Darth Ageresh

*"... the council acknowledges your successes in the conquest of Republic space, your strategy has proven to be blessing to our grand Empire, and thanks to Darth Angral's honeyed words we also recognize the brutality you have shown for Jedi and Republic alike. It is for these reasons we have decided that your talent is deserving of further status. On behalf of the Dark Council, I Darth Vengean grant you the rank of Darth... Rise Darth Ageresh, for Se Naza is no more"*

― Darth Vengean, to the newly appointed Darth Ageresh

Summary Paragraph

## Biography

### Conquest of Korriban

Se Naza was a human male born on Dromund Kaas to an impoverished family around the year 3700 BBY prior to the Reconstituted Sith Empires return. Shortly before his adolescence he was taken from his family and given over to the Sith academy to be trained as a crusader for the coming war.

Being a well built human, ripe with force potential it did not take long for the boy to ascend through the ranks of acolytes, finding himself under the eye of a Sith Lord who wished to expand his influence through apprenticeship. Se Naza became the right hand of this Sith who was one of the many in charge of building the Imperial Navy for their eventual return.

Se Naza was thoroughly invested in all the intricacies of the navy and especially the strategy behind it. In only a few years he was nearly as versed as his master in both the way of the Sith and the strategy of a military commander, what he lacked was experience and that was something his master would not provide him. So he began seeking out further learning and experience from other Sith Lords. Word spread through the navy that Se Naza was overreaching past his master, and with this rumor came a threat to the masters rank being stolen. When he returned to his master he was sharply punished with whippings and torture, he was warned that if he ever overstepped again he'd be made an example. This drove the young apprentice to rage that simmered to calculated anger.

Shortly after Se Naza's release from the torture chamber he masked his presence and crept into his masters chambers where he slept, using extreme care and the force to muffle his steps he activated his weapon over his masters bed, killing him instantly. Se Naza injured himself as well as posturing his former masters body in such a way that the scene would appear as though there was a great struggle, after which he reported to his masters superior the situation. His superior, a Sith named Darth Vindican acknowledged Se Naza's claim and appointed him Lord, giving him dominion over all his masters previous claim.

In the months following his promotion, Se Naza was rapidly educated on the macro and micro details concerning the reclamation of Korriban and the larger scale return of the Sith that would follow. The Empires attack on Korriban was all but blind, so they prepared a massive invasion force of thirty dreadnaughts, one of the largest invasion forces in history. Se Naza would act as one of the low Sith commanders, leading two Harrower-Class Dreadnaughts on the right flank to deal with any defenses -specifically cruisers and dreadnaughts- that would be stationed above the planet. If he survived the battle he would follow Vindicans armada into his conquest of the rim worlds.

The day finally came for the Sith triumphant return, tension was high, Se Naza found his Dreadnaught to be very quiet as they traveled through hyperspace to what could be their glorious deaths. Upon the fleets sudden arrival they were surprised to be met with a single minimally staffed space station to defend it. Within minutes the station was boarded, Darth Vindican and his apprentice leading the landing party in a true Sith expression of strength. The battle was swift, the casualties low, spirits were high as they descended upon the unpopulated surface. Finally, the Sith had returned, and Lord Se Naza was far from satiated with battle.

### The Legend of the Thirteen Jedi

'Suspicious' would be an understatement for what Lord Se Naza felt towards his new military commander. Darth Malgus had allegedly turned on and defeated his master, Darth Vendican, shortly after rescuing him from Jedi Master Kao Cen Darach, all very convenient, all very similar to a circumstance Se Naza had orchestrated for himself. Nevertheless he was not above serving Malgus, if the report was true Malgus was exactly the type of Sith he wished to serve, ruthless, intelligent and cunning.

The Empire's victory was quieted as the war quickly spiraled into expected chaos, Malgus' forces seemed to change target worlds almost weekly, for years the battle raged and Se Naza found himself changing positions in Malgus' navy every few months to a year as Sith were replaced or promoted around him. The inconsistency in his position allowed him to experience every facet of the naval war machine, giving him supreme understanding of imperial strategy and weaknesses rivaling even many of Malgus' most trusted aides - at least in his own mind -.

When the Republic invaded Ziost and Malgus' fleet came to the planets defenses Sa Naza was serving as a one of the dozens of Sith fleet commanders who were to instruct the battle from the front lines both in star fighters and from the bridges on their dreadnaughts. This battle - which would come to be known as the Battle of Ziost - quickly became far higher stakes then initially anticipated as new data reported that several high ranking members of Imperial command, including dark council members were trapped on the surface. This battle would need to be an Imperial victory by all means necessary.

The battle of Ziost lasted far longer then many previous planetary sieges had, casualty number climbed hourly. As command cruisers and Sith dreadnaughts burned around Se Naza he found himself the de-facto commander of the blockade breaking force above the Ziost capital. For nearly thirty days the forces clashed, eventually Se Naza's dreadnaught was destroyed and his crew escaped onto the surface of Iokath, but not before confirming eight republic capital ship casualties. When the republic was finally repelled Darth Angral -who had joined the battle shortly after Malgus' force - took notice of Se Naza's leadership and initiative, and called for him to be recruited into his fleet. As far as Se Naza could tell Malgus accepted this request without objection, perhaps because Angral was higher on the chain of command, or perhaps because he failed to see the clear potential Se Naza felt he overflowed with.

Se Naza served in Angrals navy for over seven years, becoming an effective naval commander as-well as frequenting the front line of many battlefields. He found distinct pleasure in terrifying his enemies through brute force tactics, he adorned a suit of thick armor which he used to stroll through heavy blaster and cutting down his hopeless victims. Despite his enjoymenmt of his occupation, Sa Naza felt incredibly unappreciated and underutilized by his superiors, for years he served Darth Angral faithfully and effectively yet he was never even granted an audience with Darth Angral, much less any word of a promotion within the navy or Sith

When word reached Se Naza that the Dark Council had selected Darth Angral to lead the sacking of Coruscant he knew he had an excellent opportunity to fully prove himself as Sith. So he confronted Angral on his dreadnaught, catching him in the hallway leading to his bed chambers. He demanded that he be given a leadership position in the battle for Coruscant. Angral, whos was clearly stressed and very tired ordered his accompanying apprentices to dispatch this "Insolent lowly foot-soldier". Se Naza took offense from Angral remark, expressing this by dismembering his unprepared apprentices, one limb at a time. Using what restraint he had, he stowed his weapon and demanded again he be given a position in the coming attack. Angral, now very disgruntled at the scene, accepted his request, shooing the much larger Sith away as he retreated to his chambers.

The day of the invasion came and as promised Se Naza was placed in charge of a small imperial strike-force tasked with infiltrating an SIS server building near the Jedi Temple to extract data on other listening posts throughout the galaxy. It was a simple task, and he knew he was given this assignment only to be appeased, but this reality didn't bother him nearly as much as he speculated Angral thought it would. He would prove his worth one way or another.

The invasion was in full swing before the team was dispatched to the surface of Coruscant. As the drop ship descended Se Naza watched the dozens of lightsabers clash just inside the temple through a hull monitor camera. He longed to participate in such a grand scale operation, even wondering if he would have - had he not transferred out of Darth Malgus' fleet, - there was no point in dwelling, he had his orders.

The dropship touched down and the eight imperial specialists descended into the streets, firing on anyone who crossed their path, soldier and civilian alike. Se Naza led the strike team, using the force to shield them from stray weapon flak and giving them a suitable cover to hide behind as they placed their shots.

They reached the server building within a half hour and they quickly hotwired the door open, but Se Naza felt something in the force which beckoned him to abandon his team and pursue it. He order the specialists the press and moved further down a back street, straying closer to the temple. After a short run he turned a corner to find himself standing face to face with thirteen Jedi, only he stood before twelve children and one knight. The faces on the Jedi younglings turned to horror as he sneered and activated his weapon. The Jedi Knight - a young Bith - selflessly stood between the younglings and their assailant but his skill was far below Se Naza's. When he had finished Se Naza collected the weapons of his victims as well as harvesting the Bith's head and wrapping them in the Bith's now singed outer cloaked, leaving the grotesque scene, he returned to his primary objective and seeing the remainder of the mission out successfully.

Upon his return Se Naza presented the server data to Angral, as well as his thirteen trophies and the Bith's head. Angral was staggered by this presentation, but quickly collected himself and accused Se Naza of entering the Jedi temple, which he was specifically ordered against. What followed was a performance so convincing Se Naza almost believed it himself. He went into detail of how he sensed the presence of fleeing Jedi, whom he pursued and slew one after the other, receiving only minor wounds - he deliberately left out the age, and overstated the skill of his opponents for 'dramatic effect'. - Thanks to Se Naza's stone-faced description Angral was fully convinced and impressed by his work,

The following week Darth Angral went before the Dark Council to give a full report on the Sacking of Coruscant and during his closing acknowledgment he mentioned Se Naza's impressive performance and recommended him for the title of Darth. After some deliberation Se Naza was summoned to Korriban by the dark council where he was questioned on his carrier and specific goals within the Empire. Once the questioning was over Darth Vengean on behalf of the council named Se Naza "Darth Ageresh" and sent him on his way unfortunately due to the treaty of Coruscant the Empire's war efforts ended, effectively bridling the Lord of Aggression on the day of his birth.

### The Benefits of a Reputation

Upon returning to the occupation of Coruscant Ageresh found that Darth Angril was indeed preparing to evacuate *all* his forces from the planet, confirming the Empire's outrageous treaty. Shortly following, Ageresh publicly resigned from Angril powerbase, pulling his small pool of resources from the navy and using them to shape his own powerbase, dubbing it the "Forward Legion" and creating the "First Forward Fleet" contingent, which would act as his capital fleet in his forming powerbase. While the First Forward Fleet lacked any magnitude compared to any of the Imperial state fleets it quickly became popular with some of the lower ranking Sith who had become disillusioned with the Empire following the cease fire and wanted to follow a Sith Lord who echoed their feelings.

Ageresh's attention once again focused on Darth Malgus, who had become distant following the treaty. In the months following the Treaty of Coruscant, Malgus announced that he would be leading an expeditionary fleet into the unknown regions to expand the empires range of control, and that all Sith who would follow him were welcome. Ageresh took some time to consider the broad offer and eventually decided to add the Forward Fleet to numbers of independent powerbases joining the expedition.

Darth Malgus was grateful to have Ageresh joining him, and took the opportunity acknowledge Ageresh's service during the early years of the galactic war. Ageresh was pleased with the welcome he received and because of this he offered to fill in whatever position the fleet required with his personal force. Malgus assigned the forward fleet to be one of a selected few which would invade and conquer hostile planets for the Empire, a role which suited Ageresh very well.

Over the following years Ageresh would quickly earn a name for himself during these planetary crusades, not only in tactics but in the way he brutalized those who opposed him. A story which began to circulate around the expeditionary fleet and later the Empire was the show force hand gesture. As the story goes, Ageresh petitioned in front of a worlds parliament, petitioning that they align with the Empire - In what seemed to be an innocent request. - When the parliament voted no Ageresh accepted their decision, and then with a single flick of his wrist each representative in that room were killed.

At least that how the story went, in reality this gesture was Ageresh giving his men the order to gun down the parliament. No one outside of those present in that room know the truth, and each of their lips were sealed with credits, positions and threats. The legend of Darth Ageresh, Sith commander of the Forward Legion grew, and more came to enlist themselves into his growing powerbase. With Ageresh's allies growing by the day, as well as his pockets becoming heavy from his work in the unknown region, he was beginning to grow a powerbase strong enough to stand up to an Imperial offensive fleet. Knowing that a well established battle fleet, coupled with Ageresh's criticism of the Empire could cause some concern within the ministry of defense, the decision was made to divide the First Forward Fleet in three small fleets. The First Forward Fleet would remain in the expedition, while the Second Forward Fleet would be positioned within Imperial territory to establish Ageresh's presence as fear worthy powerbase, As for the third fleet, coined the Forward Expeditionary Fleet, this fleet would begin its own expedition, searching to find a suitable planet to settle a permanent Forward Legion base on, once this planet was decided upon this fleet would be recommissioned as the Third Forward Defense Fleet.

For two years the Forward Expeditionary Fleet jumped from system to system, surveying every available planet. Ageresh was seeking a planet ripe with natural foliage that was lightly settled upon, he wanted a planet that would be difficult to settle on, with the goal to dissuade other Sith from trying to settle and impede on his secrecy. Over twenty planets were inspected and each one fell short, most were too inhabited to introduce a military presence one secretly, some were so dense with foliage that not even Ageresh was willing to cultivate. Finally Ageresh's eyes fell upon Felucia, a planet that both lacked civilization past a smattering of primitive farmers and was completely covered in natural resourses that would make clearing a place for a city or military base unpreferable. Felucia seemed very promising, so Ageresh moved to the next phase of settlement, sending out a team to survey a promising construction site. Almost immediately the survey team was attacked by multiple aggressive species of fauna, the team was escorted by skilled soldiers but one by one they were gutted, eaten, and impaled while waiting for support. When the evac team arrived they described the scene as "A pile of bone and guts with the most disgusting, carnivorous creatures imaginable standing over the bodies." The evac team promptly fled the scene, outright refusing to land under any circumstances, regardless of how much expensive technology was lost.

Meanwhile, Lord Exeati, Ageresh' Sith Lieutenant in the unknown regions had just invaded a densely populated planet on behalf of the first expeditionary fleet. The invasion had began routinely, Exeati had planned to enter the lower atmosphere with several of the fleets frigates and gun ships , parading them across the planets hemisphere before positioning them over top of the capital city with weapons trained on every target of interest. The plan however went sour in a heartbeat as the three frigates crossed miles of open farmland a large mobile ion cannon had been positioned in a field intersecting with their flight path. By the time the weapon was realized on their sensors it was far to late, the Ion cannon struck the engines of Exeati's frigate, bringing it down followed by a stream of thick black smoke. Concurrently several battle cruisers belonging to the planet revealed themselves, previously hiding behind the moons orbit, quickly suppressing fire on the dreadnaughts above the planet, removing any chance of extraction or reinforcement for the grounded forces.

In all the ensuing chaos of space combat above the planet, a single imperial fighter weaved its way through the Imperial blockade, entering the atmosphere of the planet. Exeati's surviving engineers had managed to reinstate power to the frigate and coaxed several of the damaged broad side cannons to work in an effective manner. Hundred of well armed farmers had descended upon the frigate with the intent to repel the foreign threat. While the Imperials held an advantage thanks to the cannon, it wouldn't last long as ammo decreased and the farmers gained ground on the frigate, Exeati quickly put together a counter strike team and prepared to lead them into the horde of retaliation, however as they entered line of site of their enemy they watched as a single Interceptor descended on the battle field and began carving holes into the farmers defense. Exeati took the distraction and led his men to a swift and effective counter attack, killing two hundred farmer in a half hour. The interceptor was finally brought down behind Exeati's firing line and the pilot a female Sith juggernaut, quickly joined the fray. The battle resulted in a hectic and costly retreat on the planatary patriots part.

When the the Imperials had regrouped Exeati confronted his new ally. She introduced herself as Veskis of Dromund Kaas, and she sought Darth Ageresh - but she would not explain for what reason she sought him -. Exeati was skeptical of her but he was as honorable as Sith come, repaying her assistance with a new interceptor and Darth Ageresh's location. After Veskis' departure Exeati quickly warned Ageresh of the mysterious Sith on route to Felucia.

Now down a dozen men, Ageresh had no intention of toying with the natural threats of Felucia. When Exeati's message reached the expeditionary fleet, Ageresh was already putting together an invasion force capable of burning the entire excavation site to the ground. When Veskis arrived she was granted docking access on the the fleets capital ship, "The Advancer" but was given an escort of three Sith warriors to ensure she behaved. Veskis was led into Ageresh's personal viewing bridge to await his arrival, when the Darth finally arrived Veskis fell to her hands and knees pledging herself to him and begging him to take her as an apprentice. Ageresh, caught off guard inquired as to why such an already powerful Sith would care for his teachings, in response she identified herself as his bastard daughter of thirty-two years, conceived from a lowly handmaid of the Imperial Citadel. This truth had never been kept from her but only now did she feel powerful enough to even petition to serve her father.

Ageresh was understandably knocked off guard, he had never learned that he had a daughter, his immediate reaction was to send her away but she continued to state her case. Veskis' persistence irritated the already stressed Ageresh, causing his anger to get the better of him. He reached out through the force, clenching his fist in a force choke. Her throat was held so tightly that she couldn't even sputter for air, however Ageresh made the mistake of looking her in the face as he squeezed the life out of her, and the pain in her bulging eyes overpowered him, dropping her oxygen deprived body to the ground. Ageresh abandoned all further hesitation, ordering her to carry out the surveying of the construction site alone, if she recover the lost technology and used it to accomplish the needed tests within a week then he would consider her request.

Veskis' was dropped on to the surface of Felucia with only her weapon and clothes she bore, this is where Ageresh assumed his vengeful past would end. Over the next few days Ageresh continued to research Felucias threats and prep his invasion force to deal with them, however, after two days the lost technology came back online. Each following day the technology transmitted the information Ageresh had requested until the sixth day at which point everything needed was received. Begrudgingly Ageresh sent an evac shuttle to the designated position and sure enough Veskis was present. She was completely drenched in rain, sweat and blood, she had lost two fingers and she was covered in gashes, one of which was so large that several ribs had been exposed. As soon as she was on board the Advancer the was placed in intensive care.

The medic who cared for her on the trip back to the ship went before Ageresh and informed him that she was asking if he was pleased with her. At this point the thought occurred to Ageresh that she was a mentally damned person, she had become obsessed with someone who wanted nothing to do with her, Ageresh knew little when it came to psychology but he knew enough to know how advantageous it would be to have a servant who would carry out his orders without question.

When Veskis had recovered from her injuries Ageresh summoned her and expressed that her actions were "adequate" and that he would be taking her as an his apprentice.

### Shattered

In the next few years Ageresh's settlement on Felucia was quietly completed, the pentagon shaped structure stood nearly five-hundred feet tall and over two thousand yards wide. The primary purpose of this facility - coined "The Forward Pentacle" or "the Pentacle" - was to produce advanced weapons and technology for the Forward Legion, however it was also prepared to house and feed an army if needed. As planned for several years prior the Forward Expeditionary was reassigned to be the Third Forward Defense Fleet, acting now as the the Pentacles protective fleet.

Once the Pentacle was completed and garrisoned Ageresh rejoined the First Forward Fleet, years without violence apart from wildlife had dulled his blade and he yearned to crush a nobles skull under his boot. When Ageresh arrived he was disappointed to find that the fleet had been ordered to hold position, this was apparently in waiting for Darth Malgus to finish some business of Ilum, which was apparently under dispute by the republic and empire. In speaking to Exeati Ageresh learned that Malgus had apparently become very critical of the Empire during war room meetings, this was of course a reason Ageresh followed Malgus, he wasn't a drone, but to the extent that Exeati relayed, it felt almost like he was suggesting revolution, an unthinkably difficult task.

During the time since Ageresh had recruited Veskis she had proven herself to be a capable warrior and agent, her success' far exceeded her failures and Ageresh's treatment of her reflected this. Growing impatient with waiting Ageresh ordered his apprentice to infiltrate the Ilum conflict and discover what Malgus was doing that was taking so much time. Several days passed and they received no transmission, until after one week Veskis contacted the fleet, reporting that Malgus had assisted republic forces in the death of Darth Arho by feeding them information about his whereabouts. Ageresh was no traitor to deception but allying with the Republic to settle a rivalry was beyond him, Malgus had made a decision which negatively affected the Empire, leading to what would be a Republic victory.

Ageresh ordered Exeati to quietly pull the fleet from Malgus' expeditionary fleet - as he feared Malgus may turn on him - and he personally traveled to Ilum with a single transport to confront Malgus and potentially challenge him. During the hyper space travel Malgus announced his resignation from the Empire, naming himself "Emperor of the New Empire." The pieces fell into place and Ageresh realized what Malgus' true intentions were, he was no patriot, he was a ruler. If the Empire would not bow to him he'd create his own, and this is something Ageresh could not understand. As the ship exited hyper space above the planet he was confronted with a massive fleet of New Imperial ships, as well as Malgus' new battle station. Magus' voice came over the radio "You've been betrayed Darth Ageresh, you will not be given the pleasure of opposing me as many others shall try to do. Goodbye." Immediately following the battle station released a volley of turbo laser fire. The ships pilot was able to evade the fire for a short time, trying to escape onto the surface but they were struck shortly after entering orbit. This ship crashed heavily into a rock face, tumbling to the bottom in a thousand twisted pieces.

Ageresh pulled himself from the wreckage, his body broken and torn to shreds. the pain was nearly unbearable, every inch he pulled himself with his one responding arm was more pain then anything he had felt before, but he embraced it, not by choice or out of pleasure, but because it was all he could do. The snow began to numb his wounds but that brought a new, stinging pain and red icicles formed around where his legs would have once been. Ageresh dragged himself for nearly a hundred feet, into the center of this jagged valley he had found himself in, here he succumbed to exhaustion, using his agony to just remain conscious. He laid there, his body accepting death as his spirit clung to life, minutes went by that felt like hours. In an instant, Ageresh found a brought light in his working eye and his pain intensified and he was dragged onto the exit ramp of a starship. This was the last thing he remembered before he succumbed to death.

### Death of the First Forward Fleet

Ageresh awoke to find himself in a Kolto healing tank, looking at Vaskis' warped appearance through the angled pane of transparisteel. Ageresh felt nothing, and could move nothing, either he had been drugged to the point of being completely paralyzed or his wound had damaged his brain to no longer control most of his body, he feared the latter. A gift of Veskis' was telepathy and this allowed her to communicate with her master silently, in this instance this was the only way the two could communicate. Veskis reported her fathers condition, his body had been almost completely drained of blood and he had died for almost an hour before being revived. His legs had been sheered off at the knees and his hands were held to his forearms by tissue alone. His lungs had been damaged so that could no longer breath without a respirator. The good news was he could recover from much of it with time in the Kalto tank, the worse news was that it would be a years time before he would be completely healed.

Instead of usurping Ageresh's legacy as he expected she would, Veskis vowed to maintain the forward Legion in Ageresh's place until he recovered fully. While this certainly humbled Ageresh he accepted and the two devised a plan, one of the cruisers would be moved to deep space where he could recover without interruption, awhile Veskis and others who could be trusted would tell the story that Ageresh was simply researching a new material in an outer rim system, leaving Veskis to maintain the Legion in his absence. Ageresh also authorized Veskis to call herself lord, giving her authority over most other Sith in the legion by Imperial status - the few other lords would simply need to follow her based on Ageresh's chosen chain of command -. Any statement Ageresh would be needed to make an appearance for would be done through heavily doctored holo recordings.

In the four months following the devised plan worked fairly well, ignoring the occasional inquiry about Ageresh's whereabouts the story seemed to hold up. With the expeditionary fleet disbanded, Veskis chose to reassign the first fleet to serve under one of the numerous fleets Darth Marr now had the displeasure of managing. With the vacant seats on the dark council Darth Marr was now the de facto leader of every military operation in the Empire, had Ageresh been in good health he likely could have ascended to the Sphere of Offense, something that wounded his pride further.

Lord Exeati, upon the eighth month of Ageresh's absence Lord Exeati, still commander of the first fleet, contacted Veskis, demanding to know their masters location. Veskis, ever loyal, reiterated that her master was to not be disturbed in his work in deep space. Exeati would accept no answer Veskis would give him and stated he would not obey any order she gave until he spoke to Darth Ageresh, immediately following he cut the transmission. A few days later, Veskis visited the first fleet planning to confront Exeati for his dissenting behavior. but when she reached the bridge where Exeati waited for her he stated that he knew the truth, that Malgus had killed him over Ilum. Veskis denied this and reported that Ageresh had evaded any harm and had joined the Empire on the surface, sighting a speech he did shortly after the battle - a heavily doctored recording of old speeches made to appear as though he condemned Malgus' actions -. Exeati was relentless explaining that he knew for certain his ship was blown apart just inside of orbit. Veskis accusingly asked how he could know such a thing, to which he slipped that Malgus had informed him of such after he had warned him of Ageresh's coming. Veskis was shocked to hear this information but quickly collected herself and ignited her weapon, reassuring him that Ageresh had in fact escaped to the surface, but insisting that he would not live to discover this truth.

The battle was swift, the blade clashing three times before Veskis, proved herself superior, knocking Exeati's weapon from his hand. As she coiled her lightsaber arm back to strike, assailants from behind fired upon her, she retaliated, deflecting several shots before being overwhelmed. The royal guards who had fired upon her were precise, she felt little to no pain. Lord Exeati proclaimed *his* victory, naming himself the new lord of the Forward Legion, and proclaiming Ageresh dead.

An aide of Veskis, one who was not ignorant of Ageresh's condition fled the first fleet in secret, traveling to the dreadnaught in deep space where Ageresh continued to heal. She came before the Darth's kolto tank and kneeled until her face met the cold floor, Ageresh could sense the fear in her, as well as see the trembling as the tank drained of the liquid, leaving him suspended by the safety shoulder harness. She reported Exeati's betrayal and Veskis' fate, before begging for mercy from Ageresh wrath for not dying with Veskis. The transparasteel of the tank shattered as Ageresh's anger boiled, he ordered that the head doctor get him the needed cybernetics so that he might go deal with the traitor, when the doctor protested that his recovery would be heavily stunted Ageresh twisted his head off of his shoulder through the force and ordered the next doctor in line to proceed. The doctors worked quickly, moving their master to an operating table and operating on him at once, they tore away healed skin to be replaced with metal limbs, breathing apparatus, pacemaker, brain implants and artificial endtrails. When the operation was completed Ageresh now carried more metal then tissue, he was in severe pain every step he took, but still he stood high, blood dripping down his new limbs as they pinch his flesh open.

Ageresh returned to Felucia, presenting himself as yet among the living to the his forces there, each abandoned Exeati for there true master. Ageresh then moved to the second fleet, doing likewise there, he then located Exeati, he had moved the first fleet to Korriban where he waited for the Dark Council to meet so that he could convince them to recognize him as Ageresh's successor, worthy of the title of Darth. Ageresh would waste no time, bringing with him both fleets Ageresh jumped to Korriban, quickly informing the planetary authorities of the situation and surrounding the fleet with those loyal to him. Exeati hailed Ageresh's cruiser and was both surprised and horrified to see he still lived. Immediately he began to plea for mercy but Ageresh simply cut the transmission and ordered the destruction of the entire First Forward Fleet without exception, a warning to those who betray him. The fleet attempted to retaliate but it was quickly cremated, falling to the surface in hundreds of chunks and shards.

It was reported that a lone Sith Fury class had escaped to the surface, using the falling debris as cover, Ageresh could only assume Exeati had survived, so he himself descended and located the sight where the ship had landed - underneath the engine of one of the dreadnaughts, using it as cover for the debris shower. Ageresh used his ships scattering of small rockets to blow up the ships engines, then he descended upon his prey. Sure enough he found his former ally waiting for him at the end of the fury's exit ramp. The two collided in the space between their ship, the battle was sloppy, Ageresh was unused to his augmentations, and his limbs were designed for a normal soldier to use, they were not fitted to match the speed of a Sith warrior. Exeati utilized both his own weapon and one Ageresh recognized of Veskis', which drove his anger to new heights. Exeati utilized Ageresh's brash anger, leading him to use poor technique and leaving himself upon to attack, finally striking the cybernetic hand which held his lightsaber. The weapon exploded, shorting out the entire arm and causing Exeati to drop the lightsaber which had struck in the process. Ageresh reacted quickly, punching him directly in the center of chest with all the strength he and his one remaining hand could muster. The much smaller Sith was thrown clear across the battle field, landing on the ramp of his ship, his lightsaber clattering out of reach. He reached out with the force to grab it but Ageresh's heavy metal leg landed on his hand before it could reach him. With his remaining hand Ageresh picked Exeati up by the throat and held him there until he succumbed to asphyxiations. Ageresh reclaimed both of the lightsaber Exeati wielded, choosing to utilize them going forward, the man Se Naza was diminished, but the machinethey called Ageresh was now much more potent then ever before.

### State of No-Confidence

As Darth Ageresh continued to evolve he went through dozens of surgeries, adding and improving his cybernetics, as well as repairing what little tissue was still salvageable after his early resurrections. In the following decade several conflicts rose and collapsed, the during the Revanite crisis Ageresh fought on Yaven for the cause of the Empire, despite his feelings for the Republic, but when the Zakuulan Empire came, killing Darth Marr Ageresh felt he had no reason to throw his men away. As the dark councilors fell Ageresh returned all of his forces to Felucia in preparation for the Empires surrender, which came not even a year later.

When Acina joined forces with the Eternal Alliance Ageresh returned to Imperial space, offering his second fleet as a defensive fleet, but refusing to grant it for any offensive occupation. When the Zakuulan Empire fell Ageresh was asked to serve Krovos in preparation of the war with the Republic, he accepted and assisted in rebuilding the military.

Ageresh was personally asked by Empress Acina following an information leak - suggesting that a super weapon was hidden on Iokath -, to act as commander of the Iokath invasion beneath her. When it was discovered that this conflict was a trap Ageresh requested that Acina send a full strike team to destroy the super weapon and then abandon the world to the republic. Acina refused and investigated the control room of the weapon herself, taking no guard with her. This turned out to be a fateful decision as she died awaking the machine gods of Iokath. While the gods were dealt with quickly by the Eternal Alliance, Ageresh was unwilling to give up the planet in light of Acina sacrifice, dragging the war out for months until eventually being ordered to pull out by the Dark Council

Following the defeat on Iokath Ageresh assisted Darth Malora in planning the invasion of Ossus, but Malora's excessively difficult personality caused Ageresh to abandon this objective and leave imperial space, returning to his own work, recruiting enough soldiers and constructing enough modernized imperial vessels to form the Third and Fourth Forward Fleets, which he planned to use to claim a seat on the Dark Council through force.

When word came that the attack on the Jedi Temple on Ossus had failed, resulting in Darth Maloras death Ageresh's immediate reaction was to attempt to seize the council seat, but when the full report was released and Darth Malgus' return as the Empires Wrath was announced Ageresh was so very disgusted that he severed ties with the Dark Council, openly opposing Emperor Vowrawns reign. During this time Ageresh was contacted by a Sith politician named Darth Deeskor who shared similar views on Vowrawns leadership and Malgus' return, however Ageresh refused any sort of alliance as he and Deeskor differed heavily on Sith doctrine, especially that of the Sith infighting - which he fully condoned -. However when Ageresh learned that Darth Malgus had been allowed to lead the attack on the Meridian Complex, - which had failed miserably - he chose to rethink Deeskors proposition, differing politics could not outweigh Vowrawn's incompetency.

Ageresh met with Darth Deeskor and her ally Darth Doctrous as well as a group of other Sith leaders, this group discussed the proposition of an opposition party to defy Vowrawn and call for his unseating, but they knew such an action would lead to retaliation. After much discussion Ageresh agreed that if open war became of this defiance he would act as the Military Warlord of this party. The three darths came to an agreement, forming this party and dubbing it the Progressive Union.