The One: Chapter 1

## 333 ABY, Ranon, New Sith Empire

*Master*, said a low voice, almost a growl.

*What is it, Lord Xaft?* asked a hologram.

*I have news, news you will be eager to hear*, said the low voice again.

*Present it before me*, the hologram said again.

*Yes my master*, the dark voice said, as he turned on some hologram footage of a Jedi.

*This will not do, Lord Xaft, eliminate the Jedi immediately*, the hologram said again.

*Yes, my master*, Xaft said, as he turned off the transmitter, and headed for his quarters on Ranon.

The Jedi were extinct, all that remain are a few hiders, who are being found, and killed by the Sith of the New Sith Empire. The New Sith Empire was formed around 200 ABY, after the fall of the New Jedi Order, and the demise of Grogu. His master's grandfather was one of the High Ranking Sith that lead the attack on the New Jedi Temple. Darth Xaft was a Sith Lord, an apprentice of Darth Vuwn.

Xaft returned to his quarters, a black rome in the cave-like fortress, with a single bed off to the far wall, straight ahead of him. He had some places to store his belongings, mainly his holocrons, and scrolls, and lightsaber. He also kept 2 pairs of black robes folded neatly next to his bed, on a dark brown table, that also had his utility belt, and cloak on. He grabbed his lightsaber, and hooked it to his belt. He then grabbed his cloak, and wrapped himself with it, putting the hood up so nobody could see his face. He grabbed his transmitter, and put it in his extra storage compartment in his utility belt, and walked out.

He arrived at his ship, an ST-54 Starfighter, his fighter. It was painted black, with a red cockpit in the middle. It had 2 foldable wings on either side, each had a laser cannon, and a missile launcher. It looked much like the old TIE Silencers. It had more advanced tech, it was more suited for a Sith, it even had the Sith symbol on it! He jumped onto the top of the fighter, and opened the hatch to get in. He jumped down, closed the hatch, and powered on the ion engine. It was a roar, a roar he loved, it meant that he had a mission, a job, he had a Jedi to kill.

He took off from the landing pad, which could only hold 2 ships, in the side of a mountain cliff, that was carved to be his own personal sanctuary. He exited the atmosphere, punched in the coordinates: **4312-6JH7-43-9H2D-7FBL**, which would take him to the planet of Eonus, a forest planet.

## 333 ABY, Eonus, New Sith Empire

When he arrived, all he could see was green. Green trees, green grass, green bushes. All he could see, green. He was not used to it. He managed to find an opening to land his ship. When he got out, he looked around the place. To his right, there was a mountain about a mile or so. To the left, trees, mostly trees. To his front, a lake, and more trees. But to his back, he saw trees, but he saw something unusual, smoke. He wondered if there was a village or something up ahead. He moved towards it. It was a long walk, but when he arrived, he saw several small huts. Most likely a family lived here. He pulled out his lightsaber, but did not ignite it. He stepped into one of the huts, finding it empty. There was stuff lying around though, so somebody was there recently.

*Raaaaaaaaah!!! I will find you, and kill you Jedi*, Xaft said, as he left the camp area to head back to his ship to find somewhere else to look, but then, he stopped. He was about 6 yards away from his ship, and stopped.

*I am missing something*, he thought to himself.

*I know that, but what am I missing? What am I not seeing?* He muttered under his breath.

*There has to be something*, he muttered again. He went into a state of light meditation, and it hit him, as clear as day.

*The force...why didn't I open up my feelings? Why did I not zone in?* He asked himself aloud. He figured it out, but did not stop meditating. Instead, he poured all of his emotions into trying to find the Jedi, his hate, his anger, his fury, his pain. All of it. It made him stronger, he could feel it. He felt stronger, not physically, but he felt more in sync with the force.

He continued to zone in on his emotions, to try and find the Jedi, now levitating about 2 feet off the ground. He continued to zone in, growing angrier, stronger, and wiser. He gasped, as his eyes shot open, as fast as a rocket. he extended his legs from his criss-crossed position, and landed on his feet after he fell. He turned to look back at from where he just came, and started to walk that way. He could feel the Jedi now. He could feel him.

He continued towards a cliff, past the huts and surrounding trees, that lead him to another opening, one he had not recognized when he first arrived. When he came to the base of the cliff, it was...big, very big.

He had no problem climbing it. He often threw his lightsaber up to cut some finger slots, and foot slots, so he could jump up, and make quick work of it. He made it to the top, and saw a man. Immediately, Xaft unsheathed, and ignited his blade to get ready to fight. The mysterious figure peered up from under his hooded cloak. His right arm held something, it was much like a lightsaber. It probably was. His thoughts were confirmed when he ignited the blue blade, looked up, his hood dangling over his forehead. He used his left hand to remove it from his eyes, revealing him as a Zabrak.

*Who are you?* asked Xaft.

*I am your silencer*, the man said.

*Is that so?* asked Xaft.

*Raaaaahh!* yelled the man, as he charged with his blade held up. The man attacked, but Xaft easily blocked it with a swing of a downwards motion. The man attacked again, this time high. Again, it was easy to block. They continued to duel, slashing left, right, up, down.

*Ha! Your skills are weak Jedi!* said Xaft.

*I never said I was a Jedi,* the man said.

*What more proof do I need? You wield a blue blade, you use the force, you wear tan robes. What more do you need to show to me to prove that you are a Jedi?* asked Xaft.

The man never responded, as he jumped, and did a flip over Xaft, and landed, trying to slice him in half. Xaft was also fast. Xaft twisted himself around, and deflected it, then kicked the man in the chest with his boot.

The man was knocked back, lying on the ground. Xaft slashed downwards, trying to end the duel, but the Zabrak was fast, as he rolled to his right, evading the blade by mere inches. He backed away from Xaft, looking down over the edge of the cliff, with a slight grin on his face. Before Xaft had time to think, he charged, and tried to slice the Jedi in half, but he did a flip backwards, down to the base of the cliff. He took off running, trying to go somewhere in the North.

*No, not **my** ship*, said Xaft, as he jumped with all his might, his emotions, his power. He landed not too far from the Jedi, and started to sprint after him. The Jedi cut down trees, used the force to throw rocks at Xaft, he did everything he could to keep Xaft from catching him, but Xaft was fast, agile, skilled with the force, and a lightsaber, but most of all, he was a Sith.

The Jedi got to the ship, and jumped up to the hatch, taking a look at Xaft, who is coming towards him.

*Get off of there*, Xaft said.

The Jedi flicked the consol on, the engine on, and the weapons on. He lifted it off the ground, and turned it in Xaft’s direction.

*No, no no no no **no no NO!*** Xaft said as he turned and ran, as the Jedi fired an endless stream of blaster bolts, and missiles. He ran, jumped, rolled, and swang to avoid being killed.

The Jedi continued to follow him, determined to rid the galaxy of him. Xaft was fast, but so was the ship. He took one moment to turn back and look at it while he was running, and he tripped. He tripped over a log. He cut the log in half, and rolled a couple more feet, then stopped. He was lucky not to have cut himself. And it was not until that moment that he had realized how close The Jedi had gotten to him, too close. He jumped up, and ran to his left, trying to lose the Jedi in the dense army of trees. He had no such luck.

The Jedi had no problem breaking trees. He was destroying life-form. Was he even a Jedi? Xaft did not know, and knew that he could only defeat him, and his ship. Yes, he might be stranded, but he would have his life. That was more important to him.

Xaft ran, and ran, trying to do everything possible to stay alive. He reached into his utility belt, and picked up a tracking beacon, and pressed it, then put it back in its compartment. Xaft continued to run. He ran as fast as he could, jumping over the tops of trees, splitting logs from passing through them. He suddenly did a front-flip, and stopped, as the ship was going full speed. Xaft dove to his left, did a roll, and watched as the fighter hit a tree, then another, then a third, and then finally stopped. It was in flames, half destroyed. It was beyond repair. Xaft removed his lightsaber from his belt, which he had placed there earlier, after he fell, so he would have it. He walked towards the wreckage, seeing nothing but flames. nothing was moving, no blade was cutting anything. Xaft ignited his, wondering if the Jedi had survived. When he arrived at the cockpit of the ship, it was no cockpit. The glass had been ripped off, half of the side was destroyed, and the other half gone. The roof was leaning in, threatening to cave in at any given moment. And in the middle, lay a body, the Jedi’s body. It was in an awkward position, no doubt, he was dead. Xaft looked at the Jedi, and saw that his lightsaber was still on his belt.

*No reason to let a good saber go to waste*, said Xaft, as he used the force to unhook it, and bring it to himself. He the hooked it onto his own belt, as he did with his red lightsaber. He left the ship, and the body there, hoping the Jedi learned his lesson.

He waited by the huts he passed earlier, inspecting the lightsaber. He then heard a roar of a ship.

*FInally*, Xaft said as a FALC came in from up above. Xaft jumped up and on it, as it took off away from the planet, and back to Ranon.

While he was in hyperspace, he received a transmission from Darth Vuwn:

*Lord Xaft, have you completed your mission?*

*I have master, and retrieved the lightsaber, however, I lost my starfighter in the process.*

Darth Vuwn looked irritated, and said:

*When you arrive, there is someone there to meat you, I think you will find it quite...**amusing**.*

*What is it my-* he was cut off when Vuwn cut the transmission.

*Raaaaah!* Xaft yelled, as his master had not told him enough.

*Lord Xaft, we are coming out of hyperspace*, said the NSE Trooper.

## 333 ABY, Ranon, New Sith Empire

*Good...* Xaft appeared to have more to say, but did not say anything. They entered the atmosphere, and went down to the hanger. The doors sled open, as he exited the transport, and started walking to his quarters. Maybe his master lied about someone, so that he would feel scared. Maybe the someone was him, or another Sith for him to train off of. He was wrong. A figure with black robes came out of the door that lead to the main rooms. Xaft stopped. The Sith looked up, removing her hood, to reveal that she was a woman. She unhooked her lightsaber, and ignited it in a fancy matter. Xaft unhooked his, and ignited it plainly.

*Who are you? Why have you come?* Xaft asked the woman

*Why, Darth Xaft, it is an honor to finally meet you. Darth Vuwn tells stories of your adventures. I am Darth Zara, Darth Vuwn sent me here, to...**test** your abilities.*

*My abilities do not need tested, as you will soon find out.*