Star Wars: The Rise of Darkness

Prologue

Darth Callous grinned widely as he stared out over the mining facility, Elion Five. Like a colony of insects the workers continued without falter and without complaining, their minds set to a singular purpose of completing the task that had forcibly been placed within their minds.

It was amazing what one could accomplish with the influence of the Dark Side and of course the weak willed mentality of those that could be harvested around the galaxy. Something that the members of the Jedi Order refused to understand, once free will was removed people began to look past the differences of species and colour, and truly become a well-organised unit that let nothing stand in their way. Many thought that legions of droids could accomplish the same union, like the Federation had tried so long ago.

Droids simply did what they were programmed to do and nothing else, yet living beings could think and operate on their own far beyond the problem solving skills of a machine. And this was the result.

Before Darth Callous was a gaping hole in the blood red surface of the planet of Elion, hundreds of miles wide while being thousands of metres deep, and this had been achieved by the mental enslavement of nearly three thousand individuals from numerous systems. None complained, nor wavered in their task as they had found a natural way of becoming unified under the Neo Sith regime.

To Callous it was one of the only truly beautiful things he had seen throughout the galaxy, and the thought made him sick. So many times had he heard that the Jedi Order was dedicated to instilling peace and harmony but in truth the stood for all the things that caused the exact opposite among people. Remove people's wants and desires and they found no reason to hate or fight one another. This finely tuned mining facility was the proof to his assessment.

Only on the few occasions that the miners had somehow found a way to reverse his masters mental influence on them, had violence or conflict erupted but the revolts had been quickly stamped out by the Sith highly trained guard. Several times Callous himself had been the striking hand of justice against those who would see progress impeded.

"All they are missing is a queen," A voice came from behind Darth Callous drawing his attention from the sight, and he turned around to gaze at the man that had stepped out onto the balcony with him.

Ralgo Stek was tall and very athletically built, a perfect specimen of the Mandolorian blood line of bounty hunting warriors that had once treaded just beside extinction. He strode forward with impeccable confidence and leaned on the railing next to Darth Callous, his scarred yet handsome face reflected his iron will and steely perseverance. It was obvious that the Mandolorian had no fear of the Sith to his right and did not look at him as if he was his better, but instead as equal. Of course the majority of Sith would have found such insolence angering but Callous knew that the warrior was a dangerous foe indeed, which was why he found himself under the employ of his master.

Darth Callous smirked as he spoke, "They have one in a sense. The Sith Empire is their queen, and her power grows with every passing moment that they sit into this sullen, forsaken rock."

"Still chasing that fantasy that you found scribbled on a stone?" Ralgo grumbled and shook his head, "Such dedication squandered searching for an imaginary weapon supposedly buried in a forgotten planet."

Being a person that felt the force flowing through every piece of the galaxy and understood it's all encompassing nature, Darth Callous tried to see it from Ralgos point of view, his lack of faith and his disbelief in the unseen. The Mandolorian dealt in hard facts and played with death thinking nothing at all awaited him when his time finally came to meet the fate that he had sent so many to. In his mind, this must all be for nothing.