Payback's a bitch

[Cain]

ORBIT OVER CORULAG

The elongated spiral of stars abruptly devolved back into star scape as the Revenant-Class Battlecruiser Amaterasu activated its sub-light engines and pulled out of hyperspace over the planet Corulag inside the orbit of the military world's three moons. Cain, Emperor and Lord of the Sith, sat up on the bridge, his black robes slung over the seat beside him as he changed the bandages that covered his torso. Cain's body had taken a substantial beating during his encounter with Zilfer. The damage caused not just by his opponent but by the dark side of the Force was significantly more then Cain had foreseen. The dutiful thing to do now would be simply to use his spirit transference technique and abandon his current body. However, there were other issues that required the Emperor's attention.

Corulag was home to one of the Republic's most renown military academies prior to the Sith occupation of Coruscant. Now most of the Empire's basic military training was relegated to Korriban. The academy on Corulag stood now as a center for the instruction of new officers into the Imperial Naval and armed forces. Just after the Amaterasu had made the jump from Kashyyyk they received a signal from the academy on Corulag. According to the transmission a Jedi spy had been discovered inside the academy and was now being held for questioning. Attempts by the Amaterasu to acknowledge the transmission resulted in no response, so the Emperor ordered Darklighter to change the ship's course to Corulag.

As the Amaterasu came out of hyperspace Cain was a bit surprised to find the Star Destroyer Tempest already occupying the space before them. Cain tightened his new bandages across his midsection before rising to his feet, "Which ship is that, General?" Cain asked as he grabbed his robes and slipped them back over his shoulders.

"That would be the Tempest, my lord," Darklighter answered dutifully, stepping to the Emperor's side.

"Who is it's commander?"

"Ryuu Sartori... one of yours, I believe," Darklighter responded.

Cain's eyes narrowed and his posture stiffened, "Prepare my shuttle for immediate launch," Cain said, stopping before he'd left the bridge and turning back to Darklighter, "and make sure the ground troops are ready to deploy as well."

CORULAG ACADEMY

Cain's shuttle plummeted through thick cloud cover as it made its descent to the Corulag academy. Cain stepped out onto the landing pad with Statsu and Kairys at his sides, a swift wind whipping his silvery hair. Wet leaves and debris from the nearby woodlands littered the landing pad and flashes of distant lightning danced on the eastern horizon opposite the setting sun. A storm had apparently just blown through...

The first warning that something wasn't quite right was the greeting Cain had received upon his arrival, or, the lack there of. The arrival of the Emperor's flagship and the Emperor himself should have been greeted by throngs of Imperial officers, but the academy lay before Cain now still and silent. Pausing before the academy's entrance, Cain closed his eyes and concentrated on the Force. There was danger behind this door and... death. Cain could feel the echoes of what had happened like ripples caused by throwing a rock into a pond. Following the ripples back to their source, back to the rock, Cain could see it as a man with a lightsaber. His features were indiscernible, but Cain knew instantly who this phantom "Jedi" had been.

Cain stepped back and his two hands moved forward. Kairys summoned her lightsaber from her belt and ignited its red blade with a snap and hiss. She then jammed the blade into the top of the door, searing and melting the gears and mechanisms that held the slab of durasteel in place. Once they were detached it was a simple matter of using the Force to lift the door open.

Cautiously Cain's hands entered the academy. The smell of carbon scoring and burnt flesh hung heavy in the air. Bodies of Imperials lay here and there and the walls were left decorated with blaster bolt burns. The light fixtures had all been blasted apart and the inside of the academy remained mostly wrapped in shadow aside from the light that flooded in from the large pane glass windows along the entrance hall's right side. The wind swept even through this room as one of the windows had been blown out, scattering leaves and shards of glass along the floor.

Statsu moved forward first, carefully stepping over the fallen imperials, glass crunching under each of his heavy footsteps. As he crossed in front of the open window Statsu was suddenly hit by a slab of durasteel that had been blasted off hinges across the room with a surge of Force energy that felt like being hit by a sac of cinder blocks swinging down from the ceiling. The heavy door hit Statsu and sent he and it out the open window and sent him plummeting five stories to the pavement below. Kairys immediately raised her lightsaber as a squadron of troops in Imperial uniforms emerged from the newly opened doorway and formed up about ten meters in front of her. The squad's captain, distinguishable by the gold trim and red stripes of his uniform stood behind his troops. The first line down on one knee and the second standing upright behind them, all bringing their blaster rifiles to bear on Kairys.

"Commander," The captain said into his communicator, "they're here."

BRIDGE OF THE TEMPEST

On the bridge of the Tempest Admiral Raiku Vhenn sat lounged in her chair with her feet up on the control panel, as was typical for her, when her communicator cracked on, "Commander, they're here." the voice on the other side said. It was the signal she'd been waiting for. Immediately Raiku hopped up from her seat and moved to the comm link.

"Hey! Tall, dark and angry! you read that last transmission?" Raiku shouted.

"Loud and clear," Came Ryuu's voice back over the comm, "We have a very small window with which to do this. You just do your job and make sure everyone up there behaves themselves."

The blaring of proximity alarms then suddenly diverted Raiku's attention, "Admiral, enemy fighters closing on our position!" The deck officer shouted.

"That's gonna be easier said then done," Raiku replied into the communicator, "Whatever you guys are doin down there, it seems to have succeeded in pissing them off."

"No excuses, Raiku. When the shit hits the fan you gotta be there to catch it."

"Story of my life..." Raiku muttered, taking her finger off the comm switch for a moment, "Alright. I'm on it!" With that Raiku sprung into action, grabbing her hat from the control panel where she'd discarded it and tucking it back onto her head, "Deck officer, scramble the pilots to their fighters. Our orders are to make sure nothing else reaches the surface! Also, move the Tempest back away from the planet, see if we can't get that Revenant to chase."

SPACE OVER CORULAG

From the Tempest's flight hanger four squadrons of StealthX fighters formed up over the night side of Corulag headed toward the day side where the Amaterasu hovered, an imposing sight before the background of stars. The enemy fighters began as merely blips on their radars, it seemed as if they were smaller capital ships headed their way, but as they approached the radar blobs proved to be many smaller enemies. There were ten squadrons of TIE Hunter fighters now headed to intercept the StealthX's.

"Gray leader, we've got eight, nine... it looks like ten squadrons now of enemy fighters, closing fast."

"Stay on course, five. Our orders are to intercept those transports, not to engage. We wouldn't last that long in a blow for blow fight anyway."

"We should at least try and divert some of them away from the Star Destroyer."

"Don't make any moves until I give the say so, five. Scatter on my mark. We stand a much better chance if they have to take us ship to ship."

As the two compliments of Imperial fighters came together over the sunset edge of Corulag a hail of laser fire erupted and both sides scattered from their trajectory, creating a swarm of fighters that looked as if someone had just swatted a hornet's nest.

CORULAG ACADEMY

Back inside the academy Kairys' lightsaber spun back and forth as she took a barrage of blaster fire. Normally redirecting blaster bolts back at their source would be difficult when defending against so many at once due to the concentration required to do so. However, Kairys methodically went about redirecting blaster bolts back at their sources with reckless abandon and disregard for her own well being. Each blast she knocked down with her lightsaber was sent back to the line of troops that it came from picking them off one by one. Kairys herself took several hits to her arms legs and even one that grazed the left side of her face, blackening it with the heat of the blaster bolt. None of these hits seemed to faze her or slow her pace. It was almost as if she hadn't felt them at all.

When finally there were only three troops left, a deflected blaster bolt rocketed back at the line and struck the captain right between the eyes, knocking him back flat on his back. The remaining troops lifted their rifles and retreated back to the door they'd first come through. Reaching with the Force, Cain managed to grab one by the neck and toss her back through the open window like a rag doll.

With her flesh still smoking, Kairys strode after the troops, stalking toward the door. Rounding the corner Kairys was suddenly struck with an explosion of lightning that sent her skidding back across the floor. In the doorway was Ryuu, his red lightsaber ignited and sparking with electrical Force energy. With a Force Jump he closed the distance between himself and his foe in an instant. Kairys rose back up to her feet limply, as if being tugged up on puppet strings. Before she could move her lightsaber into position however Ryuu's blade flashed across her torso in a line of blood red light. With no emotion or pain in her expression Kairys staggered, her top half falling backward and her bottom falling forward.

The sound of a slow clap to his right caught Ryuu's attention. He lifted his eyes to see Cain stepping through the academy entrance and standing over the corpses of the fallen imperials. He looked like hell. But that was hardly surprising.

"Well, well..." Cain began, a cocky smile on his face, "I knew you would eventually do something stupid, though I'd thought you of all people would have had the good sense not to do it to my face."

Ryuu's face twisted with disgust as he spat down on the mangled corpse of Kairys, summoning her lightsaber up in front of him with the Force and hacking it in two with a quick spin of his own, "Where is she?" Ryuu asked simply in a low threatening tone.

Cain chuckled, "Like it matters."

"Where is she!?" Ryuu bellowed, his anger materializing in an unintentional tremor of Force power that shook the room.

"My, aren't we fearsome... like a kath hound who's had his meal taken away, barking idle threats... ready to bite the hand that feeds..."

"You lying bastard. I should have known..."

"Indeed, you should have," Cain interrupted, disgarding his robes and revealing his bandaged torso, red pocks of blood already staining the fresh white cloth, "But you didn't. You, like all the others still wield the dark side like a spoiled child. No regard for what it really means to 'shed weakness'. Yes, I used her just as I've used you. She was your weakness then as she is now. You still think you can save her? Hmph! Always the same..."

Ryuu smiled slightly, shaking his head, "You're wrong, Cain. It isn't Tak that drives me now... it's you." Cain's eyes narrowed at the statement in a combination of aggravation and confusion, "I'm not strong today because I've desired to save her... I'm strong, I've endured because I've longed to kill you."

Cain's eyes closed softly and a grim smirk formed as his lips curled. Cain's lightsaber then jumped from his belt to his hand and snapped on. The Dark Lord's eyes opened, glaring at Ryuu dyed a molten gold color. Ryuu stagger back under the weight of the sudden rush of fear and uncertainty the struck him, "Then perhaps you have learned something."

[Cain]

SPACE OVER CORULAG

The previously peaceful space over Corulag was now a maelstrom of activity as StealthX and TIE Hunters weaved in and out around each other, Imperial versus Imperial locked in a fierce engagement. Even though the TIE Hunters out numbered the StealthX fighters by more than two to one, as the battle raged the casualties amoung the TIEs was far greater then those of the StealthX fighters. This was mainly thanks to the StealthX's superior cloaking systems which made it more difficult for the TIE's to target their foes.

Weaving through the swarm of fighters, Gray five moved in behind one of the enemy TIE Hunters. The TIE careened left and right, up and down to try and shake the pursuit but Gray five matched him move for move. He waited patiently for his targeting computer to get a lock, firing only once the computer lit up red. The laser blasts impacted the TIE Hunter's shields which the pilot had already set to double rear. Swooping in from the front, Gray Leader fired down at the enemy TIE where its shields were far weaker and broke through, destroying the TIE in quick burst of flame and a rain of shrapnel that bounced off of Gray Leader's deflector shield.

Just then another blip appeared on Gray five's sensors. This one bigger then any single fighter. Another squadron? "Five! We've got a surface transport, port side!" Gray leader shouted over the comm. Gray five glanced over his port side wing and saw the transport, having just taken off from the Amaterasu's hanger, on its way to the surface.

"We can't let it through. Everybody, form up on me!" Gray leader ordered. The StealthX's still engaged then began make wide loops back around to Gray Leader's position.

"We'll never make it in time, it's too far," Five shouted back.

"We'll make it because it's our mission to make it," Gray Leader responded, "Everyone, divert power from deflector shields to your thrusters on my mark."

"Are you crazy? We can't do that with all these TIE's around."

"Our Stealth will provide us the protection we'll need. Once we break from the main group they won't be able to pursue us without diverting power from their shields as well."

It was risky, but Gray Leader's logic was sound. Gray five gritted his teeth and squeezed hard on the fighter's yoke, readying himself for Gray Leader's order.

BRIDGE OF THE TEMPEST

On board the Tempest alarms blared and the bridge shook as the long range turbo laser cannons of the Amaterasu peppered the ship with fire.

"What the hell is going on out there!" Raiku shouted, bracing herself against the bulkhead as the ship took another hit.

"Ma'am, we're taking heavy fire from the enemy Revenant," the petite human female deck officer responded.

Raiku's face twisted and she gave a snort at the officers statement, "Tell me something I don't know! Why aren't we returning fire!?"

"Um, well, the Revenant Class-Battlecruiser is equipped with twelve long range turbo laser cannons. Currently we are out of range for our own turbo lasers. Perhaps if we were to retreat to the cover of one of the planet's moons..."

"No, we can't do that!" Raiku promptly interupted, biting hard on her lower lip as she struggled to come up with a plan. Ryuu had given her specific orders, though now what he wanted seemed like a suicide mission. In any case, there was no choice... "Time to catch some shit from the fan..."

"Ma'am?"

"Bring the ship in closer to the Revenant. Get us between it and the planet so our guns come to bear on the Revenant and the planet's surface."

The deck officer only blinked. Such a move was near suicidal. To pin yourself in like that with almost no escape vector... "Are you sure that's wise Ma'am?" The deck officer asked coyly.

"Just do it!"

CORULAG ACADEMY

Cain's command over the dark side was strong... too strong. Even his very presence seemed to be a weight on Ryuu's shoulders. How could one man command such power and not be affected by it? Ryuu dismissed the idea as soon as he'd thought it. Of course he was affected by it, Ryuu knew this. Cain went through lives like a Ysalamir went through skins. Using such a perversion of the Force would kill any normal decent sentient being. It was ironic in a way; in trying to obtain the power to conquer death Cain only succeeded in bringing death's grim specter down all around him.

Ryuu knew what the Dark Lord of the Sith could do with the Force. He had seen him twist fully grown men into a blubbering dejected mass with only a cursory glance. It seemed strange then to Ryuu that Cain's first move was not with his mind, but with his lightsaber. Ryuu had never seen Cain fight with a blade before and didn't quite know what to make of this move. One thing that he could not ignore was that Cain felt different somehow. It was almost as if there were four of him in the room; the Cain that stood before him and then three more that he could not see but could feel through the Force as clearly as if they were standing right beside him.

To Ryuu's surprise, Cain made the first move. The Dark Lord leaped forward and brought his bright red blade down over Ryuu. Though the attack was not expected, Ryuu's saber training was sufficient to allow him to react in time, bringing his blade up to meet Cain's which crashed down with incredible force. Ryuu winced as he pressed his lightsaber back against Cain's, quickly grabbing the hilt of his weapon with his free hand to supplement the strength needed. Cain's blade spun, knocking Ryuu's down toward his feet and then Cain brought his saber back across his body taking a clean swipe at Ryuu's neck. Alertly Ryuu leaned back, bending with his knees and using the Force to maintain his balance before popping back up and slicing at Cain from the Dark Lord's left side.

Cain extended his free hand to Ryuu's blade and for a moment it seemed as if Cain had somehow caught the searing beam of light with his bare hand. Feeling the presence of the Force in Cain's palm, Ryuu quickly realized that Cain had used the Force as a sort of padding around his hand to protect him from the lightsaber's heat.

With Ryuu's blade held Cain stabbed his saber blade straight out at Ryuu's heart. Alertly Ryuu deactivated his lightsaber to free himself and nimbly dodged the stab by rolling to his right. As Ryuu hopped back to his feet Cain let his lightsaber blade fall to his side, slowly turning to face his opponent.

"As always your skill with a blade is without peer," Cain commented, "You might have even been a match for Tulak Hord himself..."

"Thanks..." Ryuu replied in a sarcastic tone, keeping his blade up and at the ready.

"However, you must realize by now that you could never match me," Cain chided.

Ryuu grinned, "So sure of yourself. Heh... maybe you're right. But even if I'm not, one thing I do realize that you do not is... neither of us will be leaving this academy alive."

Cain laughed uproariously at Ryuu's comment, a deep, sinister laugh like something out of a Saturday morning cartoon villain, "You think you can kill me, boy? And even if you do, you think that will stop me? Death is such a small impediment."

"We will see." Ryuu said solemnly, suddenly deactivating his lightsaber and standing up straight. The move caused Cain to raise an eyebrow as Ryuu lifted his comm link from his belt to his lips, "Raiku... light it up."

LOW ORBIT OVER CORULAG

The pursuit of the Amaterasu's drop ship led Gray squadron down into low orbit over the planet. As soon as the StealthX fighters were in range the drop ship open up fire with its gun turrets. There was no way such a ship could have picked up the StealthX's on their sensors. They had to have had warning from the TIE Hunters.

The drop ship's turrets were located on the port and starboard sides of the ship. This covered most of the area around the ship accept for directly in front and behind. Gray Leader made the adjustment making a wide turn out away from the enemy ship before turning in back toward it. This changed the squadron's approach vector to right on the tail of the enemy drop ship.

"Gray Leader, sensors indicate the enemy has switched his shields to double rear," Five observed.

"Well unfortunately we don't have time to dance," Gray leader answered over the comm, "Those shields won't stand up long to proton torpedoes."

"Copy that, Gray Leader," Five responded, "R9, identify the ships rear engines and target," The little astromech complied with a series of whirs and beeps. A wire frame schematic of the drop ship promptly flashed up in front of Five identifying the locations of the ship's main engines with arrows and labels. As five touched the screen over the label of the rear engine his StealthX banked to port, lining up the proton torpedoes with their target before the panel flashed red indicating a target lock.

"Gray five, it's away!" Five called over the comm link as his proton torpedoes launched and struck the rear of the drop ship. Five then continued to roll clear as one by one the rest of Gray squadron fired their torpedoes. It only took four direct hits before a plume of thick black smoke erupted from the tail of the drop ship which began losing altitude fast. There wasn't much time to admire the kill however, as Five's proximity alarms began to sound again. Apparently the TIE Hunters had finally caught up.

BRIDGE OF THE TEMPEST

Raiku stood on the bridge of the Tempest, unconsciously clutching hard at the back of her seat from behind as a drop of sweat rolled down from her brow beneath her cap. The tension in the air was palpable and no one on the bridge made a sound as the Victory-II maneuvered into position between the Amaterasu and Corulag. The planet was visible then off the bridges port side and the enemy Revenant loomed on the starboard side.

"Are the deflector shields angled to starboard!?" Raiku yelp as the ship shook hard again.

"Yes Ma'am," The deck officer responded, "but they won't last very long at the rate we're taking fire."

Raiku bit her lip hard, almost drawing blood, "Dammit Ryuu," She though audibly beneath her breath, "What the hell is taking so long?"

Just then the ships comm link crackled to life causing Raiku to straight up as Ryuu's voice spoke, "Raiku... light it up."

Raiku sighed, finally letting out the breath she'd been holding for what seemed like ten minutes now. She quickly spun around to the deck officer, a fiery look of determination in her eyes, "Now, fire on Corulag Academy!" She ordered. The deck officer swallowed hard and nodded in compliance.

The Victory-II's guns then suddenly came to life, streaming turbo laser fire down toward the planet and Corulag Academy.

CORULAG ACADEMY

Through the Force Cain suddenly became aware of a burning sensation. He recognized it instantly as a premonition of the immediate future; of danger. Ryuu has already closed his eyes and before Cain could react the building rocked and large slabs of duracrete came crashing down from the ceiling onto the two Sith followed by bursts of flame. There was an audible grunt given by Cain as the ceiling crashed down on top on him and then the only sound Ryuu could hear was a deafening screech...

...It only seemed like moments, but it might have been a hour... more even. Everything within the academy had fallen silent and Ryuu might have assumed he was dead if it were not for the steady crack and pop of a nearby fire. Ryuu could feel the heat on his face then and slowly his eyes began to refocus on the scene around him. There was duracrete, glass and twisted metal everywhere. As Ryuu tried to pick himself up he felt a numb throbbing pain shoot through his right leg. Ryuu couldn't be sure but it felt like it was broken. Suddenly then a sense of panic washed over him as Ryuu remembered Cain. He felt silly and horrified all at once that he'd forgotten about the Emperor, but after a moment taken to recollect himself Ryuu realized he no longer felt Cain through the Force. They did it... it was finally over!

Through a coughing spasm Ryuu reached for his comm link. He spoke into it not sure if it even still worked, "Raiku... Raiku do you copy? We did it... we got him. Cain is..." Before Ryuu could finish the sentence the loud scrap of duracrete being displaced behind him cut off his words. It was followed by a long, low groan that sounded as if it had been heaved from the belly of a Hssiss beast. Ryuu felt his blood go cold as his face went pale and his eyes widened. Ryuu's entire body was struck numb by the sudden fear and he dropped his comm link as he craned his neck around to identify the source of the horrible noise behind him.

Slowly, from the mess of debris and flames that engulfed the academy, the blackened form of Cain lifted himself to his feet. His flesh was still burning with a fire that rose all around him and gave all the seeming of demon whose terrible shadow stretched across the floor and consumed Ryuu where he lay prone. Ryuu made a vain attempt to flee, his right leg stabbing at him in protest as he tried to stand causing him to crumple back to the ground. Cain then loosed an inhuman roar and Ryuu felt the Force slam down around him and swiftly drive him through a nearby wall. The wall itself was made of thick duracrete and certainly did not give without a fuss. Ryuu had never been hit by a freight speeder before but he couldn't imagine it felt much different then being slammed through that wall. The force of the impact was so jarring that Ryuu felt none of it initially, he had blacked out instantly. Only a few brief moments later when he came to did the throb of his shattered left arm and snapped ribs greet him.

Ryuu coughed uncontrollably. He recognized the metallic flavor of blood in his mouth, but this was the least of his worries. The suffering and death caused by Raiku's onslaught that had accumulated a good deal of collateral damage in structures adjacent to the academy filled Ryuu with a bitter sensation of power. It was a horrible and despicable feeling that most creatures in their right mind would flee from. Ryuu however opened himself up to it. It was his only chance now. Despite injuries that might prove fatal and numbing pain Ryuu called upon the power of the dark side to twist his body into compliance. With a cough and an agonized grunt Ryuu forced himself back to his feet. This wasn't over yet.

[Crazy O]

JUDGMENT

Evelyn Carter stood on the bridge of the Judgment as it approached the exit of hyperspace. She had just finished inputting a statement of responsibility into her log, having noted that her crew had objected to the mission and she as their superior officer was forcing them to participate. They really did not object to the mission, but if they failed she would be the only one punished rather then her crew. Evelyn thought about how she got herself into this mess.

She had promised her support to Admiral Vhenn little less then three weeks ago along with several other captains; however she was the only one that volunteered to risk her own ass in a battle they could very will lose. To this end she put her vastly superior genetically altered brain to good use, planning a two prong attack from both her fighters and the Judgment itself. She just hoped that her timing was right, her entire battle plan hung on it. She pushed the intercom button for the entire ship. "Preparing to exit hyperspace into a combat zone. Shield full forward and ship batteries ready to fire." Evelyn said calmly, not showing a hint of worry that they may be destroyed.

The Victory II-class Star Destroyer lurched out of hyperspace as the gravitation safeties on the hyperdrive pulled them back into real space. Dropped into hyperspace near the battle already taking place. "Transfer all axillary power to shield full forward and flank speed towards the Amaterasu. Weapons, fire as soon as we are in range. Sensors, did Xi and Zulu squadrons exit hyperspace at their designated corridors?" Evelyn said over the noise of the bridge.

The crewmember looked up at the Captain. "Yes ma'am. They are on course towards the target. The Tempest is also in position above the academy but is taking a beating." the sensor operator said. Evelyn bite her lip. 'The plan might just work. Hold on Raiku.'

XI AND ZULU SQUADRONS

The twenty four missile boats came out of hyperspace a ninety degrees about the planet from the Judgment. They had been dropped off in black space before the Judgment had made its second to last hyperspace jump in order to position themselves for a two prong attack against the Reverent-class Dreadnought that Cain used as his command ship. To this end they were loaded with Proton Torpedoes and Advance concussion missile to defend themselves. The mission targets was command tower and engines to be attacked by Zulu and Xi squadrons respectively; however any strikes against the stern of the ship to help weaken its shields were acceptable.

Xi leader got on the radio. "All ships; shields double front, engage you SLAM drives and begin dumb firing your Torpedoes. Remember to keep your distance as we don't want secondary explosions to destroy more ordnance." The CAG of the Judgment ordered. The method of attack was not uncommon when facing large targets like the Amaterasu, specially for Missile Boats and their large quantity of torpedoes. The missiles were launched off long outside their targeting range without anything but ballistic guidelines to make the point defense systems have a hard time tracking them. The SLAM Drives also gave the missile a higher exit velocity, making them travel faster them most proton torpedoes launched in hopes of more surviving. The twenty four fighters fired one missile after another hoping to get enough strikes to knock out the shields of the Amaterasu so that the Judgment and Tempest could use their ion cannons to disable the ship.

[Zilfer]

Bulgender looked at Kyrite when things started to get heavy in lightsaber combat. He looked to Kyrite who remained in a seated position calmly meditating. Bulgender would then look back to the fight and then back and forth. Looked like Ryuu's plan was going somewhat as planned but he was still itching for a fight. "Patience, reserve your energy. As an assassin would before the moment they strike, you must be ready for the moment should it come," said Kyrite though his eyes did not open from his trans. Bulgender then thought 'You would know all about that wouldn't you assassin..... that's what world you grew up in....Umbarans, not one of them isn't an assassin on some level or another.' His thoughts were then interrupted from the sky.

Fire rained upon the building and both of them stood fast through the destruction. Kyrite had formed an orb around them to protect them from 'stray bolts' and his face contorted when a blast almost directly hit them head on. Kyrite had been able to deflect it aside however, and they remained save within the orb. It looked like nothing was going to move for awhile and then it looked like Ryuu had won.

"Maybe he didn't need us in reserve after all," said Bulgender disappointed as he rolled his shoulders stretching them. He was half wondering if they shouldn't just off Ryuu in this moment as well, I mean what a perfect chance to accelerate on up the chain but then again what would stop Kyrite from doing the same to him or visa versa, perhaps it would be better to wait. He perked up as he felt the dark presence again, and he smiled once again as Cain got back up. He looked back to Kyrite but he was still meditating. Suddenly Kyrite's eyes opened. "Now?"

A slight nod proceeded Bulgender's charge into the battlefield. He activated his red lightsaber, heading in a full blown charge for the Emperor. He black Mandalorian suit worn for once in a long time. He gave into his baser feelings that fueled his fighting style, not only Juyo, but reckless abandon for force powers. As he approached knowing that he was going to have to bring only his best and expected hard resistance he formed this dark energy coming to his free hand and would try and approach the emperor to slam the dark energy through him in a blow that would shatter a large bolder. His speed was augmented with the force, fueling his muscles and driving him faster than normally possible with force speed. Everything seemed slow down to him but he pressed forward.

Meanwhile Kyrite stood up and began to fade into the void, he had practiced this for hours upon hours, whenever he had spare time, he had attempted to last longer within the void. He would take his time, for he was a patient assassin. He knew all it took to turn the scales often times was a single blade coming when least expected. He faded right as Bulgender gave a loud roar of his own as he approached the Emperor's dark presence and unleashed his move.

[Cain]

BRIDGE OF THE TEMPEST

The Tempest shook hard again and Raiku braced herself against her control panel. Bridge alarms were going off left and right and Raiku struggled to shut them off, punching at buttons as they lit up on her control panel like a game of whack-a-mole.

"Ma'am," The deck officer interrupted in a voice so soft Raiku barely registered it, "Our shields have reached their limit. Most of the crew has already headed for the escape pods... should I ready yours?"

Raiku's palm slapped down on the last alarm and a deep silence swept over the bridge, the deck officer's inquiry hanging heavy in the air as the Tempest let a low groan from the strain. Raiku stood over the control panel motionless for a long moment, her eyes transfixed on the communicator that had been dishearteningly quiet since Ryuu's last order.

"He'll make it... I know he will," Raiku said, more to herself then to the waiting deck officer, "You should probably head get to your escape pod while you can."

The deck officer smiled, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose and into place over her eyes, "That's a negative, Ma'am. My duty is to stay with the commander... Commander."

Raiku returned the deck officer's smile and gave a nod. Their moment was interrupted by the static crackle of the comm link, "Raiku... Raiku do you copy? We did it... we got him. Cain is..." The transmission then suddenly cut out. Raiku and the deck officer exchanged curious glances when another proximity alarm began to sound.

"For the love of... what now!?" Raiku shouted.

"It seems to be another Star Destroyer, Ma'am," The deck officer replied, "Victory-II class. It's the Judgment. It would seem the cavalry has arrived."

CORULAG ACADEMY

Ryuu leaped back as part of the ceiling caved in over top of him. He slid to a halt over the debris laden floor, wincing as his weight shifted onto his right leg. Straigtening himself up Ryuu retrieved his lightsaber and reignited the red blade, holding in his only remaining good hand, his right. Ryuu's left arm hung limply at his side, a trickle of blood steadily winding its way down his flesh and dripping from the tip of his fingers.

Ryuu became alert as another inhuman roar echoed through the academy from the room Ryuu had just recently been so unceremoniously removed from. Another section of the wall suddenly blew apart and Ryuu raised a barrier with the Force to shield himself from the spray of rubble. With startling speed Cain lurched through the breach and threw himself at Ryuu, the only weapons he bore being his own bare hands. Ryuu swung his lightsaber blade across his attacker's chest in defense. The blow landed, searing open Cain's flesh and drawing a deep grunt from the Dark Lord. The set back was only temporary, however. Ignoring the gash across his chest, Cain's thick forearm shot out at Ryuu's throat and pinning him back against the wall. Cain's fingers coiled around the boy's gullet like so many serpents constricting their prey.

Cain's eyes no longer bore the collected arrogance Ryuu had come to know from his former Sith master. There was something new in them, something animal. Ryuu stabbed at Cain's chest with his blade, but the more damage he inflicted the stronger the Dark Lord seemed to become. Suddenly Cain's arm jerked to the side, tossing Ryuu away. Cain felt the approach of Bulgender and Kyrite. As his rage built the Force continued to gather around Cain and his flesh began to split and lacerate on its own.

In a great deal of pain Ryuu once more picked himself up off the deck and willed his lightsaber back into position. It had taken those two damn near long enough. With Cain as out of control as he was, the three of them just might stand a chance...

SPACE OVER CORULAG

Gray Squadron returned to the fray in space to find that few new pieces had entered the battle. The Amaterasu was now surrounded by a pair of Victory-II Star Destroyers and was also receiving quite a beating from the Judgment's fighters. Gray squadron now found themselves between the besieged Amaterasu and the enemies TIE Hunters.

"Looks like those TIE's mean to crash the party," Gray Leader commented over the comm.

Five chuckled, "Well we can't have that, can we?"

"No. We certainly can not," Gray Leader responded, "Gentlemen. Let's give 'em hell."

BRIDGE OF THE AMATERASU

On the bridge of the Amaterasu what was just a few long minutes ago confidence in an assured victory had now degraded into absolute pandemonium. Officers raced left and right to deal with the new and quite sudden attack from the Victory-II Judgment and her compliment of fighters.

"General, the condition of our deflector shields is critical!" The Sullustan deck officer chimed.

Darklighter remained seated in his captain's chair, a distinctive frown having formed on his face over the past few minutes. It was the kind of frown that required the effort of every muscle in the face to achieve. The kind that was sure to leave the Grand Moff's face with irreparable creases, "Well what are you doing flapping your oversized upper lip at me?" Darklighter snarled, "Get. us. out of here!"

The Sullustan swallowed hard, "Th-that's easier said then done, sir. They have us flanked from both sides. At the rate we're taking fire we won't be able to make it out of the planet's gravity well to make the jump to hyperspace before our shields are spent."

"Then what do you suggest?" Darklighter growled back.

The Sullustan deck officer bit his tongue. He dare not suggest the inexcusable but nonetheless obvious next step of abandoning the Emperor's flag ship. The alarms then began to blare. The deflector shields were down. Both Amon and the deck officer recognized the signal and neither needed to confirm it.

[Zilfer]

Bulgender twirled his lightsaber as he continued running at Cain. He needed to keep the pressure on for now. As he came within Cain's sight he stopped for a split second as a ripple formed beneath his feet and then he was launched into the air with a force jump that would clear the distance between him and Cain. Bulgender's adrenaline was pumping, this is just the kind of thing he wanted. A battle with a worthy foe, perhaps stronger then himself. The glory of such a battle, he revealed in it. As he came down with a combination of a telekinetic blast trailed by his red saber to drive Cain onto his knees, the ground, or in half whichever came first.

Meanwhile Kyrite made his way through the darkness of the void, he wasn't sure if Cain would have ways to detect such an approach but he was being cautious. If Bulgender could distract him physically perhaps he would be able to assault Cain mentally once in position. He could feel the dark lord's presence even within the void and it was drawing dark figures from all around. He began to see that using the void might cost more time and energy than it was worth. As long as they focused on Cain it would be alright, he drew his lightsaber and activated it. "Come on Bulgender just a little bit longer, I can almost feel the Dark lord's presence in front of me.... get him to show me his exact position...." muttered Kyrite as he continued forward slowly.

[Crazy O]

BRIDGE OF THE JUDGMENT

Evelyn stood on the bridge with a grin on her face. The maneuver had been preformed flawlessly. They caught the Amaterasu in a between the the capital ships and her fighter force. While they were focused on destroying the Tempest they got caught with there pants down. The only thing that could have made the battle go any better was if they had gotten there five minutes sooner to relieve the Tempest of such a hard beating. "Communications order all fighters to break off and engage the TIE Hunters with concussion missiles. Then get me a line to the Tempest. Weapons Control switch to Ion Cannons only, I want the Amaterasu in one piece. Helm, bring sub-light engines to standby and use thrusters to keep the bow pointed at the Amaterasu. Transfer sub-light power to shields a fortify them." Evelyn gave her order to the bridge crew. The Victory II-class Star destroyer shook from the incoming fire but Evelyn gracefully maintained her position despite it.

After a few seconds the communication officer pointed to Evelyn noting the communication channel was being routed to her headset. "Tempest. This is Judgment Actual. Sorry to be tardy to the party. How are you guys holding up will we need to take your place above the target?" Evelyn said as she watched the blue ion cannon blast flying at the Amaterasu and knowing its time was limited.

XI AND ZULU SQUADRONS

The CAG listen as the new orders coming in. "Roger that Judgment. Engaging TIE Hunters with Concussion missiles." He said repeating the order to insure it was right. He then flipped to the Squadron channel. "All fighters switch to concussion missile and engage the enemy fighters. Engage only those that want to fight. If they run or are damage leave them. All we are doing is securing the space above the planet and protect the capital ships. And for godsakes stay out of the Judgment and Tempest lines of fire." He said over the radio.

The 24 Missile Boats activated there SLAM drive and headed for the enemy fighters. They would work in flights of four fighters each which in turn was made up of two elements. First element would engage a fighter while the second element would watch their back. It was not the fastest way to deal with a fighter swarm like the TIE Hunters, but it was the way to do it to reduce causalities.

[Cain]

CORULAG ACADEMY

The new comers to the conflict revealed themselves, one very loudly and the other quite subtly. The Taung entered and utilized the Force to boost his forward momentum, leaping at Cain with great speed and power, lightsaber raised and ready to strike. The Dark Lord had recognized the intruder's presence as soon as they had intended to attack, their malice flowing through the Force and strengthening the already putrid presence of the dark side within Corulag Academy.

Cain regarded Bulgender with the same instinctual and vicious disdain of a Boma beast protecting its territory. Cain's mind was blinded by the rage and emotion of the dark side; he thought nothing of himself or his own well being, only of destroying his opponents. With this frame of mind Cain made no attempt to side step the Taung Sith's attack or to protect himself. Instead Cain heaved the dark side in to himself as if drawing a deep breath of air. The blow of Bulgender's telekinesis was absorbed by the Force around Cain and hit him like a pane of glass thrown against a spire of rock, shattering and leaving the rock unflinching. Cain then stepped into Bulgender's path, drawing all the power he'd gathered down through his limb and to his right fist before side stepping Bulgender's falling blade to drive his fist through his target's midsection.

The lightsaber landed in Cain's left shoulder, driving down through his internal organs and tearing outward as Bulgender was sent flying back. Cain let out another grunt, falling to one knee as the Force rushed to his wound in much the same way blackened blood did from beneath Cain's flesh. While using dark side rage the injuries Cain's body sustained only succeeded in intensifying his power, but they also drastically lowered the time in which he could continue as the accumulated injuries would still eventually cause his body to fail. Bulgender's attack had punctured Cain's lung and severed the muscles and bone of the left half of his rib cage. Despite his unity with pain, the physical damage done by that blow brought the Dark Lord down to his knees.

Cain grabbed for his chest with his right hand, drawing in abbreviated, loud and labored breaths as he attempted to piece himself back together with the dark side. It was a perversion of the Force much like that mastered by Darth Sion before him. The difference here was that Cain was not consciously aware of, nor trying to use this skill. It was simply a reflex reaction of the dark energy within Cain and as such it was not very successful.

Still grunting and breathing shallow, laborious breaths, Cain staggered back to his feet. Cain could quite clearly feel the menace and intent to do harm of the second assailant, Kyrite, within the room and immediately he turned his attention to its source. There was no visible presence, but a strange well of dark side energies. It was a feeling in the Force of power and exhilaration... but not of anything living. Cain focused on the source, recognizing it as an entity which intended harm and wrapped the Force around it, clamping down hard to ruthlessly crush what ever it was as quickly as possible.

BRIDGE OF THE TEMPEST

Raiku's face lit up as the the combined assault of the Tempest and [/i]Judgment[/i] battered the Amaterasu into submission. Punching her control panel to cut off the last alarm, she sunk back into her seat with a heavy sigh of relief.

"The ion cannons of the Judgment have disabled the enemy," The deck officer commented over her controls, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, "the Amaterasu is dead in the water. Would you like to engage?"

"No, " Raiku sighed, "We want to keep the ship in one piece if we can."

The deck officer frowned at the order. Not so much the order itself, but the manner in which Raiku had delivered it, "Is everything alright, Ma'am?"

Raiku shook her head, "It's Ryuu. It's been a long time since we've heard from him and... I don't know. Something just doesn't feel right."

"Ma'am?"

"It's difficult to explain. Ryuu's in pain. I can just... feel it."

Just then the comm buzzed and Raiku straightened up. When the voice of the Judgment's commander Evelyn came through Raiku slumped again, somewhat disappointed.

"Tempest. This is Judgment Actual. Sorry to be tardy to the party. How are you guys holding up will we need to take your place above the target?"

Raiku leaned forwand and spoke back into the comm, "Well, she's gonna need some repairs and a helluva lotta paint... but I think she'll hold together. Have you heard anything from the ground?"

Both Raiku and the deck officer waited, still and silent for a response, though Raiku got the feeling they wouldn't be receiving any good news.

[Zilfer]

Bulgender felt like a speeder had just rammed into his chest. He was sent flying backwards into the rubble. He felt his chest hurt, and his skin was burnt along where the blow had landed. He wondered if his ribs had cracked or not. Regardless he hoped the blow would leave permanent damage to add to the scars he already had. Every scar signified a worthy opponent. He forced himself back to his feet as Cain's attention was turned elsewhere.

Kyrite felt pressure building up all around him as the force increased rapidly to crush him. He began to absorb the telekinetic energy into himself, the problem was that the energy just kept coming. It was like trying to drink from a water fall, no matter how much you swallowed there was always more to greet you. Kyrite began to feel his limbs being crushed and he decided hiding was no longer an option. He expelled the dark spirits around himself coming out of the void a mere ten feet away from Cain and unleashed all his pent up energy in one volley of force lightning, that in all truth was hard enough to keep flying in one direction because of the intensity.

Bulgender had begun his approach to see a tremendous amount of force lightning spring into existence. He hadn't registered that Kyrite had joined the battlefield. Bulgender began gathering a force push in his hands gathering it and condensing it for a massive blast so that he could send Cain flying as equally far as he had, if not further. He yelled to Ryuu during the commotion.

"Get off your ass human, this is your fight too," shouted Bulgender as he smirked preparing to unleash his next attack.....

[Crazy O]

On the bridge of the Judgment Evelyn stood looking at the Amaterasu drifting in space with the Tempest looking pretty beaten up. She touched her ear piece and activated the communciation channel when Admiral Vhess replied to her question. "Copy that Tempest. I will have repair crews with spare parts transferred to your ship once the fighter have been mopped up." Evelyn said. She then looked over to her X.O. who was already putting together list of crewmembers to send over and determining what supplies they could spare.

Evelyn smiled to herself, she got herself a good X.O., efficient and knows how to do his job without being told. She then continued to talk with Raiku, "That is a negative on the second part. The surface is quiet except for strange readings from the sensors which I am going to attribute to the Force battle below. We will continue to monitor the situation and communication. Lets just hope that our hours does not loss." Carter said before turning off the microphone. She realized they had the easy job, disabling the Amaterasu was simple matter of tactical advantage. The battle below was something beyond her understanding and it was were she had placed her money on Ryuu. He was young and motivated beyond anything that the Emperor seemed. She had hoped this would lead to a better rule of the galaxy, a gentler rule.

[Cain]

TEMPEST HANGER BAY

"Ma'am! Please! Don't be so reckless! We can scramble some of our personnel who made it to the ground via the escape pods to deal with this!"

Raiku didn't respond to the deck officer's pleas, she only tightened her boot straps and buckled her belt across her hips. Her modified Mandalorian blaster pistol sat in its holster on her right hip, across her left were three frag grenades and over her back side were a pair of pouches which contained specialized darts laced with toxin Raiku has synthesized herself. As Raiku strapped on her wrist mounted dark gun and turned to her fighter the deck officer stepped into her path.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am, but I cannot in good conscious let you go down there. That battle is beyond us. We have to have faith in Master Sartori."

Raiku frowned, "I can't do nothing, Amelia. We've come too far. Too many lives have been lost for this just to sit here and do nothing while our dream hangs in the balance."

The deck officer straightened up, adjusting her glasses and biting down on her lip. It only took a moment of processing before she knew then what she'd have to do. Without a word she ducked under Raiku and grabbed one of the remaining blaster rifles off the rack, stumbling back a bit under the weapon's unexpected weight, "In that case... I'm coming with you."

Raiku smiled, shaking her head in disapproval, "Don't be ridiculous, you can barely hold a blaster. Besides, someone needs to stay with the ship."

Amelia's features sank as she let out a sigh, "Don't make me wait," She said simply, allowing her shoulders to fall and the heavy rifle to clatter to the ground. Raiku gave a nod and then headed for her StealthX fighter.

CORULAG ACADEMY

Arcs of violent blue energy surged forward from the depths of the dark side and and wrapped around the scorched corpse that could no longer be recognized as the Dark Lord of the Sith. The Force Lightning caused Cain to let out yet another inhuman howl and the energy enveloping his body seemed to migrate into his arms. Slamming his hands together, Cain loosed the stored power in one solid bolt of lightning aimed at Bulgender's chest. The attack was made simultaneously as Bulgender blasted Cain with concentrated telekinesis. Cain was able to disappointing this much as he did Bulgender's first Force Push, however, being so concentrated this assault was able to break through, hitting Cain like a battering ram that spun him back down to his knees.

Lying against the wall, Ryuu found himself drifting in and out of consciousness. He had thought he'd heard Bulgender's voice, but it was abruptly cut off. As his eyes re-focused Ryuu noticed something he never would have had he not been lying on the floor. Beneath a slab of duracrete lay a small pyramid shaped item next to Ryuu's lightsaber. His weapon was completely smashed, but Ryuu recognized the other item instantly as a Sith holocron. It must have belonged to Cain. Drawing a strained gasp of air, Ryuu extended his hand and pulled the holocron in. It was cracked, there was no way to tell if it would still work.

Feeling the room shake Ryuu quickly stuffed the holocron into his robes. His entire body shrieked with pain as he lifted himself back upright. Ryuu paused a moment, calling on the Force to brace his broken limbs before he could steady his posture and turn to face Cain once more.

CORULAG ACADEMY EXTERIOR

On the landing pad where the Emperor's shuttle still sat the scene was oddly serene, hinting nothing toward the chaos ensuing within the Academy. A hand, riddled with gashes and enveloped in streams of crimson gripped the edge of the platform from below and heaved the weight of its owner up onto the landing pad. Statsu, his clothes torn and his torso now bearing an open wound that revealed four of his ribs, rose up onto the platform and began a slow march back to the academy. Quite suddenly his progress was halted as a volley of turbo laser blasts slammed into Cain's shuttle, creating a massive fire ball and shock wave that threw Statsu back over the edge plummeting five stories to another unpleasant landing. The shuttle now was nothing more then a flaming wreckage.

In the sky above a StealthX fighter broke through the cloud cover and settled down on the landing pad that the shuttle had once occupied.

CORULAG ACADEMY

On his hands and knees Cain gasped for air, each exhale accompanies by thick, black blood splattering to the floor. His body was reaching its limit and his Dark Side Rage was wearing off. Ryuu stepped forward to his fallen master, opening his hand and coaxing Cain's lightsaber from his belt to Ryuu's hand. To Ryuu's surprise Cain made no move to stop this; his energy was focused now on just holding himself together.

"Alex Drake..." Ryuu said in almost a whisper, so silently that it was barely audible over the the roar of the fires that swept through the academy, "... pitiful man. In the end, death finds us all."

With those words Ryuu then gently pressed with the Force at the button which activated Cain's lightsaber. The bright red blade slid rapidly out of it's hilt like a coiled serpent lurching to strike. Staring at the Emperor hunched over before him, the though crossed Ryuu's mind that Cain would probably die on his own if he were to just leave him here....

No..... No! It ends here, by my hand! Ryuu's thoughts then began to roll, to bubble as if beginning a slow boil. He could feel the absence of the Living Force around this man, it was an empty and desperate feeling... the same feeling Ryuu had felt upon discovering the mutilated corpse of his mother. The same feeling he'd had the moment he snuffed out his father's life. The same awful emptiness that now wrapped its cold fingers around Ryuu's heart and pulled it down, dragging Ryuu inexorably into the same darkness as had befallen his master.

Is this death, I feel? No.... Power!

With eyes burning the color of molten lead Ryuu raised Cain's lightsaber, ready to bring all his hatred down upon the Emperor. The very instant Ryuu's intent shifted from anger to murder Cain's gaze lifted up to meet Ryuu's. As their eyes met Ryuu stumbled and dropped Cain's lightsaber, collapsing to his knees. Ryuu gritted his teeth, his body now growing colder as numb pain seemed to fill his insides.

"B....bastard....." Ryuu managed to croak. With his dying breath Cain was creating a Force Meld between himself and Ryuu, attempting to drag Ryuu into the nothingness of chaos with him. Ryuu would have to break the connection, but even in death Cain was too strong. Ryuu couldn't break his gaze away from Cain's. Just as the darkness began to creep in from the far corners of Ryuu's vision a sudden burst of light broke him free from the Dark Lord's grip and Ryuu fell back. A well aimed blaster bolt struck Cain right between the eyes, scorching and melting them right out of his head. Cain let out one more grunt and twisted to the floor.

Still shaking, Ryuu rose back up and summoned Cain's lightsaber back to his hand. Cain lay still now, his vitals were weak. His heart would beat its last at any moment. Ryuu wanted to be certain it not stop of its own accord. Lifting the lightsaber, Ryuu plunged the bright red blade down through Cain's heart. At that moment the Force in the room was suddenly sucked in toward Cain. Ryuu pulled the blade out and attempted to turn away, but there was no time to run. Cain's body exploded with dark energy.

REMAINS OF CORULAG ACADEMY: 2 DAYS LATER

"Any sign of him?" Raiku asked, seated on the edge of her StealthX's cockpit, her legs dangling out over the side of the fighter.

"No..." Ryuu answered, approaching the fighter with the rubble of the Academy behind him. He wore a heavy black cloak whose frock hung over his right side instead of his back, concealing his right arm. His hood was pulled up over his head as to conceal the features of his face in its shadow. In his hand Ryuu held a ritual mask. It was used by ancient Sith for meditation and had no opening for eyes, nose or mouth. This particular one must have been taken from a Sith tomb by a collector who attended the academy. The mask was damaged in the fire, the left half having been burnt leaving only the right side of the mask still in tact.

"What's that?" Raiku asked, motioning to the mask.

"A momento," Ryuu responded. Has the Tempest been informed of our next destination?"

Raiku nodded sharply, "I've informed Amelia. The Tempest and the Judgment are prepared to make the jump to Korriban as soon as we rejoin them."

"Very good."

Ryuu then lifted his head to Raiku, the light of Corulag's star pouring in under his hood and illuminating his features. The entire right side of Ryuu's face was burnt and the flesh seemed melted, hanging off the bone, and his right eye was clouded over white. From under his cloak Ryuu's right hand emerged, bringing the half Sith mask up and under his hood, the flesh on his hand in the same mutilated condition as that on his face. Ryuu then placed the mask over the burnt side of his face and slid his right hand back beneath his cloak.

"Then it's time."

"As you wish... Emperor."

[Zilfer]

Kyrite's hellish lightning had poured over Cain damaging his body even future. He was surprised the Emperor was still able to move but as Bulgender came in at the emperor he faded back into the background backing off once again. It was better to be left unnoticed. The ones in the spotlight often died before their time. Bulgender's blast knocked into Cain but there was returning fire. His lightsaber whipped up to meet it. The lightning bolt arced off in another direction, but Bulgenders lightsaber deactivated afterward. The bolt had literally fried his lightsaber. He wondered if it had been any more potent if his lightsaber would have exploded. Cain was more importantly immobile now, and he was going to use his fists but Ryuu stood up and walked to Cain.

"It wouldn't do well to get in his way," said Kyrite to Bulgender as he watched Ryuu. Kyrite said nothing more and Bulgender gave a grunt before tossing his broken lightsaber aside. It broke apart almost on impact, even the crystal had shattered from the bolt. They watched as Raiku arrived just in time to save Ryuu, and then Ryuu to finish it. The Emperor exploded with darkside energy luckily they where far enough away to where it gave them barely a burn. The force had helped with that however, for they had sensed right before it was about to go off. They found later however... Ryuu wasn't so lucky.

---

Bulgender was restless, he kept pacing back and forth. It didn't bode well this waiting. Kyrite had taken to meditating nearby, while Raiku and Ryuu spoke. Neither of them said much but it was clear there wasn't much left to be said after what they had done. They had defeated the Emperor and gave rise to a new one.

"Well then, lead the way," said Bulgender as they prepared to leave. They would follow Ryuu and Raiku up to the fleet above, it seemed that things would be changing. Bulgender couldn't wait for the battles to come, and Kyrite would wait to see what Ryuu would do with them, those that had been his allies.

[Zilfer]

A single longsword exited Hyperspace above the planet of Corulag. Zilfer had felt the call from so far away. Kashyyyk had been mere days ago and he had recovered enough from the battle. He couldn't quite decide if he liked how the end of the battle had turned out but he didn't linger on it. His curiosity was perked, when he had felt the death cry. To be so far away and yet him feel it could only mean one of two things, or perhaps both. This being was powerful who died, or he was connected to the person in some way, and the only one he could figure that would have died would have been his apprentice Elifain, but he didn't fit the picture of power. He had a lingering feeling that Cain had met his end, but he alone had not had enough power to take Cain at his current state.

When he thought back on it however he realized that technically he wasn't fighting just Cain. Someone had been feeding him power, that much he had concluded at the end of their showdown on Kashyyyk. He wondered how he would have fared if it had been just him and Cain's power.

Zilfer's longsword landed upon the world of Corulag. His docking ID had been swapped for someone named Nerav. His small homage to Revan. Even as he landed he could feel the hole in the force, subtly pulling his strings as he exited his ship and paid for the docking pay. He walked through the streets and in the distance he could see the sight of destruction. It had construction crews about, and he continued forward towards the site. It seemed that something big had indeed happened here. He walked towards it and as he neared the place he was warded off by someone trying to keep civilians safe.

"Civvies aren't allowed around here, you'll have to stand back a ways," said the man to Zilfer who nodded beneath his hood and turned around on his heel and began to walk away. As soon as he was sure the guard wasn't looking he walked down a side alley and entered the void. He could feel the wound even in the void. He proceeded through the darkened landscape wary of figures slowly approaching in the distance as if called to him and they were in fact called to him. He found himself in what appeared to have been a building, only some walls still stood and there was a hole in one of these walls. He proceeded through it and stood in the middle of what looked like a blast zone. Not just any blast zone however, like one that had been scarred by the darkside. An explosion of malevolent energy escaping the body.

Zilfer expelled the Kuragari near him with the force blasting them out in all directions. Back in the physical realm he slowly began to morph out of shadow into his solid form. He saw the same site but brighter as the sun was reaching the peek in the sky. "So this is where you came to die.... but who did this? Was it this new Emperor?" asked Zilfer to himself as he took his crystalline sword off his back and impaled it into the ground. In places of struggle and strong feelings sometimes the force left an imprint of what had happened there, the stronger the feelings the better one could ascertain what had happened. He closed his eyes and focused opening himself to the force....

[Zilfer]

Flashes came and went.... He got feelings of anger and hatred. Signs of the darkside. Flashes of Cain and someone familiar.... Ryuu he believed his name had been. When serving as Nanashi he had met him a few times. He sensed the most pool of emotions were coming from Ryuu he was mad about something, something Cain had done. He felt..... Revenge.

Pain, red streaks from the sky pelted down. He began to see images, not only was Ryuu the one fighting but others, an Umbaran and Taung. Most wielding the force in an offensive manner, he had never seen either one but they held quite adequately against Cain. He saw Ryuu summon up Cain's lightsaber.... it was different not his old one. What had happened to it? Ryuu plunged it into Cain and then an explosion rocked the area. He saw that Ryuu was now scarred.


That was the end of what he could see. He didn't know how long he had been standing there but a few things crossed his mind as he wandered into the void to avoid detection once again. It wasn't until he got back to his longsword that he realized the full weight of what had happened here. Their was a new emperor, one that could change things. Did the Mandalorians know? What of the Sith? Would he follow in Cain's footsteps? It was possible especially if he had.... Cain's holocron. He hadn't seen it in the vision but Cain had always kept it on his person. Had it been destroyed? Zilfer couldn't take the risk, there was too much at stake already. Perhaps this would make up for some of the mistakes of his past.

"No, I won't let him follow in the footsteps. Maybe I couldn't safe Alex, but I'll be damned if I'm going to sit by while another Cain comes along," said Zilfer aloud to himself as if reassuring himself. His longsword soon took off into hyperspace, and Zilfer took to a private room to meditate. He had no idea where Ryuu was.... but the force would guide him, all he needed to do was ask, and his destiny would be revealed.