Rhal Der-Han's Padawan braid whipped and flailed around his
shoulders wildly as he shook his head in anger. Dak'Tsun, the Bith
Padawan standing across from him, always seemed to find a way to spark
the young human"s temper. In the months since Master Yoda had advised
against any further investigation of the possible re-emergence of the Sith,
Rhal had taken things into his own hands. He had confided with some of
his fellow Padawan learners that he had lost faith in the Masters' and
Knights' wisdom. Rhal had organized what he now referred to as The
Council of Truth, a group of like minded Padawans who met in secret to
discuss their perceived failings of the Jedi order. Dak'Tsun had been one
of these like minded recruits, or so Rhal had thought. Rhal wondered now
if Dak'Tsun should have ever been included in these discussions. The Bith
always seemed opposed to every thought or suggestion Rhal proposed.
Rhal ran his hands down the front of his robes, the smoothing
gesture calming him. He wanted to make sure his voice was calm when
he addressed Dak'Tsun.
“The reason I organized these meetings was due to my belief that
some of the Knights and Masters have grown complacent."
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The Bith said nothing as Rhal continued. "I have, as have many
others, come to believe the Jedi Order is misguided in their trust of the
wisdom of Yoda."
The exclusion of Master Yoda's title did not go unnoticed
"I am ashamed to say it, but none the less, I believe it true. The
Jedi are scared of the possible re-emergence of the Sith."
Dak'Tsun shook his head slowly as he spoke, his words liquid and
slightly accented. "I do not believe the Jedi are afraid, they know that fear leads to the Dark side."
The Bith extended an upward facing palm toward Rhal. "Perhaps it
is, as Master Yoda believes, too dangerous and clouded to pursue the
question of the Sith at the present."
Hom Garner, another human Padawan who stood next to
Dak"Tsun, placed his hand on the Bith's shoulder and spoke,
"No, I agree with Rhal on this," the young man stated, "We cannot be afraid of the unknown, we can not fear the dark. We must pursue the
question of the Sith while there is still a trail to pursue."
Dak'Tsun turned to face the man but did not attempt to remove
Hom's hand from his shoulder. "Fear not the dark, I agree, but perhaps what it conceals?"
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"Have no fear at all, I say," Rhal interjected. “Someone must act on this issue. If the Masters and Knights are unwilling or unable to act then
we must," Rhal said with a wave of his hand indicating the dozen or so
gathered Padawans.
Dak'Tsun said nothing and lowered his head in defeat. Rhal
continued, "Almost everyone here is in agreement, Dak, everyone but
you."
Rhal now addressed the other Padawans. "I can not sit idly by and
allow the Sith the advantage of surprise, and I have not sat idly by."
This remark brought several quizzical looks from those gathered.
Rhal couldn't help but smile at his colleagues" response.
"I have done some investigation on my own into the identity of the
possible Sith. I have a certain contact who assures me she knows the
identity of one of the two."
"What contact is this?" asked one of the gathered Padawans. "Why have the rest of us not met this contact?"
Rhal's smile broadened as he replied, "You will meet her now, I
have asked her to join us tonight."
An attractive young woman stepped into the chamber from an
adjoining room. She crossed the room and placed herself in the center of
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the gathered Padawans. Then Miona Starchild proceeded to tell the
Council of Truth everything she knew about Rhaine Panbreedle.
Darth Iratus was a vessel of raw hatred. It had been years since he
had slain his master and taken on the mantle of Sith Lord, yet he had
never fully embraced the dark side as he did now. There had always been
something holding him back, some last shard of his former self preventing
him from giving in completely. That shard, Iratus realized, had been
Mairsa. Now that Iratus had at last confronted and murdered his former
lover nothing remained to keep him from taking in the full and terrible
power of the dark side. Iratus smiled and laughed out loud but there was
no joy in the sound.
Darth Malorum fought for control of his emotions as he brought his
ship, The Spectral Cloak, down to the surface of the desert planet of
Jeneris. He could hardly believe the events of the last few days. Less than
a standard week ago, while tying up some loose ends for Iratus on
Correlia, Malorum had a chance encounter with an old acquaintance from
Alderaan. The man, who of course knew nothing of Rhaine's
metamorphosis into Malorum, told his old friend that he had not long past
ran into Miona Starchild, and that the woman seemed very interested in
locating Rhaine.
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Rhaine and Miona had been lovers, friends, even more than that
perhaps. Soul mates? That is until Miona had left, without warning and
seemingly without cause. All Rhaine, now Malorum, knew was when she
left she took his soul with her, leaving a void now filled by the dark side of the Force.
Malorum had no idea what he would say to his former lover when
he saw her, it seemed he had no real idea about much of anything
anymore. On Correlia, his old acquaintance had told him Miona worked for
a contract security agency, JenPro, on Jeneris. Malorum was able to
access the company's data base and found that there was indeed a Miona
Starchild listed on the employment roster. After a little more research,
Malorum was able to briefly holographicly contact the woman, who
confirmed she did want to meet him. After a brief exchange, Miona had
given a time and location for the rendezvous. The time was now, and the
location, service hangar XHT 8311, came into view as Malorum guided his
ship over the planet's surface.
Darth Malorum certainly had not told his Master about any of this.
He knew Darth Iratus would not approve. Normally, Malorum wouldn't dare
go against his Master's wishes. Malorum obeyed Iratus unquestioningly
most of the time. The young Sith Lord knew he obeyed his Master out of
loyalty and respect, not out of fear as it often seemed his Master would
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prefer. Then again, Iratus often reminded Malorum that the only way for
the Sith to advance themselves was for the apprentice to grow more
powerful than the Master in order to overthrow him and take his place.
Iratus, on more than one occasion, had chastised Malorum for his loyalty.
By blatantly going against what he knew Iratus would approve of, Malorum
felt he was actually taking a step in the direction his Master intended for
him.
Malorum brought the Spectral Cloak down near the center of the
circular service hangar. The cockpit hatch release hissed as Malorum
opened it and he stepped out onto the wing of his ship. What would he do
when he saw Miona? Part of him, the part fully under control of the dark
side, wanted nothing more than to make her suffer, as he had suffered
after she left. Another part, a portion of his soul he had until recently
thought no longer existed, hoped that she would have seen the error in
leaving and would want Malorum to take her back. Would he take her
back? If he did what would that mean, not only for him and Miona, but for
his life as a Sith? Would Iratus murder both of them? Malorum had never
known Miona to be Force sensitive, but he had not known that about
himself either, until Iratus had shown up. Was there a chance he could
take Miona as his secret apprentice? He was loyal to Iratus, but he knew
one day he would be forced to overthrow him. Wouldn't his Master want
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him to have a powerful apprentice of his own at his side when that day
came?
Malorum"s swirling thoughts and emotions suddenly came crashing
down on him, nearly crushing his heart in his chest, as a hooded figure
stepped from the access door on the far side of the hangar. Malorum
knew it was her, and every emotion he had felt over the last few days suddenly intensified ten fold. Malorum stepped from the wing down onto
the hard packed soil of the hangar surface. For long moments, they booth
stood there, motionless, staring across the distance between them. Then
the hooded figure lowered the hood and Malorum looked upon the face
that had haunted his dreams for so long.
Another shockwave of emotion rolled through Malorum. The
woman was even more beautiful than he had recalled, yet at the same
time she looked more sinister. The Sith took a step toward the woman,
then hesitated. Still standing near the access door the woman seemed to
be looking over Malorum's shoulder, past the man to some unknown point.
Miona gave a small nod of her head then turned her back on Malorum and
walked away, exiting the way she had entered moments before. It was at
that moment when Darth Malorum finally sensed what his swirling
emotions had thus far blinded him to, a strong disturbance in the Force.
There were light side wielders very near, and many of them.
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As if on cue, from locations all around the perimeter of the hangar,
a dozen lightsabers ignited at once. Malorum"s own orange bladed saber
sprang into his hand as he turned in a tight circle, eyeing his numerous
opponents. One of the Jedi, seemingly the leader, spoke loudly giving an
order to the others, "Take him alive at all costs! If the old renegade Kibh Jeen was right, and the Sith have re-emerged under the rule of two, this
one will be able to bring us to the other!"
Something in the Jedi's statement set off an explosion of pure
hatred deep within Malorum's core. Miona had brought him here, had
betrayed him yet again. This time not only had the woman turned her back
on him, but had given him over to those who would attempt to use him to
get to Iratus. This was more than the young Sith could handle. An
inhuman scream ripped from his throat as he raised his left hand toward
several of the nearest Jedi and channeled Force lightning, an ability he
had, until now, never mastered. The blast slammed into several of the
Jedi, knocking them from their feet. One the remaining Jedi sprang toward
the Dark Lord of the Sith.
In moments, the service hangar became an arena of ferocious
combat. The air was filled with the whirring buzz and crash of many blue
and green lightsabers against a single orange blade. Malorum used a
mixture of Form II, the form his Master preferred, and Form III to defend
73
himself, lightsaber swirling around his body intercepting the blades of his
opponents at all angles. Now that he was engaged in close combat
Malorum noted his opponents, at least those with hair, all wore the
traditional Padawan braid. This enraged the Sith even further. He roared
incredulously, "Padawans! They sent Padawan learners after me!?"
Rhal Der-Han stood, concealed in shadow, in the second level of
maintenance hangar XHT 8311. To his left stood a female Twi"lek, Anusal
Fortainu, to the right stood the Bith, Dak"Tsun. All three Padawans
watched in silence as the sleek single-seater ship sank into the circular
bay and settled on the ground. Rhal sensed a wave of fear from the
Twi"lek. He turned to address the young female.
“Calm your emotions, Anusal, or you will expose our trap. If this
Rhaine Panbreedle is truly a Sith he will sense your fear.”
The Twi"lek girl took a calming breath and Rhal could feel her fear
dissipate. Next, he looked to the Bith. From his long time rival he
sensed…nothing. Dak"Tsun was the embodiment of serenity.
Rhal had devised this plan when he learned of the intimate nature
of the relationship that had existed between Rhaine and Miona. He
decided to use the young woman as bait to draw the potential Sith into a
trap. Rhal, who had always been considered a little reckless by the
Knights, felt it was worth the gamble that Rhaine would be too distracted
74
by his emotions to detect the snare until it was too late. It seemed Rhal"s
gamble had paid off.
Rhal watched the ship set down, and a moment later watched
anxiously as a male human emerged. Rhal had half expected some sort of
hideous monster to appear, but instead the man that stepped out of the
ships cockpit seemed, at most, unremarkable. He was of average height
and build, short light brown hair, clean shaven; other than being dressed
entirely in blacks and dark grays the man would fit in anywhere.
Rhal waited patiently for the pre-arranged confirmation signal from
Miona. He saw the woman step through the access door across the
hangar and stand motionless for a moment. The young Padawan felt his
heart skip a beat in dread that this might not be the right man. A moment
later, though, his fears were laid to rest. As the dark clad man stepped
down from his ship Miona lowered her hood, allowing the man to see her
face. He started toward the woman but soon stopped. Miona was looking
past the man; straight at Rhal"s hiding position. She gave a single nod and
turned away. That was the signal Rhal had been waiting for. He sprang his
trap on Rhaine Panbreedle.
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Darth Malorum beat his lightsaber furiously against those of his
opponents, flowing smoothly into the far more aggressive form V.
Momentarily breaking free of the majority of Padawans who were trying
flank and circle him, Malorum launched a particularly ferocious series of
strikes against one rapidly back pedaling young man. Malorum sent
powerful strikes left-right, left-right toward the Padawan"s head and upper
torso. Then, in a sudden change of blade direction, Malorum snapped his
lightsaber down into a wrap strike that took off both the Padawan"s legs at
the knees.
After crippling the Padawan, Malorum spun in the opposite
direction, whirling to face the rest of his attackers. Reaching out with the Force, the Sith grasped his own starship and sent it spiraling toward the
rapidly closing Padawans. The group of aggressors had to dive, jump, and
spin out of the path of the hurtling ship, or be crushed by it. Two of the
Padawans, a female Twi"lek and a male human, were a little to slow to
react, getting smashed by the ship and carried along with it, as it went
crashing into the far wall of the hangar then exploded, instantly immolating the pair of Padawans.
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Malorum rushed back into the midst of his remaining opponents,
engaging two and three blades in a single strike. Suddenly, spinning to his
right, Malorum leveled his blade horizontally, catching a Bith Padawan off
guard, and cutting him in half at the waist.
As the battle raged on, Darth Malorum, even strengthened by the
dark side of the Force, began to tire. It soon became nearly impossible to
gather enough strength to press his attacks. In fact, he could do little
more than parry the Jedi blades and dodge and dance out of the way.
Suddenly two of the Padawans pressed forward in a flurry of
attacks. One of the Padawans launched a powerful horizontal chop at
Malorum"s head. The Sith Lord barely ducked in time, but took advantage
of the relatively slow blade recovery time of the Padawan after having
failed to connect on such a strong strike. Malorum thrust his blade forward
before the Padawan could regain his guard, skewering the young man.
However, this lucky strike cost Malorum as well; before the Sith could
retract his blade the other Padawan that had pressed the attack sent a
quick downward slash toward Malorum. Malorum flung himself
backwards, which saved him from being sliced in half, yet was not quite
fast enough. The Padawan"s blade tip slashed down the left side of
Malorum"s face, blinding the Sith"s left eye.
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Darth Malorum roared in pain and stumbled back. The Padawan
that delivered the blinding attack might have finished Malorum off, yet as
he closed in he was flung to the side by a wave of Force energy; not by
the Sith but instead by the apparent leader of the Padawans.
The leader addressed the man he had just tossed, “Careful, fool!
We must take him alive!”
The seven remaining Padawans spread out in a long line as they
advanced on the Sith Lord. The leader called out orders to the rest of the
group.
“We will take him together! Remember, subdue him, he must live to
tell us where the other Sith is hidden!”
The Padawans surged forward as one, driving Malorum back as he
franticly attempted to keep the attackers from flanking him. Malorum"s
attention was so focused on the attacking Padawans he failed to realize
he had stepped into the range of the Padawan he had crippled earlier.
The legless Padawan thrust his saber forward, spearing Malorum
through his right calf. The blade exited Malorum"s shin before being
roughly extracted, nearly driving the Sith to his knees. Without looking,
Malorum slashed backwards and down, cleanly decapitating the wounded
Padawan.
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With his mobility greatly reduced, it was only a matter of time before
Malorum would be defeated. The Sith decided he would force the
Padawans to kill him and thus rob them of their victory. He flung himself at his remaining opponents, sending a flurry of powerful, yet sloppy, attacks
toward his foes. He thrust his bright orange blade toward the leader"s
face. The Padawan parried Malorum"s blade upward, then reversed the
movement and sliced his own blade down, severing Malorum"s right arm
just below the shoulder. Malorum hardly seemed to notice. He snatched
his blade out of the air with his left hand and continued to press his attack.
He was determined to take another Padawan with him into death.
Malorum now focused all of his attacks on the nearest Padawan,
who happened to be the one who had taken Malorum"s eye moments
before. Malorum limped toward the man, and then gathering his strength,
used his remaining good leg to launch himself into dive toward the young
man. The Padawan attempted to swat the orange saber aside but his aim
was off. The Padawan"s blade severed Malorum"s left hand at the wrist as
the Sith"s blade simultaneously pierced the Padawan"s right eye, killing the Padawan instantly.
Malorum, now disarmed and horribly wounded, fell to his knees,
panting. However, all of the fight was not yet out of the Sith. As a
Padawan approached to restrain the Sith, Malorum sprang from his
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kneeling position and smashed his forehead into the Padawan"s face.
Stunned, the Padawan staggered back. Before the other Padawans could
intervene, Malorum flung himself against the dazed Padawan, knocking
the young man to the ground. Malorum allowed his momentum to carry
him forward and fell atop the sprawling Padawan. Malorum savagely bit
the Padawan about the face and neck, like some crazed rabid beast, until
the other Padawans were able to drag him off. They kicked and beat
Malorum, who continued to roll about, snapping at the attackers, until the
leader stepped in and smashed the pommel of his lightsaber across the
back of Malorum"s skull. The Dark Lord of the Sith at last sank down into
the silent darkness of unconsciousness.
Darth Iratus was in a particularly foul mood. Vengeful scenarios
played out in his head as he mentally reviewed every wrong he had
suffered throughout his life. His former Master"s title, Darth Vindictive,
would have fit Iratus just as well. His anger was a turbulent living atrocity, swirling in the crucible of his soul, powered by rage and wrath on an
atomic level, a chain reaction of exploding violence. It wasn"t enough to
decipher how best to destabilize the Republic and the Jedi Order, Darth
Iratus wanted people to suffer.
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Iratus was contemplating leaving his apartments to go down to the
streets of Mos Eisley and kicking someone"s dog when his thoughts were
interrupted. Suddenly his apprentice"s voice was screaming in his head.
Darth Malorum was suffering terribly. Since killing Mairsa, not only had
Iratus" connection with the dark side increased, but his connection with his apprentice as well. Iratus could sense where his apprentice was, could
sense when Malorum was angry, when he was sad, enraged. He knew
when the young man felt energetic or tired, when he ate or slept, or when
he was in pain. Iratus could sense all these things no matter where in the
galaxy Malorum happened to be.
Darth Iratus left Tatooine at once, his apprentice needed him.
Rhal Der-Han stood over his captive, fighting futilely against the
anger he felt when ever he looked at the captured Sith. The Sith had
proven extremely difficult to take down, killing six of Rhal"s fellow
Padawan"s and severely wounding several others. The remaining six
Padawans, including Rhal, now stood around the surgical table where the
Sith Lord was bound. After finally subduing the man, the Padawans had
brought him back to their base of operations on Jeneris, a small
abandoned warehouse. They had secured the wounded man to the table
and injected him with a serum that inhibited his ability to channel the
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Force. The Padawans then proceeded to interrogate and torture their
captive relentlessly.
Rhal was impressed with the will power of his captive. The
surviving Council of Truth members had taken turns beating the Sith, and
the Sith gave nothing. They had attached crude electrodes and shocked
the man, he gave nothing. Even after they brought in an IG-34S
interrogation droid, the Sith refused to crack. After many hours, most of
the Padawans had lost heart, objecting that this manner of torture was not
the Jedi way; that it was dangerously close to the dark side. Not Rhal
though, he would proceed, he would prevail.
When he went before the Jedi Council with proof that the Sith had
indeed re-emerged, and been destroyed, he would be a hero. He had to
break this man"s will, it was no longer a choice for him.
Rhal produced his lightsaber and ignited the blade. He held the
weapon close to the prisoner"s body, searing the man"s flesh. Still, the Sith refused to even utter a sound. Rhal"s anger surged, he let the blade bite
deep into the other man"s flesh. Finally Rhaine seemed to take note of
what was happening. He turned his head toward Rhal and locked his
remaining eye on the Padawan in a cold emotionless stare. After long
moments the man spoke directly to Rhal, his voice harsh and barely
audible, “Careful… when you go looking for boogey men…sometimes you
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look into the mirror only to realize….that you have become that which you
most feared…”
Rhal extinguished his saber and punched the Sith Lord in the
mouth.
“Shut up! What is that supposed to mean? Just more gibberish! I
want answers and I want them now!”
The Padawan punched the bound man once more. Then Malorum
smiled through broken teeth, spat out a mouthful of blood and started
laughing. Rhal screamed, punched the man again, and re-ignited his
saber. The Sith continued to laugh, now almost uncontrollably. Rhal
pressed his blade against the man"s flesh once more and demanded,
“What is so funny? What do you possibly have to laugh about?”
The bound man suddenly stopped laughing, turned his head slowly
once more toward Rhal and spoke, his voice cold and callous.
“You"ll soon find out. He comes.”
Rhal"s face contorted in anger. He grasped Malorum by his torn,
blood stained robes and shook him violently. Placing his face next to his
prisoner"s, Rhal growled, “Enough of this nonsense! You will tell me how
to find the other Sith, and you will tell me now!”
“He will never tell you anything, the fool is too damn loyal.”
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Rhal and the other Padawans spun to face the unfamiliar, deep,
otherworldly voice. In the door way stood a man, barely m