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| The Zarente Chronicles
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| Information
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| Date: 29-30 ABY
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| Location: Arcanum, Zarente System
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| Combatants
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- Queen Tatania Varik
- Masked Figure
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| [ Source ]
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The Zarente Chronicles
In a galaxy so recently divided by the Yuuzhan Vong, few know of the Arcanum. Constantly on the move it is never in the same place for more than a day. Within its halls, however, waits hundreds of hopeful recruits to the Dark Jedi Brotherhood. They are tested to see rather they have what it takes, while others are here to simply expand their knowledge of the Force and the universe. On a distant planet, a struggle is about to occur that will test the strength of the Shadow Academy, and, if victorious, provide the Arcanum with a valuable new weapon.
Prelude
Onboard the Arcanum; 29 ABY
"We must remain on schedule. Locate it and bring it back as quickly as possible."
The hologram flicked out of existence. Headmaster Aabsdu di Plagia Dupar sat at his desk, reading over the reports provided by his Magistrates Kalak Ragnose and Taigikori Aybara. He slid his hand over the datapads, trying to organize the mass numbers of passings and failings along with the numerous over pieces of data. The report on the mission on Zarente caught his attention.
He touched his comlink, "Get me Magistrate Kalak."
The planet Zarente, in the Outer Rim
The whir of the speeder echoed down the alley. Praetor to the Headmaster Dacien Victae di Plagia doubled back and threw himself through a half open door. Slamming a power charge into his blaster, he swung out and fired several shots at the approaching security force, hitting two of the six. Igniting the light blue blade of his lightsaber, he stepped back out into the alleyway as the four men took aim and fired. The shots were easily deflected as Dacien slowly stepped closer to them. He cut his saber sideways, slicing two of the guards straight through the visor of their helmets. He dropped to one knee, sliding the blade through the kneecap of another guard. Rolling sideways, his hand flew forward as the last guard was suddenly picked up and slammed into the side of the building by some invisible force.
Breathing heavily, Dacien wiped away the sweat that had formed on his brow from his escape from the queen's castle. He turned back down the alley, just as a hovertank fired its missile...
Short on Time
Breathing heavily and wiping the thin perspiration from his brow, Dacien grabbed his saber and turned just as a hovertank fired its missile. It arched towards him and he raised his hand, ready to call the force to his aid. Suddenly, a a black haired female jumped at him from the side, pulling him sideways as the missile blew past them into the street. She jumped up and ran, half pulling him behind her. Tired and willing to try anything to get away from the soldiers, Dacien followed until they reached a waiting airspeeder.
As she motioned to get in, Dacien ignited his saber and held it to her neck, "Answers. Now."
She remained calm, oblivious to the danger, "My name is Sephi Jax. I am forty-five years..."
Sephi was cut short as Dacien tightened his grip on the saber, "I'm on a deadline, don't waste time."
"I'm a member of a group of freedom fighters attempting a coup against the Queen's tyranny. I saw her army chasing you. The enemy of your enemy is your friend, you know?"
"Why does any of this concern me?" Dacien was getting impatient. He needed to finish his job and get back to the Arcanum soon.
"Honestly," she said, "because we are losing the war. If we don't gain an advantage soon we'll be finished by the end of the year."
Dacien considered the proposal for a moment, lightsaber still centimeters from the girl's throat. No doubt the heat was making her sweat, "I tend to follow up on favors."
She grinned at him, "We'll be happy to oblige."
Ill tempered
Queen's Throne Room
Varik Citadel
Zarente System
The hologram flickered into life, creating a monochrome figure dressed in a dark robe, around two feet tall, in the middle of the room. Tatania Varik, Queen of Zarente, motioned with her hand for her guards, silently waiting among the pillars, to leave, and they did. She draped her arm over the edge of her throne, smoothing out her golden silk dress. The figure raised its head, hidden behind an ancient tribal mask, and looked at the queen.
"Have you killed the Jedi yet," rasped the figure.
"He will be dead soon enough. My men are searching for him, but we suspect the rebels may have grabbed him."
"Do not underestimate a Jedi, especially one as high ranked in my organization as this one. I need not remind you of the battle droids waiting for you should you succeed, or fail. I will send a pair of Dianoga fighters to assist you in your search, but be watchful. Do not fail me... your majesty."
The figure stood long enough for his point to be made, and then flickered away. Queen Varik sat still on her throne, thinking, twisting a strand of her copper hair in her fingers. Her remaining in power depending upon the alliance with the figure, it was the only way she could put down the rebels before they manage to do any permanent damage.
Finally, she stood, pulling a comlink from the folds of her dress. She spoke a few words before returning it, and then walked away, heels clicking on the polished marble.
Endurance
Dawn broke as the speeder whizzed along a stretch of desolate, uninhabited land. Its passengers were treated to a truly spectacular sight as soft, gold rays fell across their faces. Praetor to the Headmaster and Sith Warlord Dacien Victae di Plagia stared out at the landscape, taking it all in while at the same time weighing his options and planning his mission. They were drawing near to a great split in the ground, a crack upon the geography. Small enough to barely be noticeable from orbit, but large enough, apparently, to play host to a series of buildings linked by narrow stone ledges.
The speeder whirred to a stop at the edge of the crack and Sephi jumped out, quickly heading down one of the pathways, "They're rumored to have been created by one of the first humanoid species on the planet a few thousand years ago. Legend says they were wiped out by a plague, but time is the only damage to their structures."
Inside the main hall, burrowed deep within the rock, a different scene confronted Dacien. Around thirty men and women were spread throughout a large, spacious room, cleaning weapons or huddling around primitive fires. A man and a woman quickly reached Sephi as she walked in, saluting her.
"Is this the one you were looking for," the man asked.
Dacien stopped and turned, pulling his lightsaber but keeping it deactivated. Around twenty of the soldiers in the room jumped to attention, weapons aimed, "Looking for? You lied!"
"Everything I said was true," Sephi returned, "but I did know that the Queen's soldiers would be hunting you. We have a contact inside the palace who told us of the situation. I decided to take initiative."
The room abruptly shook and explosions boomed through the caverns. The rebels jumped into action, running about the room and gathering weapons before leaving the cave and heading towards the surface. Ignoring Dacien, Sephi turned and ran, shouting orders. Dacien followed as they scrambled through narrow tunnels, the light at the end growing larger and larger until finally he found himself on the surface again. The whine of fighters echoed through the chasm until another noise caught his attention.
Somewhere nearby, a rebel shouted, "Here they come!!!"
Neither side was well armed with weapons or men. The battle was weak compared to what Dacien had seen among the clans of the Brotherhood. Still, they fought hard, both sides blasting away at the other. War was such a gruesome thing, and Dacien absolutely loved it. Eventually, Sephi and her squad were able to seize the tank. The Dark Jedi took aim carefully, placing a perfect blast on one of the fighters. The other raced towards him, firing three shots that he deflected back into the enemy, including the final fighter.
Slightly weakened from the fighters, Dacien pushed forward, slicing through soldier after soldier. Sephi ran up to him in the midst of the swarm, "This attack is a blessing in disguise, we must push forward into the city. Lead us into battle, Dark Jedi, and then you may have that which you seek."
Aggressive Negotiations
Renth, Capital City
Planet Zarente in the Outer Rim
Five black transports glided slowly through the streets, flanked by a large tank. Citizens brave enough to venture out at night ducked into the shadows while security details stopped and watched the tank painted with the seal of the Queen. Entering the courtyard of Varik Citadel, three things happened nearly simultaneously. First, the captain of the Queen's guard had a sudden moment of unease, and ordered his troops to stay alert. Next, a shield of purple appeared in front of the tank's cannon as it fired a blast towards the citadel, rubble falling into the courtyard. Moments after the blast, the transports opened to reveal the freedom fighters, fully armed and ready. The battle had begun.
Inside the citadel, eight rebels led by Dacien and Sephi slipped through the halls undetected. They eased through the antechambers leading into the throne room, the sides decorated with large bronze busts of Varik leaders long gone. Their dynasty was ancient, but it would end tonight.
They stopped outside the throne room, and Dacien and Sephi exchanged quick looks before nodding and bursting in. Blaster fire erupted from hordes of sentinel droids, taking out three of the rebels before they had even entered the room. Dacien's lightsaber twirled in his hands, deflecting shot after shot, but these droids were not his problem. He jumped through the air, landing among three droids that he quickly disarmed. The Dark Jedi looked around the chamber, searching for his target, and then he found her.
Standing beside her throne, the Queen watched the battle curiously, her overconfidence blaring. Her eyes caught Dacien's, and anger flashed across her face before she turned. Not fast enough, however, as Dacien reached out, grabbing her with the Force and throwing her back into her chair. He jumped over, landing inches away, lightsaber to her neck, "I think it's time you gave me what I came for."
Her anger and fear turned to instant defiance, "You think you can just march in here and take what you want? We do not bend so easily. The Varik Dynasty has survived for thousands of years."
"And it will end tonight," Dacien spoke as his eyes turned dark. He reached out to her mind with the Force, digging through her, and she was helpless to stop it. Dacien lost track of time, but eventually the battle moved out of the throne room, but he remained with the Queen. An hour went by, and then she broke, her mind barely intact. She led Dacien into a room hidden behind the throne, and there, on a pedestal, lay his prize. Sephi returned for the Queen, but the Dark Jedi remained, reaching towards the holocron.
He held on to it, closing his eyes and reaching out in the Force, touching it, surrounding it, becoming it. The room filled with the energy of the Dark Side, and then...
From the throne room, Sephi and the Queen looked up as an explosion lifted the throne into the air. Dust filled the room as Dacien stepped into view, his robes scorched, his eyes a maelstrom of fury. Pieces of the holocron lay broken in his hand, "It's a fake! A damn fake!"
He leaped forward, lightsaber instantly in his hand. Sephi moved to stop him, but he flicked his wrist and sent her flying across the room into one of the many columns. He landed in front of the Queen, pinning her against the wall with his lightsaber centimeters from her throat, "Where is it? Tell me!!"
The fear in her voice was obvious as she stammered, "I don't know, I swear! I always thought that it was real. Please, don't..."
She was cut short as Dacien plunged his lightsaber forward, letting her body fall limp to the floor. He turned to Sephi, who looked at him with nothing but fear, "You are not my problem," he said, and then left the room.
Aftermath
Office of the Headmaster
Shadow Academy Flagship, the Arcanum
Somewhere in the Inner Core
"You have failed me," Headmaster Aabsdu di Plagia Dupar stated blankly to his Praetor, Dacien. He had returned from his mission only hours earlier, but without that which he had left searching for. The disapproval in the Headmaster's voice was blatant. Dacien said nothing, but only kept his head bowed.
"I gave you an assignment, and you will complete that assignment," Aabsdu looked down at the various reports on his desk before turning back to Dacien, "Word has it that there are plans to return to Antei, and Lyspair. If we do, the battle will be tough. The Shadow Academy must be strong enough."
Dacien finally looked up at his long time friend and colleague, but Aabsdu was looking somewhere else, "That is why I am removing you from your position as Praetor to the Headmaster. Your service as been exemplary, but you are needed in other ways now. I cannot have you bogged down by political red tape and duties."
"If that is your will," was all Dacien said.
"Continue your search for this holocron," Aabsdu continued, "the secrets it contains would fuel our research for years." Now he looked back to Dacien, eye to eye, "But when the time comes, and I feel that it will, you know where you are needed. We will retake Lyspair."
Dacien bowed slightly before turning and walking out of the room. Aabsdu watched him leave, thinking about the future of the Dark Brotherhood, the Shadow Academy, and him. Dark times lay ahead, but the Shadow Academy would be ready for them."
Elsewhere on the Arcanum
The Rodian grasped at his throat in vain and then collapsed to the floor, lifeless. A figure stood over him, regarding the fallen Knight with seeming disinterest. From behind a tribal-like mask, eyes glittered coldly, "Wrong place at the wrong time, my friend," he said as he turned, unobserved by the Dark Jedi aboard the Arcanum, and looked back at his weak student.
"So the Praetor survived," the figure rasped, "Perhaps we aimed too high. So be it," he paused, looking at the student for a moment before continuing, "We will move forward regardless."
"Yes, master," the ensign bowed and hurried off. Behind the mysterious tribal mask, the dark eyes turned back, as they so often did, to the stars. Dark times lay ahead for Headmaster Aabsdu and his Shadow Academy, very dark times.