EDITED 8/10/2021 Changed title from "Cancelled Apocalypse" to "A Delayed Invasion"; never really liked the original one.
A DELAYED INVASION
--Adumar, 24 ABY--
The darkness of night easily concealed the black-cloaked figure who roamed the deserted streets of Yedagon City, illuminated only by two moons. At the sound of footsteps, he turned to see a similarly-dressed figure, eyes barely visible beneath the rim of his hood.
The first stranger slowly turned to face the second. "You are Nom Anor?"
"Yes. And you are Darth Vorath."
The Sith Lord nodded. "I could not sense you through the Force."
Nom Anor did not reply to this. Vorath decided it was not a subject worth pursuing.
"I have known of the invasion your people have planned for quite some time now," the Dark Lord said. "It is something I cannot allow."
"It's a pity then," Nom Anor said coldly, "that you cannot do anything about it."
"I beg to differ," Vorath said. "While it's true that I lack an army large enough to counter yours, perhaps my words could dissuade you."
Nom Anor shook his head. "I have no full control over the army. The one you want to dissuade- not that you would succeed- is the Supreme Overlord."
"Would it be difficult to speak with him?"
Wordlessly, Nom Anor held up a bizarre organic object. When Vorath's gaze fell upon it, it began to shift in shape, inverting into a hideous, disembodied head.
"So, this is the interloper," the Supreme Overlord of the Yuuzhan Vong said with a sneer. "First, he delays our attempts to infiltrate the major governments of this galaxy. Now, he expects us to halt our invasion altogether."
"I see that my reputation precedes me."
"It certainly does. You have become too much of a nuisance for us."
Vorath caught the subtext of the Overlord's words. "I see. So this was never intended to be a meeting, but an assassination."
"It's not an assassination if no one but the murderer knows of it," the Overlord said darkly. "Dol'gara, execute him."
Although he could not sense the Yuuzhan Vong, Vorath knew the attack was coming. He moved swiftly, performing a backflip as the warrior lunged at him from behind. While in mid-air, he ignited his lightsaber and moved it to stab Dol'gara in the back. To the Sith's mild surprise, the blade merely brushed off the Vong's armor.
Grinning savagely, Dol'gara turned around to face him again, brandishing his amphistaff. He then froze when he found nothing but thin air greeting him.
"Where is the Jeedai?" the warrior snarled.
"I am not a Jedi." Vorath's voice came from all directions. "I am the thing of nightmares. I am born of the darkness."
"We do not fear the darkness," Dol'gara growled. "Do your worst."
"If you insist."
Suddenly, the warrior fell to his knees, screaming. He clutched his head, begging for the agony to end. Nom Anor shifted in consternation; it was not like a Yuuzhan Vong to react this way towards pain or suffering.
Dol'gara eventually ceased his cries, becoming a pathetic wreck on the ground. Darth Vorath then emerged from the shadows, his arms folded across his chest in a confident manner.
"Tell me, Supreme Overlord," he said to the disembodied head in Nom Anor's arms. "Was this one of your better warriors?"
"Yes," the Overlord muttered. "One of the Warmaster's greatest."
"Interesting. Anyway, what I did to him was only a fraction of the power I wield. If you insist on standing in my way, I may unleash the entirety of that power."
"No need," the ruler of the Yuuzhan Vong said. "Your argument is sound."
With that, the Supreme Overlord's visage receded back into the villip. Nom Anor then glared at the Sith Lord.
"We shall halt our invasion then," said the Executor. "But when you are out of the picture, there's no telling what the Supreme Overlord will decide then."
With those cryptic words, Nom Anor vanished into the shadows.
While Vorath looked down upon the broken Dol'gara in satisfaction, a raspy voice spoke into the Sith's ear.
"Your power? You only wish."
Darth Vorath shrugged nonchalantly as he turned and walked away, the ghost of his master following him.
No comments:
Post a Comment