SWTOR: The Emperor's Wrath Ch. 07

A/N: Hey everyone! A new chapter for all of your reading pleasures!

Reading your comments has been enlightening and it has some effect on my writing for this chapter. It's probably why I took longer than usual to finish this on top of real life getting in the way. However, I would like to address some issues that some of you have mentioned and I'll simply give you my reasons for tackling them.

Non-consensual sex:

For those who do not like it, I have to apologize. The Sith are the essence of evil, plain and simple. It would not be surprising for them to simply take what they want because they can. Strength is power. Thus, Aaric is not immune to the influence of the dark side. The sex with Malora was kinda-sorta consensual because it was an agreement between two consenting adults. I help you and you let me use your body as I wish. Of course, Aaric took more than his fair share of it and twisted Malora's body and mind to suit his own desires. The opportunity was there. As Aaric progresses in his adventures there will be occasional times where the opportunity will allow him to simply take what he gets and more. Fortunately for those of you not into non-con, most of the sex will be more or less consensual, with having some hardcore BDSM action. Aaric using his powers and seduction skills to obtain pussy. Will Aaric commit full-blown rape? Highly unlikely given the potential amount of pussy he can receive.

OP main character:

I agree that maybe Aaric is kinda too OP. However, I figured he has to because he's from "a great Sith bloodline". (Those who played the Sith Warrior story will know which side mission that line came from.) If so, how can he NOT KNOW the Sith code when confronted by Baras? It seems like a glaring plot point that had to be plugged somehow. Thus, Aaric of the Mecrosa Order was born. He was trained by the sect's foremost warriors and assassins in the Sith arts. This is why he can do most things normal acolytes can't. Vemrin is above average but still a normal acolyte who came in through the established route as dictated by the Empire.

Now this issue probably also stems from my writing style. I realise that many fights Aaric goes through has so far either been too short or cut out completely and simply going on to the aftermath. Thus, the lack of intensity and action. For that, I apologize and will try to improve upon this section of my writing. I intend for Aaric to be able to crush his enemies like stepping on ants, but at least still have to contend with surprises, unexpected complications and seemingly overwhelming odds. Stay tuned for more of that in this chapter and more!

"Rip off" by Anonymous by anonymous commenter:

Hellooooooooooo?! It's fanfiction! Of course I'm gonna lift stuff from it! The whole point of me writing this is to inject my own ideas to flesh out and give life to the game's skeletal plot while following the storyline! Would it not be more interesting if you could rebut Baras for being an ass or turn both Vette and Jaesa Willsaam into loving cumsluts without being forced to choose one or the other like the game does? The whole point of fanfiction is to allow readers and players of SWTOR to experience what could not be experienced normally in the game! If you don't like it then you truly have no idea what fanfiction is! UGH!

Anyways, please continue to provide me with likes and constructive comments and criticisms! I will take them into consideration and hope it will make me a better writer in the future! Until next time! Enjoy!

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The task was straightforward and simple: Enter the Tomb of Tulak Hord and gather one shard of ancient Sith inscriptions from each of the ruins, making it three in all. Of course, things did not always go smoothly... Unless you were Aaric, that is.

The tomb entrance was not far from the academy and once he entered, he was greeted by a company of soldiers and slaves. The commander in charge of them informed him that the slaves had rebelled and reprogrammed the mining droids to fight for them. Even worse, some of the Imperial troopers that were sent to guard them sympathized with their plight and joined them. Needless to say, the entire tomb had become a warzone.

Which was all well and good to Aaric. It would make it harder for the normal acolytes to fight through an army of slaves, troopers and droids. Less acolytes to compete with, not that they would have been able to challenge him anyhow. If he was lucky, maybe one of them would have gotten Vemrin. Though that probably would not be the case with respect to his persistence.

Once he made his way through the halls, cutting down any sentient being that had the audacity or stupidity to face him, he emerged from the underground pathways to be greeted by an expanse of ruins. From there, it was easy to pick off the hostile forces while the sounds of battle from other acolytes attempting to push through to their task distracted their attention.

After a couple of hours, Aaric already managed to collect all of the required shards while leaving devastation in his wake. As he was leaving the last sarcophagus, he passed by a connecting hallway to his right and halted in his tracks. He felt the dark energies emanating from there were saturated, malevolent and full of hate.

As he was pondering if it was worth the risk to try and sate his curiosity, he suddenly remembered the Imperial archaeologist that he passed by when he first entered Tulak Hord's tomb: Ephran Zell was his name. The weathered old man had told him that inside Tulak Hord's tomb was a room which contained an object that was created by the Sith lord himself. He called it the Red Engine and legend said that anyone who managed to unlock its secrets would gain Hord's power and knowledge.

Aaric sifted through the memories of his lessons back when he was still training with the Mecrosa Order. Tulak Hord was infamous as the Dark Lord of the Sith of the early empire. He commanded legions of soldiers and together with his mastery of the dark side and talent in lightsaber dueling, it made him nigh unstoppable on the battlefield.

Aaric felt giddy with the possibilities. If his encounter with Marka Ragnos told him anything, it meant that the way to the Red Engine would be through that dark hallway. If he could somehow activate the Red Engine and take Hord's knowledge for himself, it would be simply a matter of time before he could surpass Baras and become a Sith lord in his own right!

Making his decision, he stepped forward and entered the dark, blood red hallways.

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He arrived in an antechamber which was at least three times as large as Marka Ragnos'. At the front and sides of the chamber were what seemed to be solid stone walls which were each sealed off with a statue of a slave desperately pushing against them, as if holding back some evil horrors from within. At the center of the room lay a pyramid-shaped altar which had a larger inverted pyramid just meters above it hanging from the ceiling. It was clearly a sight to behold.

Cautiously, he stepped closer to inspect the altar. He could feel power swirling beneath it, just barely out of his reach. Thinking back to his encounter with Ragnos, Aaric let his force power flow out of him and recited the Sith code in its ancient language. Expecting something to happen, he stepped back. To his dismay, there was no reaction.

Aaric furrowed his brows and tried once again. Again, only silence greeted him. For the next few minutes, the acolyte attempted every permutation and combination of rituals he could think of from his past knowledge. Neither of them seemed to work, and it was making him extremely annoyed. Furthermore, it clearly did not help that the dark energies around the room were trying to dig into his mind in an attempt to drive him mad. The harsh whispers and taunts were beginning to take a toll on his patience.

You are weak... lose control... give in to the dark side! They whispered.Tulak Hord will never suffer the likes of you! Die. Die. Die!

Letting out a growl of frustration Aaric let out a burst of his power and saturated his immediate area with his presence, temporarily blocking out the invading energies. He would not have long, though. If he lingered more than he should, Baras would assume his death and Vemrin would come out victorious in the end.

"I have no time for this." Aaric spat as he concentrated his negative emotions into a single point. "Tulak Hord! Your secrets shall be mine!"

The acolyte threw out his hands and unleashed a salvo of pure violet force lightning at the altar before him in hopes of destroying its shell and revealing its secrets. Things took a turn for the worse however, as the centerpiece simply absorbed the lightning and redirected it to the inverted pyramid above it like a conduit and coalesced into a ball of pure ebergy. Meanwhile, the entire hall tremored as bits of rubble and dust fell from the ceiling.

In a split second, the lightning shot itself towards the right and struck the stone wall and statue, causing it to crumble with a deafening crash. Unearthly shrieks emanated from the depths within and large, worm-like silhouettes started to climb out: Giant K'lorslugs. Aaric immediately went on the defensive as they attempted to swarm all over him.

True to his preferred form, the acolyte danced around the serpentine creatures and cut them down with his warblade as they lunged and leapt at him in an attempt to latch their fangs onto their force-rich prey. Aaric's senses warned him of an impending attack and he ducked as a ball of vile green liquid flew overhead. He turned his head to follow the trajectory of the offending projectile and he cringed in disgust as it splattered onto a piece of rock and began to melt.

Wonderful... venom-spitting K'lorslugs. Just what I needed! Aaric seethed. The spitting slugs were definitely cramping his style. He had to silence them first.

With a burst of force power to his legs, he dodged the slower and smaller non-spitting slugs. The Sith powered his way through even as the acid-balls were thrown ever closer to his body. At the last few feet, he skidded his way past them and sliced them in half. The foul mix of blood and acid sprayed from their bodies as they crumpled lifelessly to the floor and the remaining slugs were quickly dispatched.

Panting lightly, Aaric was about to sheath his blade when the chamber rumbled once more. The orb of lightning once again shot out to the left and broke down the wall and statue; making way for even more shrieks of hunger. Aaric cursed his luck as thrice as many sluglings and spitters poured out to devour him.

The acolyte could no longer keep dodging as the K'lorslug wave seemed to barrel upon him. He learnt that the hard way as one slugling managed to latch on to the bracers of his sword arm as he was sidestepping from another and bit hard. Aaric winced as the armor dented but luckily did not give way.

Having had enough, he sliced the gnawing slug and tore its upper half away. Summoning as much might as he could, Aaric brought his hands up in a jackhammer position and struck the ground as hard as he could, releasing the built-up force behind his fists. The force of the impact cracked the solid stone ground, resulting in a shockwave that blasted everything away from him within a forty-foot radius.

Aaric panted from the exertion, but pulled himself forward. Some slugs who were too close were killed instantly, but others were simply stunned. He dispatched the rest as hastily as he could, but it seemed the Red Engine had other plans.

The orb sparked once more and this time the rest of the force lighting was thrown forwards onto the last statue. Just like the others, it crumbled to the ground revealing not just more K'lorslugs but a gigantic fifty-foot tall mother of all K'lorslugs: A Bloodqueen.

As the torrential flood of slimy spines and gnashing teeth tore their way to him, Aaric knew this time that one blade would not be enough for him to have even a chance of surviving. He closed his eyes in concentration as he centered himself with the force.

I didn't want to use this so soon... but it seems I have no choice. Please forgive me, Lady Mireya for I shall spill blood of the unworthy with this noble weapon. He apologized mentally. Extending his free hand outwards, he let his trusty and precious lightfoil fly into his open palm and he ignited it with the familiar snap-hiss as the blood-red plasma blade erupted from the hilt.

The K'lorslugs surrounded him from all sides and leapt at him with gnashing mandibles. Aaric's body went into overdrive as he pumped his already enhanced body full with the force. Red blurs followed by bleeding or cauterized carcasses fell around him, but each time he cut one down, three or four more took its place. The situation was getting worse by the minute as he frantically dodged incoming acid projectiles at the same time. Unusually, the bloodqueen held back from attacking as if sensing the sith's imminent doom.

Soon enough, one k'lorslug slipped through his defenses and clamped itself onto Aaric's leg causing him to wince as his greaves started to crumple due to the force of its bite. That momentary distraction was enough for the next one to do the same to the other leg. Aaric struggled against them but to no avail as the centipede like creatures started to dogpile him while attempting to take a bite on any and every part of his body. In a matter of seconds, he was lost under a hill of slugs. And all he could see was darkness.

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Age: 7

Palace Mecetti

"You see him, my son? That is the head of the Mecetti Household. He is one of the most powerful men in the Tapani Sector. Most importantly, he is also your father."

"Then why does he not talk to you, mother? Why does he not care for you? Why does he not care for me?"

"It is... Complex dear Aaric. One you won't understand until you're older. For now, continue with your studies. We shall talk about this some other time."

"I hate him. I hate him for treating you this way. I hate it that he does not see me at all. I hate him, I HATE HIM!"

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Hate.

Suddenly, the hill of slugs rumbled violently for a second then exploded in a shower of innards as a second force wave with ten times the power than the first blasted most of them away. Aaric looked up and one could have seen the hint of gold in his irises. His aura became darker and more sinister and even the mindless K'lorslugs felt it as they began to withdraw.

All of you will not leave here. Powered by the dark side, lightning began to form all around his body and began radiating, randomly striking parts of the antechamber around him. With a inhuman roar, he unleashed a lightning storm that engulfed the entire area. The slugs were caught inside the storm and were electrocuted until they were burnt to crisp.

For a full half a minute, Aaric kept up the barrage of lightning until every slug within the vicinity was dead, save for the still-smoking bloodqueen. It shrieked in anger at the carnage the humam caused as its young and eggs were all destroyed by the storm. Noticing The advancing acolyte, she attempted to finish him off once and for all with a swipe of her claw but Aaric simply leaned away and cut off the limb with a swing of his Lightfoil. The bloodqueen howled in pain but still tried again with the other, which also met the same fate.

Finally, Aaric decided to put it out of its misery. He lined up both the Lightfoil and warblade, force leapt into the air and struck both weapons down as he fell towards the ground, gutting the gigantic creature through the middle. The bloodqueen was dead before both halves hit the ground, save for its final death spasms.

With the object of his hate lifeless, Aaric felt the dark side leave his body and he fell to his knees, panting heavily and sweating profusely. A sparking and popping noise forced him to stand as he readied himself for another wave, but nothing came.

Instead the upturned pyramid, charged by The Sith's lightning storm shot the concentrated energy downwards and destroying the shell of the altar beneath it, revealing the one and only untouched tablet of Tulak Hord glowing with black and purplish flames

Ignoring the muscle aches and burns for just a moment, Aaric limped his way to his hard won prize. He reached out to it cautiously, and just as the flames licked his hand the essence in its entirety shot towards him and engulfed him in it. Aaric instinctively stepped backwards and patted himself down in an attempt to put out the fire, then realized he wasn't being burnt. In fact, he felt revitalized in a manner not unlike when Ragnos blessed him. At the same time, he could somehow feel tomes-full of knowledge being injected into his brain.

Thrusts, strikes, parries, ripostes, advanced maneuvers; Aaric thought he had studied them all, especially since Makashi was his chosen and mastered form. But it seemed much of the knowledge that made Tulak Hord the foremost duelist of his time were kept secret within the inscriptions. It became apparent to him that much of current Makashi techiques which were recorded and taught were simply observations and educated guesses made by others overtime.

But now, all of that knowledge was processed and deeply embedded in his genetic code. Everything was now instinct to him. He felt incredible and more so than ever before. With his newly aqcuired information, he surmised he could come up with new tactics to beat the more 'modern' forms which attempted to cover the current pseudo-makashi's style. He was now in essence a disciple and follower of both Ragnos and Hord. He grinned evilly as he lifted the ancient inscription from its dusty altar and turned around one Last time.

By the time he left, he almost swore he saw the silhouette of Hord hovering above the altar.

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Aaric strode into Baras' chambers with a dash of blood and a smirk on his face. Apparently Klemrall and a couple of other acolytes hoped to ambush him as he walked through the corridors. Before Klemrall could even utter a word, they were cut down mercilessly.

Baras stood straighter as he saw the promising Sith approach and hand him the tablet shards wordlessly with a triumphant grin. While Vemrin turned away, audibly cursing and scowling.

"The prodigal supplicant returns. And with all the shards from Tulak Hord's tomb. Superb." Baras nodded in satisfaction then turned to his rival. "It seems your hopes have been dashed, Vemrin."

"Humph, Appearances can be deceptive." Vemrin scoffed, folding his arms and failing horribly to keep a nonchalant expression.

"Excuse Vemrin, supplicant. He expected you to fall flat on your face." The Sith Lord patronised.

"Oh don't mind him, Lord Baras." Aaric waved his hand casually, "The look on his face as His world crumbles around him is very satisfying indeed."

Vemrin spun and growled at him. "Why you...!"

"Perhaps so, acolyte." Baras interjected, taking their attention off each other for the moment. "With this task complete, it seems both of you are now on the precipice of becoming Sith! The tension is great between you two... A great source of emotion to feed upon. I wonder what will happen when it boils over... However, only one of you will be given the chance to claim a special lightsaber and stand at my side as my personal apprentice!" Both acolytes stepped forward, with chests puffed up and heads held high. "At first, I thought it would be you, Vemrin. But I have changed my mind."