Conflict And Balance [Star Wars AU]

Chapter 1

NOTE: You can skip to Chapter 6 if you want to go straight into the action. If you want some backstory, you can just continue.

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“Why are we here, master?” Vader said, as the ramp of their shuttle lowered into the hostile surface of Korriban/Moraband. The red and hot sands of the surface had already entered his boots when he walked on it. The wind added to his annoyance by scattering the sand into his eyes and blowing his robe, helping the sand enter his clothes.

“Don't you sense the power in this place, my apprentice?” Sidious replied with a question, and walked out of the ship, the weather not bothering him at all. He stopped outside savouring the Dark Side. The dark lord was home. The signatures of all Sith past and present brought made him happy and satisfied.

Vader felt it. The immense power of the historic events that were present in the Force signature of the planet was no joke but he reacted more mildly than his master. He had never cared for the planet or power anyway; he had no relation to it, he wasn't trained there and why focus on the gain of power if he already had a huge amount?

“Yes. The Dark Side is strong here. After all, it is where we Sith came from,” Sidious stated. His apprentice acknowledged the statement with a mere nod, understanding the significance of the place. His master had just suddenly summoned him and led him there, all out of the blue.

“Now, my apprentice, enter the ancient ruins for inside is the lesson I want to teach you,” his master commanded, pointing along the pathway in the valley. Vader stared blankly at the dark mud path, littered with both humanoid and animal corpses.

‘Great.’ Just when he was finally having a break from the war, but he could not complain.

“Yes, my master.” He began his journey, leaving his master by the ship.

Better just get this over with. The surprising news from Padme had brought him great joy; he was excited about becoming a parent. However, there was the Jedi Order and Palpatine to be wary of. He had looked forward to meeting her again and check out her health. He felt that the lesson was not too necessary, since he'd already learnt most of the Sith teachings.

The young man followed and walked along the path. It led to a fork between some destroyed ruins which was a Sith Academy and a mysterious cave. Sounds of shyracks echoed from inside it, which would scare a lay person but they did not earn any attention from him.

What exactly was the lesson? Where was he supposed to go? These questions aroused in his mind as he stared at the fork in the path.

The academy would be more sensible, but he felt weird as he stood before the cave entrance. His nerves were highly sensitive and his heart rate went up. For some reason, the cave was affecting him. It attracted him to it. Using his lightsaber as a light source, he entered the daunting cave, sensing a strong fluctuation of the Force.

There were many branches and forks inside and Vader had to fight through shyracks and tu'katas. The corpses and skeletons of many who failed to defend themselves gave him some clue of the place. From their datapads, he learnt what they were there for and which paths to avoid. Some datapads mentioned the deadly teren'ta'raek°, which was resistant to the Force, but it was probably dead by then.

Touching the walls of the cave, he sensed a trail towards something, the entrance towards the Academy or some other ruin. Whatever it was, it was the source of the mysterious fluctuation and he yearned to discover it. He followed the trail, sensing various people, Jedi and Sith alike who have once walked in and perished.

He crossed a stone bridge, which were lit by burning torches. The torches and the flesh corpses show recent infiltration. At the end of the bridge, there was the entrance of an ancient structure; it looked like some sort of training ground. The compound was filled with a weird fog, pinkish in color and it was probably what killed those recent infiltrators.