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Xa Fel
One Week after the Palestar Attack
“You can do better than that,” came the scathing rebuke. The Apprentices, in either fear or resolve, redoubled their efforts. The massive stone began to rise from the ground, held aloft by the combined mental efforts of the Sith learners. It continued to rise, higher and higher until it once again sat in its place on the remains of the Sith Temple on Xa Fel. The exhausted students collapsed to the ground, proud of their work. Skygge herself smiled at their progress. For once, the Sith were working together, putting aside their petty rivalries in order to serve the good of the Order. “Well done,” she said before she turned and went to oversee another group.
The work on the Temple was progressing well. Skygge had three purposes in making this the Apprentices’ first task. First, the Temple was their home, and it needed to be rebuilt. Skygge had spent a week assessing the damage, and what she had seen had shocked her. Records that were irreplaceable had been destroyed in the library. Vance’s quarters still preserved a number of texts, but the loss was catastrophic. In her wanderings, though, Skygge had also found a second library in the tunnels beneath the Temple, and the works found there mitigated the loss somewhat. The structural damage was bad as well, but with the number of Sith that survived (a surprising number), it was fixable.
Second, Skygge was providing an opportunity for the Apprentices to see the value of working with others on an even footing. With their strength combined, she knew and they learned, much more could be accomplished. The rebuilding of the Temple would show the Apprentices that internal fighting and bickering, and the ‘Ultimate Dark Side’ that Lupercus and Ithron taught, were at best useless and at worst the single agent that would destroy the Sith Order.
Finally, Skygge was learning which of the Apprentices were strongest and which were the most loyal to her. There was a mission that needed to be done, one at which most Sith would balk even at the hearing of it. She needed Apprentices who would do her bidding, trusting fully in her judgment. She had already picked a few, but she needed more. And then she would have to make them leaders.
That was what this rebuilding exercise was about. Those she had already picked were in charge of groups, with strict orders not to punish or criticize failure so long as the best effort was put forth. It was a significant change from the standard philosophy of the Sith, but so far the Apprentices were adapting well, using their efforts to rebuild the Temple. Of course, it helped that their work would provide them with a place to rest and regroup after Palestar's devestating attack.
Of course, all this was in all likelihood temporary, if everything worked according to plan. Soon they would be leaving Xa Fel for a new home, a home that had been lost to galactic history and charts for centuries if not millennia. Skygge had been there once, following the tracks of Asajj Ventress, who had been following the trail of Visas Marr, who in turn had followed the path of Revan. It had been a long journey, but they now had some places they could go where they would not be found, and from which they could base their operations.
And operations they had. Skygge smiled as her plans once again ran through her mind. Who could have guessed two years previous that she, a former Jedi, would at such a young age be in operative control of what remained of the Sith Order? And who would have guessed when she left the Jedi that circumstances would put her in the position she was in now? It was mind-boggling, but, as an old Imperial officer once said, you never say no to free stuff. Or a free position of power. All it had cost her was the life of an arrogant, uptight, power-hungry Sith Apprentice. Not too bad.
Another stone fell into place atop the Temple. Skygge, still deep in thought, knew that even the rebuilding of the Temple would not return to the Sith what had been lost. The power of this Temple had been in its library and its residents. With Vance and Necros gone, the strength of the Force in this place had significantly diminished. There were other places, though, places where the training of these Apprentices could go on in relative peace and security.
Another stone in place. Another day and the Temple would be completed. It was a feat unparalleled in Sith history, for a ruined Temple to be raised in one week without the help of a Master. Skygge was proud of her Apprentices…her Apprentices. Another interesting thought. She was a recently made Knight, and now she was in charge of a bunch of young apprentices who all looked to her for guidance. She was their teacher, and she had no Masters or even other Knights to help her. It was a challenge, certainly, for she knew only a little of what she must teach. But these Apprentices would become Knights, and she would use her self-discipline to train herself to become a Sith Master.
Of course, that was beyond the scope of the here and now, and if there was one thing she knew it was that the present was always more important than the distant future, especially when there were urgent needs for the present. As she watched, she chose her last candidates. They were leaders, they were strong, and they were loyal.
Another stone fell into place, and Skygge called for a rest. The Apprentices, weary and worn, gladly collapsed onto the ground, some immediately going into trances to recover their strength. Skygge’s picks would not get that option. These six individuals, per orders, followed Skygge into the depths of the Temple.
Silence prevailed as they walked through the corridors, a drastic change from the screams of death so prevalent but a week earlier. None of the Sith spoke, preferring to wait and watch. Their footsteps echoed, and a Dark presence ran before them, chasing away any creature who wished to keep its life. Eventually, the corridor ended, and the six Apprentices found themselves in a room of stone, nearly fifty feet below the surface of Xa Fel.
Here, Skygge turned to them. “You six have proven the most adept of the students here. In this room you will face a challenge, a beast that you cannot defeat alone. If you prove that you can work together here, and if none of you are killed by lightsaber or beast, you shall be my personal Apprentices, traveling with me and being given the opportunity to strike back at those who attacked us. Are you prepared?”
The Apprentices nodded. Skygge motioned them forward and disappeared back down the corridor. The six stared at each other, then instinctively paired up, back to back. Lightsabers extended, they waited for whatever might come.
Suddenly, one of the walls began to rise. A roar was heard from beyond the rising panel, and the Apprentices all turned to face it, whatever it was. A second roar was heard, and a third. All dropped into battle position, ready for anything, or so they thought.
How they had come to Xa Fel, the Apprentices had no idea, but out from the opening sprang three Aak Dogs, native to Haruun Kal and some of the most dangerous creatures alive, especially wild. And these were certainly wild. Their armored hides, reptilian eyes, and triangular teeth all indicated two things – hunger and ferocity. A deadly combination.
The first of the deadly beasts leapt forward, charging the lead Apprentice. As it jumped, he ducked and rolled, letting the beast fly over him, its deadly feet missing his head by centimeters. As it landed it whirled, charging again. The other two rushed forward as well, and battle was joined.
The first apprentice had turned to face the Alpha dog, lightsaber poised with the point towards the beast. As it came on, the Apprentice noticed one flaw in the powerful creature’s armor; its mouth was open. Standing his ground, the Apprentice waited until the last possible moment and then, with the guidance of the Force, shoved his saber down its throat.
The dog hit him, but not with its teeth. The Apprentice flew backwards between the other two charging animals. Roaring in pain, the akk dog thrashed about for a few seconds before the locked saber finally cut enough inside the beast for it to collapse dead.
The other five apprentices joined together, as they had for the past few days raising stones, and collectively raised a defensive barrier several feet in front of them. Rather than receiving a meal, therefore, the two remaining dogs slammed headfirst into an unseen wall, stunning them both momentarily. Realizing that an easier meal could be found, the two turned to the dazed Apprentice behind them. Growling, they approached, ready to feed.
That was when the remaining Apprentices moved. They rushed forward, using the Force to jump over the dogs and land between them and their downed leader. The dogs paused, puzzled at the sight of five beams of red between them and their prey, but only for a moment. A moment later, the two beasts lowered their bodies, preparing to spring.
Once again combining their powers, the Sith reached out through the Force and gathered energy into two identical whirlwinds focused on the point where the two dogs were. The akks felt themselves lifted into the air, spinning with the current. After a short time, the Apprentices released the energy, sending the dogs flying in opposite directions into the walls.
But the fight wasn’t over yet. The two creatures scrambled to their feet, more determined than ever to eat and to repay these bipedal creatures for their injuries. They charged forward again, but this time the Apprentices were taking no chances. One akk felt its legs fly out from under it, two of them snapped by the mental exertions of the Apprentices. The other felt warm, suddenly, slowing as it did. It grew warmer and warmer, and soon it was thrashing about on the ground as three of the Sith combined their efforts to boil its blood. Finally, its eye sockets popped out, and blood began to ooze from its eyes, nose, mouth, and other openings.
The remaining dog was short-lived. With only two legs, it was no match for the Apprentices. It snapped, but the Apprentices simply stayed out of range and began systematically breaking bones. The cracks could be heard for nearly five minutes as they slowly tortured the creature to death. Finally, in a display of some mercy, one of them plunged her lightsaber down its throat, slicing upward into the brain and ending its life.
Skygge stepped out of the corridor then, her eyes shining with pleasure. “Excellent work, Apprentices. You have earned the right to fight with me. Now I am going to tell you what I plan to do, and it may sound strange. In fact, it may sound like a betrayal of the Sith. But it is not. It is the only way to defeat the chaos that will descend upon this galaxy. Here is what I propose…”
Xa Fel
One Week after the Palestar Attack
“You can do better than that,” came the scathing rebuke. The Apprentices, in either fear or resolve, redoubled their efforts. The massive stone began to rise from the ground, held aloft by the combined mental efforts of the Sith learners. It continued to rise, higher and higher until it once again sat in its place on the remains of the Sith Temple on Xa Fel. The exhausted students collapsed to the ground, proud of their work. Skygge herself smiled at their progress. For once, the Sith were working together, putting aside their petty rivalries in order to serve the good of the Order. “Well done,” she said before she turned and went to oversee another group.
The work on the Temple was progressing well. Skygge had three purposes in making this the Apprentices’ first task. First, the Temple was their home, and it needed to be rebuilt. Skygge had spent a week assessing the damage, and what she had seen had shocked her. Records that were irreplaceable had been destroyed in the library. Vance’s quarters still preserved a number of texts, but the loss was catastrophic. In her wanderings, though, Skygge had also found a second library in the tunnels beneath the Temple, and the works found there mitigated the loss somewhat. The structural damage was bad as well, but with the number of Sith that survived (a surprising number), it was fixable.
Second, Skygge was providing an opportunity for the Apprentices to see the value of working with others on an even footing. With their strength combined, she knew and they learned, much more could be accomplished. The rebuilding of the Temple would show the Apprentices that internal fighting and bickering, and the ‘Ultimate Dark Side’ that Lupercus and Ithron taught, were at best useless and at worst the single agent that would destroy the Sith Order.
Finally, Skygge was learning which of the Apprentices were strongest and which were the most loyal to her. There was a mission that needed to be done, one at which most Sith would balk even at the hearing of it. She needed Apprentices who would do her bidding, trusting fully in her judgment. She had already picked a few, but she needed more. And then she would have to make them leaders.
That was what this rebuilding exercise was about. Those she had already picked were in charge of groups, with strict orders not to punish or criticize failure so long as the best effort was put forth. It was a significant change from the standard philosophy of the Sith, but so far the Apprentices were adapting well, using their efforts to rebuild the Temple. Of course, it helped that their work would provide them with a place to rest and regroup after Palestar's devestating attack.
Of course, all this was in all likelihood temporary, if everything worked according to plan. Soon they would be leaving Xa Fel for a new home, a home that had been lost to galactic history and charts for centuries if not millennia. Skygge had been there once, following the tracks of Asajj Ventress, who had been following the trail of Visas Marr, who in turn had followed the path of Revan. It had been a long journey, but they now had some places they could go where they would not be found, and from which they could base their operations.
And operations they had. Skygge smiled as her plans once again ran through her mind. Who could have guessed two years previous that she, a former Jedi, would at such a young age be in operative control of what remained of the Sith Order? And who would have guessed when she left the Jedi that circumstances would put her in the position she was in now? It was mind-boggling, but, as an old Imperial officer once said, you never say no to free stuff. Or a free position of power. All it had cost her was the life of an arrogant, uptight, power-hungry Sith Apprentice. Not too bad.
Another stone fell into place atop the Temple. Skygge, still deep in thought, knew that even the rebuilding of the Temple would not return to the Sith what had been lost. The power of this Temple had been in its library and its residents. With Vance and Necros gone, the strength of the Force in this place had significantly diminished. There were other places, though, places where the training of these Apprentices could go on in relative peace and security.
Another stone in place. Another day and the Temple would be completed. It was a feat unparalleled in Sith history, for a ruined Temple to be raised in one week without the help of a Master. Skygge was proud of her Apprentices…her Apprentices. Another interesting thought. She was a recently made Knight, and now she was in charge of a bunch of young apprentices who all looked to her for guidance. She was their teacher, and she had no Masters or even other Knights to help her. It was a challenge, certainly, for she knew only a little of what she must teach. But these Apprentices would become Knights, and she would use her self-discipline to train herself to become a Sith Master.
Of course, that was beyond the scope of the here and now, and if there was one thing she knew it was that the present was always more important than the distant future, especially when there were urgent needs for the present. As she watched, she chose her last candidates. They were leaders, they were strong, and they were loyal.
Another stone fell into place, and Skygge called for a rest. The Apprentices, weary and worn, gladly collapsed onto the ground, some immediately going into trances to recover their strength. Skygge’s picks would not get that option. These six individuals, per orders, followed Skygge into the depths of the Temple.
Silence prevailed as they walked through the corridors, a drastic change from the screams of death so prevalent but a week earlier. None of the Sith spoke, preferring to wait and watch. Their footsteps echoed, and a Dark presence ran before them, chasing away any creature who wished to keep its life. Eventually, the corridor ended, and the six Apprentices found themselves in a room of stone, nearly fifty feet below the surface of Xa Fel.
Here, Skygge turned to them. “You six have proven the most adept of the students here. In this room you will face a challenge, a beast that you cannot defeat alone. If you prove that you can work together here, and if none of you are killed by lightsaber or beast, you shall be my personal Apprentices, traveling with me and being given the opportunity to strike back at those who attacked us. Are you prepared?”
The Apprentices nodded. Skygge motioned them forward and disappeared back down the corridor. The six stared at each other, then instinctively paired up, back to back. Lightsabers extended, they waited for whatever might come.
Suddenly, one of the walls began to rise. A roar was heard from beyond the rising panel, and the Apprentices all turned to face it, whatever it was. A second roar was heard, and a third. All dropped into battle position, ready for anything, or so they thought.
How they had come to Xa Fel, the Apprentices had no idea, but out from the opening sprang three Aak Dogs, native to Haruun Kal and some of the most dangerous creatures alive, especially wild. And these were certainly wild. Their armored hides, reptilian eyes, and triangular teeth all indicated two things – hunger and ferocity. A deadly combination.
The first of the deadly beasts leapt forward, charging the lead Apprentice. As it jumped, he ducked and rolled, letting the beast fly over him, its deadly feet missing his head by centimeters. As it landed it whirled, charging again. The other two rushed forward as well, and battle was joined.
The first apprentice had turned to face the Alpha dog, lightsaber poised with the point towards the beast. As it came on, the Apprentice noticed one flaw in the powerful creature’s armor; its mouth was open. Standing his ground, the Apprentice waited until the last possible moment and then, with the guidance of the Force, shoved his saber down its throat.
The dog hit him, but not with its teeth. The Apprentice flew backwards between the other two charging animals. Roaring in pain, the akk dog thrashed about for a few seconds before the locked saber finally cut enough inside the beast for it to collapse dead.
The other five apprentices joined together, as they had for the past few days raising stones, and collectively raised a defensive barrier several feet in front of them. Rather than receiving a meal, therefore, the two remaining dogs slammed headfirst into an unseen wall, stunning them both momentarily. Realizing that an easier meal could be found, the two turned to the dazed Apprentice behind them. Growling, they approached, ready to feed.
That was when the remaining Apprentices moved. They rushed forward, using the Force to jump over the dogs and land between them and their downed leader. The dogs paused, puzzled at the sight of five beams of red between them and their prey, but only for a moment. A moment later, the two beasts lowered their bodies, preparing to spring.
Once again combining their powers, the Sith reached out through the Force and gathered energy into two identical whirlwinds focused on the point where the two dogs were. The akks felt themselves lifted into the air, spinning with the current. After a short time, the Apprentices released the energy, sending the dogs flying in opposite directions into the walls.
But the fight wasn’t over yet. The two creatures scrambled to their feet, more determined than ever to eat and to repay these bipedal creatures for their injuries. They charged forward again, but this time the Apprentices were taking no chances. One akk felt its legs fly out from under it, two of them snapped by the mental exertions of the Apprentices. The other felt warm, suddenly, slowing as it did. It grew warmer and warmer, and soon it was thrashing about on the ground as three of the Sith combined their efforts to boil its blood. Finally, its eye sockets popped out, and blood began to ooze from its eyes, nose, mouth, and other openings.
The remaining dog was short-lived. With only two legs, it was no match for the Apprentices. It snapped, but the Apprentices simply stayed out of range and began systematically breaking bones. The cracks could be heard for nearly five minutes as they slowly tortured the creature to death. Finally, in a display of some mercy, one of them plunged her lightsaber down its throat, slicing upward into the brain and ending its life.
Skygge stepped out of the corridor then, her eyes shining with pleasure. “Excellent work, Apprentices. You have earned the right to fight with me. Now I am going to tell you what I plan to do, and it may sound strange. In fact, it may sound like a betrayal of the Sith. But it is not. It is the only way to defeat the chaos that will descend upon this galaxy. Here is what I propose…”
