Naboo: Betrayal

[Var-Sulis]

"It's part of my charm," he grinned, then added, more seriously, "Whatever comes, I'm not going anywhere. Brother, exile, Force ghosts, remnants—bring it all."

 

[Kara Kornelius]

She leaned into him, resting her forehead against his. For a few long seconds, the galaxy melted away.

But even as they stood entwined beneath the stars, Kara couldn't shake the weight in her chest. The Force whispered again—not in words, but in urgency.

Something was coming.

And she would not be allowed to ignore it for long.

 

[Arcubis Kornelius]

Exegol – The Depthless Vault


The stone beneath Arcubis Kornelius trembled.


He stood at the center of the subterranean cathedral—a massive, ancient hall carved into the bowels of the Sith-ruled planet. The walls pulsed with dark energy, engraved with jagged runes that writhed faintly in the flickering red light. Above him, a shattered mural of the old Sith Eternal hierarchy loomed like the remnants of a religion built on blood and betrayal.


Arcubis raised his hand, palm outward. Before him floated a fractured holocron—its glow unstable, flickering as if resisting his control. It screamed in a tongue no longer spoken by any living being.


With a violent twist of his wrist, Arcubis silenced it. The fragments shattered, disintegrating into red mist.


Behind him, dark-robed acolytes bowed their heads, kneeling in wordless obedience. These were not true Sith, not yet. They were scavengers, zealots, lost souls drawn to his power. He had molded them from ruin.


Arcubis turned slowly to face them, his voice calm but cold as obsidian.​

"The Force has opened the gate. My sister walks a path of light… and she believes she has outrun the shadows. But the Force does not forget blood. Nor does it forgive abandonment."

He began to descend the black stone steps toward them, each step echoing like a funeral bell.

"She stood beside our father's pyre and swore to protect the family legacy. She lied. When I fell, she turned her back. When the Jedi cast me out, she stayed behind their walls. Now… she binds herself to the very system that erased us."

Arcubis stopped before a tall figure in thicker armor, cloaked in crimson—his war captain, Murn Talox, a former inquisitor who had once served the Empire before going rogue.


"Prepare the Voidcutter," Arcubis commanded. "We depart for the Core."


Talox straightened, his voice like gravel. "The Jedi will see it as a declaration of war."


"It is," Arcubis said simply. "But not against the Jedi."


He turned, eyes distant, the fire of Exegol reflected in them.

"This is a reckoning. For me. For Kara. For the bloodline they tried to bury."

Suddenly, the vault's darkness shifted, and from a sealed chamber deep behind the throne of stone, an enormous door began to open—dust falling like ash from the ceiling.


Within, sealed for decades, sat a colossal darksaber pylon—a forgotten prototype from a Sith war engine. Arcubis had spent years feeding it stolen kyber, broken relics, and his own pain.


Now, it would burn.


He extended both arms toward it, letting the dark side surge through his veins like lightning. The ancient Sith tech thrummed to life, its core a molten crimson hue.

"I will show her the truth," he whispered to the machine. "And when she looks into my eyes… she will finally see what she left behind."

And as the engines began to roar, far above in the chaos-streaked sky of Exegol, the Voidcutter broke through the storm barrier like a blade in flight—its path set for THEED.

 

[Var-Sulis]

Royal Security Council – Theed Palace, Naboo – Strategic Briefing Hall​

Theed's ancient stonework groaned softly under the weight of generations, but the tension in the palace's command briefing chamber made the air feel even heavier.

Var-Sulis stood at the head of the table, his ceremonial tunic now partly unfastened, revealing the light armor beneath. A flurry of officials surrounded him—Captain Doma Vell, head of Naboo planetary defense, two Republic intelligence envoys, and a flickering holo-transmission from a Jedi Master already en route.

The room's primary display showed the sweeping curve of the Outer Rim, but all eyes were fixed on one burning trajectory: an unregistered vessel, black as space itself, cutting through the lanes like a spear.

"Designation: Voidcutter," said the intelligence officer, voice clipped. "Unknown origin, but the flight path originates near Exegol."

Var's expression darkened. "And where is it headed?"

Captain Vell looked up. "Here. Theed. Based on its speed and direction, it will breach Naboo airspace in just under eleven hours."

The holomap zoomed into the green-and-gold hemisphere of Naboo, overlaying the predicted impact vector. A crimson pulse blinked directly over Theed.

"They're not trying to conquer a system," Var murmured. "They're coming for people."

"One person," said the Jedi Master through the holofeed. "Kara."

A quiet, sharp silence filled the room.

"The Voidcutter isn't broadcasting a fleet-wide challenge. It's pulsing a directed Force signature—coded, personal, possibly even emotional. Like a beacon meant for one target."

"Arcubis," Var said grimly.

The analyst nodded. "All indicators point to the presence of a Force-sensitive onboard. Extremely strong. If he's bonded to Kara in any way through blood or Force connection…"

"Then he's not coming to destroy a planet," Var finished. "He's coming to drag her into his world."

Captain Vell looked at Var, eyes wide with urgency. "We need to activate planetary shields. Evacuate Theed."

"No," Var said sharply. "Not yet. He wants a spectacle. If we show fear, we hand him one."

He paced to the edge of the holomap, staring down at the digital ghost of the ship flying toward them. "We handle this quietly. Alert the Queen, initiate internal lockdowns across the palace, but keep the guests unaware. The wedding will finish. Kara deserves that much."

Vell frowned. "And when the Voidcutter arrives?"

"I'll greet it myself," Var said without hesitation. "With Kara… or without her."

The Jedi Master on the holo-feed added, "We'll be there soon. But Var—if Arcubis has been feeding off Exegol's dark energy, he's not the same man your bride remembers. He may not be a man at all anymore."

Var's jaw tightened, but his voice stayed steady. "Then I'll be the reminder of what he left behind."

 

[Kara Kornelius]

The laughter and lights of the wedding reception still echoed just beyond the crystal-paneled archways, but here—just inside the palace's inner hall—time seemed to pause.


Kara stood alone, her fingers idly trailing the carved vines along the marble banister. The joy on her face had faded, replaced with the same tightness in her chest that had haunted her since the ceremony. Her mind was clouded—not with doubt about Var, but with the growing pull of something dark approaching. Something familiar.


The door behind her hissed open.


She turned swiftly. Master Pahul Vitorbreeze stepped inside, his flowing silver-blue robes slightly damp from the Naboo night air. His face was unusually tense for a Jedi of his composure. Behind him followed Var-Sulis , his brow set in the grim expression she knew from old war briefings.


Kara's eyes darted between them. "What is it?"

 

[Pahul Vitorbreeze]

Pahul didn't waste time. "A vessel has broken through the Unknown Regions and entered hyperspace… headed directly for Naboo. It will arrive within hours."

 

[Kara Kornelius]

She steps forward. "What kind of vessel?"

 

[Var-Sulis]

Var answered, voice steady but heavy. "Sith origin. Black-class starframe. They're calling it the Voidcutter."

 

[Pahul Vitorbreeze]

"No known communications, no official threat," Pahul added. "But the Force... the signature it leaves behind... Kara, it's tethered to you. It calls for you."

 

[Kara Kornelius]

Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Arcubis."

Neither of them had to confirm it. She already knew.

"I felt him," she said, almost to herself. "I didn't want to believe it, but… he's coming for me."

 

[Var-Sulis]

Var stepped closer. "Then we prepare for him. You won't face this alone."

 

[Kara Kornelius]

Kara's gaze remained fixed on the floor. "He's not the brother I remember. The one I grew up with died the day Exegol swallowed him."

 

[Pahul Vitorbreeze]

Pahul folded his hands. "And yet the Force connects you still. That connection may be why he's returning now. He may seek your redemption... or your destruction."

 

[Kara Kornelius]

Kara looked up, her voice calmer now, but firm. "Then I'll find out which it is."

 

[Var-Sulis]

Var turned to Pahul. "We lock down the palace under the guise of a diplomatic shift. No panic. No rumors. Have elite guard rotations swapped in immediately—quietly."

 

[Pahul Vitorbreeze]

Pahul nodded. "Already in motion."

 

[Var-Sulis]

Then, to Kara, Var added more softly, "But the guests are still here. And the ceremony isn't done. If we tell everyone now, we lose the chance to control the moment. You have one more dance, Kara—one more night to hold something good."

 

[Kara Kornelius]

She gave him a look—half disbelief, half admiration. "You still want to finish the reception?"

 

[Var-Sulis]

He smiled faintly. "We may be staring down a Sith-class war engine… but you're my wife. And tonight is ours."

 

[Kara Kornelius]

A quiet strength passed between them.

Kara straightened, the Jedi calm returning to her. "Then let me change. I won't meet my brother in this gown."

She turned, heading toward the royal suite, her pace swift and decisive. As she walked, her voice echoed back:

"If he's come to pull me into the dark… he's going to have to drag me through every beam of light I've ever walked."