Across the snow, across the rock, Across time and space, All in the name of Death, Came the three. Onward, the Triumvirate. Sacrifice she claimed: All in the name of Death, Came the three. From the Coming of the Triumvirate by Unknown, Shadow Academy Restricted Files

Xlopora City Bosthirda Esstran Sector 2995 BBY An unnatural, red night sky was broken only by a single snowcapped mountain standing watch over the remains of Xlopora City. Three feet of hardened, blue-white snow blanketed structures, streets, and fields, offering a distorted glimpse of a civilization lost in time. The city, untouched in millennia, remained a monument to the secrets of a cataclysm long since forgotten. The towers of an ancient stone palace rose hundreds of meters from the city’s center. Strikingly uncovered by snowfall, the structure was grand in scale and decorated in ornamental carvings of a species conducting obscene rituals and frozen in the throes of passion. Grey walls, blackened with age and deterioration, lined the structure in a protective ring. A single archway flanked by massive stone guardians offered the final foreboding warning to those who would enter the palace’s inner sanctum. The crunch of trampled snow announced the determined strides of Tiamat. She came like thunder and wind, and her presence shattered the perfect stillness and silence of Bosthirda. Her movements were driven by an insatiable appetite and the forceful nature of her will drove footfalls that echoed through the abandoned city. The palace sung sweetly to her in the songs of malevolence and discord. It was welcoming her with the open embrace of a lover and supplying her with the intoxicating power of the dark side. “We are here,” she whispered more to herself than to the others. Her eyes greedily consumed the structures before her, and her companions all but vanished from her thoughts.

Okemi and Ferran exchanged glances as they observed Tiamat from behind. Their journey had lasted over three hours since they landed on the planet’s surface and Tiamat’s behavior had grown more and more erratic. She had not spoken in over an hour and her movement was at a speed which they struggled to maintain. Ferran and Okemi could feel Tiamat within the Force and she was burning with an intensity that neither of them had ever witnessed. Okemi shifted his weapon hand to the pommel of his sword and Ferran followed suit. Bosthirda was dead to them, dead to the Force, yet Tiamat was transforming before their eyes. She was becoming more. “Follow,” Tiamat commanded as she moved through the ancient archway and walked towards a series of stone towers. Without a word, she stopped at the base of an isolated tower, and inspected the mosaic on its surface. Tiamat’s fingers weaved intricate patterns in the air and the tower’s magics fell away. The mosaic’s sculpture animated in a writhing ritual of obscenity before it vanished to reveal a single stone doorway. “Madness,” Ferran spit on the ground. “You can taste the unnatural taint of this place. The bitterness. We are venturing too far below the black water.“ “Steady,” Okemi’s hand grasped Ferran’s shoulder. “There is no turning back.”

The three companions descended a spiraling stone stairway into darkness until they arrived at a subterranean crypt. Green torch fire bathed the room in an emerald glow and highlighted a raised dais in the chamber’s center. A solitary statue of a swordless warrior gazed expressionless as they entered his sanctum. In a display of pure power, Tiamat rose inches off the ground, pushing past Okemi and Ferran towards the statue, her footsteps not even touching the stones beneath them. Her skin glowed with an unnatural red pallor and the Force poured off of her in waves. The cellular structure of her body struggled to maintain her form as the dark side threatened to consume her. At long last she was here. Through the suffering and torment of fools, through all the things she had done, she was here. “I see nothing,” Okemi’s words broke her thoughts. “A swordless statue and an empty room lit with tricks and deceptions. This is not why I am here.” Tiamat turned, her cold eyes gazing upon the Sith King. “You fail to see what is required. The answer lies on the warrior’s sheath.” Ferran moved swiftly towards the statue and inspected the roughly hewn stone. Ancient scripts and runic symbols swirled in liquid form across the sheath’s surface.

“It is not ancient Sith, nor any language I can identify,” Ferran said. “I can,” Tiamat licked her lips. “It says that the value of a secret is its cost and that the cost is a terrible price.” “More riddles,” Ferran sighed. Tiamat’s eyes met Ferran’s and slid hungrily down his body before resting at his sword. “Not this time.” Revelation, a sword without beginning or end, hung at Ferran’s hip. The weapon was shrouded in mystery and pre-dated the Sith species, but appeared to be fashioned in a similar manner to the alchemically-enhanced weapons of the time. Revelation’s silver blade was dual edged and framed a black core that ran the length of the weapon. Ferran had never recounted how the weapon had come to be in his possession, but it was clear that the weapon had become an extension of his soul. Conflict washed over the warrior’s face for a brief instant before Okemi’s words crashed in on his thoughts. “Your sword, now.” Ferran withdrew Revelation and wavered momentarily before slamming it into the mouth of the statue’s sheath. A thunderous boom echoed across the chamber and Ferran’s form froze in place, his hand still grasping the pommel of Revelation, his face locked in absolute horror. “What is happening?” Okemi screamed. “Every secret we learn, we must pay dearly for,” Tiamat responded without emotion. Blue tendrils formed at Ferran’s fingers and snaked their way up his forearm. A small compartment at the foot of the statue slid open at the same rate the tendrils hungrily consumed Ferran’s life-force. With each measure the tendrils crawled along the warrior’s weapon arm, the compartment opened an equal distance. Tiamat crouched at the base of the statue and waited with anticipation until finally retrieving the secret within. “I have it,” she gasped. With blinding speed, Okemi’s sword came to his hand and crashed down on Ferran’s arm, severing it at the wrist and freeing the warrior from impending death. Ferran fell to the floor retching, his mind grasping for understanding. “I have it,” Tiamat declared again.

“Madness, Okemi, we must stop,” Ferran looked to his ally, but Okemi’s gaze had already turned and was fixated upon the secrets held in Tiamat’s hand.

Soul Eater Kamat Krote Hyperlane Esstran Sector 37 ABY Star lines transformed into the blackness as Soul Eater dropped out of hyperspace on the Kamat Krote hyperlane. The lone occupant of the shuttle sat in meditative silence, weaving the threads of the Unifying Force into visions of the future and the past. Planets, long forgotten, flashed through her consciousness only to be discarded as quickly as they came. The threads of the Force were difficult to grasp and even more so when they occurred three thousand years in the past. Dark Adept Dantella Novae was a powerful practitioner of the Force and her ability to divine the past was the only thing that had kept her alive. An Umbaran, Novae was skeletally thin with deep set eyes and grey skin. Blue hues highlighted the lines of her face and presented a hauntingly beautiful appearance that belied the insidious nature of her soul. The Dark Brotherhood captured her over a year ago and her life balanced on the brink each day. Her species were masters of manipulation and her abilities were magnified markedly by the Force. It took every shred of her will to influence and provide the Grand Masters with enough insight to justify her existence. Her current mission had the potential to provide insights that could buy her not just more time, but acceptance into their order. She only needed to find the missing pieces to their puzzle. Novae’s eyes opened and scanned the cockpit of her shuttle. The Soul Eater was designed specifically for her and its consoles displayed controls that were invisible to most humanoid species. The Umbaran ability to see in the ultraviolet spectrum had many advantages, and being the only person capable of piloting her shuttle was one of them. Revlo, a modified SCr114 maintenance droid, swiveled its head and addressed its master. “Lord Novae, you directed me to bring the ship out of hyperspace during your meditative trance. You indicated that we were at the correct location.” Novae gazed at the coordinates on her navcomputer, then sat upright in her chair. Her life would continue —for now. “Send a priority message to the Dark Council. Inform them that Revelation is on Bosthirda.”

Initial Assault Xlopora City Bosthirda 37 ABY Anderia Neas cradled her head in a display of helplessness. Her right hand, still holding a blaster pistol, rubbed her short-cropped hair in a circular motion. Her breath was labored and she was in anguish. It was her twenty-second mission as a commando squad leader and the Dark Crusade was beginning to take a toll on her. She had watched allies and enemies alike die on the battlefield in a manner that was not befitting even the lowliest of creatures. Tyren Atema looked upon the woman with compassion. Her presence in the Force was a rolling thunderstorm of emotions. He, too, was struggling with the implications of a war that appeared to fail at providing any tangible benefits. His recent conversion to the Unifying Force had brought a new understanding of Light and Dark, but this Crusade was simply madness. Despite all of this, here they both were, in the belly of a MAAT, and moving towards the alleged final objective of the Dark Council. “Skipper, you doing alright?” Tyren asked with a hint of sympathy in his voice. “This looks like the last mission for us and then we can focus on putting all of our lives back together.” The commando squad leader looked up at Atema, tears flooding the red rims of her eyes. Her blaster tapped against her skull in a rhythmic pattern until she holstered it and regained a measure of composure. “When is enough enough with you Force users?” Anderia asked. “You take and take and take. I feel like immortals are playing with us on a holo-board.” Tyren let out a short, tired breath. He had been puzzling over the same question, and his views on the Force were beginning to contradict what he was being asked to do. This last mission was a simple one and he had justified its purpose to himself on the pure rationale that any artifact on this planet was better off destroyed than it was in the hands of the Dark Council. “I’m beginning to wonder the same thing, Skip, but war and death are used by many beings without the Force. Plenty of people are comfortable operating in the realm of misery.” Tyren reached across the MAAT’s interior and gripped Anderia’s shoulder plate. “But have faith. Stay true to your family, your friends, and yourself. We will figure this all out after the mission. Watch each others' six, watch my six, and this will all be over before we

know it.” Tyren retracted his hand as the MAATs interior flashed from red to green. The shuttle decelerated and shook violently as it encountered turbulence on its final approach. “Skip, the Unifying Force connects time and space and it will lead us towards our destiny. Everything will be alright.” The MAAT shuddered to a stop and its assault doors retracted. The commando team stood up and hooked into their rappel lines. Tyren checked his cape and then hooked into his position, his eyes flashing back to the team’s squad leader. “We're going to be all right,” Tyren mouthed again. Anderia looked back at the Jedi and mouthed, “I’m sorry” before her lip quivered and turned downward. Her thumb triggered the thermal detonator on her belt and the MAAT disintegrated into a cloud of atoms.

Initial Assault Xlopora City Bosthirda 37 ABY “Karking hell,” Kaira Rohana screamed as she watched a MAAT explode in the distance. The Jedi crouched on the wing of a LAAT/I as it conducted a low altitude insertion into Xlopora City. Her robes, singed from near misses, whipped behind her as the Force held her in place. Her lightsaber weaved a pattern of defense as the ship swayed and maneuvered through a torrent of air defense artillery blaster fire. “Take us to that crash site, they might have survivors,” Kaira called over the communicator attached to her throat. “Negative, Commander. Intel was very specific on where and when we should engage. We aren’t supposed to tangle with the main Brotherhood Forces.” The co-pilot looked out of his cockpit window and motioned to the Jedi the general location of their landing zone. “Frak that,” Kaira cursed as she leapt from the ship’s wing. After a brief freefall, she hit the ground thirty meters below with a Force-controlled landing. “Go on without me. I’m going to investigate what the kriff happened over there.” Spring run-offs from the nearby mountain had begun to flood portions of Xlopora City and, despite her soft landing, the Jedi was covered in mud. “Great,” she sarcastically uttered. “This mission is going great.”

Kaira turned and ran towards the crash she had just witnessed with a burst of Force-induced speed. This planet —this very city —reeked of the dark side, but nature had reclaimed large sections of the planet and the Living Force was thriving for those who needed to call upon it. House Odan-Urr had been chasing the Dark Brotherhood throughout Sith Space for the last ten months and intelligence reports indicated something big was about to happen on Bosthirda. Kaira never cared much for intelligence operatives or their assessments, but Odan-Urr’s information had been remarkably accurate over the last year. They often knew when and where the Brotherhood would be, and she even had the feeling they sometimes knew things before the Brotherhood did. “Command, this is Rohana. I’m about two hundred meters out from the crash site. From the look of the explosion, I’m not going to find much, but there might be some clues as to what happened.” Kaira bounded over deteriorated shelters and small walls of what used to be a residential neighborhood before coming to a sudden halt. Her purple-bladed lightsaber ignited in a shriek of defiance as multi-colored lasers homed in on her position. Her eyes scanned for the origin of the blaster fire as she maneuvered her way towards a defensible position. Then she saw it. “Command, we’ve got new player on the battlefield. The Imperials are here.”

Initial Assault Xlopora City Bosthirda 37 ABY “I said there are Imperials on the objective. Multiple Imperials and they are not friendlies. We are under intense fire and pinned down. Request evac immediately or this is going to be the shortest operation in the history of Arcona.” Dark Jedi Knight Kookimarissia squeezed the trigger of her DH-17 blaster and fired wildly at the Storm Commandos attempting to flank her position. The Imperial Troop Drop Pods, that had delivered the black-clad commandos, were scattered across the sector of Xlopora City that Dark Forge was assigned to secure and she was unsure of just how many of them were out there. Kooki crouched below the wall she was using for protection and thought through her options: sit where she was and wait for an evacuation or get the hell out of there on her own. The Dark Council had provided specific instructions to Arcona on what sectors of the city to defend, but they missed the part about Imperial ambushes. It wasn't their heads under a hail of blaster fire.

Debris exploded as a barrage of repeater fire disintegrated large sections of the wall the Dark Jedi Knight was using for protection. Decisions like abandoning your post often fell to the ranking member of Dark Forge, Ood, but he was conducting operations with the Headmaster and there was no time for a committee discussion. “I’ve had enough of this. Dark Forge, this is Team Lead. We are moving out. Now!” Kookimarissia’s amaranthine blade ignited with a snap-hiss and returned red and green blaster fire into the protected positions of her assailants. A calm eye in the storm of chaos, Kooki’s body reacted on pure instinct driven by hours of training with the Resilience Form. The members of Dark Forge withdrew under fire using their team leader as a defensive shield to cover their escape. “Move, move,” Kooki shouted over the madness of combat. The team ran through alleyways and weaved in out and out of abandoned structures until the sounds of blaster fire faded in the distance. “There! Move through the —” Kookimarissia’s words were cut off by the sheer insanity of the sight before her. The Sith Lord, Esoteric, was walking towards them and lightning was arcing in their direction. “Down!”

Initial Assault Xlopora City Bosthirda 37 ABY Dark Jedi Master Aidan Kincaid’s robes blazed with multiple fires as he exploded in a blur of motion. With each amplified step across the courtyard, the fires burned brighter, and his robes fell away like a creature shedding its skin. Kincaid’s sapphire and amber lightsaber blades interlocked and redirected the lightning strikes directed at the Arconans who had just arrived. The deadly blasts exploded in a hail of debris and rained down on their position. “Go,” Kincaid shouted through the Force before turning towards their assailant. The Sith Lord, Esoteric, walked across the muddy grass in a manner that would have been fitting for a king’s coronation. An air of arrogance, superiority, and destiny permeated his every movement. His hands were free of weapons and his presence in the Force masked his emotions. If engaging the numerical superiority of Taldryan and Arcona alone concerned him, it did not show. His masked gaze locked onto Kincaid, sending shivers down the man's spine.

“Did it ever occur to you?" the Sith Lord asked. "To wonder how I know more about your missions than you do.” Esoteric’s modulated voice almost sounded amused. “There was a time when I thought maybe your Clan would fail to pick up on the theme of this little war. After all, you keep walking into these ambushes and dying… all in the name of the Dark Council.” Esoteric tapped the side of his helmet and the audio of Taldryan’s command net played out loud. The voice of Keirdagh Taldrya Cantor echoed across the courtyard. “I said I want support —Dark Councilors —on my objective because we are getting attacked by goddamn Sith Lords. So tell them to step away from the round table and actually do something!” Esoteric’s hand tapped his helmet again and the audio feed cut off. “It seems your people may not be made for blind servitude after all. Perhaps it is time for the Taldryan leadership to switch their allegiance.” Esoteric turned his back on Kincaid, leaving the man shocked and confused, and began to walk away before stopping to nod towards the distant horizon. His mechanical voice, sounding more amused than before, commented, “It looks like Taldryan’s old allies have already made their decision.” The unmistakable dagger shapes of Imperial Star Destroyers blinked into view.

KSD Transcendent Bosthirda 37 ABY “That's them,” Brimstone shouted across the bridge. “Those are the ships that destroyed the Predominant!” Klaxons roared and red strobe lights flashed throughout the interior of the Transcendent. The newly christened flagship of Clan Plagueis maneuvered in the vacuum of space and began firing on the unidentified enemy combatants. The Khyron-class Star Destroyer brought the full weight of its starboard batteries to bear on the closest vessels and simultaneously launched its starfighter contingent. “Never again,” Montresor hissed between clenched teeth as the memories of the destroyed Predominant flooded his mind. “Bridge, I want a full scan on those ships and I want intercepts, not jamming of their communication. Tell me who they are, who they are talking to, and what they are doing here.”

The bridge of Transcendent moved with fluidity as they conducted the business of war. The crew were prepared and operating at the peak of efficiency. “Lord Montresor, the Star Destroyer located closest to our position has distinct markings on her hull.” “Display and magnify,” Montresor commanded. An unmistakable image filled Transcendent’s viewport. Montresor turned in his chair and looked at his Proconsul, Dacien Victae. Both men recognized the ships they were engaging. “All batteries cease fire, Dacien ordered. "Open up all channels and hail the enemy Star Destroyers.”

To be continued….