Star Wars: The Way of the Sith
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
Star Wars: The Way of the Sith
_One-thousand years after the fall of the Sith Lord known as EXAR KUN, the Old Republic has enjoyed a period of tranquility. The Jedi Order, once divided by the evil Exar, still remains intact. With the arrival of a new Jedi Master, SARN TERRITH, the Order is once again on the verge of purging the Sith from the galaxy. However, despite the current state of things, all is not well within the galaxy.
DARTH BILOS, once a former Jedi Master himself, has declared himself Lord of the Sith. Rallying other Jedi to his cause, the evil Sith Lord is preparing to repeat history. Enamored by Exar Kun's war, Darth Bilos intends to conquer the Old Republic and exterminate the Jedi Order. Four years have passed since then, and the war between the Old Republic and the Sith rages on..._
"And I think you are not fit to be my master, Bilos," a young, cloaked Dark Jedi muttered to himself. He was no ordinary Dark Jedi, however. This young man, who had proved to be useful during battle many times, was none-other-than Darth Bilos' apprentice. Rash had always been powerful with the Force; the Jedi Order had eagerly accepted him for training when he was still a child. How time flew, Rash thought.
Rising from his knees, the Sith Lord-in-training had just finished meditating. He opened his steel-grey eyes. Compassion and forgiveness had vanished from these eyes not too long ago, when Rash was still a Padawan. The young lad still belonged to the Light Side, and he enjoyed training under Master Tern - an elderly human woman who resembled a prune more than a Jedi.
Many of the other Jedi Masters complimented Rash, commenting on his unnaturally strong bond to the Force, but Master Tern believed such comments would give Rash the wrong ideas. "Control your emotions, Padawan Rash," Master Tern would always say as she wiped her grey bangs from her blue eyes. It was a shame that she was right. Rash, being praised by different Masters at least three times a day, adopted the notion that he was superior to the Jedi Masters in every way.
"They all envy me... They're jealous of my abilities," Rash told another Padawan, "That's why the Jedi Council won't promote me to Jedi Knight."
"If you're so sick of it, then why don't you leave the Order," the Padawan responded, obviously annoyed with Rash.
The headstrong Rash did just that. He left the Order the very next day; none of the Masters, not even Master Tern, knew where he went. On that fateful day, Rash began his descent - falling from the Light Side to that of the Dark Side of the Force.
The young, fallen Jedi had always envisioned himself as a leader. Now that he had left the Order, Rash's new intention was to become the Lord of the Sith. To do that, Rash first needed to find Darth Bilos and become his apprentice, but in order to gain the attention of the Sith Lord, Rash had to do something to prove himself worthy. Along his way to find Darth Bilos, Rash earned a reputation for himself by inflicting pain and terror into many of the people he met. With an already impressive display of Rash's dark power, it was hard for Darth Bilos not to notice Rash among the other aspiring Dark Jedi. When the two finally met, Rash was honored to bow down before Darth Bilos and call him master.
"I was a fool to call him master," Rash grumbled to himself, "But that doesn't matter now - I will face him and kill him, becoming the new Dark Lord myself. Then I shall be feared throughout the entire galaxy." Rash cackled evilly as he proceeded down the metallic halls of the Havic, the flagship of Darth Bilos' awesome fleet.
Many starships within the Sith's fleet were exceptional, but the Havic was far superior. It was extremely fast, it was very agile, and it definitely harbored the best firepower known to the galaxy. The Republic had continually tried to reclaim the Havic as their own after Bilos had swiped it from their own fleet, but all attempts had proven to be unsuccessful. The Havic really was the best starship in the entire galaxy, and the Sith had control of it.
While he was lost in thought, Rash was approached from behind by a Sith Commander known as Derrum Strats. Derrum had always been a Sith Commander - he and Bilos had been friends for a long time. Rash despised the man, both for his lack of a spine and for his blindly loyal support of Darth Bilos. Immediately, a grimace formed on Rash's face.
"What do you want," Rash impatiently spat out before Derrum had caught up to him.
"The question is, what are you doing, Rash," Derrum whispered harshly, a look of fear taking hold of the Sith Commander, "I know you're up to something." Rash immediately stopped in his tracks, which resulted in Derrum halting as well. With his teeth clenched tight, Rash turned to face Derrum.
"That's Darth Rash to you, despicable worm," Rash shouted, extending his hand out just before him. Immediately, Derrum was shoved into the steel walls of the Havic - hard. Derrum let out a gasp of pain and instantly slid down along the wall, whimpering as he stared up at the wretched Sith Apprentice.
"Soon I'll be in charge of the Sith, and I'm going to make some changes. You'll be the first thing I change, Derrum" Rash calmly stated with his lips twisted into a villainous smile. "Enjoy the time that you have left, coward." As Rash turned, the tip of his black cloak swished across Derrum's face, causing the commander to flinch. With Rash's back now turned towards Derrum, the whimpering commander rose to his feet, his fists clenched as tightly as possible.
"Y-you'll never become our leader; Darth Bilos will -," Derrum was stopped mid sentence as his throat seemed to tighten. It tightened a little too much, actually; Derrum could hardly talk, let alone breathe. The skin on the Sith Commander's face shifted to blood red color as he continued to gag and babble unintelligible words. Rash smiled as he stood with his back to Derrum and his arms at his side. This was the power of the Force that he adored so much - he could kill a man without lifting a finger. It was not Rash's intentions to kill the unworthy commander yet, so he dispelled his invisible choke-hold on Derrum. Immediately, the choked-up commander fell to his hands and knees, coughing and panting pathetically. Slowly, as the bulging veins on his face disappeared, Derrum's face returned to its normal pigment.
"You will not die - not yet," Rash muttered, his voice a higher pitch than usual. The Sith Apprentice had so much fun torturing cowards and those not worthy of the title of Sith. They would all be purged in the instant that Rash become the new Sith Lord. As he fantasized about what he would do as the new Sith Lord, Rash's already pleased countenance twisted into the vile grin that he had adopted before killing anyone out of pleasure.
Derrum slowly climbed to his feet. His breath had returned to him now, but he had not yet wiped away the residue left behind by the tears from his eyes - in fact, his eyes were still watering.
"Wh-why," Derrum managed to say. His voice was still weak from the constriction of his throat. "Why are you doing this?"
"Because you are pathetic and weak," Rash barked out, immediately turning to face Derrum. The already frightened commander jumped backwards - the sneer was still present on Rash's face. "I have learned from the ways of the Sith that those like you deserve to be ruled by the strong, which is what the Sith are! You, and many more like you, put on a charade in front of Bilos, fancying yourselves to be proud and strong. Yet, at the first sight of trouble, the lot of you run away with your tails between your legs! I, as the new Lord of the Sith, will not stand for it! The Sith are not cowards, nor are they fools."
"You are not the Lord of the Sith, and you never shall be!" Derrum loudly said, immediately drawing his blaster pistol from its sheath. Even as he pointed the weapon at Rash, Derrum was shaking; Rash was laughing however. The Dark Jedi laughed hard and scornfully, still unarmed and refusing to do anything about the gun pointed at him.
"Impressive! I did not think that you were capable of such acts," Rash exclaimed. He was highly amused with this bold confrontation, but it would not save Derrum from his fate. Nothing could redeem the sniveling coward now.
"I'll shoot! I swear!" Derrum spat, his voice shaky and his arm wiggling rapidly. It would be a miracle if he did hit Rash with his arm moving this way and that.
"Heh, then do it - I dare you," Rash growled. His lips were still twisted into that malicious grin. After thirty seconds had passed, the two enemies were still facing each other; both of them were alive and breathing.
"I knew you didn't have it in you," Rash said, his voice returning to its normal tone. He gave a disappointed sigh, shaking his head. He should've known that Derrum wouldn't have the guts to back up his threat.
"One day, I'll kill you," Derrum muttered quietly, his whole body shaking with anger as he put his pistol away. Rash only retorted with a laugh before he left the peeved Sith Commander to himself, heading towards his master's chamber.
With each step, Rash could feel his master's aura getting stronger. Rash's heartbeat continued to slowly increase as he drew closer to Darth Bilos, and it did so without him noticing it. When the Sith Apprentice finally reached the metallic door to his master's chamber, his heart was pumping faster than it ever had before. His breath had also rapidly increased, and his stomach felt extremely queasy. Was this what fear felt like, Rash wondered. Perhaps it was, but perhaps he was just becoming ill. That's what the Dark Jedi kept telling himself as his shaky hand pressed the lock release button on the door panel, the metallic doors slowly parting and revealing the inner-sanctum of Darth Bilos' meditation room.
The Lord of the Sith, who was thoroughly lost within his own mind, suddenly opened his yellowish-colored eyes. Slowly, Darth Bilos rose from his knees to his feet as he turned to face Rash; emotions were non-existent on the Sith Lord's grayish face. Even his flesh had been tainted by the Dark Side, making him look far older than he actually was. His skin was wrinkled, and numerous scars remained etched upon it. Most of them were hidden by his robes and armor, but some, such as the ones on his hands and face, were clearly visible. Bilos had been through a lot, and it certainly showed.
A flicker of fear appeared within Rash's gaze for a brief moment as he looked upon his master. Clearly, Rash wasn't as confident as he had thought; however, he wouldn't let a simple emotion stop him now - the mantle of Dark Lord was within his grasp. All Rash had to do was reach out and seize it.
"Is there something that you need, my young apprentice," Bilos calmly asked; even his voice was emotionless.
"I..." Rash began, but he quickly closed his lips. He came to the sudden realization that he didn't know how to say what he wanted to tell Bilos. The dark apprentice wouldn't need to say anything, however; his master was always a few steps ahead of him.
"You want to become the Dark Lord of the Sith, Rash," Bilos stated, breaking the silence between master and apprentice with a sudden burst of anger. This had caused Rash to flinch. Bilos rarely showed any emotion, and perhaps that is why he was so deadly. Even during combat, the Dark Lord was hard to read, easily able to outwit those who wished to try and play on his emotions; many Jedi had died this way, for they had hoped that they could pull Bilos back to the Light Side of the Force. This was a task that was impossible now - Bilos had fallen too far.
Rash's body suddenly went stiff as Bilos spun around, his eyes locking onto Rash's own eyes. For a few moments, the two stared at each other, and neither one of them dared to look away. Reaching deep into himself, Rash summoned as much courage as he could, and his stiffness faded away.
"Yes - you are unfit to be my master, Bilos," Rash non-chalantedly stated after he recovered his voice, "and I find that you are holding me back."
"I did not want this day to come, you know," Bilos began, his voice very weak, "but this is a natural process. When the apprentice feels that he is strong enough, he challenges his master. Should he succeed, he becomes the new Sith Lord, and the cycle will begin anew."
"I already know this, you fool!" Rash yelled as he clenched his fists, "why do you insist on spewing this trash at me before you die? I have learned all I can from you, and it is time that I moved on to become greater than you."
Bilos cackled heartily, shaking his head and crossing his arms. The cackles sent chills down Rash's spine, but the young Dark Jedi suppressed the feeling - he couldn't let his master know that he was afraid.
"What are you laughing at," Rash demanded as he pressed his right hand against his lightsaber. The hilt wasn't visible, but he could feel it through his cloak.
"Isn't it obvious that I am laughing at you," Bilos asked, his own hands falling to his sides. "I did teach you everything I know, but you never show any signs of comprehending it. What good is knowledge if you don't know how to use it? It is why you will never be able to defeat me, and it is also why I did not want this day to come; you had so much potential, and yet, it seems that I have wasted my time on you. To see you die at such a young age... But, I must remind myself that you brought it upon yourself. Perhaps my next apprentice will not be as thick-headed as you are, Rash."
Rash scowled as he used the Force to pull the hilt of his lightsaber from his cloak. As soon as the metallic hilt reached his right hand, a beam of blood red light extended from the tip of the hilt. After the energy beam reached a length of about three feet, Rash charged forward. He smirked when he saw that his master had not even equipped his lightsaber yet, but the Lord of the Sith remained motionless. Holding the hilt of his weapon with both hands, Rash thrusted the lightsaber forward, its tip pointed directly at Bilos. Before the light could touch Bilos, however, the weapon was pulled from Rash's hands. As soon as the saber was pulled away, it turned off and was flung to a distant corner of the room, the hilt making an audible noise as it bounced and rolled around. Rash gasped and slowly backed away from Bilos - how could he have been so stupid?
"Did you honestly think that we would duel with lightsabers," Bilos asked in a mocking tone. "I want to see if you have learned anything from me!"
Rash looked helplessly at his master. A duel using only the Force? That was insane, not to mention certain death for Rash. The apprentice was skilled with a lightsaber - so skilled that he could've defeated his master. However, Rash was not as skilled with the Force as Bilos was; many times did Bilos overpower the young Rash just by using his mind. No matter how many times Rash tried to resist such powers, Bilos would eventually overwhelm him in the end.
With a smirk on his scarred face, Bilos simply raised one of his hands and shoved Rash away, knocking the unsuspecting Dark Jedi on his back. Rash recovered quickly; he sprang from his back and landed on his feet, his boots making a clack as they stomped upon the metallic floor. The Dark Lord was ready however; as Rash was about to make his move, his body began shaking with pain as bolts of lightning tore into his body from Bilos' hands, the electricity causing Rash to shake and quiver as he fell to his knees. The lightning soon ceased, though visible traces of it could be seen on Rash's skin as it crawled all over his body. The distinct smell of ozone mixed with the scent of the smoke that was rising from Rash's body.
"Pathetic," Bilos commented as he gazed upon his apprentice, "You could've easily deflected both of those attacks. Perhaps you were meant to die by my hands..." Bilos' voice trailed off as the Sith Lord was preparing another barrage of lightning. Rash rushed away from his previous location at superhuman speeds; he was using the Force to perform such a task, however. Now that he was hidden, Rash could effectively heal himself without suffering from another attack.
Bilos hissed as his lightning collided with the floor, and the bolts instantly dissipated. The Sith Lord saw Rash's blur out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned his head, Rash was gone; the apprentice was hiding somewhere in the room, masking his location by using the Force. In a way, Rash had successfully blinded Bilos. Bilos betrayed his anger with a low scowl as he quickly scanned the entire room. It was quite a large structure, and there were many dark places in which Rash could hide.
"Come out," shouted Bilos, that anger leaking into his voice as well, "you are only delaying the inevitable, young fool."
"What's wrong, Bilos," Rash taunted, "can't you find me? Or perhaps..." He emerged from the darkness some distance directly behind Bilos. "...your senses aren't what they once were."
Bilos, listening to Rash's voice patiently to determine the direction from which it came, spun around and glared at his apprentice.
"You are a disgrace, Rash," shouted the Sith Lord, "your acts of cowardice are considered dishonorable in a duel such as this."
"A duel such as this," repeated Rash, cackling a bit, "You are the pathetic one. You associate this process with honor and respect when it deserves no such thing! There is no honor in murdering one just for his title, and I shall not respect you once you are dead."
"You have yet to kill me as I have yet to kill you, Rash," replied Bilos, "but I can assure you that you are too stupid to comprehend what this conflict is about; you can not be a Sith Lord if you fail to understand the basic principles of the Sith."
"Bilos, I knew you wouldn't understand," Rash said, laughing and shaking his head as he did, "I understand exactly what this whole conflict is about. This fight between master and apprentice ensures that only the stronger of the two rule the Sith. It is the way of the Sith. What you fail to understand is that I do not agree with such teachings. I plan to change the teachings, but in order to do that, I must become a Sith Lord; and in order to do that, I must kill you. Therefore, I shall use any means necessary to accomplish my goals."
"You idiot!" screamed Bilos, his skin turning a slightly pink color as the Sith Lord continued his shouting, "you are a fool to think that you can change the way the Sith operate, and you are a fool to think that you can kill me. I had become attached to you, Rash; you could have been a great Sith Lord. But your idiocy has blinded you and hindered your potential. We have talked enough, however; you must die now." Bilos raised his hand and prepared to fire more lightning at the young apprentice. The whole time, Rash had a smirk on his face. As Bilos moved to attack Rash, the Sith Lord heard the distinct sound of a lightsaber's blade rising from the hilt. Before Bilos could do anything, a red beam of energy pierced through his chest, the blood and flesh instantly burning away as they came into contact with the blade of Rash's lightsaber. Bilos moaned as the intense pain caused him to cringe. The lightsaber soon shut off, and the hilt returned to Rash's hand.
"You should have paid attention to your surroundings, Bilos," Rash stated in a mocking tone, "perhaps you would've felt my attack." Bilos continued to stare at Rash, a look of horror clearly visible on Bilos' face. The Sith Lord covered the hole in his chest with his hands, fell to his knees, and as he took his last breath of air, he fell forward, landing flat on his face. Bilos was dead, and Rash was the new Lord of the Sith.
With the same smirk he had before, Rash walked past his dead master and towards a computer panel. He pressed a bright, blue button and stared down into the monitor. The face of a Sith Officer immediately appeared within the monitor. The Officer, who had been attending to some business with other soldiers, was shocked to see Rash's face - Bilos was the only person that called from that location. Immediately, the Officer realized what had happened.
"Yes, Lord Rash," answered the Officer, and despite his certainty pertaining to what had happened, he sounded a bit confused, "what is it that you need?"
"Tell Derrum that Bilos requires his presence within his meditation chambers," Rash said quickly, immediately turning off the monitor after he had issued his orders.
The doors to Darth Bilos' meditation chamber quickly opened, and the doors quickly closed behind Derrum as he entered the room. The Sith Commander shook slightly as he looked around the room for Bilos.
"Rash didn't succeed," Derrum told himself in his mind, "Bilos has summoned me, not Rash."
When Derrum's gaze fell upon the computer terminal, he saw Darth Bilos standing before it. With a sigh of relief, Derrum began to approach the terminal. However, as Derrum got closer, he could feel that something was terribly wrong.
"Lord Bilos, you summoned me," asked Derrum, stopping just behind the Sith Lord. Bilos silently stood there, his back turned towards Derrum. The Commander was about to tap Bilos on the shoulder when Bilos' body collapsed onto the terminal and fell to the ground. Immediately, Derrum jumped back and screamed; he had spotted the hole burnt in Bilos' chest. Derrum turned to run for the exit, but Rash was already standing before the metallic doors.
"Going somewhere," Rash asked with a grin on his face.
"You...you..." Derrum muttered incoherently, unable to complete his thoughts. The Commander continued to do so until his throat tightened once more. Rash was choking him through the Force again, and there was nothing that Derrum could do about it.
"Killed him? Yes, I killed him," Rash said as he shrugged his shoulders, "you shouldn't be surprised. I told you that I was going to do it. And now, as your new Sith Lord, I shall do what I once told you - good bye, weakling." No one heard Derrum's tortured screams as Rash crushed every bone within the Sith Commander's body.
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Seven months had passed since Rash became the Lord of the Sith. The war against the Old Republic and the Jedi continued to wage on, and both the Old Republic and the Jedi Order found that Rash was more formidable than Bilos was. In the past months, the number of Jedi within the Order had been reduced by a fourth, and the Republic was in dire need of more soldiers. Rash, unlike Bilos, was an inspiring leader. Morale within the Sith troops instantly improved as the new Sith Lord promised a time of change.
Rash's apprentice, a young, white-skinned Twi'lek by the name of Lyn Unith, accompanied Rash wherever he went. Lyn was just like any other Twi'lek, except that a portion of her head-tail had been chopped off by a Dark Jedi.
In many ways, Lyn was like Rash. She had been a Padawan in the Jedi Order when she had left it. She sought Rash out, and after demonstrating much control with the Force, the Sith Lord agreed to take her on as his apprentice. Lyn wasn't overly successful with Rash's training, but as time went on, her affinity with the Force continued to strengthen.
For some time now, Rash and Lyn had been plotting to strike at the heart of the Jedi Order. They tried to figure out the best way to do so, and in their scheming, they came upon the thought of killing Jedi Master Sarn. Sarn had proved to be a thorn in Rash's side from the moment that he had usurped the title Sith Lord. Sarn was also an important member of the Jedi Council - without him, the Order would be thrown into a chaotic state.
Rash wished to attack Sarn directly, but Lyn begged for his patience on the matter. So, the Sith Lord waited for the right opportunity, and it finally came. Master Sarn was journeying to Tatooine in an attempt to recruit Force-Sensitive individuals found there for the Jedi Order. Both Rash and Lyn would also head to Tatooine, and there, they would kill Sarn. After being heavily disguised, both Rash and Lyn boarded a shuttle that took them to Tatooine. Once they reached the planet's surface, they headed into the town of Anchorhead.
Anchorhead was still a small town in many ways. For one, the spaceport was small and only accepted so many ships within it. Also, Anchorhead still looked like a colony instead of an established city; it was easy to tell that hardly anyone had cared about Tatooine. The sandy planet offered little resources, intense heat and dangerous predators. It was extremely dangerous for anyone to get lost within the desert, whether it had anything to do with foul play or not.
Rash emerged from the space port, using the Force to camouflage his original appearance. To others, he would appear like an ordinary old man, dressed in the common garbs that were worn in and around Anchorhead. Lyn followed her master, but she hadn't learned how to use the camouflage technique; therefore, she had to rely on other means to disguise herself. Using some simple make-up, the Twi'lek had changed the color of her skin, making her flesh a hue of dark blue. To conceal her partially cut head-tail, Lyn kept the hood up on her crimson robe, allowing no one to lower it.
Both of the Sith were surprised to find that, even though they had arrived mid-day, hardly anyone was making their way about the sandy streets of Anchorhead. Neither of them minded, for this would make their job easier.
"Remember, this is our rendezvous point, Lyn," Rash muttered under his breath as the two began walking around the quiet settlement.
"I remember, master - I'll see you here in exactly one hour," Lyn replied quietly before heading off. The plan was for the two of them to separate and search for Master Sarn, and if he wasn't within Anchorhead, they were to find out where Sarn had gone.
After an hour of searching, Rash returned to the designated meeting area. When Lyn returned, she could see the disgusted look on her master's face from afar; something was terribly wrong.
"What is it, my master?" Lyn instantly queried, looking behind her to make sure that no one was following her.
"No one knew what I was talking about," snapped Rash, crossing his arms as his lips formed into a scowl, "it's very apparent that they are playing stupid - even with the reward that I have been offering for Sarn's capture."
Lyn couldn't help but smile, which was something that Rash noticed rather quickly. Before Rash could get in a word, Lyn began speaking.
"You were probably looking in the wrong area, master. I have found some important information pertaining to our enemy," Lyn said very calmly, knowing that Rash would be pleased with her. And indeed he was; the scowl on his face had been replaced by a look of sheer glee - Sarn would soon be dead.
"What have you discovered about our slippery foe, my young apprentice," asked Rash, so excited that he almost forgot to lower his voice.
"Well," Lyn began, looking around to ensure that nobody was eavesdropping on them, "apparently, Sarn had discovered a boy with a very strong affinity to the Force. The only catch is that this boy lives out in the desert, so -"
"So we'll go after him," interrupted Rash.
"So we can go to him right now, as I acquired the coordinates of the boy's location," finished Lyn, smiling as she held up her datapad. Rash instantly grabbed it, grinning wide as he stared at the screen. This was going to be so easy, and if things went well, Rash could recruit the powerful, young boy as a Dark Jedi.
"Well done, Lyn," Rash stated, very impressed with his apprentice. She might've been somewhat lacking when it came to learning powers of the Dark Side of the Force, but the young Twi'lek was far from being incompetent.
The two then made their way to the speeder rental shop; taking their ship out into the desert wouldn't be wise, and they would have a better chance for a sneak attack by taking the speeder. As soon as the speeder had been procured, both Rash and Lyn rode out into the desert, heading towards the coordinates that Lyn had acquired. After what seemed like hours, Rash could notice a small hut in the distance. It was perched up on top of a rocky hill, surrounded by many sand dunes.
"Stop here," commanded Rash, being careful not to get too close; the speeder's engine might alert all of those who waited in the hut. Lyn did as she was commanded, and the speeder came to a halt as it landed on the sand with a light thud, both the vehicle and the sand underneath it shifted for a short period of a few seconds. When the speeder was done moving, Rash and Lyn jumped out and began approaching the hut from afar. When they closed in on the hut, Rash dropped his disguise and turned to face Lyn.
"Wait here, I will draw Sarn out here so that the both of us may kill him," Rash happily whispered - the joy very apparent in his voice. This was it; Sarn would finally die. Lyn only nodded her head, taking cover behind a large rock. She remained completely quiet as her master approached the hut. With each step Rash took, the Sith Lord could feel his heart racing within his chest. He felt similar to the way he had felt when he had approached Bilos. Sweat poured down Rash's face, both from the heat of Tatooine's twin suns and from the fear that was building within Rash. It will all be over in a few moments, Rash told himself as he was now a few feet away from the hut's walls.
The hut was very strange-looking indeed. Its smooth, textured walls seemed to glisten, giving the distinct impression that the small structure was wet. Curious as to why the walls glistened, Rash reached out a hand to touch the hut. The Sith Lord gasped when his head faded through the building's wall, and not long after Rash's hand disappeared inside of the hut, the whole structure faded away, revealing a small device partially buried within the sand. The whole thing was a hologram.
"What is this!" Rash shouted as he backed away from the place where the hut had once stood.
"For a Sith Lord, you really aren't too bright, are you," said a voice from behind Rash; the Sith Lord knew that voice all too well, for it belonged to his apprentice, Lyn.
Completely bewildered, Rash spun around to face Lyn, his expression a mix of rage and confusion. The Twi'lek had emerged from her hiding spot and was but a few feet away from Rash.
"I thought you would've figured something out while we were in Anchorhead," Lyn calmly explained, taking off her disguise and revealing her black robe, "I'm surprised that you assumed that everyone was hiding Master Sarn's location from you. I was also surprised that you didn't notice the lack of Dark Jedi for the amount of credits that you put on Sarn's head. You really surprised me, master."
Rash could tell that Lyn was mocking him now, and the Sith Lord shook with anger. He would not allow himself to be fooled in this manner.
"You fool" Rash muttered, his voice low but filled with anger. "You set me up. No matter - you'll still die out here in the desert, and I will find a new apprentice."
"A clever plan, wasn't it," Lyn quipped, leaving herself open and defenseless for any attack - she was quite cocky. "We had been plotting against you the whole time, and you never knew! We just had to wait for the right time, and it looks like our hard work will finally pay off."
"We," Rash asked, fear sinking into his voice, "what do you mean 'we'?" Lyn opened her mouth to reply to Rash, but the ground beneath them suddenly began quaking. The two soon realized that it wasn't an earthquake; instead, a rather large creature was causing the vibrations. As it approached the two Sith, each of them could make out the distinct, heavy footsteps as the creature made its way across the sand. From behind Rash, a massive, draconic head came into view, eclipsing one of the two suns in the sky. Rash quickly spun around, his eyes widening as the monstrous, scaly beast strode towards him. It looked like a huge dragon without wings, walking on all four legs. The horns which sat upon its head were nasty-looking; thankfully, krayt dragons weren't known to impale creatures on those horns. They were, however, known as fearsome predators that roamed the deserts of Tatooine.
"Y-you can't be serious," Rash growled, backing away from the massive beast as its reptilian eyes locked onto Rash's small form. Instantly, the Sith Lord equipped and turned on his lightsaber,
the red energy beam making that familiar "VWOOM" as the blade extended to its full length. However, the blade began to flicker, and soon, the lightsaber turned off, even when the switch was in the on position. Rash gasped and looked at his hilt, and then to his apprentice; he could feel Force energy coming from her, so this had to be her doing. With a sneer on his face, Rash pointed a hand in Lyn's direction, hoping to choke Lyn using the Force, as he had done to many of his victims in the past. He soon felt that his connection to the Force was severed, however, and the once powerful Sith Lord found himself standing helpless before the mighty krayt dragon.
The beast had stopped its approach and was staring directly at Rash. Those cold, reptilian eyes pierced through Rash's body, causing the Sith Lord to shiver. Again, he tried using the Force on the both the dragon and Lyn, but Rash no longer felt the power coursing through him. Was Lyn blocking his connection to the Force as well?
"Do you like him," Lyn finally asked, breaking the long silence between master and apprentice. "He's been my pet for quiet some time now."
"P-pet," sputtered Rash, an ache forming in his head; this was all so very confusing. When did Lyn have a pet? And why had she said we? What had happened to his lightsaber and his connection to the Force? What was going on?
"It's a shame that I have a high affinity with animals," Lyn spoke softly, a smirk forming on her face, "you see, the Force helps me in that way. I may not have been strong in other techniques, but this one is my very best. I can control other animals, even ones as big as this."
Rash stared at Lyn, horrified; this couldn't be the end. Rash was too strong to let the krayt dragon overpower him, but the Force, his source of strength, was now gone. The outcome of this meeting was all too apparent, but Rash still refused to accept the fate that had been assigned to him. Before Rash could do anything, the dragon swiftly planted one of its forepaws on him. The scaly digits pressed down with such a force that the Sith Lord was instantly knocked to the ground, flat on his back. The paw easily covered most of Rash's body. Rash's head was barely visible, stuck between two of the beast's appendages. The large, white talons sank into the sand as the dragon pressed down on Rash's soft and fleshy body with a considerable amount of force. The Sith Lord moaned in pain, squirming underneath the paw. As Rash looked up at the dragon's muzzle, noticed that the dragon was smirking at him, as if it enjoyed torturing him. To the Sith Lord's knowledge, krayt dragons never expressed emotions such as this; perhaps the beast was drawing from Lyn's own emotions. If this was the case, the bond that the Twi'lek and the dragon shared was quite strong.
Rash whimpered as the dragon lowered its snout, the massive maw right before his face. The jaws parted as the dragon's hot and foul breath poured over Rash's nose, the Sith Lord turning his face away in disgust. The dragon emitted an earth-shattering roar, causing Rash to quiver with fear. With eyes wide open, Rash stared into the yawning portal of flesh before him; the roar offered the Dark Lord a glimpse of where he would be going. The jaws soon closed, and the dragons lips curled into the same smirk that Rash saw before; Rash now knew that the dragon enjoyed toying with him, and there wasn't a thing that he could do about it.
"He's only drawing off of your fear, you know," Lyn spoke, her eyes closed as she concentrated on keeping the link between her mind and the krayt dragon's open. "It excites him." Rash struggled furiously now, wiggling his hold body and all of his limbs. This only caused the dragon to apply more pressure on the human's body. Rash cried out in pain when he heard a cracking sound as a few of his ribs broke.
"LYN, STOP THIS!" Rash cried as tears flowed down his cheeks. He wanted the pain to stop, and he wanted to be as far away from here as possible, but it was obvious to Rash that these were not valid scenarios. Rash was sure that his ribcage was about to collapse, but suddenly, the pressure on his chest lightened. The Sith Lord became dumbfounded as he watched the dragon withdraw its paw, placing it on the ground right next to him. As he went to take a breath of air, Rash coughed; his lungs felt like they had been pierced by the broken ribs. Instantly, Rash grabbed his chest and groaned as the pain intensified. Without the Force, he could not heal himself, so Rash had to bear with the pain as the dragon looked down at him. Rash swore that he could make out a smirk on the scaly lips of the krayt dragon, but those lips soon parted, revealing many large, yellowish-white fangs. Before the Sith Lord had any time to react, he saw the giant, open maw descending upon him; Rash didn't even have time to scream as the dragon's mouth blocked out the sun, covering Rash in darkness. As soon as the dragon's snout had touched the sand's surface, the krayt dragon's tongue wrapped around the human and pulled him further into the maw. The krayt dragon's jaws snapped shut, sealing the Sith Lord inside. The krayt dragon raised its head up from the sand, a proud look on its face.
Inside of the krayt dragon's maw, Rash screamed as he squirmed along the dragon's tongue, sinking into the pink muscle. The Sith Lord's surroundings had become dark, extremely hot and extremely moist. Saliva continued to drip down from all corners of the krayt dragon's mouth, coating Rash and ensuring that he was slick enough for the journey ahead. Rash had finally gotten over the shock of being eaten by the krayt dragon. Unfortunately for him, he had dropped his lightsaber just as the beast's jaws had crashed down upon him. His connection to the Force was still blocked, so attempting to use the Force was rather futile at this point. Not wanting to accept his fate, Rash began screaming and pleading as he banged on the krayt dragon's massive teeth, the huge pillars of white capable of mashing any smaller creature into a fleshy pulp. The pounding only annoyed the dragon, however; soon, the fleshy appendage moved and began undulating wildly. Rash was forced up against the teeth, squished by the dragon's tongue as it continued to taste his entire body. Rash yelled again and tried to push the tongue away, but his feeble attempts were no match against the fleshy tongue. Soon, the krayt dragon's tongue slid under Rash, and the man was flung towards the back of the maw. Rash landed on the tongue with a squish, his face becoming coated in saliva as it was pressed into the tongue.
The back of the throat rumbled softly as a gust of hot air wafted over the small, human form. The dragon's breath carried the heavy stench of decaying meat, but Rash knew why. The throat opened wider as the human's form was pushed along by the undulating tongue. The Sith Lord was terrified now, so terrified that he couldn't move. As Rash got closer to the throat, the opening got wider and the dragon's breath became hotter. Soon, Rash was on the edge of the dragon's tongue, hanging just above the esophagus. While there was little light available to him, Rash looked down into the rimmed pit of the dragon's gullet. The dark red flesh would slowly pulsate, saliva and mucus flowing down its sides. Rash screamed as he felt the tongue dip downwards, and gravity pulled the Sith Lord into the throat.
There was a squelch of air, and Rash found that the esophageal muscles were now constricting his body, both pulling and pushing him down that hot and slimy tube. Rash continued to scream and thrash, wiggling around as he moved deeper into the dragon's body. As the man neared the rib cage, Rash could hear the dragon's heart and lungs at work. The heart's thumping was so loud that it caused vibrations within Rash's own body. It wasn't long before the thumping heart was replaced with intestinal groans and the sound of sloshing liquids, however; within the darkness of the krayt dragon's esophagus, it was nearly impossible for Rash to see the large sphincter muscle that lied ahead. It too squelched as the muscle squeezed Rash, pinching him through the small opening. The Sith Lord whimpered as he slid into the pit of the krayt dragon's stomach, mixing with the soupy remains of previous meals. Rash yelled as he was waist-deep in a combination of stomach acid and rotting, animal carcasses. Even if there had been a source of light within the belly of the krayt dragon, it was impossible to tell what the dragon had devoured before Rash. Turning to bang upon the wrinkled flesh of the stomach walls, Rash continued to scream and wail, depleting most of his already thin air supply. The air wasn't fresh, however; breathing it in burned Rash's lungs, and the smell of decaying flesh was far worse in here than it was in the dragon's mouth.
The flesh, when Rash banged upon it, was slimy. Soon afterwards, Rash could feel a slight tingling sensation from his waist done. In that moment, Rash realized the true horror of his situation: he was going to be digested alive. Rash shook violently with fear, tears streaming down his face. How could this have happened? He wasn't food. He didn't want to be slowly digested - the pain would be too much. The air was thin, but it would still last a good while longer. As if sensing his fear and despair, the stomach walls slowly began to compact. Despite the large size of the dragon's gut, it wasn't long until the fleshy walls began pressing against Darth Rash. The walls didn't stop there, however; the stomach began collapsing around Rash, squishing him until it hurt him. Rash continued to sob, realizing that he might be crushed to death before being digested alive. This too was something that he didn't desire. The burning sensation on his flesh intensified as the fleshy began grinding against him. It became hard to move, and Rash could barely fight against the stomach now. I don't' want to feel this pain any longer, Rash thought to himself. It was then that he decided to end his misery. He still couldn't see anything within the stomach, but he could hear the constant groaning and squelching of the draconic digestive system. Gathering himself as he went over his plan, Rash squirmed and fidgeted within the dragon's compacted stomach until the Sith Lord managed to dip his head below the surface of the nasty, stinking soup. Drowning is a much better way to die... Rash thought as his lungs began to cry for air. The Sith Lord allowed himself to drown. The human's body went limp just as the stomach gave one final squeeze, crushing the small body. The muscular sac continued to do its job of grinding and dissolving its contents, oblivious to the life that it had just taken.
Outside of the krayt dragon, Lyn watched her pet as it slowly walked away, returning to the cave that was just under the rocky hill. The Twi'lek smiled; she was finally free from Rash's grasp.
"You did well, my dear apprentice," said another mysterious voice. Lyn knew that this voice belonged to the new Lord of the Sith, former Jedi Master Sarn Territh. Lyn spun around to face her master before bowing to him. Sarn gave the signal for her to rise, and she stood before him once again.
"Thank you, my master. I could not have done it without you," Lyn exclaimed, giving another bow, "I must say that I am impressed; I did not think that there were techniques within the Force that could not only siphon the energy of one's lightsaber, but make him blind to the Force as well."
"They are old skills, my young apprentice," Sarn said as he chuckled, "You know, that was quite a cruel fate you planned for him; I hope that you do not intend to do the same thing to me, when the time for you to become the new Lord of the Sith should arise."
"It is the way of the Sith," Lyn stated, looking at the spot where Rash had been before he had been taken by the jaws of the krayt dragon, "the weak are destined to be ruled by the strong. However, I think that you and I shall fight on more honorable terms."
The two Sith remained silent, listening to the sounds of the desert before they returned to the speeder, where they promptly rode back to Anchorhead. When Lyn and Sarn arrived on board the Havic, there would be a great celebration to honor both the new Sith Lord and the war ahead; the Jedi would soon fall as their great master became their biggest threat.