Chapter 181: Darth Rune’s Lair
After a few days had passed, Aruun had arrived in the region of space where Darth Rune and his remnants were hiding. They had chosen a dead planet to make their lair; a rocky surface packed with canyons and volcanic vents that released poisonous gases into the sky.
It was a place abandoned by all but the desperate and those who no longer needed to breathe. The only infrastructure visible from orbit was a series of reinforced bunkers and power nodes, all constructed under the guidance of Sith warlords who had spent centuries preparing for a last stand.
Aruun descended through the smog and was directed to a set of coordinates by Darth Rune who had sensed his arrival and for saw it in a vision. Little did Darth Rune know that vision was created by Aruun himself to manipulate him.
When he landed at the coordinates provided, there were already a few people waiting for him.
He himself just wore a black cloak with his lightsaber on his hip. Despite not entirely needing one, he found himself to like the way the galaxy had developed their sword techniques in combination with the Force. So, he decided to make one for himself.
He stepped onto the landing ramp with no retinue or weapons. It was because he did not need them if things went bad.
The people who came to greet him were some of Darth Rune’s subordinates and their own disciples. They were standing in wedge formation, with their lightsaber deactivated but ready.
At the rear of the formation stood Darth Rune himself who looked old. It was almost time for him to transfer to another cloned body as the one he was currently using was getting old.
The entourage watched Aruun as he walked up with suspicion, mostly because they had not been told who he was or what he was doing here.
Aruun kept walking, not stopping until he was right in front of Darth Rune. He placed his hands behind his back and sized him up.
Darth Rune did the same, while his subordinates around him grew even more cautious. They didn’t know what was going on, and Darth Rune hadn’t given them the order to cut this person down.
Looking at Darth Rune in person, Aruun noted that he was actually a lot stronger than he initially realized. But even with his current strength, it would not be enough for a direct confrontation with Daimon, but it was enough to cause some problems.
After about a two minutes of the two sizing each other up, Darth Rune was the first to break the silence. "I didn’t expect the man in my vision to come to me." he said. "And you are not a Sith, nor are you one of those Balance Keepers either. What are you?"
"My name is Aruun, and I am on a path of redemption." he said. "You and I have the same goals which is why the Force showed you visions of me and why I am here today." he was blatantly lying, but Darth Rune was not powerful enough nor had the background knowledge to know that.
"What do you mean we have the same goals?" Darth Rune wanted to see if Aruun really had the same goals as him or if he was playing him for a fool. If he was, then he was going to kill him immediately.
"I know of your goals to destroy not just the Sith but also Daimon, the Emperor of the Imperium. Because of Daimon, you were killed by the Sith Emperor since you didn’t bend to their reforms. Now you are here in this secret facility rotting away in silence."
As much as Darth Rune wanted to refute what he said, he knew that it was true.
"I am the future of the Dark Side." proclaimed Aruun.
Darth Rune laughed hearing this, "Ha! Ha! Ha! you really are delusional."
Aruun didn’t like to be laughed at, especially not by somebody like Darth Rune who claims to know how to use the dark side of the Force.
Sensing his anger, Darth Rune and his subordinates drew their lightsabers. "I think it’s time you leave Aruun and never step foot on the planet again."
Aruun sighed and shook his head. "You are still too young to understand." he said.
"What do....." Darth Rune didn’t get a chance to reply as Aruun had instantly snapped the neck of his subordinates around him leaving just him standing.
"Who...no what the hell are you?" Darth Rune asked as he stepped back in fear.
Aruun didn’t have anything to say and just grabbed Darth Rune and started to corrupt his mind. Darth Rune tried to get away, but he was just too weak. Nothing he tried worked and he was slowly losing his mind.
After about a minute, Darth Rune’s mind was completely overtaken by Aruun. He had planned to do this peacefully, but he forgot how barbaric the dark side force wielders of the galaxy were.
With Darth Rune under his control, he gave orders for him to start infiltrating the various factions of the galaxy and to start stirring up trouble.
Meanwhile, on another unknown planet. Mnggal-Mnggal felt his connection to Darth Rune disappear and wondered what happened to him. Darth Rune wasn’t a big loss for him, but he would still like to know what happened in case the Imperium was involved.
"You two, go see what is happening with Darth Rune." he said to two figure standing behind him. These two in question were two of the 43 Force sensitives that he had cultivated for centuries. He believed two of them were enough to deal with anything that they may encounter or escape if they couldn’t.
Those two quickly departed to a shuttle and left for where Darth Rune’s base was located, unaware of the danger that awaited them.
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Veldari - Capital of the Veldari Imperium
Elara had talked with Thoryn and Raelos about the request from the Varraxian Technocracy. Every month that passed was another month the Ssi-ruu expanded their conquests, putting more and more systems under their claws. "Basically, if we don’t help them now, we’ll have a Ssi-ruu empire at our borders within a decade," Raelos said.
Thoryn nodded, agreeing with Raelos. "There is a time to let regional powers fight their own wars. That time is past. If the Ssi-ruu crush the Technocracy they’ll breed their population with bio-engineered slave casts, then turn on our trade lanes."
Elara looked at Raelos. "I guess the question is not are we going to send troops, but how many troops are we going to send?"
"I think sending a million Ascendants from each Progenitor will be sufficient." said Raelos. The Ascendants had been without war and itching for war for centuries, after all, they were bred for war.
"I’m not opposed to that. 10 million should be more than enough to overwhelm the swarm of Ssi-ruu troops and assist the Varraxian Technocracy in retaking their worlds." Thoryn was ultimately the final decision on whether or not to send troops, and he didn’t see a problem with sending 10 million Ascendants.
"Then it’s decided," Thoryn said. "Elara, draft the response to the Technocracy. Raelos, begin prepping the deployments. And coordinate with Varraxian command to determine the initial target planets—they know their enemy best." Thoryn looked at the holographic map of the Outer Rim sectors and highlighted a red corridor that was rapidly filling with Ssi-ruu forces. "I want a clean war. Minimal collateral damage. And I want them to see the cost of crossing Imperial interests in the region."
Elara smiled. "I’ll inform the Technocracy immediately. I expect Delegate Thane will be thrilled." She turned to leave, but Thoryn stopped her for just a few seconds.
"Do we have a preference for which Progenitor’s Ascendants to deploy first?"
"Your call, Lady Elara." She thought for a moment before she decided. "Let’s send The Equinoxis Ascendants." She said turning around and leaving the chamber.
The first group of Ascendants were deployed from Veldari within three days of the order. The mobilization was quick, because the Ascendants were always ready for war at any given time in the day. While the billions of Imperial soldiers made up the frontline, they were the shock troops and heavy reinforcements that changed the course of a battle.
