A Dark Blade

[J3C0]

Mierin sat within a small meditation sphere in the center of her Star Destroyer the Crimson Wraith. Concentration filled her face, and her eyes were tightly wound shut, blocking out all other senses. Within her mind the force swirled, energies and power surging through her in a vast torrent. The Darkside gripped her, and she began to swoon.

Before the abyss within her eyes she saw flashes. Great roaring battles. Fire. Destroyed worlds and conquered peoples. Thousands upon thousands of dead and dying. She saw people immolated, desecrated, she saw the galaxy aflame.

Then suddenly her eyes snapped open.

“Ma'am”

A voice broke her power, and the swirling red mass around her disappeared as if suddenly shattered into a thousand pieces. Her lips pursed, and slowly her hands fell onto her knee's, body relaxing as a torrent of energy left her.

“Captain.” Mierin said, her gaze never flickering from the viewport ahead of her.

 

[J3C0]

The man at the door stood in place for a moment, observing the Sith Lord that commanded his ship, or what had once been his ship. Mierin sensed his anxiety, his fear, it made her smile.

“We're nearing the planet.”

Mierin nodded her head, inclining it only slightly and waving her hand towards the captain to leave her. "Thank you Captain, I will join you shortly."

The man shook slightly, bowed, and then left the room. He of course did not understand why they were here, this far away from the space of the One Sith without any escort craft. He did not understand the missions of the Sith, or their purposes.

Of course it didn't help that Mierin had chosen not to share their purpose, at least not the exact nature of it. She still saw those not within the Order as less than useless, and that included the commanders of her ship. That didn't mean she could not treat them with respect of course, that was simply a matter of good business. She had to keep them happy, or afraid, or else they would figure out that she was only one and they were many.

Slowly she rose from her pedestal, liquid crimson that erected itself in a single second before turning itself gracefully towards the door.

 

[J3C0]

The blast doors parted to reveal a bustle of activity. As always the Crimson Wraith was a mass of Troopers, Scientists, and Researchers going about their daily activities.

Darth Mierins ship was far more than a simple war vessel. Yes it functioned as a battleship, and yes it would serve within the fleets of the One Sith, but the massive red and black Star Destroyer was so much more than a simple engine of War. It was the hub of one of the Hands of the Dark Lord. This was where Mierin lived, worked, and did her duty to the Dark Lord.

This ship served as a sort of moving outpost.

The Crimson Wraith was used by Mierin to get around the galaxy to different locations that the Dark Lord sent her. Each an important task that had to be completed, each an important journey to be taken.

As she began to walk the soldiers before her parted, giving her a wide birth.

 

[J3C0]

She smiled at every person that passed her, a warm placid smile that told of no malcontent. It was a way of placating them, of making them feel at ease. Most of these men and women had not been on her ship for long, most of them were brand new in fact.

This was in part because working with her was somewhat...hazardous.

The Crimson Wraith was not often sent against other factions like the Republic or the Fringe, but was instead sent against lone worlds. Her Star Destroyer had taken on entire Planetary Defense Forces, culled countless worlds, and slaughtered thousands of pirates. There was an obvious hazard to these tasks, and they quickly took their toll.

Some of course had been aboard this ship as long as Mierin had been, aged men and old soldiers who had come to respect their Crimson Overlord.

These men had been formed into a single unit that they called Wraith Company. Not very creative, but Mierin had always enjoyed the sentiment. They stood out to her, each of their faces scruffled and scarred almost beyond recognition to what they once had been. It was these soldiers that passed her by with varying nods of respect, and it was these men that received her true smiles.

 

[J3C0]

It had been these men after all that had aided her on so many of the Dark Lords missions. It had been they that went in before her, cleared buildings, villages, and sometimes temples to ensure her safety. She trusted them, the only mortals to hold that particular honor.

They would always be her guard, these Wraiths.

She smiled as one of them passed her by, a grizzled old soldier with a stripe of red at his shoulder. He nodded to her, stopping to let her pass in the narrow halls of the Star Destroyer. She acknowledged him with the slightest inclination of her head, and that was enough.

Eventually Darth Mierin reached her goal, the bridge of the Crimson Wraith. Populated by Ensigns, Officers, and everything else one could think of the bridge had always been an extreme center of activity, which is why she normally preferred the comfort of her meditation chamber. The Pureblood showed no emotion as she stepped onto the Bridge, her liquid grace flowing her towards the front viewports of the bridge.

“Captain, report.” Mierin demanded just as the Crimson Wraith dropped out of hyperspace.

 

[J3C0]

The Captain found his way towards Mierin within a second or two of her command. Unfortunately he still stunk of that same nervous anxiety as before, and out of sheer reaction Mierin crinkled her nose in disgust.

Perhaps she needed a replacement.

“The planet was as you said it would be my Lady. There are no major cities, only small settlements. We expect little resistance...”

The Sith pureblood pursed her lips for a second and then nodded. “Excelle-”

“There is one thing.”

He interrupted her, and part of Mierin nearly reached for her lightsaber to decapitate the man. Mierin did not like being interrupted, not by fellow Sith, and most definitely not by her underlings, even if they served her faithfully. With a quick turn of her heel she faced the captain, bold yellow eyes staring at him.

 

[J3C0]

“Captain.” Mierin's voice was stern, and the man before her visibly stiffened as she spoke. “You would do well to remember who it is you're speaking to, and show proper respect.”

With each word that passed her lip the man paled more and more until eventually he became almost entirely white. The Sith Pureblood smiled slightly when he gave her a frightened nod. It would be a lie to say that she did not enjoy the small effect that she had on her crew members, especially those that were assigned to her ship without her say.

This captain was one of those.

“Now, what is the problem?” He had interrupted her speaking of an issue, not something she expected. Then again when the Dark Lord sent her on tasks such as these there were often unforeseen troubles. The Dark Lord liked to test her patience, toy with her.

It was a game they played.

 

[J3C0]

“There is something on that world Lady Mierin. Old Empire Technology. We believe it to be some sort of bunker.”

Now that was interesting.

An old bunker from the Empire could prove to be very handy, in fact it could prove to be an easy end to their hunt. Her lips pursed again, metal studs rubbing against skin as she did so. For a moment she pondered what to do next, then she returned her gaze out the viewport.

The planet before her was drawing closer, becoming larger and larger outside of the windows.

One could always tell what a world was going to be like from space. Oh terrain itself was rather difficult to tell, but certain aspects were hinted at. Primarily green worlds were mostly forest and plains, brown were rocky cliffs and hellish deserts, red signified volcanic activity or a harsh atmosphere.

Mierin had always liked the latter.

“Are any of the settlements near the bunker?” She inquired of her Captain as the notably green and blue planet began to take up the entirety of the viewport.

 

[J3C0]

The Captain waited for a moment, walking over to one of the ensigns and taking a small datapad from him. He looked down at the device and then nodded, returning to Mierins flank.

“Three of them arranged in a triangular formation.”

She raised an eyebrow at that. It was an interesting set up for a set of settlements. Why not band together and form a single settlement instead of multiple smaller ones? Her lips pursed again, a pose she took on when deep in thought.

They were protecting something.

It seemed rather obvious to her now. Each of the three settlements were likely protecting something, something to do with the bunker. She guessed that it was a trifecta of shield generators, each generating an overlapping shield to protect the bunker from damage, and more importantly protecting whatever was within the bunker.

 

[J3C0]

She chuckled slightly. Mierin supposed they thought they were being clever, protecting the bunker with three separate settlements, though it made the location of what she sought all the more obvious. A smile spread across her face, and she looked to her captain.

“Ready our ships. We take the settlements one at a time, then take the bunker.” With that resounding command Mierin walked off the bridge once again.

There was no need to spend more time there, the Captain would follow her Orders and her forces would be readied. Truthfully the Crimson Wraith carried more than enough troops to eradicate all three settlements at once, and in fact could likely just bombard them into oblivion, but such a thing was unnecessary.

It was her hope that by toppling one or two of the settlements, the other would fall in line without question.

It was always better to destroy all resistance, than to sow more.

 

[J3C0]

It took no time at all for the troops to rally, the only Company that was summoned were her Wraiths. More troops would not be needed against such relatively small settlements, and she doubted that they would have anything resembling an organized military force. No, more likely they would be an old colony brought out by the Empire to cover the bunkers tracks.

Once they discovered the bunker, they likely saw it as something to use for their own protection, a safe haven for their women and children to go in case of emergency while their men fought off attackers.

It was a pity that tactic would hold no value here.

As she made her way into the Hangar Bay she was greeted by her troopers. White and Red armor jostled about as dozens of them loaded themselves into troop transports and walkers. She smiled at them, and then nodded to one of the commanders that made his approach to her.

“Commander.” She greeted him, ready for a preliminary report.

 

[J3C0]

The man that approached her could perhaps at one point been called handsome, but after a dozen or so years or combat, tactical insertions, and absolute hell his face was marred with more scars than could be counted. Mierin however still favored him with a warm, almost loving smile, as though he were a much adored child.

“Ma'am. We're ready to head down to the planet at your command.”

She nodded, and then touched a hand to her chin.

“Be prepared for resistance Commander, they likely won't take too kindly to us.” She thought it well to warn him, if she could avoid the death of her own men, she would. The Commander simply nodded, shouldering his rifle and cracking his neck slightly as if in answer to her. A large grin spread over his face and he looked down at her.

“I don't think it'll be an issue for us Ma'am.”

His eyes flickered over to the walkers and tanks being loaded into one of the transports, his grin widening.

 

[J3C0]

She let out a small chuckle, and then placed a hand upon his shoulder.

“You have been with me for many years Orin. You know not to underestimate those we fight.” She said it in a motherly way, as if she was still trying to teach him something. The man simply nodded, and place a hand on his chin, scruffling his beard slightly and looking down at the small woman. After a moment he nodded, as if finally remembering the times she was speaking of.

“Aye.”

He said finally as she removed her hand. “Good. Then let us be off. I am eager to return to Coruscant.”

The old soldier nodded, and led Mierin to a nearby transport ship. Inside was comfortable and quite well laid out, twelve soldiers including Orin sat within. Each one was wearing full armor and a helmet, something that Orin had donned as well since entering the ship. She looked to each of them with confidence.

She knew her soldiers were ready.

 

[J3C0]

The transport lifted off from the Hangar floor almost immediately after she got on board, half a dozen more ships lifted off as well, most of them far larger than the ship she was on. The transports flew insanely fast, falling from the Star Destroyer in quick successive swings and breaching the atmosphere of the planet below almost instantly.

There were thirteen ships in all, each of them flew in a tight clustered formation.

Mierin sat aboard the center most ship, flying towards the surface of the world protected by the others. Within minutes they breached the atmosphere, cutting above a massive ocean to quickly reach a huge clearing near the three settlements.

In truth, it was more of a field than a clearing, though it was wedged between two massive forests of what appeared to be pines.

Darth Mierin's transport was the last to nestle itself down onto the surface, and as the bay doors opened a strong gust of fresh air rushed into the transport. The Pureblood took it in, breathing deeply as the scent of felled trees and fresh flowers flowed into her lungs.

 

[J3C0]

“Commander.” Mierin said as she walked into the open grass filled field. “The Settlement, in which direction is it?”

The Sith Lord was quickly pointed west by the Commander before the man trotted off to oversee some of his troops.

The Pureblood thought for a second, looking westward into the forest. Cutting through the trees would not be an issue for the walkers and tanks they brought, but what worried Mierin was something that none of them had apparently observed, and something that her Captain had not reported on either. In the opposite direction of the settlement sat massive storm clouds.

Dark and foreboding they loomed over the forest, inching ever closer to field.

A storm was coming.

 

[J3C0]

The troopers seemed not to notice it, though she didn't blame them. They were busy with the setting up of half a dozen war engines and ensuring that Mierins will was seen to. Yet she noticed it. The dark foreboding clouds that threatened to consume all.

They made her smile.

“Commander. Lets see if we cannot hasten our efforts.” She called to him, and the man nodded, looking in her direction and immediately understanding as he finally saw the rainclouds. The troops began to hasten their movements, and within twenty minutes the small army was entirely set up. The Pureblood smiled at the storm one last time, then turned to her forces.

Walking towards one of the tanks she used the small steps to ascend onto the vehicle, sitting herself down onto one of the lower tiered seats, next to her Commander.

 

[J3C0]

The vehicles moved forward almost as soon as Mierin boarded her tank, taking only a second to secure supplies before finally lurching forward. The heavy tanks shoved forward ahead of the walkers, pushing across the fields and gliding above the grasslands without a second thought. The head tanks then pushed into the forest line, their powerful repulsorengines pressing into the tree's and tearing them down.

Powerful prows and strong steel tore apart the forest, clearing the way for the lighter vehicles and the walkers.

It took almost no time at all for the heavy tanks to press through the forest, though with the unfortunate side effect of sounding like a resounding hurricane. Tree after tree was felled, and as the walkers made progress it was almost too noisy for the likes of the Pureblood.

She frowned slightly, and turned to the Commander.

 

[J3C0]

The man looked at her, though through his helmet it was rather difficult to tell what his expression or mood was like. She guessed that most of the noise was deaf to him thanks to the very same thing that obscured his emotions, something she should have thought about before the beginning of this.

“How large is the forest?” The sooner this was done, the better.

She knew there was nothing they could do about the noise, after all the only alternative was burning the forest and that would take far more time, and would likely do far more damage to the surrounding area than she actually wanted. The settlement however should not have been all too far away, especially at the rate which their little convoy was moving.

“At this rate?”

The Commander asked before silently switching his comm channels to ask one of the Tank leaders. Mierin frowned and waited a moment, until the Commander spoke once again.

“Ten minutes Ma'am.”

The Sith Pureblood sighed, but then nodded, resigning herself a world of felled tree's and dead plants.

 

[J3C0]

Surprisingly, the Commanders estimate rang true. Almost to a T, the convoy arrived at the first settlement within ten minutes. The head tank felled the last tree and broke into another clearing just in time to see a powerful bolt of red light grazing over its head and striking a massive pine tree. Flames and embers immediately burst from the wood and Mierins eyes opened wide.

“That was a canon.” She said standing from the tank and drawing the lightsaber from her hip. The Commander immediately stood as well, jumping off the tank and rushing away from the vehicle as the convoy spread out and began returning fire.

At the base of the settlement Mierin saw a line of defenders.

Each of the defenders was dressed in small pieces of Stormtrooper armor, segmented and broken, but recognizable. They held old E-11 rifles and their “laser canons” were the decapitated heads of old AT-AT's. It was as the Pureblood had feared, the settlers had gotten into the Bunker.

 

[J3C0]

Hell began to reign as the convoy returned fire.

Walkers, tanks, and soldiers reigned blaster and turbolaser fire down at the Settlers who in turn fired at the convoy. Mierin stood at the front of it all, batting away blaster bolts and scowling as she walked towards the dug in settlers, flanked by a squadron of her Wraiths.

Behind them the convoy slowly advanced, pushing towards the settlement.

Mierin erected barriers of the force, pulled away canon fire, and pressed away Grenades that were thrown at her. The Purebloods command of the force was absolute, and as she broke out into a sprint she saw fear in some of the Settlers eyes. As the thrum of her lightsaber drummed out the noise of war, Mierin began to smile.

They had made a mistake.