A Fortress In The Sky

[J3C0]

Mierin sat with her legs crossed within the meditation chamber provided to her within the Massive Expanse of the Imperial Palace. Before her lay a huge viewport that stretched three hundreds and sixty degrees around the room. It showed the massive expanse of Coruscant all around her. Beautiful skyscrapers and massive sprawling facilities that seemed to stretch for miles upon miles. She had often come up here just to see, just to watch as the day went on by.

In her age Coruscant had not existed, at least not in the way it existed now. The Pureblood had seen the massive cityscape as something completely and utterly new. The massive expanse seemed to stretch for an eternity, and it amazed her even now as to just how large the world truly seemed to be.

This time however her eyes were shut. She was concentrating, allowing the force to rush through her in droves. A tidal wave of strength and power rushed through her. It emanated from her, flowing throughout the room like a river. The air became thick with the power of the Darkside, waves and droves of pure blackness flowed about Mierin, dancing in intricate patterns as she concentrated upon the power within her. Strength flowed through her, and her connection with the darkside seemed nearly infinite.

An image flashed before her. The Face of he Master.

Mierins eyes snapped open, the darkness around her vanished in an instant, and it was as if the force disappeared from her entirely. The light left her eyes, the usual glow fading entirely. For a moment she felt only emptiness, nothing. All life was dead to her. A tingle rushed down her spine and she began to shake and shudder as the force returned to her, slowly creeping back into her.

The brightness in her eyes returned slowly, and Mierin shook her head. The message had been clear, she had been summoned.

 

[J3C0]

In one quick fluid moment Mierin stood from her position on the slightly raised pedestal. Her face shifted into a frown slightly. What could it be? What could the Dark Lord want from her? Since the creation of the Dark Blades he had not called upon her. It had been months since he had directly spoken with her, never mind called upon her to visit his chambers. This was something she had not expected, and despite herself she felt somewhat nervous.

Had she done something? Was there something she did wrong? No. There was nothing she had done. The Dark Blades had been perfected, the work she had been doing with Titan Industries was flawless. She had subsidized their industry and grown their business to new heights. She had created a massive industry that wholly supported the One Sith. Along with Tsavong she had thrust the One Sith into a new golden technological era. A mix of Bio-technology as well as regular technology, each developed in their own path.

She hesitated a moment as she stared out into the city of Coruscant, her eyes shifting slightly towards the distant spire of Republica 500. A thought occurred to her.

Was this about Rake?

No.

She had been well within her right to do what she had done there. The test of the dweebits had been necessary. She and Tsavong had needed to see what the creatures were capable of, they had needed to test their capabilities before using them against the Republic. They had lost only a few hundred thousand civilians, and had gained a beautiful lush new world for Titan Industries to utilize.

No.

She would not be punished for that. The Great Lord had sense enough to see the wisdom in what she had done.

Mierin turned around, facing the only wall within the room. Immediately behind it was a turbo-lift of course, the only one that led up to this particular spire. It would take her some time to reach the Dark Lords chambers, she would need to think on what to say.

 

[J3C0]

The turbo-lift shot down the tower like a bullet, moving at impossible speeds and giving Mierin that sinking feeling within her stomach. She felt as though the contents of her stomach were about to empty herself, the strange lifting feeling tearing at her insides for a moment until the turbo-lift came to a sudden halt.

Her lips thinned as she felt slightly sick, she would never entirely get used to that feeling.

Slowly she stepped out of the turbo-lift, moving out into the hallways and observing those around her for a moment. Hundreds of members of the One Sith dotted the massive expansive halls. Tattooed humans, spiky headed Iradonians, and dozens of different alien species wandered the halls. Mierin observed them for sometime, gathering her thoughts until she finally made her move. There was no use in stalling, the Dark Lord would only be more displeased if she waited.

With thinning lips and false confidence Mierin forced herself to begin walking. Her heels clicked within the halls, resounding again and again as she pushed her way into the inner sanctum.

As she neared the Dark Lords chamber the crowds of Acolytes and Knights began to thin. Lords and Yuuzhan Vong slayers dotted the halls, dozens of them standing at cross ways and doors, guarding sacred rooms and waiting to use laboratories. Mierin nodded to a few of them, though only half of them took notice. The Lords were often wrapped up in their own little world, and the Yuuzhan Vong seemed only to be friendly to their own.

Her lips thinned as she came upon the first of the doors that led to the Dark Lords chambers.

Two massive Yuuzhan Vong Slayers stood on either side, amphistaffs wrapped around their arms and hissing slightly. Their eyes never wavered to her, and in fact they simply seemed to ignore her. The first of the doors slid open, parting and revealing a massively ornate hallway that stretched for seeming eternity.

 

[J3C0]

There were three doors that led to the Dark Lords chamber, three gates that led to the very center of the Imperial Palace.

The Dark Lord did not reside within a throne room. There was no central tower on which he sat and prided himself on, there was no throne on which he resided, there was simply a pad. The Dark Lord had insisted that it be so, that he not be elevated above those that served him. At the very center of the Fortress sat the Dark Lord, four bridges leading to a single pylon that seemed to stand within the middle of an abyss. The room had once contained Palpatines throne, had once been where the ancient Sith Lord had held his audiences.

Mierin had found that out from one of the guards who served here now, the rumor mill always churned out such things, yet this one seemed true. The chamber was grand and ostentatious, though compared to the Dark Lord it seemed almost small. His grand power dwarfed everything, and even within the massive chamber his strength seemed to erode the very air.

As the Sith Pureblood passed another of the three doors she could begin to sense the oppression the Dark Lord so naturally exuded. Her breaths became tighter, her lungs constricted, and her eyes began to sting as the air bit her.

She blinked a few times, trying to dispel the tiny stinging needles she now felt. It was to no avail of course and the pain only became worse as she neared the final set of doors. The walls now seemed to shift and change, they became tighter and closer together, the ceiling seemed to hang oppressively low as If trying to press Mierin down against the ground. She began to feel uneasy, her heart racing slightly. Finally she reached the doors.

For a moment she lingered.

 

[J3C0]

She placed a hand on the door, a shake rushing through her as she did so. Her lips thinned as the oppressiveness of the darkside rushed through her. The Darkside of the force rushed through her, and the power of the Dark Lord could be felt even through the door. Goosebumps rushed across her flesh and she could feel utter discomfort within her entire body. Her breath caught, and the stinging in her eyes became so fierce she had to clamp her eyes shut.

Just as she did so the doors surged open, sweeping clear and revealing the all powerful Master within. Mierin waited for a moment, and then dared to open her eyes.

Before her sat the man she called her Master. Bold yellow eyes shifted slightly as she looked upon him. The man seemed unmoving, not even aware of Mierins presence. She did not move for a second, simply observing the man that had rescued her from stasis. Finally, after what seemed like an age he looked up from beneath his hood. Bright orange eyes dared to stare into Mierins black soul, thin red lips covered in white lines shifted upwards into a smile.

As soon as she saw the expression relief filled the Sith Pureblood, she was not to be punished.

 

[J3C0]

Mierin stood in place for a moment, watching the Dark Lord smiling at her until she finally began to walk towards him. His eyes never wavered away from her own, his gaze never shifting even in the slightest. As she approached him he simply smiled, looking to her as if she were a welcome friend he had not seen in an age.

With every step that carried her closer to him her senses began fade. She felt power and strength erode away from her, she felt her breaths grow more and more shallow. Her eyes began to sting and her lips dried out within a matter of seconds. The piercings through her flesh seemed to burn, and the pain that ran across her skin became very real. She wavered slightly, her legs almost collapsing beneath her as she breathed in the air of power and strength that floated all around her Dark Lord.

She wanted to speak, but her breath was lost.

The Dark Lord simply stared up at Mierin, his gigantic Orange Bug eyes looking towards the younger Sith Lord as if trying to stare into her soul. It was a goal that he seemed to be accomplishing, for his gaze made the Sith Pureblood feel smaller than she had ever before. She wanted to shrivel up and hide within her. She wanted to withdraw into herself and hide.

She admired the Dark Lord perhaps more than anyone else she had ever met, yet he made her feel small. Next to him she was nothing.

And she knew it.

 

[J3C0]

The silence within the room was deafening.​

​

Needles stabbed into her flesh, constant singing pain that seemed to stab into her over and over again. She wanted to cringe, she wanted to scream, but she could not. The Sith Pureblood felt a rainbow of sensations. The stinging needles, the stabbing pain, the feeling of her very nerves constricting and then quickly growing again. Unease crackled throughout her, and then finally he spoke.​

​

His voice was ecstasy. It flowed through her as a sensation of pure pleasure and pain. She felt it crawl beneath her skin, she felt it push into the ethos of her mind. The pressure threatening to shatter her thoughts in an instant. She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry. Slowly she collapsed onto the ground, falling onto her knees with a soft thud.​

​

No one could stand before the Dark Lord for long.​

​

“What would you have me do?” Her voice was raspy and dry, all of the moisture drained from within her. She tried to say more, but her throat wouldn't let her. She wanted to call to him, to cry and tell him the truth of her devotion. Yet she could not. His mere presence restricted her, bent her mind and twisted very thoughts. The Sith Pureblood struggled to even keep her eyes on his form.​

 

[J3C0]

The Dark Lord waited for a moment, remaining still as he inspected his servant. His glowing orange eyes shifted slightly, falling over her until finally he once again spoke. His lips parted time, and the echo rushed through Mierins mind once again. The emotion, the power, the sensation of needles pressing into her skull and driving into her brain began once again, a soft whimper escaping her lips.​

She shook. Her entire body seized and her mind seemed to contract slightly, shrinking away from the pain that the Dark Lord was causing her. She wanted to scream, but she could not. The air grew even thinner, and as the Dark Lord gave his command she felt a compulsion set over her. She felt the want to follow his command, no, she felt the need to follow whatever it was that he dictated. Her head shook slightly as she tried to force herself to nod.​

​

Mierins chin dipped slightly, and the Dark Lords smile returned.​

The Sith Pureblood nodded once again, and she felt the constriction lift form her limbs. She relaxed slightly, her muscles no longer seizing and her form becoming more lithe. Slowly she rose from her knees. It was a struggle, as though the weight of the world had been thrust upon her shoulders. Slowly Mierin struggled to her feet, towering over the Dark Lord for a moment, yet still feeling small.​

​

She wanted to speak more, she wanted to call out to him and beg him to be with her.​

​

Yet she did not.​

 

[J3C0]

She began to walk away slowly, her first few steps were wavering and labored, as if she was struggling to actually stay standing up. She moved away from her Master, step by step until she reached the very end of the walkway. There she lingered for a moment, her head almost turning back halfway before she stopped herself.

No, there wasn't time.

Another step forward, and the doors creaked closed behind her, slamming shut with a loud echo. The air returned to her. A breath filling her lungs and oxygen rushing through her. The stabbing sensations stopped, the pain halted, and suddenly Mierin felt as though she had suffered through the greatest relief in the galaxy. Her entire body filled with goosebumps, skin prickling and rising up against itself. She shook, wrapping her arms around herself for a semblance of warmth.

She felt exhausted, tired beyond all believe. She wanted to collapse, she wanted to lay down and sleep for an age. Yet she could not. There was so much work to still do, so much that had to be done.

Mierin shook her head from side to side, placing a hand on her face as if she was recollecting herself. Then she began to walk again. Slowly the confidence returned to her step. Her legs grew solid once more, the tiredness left her, and she became invigorated once more. She had so much to do. So much to plan and plot.

 

[J3C0]

Walking down the hallway her thoughts began to swirl.

She had been given a command, an order by the Dark Lord himself. Coruscant was the center of the galaxy. It was the center of trade, commerce, it was the center of the galaxy through and through. That made it vulnerable, that made it a target. The Republic would eventually come for the world again, they would eventually reach out and strike against the core. That much was inevitable, and of course they intended on defending the planet with all they had.

Yet it was foolish to wait for the enemy to strike at you.

That was a universal truth. You could create a fortress of vast proportions. You could build yourself a stronghold that had no equal. Yet in the end, the enemy would strike, and the slaughter would begin. That was the very reality of war.

So why wait? Why wait for the slaughter to come to you? The Dark Lord was correct in his thinking, Coruscant was vulnerable. It would eventually be hit by the Jedi, by the Republic, by anyone with a grudge against the One Sith. This was simply inevitable. They would need a new home, they would need a new fortress, somewhere where they would be safe.

But where?

 

[J3C0]

Coruscant was the center of the galaxy, Prakith had been discovered, Byss was just another fortress world, another planet to be attacked eventually. None of them would due, none of them would give what the One Sith truly needed. Her lips thinned slightly as she reached the central hallways of the Imperial Palace. Her eyes shifting slightly as she looked about the crowd of men and woman rushing about their day.

These men and women were the Order, they were what comprised it.

Most of them were pleased with their place, happy to have their home on Coruscant, the center of the galaxy. Yet they suffered from the same vulnerability as the Jedi had. This place was a target, and nothing else. It was someplace to strike at, to attack an ambush, just as the One Sith had done to the now ruined Temple.

Anyplace they went would be the same. Every single world that the One Sith inhabited would be nothing but a target for their enemies. This was an undeniable fact. Eventually they would be targeted, eventually their enemies would come for them.

She needed to find a way to prevent that.

They would need to move. They would need to escape that fate. A ship perhaps? She stopped. Her feet planting as she entered the middle of the hallways cross-section.

A ship.