Transformers Regenerated: Lost Light IX, Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

--Outpost Four--

    "I think they've forgotten about us."

    Lockdown stepped over to stand besides Ransack, who sat at the controls of their ship. The massive, multi-sectional space station loomed before them, imposing and silent.

    "It's been more than three hours since I hailed them," Ransack went on, his orange wings fluttering involuntarily. "The guy I was talking to told me he'd be back in half a megacycle. Do you think they've just completely forgotten our existence?"

    "Unlikely, considering what we've brought them," Lockdown muttered. The tall black and green mech tapped his chin with his right hook-hand as he mulled to himself. "You know, I'd normally be upset at having my -- our payment delayed, but something tells me they've got bigger things to attend to. Otherwise--"

    "Are you kidding me?" a green and yellow mech piped up from behind him. "What could possibly be bigger than us? What we've got is the very definition of big."

    "Barrage, what have I told you about making unnecessary contributions to--"

    "Hold up." Ransack suddenly leaned over the dashboard to hit a button that had started blinking. "That's them."

    Immediately, a voice crackled through the ship's comm. "Sorry for the wait, Death's Head," the Decepticon on the other end said, sounding slightly perturbed. "What was it you were saying?"

    Lockdown moved to speak into the comm. "We have your Titan, Outpost Four. Ready for retrieval whenever you are."

    A moment's pause. Then: "Copy that, Death's Head. Sending out retrieval teams now."

    With that the call ended and Lockdown stepped back to fold his arms, smirking. "Well, my friends, it looks like we're in for the jackpot."

*  *  *

    Robots never felt stress.

    That right there, Darkstar could attest for, was the universe's biggest lie. Because right now, she was feeling a lot of stress. And it didn't look like it was about to stop. Every five minutes, it seemed something would come up or go wrong or require her attention and she would have to be a two places at once and argh. It was really starting to wear out her nerve circuits and she wore that if something else happened she was going to kill someone.

    One thing after another. Nonstop. Nothing but constant chatter on her comm.

    Onslaught: "Scrapper says that he and his team should be able to get the project finished within the next month or so from what they've gotten from Monstructor. However, Mother is still insistent on--"

    Oil Slick: "What does Shockwave want me to do with the rest of the protoforms? I mean, I don't see much point in--"

    Tarantulas: "Bwa ha ha! Those insolent imbeciles are still fretting over their work whereas I've already finished mine! Does Shockwave really hope to--"

    Spinblade: "Uh, Lockdown and his crew have come back with the Titan. Where were we supposed to put it again?"

    That last one nearly brought Darkstar to her breaking point. With everything that had happened recently, she had completely forgotten about the project involving the Titan. As if she didn't have enough on her plate already....

    It wasn't long after she had responded to Spinblade's call that she got a fifth call; this time from someone she never expected -- nor wished -- to have on her contacts list.

    Megatron: "Meet me in the Command Center. Now."

    Seven words. Seven words were all it took to make Darkstar wish she wasn't alive right now. He wasn't even the genuine article. Why was she even afraid of him? Perhaps it wasn't him that she feared, but rather the one who controlled him.

    With a quick prayer to herself, Darkstar turned heel and headed for the command center.

*  *  *

    "With all due respect, my liege, I am not a liability to--"

    "I am your leader," Megatron growled, leaning into the purple and orange mech menacingly. "You are beholden to tell me everything."

    "My only superiors are Darkstar and Shockwave," the Decepticon retorted, clearly unfazed. "You are neither of them, nor have I been told that I am to answer to you. To me, you're just another Decepticon."

    "I am Megatron!" the grey tank roared.

    "That doesn't mean anything here."

    Megatron sneered as he raised his right arm, priming the fusion cannon mounted onto it....

    "What's going on here?"

    Both mechs looked to see a black and red Seeker standing in the entrance to the command center. Darkstar looked between the two of them before affixing the purple one with a stern look.

    "Gouge. What have I told you about--"

    "It wasn't me who started it," Gouge snapped, waving his large power shovel arm at Megatron. "This bloke is just peeved that I'm following the orders that you gave me and, I'm sorry, but I don't recall ever being told that I'm supposed to do what this guy says just because--"

    "Shut up." The sharpness in Darkstar's voice was enough to silence the irascible mech. With an exasperated sigh, she turned her attention to Megatron. "Come with me."

    Grunting, the Decepticon leader acquiesced and followed Darkstar out of the chamber, giving Gouge one last glare as he left. Once the door had closed behind them, Megatron grabbed Darkstar by the shoulder and turned her around to face him.

    "I demand to know what's going on," he growled.

    Darkstar frowned. "You mean Shockwave hasn't told you?"

    "If he had, would I be asking? Besides, he hasn't spoken to me since we arrived."

    "I see." Darkstar frowned slightly, unsure on how to proceed with this. Did Shockwave have his reasons for not telling Megatron? Would she be in the scrapper if she did? Clone or not, Megatron's penetrating gaze was as real and intimidating as the original's. She knew he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

    Choosing her words carefully, she said, "We are working to take over Cybertron."

    "Is that all?" Megatron raised an optic. "It seems to be more complicated than that."

    "It is, which is why I can't--" Darkstar was cut off by her comm telling her she had an incoming call. She thought to ignore it, only to read its source.

    Charon.

    Darkstar frowned. She recognized the name to be that of a double agent the Decepticons had within the Autobot ranks. She had been the agent's handler for a decade or so, back when she worked under Banzai-Tron.

    However, Charon had ceased contact with them less than six years ago and was reported KIA. How could he be contacting her now if he was dead? And why now of all times?

    Holding a finger to bide Megatron, Darkstar answered the call. "What do you want, Charon?"

    "Not even a hello?" came the sardonic response. "Come on, Darkstar, it's been half a century. Surely that earns me some kind of warm greeting."

    "You've been officially declared dead for five years and are just now deciding to call me when I've got more on my plate than even a Driller worm can digest. I have more than enough reason to be bitter. So either cut to the chase now or I'll trace this very signal and have your killed for good."

    "Fine, be that way, Miss Grouchy. Maybe I'll just go and take my Enigma of Combination somewhere else."

    "Wait." Darkstar blinked, unsure if she had heard him correctly. "You have the Enigma of Combination?"

    "Indeed I do. What, were you needing it or something?"

    Darkstar did not bother answering. After tracing the source of Charon's communication, she switched comms to hail Spinblade. "Dispatch a unit to Hangar 104. Now."

*  *  *

    So far, so good. Everything was going off without a hitch. Just a few more moments and maybe this wouldn't end in tears.

    Wishful thinking, of course. Considering his track record, it was all but guaranteed to end in tears. But a bot could dream, couldn't he?

    The mech who called himself Charon stood before the door to the hangar he was in. Although Darkstar had abruptly ended their call, he had little doubt that she had fallen for his ruse and was already sending a team to retrieve their precious Enigma.

    He still had no idea what an Enigma of Combination was. He just knew it was something the 'Cons wanted thanks to a handy listening device he had crafted. Rudimentary, but handy (he wanted to make it shoot lasers, but didn't have the time to include them).

    He could hear footsteps now. So Darkstar did fall for his bluff. Good.

    He tapped his foot idly against the floor, humming to himself. Sixty seconds.

    The door opened and a group of five Decepticons poured out into the hangar, led by a wide-shouldered mech with lots of guns on his arms and shoulders. In fact, his hands were guns themselves. Nifty.

    Striding over to Charon, the Decepticon regarded him coldly with baleful green optics, one which was covered by a receptacle. Demolishor. That was his name, Charon remembered.

    "Well?" Demolishor grunted. "Where is it?"

    "Where's what?" Charon asked innocently. Thirty seconds.

    "The Enigma! Don't you have it?"

    "I'm sorry, but..." Charon splayed his empty arms. "You must have been terribly misinformed." Twenty seconds.

    Demolishor sneered. "Is this some sort of joke?"

    "No." Ten seconds. "It's a distraction."

    All five Decepticons stared at him... then looked out the hangar opening to see a fleet of Autobot ships cutting through the blackness of space as they exited hyperspace.

    Charon -- in reality the Autobot genius Brainstorm -- simply laughed at the Decepticon as the latter punched him in the face.

ALL THAT GLITTERS

Part IV: At Death's Door

From the Archives: Star Wars Destiny Sith History

When I first started writing Star Wars Destiny, this was an outline of Sith history I had written as supplementary. Since then of course I have changed large amounts of it (mainly regarding the Banite era), but I've decided to post it here for prosperity (and, again, I like to go back and reuse old ideas).

This is still a work-in-progress. I'll update it whenever.

INTRODUCTION

    Greetings. I am Master Vin Sadoon of the Jedi Order. It has been two centuries since the death of Darth Krayt and the fall of his Galactic Empire. The Jedi High Council has given me the dangerous task of unearthing the history of the Sith and find a way to prevent another Sith uprising. 

    I know not if doing this will cause my own fall to the dark side, but as Jedi historian, it is my duty to study the Sith. This book can be viewed by only the Grand Master and the Jedi High Council. Be wary of this information for, as I said, it has been known for... corrupting others....

DARK LORDS OF OLD

    The Hundred Year Darkness was a devastating event for the Jedi Order. It was caused by the Second Great Schism, after a Jedi Knight known as Ajunta Pall fell to the dark side. Pall and his followers were exiled to Corbos, where they began experimenting with monstrous soldiers. The Order became aware of this and fought against the Exiles.

    The Jedi were victorious and Pall and his Exiles were banished further into the Outer Rim, to the planet of Korriban, home to the Sith species. As you might realize, this was a grave mistake on the part of the Jedi. Ajunta Pall found a way to control the Sith and declared himself as their Dark Lord. The other Dark Jedi also went on to become inspiring Sith Lords, including Karness Muur, who created a powerful talisman, and XoXaan.

    It is not quite known how long Pall reigned as Dark Lord of the Sith, but it is known that he was killed by another fallen Jedi, Tulak Hord. Hord was a very skilled lightsaber duelist, having been Battlemaster of the Jedi Order. Pall was no match for him when he was confronted. With the death of Pall, Tulak Hord was named the next Dark Lord of the Sith.

    What's interesting to note is that, starting with Hord, almost every Dark Lord lasted for exactly a century. I know not how this is possible, but I do know that this healthy lineage began the Golden Age of the Sith.

    Following Tulak Hord was the last known living Exile, Molar-Am. Molar-Am was different from other Dark Lords in that he demanded sacrifices, seeing himself as a god almost. While at first the Sith obeyed his demands, they began to grow wary of him and soon formed a coup, led by Tulak Hord's son Vendak Vor.

    It should be noted that Vendak Vor, unlike his father, was a Sith-human hybrid rather than fully human. Vendak and his followers confronted Molar-Am and dethroned him before his hundred year reign could end. Vendak was named the new Dark Lord and ruled the Sith Empire for the next hundred years. Succeeding him was Jarak-Nul, whose exploits are unknown even today, and following him was Rakar-Val.

    Rakar-Val is interesting in the fact that he was the first Dark Lord to claim the title of Darth. Val had traveled to Lehon to find out what they knew of the Sith king Adas. No one knows what events took place there, but Val did return bearing the name Darth Trayus. Trayus also gave his apprentice the Darth title as well, naming him Darth Andeddu. Eventually Trayus passed away and Andeddu succeeded him as Dark Lord.

    Andeddu's reign was interesting one for, like Molar-Am, he saw himself as a god and refused to share his secrets of the Force except with his apprentice Darth Vitus. The other Sith Lords soon started another coup and overthrew Darth Andeddu, banishing him to Prakith. Vitus likewise was banished and he escaped to the moon Oricon, where he had studied Sith alchemy with his master.

    After Andeddu's banishment, the Darth title was abolished and remained so for several years to come. I do not know much of the Dark Lords who reigned after Andeddu, other than the one who had led the coup against him, Vorak-Zal. Eventually, the Sith Lord known as Marka Ragnos ascended the throne after defeating the previous Dark Lord's son Simus in combat.

    Ragnos' reign lasted for the remainder of the Golden Age until he he passed away, marking the beginning of the end of the Sith Empire.

FALL OF THE SITH EMPIRE AND THE GREAT SITH WAR

    After Ragnos' death, a funeral was held, during which two Sith Lords -- Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh -- dueled for the title of Dark Lord. Sadow rose as the victor and was named the new Dark Lord. 

    Sadow's reign as Dark Lord was short-lived -- lasting only a year -- but it affected the galaxy greatly, for he invaded the Republic, which started the Great Hyperspace War, while dealing with opposition from Kressh. While he succeeded in killing Kressh, most of his empire was destroyed during the war, forcing him to retreat to the moon of Yavin 4, where he later died. The Sith Empire had finally fallen after nearly two thousand years.

    Six hundred years later, a fallen Jedi known as Freedon Nadd arrived on Yavin 4, in search of Sith knowledge. He found a Great Temple, in which slept the wandering spirit of Naga Sadow. The spirit saw Nadd as a healthy candidate for his successor and taught him what he knew. Once he knew enough, Nadd somehow destroyed Sadow's spirit and named himself the new Dark Lord of the Sith.

    As Korriban was now deserted, Nadd began his reign on the planet Onderon. There he became the planet's king and taught its inhabitants Sith lore and magic. About a hundred years later, Nadd passed away, leaving the position of Dark Lord vacant.

    Centuries later, another young Jedi, known as Exar Kun, traveled to the Onderon system and discovered Freedon Nadd's tomb on the moon Dxun. There he reawakened Nadd's spirit who, like Sadow before him, taught Kun the ways of the dark side. Exar Kun then embarked on a quest to find out more about the Sith, leading him to places like Yavin 4. He then traveled to the Empress Teta system, where he found the Krath cult and the Jedi Ulic Qel-Droma.

    Kun saw Qel-Droma as a threat to his stature as Sith Lord and confronted him in a duel. Their duel was interrupted by the spirits of the ancient Dark Lords, led by Marka Ragnos. The spirits declared Exar Kun as the new Dark Lord of the Sith and appointed Ulic as his apprentice. Both were made the leaders of a new Sith Empire. After this event, Exar and Ulic attacked the Republic and began the Great Sith War. Many catastrophic events occured during the war, including the murder of Supreme Chancellor Moluss and the Cron Supernova. It wasn't until the Battle of Ossus did the tide turn. 

    Ulic was attacked by his brother Cay and killed him in self-defense. Just when he realized what he had done, Jedi Knight Nomi Sunrider stripped him of the Force, an act performed by few Jedi before. The weakened Sith led the Republic to Exar's temple on Yavin 4, where the Dark Lord was finally killed. With the fall of Kun's empire, the galaxy was once again at peace... but not for long.

THE REVANCHIST AND THE TRIUMVIRATE

    Sometime after the Great Sith War, a human male was born somewhere in the Outer Rim. He was found by Jedi Master Arren Kae and taken into the Jedi Order. He was trained in the ways of the Force by Kae, as well as Masters Dorak and Zhar Lestin.

    He grew up to become a Jedi Knight and, along with his friend Malak, was recognized to be one of the Order's greatest Jedi. This respect from the High Council seemed to decline however when this Jedi Knight and Malak decided to aid the Republic in their fight against the Mandalorians, against the Council's wishes.

    The Knight and his friend gathered a group of fellow Jedi to fight the Mandalorians, calling themselves Revanchists. The Knight, as their leader, appropriately adopted the title Revanchist, later shortening it to simply Revan.

    Revan and his followers succeeded in defeating the Mandalorians, but the Jedi Knight was not through yet. After exiling the remaining Mandalorians to the outer reaches of space, he and Malak traveled to Dromund Kaas, where they discovered a horrific secret.

    It appeared that, after the defeat of the Old Sith Empire during Naga Sadow's reign, a Sith Lord known as Vitiate summoned the remaining forces to his command and hid in the Outer Rim from the Republic and the Jedi.

    Revan and Malak confronted Vitiate -- who had declared himself Dark Lord and Sith Emperor -- but the Sith Lord was prepared for them and used a spell to put them under his control.

    Vitiate sent Revan and Malak to find the Star Maps that would lead them to the ancient Star Forge. While they succeeded in doing so, the spell wore off on the two former Jedi and they decided to betray Vitiate by forming their own empire. When Revan and Malak returned to known space, they had declared themselves Sith Lords and had taken on the long forgotten title of Darth.

    Darth Revan and his handmade empire fought a long war against the Jedi and the Republic. For a while it seemed like the Dark Lord had won the war as soon as it had begun, but the Jedi hatched a daring plan to capture Darth Revan on his flagship, the Avenger.

    Led by Bastila Shan, a team of Jedi boarded Revan's ship and confronted the Dark Lord himself. But before either could make a move, Darth Malak, wanting the mantle of Dark Lord for himself, fired on the Avenger, knocking Revan into consciousness.

    The Jedi carried Revan to their ship and escaped the battlefield. Bastila brought the comatose Revan to the Jedi Council, who decided to modify the Sith Lord's mind so that he would have no memory of who he was. Under the alias Ver Jarsa, he was a new person entirely.

    I won't bother to detail Revan's further adventures, but eventually he killed Darth Malak in combat and defeated the empire he had built.

    But this wasn't the end of the Sith. The surviving Dark Jedi who had served Revan and Malak rose to become Sith Lords and fought in a never ending civil war.

    It wasn't until three Sith Lords -- Darth Traya, Nihilus, and Sion -- formed a fragile triumvirate and united the Sith Lords, determined in rebuilding the Sith Empire.

    The members of this trio are perhaps some of the most interesting Sith Lords that I have researched on thus far:

    Darth Traya, also known by the alias Kreia, was in fact Revan's master Arren Kae. She had been exiled by the Jedi Order for training a future Dark Lord and had discovered her pupil's former stronghold, the Trayus Academy. It was there that she fell to darkness and became Darth Traya.

    Darth Sion was a human who had come to accept pain after suffering it all his life. He became a Sith Marauder in Exar Kun's empire and ascended to Sith Lord in Revan's. After both these empires fell, Sion then joined the triumvirate founded by Traya and Nihilus.

    Darth Nihilus is perhaps the most interesting of the three. He was once known as Nijel Surik, brother of Meetra Surik. But while his sister became a well known general and Jedi Knight, Nijel failed his training and was banned from the order.

    He tried to return to his family on Dantooine but they denied him for his failure. Just as he was losing the will to live, he heard the dark side call to him. He traveled to Malachor V, at which the final battle of the Mandalorian Wars was taking place, and found the Trayus Academy.

    It was just then that his sister, unaware that her brother was on the planet, activated a weapon that killed almost everyone on the planet. Except Nijel. Weak and broken, Nijel was near death until he found another survivor and absorbed their life force, filling his hunger.

    Nijel lived on Malachor in this state of his until he was found by Arren Kae, now known as Darth Traya. She took Nijel as her apprentice and he eventually took on the name Darth Nihilus when he became a Sith Lord.

    As I've said, this triumvirate was a fragile one at best. In fact, it wasn't until long that betrayal occured within the alliance. Nihilus and Sion confronted Traya at the Trayus Core and she was violently subdued. They then severed her from the Force and banished her from the academy.

    The two Sith Lords' next act was an attack on the Jedi Order, which unfortunately succeeded.

    But it wasn't long until a hero rose to defeat these Sith Lords: Meetra Surik, Jedi Exile and sister of Darth Nihilus.

    Meetra succeeded in defeating Sion and Nihilus, not knowing the latter was her brother. She then confronted Darth Traya, who had returned in the wake of his former pupils' defeat. Traya was killed and with her the remnants of Darth Revan's Empire fell.

    But as you might have noticed, nothing had yet come of Vitiate and his followers....

RESURGENCE

    This section will be a short one, for not much is known of these two Dark Lords.

    The first one I shall cover is Darth Trayus the Second. Trayus was a Sith acolyte who had served under Nihilus and Sion. After their deaths, he traveled to Korriban -- which had been abandoned -- and found the partially-destroyed tomb of Darth Trayus the First.

    He found Trayus' holocron, which contained the ancient Dark Lord's spirit. The original Darth Trayus passed his knowledge to the acolyte as well as the mantle of Dark Lord.

    Instead of plotting against the Republic and the Jedi like Exar Kun and Darth Revan, Trayus instead remained on Korriban, scouring the Sith tombs for knowledge. 

    He then placed all of his knowledge into a holocron, which to this day remains to be found, for Jedi Master Skywalker destroyed it long ago. As for Trayus, I'm afraid further information is restricted even from me, for reasons I do not know.

    Three hundred years after the Sith Triumvirate's fall, Vitiate and his rebuilt Empire attacked the Republic, starting the Great Galactic War. Eventually, this war ended when the Sith seized Coruscant and forced the Republic to sign a peace treaty on many conditions.

    Following this was a cold war which its end I have yet to uncover.

DESOLATION, FEAR, ANGER, HATE, AND SUFFERING

    Eventually, Vitiate's Empire was defeated by at least 3522 BBY. The galaxy was once again at peace, though still wondering if the Sith would ever return. Unfortunately, in a way did, though not on a huge scale.

    Dion Sazon was a Pau'an Jedi Knight who served on the Jedi Council and was respected highly by his peers. However, Dion studied Sith teachings immensely, prompting the Council to expel him.

    Angered by this, Dion declared himself Dark Lord and took on the name Darth Desolous. The new Dark Lord traveled to his homeworld of Utapau and gathered an army. He then began a campaign of ambushes against the Jedi Order. The Jedi soon developed a ploy and baited Desolous and his army to Yaga Minor. There, the Jedi defeated the Dark Lord's army and Desolous was killed.

    Sometime after this, four Sith Lords rose in Desolous' place, each one taking the mantle of Dark Lord.

    The first was Darth Phobos, a female Theelin from Korriban who formed a cult that outlived even her.

    Following her was Darth Iratus, a Zabrak Sith Lord bent on anger for unknown reasons.

    Succeeding Iratus was Darth Ominus, a Sith Lord full of hate who nearly killed the Supreme Chancellor but was defeated by the Jedi.

    The last of these four Sith, Darth Dolorus, took over Phobos' cult until his death in 3299 BBY.

    With Dolorus' death, the last of the Old Sith Empire had vanished and for the next three centuries, no force had dared to rise against the Jedi and the Republic.

    But not for long.

RUIN, THE BROTHERHOOD, AND BANE

    Two thousand years before the Battle of Yavin, an Umbaran Jedi Master known as Phanius became immersed in the old Sith teachings and left the Jedi Order to pursue his dreams.

    He discovered Darth Phobos' cult, along with many others left from the remains of Vitiate's Empire, and united them into the New Sith Empire.

    Soon, fifty other Jedi Knights -- one of them being Phanius' apprentice -- joined this new Empire of Phanius', who renamed himself Darth Ruin.

    All this started the New Sith Wars, which to date has been the most destructive of the Sith conflicts. In the midst of the war, however, Ruin was killed by his apprentice, who claimed the Dark Lord mantle and the name Darth Eradicus.

    It would take forever to explain all the Dark Lords in detail, so I shall simply detail the most well-known ones.

    Sometime after Eradicus, Darth Bale briefly became Dark Lord but did not last two years when the mysterious Dark Underlord arrived on Malrev IV and killed Bale in cold blood, declaring himself Dark Lord.

    The Dark Underlord, like the ancient Dark Lords, ruled for a century until the Jedi Knight Murrtaggh struck him down. In doing so, Murrtaggh fell to the Dark Side and decided to take the Underlord's place as Dark Lord, naming himself Darth Desem.

    Darth Desem was succeeded by an unknown number of Dark Lords. Eventually, Darth Rivan became Dark Lord of the Sith and took on an apprentice, Darsin, in hopes that he would be his successor when his time came. However, Darsin died before he could claim the name Darth Malus and Rivan passed on without a chosen successor.

    Shortly after Rivan's reign, Belia Darzu became the Dark Lord of the Sith, lasting for two decades, and eventually after a long lineage of Sith, former Jedi Kaan became the Dark Lord. But he wasn't the only one; many other Sith Lords had claimed the title after the death of the previous one.

    Kaan developed a plan to unite all the Dark Lords. Thus, the Brotherhood of Darkness was born from the Empire's remnants. In this Brotherhood, all Sith were considered Dark Lords.

    But not everyone approved of this idea. One of the Dark Lords, Bane, thought that multiple Sith at one time would destroy them, like it had Darth Ruin.

    Thus, Bane found a way to destroy the entire Brotherhood, leaving only himself. He then began an Order of the Sith Lords, where there would only be two: a master and an apprentice. Eventually, the latter would have to kill the former and take on their own apprentice, continuing the cycle.

    And so began the Sith's greatest era.

RULE OF TWO

    Darth Bane's first and technically only apprentice was the young woman Darth Zannah. After a decade together, Bane began to think Zannah was too weak and, before deciding to find a new apprentice, began to search for a way to cheat death.

    Bane was wrong about Zannah however, and he was eventually killed by her in a long duel. Zannah took on Bane's second apprentice, Darth Cognus, as her own. 

    Sometime later -- perhaps another decade or so -- Cognus succeeded in killing Zannah. She traveled to a mystical planet somewhere in the Unknown Regions and found the perfect candidate for her apprentice: Darth Millennial. Cognus taught Millennial what she knew. While her apprentice took in the knowledge, he began to question Bane's philosophy, going so far as to disagree with it.

    Eventually, Millennial abandoned Cognus and fled to Dromund Kaas, where he would form his own dark side sect.

    Angered by this betrayal, Cognus sought out a new apprentice. After exploring various worlds in the Outer Rim, she finally found potential in the Kaleesh warrior Mor'ren Kaljuun. She took Mor'ren as her apprentice and rechristened him Darth Necrosis.

    The two Sith Lords embarked on a quest, seeking out Sith holocrons and artifacts across the galaxy. All the while, Necrosis plotted against his master, waiting to gather enough knowledge and power before killing Cognus.

    He did eventually succeed, along with the help of his secret apprentice Darth Furor, a Devaronian he had found on Nar Shaddaa. While at first Furor seemed successful in Necrosis' eyes, the Sith apprentice began to show weakness, which the master disapproved of. Necrosis then murdered Furor before the latter could plot against him. Necrosis soon found a second apprentice: a Neimoidian whom he named Darth Varus.

    Eventually, the lineage led up to the Bith Sith Lord Darth Tenebrous, who trained the Muun Darth Plagueis. Plagueis then went on to train the young Palpatine.

THE DARK LORD WHO RULED THE GALAXY

   [I'm not gonna bother including this chapter since it's just regurgitation of the Saga's events]

Transformers Regenerated: Lost Light VIII, Chapter Ten

CHAPTER TEN

--Carcer--

    "I said get back here!"

    Whirl completely ignored the Carcerian as he merrily skipped down the hall, eager to use the new arm-gun he had just nabbed from the mech currently chasing him. Of course, he wasn't entirely sure how exactly he was supposed to fire, but it couldn't be much more complicated than any other gun, right?

    Turning a corner, Whirl was about to launch into a triumphant rendition of The March of the Vanguard when he realize that the large orange bot who called himself Sentinel was standing at the end of the hall. While went through every swear word he knew in his head as he skidded to a halt. The Carcerian finally caught up to him and he immediately stood to attention when he noticed Sentinel.

    "Sir! I apologize for the disruption, but--"

    "I already know what's going on, Wingblade," Sentinel Major cut him off. "I had your order belayed."

    Wingblade blinked. "Oh. Was it a false alarm then?"

    "I have no idea. I just know that all exterior sectors are off-limits. No one is allowed outside; including security."

    "Why is that, sir?"

    "We are preparing for a jump. Magmatron just told me."

    "Wait, hang on," Whirl interjected. "You mean we're going to hyperspace?"

    "Correct," Sentinel said. "Our destination is currently confidential--"

    "But Cyclonus is still out there! We can't just leave him behind! He still has to kill me!"

    "I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do," Sentinel replied. "Now please return Wingblade his arm before I do something to yours."

    Whirl dropped the arm, but not because Sentinel had told him to. Instead, he transformed into his helicopter mode and rammed himself into Sentinel, knocking the orange mech down. He then shot down the corridor, at the same time humming an even more heroic and epic execution of The March of the Vanguard.

    Lost as he was in his heroic fantasy, he did not notice the hovering dark teal mech approaching him until his systems suddenly seized up and he came crashing down. Unable to transform, he could only listen as Obsidian spoke softly to him.

    "Rest, Autobot. You're going to need it."

    Whirl then felt a pair of very large arms lift him up and carry him away to God knew where...

*  *  *

    "You took your time."

    "My apologies," said the black and yellow femme once known as Rapid Run as she boarded Scourge's ship. "I had to say goodbye to an old friend."

    Scourge harrumphed as he prepared the ship for a quantum jump. "Did anyone try to stop you on your way out?"

    "Only two Carcerian guards. I took care of them easily." Sideways looked around the ship and spotted a comatose Cyclonus laying on a nearby recharge slab. "Oh joy, you were able to find him," she said sardonically. "If this ship was bigger, I'd be doing somersaults right now."

    "You have made your feelings on our friend Cyclonus quite clear before," Scourge said. "Nonetheless, he is a very vital element of our plan."

    "So you've said. Like, a dozen times." Sideways rolled her optics. "But I'm still failing to see what part he's meant to play."

    "All shall be clear in time." With that, Scourge pulled the ship's quantum lever and the stars expanded into infinity.

--The past--

    Skids wasn't sure how long he had been working, but it didn't matter. He was done. Finally.

    Putting down the hydrospanner, Skids stood back to regard his handiwork. Damus had called it a teleportation chamber and that it would send fifty prisoners to the Decepticon colony Ambervalia -- soon to be renamed New Tarn -- to work as slaves. Although it was not an ideal living, Skids considered it to be light years ahead of continuing to live at Grindcore.

    "Are you done, Autobot?"

    Skids turned around to see the crimson Decepticon known as Snare standing nearby. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I'm done."

    "Good. Come with me."

    Skids followed Snare back to Damus' office. The room was a lot more personalized than Skids would expect a Decepticon's officer to be. The walls were decorated with framed excerpts of Towards Peace, Megatron's autobiography. A holographic bust of Trannis adorned a cabinet on the left-hand side, and within the cabinet he could see a number of datapads nearly displayed.

    Damus himself stood at his observatory window, staring down at the teleportation chamber. Upon noticing Skids and Snare's arrival, the prison commandant turned to face them.

    "Excellent work, Skids. I knew I could count on you. Truly no other bot is as talented as you."

    "Spare me your faint praise," Skids muttered. "Have you held up to your end of the bargain?"

    "Yes, yes. Your friend Quirk is among the fifty prisoners." Damus waved a flippant hand. "Your altruism is admirable but pointless. I highly doubt he'll remember you for the selfless gesture you've made for him."

    "Doesn't matter. I'm doing it for the results, not the glory."

    "How touching." Damus strode over to his desk and spoke into his comm. "Skyquake, send in the prisoners." He then beckoned Skids over to the window. "Come. I want you to bear witness to your success."

    Finding this offer to be strange, Skids reluctantly obliged. Looking out the window, he watched as the doors to the chamber opened to allow the fifty liberated prisoners in. Among them he saw Quark, to whom he waved. The white mech did not notice him.

    Once they were all in the chamber and the doors had closed, Damus again spoke into the comm. "Commence primary process."

    At first, nothing happened. Then, yellow lights lit up and gradually began to brighten, bathing the chamber in orange illumination. At this point, Skids expected the teleportation to happen next... but still the freed Autobots did not move.

    Then, one of them started to scream. Then another.

    The lights grew even brighter. The screaming got louder. The chamber became more orange and red.

    This couldn't be happening. Skids refused to believe it.

    "I've made a mistake," he whispered to himself. "Something must have gone wrong."

    "Oh no," Damus said calmly. "You've done everything perfectly."

    Every bit of Skids wanted to scream, but he could only watch in silent horror as the fifty Autobots he had unknowingly chosen to die screamed in agony as their bodies slowly but surely melted, losing themselves to the molten slag beginning to arise.

    It was at that moment that Damus played his song.

    The Empyrean Suite.

    "You like this piece, don't you, Skids?" Damus asked him, as if completely ignorant of his aghast expression. "You used it to play sometimes back at the J.A.A.T., remember? I always found it amusing, since it was the one thing you and Scoop had in common.

    "I myself, I respect it for its orchestration, but nothing more. To be honest, I've always been rather agnostic. While I'm not entirely sure about heaven...."

    He looked back out the window, watching the prisoners as they were reduced to slag.

    "...I'm pretty sure hell exists."

    Skids could not take anymore. Spinning on his heel, he ran out of Damus' office. Neither the commandant nor Snare tried to stop him.

    Racing down the corridor, he patched into his comm. It may have been a futile attempt but he had to try. He had to do something to rid himself of the scarring imagery.

    "Doubleface? It's Skids. Do you read me? Please tell me you--"

    "I read you, buddy." Doubleface's voice sounded weak and faint. Skids prayed it was just a bad connection. "Hey, you won't believe what I just did."

    "What is it?" Sneaking into a utility closet, Skids huddled into the corner of the small space. "Talk to me, pal."

    Hoarse laughter carried through his end. "I got a signal out to High Command. They're gonna send reinforcements. We're gonna be okay."

    Skids forced onto his face. "That's... that's great, man. I knew I could count on you. How did you manage it?"

    When no response came, Skids panicked. "Doubleface? Are you still there? Say something."

    "Yeah, I'm still here." His partner sounded even worse than before. "I'm losing energon fast. Not sure how much longer I can hold out."

    "Just... just hang in there, buddy. Keep talking to me. It doesn't have to make sense, just... keep saying words."

    Another horrible sounding laugh. "You always tell me I talk too much."

    "You can talk as much as you want right now." Skids bit his lip, unsure if he was ready to lie to his best friend in the entire world. He did it anyway. "It's going to be all right, buddy. Everything's going to be fine."

    "Heh. I figure you'd say something like that."

    "I say it because it's true," Skids lied.

    Silence reigned over the comm. Skids frowned as he called into it. "Are you still there?"

    No response.

    "Come on, pal. Talk to me."

    Nothing.

    "Doubleface?"

    But silence.

    For the first time in years, Skids felt alone. All he had to accompany him as he lost himself to godless despair were the last few strains of the Empyrean Suite....

TO BE CONTINUED

The Transformers, Issue 71: Animatron/Axiom, Chapter Three

   Thank god this is only a two-parter....

THE AXIOM, PART 2

   (We open on Noisemaze saving WALL-E seconds before the pod explodes, for whatever reason. He, Starscream, and the Autobots then watch as WALL-E and EVE kiss. Yay.)

    (Back on the Axiom)

    Shockwave: GO-4, did you send the plant away?

    GO-4: Yup!

    Shockwave: Excellent. Computer, initiate code A113. [Get it? Because Pixar lol i'm so clever]

    (Back out in space)

    Optimus Minor: So what's the deal with the plant?

    EVE: It needs to be put in the Holo-Detector so we can return to Earth.

    Fastfix: Aw, that'll be easy! [I thought Fastfix was the smart, stoic one?]

    Noisemaze: Easy, you say? I beg to differ, Autobots.

    Turborun: And... how'd you get here?

    Noisemaze: Duh! We followed you guys!

    Optimus Minor: Well, if you want the plant... you're not getting it! Turborun, Armorfist, Fastfix, Heavypunch, go take WALL-E and EVE to the ship! Everyone else, you're with me!

    (Back on the Axiom)

    Shockwave: You're sure the plant is away?

    GO-4: Yes! I already said it was! Can I have a raise?

    Shockwave: Yes, just let me-- (He spots EVE on the security cameras holding the plant. He then glares at GO-4)

    GO-4: Eh-heh-heh.... [Honestly, these two are probably the most entertaining part about this crossover]

    (Meanwhile, the Autobots are racing to the Holo-Detector)

    Fastfix: What level did you say it was on?

    EVE: Level 1138. [GET IT? BECAUSE STAR WARS LOL I'M SO CLEVER]

    Shockwave: GO-4, activate all security!

    (The Autobots evade lasers and somehow stumble across Shockwave's new, DOTM-inspired body. The Captain enters the bridge to find Shockwave transferring himself from AUTO's body to his new one)

    Shockwave: Your usefulness, captain... is at an end.

    GO-4: Sucks to be you.

    [At this point, there's a scene where Omega Prime mopes to Kup. It's stupid and worthless so I'm not including it here]

    (Once the process is complete, the upgraded Shockwave attacks the Autobots)

    Turborun: EVE! WALL-E! Get the plant to the Holo-Detector!

    (The two robots make a run for it only for Shockwave to grab WALL-E and crush him)

    Shockwave: Give me the plant or he dies!

    Optimus Minor: (shows up outta nowhere) No one dies. Not on my watch. Not while I still function!

    Shockwave: Well, if it isn't the son of Optimus Prime. You're so much like your father. Always the hero. The problem with heroes, though, is that they have a tendency to die...

    (While they fight, EVE laments over the injured WALL-E)

    Fastfix: Do what you have to, EVE. I'll fix WALL-E.

    (EVE starts to take the plant away only for GO-4 to get in her way)

    GO-4: Not so fast! I ain't letting you guys win! Not when I've got a raise waiting for me!

    (EVE blasts him away, puts the plant away, the ship jumps back to Earth, and... Shockwave is defeated just like that. While the humans and robots rejoice....)

    Turborun: Should we send One-Eye here to Cybertron, boss?

    Lightyear: My team and I will take him. We'll drop your team off at Animatron.

    Turborun: But then how will we get off Animatron?

    Optimus Minor: We'll worry about that when we get there. Let's roll out.

    (While the Autobots return to the present, Starscream and Noisemaze watch them leave)

    Starscream: Now what?

    Noisemaze: We search for the two keys we lost here.

    Starscream: And the jungle one?

    Noisemaze: No worries. I've got a plan there. A big plan. HAHAHA!

    To be continued

    [Yes. That's it. That's the end of that. And now we finally move back to Animatron!... which is only two issues. Wonderful.]

FEATURED CHARACTERS

    Autobots: Armorfist, Fastfix, Heavypunch, Kup, Lightyear, Omega Prime, Optimus Minor, Turborun

    Decepticons: GO-4, Shockwave

    Others: Captain, EVE, Noisemaze, Round Table, Starscream, WALL-E

Transformers Regenerated: Lost Light VIII, Chapter Nine

CHAPTER NINE

--The Lost Light--

    "This is not going to work."

    "Pipe down," Red Alert hissed at Huffer as he and his group of twenty-odd Autobots inched towards the bridge, their reprogrammed Legislator lumbering ahead of them. "Besides, this was your--"

    "No." Huffer raised a finger at him. "No, this was not my idea. I just did what you asked of me. I was not the one who said, 'Hey guys! Let's use this dumb big robot to take on Megatron!' No, that was all you. Paraphrasing, of course."

    "I'm pretty sure they can hear us, mates," Hoist murmured. "So much for a sneak attack...."

    "Doesn't matter," Red Alert grunted as they reached the door to the bridge. "Show time."

    He slammed his fist on the control panel and the door flew open. The Autobots and their Legislator charged in and raised their guns at....

    No one.

    The bridge was empty, with no Decepticon in sight.

    Bluestreak swore softly. "And here I was actually looking forward to a climatic showdown."

    "This can't be right," Red Alert murmured, cautiously stepping onto the bridge and looking for any sign of the Decepticons. "They must be some sort of trick. They're hiding somewhere, aren't they?"

    "Or," Hoist said, raising a finger to the viewport, "they're out there."

    Red Alert and the others all looked out to see Megatron and four other Decepticons flying towards another ship. None of them seemed to be paying any heed to the Lost Light.

    "Looks like they got bored waiting for us," said Sunstreaker. "We should probably leave now before they change their minds."

    "Hold up," Huffer said, narrowing his optics at the viewport. "I only count five 'Cons. Weren't there six?"

    Almost on cue, a gunshot sounded from down the hall. Without a word needing to be spoken, the Autobots rushed back out the door....

*  *  *

    Dealer slowly raised his hands up as he stared at the Decepticon clone standing before him, trying hard to ignore the gun they were pointing at his face.

    "Wait," he said evenly, trying not to sound fearful. "Let's... let's not get ahead of ourselves here. You don't need to shoot me."

    "You're right," Archforce said. "I was actually ordered to bring you in alive. So I'm going to ask you to come quietly."

    "Er, I'm afraid I can't do that. See, I've got work to--"

    "Are you stupid or something?" the clone snarled. "I'm here to stop your work. That's why I have a gun on you. Obviously."

    "Right, right. Of course. But are you sure you want me to stop my work? You don't even know what my work is."

    "I don't need to. It doesn't change the fact that you need to come with me right now."

    A smirk slowly crossed Dealer's face. "Okay. But if you don't mind, I think I'll drive."

    Archforce cocked his head. "Eh?"

    Without warning, Dealer morphed to his tank mode and aimed his turret at the Decepticon. Before the clone had a chance to react, he was blasted several meters away, enough to send him out of the room. Returning to his robot mode, Dealer turned back to look at Que, who was still knocked out.

    "Right then," he huffed. "Time to improvise."

--The Mayhem--

    "There we go," Carnivac said as he secured the last restraint onto the stasis-locked Ragnarok. "One crazy spawn of a glitch in the bag."

    Standing before the tethered giant were Megatron, Shockwave, and Gigatron. The latter wore a permanent scowl on his face as he regarded Ragnarok with contempt.

    "I am finding it difficult to feel triumphant over this victory," the warlord growled. "This abomination was far more trouble than he is worth. I fail to even see the point in keeping him alive."

    "He is far more use to use alive than dead," Shockwave said. "Although he will require some... alterations in order to prevent further incidents."

    Gigatron snorted. "That is a major understatement. So are we all set to leave?"

    "We're missing a member of our party," Megatron murmured.

    Shockwave glanced at him. "Who?"

    "Archforce. Apparently he did not answer Soundblaster's summons with Megaplex and Megastorm."

    "Then he is either dead or disobedient. Irregardless, we no longer need him for further operations."

    Megatron frowned at this. "Shouldn't we go back and check? He could be injured."

    Shockwave's single optic carefully regarded him as he responded. "No. There is no need to waste precious time for an insignificant soldier. Wouldn't you agree?"

    Megatron opened his mouth to protest but caught himself, realizing Gigatron and Carnivac were staring at him. Carefully selecting his words, he instead said, "Yes, of course. Agreed fully."

    Gigatron looked between the two strangely before turning to Carnivac. "Take us away," he ordered the Chimeracon wolf.

--The Lost Light--

    Archforce groaned as he came back online. He felt a stinging pain in his chestplate which only got worse as he tried to move.

    He heard voices coming from... somewhere. Shapes danced in his bleary vision, slowly assuming the form of figures. Autobots, most likely. No doubt coming to his target's aid.

    He reached for his gun. Still having difficulty in seeing, he could only hope that he would hit something as he pulled the trigger....

*  *  *

    Dealer looked up at the sound of the gunshot and subsequent cry of alarm. He looked over to see Archforce back online, propped up on his elbow, with his gun pointed at a group of Autobots, led by Red Alert.

    While two bots attended to the one Archforce had shot down, Red Alert strode over to the Decepticon and slammed the butt of his gun into the clone's face, knocking him back down. He then looked back up at Dealer... and froze.

    "What in Primus' name are you doing?!"

    Dealer was confused at first by what the Autobot meant... until he remembered his present position: hunched over Que's unmoving body, fiddling with the extended monitor from the scientist's exposed chest. Definitely not a sight one would be used to seeing.

    "It's not what it looks like," he said carefully. "Trust me."

    Red Alert's optics flashed in anger. "That's it. I've just about had it with your lies, Decepti-scum. Since you've arrived, it's been one situation after another. I'm just about fed up with it."

    "Believe me, I am to. But I had no idea those clones would break free, or that they were Megatron and Shockwave, or that--" He froze mid-sentence when he saw Red Alert draw his gun. His optics went wide. "N-no. You wouldn't."

    "I would," Red Alert grunted. "And I will."

    "Red...." one of the other Autobots called to him. "Calm down. There's no need for--"

    "Don't give me that scrap, Hoist," Red Alert snapped. "You're always too trusting of bots, even when they've got a purple badge. Besides, this guy's been nothing but trouble for us; I don't see any reason why we shouldn't just offline him now."

    Dealer opened his mouth, ready to protest, when he caught movement just over the white and red mech's shoulder. Archforce was stirring. The other Autobots did not seem to notice. The Decepticon clone slowly raised the gun he was still holding and leveled it at Red Alert's head. His finger started to squeeze the trigger....

    "No!" Dealer cried out, launching to his feet. This action startled Red Alert and the twitchy security director fired his own gun. The blast went straight through Dealer's chest and he was instantly enveloped in blackness.

*  *  *

    Archforce froze mid-squeeze.

    He wasn't sure if he was comprehending things correctly. Did that one Autobot just shoot that other Autobot -- the one he had been sent to track down? Was he not actually an Autobot? Did the other one even mean to shoot him?

    And then where did that leave him? The bot he was supposed to bring back to Megatron was dead now. What was he going to tell his leader? That an Autobot did his job for him?

    Archforce sighed as he dropped his gun, already feeling useless. He didn't even care that the other Autobots were now putting restraining devices on his back and around his wrists. "Life sucks," he lamented.

    "That it does, mate," said a green Autobot, pushing him away from the scene. "That it does."

Star Wars Destiny Chronicles: Darksiders -- New Sith Wars

   This segment is me taking the chance to flesh out my fanon for the vastly unexplored era of the New Sith Wars. Among the characters written here are the unnamed Zeltron general, the mysterious Finn and Marka, and others from this era.

THE NEW SITH WARS
A Grain of Sand: The Tale of Darth Eradicus

   There was a time when Ardas Talvron could have been the most revered Jedi Masters of the Jedi Order and Count of his homeworld of Tralon IV. But he squandered it all with one simple mistake.

    Ardas was nineteen when his master Phanius left the Jedi Order. Left without a teacher, the Jedi Council deliberated over what to do with him. Do they give him another master? Transfer him to the AgriCorps? Or was he ready to pass the trials? The Grand Master, infallible in her wisdom, decided to let Ardas undertake the trials, confident that Phanius -- despite his unorthodox beliefs -- had taught his Padawan well enough.

    And she was right. Ardas passed the first four trials and was well on his way of becoming a Jedi Knight. Then came the fifth trial -- the Trial of Insight -- where Ardas was given the final task of locating a single grain of sand in a field of rocks.

    It took Ardas two days. He never found the grain of sand.

    Disappointed, the High Council denied Ardas the rank of Jedi Knight. Ardas was infuriated by this and accused the Council of rigging the test. Tearing off his Padawan braid, Ardas left the Jedi Order and went in search of his former master, finally realizing why Phanius had left in the first place.

    A year passed before Ardas finally found his master... who was no longer the man he once was.

    Since leaving the Order, Phanius had fallen to the dark side and infiltrated a number of Sith clans, thought destroyed by the Jedi. Uniting them into a new Sith Empire, Phanius ruled over them as Darth Ruin, Dark Lord of the Sith. Shocked by this, Ardas quickly overcame his fear and pledged his loyalty to his master. In return, Darth Ruin named him Lord Eradicus and bestowed him a set of armor infused with the dark side.

    As Eradicus, Ardas served as Shadow Hand to the Dark Lord, though many Sith regarded him as little more than a squire. Desperate to achieve some form of recognition, Eradicus returned to his homeworld of Tralon IV and overthrew the Count of Tralon, naming himself ruler of the planet. However, this had not been the first time that the throne had been claimed by a Sith; not wishing to live under such tyranny again, the Great Houses banded together and led a massive coup against Eradicus, driving him off the planet. He had been Count of Tralon for no more than a week.

    Disappointed with his apprentice's failure, Darth Ruin planned on ridding himself of Eradicus and find a more suitable squire. By this time however, Ruin's self-centered, solipsistic rhetoric had provoked the ire of his followers. Eradicus recognized this and decided to take advantage of it, leading the Sith in assassinating Ruin and bringing the Dark Lord's reign to a premature end.

    With the position vacant, Eradicus naturally claimed the title of Dark Lord, naming himself Darth Eradicus. The other Sith accepted his rule, figuring that he would be easier to manipulate than Ruin, and followed him as he led an attack on the Republic, conquering a number of worlds in the Outer Rim. His most successful campaign was that on the Thanium Worlds, and he planned on taking control of the entire Tion Cluster in order to make up for his failure on Tralon.

    However, Eradicus ended up doing more damage to himself than the Republic. Extensive use of the dark side had caused his body to fracture and decay, making him look twice as old as he actually was. By a mere thirty years of age, Eradicus had since isolated himself in a citadel on Rhen Var, shutting himself off from his empire and communicating only via hologram.

    By 1977 BBY, Darth Eradicus was only forty-two years of age but looked and acted like a hundred. In his decrepit state, the Dark Lord of the Sith was vanquished by a slab of stone that had fallen out of the wall, which he tripped over and fell onto the floor, breaking his back. Unable to call for his servants, Eradicus simply laid there as he watched everything he had worked for slip through his finger, like grains of sand....

General Adriav and the Black Knights

    By nature, Zeltrons are an empathetic, peaceful race that celebrate love and hedonistic pursuits. However, depending on circumstances, a Zeltron could grow up to be one of the most ruthless figures in history.

   Adriav was born in a spaceport on Bakkah, a remote world in the Outer Rim Territories. His mother had been attempting to find transportation back to Zeltros only for the spacelanes to be shut down due warring Republic and Sith forces in the Thrasybule sector. As a result, she was forced to deliver the baby there in the spaceport and raise him on her own.

    Shortly after being born, Adriav and his mother were kidnapped by Sith pirates and taken to their base on Bakkah. While his mother was taken to the dungeons, never to be seen again, Adriav caught the eye of Lord Dread, leader of the Sith pirates, who sensed the infant's Force-sensitivity. From this early age, Adriav was raised to be a Sith, his empathetic abilities stunted and corrupted by the overwhelming dark emotions he was surrounded with.

   By adulthood, Adriav had become one of Lord Dread's closest confidants. As the crooked Twi'lek was getting on in his years, Lord Dread chose then to reveal to Adriav that he was, in fact, not the first Lord Dread. The title had been passed down to him from another pirate, a Gotal, who received it from his Skrilling predecessor, and so forth. Wishing to retire, Lord Dread told Adriav that he was now worthy of the title and named him Lord Dread the Seventh. Upon receiving this honor, Adriav struck down the Twi'lek and tossed his corpse into the same dungeons his mother had been sent to.

   Taking control of the Sith pirates of the Thrasybule sector, Adriav soon came into contact with a figure who went by the name of the Dark Underlord. A marauder who had been earning the Republic's ire for several years now, the Dark Underlord had been drawn to the sector due to the presence of a strong dark side epicenter. Knowing the Republic were hot on his trails, the Dark Underlord required an army in order to combat enemy forces. Recognizing the Dark Underlord to be far stronger and more proficient in the Force than he was, Adriav submitted his services to the marauder. The Sith pirates thus became the Black Knights and Adriav received the rank of general.

    In time, the Dark Underlord discovered the source of what he had felt: a temple located on Malrev IV. Repurposing the temple into a fortress, the Dark Underlord ruled his army through Adriav, who served as the face for the Black Knights during their war against the Republic. This led to some erroneous accounts that Adriav himself was the Dark Underlord; only the Jedi sensed there was someone else working behind the scenes.

   In 1750 BBY, the Dark Underlord had concentrated all of the Malrev temple's energies into an amulet, which he believed would allow him to destroy the Republic in one swift stroke. Realizing that the Dark Underlord had to be stopped no matter the cost, Jedi Master Murrtaggh organized an assassination plot to take out the Dark Lord of the Sith. He paid a group of Mandalorian mercenaries to attack the Sith camp on Malrev IV, knowing it would draw out General Adriav. The Zeltron took the bait and the Black Knights were kept preoccupied while Murrtaggh infiltrated the Dark Underlord's fortress.

    Realizing that he had been deceived, Adriav broke off from the fight with the Mandalorians and retreated to his master's fortress. Upon arrival however, he found the Dark Underlord laying at the feet of Murrtaggh, the Sith amulet in his hands. Seeing that the Togorian's natural green eyes had turned sunken and yellow, Adriav realized that the amulet had taken control of the Jedi Master. 

   Indeed, the Dark Underlord himself was possibly controlling Murrtaggh through the amulet, even in death. Adriav had heard the rumors of his master being the resurrected spirit of Xendor, pulled from the depths of Chaos. Had his master simply been using a host body, a la Lord Vitiate, and was now using Murrtaggh as his host? Had the Dark Underlord, like Vitiate, been planning on sacrificing Adriav and the Black Knights in order to sustain himself?

   Adriav did not wish to find out. Instead, he lunged at Murrtaggh and drove his blade into the Togorian's heart. Then, ignoring its whispers, he smashed his hilt into the amulet, cracking it and releasing its energies. Because of the temple's fortified walls, the dark side energy was contained within the structure, preventing it from reaching outward.

   When Adriav emerged from the temple, broken amulet in hand, the battle had already ended. The Black Knights had been defeated by the Mandalorians and were now scattered. Evading detection from Republic forces, Adriav returned to Bakkah. Upon setting foot in the spaceport, he was assaulted by pirates -- locals, rather than Sith. Exhausted and weakened from what had just taken place, Adriav allowed himself to stabbed repeatedly by the pirates, who took the amulet before leaving him to his death, letting his body rot away in the very place he had been born.

    Millennia later, the Sith amulet would later resurface during the Galactic Civil War. The Sith Lord Darth Vader sent Imperial forces to secure the amulet, only to be defeated by Luke Skywalker. Escaping Bakkah with the amulet, Skywalker saw to its destruction. Years later, the temple where the Dark Underlord had met his demise was taken over by the Devaronian technician Cartariun, who used the dark side energies to control the local Irrukiine. His brief reign was brought to an end when he was killed by his accomplice Girov Dza'tey, who would shortly meet his own fate when a pilot from Rogue Squadron rammed her fighter into the temple, killing him and destroying the Sith Temple.

Living in Darkness: The Story of Darth Rivan

Finn and Marka

    Even before the Rule of Two was officially established by Darth Bane, its tenets had long been prevalent in Sith history, dating as far back as the reign of Darth Revan and perhaps even further.

   In the final years of the New Sith Wars, most Sith factions had united under the banner of Lord Kaan, forming the Brotherhood of Darkness. However, not all Sith were joined under Kaan. One such notable exception was the Sith terrorist known as Miden Finn.

   Born on the urban world of Lexrul, Finn was discovered by the Sith Lady Lydia at age nineteen. By this time, the Sith were in the middle of a civil war, failing to take advantage of the Republic's virtual non-existence. Lydia was member of a small faction based in the Mid Rim that followed the practice of taking on only one apprentice, thus mitigating the chance of betrayal and infighting.

    It wasn't long before Finn struck down his master and took on an apprentice of his own. He selected a young boy by the name of Dev, who hailed from the rural regions of Lothal. Together, the two infiltrated worlds belonging to the Republic and enemy Sith factions and committed acts of terrorism against them.

    A year prior to the final Battle of Ruusan, Finn and Dev visited the planet Tralon IV to conduct business with one of their targets. While there, they encountered a Toydarian slave master, who offered to sell them a young woman by the name of Marka. Dev empathized with the girl, having grown up in poverty as well, and struck down the Toydarian in anger. Finn rebuked his apprentice for showing sympathy for the girl and, ignoring her pleas to be taken with them, returned his ship. Minutes later, Marka joined him, having killed Dev and taken his lightsaber, and became Finn's new apprentice.

   When the Brotherhood of Darkness met its end during the Seventh Battle of Ruusan, Finn saw this as his opportunity to consolidate his power and become the Dark Lord of the Sith. Blinded by his own ambition, he failed to foresee Marka's own cravings and soon found himself plummeting into a sarlacc pit on Aargonar, having been pushed by Marka just as she had done to Dev.

    With her master's death, Marka sought out to further her knowledge of the dark side, visiting Sith tomb worlds and temples. This inevitably brought her into the path of Darth Bane and his apprentice Zannah, who were rebuilding the Sith on their own terms, following the same tenets as Finn had. When Marka pleaded Bane to teach her, he ignored her and returned to his ship, leaving her with Zannah.

   Minutes later, Darth Zannah rejoined him, having killed Marka and taken her lightsaber. Together, the two Dark Lords of the Sith departed from Korriban, leaving Marka's corpse to be swept away by the changing sands.

Star Wars Destiny Chronicles: Darksiders -- Old Sith Wars

SITH EMPIRE OF DARTH REVAN

Secret Apprentice: The Story of Darth Voren

   Voren Renstaal was born on the agriworld of Taanab. Both of his parents were members of the Jedi Order's Agricultural Corps, having failed to pass the Trials. At an early age, Voren began displaying signs of Force-sensitivity, prompting his parents to send him to Ossus, where he would be trained by the Jedi Order.

   At age thirteen, Voren fell under the tutelage of Jedi Master Zee Huna. Voren got along well with his Rodian master and the two were assigned on many missions to the Outer Rim, dealing with the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders that threatened the planets of that region. By 3963 BBY, the Republic was at war with the Mandalorians and Voren had become a Jedi Knight. His former master was as frustrated as he was with the High Council's refusal to deal with the threat and she left for Onderon to aid General Vaklu and the Onderon military. When the Mandalorians conquered Onderon, Master Huna was killed in the process. Angered by this, Voren decided to join the Revanchist movement, serving alongside fellow Jedi Kalon Soral.

   Following the Mandalorians' defeat at Malachor V, Jedi General Revan led his followers to the Unknown Regions, where they adopted the teachings of the Sith and built an empire on the mysterious world of Rakata Prime. Voren was easily lured by the dark knowledge of the Sith and soon had ambitions of one day overthrowing Darth Revan as Dark Lord of the Sith. Revan knew of his ambitions and appointed a Sith Knight to train him -- as well as to keep watch on him. As time went on, Revan began to suspect his apprentice Darth Malak of betraying him and thus took on Voren as a secret apprentice, unofficially bestowing the title of Darth to him.

   In 3957 BBY, "Darth" Voren was assigned to his master's flagship when it was attacked by the Republic. A strike team of Jedi and Republic soldiers infiltrated the vessel and were soon confronted by Voren. What befell their encounter remains unaccounted; however, it is believed Voren eventually perished when Darth Malak -- as Revan had foreseen -- betrayed his master and fired upon the Dark Lord's flagship, destroying it as an unconscious Revan was whisked away by the Jedi.

Dying Sun: The Story of Darth Glovoc

   Born on Chandrila, Bor Glovoc was raised by wealthy parents who had great aspirations for their child. When he began to show signs of Force-sensitivity, Glovoc was quickly sent to Coruscant, where he was trained at the Jedi Temple. Passing the trials, Glovoc attained the rank of Jedi Knight and became a respected member of the Jedi Order.

    In 3964 BBY, Glovoc joined the Jedi Crusaders of General Revan and fought against the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders that threatened the galaxy. During this time, he became infamous for the Trylos Massacre, slaughtering hundreds of Mandalorians from Clan Vuhar. This earned the respect of fellow Revanchist Malak, who felt that the Mandalorians deserved to be returned the merciless brutality they themselves showed.

   After the end of the Mandalorian Wars, Glovoc followed Revan and the others to the Unknown Regions, where they became Sith. The new Dark Lord Darth Revan granted Glovoc a high position in his empire and the former Jedi became a renown commander in the Sith's war against the Jedi. Some circles even began referring to Glovoc as a Darth for his successful escapades, a title Glovoc did not refuse. At some point, he was even approached by Darth Malak and was trained as the Sith Lord's secret apprentice to someday usurp Revan. When that day eventually passed however, Malak ditched Glovoc in favor of a Sith hopeful named Deren Saran. 

    Relegated to command of an Interdictor-class cruiser, Glovoc declared himself a Sith Lord and forced his subordinates to refer to him as Darth Glovoc. In preparation for his eventual revenge against Malak, he froze an army of Sith troopers and Dark Jedi in carbonite, planning on reawakening them should the time come. On the day of Darth Malak's demise at the hands of a redeemed Revan, he received a vision of a mysterious planet located in the Mid Rim. Overcome by a desire to find this planet, Darth Glovoc commanded his ship, the Dying Sun, to the Luire system and came across the world of his vision: Nyriaan. Focused as he was on the planet, Glovoc failed to notice a nearby Republic strike team and his ship was shot down over the planet, crash-landing on Nyriaan.

    The surviving Sith gathered under Darth Glovoc as a cult, worshiping him as their new Dark Lord. Wishing to prolong his life, Glovoc locked himself away in an oubliette, only emerging every few centuries to ensure his followers' loyalty. Eventually, Glovoc ceased his visits and remained in perpetual slumber, idolized by the native of Nyriaan as a sleeping god.

    Over three thousand years later, his casket was discovered by Jedi exile Tighe Nomante, who took on the role of watching over the slumbering Dark Lord to ensure that he did not awaken. For half a century, none disturbed Glovoc... until a man by the name of Varon Krul paid a visit and freed Darth Glovoc from his oubliette. Seeing Varon as a potential asset, Glovoc provided the young Sith with the army he had frozen millennia ago. He was later present for the Battle of Mandalore, where he was killed by the Mandalorian Bron Vuhar, at last avenging the victims of the Trylos Massacre.

Abandonment: The Story of Darth Bandon

   Orphaned at the age of seven by bloodthirsty pirates, Deren Saran was found on Belderone by Jedi Master Aamaw Vadon, who took Saran away to be trained as a Jedi. Vadon himself eventually took on Saran as his Padawan learner, but even the peaceful Ithorian could not curb Saran's emotions and the young Jedi lusted for revenge against the pirates that had taken his parents' lives.

   Seventeen years after joining the Jedi, Saran and his master were sent to Taloraan to rescue Senator Fiaid Dollan from pirates. Taken over by his anger, Saran ended up slaughtering dozens of pirates, which horrified Vadon. The Jedi Council attempted to rein in him but Saran rejected them and their teachings, departing the Order for the Sith Empire that had recently emerged from the Unknown Regions.

    Traveling to Korriban, Saran trained at the Sith academy, standing out for his ruthlessness and cruelty. These traits attracted the notice of Darth Malak, who saw Saran as a prospective apprentice. After betraying Darth Revan and seizing the mantle of Dark Lord, Malak returned his attention to Saran and chose him as his apprentice, giving him the name Darth Bandon.

    As Malak's Shadow Hand, Darth Bandon proved a danger to the Jedi as the Sith Lord slew many a Knight, including his former master. It would not be long before Bandon would begin to have desires of his own, setting his sights on the Sith throne that his master currently sat upon. Alas, these dreams of his failed to be realized as Bandon would soon meet his fate at the hands of an amnesiac Revan, on the path of a Jedi once more, and was struck down on the aquatic world of Manaan.

    Afterwards, Darth Bandon's remains were recovered by Sith acolytes, who believed his severed head would allow them to communicate with his spirit. This crazed cult embarked on a quest for a new body to join Bandon's head with but were stopped by the Jedi. The Sith Lord's head eventually fell into the possession of Risha Drayen and it was given to a (rather macabre) museum, who put it on display for prosperity.

THE SITH TRIUMVIRATE

Lord of Hunger

    Little is known of the man who would become the ravenous Sith Lord Darth Nihilus, and that is because there is nothing to be said about him. Whether he had been one of Revan's Jedi followers, a Republic soldier, or even a Mandalorian warriors is irrelevant. Whoever that man had been died on the fateful day the Mass Shadow Generator was activated on Malachor V, and it was on that day Darth Nihilus was born.

    Consumed by the emptiness left in him by the emotional pain that the devastation of Malachor had caused him, the man who would be named Nihilus sustained himself by feeding off the life-force of other living beings. It did not long for him to grow fond of this taste and his hunger became less satiated with each life he consumed. By the time he was discovered by Darth Traya, he had become a wound in the Force; a disturbance born from trauma. Darth Traya offered to teach the empty man the ways of the Force at her Sith Academy on Malachor so that he could devour entire worlds and the man agreed, becoming known as Darth Nihilus.

    In time, Darth Nihilus rose to become part of a Sith Triumvirate alongside his master and another student of hers, Darth Sion. It was not long before Nihilus and Sion turned against their former teacher, cutting her off from the Force and exiling her. They then went their separate ways to lead a path of conquest against the Republic, bringing both it and the Jedi to their knees. In 3952 BBY, Darth Nihilus was lured to the planet Katarr, where a conclave of Jedi was being held, and he proceeded to consume the planet of life. He then stumbled across the sole survivor, a Miraluka woman named Visas Marr, whom he took on as his Sith apprentice.

    Ultimately, Darth Nihilus's ravenous quest was brought to an end by the Jedi Exile Meetra Surik, who defeated him aboard his flagship the Ravager. Visas Marr had since turned her back on the Sith and had begun training as a Jedi under Surik's tutelage. At Surik's request, Marr recovered Darth Nihilus's mask from his remains and it ended up in the Jedi Exile's possession.

    Somehow, the mask of Darth Nihilus ended up in the hands of smugglers that crewed the Nashuaga. The freighter later crashed on the planet Volik, where it and the mask would remain for the next several thousand years.

Lord of Pain

Lady of Betrayal