NationStates Jolt Archive

Peace is a lie,
There is only Suffering.
Suffering leads to Anger,
Anger leads to Strength,
Strength leads to Power,
Through Power, I gain the Dark Side.
Through the Dark Side, my chains are broken,
And the Dark Side will set me free.

Millions of Quantanium Armour clad soldiers and Sith Warriors chanted the New Sith Code over and over again in the streets of Klatooine. Today was the day it all began. Today was the day when the Galaxy would be purified. Today was the day when retribution would be given, and no mercy spared.

In the night sky, hundreds of tiny stars, or what seemed to be stars, moved slowly across the tapestry that was the universe orbiting the planet. The millions cheered as they witnessed this, and fireworks erupted in the night sky.

The streets lit up with light, and the Soldiers were absorbed into it, vanishing once it subsided. Today, would be known to every Sith Warrior as 'The rise of the Dark Force', the day when the Sith Fleet was finally ready to be unleashed on the Galaxy, and the day when balance would finally be achieved in the cosmos. This was known as 'Dark Force Rising'.

[Cue Star Wars Music]

Now is a time of Supreme Darkness. The Galactic Empire has once again risen to power, and taken control of Coreworlds, which is now under the iron rule of Admiral Blathe. But a new evil has risen in Hutt Space.

The Dark Force, a fleet of five hundred Liberator Class Super Destroyers, has assembled under the command of Dark Lord Kartion Elesto, and the new Sith Order.

Under his command, Kartion plans to use the Dark Force to sweep through the Galaxy, eradicating the Imperial Threat, and ruling the Galaxy.

However, there is still hope for the Coreworldians. On the secret world of Jurai, the remains of the Jedi Order and the Coreworldian Navy hide away from the Imperial threat, along with millions of refugees. There they wait for their chance to strike back at the evil that has killed so many, and take their rightful place on their old homeworld of Coruscant…

[The Theme Music comes to a close]

It was night on the Planet Chacalta. In orbit around the busy planet, Smugglers and pirates dealt their goods on the orbiting stations, while traders clogged up Trade Lanes around the planets, advertising goods on their way to Trandosha and Kashyyyk. This scene was suddenly interrupted by a harsh, sharp, booming voice over every comm. System in the sector.

[Planet Chacalta! This is Dark Lord Kartion Elesto of the New Sith Order! We are now ‘Liberating’ your planet in the name of the Sith! Surrender at once, or we will open fire!]

As a huge fleet of LSD’s came into view, their blacker than black hull reflecting the light of Chacalta’s harsh sun, the space around Chacalta became very frenzied as all the ships in orbit tried to escape. On the bridge of the ELSD Sabre, Kartion stood at the viewport, looking over the chaos ensuing. He grinned, then looked over at the Communication’s Pit.

“Tell the rest of the fleet to being their assault. Spare no ships trying to escape.” He ordered. The Officers in the pit nodded.

“Yes sir!”

As the order went out, hundred of LSD’s jumped into the Sector, surrounding Chacalta. As the LSD’s moved in, they began firing deep red beams. Sweeping through space, these beams destroyed hundreds of fleeing ships.

[Oh my gosh! They’re fir-]

[My shields have no effect, initi…AHHHH!!!!]

[We can’t win!]

[They’ve got FTLi’s online! I can’t jump!]

[We’re trapped!]

More panicked messages flooded the comm. Many ships began to turn back to Chacalta, fearing for their lives. Kartion grinned.

“Tell the Fleet to launch fighters, and destroy that Space Station.”

Thousands of tiny grey and green fighters emerged from the trench-like gap in the middle of each LSD. As they flooded space, hounding the remaining ships back into orbit of the planet, the Sabre cast a 50KM shadow across Chacalta. Two beams lanced from the I]Sabre[/I], one plowing through the orbital mooring holding the Station, the other hitting the station itself. They both destructed fantastically, and Kartion laughed.

“Excellent. Inform the Fleet that they may begin landing their troops when ready.”

“Aye sir!”

Hundreds of blocky transports launched from the Fleet. Inside them, hundreds of troops and tanks resided ready to land and ‘liberate’ the planet. As they entered the atmosphere, Kartion grinned.

“Dark Force has risen…”

In the small desert town of Ryu'chek, swarms of people were running for cover. Men holding primative blasters were running with their women who carried their children. The air was filled with desperate screams as the stampede ran with blind futility towards invisable safety. A tavern was one of the first buildings to clear and as the chaos slowly echoed away, a shadow stood at the entrance. Avon looked up at the sky, his emotionless face betraying nothing...

Hundreds of meteors lit up the night sky. As they broke the atmosphere, they turned out to be the blocky Troops and Vehicle Transports. Both kinds of transports resembling the AT-AT Carriers of the Imperials, they had a red star and two swords painted onto their sides, as a sort of emblem. Below the emblem, the words: PEACE IS A LIE were also painted on.

As one landed nearby, fire from the locals erupted, their shots ricocheting harmlessly off the hull. This pointless practice continued for a few seconds, before they all were sent flying by some invisable shockwave.

A few moments later, about five Sith materialised out of nowhere.

"Insolent scum!" One barked. All five Sith held their hands out, and for the next few seconds, screams could be heard all over Chacalta as it's rebelling natives were drained of their life. Once this practice was done, the Troop Transport opened.

Hundreds of black armoured troops ran out of the Transport, armed with Force Whips and a long form of Carbine, resembling a stretched E-11.

One Sith then turned to Avon.

"You there! Get over here now!"

The troops turned to face Avon, aiming their Carbines at him. Red dots coloured Avon's torso, and the Sith waited patiently for Avon to come over.

Jedi Academy, Coredian Stronghold of Jurai...

Jedi Master Alexander Masaki felt a disturbance in the Force while in meditations. "So, he has returned. With the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy gone from this mortal coil, it appears the new Dark Lord feels safe enough to extend his holdings...this is troubling."

The Patriarch of the weakened Masaki Family awakened from meditations. He would convene the Council to discuss this matter and deliberate what to do.

...One Sith then turned to Avon.

"You there! Get over here now!"

The troops turned to face Avon, aiming their Carbines at him. Red dots coloured Avon's torso, and the Sith waited patiently for Avon to come over.

Avon looked down at the plethora of red dots that focused on his chest as though they were a swarm of tiny insects. He then looked back up at the Sith who addressed him and without moving an inch he replied,

Avon: "You seem to have considerably more resources than I, why don't you get over here?"

His voice was calm, unchallanging. A few petrified civillians hiding behind some water barrels watched the exchange with fear for the stranger...

The Sith laughed.

"You've got spunk."

Holding his hand out, he began to grip his fist. A cold feeling was now around Avon's neck, and it began to tighten. Soon, Avon could feel that he was, indeed choking. The Sith grinned.

"The reason you should come over here..."

He yanked his arm back, sending Avon flying into the ground in front of him. He then bent down, and hissed in his ear, "Because I told you to, scum."

Getting up, he ignited his Lightsabre, and held it to Avon's neck.

"Get up...slowly."

The troops had now refocused their Carbines on Avon, their fingers pulling on the triggers...

Avon looked into the eyes of his assailant, the lightsabre merely inches from his throat. He used every effort he had to hide his discomfort at being choked and pulled accross the street. Avon slowly got to his feet, never taking his piercing gaze off the Sith.

The Sith grinned.

"I sense your discomfort, but at least you hide it away well. It's a good trait, it'll help preserve your life that ever longer."

Nodding at the nearest trooper, he said, "Do a scan of this man and I.D. him." The trooper nodded, and tapped his helmet. There was a errie silence for a few moments. The dusty plains of the continent were blown past by a cold wind, and the groud shook. As the Sith looked up, beams of light hit the ground, incinerating the outlines of cities on the horizon. After a few seconds more, the trooper growled.

"What is it?" The Sith asked. The trooper took his helmet off, revealing his Klatooinian face.

"We don't have him 'officially' in our I.D. System. However, he does have a tracking signal eminating from his stomach."

The Sith looked at Avon, and then bit his lip.

"And only two people we know of have trackers on them that are still alive...Avon, and Villa."

The Sith nodded.

"You're obviously Avon. I apologise for my earlier treatment of you, but you came across as rather...superior, for the type of people that live in this region. However, I'm curious, where is your friend Villa?" He asked. He widened his perceptions, trying to find Villa...

Avon exchanged looks between the Sith and the trooper when they spoke of the tracker in his stomach,

Avon: "Do you expect me to believe that you have somehow implanted a stomach tracer within me?"

The Sith laughed.

"You don't have to, but we did. Think back to the food you had while in the dungeons. "

The Council Chambers, Jurai

"So he has returned. This is troubling." Master Armas Elendil noted.

Alex nodded. "With so many Jedi gone and our fleet reduced to almost half it's former strength, we'd be very hard-pressed to stop him. However, even if we had our former strength, he has been gone for years and would have gather many ships to his cause."

"So we just leave him alone?" Sennin Tsunade, Hokage of Fire Country, Shinobi Representative to the Council, asked curtly.

"Of course not. We need to track his dealings, and investigate his spoils. That way if we ever get back to full strength, we'd have a working knowledge of what he has and what we can do to counter him if we decide to counter him." Master Emily Rydo pointed out.

Lowbacca, one of only two members of the Council who's known the Skywalkers personally (the other is Alex), nodded his shaggy head in agreement. "<Then it boils down to a question. Who can we send to investigate Kartion?>"

Tholme nodded, listening to it all. His steel-grey eyes looked over at Lowbacca as he asked the question. Grinning, he stood. Stroking a stray hair away from his eye, he bowed.

"Masters, if I may..." He waited for Alex to nod, "I'd like to volunteer for the task." He said, his voice showing no fear. He knew who Kartion was, and what he'd done, but Tholme refused to be intimidated.

"Hmm. That's a fair possibility." Alex nodded. "You're one of our best stealth Masters."

"I concur." Tsunade agreed. "I say we go for this. It's dangerous, but you've done dangerous missions before. Rate it A-level?"

"A-level." Master Elendil nodded. "Very well, Master Tholme. You have your mission. May the Force be with You."

Tholme smiled, and did a deep bow.

"Thank you Masters, I will not fail you."

Standing up straight, he looked appraisingly at Alex, and then walked out of the Council room.

Right, time to collect my things, and take the express route to Klatooine...

The Sith laughed.

"You don't have to, but we did. Think back to the food you had while in the dungeons. "

Avon betrayed no emotion as he glared at the Sith,

Avon: "Its been six years since my incarceration. Somehow I doubt any kind of internal tracking device would’ve lasted that long.”

He was beginning to wonder though if the Sith was actually telling the truth. After all, the dark individual knew about he and Villa. But if that was true, then his information was at least six years out of date.
____________________________________________

Soolin and Tarrant were standing in by the entrance to the old republic building as Villa was concentrating on the safe. The combination lock was a little more sophisticated than the standard locks the old republic used, but nothing Villa couldn’t handle,

Tarrant: “Hurry up Villa!

Villa: “Will you stop bugging me?! If I get this wrong again the whole system will reset itself.

Soolin: “Well don’t get it wrong then.”

Soolin and Tarrant were two additions to the Liberator crew over the past six years. Tarrant was a renegade TIE-Fighter pilot from the Imperial Remnant who went AWOL and Soolin was the sole survivor of a transport that was ambushed by the Order of the Universe. She had sworn a blood oath to avenge the death of her partner who had been travelling with her.

Villa: “I will get it wrong if you both don’t stop bothering me!”

Tarrant: “Shh! Something’s happening.”

Villa and Soolin listened intently as the sounds of distant explosions grew nearer,

Villa: “Sounds like thunder.” He said, hoping that it was thunder and not a bombardment which was what is sounded like,

Soolin: “If its thunder, why does it sound like AT-ATs advancing closer?”

The three were silent for a moment as they listened to the approaching sounds. Tarrant abruptly turned to Villa,

Tarrant: “Get that safe open now.”

Villa: “What now? What about all those explosions?”

Tarrant: “Those explosions aren’t going to get anywhere near us, now open the safe!”

With that the floor shook and parts of the ceiling collapsed,

Villa: “Not going to get near us is it?”

Soolin: “Just get on with it!”

Villa jumped and then continued with his lock-picking as Tarrant and Soolin came away from the entrance…

Several hours later

Master Tholme burst out of hyperspace into Klatooine space, having taken some little-known routes to reach the system. He braced for action as he neared the planet...

Two Liberator Class Star Destroyers orbited the planet Klatooine. They looked alot like regular Star Destroyers really, only the Bridge was now 'H' shaped, they were at least twice as big, and they bore a resemblence to the Liberator itself. However, neither Destroyers moved to intercept him, in fact, it seemed as if they hadn't spotted him. However, an incoming transmission came from the beastly Skyhook straight ahead of Tholme's ship.

A Klatooinian's face and shoulders appeared. The shoulders seemed to be padded, and had some gold bars on. On top of the Klatooinian's head lay a green cap, a small black brim protruding, with a gold stripe across it. It's voice was harsh and sharp, almost as if it were barking orders to a recruit in the Naval Corps.

"Ship 118-28364A-22B, you have entered Sith Space! Identify yourself and your intentions immediately!"

"I am Gavin Deciel. My employer has ordered me here to conduct business negotiations." Tholme said in a 'My boss will kill me if I'm late' tone.

The Klatooinian smirked.

"That's was everyone says, but mind you, business is a very expansive term. What kind of business are you on? I can tell you're new. Don't worry, we don't care who you are, just as long as you don't cause a ruckuss planet-side." He said. His voice had suddenly morphed into a dull, 'Same old same old' voice. Obviously, they had a lot of 'businessmen' coming and going from Klatooine.

Without missing a beat, Tholme said, "Information technology."

"Hrmp. Okay then, Mr IT. If you'll just gimme a second, I'll take a scan of your face, and add you to the database. Standard prodecure. I'll then upload your ID to your ship, as well as a map, showing you where the local cantina, and the two biggest IT companies are within 200KM of the Starport," A flash filled the screen for a second, and then the Klatooinian appeared, "Alright Mr Deciel, you're now permitted to go Planetside. I've uploaded the neccessaries, and do your best to avoid the LSD's. They don't like people getting too close."

With a grin, the Klatooinian disappeared, and if Tholme had been looking close enough, he'd have seen most of the Skyhook's arnaments swivel away from him.

The small ship then moved on, having cleared the defense screens and now descended on the planet. Tholme began memorizing the way to the nearest cantina as he descended onto an empty docking bay. After landing, he momentarily changed his clothes from robes to IT techie jumpsuits, concealing his saber in one of the pockets. Then he headed out of the ship...

Ahead of Tholme was a large door, rimmed with white plastisteel. Or at least it looked like it. There was a droid next to the door, dormant, with its head bowed down. But as Tholme neared the doorway, he noticed the plastisteel wasn't actually rimming the doorway, it was forming an arch just in front of it. A wire ran from the arch to the desk, and then Tholme realised what the arch was. However, the droid awoke at that moment, and regarded Tholme.

"Please step through the scanner sir. I need to screen you for any...illegal weapons. It shouldn't take a moment." The droid's eyes were round, and yet they were deep red, and quite striking. The droid had a slightly twisted female voice, as if it enjoyed it's job a little too much. It was then Tholme noticed that the droid's right arm was indeed a Plasma Rifle...

Glad to have disguised his saber as a hydrospanner, he discreetely used the Force to dampen the power reading of the lightsaber to that of the common technician tool. He knew that if it didn't work, his cover was blown. He stepped through, prepared for anything, outwardly nervous as a nerdy techie could be.

For a few moments the droid just stared at the screen. Looking up at Tholme, the droid chuckled.

"IT are we? Well, I'm sure you'll be using that hydrospanner for more than screwing my friend! I know what the readings should be for a hydrospanner, and what it looks like inside, and, this is not just a hydrospanner. It's a-" Time seemed to pause as the droid tried to make out what it actually was. "Disguised Blaster! Ha!" The droid tapped a few keys on the desk, and the door opened, to Tholme's surprise.

"Have a good business trip sir, and please, make sure that when you finish your business, make it a clean one!" The droid cackled again, and left Tholme to go through the door.

Tholme smiled nervously in his techie guise and passed through safely in relief. Now he wondered what to do next.