The planet Belsavis shone in the distance. Its white, icy landscape was dotted by green circles, which were odd, jungle-like areas full of vegetation and wildlife. On the surface, the Republic prison was in sheer chaos. Thousands of inmates had escaped when the Sith Empire invaded a few years ago, and recruited as many of them as possible. However, the planet held dark, millennia-old secrets.
The Shadow's Fist emerged from hyperspace on the edge of the system. Its silver hull was shining brightly amidst the stars. The Fist was armed to the teeth. Heavy turbolasers, advanced deflector shields, particle beam cannons, a prototype cloaking device, and worst of all, its dreaded superweapon: a custom-built hypervelocity cannon. This weapon of mass destruction was said to be capable of destroying an entire battle cruiser in one shot.
The Fist was covered in shiny, silver durasteel. The bright blue light emitting from its engines trailed behind it. The front of the ship split into two, then continued to jut outwards, like two silver daggers. In between these two sections right at the point where they split, there were two starfighter hangars, one above the other. The ship's overall triangular shape made it distinguishable from far away.
As the Fist drew closer and closer to Belsavis, a shuttle launched from its main hangar. As it lifted off, the shuttle's V-shaped wings attached to the rear of its hull arced downwards, like an A. The shuttle zoomed out of the hangar and sped down towards Belsavis' surface.
On the ground, four Hand scouts were guarding a small clearing in the jungle. Upon hearing the soft rumble of the shuttle's engines approaching, the scouts spread out to make room for it to land. The shuttle's landing gear extended from underneath, and the craft touched down softly onto the mossy landscape. As it landed, the shuttle's wings retracted back upwards, meeting as they pointed straight up. Just behind the shuttle's cockpit, there was an entry hatch. A ramp automatically slid out from the side of the shuttle under the hatch, and tilted downwards, landing in the moss. The hatch slid to the right, and the four scouts suddenly lined up like honor guards at the bottom of the ramp. They stood in pairs, one on each side of the ramp.
Though they did not show it, the scouts suddenly felt physically colder. A figure from within the shuttle appeared in the open doorway. It was a man, clad in black and pale gray armored robes. Two large shoulder plates stuck out from his sides, and a long cape trailed just above his heels. His jet-black hair was neatly done. A long scar stretched from above his eyebrow to his cheek on the left side of his face (the left being the point of view of whomever was looking at him directly). The man's eyes were a deep crimson, immediately identifying himself as a Sith.
Darth Savek looked around, observing the jungle. He strode down the ramp, his boots lightly sinking into the moss. He walked past the four scouts. With his back to them, he briefly stopped and said, "Follow me." Simultaneously, the scouts turned and marched behind him as he kept walking.
After a few minutes of walking, Savek and his scouts came across a startling scene. Next to a tree, a Republic walker was on fire. All around it were the bodies of Republic prison guards and riot troopers. A handful of tripod-legged warden droids lay cut to shreds with the corpses. At the center of this horrific sight was a woman. She was about Savek's height, with black hair to match his. Her hair was done up in a ponytail, and she wore bright purple and gray robes with light shoulderplates. The mysterious woman was also holding a double-bladed lightsaber. The saberstaff's blades were odd compared to the color of normal lightsabers. Whereas regular lightsabers are white in the middle with the color on the outside, this weapon's blades were black in the middle, and purple on the outside.
The woman deactivated her saberstaff, hooking it on her belt. She turned around to face Savek. She too, had the red Sith eyes, and she also had purple face-paint in streaks from her eyes to the tops of her ears, as well as another going from her lips to the middle of her chin. "What took you so long, brother?" asked the woman.
"Lord Braviss," said Savek with a grin. "I take it this is your handiwork?"
Braviss nodded. "They got in my way, so I killed them. But don't worry, the Republic won't be sending another patrol to look for them. Before I killed their squad leader, I used a mind trick on the weak-minded fool to call back to base and report no activity in this sector, simply a comms malfunction. After that, I stuck my lightsaber into his stomach."
The flames from the burning walker crackled behind her.
Savek looked down. The severed head of a warden droid lay at his feet. Lightly kicking the droid's head aside, Savek replied, "Stay your blade for now, my sister. I sense our target is close. I know his presence. Come with me." He turned left, and walked past Braviss, the scouts right behind him. Braviss soon followed.
A few minutes passed. Soon, the group came up to a large stone complex in the middle of the forest. It was an ancient vault constructed by the alien Rakata millennia before. The Rakata and their Infinite Empire had ruled the entire galaxy until their mysterious downfall. The vault doors appeared to have been blasted open with a large quantity of explosives.
Darth Savek stepped into the vault. The ceiling went about 30 meters up. Darth Braviss and the scouts followed him. Up ahead, they saw a small group of aliens, Esh-kha. The Esh-kha looked like a mutated crossover between a cow and a rat. Standing over six feet tall, the Esh-kha armed themselves with blaster rifles and electrostaffs, poised for combat. Savek raised a hand, telling Braviss and the scouts to stop. He lowered his hand to his belt, gripping the hilt of his lightsaber. Unhooking it from his belt, Savek ignited his lightsaber, its bright red blade hissing to life. The Esh-kha raised their rifles, ready to defend themselves.
"None of these beasts will survive," sneered Savek.
Savek hurled his lightsaber towards the Esh-kha. The lightsaber spun as if it were a frisbee, hurling into the Esh-kha warriors effortlessly. Savek controlled the lightsaber's direction using the Force. In a matter of seconds, the Esh-kha were all cut down. Savek's lightsaber returned to his hand, deactivating. He put it back on his belt, and kept walking. Braviss and the scouts followed.
They came to a small room at the end of the vault's main hallway. The doorway was blocked by a force field. Braviss spotted a control panel next to the door, and extended her hand. She shot the control panel with a quick blast of Force lightning, frying it. The force field shut down, allowing them to enter.
Inside the room, there was a single man. He had deep blue skin, with blue hair that came down just above his eyebrows. His eyes were blood red, with no pupils. The man was an alien, a Chiss. The man wore what every prisoner on Belsavis was wearing: a yellow and gray raggy tunic, with a shock collar attached to the back of his neck. The Chiss was sitting on the ground with his legs crossed, as if meditating. He looked up and saw Darth Savek before him. As if recognizing Savek, the Chiss immediately scrambled to his feet, standing at attention like a soldier.
"Senoru," said Savek with a slight grin. "It's been far too long, my old friend."
Senoru replied, "Indeed it has, my lord. It's a wonder I've been able to survive this dreadful place, what with the planetwide jailbreak and the Esh-kha running about." Senoru relaxed himself, beginning to approach Savek. "Why have you chosen to rescue me, my lord?"
"I needed someone with your experience and expertise to commandeer our warship," answered Savek. "You did a marvelous job aboard the Warmonger, and you're so young yet. To make admiral at only twenty years old! It's only been three years since then. You were the youngest appointed admiral in the history of the Sith Empire. It'd be a real shame to waste your talents, rotting in this cesspit."
"You mean--" Senoru stuttered. "You mean you've come here to recruit me again? My lord, I would be most honored."
"Excellent," said Savek. "Welcome back, Admiral Senoru."
Senoru bowed respectfully. Savek turned and began to leave, with Senoru, Darth Braviss, and the four scouts behind him.
....
Back in the clearing, Darth Savek, Darth Braviss, the four scouts, and Admiral Senoru were boarding the shuttle to return to the Shadow's Fist.
"Take us back up," said Savek to the pilot. The shuttle lifted off, its wings turning downwards again to form the A-shape. The shuttle shot into the sky, heading back into space.
Upon returning to the Fist, Admiral Senoru quickly showered and got dressed into an Imperial officer's uniform. The rank badge on his chest marked him as an admiral. Putting on his officer's cap, Senoru walked to the front of the ship's bridge. He stood at the helm, feeling more at home. Senoru looked out the viewport at Belsavis. Darth Savek come up behind him.
"Happy to be back, I see," commented Savek.
Senoru nodded, not turning to face him. "Indeed, my lord. I must say, she is a very fine vessel. May I ask where we're going next?"
Darth Savek stepped in front of Senoru at the holoterminal before him. He pressed a button on the control pad, and a holographic image of a man in armored robes appeared.
"Master Vasto Sykon of the Jedi Order," he began. "This man has been a very painful thorn in my side for years. I have dueled him several times, and every single time we have ended in a draw. Master Sykon leads a group similar to the Shadow's Hand, known as the Hammer of Light. The difference is that they are still part of the Republic. They have Jedi, Republic soldiers, and even their own smuggling ring. The Hammer is an elite fighting force whose sole purpose is to hunt down and destroy the Hand. I killed Sykon's former Jedi Master on Devaron. After he heard of his master's death, Sykon formed the Hammer of Light to honor his memory."
"So, this Master Sykon is our target?" asked Admiral Senoru.
Savek nodded. "My spies tell me Master Sykon is on board the Hammer's flagship, the Vindicator, which is currently in orbit over Shola. What they're doing on Shola, we don't know. But I know Master Sykon. He's up to something..."
Savek turned off the holoprojector. "Admiral," he said loudly. "Set a course for Shola. I will contact the rest of our fleet to meet us there."