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Mass Effect: Shadow of the Sith

Prologue - End of an Era

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away...

Tython was burning.

The world that had once been a sanctuary for the Jedi Order's blissful peace was now subjugated to the brutal realities of war.

The Jedi, proud defenders of peace, bravely fought to defend their bastion against the dark legions of the Sith Empire with the assistance of the ever stalwart forces of the Galactic Republic. But even as they fought, the light of Tython slowly began to dim.

Halls dedicated to education and enlightenment in the Force were now filled with the panicked screams of terror. Once perfect rolling hills covered in emerald grass had been scorched to ash and devastated by constant artillery bombardment. Ruins of the Jedi order's sacred history were stained with blood and polluted with the bodies of Imperial and Republic alike.

Tython was no longer a planet for peace. Now it had become one of the final acts in the grand play that was the Great War, a final stepping stone for the Sith Empire's total domination of the known galaxy.

Though the Jedi fought for every inch of their planet's sacred ground their efforts were in vain, for they could not stem the dark tide of the Sith closing over them.

Imperial walkers, massive lumbering machines of war, stomped across the planes and advanced towards the last rallying point for Republic forces on the planet, the Jedi Temple. The massive four-legged siege towers raked Republic lines with heavy turbo laser fire, tearing up the ground and killing dozens of Republic soldiers and Jedi at a time.

Sith warriors and Imperial troopers advanced alongside their mechanized support, fighting with fanatic ferocity and zeal as they mercilessly blasted those that had survived the walkers and charged towards those who remained.

But even under a storm of red energy the Jedi remained defiant in the face of evil. With an awe inspiring cry a hundred masters, knights, and padawans burst forth from the cover of their temple wielding their brilliant lightsabers in a dazzling display. Together they crashed into the advancing Imperial lines and began cutting into their ranks. Lightsabers slashed off limbs and heads, bodies were thrashed or crushed using the Force, Imperial walkers had their legs sliced out from underneath them by their Jedi targets. The Imperials were reminded why the Jedi were not to be trifled with.

In response the Sith, the rulers of the Empire and archenemy of the Jedi, ignited their own lightsabers and made a counter charge.

Soon the battlefield became a scene of myth as Jedi dueled their most ancient of enemies on the sacred ground of their homeworld.

On the battlefield far from the clash of lightsabers, Captain Pierce and Major Malavai Quinn led a squad of Imperial troopers on a mission to flank Republic lines. Unfortunately Republic forces were heavily dug in and the two Imperial officers found themselves struggling to achieve their objective. A Republic soldier manning a heavy turret fired upon their position. In response they and their squad dove into the nearest trench.

"Damn! Blasted turrets are going to chew us to bits!" cursed Pierce as slew of blaster bolt flew just over head,

"We're not going to get anywhere with a full frontal assault," said Quinn,

"Obviously," mocked Pierce, "got any ideas Captain?"

"Just one, a flanking maneuver," replied Quinn without missing a beat, "let's circle around to the right and see if we can't take that turret out from the sides."

"Agreed," nodded Pierce, "Gantz! Medera! Koh! Stay here and provide covering fire! The rest of you follow us!"

The squad worked quickly, weaving behind cover and avoiding enemy fire with practiced efficiency. Of course it was only a matter of time before they encountered opposition.

Pierce, who was taking point, rounded a corner only to run head first into a squad of Republic troopers. Both parties reacted almost immediately, but Pierce was the faster draw. On pure instinct he raised his blaster rifle and opened fire.

Two Republic soldiers took blaster bolts to the chest and immediately hit the ground, the others scattered and took cover behind whatever they could find. Quinn moved to Pierce's side, giving support with his blaster pistol.

With both of them being accurate marksmen the Republic troopers fell quickly to well-placed shots.

When there was a lull in the fighting, Pierce released his blaster's power pack and reached to replace it with a fresh one from his belt when a Republic soldier jumped down into the trench beside him and struck him across the jaw. Pierce fell on his back, helpless as the soldier moved to finish him off, when a blaster bolt struck the man right in the faceplate.

"Lying down on the job Captain?" asked Quinn rather smugly.

"Just giving you a chance to catch up Major," replied Pierce as he pushed himself up, "dirty your uniform much?"

"A bit, but I have a spare."

Their bantering was interrupted when a familiar ship suddenly roared overhead.

"Well I'll be damned," smiled Pierce, "looks like we'll be winning this battle shortly boys! The Emperor's Wrath has arrived!"

"I don't care if the way is filled with landmines sergeant!" growled General Grahdar Wyklon over the COM, "you will find a way to advance to the Jedi Temple or I will have you shot for insubordination."

A veteran of multiple campaigns and countless battles, Wyklon rattled off orders like he was at a lectern.

"3rd Armored division, move your tanks forward and bombard the enemy from afar, focus fire on any Jedi you see! 221st, move on the West Tower and bring it down! 81st Walker, concentrate fire on their front lines! 25th Artillery, keep hitting the Temple! Bring their shields down!"

"General!"

"WHAT?!" roared Wyklon without taking his eyes off the holographic display of the battlefield "can't you see I'm busy winning a battle?"

"I-I'm sorry sir, but it's urgent," stuttered the nervous Ensign.

"Whatever it is I'm sure it can wait till after the Jedi Temple is ashes. Someone get me the 38th on the line right now!"

"Sir! The Emperor's Wrath has entered the system!" the Ensign desperately blurted out.

A hush of deadly quiet fell upon the Forward Command Center and the raging battle outside suddenly seemed utterly unimportant.

"H-his pilot reports that he will be landing soon," the Ensign added even more nervously.

Wyklon swallowed and nodded, "well done Ensign, dismissed."

"Thank you sir," saluted the Ensign before hurrying out.

"Where is Lord Wrath's ship landing?"

"At Landing Zone 3 sir, he'll be on the ground shortly."

"Very good, continue operations until I return. I will greet the Wrath personally."

Grand Jedi Master Satele Shan sat in the silence of the empty Jedi Council chambers. Despite the rumble of the battle outside and the constant shaking of the Temple's slowly failing structure, she remained still.

To the outside world she seemed calm and at peace. Internally however, her heart was a deepening well of sorrow and regret.

Sorrow that it would be her, as Grand Master of the Jedi Order, who would witness the beginning of these dark times. Regret that ultimately it was her choices that had led the galaxy to this point.

The truth was that all of this could have been different if not for her failure.

Her failure to save one Jedi from the dark side.

General Wyklon hastily straightened his uniform and brushed off any errant specks of dust he could find. When he was satisfied he went about examining the dozen Imperial troopers stand in ceremonial formation, waiting to greet the Emperor's Wrath. In the corner of his eye Wyklon saw one of his men skittishly rock on the balls of his feet and immediately called him out for it. Privately though, Wyklon could not fault the man for being as nervous.

He himself had met the Lord Wrath only once before and that one time had been more than enough to inform him that the Emperor's Wrath was not someone you wanted to irk for any reason. Anyone who did immediately found themselves...regretting it. Remorsefully Wyklon recalled that the last time he had been in the Wrath's presence he'd sweated so much it had nearly ruined his uniform.

For good reason the Wrath's reputation as the Emperor's right hand and chief enforcer was a terrifying one, throughout both the Empire and the Republic. Stories and rumors abounded of the Wrath's mythic powers and prowess in battle.

The Third Battle of Balmorra, where he single handedly destroyed an entire battalion of advanced Balmorran battle droids.

The Cleansing of Corellia, where the Wrath fought and defeated five of Corellia's Jedi Masters on his own.

The Slaughter of Sullust, where the Wrath led a single battalion of the Empire's best troops to conquer the entire planet Sullust.

But all of that was meaningless to Wyklon right now, he didn't care how many Republic dogs the Wrath had killed or how lauded he was by the Imperial people. Right now he just wanted to survive through the next hour of his life.

The Wrath's ship, a Fury-class Imperial Interceptor, had landed and the Imperial general cursed his luck as sheets of new dust fell upon his uniform. Wyklon swallowed as the ship's ramp lowered with a loud hiss of decompressing air.

Four Imperial Guards exited the ship first, their vibrostaffs in hand as they took up position at the end of the ramp.

Then, he came.

His steps made no noise as he walked down the metal ramp.

Wyklon remembered what the Wrath had looked like before and he was no less terrifying now.

The man was tall, enough so that he loomed over the majority of those around him. But how the man himself looked, even his species, was left a mystery due to the suit of armor he wore.

The Wrath's suit was comprised of a pitch black bodysuit upon which pale gray duraplast armor plates were placed over to protect limbs and vital organs. Sandwiched between the Wrath's torso armor and black bodysuit was an equally dark Sith tunic that Wyklon suspected was spun of protective armorweave. The four coat tails of the tunic were long and visibly swayed as the Wrath walked forward, providing the Sith with an almost ethereal presence.

But beyond the composition of the suit was the visage it conveyed. Just one glance at it and Wyklon saw a figure more resembling a dark specter of death than any mortal man. The overall theme of the armor was that of a humanoid skeleton. The abdominal plates strongly resembled a ribcage, the vambraces and finger pieces reminded him of finger and arm bones, and beneath the Wrath's Tulak style helmet was a mask that was clearly meant to resemble a stylized human skull.

All of it: the look, the feel, and the design, screamed of a being more predator than man. And that predator was walking right towards Wyklon.

Every Imperial trooper stiffened a little as the Wrath made his way down the ramp and onto Tython's soil. Even the Imperial Guard seemed to stand a bit straighter, if that was even possible. So paralyzed and focused on the Wrath was everyone that no one seemed to notice the slender blue skinned Twi'lek girl that came down after the Wrath and followed doggedly in his footsteps.

The Wrath silently strode up to Wyklon and came to a stop.

"General Wyklon", the Wrath's voice froze Wyklon's blood. If ever a vibroblade could speak Wyklon imagined it would have sounded much like the Wrath. Each word he spoke was done so with subtle amounts of danger.

"Lord Wrath" Wyklon greeted with a bow, "it is an honor to have one of the Emperor's chosen here to witness the Empire's finest hour."

The Wrath simply nodded and continued moving forward, Wyklon followed after.

"I must say that I am surprised to see you here my lord, I informed the Dark Council that I had the situation well under control. We took heavy losses when we landed, that much is true. But there is no need for you to-"

Wyklon was suddenly hoisted off his feet by invisible hands. Their fingers wrapped around his neck, constricting his throat, and threatening to crush his windpipe.

No one turned to watch, they were all too afraid that if they did they too would suffer as Wyklon currently was.

"I am not here to discuss your failures General, I am here on a mission of my own," with that the Wrath released his hold and Wyklon fell back onto the ground with a gasp, clasping his hands around his neck in relief.

Though secluded within the temple's council chambers, Satele felt his arrival as soon as his feet touched Tython's soil. His presence in the Force was like a hot nail driving itself into her mind. From him she could hear the blood of thousands crying out towards her.

Despite her oath to non-attachment, Satele could not help but let out a hushed sob upon hearing the echo of their cries in the Force. For while he had held the blade, it had been because of her that the blade had taken their lives.

Keeping them closed Satele reached up to wipe the moisture from her eyes. Mentally she reminded herself of her purpose here. Today she would atone for her sins, one way or another.

With great will and decades of practice Satele fell back into the peace of the Force.

The Wrath marched forward across the surface of Tython with purpose. Though blaster bolts whistled past his ear and geysers of fire showered dirt down upon his head, he did not activate his lightsaber nor did he slow his stride. This battle, though it raged around him, was far away from the Wrath,

The Imperials dying in the trenches were not his concern.

The Republic soldiers clogging his path were beneath his attention.

The Jedi standing in his way were nothing more than insects.

All of it meant nothing to him.

He had but one goal in mind, one target to hunt down, and nothing would stop him from reaching it. A dozen Republic commandos thought differently however. They positioned themselves in front of the Wrath and his small squad of Guards. Each of them was heavily armed and well trained, even a Sith Lord would have found them a difficult obstacle to surmount.

But he was more than a Lord.

He was the Wrath.

"It's the Wrath!" realized the Commander of the squad.

The Wrath did not stop moving and neither did the Twi'lek or the Imperial Guards.

"Open Fi-"

The commando leader was suddenly hoisted into the air and flung away like a rag doll. He soared over the battlefield, screaming the entire time, until he finally ploughed back into the ground and burst apart nearly a mile away.

Next, three of commandos suddenly dropped to their knees and clawed at invisible fingers wrapped around their throats. At the same time another four were dragged off their feet and slammed into the ground like children's toys. The remaining commandos had their bodies twisted and crushed in cruel and brutal ways, leaving all of them with limbs in unnatural positions.

The entire "fight" had lasted only ten seconds.

Without breaking pace the Wrath ascended the stairs up to the Temple doors.

Halfway up, three Jedi appeared to block his path.

"Not a step further Wrath!" warned one of the Knights, "turn back now and you will not be harmed!"

The Wrath's response was to raise his hand and blast the mouthy Jedi with the Force. The Jedi himself died almost immediately from the sheer strength of the blast, but then his body was sent flying up the stairs, spinning head over heels, until it smashed against the temple doors. The body then dropped to the foot of the door and moved no more.

The two other Jedi reacted emotionally to the cold murder of their companion. They activated their lightsabers and charged the enemy with heated cries on their lips.

Without a single order the Imperial guards readied their vibrostaffs and stepped forward to defend the Wrath. Amazingly though they were not force sensitive the imperial guard matched the Jedi blow for blow and block for block. The Jedi had not expected this and soon they found themselves outmatched in addition to being outnumbered.

Before long the Jedi were overwhelmed, one was pierced through the heart by a guard's staff, the other had her throat sliced and was left to bleed out in the dirt. The Wrath continued forward, unopposed, until he finally arrived at the Temple doors.

The doors themselves were massive twin slabs of heavily reinforced durasteel. Twenty feet tall and nearly a foot thick, even a lightsaber would have had trouble in cutting through. Much like its creators the doors were stalwart defenders of the temple.

But for the Wrath, they were simply in the way.

Instead of activating his lightsaber, the Wrath gathered his hands together and began gathering the Force between his palms. In just a few short seconds the amount of Force contained between the Wrath's palms was enough to crack the ground beneath his feet and cause the air itself to ripple around him. In a single graceful motion the Wrath unleashed all of towards the temple.

The temple doors, both 8 tons of metal, were blasted off their hinges and into the temple itself.

The Wrath continued forward and the Imperial Army followed.

Satele sat down on her knees with her back to the door, meditating at its foot. Many of the Jedi were now evacuating off planet in hopes of escaping the Empire. They were wise to do so, this battle was lost and nothing could save it.

Satele stayed because if she did not many more lives would be lost. Because she knew that the most dangerous man on the battlefield was only here for her.

If she left, he would follow.

So she chose instead to stay.

The doors to the council chamber were suddenly ripped open and off, interrupting Satele's meditation.

Composing herself, and taking a moment to brush off a stray piece of dirt from her robes, she stood and turned to greet her guests.

Almost immediately four men clothed in red armored robes bearing crested helmets and wielding vibrostaffs stormed through the entrance and quickly surrounded her.

One of them stepped forward and announced, "Grand Master Satele Shan, by order of the Emperor you are sentenced to death!"

The Imperial guard were feared by both Republic and Empire, but not by her.

Satele unclipped her weapon and activated it. The bright blue blades of her saberstaff sprang to life, bathing her and the guard in blue light.

"I may die today," she admitted with serenity, "but not by your hands."

"Take her!"

The like a well-rehearsed dance, the guards sprang forward. In a single glance Satele analyzed their attack and found herself impressed. Each guard had instinctively moved themselves in a way that complemented their fellow guard. Each guard had also attacked at a different angle, minimizing Satele's options to defend herself.

Any other Jedi would have been quickly defeated. But Satele was not just any Jedi, she was the order's Grand Master and she would not fall to these men.

Just before their blades could touch her skin, Satele dropped into a crouch and slammed the palm of her hand into the ground, unleashing a telekinetic burst from the Force.

The energy from the burst flung the imperial guardsmen into the air and left them dangling helplessly. Satele immediately took advantage of their momentary weakness. She leapt into the air and spun her weapon like a baton. Two guards died to her blades while the other two fell back to the ground.

Satele fell down on them like a bird of prey. Her targeted guard managed to block her first strike but was quickly dispatched by a surprise uppercut from her second blade.

The final guard attacked Satele with an expertly executed flurry. But Satele easily avoided her strikes, swept her feet out from under her, and cut her head off as she fell.

The entire fight lasted less than fifteen seconds.

"I know you're here," said Satele, "please come out into the open where I may see you."

She sensed hesitation at first, but that was quickly replaced by anger and confidence. She heard the unmistakable hiss of a lightsaber activate and then saw a blur of black and red headed right for her.

On instinct Satele threw herself back, a second later the Wrath landed in the exact spot she'd just been standing, his lightsaber plunged into the ground. Without even pausing the Dark Lord stretched out his hand and shot out a stream of lightning from his fingertips. Satele raised her lightsaber staff, twirling it like a fan. The lighting was sucked into her defense and deflected back at the Sith.

The Wrath batted away the redirected lightning with his hand and then reached out again. Using the Force he lifted some of the rubble that had fallen and with a flick of his wrist, sent it flying at Satele. The Jedi easily weaved through the missiles and even turned a few right back at the Sith. The Wrath simply brushed aside the return barrage with a small pulse of the Force.

One head sized rock managed to slip through, prompting the Wrath to catch it with an outstretch hand.

"You're defiance only prolongs the inevitable Master Shan."

He crushed the rock in his hand and Satele felt a small chill run up her spine at the sound of his voice. Carefully she took a small breath to calm herself.

"So it is you. I wanted to believe that it was not true, that it was not you beneath that mask, but there is no denying it anymore."

"He who you once knew is dead!" the Sith shot back venomously, "I am The Emperor's Wrath! His chief executioner! And I have come for you this day Master Shan."

Satele raised her weapon. "If this is the day I become one with the Force, then I shall embrace my fate willingly. But I cannot leave this world without first ensuring that no more suffer for my sins."

Satele got the impression that behind his ghoulish mask the Wrath wore a smug smile. "You intend to kill me?"

"I will do what I must," she stated plainly.

"You are indeed powerful Master Shan. But you have no hope against a being who is wrath incarnate. For while I can match your skill, you cannot match my anger. In the end you are only a Jedi…of which I have murdered thousands!"

"You don't have to do this!" Satele pleaded. "You can still come back to the light. You can still come back home. I can help you."

For a brief moment it seemed as though the Wrath's anger might subside. But it remained firmly planted in his heart and returned tenfold.

"It is too late for that…master."

The Wrath raised his lightsaber and brought its blade close to his face. Satele in turn made a show of spinning her saberstaff before settling into a defensive stance.

No more words flowed between the two. The Jedi and the Sith froze in place, their eyes locked on to one another. Though the temple crumpled around them and the ground beneath them quaked, they stood perfectly still, awaiting the other to make the first move.

To the outside world it might have seemed that the two combatants were simply analyzing each other. But in reality the battle had already begun. Through the eyes of the Force one would have been able to see the invisible struggle between the dark and the light.

Satele, a peaceful sea. Calmed and tranquil, she found her center and distanced herself from the chaos of the outside world.

The Wrath, a raging storm. Enraged and turbulent, he embraced the carnage of war and immersed himself in the hatred surrounding him.

These two beacons of the Force silently pitted themselves against one another, each seeking to unbalance the other and gain the unseen edge.

Sergeant Rolos swore as Republic blaster fire whizzed by her ear, singing the skin by proximity.

"Sergeant!" cried out her second in command, Corporal Dal.

She pushed him off roughly. "I'm fine!"

Those Republic dogs would pay. Rolos jammed her finger into her earpiece and screamed into it. "This is Sergeant Rolos requesting artillery barrage on grid Charlie-Romeo-Six-Three-Five-Two-Five!"

At first static filled her ear, then she heard a reply. "Roger Sergeant, artillery request granted."

An Imperial artillery shell struck the Temple, further destabilizing its structure.

The cracks that had spider-webbed their way across its ceiling finally reached deep enough and a massive chunk of the ceiling freed itself and crashed between the Sith and Jedi, drowning them in a sudden storm of dust and rubble.

But neither of them needed their eyes to see the other. Like a wild predator the Wrath pounced through the dust, his red blade raised high as he swooped down upon Satele.

The Jedi Master was quick to counter, she directed the strike downwards with her left blade while at the same time swinging her right blade up at the Wrath's throat. .

The Wrath saw this -expected it even- and quickly threw back his head, avoiding the tip of her blue blade by a hair's breadth. The Wrath did not hesitate to continue his attack. Together the two combatants became a blur of motion inside the sea of dust with only the light of their weapons to indicate the other's whereabouts. At times the two moved so fast that they seemed to phase in and out of reality.

With extraordinary grace and speed Satele attacked with an elegant thrust, the Wrath parried easily and struck back with an overhead swing. Satele blocked the blow and turned his blade away, attempting to buy herself some room to initiate her own offense, but the Wrath simply refused to let up.

He swung at her three times, the first strike aimed at her head, the second at her stomach, the third at her legs, and each time he came from a different angle. Satele successfully fended off each of them then spun her staff in front of her like a fan, trying to discourage her opponent from getting any closer. But the Wrath simply followed the spin of her blades and at the right moment he thrust his own weapon forward, ceasing the spin cold.

Capitalizing on her weapon's sudden static nature, the Wrath stepped forward and backhanded Satele across the face, hoping to stun her for a killing strike. But the Jedi Master expertly accepted the blow, flowing along with it to spin a full 360 degrees and deliver a kick to The Wrath's stomach.

The Wrath's armor absorbed the attack, allowing him to grab Satele's outstretched leg by the ankle. Taking advantage of her awkward footing he struck down at her, hoping to sever her appendage. The Jedi blocked despite her predicament, then jumped off her free foot and used it to kick off The Wrath's armored chest, using it as a jump point to wrench free her imprisoned foot and landing ten feet away.

The Wrath was quick to respond and pursued his fleeing quarry, only to lose her when she deactivated her weapon and disappeared into a sea of dust. The brown fog brought about by the falling debris had not yet settled. Wisely the Wrath chose not to follow and instead assumed a defensive Form III stance, focusing his senses on the surroundings.

"Running away Master Shan?" he taunted loudly.

Satele made no sounds as she swiftly navigated the sea of dust that robbed both her and the Wrath of much of their physical sight. However, as with most Force users they did not need her eyes to see. She suspected the Wrath could sense traces of her presence though she did her best to mask it.

Without warning the Grand Master suddenly came sprinting out of the dust from behind the Wrath. Her saberstaff sprang to life and she swung at the Wrath's exposed back. But at the last second the Sith moved his lightsaber, stretching his arms to block her blade with his. Then almost immediately he retaliated with a wide swing that forced Satele to back away.

Quickly she broke off the engagement and disappeared again into the dusky fog while the Wrath remained at his station. Long seconds passed as the Wrath remained alert, his muscles wound tight in anticipation.

Suddenly the Wrath shifted his lightsaber to protect his right shoulder. A mere moment after his red blade was in place, Satele in the form of a blur shot past him and sparks burst from where the streaks of her saberstaff struck his red blade. With a guttural growl he swung at her after image only to hit air.

Before the fight could continue Satele masked her presence and disappeared into the dust again. Almost as soon as she was gone, the Wrath's senses alerted him of imminent danger. His hands moved on their own, maneuvering his red blade to his left flank.

Sparks flew as the Jedi struck from the cloud again. Immediately the Wrath shifted his defense just in time to deflect another potentially life ending strike.

Again and again and again Satele would speed out of the dust to strike and again and again and again the Wrath would just barely manage to deflect the blow. After two dozen blinding fast strikes, eclipsing only a minute in total, the Wrath's defenses finally faltered.

Satele burst forward activating her weapon as she did. Frustrated with being on the defensive the Wrath abandoned his defense in favor of swinging his lightsaber in the direction his instincts directed him to. His preemptive strike would have bisected the Grand Master had she not at the last moment dropped to her knees, sliding beneath the crimson blade while at the same time lashing out with her own.

The Wrath let loose an animalistic howl as he felt the sting of her saber pierce his side. The blade had not dug deep and there was barely any noteworthy pain, but the Wrath felt his anger build all the same. Anger that he had failed to end the fight then and there, anger that he had been the one to be wounded and not her.

"You will pay for that Jedi!"

For her part Satele felt no elation at her small victory, in fact she felt only grief and pain. It was not a pain like she had struck herself instead of him. No, it was far worse. A horrible searing spike had been thrust into her heart though her chest remained unmarred.

This pain forced her to stop and hide in the cloud of dust instead of continuing her attack. When she was a safe enough distance away she dropped to one knee and let loose a shaky. Where no one could see her she silently mouthed the words: "I'm sorry".

The Wrath had had enough of this cloud of dust shielding his prey from him. He was Sith, the philosophy of his order, of his entire life was centered on aggression. He would not be the defender.

Curling his arms inwards the Wrath gathered the Force around his body, he let it build, he let it struggle against the invisible chains that he used to hold it in place, let it kick and scream to be released. Finally he threw out his arms, breaking those chains, and letting loose the Force in a massive omnidirectional wave.

The cloud of dust that still hung the air was instantly blown away. Satele sensed the danger too late and was caught by the sudden tsunami and sent flying out of the entrance hall and into the main chamber where she landed on her back on the council table.

"There you are!" he snarled.

With his prey exposed the Wrath growled and leapt towards her with his lightsaber held over head in both hands. Satele regained her senses just in time, she saw the Sith coming down on her and activated her saberstaff, its blue blades sprang to life just in time to save her life. The Wrath's weapon came down heavy on her, sparks crackled from the two blades as he pressed down on her with all his weight. Unexpectedly the Wrath relented and for a moment Satele thought he might retreat. But then he began to rain down a series of heavy two handed strikes down on Satele's defenses.

The Jedi Master held her defense, but knowing she wouldn't last long under the Wrath's relentless assault Satele reached out with the Force and flung a few large chunks of rubble at her enemy. The Sith became temporarily distracted avoiding the missiles, giving Satele a chance to retake the offensive.

She leapt up and came at him as twisting hurricane of acrobatic flips and spinning blades. The dark lord was now on the defensive again, but he was not passive.

As a master of lightsaber combat his trained eye had followed and analyzed her movements and immediately defined them to be a combination of the Ataru and Niman forms of lightsaber combat. Fast paced and aggressive, the Grand Master's style relied on momentum as a multiplier to defeat her enemies. But once that momentum was broken she could be forced into a contest of pure martial prowess.

He continued to backpedal while dodging or deflecting the strikes of his opponent. As he did this he patiently waited for the right moment to turn the tide back in his favor.

Satele did another of her disorientingly complex spin flips that transitioned into a diagonal slash, and there the Wrath saw his opportunity. Kicking off of his back foot he dashed forward, intercepting her strike just before the momentum of her spin could build to its peak. Satele's eyes widened as she realized that her offense has been effectively stonewalled. With their sabers locked together, the Wrath took advantage of his opponent's brief moment of shock and blasted Satele with the Force using his free hand.

The Jedi Master was blasted off the council table, tumbled through the air, and smashed against the chamber wall. The Wrath was immediately on her, using the Force to quicken his steps and deliver a finishing blow.

But the Jedi Master recovered too quickly and rolled underneath his horizontal slash, then she came back with a jumping thrust aimed at his chest.

Unexpectedly the Sith Lord immediately moved towards the incoming blue blade, at the last possible moment he spun himself around her thrust. Free of harm and his opponent in arms reach, the Wrath transitioned from his spin to grab the Jedi by the neck with his left hand. He then used his superior strength to lift her clean off the ground and then smash her into the floor so hard the tiles cracked.

Satele was left in a dazed pain, allowing the Wrath to grab and lift her up with the Force. Then with a throwing motion from his hand he sent the Jedi Master went flying through the Council Chamber doors and out into the main hall where she made a heavy landing at the foot of the stairs.

Satele felt pain course through her entire body, instinctively she called upon the Force to heal what could be healed and used immense mental discipline to ignore the rest. The Wrath walked through the doors, but did not attack, instead he allowed his opponent to regain her stance.

"On your feet master Jedi," he ordered, "I know you can do better than this!"

Without giving a response Satele reignited her lightsaber and the Sith charged.

He flipped over the Jedi, swing his lightsaber twice as he went. Satele blocked both strikes then riposted with two strikes of her own, one from each blade.

Not wanting his opponent to regain any offensive momentum, the Wrath pressed his attack.

Upon landing the Sith made a low swing for Satele's legs. The Jedi blocked with her lower blade, then retaliated by holding her lightsaber above her head and spun it like a deadly fan that threatened the Wrath with decapitation. The Wrath however, dropped to his knees and slid under the rotating blue blades.

But the Jedi Master pressed harder, as soon as he returned to his feet Satele jumped at him and thrust her saberstaff. The Wrath backpedaled to avoid the attack. Satele thrust again and again, using her saberstaff like a lance to keep up the pressure.

As Satele drew back her staff to thrust again the Sith saw a chance and pounced forward. He grabbed her saberstaff firmly by its hilt, halting the attack, and then violently shot his knee up into the Jedi's stomach.

The sudden rush of pain and loss of air caused Satele to loosen her grasp on her weapon. The Wrath ripped it away and prepared to deliver the finishing the Grand Master would not be so easily killed. At the last possible moment she threw up her hands and blasted her opponent with the Force. The Dark Lord was sent spinning into the air and smashed into one of the many columns in the hallway.

Using the Force to retrieve her weapon, Satele pressed the advantage and charged.

The Wrath having landed on his feet, retaliated immediately by letting loose a crackling stream of lightning.

Satele brought up her saber and deflected the deadly bolt away. But the Sith was not so easily deterred, he brought up both hands and cast a storm of lightning at his opponent.

Satele attempted to block again, but this time the intensity of the lightning forced her to halt her advance. She held strong, but the Wrath only intensified his assault. Eventually the intensity became so great that she was lifted right off her feet.

The Sith ceased casting his storm and moved to finish the fight.

Satele struggled to recover. Even having defended against the Sith lightning with a lightsaber her hands had become numb, her insides felt like they were on fire, and she tasted more than a little blood in her mouth.

"A little more, just a little bit more," she whispered.

The Wrath's presence fell upon her and she leapt back to her feet. Immediately she spotted the dark figure advancing towards her. She threw out both her hands and sent a powerful Force wave rolling to meet him.

The Wrath did the same.

Their two waves of Force energies collided and the entire temple quaked in the resulting aftermath.

Both combatants were thrown back but it was Satele who lost her footing and fell. Shrugging off the buffeting storm of debris, the Wrath burst through the dust to finally finish her off.

The Jedi rolled out of the way and attempted to raise her weapon. But the Sith's crimson blade moved too fast.

In a last desperate attempt Satele threw up her lightsaber hilt to block.

The Wrath's red blade sliced through Satele's staff and left her holding two equally long halves.

He expected the remains to deactivate and leave his opponent weaponless. Instead both ends remained fully functional, leaving her with two lightsaber, one in each hand.

"Shouldn't have done that," smiled Satele

The Wrath's response was to utter a guttural growl and reinitiate his attack.

The Sith started off with a wide horizontal slash. Displaying great flexibility, Satele bent herself backwards to allow the Wrath's lightsaber to pass over. She then spun low and swiped both her blades in unison at his feet.

Her opponent jumped above her attack, but Satele kept up her momentum. She swung her blades in a furious dance, attacking with one then immediately following up with the other.

The Emperor's chosen found himself being pressed back.

He attempted to retaliate with a quick strike, but Satele parried and delivered a Force empowered kick to his chest. The Wrath staggered and attempted to recover only to be blown off his feet by a powerful follow up Force push.

Satele moved in to deal the finishing blow but her Sith opponent jumped back to his feet and raised his blade again. The Jedi was soon upon him, swinging her blades together in synchronous, pounding against his defenses like the constant waves of a sea against the shore.

In an attempt to allow himself some breathing room, the Wrath allowed himself to fall deeper into the Dark Side. He became its vessel, its cage, he let it stir and rail within him, allowing it to build up inside of his core until finally he released it in a single instant.

The Wrath roared and threw out his arms as the Force exploded out of him, creating a shockwave so powerful it was felt all the way from the Imperial Command Center.

Satele was caught off guard and sent the tumbling uncontrollably through the air.

A thin smile touched his lips beneath his helmet, the Wrath moved in.

Satele landed far and for a brief moment she did not have the strength to rise again. Every bone in her body felt cracked, every muscle felt twisted. Pain wracked her body and the growing despair that had gnawed at her from the beginning of the fight began to settle in.

Where had she gone wrong? If she had done more, would this still be happening? Was this all her fault? Did she fail the order?

No, she couldn't think about that. Not now, not with so many lives hanging in the balance.

Calling on the Force to once again heal some of her minor wounds, Satele rose back up just as the Wrath arrived.

"Still alive? Good."

"The offer to return still stands," she evenly replied.

"What's the matter with you!?" the Sith asked angrily, "don't you realize that if you don't kill me here, then I will go after the rest of your Order after you are dead? I will never stop, I will slaughter Jedi after Jedi until they are wiped from the galaxy."

Satele winced, a small prick of anger managing to worm its way into her mind. The Wrath sensed it and kept prodding her.

"I know you felt the lives of the Jedi I killed on the way here. How did that make you feel?"

The Jedi Master did not respond. But the Wrath knew he had hit a nerve.

"Perhaps instead of killing you, I will keep you alive so that you can feel the last vestiges of your order die out."

"You're attempts to goad me are useless Wrath, the light is with me, I will never give in to anger."

The Dark Lord sneered behind his mask. "So it would seem, now..."

The Wrath's left hand reached down to hip where he unclipped a second lightsaber. Its crimson blade hissed to life and bathed him in its bloody glow.

"…shall we begin?"

Vette wasn't someone who liked fighting.

She was no slouch when it came to a throw down, in fact she was deceptively deadly, her travels with her master had shown that much, but she didn't enjoy it like some evil mask wearing persons who she would not be named.

Despite her distaste for violence, she had found herself in quite a few situations that required it. Together with her master she had taken on Republic commandos, White Maw pirates, and even Jedi Masters.

But invading a planet? The Jedi's home planet? Walking into the middle of a warzone? This was starting to get out of hand.

The young Twi'lek rolled behind a fallen column as a squad of temple guards fired on her position. Why were they attacking her? Surely with all the temple crawling with Imperial troops and Sith Lords they had better things to do than come after her! Damn it, why did she have to go and get separated from the Wrath? She wasn't even totally sure how it had happened. One minute he was there with those creepy Imperial guards, then she'd seen some glowing box that had looked pretty expensive, and when she looked back he had been gone. I swear if I get out of this-

More blaster fire striking her cover shook Vette from her thoughts. Right, survive first, internal monologue later.

She pulled out her weapons. In her left hand she held a D-200 Enforcer, a fairly standard blaster pistol. Decent stopping power, rapid fire, relatively accurate, and quite reliable. In her right hand however was her heavy blaster pistol, a S-203 Watchman. It was heavier and had greater recoil that forced its user to fires slower, but made up for it with more powerful bolts and greater range.

Vette popped out from her cover and fired off a volley out of her Enforcer, four guards went down immediately. Vette then pulled up her Watchman and fired three shots. One bolt went wide, the next two hit their mark and blew dinner plate size holes in two guards.

The single remaining guard tried to return fire, but Vette quickly put him down with a casual shot from her Enforcer. The Twi'lek smiled at her accomplishment.

"Not bad," she congratulated herself outloud. Her victory was cut short however by a squad of Republic soldiers moving towards her position.

"Master Satele needs assistance, let's move!" she heard one of them say.

"Shavit," she cursed. Thinking on her feet, she holstered her Watchman and unclipped a thermal detonator from her belt and chucked it at the incoming squad.

The small round metal ball sailed through the air, hit the ground, bounced a few times, and rolled to the trooper's feet where it finally exploded, taking down half of them in a single blast. That left six more for her to deal with.

Hoping to not give them a chance to recuperate, Vette began to unload on them with both her weapons. But these soldiers were well trained and immediately sought cover from the Twi'lek.

Two of them returned fire and forced Vette back behind her column.

"I seriously need to think of a career change," she muttered to herself, "being a Sith's slave is starting to not look good for my health."

"Freeze!" Vette looked up to see the end of a blaster she hated looking at the most.

"Bantha poodoo,"

Suddenly, the Trooper holding her at blaster point was whisked off his feet by an invisible hand. Vette's eyes followed the trooper until he came to a stop, only for a yellow lightsaber to burst out of his chest.

His lifeless body was then tossed aside with contempt, revealing his murderer. A woman, hooded and clothed in elegant dark robes, wielding a saberstaff.

Vette sighed. "Great, it's the crazy girl."

Jaesa Willsaam, Vette and her did not get along while they served under the Wrath on the same ship. Now Jaesa had become a Sith Lord and their relationship had not improved a bit.

"Sith! Open fire!" yelled one of the remaining troopers,

Jaesa immediately leaped through the air as the Republic soldiers fired upon her. She landed between two of them and spun her saberstaff, both trooper's heads fell to one way while their bodies fell another. Jaesa then swept her hand across the air causing one of the remaining troopers to smash into one of the few still standing columns.

The two still left desperately fired on the deadly woman. Jaesa charged in laughing maniacally as her saber easily deflecting the bolts. The first trooper sliced in half, the other she struck with lightning till his body began to smoke.

"Hahaha," Jaesa laughed psychotically, "nothing like the thrill of killing a few helpless soldiers."

As she reveled in her emotions, a Republic soldier who'd just arrived took aim at her exposed backside. Jaesa sensed him through the Force and spun around to end his life when a blaster bolt took him right between the eyes.

The Sith Lord turned to the source of the bolt and frowned.

"You," she accused.

"Me," confirmed Vette, "nice to see you Jaesa, still crazy and evil I see."

"Still don't know your place I see," the Sith countered, glaring murder at the alien.

"Oooh, the scary eyes," mocked Vette, "and seriously, I don't know my place? You look like you don't know yours, I'll give you a hint though. It's got loud music, lots of men, and a poles that you dance on."

Vette was of course referring to Jaesa's choice of clothing. It was hardly what could be considered modest, even for a girl who got a thrill out of showing herself off.

Her black sith robes allowed for a good deal of her midriff to be shown and had a plunging neckline, in addition the ankle long skirt she wore had a large slit in the side that teased the shape of her legs under her robes.

"You're just jealous that I've got something to show," the Sith Lord shot back,

"Oh ho, excuse me?! Last I checked we were the same size," replied Vette,

"Yet I'm the one with more men under my belt."

"That just makes you a whore."

"And you're restraint makes you no better than a child."

"At least I know what restraint is."

"Hmph," Jaesa smirked, "you know, the only reason I haven't killed you yet is because I find your attempts to annoy me...mildly amusing."

"Well I find your evil...incredibly irritating."

The two glared at each other for a long moment before finally breaking off at the same time.

"Good talk," Jaesa finally said,

"Agreed," replied Vette.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a lightsaber activating. Both women turned to see a Jedi leading another squad of Republic soldiers towards them.

Jaesa activated her own lightsaber and Vette unholstered her blasters.

"Time to get back to work,"

Satele found herself flipping through the air into the hall of archives as she fell back from another of the Wrath's assaults. The Sith had been a terrifying force of nature when wielding only one saber, now with two he was even more deadly.

The Wrath strode towards her confidently, as if knowing it was only a matter of time before he struck her down. Satele charged, leaping acrobatically and swinging both of her sabers to create a cross down attack.

Her opponent blocked both of her sabers, locking them with his own. Knowing that a contest of strength would not end in her favor the Jedi Master immediately broke the lock and attempted to retake the offensive. But the Sith parried her attacks and riposted, giving him the offensive instead.

He attacked with his right saber, Satele dodged.

He attacked with his left saber, Satele threw herself back.

The Wrath attacked with both sabers, swinging them in unison like a single blade and Satele prepared to defend.

Unexpectedly tendrils of blue lightning suddenly sprung to life from the Wrath's blades. By the time Satele noticed it was already too late, their blades crashed against one another and the lightning coursing through the Wrath's blade erupted in a brilliant flash of eldritch energy that launched her backwards. Desperately Satele tried to right herself midair but found that the lightning coursing along her body had paralyzed her muscles. She hit the temple floor like a rock.

The Sith pressed his advantage and moved to kill her while she was down. But Satele recovered quicker than expected, burns from the lightning trailed along her arms and tears covered her clothes from striking the floor, but she still mustered the will to stall the Wrath with a powerful Force push. The Dark Lord however, simply ducked his head down and powered through the blast of telekinetic energy.

He then reached out with both of his hands and used the Force to rip a pair of heavy study desks and several holobook shelves out of the floor. With a gesture he sent all of it hurdling towards her. With otherworldly grace, Satele weaved around the first and second desk and dodged under the first of the shelves. The second shelf she leapt at, landing on its top before using it as a bounce board to launch herself at the last incoming shelf.

Her feet touched the shelf and for several seconds she rode on it like a massive spider. Suddenly her senses screamed like ship klaxons inside of her head. Immediately she pushed out her legs and shot off the still airborne shelf, just as the Wrath's lightning struck it and caused it to explode.

The Jedi Master double backflipped, landing herself on top one of the nearby temple elevators and used the Force to hit the up button.

Her opponent growled before taking a running start and then calling upon the Force to launch himself six meters into the air, just enough for him to land on top of the spacious elevator next to Satele. Though surprised, Satele quickly brought up her guard.

The Wrath lunged forward with a double thrust, but she batted the attack away and spun herself to sweep both her sabers at his legs. He leapt over her blades, but as Satele came back up and around she shot out her foot and caught her enemy right in the chest. The Dark Lord held strong however, digging his heels into the elevator roof, refusing to give a single inch of the territory they fought on.

Angered, the Sith renewed his attack against the Jedi with greater ferocity. The two fought like demons the entire way up, neither truly gaining an edge over the other. When the elevator finally came to a stop, Satele immediately leapt off and landed onto the sixth floor. The Wrath chased her into a hallway lined with the statues of great Jedi Masters of the past, each masterfully carved from stone found on Tython.

Satele whipped around to face him again. The Wrath struck at her with his left blade, she blocked with her right and forced both of their weapons into the ground while attacking with her left saber. The Dark Lord parried with his right and kicked his foot up at the Jedi.

To avoid his boot Satele threw herself back.

The Wrath's anger began to reach its boiling point. This Jedi, no matter her title, should have been dead a dozen different times by now. He would entertain her foolish notions of survival no more!

Once again his crimson blades became alight with Sith lightning.

Though his target was well out of saber reach the Wrath swung both of his blades. Satele hurriedly raised her blades in an X, just in time for the lighting on the Wrath's weapons to leap off and strike her.

Satele's lightsabers absorbed the majority of the electric discharge but she could do nothing of sheer force behind the attack, which lifted her clean off the ground.

The Wrath was upon her in an instant. Seeing Satele hanging helplessly in the air he leapt up after her, his blades once again fueled with crackling blue lightning.

Seeing him come at her, Satele knew she could not defend herself in her given position. Out of desperation she threw one of her sabers at him, using the Force to spin the weapon like a deadly fan.

The Wrath struck with precision, slicing the half of a saberstaff into two quarters, destroying it. He then used the Force to propel himself forward like a cannon. Still in the air, Satele saw him coming and quickly raised her single blade in defense. Twin crimson blades charged with lightning slammed down on the hasty defense provided by her one remaining weapon.

Her back smashed down against the floor, cratering it, and causing her to cough up a glob of blood. The Wrath dropped down two meters away from her and loomed over his broken opponent. It was only through sheer willpower that Satele reignited her saber and shakily rose to fight again. The Sith Lord showed no mercy to his weakening adversary.

Utilizing both sabers he began to hammer away at Satele, with each strike she blocked he sensed her falter. The end was close.

"DIE! DIE! DIE!" he roared with every clash of their blades.

Each time Satele parried her stance was disrupted and the grip on her lightsaber became weaker.

Every time she dodged the margin with which she escaped got smaller.

Finally, the Wrath's strikes brought her to one knee, he struck down again, and again, and again. It was close now, the end. The Wrath could practically taste her death coming soon. As he raised his sabers once more to deal the final blow, Satele saw her opening.

Quicker than the Sith could react, Satele slammed the palm of her hand into the floor. The Force erupted from her hand and the floor around The Wrath's feet opened up beneath him. As powerful as the Wrath was, he could not fly and there was now 50 feet of air between him and the ground.

"NO!"

The Wrath realized that Satele had lead him into a trap, it had cost her more than a pound of flesh, but it was worth it. As the final nail in his coffin the Grand Master threw out her hands and one of the most powerful Force pushes the Wrath had ever witnessed smashed into his body.

The Dark Lord shot to the ground floor like a rocket. The crater that resulted spanned a diameter of nearly seven meters, no normal man could have survived. But as he had proven before, the Wrath was no normal man. His body burned with pain but his anger pushed him to slowly rise. Gradually he managed to stand back up.

Then Satele dropped from the floor above and landed perfectly at the edge of the crater. The Wrath growled and urged his body forward so that he could return the insult. But then the Grand Master raised her hands skyward, Satele loosened the rest of the floor above and used the Force to direct all of it on top of him. The Wrath was crushed under tons upon tons of rock and steel.

Finally Satele let out a breath of relief. The exertion that she had just put herself through was immense. Though pain rioted through her body and her vision blurred every few seconds, she pushed herself to walk towards the mountain of rubble and laid her hand upon it.

At the very least I can be with you in the end...so that you won't be alone. Many would have argued that he didn't deserve it. But they hadn't known the Wrath like she had. Through the tons of stone she sensed his presence, she also sensed his anger, his frustration, and his desperate struggle to hold onto life.

Gently she touched his presence with her own. As expected he immediately recoiled and the rubble he was buried under shook because of it. But his strength had faded and she easily subdued his outrage.

He struggled, railing out against her like an angry child against their parent. But despite his struggles she held on firmly.

"I won't leave you," she whispered.

His struggles weakened.

"Never again."

Finally they ceased. Whether it was because what little strength he had left had finally faded or because he had heard her, Satele did not know. She sensed his life force wane, slowly yet gradually it became dimmer and dimmer, until finally it was no more. There was no more fire, no more anger, just the empty cold of death.

Satele let her hand fall to her side.

There is no death, there is only the Force. That is what the Jedi believed. But if there was no death, then why did she feel such pain in her heart.

Now that the Wrath was defeated, she could join the rest of the Jedi in evacuating the temple. With heavy steps she turned away and started to walk.

Then the ground began to shake.

Satele's eyes shot wide open. Impossible!

She turned back to the mountain of rubble to see it shuddering violently. But she had felt his presence in the Force disappear!

Like a volcano the rubble erupted, spewing chunks of concrete and rock everywhere, Satele herself only managed to avoid being crushed through use of acrobatics and guidance from the Force.

But when the hurricane of rubble passed, she was left with a worse threat.

The Wrath, still alive, and still very angry.

His armor was cracked and torn. Half his helmet had been broken away, revealing his dark hair, pale skin, and sickly yellow eyes. Blood seeped from his body and out onto the ground like a river, it was nigh impossible that he was still alive.

"No more games Jedi," hissed the Wrath, "I am done playing with you!"

Satele activated her lightsaber. The Wrath leapt through the air and landed by smashing a fist into the ground. A powerful Force wave blasted out from the impact and sent Satele reeling. The Wrath followed up with his lightsabers.

Satele had never felt such raw power before. Each of his attacks was like attempting to stop a stone column from falling down on top of her and every second it was as though a dozen of them came down on her at once. It was a miracle -there was no other way to describe it -that she had not been completely overwhelmed within the first few seconds of the reignited battle.

The Wrath' sabers fell down on her over and over and Satele blocked but her knees buckled under the weight of their volume. He followed up with an upwards slash that Satele also parried but at the cost of being blown upwards from the sheer force of the blow.

The Jedi landed on her feet, only for her opponent to charge her like a bullet train and smash into her defense. Their blades locked.

The Wrath broke the lock by bringing his knee into her gut, he then blasted her with the Force at such an angle that she was literally pressed into the ground. The Wrath then raised his blades and brought them down on the Jedi.

Satele threw up her remaining lightsaber at the last second, saving herself from the attack. But the Wrath continued to wield his sabers like a hammer and began mindlessly smashing them down on her. Her arms began to weaken, she pushed back to gain some breathing room.

The Wrath allowed it.

Taking her chance she lunged out at him, preparing to slash him across the chest. But just as she had caught him in a trap, now he had caught her in one of his own. By relenting his assault and allowing her room to retaliate, he had goaded her into exposing herself. In her weakened state the horizontal slash she had aimed at his chest was overextended and left her defenses open. Seizing his opportunity the Wrath's hand shot out and a stream of lightning struck Satele dead on, he continued the stream even as she screamed, pouring as much deadly power into it as possible.

Satele withered in agony as the lightning seared her flesh and burned her soul. The Wrath suddenly stopped, only to then grip her with the Force to lift her up and then smash her back down onto the ground.

The Wrath's lightsabers hummed hungrily, urging their wielder to feed them blood, he moved in to do just that and to finish the battle once and for all.

Master Satele, amazingly still alive but noticeably weak, managed to rise to her feet and block his first strike. But it was a flimsy and shaky defense and when their blades met her defense was literally thrown aside. He could have ended it there, but instead the Wrath's second lightsaber pierced the Jedi Master's left leg, causing her to fall.

A burst of lightning exploded out from the Wrath's hands and slammed Satele against a wall four meters away. When she dropped back down the Wrath charged forward.

Desperately Satele stumbled forward to meet him. Up came the Wrath's right saber, locking the two blades together. But with a deft flick and spin of his wrist, Satele's last weapon flew out of her hands.

Without mercy or hesitation, the Wrath thrust his second saber forward.

Satele's eyes widened and a small cry of pain escaped her lips. She turned her eyes down to see the Wrath's crimson blade lodged firmly in her stomach.

"So it ends," the Wrath announced.

She had been defeated.

At first Satele was overwhelmed by surprise and fear.

But that surprise soon turned to acceptance and the fear soon became peace. Her vision began to blur and darken. Master Satele took comfort in knowing that she would soon be reunited with her fellow Jedi in the Force.

With what little strength she had left, Satele raised her head to stare at the face of her murderer. The skull like shape of the mask, the demonic razor sharp teeth, and sunken black pits for eyes. Most who saw this face staring down at them while they died had seen themselves die at the hands of a monster. But with his mask damaged Satele could see a glimmer of what was beyond that mask.

She saw his pale skin and recalled a time when it had been thoroughly kissed by Tython's sun, when locks of his dark hair had been tied into a padawan's braid, and when his yellow eyes that signified his allegiance to the dark had instead been a beautiful sky blue.

Those memories were enough for a solemn smile to spread itself on her lips.

At seeing his opponent smile, the Wrath nearly recoiled in confusion. Why was she smiling? Did she not realize she was going to die? Or did the Grand Master have some secret that she was hiding for just this moment? Some weapon or power that allowed her to defy death, whatever it was he would not allow her to use it. Cruelly he dug the blade of his lightsaber further into Satele's stomach, eliciting another cry of pain from her.

But still her smile never wavered.

Out of the corner of his left eye, the one that had been exposed, the Wrath saw the Jedi begin to move her right hand upwards. NO! She would not get the chance! She would die here and now! Quickly he moved his blade further into her but she did not stop moving her hand or stop smiling.

Further he moved the blade until finally he had buried his weapon to the hilt and yet still she did not die.

The Wrath felt something touch his left cheek and he flinched. He looked to see that it was the Grand Master's hand. He expected her to attack him in some manner, some last defiant attempt so that they would both die here. But nothing happened. She just stared into his eyes and smiled.

To the Wrath's surprise he saw peace in her eyes, as well as happiness, and...pity. For him?

"I'm sorry," she whispered and behind his mask, the Wrath let out a small gasp.

With her last words the light behind Grand Master Satele Shan's eyes finally died. Sensing this, the Wrath yanked his blade out of her stomach and her body collapsed onto the floor.

The Wrath stared at her lifeless body for a few moments, pondering the confusing actions of the jedi master. He expected to feel elation, pride, perhaps even happiness. But he felt nothing. No, that wasn't entirely true. He felt...regret.

The Wrath shook himself as though it would remove those feelings. It didn't matter what he felt in the end, because it did not matter if what he did was right or wrong. All that mattered was that what he did had benefitted the Empire.

As if to confirm this the Wrath suddenly received an incoming call on his communicator. He accepted it and heard the voice of Grahdar Wyklon.

"My lord Wrath! I am pleased to report that the enemy lines have broken! They are in full retreat! This is a glorious day for the-!" The Wrath cut the connection, not caring to hear anymore from Wyklon.

His gaze returned to Satele Shan's lifeless body. Then unexpectedly, and with great care, he kneeled down and scooped up her body in his arms. You deserve this much at least.

Vette blasted the last Republic trooper alive and holstered her weapons. Jaesa and her stood knee deep in the bodies of both soldiers and Jedi.

"Not bad for a Twi'lek slave," she mused,

"You? I did most of the work," protested Jaesa, "you just shot a few of the worthless ones."

"Ugh, get over yourself," said Vette, "I don't have time to have another nice chat with you. I've gotta go."

"Yes. Please. Go," said Jaesa, "as much fun as it was seeing you again, I can't wait for you to leave."

"Ditto," replied Vette before finally walking off, "alright my lord, where are you?"

Vette spent the next ten minutes walking through the crumbling halls of the Jedi temple looking for her master. She asked the occasional imperial trooper or sith if they had seen him. A few years ago all of them would have brushed her off and sent her to scrub their ship's freshers or some other menial task.

But ever since the new Emperor took power, aliens had had a place in the Empire. Heck, she even saw a few aliens right now, dressed in Imperial army uniforms or carrying a lightsaber as a member of the Sith order. So when she asked, everybody told her politely that they had not seen the Wrath.

It helped that they knew if she was disrespected, the Emperor's chief enforcer would most likely rip their eyes out with his fingers before choking them to death while electrocuting them. He could do it too, Vette had seen him.

When she still couldn't find him, Vette decided to try calling him over their private holo-frequency. That didn't work either, she had almost given up when her foot unintentionally stepped on something that made a loud enough noise to get her attention.

She lifted her foot up to see what she'd stepped on, it was a piece of metal. When she picked it up and lifted it to her eyes Vette realized she recognized this piece of metal. It was definitely a part of the Wrath's helmet.

"Uh...my lord? my lord!? Are you here?" she asked aloud, it was only after a few more minutes of searching that she noticed an open door with a faint glow further inside.

Her curiosity peaked, she moved in with her blaster at the ready. The door led her to a flight of stairs that spiraled downwards until she was inside a large dark room that was lit only by dim lights and...a fire?

Sure enough a large fire crackled in the middle of the room and in front of that fire stood the man she had been looking for.

"Hey!" she called, walking towards him, "I've been looking everywhere for you and I-"

The Wrath's gaze suddenly turned on Vette and it made her feel very small. She wisely stopped talking but carefully continued walking towards him. Without saying anything the Sith turned his gaze back to the burning fire.

Upon closer inspection, Vette saw that the fire was actually a pyre and there was a person inside the fire.

A Jedi?

Vette didn't have the courage to ask.

As she tiptoed her way towards the dark lord her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she saw the sorry state her master was in. It was bad, really bad. His left leg looked twisted, right shoulder dislocated, and Vette was pretty sure it wasn't healthy to have that much shrapnel stuck in a person's gut.

Already a pool of blood had gathered at his feet but he remained focused on the fire and the person inside of it. Vette thought of voicing her concerns, but in the end she opted to simply stay silent.

Author's Note:

Hello there random reader! I am pleased to present you with what I hope to be my biggest project ever. Basically this is a cross over between the Mass Effect Universe and the SWTOR/KOTOR Star Wars universe.

A few things to keep in mind going forward. The first couple of updates will not contain any Mass Effect related content, they will instead be used to set up the current status of the Star Wars universe. I have quite a few chapters typed up already, it's just a matter of editing so don't be too worried about update times.

Please review! I want to know what ya'll think! Feel free to PM any questions, requests, etc.