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     Long after defeating the empire and ten years after the defeat of the Yuuzhan Vong, aging, Jedi master, Luke Skywalker discovers an ancient Sith secret on a planet inhabited by cannibalistic zombies. With the Help of his wife, Mara Jade, and his nephew, Jacen Solo, the Jedi expedition team uncovers an unforeseen truth about a pair of dark side warriors thought long dead.

Dark, Dark, Darker
(Forty years before the battle of Naboo)

     "Death is darkness, life is light. But if darkness is light to me, than death is life."

     That phrase whipped about the mind of a Sith lord traveling incognito to a strange and mysterious world.  Twenty-two light years past Bakura and hanging like a dead star in the Ss-ruuk cluster, the planet Necrorb turned in its elliptical orbit. It was a planet rarely visited and virtually unheard of. Being set well into the unknown regions, Necrorb was desolate in more ways than one. For generations, decrepit masters from the old empire of the Sith visited the ominous planet to conduct the most dangerous of Sith magic. It was here that the dark side of the force was often pushed to its limits. In years long gone, dark lords of the Sith vexed the planet with arcane concoctions of force trickery and black manifestations of dark side lore. The aged footprints of Freedon Nadd, Marka Ragnos, and Darth Bane could still be felt in the dim atmosphere that wanly lit Necrorb’s fractured continents.

     Zooming in toward Necrorb’s red-colored atmosphere, a small triangular ship came rushing from the blackness of space. Inside the black-clad star cruiser were two humans. The one piloting the ship was a twenty five-year-old man, while the taller one was much older. Even so, the tall man was of a strong build and despite his tendency to slouch like some lazy serpent, the lanky sage was ever aware and fearsomely powerful. In times past, the two had been through many battles together, using sneakiness and corruption as much as refined skill and brute force to gain their powers.

     The younger was an ambitious man, ambitious indeed. Back on Coruscant, he was inserting himself into the corrupted and insidiously woven fabric of the Republic’s heralded political arena. After all, his namesake demanded it, for even though he was known as Palpatine, his real name -- his Sith name, was Darth Sidious.  The elder man calmly relaxing in the seat next to him, was a truly legendary figure. Unlike Palpatine, he kept a more inconspicuous alter ego whenever he visited the core worlds. Nevertheless, this enigmatic figure was pivotal in manipulating affairs in galaxy-wide conflicts. Notorious for destruction and unbridled havoc, he moved in and out of battles like a hellish phantom. Unlike war mongers and glory hounds like Darth Scion, Darth Halcyon, and Darth Andeddu, this man was learned and sagaciously devious. It was these arcane traits that prompted his deceased master to name him Darth Plagueis -- Darth Plagueis the wise. For even his long time idol, Darth Bane had respected the young lord’s antics before the elder Sith lord was vanquished.

      The Sith now consisted of only two -- Master and Apprentice. Long gone were the empires of warring Sith lords. The cosmic wreckage of Malak, Exar Kun, and Ulic Qel-droma were now distant figments of the past, locked away in dark holocrons for future lords of chaos. In fact, these encrypted holocrons; these small, mechanized libraries of knowledge, were what drew Darth Sidious and his potent master to the orphaned planet of Necrorb.

     "Master, we’re entering the Red-zone. The electrical storms here are very powerful, should we reroute and take another passage?"

     "No, push the ship further; pick up speed and ride through the storm, apprentice." Replied Plagueis in his usual raspy voice. "I’m disappointed at your apprehension, Lord Sidious; you should know that Sith plow through or dismantle obstacles, never flee from them!"

     "Of course, my master. I will comply."

     With one frightening look from his master’s striking eyes, Darth Sidious quickly turned and set the black spaceship rushing through the crackling lights of the energy storm. Soon, they were hovering over an ancient temple. The massive structure looked similar to those built on Korriban, but this dilapidated enclave was much older and sported huge tablets, which surrounding the entire pagoda. Alighting the spaceship in front of the dust-covered landing strip, Darth Sidious couldn’t help to notice that the massive tablets were inscribed with Sith runes so ancient that even he could not read them.

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