Bright Shadow Chapter 14

Previous Chapter -  Chapter 13 - The Great Annexing 

 Chapter 14 - Catalyst for Rebellion 

The time between the beginning of the new war and Vycerant’s arrival to the legendary and infamous Voltras Prime was laced with surprising and insurmountable victories. Jumping from the Imperial Silver Road to the Great Republican Way, two of the largest hyperspace lanes in the galaxy, the annexing of the Republic’s foothold on the galaxy began.

Vycerant’s decision to attack the planet Kotafan was one of accidental genius. Even with the twisted wisdom of Zhen speaking into his ear, Vycerant had made a decision that positively affected the Empire. He had finally contributed to something that he had chosen to fight for: a better Empire. Finally being able to make the differences Zhen had preached to him about for years had fuelled the young apprentice with vigour and motivated him to be the best commander he could fathomably be.

The invasion was an unprecedented success; very few casualties on the Imperial side, almost immediate surrender of the meagre Republic force defending the agricultural planet and total control established within a month. Vycerant was proud of his first major accomplishment as a leader but knew that something was amiss. He knew that the Empire’s plan was not to invade the planets and colonies in wild space, yet he had just plundered and seized an entire planet from its hosts.

If anyone had answers to his burdening questions, it was Zhen.

Through a sea of yellow tents and speedily constructed watchtowers, Vycerant travelled to his master’s quarters to discuss with him why the plan of the great annexing had changed. His boots were enamoured in mud along the unpaved paths that weaved in and out of the yellow war tents. Along the path he saw some unique and peculiar sights; he witnessed a couple Imperial troops treating a leg injury on an infant boy, his mother holding him in her arms. They did not look frightful of the presence of the Imperials. No, they even looked thankful for their assistance.

Another strange sight was a couple men in uniforms speaking to two blackboots. The Sith minions had their hoods down and resembled that of regular men; no burning corruption in their eyes, no sadistic malice in their words, rather smiles and laughter between them and the two men that stood beside them. Vycerant could not quite make out who the other two men were, but they both bore the unmistakable Republic emblem on their shoulderpads.

As the questions amounted themselves in Vycerant’s mind, he quit his daydreaming and found himself walking into the entrance of Zhen’s tent. His master was sitting at a desk, his head buried in hundreds of holograms and messages from around the galaxy, all intended for him to read. The sudden presence of his apprentice presented Zhen with the perfect excuse to postpone his tedious task.

“Ah, Vycerant!” he bellowed welcomingly to his apprentice. “You’ve done one hell of a job out there. How as your first go at leading an army?”

“It was good, though I feel like it was cut short.” Vycerant replied.

“Oh really?” Zhen asked with an eyebrow raised. “Come, please, take a seat. I have a cask of Mandalorian Ale the farmers gifted me after the invasion. Apparently, this stuff has aged one-thousand years. No doubt worthy of a planet conquerer such as yourself.”

As Zhen poured the blood-red drink into Vycerant’s beaker, Vycerant’s face became one of utter confusion. A face that Zhen could see from a parsec away.

“You have questions no doubt,” he said as he relaxed back into his seat at his end of the desk. “Come on then. Unleash your inquisition. It was always your strongest attribute to question the powers above you.”

Vycerant chuckled at his master’s half-insult, half-compliment. “A few questions are putting it lightly,” he said. “I thought the plan was to draw out the Republic navy, not conquer whole planets.”

“Well it was the initial plan,” Zhen responded as he sipped his wine. “But being a commander means you must make adjustments to a plan when a better opportunity rears its face.”

“What opportunity has shown itself?” Vycerant asked, still visibly confused.

“One thing we never considered was the mood of the people during our schemes,” Zhen said. “We never thought that some would be glad to see us demolish the Republic architecture and replace it with our own. And that is where our greatest advantage came; the power of manipulation. The Republic was too outnumbered to send their fleets to take the colonies, so, we twisted the story to make it seem like the Republic never cared about these filthy colonies in the first place. You remember those manic street preachers during your time as a vagabond, right? Well, we paid them enough to spread the word across our conquered planets about how the bureaucrats of the Core Worlds were too predisposed drinking their Nabooian wine and talking down to the ‘little guy’ to help the defenceless colonies. That’s where our deadliest weapon laid; our soldiers only did half the job, the Republic citizens did the rest for us. They blindly accepted the half-truths of a couple well-paid and well-spoken preachers and opened their doors for us. Now it is our turn to return the favour by continuing the façade of benevolence until the war is won. We will turn these few farms into a massive agricultural industry. We’ll make them feel like the middle of the galaxy and they will give us exactly what we want.”

Vycerant had a smile building on his face before he heard those last few sentences. He was initially pleased to see that the people of these planets were welcoming to their presence. But Zhen had planted a seed of doubt in his mind. The word façade particularly bothered the young pureblood. Was it all just surface level platitudes to Zhen? Did he really care about the people in the first place, or was it all just part of his meticulous schemes? Whatever the case, Zhen’s explanation had left Vycerant with more new questions than answers, and these ones he was too afraid to ask.

Zhen was expecting joy and resolution in Vycerant after his long answer. But the Darth was confused when Vycerant remained silent, in thought over what he was really fighting for.

“You do not agree with this?” Zhen asked him.

Vycerant immediately looked up from his now derailed train of thought. He forgot his master could read his mind. “Not necessarily,” he said carefully. “But what good are we really doing here if all we’re doing is faking our objective? What could we possibly have to gain from lying to the people of these planets?”

Zhen’s response was quick and planned well ahead. “You saw those Republic troops out there speaking to my followers, correct?”

Vycerant nodded a silent response.

“They were here to fight against us. To supposedly defend their planet from conquest. But they surrendered themselves to us and have pledged their loyalty to the Empire. What’s more is that there’s a-hundred of them that have done the same. They saw a forked road ahead of them; join an Empire that will bring them glory or die fighting for a Republic that cares not for them. Whatever we say to them does not matter; they fight for us now. The people being treated by your troops are thankful for our presence. Hell, the way I see we just liberated these people from a government that doesn’t care about them. That is how we’re gonna win the war. By having the people side with us. It doesn’t matter what information we keep from them, what matters is that we win. Simple as that.”

Vycerant found himself struggling to accept his master’s logic but, as always, Zhen’s dark wisdom won his apprentice over. “I believe I understand,” he said lowly.

Zhen smiled at the acceptance of his apprentice. “Remember the story of the Voltrans I told you. Remember their binding constitution and how it had helped their Empire stand for thousands of years.”

Vycerant smiled a forced grin and nodded at his master’s incantations.

“Excellent. Now, go find Kand and Blaze.” Zhen ordered his student. “We set off for our next assignments soon. I expect great results from you, my apprentice.”

Vycerant placed his half-drunk cup on Zhen’s desk, bowed, and exited the tent with more queries than he had when he entered. He felt a rebellious rhythm growing inside him but knew he had to quell it. In his mind he simply recited the Voltran constitution:

''Upon this mound I build my keep, as the poor and sick gently weep. The machine of war brazenly fuels the fire, while piles of bodies grow higher and higher. When the time for battle arrives at my gates, the mood of the people becomes infused with hate. There is no support in my people left, as the gap between my head and neck is cleft…''

*                *                 *

The fledgling war between the Republic and the Empire ravaged the galaxy for years that followed the events on Kotafan: Alamis and Eron quickly fell to the Sith’s clutches only a month after the invasion of Kotafan, just as Dulcia had predicted. An entire Jedi splinter group, the Eronians were quickly wiped out within a few weeks and their farms occupied by Imperial officers.

Gameth, the homeworld of the Jedi was laid siege to and was met with especial resistance from hordes of Jedi. Yet, even the originpoint of the Jedi Order could not withstand the onslaught of the Sith and was soon broken. Hundreds of Sith warriors and Lords entered the temples and catacombs, defiling statues and burning down whole villages. During this, the Master of Lore, Darth Echdys had ordered his soldiers to save as many holy texts as they could before burning down the ancient temples of the Jedi. The amount of knowledge that had been collected by the Sith was astounding. Despite the wishes of many adrenaline-fuelled Lords to burn the books for their supposed heresy, Echdys’ wishes were backed up by Zhen and Vycerant, who had assisted in the planet’s desecration.

Two years went past with planet after planet falling into the Empire’s hands, with only the planet Alucard being able to resist the Empire’s vicious assaults until just a few days after the defilement of the Jedi homeworld. Despite the Alucardish putting up a strong resistance, they eventually fell to the Sith, just like their neighbouring planets had done shortly beforehand. Many planets had submitted without a fight, no doubt due to the Empire’s expert propagandists spreading information about the corruption of the Republic. Soon Korriban was experiencing an unexpected rejuvenation of its former glory. Dozens of planets had added themselves to the Imperil Silk Road and sent tributes to the homeworld of the Sith. A couple years of war had the Sith’s coffers bursting at the seams with loot from the plundered star systems, leading to a larger navy being built at the behest of an army of very well-paid engineers. It even seemed that someone in the Empire had taken Zhen’s advice about appeasing the people – half a dozen new cities had sprung up on every corner of Korriban. Their industries were booming again and Korriban found itself slowly becoming the new capital of the civilised galaxy. There were echoes of a bygone age returning to the galaxy.

The third year had arrived and soon a quarter of the galaxy was under the banner of the resurgent Sith Empire. Zhen and Vycerant continued their conquest in Wild Space and began a war on the planet Corhesia. This proved to be a much more difficult challenge as the people here were much more loyal to the Republic and were less easily influenced by the Sith’s propaganda. Many of Vycerant’s soldiers perished under his orders, but the young apprentice who was worried about the lives of every single one of his men was no more; by the end of the conquest on Corhesia, one year after its inception, Vycerant had become a man by every measure. He still resembled the boy he once was, but his hair had grown into many long and thin flows. This was, of course, not by his own desires. He cared not for what he looked like, only that he got the job done. Wielding his special double-bladed lightsaber, he speared his crimson blade through the hearts of all his enemies under his conquest on Corhesia was complete. And Imperial celebrations were short-lived. Soon the Voltran Empire had become a threat again. The bugs had pledged themselves to the Jedi and the Republic, and decimated a Sith fleet guarding the Silver Road, blocking the tonnes of gold and riches that were being transported to Korriban.

The fourth year of the war was marked by the resolution of the brief, yet damaging, setback. Zhen had found it needed that Vycerant learned how to command entire armadas of ships and found the battles of the Silver Road to be the perfect opportunity to expand his knowledge of leadership. The final battle for the Silver Road was over within fifteen minutes. Even Zhen was surprised at Vycerant’s skill as a naval leader. The bug army was laid to waste, and the Road was opened once again, carrying Korriban’s newfound riches with it.

Vycerant and Zhen both knew what was coming next: it was time to take on the Voltran Empire. The readiness and easy-flowing of the war had suddenly taken a massive, unforeseen hinderance. A plague of uncertainty fell over the men under Vycerant’s command. They were all fully aware of the reputation surrounding the Voltrans and their Empire’s role in the downfall of the last incarnation of the Sith.

Vycerant, equally, had his doubts. Although now a seasoned commander of many fruitful battles and skirmishes, the many legends Zhen had taught him were enough to instil him with doubt and hesitancy about the impending invasion of Voltrus Prime.

Nevertheless, Vycerant rallied his demotivated troops and imbued them with a new patriotic energy. Those who were forcefully conscripted by the Imperial recruiters were converted to the way of the Sith as the Imperial battlecruisers closed in on the Voltran homeworld.

Within a month of the Sith legions landing on the rocky planet, the Voltrans had stayed true to their legends; a host of feral-like, bloodthirsty creatures greeted the dark armies of the Sith with fire and flame. Their war machines constructed from fell trees and bound together by thick seams of rope, whilst driven by great mammalian beasts, ten times the size of their insectoid wranglers.

After weeks and weeks of warring the bug world, Vycerant and Zhen found themselves in one final battle for the planet; a last-ditch effort by the remainder of the united Voltran and Jedi armies to drive the Sith forces from their planet. Every fighter on the rocky earth was tired and worn down by the seemingly endless battles, both Sith and Jedi alike.

In the middle of the frenzied fighting, Vycerant wielded his deadly crimson blade, slaughtering hordes of Voltrans alongside his men, as Jerrad had said they would when he was first introduced to them. Corso stood next to his commander and unleashed the full fury of his gattling blaster, cutting down Voltran after Voltran as they tried to attack his Sith commander. Jerrad himself stood far behind the front lines, orchestrating the art of war from his command station with his fellow officers, alongside Moff Garson and a range of other Imperials.

As the bodies began to pile up around them, Vycerant’s adrenaline took over his senses and he found himself jumping into the frenzy. Joining the Sith warriors under his command, Vycerant found himself standing in between five Voltran brutes, their insectoid mandibles dripping with gruesome acidic juices. Vycerant stood at the ready between the five massive creatures, waiting for them to make the first move.

Eventually, the smallest of the five lunged forward with ferocity, to which Vycerant replied with a duck and a twirl of his oversized blade that cleaved the creature in twain by its hip. The other four Voltrans attacked the pureblood upon seeing their brethren cut in two. Vycerant, still fuelled by the adrenaline, leaped over the second Voltran, digging his blade into the head of the beast mid-jump. He landed on his feet perfectly like a feline as the limp corpse of the Voltran fell to the floor. The remaining three Voltrans attacked in unison, forcing Vycerant onto the defensive, raising his dual-bladed saber up high to block the metal clubs wielded by the Voltrans.

Seeing he was outmatched by the monstrous insects, he channelled his force potencies through his free left hand and pushed the Voltrans away, knocking all three away from him.

After freeing himself from the Voltrans, Vycerant heard the voice of Zhen over the carnage, “Vycerant!” he shouted.

“How you doing, master?” Vycerant replied loudly over the chaos.

“Listen! I know it seems ludicrous at the moment, but try to capture one of those big ones. I’d like to interrogate one of them,” Zhen requested as he cut through three other Voltrans.

“Are you serious?” Vycerant shouted, bewildered. “These things are gonna rip me apart!”

Zhen impaled a Voltran with his lightsaber and threw the body of the insectoid to the ground. “Corso! Get your arse over here and help Vycerant cage one of those big ones!”, he shouted.

Upon command, the soldiers led by the muscular demolitionist charged through the hordes of Imperials and Voltrans. The row of eight soldiers stood in front of a dozen Sith Warriors and Infantrymen who surrounded the Imperials in a defensive stance to hold back the Voltran packs. Equipping their blaster rifles with extension cables, they aimed at the three remaining Voltrans that were facing down Vycerant with the intention of capturing one of the monstrous creatures.

“Ready men!” shouted Corso. “Bring me one of those bugs fresh for the Lord!”

Everything fell to Vycerant to capture the largest of the Voltrans for his master to study like a biologist with a petri dish. Using the last of the adrenaline that was flowing in his veins and unleashed a flurry of force lightning against the last three Voltrans. The two smaller insectoids fell to the ground in agony, but one remained standing against the blue potencies released by the young pureblood. The large beast roared a gargled, saliva ridden warning from its mouth as it charged towards Vycerant with it’s metal club raised. Vycerant timed his jump perfectly so that the clumsy brute missed its swing and ran directly into the path of Corso’s troops.

“Fire!” the demolitionist screamed as his men unleashed the cables from their rifles. The Voltran became entangled in the wires as Corso’s men desperately tried to hold the creature down. It pulled on one of the wires with it’s spare hand, bringing two of Corso’s men towards the insectoid. The creature grabbed the men and threw them into the chaotic battle that surrounded the men. As the two soldiers screamed across the anarchic scene, Vycerant Zhen reunited and cut off the Voltran’s rear legs, causing the beast to collapse onto the floor in pain. The rest of Corso’s men pulled the creature down, like a pack of hunters wrangling a wild animal down for a kill.

Vycerant held his lightsaber up to the creature’s throat, indicating the Voltran to stop resisting it’s own capture. Zhen held his crimson lightsaber up in a gesture of victory as he stepped on the captured Voltran. The Sith legions cheered for their leader as the rest of the Voltrans surrendered to their Imperial conquerers.

Through the declining carnage, a moment appeared within Vycerant that continued to shake the foundations of his trust in Zhen. This moment of leadership and courage from Zhen was one of the few redeeming aspects of his master that provided him with evidence that Zhen was a force for good. That his master would usher in an age of true Sith unity.

Yet at what cost was this unity produced from? Vycerant would think this to himself as he stood next to his master and observed the battlefield from upon the back of the captured Voltran. A veil of smoke blotted out the sun and turned what was a sunny day on Voltrus Prime into a darkened bloodbath; just as the Sith wanted it. The rivers turned to flows of blood and the sun was blotted out by the plumes of smouldering cities. How many had perished to bring this sense of unity? How many thousands more across the galaxy?

Of the hundred-thousand participants of the last battle of the reckoning invasion, only a sixth of that walked away alive. Among those few thousand were Vycerant and Zhen; returning to their encampment with their captive Voltran as a symbol of their dominance over the scorched planet.

Next Chapter -  Chapter 15 - Disillusionment of Evil