Power

[Trenton Vinh]

The Director of ShadowNet stared out of the wall-wide viewport in his office, his eyes glassed. The endless vista of stars was now largely dominated by a black hole, with a planetoid eclipsing the mouth of the singularity.
The planet, Vandor-II, was barren. Rocky, greyish against the black of space.
Craters pockmarked its stormy surface; the planet had been bombarded by small masses in the weeks and months after the destruction of Coruscant Prime.

The immediate pull of gravity had pulled the remaining masses in the system dangerously inwards when the star collapsed.

Now, with Vandor-II so close to being swallowed entirely, a problem had arisen.

Important news had arrived this morning, and Callius Reyan knew he had to act quickly if he was going to achieve his goals before the planet disappeared forever.

Blinking slowly, focus came back to the dual-brained Cerean's eyes, and he swiveled his chair to face his desk, the door, and his data console.
With access to the largest information networks in the Galaxy, both legal and illegal, he had a wealth of information to absorb in a day.
His mornings started with the most important tasks, and as the day progressed, he moved on to keeping up to date with important data and any in-progress assignments worthy of his note.
And there was a lot going on in the Galaxy now, much of it worth his time and attention.
The twin brains he possessed helped his job incredibly well; both brains amassed and stored the knowledge and information streaming to him at all times, and correlated data to put names to faces, events and possible connections others would easily miss.

The news he had received upon waking and beginning his routine had been instantly recognized as what Callius was best at finding: Opportunity.

He had made four calls in response, and ordered one of his two new assistants to begin the necessary preparations for the agents he had activated for this operation.
Both had received their assignments and came in to meet with Callius personally, before departing directly from Penumbra.

After making several more notes and sending several final messages, Callius found his eyes drifting to the hidden cabinet in his desk. After another ten minutes of slowly-progressing work, he caved and pulled open the drawer.
Inside was a silenced bolt-pistol. Top of the line in 'silent personal defense'. What that really meant, was that it had been designed with assassins in mind; the kind that kill up-close and personally, with stealth being the modus operandi.
Beside the pistol was a bottle, turned on its side to fit inside the small space. Drawing it and the accompanying tumbler, he closed the drawer and opened the bottle.
He took a swig straight from it before pouring himself a full glass.
Leaving the bottle open on his desk, he turned back to face Vandor-II.
It was late, and the Vindicator would likely not return until morning. But whatever was happening on Vandor-II, it was certainly something Callius wished he could see.

Vindicator Halo had sent the news of a discovery, one that he claimed could be 'as important as Prime'. He was referring to the Sith that had attacked Penumbra, stolen Apotros, and with it, collapsed a star.

Callius had been skeptical, but he also knew Halo wouldn't say something like that unless he absolutely believed it; and Callius had learned to take his words with weight.

In the past months, Vindicator Halo had been working tirelessly to find clues as to where the Sith would show up next, but he had no progress. It had seemed like the Sith had vanished, and for almost a week, Callius had carried a small hope that they had perished in the black hole they had somehow created.
Looking out at the black hole now, Callius realized the act of destruction had proven, beyond all doubt, that the Force was an incredibly destructive power, and the ability to wield it was one to be cherished, fostered. But as long as Force-Users existed and carried their powers, strife and darkness would often follow.
It was the way of things, and Vindicator Halo had found something that could help that struggle between light and dark. Something that could be a game-changer.
According to Halo, the Force fluctuates as the Galaxy changes, and certain objects from the past can disappear for centuries, before something triggers them to pop back up somewhere.

The collapse of Coruscant Prime by the Dark Side's power had caused many ancient items to appear back on the map, through scrolls and tomes that told of ancient Sith Lords.
One of these scrolls, nearly destroyed entirely by time, had been recovered by Halo through several ShadowNet agents and their timely actions.

Halo had transcribed the contents of the small scroll and sent it to Reyan, knowing he would have directions.
Looking at the boring rock floating in front of the black hole, Callius now viewed the planet in a new light.
It seemed that Vandor-II was more interesting than it appeared.

And now Trenton Vinh had been dispatched to find the tomb of Darth Kheiron on the surface of Vandor-II, before anyone else.

Callius' console beeped once, in a very specific tone that told him all he needed to know.
In his time as a director of an espionage network, he knew that any message can be intercepted, and that any lock can be picked.
This tone was a signal, without any accompanying message, because Callius needed to be sure that no one else would know what the sound meant.

But he knew very well, the tone had been memorized by both his brains months ago. The specific tone had been selected to go off only when Apotros entered the scanner range of Penumbra.

The tone meant that his ship was back in the Coruscant system. It meant the Sith were in-system. And perhaps more importantly, it meant that whatever was on Vandor-II could be more dangerous than Callius had been willing to admit to himself.

[Trenton Vinh]

Eyes blacker than ink opened slowly, and the unseeing pupils of Darth Erebus gazed towards a distant planet as it eclipsed a black hole.
The rocky planet would soon be pulled into the open mouth of the black hole, disappearing from the Galaxy forever.
Vandor-II was running out of time.
But before crushing Vandor-II into nothingness, The Sith had come to claim the prize buried deep within its rocky soil.

The Force showed Erebus many things in his long life, and he was gifted enough to understand the currents that constantly shifted across the Universe. Over many years of study, he had learned to follow these currents as they rush towards the future, and catch a glimpse of possible events before they happen. He was also wise enough to know that every action taken could help bring that future to bear, or work to destroy it.
But he was not going to be still, and would work tirelessly until the day he died to make the future he saw become reality.
Peace is a lie.

His sight granted him wisdom, but it came at a cost.
Destiny is not something promised, it is forged.
And nothing is preordained.
Every moment in time is an opportunity to alter the future, alter events, alter oneself. Taking control of the moment does not come from power of the Force, it comes from power of the individual.
Everyone can influence the world around them, through power of will or persuasion.

And the Dark Lord was quite an influential individual.

When he triggered the singularity that swallowed Coruscant Prime, he opened the Galaxy to the Dark Side's power once more. Like throwing a stone into the center of a pool, the ripples spread widely, and now thousands of Dark Side artifacts scattered across the Galaxy seemed to awaken.

The Dark Lord could feel their pull, calling to him longingly.
Tempting him with their secrets, offering power beyond his greatest dreams.

Erebus was not interested in going on a chase across the Galaxy in search of ancient trinkets and devices, but he sensed more than just a dagger or Holocron was hidden on Vandor-II.
He sensed something far more powerful, and more dangerous.
Even the Dark Lord wasn't entirely sure of what they would find within Darth Kheiron's tomb, but he had his theories, and suspicions.

Darth Noxus, student to the Dark Lord, was piloting Apotros towards the barren, rocky world.
He asked aloud, "What is it on Vandor-II that you require, my Lord?"

The lines around Erebus' eyes tightened noticeably, the black wells of his eyes overflowing onto his flesh. When his mouth opened to reply, it revealed a dark tongue and pointed teeth,
"The ancient Sith Lord Kheiron was buried here a millennium ago by his fanatical followers. Kheiron was known for having a strong influence on others, capable of dominating the mind with little effort...But his greatest power was his ability to project physical manifestations of himself across the cosmos."

The Dark Lord's eyes shut once again, and he seemed to fall into a trance, but he continued,

"While he sat upon his throne on Vandor-II, with the power of the Dark Side at his command, Kheiron could create a lifelike apparition on another planet entirely. This Force...Phantom, would be as real as you or I until he chose to relinquish it, or until it was destroyed."

Noxus looked away from his Master and the ship accelerated slightly, as if the thought of being able to project an image of himself across the stars motivated him.
"These phantoms...could they be used to kill?"

Erebus nodded, and replied, "Kheiron was rumored to be able to project multiple phantoms at once, and with this power he killed several notable Jedi Masters."
Noxus had another question, "Is that why you wish to learn this power? To kill the Jedi?"

Erebus did not answer, instead he focused on the planet for a moment, and Noxus watched him carefully, patiently.

Since destroying Coruscant Prime, the Dark Lord had begun to change. It had happened slowly, but the massive energies that Darth Erebus had channeled were taking a toll on his body.
While still imposing, lean, and strong, the Sith's eyes had sunken, and dark rings pooled beneath, as if the inky black wells were overtaking the flesh, swallowing it away.
Dark lines crept out towards his temples, making his skin appear stained. His tattooed face had been pale white before, now it was a darker grey, like a week-old corpse. The arcane tattoos upon his face seemed to have...grown.
There was a darkness that clung to him, radiated from him. Lights dimmed as he neared, often flickered and died as he passed. His robes, black as night, seemed to swirl weightlessly around him, and his mind now often drifted the same way, as if he was in two places at once. The dark pools of his eyes, seemed to be swelling up to swallow him entirely. Like the Dark Side was consuming him slowly, the way a black hole slowly consumes the universe around it.

But he did not appear weakened by it. His hands remained firm, and did not shake as he snapped to focus and pointed towards a location on the surface of the doomed world below.
"There. The temple is in that region, can you sense the source?" The Dark Lord queried his Apprentice sternly.
Noxus nodded after a short moment, "Yes, my Lord. Taking us in."

Apotros angled steeply, and rocketed towards the surface of Vandor-II.

They entered what was left of the atmosphere, but even it was being dragged away by the insatiable black hole. Winds buffeted the ship, and dark clouds quaking with lightning rocked the sky.
Lightning shot down to the surface, growing more intense as they neared the source of the Dark Power on the planet, the ancient Sith temple.

Noxus guided the ship, following the route the nav system had set. Erebus indicated where to land, in a valley beside a ridge.

Touching down on the surface, Noxus quickly got up from his seat and rushed to open the landing ramp for his Master.
The Dark Lord headed for the ramp without a glance, moving so smoothly it was as he were gliding inches above the deck.

The ramp lowered and filled the ship with dusty, dry air. It was cool, but not cold.
Noxus followed his Master onto the packed earth of Vandor, his eyes turning to look around.

The entire eastern horizon held a terrifying view. The black hole yawned over the planet, creeping closer and overtaking the stars beyond. A black sunrise, the harbinger that promised forever darkness to the doomed planet. Apocalypse was nearing, but the Sith did not appear rushed.

"How long does the planet have?" Noxus asked aloud, raising his voice as the winds blew his robes behind him.

Erebus turned to face the view of the singularity that continued to pull Vandor towards its patiently waiting depths, his eyes matching the void's darkness. The Dark Lord's eyes regarded his work for a moment. For a moment, Noxus wondered if his Master was scrutinizing his accomplishment, or if he could actually tell how long they had before planetfall.
Erebus answered, "Long enough."

His Master often spoke in prophetic and abstract ways, but Noxus was learning to take what he could from it. He knew his Master was powerful and wise, and Noxus believed it when Erebus claimed they would have time.
He hadn't predicted anything else incorrectly yet.

Noxus opened himself to the Force and felt the chill run up his spine. The Dark Side was strong here.
Noxus realized his Master was facing him now, and said, "I feel the power...its incredible!"
Erebus nodded, and replied, "The Nexus I created is amplifying it, and has awakened the ancient power of Lord Kheiron."
Raising his eyebrows in understanding, Noxus nodded. The lightning storms were a cause of more than just the planet's imminent destruction -- they were caused by the intense concentration of Force power.

Noxus was about to speak, but when he looked to Erebus, his Master had his arms spread as if greeting the stars above.
The Dark Lord's eyes were turned to the heavens, and he proclaimed, "We are not alone."

Two seconds later, Noxus heard a sonic boom cracking across the sky as a ship entered atmosphere.
He felt another shiver up his spine, but this one was of awe.

As he looked for the nearing ship, Noxus was beginning to understand why they had come here.
This tomb didn't just necessarily interest just Darth Erebus; it had the attention of someone else, and whoever they were, Erebus didn't want them to retrieve it. It may not be of great use to Erebus himself, but he would be foolish to allow a powerful tool to fall into the hands of an enemy.

"Will we get there first?" Noxus asked, as his teacher followed the ion trail of the ship passing overhead.
Lord Erebus replied simply, "You will."

Noxus raised his eyebrows in confusion, but Erebus did not elaborate. Instead, he pointed towards the ion trail with his finger, and said, "They are going too far North. The tomb itself has more than one entrance, spread throughout the catacombs of his old temple. They are going to take this route."
His finger slid down from the sky to direct his student towards the base of the mountain pass a distance away. Barely visible from this angle, a small crack in the earth radiated with Dark Side energies like a geothermal vent.

Noxus looked at the ship, watching as it circled in to land near the base of the mountain, but on the far side. He said, "I can feel them in the Force. It must be the Jedi."
Erebus didn't answer, he was already walking slightly west, "This is our time, my Apprentice."

Noxus nodded and began jogging forwards. His task gave him focus, and lent energy to his pumping legs.
As he gained speed, he felt his Master's influence touch his mind. The Dark pressure darkened the edges of his vision, and an internal voice spoke to him from deep within in the base of his skull. It whispered malevolently,
"Alert me if there are any...complications."

Noxus nodded in response, and his Master knew he would obey the order. The pressure was released and Noxus let the Dark Side seep in.
The speed of his run would have tired him quickly, but the power of the Dark Side sustained his limbs and lent him superhuman agility. He looked forward to opening himself full on to the Dark Side's power here.
But for now, he had the feeling speed and silence would be his best weapons. He would rather not expose himself to the Jedi, and his would Master definitely not be pleased if he was forced to help Noxus out of a fight he couldn't win.

No, he would use the stealth techniques he had studied to get an idea of the enemy numbers. He knew it would be more than one, most likely less than five. A small team would be best for a retrieval mission like this one.

Noxus was nearing the entrance to the temple now. Large rocks tumbling from the mountain in a recent landslide had unearthed the temple entrance. A stone door, cracked in half centuries ago led down a long hallway into darkness. Noxus rushed inside, and sprinted into the entrance chamber. Here, the temple stretched out throughout the entire mountain. Getting lost could mean dying of starvation, or going mad with Dark Side-enhanced terror.

Ancient pillars held up the stone ceiling, that had once been beautifully adorned with intricate designs. Now it was merely a rough rocky gray. Sand and dust covered much of the floor, which appeared to be made of a stone tile, also now faded.
Chains and torch brackets remained in their place along the walls.

Walking past the first row of pillars, Noxus looked left, then right. The pillars went on for hundreds of rows in both directions. This chamber was huge, a large circle, with rows of pillars growing closer and closer to the center.
Noxus honed in on the location of the Dark Power, but it was somewhere far below him still. He started towards the center of the room, jogging past the pillars, his eyes piercing the gloomy darkness.
His footsteps echoed, and he slowed as he grew closer to the center, realizing his quarry would be arriving shortly.

Up ahead was a central dais, a raised platform before an open clearing. A throne sat atop the platform, no doubt where the Dark Lord Kheiron had sat a millenia ago, and gazed across the Galaxy to manipulate the Jedi.

Noxus climbed up onto the platform and slowly strode in front of the throne. He slowly reached out to touch one of the ancient arms, and his fingertips brushed the onyx gently. He released his breath, and realized he had been expecting something dramatic to happen. But he was getting ahead of himself. This was the temple, and had been raided centuries ago. The real treasure lay below, beneath the catacombs and inside the tomb.

Darth Noxus dropped into the throne for a moment, and felt the power radiating within himself, felt the power radiating from the planet. From the Black Hole.
He stood up and walked behind the chair, looked down behind the platform, and spotted a spiral staircase. Quickly descending the steps, he stepped into a large rectangular room that stretched before him. On the walls were designs in a language Noxus could not comprehend, and stacked in even rows leading all the way to the other end of the room were sealed coffins.

They must have housed the remains of long-dead followers of Kheiron, his subjects and servants. Noxus passed between the rows of the dead, and when he came to the entrance to the catacombs, he realized why many of the coffins resided here. It would take ages to move a coffin down the cramped staircase that led into the tunnels, and directing it to the burial sites would be nearly impossible.
It must have taken weeks to carry a single coffin to its final resting place below.

This staircase would lead into the catacombs, but Noxus had no idea how he would be able to find the tomb from down there. The catacombs were a maze, dark tunnels with dead ends and nearly identical walls made keeping a sense of direction all but impossible.

Noxus looked down into the depths for a moment, wishing he had a map, or a guide to tell him where to go. Then he heard a noise at the staircase behind him, and spun on his heel in surprise.

The Jedi had arrived. Noxus dove behind a row of coffins, hiding behind a stack near a wall. He found a small crack between two of the sarcophagi, and spied the intruders as they entered the room.
His lightsaber held firmly in his hand, unlit but ready.

There were three of them. One was a middle-aged man, wearing black robes, more akin to those of a Sith than a Jedi. His leather hide boots made little noise as he walked along the stone. He seemed to be the strongest, he had an aura about him that radiated importance and wisdom. Beside him was another man, of white hair tied back in a ponytail that fell past his shoulders. He had a white tattoo shaped like a spade on one side of his head, its tip pressed to his temple.
His robes were a stark contrast, greys and whites that showed elegance and utilitarianism. The third man was young, dark hair and familiar to Noxus, but clearly a student or apprentice to one of the men, Noxus guessed the one in black robes.

As the men crossed the room, the man wearing black became more noticeable to Noxus, and he realized it was the man he had impaled on Penumbra. A mental image of the man's face as the blade pierced his chest flashed into Noxus' mind. The thought of Penumbra helped him recognize the younger man as well; he had been in the prison block when Noxus had taken the lift.

The man in white pointed past Noxus' hiding spot, towards the stairwell downwards, and said to his companions, "This leads to the catacombs, the tomb will be below there."
They trio stopped at the end of the room, looking together down the
steps. The youngest man pointed to the wall above the steps, where line of text that had been scratched in the rock,

"Those who walk forwards blindly are doomed to traverse in circles eternally. Only those who follow the right path will find true salvation. Those who are left will walk among the dead."

He looked at the two older men with confusion, "What does it mean?"

The man wearing white answered, "I believe it is a guide to finding your way around down in the catacombs. Those who were not supposed to escape would panic and run forwards blindly, and that leads them only in circles. If you go right it will lead you to an exit, and if you go left...I guess that will take you to wherever these go." He indicated to the coffins strewn throughout the room.

The man Noxus stabbed months ago, Trenton Vinh, spoke now, "We will take the left path, and find the tomb entrance at the grave site. From there we will retrieve whatever is down there and get off-world as soon as we can."

The man wearing all white was turning to leave, but he stopped and spoke to the younger of his two companions, the apprentice,
"Be careful, and trust yourself. You are more powerful than you think, you just have to find your center."
He turned to Trenton Vinh and said, "You don't have much time. Getting lost down there means there is a very real chance of you never coming out. I'll need to report to the Director, so I'll wait for you by our ships...I'll wait as long as I can. May The Force Be With You."

Noxus watched in surprise as the man in white turned and walked the way they had come without a backwards glance. Trenton Vinh and his Padawan started down the steps into the catacombs. Suddenly realizing he was going to have to trail the two Jedi further underground, Noxus rushed to the steps to keep them from getting too far ahead. He would find a way around them, then he would claim Darth Kheiron's power for himself.

[Trenton Vinh]

Vindicator Halo strode swiftly back through the massive pillar-lined chamber, moving with purpose towards the exit.
Exiting, but not leaving yet. There was something he had to do.

The Sith were here. Callius had warned him when Apotros entered the system via a tone-based coded signal.

Stepping out into the stormy weather on the surface of Vandor-II, Halo closed his eyes, and reached out to touch the world around him.
He sensed the darkness in the soil, felt the heat of its dark, pulsing heart.
Halo could have warned Trenton about the Sith, but Callius had given very specific instructions not to, and for now, Halo was going to follow them to the letter. Even if it meant risking the life of a young man and his apprentice.
And Reyan had left another set of instructions for Halo:

After leaving Vinh and his new student, the Vindicator was to find the Sith Lord.
But not to kill him.
Vinh would fight to the death to ensure the source of this terrible evil was contained, but another terrible evil was on the planet, one that was going to ensure Vinh never left.

As Reyan had said it would be, Apotros sat in a valley, a tall cliff obscuring it entirely from view from most angles.
Halo began walking along the ridge as it gradually led him upwards. Standing on the top of the cliff, high above the ship, with his back turned away from the Vindicator, stood the Dark Lord of the Sith himself.
Halo couldn't be sure from the distance, but it appeared as if the Sith was spreading his arms out wide, boldly facing the black hole that yawned over the man like the massive jaws of a hungry leviathan.
But this was not just a man, for Lord Erebus was far, far more than mere prey to the black hole he had cultivated.

The collapsed star left the Coruscant system in permanent darkness, with only the distant pinpoints of starlight studding the blackness. The only lighting Vandor-II had was from the lightning strikes, fingers of electricity desperately reaching for the easiest route to disperse their energy.

As Halo grew closer, he began to feel the power of the Dark Lord, emanating from him much the same way it did from the planet below. Lord Erebus was still facing the other way. His black robes billowed behind him, nearly ten feet of cloth blowing around, draping against the edge of the cliff and dueling with the wind.
Suddenly, the cliff shuddered, and Halo froze. His head whipped towards the black hole, wondering for a split second if the estimations until planetfall had been incorrect, but then the Dark Lord opened his eyes, lowered his arms, and turned to face Halo. The black hole behind him, gaping and foreboding, palpitated noticeably. For a split second it seemed to grow larger, then it recoiled. Its fluctuations stopped the moment the Dark Lord spoke, but when his lips moved, the air itself seemed to vibrate, as if his power caused the very world around him to tremor.
His words were a simple question, but they bore a weight that made it sound more like a demand, "You brought the device?"

Halo nodded and withdrew a small cylindrical object from his white robes, then held it in his open palm, a half dozen steps away from Erebus. The next moment it was in Erebus' hand, shooting across the distance between them in the blink of an eye.
The Sith turned the object over in his fingers, as if examining a diamond, or checking a counterfeit bill.

Halo found his mouth was dry, his palms were moist, and his heart was pounding. But he remained firm, and said to Erebus, "The Director wants his ship back."

The Dark Lord's eyes fixed suddenly on Halo, snapping his focus to the Vindicator, his tattooed face a cold mask of evil. The object had vanished into the folds of his robes, and the world seemed to darken and dim around them, losing focus. The dark swirling pools that made up Erebus' eyes seemed to swallow light. When the lightning bolts illuminated the sky, his eyes didn't even reflect the flash. The air became incredibly still, and for a moment the two beings existed within a vacuum, devoid of sound and time.
A pressure bore down on Halo's mind, his will straining and threatening to crack, as the mental power of the Dark Lord threatened to drive him mad. The Vindicator could not peel his eyes away from the Sith's, he couldn't even blink. His eyes began to burn and he was hyperventilating. He gripped his skull and his fingers dug into his temple as if it would relieve some of the pressure. The eyes were going to swallow him in the blackness, filling his mouth and throat and lungs with inky black liquid that would suffocate him and leave him a floating cadaver in the dark.

Lord Erebus did not open his mouth, but his voice boomed in Halo's mind, an evil harmony of demonic tones, bellowing, 'You are not in a position to make demands.'

Halo frantically nodded in compliance, and after a long moment, the pressure was finally relinquished and Halo was able to tear his eyes away from Erebus'. His knees nearly bucked; they would have if he didn't have The Force to hold him up.
The Sith turned away once more as if nothing had happened, and said in his normal voice, "And the Director isn't in the position to, either."

Halo managed to speak, "He will contact you before the end of the next cycle."
The Sith Lord did not respond, he was looking down, to the base of the cliff, towards a crack in the earth that descended straight into darkness.

Halo turned and began to walk away, realizing there was nothing left for him to do, and staying with the Sith longer would only mean risking death.
Callius would need a report, and Halo was not pleased with the decisions the Director had made.
Reyan had dealings with the Sith, and now Halo was meeting the Sith Lord in secret to give him secret objects and items.
Halo realized he needed some answers from the Director himself, and if he wasn't satisfied with them, he would have to find a way to fix things.
And if Trenton Vinh escaped the apocalypse on Vandor-II, he would need to know about this too.

*****

The Dark Lord of the Sith leaned over the precipice, as if gauging the distance to the bottom of the chasm.
Somewhere down there was his goal, and although he had not foreseen himself reaching it first, he still intended to make the power within the world his own.

His eyes drifted shut, and as he touched The Force his senses flooded with information, and his mind broadened to understand it all at once.

The surface of Vandor stretched out around him. The dry air was windy, the clouds shifted and roiled angrily, lightning discharging across the plains. Some landed close to the Sith, close enough for him to feel the heat on his skin.
But he didn't fear the storm, because Dark Erebus was a force of nature of his own.

Noxus was already down there, and from what Erebus could gather, his Apprentice was not at Darth Kheiron's crypt yet.

And he had suspected -- there were multiple entrances to the ancient Sith's tomb, and below him was one of them.

Erebus stood on a cliff, overlooking the chasm that had been borne into the planet by the Sith's ancient power.
It led deep into the planet, but Erebus sensed that the drop became a sloped slide partway down.
So the Darth Erebus allowed himself to tip forwards slowly, dropping off the ledge and plunging deep into the innards of the planet, disappearing into the Darkness that swallowed him.

His descent was swift, and as he neared terminal velocity he summoned the Dark Side.
Drawing on the power of the tomb that he grew closer to by the second, he reached deep within himself and drew on the vast ocean of hatred in his heart.
The fury caused the air around him to ripple, his black-hole dark eyes clotted with crimson, and his lips curled in concentration as he unleashed his power.
His descent slowed steeply and his body tilted, changing his angle so he dropped feet-first.

The walls, were he able to see them at all, had become smooth stone, softened by centuries of rain erosion.
Landing on the slick slope, the Dark Lord rolled into a three-point slide feet-first down the bank. One of his gloves hands kept his body aloft as his feet led him deeper into the bowels of the planet.
The air grew still, and became more moist. A stark contrast from the planet above.

Erebus came out at the bottom of the incline, shooting out of the tube into an ancient aqueduct.
He skidded to a halt in the center of the empty water resevoir, and looked around slowly.
Several other tubes jutted from the walls, implying there were other tunnels like the one he had arrived down.
He wondered how many entrances to this tomb there were, and how it hadn't already been pillaged years ago if it had so many ways in.

But then again, this planet was widely ignored due to its lack of resources, it wouldn't be any surprise if no one had come to Vandor at all in the recent years.

There was a flight of stone steps leading upwards, and Erebus ascended them quickly.
He emerged into a new room, a large chamber with a sunken arena in the center.
The ring of steps around the arena had obviously been used as seats, and on the bottom steps, along one wall, was a large throne and several extravagantly carved stone chairs.
Darth Kheiron had apparently enjoyed watching duels and fights, no doubt pitting slaves and prisoners against one another.

From this chamber, there were nearly a dozen other routes Erebus could take.
He sensed his Apprentice was to his left, but heading in a direction that would take him behind Erebus.
The Dark Lord had spent years searching for and studying rare Sith Artifacts. He reached out with The Force and searched for the source of Dark Side Power in the tomb.
He found it almost immediately, in the center of the tunnel network, far below and to the south.
Erebus felt it pulsing, the heart of Darkness pumping the Dark Side outwards through the tunnels felt like the veins of the planet.
He had many options here, and needed to make one. This was a decisive moment, for he could have taken the most direct route to the source of Kheiron's ancient power.

But he did not. Instead the Sith turned and took another route, one that he had foreseen himself taking in a fever-dream days ago. He knew where he could come out, and hastened to make dream into reality.

*****

Darth Noxus kept far enough behind the Jedi to ensure they wouldn't hear or see him. He had to keep himself shut out from The Force so they wouldn't sense him, and soon he felt himself growing frustrated at the lack of progress.
Trenton Vinh and his student were walking with purposeful strides, but Noxus longed to rush ahead and reach the crypt before them.
But he hadn't yet had the chance to get around them in the cramped catacombs.

Erebus had no doubt found another way in by now...but Noxus had no way of confirming that lest he expose himself to his quarry.
The voice of the student cut through the silence of the underground tunnels, echoing off the stone walls.

"Do you think others have already found and raided this tomb?"

Trenton Vinh was slow to respond, but Noxus couldn't help but agree with his answer,
"The Dark Side is too strong for this tomb to be empty, Kavan. I suspect any grave robbers that came through missed something. Or never made it to the treasures alive."

As Noxus crept around a corner and moved closer to the two Force-Users, Kavan's voice rang out once more, in alarm this time, "Do you sense that?"
Trenton must have nodded, for he didn't speak.
Noxus snarled in frustration, wishing he could open himself to the Dark Side, and sense whatever they were talking about.
He was spared of his confusion however, because Trenton filled him after a long moment when he said,
"Erebus is here. We need to move quickly, there could be too much at risk."

Noxus felt his snarl turn into a satisfied smirk, and he continued to move closer to those he stalked.
Peering around a corner, he got a glimpse of their backs as they descended a long staircase.
Soon they would find the Holocron, unless Erebus got to it first. If they did find it, Noxus knew what he had to do. His mission was to keep them from the Sith Artifact at all cost, and if they got their hands on it, he was tasked with attacking them, and acting as a beacon to lead his Master to them.
All Noxus had to do was survive long enough for Erebus to reach him, and unleash his wrath upon the Jedi who spoiled this tomb with their presence.

Now at the bottom of the steps himself, Noxus once more saw the Jedi up ahead, threading their way through a large room that appeared to be a graveyard.
Gravestones jutted from the ground, many a meter high, some twice that, most less. The names and inscriptions had faded over the millenia, and the bones would be dust, but these were no doubt the graves of Darth Kheiron's followers.
Ahead of the Jedi was an arched doorway, and Noxus knew it would take them nearer to the crypt of the dead Sith.

Noxus darted from grave to grave, using the little cover they granted to ensure he had a hiding spot if the Jedi turned around.
The ground was made of and stone, silent to walk on and it left no trace of footprints behind. The air hung still, dust and ash rained from the ancient ceiling.

The one called Kavan turned his head in Noxus' direction, and he had just enough time to duck behind a tombstone.
Closing his eyes and taking a slow breath, Noxus counted to three and rose.

Standing up slowly, he looked over the gravestones to see Vinh and Kavan had frozen in place. They were looking to their right, where the dust and sand that covered the floor had begun to whip wildly into the air, as if a dozen small tornadoes had exploded to life in the underground graveyard.
Then the air rippled with a strange energy, and the hair on the back of Noxus' neck stood on end.
He felt the power just as he caught sight of Darth Erebus, who was striding slowly towards the two Jedi between the gravestones, having emerged from a side passage.
The tombs in his path disintegrated as if shattered by the wind, the rock turning into dust that was immediately whipped away by the Dark Side storm that was starting to rage in the chamber.

Noxus bared his teeth as he realized his patience was now to be rewarded. He opened himself to the Dark Side, allowing his frustrations and annoyance focus his mind and fan the flames of his fury.
Kavan Moirai sensed him and turned to look at him, the two made eye contact across fifty meters of dirt.

Time seemed to slow as the battle neared. Erebus walked purposefully toward his enemy over an army of the dead, and Trenton Vinh took a few steps forwards protectively, barring the Sith from passing him and reaching his student or taking the steps down deeper into the tomb.

Trenton Vinh's lightsaber blazed to life, the emerald blade piercing the gloom and illuminating his face dramatically.
He held his weapon in his left hand, pointing the blade towards the floor and away from his body.
Noxus was walking towards Vinh and Moirai too, but as his lightsaber on his belt snapped into his palm, he began to sprint. He splayed his arms out wide from his body as he ran, gathering speed as his lightsaber painted the gravestones a bloody crimson.

Trenton's voice echoed through the room as he said to his student, "Get to the crypt, Kavan. I will hold Erebus for as long as I can. I will meet you at the ship soon."
Kavan looked at his teacher and felt a cold lump in his stomach. It took him a moment to realize he feared for his teacher.

"Trenton...be careful." He said slowly.

Darth Erebus was close, but the Dark Lord was in no hurry. The Sith activated his lightsaber now too, the blade a dark red, the color of bloodstone.
Trent didn't take his eyes off the approaching Sith, who had now gotten close enough that the sandstorm he was creating blew Trenton's robes behind him wildly, and forced Kavan to raise a protective arm in front of his eyes.

"Go Kavan! Stop for nothing!" Trenton called out fiercely, and Kavan turned towards the steps and began to run.
As he jumped down the stairs, he glanced back in time to see Erebus' apprentice leap at Trenton from the side, while Lord Erebus met him head on.
Then they were out of sight, and Kavan turned his mind to the task at hand.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he began a Force-Assisted sprint down a long hallway. There were no doorways along the blank stone walls, but up ahead in the distance a light.

The young man ran as quickly as he could, the heat of dark energy at his back making him push harder to get as much distance ahead of the Sith as possible.

Trenton was fighting two of them at once, he was risking his life for Kavan, trusting him to do what was right.

In a matter of hours, Vandor would fall forever into the depths of the black hole, but to those racing to beat the clock, there was just enough time to escape with the planet's final secret...

[Trenton Vinh]

Trenton studied Lord Erebus as the distance between them closed.
The dusty air grew colder as the Dark Lord's power pounded against the walls of the tomb, bouncing off the stone and amplifying it. It was as if he was one with the gloom, part shadow, part Sith. His eyes, barely visible in the dim battleground, appeared to be radiating darkness. The blackened scar tissue skin around his eyes a testament to the bleeding dark power he emitted.
Trent felt that Erebus wasn't even consciously affecting the room around him, but that the Dark Side leaked out from his body; a shell, hardly able to contain the will within.
Unable to contain the evil.

Drake had been a mirror of Trent himself, showing him what he could have become, what he had been once. A grim lesson teaching him to keep his Darkness in check.
But the Dark Lord housed in the body of the man who had once been Drake, Trenton's friend, was now a beast that Trenton wasn't sure he understood.

Trenton didn't think of this man as Drake anymore. Trenton had killed Drake, years ago. His physical body had remained, but he had transformed himself so entirely that nothing of who he had once been remained. Even now, Trenton realized that Raeph Sunder, the once ally and student of Drake, was now absent.

Replaced by a younger, cunning and mysterious follower. A true apprentice to the Dark Lord.
Noxus, Erebus' student, was to Trenton's right, and had closed in quickly. Trenton kept him in sight, but knew Noxus was a minor threat compared to the threat of his Master.
Trenton didn't forget that Noxus had been the one to impale him on Penumbra, months ago. A scar in the center of his chest would remain forever as reminder of what could happen when Trenton overextended himself.
He had been tired, shaken, broken then.
Now things were a bit different.

Trenton had since spent the last four months training his body and mind for this, for the next encounter he would have with the Sith Lord.
Taking a strong defensive stance, his emerald blade pointed upwards. The blade, an extension of will, his torch holding the dark at bay. Barring the path to the tomb of Darth Kheiron.
As his lungs filled with the dusty air of the tomb, he smelled the scent of decayed flesh.

Every fiber of his being was focused, and Trent inhaled deeply, took his lightsaber in both hands, and adjusted his grip. His eyes drifted shut, and a second stretched into an eternity.
Deep inside, a darker side of him had been reawakened after an encounter with another Dark being that still eluded him. Trenton knew what horrors he was capable of, and had vowed to never embrace the darkness in his heart. And he would discover who that dark being was that had exposed him to the evil inside.
But for now, Erebus, the dark being before him now, was his sole focus.

The Force was filling the chamber, gathering inside the bowels of the dying planet. The Dark Side nipped at Trenton's heels, taunting and tugging him, a deadly temptation asking him to trip and fall into its embrace as he had long ago.
But Trenton had learned in The Marcol Void that he couldn't defeat evil with evil.
He would not need to call upon the Dark Side to survive this encounter, he would draw on The Force as he always had, from inside and out. He would light up the Darkness with a beacon of hope.
He used to fear himself, knowing the blackest part of his own soul. First he tried to hide it, then he had fought it, struggled to rid himself of it, to escape it. And it was a dangerous game, one that only led him straight into evil's clutches.
But Trenton had learned much since then, reflected and studied and searched for the answers.
His sabbatical had taken him to the darkest corners of the Galaxy, while inside he was on a very similar journey. And the journey wielded a revelation.

All his life he had feared what was inside him. The Darkness inside threatening to burst forth and destroy everything. But where there is shadow there must be light, and one day Trenton finally stopped running.
He turned to look at himself, into himself, and he boldly faced himself for the first time. He discovered something within that his fears had previously kept hidden from sight.
It was not until he stepped into the Darkness that he was able to finally understand it.
His inner Darkness was a place of negativity, of evil, threatening to consume him in its black destructive flames. Standing in the flames, he had been burnt once.
Now when he stepped into the blaze, he was able to see the path the fire had once obscured. A path that led Trenton to the star inside the dark. His inner Darkness was also the home of his brightest light.
When he emerged from that abyss with this radiant truth, he would transcend the evil, and rise above it. Reborn from the fire inside.

And armed with his torch, Trenton Vinh was unafraid of the evil, unafraid of death, unafraid of the future and all that he didn't understand.
So when he opened his eyes and time resumed at its usual pace, his pupils were radiating a strange incandescence of their own.



Noxus came at Vinh first, but Trenton was ready for him. Trenton's perception had widened, and he felt the muscles in Noxus' legs tense and the grip on his lightsaber alter slightly, letting Trenton know he would leap in and attack at an angle.
Before Noxus had taken off, Vinh was moving, pivoting on one foot, his left leg swinging high to catch Noxus in the gut as he took off.
The Sith apprentice's own momentum doubled the force of the blow, and he tumbled backwards head over heels.
Erebus didn't spare a glance towards his student, his blade sliced in at Trent four times in the blink of an eye. Vinh didn't retreat, instead he stepped in, closing the gap so their range was tight.
Emerald and Rose light twirled so quickly it was impossible to tell who was acting and who was reacting. Their limbs were a blur, it was as if the blades had ceased to exist, they appeared now to be walls of crashing light. They exchanged blows over and over, neither giving an inch. The room exploded with noise as the crack of laser swords became deafening, like the lightning on the surface of Vandor, high above them.

Noxus was back on his feet, and charged back at Trenton, who was forced to retreat from Erebus to keep both enemies in front of him. Backing slowly between the gravestones, in the back of his mind, Trenton knew this could become his tomb as well.
But he wasn't going to let that happen.

Erebus was all blade and black robes, dark eyes and darker power, attacking Vinh with a dazzling purple-white lightning and his blood-red energy blade.
From within the countless meters of black robes, Erebus and his blade struck with precision, speed, power. The cloth blew wildly about, never entangled him, nor did it ever slow him. The Sith Lord moved with a grace that was eerie, such smooth motions that it seemed as if he were weightless.
Noxus was using acrobatics to try to leave an opening in Trenton's guard, diving and slicing at Trenton from the air. Erebus seemed to be holding back, however, and Trent took advantage of the first opportunity he got. Leaving himself slightly off-balance in an upswing, Noxus received a swift blow to the thigh, toppling him awkwardly to one knee. Trent twirled and delivered a push kick to Erebus, who stepped backwards gracefully as if he had expected the move and prepared his balance for it, eliminating its power.
Trent twirled on the spot, his blade gracefully arcing in to behead Noxus, but Erebus' crimson blade intercepted it by a millimeter. Trent's emerald blade redirected upwards, and Noxus' flinch saved his life.
Erebus forced Trent back several steps with attacks that came at him faster than the eye could see, separating the rising Noxus from danger.
The Dark Lord spat to his student in between the clashing blades,
"Kill the boy."

Noxus' eyes narrowed and a smirk crossed his face.
Erebus launched himself at Trent, and Vinh brought his blade up to defend against the continuing onslaught. Parrying and redirecting the Sith's attacks, Trent knew what was coming. The Sith student began to sprint towards the staircase Kavan had escaped down.
Trenton, still battling Erebus fiercely, twirled and waved a hand. Noxus was lifted into the air, flipping twice backwards before landing hard on the dirt.
Then Trenton pivoted, spinning behind Erebus' back and raising his blade to slash his opponent in two.
But Erebus had disappeared.
Trent blinked, and turned to look at Noxus, who was once more rising, eyes on the arched doorway leading downwards.

Erebus seemed to descend from nowhere, coming at Trenton from an oblique angle. It was as if he were everywhere at once, yet he moved with silence and speed that was inhuman.
As if he not a physical being at all anymore.
Noxus made it past Trenton during an assault from Erebus' dark lightning, which crackled and dissipated into Trenton's lightsaber blade as he absorbed the immense power.
The Sith were stronger here in Kheiron's tomb, their power amplified by the ancient evils contained within.
In the Force, Trent found Kavan and gave him a mental signal, a nonverbal warning of impending danger. Hopefully, Kavan had already found Kheiron's crypt. Vinh couldn't stop both Erebus and Noxus from getting by, and he hoped Kavan would be able to hold his own against Noxus if it came down to a fight.
But if Erebus got by, Kavan would be killed without a doubt.

The Dark Lord looked pleased, as he moved towards Trenton, lightsaber in hand. As if he had set the rails for Trenton's very train of thought, then led him down it. His voice echoed throughout the room, as if the dead themselves were voicing the Dark Lord's thoughts, rather than the Sith himself speaking,
"The Galaxy is but Darkness, broken by feeble points of light. The stars fight to fill the Universe with light, but in the end, they too are snuffed out by the black. The truest color of the Galaxy is black, Trenton Vinh. And I made the beings in the Universe see that."