White Snow Sneak Peek: The Way of the Sith

Planet Xexeron, Fifteen Parsecs into the Unknown Regions

Draco strode up the huge stone staircase that led to his Order's sanctuary. Hidden deep in the recesses of a volcanic mountain, the enclave was the last of many temples built in honor of the Sith Lords that had conquered the planet's native inhabitants millennia ago. Twin hundred-foot-tall statues flanked either side of the staircase, arms stretched aggressively forward with huge stone lightsabers in their hands. Ash floated down through the air, reminding him of the Imperial mining facility  on Mustafar.

As he reached the top of the staircase, he nodded to the four Stalker guards at their post. They bowed their helmeted heads respectfully and stepped aside to let him pass, lowering scarlet lightsabers they were ordered to keep activated at all times.

He gestured at the tall double-doors, which swung open at his prompting. The barriers slid open with a tortured groan, revealing a huge interior chamber with floors carved from volcanic stone and huge reinforced pillars stretching up to the ceiling far above. Dark statues of the Order's greatest Grand Lords, known as Xexeros to Draco's order, flanked either side of the hall, dominated by a thirty-foot monolith of the current Grand Lord, Xexero Savan. His giant stone arms were spread wide, his draping cloak making him look like a giant predatory soar-hawk swooping in on its prey.

No sooner had he set foot over the threshold than a booming voice called, "Darth Draco. Welcome home."

He paused before quickly falling to one knee, bowing his head and murmuring, "High Lord Timerius."

A tall figure stepped toward him, arms spread in welcome. He was wearing an immaculately-kept black robe and a cowl that obscured his face. The shadows seemed to cling at his heels and swirl around his arms like living beings. As he passed, the lit torches on the walls seemed to dim for a moment, then spring back to life as his shadow moved past.

The Sith Lord placed two pale hands on Draco's armored shoulders and said, "Rise, my friend."

Draco slowly rose to his feet, still averting his gaze from the shadowy hole that should have been the Sith Lord's face. Timerius was one of the most powerful High Lords of Draco's hidden order. Rumor had it that he could drain years of one's life simply by touching them. Rumors surrounded most of the High Lords, but Draco personally knew that his Force Lightning could kill a man in high enough doses and his power of foresight was unmatched by even Xexero Savan.

"Your success in gathering new recruits has made the High Lords very proud," Timerius purred. He patted Draco's shoulder pads before tucking his arms into his robes.

"I have been away for over a year," Draco muttered, "and brought back more than one hundred new Stalker recruits. Any word on the newest?"

"Hett?" the High Lord said with an evil chuckle. "She is still in the dungeons. She has made great progress, but she still resists the ways of the Sith."

"I wish to speak to her," Draco said. "She is to be my apprentice."

"You will be allowed to speak with her if and when Xexero Savan allows it," Timerius said, a firm note coming into his voice. "Until then, you must rest."

Draco bowed his helmeted head and murmured, "As is thy bidding, master."

Timerius nodded his hooded head slowly, then brushed past him. As he passed, all the ambient light in the area seemed to die away for a moment. The light returned when the black-robed Sith Lord stepped out the door and disappeared from sight.

Draco stared after him, then turned to find another Sith staring at him. This time it was a woman with reflective black armor and a long cloak that fell to the floor. Her long black hair fell loosely over her shoulders and her eyes were daubed with dark makeup that made her eyes look as if they were sunken into her head. It made her look nightmarishly beautiful.

He bowed his head again. "Darth Varius," he greeted her.

She raised a single thin eyebrow. "After a year of absence, I would have thought you would be a bit more welcoming," she said, "husband."
"We have had this conversation before," Draco said, narrowing his yellow eyes behind his helmet. "Our marriage was one of necessity, not emotion."

"So you feel nothing for me?" she asked, folding her arms and standing consciously just outside the reach of his lightsaber. "Nothing at all?"

"I would kill you in your sleep simply to narrow the competition for promotion to High Lord," Draco said simply.

She smiled widely and clasped her hands in front of her. "As would I, husband. I dream of that moment every night."

He stepped past her and strode further into the hall. She bowed her head as he passed and murmured, "Until our next meeting, my lord."

Draco paused, then turned to her and said, "There is a ship on the landing pad. I stole it to follow my Stalkers here. The computers were code-locked with a technology unlike anything I've ever seen, but maybe some of the technicians might be able to break the codes."

Her lip curled slightly. "Prisoners and slaves, all of them. I wouldn't trust them not to steal the ship."

"Then get a group of Tyros to guard them," he snapped. "But if the ship has a database, it could provide the Order with invaluable intelligence about our enemies."

Varius' eyes flashed and she whispered, "Vader and Sidious."

"So I don't care if you have to post four of the High Lords themselves," Draco growled. "I want those computer files."

She bowed her head again, then swept away from him, heading for the slave's quarters. Draco watched her go, then turned and strode toward the Council Chambers, where he had been ordered to present his report of the past year of his mission.

Robed and hooded beings hurried past him, scuttling about on their private business. Draco paid them little mind as he strode toward the Council Chambers. As he walked, two Stalkers melted out of the crowd and began walking on each side of him.

Together, the three made a fearsome group and other Sith quickly stood aside to let them pass. As feared as they used to be by the Jedi, the Sith were equally afraid of Stalkers. They were the personal assassins of the High Council, and would kill anyone they were ordered to, from the youngest Tyro to Xexero Savan himself.

Draco was not well liked among the Sith Order for this reason, but there was no denying the respect with which the other Sith Lords regarded him and his Stalkers. They bowed their heads or averted their eyes, keeping a safe distance away.

Draco and his guards silently stepped into a turbolift leading down into the Council Chambers, buried far beneath the surface of the planet so the High Lords would be safe from orbital bombardment. The doors slid shut with a snap and the lift began to descend.

"The High Lords are impressed with your services," Draco said to his guards. "You are to be rewarded."

"Our only reward will be to see the completion of our mission," one of the Stalkers rasped. "When the corpses of Sidious and his dog are set aflame."

Draco chuckled. "Good. You will make me proud."

"As is thy bidding, master," the two Stalker said simultaneously.

Then the doors slid open and they stepped into the antechamber that led to the Council Chambers. It was a dark hall made of black marble, with bubbling pools of magma flowing through either side of the room. A wide bridge stretched across the pool of lava, leading toward a door flanked by two armored Sith Warriors. Their contoured facemasks, which annoyingly reminded Draco of Darth Vader's helmet, tilted to face him as they crossed their activated lightsaber pikes in an X in front of him.

Draco stared at them through his own fearsome helmet and snarled, "The Council is expecting me."

"Entrance shall be allowed when the council themselves authorize it," one of the guards boomed in a deep monotone voice, "assassin."

Draco flexed a razor-bladed hand in frustration, then said, "If that is so, then alert them to my presence."

"The Council shall not be disturbed by such trivial matters," the guard snapped. "They will make the decision whether or not to-"

Draco snapped; he grabbed the guard by the throat, digging his bladed fingers into the man's neck and activating his lightsaber. The guard let out a surprised gasp and dropped his saber pike as Draco dug his finger blades into his throat.

The other guard leveled the red blade of his pike at Draco's chest. Before he could move, however, the two Stalkers ignited their own sabers and placed them between the guard and their leader.

"You will allow me to enter the Council Chambers," Draco snarled. "I have a report to give."

"N-not without the authorization of the High Lords," the guard gasped. "I will not allow you to-"

Those were the last words he said. Draco scowled behind his helmet faceplate and clenched his fist. The razor blades on his fingers cut deep into the man's body, severing the arteries in his throat. Blood spurted out, splattering Draco's faceplate. The Sith Lord slowly released the guard, letting his corpse fall to the floor with a thump. He flexed his bladed fingers, studying the dark blood that now stained the metal.

He slowly turned his dark scrutiny to the remaining guard and murmured, "Well?"

The guard glanced between the two lit lightsabers that were point at his chest, then stammered, "T-the Xexero Savan has granted you clearance to enter."

"Good," Draco snarled, unclenching his fist. "I knew you'd see reason."

"Y-yes... my lord," the guard gasped, falling to his knees.

The door leading to the council chambers slid open and Draco stepped past his Stalkers to enter. As he did, he gave a discreet nod to his disciples. A small grin stretched across his shielded face when he heard the guard suddenly scream, his voice cut short as one of the Stalkers severed his head.

No one defied Draco. Not even those under the command of Xexero Savan.

Then his Stalkers were at his shoulder again as he stepped into the dark, circular room that housed the High Council of Sith Lords. Within, thirteen dark thrones circled a meter-tall pyramidal holocron set into the center of the room. The holocron was the greatest treasure of Draco's order, and it levitated over a pool of molten rock, held in a slightly-rotating antigravity field by centuries-old repulsors. The flickering light from the torches that lit the room raced across the contoured surface of the holocron, making it look like it pulsed with a living internal light.

Every one of the thirteen thrones were occupied by robed and hooded High Lords. Dominating it all was the colossal twelve-foot seat of Xexero Savan, who reclined in the luxurious throne with pale, emaciated skin and eyes that glowed red in the darkness.

"Lord Draco," the Xexero said, gesturing to the armored Stalker leader with a wrinkled hand. "The High Council is pleased to see you returned. And with no less than seventy new Stalker recruits."

He steepled his fingers and murmured, "Most impressive."

Draco and his Stalkers sank to one knee, bowing their heads in respect. Draco raised his helmet slightly and whispered, "What is thy bidding, my masters?"

"We wish to hear the details of your mission," said one of the Council Lords. "Especially regarding your newest recruit. The young woman seems quite resistant to our methods of conversion. Is she truly to be your apprentice?"

"It is true she possesses a rebellious spirit," Draco said as he and his disciples rose to standing height again. "But she is powerful. Quite possibly more powerful than any of the other Stalkers I managed to convert. The fact that she resists our ways only proves that."

"And what of your primary mission?" came a female voice. The Council Lady inclined her hooded head slightly and folded her pale hands in her lap as she asked, "What of Darths Sidious and Vader?"

Draco narrowed his eyes behind his faceplate and snarled, "Sidious, this so-called 'Emperor' hides behind an army of spies and bodyguards in a manner that brings shame to the Sith name. He rarely appears in public, and enforces his will through his subject's fear of him rather than public displays of power."

"Disgraceful," one of the Council Lords spat. "That a Dark Lord of the Sith would cower behind non-sensitives."

"But," Draco continued, "his reign is not without power. He has expanded the borders of his Empire beyond those of even the most powerful days of the Old Republic. He holds these planets together with an iron grip and ruthless resolve. And his will is enforced by his apprentice, Darth Vader."

Draco pulled out one of the holoprojectors from his belt and threw it to the floor of the Council Chamber. The life-sized hologram of Darth Vader sprang to life in front of the Lords.

The Sith Lords gasped as one, and Draco saw Xexero Savan's eyes widen in surprise as the black-armored Sith Lord placed his fists on his hips and surveyed the room as if he could see the Council members sitting before him. After a moment, the hologram sputtered and began replaying.

Draco wasn't surprised by the Council's fascination. He had been just as amazed himself by the technological advances that had been made in the millennia since the disappearance of the Sith. However, a year of sustained exposure to this new and bizarre galaxy had acclimated him to the changes.

One of the first things he'd done was familiarize himself with everything that had happened since the Battle of Ruusan and the exile of Darth Xexero. He was amazed at how much had changed; the galaxy had a new Senate, new soldiers known as 'clone troopers' or 'stormtroopers'. A new Jedi Council had even risen from the ashes of the old.

As much as he hated to say it, he had to admit a grudging respect for this Emperor Palpatine. It didn't take a genius to see that Darth Sidious had engineered the entire Clone War in order to wipe out the Jedi, though it was true that few other than a Sith Lord could recognize the intricacies of such a plan.

His apprentice, though...

"Darth Vader is another matter entirely," he said. "He is... more powerful than any Sith I have ever come across."

"You crossed sabers with this Lord?" Xexero Savan asked, raising a thin eyebrow questioningly.

Draco shook his helmeted head. "No, Xexero. But I have gotten close enough to him that I was able to sense his power. He is... unique."

"He is encased in a life suit," one of the Council Lords chuckled. "How big a threat can he pose?"

Draco just stared at the Lord through his helmet's visor, clenching a razor-bladed fist. The Lord shifted uncomfortably, seeming to regret his hasty words. Xexero Savan saw the Lord's discomfort and chuckled.

"I have seen him snap an underling's neck with little more than a gesture," Draco said. "Reports state that he has enough power to rip a capital ship from the sky. He is unlike anything our order has seen before. It will not be easy to destroy him."

"Any being can be destroyed," Xexero Savan murmured. "It is only a matter of where to strike."

He leaned forward on his throne and said, "Now, Darth Draco, tell us about this new Empire."