A Dark Blade

[J3C0]

It could not be rightly called a battle, not when one side had a Sith Lord and the other only had a rag tag group of settler militia. The One Sith forces cut through the first line of defenders as though they were nothing but dust. Mierin especially was effective, as soon as she struck the lines her lightsaber flicked and bounced from person to person, she severed limbs, bisected torso's, and decapitated men and women alike without a second thought.

Her men reached her soon after, their blaster flecking the defensive trench with red laser fire. The screams of militia members could be heard for what seemed like an age, though in reality it was all over in only a matter of moments.

As soon as the first dozen defenders fell, the rest scattered back into their meager settlement. They rushed back into their homes, hoping to hide themselves away or perhaps find a better defensive position. Yet the result was all the same, Mierin and her troops took the front of the settlement in mere moments.

The Pureblood stood among half a dozen dead bodies, each burning bright yellow still with the harsh light of a lightsaber strike.

 

[J3C0]

The Commander stared at Mierin for a moment, his helmet cocking to the side for a moment as if in observation of something. She smiled at him, her eyes fluttering closed for a moment, and then open again to stare at him.

“I'm glad you're on our side Ma'am.”

One of the soldiers behind her said with amusement in his tone. Mierin smiled as her lightsaber snapped closed, the constant hissing of the blade silencing immediately as the blade retracted into her hilt. She replaced the weapon onto her belt, and then looked to her Commander again. “Round up the remaining settlers, and find the Shield Generator.”

Immediately the squads of her soldiers moved out, dozens more soldiers jumping from the convoy and rushing into the village at her command.

 

[J3C0]

Mierin remained in the trench to survey the damage that had been done. More than three dozen Settlers lay dead, half a dozen by her own hand and the rest either by blaster shot or canon fire from the vehicles. She wandered amongst them for a time, kicking over corpses and inspecting old remnants of Stormtroopers armor. She did this until she felt vindicated, and then motioned for the vehicles to come forward.

Slowly, almost at a snails pace they entered the small village. The tiny settlement would hardly be worthy of note to anyone. Mierin was willing to bet only about a thousand or so people called this their home, and in terms of colonies it was absolutely tiny, which made her task all the more simple.

As sluggishly as the vehicles had moved before her Mierin began her sojourn into the center of the village. There she could spy a massive tower, compared to the rest of the buildings at least, that was undoubtedly the shield generator that protected the bunker from her. This would have to be disabled first, and it was where her troops would bring the rest of the dissidents.

They moved carefully, eyes scanning empty houses.

 

[J3C0]

Finding the town center was rather easy. They made their way to the single spire that stood in the middle of the settlement, surprisingly no one touched them, no one even dared move against them.

Instead, they found the remainder of the so called “Defense forces” already bound and captured within the town square. More than a hundred and fifty men sat upon the floor on their knee's, each one was bound, his hands tied behind his back with tight zip cords. More than fifty soldiers guarded them, blaster rifles pointing at the back of their heads at all times.

Mierin smiled.

She had always enjoyed this about primitive worlds. Their soldiers did not know how to fight, they were not properly trained and even if they had modern technology they hardly used it correctly. Such was the case here.

 

[J3C0]

“Commander.” Mierin said in that regal Tone as she approached the red tinted trooper, a smile on her face.

The man acknowledged her, and then nodded, taking off his helmet in one quick swoop and saluting her. They had done well, it had taken them less than thirty minutes to round up every single dissident within the settlement, and whats more it seemed that they had already done some interrogating.

One of the more well dressed man was laying near the tower surrounded by three of her guard, blood soaked the floor around him and a trail of crimson stemmed behind her commander. She smiled at the man, and then patted him on the cheek in that motherly way. They had been overzealous, the interrogation was her job, sure the Wraiths could do it, but they were far less...subtle.

“Ma'am. We've secured the settlement and have spoken with one of its leaders. He's not here sir.”

The Commander spoke almost eagerly, waiting for approval.

 

[J3C0]

She looked passed The Commander and towards the beaten man on the ground. She watched as one of her troopers kicked him in the ribs, causing him to seize slightly and cough blood into a pool of already growing crimson on the ground.

Mierin raised an eyebrow “Yes Commander, I can see that.”

The Pureblood did not seem displeased in the least, she liked it when her soldiers took initiative. At times it served great purpose, though in others it didn't exactly help the situation along. She smiled as she patted Orin on the cheek again. This time it was sadly a case of the former. They did not help by beating this man, though only because they likely weren't asking the right question.

“Allow me to ask.” Mierin said as she wandered passed the Captain and towards the beaten man.

She could feel the dissidents eyes on her, and that was a good thing.

 

[J3C0]

The Commander seemed to slump slightly, as if he knew that his men were about to be outshone by the talents of a Sith Lord, but he did not argue. Instead he followed her along, stepping behind her and signaling for his men to move away from the near corpse.

For a moment Mierin only studied the man, stepping over so she barely was outside of the thick pool of blood forming at his feet. A frown settled on her face as the man moaned and groaned, most likely due to the pain that was lancing throughout his entire body. The Pureblood waited for a moment, and then squatted down on her haunches, studying the man more closely before seeing that he was still perfectly conscious. Likely he had only a few broken ribs, perhaps half a collapsed lung.

Perfect.

“You know why we are here.” Mierin said as the force began to wind around her forearm. “You know who I am looking for, and you have seen what I am willing to do to find him.”

The man let out a groan in response to her, though his lips began to move.

“No one. No one you care about is he-”

“I very much doubt that Mister...? Well it doesn't matter. I know that he is here. I know that he is hiding, and to tell you the truth I where he is hiding.” The mans eyes opened wide at that, as if he hadn't expected her words to be quite so...strong. Yet she saw recognition within him, it dawned on him that she did in fact already know.

A smirk crossed her face.

“Yes, I know.” She said patting the fat man on the head. “Now, you can either cease your resistance and contact the other settlements so you can peacefully lower the shield.”

Mierin turned to her troopers, signaling them to take up position behind the prisoners. “Or you can see just how far I’m willing to go.”

 

[J3C0]

The man shook his head, denying her.

Mierin let out a long, dreaded sigh, as if she did not want to do what she was about to. Slowly the Sith Lord raised herself up back to her full height. She extended herself and turned back towards her Commander. She nodded to him, her yellow eyes bobbing slightly.

There was no sign of grimness, no sign of hesitation or anything of the sort. The Soldier simply nodded at the Sith Pureblood, and then spoke quietly into the Radio. The next few minutes were a flurry of screams, screeches, and blaster shots. The one hundred and fifty or so dissidents that had been captured were executed, each one receiving a blaster shot to the back of the head.

Those that tried to run, received worse.

 

[J3C0]

The slaughter lasted only a short few moments. The men of the settlement were executed quickly and without prejudice or little show for concern. Mierins Wraiths knew well that this was not a thing to be thought or mulled over. Each one of her soldiers were the perfect troopers, loyal and unquestioning. The slaughter of innocent villagers was not new to them.

When the slaughter was finished, Mierin simply stood over the one surviving man, blood spreading from his stuttering crying face.

The force flowed about him, gripping him and ripping him from the floor in one smooth motion. She pushed her palm forward, and pressed outward to surge him against the outer wall of the shield generator. There was a scowl on her face this time, and her voice was a cold winters bite.

“Now. I ask you to reconsider.” For a moment she looked about the scene of the massacre. “Or I will do this to the rest.”

He would know very well who she was talking about.

 

[J3C0]

Sadly, the man wasn't in any state to answer. It seemed that three of the people he had executed had been his sons, and as he saw them die something...broke within him. For a few moments he was utterly inconsolable, crying hysterically and trying to breath as best as he could until finally, he managed to stutter out some words.

“I-i-i w-wil-will C-c-contact the others.”

Mierin smiled slightly. Good. It seemed that she would not have to slaughter an entire planet today. With a flick of her wrist Mierin released him, pulling the force away from his brittle bones and letting him drop into the pool of his own blood.

If the other settlements cooperated, and the shield around the generator was dropped, this would go much faster than anticipated.

Above her the clouds of rain finally began to sing true, soft droplets of water fell down onto the earth. They splashed and dipped into pools of blood, silencing the scent of dead and burned flesh now clinging to the ear. Mierin closed her eyes and faced the drops, letting the cleansing water flow over her as the sobs of a broken man echoed around her.

 

[J3C0]

It didn't take long for the man to do as he said. Granted he was stuttering, sputtering, and crying the whole way through, but within twenty minutes time the first of the Shield Generators was shut down. A massively loud whirring noise could be heard as the first shield vanished, then a flickering of an opaque dome as it disappeared into nothingness. Seconds later it happened again, then again. One after another the settlements turned off their shield generators, leaving the bunker unprotected.

Mierin could only smile. She hadn't needed to take two settlements, only one had been necessary. Granted she slaughtered a fourth of the population of the settlement, but at least she hadn't massacred them all.

Perhaps next time they would be more willing to listen when an overwhelming force commanded them to do something.

For now, they hardly mattered. She was sure they would try and bite back eventually, perhaps even before her little convoy attempted to leave, but that was in the future. Mierin had other things on her mind, chief among them was finding the man she had come here for.

The Dark Lord would be mot displeased if she did not hurry.

 

[J3C0]

“Commander. Ready your men.” Mierin called out to the man, who had long since replaced his helmet, in response the man nodded and began to signal to his troopers.

The Bunker was likely no more well defended than the settlements. She had ordered the little man to clear the remaining defenders away from the area in return for a promise that the women and children would not be harmed. Part of her hoped that he would not listen, it would make a good example for her target if they resisted.

She could show him how serious she was.

Yet the slaughter of innocents did not thrill her as it did other Sith. Sure she would order it, and even conduct it herself, but it brought her no joy to do so. It didn't bring her any pain either of course, but she saw no point in the exercise.

The rain quickly soaked into her clothes, and before long the convoy once again was ready to move out. With slicked black hair and drenched robes Mierin wandered over to her tank. She climbed aboard, settling herself down next to the Commander with a slight frown on her face. “Take me to the Bunker Commander, I am eager to leave this world.”

 

[J3C0]

The vehicles set off at a fast pace, leaving behind a village of burned flesh and corpses. It was not a pleasant sight, but it would serve as a reminder to those on this world that would resist forces more powerful than them.

They would learn.

Quickly the convoy rushed across open plains and slight bits of shrubbery, shredding through terrain with heavy tanks and walkers. The Racket was once again almost unbearable, though this time the journey seemed to be much faster than before. Perhaps the lack of tree's was at fault for this. Before long Mierin spotted the upper reaches of the bunker, a thick metal structure with a massive set of turbo-laser turrets upon its heights.

Each one was slumped and rusty, long ago needing maintenance and not receiving it.

The Darth frowned slightly, her eyes peering into the distance, trying to spot any sort of movements near the bunker. When she saw none, she simply nodded. The convoy moved forward, inching closer to the bunker.

 

[J3C0]

As they neared the bunker, Mierin was surprised to find the doors slowly opening. They yawned, creaked, and groaned as they opened. Old rusty bolts and hinges nearly falling apart as the doors slid into the walls and the ground. Thick blast doors meant to withstand turbo-laser fire. The Sith Pureblood merely pursed her lips as a single man stepped out in front of the doors, before they quickly closed again.

She waved her hand, signaling the convoy to stop before she quickly slid from her seat on the tank and moved forward.

Was this her target? Was this the man she was looking for? No.

The man she wanted was in his thirties, not ancient and white haired as this man was. Mierin guessed that he was some sort of Elder, a leader among the three settlements that called out to protect the man she was searching for. Her lips turned down slightly, piercings grating against flesh once again as he displeasure showed.

The man looked unafraid as she approached him.

 

[J3C0]

“Hail stranger!”

The man called out to her, and immediately Mierin felt a sense of...not dread, but annoyance. The man spoke as a Nagai Priest would. The sound of his tone, the preaching within his words. She could feel the righteousness coming from him in droves, and she could feel her own displeasure in having to speak with such a man.

Mierin had always found Religion to be a backwards and silly thing. The belief in something that wasn't palpable confused and downright infuriated her, and she had often fought with the Nagai priests of her father when they had tried to teach her their ancient religion. Of course they had seen the Force as some kind of mystical deity, but Mierin had never really shared their views. Instead she had turned to reason and logic to understand the force, and that had always worked out superbly for her.

Superstition got you no where.

“Greetings Elder.” She began respectfully, she wasn't an animal after all. “You stand in my way, I ask you to remove yourself.”

“I cannot do that, Child. You seek to harm one who stands within this place.”

Already she was annoyed. The condescension in his voice was clear, and given that she had several centuries on this man, it was undeserved. “I do not wish to harm anyone. I simply wish to take him from this place so he may complete a task for me.”

“He fears for his life!”

“Yes, and so should you Elder.” The man was taken aback by her sudden turn of character. “I do not seek to harm anyone, but I shall. I will raze this world in its entirety. I will slaughter its people, scorch its earth, and burn its oceans. I will eradicate all life upon this world in order to seize this one man. Now I ask you Elder, is he worth protecting?”

The man remained silent for what seemed an age.

 

[J3C0]

The Elder had paled in the face of Mierins threat, and she simply waited for him to respond. There was much she could do. The Bunker had no working weapons, and her armored vehicles were more than capable of destroying the blast door given enough time. In fact she herself could cut through the bunker door given an hour or two.

Those within stood no chance.

The man before her seemed to slowly dawn on this realization, his eyes opened wider and wider and his preaching mouth slowly shut itself as he came to the thought that he in fact, would not be surviving this if he resisted. Mierin wore an expression of smug superiority, her smile twitching at her lips, causing the bone protrusion to shift slightly as she looked at him.

“Stand aside, and open the door.” She commanded him, the force flowing through her voice.

 

[J3C0]

He didn't move, but eventually relented.

The old man moved to the side of the bunker door, and pressed his hand against a small console. There he began to enter a long code, followed by speaking to someone within the bunker. Then at last, the doors began to once again slide open. The rusty creaking noise of their retreat was almost unbearably loud this close, and as the final durasteel plate finally slid into the floor Mierin let a goosebump filled shutter run throughout her entire body.

She hated that noise.

“A wise decision Elder.” The Pureblood said as she motioned for her troops. The Commander slid from his position on the tank and moved towards her, flanked by a dozen of his troopers that quickly followed Mierin into the bunker.

Flickering lights and the scent of human waste greeted her at the threshold of the massive structure, and almost immediately her nose scrunched in the unpleasant odor.

 

[J3C0]

She was the first inside of the stinking bunker, the first to wind her way down towards the bowels of the facility that seemed to house nothing but an infestation of rats and other vermin. Unsurprisingly the man she was looking for was hiding within the nicer segment of the facility, where the officers of the Empire would have stayed. Mierin wound her way through the common areas, moving passed stinking settlers and yawning hounds as they shrunk away in fear of her.

The troopers behind her seemed unconcerned with her safety, only flashing their lights into the eyes of certain men and women who seemed to be staring at her for a tad too long. They walked with a sort of non-chalant ease, knowing full well that anyone who tried to kill them, would be swiftly cut down.

Thus was their progress through the bunker.

The scent of filth clung to the air, and rolling flashing lights were enough to cause a seizure in someone with epilepsy. It was almost a disturbing sight, seeing so many refugees gathered in a place meant for so little, though if it bothered the Sith Pureblood, she did not show it, save for the scrunching of her face as the pungency of the odor struck her again and again.

Her pace quickened.

 

[J3C0]

Finally they reached the end of the common area, stepping into the officers quarters was nearly a breath of fresh air.

Nearly.

Mierin bade her troopers to stay put, knowing they would only intimidate her target. She moved into the tiny sectioned off halls until she found the room that she had been directed to. There was no need to knock, no need to warn of her coming. Very likely one of the villagers had long since told the man of his coming demise, he would either be trying to commit suicide, or waiting patiently to accept his face.

The door scrunched, the force squishing, bending and breaking it as Mierin exacted her will upon the durasteel. Pushing it inward she tossed the crumbled metal ball to the side, the screams of a man erupting as fear permeated the air.

“Jason Kolyat.” Mierin said as she spotted the man jumping behind an old and torn velvet couch. “I require your assistance.”

The look of fear on his face was almost amusing.

 

[J3C0]

To his credit, the man did not stutter.

“Help you? I thought you were trying to kill me!”

“No.” Mierin said quite flatly as though such a thing were absolutely ridiculous. “Your death would not aid in my cause.”

Jason Kolyat was a Shipwright who had worked for the previous Sith Empire. Though he had been under appreciated, Mierin had been informed that it was in fact Kolyat who had been responsible for many of the greater Ship designs that had been created within the Sith Empire. Usually starships were designed by entire teams, but supposedly Kolyat was something of a genius. The trouble with being a genius however was that one was sometimes...erratic, and Kolyat was supposedly somewhat...paranoid.

“I require the use of your skills Jason.” Mierin said the words flatly and honestly.

Kolyat was by all reports an absolute genius when it came to designing starships, and the One Sith were in desperate need of new ships. So this was the task that had been set for Mierin. Find Kolyat, bring him back to Coruscant, and then bid him to design them a new ship. A simple task on paper, but one that was far more difficult when you took into account the fact that Kolyat was absolutely nuts.

“B-b-but the Sith! They're after me!”

He was under the impression that after the disillusion of the Sith Empire, those he had previously designed ships for would come after him in order to ensure that the ships secrets never really got out. Of course this conspiracy theory made absolutely no sense, but then again in the face of crazy one didn't really need to argue.

“You needn't worry yourself Jason.” Mierin said stepping up to him with a motherly hand. “We will protect you.”

She smiled at him, a warm pleasing smile. “Allow me to return you to Coruscant, to safety.”

The force began to weave within the air. Powerful nuances of the darkside that inched to the mind of Jason Kolyat. They dug trenches within his thoughts, sowing seeds and making him more pliable to the words of Darth Mierin. The man relaxed visibly, slumping slightly and nodding his head in reaction to her words.

“Y-yes. I think that would be for the best.”

Darth Mierin smiled genuinely this time, placing a hand on Jason's face and patting him soothingly. The first part of her plan was achieved. Now the real work would begin.