CHAPTER ONE
The Ravager, Jakku system, 5 ABY
It had been too long since he had been home.
Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax never once thought he would ever feel nostalgic for Jakku, considering how much he had hated the planet when he had been a child. But seeing it now through the viewport of the Ravager as the Super Star Destroyer entered the system, he could not help but feel a warm feeling in his heart.
Perhaps it was not just nostalgia he was feeling but anticipation for what was to come. The last three decades of his life had all been building up to this moment in his life, the grand culmination of the Emperor’s Contingency. It would be here that the fate of the galaxy would be decided, all hinging on every action he took. It would have been an overwhelming feeling, no matter what planet it took place at.
Still, he maintained his composure all the same. He had to, given the audience he now had in his presence.
“Pathetic.”
Rax stirred out of his thoughts and frowned deeply. He glanced at the man standing next to him, facing the viewport even though he could not see what it showed.
“This barren wasteland of a planet is where the fate of the Empire shall be decided?” Jerec asked, a sneer etched across his face.
Rax allowed himself to relax, a smirk twitching upon his lips. “I thought Miraluka such as yourself could not see.”
“I can see it through the Force,” Jerec snapped back, his brow creasing over the black band that covered his empty eye sockets. “This world is worthless; it offers no strategic value in its placement on the galactic map nor does it appear to offer any valuable resources. How is it that this place is where everything that shall be decided?”
“Because, High Inquisitor, the Emperor has prepared it as such.” Rax inclined his head, his dark eyes staring into where Jerec’s should have been. “Trust in the plan, my friend. Once we have all the pieces in places, you will see just what it is Jakku has to offer.”
Jerec scowled at him. “We shall see about that, Admiral. For now, I remain skeptical.”
The sound of approaching footsteps interrupted their conversation and Rax turned his attention to an officer that had appeared behind them. The young man stood stiffly to attention and saluted before clasping his hands behind his back.
“Admiral, the delivery from Warlord Zsinj’s forces has arrived.”
Rax’s face brightened. “Ah, wonderful. I am glad that even a man such as himself can come through on his end of the deal. Please, bring them in.”
The officer nodded before stepping aside and motioning two stormtroopers forward, accompanied by another officer that had been sent from Zsinj’s forces. Between them, hooked onto their arms with her hands bound by stuncuffs, was a pale woman in ragged clothing with long strands of dark brown hair draping around her tattooed face. Her black eyes blazed with hatred as they fell upon Rax before being pushed down to her knees by the stormtroopers.
As Rax looked down upon the Nightsister, the officer from Zsinj’s forces approached him. “She was carrying this on her person,” he said as he then held up a small pyramidal object in the palm of his hand. Etched with ancient runes, it had a crimson glow to it that slowly pulsated, as if was bursting with energy.
Rax heard Jerec take in a breath even as his own eyes widened in surprise. “A Sith holocron,” the Miraluka Inquisitor breathed aloud. He took a step towards the Nightsister, his hands curling into fists. “Where did you find such an artifact?”
The Dathomiri woman lifted her head up at him and sneered. “I have nothing to say to you, Imperial scum.” She punctuated her statement with a projectile of saliva aimed straight at his chest.
Moving in a blur, Jerec unclipped his lightsaber and ignited its scarlet blade, which he held right at the Nightsister’s neck. “The only reason you are still alive is because your powers are required for our plans,” the Inquisitor snarled. “Although I am sure Warlord Zsinj still has plenty of your ilk to choose from should you prove to be uncooperative.”
“Zsinj can burn in hell for all I care, along with that blood-traitor that serves him now!”
Rax forced himself to tear his gaze away from the Sith holocron and looked back down at the Nightsister. “What is your name, witch?”
“Do not speak to me, you spawn of a—”
“If you give me your name, then I will release you from your restraints.” He cut off the protest that Jerec was about to utter with a wave of his hand. “And if you tell us where and how you acquired this holocron, then your life will be spared after your duty has been fulfilled.”
The Nightsister glowered at him. “You were not planning on keeping me around after you were done with me?”
“No,” Rax said truthfully. “I was not.”
The witch continued to glare at him before her expression softened ever so slightly, as if she was impressed by his honesty. Still with a venomous bite to her tone, she said, “My name is Silri. I stole the holocron from Tyber Zann.”
“The crime lord?” Jerec retracted the blade of his lightsaber but kept the hilt ready in his hand. “How does such a precious artifact end up in the hands of scum like him?”
Silri shrugged. “He stole it from Jabba the Hutt, from what he told me. Don’t ask me how the Hutt managed to get it. He freed me from an Imperial base on Dathomir in exchange for accessing and decoding the holocron. You Imps then stole it from us, Zann led us on a raid to take it back. While he pulled off his little stunt at Kuat, I used it as an opportunity to slip away with the holocron, following the map it gave me.”
“And where did it lead you?” Rax asked.
“A dead world in the Expansion Region. There was nothing there of note.” Silri paused for a moment before adding quietly, “Except for an ancient cache of Sith soldiers, all frozen in carbonite.”
“Impossible.” Jerec turned his head to Rax, an incredulous expression on his face. “Surely the Emperor would have known something such as this existed, regardless if he had the holocron or not.”
“Perhaps he did, perhaps he did not.” Rax found his gaze drifting back to the holocron, still in the officer’s hands. He then closed his eyes and forced himself to focus before turning back to Silri. “What happened next? I take it you did not awaken this… hidden army?”
Silri scoffed. “I would have if an Imp scout ship hadn’t found me and taken me back to Dathomir. I guess that’s why I was chosen to be sent to you; I am disposable in the eyes of both Zsinj and Mother Gethzerion.”
Rax looked back to the officer. “And Zsinj had no interest in the holocron?”
The officer shook his head. “He does not think highly of… frivolous totems, as he put it. He said to give it to you so it wouldn’t ruin his decor.”
“How generous of him.” Rax then drew a holdout blaster and shot it directly into the officer’s chest. As the other man crumpled to the ground, Rax swiftly caught the holocron as it fell to the floor before turning and shooting down the two stormtroopers that had brought Silri in. He paid no heed to the shocked stares of everyone on the bridge as he beheld the Sith artifact in his hands.
“Inquisitor Jerec,” he said without tearing his gaze away. “Please free our Nightsister friend from her shackles and then show her to her cell. She will wait there until she is needed.”
He did not wait for a response from Jerec as he made a swift departure from the bridge. He did not remember entering the turbolift or inputting the code to his personal quarters; all he could think of was the artifact in his hands, the knowledge it contained whispering to him every step of the way.
As he entered the darkness of his room, he peered into the shadows and presented the artifact to the man waiting within. From the shadows, Darth Vorath extended a withered hand and Rax gingerly placed it into his fragile palm. The Dark Lord then spoke out to him, his sibilant voice filling Rax’s mind.
“Ready your forces, Admiral. The time has finally come.”
* * *
Jerec remained where he stood after Admiral Rax had made his abrupt departure from the bridge, taking the Sith holocron with him. The Nightsister Silri was still kneeling next to the two stormtroopers that had just been gunned down by Rax, her hands still locked within stun cuffs.
She lifted her eyes up at him and raised her bound arms expectantly. “Well? Aren’t you going to—?”
With a snap-hiss, Jerec swung his saber and shattered the stun cuffs, nearly taking Silri’s hands and face in the process. As the Dathomiri witch let out a string of curses, Jerec turned sharply to an officer—the first one that had approached Rax—and raised a finger to him.
“Take her to a cell and keep her there. Bring an entire squad of stormtroopers with you. No matter what you do, do not let her into your head!”
The officer snapped off a quick salute before carrying out his orders. Jerec then headed down the bridge as well, destined for his own personal quarters. He entered the room to find his apprentice—his last living apprentice—sitting cross-legged in a meditative position. As he closed the door behind, Sariss opened her eyes and regarded him with cold green eyes.
“You seem troubled, my lord.”
Jerec huffed as he began to pace back and forth. “I am beginning to lose faith in this contingency plan of our glorious Emperor.”
Sariss uncrossed her legs and rose to her full height. “You do not believe it will succeed?”
“Not with Rax at the helm. He appears to be… distracted. Unfocused. As if he is not the one fully in control.”
“Do you suspect someone else, then?”
Jerec stopped in his tracks and lifted a hand to his chin. “That Sith Lord… the one he calls Vorath… he has not told me anything about him. Where he found him, where he has been throughout all of this time, why the Emperor and Lord Vader were unaware of him… nothing.”
“Is there a chance he is an impostor?” Sariss asked.
Jerec considered the thought before shaking his head. “No, he is definitely strong in the dark side. I can sense that much. But there is a chance he may simply be claiming to be a Sith.”
“Even so,” Sariss said, “if he is strong in the dark side, then surely the Emperor would have known of him.”
“And maybe he did.” It was an ironic echo of Rax’s own words, one that he knew Sariss would not catch on to. He turned his head towards her, a mirthless smirk curving from his lips. “After all, your father was a powerful practitioner of the dark side whom the Emperor was well aware of, and he was not Sith.”
Sariss stiffened and Jerec could feel the anger boiling within her at the mention of her father. “Clearly he was not powerful enough,” she said coldly. “He perished at Mindor.”
“Did he?”
Sariss’ hesitation in responding lasted only for a second, but it was enough for Jerec to notice. “I felt his death in the Force.”
“Ah. Perhaps I underestimated the connection you had with him.”
Sariss said nothing to this but her furious glare spoke volumes. Jerec merely smirked before resuming his pacing.
“In any case, I do not expect any straight answers from Rax, nor do I believe he will allow me to speak with Vorath himself. Which means I will have to find answers some other way.”
“And what is it you have in mind?”
He stopped again and his grin broadened even further. “That, my young apprentice, is where you will come in. I am unable to leave this ship without Rax noticing. You, on the other hand, are specially trained in slipping away without people noticing.”
Sariss bowed her head. “I will perform whatever task you ask of me, master.”
“Good. You are to travel to Dromund Kaas.”
Sariss stiffened again, anger flashing behind her eyes once more. “Why there? The Prophets will be of no use.”
“The Prophets of the Dark Side, if any of them remain, have long since vacated Dromund Kaas. No, instead you will find a secret cache of holocrons and artifacts that the Emperor maintained on that planet without their knowledge. Only Cronal knew of the cache, knowledge which he had passed on to me.”
Sariss seemed to relax somewhat. “You believe there will be information on Vorath there?”
“If it is to be anywhere, it would be there, although I’m sure the Emperor had other caches scattered across the galaxy.” Jerec lifted his head up, studying his apprentice closely through the vision the Force gave him of her. “Can I trust you to carry out this task?”
She bowed her head again. “Of course, master. I will not fail you.”
“Excellent. I suggest you leave now before Rax emerges from his quarters. The less he is reminded of your existence, the better.”
Sariss gave a firm nod before heading for the door. After she had left the room and the door had resealed shut, the thought idly crossed his mind that he might very well have sent his apprentice to her death; if she got too close to the truth and Rax or Vorath found out about it, then they would no doubt dispatch their agents after her to stop her from getting the information back to Jerec.
And he would not do anything to stop them. Sariss was skillful, yes, but not exactly the most ideal apprentice. Should another come along, he would gladly replace Sariss with them.
All he cared now was finding out what exactly it was Rax and his newfound Sith ally were hiding from him, and whether or not this plan of theirs would succeed. After all was said and done, he would return to his efforts of finding the Valley of the Jedi… with or without Sariss.
A long day was ahead of him, that much he knew. He just couldn’t wait for it to be over.
