time around, but he would be here to rectify the mistake this time.

It was readily apparent, however, that he could not stay here any longer. Even if it meant certain death, he had to feed. Stumbling to his feet, the Draugr rose, dropping the emptied orb on the ground of the ULC. The life Force of trapped souls had sustained him thus far, but his substantial appetite had drained the sphere. The Draugr had seen these useful decorations around the chambers of the doctors and Keepers, but this was the first time he had found one outside of that setting, and even more amazingly, used one. He gave not a second thought to why Anshar would possess such an item; it meant nothing to him, for it had outlived its usefulness to him.

"Help!"

His ears suddenly perked up. He knew that voice. It was the one they called Alexi, the one that had escaped him. Though inexperienced, the Draugr had sensed the potential in the young woman; she would provide him with a worthy meal, maybe even providing enough strength to carry him out of this horrid place.

The first step forward was painful, as was the second, but the Draugr continued to walk, raising his left foot to the height of the first step, then shifting his weight onto its iron surface. Each step brought him closer to his escape, and he vowed that nothing would stand between his goal and him.

* * *

Can he hear us, thought Oberst, directing his thoughts into the Consul's mind. Sith shook his head in an affirmative.

Indeed I can, Varmaster.

Quite impressive, Dr. Stiener. Almost worthy of the work Zero and I have done. You are quite the creation.

Stiener's look conveyed nothing more than it normally would have, but deep within the confines of his mind, a fire was being fanned. "Zee creation?" Sith recognized a tone of anger in the doctor's communications.

Oberset nodded, his facial expression grim. Yes, "zee creation." Stiener, you are no longer an intelligent being capable of independent thought. You are a tool to be used by this House in times of need, and though you have been serving your own ends as the resident doctor in the Asylum for these past few years, you must have known it was only a matter of time before someone returned you to your rightful place at the heel of this clan."

The cavern walls appeared to bubble out as Sith saw faint signs of emotion appear on Stiener's face. Zat is in...

Stiener, you will do exactly as I say, for you know as well as I do how you came to be who you are today; you know as well as I do who pulls your strings.

Oberst sent a wave of energy towards the doctor, one that even Sith was taken aback by. The power of Oberst's silent command, however, had an even greater affect on the doctor. For the first time, the horror of the Asylum was quiet, even submissive. Oberst nodded.

Your mission has always been to prepare this House for knowledge sanity cannot bring, Stiener, but in the absence of your creators, you have changed your purpose, somewhat. That time is over, and now, you are needed to save this House from a creature of undeath designed to destroy it.

* * * * *

He knew there was something going on between Sith, Oberst and Steiner, judging by the sudden powerful burst of power from the Sith Warmaster. But, not being as strong in the Force as the others, Jason couldn't even begin to guess as to what sort of silent conversation was occurring between the three. He could assume that it pertained the to current mission, but that was pure conjecture on his part. To begin to question the possibilities welcomed uncertainty...and that was something that he could afford right now. Uncertainty and distraction, the latter of which he found himself being dragged in to.

Shaking his head, Jason returned his attention to the darkened corridor around him. His keen eyes darted from each shadow, believing it to be the Draugr; sulking in the shadows, waiting to pounce upon the group and decimate their numbers. Again, he hoped that Steiner would pull through for them, and not leave them to the creature's tender mercies.

"Jason," he heard Ma'arkhan whisper as the other man tossed a tiny pebble at him. It would have clattered to the floor, hadn't Jason snatched it from the air as it bounced off his arm. They couldn't allow any sounds to filter out into the corridor, for fear that the Draugr would hear and perhaps be frightened away. As the Corellian looked at his fellow Dark Jedi, he saw a serious expression on his face, mixed with a bit of chastisement directed at him. Jason knew that he was being corrected for the distraction that was apparently obvious a moment before, and he nodded his thanks to Ma'arkhan.

Keep focused, he thought to himself, leaning a little to look further down the hall that Spears had taken. He was still in Alexi's form, moaning and wailing in mock fright like he was supposed to be. Maybe this'll work out after all.

Ma'arkhan allowed his emotions to flow for a moment, but, recalling his past and the source of his second name, he pulled them in again. The Dragonskin must not lose control again, he thought to himself chidingly. It's one thing to lose control over danger to your soulmate, but quite another to lose it over a simulacrum.

He twitched as he heard a slight scratching noise in the direction of the false Alexi's cries. He sent a meaningful look at Jason, and tensed in preparation for the action he knew was soon to come.

Suddenly, the cries stopped. Ma'arkhan hissed one word to his blade, and it began to glow sootily with all the repressed anger at the Draugr that had dared attempt to rend his beloved from him.


Jason's sword glinted slightly in the dimmed lighting, almost begging to meet living flesh. He began to creep forward slightly, leaning to get a better view around the corner. He could see Spears, still in his Alexi form, but it was odd that he had gone silent.

Maybe he's catching his breath, the Corellian thought, reaching out again with his senses. In the brief moment that he allowed himself to feel the Force around him, he couldn't sense anything definite. He did, however, get a sense of foreboding, like the Force was telling him to keep on his toes.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Jason saw a flash of darkness move amongst the shadows. He looked to Ma'arkhan, who had apparently also noticed the movement. Neither of them wanted to jump at the shadow, for fear of alerting the draugr to their presence. But they also couldn't help but fight down the urge to strike out then and there, rending the creature of its flesh and leaving it bleeding its life away on the cold stone.

* * * * *

The journey through the oceans was rather unnerving. Master Zero had piloted the submersible through one of the deepest trenches of Yridia II. Being fired upon in both a ship and the ground, dueling multiple enemies with a lightsaber and hunting Rancor with Oberst on Dantooine had not prepared Adept Depriest for skimming over lava floes or through underwater storms. That, however, did not match the dread that arose in Depriest’s mind as they neared the very large mound of sand, dirt and stone. He had left marks in the arm rests, from his grip as Zero did not slow down the submersible, but headed pell mell towards the submerged hill. As they passed through the illusion, Depriest felt a great urge to evacuate his bowels and a great sense of relief.

That feeling of relief he had felt not ten minutes ago quickly vanished as they stood within the underground Ziggurat. Depriest stared questioningly at the pot before him and the Dark Jedi Master. The liquid inside gave off no odor, and had no untoward look, yet a great apprehension rose within Depriest.

“You will have to drink or leave,” came Zero’s soft spoken order.

“Is it safe?” came the cautious reply.

Zero’s lip twitched and curled slightly as he held out a small cup, “Define ‘safe.’”

Depriest took the offered cup, tiny and delicate in his hands. The cup had as little ornamentation as the pot and the chamber they stood it, yet one could tell the fine craftsmanship and guess at the possible expense of such a simple vessel. Drinking quickly, Depriest waited for some odd surprise or feeling to manifest, yet none came. Chiding himself quietly, Depriest looked up at Master Zero, “Shall we continue?”

“Continue where, Adept?” a new voice spoke. Deep as the trench they just flew through, clear as the liquid they just drank and sharper than any blade in existence.

“Master Tel’Retha,” Zero bowed as he said the new figures name.

Depriest turned and bowed as well to the new figure, this Master Tel’Retha as Zero had called him. Tel’Retha did not stand tall nor did he hunch over, he simply was. His face seemed pale from the years without sunlight and frail from long years. Though the way his patchy skin was very disturbing the feature that captured most was how his eyes looked. The cold blue menacing orbs were not forgotten by the few who had actually seen him. Though his eyes were the most disturbing his skin would be considered the most interesting. Although no scars were visible, it was readily apparent that some of the skin was not his own, patches and splotches in funny shades seemed to scatter about what could be seen of his face, neck, arms and hands.

Looking squarely into Tel’Retha’s eyes, Zero continued, “We seek entrance to the library, Master Tel’Retha. The Draugr seems to have escaped confinement and is now loose and wreaking havoc upon the Sword’s Sheath.”

“Really?” Tel’Retha’s voice betrayed much amusement, “Then, we’ll have to stop it, won’t we?”

Tel’Retha gestured for Depriest and Zero to step past him. As Depriest did, he felt himself suddenly sinking to the ground, slipping into unconsciousness. Before the darkness surrounded him, he heard three voices laughing.

* * * *

The moving shadows kept both Ma’arkhan and Jason’s attention. The pair tensed, ready to jump and engage the monster that had dared threaten Alexi. Jason’s thumb was poised over the trigger for his saber, ready to engage the golden blade. Ma’arkhan crouched with his sword level with his shoulder, ready to thrust at the looming shadow.

Both were so intent on watching the shadows, they did not notice who was behind them, even as they too slipped into unconsciousness.

* * * *

Oberst and Bloodfyre walked through one of the side tunnels in an attempt to score a position in front of Spears. The air in the shafts became heavier and staler as they continued through. Both men had to fight off the urge to move the air in these deeper tunnels, for fear of alerting the Draugr. Both men walked with their sabers in hand, Bloodfyre his pair and Oberst the baton of rank he carried that housed the mechanism for his own saber.

“Where did the Dr. Steiner go off to, Oberst?” Bloodfyre queried.

“I sent him off to set a trap. I figure, the Draugr will be attracted to powerful emanations of The Force, and Dr. Steiner might confuse him,” came Oberst’s simple reply.

“Should we be confusing it?”

“Of course,” Oberst said, as he looked Bloodfyre in the eye. “If it’s confused, it’ll become more desperate.”

A sudden twinge in the Force alerted Bloodfyre, “What the -?! Steiner just attacked Jason and Ma’arkhan! You have to stop him!”

“No, I have to stop you.” At this, two sets of doors closed, locking Bloodfyre and Oberst in the same enclosure.

“Wha-?” Bloodfyre quickly brought up his pair of lightsabers to deflect Oberst’s sudden charge. But, he still found him knocked back by a swift forward kick to his chest by Oberst.

“The Draugr was set loose to purge the Clan. Those not capable of stopping it will fall. I will not let its pruning be stopped. The Clans and the Brotherhood have grown decadent and soft. This will not continue.”

Bloodfyre reached out with the force and delivered a powerful blow that knocked the larger man to the ground. In retaliation Oberst gestured once and Bloodfyre sank to his knees and vomited blood. The Consul stared agape at what had just happened. Many thoughts running through his mind, chief amongst them – “How?”

“How, Consul? This is what the Clan must prepare itself for. If your students cannot survive this encounter, then we need not waste our energies teaching them how to manipulate the border between life and death.” Oberst delivered his diatribe while wiping blood from his nose.

Bloodfyre shrugged off the effects of the induced nausea and leapt at Oberst, both sabers ignited.

* * * * *

Bloodfyre crouched low, a soft, baritone growl erupting from deep within his throat. His teeth bared in fury, the Consul could only stare at the man he had come to trust, and rely on; the man who had just attacked him. Sith wasn't a man of force, so much as he was a man to act from the shadows, and manipulate the world around him, to accomplish whatever ends he had in mind. To think that, in this case, he was being manipulated, so that his Clan might be culled...

"Come now, Sith," Oberst said, his lightsaber held out in front of him, his post neutral. "You must realize, this is for the greater good of the Clan; of the DB as a whole! In times long past, this was a natural occurrence, one that we all knew came frequently. The lessers give way to their superiors; it's the natural order of things. Stand aside, and let it happen; you ARE one of those who has the greater potential. Do not give yourself needlessly to save the cannon fodder."

"Who are you to decide whether or not they are fodder?!" Sith leaped out in fury, and speared straight into attack. His lightsabers crashed furiously against the single saber that Oberst held. While Sith was no weakling, or new to his powers, Oberst was older, stronger. The difference in rank was minimal, but the advantage of years of service, and service in different respects belonged to the Warlord. Beyond that, Oberst had access to the powers that Sith had only been given a vague idea of; Oberst was tapped into the forces the Keepers offered. There was little that Sith could do to defend against one who had sway over the very forces of life and death itself.

Oberst deflected an attack, and stepped to the side, swiftly dodging a deft jab by his Consul. Bringing his knee up quickly, Oberst caught Sith in the sternum with his knee, grabbed him by the back of his robes, and turned quickly, sending Bloodfyre sprawling across the floor.

"I am one to decide," Oberst said softly, "because Tarentum is my home. I have lived Tarentum longer than you. I have bled Tarentum longer than you; and I need not explain my actions to one who may stand with me. Everyone knows your heart is Tarentum. Everyone knows you live your life for the Clan, and for the strength she needs. You are no fool, and you are no weakling. You are being offered a chance at the path that I have walked, and that those who have gone before me lived. The Keepers will never share their secrets with the weak, or the unworthy."

"This assault was all their doing..." Sith stated simply. Standing to his feet slowly, Sith tore of his robes, and tossed them to the side. Very few, indeed, had ever seen the Consul without his robes. Standing just over six feet in height, the Consul seemed bigger than the voluminous robes implied. Everyone always had the distinct impression that the size he had always came from his robes, and was one of the illusions he managed to maintain. Sith's body was toned, and defined; the muscular structure of the Shaevalian race was much more dense, and usually more impressive than Sith could ever be; in simple terms, Sith was a Shaevalian runt. Even so, he was still more muscled than the average human.

It was his eyes, though, that were the most contrasting to his features. Sith's skin was rather pale, almost bearing no pigment at all. His hair, kept long, black, and in a long braid cascading down his back offset his pale, light blue eyes. So light was the blue, it was almost like glass, or a soft layer of ice along the surface of a lake. Crystal was a word that would describe them appropriately. And for those who had ever seen his eyes, his preference for darkness was then understood; because there was very little pigmentation in his irises, any light finding itself shining upon his eyes caused him pain, possibly even to the point of blindness. Sith didn't just hate light, his own body was highly susceptible to it. Even so, it wasn't the color, or this understanding that Oberst held, even though he acknowledged it. It was the enlightenment that now sat in Sith's eyes that stood out to the Warlord.

"I see understanding in your eyes now, Sith," Oberst said softly. "Yes, they planned it all. They have a great many plans to initiate, still, but for now... be content to sit back, and let this happen. Be content to be one of the strong who will survive."

Bloodfyre did nothing except stare directly at Oberst. The Consul kept his lightsabers active, their pulsating hum breaking the silence that stood between the two men. Sith glared furiously at the man across from him. They're killing the Clan, Sith thought, the only words that were able to shine out in his mind. Sith's grip tightened upon his weapons, until his knuckles were white. If it were possible, indentations would've been left upon the casing of the lightsabers held in Bloodfyre's hands.

* * * * *

"Yesss, sleep, little Jedi. Zis creature is not your concerrrrn any longer."

Steiner's words were very sharp, and punctuated, like a distinct, determined accent from some German officer in a war movie. The two Gladius Jedi fell before him like a sack of potatoes, and snored in blissful slumber. No signs of hatred, or worry marred their faces as the good doctor stared at them. Then, after a moment, Steiner looked up. Spears still stood there, as Alexi, seemingly unaware of the danger that was now present; he had no one watching his back. None, that is, except for the good Doctor...

Shadows danced in the corridors around Spears' location, and suddenly, without warning, the shadows attacked. Spears' body was helpless to move, or to react; something was blocking his body. Something was blocking they very ability of his nervous system to carry the impulses for his muscles to respond.

Steiner's brain suddenly exploded with a fury of pain. He clutched at his skull, falling down to his knees. As the doctor writhed in pain, a voice shattered through the sensations, but only seemed to expand upon the pain, and make it worse. But the words stood out more brilliantly than the effect which now beat down upon his physical form.

I said to test them, not slaughter them, the voice said. Do not test ME, 'Doctor'...

Part V...

Dranik looked around him and wondered where the hell Telona and Anshar had gone off to. He did not know how he had managed to take a wrong turn when the three of them went off to their places. Dranik had wondered around for sometime trying to figure out where and how it had gotten lost. He walks down a narrow hallway and finds himself behind a secret door in the House Summit Meeting Room. “Well this explains how the thing was able to get around so easily.”

Dranik walked out of the room and down the hall some ways to a room labeled as Weapons Cache. He put his hand on the print scanner and the door opened. Dranik looked around the room and walked over to grab a Compression rifle with scope, this rifle has been modified though and has a selector switch on the side; it also has a “three-round burst” type mode to it. Dranik takes the gun and leaves the room, the door closing and locking behind him as he goes. He walks down the hall even more of a ways and two his room. He enters it and looks at his desk. “I might need that.”

Dranik takes his saber and clips it to his belt. He has Masume, his sword, in its sheath, two blaster pistols in their holsters and his saber clipped to his belt. The rifle is at the ready in his hand on the burst fire mode. He turned to leave his room and walked out into the hall. His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked down the hall. He could feel that he was somehow not alone. He spun o face a direction down the hall and ended up having his rifle pointed right at the Doc.

“What the hell are you doing all the way out here?” Dranik asked kind of softly but that same fascination about the Doc was upon him again as he lowered his weapon slightly.

* * * * *

Fear and nervousness made the hairs on her entire body stand on end. Telona stayed down on the darkened ledge she had taken up in an old tunnel after the party had separated. She preferred to work alone and was a bit glad Jason had grabbed Ma’arkhan before she had.

Something was not right and Telona knew it. She had felt many different things radiating through the Force but could not pinpoint whom those feelings had come from. What Telona did know was that her connection with her apprentice had been cut off unexpectedly. She had to move from her position to find out what had happened and to protect those who were left.

Slowly and silently she made her way back to the place where Spears was. He had fallen silent several minutes ago. She checked on him before moving around to the position Jason and Ma’arkhan had taken up. He was still in Alexi’s form but just sitting there looking a bit worried. He must have felt the disturbance but had an even less idea of what was going on.

Telona left him for now and moved on to the last place she knew the other two to be. She found them asleep on the floor. Even though they had peaceful expressions on their face she knew that they would not have fallen asleep even if they had been there for days. The Epis tried in vain to wake them up. She stood over them for a few moments wondering what had happened to them.

Then it dawned on her, she had seen this before and even had it done to herself when she was in the Asylum. This was the work of the doctor and that meant he had turned on them.

“At least he isn’t harming anyone yet.” She mumbled to herself as she took a look around.

She didn’t know where everyone else had gone off. She hoped they were all right but for now she felt she had to protect those around her. Telona was about to call Spears over when Dranik came walking out of the shadows. Telona looked around and relief came over her face.

“Dranik I’m glad to see you are still alive and unharmed. Any idea where everyone else is? Things have gone wrong and we need to regroup before things get worse.”

She turned around when he did not answer her. Her quizzical face quickly changed as she came face to face with the end of the compression rifle in his hands.

* * * * *

Dranik’s eyes were cold and emotionless, which were very odd for him. Telona could not quite see it but standing not to far behind Dranik was the Doc. Dranik shot Telona a cold smile as he tightened his grip on his rifle and the trigger. His trigger finger was visibly shaking.

* * * * *

Dranik found himself looking at the Doc. He had lowered his weapon all the way now though he did not really understand why. “Well what are you doing here?” Dranik asked rather impatiently. Dranik was just too far away and not paying enough attention to the force to pick up on anything being wrong.

“Zey sent me to find you” replied the Doc as he started walking down the hall. “Come on, ve have much vork to do.” The Doc said as Dranik took off following him.

“What do you mean we?” Dranik questioned as he caught up with the doc.

The Doc cast Dranik a look and at the same time used a form of Mind Trick to make Dranik believe what was said next. “Zat voman, Telona. She iz ze one zat killed…” The Doc paused to think for a minute and to dive into Dranik’s memories. “… Auria and Kit. Your child and vife.”

Dranik’s eyes flashed red for a moment as the two continued down the hall. The Doc continued telling Dranik things that the others had done to him and corrupting Dranik and making him believe what he said was true.

* * * * *

Dranik just looked at Telona for a few moments, the Doc took a step forward and Telona’s eyes widened as she figured out why Dranik was pointing the gun at her. Her hand shot down to the saber but before she could get it ignited the Doc used trickery to force Dranik to pull the trigger.

Though Dranik was not about to kill one of his friends, he at the moment did believe what the Doc was telling him through a mental link but a part of him also knew that it was not true. While Dranik had been standing there, he had turned the power setting down on the rifle. The blast still hit Telona in the chest but a little off from where any thing vital was.

Telona’s eyes widened in shock as she feel over backwards towards the ground. She lay there completely knocked out by the blast. The Doc walked past Dranik and stepped over Telona and continued down the hall. “Come on, zere is still much to do.”

Dranik looked down at Telona and whispered “Please forgive me.” He then walked towards the Doc following after him, the mental anguish the Doc was causing him by forcing him to relive his past was far worse than death for Dranik. But this was how the Doc was controlling him. In fact, Dranik was wishing right now that Telona had managed to pull that saber. But the only real thing on his mind is what lay in store for him around the next bend.

* * * * *

Telona woke up a few minutes after Dranik and the Doc disappeared down the hall. She had a splitting headache and was quite very sore where the Blaster bolt hit her. She looked down the hall in the direction they went and stood up, picking her saber up as she did so. “I have to find the others and warn them about what is going on."

* * * * *

"Why is it that Tarentum stands as a pillar of power, Guardian Corsair?” the Dark Prophet mused

“Because we are strong, Master Kumba”

“That’s right” the elder Sith nodded. “If you learn nothing else about the Brotherhood, remember this about the nature of the clans Guardian: The strong survive and the weak die”

A strong surge of dark energy brought Rekio out of the memory, a reflection of Andevia, where he had spent time with the Dark Prophet Kumba. The powerful surge was caused by Bloodfyre and Oberst, without a doubt. He had thought there was something menacing about Oberst … and that freak with him as well. “The strong survive and the weak die. So is that what you’re up to?”

Rekio had somehow managed to not have a part in the planning process of the supposed trap for the Draugr. He still hadn’t figured out how he managed to slip out without the others as much as even noticing. Most of them had been concentrating on the doctor, or in the case of Jason … Spears. Rekio had to smirk at the thought of Jason ogling Spears in his transformed state. He had, instead, chosen to go it alone. The situation with Oberst combined with the disappearance of Zero and Depriest and the introduction of Stiener, didn’t add up for Rekio and he much prefer his odds on his own.

The powerful surge of energy of Oberst and Bloodfyre had sent ripples though the Force. It had indicated to him that they were engaged in combat, but rather than rush to their location and aid them, he stood in thought for a moment. No, it was best to back track and see how the others were doing instead. They weren't fighting the Draugr so their fight wasn’t of an immediate concern.

The young Warmaster walked the halls of the Sword’s Sheath back to where Aari and Kidouses where to be securing an exit. That was the most important location at this time. If they were trapped here, or even worse, if the beast were allowed to escape then … well best not to think of it at the moment. He walked half in the moment, paying attention to his surrounding and the signals the Force gave him about what else was going on, and half processing all the information thus far, as he had been taught to do. Everything seemed to point at Oberst and the doctor. But to what end?

Rekio herd something and stopped in his tracks, another ripple in the Force. He stood there, in the silent dark and then, in a mere instant he had drawn his lightsaber and turned to deflect a laser bolt back towards the rifle it had come from. “Dranik! What the hell do you …” No, over there! He thought to himself as he swung the opposite direction in mid-sentence to avoid the approaching Stiener and counter by hammering him on the top of the head. Stiener groaned and fell to the ground. His attempted to prop himself on his hands and knees was met with a well placed kick to the ribs which knocked him up against the wall like a rag doll. “Stay there” Rekio growled as he now turned his attention back to the now bewildered Dranik.

Dranik, now free of the doctor’s mind control stood in a daze. “I … I … Where ….What …oh, no … Telona!” He dropped the weapon in his hands to the ground and slumped over at the thought he had slain on of his friends. A look of rage overtook his face and all at once, he reached for his lightsaber began running down the hall “Stiener!!!” The Proconsul intercepted him midway, using the Force to reach out and deactivated Dranik’s energy weapon as he held him back.

“Now is not the time for your anger, Dranik.”

“But Telona …he ….” Dranik said, enraged to the point where he was stumbling out words

“Telona’s alive. Calm down.” With that said, Rekio loosened his hold on Dranik who then slouched on the ground. “You have to learn to control your emotions. They’re a powerful thing when harness to their fullest, but they’re also a handicap if you let them get in the way.”

“Like Ma'arkhan and Jason?”

“Yes, like Ma'arkhan and Jason. When they let their emotions for that woman get in the way they become weak and worse yet, disregard all logic and run off on their daring little tangents. Do you see my point?”

“..Control ..”

“Geez, doesn’t Telona have you studying the Dark Lords at all?” Rekio muttered

“What?”

“Nothing…”

Rekio motioned for Dranik to follow as he returned his attention back to Steiner, who was now leaning up against the wall. “Using Dranik as a toy, eh? And just what did you think you were going to do with me?”

“Vouldn't you like to know?” the doctor said with a smug grin.

Rekio put the doctor in a vice like grip at the jaw and picked him off the ground. “Wrong answer,” He growled smashing the doctor’s head into the permacrete wall. “Shall we try again?”

* * * * *

Telona stumbled on her feet at first. Between the headache and being shaken up from getting shot, she was a bit woozy. Nonetheless, it wasn’t long before the Epis had recovered. Up ahead, she saw Camile and Anshar exiting from one of the tunnels.

“We thought something happened so we ..” Camile trailed off when he noticed Telona looked a little gimp for her usual self

“What happened here, Telona?” Anshar inquired

“Steiner”

“I see …” Camile trailed off

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, thank you”

“Come then, lets go find the others” Anshar commanded

* * * * *

“Shut up I said” Dranik scolded the doctor as he prattled on as he continue dragging him by the collar.

“Its just up ahead, Dranik” Rekio said as he gestured toward the upcoming opening at the end of the hall

“Good. I’d rather lead around a herd of Rancors than have to put up with his sorry ass anymore”

“Ze careful of vhat you vish for …”

Rekio had to admit, the doctor’s persistence and tolerance to pain was admirable to some degree. Then again, he really didn’t think he had gotten that position he had for nothing. The three walked into the hangar of the Gladius base where Aari and Kidouses stood guard.

“Proconsul” Kidouses nodded in Rekio’s direction.

“What’s he doing here?” Aari spoke up as the entering group caught her attention

“Causing trouble,” Rekio grinned as he watched Dranik drag Steiner into the room and throw him in the corner. The doctor muttered something and received a solid blow to the head from the Dark Jedi Knight.

After the four Dark Jedi playing catch up on the recent events, Rekio had noticed something through the Force. “Dranik, where did Stiener go?”

“I was talking with you and ….oh, sithspit” He turned around just in time to see Stiener’s scurry down the hall. “Damnit,I’ll go …”

“No,” Rekio interrupted, “I’ll go. You stay here with Aari and Kidouses.” With that, the three Dark Jedi nodded in acceptance of the Proconsul’s orders and Rekio took off after Stiener.

* * * * *

"Oooo..." Jason groaned, his eyes creaking open a bit. He laid there for a few more moments, wondering, albeit groggily, what had happened. The last thing he could remember was crouching against the wall, watching Spears, waiting for something to happen, then...blackness. Between then and waking up, he could recall some pretty nice dreams, which gave him ample evidence that he had fallen asleep somehow. Of course, given his highly agitated state, he doubted that he would have passed out of his own accord. So, it had to have someone else, greatly powerful in the Force to be able to force him into such a state of blissful slumber.

Forcing his eyes to open fully, Jason pushed himself off the cold stone floor and into a sitting position on his haunches. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he glanced over and saw Ma'arkhan, similarly beginning to rouse himself from sleep.

"Nice dreams?" the Corellian asked off-handedly, his voice low and scratchy as it usually was when he first woke up.

"Mmm, yeah..." Ma'arkhan replied, smirking over at him from the floor. Then, almost at the same instant, both Krath were suddenly fully awake, their senses set to their highest setting.

"What the hell happened?" Ma'arkhan asked, glancing around.

"I think someone forced us to fall asleep," Jason responded, finding his sword and getting a firm grip on it before standing. "With how focused we both were on Spears, it doesn't really surprise me that someone could have come up from behind us and cracked us over the heads with some sort of proverbial sleepy mallet."

"Do you feel that?" Ma'arkhan said, his eyes widening slightly. Jason simply nodded, knowing that Ma'arkhan was talking about the apparently residual remnants of a huge surge of power within the Force. They both quickly realized that it belonged to both Sith and Oberst, and it came as no surprise to either that the two powerful Dark Jedi could create such an oppressive amount of energy. However, it was odd that it felt as though they had both been in battle...seemingly, against one another. That baffled both Jason and Ma'arkhan, who simply looked at each other in bemusement.

"We've got to find the others," Jason said, helping Ma'arkhan to his feet and looking around. "We really need to find the others...this is getting too weird."

“It’s about time you two woke up.” Ciara’s voice floated out from the darkness.

Jason and Ma’arkhan turned around and saw the woman walk calmly out of the shadows of one of the tunnels. She had an amused look on her face that annoyed the two men slightly.

“Even when Telona was a Guardian she was still able to wake up from those sleeps faster than the two of you. I guess that’s what happens when you new Mystics don’t attend the asylum. Now go get Spears. He should be nearly recovered by now.”

The two glanced around to see Spears still in Alexi’s form and still standing in the same spot. He was quivering a bit but not doing much of anything else. Jason opened his mouth to pose a question but a sharp look from Ciara quickly closed his mouth and sent him to pick up his Tetrarch.

“Follow me.” Ciara said as she turned and started walking down a tunnel. “Unless you wish to stay here and be guinea pigs for Stiener.”

* * * * *

It stopped and listened. The great energy surge had come from up ahead. The voice of his missed target had also stopped. There was a trap laid out and it wasn’t going to fall for it. The Draugr stayed in its hiding place and just listened to the voices and power signatures of the people still in this rock.

Something was definitely going on. Now was a good time to strike at one of the more powerful ones. They would be able to cull the hunger for a long time. It began to weigh its options as it tracked the Dark Jedi.

There were four in the worse of places, the only exit in this place. All but one was fairly powerful and they were guarding the area. Not a good option at the moment. Four were walking towards that exit point. One was injured but it seemed the very powerful one was watching over them. It made note that that group contained the initial target.

Two were together but a master was there. Not a good place to go if it wanted to escape completely from its masters. Finally there were three powerful ones searching the tunnels. One was injured but wouldn’t make for an easy target. The draugr made note that there was one other roaming about but it was not like any of the others. It decided to leave that one alone for now.

The target group was chosen and it slinked off quickly to catch its next meal.

* * * * *

“Did you hear something?” Ma’arkhan asked as he stopped.

Jason stopped and listened. “No I don’t hear anything.”

Ciara continued to walk but she was no longer paying attention to the three behind her. Her attention had turned to what was up ahead, Dr. Stiener. Spears watched as Ciara disappeared but a blow that knocked him from the arms of Jason stopped him from warning the others.

A stunned Ma’arkhan and Jason turned to check Spears as they drew their weapons. The Draugr stood over the Clawdite, poised to strike. It had attacked at a very good time. The more powerful one was distracted and had left these three alone. It would have a fine feast today.

An expression of great shock and apprehension crossed Jason's features, and was made all the more severe as his lightsaber shone its golden light upon his face. The weapon hummed deeply, and the Draugr seemed to respond to the new threat. It raised its eyes from the prostrate Spears, and bore into Jason's.

"Get off him," the Archpriest said, his voice low and threatening. It rumbled from the base of his throat, and sounded exceedingly more deep than normal. By this time, Ma'arkhan had muttered his magical incantations, and his sword was pulsating with its mystical power.

The Draugr took in the two Krath in a single glance, reading their stances and signatures in the Force in an instant. It knew that neither could stand against it; however, the larger of the two could pose quite a threat...especially since it was still weak with hunger. Though, hunger could drive creatures to new levels...

"I said, get off of him, Jason said again, accenting his stern words with a forceful stomp of his foot. With his rising anger fueling his power, his booted foot struck the stone with sufficient force to crack a small portion and send a loud thud reverberating down the hallway. "You attacked Alexi once already...and that is something that we won't allow." He then gestured towards Ma'arkhan with a jerk of his head. The Draugr glanced over at the Jedi Hunter, who had a burning rage in his eyes. The creature then looked back at Jason, and saw the same rage.

"You will pay for attacking my mate," Ma'arkhan said, baring his teeth. Then, in an instant, both he and Jason were off, charging at the Draugr. Their anger fueled them, making their movements quicker and more precise.

* * * * *

“These actions could very well rend the Clan apart,” came the cry, forced through teeth, from Bloodfyre. “If we continue along these lines, there might not be a Clan left to teach!”

“That is a risk we must be willing to take. Phalanthus and the rest of the Keepers will not share their power with the weak. It was done once before, and the initiates ran rampant with that power. It took years to reign in the last one and put it down like the rabid animal it was,” Oberst paused in the middle of his diatribe and shifted slightly on the rock he sat on. “It is our only option to make sure that the Clan is tested. Otherwise, they will withdraw back to their hideaway and the rest of their knowledge will be lost.”

Sith Bloodfyre turned his head slightly, as he heard one set of the heavy double doors begin to move. “Very well, but be careful that there are still Clansmen to teach.”

Oberst who had already risen and was straightening out his coat just smiled as he replied, “Jason and Ma’arkhan are about to engage the Draugr – if they have a stockpile of luck, this test might just finish ahead of time.” Offering a deep, sardonic bow, Oberst motioned for Bloodfyre to precede him through the doorway.

* * * *

Minos. That’s what the pounding in his head was starting to remind Depriest of: one of the sieges in the Minos Cluster. The Republic forces didn’t have anything heavy enough to pierce through the fortress defenses, but the Imperial forces had run out of ammunition. They had plenty of food, water and power, but there wasn’t enough tibanna gas for all the weapons and they had run out. Day after day, night after night, a constant thunder of shot being repelled by the walls echoed throughout the fortress. What kept the Republic from just blasting the fortress from orbit were the Imperial ships above constantly engaging them.

As his thoughts attempted to remember the name of the planet they were on, his thoughts also forced him back to consciousness. A moan passed his lips as consciousness came thundering back, and the realization that he wasn’t alone. Calling quickly upon the Dark Side, Depriest sought to seek out whomever was watching him and dispel them and their life, only to come to the realization that the Force was not answering and that he was currently bound.

As he slowly opened his eyes, pain registered in his eyes from just how bright the lights in the room were. His vision slowly adjusted to the bright light, focusing in on the figure before him – Master Tel’Retha.

“You will have to forgive me, Adept, but I could not let you into the library just yet. Master Zero asked me to watch over you for the time being. He has…other things to attend to.”

Depriest found his eyes growing heavy as he looked on the grinning face of Tel’Retha.

* * * * *

The Draugr easily leapt over the charge presented by the two who opposed him. As he leapt over, his foot connected Jason’s head with a wet crack. Turning back, he saw the larger one brought down to one knee, and the smaller figure had leveled his sword into an offensive ready stance.

With a yell Ma’arkhan charged a second time at the Draugr. Sword level, he felt it connect and proceeded to drive the charge through, adrenaline coursing through him, only to realize that the Draugr had caught the blade. Ma’arkhan’s eyes widened in shock as the Draugr brought a fist up and caught the off guard Hunter square across the face and sent him sprawling.

By this time, Jason had recovered from the dazing blow and once again charged at the abomination. The Draugr clumsily parried each of the blows from Jason’s lightsaber with his stolen blade, stepping back with each attack.

As Jason overextended, the Draugr caught his arm. Suddenly, Jason was hit with a wave of gross nausea. It felt like his bowels wanted to evacuate in both directions, but was unable to move.

With his attention focused on Jason, the Draugr didn’t see Ma’arkhan charge from behind and tackle him, and scream, “Get off him!”

The Draugr leapt away, Ma’arkhan’s sorcerous artifact still in its hands. As Ma’arkhan helped Jason up, they both noticed two things. The Draugr seemed to be in better shape, and Ma’arkhan’s sword was losing its glow.

With a rictus grin, the Draugr tossed the now inert blade at their feet and retreated into the shadows with great haste.

Throughout the whole exchange, Spears could only watch – prone and agape.

* * * *

The Draugr felt a lot better. He wasn’t able to feast on the soul of the one that escaped him before, but what he stole from the larger figure helped to sate his hunger. Add to it, the fact that the funny sword was a great battery for power, he now had recovered his strength.

Still, it needed a way to escape. There were too many in the hangar, and the General still walked the halls.

Cocking its head as if it heard a funny sound, the Draugr stopped. Eyes widening in fear, he scrambled for a hiding place. The General was close, with another powerful one.

Retreating down a black corridor, away from The General’s area, the Draugr paused once more as it felt another presence. A very powerful presence that he had not felt in a very long time. Freezing in fear, the Draugr did not know where to go.

* * * *

The Lambda-class shuttle landed with a soft whump in the Sword’s Sheath hangar. As the ramp lowered, Aari and Kidouses looked on expectantly as Master Zero exited followed by another heavily cloaked figure, and the two of them were followed by another six figures, oddly wearing the red cloaks and masks of the Imperial Guardsmen.

Both Aari and Kidouses bowed in respect to the Dark Jedi Master, “Sir, we have been awaiting your arrival. We have heard some conflict further ahead, but we were instructed to remain by Warmaster Rekio. He has gone off in pursuit of Dr. Steiner,” the Gladius Aedile began. “We have also felt funny tremors in the force, like Oberst and Consul Bloodfyre fighting, but we could not tell whom they were fighting.”

Zero continued away from the shuttle as Aari gave her report. “Yes, I felt it too. This is Master Shade. He will be joining us.”

Kidouses stopped in his tracks, “Master Shade?”

Zero also paused, and in so doing Master Shade and the six Guardsmen. “Yes, Master Shade. He is one of the Keepers.” At this introduction, the figure known as Shade bowed deep at the waist.

Aari looked on expectantly, “You’re to help us then, Master Shade?”

Shade looked at the Epis, “I am here to help someone.” Reaching out with the Force, Shade knocked back the Epis as he drew his Sith Sword, arcane energies beginning to dance upon the blade.

Kidouses instantly went into battle mode, charging with his lightsaber held high, only to find his thrust checked by Zero’s own blue blade. Kidouses could only stare agape as lighting flashed from Zero’s fingertips and drove him back into a stack of crates.

Watching from the entrance to the hangar, Telona, Ciara, Anshar and Dranik advanced slowly, weapons engaged and ready.

In response, the six Guardsmen reached beneath their robes, pulling out Sith Swords that crackled to life, standing like a thin line of blood on the battlefield.

Licking his lips in anticipating, Zero motioned the Guardsmen forward stating, “Let us see how well you fare against opponents who are not quite living.”

* * * *

Chasing Dr. Steiner proved to be a bother; getting lost while chasing Steiner, though, was proving to be an even greater annoyance to the Proconsul of Clan Tarentum.. He could faintly hear footsteps from the direction that the Doctor retreated; yet he could not sense him with the Force. Using techniques gleaned from Master Kumba years ago, and more recent tricks taught to him by his former Aedile, Oberst. That alone caused confusion, and being confused and lost just aggravated Rekio even more.

So lost in thought, trying to make sense of the apparently senseless, the Proconsul nearly ran into Bloodfyre. “Sith!” the young Proconsul cried out.

Not missing a beat, the Consul deadpanned, “Yes. I am, as are you. Surprised to see other Sith in a Krath compound?”

Not used to the Consul being so flippant, Rekio could only stammer in reply, “Yes. I a – I mean, no. ‘Cause that’s whe – err…have you seen Dr. Steiner?”

Arching a brow, the Consul replied in the same even manner, “No. But, I cannot locate Oberst either. We were traversing the halls together, and one moment I see him, and the next moment he wasn’t there anymore. I could not detect his presence through the Force, either.”

“Damn. Were you successful in tracking down the Draugr?”

Heaving a great sigh, the Consul answered in a more tired tone, “No. The Keepers set the Draugr loose. I would watch your back, Rekio, according to Oberst, the Keepers want to test the Clan and weed out any weakness. I also agreed, reluctantly, to not interfere with their tests.”

Rekio swore as Bloodfyre continued, “I would suggest tracking down and neutralizing Steiner with all haste. Zero arrived a few minutes ago, and I wish a word with him.”

Rekio nodded once and continued down the corridor, his footfall echoing Bloodfyre’s, turning once behind him as he rounded the corner, he could no longer see his boss’ figure within the tunnels.

Turning back Rekio froze. Involuntarily. He found he could not move and was bound to the spot, his mind commanding his limbs to move, but they would not. In fact, he could not even shift his weight around: so complete was his immobility.

He heard a voice whispering in his ear, “Problems, Warmaster? I would have thought the Proconsul of our Clan would not be caught so off guard.”

Rekio could not even swallow as he heard Oberst’s thick voice in his ear, “This is a problem for you isn’t it? What with a Draugr on the loose, Dr. Steiner unaccounted for, and it seems Master Zero and Master Shade have engaged the rest of the powers in our Clan.”

Rekio felt one of Oberst’s hands rest on his shoulder and squeeze, “Tell me, Rekio, did you ever talk with Zero,” pausing for a moment, “or even Master Kumba, about my penchant for making even the stoutest hearts cry? Screams used to echo day and night throughout Castle Tarentum whenever I was in residence.”

Oberst’s warm breath upon his skin caused Rekio’s hair to stand on end. His eyes could only widen in terror in response as Oberst’s grip tightened and his voice lowered even more, “My penchant for horror and violation even had me tapped by Grand Master Khyron and the Star Chamber to mete out punishments and elicit confessions.”

Part VI...

"Damn it!" Jason raged, glaring off into the shadows that the Draugr had disappeared into. "Come back here and fight me like a man, you stupid sonuvaslut!"

"Jason, don't antagonize it," Ma'arkhan said to the Archpriest, sheathing his sword and turning towards Spears. "It might just turn back around and gut you."

"I'd like to see it try," the Corellian replied, raising his voice so that his bold statement echoed down the corridors. "Come on, you wuss! Just because you're some abomination thingie created by god-knows-who, doesn't give you reason to go skulking through the shadows like some kind of Solid Snake wannabe!"

"Jason, stop it...we need to get Spears, and get ourselves out of here." Ma'arkhan then grabbed Jason by the sleeve of his jacket and hauled him towards the still rattled Spears. "Judging that my sword was drained of its energy by that thing, I'd say that it got a bit of...nourishment, I suppose, out of us. And, I don't know about you, but I don't want to be around when it wants more."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Jason relented, but sending a few vulgar gestures into the shadows nonetheless. "As you said, we need to grab Spears and get ourselves somewhere else. I've felt Telona and the others elsewhere in the base...we should probably head for them. Safety in numbers and all."

"Wait...feel that?" Ma'arkhan asked, putting a hand up to silence the former Quaestor. Jason turned his head slightly as if to listen, then, after a moment, nodded and turned a serious expression on his best friend's lover.

"There's some very powerful people aboard now," he said, clipping his lightsaber to his belt and stooping to help Ma'arkhan lift Spears to his feet. "And, not wanting to make things seem worse for us...they don't seem friendly." The trio then made their way silently through the hallways, heading for the hangar in which yet another battle was beginning to get underway.

* * * * *

Feeling himself getting lifted off the ground Spears was to deep in thought to pay Jason and Ma'arkhan any mind, as they began to carry him off. It was taking all of his concentration to find a way to circumvent whatever it was that Steiner had done to him; there had been brief moments where it seemed as though Steiner’s grip had loosened ever so slightly. In those brief moments of control Spears had begun the process of returning to his normal form where, the time for cheap tricks had ended. The two Jedi who where carrying him began noticed the change, as it came in short bursts as opposed to its normal fluid progression, one change they could not be aware of was the change in his nervous system. There his cells where dividing creating a back up system that while painful would hopefully undo some of the control Steiner seemed to hold over the Priest.

Emerging from the tunnels beneath the Swords Sheath, Jason and Ma'arkhan began to feel spasms of movement from Spears as he began to gain control of his body. “I think we better stop for a moment.” Ma'arkhan said to Jason. “Yeah at least to see what he is up too,” was Jason’s response.

Opening his eyes for the first time in what seemed like an eternity Spears looked at both Jason and Ma'arkhan and said with a laugh “Thanks for the ride gents but I think I can take it from here.” Spears stumbled a bit before he was able to reach for the wall to steady himself, “so what shall we do now?” Spears asked. “We are heading towards the hangar something odd is happening there and we intend to find out what it is.” Jason said. “You two go on ahead of me I clearly won’t be of any use for the time being, and besides my room is right around the corner. I need to rest for awhile before I can help with anything.” Spears stated as he slowly made his way for his quarters. Jason and Ma'arkhan looked at each other before trying to decide whether they should argue or not. “I said go I won’t be of any use to you in my current state, and I am betting they could use your help at the hangar.” Spears said and with that Jason and Ma'arkhan wished him luck and took off at full speed towards the hangar.

The door to his quarters slid open smoothly as Spears stumbled into the entrance, before falling into his chair. While still physically weak Spears still had full command of the force, reaching out a small panel opened in the wall and a small case levitated out and floated towards Spears. Taking the a small item from the case Spears stared at it for several seconds, before he smile while slipping it into his cloak and then passing out.

* * * * *

He didn't particularly care for leaving Spears behind like that, what with the Draugr's whereabouts still unknown, but the Priest had made it fairly clear that two needed to keep moving. He knows what he's doing, Jason thought to himself, if anything to quiet his mind of the worries for his friend. Indeed, he seemed to have something considerably more important to attend to now, and he knew that Spears could more than fend for himself...even in his weakened state.

He and Ma'arkhan continued through the hallways, making with all due haste for the hangar. They could both sense the power of those ahead of them, and tingle of dread trickled down their spine. While they were strong in their own right, they knew that they were nothing when compared with the might of even one of those individuals. They lacked the experience and, at least in Jason's case, the control that they truly needed.

Coming around the last corner, they both came to a skidding halt with their weapons drawn and ready. An instant afterwards, though, the resolve quickly eroded upon seeing the situation. On one side of the hangar, a few meters in front of them, stood Telona, Ciara, Anshar, Dranik, Aari and Kidouses. Opposite them where six armored figures, and two shadowy looking characters who Jason immediately recognized as being the primary source of the massive amount of power that he was sensing.

"Care for some help?" Ma'arkhan asked of his allies, neither of whom turned to acknowledge the new arrivals.

"Wouldn't hurt," Telona replied, turning her head slightly to look upon Jason and Ma'arkhan. She peered at them for a moment, then turned her attention back to the forces in front of her.

* * * * *

Telona and Ciara stood back to back fending off a pair of the undead Guardsmen. Neither had been harmed yet, having scored several minor blows on their opponents. Unfortunately the hits didn’t seem to phase their enemies at all. The Guardsmen kept up with their heavy attacks. Telona looked around quickly to see if anyone was nearby to aid them.

Her quick scans of the room showed Aari once more engaged with Master Shade. The young Epis was slowly being pushed back by Shade’s fluid, and seemingly effortless, attacks. Shade had not yet scored a hit, but Aari’s defenses were slowly being worn down.

To her right, Jason and Ma’arkhan were dueling another pair of Guardsmen with Dranik behind them. Dranik kept trying to take shots with his blaster rifle, to no avail. His shots seemed to be telegraphed to his targets and easily brushed aside. He had hoped that by staying back, he could distract or pick off opponents and had tossed his lightsaber to Ma’arkhan in the hopes of making this melee short.

Although Telona could not see them, she could sense that Kidouses and Camile were currently engaging Zero and the last two Guardsmen. Camile had gone around the hangar through the maintenance ducts and behind the Dark Jedi Master, in the hopes of surprising Zero and neutralizing him quickly. Everything had gone as planned until Zero had side stepped as he lunged at Zero’s back, and landed a knee to Camile’s solar plexus. Now the Epis found himself dodging Zero’s dervish-like attacks. Not only was Zero making quick attacks, but Zero seemed to be using the Force to parry Camile’s own attacks instead of using his lightsaber.

Still reeling from the blast of lightning and then going through several crates of foodstuffs and medical supplies, Kidouses attempted to fend off the two remaining Guardsmen.

None of them had fallen yet, but things were definitely not going as hoped or planned when they had first come to the Sword’s Sheath with Dr. Steiner. They had all hoped to be fighting the Draugr, not Master Zero and a bunch of ghouls. Behind her, Telona heard Ciara yell.

* * * *

Oberst sneered at the collapsed form of his Proconsul on the floor. Tugging his gloves on, Oberst admired, “It certainly took longer for you to scream than I expected.”

Picking his greatcoat and cap from the floor, Oberst donned his cap and gently folded his coat over his arm. Out of habit, Oberst fixed his collar and smoothed out the wrinkles on his tunic. Making sure that his command cylinders were straight, he leaned over the huddled and quivering mass, “I just wanted to ask you, Rekio, was it as good for you as it was for me?”

Oberst certainly wasn’t prepared for the punch that soon followed and connected with his jaw. Oberst swore to himself for not paying attention. Hearing that familiar snap-hiss, Oberst rolled away from where Rekio’s blade came down. Pulling his baton to himself Oberst ignited the blade, hidden within, and quickly parried Rekio’s thrust. Flicking his wrist, he locked their blades together and said, “Still want to play, huh? You sure you’re…up…for it?”

With a yell, Rekio unleashed a flurry of blows on Oberst. Letting his anger and hatred flow through him, Rekio ignored the pain from his recent ministration at Oberst’s hands. As Oberst over extended himself in a feint, Rekio leaned in for a killing stroke only to find stars dancing over his eyes and himself collapsing once more to the ground.

“I’m impressed, Proconsul. Most people would have problems standing right now, yet you press your attacks,” sarcasm lined Oberst’s tone, “Still, you seemed to fall for a rather easy feint, this mark is certainly going into your final grade.”

“To hell with you and your test. You were our friend and you betrayed us!” venom dripped from Rekio’s voice as each syllable was punctuated. Slowly rising to his feet, Rekio rested a hand over the area on his abdomen that Oberst’s knee had just recently visited. Pointing his lightsaber at Oberst, Rekio ordered, “We finish this, now.”

Grin stretching from ear to ear, Oberst fell back into his ready stance and winked at the Proconsul.

* * * *

Bloodfyre looked down on the Hangar from the control room. He had promised to stay out of this fight, but every fiber of his being ached to lend a hand. He had watched the lightning flash from Zero’s hand and sent Kidouses flying. He had winced in sympathy as he watched the Archpriest fall into a stack of heavy crates.

Turning his back to the window, he was surprised to see Dr. Steiner standing at the doorway to the control room and his eyes narrowed, “Can I help you, Doctor?”

“Perhaps you could, Conzul. You zee, I have been much abuzed, and vish to return to zee azylum. My zervices are no longer at your dizpozal,” Steiner stated simply and matter of factly.

“You are right, Doctor, your services are no longer needed,” taking a cue from Zero, lightning flashed from Bloodfyre’s own hand and struck Steiner.

Summoning the Force to him, Steiner attempted to use the same freeze technique on Bloodfyre that worked so well on Spears, to find that he had nothing.

“Problems, Doctor?” Bloodfyre queried, “Oh, Oberst showed me how to cut you off from the Force. Apparently, it isn’t from you, you feed off of whoever is around, and it’s easy to starve you. He was rather annoyed with what you did to his Apprentice and as such – in fact, he believes you went too far.”

Steiner’s eyes widened and he started back pedaling from the approaching Consul. Not looking where he was going, he stumbled and fell to the ground. By this time, Bloodfyre had unhooked his twin lightsabers. Bloodfyre ignited the twin blades and continued, “In fact, on this Oberst and I are in agreement. I am to stay out of the test, but you are certainly no longer needed for this test or for the Clan.”

* * * * *

“Excellent, I rather enjoy settling thing with force ..” the Marshal declared with a smug grin on his face

“To hell with you!” Rekio charged forward, unleashing another furry of blows continuing to press his attack against his opponent. The Marshal was anticipating for the moment when the unrelenting fury would cease and he could counterattack but the Warmaster just kept coming one after another. Rekio had found it impossible to get though Oberst’s defensive stance; years more of refined lightsaber combat had greatly kept the advantage in Oberst’s favor.

What speed and power he still has … and this after all the mental torment. He should be broken by now … still he held out longer than anyone ever has … all I got was one scream … I must be getting rusty or …

Oberst came down from a block into a counterattack which Rekio barely met with his own blue blade. The lightsabers sparked and crackled in the stalemate, before both of the Sith disengaged and sprawled back into their fighting stances. Regardless of how much Rekio put into his attacks, he couldn’t touch Oberst. The veteran Sith had near flawless technique which made him all but impossible to fight. Still Rekio would fight to the death, even if it was his own.

“Quit holding back. You expect to lead the Clan like this ..” Oberst sneered “Pitiful ..”

Rekio said nothing and charged with a strong attack which was again matched by Oberst’s crimson blade in a near effortless block. The red and blue blades sparked and hissed as they locked each other. The Marshal, illuminated by his red blade, peered at Rekio, whose blade had painted a blue glow to his glaring face. His eyes carried a hard expression of anger and betrayal.

“Oh, how I enjoy watching you trying so hard Rekio” Oberst said in a casual voice to display his superiority of the situation

Rekio gritted his teeth together as rage filled him. I must win. I’ve got to beat him. I don’t care how fast or strong or skilled he is… he’s going to pay.

Rekio pulled up from the stalemate and then came back down again as Oberst’s moved his energy weapon to meet it in almost a casual effort. The Warlord allowed the force of the younger Sith’s strike to carry down the tip of his own blade, causing his saber to be parallel to his back in a defensive guard. With a graceful shift of energy in his mastery of combat, Oberst brought up his blade up and over his shoulder to slice Rekio’s arm. Although the cut was neither serious nor life threatening, it had served its point. It showed that Oberst was just toying with him. Rekio, who had been sprawling back to avoid damage, found himself sitting flat on his ass.

While resting on his knee getting up, Rekio felt a presence come up and grad a hold of his mind. While you’re down there ….shine my boots?

With the fury of a supernova, Rekio screamed “GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!!” Dark energies poured from Rekio in the intensity of his anger.

Shocked, Oberst stumbled back a bit, his mental link broken. He felt something unbelievable, an endless well of dark power. It had only lasted for a mere moment, but for that moment Oberst had feared for his life as if that dark power would engulf him effortlessly. So, you’re finally shown your true self… excellent …

“Impressive Corsair, you might pass for a Sith after all.” Oberst jested attempting to hide his surprise and shock from what just happened “Though if I might suggest, you should quit trying to hit me and … hit me ...” Oberst was surprised to find that the Force had reached out from the Proconsul and hammered him to the ground. This can’t be good, the longer we fight the stronger he gets. This is most unexpected.

Before Rekio had a change to make another strong offensive, Oberst attacked. This had gone on too long. Oberst set up another feint, only this time Corsair went the opposite direction, using his saber to block down on the Marshal’s faked attack and slammed a kick to the back to Oberst’s gut in combination with a punch down on his back, sandwiching the Warlord between the two attacks. Oberst attempted to recover but another kick landed him back a few feet.

He didn’t remain there for long, whipping the Force around himself, he charged forward with incredible speed only to find that Rekio was not there. He had jumped to avoid the Warlord’s rush. Oberst recovered quickly from the missed attack and set his motion upward. Rekio set his blade up in a defensive position but the Warlord slid off the Warmaster’s blade and into his side, piercing the flesh. Oberst spun around and kicked the falling body with incredible force, smashing Rekio into the wall. Still that did not stop the determined Proconsul, recovering seconds prior to the impact he jumped from the wall and charged toward the Marshal slashing wildly, and placing several minor cuts in missed attempts to detach limps. The last thrust caught the top of Oberst’s shoulder and pierced though it below the breastbone. Rekio withdrew back holding his side, as Oberst grasped his shoulder and they took a moment to regain composure, both of them bloody and beaten, gasping for air.

“Do you know why we’re doing this, Proconsul?”

“You talk too much. I’m not interested in your test so save it.”

“It is the weak who die and the strong who live, that’s what this is about. The Keepers won’t share power with the weak.” Oberst said switching his lightsaber to help him shift stances “Now, young Proconsul, it is time to play” Rekio glared at the Marshal. “Yes, let’s have some fun”

By the time the last syllable had reaches Corsair’s ears, a powerful surge of telekinetic energy from the Force ripped through the ground toward where the Warmaster stood. Rekio immediately took a defensive stance and called upon the Force, wrapping it around him to create a defensive barrier. The Marshal’s blast bubbled around the Proconsul and hammered into the wall behind him.

Rekio charged forward swinging down with his azure lightsaber as it was matched by Oberst’s defensive stance. When the two collided, the ground around them shook and gave way, breaking and cracking from the force of their fight.

Locked in a stalemate, Rekio pressed as Oberst brought his saber at a more horizontal position. The Proconsul then pressed his saber hard at a downward angle in sync with a telekinetic blast which forced his azure blade thought Oberst’s hilt, rendering his lightsaber useless. As Rekio set up for a fatal blow from the side, Oberst sprawled back narrowly missing being cut into halves. Instead the attack scraped over the Warlord’s chest leaving a cut from one side to another. A minor wound compare to his shoulder, but it threatened to damage his pride much worse. Looking at his side, he saw charred little cylinders which were once part of his uniform.

“Now, that was very unbecoming of a gentleman” Oberst said as he commanded the Force to hurl his broken baton-lightsaber toward Rekio’s own lightsaber knocking it across the room.

“You broke my baton … ”

“… like you don’t have another one with you in your coat. Besides we can settle this hand to hand …” Rekio growled moving toward the Warlord

That is enough.

Master.

“What the hell …. You really must have done a number on me you dirty Hutt, I’m going crazy” Rekio said

Not quite Proconsul ….

* * * * *

“We’ve got to figure something out Telona!”

“I know Ciara I know! I’m thinking!”

“Well think faster!” Ciara cried as she pushed one of the Guardsmen back with her saber.

All around them things were not going well. It was starting to dawn on them all that this entire mess had been planned. For what purpose they still did not know but it angered them greatly. The roar of the battle echoed off the hanger walls. Calls for another to watch their back, curses mixed with Force Lightning, and cries for Dranik to fire his weapon. The idea struck Ciara and Telona at the same time.

“Fire!” They yelled in unison as the course of the battle brought them back to back.

“That’s got to be the only thing at this time that can stop these things.”

“The flame consumes all but how are we going to set them ablaze?” Asked Telona as she parried an attack.

“The old fashioned way, rub two things together enough to make a flame.”

“Their clothing?”

“Yup. We’ll have to work together on this. If it works then the others shouldn’t have much trouble.” Confirmed Ciara.

“Alright I’ll hold them and you work your magic.”

Telona reached out with her Telekinetic ability and grabbed the nearest Guardsman. She held him in her invisible grip as Ciara concentrated her own Telekinesis on his clothing. He struggled against the powers being exerted on him but to no avail. Master Shade took notice of what the two women were doing. A shove with the Force pushed Aari back enough to allow him to move in the other direction. A quick yell and a charge forced him to continue the fight with Aari.

The feat was becoming harder than it seemed. The clothing was flame resistant thus causing Ciara to concentrate more on creating the heat. Her efforts were paid off when the first licks of blue flame showed itself. Jason, Anshar, and Ma’arkhan had noticed what was going on and had moved to defend the two women while they worked. Dranik continued to distract the Guardsmen with his rain of blaster fire while Kudos, Aari, and Camile dealt with the rest as best as they could.

“Come on Ciara I can’t hold this guy for very much longer!”

“I’ve almost got it!” She said right before the fire took hold and began burning the Guardsman.

Telona let her grip go as the two watched to see the effects of their efforts. The smell of burning rotten flesh filled the room as quickly as the fire engulfed the Guardsman. He fell to the floor and writhed until there was nothing left of him.

“Only five more to go. Think you can handle it Ciara?”

“I don’t know the smell is horrible.” Smirked Ciara.

“Jason, grab the next one! I’ll take your spot.”

The Archpriest acknowledged the command by allowing a Guardsman through their defense. Telona moved up to take his place and cut off the other two before they could overwhelm Ma’arkhan and Anshar. The burning process was repeated and Anshar took Jason’s place for the next one. With the two now separated they could both be attacked at the same time.

“Ma’akhan, Dranik use your powers to hold this one while Jason and I take a stab at creating fire!”

“It’s things like this that make me wish I had joined another clan.”

“Oh shut up and help me Jason.” Telona said as she began to concentrate her drained energies on the Guardsman before her.

Within a few moments they had dispatched the Guardsmen. Ciara wasted no time running over to aid Aari with her fight. Anshar came up to the others who were left. They were physically and mentally drained but they still had the drive to fight.

“Let’s go get rid of those other two Guardsmen. We’ll then deal with Zero and his friend.”

“You guys go on ahead, I’m going to go check out what’s going on in other places.” Telona said as she ran for the door.

Jason opened his mouth to stop the Epis but with Dranik, Ma’arkhan, and Anshar moving towards Kidouses to help, he decided to follow them instead.

* * * * *

Steiner scurried back as Sith came forward with his lightsabers hissing for the taste of flesh. How the Consul of Tarentum had waited for this moment. He wished to savor it and draw out the pain the Doctor was going to feel. He enjoyed the fear emanating from Steiner and forgot about the test that was going on.

The corner of the turn in the hallway met Steiner’s back. Sith Bloodfyre had him cornered for once and would be the ender of his life. The Doctor closed his eyes as the blood red blades bore down upon him. A blast of sparks, light, and the sound of lightsabers clashing forced Steiner to open his eyes. Telona’s deep blue blade had stopped Sith’s and was pushing him back.

* * * * *

The good Doctor had turned from something (in the lives of the Mystics) that was respected, almost feared, to nothing more than a huddling mass. In the Doctor's eyes, he saw death; Steiner had no idea of what the Consul of Tarentum truly had planned, but he had no wish to stay and find out. Things were so much easier in the Asylum; Steiner was almost a Regent there, in a sense. He came and went as he chose, he had hell the original Mystics in sway, and even some who followed, and had been able to experiment and live as he saw fit. And now, it seemed as if one of his former "patients" was going to end it all...

Until the flashes of light, and sparks flew. Steiner emitted almost an indistinguishable whimper, the first that had surely passed his lips. After long moments, he knew his life was not over; indeed, he still lived, and had suffered no injury, such was the awareness he had of his own body, that he didn't need to view it to know it was intact. Opening his eyes slowly, one of the others now stood upon the terrace with them. One of the others had, seemingly, come to his defense.

Bloodfyre stood watching Telona as her blade came to Steiner's defense; it was almost unbelievable that Telona would interfere, particularly when she had no idea what Sith was planning. Even as much as the Mystics hated the "good Doctor" at times, could they ever truly be rid of him? But that was neither here, nor there. Telona had seen fit to remove herself from what was happening below; for some reason, she had removed herself from the "test" of the Keepers.

"Telona," Sith said darkly, almost an incomprehensible whisper, "you have other matters to attend to. Your path lies below, with the others. I cannot go to them, and you should never have come up here."

"I'm not going to let you murder him, Sith," Telona responded, her voice confident, and unmoving in her determined course. "You've been up here watching this all, and are now going to be a part of it? You'd let your own Clan be destroyed by... by them? Even Zero has gone mad with bloodlust, for some reason. Whether you like it or not, Steiner is a part of who we are, and he stays alive... You'll have to kill me to get to him."

Telona waited for no response; turning her blade quickly, and exerting force upon it, she turned one of Bloodfyre's weapons to the ground, and made a quick slash. Bloodfyre brought up his second weapon quickly, easily defending the assault from the Epis. Telona wasn't putting her heart into it; Sith knew this, and he knew why. For whatever reasons, Telona simply didn't want to see the Doctor dead. If only she knew... But such thoughts were for another time. Sith had been forced to agree to stay out of this test; in a sense, with her being up here, and fighting her, he was interfering. Sith stepped back, and Telona advanced again. She was quite skilled with a lightsaber; in fact, there were times the two of them had battled, and she had decisively defeated the Consul. But that was in times past, and Sith also had a duty to ensure that she was tested, so that the Keepers would know, she was one of those in Tarentum who truly were worthy of their gifts.

Sith ducked under a vicious slash, meant to cleave him in twain, it seemed. Sith used his momentum, coming around with his left leg into a roundhouse kick that caught Telona on her right side, impacting upon her kidney area. She flinched slightly, only a momentary loss of momentum, but it was enough to capitalize upon. Drawing out to the Force, Sith grabbed Telona with a Telekinetic grip, as if he held her by the collar of her robes himself. She struggled against his hold, but could not force him to release her, nor break his hold upon her.

"You will forgive me for not enjoying your company further," Sith said, "but I have matters to attend to, and I am not permitted to interfere with your own tasks. Our kin are down there, fighting to prove themselves worthy. If you are to be found worthy, you will help them survive!"

Telona shot away from the Adept as if thrown from a catapult. The Telekinetic force was so great, she felt as if gravity was bearing down upon her in her flight. Telona descended rapidly towards the bay below, where her comrades were fighting for their lives, still. Glancing behind her, looking for anything to slow her fall, or at least break it, Telona only had enough time to whisper a silent word of protection, and hope, as her back slammed into the form of Dark Jedi Master Zero, sending them both slamming into the floor.

* * * * *

Sith watched Telona slam into Zero's back, and hoped the two weren't injured too bad. Zero, certainly, had enough potence and skill to heal quickly, and Telona was quite resilient. The impact had, in fact, caused enough of a spectacle that the entire bay had stopped for long moments, as everyone glanced over to see what had just occurred; even Master Shade and the undead Guardsmen had stopped from the fact that Zero's takedown had come most unexpectedly. The moment had been enough to seemingly turn the tide of the conflict. Telona was up, now, and helping Camile fend of the Dark Master's dervish-like assault, and Kidouses had managed to dispatch another of the undead Guardsmen by time the fighting had rejoined.

Ciara and Aari were giving their best against Master Shade, and those two could work wonders together. In an almost silent moment of pride, Sith watched his comrades defend themselves, and give back what they had been, just moments before, struggling to keep up with. And then it all exploded with a flash of pain; Sith had forgotten about the good Doctor. Steiner had managed to pull a shiv from beneath his clothes, stalked up upon the Consul, and stabbed him between the ribs on his right side. Reacting instinctively, Sith threw his right elbow back, slamming his appendage into the side of the Doctor's head. He didn't even see where Steiner's body had flown to, his attention now to the shiv stuck in his ribcage.

Sith pulled the weapon out, and stared at the blood upon the blade for a moment; the wound would require treatment, and the Force was acting enough to dull the pain from the wound. Sith could continue, and survive from it at the moment, but not for long. Not without spending time, and concentration to heal himself, that was. But Steiner was still present, he was still a threat if Sith didn't put him out of commission for the time being.

"Well done, Doctor," Sith said, his words coming with labor, now," taking advantage of me like that. You always were an opportunistic little rat. I'm going to--"

Sith stopped mid-sentence--the Doctor was gone. There was no sign of him, from what Sith could tell. Glancing around quickly, Bloodfyre sought out some sign of the Doctor's passing. A speck of red caught his eyes, then another. Steiner had been injured, and had left a small trail of blood drops, almost imperceptible, but one that could be followed...

* * * * *

Waking from his brief bout of unconsciousness, Spears felt quite refreshed “He never mentioned anything about that.” He muttered under his breath. Standing up, Spears walked to the door, just as he reached the door he stopped, reaching out with the force he found what he was looking for he suppressed the force within him. Exiting from the room Spears slipped silently down one of the bases many secret passageways.

Taking another look down at the hangar below, Sith watched as it seemed his clan was beginning to gain the upper hand. The slightest of smiles crossing his face Sith, before he took off after the Doctor. Knowing the base as well as anyone Sith was able to guess Steiner’s objective, the Doctor was heading for one of the other hangars to make his escape, Sith intended to beat the Doctor to the hangar and have an unpleasant surprise waiting for him.

Having arrived in the hangar well before Steiner, the Consul walked into the silent hangar his full attention on setting things up for the Doctors imminent arrival.

Having laid the trap Sith hid himself, both from view as well as from the force; the Doctor would not use him as a conduit again. With all his thoughts strung between the Doctor and his clan fighting for its very survival, Sith did not notice that he was not alone in the room, two sets of eyes had been monitoring his every move.

A break in the silence came as one of the doors to the hangar slid open and Steiner walked in.

As Steiner walked into the middle of the room one of the small containers exploded sending the Doctor, flying across the hangar flat on his back.

Fear reawakened in Steiner’s eyes as Bloodfyre emerged from the shadows his lightsabers drawn. “I zee you vish to continue our previous encounter, I do not vish this.” Steiner said as he made a mad dash for the one of the parked shuttles.

Just as the Doctor reached the shuttle, one of the conduits overhead broke open and a cloaked figure dropped behind Steiner.

As he fell Spears unhitched his lightsaber and swung down driving its hilt it the Doctors skull. Just as quickly Spears reached into his cloak and remove the hypo spray, and injected it into Steiner.

Lifting the dazed Doctor from the ground, Spears held the Doctor against the shuttle and allowed the Force to once again flow through him.

Confusion was visible in Sith’s eyes as he watched Spears drop from the ceiling and render the Doctor temporarily dazed. “How did you” was all that got out of the Consuls mouth before Spears turned to him and flashed a sly smile.

“I was hiding and you were far too distracted to notice me.” Was all that Spears needed to say.

“What did you do to him?” Sith asked as he saw life begin to creep back into Steiner’s eyes.

“Oh that, just a little, Ysalamiri blood I got from Oberst.” Spears stated.

“From Oberst?” Was all that Sith could thing to say.

“You don’t honestly think my Master would have allowed me to get this far had I not been worthy to go further, did you Consul?” Spears answered. “The blood is not enough to effect us, or for that matter kill the good Doctor here, it will however prevent him from using the force anytime soon.” Spears said as he punched Steiner in the gut, dropping him to his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

“I do not intend to allow my Mystics to be under this things control as you once where. The price for Steiner was playing along with Oberst’s plan, which did not include, Steiner’s little stunt. I was going to allow him to live and serve the Mystics now I am not so sure.”

A million questions where going through Bloodfyre’s mind as, Spears ignited his saber and prepared to attack. “What the Hell!” Sith yelled demanding the Priest to drop his saber.

Spears swiftly kicked the kneeling Steiner in the face, as he turned and charged “Behind you!!!” Spears yelled as he pushed his Consul out of the way.

Sith who was preparing to defend himself from yet another of his Clan mates who it seemed had turned on him. As Spears pushed him and swung his saber at the Draugr, that had seemed to appear out of nowhere.

* * * * *

Zero straightened up as he lowered his lightsaber. The Krath of Gladius had defeated the last Guardsman and those who had not left to help battle Master Shade now had their lightsabers pointed at him. Zero knew he could wipe out some of them but during his attack, those that were left would have a clean shot at him. He had seen all he desired out of this test anyway. His saber withdrew into the hilt as he switched it off. Master Shade did the same and left the Krath wondering what was going on.

“Your test here is complete. Go find Sith and Spears, there your final test awaits. Master Shade and I shall deal with Oberst.” Zero said in a low voice as he pulled his hood on.

The Krath didn’t pretend to know what was going on but something in the back of their minds told them to go. This hiss of lightsabers slinking back into their cage echoed around the hanger and as one, they headed towards the next hanger. Master Shade waited until they were out of earshot before he turned to Zero.

“I wish to see this last test.”

Zero nodded, “As you wish.”

They then parted down different dark halls.

* * * * *

Sith Bloodfyre and Spears stood at the ready. The Draugr came forward slowly, yellow claw like fingernails thirsting for flesh. Desperation to get off of the base had driven the creature to this confrontation. It would get away even if it had to loose a limb or two.

The two members of Tarentum jumped out of the way as the Draugr charged. Its lighting quick speed amazed them but they could move just as fast. Their feet hit the ground running at top speed as the two Dark Jedi ran after the creature. The Draugr headed for the nearest small ship in which to make its escape. Spears thought for sure they would loose until a large carbonite crate raced out of nowhere and hit the creature.

“Stay away from my ship!” Came a familiar threatening voice.

The Jedi who had battled with the Guardsmen in the other hangers now poured into this one for their final battle. They were weary from their fight but none would stop until the threat to their home was taken care of. Sith smiled inwardly at the unity that had come to these Dark Jedi. Together, they had proved themselves worthy and together they would subdue the Draugr.

Sith watched as Spears joined the group and as one, they charged at the recovering creature. He then turned to the Doctor who was inching his way towards the exit.

“Don’t think I have forgotten about you Doctor.” A sinister grin crossed the man’s face.

* * * * *

Their fight had come to a pause. Both were getting tired yet neither would yield. They stared at each other, wondering how best to attack. They were concentrating so heavily on one another that they neither heard, nor felt Zero walk up to them.

“Are you done yet, Oberst?” Came his quiet voice.

Oberst and Rekio both looked over at the Dark Jedi Master with some surprise on their faces. Zero just arched a brow and turned away.

“Come on, it is almost time.”

Oberst looked back at Rekio before turned and walked in the direction Zero was going. Rekio did not know what he had meant so he too followed the Master. He was confused with the sudden change in tempo and his mind pondered over what had just happened.

Zero’s calm voice floated out from the darkness of the hall ahead. “Don’t rack your brain Proconsul. You’ll understand once you see.”

This just left more questions filling Rekio’s head.

* * * * *


The corner rushed up to meet the Draugr’s back. It had been trapped by the collection of Dark Jedi fighters who now stood poised to skewer it. The creature closed its eyes and waited for the pain that was about to come punish it for failure. When nothing happened the Draugr chanced a peek out one eye.

The Jedi stood around him still with their deadly weapons pointed at him but something had stopped them. No sound was uttered yet they were obeying a command. The Masters were there too, in the back, watching. Now the Draugr knew no escape would be found.


The golden blade of Jason’s lightsaber still burned in his hand, held so that it was pointed down and to the side. While it would usually be assumed that such a stance portrayed the unwillingness to fight, the expression on the Corellian’s face betrayed that logic. His visage was twisted into a mask of anger, and it was further enhanced by the veins that stood out on his hand and forearm as he clutched his fist around the hilt of his weapon. The Draugr could easily detect the building rage in the Archpriest, and sensed similar responses from the others who stood against him.

Fear gripped the creature’s heart, for he knew that the end was close at hand. It seemed as though the Masters were holding the other Dark Jedi back, but such control, even as powerful as theirs was, couldn’t last indefinitely. Indeed, it appeared as though a few–Jason and Ma’arkhan most notably–were beginning to resist the mental commands of their superiors.

“We both know that such attachment could very well mean the end of us,” Ma’arkhan said, his voice low and threatening. Like Jason, his face, too, was warped with rage.

“But, we can’t allow you to get off so easily,” Jason continued for him. “After all, you tried to kill the one person who means anything to us...and we can’t forgive you for that.” The two Dark Jedi began to advance, but were stopped short by Telona. She imposed herself between the Krath and their intended target, sending them both a stern look.

“You two need to remain where you are,” she said. Her voice, too, was tinted with threat, letting them know that she meant exactly what she had said, and that she would enforce it. Jason and Ma’arkhan glanced at each other, then, as if making a telepathic agreement, relaxed their stances and let their weapons drop.

“Good boys,” Telona added lightly, turning back towards the Draugr. It had been momentarily puzzled by the brief exchange, wondering why Dark Jedi who seemed hell-bent on exacting revenge could so easily be deterred. Then, it realized that Telona was much stronger than both of the males, and that she had a very commanding presence about her. It would seem as though even the likes of even Lord Vader would be intimidated by Telona Murrage Tarentae.


The encircled Draugr eyed the Dark Jedi nervously. The two males had stopped at the word of the female- a sign alone that she was more powerful than they were. The Draugr’s senses told it, however, that the others were not entirely that weak either. The creature’s eyes shifted around the group, its mind moving at near impossible speeds as observations flooded it. It settled its eyes on one of the group, holding one of the standard weapons of the Jedi, only this male’s had a royal blue. The male’s eyes were also solid blue and the Draugr sensed similar power from him as he did from the female that still stood in front of him. But, the trap did not leave him concerned as much as this one male individual. He had no trace of the Master’s influence on him, yet he exhibited at least as much power and command as the female before the Draugr. The Draugr was puzzled and frightened, for not only was its escape cut off, but it was losing one of the advantages it had had the whole time: the control and influence of the Masters over the members.

Anshar eyed Telona’s movements with caution, wondering what the Epis was planning exactly to do. It seemed obvious she was intent on killing the creature, but the strange Force signals her body was giving off hinted at any potential number of things. Anshar shook the thoughts from his head, knowing that he could trust in Telona. He was a bit irritated at the whole situation that had occurred. He had not been the leader that he should have been, but with the situation beyond his knowledge at the time, and with many members lost in their own little worlds of what exactly to do, no one had really had time to lead anyone. They had all survived, and fought well, but Anshar couldn’t help but feel anger that no one had filled him in on the details of the situation when he first joined Tarentum. Anshar felt the Draugr eye him briefly before it returned its attention to Telona.

Meanwhile, the Master’s held themselves in the background, watching the climax of the whole test unfold . . .

* * * * *

...conclussion coming soon.

...and now the exciting conclussion.

...more than eight months had passed since the occurrence of the Draugr. In that time, much had changed, and would continue to change. As Sith Bloodfyre went about packing his belongings, preparing to turn command of the Clan over to his Proconsul, a slight howling sounded from within the Castle. Sith's hands stopped, and dropped the bundle of clothes he had been folding alongside other personal items, datapads, artifacts, etc. Something seemed out of place, as if the howl did not belong, or should not have been audible. Had he truly heard anything, Sith began to wonder, or was it a distant memory, and nothing more? His mind was thrown back to a period months before, in the bay of the asteroid that was the ancient home of House Gladius. Voices screamed out in his thoughts, violent crashes as crates exploded, and lightning crackled; it was almost too much to behold.

"Spears! Take it from the right! Watch your shoulder, Dranik!"

"Anshar, back me up! Where the hell are Ciara and Aari?!"

"We're coming! Wait a minute, watch yourselves! It's moving to attack!"

"We've got it now! Quickly, move as one!"

Sith shook his head slightly, and pushed the memory out of thought. There was no possibility of a rebirth of that occurrence. In fact, the Masters had insured that no more "escapes" would be allowed, nor any other "creations." This last one had not been intended to remain, and was likely the fault of the Mad One. None spoke the name of this one, but it seemed that Masters Zero and Shade, as well as Oberst all knew who the referenced individual was. The Clan hadn't been pleased to know that this creature was a creation from its past, when Tarentum had been one of the few Houses, but the powers of the Keepers were a mystery, and couldn't always be explained, or understood. The creation of the Draugr, which is what they said it was called, had been an experiment, when then House Tarentum leaders began training with what remained of the ancient race of Keepers. Only Masters Shade and Tel'Retha now remained, of a civilization that once numbered in the thousands. The Keepers bore the secrets of existence, and said that if the Clan had proven itself worthy, they would share in the glory. They even hinted at something almost incomprehensible--the founders of House Tarentum had been descended from the race of Keepers. It seemed odd, yet would've explained the connection. Sith and Rekio had made plans to study the possibility, but since the time of the Draugr, neither had been able to devote much attention to it. The Brotherhood had been plunged into War. And now, at the end, Sith was leaving. The call had come for him to serve as the High Warrior of the Sith, which would take much of his attention away from the things he had so desired to study. The history of the Keepers would know fall to Rekio and Telona, along with the others of the Clan, to bring forth.

Sith finished packing, and had gathered his cloak, preparing to depart. The Corsair would be ferrying him to Antei, and would pass him on to the Heresiarch, which would now become his own personal command ship. As Sith clasped his cloak around him, and turned to depart, he nearly stepped into a robed being who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Before Bloodfyre could respond, and grab his lightsaber, the figure shot out a robed arm, and grabbed the Adept by the forehead.

"Remember now; know again what has happened, and never forget."

The flood of images and thoughts that washed over Sith knocked him off balance, and forced him to fall to the ground, landing on his knees in front of the dark figure. The person continued to hold Sith in its grasp, watching in shadowed silence as the Adept continued receiving the knowledge that was needed. Powers and knowledge of a thousand generations were passed into the younger man, who kneeled before this Keeper...


* * * * *


"Bring forth the supplicant to the Watchers."

A solitary young man was brought, surrounded by an honor guard of four, dark-robed individuals. All around were candles, torches, and other sources of flame, providing light deep within this chamber. The young man strode forward, until he was only a meter away from the Elder who had called for him. With a slight wave of the Elder's hand, the young man kneeled, knowing it was expected of him. The ceremony continued on, as the honor guard of four began chanting, but it was almost incomprehensible. The Elder turned his back, and seemed to be making some sort of concoction, adding various ingredients into a large chalice that seemed to be made of bone. The chalice looked like a human skull, set atop the two lower leg bones, still connected to the foot they belonged to as a base. The skull had been cut open at the top, to allow persons to add to it, and drink from it.

After long moments, the Elder turned back to the young man, who kept his eyes focused on the Elder above him.

"Are you ready to receive this knowledge, this power, and the doom that comes with it?"

"I am ready, father."


* * * * *


Sith watched on as the ritual continued, but could not move, nor could he stop the flood of images that continued to poor into his mind, and his soul. He was watching the history of the Keepers unfold, and viewing their greatest moments, as well as their worst. The history of the Keepers had not always been secret, and at some points, had been very public and violent. But the history was a secret one now, and the race extended long into the past, farther than Sith could've possibly imagined. These images seemed to suggest that the Keepers were the first race, from which all life had sprung. As Sith began to feel that he was coming to understand, the Keeper wrenched his mind back into the not so distant future, and forced him to relive the events on the asteroid.


* * * * *


The Draugr had been held at bay, seemingly, as the gathered Krath began to close all the gaps, and advance forward. The creature seemed ready to strike, but it seemed impossible that the creature could possess the strength, or the fortitude to resist the assault that would come against it. It turned its head to the left, then to the right, and quickly leaped out, aiming itself directly for Telona Murrage. Telona raised her blade to defend, but had not been prepared for the Force Lightning that streaked from the fingertips of the Draugr, catching her square in the chest and throwing her back like a child's toy. Those gathered now heightened their guard, even as they were mired in disbelief for the moment, over what they had just seen. Who among them could've been aware that the Draugr was able to call upon the Force?

"This thing can use the Force?!" Rekio questioned, the start in his voice breaking the silence that had fallen over the hangar bay. Masters Shade and Zero, along with Oberst and Rekio, had barely come to the door leading into the bay, arriving just in time to witness the Draugr's attack. Even Oberst seemed somewhat taken back, but Zero just glanced towards Shade, who returned the stare. Shade nodded slightly, confirming Zero's thoughts.

"It is remembering its past life," Master Shade confirmed. "Previously, it had the ability to call upon the Force. How not? This was once one of House Tarentum's enemies, from their rival House of Satal Keto. This creature was once a Krath, like those it now stands against."

"If it's remembering it has powers, let's get in there and kill it!" Rekio nearly jumped past all of them, but was stopped by the powerful arms of the Aedile of Tridens. Rekio was a bit shocked, and growled furiously at Oberst, and threw the man's arm aside.

"No more of this 'it's their test' bull[Expletive Deleted]," Rekio said matter-of-factly. "This is my Clan too, and if you'll not help them, I will. I'm not abandoning them, just because you think they haven't been 'tested.' If the powers and the wisdom of the Keepers' requires this, then I say to hell with you Keepers."

Rekio ran into the hangar, and helped raise Telona up as he came close, and pulled her along with him. The Draugr had begun to lash out at the gathered members, and though it seemed unable to hold everyone off, it was giving just as many wounds as it was taking.

"Spears!" Telona shouted. "Take it from the right! Watch your shoulder, Dranik!"

"Anshar, back me up! Where the hell are Ciara and Aari!" Kidouses yelled, as he slashed out at the creature.

"We're coming! Wait a minute, watch yourselves! It's moving to attack!"

Ciara and Aari had found their way to the hangar, and were quickly running to the battle, their lightsabers igniting with brilliant force, shining down upon the gathered warriors. The Draugr took a vicious swipe at Rekio, its claws biting deep into the Proconsul's chest, but the expression on Rekio's face showed no recognition of the wound. The Proconsul's attention was gained, however, as the force of the Draugr's assault threw Rekio back into one of the shuttles; but the Proconsul was up and running back faster than anyone could've imagined. The Dark Side was shining upon its servants, and leeching itself from the Force-creation of the Keepers. The Draugr began to feel itself getting weaker, and weaker. It could not continue to keep up this pace for much longer.

* * * * *

"I suppose the Proconsul is right," Zero said, still watching the battle alongside Master Shade, and his former Aedile. "Perhaps we have held ourselves at a distance for too long. Perhaps the downfall of your race came about because you refused involvement in the matters of your descendants. If the races of the universe were truly descended from yourselves, wouldn't it seem fitting that you would return, and lord over them? Wouldn't the Dark Side demand that you bring them all unto darkness?"

"In time, Master Zero," Shade replied, "you will understand everything. But for now, I will withdraw. Kill that thing."

Shade retreated back into the shadows, which seemed to crawl up and around him from every corner of the hall. After short moments, the shadows crawled back to their points of origins, and Master Shade was no more. He had likely retreated back to the sanctuary that had been specially prepared for the two who remained of the Keeper race. Zero glanced over at Oberst, nodding slightly, and the two entered the room. The Draugr stopped in its tracks momentarily, and witnessed its own doom unfolding before its very eyes...


* * * * *


The Keeper had withdrawn its hand, and sat watching on as Bloodfyre continued to go over the events in his head. After long moments, Sith blinked his eyes, and focused his gaze upon the Keeper before him. The Adept could not be sure which one this was, Shade or Tel'Retha, but it mattered little. Thousands of years had been opened to his eyes, and more than anything, created new questions, where others might have assumed all would be answered. However, it was not a matter of the universe, nor any question of events that plagued Sith's mind, save one--

"You seem to have drained me of the memory of what happened to Steiner. Where is the 'good doctor' at now?" Sith asked, mildly interested.

Though Bloodfyre could not see it, he was certain the Keeper was bearing a dark grin beneath its shadowed hood. The Keeper said nothing, merely turned, and left with the shadows, as Master Shade had done so many months before, within the Sword's Sheath. Sith sat in silence for long moments, then closed his eyes, allowing his soul to come to the full realization of the knowledge that had been passed to him. Along with history, names, faces, ideas, the Keeper had also passed on the secrets of the powers the Keepers possessed. To Sith Bloodfyre, the veil over the secrets of life and death had now been washed away; all was known to him, that was known to the Masters.

* * * * *

The blow echoed throughout the cell, as well as a slight wail of pain that followed. The wet, muffled crack of bone on bone seemed sharper in the stone cell. The blow sent its recipient down onto both of his knees, coughing and spitting up blood. Before Dr. Steiner had ample time to recover, a heavily booted foot slammed into his side, ribs audibly cracking under the force.

"Enough," the voice, rich as silk, deadly as nightshade, began. "You have been very naughty, Dr. Steiner. You were supposed to prepare those who came to the Asylum. Test them - weed out the weakest. Instead you followed your own agenda."

A rough hand grabbed the back of the Doctor's collar, forcing him to his feet as a new voice cut in. "You will stay here Doctor. You will once more prepare the Clan. All sent to the Asylum will brave your horrors and your insanity, but if you ever fail this Clan again, your existence will be in jeopardy."

With a dramatic swirl of cloaks, three figures strode from the room as a fourth stopped by the door to retrieve a towel from a nearby table and wiped blood from his hands. Staring down his nose at Steiner, the last, largest, figure began, "You will stay here. Most of the Asylum you have the run of. Masters Shade, Tel'Retha and Zero have passed throughout the facility, marking off the areas you cannot pass. Here you shall rule over your domain, as a vassal to the Clan. Feed off the poor souls we send here as punishment, but remember that you must always test the newest members of this Clan." A hard glare followed the last statement. Throwing the towel at the Doctor, the last figure turned on his heel, collected his coat and cap and walked away. The sound of metal shod soles grew fainter and fainter until Steiner was finally left alone.

* * * * *

So, what did you guys think? Loved it? Hated it? I know this conclussion is a long time coming, and we apologize for this. I hope y'all will leave compiments for the writers on here. Again, my thanks go out to Sith Bloodfyre, Anshar, Jason Hunter, Telona, Spears, Rekio, Dranik, Knight Camile, Ciara, Kidouses, Shen-Long and William X.

Be on the lookout for the next Clan Runon.