<B>Tion Star Destroyer <I>Necros</I>.</b>

With the minor cities of population now brought under control, it was only a matter of time before the last pockets of resistance were subdued and the planet added to the growing list of those that had been brought under the sway of the Black Dragon Empire.

Aboard the Tion Star Destroyer, <I>Necros</I>, it was a time of celebration. In keeping with tradition of the Imperium, there were no flaring banners, no blaring bands. Like everything else in their society, salutation was a matter of solemnity.

The High Priest stood tall as the new cloak of alliance was draped across his shoulders and black ceremonial armor was fitted to his existing garments. Burnished and glowing, it confirmed the pact between the Sorcerors of Tund and the Black Dragon Empire. Arrayed around him were the representatives to Tund, their thoughts kept under control as strict as their posture. Standing nearby was a singular female figure. To look at her, one might have thought it was Stephanie Sapphire who was receiving the honors and not the High Priest himself. It was not the case.

Admiral Vaako beamed with satisfaction as he spoke to the newly anointed member of the Black Dragon Empire. "You may have lost four of your warriors, but you have gained the protection and alliance of our Imperium. In the future, we hope to acknowledge your many accomplishments in the service of the Faith, your steady ethic, and above all, your unflinching loyalty." He smiled, and for once, it seemed to be an honest smile.

Aware of all the eyes that were on him, the High Priest stiffened. "Obedience without question. That is our way and will be our way as we serve the Imperium."

Admiral Vaako nodded approvingly. "Well done, High Priest. This is a day of days, to be remembered by all who have witnessed it."

One by one, members of the council and their sorcerors paid their respects. Only Sapphire seemed unimpressed by the entire show.

Sensing her disenchantment, the Tund Sorceror, Zuinlan Vos, strove to buoy her spirits.

"Try to look more pleased, Stephanie," he admonished. "This is a day for our order. What was a dying circle now has been brought back to life. Soon, we will be an order as large as the Jedi or the Sith. They have promised to allow our order to expand into their territories and to recruit new members to join us." He put a hand on her arm. "And have you forgotten that you have been forgiven for your sins-- and this is how you pay us back?" Now he leaned closer and his voice fell to a whisper. "Mind you, the High Priest can always end your life with a mere word if you are disloyal to us now... in this crucial hour."

Sapphire only half heard him. Perfectionist to a fault, rather than enjoying this moment for her order and its future, she was still obsessing over what the Imperium had done to her rule. Her armies and her people. Her Centrality. Her order. One by one, they were taking everything away that she held valuable.

She spoke aloud. "I should have attacked than ask to negotiate when I brought the Oswaft to Embaril. Now matters are worse. They have now gained your loyalty, but I will never bow down to them."

Zuinlan Vos sighed wearily as his peers, aides of the ex-Scrivinir, and the Imperium's officers turn to observe her outburst. No matter how hard he tried to bolster this woman, it seemed she would be forever reconsidering her decision to ally with this new Imperium.

She struggled in her frustrations. "I will never bow down to this new empire. Never!"

"Treasonous talk, Sapphire. Don't make me carry out the High Priest's sentence," Zuinlan threatened.

"Not treasonous for me," the ex-Scrivinir replied. "I cannot speak treason against a society to which I do not belong."

The High Priest eyed her. "This is all very interesting," he finally told the former ruler of the Centrality. "It is also a waste of time. We have sworn our honor and oath to our new allies and we intend to keep it. It is our way and our order." His voice darkened slightly. "If you do not accept our ways, then I see no choice but to carry out your sentence for leaving our order. I have forgiven you once, but if you resist, Zuinlan Vos will demonstrate his loyalty."

Her words came faster now; clipped and demanding. "What of the loyalty of the Centrality?! What of their people? You will hand them over to these <I>offworlders</I>?!"

The High Priest did not hesitate. "Silence!" He eyed the Tund Sorceror beside her. "Zuinlan! Carry out her sentence! She has not humbled herself after all. Her life outside our circle has corrupted her mind. Now, you will silence it. Show us your loyalty to our order and to our new allies."

With a sharp gesture, Zuinlan took the lightsaber from his belt as his peers watched, and ignited it. After admiring the crimson glow of its blade, he promptly placed it across the width of Sapphire's neck.

"Fool," the High Priest hissed. "Do you think your words will sway our decision or take back our oath?" The energy blade edged closer to her neck as the Sorceror glanced at his master. "Now you will pay your betrayal to us with your life."

Though attentive, it was clear that the ex-Scrivinir was not afraid. She proceeded to say as much. "I was prepared to die when my homeworld fell. At least my armies will resist until the last fallen soldier. Tier Levid has already escaped and will lead the resistance in my place after my death."

When the High Priest had heard it all, he had heard enough. "So be it..." He nodded to Zuinlan Vos.

The Sorceror of Tund edged back the energy blade of the lightsaber and swung it laterally, cutting off the Scrivinir's head with a careful swipe. He extinguished his lightsaber, hung it on his belt, then dropped to one knee and bowed his head to the High Priest and the cybernetic being beside him, named General Grevious.

"It is done, Master," he proclaimed. "Justice has been served. The sentence for leaving our order is death. So it is-- so shall it always be."

The High Priest regarded his former apprentice. "I am pleased with the way you carried out our words without question."

Vos nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

"Now I have another task for you."

"Whatever my master and our order wishes, shall be done."

"You will go with our new allies and become the representative of our order. You will aide their armies to expand their cause and at the same time, search out and eliminate our traitor's armies. Sapphire's stain will be cleansed from the Centrality and in place will be our ruling order of Tund Sorcerors. Search out this Tier Levid. Make sure he does not expand his influence any further. If he has-- kill him, and everyone he has spoken to."

"Yes, High Priest," Zuinlan Vos straightened and turned to General Grevious. The cyborg nodded his metallic head and a mechanical hand slipped away from his pale cloak, gesturing toward a doorway from the bridge of the <I>Necros</I>.

"A ship has been prepared for you as well as gathered intelligence from our spies in the Centrality. Tier Levid has been spotted on Rafa IV. Serve us well and your order will be rewarded richly."

Zuinlan Vos nodded once again and headed for the door. His step was firm, his manner confident. Failure was not an option to the Tund Sorceror. It was not even a concept...

<B>Rafa IV</b>

Dust. The small world was thick with it, in ankle-deep drifts that gathered in corners, thick sediments that fouled droids and other machines, and grit that irritated the eyes. The Tund Sorceror longed to indulge in a bath after the mission was completed.

It even got in the way of his concentration. As he Force-leapt into the prison facility once owned by Dutte Mer, which was the objective of his mission, his foot slipped and he stubbed his toe on the top of the perimeter wall. The injury was small but annoying. He landed in a wince and a silent curse.

Fortunately, his stumble went unobserved. He stood on the edge of a flat, well-lit area that surrounded the facility's central buildings. Dutte Mer's prison compound took its security seriously; he wondered who was housed in this complex. Eight Rafa guards in four observation towers watched the open expanse, one tower at each of the perimeter wall's corners. Vos acknowledged the sense of this: Sometimes the simplest security technique were the best. Advanced technology might have been able to bypass every electronic eye and ear scanning the facility, but getting across that open area without being seen by eight guards was always going to be difficult. Difficult, that is, for someone without the Force.

Remaining crouched, Zuinlan quickly checked his things to make sure everything was in place. Then, keeping low, he scurried from cover to make his way across the compound.

A guard from the nearest tower spotted him immediately. Before his finger could push the button to sound the alarm, the Sorceror dipped into his surface thoughts and changed the notion of <I>intruder</I> to a more reassuring <I>just another womprat</I>. Rafa IV had a rampant population of the rodent-like pests, so it wasn't difficult to impress the thought upon the guard's mind.

The guard moved his finger away from the alarm button as quickly as he had reached for it, and he turned away with a snort. A second guard, one tower along, also noticed him; Zuinlan performed the same mind trick on him. By the time he reached the inner prison buildings, six of the eight guards had caught direct sight of him. But after the initial guard had gotten on his comlink to the others to complain about the infestation, the remaining guards were already expecting to see what he wanted them to, making it even easier for him to slip by.

The moment he left the open expanse behind him, he changed his gait to a relaxed, confident stroll, slightly favoring his stubbed toe. He headed for the building the Tion DragonClaw <I>Necromonger</I> had targeted from orbit.

His mission was simple. He was hunting a fugitive-- or, more specifically, Tier Levid, the Centrality Admiral who escaped off planet when news of the death of the Scrivinir was revealed. He had gathered a number of supporters and ships, and quickly left orbit to recruit and amass a resistance against the Black Dragon Empire. The Tund Sorceror was recruited to hunt down and capture him, as he was now deemed an enemy of the state. The last thing the BDE needed from him was yet another rebellion. The Imperium couldn't allow a high official like Levid to spread his influence across the galaxy, unchecked. The BDS(Black Dragon Spynet) agent who operated on Rafa IV had eased the name "Levid" from a few captured Scrivinir guards, which led him here to the prison facility which was rumoured to be housing his base of operations.

The <I>Necromonger</i> had examined signal traffic entering and leaving the main prison compound and located plans including its access points. The outer door was two meters thick and was secured with durasteel bolts thicker than Zuinlan's arm. It wasn't going to give away for either technology or the Force. But that was all right. He had staked out the facility on his arrival on Rafa IV, and tailed a Rafa prison security guard as he changed shift. A gentle mental nudge was all it took to make him drop his security pass so he could collect it. As he approached the door, he waved it at a scanner. When there was no immediate response, Zuinlan took a step closer and tried again. This time a series of heavy thuds sounded from within the door's locking mechanism. Then, ponderously, as though continents themselves were moving, the door rotated to one side.

Vos stepped through with his thumb gently covering the activation stud of his lightsaber, knowing that from this point on, his mission would become considerably more dangerous. The <I>Necromonger</i> had gained access to the basic floorplan of the prison facility from the sliced info by the Black Dragon Spynet, but that was about it. He had no idea how many people were inprisoned there, or how many guards patrolled the building, or whether the corridors were booby-trapped. For all he knew, an entire squadron of Centrality rebels could be waiting around the next corner.

A quick check through the Force reassured him that this wasn't the case. The building was occupied, but not by an army of any description. There were perhaps two dozen people, human and alien, scattered throughout the building. He wondered what had happened to the prisoners who were here before. Were they released? Executed? Transferred? It made him feel unsure of this mission, now that this unknown factor had presented itself.

Of the minds he could sense around him, one stood out-- one that was subtly different from the others. He had felt such a mind before, and sensing it again now brought him both satisfaction and apprehension. It had the same feeling of confidence and arrogance that a certain Scrivinir had possessed before.

The huge door shut behind him with a resounding <I>clang</i>. He cursed under his breath, expecting the noise to attract attention to his presence. But after waiting silently in anticipation of an alarm, none sounded.

<I>Too easy,</i> he thought, moving slowly on his way along high-ceilinged corridors suffused with a warm and yellow light. He sensed something ahead of him, but the closer he came to it, the more his gut instinct told him that he was expected.

When he came to the entrance to the room where a <I>being</i> awaited him, he activated his lightsaber. Holding the crimson energy blade ready before him, he waved the guard's security pass over the scanner. The door slid smoothly open...

"I can assure you," said a voice immediately, his accent thick and cut with a cultured edge, "your weapon won't be necessary"

Zuinlan Vos stared as a man in his thirties, dressed in a simple white, military uniform, came into view. The massive room behind him contained two Rafa Corporation Self-Regulating Rock Grinders-- massive, slab-like machines whose sole purpose was to take large quantities of raw life-crystals and turn them into a fine powder. Each unit was shaped like a brick, only much, much larger. Stretching into the distance on either side of the man, with no moving parts visible through their semitransparent walls, these "bricks" emitted a deep, almost subsonic hum.

The Tund Sorceror took a cautious step into the room. He sensed no one else there other than the person standing before him, but his apprehension didn't ebb. "Perhaps, but I'm hanging onto it all the same."

The man laughed. "We're all civilized people here."

"You'll understand if I don't take your word on that, Admiral Tier Levid," Zuinlan said, moving a couple of steps closer. He kept his eye on him the whole time.

"Such hostility," he said, casually moving deeper into the room, his back turned toward him as both an invitation to follow him and a gesture of trust. "Let me see if I can work out why you're here. I have no memory of doing business with you, so you can't be a disgruntled client. Your unease suggests that you're not a <I>prospective</i> client, either. Are you a competitor then? A commercial spy? Jedi Knights don't usually get involved in business matters; they're above such things, I hear." He faced him again, holding out his hands in supplication, an exaggerated look of puzzlement on his face. "I'm afraid, though, I must conclude that you are neither of these, but an agent of our friends, the Black Dragon Empire."

"My name is Zuinlan Vos," he began, "and I am no Jedi, but a Sorceror of Tund."

"Vos?" The expression on the man's face became one of curiousity. "Any relation to Quinlan Vos, the Jedi Knight lost from the Clone Wars?"

"He was my grandfather."

"Ah!" The man nodded keenly. "It's a small galaxy."

"I've just come from Embaril," he said, not allowing himself to be sidetracked.

"And how are our friends, the Black Dragon Empire?"

"I believe you know how they are doing. You seem to have left Embaril quite abruptly when Sapphire betrayed our order."

His eyes narrowed. "I think you know who has betrayed who."

"I'm here because of what you are attempting to do. Do you realize that if you begin this rebellion, you put the entire population of an entire system at risk?"

"I am doing what is best for the Centrality. I am attempting to <I>save</I> lives, not end them."

"If that's true, then why do you hide out here in an abandoned prison facility on Rafa IV? That's not the action of someone who's attempting to save the galaxy."

"Perhaps I'm afraid the Black Dragon Empire will try to claim what I am developing here." His smile returned. "No, the reason we are here is to avoid confrontation with people like yourself-- those who are bent on judging us without having heard our side of the story."

"I'd say that is a matter of opinion," Vos replied.

"If you would only listen," the man returned defensively. "Perhaps if I can explain how this operation came to be and what I am developing, that might help. As you know, I am Tier Levid, and if it wasn't for this research, I wouldn't be here now. Although the Centrality's experimentation with life-crystals stalled when the Black Dragon Empire invaded, the research didn't stop here. Sapphire approved of my proposal to see if these crystals could be used and synthesized to extend the life of terminally ill human beings, and we have had some success. One of our researchers actually succeeded in extending the life of one of our test subjects, until he unfortunately, died from complications from his sickness."

"You're not telling me anything new," Zuinlan said. "The Black Dragon Empire already has this kind of research developed and applied. They have told me about this. I have seen it with my own eyes."

Levid nodded, as though pleased with his research. "But you realize to acquire it, you must submit under their rule. I am offering it to every being in the galaxy, once it is safe for application."

"So you're planning to sell this? And profit from it? For what? To buy arms and build your armies to plunge us into war?"

"The citizens of the Centrality deserve a chance at a decent life. They have every right to live, as does every sapient being. The fact that we have to fight for it should make no difference whatsoever."

Zuinlan stepped further into the room, his saber still held at the ready. "I can assure you, I will prevent you from starting another war. The Imperium can have the Centrality for all I care, all that matters to me is our order. And the Imperium has promised us expansion of it. If you are to stop us, then I have no choice but to stop you."

Tier's smile broadened. "You don't honestly expect me to stop what I am doing, do you?"

"If you insist to continue your research, why won't you just ally with us? Your research will serve us well."

"And find myself in front of a firing squad?" He shook his head. "I don't think so."

Tier Levid feinted for the door, and Vos put himself smoothly in his path. "Your reactions are good," he nodded, raising his hands innocently. "The Jedi would approve. How many years did it take you to master the lightsaber? To attune to the Force?"

"That's none of your business."

"Ah, but this is <I>precisely</I> my business. People should make the most of what they have-- or what they <I>can</i> have. You, a Soceror of Tund, must surely agree with that. Can't you see the opportunity standing right here before you?"

The Admiral's smile was still in place, but his eyes were hard. The reflections of Zuinlan's crimson energy blade in them seemed to float like tiny, frozen lightning bolts.

"Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting-- ?"

"Why not? After all, there are no negative side effects with our latest developments. The essence of the life-crystals will make you stronger, more alert, energetic-- <I>anything</I> you want. Applying the life-crystal process will still enable you to retain full connection to the Force. You, Zuinlan Vos, can be at the vanguard of a brave new regime of Tund Sorcerors! You will then no longer need the services of the Black Dragon Empire."

Zuinlan tightened his grip on the lightsaber. "I don't think so, Admiral."

"Don't dismiss my offer out of hand. Think of the war against the Imperium-- a war you are convinced we would lose. Think of all the people who have died or been injured since the invasion began. You can turn the tide. Think of yourself. I notice you're favoring one leg slightly. Are you injured? If you were to succumb to the life-crystal treatment, that kind of thing need never happen again. Think about that."

Tier Levid moved one step closer, and this time he didn't stop him. "<I>Think</i> about it, Zuinlan, before you say no again so readily."

<I>Would it really be so bad?</i>

"The social implications--"

"Are enormous," Levid cut in enthusiastically. "I know. One one hand, the galaxy isn't ready for Rafa's life-crystals. But consider: We can give people longer life, increased physical resilience and strength, and freedom from all the small irks sickness and injuries gives us. Who wouldn't want to do business with us? That this service is currently only available to the rich-- or, as in your case, under the rule of the Black Dragon Empire-- is no fault of our own, since the process is extremely expensive. But that won't stop trillions of people from demanding it. No one wants to die so soon, not if they can help it. Let the word get out that there's an alternative to bacta and the ensuing riots would make the BDE invasion look inconsequential by comparison."

Zuinlan's stare drifted away from Tier Levid as he thought about a galaxy free from disease and injury. If it meant a possible end to the war, didn't that justify his involvement to the fullest?

But afterward, when the war was won-- what then, when the armies that had laid waste to their enemies returned from victory? Who would keep the Centrality safe if the Imperial Galactic Empire decide to hear word of this and invade? Their resources would have been long exhausted after their long fight with the BDE. Who would stop them from destroying everything they had once stood for and taking this new technology for themselves?

He thought of an invincible Imperial Empire, a near-immortal Emperor, and shuddered.

"No," he said. "And this time I <I>have</i> thought about it. History has seen too often what happens when people have nothing to keep them in check. That you're giving this technology to anyone outside of the Centrality gives me less reassurance that your motives are pure."

Admiral Levid sighed. "I can see that it's going to take more than words to convince you."

Zuinlan tensed, raising his crimson energy blade. "Maybe I'm not ready to be <I>convinced</I>."

Tier sobered. "Life is all we have, Vos. Do you think I'm about to let you take it away from me? I plan to live many, many years or--"

"Or die trying," Zuinlan finished for him. "Yes, very droll. My issue with you is not your life or how it is maintained, but what you <I>do</I> with it. More specifically, how your outside clients will use the second chance you give them. If you can't be made to see that you have a responsibility to ensure that no one dangerous gets their hands on this technology, then--"

"Spare me the rhetoric," Levid interrupted. He glanced at a chronometer set in the wall to his right. "I have no more interest in it than I do in this conversation. So, if you don't mind, I think I'd like you to leave now."

"I have no intention of leaving here without you, Admiral."

"Really?" At a clap of his hands, two lines of rebel soldiers filed out from behind the two Rafa Rock Grinders. "Word spreads when you are hunted by your enemies. I knew someone from the Black Dragon Empire was looking for me, so naturally I prepared for the worst."

Zuinlan smiled casually as he surveyed the armed rebels. He adopted a defensive stance, bracing himself for attack.

"You'll have to do better than that," Vos said...

"Of course. No soldier could ever hope to be a match for a wielder of the Force." A smile flickered, then vanished again. "But your death was never my intention, Zuinlan Vos. While we've been talking, my shuttle has been warming up and my staff has evacuated into it. We'll take our leave now, while you fight your way past my men."

"Your shuttle will never break orbit. The Black Dragon Empire's fleet are arriving above us as we speak."

"A lame threat at best," Levid said, grinning widely. "I suspect you'll be a little too busy to alert your friends above. You see, not only will you have to dispense with my small army, but you'll have to do it as quickly as possible. In about five minutes this whole prison facility will be going up in a ball of flame hot enough to incinerate anyone within it."

Vos gritted his teeth, wondering if he was bluffing. "You'd destroy your entire facility just to cover your tracks?"

"We can always build another one. That is, in part, why our fees will be high when this is finally perfected." Tier executed a small, facetious bow. "I bid you farewell, Zuinlan Vos. I hoped briefly that you might see reason. You would be perfect for our cause: such potential, such vitality! But I guess it's not to be, this time. Rest assured, though, that if we <I>do</I> meet again, our conversation will end very differently."

Levid hurried away as the Centrality rebels moved in to attack Zuinlan. With his free hand, he slipped a small tracer from his belt and tossed it toward the Admiral's back as he turned, and clasped onto it. The last he saw of him was his back disappearing around the corner of the Rock Grinder-- and then he was parrying furiously, sending energy bolts and body parts flying in all directions. The Force flowed through him like an invigorating fire, responding to every demand he placed upon it-- enhancing his senses, quickening his reflexes, enabling him to anticipate his opponent's moves a split second before they'd begun them. The rebel soldiers seemed to move in slow motion, flailing ineffectually at him, practically begging to be cut down.

The last one fell, skewered by his crimson energy blade, loosing one final shot that missed him by a clear meter. It ricocheted into the distance, discharging harmlessly against the far wall. Zuinlan straightened and surveyed the carnage of dead bodies strewn about the floor, sliced and diced.

He reached out with the Force in search of Tier Levid, but there was no hint of him anywhere within the complex. His shuttle had taken off; he was long gone.

Vos cursed. <I>Five minutes, he'd said</i>. More than three had passed. Cutting his losses, he Force-somersaulted out of the ring of body parts and hurried through the door. The exit from the compound was closed. Opening it with his security pass took almost five seconds, each one an agonized eternity. As the massive portal lumbered aside and he ran through it, a bolt of energy crackled over his shoulder, let loose by one of the rebel perimeter guards. He zigzagged across the open expanse, deflecting anything that came too close with his saber.

At the perimeter wall, he put all his concentration into his leap over the top. Laser fire singed his back as he reached the apex of his jump and began to fall. He rolled to absorb the impact and was up and running before the rebel guards could take another shot. Under cover of night, and with plenty of dark alleys to hide in, he was confident that no one would catch him--

The prison facility of the late Dutte Mer exploded behind him with a sound so loud it momentarily deafened him. Bright yellow light flared at his back, and the shock wave knocked him from his feet. He flew a meter or so through the air, curling himself into a ball so that when he hit the ground, he rolled and sprang back onto his feet, still running. A few meters further, when it was apparent that the worst of it was over, Zuinlan Vos stopped and looked back to the burning buildings.

Nothing had survived. The prison compound was a blazing ruin. All evidence of the research and development of Rafa's life-crystals, and a good portion of its mined cache was gone, along with the was-to-be-blooming enterprise that had operated on Rafa IV.

It made him furious to think that Admiral Tier Levid had gotten away. The memory of his smug smile irked him as he turned and headed for the myriads of DragonClaws landing in the far distance, disgorging their troops and vehicles. But he couldn't afford to linger too long. And, he reminded himself, his mission hadn't been a total failure. The search hadn't come to a dead end. He had a face now and a trace. That was something to work with, at least. The BDE would help to find him with their fleet and their spynets.

<I>I hope you're right, Admiral,</i> the Tund Sorceror thought, relishing the twinge in his big toe that told him he was still alive. <I>I hope we do meet again some day. Because when we do, I'm going to see to it you fall before my hands. Or I'll die trying...</i>

He smiled at the thought. It gave him a grim sort of comfort to think this wasn't over. Snapping his lightsaber back onto his belt, Zuinlan Vos made his way through the dusty and disreputable alleyways of Rafa IV back to where the BDE forces were landing and awaiting him...

<I>Time for that bath now...</i>